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“Quiet,” Dare instructed. “They’re here.”
Chapter 18
Icrossedmyarmsover my chest, attempting to look like I was casually studying the ruins in front of me as shuffling footsteps and clicking claws approached the library.
Sophia could make all the claims she liked that we were safe withthisagathos, but I wasn’t about to let my guard down. People were desperate, and that made them dangerous. I thought the riots in Milton and Jersey had been bad, but that was nothing compared to the unrest we were living through now. Shit, things back then had been almost quaint in comparison.
There was a pause, the light from the person’s torch illuminating the space as they paused on the threshold. A murmured word, then the shuffling sound continued, no claws this time.
An ancient woman sidled up next to me, bent double over the cane she was holding. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, but a thick shawl draped over her head hid everything except her tanned hands, the skin papery thin with age, shakily gripping the cane.
“Hello, daimon.” Her voice was thin and reedy, heavily accented. This was the temple custodian we’d been waiting for? No wonder Grace and Bullet had managed a power nap; this lady was so old I was surprised she’d gotten here at all.
“Hello, agathos.”
She made a dismissive sound in the back of her throat, unimpressed with my very literal nickname, and for an odd moment, I was reminded of my mom.
“Are you well, daimon?”
“Me? Uh, yeah. Sure, I guess. All things considered.”
She stared at the healed statue of Sophia without any surprise on her face.
“These are not easy times to be well in,” she said gravely. “We must all take care of one another.”
That sounded deceptively reasonable. Why was she being so nice? She was an agathos, and an old one at that.
“Times were dark before the sky was. The agathos I’ve encountered weren’t so keen on taking care of each other then,” I remarked lightly, trying to gauge the woman’s mood, while clinging tightly to Grace’s hope and curiosity to keep my own temper in check.
I supposed they’d been sort of happy to look out for one another, but only for those who complied, who fit the mold.
She let out a rusty laugh, still staring at the ruins. “Most agathos are stupid, selfish, insolent little beasts. They have forgotten their purpose, the purpose of the original agathos. In Anesidora’s centuries of silence, they grew cruel and petty. Most of the time, I am ashamed to be called an agathos.”
The venom in her voice took me by surprise. I wasn’t sure I’d ever met an agathos who wasashamedto be one. Not even Grace—not really. She wanted them to do better, she expected more from them, but Grace liked being a helper of humanity.
“My name is Eirene. As was my mother’s name, my grandmother’s before, and so on. My daughter and granddaughter are also named Eirene, and one day they will inherit my role as custodian of this temple the way I inherited it from my matriarch. If the Great Mother and Goddess of Night don’t kill us all before then.”
Eirene looked up at me, and I startled at her face before I could stop myself. She had agathos eyes, but they weren’t flecked with color like Grace’s. They were mostly a strange pale milky color, with only the faintest hint of gold. It looked like she had no irises at all. Eirene tipped her chin toward the pile of broken marble where the others were waiting. “My blood runs through this temple, allowing me to understand Sophia even when she’s at her weakest. When the goddesses respond to her, she will communicate with you through me. In the meantime, please come back to my home to rest and eat. There is a room meant for visiting agathos, though in recent decades, those who have made the trip here preferred luxury hotels to my humble home.”
Grace popped up before I could say anything, Wild and Riot scrambling comically behind as she moved towards us while Bullet wandered out with an amused smile on his face.
“We would be so grateful for a place to stay,” Grace said, apparently swayed by Eirene’s words. I wrapped an arm around Grace’s waist before she could get any closer to the total stranger, pulling her into my side. Wild flicked on his flashlight, shooting me a questioning look. I shrugged apologetically—Eirene hadn’t given me any cause to think of her as untrustworthy, except for the fact that she was an agathos, and therefore I didn’t trust her.
Then again, Eirene had probably spent most of her life hating daimons, and here she was, opening her home to four of them that she didn’t even know. Maybe I was being a little hypocritical.
“I’m Grace. This is Dare, Riot, Wild and Bullet,” Grace said, gesturing at each of us in turn, her hands shaking with cold.
Eirene gave Grace a look that bordered on pity. “Oh dear girl, come, let’s walk. You need a proper meal and a few hours by the fire. Come, come. These goddesses have nothing but time, it could be days before they come to a decision to meet. Weeks, even.”
“We don’t have weeks,” Grace murmured, glancing at the statue of Sophia over her shoulder one last time before following Eirene, the four of us crowding in close behind her. “I’m not even sure we have days. People will die. They might be dying already.”
Eirene shot Grace a sad smile. “If only the suffering of mortals was enough to sway the gods. This is Milos,” she added as we passed through the protective shield in front of the library, gesturing at a large, pale Anatolian Shepherd dog, easily waist-height on me, and almost shoulder-height on Eirene. “I am the custodian of the temple, and Milos is the custodian of me.”
Eirene cackled, and I felt a burst of amusement through the bond from Grace like a bright ray of sunshine that disappeared all too quickly.
“Wait, there were others—” I began, suddenly conscious of the fact that we weren’t being that quiet, and the fact that Grace had lit the library ruins up like a Christmas tree.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get a chance to say hello,” Eirene interjected, sounding as though she was rolling her eyes. Milos fell into step next to her, and Eirene absently scratched behind the dog’s ears. “They’re waiting for you.”
