“What is Talon to you exactly?”
“He’s my best friend. We lost our families together. We were young when Vladimir came and killed them all. He lost his parents and his mate.” She looked sad, and he didn’t like it.
“You’ve been running ever since?”
“Running and working to get strong. I had to stay a step ahead of Vladimir while getting more power. I can’t kill him if I’m feeble with my magic.”
“True. So you came to us.”
“No. You forced me here. I’m gathering an army to take him out. I finally tracked him down to Seattle. He’s been here for two years now. But he’s been plotting as well. First it was with that sorcerer that died in the marketplace a few months back. Except it turns out the sorcerer was just a small part of what Vladimir is after.”
“And what do you think that is?”
“Well, the consensus is that Nergal wants life. That’s understandable having been to Irkalla.” She shuddered. “But Vladimir? He’s got all the life he wants. That’s not his endgame. More power? A kingdom to rule? Magir to worship him? I don’t know. And I should know after studying and trailing him for years. But he’s still a mystery. It’s super annoying.”
“You should get a revenant on it. When you need answers, they’re the ones to go to.”
“What about you?”
“Me?” He flashed his fangs at her in appreciation, that she would seek help from him. “I’m the one who can help you with your magic. No one around here knows death better than me.Well, perhaps with the exception of Hecate. But she’s always busy.”
“Not too busy to talk with my favorite death mages,” Hecate said as she appeared before them.
Her gradual presence didn’t alarm Valentine, but Khent wished the goddess would stop popping in unannounced.
He frowned.
She held up her hands, an older woman with dark hair and dark skin, her eyes slightly tilted, her hair in several braids that came to her back, dressed in a long caftan that showed off her lithe build. She reminded him of the priestesses at Set’s temple from long ago.
“Peace, reaper. I need to talk to you two. Please, come with me.” She walked them out of the laboratory and down the hall, past their gaming center into a foggy area that soon filled with voices from many different places.
The fog dissipated, and he looked around at a speakeasy filled with denizens from all over, crowded in Hecate’s Crossroads. The intersection had taken the shape of a grand tavern done in sophisticated colors of deep red, mahogany, navy, and royal purple, lit by the dim shine of fae lights.
Low techno music filled the air, a change from the jazz she often played. The scent of blood and faeberries mingled to create a pleasing buffet, adding to the tasty aggression building between several frost giants by one of the bar lengths. In the center of the room, clusters of bar tables had been positioned, while around the outer areas tables with booths filled as dead waitstaff took orders.
A centaur clopped by, arguing with a light elf while a dwarf glared at them both, palming a heavy ax in his hands. Then a pony-sized wolf trotted by, his tongue out, laughing at the lycans about to throw down near Aphrodite. Or was that Venus? They looked the same to him.
Valentine slipped her hand in his and squeezed. “Whatisthis place?”
“Welcome to the Liminality,” Hecate said with a wink. “You guys thirsty? I’m buying. How about a drink?”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX
Val didn’t knowwhat to think. One moment she’d been treated sweetly by the vampire who thought of humanity as the bottom of the barrel, that after giving her the best sex she’d ever had. Then a freakinggoddess of deathhad literally popped into existence next to them, only to lead them out of a laboratory into a crossroads.
TheCrossroads.
The place felt like home, full of the power of the Between.
Though Val had met with Hecate previously, she’d been so overwhelmed with danger and vampires she hadn’t had a chance to consider what it meant to be near a death deity.
Val wanted to fangirlso hard.
Instead, she smiled pleasantly.Be cool, Val. Be cool.
Hecate studied her and Khent then turned to the bar and ordered them drinks from a dead woman dressed in a 1920s flapper dress and feathered headpiece.
