Page 17 of Gods' Battleground

“Yeah, well, tell Nyx thanks,” I said, “but I don’t report to her anymore. I don’t need her permission to go into the Veil to save my sister.”

“Perhaps not,” said Jace. “But after what happened tonight, you yourself must realize that you’re not operating at one hundred percent. Just consider how easily you succumbed to Vertigo’s magic.”

“So did you,” I countered. “Maybe you’re not operating at one hundred percent either.”

“No doubt,” he agreed. “None of the angels are, Leda. But we are not talking about me right now.”

“Only because you don’t want to,” I laughed.

He sighed.

“Look, Jace, I get what you’re saying, but what choice do I have? I have to go save my sister. I can’t just let her die.”

“I know.” He gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know you’re going to go after your sister. I don’t even think you’re wrong to do that. I just thoughtsomeonehad to point out the holes in your armor. Because they are there, whether you want to admit it or not. You are the deity of telepathy. So you should have been able to hold off Vertigo’s telepathic attack.”

I glanced at Vertigo, who shrugged. But she looked like she agreed with him. Damn it.

“If you don’t at least acknowledge your weakness,” Jace pressed on, “then you’re going to end up hurt. Or dead. And then you won’t be saving your sister at all, will you?”

I scowled at him. “When did you get to be so wise?”

“I’ve always been wise. You’re just finally wise enough to see it.” He winked at me.

I chuckled.

His face grew serious again. “You’re entering into a dangerous situation, Leda. You heard what Vertigo said. Midnight is in the Forgotten Territories, a particularly perilous region of the Veil. An area ruled by pirates. I don’t think it’s advisable to go in with only your family as backup. You need to go in with full force.”

“Then we will go there in full force,” Harker declared, joining us.

“Harker?” It had been a while, and I was so glad to see him. I wished I could hug him, but a lot of soldiers were watching us right now. And just like Jace, Harker had a reputation to maintain. “What are you doing here?”

“I brought in Jace’s latest amnesia stray,” Harker replied. “The man was on the run from the law. The paranormal police were pursuing him on suspicion of murder.”

“So we finally found a victim with a name?” I asked.

“No.”

“If he has a police record, he has a name, Harker,” I pointed out.

“Not this time,” Harker said. “His record begins and ends with that police report. That is the complete story of his life, or at least what little we know about it.”

I folded my arms over my chest, shaking my head slowly. “This doesn’t feel right.”

“No, it doesn’t. But it isn’t my problem anymore. It’s his.” Harker’s attention snapped to Jace. “His territory. His convict. His problem.”

“Still, you have to wonder what happened to the guy,” I said. “He pops up out of nowhere, like a mushroom sprouting out of the ground, then kills someone, makes a run for it, and now he has no memory. It’s just so bizarre.”

“He must have wandered too close to the magic waste site when he was fleeing from the police,” Harker said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re notstillsticking with the theory that the waste is causing their amnesia, are you?”

“Until I hear a better explanation, yes, I am,” Jace told me.

I guess I couldn’t blame him for playing by the book.

“Well, whatever happened to that man,” I said, “it clearly didn’t play out as he planned.”

“No, it did not,” agreed Harker. “My soldiers picked him up on the streets of New York, bumbling around totally confused, asking anyone he came across if he could borrow a scented vanilla candle and a cup of peppermint tea.”

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