Gods of Chaos (Red Magic) (12 page)

After meeting Izzy, I headed back to my hotel to think. I lay on my back on the bed and stared up at the crackly ceiling. What did I want to get out of this trip? I thought about Marcus; it was obvious when I met him that he had a strong grasp of Red magic, but he was impossible to read. Could he actually mean what he said, that he didn’t want to align with me? A little voice at the back of my mind whispered that surely he must want to shake off Hecate’s control, too.

I used to think Reds were kept apart because of the magnified chaos we had the potential to cause together, but recently I had begun to wonder. What if we were really kept apart so we didn’t challenge any of the Red deities? The gods I’d met were jealous of other magics, and carefully guarded themselves and their devotees with something approaching fanaticism.

Not for the first time I wondered if the training I’d received at Trinity had been flawed. What if the things that I thought were laws of magic were actually just the laws of the narrow-minded faculty at my school? And why had the decision been made to only teach three magics? Most people at Trinity didn’t even know there were any other forms of magic—I’d been one of them until Hecate showed up.

Shaking off my thoughts, I stood up and stretched. I had three hours before Izzy had promised to meet me. That should give me enough time for a shower and some food, I thought, heading for the small bathroom. While part of me was looking forward to hanging out with Izzy some more, I felt awkward. I knew I needed to use her to help me get to Marcus, but now that I’d met her, that idea felt a little sour. I liked Marcus’s sister. She was a neat kid, and I had really enjoyed talking with her that morning. Maybe it wasn’t fair to involve her in this mess.

I looked at myself in the steamy mirror. “All’s fair in love and war.” I smiled sadly at my reflection.

***

Even though I was on time, it wasn’t Izzy I saw when I walked up to the gate at the graveyard.

Marcus didn’t look thrilled to see me. That’s an understatement; actually, he looked like smoke might start coming out of his ears at any moment. His jaw was clenched, and even from a distance, I could see the dangerous spark in his eyes. His presence set me on edge, but I didn’t want him to know that. I squared my shoulders and tried to brush past him, but he grabbed my arm.

Jolted by the electricity I’d felt the first time we met, I lost my composure for an instant. Red sparks started dancing on my skin as I resisted the urge to lash out at him. A strange look flickered across his face, and he let go of my arm with a grunt.

“What are you doing here?” He growled the words, but I noticed he didn’t touch me again.

“Here at Greyfriars, or here in Scotland?” I wanted to sound jaunty and unafraid, but my voice shook slightly.

“Take your pick. But more importantly, why did my sister call me to tell me she’d met another Red Witch this morning?”

I swallowed nervously. “She told you?”

He nodded. “I followed her here. She’s inside, waiting for you.”

I started to scoot around him. “Then I better get going.”

“Not so fast.” He shifted, blocking the narrow sidewalk.

“You said you didn’t want to work with me. So why are you here?”

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t trust you any more than you should trust me. Would you leave me alone with your sister?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t have a sister, so I can’t tell you what I’d do.”

Marcus nodded, staring at my face intently. “I don’t think you mean her harm.”

“I don’t!” I rushed to assure him. “Nothing like that.” I didn’t mean to hurt her, but I did mean to use her; I hoped Marcus couldn’t read my mind, but I felt a small thrill of triumph. Meeting Izzy had already brought me back into contact with Marcus. My plan was working!

“You don’t mean her harm,” he continued as if I’d never spoken, “but you’re still raw, Red. You’re more likely to cause harm even when you don’t mean to.”

The question that popped out of my mouth surprised us both. “How long have you been a Red?”

His gaze turned wary. “Why?”

“Izzy said something this afternoon that made me wonder.” That and his condescending tone whenever he talked to me. No one I knew in America declared their path before puberty, but both Marcus and Izzy seemed incredibly knowledgeable about their different magics for their ages.

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s just say I’ve been a Red a lot longer than you.”

Defiance sparked in me, and I glared at him. “How do you know?”

“You declared, what, half a year ago?”

He laughed at my startled face. “If you weren’t so new to this, you would never have come here. And if you knew what you were doing, you wouldn’t have collapsed the vault.”

I flushed. “You don’t know anything about me, so stop pretending that you do.”

His smirk irritated me, and I threw caution to the wind.

“I know more about Red magic than you think. I bet you haven’t been to the Underworld for training. I bet the gods haven’t fought over you.” I hoped to elicit some surprise from him, but his stormy expression was not what I’d expected.

“You’d lose that bet, Darlena. I’d be careful what you say; you don’t know anything.”

He stepped around me and headed down the dark street. I watched his broad shoulders for a moment, and he spun around as if he could sense my eyes.

“If you do anything to hurt her, whether you mean it or not, I swear that I will find you. And when I do, you will not survive.” He faded into the darkness, his threat hanging in the street like smoke.

Gods, what have I gotten myself into?
Was working with Marcus even worth the risk? I tried to ignore the sinking sensation in my stomach and hurried into the graveyard to find Izzy. Marcus’s threat was still ringing in my ears as I walked, and I hoped I wouldn’t have to travel too far into the spooky graveyard to find his sister. I was too on edge to wander around the place, and I didn’t want to make a fool of myself.

Luckily, Izzy was near the entrance. She was perched on a raised tomb, fiddling with her cell phone. “What took you so long?”

I started to tell her how annoying her brother was, but I hesitated. Sure, she’d told him about me, but he was the one who followed her here tonight. Maybe she didn’t know he’d been outside. I decided to lie. “I fell asleep at the hotel.”

She snorted. “Loser.”

I shrugged. “I think I’m still jetlagged.”

“That’s not hard to get over. It’s just like magic.”

“What do you mean?”

She looked at me pityingly. “Whenever you do a lot of magic, don’t you get that queasy lightheaded feeling?”

I nodded, not sure where this was going.

“How do you fix yourself?”

“I usually eat bread, or something else carby.”

She smiled. “Anything else?”

“Tea?”

Izzy shook her head. “The best way to cure a magical hangover, or jetlag for that matter, is bread dipped in honey. Bread by itself is good, but the honey adds a kick that helps you feel better.”

It sounded like it would work; I’d have to try it the next time I did a spell. “Thanks.”

“Whatever. That’s not why you wanted to keep talking.”

I shook my head, trying to get my thoughts in order. I needed to make her trust me if I had any hope of getting to Marcus through her, but I wanted to hang out with her, too. “I don’t really know where to begin.”

“Who’s your patron?”

I paused, unsure of how much to share with this girl. I’d told my parents and Justin about what happened with Aphrodite, but even that had felt weird. Why would I tell a complete stranger something so personal?
You told Marcus,
a sharp voice whispered in my mind.
Why not his sister?

She crossed her arms, glaring at me. “I told you mine! At least be fair.”

“I don’t have one.”

Her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Why not?”

“It’s complicated.”

“How?” She looked at me expectantly, her blue eyes open and bright.

I decided to trust her. There was just something about the kid that made me want to be her friend, and friends were honest with each other. Rochelle and I had told each other everything before she came after me. I sighed at that thought. Hopefully, Izzy wouldn’t betray me once she knew me better. Besides, her brother already knew my story; if either of them were likely to use it against me, it’d be him.

“I had a patron. I swore to Aphrodite.” The words felt heavy leaving my mouth, and they hung in the air between us as if I’d spoken a spell. I shivered, wondering fleetingly if Aphrodite would attack me someday. The vow I broke had pretty much guaranteed my destruction, but at the time, she’d seemed more hurt than angry.

Izzy scrunched her face up in confusion. “How … ”

I held up my hand. “I said it’s complicated.”

“Sorry. Go ahead.”

I took a deep breath. “I swore to her because, well, because I was desperate, I guess. She was the only Red goddess who seemed sane.” I shuddered as I remembered the other Red gods who had sought me out; Pele hadn’t seemed too awful until she followed me across the ocean, but Kali was terrifying from the start.

Izzy’s eyes widened, but she kept her mouth shut.

“It was a mistake. I learned a lot from her, but not as much as I needed. So, um, well … ” I trailed off, unsure. I scrambled up onto the tomb to join Izzy while I thought about what to say.

“What?”

I sighed. I had just told Marcus this story a day ago, but that didn’t make it any easier. “I ate a pomegranate seed.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but it gave me kind of a redo.”

“Where’d you get the seed?”

“Persephone.”

Izzy whistled between her teeth. “Dang! How many gods have you met?”

I shrugged and her eyes got bigger.

“You don’t even know?”

Thinking for a moment, I said, “Seven, I guess. No, wait, eight.” I wasn’t sure if I should count Loki or not, but I guessed I had met him, sort of.

“I’ve only ever met Isis.” Her voice was quiet, and I glanced at her.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

She shook her head. “I don’t. It’s just, well, you must be something pretty special if you’ve met that many gods.”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s just that there are way more Red gods than there ever are Red Witches.”

“So why isn’t Persephone your patron?”

I sighed. “I wasn’t ready to swear to a god again. It had helped me, the first time, but I’d also felt limited.”

“I’ve never felt limited with Isis.”

“You’re lucky.”

Izzy and I talked until midnight in the ghost-free graveyard, and everything she said made me feel like I still had a lot to learn about magic. How could someone so young know so much? It wasn’t until I was walking back to my hotel that I realized I hadn’t been cold all evening. As soon as I had that thought, I started shivering uncontrollably, and I hurried the last few blocks. Maybe Izzy’s magic was more fiery than she let on, or maybe talking to her had just distracted me from the winter weather.

Because of the chill, it seemed like the city should have been deserted, but the streets were alive with people. Most businesses were closed, but every block I passed had at least two pubs, their doors open, spilling light and laughter into the cold, winter night. The holiday celebrations were in full swing.

I didn’t feel much like celebrating, but the sound of the parties was enticing. Maybe I would be in a better mood once my plans were underway. I knew that the Hogmany celebrations in Edinburgh were legendary, but this wasn’t a vacation. I had serious work to do. I’d made headway tonight with Izzy, but that still wasn’t a guarantee that Marcus would help me. Maybe it was time for me to start considering other options. What was it Loki had said the last time I dreamt of him? That he’d help me bind Hecate if I freed him somehow? The very idea made the hair on my arms stand up, and I pushed the thought away. It had been a long day, and maybe I’d be able to think more clearly in the morning.

My room was dark, and I fumbled along the wall for a moment before my fingers found the light switch. Freya was sitting at the desk.

“What are you doing here?” I meant it as a straightforward question, but the goddess cocked her head to one side.

“I can move about all the north lands with ease, child. They worshiped me here as well as in Iceland.”

I blushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that. But that’s not what I meant. Why are you here, in my room, tonight?”

She sighed. “You have not listened to my advice.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’ve spoken with Loki.”

It took effort to keep my face neutral, but inside I was seething. What right did this goddess have to push her way inside my dreams? “Not intentionally.”