Megan showed up on the front lawn after I pocketed the phone.
“I wish you would have had that sooner,” she said, nodding to the bag I held. “Do you mind if I come inside so we can talk some more?”
“Not at all. You’re welcome to come in, but I can’t make any promises that the ward’s acting right,” I said, sticking my hand through the ward. “It didn’t get Zotera or me, though.”
To my relief, she entered the house without any issues, and I closed the door behind her.
“I’m really sorry about Oanen,” I said, motioning her to the living room. “I know he wouldn’t hurt me, but when the ward knocked him back, I wasn’t sure what to think. After almost being killed twice and knowing Adira is talking to Thanatos…it’s hard to know who to trust when I know she can change her appearance.”
“I get it,” Megan said, sitting. “And I don’t blame you. You’ve been treated as inconsequential and expendable your entire life here. I wouldn’t trust the people around me either if I were in your shoes.”
Hearing her say that helped, but only a little. “Oanen will be okay, won’t he?”
“Honestly, I’ve fried him worse,” she said, looking angry about it. “But he heals quickly and doesn’t hold grudges. He knows it wasn’t your fault. In fact, he asked that I tell you that and wouldn’t let me leave until I promised him I felt the same way.” She smiled slightly.
“I just wish I understood why the ward changed,” I said. “It’s never done that before. Adira noticed it too. She thought maybe you and your druid did something to it. But when Oanen didn’t know, I figured it wasn’t you.”
“You’re right. It wasn’t me, and given the council’s cavalier attitude about getting you back, I doubt it was them.” She sent a quick text on her phone. “I’m going to have ‘my druid’ check the ward just to make sure it’s doing what it’s supposed to, which is to keep you safe. Mind if I stick around until then?”
“Not at all,” I said.
“I wish I would have been here when Adira showed up. Did she come in when she talked to you?” Megan asked.
“No. She didn’t try. She just said what she had to say and then left in a portal.”
Megan sighed. “Adira’s played games with our lives since day one, but her meddling, no matter how rage-provoking, never ruffled my fury’s feathers. I haven’t had the chance to talk to her in person since she spoke to Thanatos, though.” She glanced at me. “She knows how I feel about using humans to train the next generation. Yet, she came here to try to order you back to the lake. I don’t like it.”
“Me neither. It feels like a setup, but I’m not sure if that’s because of my past experience with mermaids or because Adira’s talking to a god who’s trying to kill me.”
“Well, according to Eliana, the mermaids aren’t interested in causing trouble anymore. Apparently, they’re willing to let bygones be bygones and are holding the council to blame for the Oracle feeding on their kind,” Megan said. “So, as bitter as this is to say, I don’t think the mermaids are the problem.”
I almost smiled at her tone. The mermaids had given Megan a crazy hard time since she’d arrived.
“What changed their grudge-holding minds?” I asked.
“Eliana did while she was trying to find you,” Megan said with a wide smile. “She has this crazy cool succubus mind influence thing going on for her. But you know Eliana. She’s not the type to brag about her accomplishments.”
I nodded but was still surprised Eliana hadn’t mentioned that monumental mermaid-brainwashing feat while she was here.
“So the mermaids now hate the council instead of you, and Adira wants me, a newly reinstated council lackey, to go back out there for training? I still don’t see that ending well for me.”
“Agreed,” Megan said, looking thoughtful. “You just got back last night, and the first thing she says to you is to return to work? No question about Hades or any insight?”
“Actually, she did ask if I found a way to appease him then said it was a disappointment your methods hadn’t worked. Then she told me to get back to work and said, if I was late, she would consider it my resignation from Uttira.”
Megan’s eyes flickered with flames.
“So what do you think? Is Adira working with Thanatos?” I asked.
“It sure looks that way.”
“But then, why didn’t she run to him the second she heard I was home? I mean, if he still actually wants me dead, he would have just shown up on my front step instead of her, right? Maybe he doesn’t want me dead anymore. Or maybe she’s not working with him. Maybe Adira’s assignment is just to get me on the dock again to distract the mermaids from their council hate.”
Megan looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Distracting the mermaids would be a very Adira move,” Megan said. “But if removing you from Hell had been a solution to whatever Thanatos’ goal is, don’t you think he would have done that first? Instead, he tried to kill you. Twice. And then, when that didn’t work, he went to Adira and said you needed to die.”
The ground shook, and a car alarm went off outside.
