TENN
“Tricky, tricky,” the Dark Lady said. She didn’t seem fazed by Tenn’s magic or his invisibility; in fact, she smiled. As though this were a game. As though it were finally getting fun. “But not clever enough I’m afraid.”
Power rippled through the air, an undulation of a mirage, and Tenn staggered back as he felt Maya connect, as his skin burned, crawling with a million fire ants. He fell to his hands and knees, and when he staggered back up, the Dark Lady was smiling at him.
“There you are,” she said.
He glanced to his hands. The runes hiding him were gone.
“Did you think you could save your friends by bringing me here? Did you think you would spare them? You merely delay the inevitable, Tenn. As you have always done.”
She circled him. Once more, he wondered why she didn’t attack, why she didn’t rip him from existence with Maya’s touch. Did she enjoy playing with them all so much?
Then, the question bounced back—why hadn’t he attacked her? After everything she’d done, why was he not on the offensive? Why was he letting her talk?
A voice inside whispered that he wanted to know. To know why she had done it, why she cursed the world. But that wasn’t the truth. The truth was he still wanted to know why she had set her sights on him in the first place.
“I’ve watched you from the very beginning,” she said, reading his darkest thought. “I’ve watched your struggles and your tears. I’ve watched you run from my minions, watched you wrestle with your fledgling power, with the idea that you might be the Chosen One. But you are not, Tenn. You are merely another fighter, another pawn on my chessboard to move as I desire. Every step you have taken has been by my design. Do you not see? I needed you to discover the runes that had been hidden from me, the secrets of the Ancients and the Violet Sage, the powers that they tried so hard to keep from my hands. And you gave them to me.”
She stepped closer.
“Everything you have fought for has been in vain. Even now, the lover you went to the ends of the earth to bring back fights his last fight. Soon, he will die, and he will be back in my arms once more. Just like your parents.” She tilted her head, a movement that reminded him all too strongly of Tomás. “Your fight had been in vain then as well, was it not? Ten days it took you to reach them. And by then, you were far too late.” Her smile chilled his blood as much as her words did. “But you have served me well, child. Even if you did not intend to. And I always reward those who serve me.”
The world around them rippled.
“Creation is mine to bend. Past and present, they are merely words on a page, words I may at any point rearrange, should I so desire.”
He blinked. And there, standing to either side of her, were the two people he had convinced himself he would never see again. At least, not in this lifetime.
“Mom?” Tears filled his eyes. “Dad?”
They looked at him with all the love in the world in their eyes. They were happy. Whole. Not like the corpses he’d found torn apart in the garden shed. Not like the memory that years and violence had bloodied beyond distinction.
He nearly fell to his knees.
The Dark Lady smiled. “They are here. As they have always been, in my arms, from the moment they left this world. I am the Goddess of Death, Tenn. If you were to serve me, I could bring them back to you. I have use of your knowledge. The language of your gods is still largely forgotten. Together, we could bring it back. The power of the old gods, and the new.”
When she stroked his cheek, he didn’t even have the resolve to slap her hand away. Her words struck too many chords. He could barely even focus on her. He wanted to run over and hug his parents, but he knew that the moment he moved the vision would fade.
He didn’t want it to fade.
He reached up, gently took the Dark Lady’s wrist, her fingers still light on his cheek.
“You’d bring them back?” His parents might be illusions, but the tears choking his words were all too real. They were here. They were here.
“Of course, my child,” she cooed. “I could give you everything you desired. The family you lost. And the family you so desperately want to have.”
Another ripple, and the world around them changed. His parents vanished, replaced by another vision, one that hit him even harder.
They were no longer outside, but in a kitchen. The walls bare wood, the counters granite, the room crowded with cabinets and hanging pots and the scent of soup. Outside, rain streamed down, filling the room with its incessant patter.
And humming. Someone was humming. He knew the sound...
Jarrett appeared behind the Dark Lady, stepping over to the large pot simmering on the stove. He was older, his long blond hair streaked with gray. But he was more handsome than ever. Tenn watched with a fist around his heart as Jarrett stirred the soup. He was wearing a wedding ring.
Something thudded farther in the house. Jarrett looked up as a great big golden retriever covered in mud scampered in, trailing filth all over the tile floor. Jarrett let out a yelp, and then Tenn appeared in the picture. Older as well, not in the Hunter’s garb but a rain jacket and rubber boots, all covered in mud and sopping wet.
Jarrett burst out into laughter as the shadow Tenn tried to reign in the excited dog, making the kitchen even messier in the process.
“This could be yours, Tenn,” the Dark Lady whispered, breaking through the illusion. “All of it. You have already proven your love to the gods when you brought the boy back. Do you not deserve a future together? Happiness?”
The vision wavered, but it didn’t fade. It was then that he realized he was crying.
He tightened his grip on her wrist. She was so close, he could still smell the grave dirt and perfume clinging to her dress.
“I don’t deserve this,” Tenn said.
“But you do. You do.”
“No.” He looked back at her. “The only thing I deserve is your death.”
He lashed out, a lance of Earth to her flesh. Just like he’d done to Tomás, but this time, he drew a different rune over her heart.
The sigil of the Church.
The Dark Lady howled and staggered back, her hands to her chest. The illusion faded.
They were back in the field, back in the rain, with Outer Chicago’s war still raging in the distance.
He took a step back and readied himself, opened deeper to Earth and Water.
Then the Dark Lady’s yell turned to laughter. It made Tenn’s skin go cold.
“Not as gullible as the other one, then. But still not very intelligent. What did you do?” She traced her hand over her chest, the smile not slipping. “You didn’t try to kill me. No. Ahh, I see. I know that mark.”
Her smile widened. Above and behind her, the air rippled with power. Maya. It didn’t work. It didn’t work.
“Did you truly think that some mortal symbol would have power over the Sphere of the gods? You’re going to have to try much better than that to stop me.”
“That’s why I’m here,” came a voice.
Tenn looked over, and despite everything, the sight made hope flutter in his chest.
Aidan.