Yet she didn’t trust him. “We don’t like it any better than you do. But Khent can’t have his mate living in this world without dire repercussions. The deity trying to return was banished for a reason.”
“Why the hell don’t any of you stop him then?” He stared at them with suspicion. Not a stupid vampire after all.
“We can’t,” she said before Morpheus came up with a lie too stupid to be believed.
“She means wewon’t,” Loki corrected. “We agreed a long time ago not to interfere with other pantheons. Thus your goddess doesn’t stop you from making mistakes or hooking up with weird creatures you take to mate.”
“Oh, you’re really callingourchoices weird?” Rolf snorted. “Didn’t you once turn into a mare and give birth to Sleipneir, Odin’s eight-legged horse?”
“Please. That was a long time ago.”
Morpheus shook his head. “Um, guy, you also have monstrous kids. A giant wolf, a half-dead daughter, and a snake so big it’s wrapped around the world, hiding out in the oceans.”
Loki frowned. “I’m hearing a lot of judgement here.” He glared at Hecate. “You, pay your debts. I’ll take the boy where he needs to go.” He whistled and the eight-legged horse appeared. “Ahem. Nobody needs to be narcing to Odin that I’m borrowing his horse. Yeah, I’m talking to you specifically, Morpheus.”
“Well, I never.” Morpheus grinned at Mormo, who grinned back before becoming serious once more.
Mormo nodded at Loki while mentally asking Hecate,Should I keep him here?
What no one realized about her subtle magician was that he had the power to lock down gods.
The stallion sighed with pleasure at sight of Loki.
“Hey, sweetie. Mommy’s here.”
Everyone groaned.
She sighed and mentally replied,Let him go, Mormo. We have work to do.
Loki jerked Rolf onto the back of the horse and disappeared.
Hecate watched them go through a passage invisible to all but the Liminalities, those deities concerned with the in-between states.
While Rolf rode to his duty, Hecate had more pressing matters. “Morpheus, I need you to get a message to Varu and the others. And Mormo, would you please bring a certain eagle shapeshifter to me? I have a deal I think he’ll find interesting.”
Morpheus bowed and left.
Mormo studied her with discerning eyes. “You know Rolf won’t obey you. The world will end. Valentine and Khent will live only to die in the fires of?—”
“Don’t say Mordor.”
He gave a faint smile. “Fires of Chaos.”
She sighed. “Yeah. But nobody’s perfect. And we sometimes have to choose the best worst choice if we want to live to fight another day.”
“Your wish, my goddess. I but live to serve.” He bowed and took her hand in his, kissing the back of it.
“I wish all my lovelies were as wonderful as you, Mormo.”
He flushed and disappeared to do her bidding.
“So don’t be mad when you serve as payment for a particular favor that’s cost me more than I’m comfortable paying.”
With a sigh, she went back to her Crossroads and put out more fires, praying to the fates that Khent—and Rolf—would do right by the poor little human who never had a choice about how her future would play out.
CHAPTER
FORTY-SIX
