Page 18 of Where A Goddess Belongs

Cole’s brows rose before he could control his response. “A weapons maker. You’ve never heard the term before?”

“No.”

“And the Mal don’t know what you can do?”

He shook his head again.

“Then that’s something we can take advantage of.” Cole looked at Den. “You have any tricks up your sleeve we should know about?”

“I’ve got a minor Goddess Gift. Nothing weaponizable.”

“And you don’t want to share with the rest of the class?” Kaine’s tone held humor and more than a little goading.

Den looked her straight in the eyes. “I’ve got an affinity for animals. I can understand them. Sometimes I can even encourage them to do things for me.”

“Then there’s someone you’re going to want to meet while you’re here.” Cole pointed back at the map. “But first, let’s concentrate on getting Jacoby’s sister. If you’re sure this is where they’re going to take her, we need a detailed map and we need a game plan fast. We need to get this done tonight, before they have time to settle in.”

The only other woman in the room, who hadn’t spoken and hadn’t introduced herself, grabbed a pen and a pad off the desk across the room and slid it across the table to Jacoby. He took both but hesitated for a few long seconds.

He did this and he gave up any chance of reconciliation with his parents. And even though he and Emelia had talked about defecting in general terms before, she’d never said she absolutely wanted to be free.

What if she didn’t want to leave? What if she didn’t want to take the mantle of Kari’s power? What if Kari didn’t want to give up her powers?

“Jack?”

Den’s voice made him look up and when their gazes caught and held, Den nodded.

“She wants out. Don’t second guess everything now. This is the right thing to do.”

He took a deep breath. And started sketching.

*****

By mid-afternoon, more than two hours after they’d arrived, Kari was ready to march into the office in the common hall and haul Den and Jacoby out of there. She knew they were planning their mission to get Jacoby’s sister and she knew that was important but she hated not knowing what was going on. True, she could just walk in and ask what was going on. It wasn’t like they’d forbidden her to enter or deliberately not invited her to the meeting of the minds. She’d made the decision to stay with Amity and have a little much-needed sister time. Which had turned into more than she’d bargained for when Lucy and Nortia had shown up. Of course, they’d wanted to know all about her men, about whom she’d been happy to tell. But after an hour, she’d started looking at the clock. Would they leave without her? Nortia’s loud sigh caught her attention and Kari’s head whipped around to stare at her. “What?” “Do you really have to ask me what I’m thinking?” Nortia rolled sky-blue eyes, which made Kari want to stick her tongue out at her sister. “Seriously, you’re smarter than that.” No, she didn’t have to ask. She knew exactly what Nortia had on her mind. The wry look on her face gave it away. “You’re pining. It’s not attractive.” Lucy and Amity grinned. Kari glared at them but she couldn’t hold it long. She wasn’t mad at them. She was worried. And maybe it was time to start doing something rather than worry. “Is it weird when you talk to Lia, knowing who she is?” She directed her question at Nortia, who rolled her eyes again and kept silent. “I know you haven’t told her yet and I understand why but... does it make things awkward between you? Could you feel a connection when you talked? Lucy, you knew Cat for years. Did knowing she was your replacement change the way you felt about her?” Lucy rolled with the change in the direction of the conversation pretty well. “I’m ashamed to say I wasn’t as accepting as I could have been at first. She picked up on that pretty quickly, which made me feel pretty shitty.”

When she turned to Nortia, she considered herself lucky her sister didn’t tell her to fuck off, which would be a very Nortia thing to do. Instead, she thought about it for a second.

“Yes, it’s strange. But Lia’s still too younger and it’s going to be a few years until she’s strong enough to take over the mantle. I have a little time to figure out how I’m going to tell her. Did you say Jacoby’s sister already knows? Do you know how she knows?”

“I don’t have any idea.”

“I do.”

The voice came from the other side of the room, where a pale figure slowly materialized.

“Tilly!” Calling out her name, Kari ran across the floor and threw her arms around the elusive Goddess of the Spirit. An underworld goddess who rarely left her post in Aitás, Hinthial returned her hug, another surprise.

“Hello, Kari. It’s good to see you.” Her gaze skipped around the room. “And all of you.”

“How did you sneak away from Charun?”

A small smile from a goddess who very rarely did. “He’s been otherwise occupied lately.”

“How’s Perry?” Amity asked.

Which begged Kari’s question, “Who’s Perry?”

Amity’s eyes widened. “Oh, I forgot. You totally missed that. Long story short. Perry was a patient of mine. Burn victim. Charun fell for her and she went to live with him in Aitás.”

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