Braving Fate (The Mythean Arcana Series Book 1) (37 page)

“Yes. I want that.” The words came in a rush. “Wait. Could I ever die?”
 

The idea of living forever with no escape was terrifying. She assumed it would be a good life, but shouldn’t she know all the details first?

“Your body would be made strong in the way of the Mythean Guardians. Only incredibly grievous injury could kill you. But you would be reborn as if you had died of old age. There’s no getting around that part. It’s the nature of your soul.”

Diana felt as if she were about to step off a precipice. Dare she? There really was only one choice. “All right. This is what I want.”

Andrasta nodded. “Wise. I’d take it if I were in your position.”

“Really?” How surprising. “But you’re a goddess.”

“I was mortal first. I miss earth.” She looked younger then, lonely in a way that a goddess shouldn’t be. Diana wanted to ask, but more than anything she wanted to get out of Erebus.

She ignored her guilt, and instead asked, “How will I get home?”

“I’ll see to it.” Andrasta gave a small smile and reached out to touch her shoulder.

Vivienne was floating in the sea. Or in the clouds. She wasn’t sure. Her body felt both weightless and heavy, her mind a calm, joyful serenity. Had she died? The horror of the past few days or months or years—she had no idea how long it had been—was a distant, foggy memory.
 

But Diana. Where was Diana? Vivienne could only hold onto the thought for the barest second before the calm joy replaced it. She stared into the whiteness above her, wondering if it was made of clouds.

“Vivienne.” A sweet voice echoed from behind her.

Weightlessly, Vivienne shifted to find the voice. A woman stood behind her, tall and dark-haired. She looked vaguely familiar. “Am I in heaven?”
 

“No.” The figure laughed lightly.

“You’re not God, then?”
 

“No, certainly not. I’m your mother.”

Vivienne would have been shocked if she hadn’t been riding this false morphine high. Instead, she felt the purest quiet joy.

“You’re dead. You died giving birth to me.”

“No. I’m a Sila. We’re a type of Jinn, an Arabic spirit that’s unusually intelligent and can shapeshift. My body can’t stay on earth for extended periods of time, which is why I had to leave you when you were a baby. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.” Her dark eyes were heavy with sadness.

“Wait, what?”

“I would have stayed, if I could. But you had your father.”

“He’s dead now.” The piercing sensation she’d normally get when she thought of her father was dulled by the morphine feeling of being in this white cloud.

“I know he’s gone from earth. I see him, now that he’s on the other side.”

“He’s happy?”

“Oh, yes.”

Vivienne smiled, calmly packing that little tidbit away. “If I’m not in heaven, where am I?”

“The aether. It connects the here and nowhere, the earth and the afterworlds. Your soul just escaped Erebus. It returned to your body as soon it escaped. You’ll wake up soon, once your body readjusts to housing your soul. As long as you are in the aether, I can visit with you.”

“Will I ever see you again?”

“Probably. You’re part Sila. If you were full-blood, you’d have grown up with our characteristics. As a half-blood, you adopted them in adulthood. The change was probably spurred on by your proximity to Diana when she went through her own change, and completed when you were dragged to Erebus. All that magical energy gave you a jumpstart. Because you’re a half-blood, I don’t know if you are immortal like other Mytheans. But when you die—if you die—your soul will probably join your father and me in our afterworld.”

Vivienne smiled. This really was the loveliest place and the loveliest news.
 

And her mother was the loveliest woman.

CHAPTER FORTY

Diana opened her eyes to the chaos of Warren’s office. They’d appeared in the corner of the room, Andrasta’s arm wrapped around her waist for support.

“Can you no’ create another portal or something?” Warren asked Esha, who paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. Her hair was askew and her cat was striding closely behind her.

“No! Damn it, Warren, I’ve already told you that. If I could do something, I would have.”

“Are they always like this?” Andrasta asked out of the side of her mouth as she glanced at Diana. She’d removed her arm once she’d realized Diana could support herself and they watched the room’s occupants argue. It was like watching a hurricane, but the undercurrents of tension suggested there was more than just a storm brewing between Esha and Warren.

“No. Where’s Cadan?” He was the first person she’d looked for and he was nowhere to be found.

“I don’t know. I thought this was your headquarters of sorts so I brought you here.” Andrasta had eyes only for the fight raging in front of them. “Nothing so passionate ever occurs in Otherworld. I wish—”
 

“Diana! Oh, thank gods, you’re back.” Esha rushed toward her and gripped her in a tight hug. The cat lay down in front of the fire as Warren relaxed against the desk on which he was leaning. The tension leaving the room was almost palpable. Esha spun toward the goddess. “Ana! You saved her!”
 

“Where is Cadan? Did Vivienne make it?” Diana asked.

Esha drew back. “Ah, well.” She hesitated. “He’s still in the chamber. We couldn’t get him to leave. But Vivienne is fine.”

Relief rushed through her at the news that Vivienne was fine, but something in Esha’s expression made Diana’s insides cramp. “Why? How bad is that? Why’d you leave him?”

“It’s been almost a week, Diana.”

“A week?” The breath whooshed out of Diana’s lungs. “What do you mean? A week since we went in?”

“No, more than a month since you first went in.” Esha tried to push her down into a chair, but Diana resisted. There wasn’t time to be sitting if Cadan was in that chamber. “Time passes much more quickly in Erebus. It didn’t affect us when we were only looking in. But when you went in fully, you became subject to it. Warren and I left the chamber once you went in, since I can feel when the energy of the portal changes. When it was about to close, Warren and I went back. But only Cadan, Vivienne, and the boy came out.”

Diana’s mind reeled. To lose weeks when it only felt like hours? What was Cadan doing there? She felt Andrasta rub her shoulder to comfort her, but the gesture was awkward, as if she knew why one would do such a thing, but not how.

“Diana?” Vivienne’s voice sounded from the doorway. “You’re back!”

Her friend ran to her and threw her arms about her.

“Vi! You’re alive! I didn’t know if it would work! How?” Her eyes raced over her friend, thrilled to see that she looked normal.

“I’m not totally human, apparently,” Vivienne said. “You remember me talking about my mom? Apparently she was a Sila, an Arabic spirit. Like a Jinn. My parents met when my father was working in Egypt.”

Diana’s mouth dropped open.
 

“She couldn’t stay in the mortal world with me. But because I’m only half Sila, I can. Though this changes everything about my life.”

“Wow.” Elation and confusion buzzed through Diana. “I’m so happy for you. You’re going to have to tell me all about it. But now, I have to go find Cadan.”

Vivienne nodded.

Esha said, “I’ll take you.”
 

Diana nodded gratefully and squeezed Vivienne’s hand. She turned to Andrasta and said, “Thank you, Andrasta. For everything.”

“It was a pleasure. Thank you for calling on me. I don’t get requests to come out of Otherworld often.” She beamed and Diana smiled back.

Diana turned back to Esha. “Okay, let’s go.”

Warren watched with relief as Esha and Diana disappeared. Damn, it had been a long month. The last two weeks of fighting with Esha on top of everything else hadn’t done him any good.
 

He looked up at the woman standing in the corner. She didn’t look nearly as goddess-like as Aerten. Her clothes were less ethereal and more like those of a field soldier from long ago. Her breastplate was leather rather than metal. He was relatively young compared to others in this world. This woman looked like she had been around a lot longer, despite the fact that she physically looked to be in her mid-twenties.

Since it didn’t seem like she had plans to disappear anytime soon and she was looking vaguely ill, he figured he’d better offer her something.

“Can I get you a cup of tea?”

She nodded eagerly. “Absolutely. I love tea. We don’t have it in Otherworld.”

“Vivienne?” he asked.

“Sure,” Vivienne said. She walked over to the couch and sat.
 

“Where is the boy?” Andrasta asked.

“Maximus? He’s at the orphanage.” Warren handed her a cup of tea and gave another to Vivienne.

“Not a mortal one?” Andrasta said, aghast.

“Nay, he would no’ do well there.” They still had no idea what the kid could do, if anything. “We have a small one here at the university that will raise the children of Mytheans who are killed.” There were a couple dozen kids in all, but he never really went over to that side of campus.

“Is he doing all right?” Andrasta asked.

“Hasn’t spoken. They think he may be in shock.”

“Well, he’s been in hell for millennia. He also just lost his father.”

Warren grimaced. That had been the downside of Diana’s plan, though he’d agreed that she had to kill that bastard Paulinus. And bringing the boy back had been the right thing to do.

“Do you have any idea what he might be now that he’s out of hell? Mortal? Mythean?” He hadn’t really had time to ask around much, but anybody he’d spoken to hadn’t known. Hell, she was a goddess, so maybe she had an idea.

“No, I’m sorry,” Andrasta said. “My powers are really only limited to the Celtic faith. I don’t know much outside of that.”
 

Her fingers whitened where she gripped the arm of the chair. Her pallor was more pronounced than it had been just moments ago.

“Hey, are you sure I can’t get you something? You’re not looking very well.” He reached out.

“No, I—” She gasped. “Camulos.” She swayed, then disappeared.

Well, hell. That couldn’t be good.