Green Tea and Black Death (The Godhunter, Book 5) (15 page)

  “
Vat are you doing?” Kirill continued to glare at me. “Ve're supposed to be
looking for someone
.”

   “
I know,” I shook my head a little and began to frown myself. What was wrong with me? “I did find her and we need to talk. Take a seat, baby.”

 
Kirill's expression became confused as he pulled a chair out between me and the angel, then sat down. Azrael looked him over silently and Kirill gave him the same stoic perusal.

  “
Kirill, this is Azrael,” I gestured to the angel, “as in, the Archangel of Death, Azrael. Az, this is Kirill, my Ganza, and my boyfriend.”

   “
A lion?” Azrael looked over at Kirill with more interest.

   “
An angel?” Kirill stared back.

   “
The plague has progressed,” I pulled both of their attention back to me. “I met Azrael when he was collecting the first victim's soul. Well, hopefully he was the first. Anyway, I called the police and reported it but I lost Xi Wangmu.”

   “
You should have called me,” Kirill was back to frowning and so was I.

   “
Yeah, I should have,” I shook my head again and took a deep breath. “Did you do some sort of juju on me?” I leveled my stare on Azrael.

   “
Pardon?” He lifted one brow.

   “
I feel an uncommon attraction to you,” I blurted out. “I think it's dangerously distracting. I'm not one to forget about my Ganza.”

   “
You allowed zis man to distract you,” Kirill now looked hurt, “so much zat you forget me?”

   “
Which is not usual for me, right?” I looked at him straight until he smiled grimly, nodded, and turned his stare onto Azrael as well.

   “
Vat did you do to her?” That's my lion, right to the point.

  “
Nothing,” Azrael spread his hands harmlessly. “I've barely spoken to another living being in years. I would hardly wish to bespell the first one I get a chance to speak to. What I can say, is that I find you equally appealing and I may venture to hypothesize that there could be outside influences at work here... if it's anything so nefarious at all.”

   “
If?” Kirill growled. “My Tima doesn't allow men to distract her from courtesy, especially not courtesy to me.”

  “
I'm merely saying there may be a much more simple explanation,” Azrael smiled gently and everything else faded away for me.

  
I could hear the pounding of my heart clearly, then there was a rushing sound like the beating of thousands of wings. My butterflies, it was the love magic rising inside me, filling me with the flapping of delicate wings. Part of me recognized how terrible this was, a new lover was the last thing I needed right now, but the larger part of me knew I absolutely did need this man and I wouldn't be satisfied till I had him. It wasn't just the love magic that wanted him, it was the lioness, and she wouldn't be ignored.

   “
Oh fuck,” I whispered. “I think he's right.”

   “
Vat is right?” Kirill took my hand and I tore my attention away from Az to focus on him.

   “
My magic recognizes him,” I couldn't seem to make my voice rise above a whisper. “Maybe this is plain old attraction but now that I'm a love goddess, it goes to a whole new level.”

   “
No,” Kirill shook his head. “You vould have noticed before. Besides, I've never seen you so taken vith someone, so fast.”

   “
Is there a reason you would be attracted to Death?” Azrael sipped his coffee serenely as both mine and Kirill's eyes got big and we stared at each other in horror. “Ah, that seems to have struck a chord.”

   “
She vas taken by Death recently,” Kirill was the first to recover, “kidnapped by Anubis and imprisoned in Duat.”

   “
But you escaped,” a small wrinkle appeared between Azrael's eyes and I stared at it in fascination.

   “
Yes,” I swallowed hard, “with help. In fact, it was Jesus who gave me a sip from the Grayel, relieving me of Anubis' mark and making me a goddess, all in one shot.”

   “
Jesus helped you?” Azrael leaned forward. “I'm impressed, he doesn't give just anyone a drink from that thing.”

   “
I think Fenrir had some influence,” I smiled.

   “
Mmm,” Azrael pondered this a moment. “I could see how a request from the Wolf God might make Jesus take notice but what did Anubis do to you to necessitate a sip from the Grayel?”

   “
I don't really want to go into it,” I looked away as blood rushed into my cheeks and flashes of my time spent with Anubis went through my head. “Basically, he stabbed me and it established a connection with him that allowed him to find and get to me wherever I was. A sip from the Grayel was the only way to cut the link.”

   “
Linked to Death,” Azrael mused. “It could explain our strange fascination for each other. All aspects of Death share a bond. We're siblings of a sort. The Afterlife is different for each pantheon but Death is the same. You had a bond with Death and it sounds as if he had a strong attraction to you.”

   “
He said he loved me,” I whispered. “He still says it. I used to think it was a twisted kind of love but I'm not so sure anymore. I think he truly does love me, in his own way.”

   “
Then, in a sense,” Azrael's eyes found mine, “I have loved you.”

   “
So you're attracted to me because of magic,” I made a soft hmph. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

   “
Tima,” Kirill frowned and took my hand. “Ve've talked about zis. You're loved for who you are, the magic just adds to it.”

   “
I know, baby,” I smiled at him but I felt Azrael's eyes on us and when I looked over, his gaze was striking and intense.

   “
How many men do you have, Vervain?” Azrael's gaze darted back and forth between us.

   “
It's the magic of the Intare,” I sighed. “I have to take multiple lovers to satisfy it. My alpha happens to be a werewolf, Fenrir's eldest, and we're having issues right now because of it. Actually, Anubis kind of started this horrible mess. Trevor, my alpha, has gone to stay with his Aunt in Niflheim to avoid the restrictions of our bond.”

   “
You mean your lover has gone to Hel to escape you,” Azrael sat back in his seat, with a raised brow.

  “
You could put it like that,” I patted Kirill's hand when I heard his soft growl. “Like I said, it's complicated. His father wants me to go after him. He's afraid Hel won't let him go now that she has him in her territory.”

  “
She's lonely,” Azrael swallowed hard. “We all are. It is the nature of the office, I imagine. We death deities sacrifice much for our power.” Those light eyes of his sparked once as he looked up.

   “
So you agree with Fenrir,” my pulse sped up. Part of me was in extreme denial I guess. I kind of hoped Trevor would make it out on his own. “You think she'll keep him?”

   “
I think it's highly probable.” He steepled his fingers, pressing his lips to their tops. “But I don't agree with Fenrir.”

   “
You don't?” I looked over at Kirill with surprised hope, before looking back at my, I mean
the,
angel.

   “
No,” he leaned forward, once again intent. “I don't think you should go alone into Hel's territory. You'd die there if you did.”

   “
Oh,” my voice was the barest whisper. The wolf inside me rolled and whimpered. She'd been sleeping a lot, ever since Trevor had gone to his Aunt, a sort of hibernation I guess.

   “
But I will go with you,” Azrael's firm declaration raised both my and Kirill's heads with a snap.

   “
Vhy vould you?” Kirill got right to the point.

   “
I don't know,” he blinked and then his face cleared and settled into an expression I was very familiar with.

   “
No,” I said as I swallowed against my racing pulse. “Not that I wouldn't love to but no. The possibility of more lovers is what got me into this mess in the first place. I'd get Trevor free, just to lose him again.”

   “
And if I made it a requirement?” Azrael arched an elegant brow and smiled lusciously.

   “
Vat are you two talking about?” Kirill demanded.

  “
I can't,” my voice was back to being barely audible. The butterflies were zipping through me, the lioness roaring her desire.

   “
How much do you love your wolf?” The Angel of Death sat across from me in the middle of downtown Honolulu but it was as if he were sitting on a throne judging me. His words carried a weight that closed us off from the businessmen and women bustling back and forth, with their overpriced beverages and yuppie sandwiches. It was only Kirill, him, and I, and we all waited for my answer.

   “
How much do I love Trevor?” I closed my eyes against the other two pairs that seemed intent on piercing my soul. Inside me, I felt my lioness curl protectively around the sleeping wolf. They had fought at first but soon my cat had come to love Trevor as much as I and she had claimed that small part of him for herself. I felt her grooming the she-wolf as she slept on, a note of disapproval in her manner toward me.

  
I know, it sounds schizophrenic but this was what my life had become. I was never alone, not even in my own body. Hosting magic had made my body into a temple, literally. A house for god energy. The love magic was butterflies, the lion was obviously my lioness, and my bond with Trevor had given me a part of his soul, his wolf, but I had changed it to female. To top it all off, I had an animal twin, my Nahual who was, in essence, me. She was a white jaguar who ruled and joined the three; butterflies, lioness, and wolf, together. Between those four and my ever increasing memories of Sabine's, I wasn't sure who I even was half the time.

   “
Tima,” Kirill broke into my musings. “Trevor vould understand zis. You know vhy he vas upset about Anubis. But if zis man... zis angel can bring Trevor home, maybe you should zink about it. I only say zis because I know you. Being vith angel vouldn't be hardship for you.”

  “
No,” I looked gently into Kirill's understanding eyes and wondered again how I got to be so lucky to be loved by so many wonderful men, “it wouldn't be a hardship.” I looked over at Azrael. “What exactly do you want in exchange for helping us? I've learned to be specific.”

   “
Good,” Azrael laughed a little, “very wise of you. I haven't really thought it through. I've been running on instinct from the moment I met you. Something in me wants to hold on to you as long as possible and it seems that I'm going to grasp at any opportunity to do so. How very strange.”

   “
This is all very odd,” I looked him over again, my hormones going crazy at the thought of even being able to touch his silky skin, much less take a part of him inside me. Whoa, I had to take a deep breath. I couldn't look at the guy without my thoughts turning to sex. “I kind of get your weird attraction to me but what I don't understand is why I want you so much. I was never attracted to Anubis like this.”

   “
He must have struck a chord in you,” those pale eyes were glittering again. “Something in you wanted something in him and I'm guessing that something was the Death magic.”

   “
Ok,” I shook my head. “I'm attracted to Death, I still don't see why it's a stronger pull to you.”

   “
You're not attracted to death,” he smiled gently and spread out his hands. “You're a goddess, filled with magic... numerous types if I understand correctly?” After I nodded, he continued. “Well Death is a type of magic and for some reason it calls out to you, you resonate with it, for lack of a better word.”

  “
So that explains why even after the horrendous way Anubis treated me, I still find him beautiful,” I mused and saw Kirill's face go slack in shock. I'd never confessed my continued attraction for Anubis, to Kirill. I kind of thought he'd known, after that kiss in the car. “But why would you be ten times more beautiful to me?”

   “
I haven't heard someone call me beautiful in a long time,” the angel's face practically glowed with pleasure. “I would hazard to say it's all a question of measurements. Anubis is a god of many things, not just death. I have my studies, things to keep my mind busy, but they're not a part of me, like the jackals are for Anubis. I
am
Death, completely, wholeheartedly. As you said earlier, I am the archetype, the creature humans have patterned the Grim Reaper after, Death incarnate. I am Death undiluted and I think it may have overwhelmed you a bit.”

   “
A bit,” I swallowed as the ramifications hit me. It made perfect sense. I'd always been a witch, a child of magic, but now I
was
magic and it would stand to reason that I would be influenced by magic. Why not in the way I viewed others? Magic was a huge part of my sex life already. Then there was the little bit about me being the Godhunter. I killed in my spare time, so much that I earned a nickname among the gods. And let's not forget how I shouldn't even be alive. If not for Odin, I would still
be
dead. It really wasn't all that surprising, me being attracted to Death.