Page 13 of Hex
“Sage came back into my dreams. I woke up and called you all right away.” Taking a sip of my coffee—my second cup—I’m anticipating a string of happy thoughts and well-wishes but all I get are fucking crickets. “I spoke to Sage.” Narrowing my eyes, I repeat myself in case they’re not awake enough to grasp the urgency of the moment.
Slash snorts. “Spoke? Is that what we’re calling it these days?” This time, my narrowed gaze is aimed strictly at Slash but he doesn’t even give it a second thought. “More importantly, how is this an emergency?” It’s his turn to drink from his cup and the sound he makes when he swallows is reminiscent of Sage’s orgasm last night.
At least she was able to get some pleasure before being pulled away from me. Quite the improvement from the first time.
“With the information she gave me, I think I should ask for an audience with Hekate.” I’m met with blank stares so I add, “And Samhain, too. I’m going to need you three with me while we search for Sage, which means I need his blessing.”
“No question we’ll be by your side, Hack. You can always count on us but…” Pierce pauses, looking away like he’s searching for his words and too afraid he’ll stomp on the proverbial eggshells and cause me to melt down…again. “Do we have enough clues to find her or is this a fishing expedition?”
Pursing my lips, I take in a deep breath and gulp down the rest of my coffee before answering him. “As of right now, it’s a fishing expedition, but I’m confident that Hekate will be able to part the seas and show us the right path. So to speak.” The goddess of witches would have my head if she knew I’d just equated her to a scene in one of the anthros’ holy books. She is not a fan.
“I hear she’s smokin’.” Slash lets loose his bad boy grin that gets him laid so fast it’s disturbing.
“Focus.” This comes from Slay, who’s been silent and concentrated this whole time. “It’s a solid plan. Tell us what we know.”
Nodding, I take a seat in one of the high-backed chairs and rest my elbows on my knees. We’re sitting around the coffee table, in a makeshift circle, and despite the early hour, everyone is listening like our lives depend on each word that I say.
Because one of our lives, is all of our lives.
It took a couple of days for Hekate to summon us. Samhain, with all his faults and lack of any empathy, is a fair leader andseeks out justice. Anthros often equate him to the Devil, with his evil ideas and need for mayhem, but in reality, Samhain is all about balance. Good cannot exist without the bad. Light has no meaning if not for the darkness. The balance between the two is what allows us to cohabitate. Cross the line and punishment is inevitable.
I’ve paid the price for my actions and now he believes I deserve the light, and in this case, it’s Sage.
So here we are, back in the great white hall that is Hekate’s residence on Ryetoh. Samhain is leaning against a tall, white column, looking half asleep and wishing he could be anywhere but here. The hood of his long, black cloak is hanging down his shoulders, giving us all a clear view of his white hair and matching beard, neat and sculpted. In anthros form, he looks closer to a sugar daddy than Santa Claus. The Dei of the underworld gets plenty of action and he doesn’t discriminate. He’ll fuck whatever makes him hard; no judgement on his part, only willing holes.
Behind him are my brothers, standing guard and listening to every word we say.
I’ve laid out all the information Sage gave me, telling Hekate about the cave and the subsequent ward that hides her from the rest of us. The harpies tend to use the term sisters in a very loose way, which means they could just be working together and not necessarily related. Concerning the faerie, she said she’d get back to me on that. After all, dreamwalkers are rare and specific to certain family lineage so the goddess of witches needs to investigate.
I still can’t believe she’s Sage’s mother. That’s a shock, to say the least.
“Yes, as I explained to her when her body and soul collided on the night of the blood moon, Baba Yaga took her from me. Lied about her being…” Hekate clears her throat and shakes her headlike the mental image is too much for her. “She lied and here we are.”
“So she’s been in this cave she talked about for over a month?” My question is low because I’m speaking to myself, trying to make sense of the timeline.
“Yes. Before that, she was a soul and following you, from what I gathered.” My eyes snap to hers as my brain reels back to after her death and all the times I could have sworn I’d felt her presence. I wasn’t losing my mind after all, it would seem. “You felt her, Demon, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me.”
“Interesting.” Hekate cocks her head to the side as though reaching inside my mind and reading every one of my thoughts. I doubt she can actually do that, but this is Hekate we’re talking about. I’m not sure her powers have much of a limit.
After a while, when the silence weighs heavy on my shoulders, I clear my throat and bow my head.
“Dei Hekate, I beg you. Will you help us?” Keeping my head down in a solemn show of reverence, I wait for her to seal my fate.
Samhain is standing behind me, here as my Dei and therefore responsible for my actions. “For fuck’s sake.”
My body is shaking with pent up rage at the thought that Samhain would disrespect Hekate in this way, possibly fucking up my chances of getting on the goddess’s good side.
“Sammy, you’re incorrigible. This is why you’re the bad boy of the Dei.” Hekate chuckles and her amusement is even more shocking than Samhain’s curse, which doesn’t even compare to…she called him Sammy? If I weren’t afraid of getting my head sliced off, I’d fucking tease him until the end of my days, which is a long-ass fucking time.
“Just answer the kid, will you? I’ve got a full schedule.” Holy shit, I guess they really are peers.
“You don’t need to be a brute about it. I was thinking about how to go about this. Of course I’ll help, she’s my daughter after all.” My relief at her words is palpable, like my lungs are finally able to take in a long and much needed breath.
“Thank you, Dei. My gratitude is everlasting.” This time, I take a knee, my head bowed as low as it will go like a thankful knight facing a benevolent king. Or queen, as the case may be.
“You shall have three of my valkyrie as you search the lands, which will keep you in constant contact with me. They will help you within the realm of possibility.”
