“Luke Seren’s dead.” I broke the news to everyone at dinner. We were gathered around a makeshift fire pit. Ambrose had managed to buy a couple of steaks and some vegetables and Talbot cooked over an open fire.
Rebecca gasped. “Nyx, what did you do?”
“Thanks a lot,” I told her. “I didn’t do anything. I left the room and when I came back, he was dead.”
Naomi was quiet. There were purple smudges under her eyes. She’d been the one to cut his thread of Fate. Even though she wasn’t the one who had killed him, it was hard on her. I hoped it didn’t get any easier. No wonder Morta had been as icy as a glacier by the time she’d died.
“Probably a wraith,” Doc said. “Or maybe he had some poison on hand just in case.”
“Either way, I didn’t get anything out of him before he died,” I said.
“You could try talking to him,” Talbot said. “You know, postlife conversation.”
“Maybe later,” I said. “I need to figure out the Fates’ secrets first.”
Rebecca turned to Claire. “You’re sure there’s no mention of it in the Book of Fates?”
“Mentions, yes,” she replied. “But nothing on how to activate its magic.”
Talbot and I exchanged glances. Naomi caught us and kicked both of us under the table.
“What was that for?” I asked.
“You know,” she said. “Quit with the conspiracy theories. It’s not in the book. You’re going to have to figure it out yourself.”
We’d just finished dinner, or supper, as Talbot liked to call it, when Doc made an announcement. “It’s time I went back to my life,” he said.
“You’re leaving? Before we defeat Hecate?” I asked.
“I can’t stay, Nyx.” His hands were shaking, so I didn’t press it. My father was deserting me. Again. The thought filled me with rage, but there was nothing I could do about it.
I held out my hand. “Good-bye, Doc.”
He clutched my hand tightly. “Why don’t you come with me? Hecate will kill your friends and family in front of you.”
That didn’t make her that different from the Fates. “I’m not going to leave,” I said. “I’d rather die with my friends than run.”
“She will burn the city to the ground,” he said grimly.
“I have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” I said.
“Hecate can’t be defeated,” he said.
“How do you know?”
“Because I’ve tried.”
“Try again,” I said. “Running is a cowardly thing to do.”
“I am a coward,” he replied.
“Stay and fight with us,” I said. The rest of the table went silent.
“I can’t,” he said. “But I can give you one last lesson before I go.” I couldn’t really blame my father for wanting to run. I’d spent a life doing it.
“I do want to know something,” I said. “Hecate killed Morta with my blood. Do you know anything about that?”
“You are the son of Hades, Nyx,” he said. “Your blood is powerful.”
He wasn’t telling me the whole truth. “Fine,” I said. “Teach me everything I can do one-handed.” The sarcasm in my voice was not lost upon my father.
“The first thing I can teach you is that bitterness doesn’t help.”
“Neither does fear,” I said. “You’re not bitter?”
He shook his head. “I have regrets,” he said. We excused ourselves and went to have a final father-son moment.
I cleared my throat. “Why can’t I summon my mother?” I asked Doc.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Maybe you’re afraid of the pain that comes from the loss of something you loved.”
“Can you see her?”
“Yes.” The sadness in his voice convinced me.
“What good are my powers if I can’t even talk to my mother?” I said. “Just once.”
“Maybe it will happen when you don’t expect it,” he said.
“Or maybe I’ll never see her again,” I replied.
He put a hand on my shoulder. “I want to show you something.”
“That one last thing before you go?” The sarcasm in my voice made him wince.
“This is the spell that Hecate used on me,” he said. “It’s called a Prometheus spell.”
“What does it do?”
“It sucks the soul right out of you,” he said. “And whoever you use it on is cursed to wander until he or she regains the lost soul.”
“Did you regain yours?”
“Yes,” he said. “But not without effort. And sacrifice.” Doc had been through a lot in his long life. No wonder he wanted to hang out in Asphodel and be left in peace.
“Why are you showing me this?”
“Because Hecate will try to use it on you. It’s what she used on Morta.”
“Using my blood?” The thought sickened me.
He nodded. “She used my own blood on me once. I want you to be able to defend yourself,” he replied.
We practiced the spell until Doc thought I had the hang of it. It left me wrung out and dazed.
“Does anything else work?” I said. “Say, Medusa’s mirror?”
“Medusa’s mirror has been lost for centuries,” he said. “But, yes, if you could find it, the mirror would work to deflect the spell. But since we don’t have it, this will have to suffice.”
I started to tell him that I had the mirror, but decided against it. I wanted to tell him a lot of things, including that I’d miss him, but it was no use. He’d already made up his mind to leave.
Afterward, he gave me a brief hug and disappeared.