We finished dinner, and then took a tray up to Holly. I fetched her from Azrael's room, luring her with the presence of her grandchildren more than the offer of food. She still left Azrael's bedside reluctantly, casting backward glances as she did. But then she saw the kids, and her face lit up.
“Grandma!” they shrieked together.
“There are my favorite children in all the realms!” Holly declared.
Holly was a good grandma. She didn't play favorites with her blood-grandchildren but instead treated them all as if they were related to her. She went around the table, giving out kisses and hugs before she sat down before the plate we had brought her. Even then, Holly kept talking to the kids as she ate.
She was in the middle of telling them a story about their Grandpa Luke when Re walked in. I looked over and smiled, but then I saw his expression. Slowly, as to not alarm the herd, I stood up and eased over to the doorway. Re hadn't come into the room. As I approached, he backed into the hallway.
I closed the suite door behind me and demanded, “What fresh hell is this?”
“My scepter is missing,” Re said.
“Your . . .” I blinked. “I'm sorry, but is that code for something?”
“No! Myscepter, Vervain. It's gone.”
I knew it was bad when he used my given name. “I didn't know you had a scepter. You mean, like a faerie wand?”
“No, not like a faerie wand. Faeries don't have wands. And you didn't know about it because I don't go waving my scepter about like some gods do.” He grimaced. “Sorry. I'm really upsetabout this. I possess two magical items that manifested unto me when I was first made the Sun God of the Egyptians. One is the Ankh—the symbol of my mastery over life. The other is the scepter—the symbol of my mastery over Egypt and my pantheon.”
“Symbols? Just symbols?”
“That's what I thought.” Re ran a nervous hand through his dark hair. “But the loss of the scepter has weakened me. I hadn't noticed it amid all the drama that's been going on. But then I went to search the archives. As soon as I stepped into Duat, I felt the difference. The scepter must hold some of my power. It could even be the path through which human energy is filtered into me. I don't know, but it's important. And it's gone.”
“The trickster,” I said.
“I assume so.”
“Damn it all! I thought he was done messing with us. I thought he had moved on to other gods.”
“He sent us after the beaver god. He's still messing with us.”
“Yes, you're right. But what is he doing with all this stuff? The Caduceus, the Wind Jewel, and now your scepter.”
Re frowned. “The Caduceus, the Wind Jewel, and the Scepter of the Sun God.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Two of those are tied to elements.”
“Air and Fire.” I blinked. “The Caduceus is bound in snakes. Could its magic be considered Earth-based?”
“Possibly,” Re said. “Vervain, if the trickster is collecting elemental god treasures, he'll be after something associatedwith water next.”
“Who do we know with Water Magic?” I asked.
“There's Estsanatlehi.”
“And Tobadzistsini,” I whispered.
Re's eyes went wide.
“Oh, fudge,” I hissed. “Toby. He's a God of Water.”
“Does he have a weapon or an amulet of some sort?”
I frowned. “I should know this, but then I didn't know about your scepter.”
