“It was Katila's father's,” Odin said. “It must have been open to being taken by him.”
“Hold on. We killed Yama and all his minions,” I said. “So who was left in the territory for Katila to consume?”
“You didn't kill all the Yamadutas,” Al said. “Not all of them could leave Naraka. They had souls to torture and a territory to guard.”
“Lovely,” Viper drawled.
“So, Katila killed his own people?” I asked. “That's a switch.”
“He was probably desperate,” Trevor said.
“But how did he get out of the Void?” Odin asked.
“You got out,” Kirill said. “Viper got out.”
“Because Vervain pulled us out,” Odin said. “The spell she used to bring me back is not widely known. It was from my soul magic spellbook—a book ofFeyspells. But if that is what happened, and Katila was brought back with a spell, it would mean someone helped him. Someone would have to cast the spell. Who would do that? All of his relatives are dead.”
“Alaric just said there were some Yamadutas left,” Re said.
“But they were loyal to Katila's father, not him,” Trevor argued.
“They may have been desperate for someone to take control of the territory, and they may not have had enough magic to do it themselves.”
“I asked Katila how he got out,” I said, silencing everyone.
“And?” Odin demanded.
“He told me that he danced out of the Void.”
“Hedancedout?”
“Yup. Called it a Void dance. Avoidance. Then he laughed and said it was appropriate.”
“Why is avoidance appropriate?” Odin murmured.
“I don't know. He's even crazier than he was the last time.” I thought about it. “But you could call retrieving a soul from the Void a dance. It's delicate spellwork.”
“Indeed,” Odin said.
“Are you all right, Carus?” Azrael asked. “We haven't asked about you yet. Did he . . . ?”
“He didn't try to hurt me until I got my magic back and tried to kill him. Then it was on,” I said. “But I'm fine. He was trying to have a date with me. He wanted us to get to know each other.”
“A date?” Aidan, one of my lions, scoffed. “The guy really is nuts.”
“Yeah. Actually, that reminds me. He asked what my favorite food is. I told him it was donuts—the best kind of nut.”
“Well, I don't know about that,” someone said. “I've got some nuts the ladies seem to love.”
The lions chuckled.
“Ha-ha.” I rolled my eyes.
“Alaric, do you have anything to add?” Odin asked.
“About nuts?” Al/Aradia asked in genuine confusion.
Odin's face twitched.
