“This is where I leave you,” he said, his voice already stronger. The wounds in his abdomen, chest, and throat nearly healed.
I eyed the God of Sleep curiously. His skin was bronze, and his navy hair had small golden flecks clinging to the strands. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were tiny golden stars and moons. It looked like he had sprinkled golden confetti in his hair, but when he ran his fingers through it, the glittering constellations didn’t move.
Lilith cocked her head to the side, her brow creasing in concern.
“Are you sure? Where will you go?”
“I must return to the dream realm and see if there is anything left of my home,” he said, eyeing the misty graveyard that loomed before us. “My magic will have worn off, and the other gods are likely awake,” he said, pursing his lips in concern.
“That’s a good thing, right? They were all displaced and trapped by Yahweh, but now things can return to the way they were,” Lilith said, but the God of Sleep gave her a solemn look.
“It will be an adjustment. Yahweh is not the first god to attempt to rise to power. I suggest you get your house in order and prepare to defend your domain. The others will be angry and vengeful.”
“They have no reason to seek vengeance against us,” Lilith said, frowning. “We saved them.”
Hypnos gave her a dark look. “Those consumed with anger rarely have room left for reason. I am grateful to you for releasing me, and I hope that you heed my warning, but this is where we must part ways. Good luck, Lilith, Goddess of Death and Decay. I wish peace and prosperity for you and your people.”
With that, the God of Sleep vanished into a burst of stardust, and I forced myself to school my reaction.
“Well… that was ominous,” Shem said, sounding bored. He rolled his eyes and turned on his heel, heading into the graveyard. We followed, floating Jezebel’s corpse along with us.
The normal rush of power that overcame visitors was not present, and I felt a chill crawl down my spine at how abnormally still everything was.
Hypnos had been right. The graveyard was empty. I glanced around at the closest graves and noted how the ground looked as if it had been clawed through.The gods and goddesses had been forced to dig themselves out of their own graves, only to find themselves in a realm they didn’t belong.
Shem shot me a furtive look, and I forced myself not to frown.
‘Let’s get Jezebel buried so Lilith can get closure, then we’ll look around,’I said into his mind. His eyes flashed in annoyance at the hold-up, but he nodded.
We found an empty plot and lowered Jezebel into the grave. We buried her beneath the twisting nebula of Hell’s night sky, and Lilith used her magic to carve her name into an obsidian stone. She stood back when we were finished, and I read the inscription out loud.
‘Here lies Jezebel, the embodiment of Hell’s fury and a true friend of Death.
May she live on for eternity in our memory.’
“That’s beautiful, deathtrap,” I murmured, pulling her close and kissing her head. She trembled in my arms, and I tightened my hold on her.
“I’m tired,” she whispered, and I knew she was nearing her breaking point. I glanced at Hazai. Despite the fact that I could tell it was taking everything in him not to bolt off into the night in search of Hecate, he still managed to look concerned.
“Why don’t you take her back to the room? I’m going to stay to look around.”
I nodded, shooting a look at Gabriel, who seemed pissed off about something.
“You sure?” I asked, and Hazai nodded.
“Yeah. Go, take care of our girl.”
“Alright, be careful,” I said, and he shot me a dazzling grin.
“I’m always careful.”
“Cats are inquisitive but hate to admit it.”
—MASON COOLEY
Ididn’t need to check her grave to know Hecate was gone, but I checked anyway. I prowled through the cemetery with all of my senses on high alert. My hellcats darted in and out of the mist that crept between tombstones. They rubbed their little hellish faces on corners and sniffed for any hint of the Mother of Witches.
I knew Hecate well enough to know that if she didn’t want me to find her, she wouldn’t be found—and if shedidwant me to find her, she wouldn’t make it easy.
