I texted Adaela as we continued discussions and game plans. My eyes glared daggers at Samael in disbelief. When he sobered up, I’d sit down with him and make sure he understood his responsibilities to this faction and to thePax. I did not move here to become its de facto leader, and I’d love to have my friend back.
March 19th
Icaught up with Adaela in the hall next to the elevators. Her hair was wild, sticking up in places as if she had been running her hands through it, like she was having the worst day of her life. My features softened as we got on the elevator. I wanted to grieve the loss of my friend, but I didn’t have time to. I learned how to be good in emergency situations, and this was no different. I didn’t know enough about thePaxto be having a conversation with the leaders this soon, but I didn’t think I’d be able to help the Demons without a better understanding of the world around me either. No better way to understand than to be thrown off the deep end, I guessed.
“Where are we headed?” I asked.
“The situation room. It’s located on the first floor, since we often have political staff from all over the worlds here for meetings. I’d love to tell you more about it when we’re not balls-deep in crisis mode,” she replied, and I chuckled at her comment.
We stopped on the next floor down. People packed into the elevator like sardines. I bumped myself into the back corner ofthe elevator, pulling Adaela into me so we were ass-to-hip without thought. She attempted to keep her gasp quiet as that buzzing electricity ignited between us again. Adaela shivered as my thumbs ran circles against her hips. I couldn’t resist bending down toward her ear. The tension in her body was unmistakable, and I wondered if there was any way I could distract her, even momentarily.
“Sweet girl, what are you doing to me?” I whispered, quietly enough that no one could overhear.
Her entire body shuddered, and she pushed herself against me subconsciously. She reached her hand back to put it on my outer thigh closest to the elevator’s wall and squeezed. The world around us fell away. Even though the timing was completely inappropriate, neither of us could really help ourselves. The tension left her body as we neared the ground floor, and the moment was over almost as quickly as it had started.
As everyone made their way out of the elevator, several people glanced at us curiously, bringing me back to reality. I let go of Adaela’s waist as she took a step forward. She replaced the longing on her face with her professional mask—shoulders back, bright, bubbly smile on her face—but beneath that, the tension returned as quickly as it had left. My stomach dropped. I hated that she put on a mask.
She lit up the room, making sure everyone around her remained calm just by giving them her undivided attention. This woman was incredible. I didn’t know her well yet, but I knew there was a reason only she could have pulled off the most successful social experiment ever. She had a heavy burden on her shoulders, and I wanted to help her carry that weight. I didn’t even know where that thought came from. It seemed to be just the raw magnitude of her power, though she didn’t hold any powers of persuasion that I was aware of.
All I knew for sure was that I wasn’t just interested in her platonically. I just hadn’t quite figured out how to broach that topic. She certainly didn’t seem like she was ready yet, and while I was willing to see where this road took us, I was prepared to go at her pace. I’d known about her for far longer than she was aware of me, at any rate—something I would need to rectify soon enough.
The swanky conference room had floor-to-ceiling monitors on one side, with a statue made of wood and granite with theCatervae Paxcrest on the other side. The crest was made up of interlocking chains surrounding a creature who had gone by many names throughout history. It was a serpent-like monster with many serpent heads, a human-like body with four arms, and hooves for feet. I’d once read somewhere that this mythical creature was selected because no one had ever seen it before, so it seemed to be the right logo for thePax. Every faction had a myth about a creature like this one. ThePaxlogo was written in an elegant calligraphy across the chains interlocking the creature. In the Hell Realm, we called this creature Marung.
“Thank you all for joining us today,” said a voice as we took our seats around the rounded conference table.
Someone threw up a sound shield, and we got settled in. The voice was none other than the head of thePaxitself, Ma’at. I bowed my head in deference, a little taken back to see her here. She observed everyone at the table with the air of authority and calm that made her renowned for the Goddess she was. I was, however, surprised to see her here since she hadhistorically been against engaging in politics, preferring to be in the battle over settling debates in the boardroom. I guessed she spent her time between here and Egypt.
“We are in unprecedented territory,” she said, her bangles and beads clinking together as she scanned the room. “We have prepared for this situation and knew it was a possibility. By show of hands, who has lost someone in your faction today?”
All hands raised. Every single faction lost someone. Some lost more than one person. The mood in the room was somber. Seventeen lives had been lost in a matter of minutes, and my heart shattered for each faction. I recognized a few faces from the wars of the past. Every being here probably battled against one another before thePaxwas established.
It occurred to me that I might be the only person in this room who had seen death in many years. I needed to act—to say something—but I didn’t know if my opinions would matter, since I was new to this realm.
“Does anyone here have any leads yet?” Ma’at asked, casually touching the feather atop her head. She was ready to weigh judgment for the lives lost with that one simple touch.
Many around the table shook their heads. The apprehension in the room went up several notches. Beings were starting to become suspicious of one another, throwing hostile stares at one another. Ma’at noticed the same and quickly sent a wave of power through the room to get everyone’s attention again.
Turning to the Goddesses, she asked, “Atropos, what have you and your sisters gathered?”
Poe’s brows raised, almost as if she hadn’t expected to be called on directly. She was part of the Goddess Faction; however, she wasn’t the leader. That went to Athena and Ma’at, who were sitting next to her. “I had a vision while Adaela, Vada, and I were out to lunch earlier. I was only able to see that life was about to be lost. The vision didn’t make it clear who themurderers were. The areas they hit were where they were most vulnerable to attack, but I couldn’t see how the attacks would happen. The vision changed, and I saw who was going to lose their lives. I—” she choked up “—I think we’re about to head into war. I was sent flashbacks of the wars of the past. Something we did to start thePaxwas left unfinished. I just can’t see what that was.” Poe took a moment to compose herself before continuing.
“I drove here to set off the alarms as quickly as I could, then had someone portal me over to Olympus to talk with my sisters. Their visions were just as hazy as mine were. Clotho believes the Fates that guide us are blocking our ability to see what’s going to happen.”
The room erupted into murmurs. The Human and Hybrid leaders had gone pale. I could see trauma from the other factions who had been to war beginning to play out on others’ faces. Adaela was pissed, her pupils barely noticeable over her tri-green eyes. Through her anger, I could see her running calculations through her head, formulating a plan.
“If I may—” I began.
Ma’at nodded in my direction.
“For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Vada.” I took in the reactions of the leaders who didn’t know me, carefully testing them with my powers to confirm if there were any traitors amongst us. I was sure everyone knew the lore about me, but not who I really was. “For many millennia, I have been living in the Hell under the rule of Asmodaeus, the leader of the ninth layer of Hell. I eventually moved up to his second-in-command and was often relegated to running his errands for him.”
“For the past century or so, there have been rumblings throughout the realms about what all of you have created here. Many realms are upset that they lost their greatest warriors andleaders to what they liked to call a ‘pet project.’ I’m sure you’re all aware of this. They have been watching, and I’d heard rumors that they eventually would grow tired of the games and take back their people.” This admission didn’t come as a surprise to anyone sitting here, which was a good sign. I continued.
“While I don’t believe they would be able to launch a coordinated attack, because they can’t get their shit together enough to not squabble with each other, I do believe that it’s possible some of the people who swore blood oaths to this conglomerate may be leaking information back to the other realms,” I said.
The room had gone deathly silent. In the screens behind Ma’at, forces were gathering at the entrances, and security had been beefed up. It didn’t seem like the attack on thePaxhad been outed to the public yet, which was a feat in itself. It seemed as if the factions understood the significance of keeping this in-house for now.
“Where is Pan? Why are you here?” sneered the person to my right.
