Chapter 8

 

I don’t know how much time I’d been unconscious, but Raphael’s strong scent of strawberries and vanilla stirred my senses, prompting me to move my limbs. Pain shot in my temples, and I stood upright, touching my head: it felt heavier than a bag of steel.

“Do you feel better?” Raphael’s voice reached my ears, his hot breath caressing my neck, and I opened my eyes. I half-expected to see myself in that horrible underground dungeon, the bottomless pit gaping nearby. But thank magic, we were out of it. I held back my excitement as I recognized Drogo’s castle interior. Dang it! We were still in his grand hall.

“Come. Drink this, girl. It’ll heal you,” Mayatri said, handing me a small vial that she unstrapped from her belt.

“What’s this?” I asked as my fingers cupped the glass vial. The liquid inside glowed a dark pink color, lined with bluish hues.

“It’s a vitality potion. It’ll shed off any spells or poison that Drogo’s minions might have hurled onto you.”

The Egyptian goddess’ words reminded me of the last fight and the short guy who’d shot me with a funny gun as if taken from a children’s toy store. I began to ask Raphael what had happened with me, but he put his forefinger on my lips.

“Shh, no questions. Drink this first.”

His touch felt nice and warm, and I gave up asking questions. I uncorked the small vial and braced myself for the smoking liquid. Having tasted Dara’s various potions, I expected this one to taste bitter like a nasty cough syrup. To my surprise, the sweet taste of fruits and sugar poured down my throat, warming my insides. I drank the vial’s liquid up to the last drop, regret nestling in the bottom of my stomach as I finished the potion.

“I see you liked it,” Mayatri said, pride oozing in her voice. She nodded approvingly at the empty vial I handed back to her, and she strapped it again on her belt. A boost of energy shot up in my blood, the heaviness in my head lifting. I sucked in a deep breath of air, feeling more alive than ever.

“It’s working! I’m fine now,” I said enthusiastically and stood up. My feet had stopped swaying unsteadily on the ground, and I was standing with the confidence of a combat soldier.

“What’s this potion? It’s fabulous!” I had to concede that it didn’t only taste better than Dara’s, it also worked faster than hers. Okay, maybe only a little faster, but still.

“It’s the nectar of the gods, but don’t ask me for the recipe, only Isis can give it to you,” Mayatri said.

Now that I was back in the game, my mind began processing the current situation. I turned to Raphael. “Where are the others? Ares and Tarrence? And why the hell are we still in Drogo’s shitty castle?”

Mayatri chuckled at my last remark, but I ignored her. Raphael put his arms on my shoulders and giving me a quick massage, he said,

“The others are in Drogo’s private chambers. The sorcerer gave in to them and revealed Drogo’s whereabouts. We came here since you were unconscious and couldn’t stay in that space. All the dark-hooded figures either died or fled from the bottomless pit. The good news is, the dragon fae escaped their clutches. We’re now waiting for Tarrence to come back, bringing in Drogo.”

“We decided to wait here in case they need our help, though I doubt it,” Mayatri added.

“Why do you doubt it?” I asked her, slightly puzzled.

“Because I can clearly see them now. They’ve already captured Drogo and are bringing him here.”

My heart slowed down; my ears went partly muted as her words rang through my body. Drogo was captured?! The big, bad guy who’d been causing all sorts of problems to the Council of Nine was finally captured? Ah, well, but that was mostly due to Lucius’ golden boy’s involvement. I shook my head to combat the overwhelming emotions that swirled in my heart, making it race wildly.

“Ugh, how can you see that?” I managed to ask, my voice coming off hoarse.

The archangel smiled. “This is our third eye’s knowledge. All gods have this type of gift, and those who received the gods’ blessings.”

It was on my lips to ask if archangels could see with their third eye, too, but decided not to ask such sensitive questions given where we stood. I recalled the watchful fallen angels and looked around, my eyes searching for them and their prying eyes in the hanging portraits. I sighed in relief as I saw no painting had come to life watching or listening to us.

“Don’t worry, Aiyana. I have disabled Drogo’s annoying watchers. No one can harm or overhear us here,” Mayatri said. As she explained to me, her ankh started glowing in a golden light, shimmering in the semi-dark space. I instantly liked this magic: it warmed my insides, sending a nice titillating taste down my throat, reminding me of sangria.

I goggled at the Egyptian warrior: did she just read my mind? The afterthought as to why she hadn’t blocked the fallen angels’ magic in the grand hall when we had landed in here barely crossed my mind when she said, shrugging, “I couldn’t do it before. It would have revealed our presence to Drogo. Now that our boys have captured him, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Oh, yes, she’d read my mind. I cast a spell to block her from further reading my thoughts.

“I’m sorry, love. I am a bit nosy. I can’t help it.” She smiled apologetically and I forced a smile, too. She’d read my mind yet again! How cheeky. But this would end now: no more mind reading.

Someone’s rhythmic steps on the stairs in the far end reached our ears and my heart skipped a bit: was it Tarrence and Ares bringing in the captured Drogo? The steps grew louder, drawing nearer and soon Tarrence’s handsome face appeared, accompanied by Ares’ imposing and stout body, right behind Drogo. Ares’ golden spear nudged Drogo to move forward. His limp feet produced a hollow thud as they hit the ground. When they drew nearer to us, I noticed the pair of glowing cuffs on Drogo’s hands. He looked like a shadow of his former self: his face pale, fear locked in his unfocused eyes, his back hunched, crawling in fear. There was no trace of the arrogant and smug Nephilim; this replica of his seemed more like a tamed zoo tiger being depraved of water and food.

“Oh, you waited for us?” Tarrence said as he came over to us. “I thought you’d teleport.”

“We needed to stay in case you needed help,” Mayitri said.

“Who? We? Needing help?” Ares’ deep baritone voice barked at us and he propelled Drogo with his spear to come closer to us. “I never need any help from anyone,” he said proudly, puffing out his chest.

I couldn’t help but ask myself what Zeus might have responded to this statement had he heard it. I bet he wouldn’t be pleased.

“Very well,” Tarrence clapped with his hands, ignoring the Greek god’s statement. “We captured the asshole, and my master will be pleased. Now let’s leave this castle.” He raised his hand. Again, a web of dark sparkling glyphs shimmered in the space, engulfing us, tingling our skin. I wrapped my arm around Raphael’s waist, nestling against his chest. A dark, sparkling cloud with multitude of glyphs dancing across its edges rose before us and grabbed us by the waist, pulling us into the void.

***

The dark cloud spat us back in Inferno Hall. All the gods that were present from our meeting were still there. Lucius stood abruptly as he laid eyes on the cuffed Drogo. Durga gasped when she saw the captured Nephilim, while Shiva glowered at him. Isis and Anubis each kept a deadpan face. Zeus cleared his throat while Hera absentmindedly clicked on her cell phone, not even a bit interested at what was happening in the hall. I wish I could feign her disinterest, but then, I wasn’t a goddess.

“You.” Lucius began accusingly, his voice cold as ice, “We finally see each other face to face. Thank you, love,” he nodded at Tarrence and the latter released his grip on Drogo. Drogo flinched at the sight of the Dark Lord, but he kept his cool. Ares joined Zeus and Hera perching on a chair next to them.

Lucius turned to us. “I’m closing our meeting. I’ll summon our peculiar council as soon as this dickhead spills out the beans and tells me about his and Hades’ evil plans.” Lucius grabbed Drogo’s shoulder and gave us a curt nod, a signal for us to leave his chambers. All the gods gradually disappeared from Inferno Hall, teleporting to their respective homes in Angels’ City. Shiva and Durga teleported too, taking Raphael and me with them.

I didn’t expect that. I could feel they wanted to consult with us. They wanted to know how the fight had gone and what we’d seen in Drogo’s lair. The teleportation magic delivered us right into the cozy garden of Angels’ City’s administrative building.

“I teleported you two here because I wanted to arrange a plan for action,” Durga began, her tone matter-off fact. “Lucius will call me as soon as he extracts useful information from Drogo, and I will inform you two as the rest of the Council of Nine. We need to act quickly and wisely. I can feel there’s much more here than meets the eye.”

“What do you mean?” Raphael asked her.

“Back in Inferno Hall I smelled deception—”

“Maybe because it’s Lucius’ home?” Shiva offered, cutting off the goddess, but she shook her head.

“No, it wasn’t just that. I sensed something else, darker and more sinister than even Drogo’s schemes. Something from Inferno Hall.”

“What do you mean?” I asked her, joining the conversation. For some reason, what she’d just told us resonated with how I’d felt back there. Something very fishy and rotten was brewing in the Dark Lord’s lair. Or perhaps this had to do with Lucius’ magical energy and his rotten kingdom.

Durga steadied herself and replied, “I think there’s a mole in Lucius’ court. Someone is playing a double game. We need to find who those guys are, immediately. Our very survival depends on that.”