Katila hit me with his Confusion. I swayed on my feet, staring at the wall and trying to remember why I was touching it. My mind couldn't process what was happening. I heard all these sounds that didn't make any sense. Someone grabbed my arm and jerked me around. I hit something solid. A chest. My head swiveled limply. My hearing had gone hollow. But then mydragon, who had been sniffing out Katila, offered me another way of seeing.
Katila held me. I tried to gather the will to fight him, but it wouldn't come. Around me, the others had gone still. Either they were as confused as I was or they didn't want to risk hitting me. Things went fuzzy again, then I scented him. My black lion. The God to my Goddess. Moving closer. Running toward us. Then Kirill's scent changed slightly, becoming colder in every way. Death moved toward me now. And Winter. Yeah, it has to be said—winter was coming. I would cheer for Kirill if only I could.
Impact. We rolled. Katila was solid while he held me. Good to know. Snarling filled my ears. I laid on the firm carpet and stared up at the ballroom ceiling.Focus, Vervain!Scents wove a tapestry for me. Non-scent grappled with Death. Non-scent altered, tainted by a rush of fear. Death was solid. No fear. No hesitation. Only the icy determination of Winter. Strike. Shrieking. I wanted to help, but couldn't remember how to move.
Then an arm wrapped around my waist, and I was gone.
Chapter Forty-Three
“We have to go back,” Katila said, his voice panicked.
I blinked, refocusing with my nose. Dazed, but not entirely confused. Katila was carrying me. He put me down. I was seated. Before me were two scents, one of them Katila's non-scent. The other scent was familiar. This was a revelation, wasn't it? What did another scent mean? It meant another god! Katila was speaking to another god. But what did that mean? I couldn't work things out in my daze. It was a miracle I could process as much as I did. I tried to hear what was being said, if not listen. Maybe later I could replay it in my head and process everything.
“You have what you wanted,” a male voice said. “Why go back?”
“Why?” Katila shrieked. “He took the Pasha! That fucking lion took my Pasha! How did he do it?”
“He is Death. Death and Winter and Lions. A glorious specimen of a god. Yes, oh, yes. I've seen that one. What else was it about him?”
“Hey! Focus! Don't wander off to your secrets.”
“Huh? Why are so you scared?”
“Why am I scared? You brought me back with the Pasha. Don't I need it to stay alive?”
“Don't be ridiculous. You're here. Nothing is going to yank you back to the Void. Not unless you let someone kill you again. The Pasha isn't what brought you back, it was the residue of your skin cells within the cord. And I gave it to you because it was your birthright.” A pause, then a muttered, “I didn't consider what you'd do with it.”
“Oh,” Katila said, much calmer. “Still. I want it back. As you said, it's my birthright.”
“Don't you think you've stolen enough magic and killed enough gods, Katila the Hun?”
“Don't call me that. I don't even get what the joke is.”
“It's because your name sounds like Attila. Katila. Attila. They sound alike. And you're a mass murderer just like that human. I think it's funny. I thinkshe'sfunny.” The second scent drew closer to me and a man's face appeared in my view.
Handsome. Trim. Very dark complexion. Full lips that turned upward. “Would you rather be confused or powerless, Vervain?” The head cocked. “Knowing you,which I do, I think you'd prefer powerless. At least then you'll understand what's happening, right? Right.” He kissed my cheek. “Oh, I adore you, you funny, brave girl. What a life you've lived. And it's only just begun.”
Something cold and heavy clamped around my left wrist, then the right. With that weight, my senses vanished. Not entirely, just the heightened senses of my dragon. Gone with the rest of my magic. But then, seconds later, the haze lifted. I blinked back into focus and looked down at my manacled wrists,bound to each other by a chain, then up at the man standing before me.
I blinked again. The conversation that had just occurred replayed in my head. Katila was brought back by this man. It sounded as if he had used the same spell that I had used to bring gods back from the Void. He knew about needing a physical piece of the person's old body to reconnect them to this realm. We never considered that a cord would have skin cells on it. This guy was smart, very smart, and he knew faerie spells. But it sounded as if he regretted giving Katila the Pasha. He certainly didn't mind Kirill having it.
“Kirill,” I whispered.
The man straightened. “No, I'm not Kirill.” He cocked his head. “I didn't scatter your brain that badly, did I?”
“I know you're not Kirill,” I huffed. “I was thinking aloud. Kirill has the Pasha.” I looked at Katila. “Did he try to use it on you?”
Katila's eyes went wide and his stare shot to the other man. “Oh, fuck!Canhe use it on me?”
The other man considered this, setting his chin in his hand. The classical thinking pose. “I think he could. Death is death. The Pasha will work for him. You shouldn't have let another death deity take it.”
“I didn'tlethim do anything!” Katila snarled. “And where were you while I was being attacked?”
“This is your thing, not mine. And I think I did plenty for you tonight. I confused half of your opponents, if not more.” The man waved out his arms, his elegant hands fluttering like birdwings. He was trim but not too skinny. His physique reminded me of something.
Then it hit me.
“You're the one who stabbed Viper with the pitchfork!” I pointed accusingly at the stranger who said he knew me, the chain between my manacles rattling.
