“A map of the ley lines in North America.”
I laughed, disbelief filling the sound. “You just happened to have this?”
“It’s important to know where the most powerful crossings are. Liminal spaces are fascinating, but in this environment we need all the help we can get.”
Malice surprised me by agreeing. “My château sits atop one.”
“You’ll have to invite me over if we survive. I have some spells I’ve been meaning to test out.”
His lips quirked in a small smile. “I do find myself in need of a new resident witch.”
“What do you mean?” Merri asked. “What happened to Christian?”
Malice’s expression grew confused. “You don’t know? Weren’t you there?”
“Know what, Malice?” she snapped, her panic making her eyes wide.
“You killed him, baby,” Sin said, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder. “We know you didn’t mean to.”
“What? No, I didn’t. I’d never hurt him. He was one of my only friends.”
She was so adamant that I knew she was telling the truth. The guilty can never manage that level of sincerity. Unless amnesia is involved.
Hades raised a hand and inserted himself into what was sure to turn into an argument. “It was Famine.”
“Sin! How could you!”
“Whoa, wait a damn second. I definitely didn’t do it.”
“Not him.” Hades leveled Merri a gentle look. “Your mother.”
Her mouth fell open as the bomb dropped. Damn, this was juicy.
“She possessed him. I’m not sure for how long, but I met him in the underworld. We had a long chat.”
A shattered expression crossed her face, and she swallowed hard before asking, “Is he okay?”
Hades smiled gently. “He’s happy. Not suffering. I swear it.”
She let out a shuddering breath. “At least there’s that, I guess.” Then anger took hold as the gravity of Famine’s manipulation became clear. “I don’t even know the woman, and I hate her more than anyone on the planet.”
“Join the club,” Sunday said with an empathetic smile. “Moms can be real cunts.”
Hey! Go bestie. Of course she was on the same wavelength as me.
“We can’t exact your revenge until we find all the weapons and attune them,” Lilith offered.
“Right. So about that map,” Merri said, her attention turning to Asher.
“It’s Gettysburg,” he said, looking up from the large swath of paper.
“How do you know?”
“Moira told us, and the map confirms it.”
“I did?”
Asher nodded. “The color of the uniforms, the mutton chops, it all tracks.”
