Vada’s eyes went a little wide before she schooled her expression, then shook Poe’s hand. “Honored. It’s not often you meet one of the Fates.”
Poe cackled, “Oh, girl, please. I’m just another person here. That’s the beauty of this new world Adaela’s helped us create.”
I opened the door to Hellhounds, attempting to brush off the compliment my bestie so easily threw out. “I hope you like magic shops. There’s no better one in town than this one.”
Poe stopped in the doorway, her eyes going milky. Vada stopped, reaching out as if she wanted to help, but wasn’t sure how. I waved it off. “Oh, this is normal for Poe. She’s aware of her surroundings, but she’s having a vision. You’ll get used toit,” I said to Vada as I headed toward the supplies I’d needed for this spell.
“Does she have visions often?” Vada asked, glancing back at Poe, but following me in anyway.
“Yes, but she hasn’t had them as frequently as she has over the last few days. She’s usually pretty quiet about the visions unless it’s something she can speak about. Sometimes they’re mundane, like seeing a person walking into a room before they even get there. Other times, she sees her son getting into shenanigans. She hasn’t had any visions since thePaxwas established that had any cause for world-ending prophecies, so at least there’s that,” I picked up a bottle of mugwort oil and put it into the basket I was carrying.
“I can’t imagine. Does she still speak with Lachesis and Clotho? I’ve not heard their names in a little while,” Vada asked. She was casually perusing the aisles, likely not interested in anything here since this shop didn’t cater to her unique abilities. I was secretly glad she’d come along anyway.
“Their relationship is a bit tenuous. Lachesis believes the three of them should have remained at Olympus, and she still resides there with Clotho. Poe has a hard job since she is ultimately a death goddess, and the sisters haven’t really been able to understand the difficulty Poe has had to endure throughout the ages.” I walked around another corner in the shop, working to make sure I didn’t break something with my clumsiness. “She’s been here with me since the beginning—before that, really. At first it was because of the war, but then she began establishing relationships and realized that she didn’t have to be so alone in the world. ThePaxhas been great for her to learn more about herself outside of her powers.”
I thought again about how lucky I was to have Poe in my life. We both knew death intimately. Not only because of our powers, but also because of the history behind it. We weren’tfrom the same pantheons, but we experienced things similarly. I rubbed at my chest, the old ache of the past making itself known. It was part of the beauty of what we built here. We could all relate on some level, and those bonds didn’t come easily after the lives we led.
“I’ve heard so many great things about what you’re all building here.” Vada picked up a package of dried herbs and studied its contents, glancing at me quickly. “I’ve been itching to leave Hell for a while now. I was happy when Pan finally decided to extend an invitation for me to come join, and Az decided it was time to let me go. I’ve been on the wait list for years.”
I turned to face Vada to reply, but she was closer than I thought she was, reaching over my head for the unicorn hair. I took a step back, distracted by her proximity, and bumped hard into the shelf behind me. Vada put a hand on my hip to steady me and the other above my head to prevent the shelf from falling. My heart skipped a beat. My shadows released of their own accord to help Vada keep the glass bottles from falling off the shelf, and I lost my train of thought. I took a small step toward her without thinking about it, and she went completely still. She took a deep breath and smirked. That smirk just about took me out. It completely transformed her face, and if I thought she was beautiful before… I was mystified, staring into her dark eyes as she leaned her face down closer toward mine.
Vada released the shelf but didn’t immediately take her hand off my hip. I didn’t even think she realized she was still touching me, but the energy transfer between us made me think otherwise… not that I’d encouraged her to stop.
“You were saying?” Vada was a hair’s breadth away from pressing her lips to mine, and I wanted so badly to close that distance. She was mesmerizing, but something held me back.
“Yo, Vada, I found something you might be interested—”Poe came barreling around the corner, then giggled. Actuallygiggled, the cunt. I couldn’t remember ever hearing her do that in the years I’d known her.
Vada took a reluctant step back, releasing her hand from my waist. I shivered as if her touch were the only thing keeping me warm, subconsciously reaching for the spot where her hand had been before I forced myself to lower it. My heart threatened to beat out of my chest at getting caught in an innocent gesture. But was it innocent? I could think again, and I was a little more than peeved to think she’d just used her succubus powers on me. Honestly, something told me she hadn’t, but I was going to blame my out-of-control hormones on that anyway.
“Oh, uh, sure. What’d you want to show me, Poe?” Vada asked, moving in her direction. I appreciated that she was trying to take the heat off what Poe just witnessed, but Poe would bring it up the first opportunity she had.
Poe couldn’t keep the bright-eyed excitement from her face, though she made a herculean effort. I quickly moved down a few paces to hide my embarrassment. Or stew in my annoyance, I couldn’t tell. “I found an elixir to help you with the lack of control you’ve been facing recently.”
“How did you know? Wait, never mind. I forgot for a second,” Vada said.
She and Poe walked toward the other side of the store, and I leaned back against the wall, taking a deep breath and willing my heart to stop beating so hard. I’d been touched in the same spot by so many people before her. I couldn’t understand why someone I hardly knew had this much of an effect on me. I had questioned my own sexuality for so long because, while I was a lesbian, I’d wondered if my lack of attraction to others put me on the aro/ace spectrum. I was okay with that, too, but the swarm of emotions Vada stirred up was making me rethink thata bit. Demi maybe? Why was I having an identity crisis in the middle of Hellhounds?
As I calmed down, I searched for the ingredients I came here for again. I needed to figure out if my power levels were increasing again or not. It was going to be a problem if that were the case, so I was banking on Hecate or Maren helping me determine what was going on. It’d be easier to convince them to help me out if I got the supplies for them and showed up with a bottle or two of mead.
“Oh, Adaela, just the person I was looking for,” called a familiar voice.
I turned as Hecate, the terrifying power she was, strolled down the aisle toward me. I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been waiting for me to come in, since she’d let Maren know she needed to speak with me. Hecate’s power radiated off her in waves, and even knowing her for as long as I had, it always took me aback for a moment. I didn’t know if anyone had ever described Hecate as beautiful, but she was strikingly handsome. Her features matched her personality perfectly. She was no-nonsense, and sometimes reminded me of a prison warden or a parochial school principal. Her power and her energy made her someone who commanded respect, but her desire to move away from her reputation brought her to thePax. Her insights were desperately needed.
I nodded at her in deference. “Hey, Hecate. How are you?”
She casually flicked her hand in the air, casting a silencing bubble around us. I tensed up as she huffed out an irritated breath. “You’ve been hard to track down lately. You don’t have a lot of time on your hands right now, so I needed to take a moment while I have it.”
“What’s going on?” I crossed my arms and leaned back against a bookshelf, careful not to knock everything over again.
“Listen, something weird is happening. I don’t want it to get out yet, so we’ve been keeping it quiet, but one of our coven members found a couple of unidentifiable men dead in an alley the other night near the St. Paddy’s celebration, and I smelled brimstone when I was asked to come help investigate. A few coven members have come home recently with no recollection of what they did the night before. I was hoping you’d heard something. Maybe something from the rumor mill?” she asked.
“I was made aware that I murdered two men in an alleyway by Athena’s apartment complex,” I replied, concern making its way out in my voice. “Vada found me blackout drunk and getting sick. That’s probably why you smelled brimstone.” I relayed the rest of the night to her quickly.
“Are you okay?” Hecate’s brows furrowed, quickly checking me over until she was satisfied by whatever she saw.
I waved her off. “Yeah, I’m fine. Shaken up about killing two unidentified men, but I’m not injured. Hecate, I have no idea what happened that night, and I know I need to speak with thePaxabout it.” I was trying not to fidget since there wasn’t room to pace.
“We know your character, Adaela. We have seen it time and again. I know your heart, and you wouldn’t have killed them if there wasn’t a reason for it,” she said, moving her hand to squeeze my shoulder. “But you will have to figure this out and talk with thePaxand your faction about it.”
