“No, I will join your visit with Donn. I don’t trust him.”
Great. The Devil had issues with the god of death. What could possibly go wrong?
Darkness encroached on the sky,a steady brewing storm that matched the mood of the land. Hudson, Lucifer, and I stood outside the House of Donn, waiting for Cillian to greet us.
I shivered as the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees in a single breath and clenched my fists to stop the tremors from catching fire and igniting the need to run. We should run far and fast away from here. There was a pregnant pause in the air that made every conviction I had to see this through turn to dust. Who the hell did I think I was meeting gods like they were my equals? I was an elemental half angel who gave terrible sex advice to supernaturals and turned down the beds of straggling supernaturals in a small town.
“Game face on, Cora,” Lucifer muttered. “The trick to besting a god is self belief. Turn back now if you can’t at least pretend.”
“Fake it ’til you make it?” I said with a chuckle.
“Exactly.”
“You got this, mate,” Hudson reassured.
I squared my shoulders.Don’t forget a vulture raised you and you learned how to navigate a pit of vipers before you could form words.
“Don’t forget me, Cora,”Indigo reminded me as she leaked a little power, which flared through my veins. That’s right.
“Also, you can’t wear that outfit and not embody badass,” Hudson said with an appreciative gaze down my body.
That was Lucifer’s doing. Soft, supple leather that fit like a glove encased my body, from my pants to the matching jacket. All I needed was a sword, and I could be a character from any fantasy TV series. Those always ended with the bad guys getting their karma and the good guys winning. Maybe their outfit choice swayed the outcome. It couldn’t hurt, and certainly seemed more fitting when I was about to face a Celtic god.
The door swung open, and Cillian blinked at our trio. He’d agreed to Hudson accompanying me—in fact, he said Donn expected no less—but it wasn’t a comfort. I didn’t enjoy putting The Principal in the path of an unstable god who danced with death.
“The Devil wanted to say hi,” I replied.
Cillian frowned. “Of course.”
Cillian’s blasé attitude toward Lucifer’s presence gave me pause. Was it simply down to it not being a big deal, because all we were doing was having tea and cake and a harmless conversation with a god? Or was it because Donn didn’t consider the Devil a threat? Would it be too much to hope for the first option? Probably.
Cillian stepped back, and we crossed over the threshold. At least they were forgoing the dramatic theater production today. He led us down the same hallway to the homely living room,which was empty of both mages and gods. My tea and cake scenario was looking less likely by the second.
“If you’ll just stand over there,” Cillian instructed, pointing at a large rune circle.Oh, sure. Let me go willingly into your mysterious magic circle.I folded my arms and leveled him with the one good thing my grandmother had taught me—the Roberts’ hardass stare.
Cillian sighed. “Did you think you were going to sit around the fire and have tea and biscuits, Cora? He’s a god.”
Cake, not biscuits. Also, I happen to knowtheGod enjoys a yummy biscuit.
“Where then?” I asked.
“Bull Rock.”
I raised a brow. “Your big bad god lives on a rock?” Each to their own, I guess.
Cillian nodded. “That’s where I’m sending you, yes.”
Lucifer approached the runes and scanned them. “He’s telling the truth.”
“Any advice?” Hudson asked Cillian.
Cillian’s jaw ticced. “He’s from a different era, so remember that when you bring your new-world views. He doesn’t consider mankind’s squabbles to be of interest.”
“But he used my grandmother to get a foothold into this world,” I pointed out.
“I didn’t say he wouldn’t use every trick in the book to get what he wants; just that your views might struggle to find common ground.”
“I’m not sure anyone has common views with a certified god.”
