“I don't think there's a force in any realm that could make Odin obey,” I huffed.
“So, I should tell the guys to knock it off?” Morpheus asked.
“Yeah; it's not Re's fault either,” I said. “He was only trying to be sweet. We all make mistakes.”
“They haven't been able to find Aunt Nemesis yet,” Morpheus said with a cringing expression. “She went on sabbatical after her Mom was executed.”
“Shit,” I whispered. And then I caught what he'd called her. “That's right; she's your aunt, and Nyx was your grandmother.”
“Yep.” Morph nodded. “Don't worry, V, when we find Nemesis—and we will—I'll get her to end the curse. You've done a lot for us, despite the toll it's taken on my family, and she owes you. If nothing else, she owes you assistance for your position as one of the Twelve. Well, they're not Twelve anymore since you killed so many of them, but you know what I mean.”
“I thought Nemesis might be mad at the Olympians since we executed Nyx,” I completely ignored his comment about my killing other Olympians.
“There wasn't a lot of love lost between Nyx and Nemesis.” Morph shrugged. “I think that might be what's bugging Aunt Nem the most. But it wouldn't matter if she was mad at you; the Olympians must be obeyed, and if one of them is in danger, they must be assisted. Period. Any Greek god who can help you, will.”
“That's a relief to hear.”
“Is everything okay in there?” Morpheus asked. “Odin wanted me to make sure that you were safe. You're not being tortured or anything, are you?”
“No; we're fine,” I assured him. “Narcissus is a little strange and creepy, but we're safe enough I think.”
Morpheus ' eyes went twitchy. “Aunty Nem doesn't curse people lightly, V. He's in there for a good reason. Humans killed themselves for Narcissus, and he didn't care. In fact, he delighted in it. He was worse than an incubus. At least the Incubi sleep with their victims and give them some pleasure before they suck up their life force. Narcissus gave nothing, only took.”
“Are you saying that Narcissus took the suicides as sacrifice?”
“Of course,” Morpheus said with a pessimistic puff. “That was Narcissus' justification; they were sacrificing themselves to a god. But that's not why they killed themselves. They pined for him until life became meaningless, and he would scorn them for it. He's evil. Be careful around him.”
“I've hardly been around him long enough to judge whether or not he's changed.” I pondered our little interlude at the riverside. “But if he needs to be freed in order for us to be, I don't care. Nemesis can always re-curse him.”
“Good point,” he said brightly. “I'll tell Aunty Nem. She'll probably love that idea. It might even cheer her up.”
“As soon as you can find her. You may want to try running around the God Realm calling, 'Aunty Nem! Aunty Nem!'” I suggested with a smirk. It sounded so much like “Aunty Em,” that I couldn't resist.
“Yeah; I'll do that, and I'll probably be the only one who gets the joke.” Morpheus chuckled and rolled his eyes. “But don't worry; Nemesis is a Greek, she won't be able to hide for long. Our pantheon is large enough that someone will spot her and tell her she needs to come home.”
“I hope so.” I chewed at my lip. “I was looking at this as a sort of vacation but now, you have me worried.”
“Nemesis will break the curse, V,” he repeated more confidently. “I told you not to worry.”
“No, it's not her that I'm worried about.” I recalled Narcissus' feverish eyes as he stroked himself. “It's Narcissus. Anyone that self-centered is bad news.”
“Just keep promising him freedom,” Morpheus said. “As long as you have something he wants, you should be safe. He won't jeopardize his chance at freedom.”
“Good point.” I grinned. “Okay; I'll make sure to lord that over him.”
“But, other than that, all of you are okay?”
“So far,” I said. “But our magic doesn't work in here. Narcissus says his magic is only a poor reflection of itself, and he warned us against trying to use our magic at all, saying that since the Mirror absorbs the dead, it may also absorb our magic.”
“That sounds... incorrect,” Morpheus murmured. “He may be playing you; trying to keep you weak. I'll ask Nem about it when we find her.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, and Lesya says hi.”
“How is she?” I asked guiltily; hating myself for being a horrible mommy and not asking after her instantly. “I saw her crying.”
“She told Odin that she saw your face in the mirror, and you looked like a ghost,” Morph said with an impressed expression. “I don't know how she saw past the Mirror's curse, but she did.”
