Blackhearted Betrayal (18 page)

My lips curled into a self-satisfied smirk when inspiration hit. “I assume the unhealthiest place for you to be right now is wherever
he
is if he finds out what you’ve just told me.”

The Cat blanched. “I—oh—gods.”

Obviously she thought as far ahead as most other felines—which was to say not very. “Would you be willing to seek out the Fury shades you mentioned? See if you can find either of them and, if so, get word to me.”

She blinked. “I—yes, I could do that. But how would I—”

“Don’t worry, I have that part covered.”

Nemesis and Nike suddenly clued in to my thoughts—and the former didn’t like them at all.
Nuh-uh. No way. Not a chance.
Easy to see which of the pair paid more attention to mortal slang.

I expected Nike to be just as pessimistic, but she surprised me—and her sister.
I agree with Marissa. It’s the perfect opportunity. Not only can you ensure she doesn’t betray us, think of how it will simplify matters if you
do
find one of the Fury shades.

That slightly took the wind out of my sails since I’d been prepared for a knock-down, drag-out.
Ah—um—exactly. If the Cat
does
find evidence Anubis has Fury shades in Duat, that proves he must have sworn them to himself when they were alive. We can take that proof to the Triad without needing to risk invoking the Feather against him.
Because, contrary to the front I put on, I wasn’t 100 percent certain that plan was going to work out quite the way I intended.

All eyes remained focused on me during that internal debate. Nike succeeded where I failed in convincing Nemesis. I relaxed when she silently capitulated and turned to the Cat with what was meant to be a reassuring smile. The fact that she backed away several steps said I had failed miserably on the comforting front. Big surprise.

Try not to scare her any more than you
have
to.
I held my hand out to the Cat, and Nemesis wound her way to the end of my arm. Realization flickered in the Cat’s eyes, and she appeared torn between fascination and revulsion. “She won’t hurt you. Not unless you try to betray us. In either event, she’ll be able to get word to my other serpent immediately, and through her, to me.”

Nemesis could no more project a reassuring air than I could, but she managed not to hiss, spit, or flick her tongue while she snaked from my arm onto the Cat’s trembling limb. “Relax. She is as intelligent as any of us—if not more so—and she can understand anything you say. But mark this: If
anything
happens to her and she loses contact with us, I will hunt you down on the spot and bring the full wrath of Bast and the Triad upon you. Now go.”

“But, what if someone else—”

I snarled, and she stumbled back a few steps before turning to flee like a bat out of—you know. Nemesis chuckled inside my mind before her presence slowly faded away. She’d be able to communicate easily with Nike from a distance thanks to their magical bond as twins born from the blood of their dying mother, but all I’d be able to get were vague emotions as usual, if even that.

All will be well.
Nike managed a maternal air far better than I ever could, but still …I worried.

I’ve never been separated from either of you. Not since I Fledged. I didn’t even know it was possible until now.

Rarely done, but very possible. Now focus, silly child.

She was right. One problem might have been solved for the moment, but a dozen more waited in the wings, starting with the one turning to stare me in the face.

Scott scowled and stepped close enough to kiss—although that seemed to be the last thing on his mind right about then. “What the hell was
that
?”

Durra sidled closer, becoming an oddly supportive presence at my side. The Apocalypse couldn’t be far behind.

I arched a brow. “Which part? Where magic-wielding shades—something that should be
impossible
, by the way—culled Durra and me from the rest of you, and we kicked their asses, or the part where I recruited one of said shades to the good side?”

My revelation
we
hadn’t been behind the separation seemed to take the edge off the fight in him. Of course, that still left a whole lot of fight. “What were you
thinking
to trust her enough to send her off that way? What if she runs straight to—to
him
?”

Poor guy couldn’t even say
his
name. Not that I could blame Scott—not for
that
. For not trusting me, however …

“Did you
miss
the part where I sent Nemesis to keep tabs on her?” When he opened his mouth, I just glared him down. “If I
had
just killed her, she would have materialized wherever Anubians do that in Duat and told them exactly what she told us. This way, we have a chance of keeping her
away
from
him
, at least for a time. You may not have heard everything, but he
does
have Fury shades working for him. I saw one before the attack.”

Durra’s breath caught, and she touched my arm. “Who?” Her fears were obvious: that it might be a fellow Megaera. If only …

“St—” I cleared my throat and tried again. “Stacia Demetriou. My mentor.”

“Your
former
mentor!” Mac exclaimed out of loyalty. He had just as much reason to hate the bitch as I did. She had been the mastermind behind abducting our mother, engineering Mac’s birth, and brainwashing him throughout the formative years of his life. Thankfully, he’d broken through that due to his own innate goodness, intelligence, and a little help from Mom.

“Former mentor,” I allowed with a tiny smile. “She appeared just as shocked to see me as vice versa, so I don’t think that was part of the plan. The Cat”—I probably should have bothered to get her name before sending her off—“claimed Anubis has two shades working for him, and I have a pretty good guess who the other one is.”

Durra frowned. “You don’t think your
grandmother
—”

I shook my head fervently. “No,
she
would never betray us like that. Her sister, on the other hand …”

Her eyes widened, but then she nodded slowly. “We need to get word to your mother and my d— mine, as well. If Anubis has found a way to help shades take on New Life by possessing the bodies of full-grown arcanes, they should be forewarned.” She shuddered in most un-Durra-like fashion.

My sentiments precisely.

Scott drew my attention again. “Okay, so
he
knows you’re here, and you have the Cat searching for your
former
mentor. We need to keep moving before his next patrol finds us.”

“Good point.” I tapped my fingers against my pants and tried to
think
. Where could we send word to Mom that wouldn’t take us too far out of our way to the Hall of Two Truths? There was really only one method of communicating with those in another realm from the Underworld—the same way we came in: via mirror. Since I’d shattered
that
one, we had to find another, though
not
the one Anubis had most likely used to send that patrol in after us. Granted, my knowledge of Duat’s layout was limited to my last, extremely abbreviated visit and what I’d researched before making that crazy-ass
trip, but there simply
weren’t
that many portal-worthy mirrors down there. Especially considering that Anubis had cut off access to a lot of the Otherrealms from Duat.

But that doesn’t mean they do not function from
this
side,
Nike pointed out.

My eyes widened.
True!

Okay, so Ala’s position as an African Death Lord (a gender-neutral title) meant her realm would lie physically close to Anubis’s (also an African Death Lord) in the Underworld. This also meant it would take less magical energy to contact her from here. She could, in turn, pass word on from us to Mom, and the reverse. Now I just had to figure out
where
to find a mirror …

“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I know where we need to go.” Oops. Obviously I’d said that last bit out loud (a bad habit of mine) since Elliana volunteered that little tidbit.

Mac gave a nod as if to say
of course
his wife knew
that
. I, not so convinced, pursed my lips. “And how do you know that?”

She bared her teeth in an expression that most definitely
wasn’t
a smile. “Because I am—I
was
—one of
his
handmaidens.”

That pronouncement had me wincing as nausea twisted my stomach. Elliana and I had enjoyed a tolerate-hate relationship as long as I could remember, though things had improved a lot over the past few months thanks to Mac. Never would I have guessed in a million years that she would
ever
choose loyalty to me over a duty as sacred as serving as a god’s handmaiden. Handmaidens tended to be as tight-lipped about their positions as Fury classes were about their Primes. It was mostly a ceremonial title in life that granted a few extra
powers such as—apparently—the ability to sense magical artifacts tied to the god being served. Most handmaidens didn’t really do much to serve their deities directly until death—at which point they joined an elite group of guardians in the Underworld. Chances were that, now, Elliana would never get the chance to perform
that
particular duty.

As if she sensed my thoughts, she rolled her eyes and stomped across the clearing. “Don’t flatter yourself, Riss; I did this for Mac—and the Triad.
I
know my responsibilities even if
he
has chosen to forsake them.”

I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and absentmindedly caressed the single serpent twining herself along my upper arm.
That
would take getting used to. “All right, then, let’s get a move on. The sooner we get word to Mom, the sooner we can finish what we started.”

Or so I had to believe. Anything else spelled disaster—not just for us, but for the entire arcane world.

ELLIANA LED US FROM THE CLEARING,
through a mundane-seeming forest, and into a bizarre neon blue desert landscape without missing a beat. Mac and Durra trailed a few feet behind her while Scott, Charlie, and I brought up the rear, keeping watchful eyes out for any sign of pursuit. So far, however, so good. Other than the blasted blue sand, which kept churning up beneath our feet and flying into eyes and mouths.

Scott and Ellie soon showed us the trick for ripping up articles of clothing to cover our mouths, but the eyes were another matter entirely. We
had
to be able to see, after all. Eventually I worked out the timing for blinking
or completely shutting my eyes at the most opportune moments, but that didn’t make me hate every single trudging step forward one iota less. Even the novelty of looking across Technicolor sand dunes quickly wore off under the blistering sun (don’t ask me
how
a subterranean place like the Underworld even
has
a sun) baking our ill-protected heads and backs.

Just when I gave serious consideration to sending everyone else home and flying to the Hall of Two Truths, Elliana let out a sound of triumph and waded over, then down a particularly steep mound of sand. We eagerly followed after, though Charlie (thanks to his earth affinity) soon outpaced Scott and me. The damned Giant didn’t look or sound the least bit winded or sunburned, either.
Bastard.

Topping the rise and seeing a veritable oasis spread out before me inspired a burst of speed. Scott shot a boyish grin my way, and for a moment, I could forget we were slogging our way through hell on a quest to bring down his personal lord and savior.
Former
savior.

I tightened my lips and plowed down the hill and into the line of palm trees swaying in the breeze blowing off the small-but-pristine pool of water at the center of the oasis. My feet left behind unnatural blue sand to step upon ordinary green grass, and I gave a smile every bit as childlike as Scott’s. Palm trees blocking out the harsh sun; a cool wind washing over my parboiled skin; decadent green grass beneath my low-heeled boots—how could I
not
smile? At least until I caught sight of the army waiting for us.

Okay, so
army
was a slight exaggeration. A dozen Anubians garbed in flowing black robes covered in golden hieroglyphics appeared from the opposite line of
trees and took up place between us and the crystal-clear pond. The very
mirror
I was willing to bet Elliana had been leading us to.
Son of a …

A dozen or a thousand, they outnumbered us, and I was willing to bet were just as capable of channeling magic as the first patrol had been. That thought had me peering at them more closely.
This
group bore no weapons and something about their robes seemed off, different from those of any of the Anubians I’d thus far seen. And that’s when it socked me in the gut: These
weren’t
Anubians. Their robes featured elaborate falcons rather than jackals.

Elliana waited for me to step up beside her and murmured out of the corner of her mouth. “These are
not
the handmaiden shades I expected we might have to fight through.”

Durra nodded, gaze sharply focused upon the group blocking us from our goal. “They look like members of a rival death cult. That language isn’t
quite
Egyptian, but it’s damned close—”