Chapter Twenty-Two
Morpheus and I went back to Pride Palace to find everyone in the dining hall, even my werelions. Trevor had sent out a mass text notifying everyone that the explosion of Wild Magic at Moonshine was a localized event. So, my cats came home. My mom was on guard for anything unusual and had strengthened her wards, but she was staying put for now.
“He's not there,” I said. “Azrael's soul isn't in the Dream Realm. Morpheus thinks he may be trapped inside his body, and I agree with him.”
“It's a relief that Azrael's accident hasn't put the entire world in danger,” Odin said. “But he still needs to be dealt with.”
“Dealt with? What do you mean?” I asked, without the vehemence I meant to put in my words. I simply didn't have any fight left in me. I was spent. Frustrated. Scared.
“We can't leave him like this,” Odin said. “We don't know if this is going to get worse or where the Wild Magic will strike next. We have to contain it.”
“Containhim, you mean.”
“Yes, Vervain. But Azrael is unconscious. It's not going to bother him.”
“What's not going to bother him?”
“These,” Taran said as he walked into the dining hall with Viper. The green-skinned Earth-Sidhe, who I affectionatelycalled Kermit (also Elphaba, Mr. Grinch, and the Green Fairy depending on my mood and the situation), held up a pair of Fey magic-suppressing manacles. His skin was more mint than ivy, just a pale green tint that complemented the indigo tattoos he was covered in. Taran's eyes were a darker green—very bright and usually full of mischief, but today they were appropriately mischief-free. “I heard that Azrael was in an accident.”
“Taran,” I said and stood. I looked from his face to the manacles. “Thank you for bringing those. They should work.”
“Work on what?” Taran asked and handed me the manacles.
“Azrael is . . .” I shook my head. “We don't know what's happening to him. He's unconscious and I can't reach him through our bond. I should be able to speak to him mentally. At the very least, I should be able to sense his emotions. But he's blocked somehow. Cut off—no, not cut off. He's . . . there but frozen. A prisoner in his own body. I tried to find him in the Dream Realm and he's not there either. Odin thinks the Wild Magic is seeping through Azrael's memories and into reality. It's already manifested at Moonshine.”
“Holy shit!” Taran exclaimed. “Wild Magic appeared at Moonshine?”
“Didn't Viper tell you any of this?” I frowned at Viper.
“I said we needed to use his manacles, and that Az had been in an accident,” Viper said. “That's all he needed to hear. Since I was trying to hurry and he didn't ask for more information, I didn't waste time explaining.”
“I don't need explanations when my friends are in trouble,” Taran said. “Is there anything more that I can do?”
“Not that I can think of,” I said. “But you're welcome to stick around if you're not busy. We still need to hunt down agiant vengeful beaver god.”
Taran's lips twitched, but he held his composure.
“Go ahead,” I said. “We all got our giggles out over the beaver thing.”
“You're truly hunting a giant beaver?” Taran asked. “Abeaver? And you're having problems with it? Can't you handle one angry beaver, Godhunter?”
“Well, at our first interaction, the beaver god blasted me with a tidal wave before I could attack, and then we made the mistake of attacking him in his territory. It's not that he's more powerful than us. He's just been lucky, and we've been careless. Azrael, in particular.”
“Oh,” Taran murmured. “So, it was the beaver who caused Azrael's accident?”
“Azrael tried to use an untested magic against the beaver,” Odin said and took the manacles from me. “I'm going to put these on Az and maybe move him to his bed.”
“Okay,” I said. “Maybe I should—”
“No,” Odin cut me off. “Stay here with our guests. I will take care of Azrael.”
“Okay.” I watched Odin leave, his huge shoulders bowed down with worry.
“Vervain,” Taran said and laid a hand on my shoulder. “Azrael will be fine. He's a god full of Fey magic.”
“Yes. A death god full of Wild Fey Magic.” I glanced at Kirill. “Odin, Kirill, and Azrael recently created a trinity of death gods, uniting their magic through me. Odin and Kirill trained with the magic, but Azrael was called away. Despite his lack of experience, he decided to use his bond with Kirill to fight the beaver god. We were all washed downriver by the beaver's WaterMagic, and when they found Azrael, he was in his current state—utterly unresponsive and in his Death guise.”
“So, what you're saying is that the Death Magic is responsible for his condition, not the beaver god.”
