She pointed at the plaques on the weapons’ cases. “Are these for real?”
“Everything in here is, I promise.”
Lexi tapped the plaque on the spear case. “This saysGungnir. Like, the actual fucking spear of Odin, the one Loki got from the dwarves! And this”—she spun to the sword, curling her fingers just before she touched the glass—“isMistilteinn, which is Norwegian for Mistletoe. There was a story I read where it wasn’t literal mistletoe that killed Odin’s son, Baldr, but this sword. Holy shit, this issofucking awesome.”
I couldn’t help it; I laughed. “Do you regularly fangirl over ancient history?”
“Only when I’m this close to it.” She skipped over to the books. “I really like digging into common misconceptions people have about the villains in the old religions. Like for the Scandinavians, it was Loki.” She turned back to the sword. “The gods used to brag about Baldr being invincible, unkillable. Loki is portrayed as the villain because his interference resulted in Baldr’s death. But”—she pointed her finger at me—“Loki was balancing the scales. He believed,correctly, that no one should be truly immortal. It goes against nature, to not be susceptible to death one way or another.”
I gave her that one. Even I could die, if only by an Archangel blade. I hedged for more. “And Hades?”
“Hades was probably the best of all the Greek gods.” She started toward the stairs leading down to the first floor. “He was the least involved in mortal affairs and basically stayed in the underworld, doing his job. Most people disliked him simply because of his proximity to the dead. Demeter vilified him over the Persephone thing, but everything I’ve ever read said they were truly in love, and why should anyone be punished for love?”
She stopped in front of the Greek vase with Hades and Persephone on it. There were still a couple in museums, but I’d found this one left behind when Hades vacated Hell. It had never seen mortal eyes until last night.
“And the Christian devil?” I asked.
“Samael?”
I winced at the name and was glad she was looking away. “Satan, Lucifer, the Morning Star—”
“And also the Light Bringer, yes, I know.” She circled the old Bible, her fingers skating the air just above the glass, but not touching. “I think he did exactly as God asked him to. His job was to test the evil in a heart via temptation, just as Michael’s was to test the good. The only reason he fell was for not bowing down to a lesser being.”
I stepped toward her faster than I intended, and she jumped. “You believe mankind is a lesser being than an angel?”
She shrugged. “Well, we have free will, and it’s great and all, but angels were God’s first Creation, and they had powers humans could never dream of having. To demand a being like that to bow to humans, who couldn’t use magic at the time, couldn’t fly, and were generally unremarkable except in their ability to make stupid decisions, would’ve been a huge insult.”
“You have some very unique insights into theology.” I gave her a playful smirk. “Especially from the villain’s perspective.”
“Not much help for it. I grew up in Salem with a mom who openly practices witchcraft. Witches weren’t exactly the villains the Church told people they were, so…”
“So you’re sympathetic,” I finished.
“History is written by the winners, right?” She smiled, but it was weak. “Oh, what time is it? I was supposed to be in Salem around one.”
I checked my watch. “Still got a few hours. I haven’t been out there in ages. Maybe I could give you a ride, we’ll go for lunch, and you can do whatever it is you need to do?”
“I would love to, Sam, but I have lunch plans with this amazing cook I call Mom. But you can come with me if you want. She would love you—”
As soon as the words tumbled from her mouth, she froze. Her eyes widened in panic, like a deer caught in headlights. I knew for humans, meeting parents was a huge deal, and I had the weirdest urge to press the idea.
It was also an opportunity to learn about the family she remained almost annoyingly vague about, or avoided discussing altogether. There was something either about her past or her lineage she was desperate to hide, even after addressing her powers. Something I wanted to get to the bottom of before I could trust her with my own identity.
If a day like that ever came.
“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” I said.
***
After we stopped by Lexi’s apartment so she could change, we were on the road. Salem was only a half-hour drive, but it was beautiful in the transition between September and October. The leaves were starting to turn, and soon they’d be a riot of fall colors and tourists would be flocking to the place for Halloween.
“Are you looking forward to seeing any of your friends in Salem?"
I caught the shake of her head in my periphery as she watched the scenery fly past. “I didn’t have any there.”
My eyebrows drew down. “Didn’t have any? None at all?”
“I was considered the creepy kid. Most avoided me, some were just mean." She sat back in her seat but kept her gaze on the trees. "My mom wasn’t subtle. She opened an occult shop in town, and we have a cat, so I got bullied a lot for being a witch. It didn’t help that I had even less control over my powers than I do today, so weird things happened around me.” She waved a hand around her head. “And my hair was kind of different. I got sent home multiple times in middle and all three high schools because I refused to dye it to a ‘natural’ color.”
