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“Yes, and don’t worry about a plan. Edmund already has one. Dora’s staying here to protect the mansion.”
A meow sounded from behind me, followed by a nose nudging me.
“Hey, Benji.” I leaned down. “Look after Dora for us while we’re gone.” I scratched his head and stood. “At least she’ll remember to feed you.” It was my job, but I forgot half the time. In my defense, I tried, but I had told Dora and Edmund when they put me on lunch duty for Benji, to teach me responsibility, that I struggled to keep a plant alive, let alone an animal.
“I’m sure he’s grateful,” Maddox joked. “What’s taking them so long?”
“Edmund’s probably trying to pack the entire library. You know how he is.”
Heavy footsteps trudged down the hall. Edmund walked in, dressed all in black.
Dora followed, her hands clasped together in worry. “Elle.” She walked to me first and wrapped her arms around me. “Be careful. Personally, I do not think it is wise for you to go.” She shot Edmund, then Maddox, hardened stares. “After all you’ve been through.”
Edmund cleared his throat. “She’ll be safe with us, and she is a keeper now. You can’t coddle her forever.”
She clicked her tongue. “Says you.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
Maddox gasped a little too dramatically. “An actual, real smile. Well, I never. You must be feeling better.” He walked to me and draped an arm over my shoulders. “You smell better too.” He gave Dora his brightest smile. “Edmund’s right, Dora. She’s a keeper. She’ll be sent on missions.”
“Not to hunt a goddess!” she snapped. “We should be going to the council.”
“No!” I shouted a little too quickly, and everyone whipped their heads around to look at me. “We can’t. They’ll kill Raiden.”
She waved her hand in the air. “They won’t. We’ll explain.”
Maddox interrupted. “When have you ever known the council to listen? Elle’s right. They’ll see him as a threat. We all thought the gods were monsters until recently. We can’t trust them.”
She hesitated, tapping her foot against the kitchen floor. “Fine.” She walked to the fridge, then pulled out butter and slices of meat and cheese. “You’re not going anywhere until I make you some food to leave with.”
“We can find food on the way.” Maddox tapped his pocket filled with skal.
One look from her and he fell silent. My stomach knotted when the doorbell rang. “Who’s that?”
Maddox smiled. “Good, Naomi must have got my magic quill.”
Naomi was a vision dressed in her white frilled blouse and tight blue pants. Her usually tight curls were straightened and sleek. She only used that hair potion, which cost twenty skal, on special occasions.
Maddox teased. “Jeez, Naomi. We’re not going dancing.”
“There’s nothing wrong with dressing up,” she countered.
“You know we’re going hunting, right?”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s just get in the motor.” I eyed the gorgeous, shiny black automobile Edmund had recently purchased.
It growled to a start, and I climbed in, followed by Maddox, Naomi, and Edmund holding his bags of dark objects. Dora waved from the door, tearfully, and we pulled away, grueling over gravel as the gates opened and starting the long journey toward the mountains: the last place I knew Freya had gone. Wherever Freya was, I was sure Raiden was close.
Chapter Twenty-Four
We stopped for the night at a rundown hotel after driving for ten hours. My butt had gone numb, and I’d already taken an hour’s nap. We weren’t too far from the mountain and forest area where Thalia had died. The motor wasn’t as fast as being in Raiden’s arms, but it did get us there faster than the three-day journey it would have taken on foot, or a day by carriage.
The roads glossed as rain drizzled, swept by the winds, frizzing my hair and ruining Naomi’s. The cracked red-and-white exterior of the three-story building desperately needed some love. The porch was enclosed with white pillars, with doors made from solid, stained wood.
“You owe me.” Maddox walked with us inside. “I’ll pay for this, but you’ll need to pay me back. You’ll be getting a keepers’ salary now.”
“I forgot about the pay.”
