Chapter Fifty-Five

 

 

There was a bit more clean-up with Dvārakā than we had anticipated. Brahma had to make good on his offer to influence the Indian Government, and Torrent had to erase a few Internet videos before they got noticed. Then there was the issue of hundreds of bodies floating around in the sea off Dwarka; the gods who were killed before the city was destroyed. A mass angel/demon/god ocean clean-up took place, and the bodies were incinerated.

During the aftermath of Dvārakā's destruction, we finally unraveled the mystery of the events preceding it. Yama had once been friends with Krishna and had lived in Dvārakā. He knew the power it held as well as the lost technology, and he knew how to get past most of the wards Krishna had set. Yama had come up with the plot to raise Dvārakā and then coerced the other death deities to join him. The God Squad and I didn't land on Yama's radar until Macaria had joined his team. It was she who had warned Yama that we'd be trouble. Macaria had heard stories from Hades about his exploits with us, and she knew that if we found out about Yama's plans, we would interfere. So, they came up with another plan—one far more complicated than the original; a plan to distract the God Squad.

It started with Azrael. Yama had heard of Azrael's retirement through Mot—another death god Yama had drawn into his cause. Mot offered to manipulate the Angelic Host and trick them into attacking Azrael. But that wasn't going to be enough; they knew that Az could simply hide in the God Realm until it was safe to show his face again. So, Macaria went undercover. She went to visit her father, and then got Hades to bring her to a God Squad meeting. She even inserted herself into Azrael's life and tried to seduce my husband.

But that wasn't all. Macaria had heard of my Russian husband and had brought Marzana with her to Pride Palace to seduce Kirill. Except Macaria hadn't known who Kirill was; that he had been the lost son of Peter the Great, and that Marzana had once known him and his family. So, Mac failed twice. Her mother had to step in and try to seduce Hades—I guess that was how women in that family handled men. Evidently, they sucked at it, because Nyx had struck out too.

But Yama didn't fail. He went to his brother, Enma, and asked him to orchestrate yet another distraction. Enma had told Yama about a rumor he'd heard; that Amaterasu was allied with the Godhunter. Yama banked on that connection and asked Enma to steal some of Amaterasu's followers. And that was how we ended up in Jigoku. If Amy hadn't made good on her threat and killed Enma in Dvārakā, I would have happily gone back into Jigoku just to kick his ass. But Enma and Yama both died in the golden city; spending barely a single day in its treasured light.

Oh, and then there was the mystery of who stole the goggles.

Re had started to repair his relationship with his daughters but it was slow going. He had a lot of sucking up to do. A couple of mornings after the Dvārakā incident, Re came to see me; fresh from doing some of that groveling. He was having lunch with Toby, Lesya, my husbands, and me when Anubis strode into the dining hall of Pride Palace.

“Where is she?” Anubis demanded.

“Sekhmet?” Re asked in surprise? “She moved home now that she has her magic back. She's in Aaru.”

“Not Sekhmet!” Anubis roared; his oil slick eyes shifting through colors wildly. “Marzana; where is Marzana?”

Lesya started to growl, and Kirill picked her up distractedly. His gaze—like everyone else's in the room—was focused on Anubis.

“Tell me later,” Kirill said as he headed into the kitchen with our daughter.

“Why are you asking about Marzana, Anubis?” I asked cautiously.

“She was the goddess you were seeing, wasn't she?” Re asked with the tones of an epiphany.

“Yes,” Anubis snapped. “And a few days ago, she left this note on my pillow. I haven't been able to find her since.”

Anubis tossed a folded piece of paper onto the table. Re picked it up and scanned it. Then he closed his eyes as if he were in pain and sighed.

“It was Marzana who took the goggles,” Re whispered.

“Why? What does the letter say?” I asked.

“What goggles?” Anubis asked.

“Marzana wrote that she had something vital to do, and if she didn't return, Anubis was to come here to find out what happened to her,” Re said.

“Well, at least she didn't leave him wondering,” Trevor huffed.

“I am still wondering,” Anubis snarled.

“I'm so sorry, Anubis,” Re said gently. “It appears that you have been used for your access to Aaru.”

“What?” Anubis growled.

“Did you happen to mention my treasure room to Marzana?” Re countered.

“Your treasure room?” Anubis huffed. “Why would I...” He blinked rapidly and then pulled out a chair from the dining table and sat down in it carefully. “Why do you ask?”

“I had a pair of far-seeing goggles hidden there,” Re said. “They belonged to Vervain but she entrusted them to me, and they were stolen from my treasure room. I accused Sekhmet and Bast; believing that there was no way either you or Ma'at would think to take them. You didn't even know of their existence.”

“But Bast and Sekhmet would never betray you,” Anubis whispered.

“Neither would you,” Re said gently. “Not knowingly.”

“I had it noted in one of my files,” Anubis lifted his gaze to his grandfather guiltily. “I was looking through my files the other day and that particular folder was slightly lifted, but I thought nothing of it.”

“She needed the goggles to raise Dvārakā,” Odin said. “Macaria must have known that Re had them.”

“Marzana was a part of that?” Anubis asked in horror.

“Yes,” Re said.

“Is she?” Anubis swallowed roughly. “Did she... ?”

“As far as we know, Marzana didn't make it out of the city,” Re said softly.

Anubis stood abruptly and headed out of the room.

“Anubis!” Re called after him.

Anubis paused in the doorway and looked back over his shoulder. “I'm sorry, Grandfather. It seems that your trust was misplaced; as was mine.”

“Don't blame yourself,” Re said. “I don't blame you, Anubis.”

“Thank you,” Anubis said stiffly. “My apologies on barging in.”

Anubis strode off. I wanted to call after him and ask if he was all right, but I knew it was a stupid question that would only embarrass him more. So, I let him go, and I hoped that this wouldn't send Anubis back into the shadows he'd once existed in. How ironic it would be, if in trying to bring themselves into the light, those gods pushed Anubis—one of their death god brothers—back into his darkness. Ironic and so very heartbreaking.

But I had faith in Anubis; I had seen his future and the happy marriage it contained. I knew he could rise above this, and unlike Dvārakā, Anubis could stay risen. If he didn't, I would go back into his hell and drag him out of it... again. Because that's what I do for my friends.

“Blessed Death,” I whispered as I took Azrael's hand.

I had been connected to Death from the moment Azrael had touched my soul... perhaps even sooner than that; Odin was also technically a death god. Death had always been drawn to me, and I had a soft spot for the darker deities. Anubis had once hurt me—back when he was lost to his pain—and I wasn't about to let him sink into that despair again. I would do all I could to counter the damage Macaria and Marzana had done, and make Anubis feel blessed again.

“Um, Carus, could you possibly not call me by the title of the goddess who betrayed us all and tried to break up our marriage?” Azrael asked dryly.

“Sure, sweetheart; no problem.” I smirked.

Maybe 'blessed' wasn't the right word for death, after all.