Chapter Seventeen
(Nia) Darius thinks I’m nuts
(Nia) how did you act sane for so many years while seeing shit?
(Nia) Kirbs, are you home?
(Kirby) Umm… I can’t really talk right now. I’m…hang on.
(Nia) Explain yourself!
(Marlow) lol. Let me guess. Ella?
(Kirby) omfg how will I make it out alive.
(Marlow) honestly, I’m not sure you will. Good luck.
(Nia) Explanation??? I’m here with an invisible threatening warrior queen trying to act normal and it is NOT going well. You know how hard it is to go about your business when a valkyrie is staring you down?
(Marlow) Ella—Hnoss—is the goddess of desire and treasure and shit like that. She’s hot af and pretty damn charming
(Nia) Ha! Good luck breathing, Kirbs
(Kirby) impossible. Bury me with my favorite things. Remember me fondly.
“Everything okay, Marmar?”
I smiled down at the text thread on my computer, then up at Azrames. “Thanks for getting ahold of Ella and Estrid. I knew we couldn’t exactly hold the witches hostage fortheir warding forever. Did the handoff go smoothly?”
I wanted to ask him where he was getting his clothes, but I figured he’d give me a vague non-answer, just as Fauna had. Today, he was in a long-sleeved white Henley with the sleeves pushed up to the middle of his forearms. His jeans were black once more, matching his disheveled hair and obsidian horns.
“How’s your venom supply?” he asked.
“It’ll get us through the show,” I said. “I’ll do another in a minute. But my friends? The Valkyrie versus the goddess of pleasure and treasure or whatever?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Nia has to stay put so she doesn’t lose her job, which is why she got Estrid. Kirby has a lot more time off.”
My smile wavered.
Az leaned forward. “Ella still has a few meetings to hold, and she’s bringing Kirby with her.”
I heard the loud, smacking swallow before I realized my jaw had been hanging on its hinges. I slammed it shut. “You can’t be serious.”
He waved his hand dismissively. “Kirby can see beyond the veil now. They’re on board. And they sure don’t seem to mind Ella’s company. Plus, they know you and can vouch for your character as your human witness. It’s not the worst outcome.”
“Kirby gets tongue-tied around beautiful women!” I wanted to throw something at him. “You saw how Nia held her own against Silas—”
Silas raised a finger to interject. He idled against the counter while the tea kettle heated.
I waved him away. “Sending Kirby was a terrible idea.”
As if on cue, my replacement phone dinged. It went off in rapid fire as Kirby’s anxiety spilled onto the screen.
(Kirby) What have you done to me
(Kirby) She’s so hot, help.
(Kirby) she says shit like “why don’t we go meet this terrifying god of the underworld” and I’m like, sure, I will jump off a cliff if you say so, let’s visit the Egyptians
