“My brother is in love with them,” Trevor added. “He may have gone willingly, but I have to find them.”
Amaterasu looked from the altar to me. “A trickster took my mirror? Why?”
“We don't know,” I said. “They've built something with god relics before. But after they did, they gave me their creation so I could return the relics after I had used it. It turned out to be the only thing that brought Azrael out of stasis.”
“Azrael was in stasis?” Hachiman asked.
“There was an accident. He wouldn't wake up. The trickster seemed to know it was going to happen. They began collecting items before Azrael went into stasis.”
She frowned. “A trickster with good intentions?”
“We don't know what his intentions are this time,” Trevor growled.
Amaterasu nodded and looked down at Vero. “And are you a wolf prince too?”
“I'm Vero, God of the Moon.” Vero lifted his chin. “My father is a Froekn Prince.”
Amaterasu grinned. “I see. And Vervain is your mother?”
Vero nodded.
“You are a lucky child.” She looked up at Trevor. “He is your exact image.”
“Close.” Trevor nodded. “I'm very proud of him.”
“As you should be.” Hachiman inclined his head.
“Froekn are the best trackers in the god world,” Amaterasu drawled. “And Vervain is even better. So, why can't you find this trickster?”
“They don't leave a trail,” I explained. “They stole the magic of Unseen from the god, Katila. It erases all traces of them and makes them invisible. They've used it to cover Ty's tracks too.”
“This is one competent trickster.”
“Indeed,” Odin muttered.
“Now, the mirror.” Amaterasu strode to the altar. “Ninigi has failed me again. And it seems it falls to you to help us once more.” She picked up the crystal ball. “I want that mirror back, Vervain. It is a symbol of my soul.”
“What does it do?” I asked.
“It holds the magic of Transformation.”
“Transformation.” I looked at Odin. “Interesting.”
“How so?” Amaterasu ran her elegant, pale fingers over the crystal in soothing circles.
“They've taken a power source, the magic condenser, the keys to the Sumerian Underworld, and now your mirror. The first two would be necessary for a large construct—power and something to unite god magic. But keys and transformation. What are they making?”
“I'm sorry, but why do you keep calling the trickster 'they'? Don't you know their sex?”
“They are a god who can also be a goddess. We believe they are an Igbo god named Agwu, but we're not sure.”
“Fascinating.” She tossed the ball into her other hand. “What power do the keys hold?”
“They unlock the gates of the underworld.”
“Transformation and access to the afterlife. They may hold the power of judgment too. Interesting.” She lifted the ball and then slammed it onto the floor.
As it shattered, we jumped back, my son making a yip of surprise. But nothing terrible happened. Amaterasu just bentdown and retrieved the glowing green comma-shaped stone that had been hidden within the crystal’s mist.
