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“Mmm… I wish,” I whispered against Paz’s lips. He chuckled knowingly.
“You
’re having fun without me. Again,” GC whined.
“Oh, shut up and lead the way.” I stepped into the water. If he kept whining like that, it would take me awhile to tell him I loved him. I liked him more when he acted like a man, not like an abandoned puppy.
We gathered around the round stone well, among stalagmites, pools of rusty water, half-melted candles, and rocks that seemed to be eternally warm. The air was heavy and still. It should have been cold down here, but it wasn’t. The chills that ran up my spine and spread through my entire body had nothing to do with the temperature, but with the memory of the first time I’d been here. I could still feel the slimy tentacles around my legs and arms. I shuddered. Paz stepped behind me and hugged me to his strong chest. GC noticed my discomfort too, and took my hand into his, squeezing tightly.
“Can we see it?” Joel asked in a soft whisper.
“Why the hell would you want to see it?” Klaus yelled at him. The echo of his voice filled the space.
“Shh!” I admonished him.
“You can’t see it,” Francis said, patiently. “It’s sleeping, dreaming… Its body moves of its own accord when it’s time to…” He cleared his throat but didn’t finish the sentence.
“Time to eat,” I finished it for him. “It’s safe, guys. We’re safe. Unless Francis decides to sacrifice us, it won’t attack or anything.” Francis had a strange influence over the god. They communicated at a deep level that I couldn’t even begin to understand, and he’d never managed to explain to me. “Just don’t go too close to the well.” That had been my mistake.
Everyone was silent for a long moment, then Francis stepped aside and sat down on a rock. Klaus and Joel did the same. Patty started pacing the floor, her shoes sloshing through the dirty water.
“Okay, we’re here. We have our secret meeting place. Now what?”
She had a good point.
“Now we talk,” I said. I stepped out of Paz’s embrace and took a central position. They were waiting for me to come up with a plan, and I didn’t have one, but I did have some suggestions. “You have to help me figure out how to retire Morningstar. We need info. On the prophecy, on nephilim and their powers, on… I don’t know, ninja scythe tricks. You saw him in PE,” I looked at GC, Paz, and Francis, “I’ll never be able to beat him. He’s three times my size!”
“Maybe that’s not how you’re supposed to retire him. By killing him with your scythe,” Joel shrugged.
“Someone has already suggested poison,” I rolled my eyes. “Won’t work. Do you have other suggestions?” He shook his head. “Thought so. Well, that’s why you all have homework. Find solutions. I can’t do this on my own, I just can’t. I’m stuck.”
“I’ll be in charge of the prophecy,” said Patty.
“You know I still have the family tree I made for you that summer,” Paz said.
Right! I’d forgotten about it. After Francis revealed the secret that I was Morningstar’s daughter, and I told my lovers, Pazuzu had made it his mission to find out as much as he could about my ancestral line. He went to Bulgaria to investigate, and I knew he’d found the names, birth dates, and death dates of my real mother’s relatives, but I never felt quite ready to look at them. Besides, how could they have helped me? Katerina Angelov was human, and all her ancestors had been human, too. Paz should have researched my father’s line, not hers. But that had proved to be impossible even for him. Valentine Morningstar had made sure his history was unbreachable. There were powerful spells in place to protect it.
“Alright, I’ll take a look,” I sighed. “But I doubt we’ll find anything useful there.”
“I’ll take care of the ninja scythe thing,” offered Klaus.
I giggled. “Since when are you interested in fighting?”
“I’m not. I’m only doing it for you. Besides, I’m Merciful Death. No one will suspect anything if I check out all the books on scythe fighting from the library.”
He was right. Neither GC, nor Paz could do it, because if Morningstar found out, he’d know they were trying to help me. At the same time… I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I’m tempted to say he wouldn’t care, though. He’s teaching us how to fight instead of letting Professor Charon do her job and teach us how to teleport. I’m starting to think he’s not afraid of me and my ninja scythe skills.”
“Because you don’t have them yet, sister.” Klaus winked at me. “Don’t worry, I got you. You’re going to be one hell of a fighter.”
“I’ll help him with the research,” Joel attached himself to Klaus’s arm. They smiled at each other.
I rolled my eyes. They were so cheesy sometimes.
“GC, what are you going to do?”
The false god scratched the back of his neck. His blond curls turned reddish and warm in the flickering light of the candles.
