Page 18 of Rogue Witch

“If Leilah Crowe returns from the Reaping, you are to continue to watch her,” Olympia says.

I silently curse. I hate being right.

“As you wish, Grand Witch,” Raith says.

She nods curtly, then faces me. “Blade, walk with me.”

“Of course, Grand Witch.”

She stands and waits while I fetch her long coat from the couch where I’d draped it when she arrived. I hold the coat while she slips her arms into the sleeves, then wait for her to precede me out the door. With a glance at Raith and Ethan that says I will return soon, I follow.

Olympia remains silent until we step from the building into the cold predawn, then says, “You must learn what the Zidruhin know of Damien.”

“Grand Witch, we—”

“No excuses,” she snaps. “The situation has become critical. There can be no doubt Damien has come out of hiding. Whether or not Miriam found a way into Hell, if Zedkeil believes it’s possible, that means Damien will have heard.”

“The angels managed to keep secret for centuries the fact that their god is trapped in Hell,” I say. “They could keep this secret, as well.”

“You never cease to amaze me, Blade. How can a being as old as you be so naïve? The fact that Zedkeil came to see you demonstrates their desperation. Do you think you are the only person Zedkeil talked to about Miriam? Everyone knows she died while practicing Shadow magic. I have every confidence that Margiddians know she blew a hole in her basement in the process. You cannot be the only one able to put two and two together.”

We turn the corner of the building and continue along the shoveled walkway.

“All that need happen is for Damien to believe Miriam found a way into Hell. That would embolden him,” she says.

She has me there.

“His priests must surely know what he plans,” she continues. “Powerful as he is, he can’t accomplish his goals on his own.” She gives me a sideways look. “Can you imagine his and his bride’s Shadow power should they unite?”

Power that sank Atlantis. I shake my head. I do not want to imagine their power. She faces forward again as we take the walkway around the building, headed toward her private apartments.

She pulls her coat closer about her. “The next conflict won’t be a war, but a slaughter. That cannot be allowed.”

“The gods will intervene,” I say.

She laughs without mirth. “They are slippery as eels and as tricky as jinns. The only help we will give is if they face annihilation and they need us.”

“They need us to stop the nightmares,” I say, but know I’m being foolish.

“Are you suggesting I withhold help in ending their nightmares in trade for their help?” She snorts. “They have time before the nightmares become dangerous, which means they will find our weaknesses and exploit them to their advantage. We don’t need them poking into our business.”

The way Tychon was poking around in our business? In Leilah’s business? Fury bubbles to the surface, but I force back the emotion. I will deal with that specific demigod myself.

We reach her building. I open the front door and let her pass before entering.

In the hallway, she stops and faces me, “I will go to Miriam’s home. You find a way to penetrate the Zidruhin.” Without another word, she turns and starts up the stairs to her apartments.

I whirl and hurry back outside. In the space of hours, the world has gone mad. The only thing worse than Leilah being taken from us is the possibility that Damien has found his Demon Bride. If that happens, nothing will save us, not the bond between myself and the other four men who are bound to Ciarah, and not our love for her. We five have often wondered if anything could kill us. The Shadows can kill us. Worse, if they infected us and we lived indefinitely…. Might another Shadow war might be triggered?

Leilah’s words the night we brought her back from her grandmother’s house rise in memory, “You defeated The Shadows in the final battle.”

“You were there, too,” she’d said to Ethan, then to Raith, “The two of you together.” Then, her attention turned on me, “You, too, Blade. Miss Mack called you Commander, but I didn’t know you were there. Why?”

“Because my part was more…covert,” I’d said.

“What did you do?”

“It’s best you don’t know.”