The Sacred Maiden Page 3

  “Okay, I need him to get carded,” Val conceded. “But he’s still a major pain in the ass. After the last thing he pulled, I’m thinking it would be better if I just looked for another aspect of Hades.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Nergal said from where he was standing by the window. “The god you know and have made contact with is better than the aspects you don’t know.”

  Val turned to him. If looks could kill… “No one asked you.”

  “Valentina!” Adelle couldn’t believe the way her daughter dared to speak to these powerful, mighty beings. “What’s gotten into you? You can’t just talk like that…”

  “Mom, stay out of it. I know these guys better than you do. Trust me, they’re not worth the time of day.” Veles stood up on his six feet in her lap, looked up at her, and let out a puff of hot smoke. “Not you,” she said, patting him on the head. “You’re good.” He huffed again, then settled down.

  “What about me?” Loki complained. “What did I do?”

  Val cocked an eyebrow. “You’re mildly annoying, but okay.”

  “You’re still wearing my cloak,” Nergal said, his voice low and challenging.

  The Keeper turned to him, her blue eyes throwing even more imaginary daggers right at his head. “Do you want it back?” Her fingers went to undo the pin holding it over her shoulders.

  Nergal sighed. He knew she was trying to provoke him. She was mad at him for what had happened in Thailand. He’d explained to her time and time again that he was sorry, but it had been practically impossible for him to help her. When would she understand? When was she going to forgive him for sticking to his principles? Yes, he adored her. But that didn’t mean he was now going to throw his own values and rules out the window because the witch said so.

  “No,” he said, defeated. He couldn’t hide the pain in his voice, and he didn’t want to. “You know I don’t.”

  “Good. Then stop mentioning it.” She knew she was indebted to him. She knew she owed him her sanity, and even her life. But it was too soon. The wound was still open. She couldn’t forgive him yet.

  Jupiter was getting rather bored of the show. He studied Piper and Sia, instead. An Ordinary and a painter of souls. How fascinating. Valentina had a knack for attracting the oddest people. The two girls seemed to be together. He wondered for how long, because if anyone were to ask him, Piper and Sia were the most mismatched couple he’d ever seen. He doubted they had a real chance at making it work.

  Adelle took in everyone’s mood and decided it was more important for her to know the truth than to protect the gods’ feelings.

  “Valentina, tell me everything. Tell me the truth. What happened in Thailand?”

  “After hiding the Suit of Wands, the High Keeper took his own life. He was already possessed by a Walk-In, and he couldn’t fight the creature. In Cairo, the High Keeper of the Suit of Coins held on until I got to him and gave me his cards himself. It wasn’t the case here. Once the High Keeper was gone and the Suit of Wands was lost, the Walk-Ins that had taken over La Congrega di Bastoni buckled down and waited. They waited for me. The second I stepped foot on their territory looking for the cards, it was like they got activated. They followed me to the temple, waited for me to find the cards, and then attacked me. Dozens of them. I couldn’t cast spells and sigils fast enough, and even with Magny fighting by my side, I was losing. I summoned Loki, Veles, Jupiter, and Nergal, and they managed to push them back, make them run for their lives. But there was this one man.” Val squeezed her eyes shut when the Keeper’s image flashed before them. Dark hair and sea-green eyes. “There was this one man who wouldn’t give up. Even before the wrath of my four gods, he wouldn’t concede defeat.”

  “I don’t get it,” Piper whispered. “Why would you guys make them run, when you could…”

  Val opened her eyes and stared at Piper. “Really, Pipes? Don’t you get it? The Keepers were possessed by these beings from the fourth dimension. The way to go about it is to exorcise them, not murder them in cold blood. These people… They are innocent.”

  “I’m sorry, you’re right.”

  Val turned to her mother. “This man just wouldn’t let up. He was stronger than the others. The Walk-In inside him had control over his powers, but it was more than that. Not even Loki frightened him. Not even Veles or Jove. He knew that I would never hurt him, that not one of us would truly harm him, because he knew we wanted the host to live. But I wasn’t ready to perform the exorcism then. I tried. I’d mixed all the ingredients, but the potion didn’t work. I’d gotten it wrong. It’s all my fault, Mom. I should have waited. I should have learned the spell first, prepared everything right, and then gone for the Suit of Wands.”

  Adelled sighed. “You couldn’t have known.”

  “No, I know. But still. It all went so, so wrong.” It pained her to tell the rest of the story. She shot a glance at Nergal, who was staring at his shoes. “That’s how I got the scar. Veles shifted into a dragon and wanted to burn the man to ashes, but I didn’t let him. If you kill the Walk-In, you kill the host. I learned that in Cairo. The High Keeper of the Coins died before my eyes. So, I asked Nergal to do it.”

  Adelle cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I follow.”

  “Nergal is an assassin. Makes sense for a death god, doesn’t it? But there’s a trick. When he shoots someone, he erases their karma. Good or bad, it doesn’t matter. All gone. And the next time his victims reincarnate, they have clear, pristine karmas. They can even level up and become demigods or gods.”

  “I know you’re still refusing to see it,” Nergal said, “but deep down, you understand. I couldn’t do it. Yes, I would have given the host a clean slate, but I’d have done the same for the parasite. And you know who this particular parasite was.”

  Valentina rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. “I know, I know…”

  “I don’t get it,” said Piper. She was trying to keep up, but it was all too complicated. After Valentina had found Loki, they’d parted ways. Val had gone to find the Magician, A.K.A. Veles, and Piper had chosen to stay behind with Sia. She didn’t know these new guys. Jupiter kind of frightened her. He was simply too tall, bulky, and serious for her to feel safe around him. And Nergal was a mystery. The fact that she knew he was a god of death made her want to stay as far away from him as possible.

  “The Walk-In was a downgraded aspect of Nergal,” Val finally explained. “I know. What a mindfuck!”

  “I knew it the second I saw him,” Nergal added in a grave voice. “I know you’re mad at me, sweetpea, but how many times do I have to tell you? I couldn’t have possibly cleared his karma. He would have reincarnated in his next life as another aspect of Nergal. The cruelest aspect your world would’ve ever seen.”

  “Nergal wouldn’t do it,” Val continued. “There was this stupid moment of hesitation on our part, and the Walk-In struck me. I was bleeding. It felt like my head was on fire, and I don’t know what kind of spell the Walk-In used, but it felt like my skin was searing off my bones. Still, Nergal wouldn’t fucking do it!” She shot this at him, over her mom’s head. He clenched his jaw and turned to stare out the window. “And that was when it all went to shit. I’d forbidden Loki, Veles, and Jupiter to kill him. At least they listen to me.”

  “Yeah. Maybe we should stop doing that,” Jupiter said grumpily.

  Val ignored him. For now, he was still in her good graces. “Hades came out of nowhere. I thought I’d left him in the fifth dimension, but he’d followed me. He just came out of nowhere, and before I even saw what was happening, he killed the Walk-In. And the host. Right before my eyes.” She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “He killed them. He didn’t even ask, didn’t think…”

  “Honestly, though,” Loki said. “You were hurt. He did what he had to do. He did what we should have done.”

  Val shook her head. “We could have saved that man. I could have saved him. If only…”

  Adelle grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look her in the eyes. “Listen to me. It’s not your fault.”

  “What if it had been you? That man… He had a family, I’m sure. He had a wife, he probably had children. Just like Dad. What if some Keeper from another coven came here today and killed you and Dad because that was the only way to kill the Walk-Ins inside you? Did you see what happened to your Walk-In, Mom? Did you?” Her voice raised with every word. “The second the creature was separated from you, Veles grabbed it and whisked it to the fourth dimension. Two lives – saved. Yours and the Walk-In’s. Because you are innocent, and because that thing… For all the harm it has done, I know it’s not really to blame. Il Ammasso is to blame. The Cluster. The fourth-dimensional parasites that started all this madness, that convinced all the others their plan would work. But it won’t. Because I’m here now, and I have my potions and my spells. I can exorcise each and every one of these bastards and send them to where they belong. No one has to die.”

  Adelle’s eyes softened. “You’re too good for this world.”

  “Your daughter is exactly what this world needs,” Jupiter smirked.

  “So, this is why you’re angry at Hades?” Sia asked. It baffled her how naïve the witch still was. Hades had saved her life! Okay, she understood why Nergal couldn’t have done it, but looking at Loki, Veles, and Jupiter, it blew her mind how these three fools followed her orders blindly. Even when said orders were ridiculously wrong and stupid. She guessed it had something to do with Valentina being the Keeper who’d carded them. Maybe they were in her service now or something like that.

  “Yeah,” Val said. She pushed Veles off her and stood up. The dragon crawled on the couch for a few seconds, looked up at Loki and Adelle, then decided he was done with the drama, and j
umped back in the Magician card, which was on the table. These sort of gatherings and long discussions weren’t for him. “He shouldn’t have done what he did. Not without my permission.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Sia said, exasperated. “It’s obvious he saved your life. You’re angry at him because he clearly refused to get carded after.”

  “That too…”

  “There’s also a third reason,” Jupiter said. Valentina paled and tried to hide it by going into the kitchen and pretending she was hungry. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Maybe this wasn’t the time to push it, but then again… He’d never been the patient kind. “He told you something. When the fight was over, the Suit of Wands in your deck, and your wound patched up, you made us jump back into our cards. You hoped you’d convince him to join your cause. But he told you something you didn’t like, so you left Thailand angry and bitter. And sad. What was it?” Silence. “What did Hades tell you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered. She found a carton of eggs in the fridge and pulled it out.

  “Come on, Miss Bratty. You’re better than this.”

  “Excuse me,” Adelle intervened, brows furrowed. Not that she thought interrupting a god as powerful as Jupiter was a good idea, but these men seemed to be a little too intimate with her daughter. What had Nergal called her earlier? Sweetpea? “What am I missing? What’s really happening here?”

  Jupiter sighed and pushed himself off the armchair. The second he left it, the piece of furniture disappeared. “You’re missing a lot, Mrs. De Rossi. We all are. Valentina keeps many things to herself these days.”

  Determined to ignore them and determined to not let anyone force her to reveal more than she was ready to, Valentina cracked an egg in a pan and immediately turned away, disgusted. The eggs had gone bad. She dumped the one she’d cracked in the sink and let the water wash it away.

  “I’m hungry, and there’s nothing here.”

  “Valentina, Jupiter here is saying…” Adelle tried.

  “I don’t care what he’s saying, Mom. I told you all what you needed to know.” She started drawing sigils in the air, and Loki, Jupiter, and Nergal were forced to jump back in their cards one by one. She started gathering her tarot cards in a neat pile. “Let’s get out of here. I need fresh air. And food. I need to think.”

  “Yeah, I could do with some food,” Sia said, standing up.

  Magny joined his hands in mock prayer. “Finally! The worst plans are made on an empty stomach.”

  “Technically, that’s super wrong,” said Piper. “On the contrary, you can’t think clearly on a full stomach because all your energy is then focused on digesting the food.”

  Magny shook his head at her. “You’re such a killjoy, Piper Chase. Such a killjoy.”

  “Come on, Mom. Take us to a good restaurant. After Egypt and Thailand, I’m craving an old-fashioned steak.”

  Adelle sighed. She didn’t like what her daughter was doing. She was clearly keeping a lot of things from her. Fine. She was her mother, and daughters didn’t always share everything with their mothers. Given that Adelle had never had a close relationship with Valentina, she could understand why she was keeping secrets from her. But she was also keeping secrets from the gods of the Major Arcana? That was… unwise, to say the least. They were powerful. They could help her. They’d probably saved her life more times than Adelle herself could guess, and still… Valentina was acting so cold toward them. Sure, she was angry at Nergal and Hades. Hades wasn’t even here. It was extremely daring of her to be angry at two death gods. Looking at Valentina as she grabbed her backpack and headed out the door followed by Piper and Sia, Adelle realized she didn’t know her daughter anymore.

  Magny poofed himself on Val’s shoulder. “What next? Okay, we eat. And then?”

  “Then, we exorcise everyone in my coven.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “That’s an awful idea!” Adelle exclaimed when Valentina told everyone her plan. The table was filled with food, and they were still eating, but suddenly, Adelle felt like she’d had enough. “You are one, and they are many.”

  “You’ll help me. You’re more powerful than me. I’ll show you how to make the potion, and I’ll teach you the spells.”

  “No, Valentina. No. They’re waiting for you. They knew you would come for me and your father, for Piper, for Dante, for your coven. They had all the time in the world to devise a trap for you. A trap that would be the end of your journey. You’re not going to La Congrega di Spate. I won’t let you.”

  “Mom, you can’t stop me. I took that thing out of you, and now you’re finally free. You’re you again. I can do the same for Dad and Dante, at least. I can’t let them suffer a minute longer. All I ask is that you help me.”

  “Absolutely not,” she shook her head firmly. “It’s madness. For all we know, the Cluster is waiting for you at the temple. And then what? Neither of us is strong enough to fight it and defeat it.”

  “I have four gods…”

  “Four gods you keep arguing with!”

  “It’s not how it looks. They’re with me, I promise.”

  “Even so. We don’t know how strong the Cluster is. We don’t even know how many Walk-Ins are waiting for us at the temple. They know you have the Major Arcana and three suits.” She spread her arms, as if to show just how obvious and sensible her theory was. “That’s what I would do, okay? I would wait for you with all I’ve got. They have the numbers.”

  “Goddess…” Valentina sighed deeply and rubbed her temple. She stole a glance at Piper, but her best friend was silent. Sia was just as silent, busy poking her food around the plate. Magny was gorging on chicken strips, meticulously dipping them in garlic sauce first. She knew what their silence meant. They agreed with her mother. “What do you suggest, then? What would you do if you were me?”

  “I would find and card the five gods you’re missing. Restore the Trionfi Chiari to their original form and power. Having the Trionfi Chiari intact means the Trionfi Scuri will awaken from their deep slumber, and then…” She could feel her heart beat faster. “And then, Valentina, you can use the full power of the Major Arcana to defeat the enemy. For good. Your gods will fight for you. The goddesses will join the battle, and while they hold the Walk-Ins at bay, we can exorcise them. Together. One by one, until we have our coven by our side. And with your family, your coven, and the Major Arcana fighting alongside you, you will defeat the Cluster. I promise you that. But now… Now you don’t have much. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve achieved a lot. You’re the only one who could have saved the Suit of Spades, then traveled the world and saved all the other cards…”

  “The Suit of Cups is still lost. Burned to ashes, for all I know…”

  “Don’t think like that. So far, the High Keepers have all done their jobs.”

  “And died. They all died, Mom! There is not a single High Keeper left in the world. And the High Sorceress and High Sorcerer are gone, too. All our covens are doomed.”

  Adelle pursed her lips. Since the fourth-dimensional beings had crossed into the third dimension of Earth, chaos had rained over the covens protecting the Tarot. The war was not lost yet, but they had to be careful. They had to have a feasible strategy.

  “Who’s the next god on your list?”

  Val shook her head. “I don’t know…” She looked at Piper, Sia, and Magnus. They’d all been together in a dark pub in London, drinking beer, when they’d brainstormed and figured out some of the gods they were going to have to deal with. “We don’t know their identities yet. Guys, do you remember…”

  “Shiva,” said the hobgoblin. “He was the beggar you met in Rishikesh.”

  “Yeah. But Rishikesh is full of beggars. Needle in the haystack. I met Osiris and talked to him, but…”

  “What?”

  “He made it clear he doesn’t want to be involved. I wouldn’t know where to find him, anyway.”

  “Elias Blais,” said Sia. “We decided he must be the Sun.”

  “That might actually be our best lead.”