Gods of Chaos (Red Magic) (3 page)

I kept pouring magic into my voice. “She’ll never blame you. The plane had to land in Iceland. You lost sight of me at the airport. Maybe they’ll even route me on a different flight. No one would blame you,” I repeated firmly.

She sighed, dropping the knife. I leaned over and grabbed it before she could notice. “No one would blame me,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut.

When she opened her eyes, they were clear. “Good luck getting to Scotland. I think I need to find a bar and rebook my flight.” She stood up with a little wave and joined the crowd filling the aisle.

I pocketed the knife and smiled weakly at her, not surprised by her abrupt shift. Glamour magic worked on more than just appearances, and it seemed that whatever spell Hecate had cast on the woman hadn’t been designed to hold up under pressure. How had Hecate even known which flight I’d be on? She hadn’t tried anything since I defeated Rochelle, and I’d started to believe I might finally be safe from her. So much for that fantasy.

I waited until a dozen passengers were between the woman and me before standing to grab my backpack. Once I stepped into the airport, I dropped the knife in the closest trash can and then headed straight for a harried-looking airline employee. His nametag spelled out “
CARL
” in blue letters, and white-blond hair framed his young face. I took a deep breath and summoned my magic.

“Look,” I began, “I need to get to Scotland.” The glamour I was using made my voice musical, and Carl grinned sappily at me. “I’d be happy to fly out tomorrow if the airline would find me a hotel.”

Carl sighed in relief. “No one has agreed to fly out later—everyone wants to get where they’re going now! I’m sure we can arrange a voucher for you. Does it matter when you fly tomorrow?” He headed to a computer kiosk, beckoning me to follow him.

I thought for a moment. I didn’t want to delay my search for too long, but I figured I could spare a day. “I’d like to get there before tomorrow evening, but anytime in the day should be fine.”

He sighed. “I love travelers with flexible plans. You have no idea how rare you are, miss.”

“
You
have no idea,” I muttered. With a few quick strokes of the keyboard, Carl was printing me a new ticket for the following day. I eyed it gratefully, while Carl kept typing.

“Flying out on Christmas Eve. I guess you don’t have family waiting on you in Scotland.”

I shook my head. “I’m just traveling for fun.”

“Don’t your parents mind you not being around for Christmas?”

Wordlessly, I shook my head. If they minded the trip at all, they hadn’t let on. Not that that would have stopped me; I was determined that the next time I faced Hecate, I wouldn’t do it alone.

I headed to the curb outside the airport, following the directions Carl had given me to find the hotel shuttle. He’d been nicer than I expected, but then again, magic tended to make people larger versions of themselves. I guess Carl was already a pretty nice guy, because under my spell he’d printed me fifty dollars in food vouchers, a hotel voucher for a luxury resort for the night, plus a free one-way ticket to anywhere. I hadn’t expected the free ticket; my spell had taken on a life of its own.

A small white van with the hotel logo on the side pulled up to the curb, and I opened the door.

The big, smiling driver looked like a Viking right out of an old Hollywood movie, complete with messy long hair and bulging muscles, and I almost cracked up when he stuck out his hand and said, “My name is Odin. Welcome to Iceland!”

The ride from the airport to the hotel was over pretty fast. Grateful, I handed Odin a tip when he opened the door for me.

He shook his head. “No tip. Just have a nice trip!”

He trundled off toward the van with a wave, and I pocketed the money as I waved back. Maybe I should have asked Carl to give me a couple of days to explore Iceland, I thought, as I carried my backpack inside the hotel. I’d never had an interest to travel there, but the people had been really nice so far. I sighed. This wasn’t a vacation, I reminded myself. I was on a mission, and based on my encounter with the woman on the plane, time was running out.

I’d been counting on meeting with the other Red in secret and joining forces with her, but it looked like the Queen of Witches was a step ahead of me. It was sick how she was willing to use anyone; that poor woman on the plane had freaked me out, but Hecate hadn’t thought twice about getting an innocent Non involved in our fight. I realized I was shaking, and it took me three tries to swipe the key card and get into the safety of my hotel room.

Carl had done a really good job with my voucher: the room was a suite with a kitchenette, a king-sized bed, and a balcony. Poking my head into the bathroom, I grinned in delight when I saw the massive claw-footed tub. Even if I hadn’t narrowly escaped death on the plane, a hot bath would have still sounded amazing.

Dropping my backpack, I began rooting around in it. Finally, I found the pill case I had filled with herbs. I’d wanted to keep them separate, so I’d used one of those “pill a day” cases that I’d picked up at the dollar store. I fished out a pinch of rosemary from the Wednesday slot, some peppermint from Tuesday, and a dried clove from Sunday.

I ran the water extra hot, and soon the suite was filled with the scent of my magical bath. I had begun dabbling in Herb magic over the past year, before I went Red, and Mom had insisted I take the herbs with me to Scotland.

“Herbs can help you,” she’d said when she helped me pack early this morning. “Clove will protect you, and if you charge it right, it’ll help you to divine the truth.” The peppermint was for calming, and the rosemary for protection when traveling. Most of the other herbs she sent me with served similar purposes. Having the herbs with me made me feel like I wasn’t traveling alone; it was almost like having Mom there with me, and that thought was comforting.

As I eased myself into the steaming water, I made a mental note to thank her when I called home later that night. I’d sent a text as soon as the plane landed to let them know about the change in plans, but they hadn’t been surprised. Mom had texted back to say Dad had been watching my flight on the computer. He probably knew about our change of course before I did. At least they weren’t worried about me … yet.

Leaning my head against the cold porcelain lip of the tub, I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing deeply. I hadn’t just wanted to take a bath to relax: I was hoping that the combination of herbs would stir up some visions to help me strategize. I didn’t have any delusions about Hecate, despite the fact that she hadn’t moved against me again until tonight. I was sure that if she could arrange it, I wouldn’t live very long.

Suddenly nervous, I sat up, sloshing water onto the floor. I realized that I hadn’t cast any kind of ward on the hotel room. I’d been in such a rush to soak in the tub that I’d ignored my safety.
Stupid move, Lena.
Grabbing a white towel off the floor, I hurried to stand up. Water cascaded down my legs as I climbed out of the tub. Quickly, I muttered the words of protection that would create a temporary ward around the room. Holding out my left hand, I started to walk around the suite, moving clockwise.

I was almost to the door when the knob began to rattle. I froze for a moment, and then hurried to seal the circle. The handle of the door went still. A second latter, a loud knock sounded and I jumped, clutching my towel with both hands.

“Room service,” a muffled voice called from the hall.

Cautiously, I crossed to the door and tried to look out the peephole, but the distorted image in front of me was just the top of someone’s dark head. I couldn’t see anything else.

“I didn’t order anything,” I called, trying to sound confident.

“Complimentary for our special guest.” The woman looked up then and I saw the flash of her red eyes.

I swallowed. Why wasn’t she just blasting the door down? Pele had popped into my bedroom uninvited before, and I was sure she could do it again. My skin crawled as I looked at her.

“Swear a truce.” The words left my mouth before I had time to question them. I saw her sneer through the door.

“Why would I do that?”

“You could have just come in here. But you wanted me to know who you were. Well, lady, I’m not opening the door until you swear you won’t harm me.”

She laughed roughly. “Surely you know your time grows shorter with each breath.”

“Swear it.”

Her eyes seemed to bore into mine through the door. “Very well. I swear by my great mountain that I will not harm you tonight.”

I paused, trying to see if there was any loophole in her words. Finally, I shrugged. “Okay.”

I opened the door and the Mistress of Volcanoes swept into the room.

I faced her, holding my towel tight. “Well? What are you doing here?”

She laughed, her fiery eyes sparking. “You are the one who entered my realm.”

“What are you talking about? You’re a Polynesian goddess.”

“Any land that has one of my fire mountains belongs to me.”

For a minute, her words didn’t make any sense, but then I remembered the recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland. That had been one of the news items Justin forwarded to me while I was comatose.

Pele smiled as she saw the realization dawn on me. “Yes. You are in my domain now, Darlena.”

I gulped when she said my name. She sounded … hungry. “What do you want?”

She bared her teeth. “A bargain.”

“What?”

“You are without a goddess again, are you not?”

I nodded, wondering how she knew.

“It has been long since I had a Red to represent me. If you would swear to me—”

“Why in the world would I do that?” I exploded. “You told me yourself you demand sacrifices, and that’s not what I want to do with my power.”

Pele glared at me. “Foolish girl. Do not cross me. With me as your patron, you would grow more powerful. And none could harm you.”

“I’ll take my chances.” I clutched my towel tighter, and the goddess smiled.

“I will not make this offer again.”

“That’s fine. I won’t swear to you.”

Her eyes blazed. “Fine. But remember this. You are in my land now. Watch where you walk.”

She turned on her heel and left, slamming the hotel door behind her. I let out my breath in a rush and locked the deadbolt.

I glanced into the bathroom, but lounging in a tub seemed like the last thing I wanted now. I drained the water and looked around. Catching a glimpse of my reflection in the huge wall mirror, I shuddered. I looked far worse than jetlagged: I looked like I was on death’s door.

Hurriedly, I pulled on my sweats and an old T-shirt I’d stolen from Justin. He was tall, but he wasn’t a bulky guy. When I glanced back in the mirror, I realized with a shock that his shirt hung on me like a circus tent.
When did I lose all that weight?
My sweats were slung low on my hips, and I cinched the drawstring as tight as I could. Stepping closer to the mirror, I shook my head.

I studied my face, and it was like staring at a stranger. My eyes were sunken into my skull, and I could see the bones of my jaw like ragged edges underneath my skin. I pressed my fingertips to my cheeks. I’d never had a problem with my weight, but I’d always been closer to curvy than skinny. Justin said he liked me that way, and the memory of his hands caressing my skin made my face flush. Instead of a normal blush, however, my cheeks turned blotchy, like I’d been experimenting with makeup. I looked awful.