In the Nyx of Time Page 2

  “My nemesis?” I scowled.

  “Zeus!” Torrent shouted with his bright green eyes focused on the air before him. “Aion's father is Zeus!”

  “Talk about ruining my delivery.” Pan grimaced as he plopped back into his seat. “No fair; using your instant Internet access to look shit up.”

  “Your delivery was taking far too long,” Horus pointed out to Pan. “I've told you before how annoying that is.”

  “That's only because I try to be annoying when I do it to you,” Pan shot back.

  “Zeus—the god we defeated twice—is the father of a god of time?” Brahma asked slowly.

  “Yep,” Morpheus confirmed.

  “Can we just get to the facts?” Toby asked reasonably. “What can this god do?”

  Toby, my most recently acquired boyfriend, was a lot like his mother, Mrs. E. He was calm, collected, and good at smoothly directing us back to the important subjects. His twin brother, Naye, was his opposite, but Naye wasn't with us today.

  “I'm not certain,” Hades said. “Hekate, do you know?”

  “I believe Aion can circle back through time, but there are limits.” Hekate frowned pensively. “I think he can only go back to a certain point once, and he cannot do anything that will have a disastrous effect on the cycle of time; it goes against his magic, and so his magic will prevent it.”

  “Then he can't kill Vervain,” Trevor declared in relief. “We all know how important she is to the future.”

  “Sure,” Hades agreed. “But is she important to the cycle of time?”

  “And there are other ways of hurting me, Honey-Eyes,” I whispered to Trevor as I looked at him pointedly.

  Trevor sighed and nodded.

  “So, we're dealing with a god who could rewrite history and a goddess who can unite the Greek Gods against us,” Thor summed it up.

  “It looks as if we have two gods to kill,” Mr. T said.

  We all stared at him in shock; Mr. T was even more calm and collected than his wife and son. I had never heard him suggest violence, much less outright declare that someone needed to die.

  “We don't have the time to search for other solutions,” Mr. T explained. “Hades' initial suggestion was right; we must kill Nyx, but before we do that, we must kill this god who could change everything. Kill the Time God and we foil Nyx's plan.”

  “Where can find Aion?” I asked Pan.

  “Hell; I don't know,” Pan grumbled. “I figured out who it was, can't the rest of you find him?”

  “I'll send my agents out,” Hades offered.

  “I'll contact the Olympian Council,” Persephone added. “You're one of the Twelve now, Vervain, and Aion is a Greek. They'll help us find him.”

  “Okay; let's meet back here when we have something,” Thor said.

  Everyone agreed, and we started heading out of the room.

  “Vervain,” Thor stopped me. “Maybe you should take Lesya to Faerie for now.”

  “Faerie's time is aligned with ours, remember? Faerie can't protect her,” I said gently. “But thank you for worrying about my daughter.”

  “It's not just her that I'm worried about.” Thor squeezed my hand. “You've come a long way, and we can't let anything jeopardize that.”

  “I know,” I whispered as I watched Kirill walk over to us with Lesya.

  Kirill had stayed out of the meeting so he could look after our daughter, but he must have stayed close enough to listen in. He had a grim look on his face and worry in his sapphire eyes.

  “Uncle Torr,” Lesya said happily when she saw Thor.

  Lesya reached out her arms, and Thor swept her up above his head.

  “How's my little lioness?” Thor asked as Lesya squealed.

  “Higher!” Lesya cried.

  “Higher it is,” Thor said as he carried Lesya out of the room.

  “Maybe Zor is right,” Kirill murmured; his Russian accent changing Thor's name into something even more exotic. Like father, like daughter. “Maybe you should take her to Faerie.”

  “If someone changes our past, Kirill, it won't matter where she is,” I whispered. “The changes will affect her.”

  “Zey may erase her completely,” Kirill growled.

  “That has occurred to me.” I gave him a heavy look. “And so much more could be lost.”

  “Ve must find zis god, and fast,” he declared.

  I looked over at our giggling daughter and felt my stomach clench with fear.

  Chapter Three

  I didn't take Lesya to Faerie, but I decided to pop over for a quick visit myself. Since I used my Ring of Remembrance to travel back to the moment I last left Faerie, and would then travel back to the moment I left the God Realm, it didn't really matter how long I spent there. Not normally, at least. With the time threat hanging over my head, it was a different situation entirely. The only comfort was that Faerie was currently behind the other realms for me. In other words, the last time I'd left Faerie, I'd had to go forward in time to come back to the God Realm, and the realms hadn't caught up to each other yet. Which meant that I could travel there and have just over 24 hours of stress-free time to spend with Arach and my boys. After that, time will have evened out to this present, and I'd need to return to help the Squad find Aion.

  I kissed my husbands, boyfriends, and daughter goodbye, even though I'd return in what would only be a few moments for them. Then I went up to my bedroom and used my ring to travel to Faerie. I preferred to travel from a relatively empty room so I could be sure that I wouldn't knock into anyone when I returned. And yes; it's happened before.

  When I reformed in Faerie, Arach was standing right where I'd left him. Brevyn and Rian—both the size of a nine-year-old human child now—stood beside their father; Rian with his arm around Dexter's neck. Dexter was my six-legged nurial; something like a fox and a dog combined. The Fox and the Hound all in one; I'd never thought of that before, but it was pretty accurate. Anyway, they all looked happy to see me, but that lasted only ten seconds; long enough for Brevyn to have one of his visions.

  “Mommy!” Brevyn cried as his blue eyes went wide. “Please don't forget me.”

  “I would never forget you,” I bent over to stroke his face. “Why would you say that?”

  “Because I'm going away,” he whispered.

  “What are you talking about Brevyn?” Arach growled.

  “Mommy knows,” Brevyn said as he kept his eyes on me. “It will be all right as long as you don't forget us.”

  “I can't possibly forget you.” I kissed Brevyn's cheek and pressed my face to his as my heart raced.

  “Vervain,” Arach growled. “What is he talking about?”

  “I don't want to go anywhere,” Rian said furiously as he clenched his hands into fists and narrowed his green, dragon eyes.

  “You won't care,” Brevyn said patiently. “We won't feel anything.”

  “No.” I swallowed roughly. “I won't let that happen, Brevyn.”

  “I love you, Mommy,” Brevyn said more calmly. “Don't forget me.”

  “I won't,” I promised again.

  “Vervain!” Arach shouted.

  “Okay.” I held up a hand. “Let's get the boys in their bedroom first.”

  “I don't want to go anywhere!” Rian said again. He stomped his foot and smoke came out of his nose.

  “Calm yourself,” Arach growled. “Dragons cannot afford to lose their temper. Do you understand? You could hurt the people you care about.”

  Rian's face fell, and he nodded solemnly. “Okay, Daddy.”

  “Good.” Arach nodded. “Now, you and your brother are going to play for a few minutes in your bedroom while I talk to your mother.” Arach turned the boys toward the door. “Go on now.”

  Brevyn took his brother's hand. “Come on, Rian; I'll tell you what's going to happen.”

  “Brevyn, no!” I snatched up Brevyn's other hand. “Don't say that to him. That will just scare Rian for no reason.”

  “I'm getting scared ri
ght now!” Rian's eyes went wide.

  “That's it!” Arach declared. “You're telling all of us what's wrong, Vervain.”

  I sighed and looked from my boys to my husband. Dexter whined, and I scratched him absently. Tears started to fill my eyes as I realized all I had to lose; my husbands, my children, my friends, and my furred family. I could lose all of Faerie. And Faerie could lose the seasons while the Fey lost their fertility.

  “Vervain!” Arach snapped.

  “It's okay, Mommy,” Brevyn said. “As long as you remember us, you can bring us back.”

  “Bring us back from where?” Rian asked.

  “From nowhere,” Brevyn said simply. “We won't exist.”

  “I don't want to not exist!” Rian shouted. “I like me!”

  “You're going to be fine,” I said to Rian and then gave Brevyn an exasperated look.

  Brevyn only shrugged.

  “Vervain, if I have to ask you one more—”

  “I was given a warning that Nyx is working with a time god,” I interrupted Arach. “We don't know for certain what he's capable of, but he seems to have the ability to circle back in time.”

  “And he could change the past?” Arach asked.

  “It's possible,” I whispered. “I changed the future, after all.”

  Arach inhaled deeply and then released his breath. “What can we do?”

  “I'm here for a day,” I said. “Tomorrow, time will catch up between the realms, but for now, we're safe.”

  “What are we going to do, A Thaisce?” Arach tried again.

  “We're going to find Nyx and Aion, and we're going to...” I looked at the boys before I stared meaningfully at Arach, “take care of them.”

  “Good,” he said in relief. “Do you need my help?”

  “We have to find them first,” I explained. “But they're both Greek and we have a lot of Greek allies now that I'm an Olympian. Someone is bound to know where Aion is.”

  “Yes, but will you find him in time?” Arach asked.

  “No,” Brevyn said.

  “Brevyn,” I growled as Rian started to cry.

  “Rian, cut it out,” Brevyn said. “You won't know any different.”

  “But I won't be here,” Rian said. “Where will I be?”

  “You'll be with me,” Brevyn said. “Part of you will be, I mean. The other part will be with Faerie.”

  And I will look after you, my sweetling, Faerie said gently

  “Faerie,” I said in relief. “Can this actually happen? Could someone alter time and change our lives?”

  It's possible, she admitted. But Brevyn is right; time altered is not the same as time in its original state. Once something occurs, there are records of it. You can write over the record, but the original will remain beneath it. If you can focus past the surface, you can find your way back to the original path.

  And if I don't? I asked in my head. What will happen to them? I looked at my family.

  You are jumping to the conclusion that this Aion will take away your loved ones. That's not an easy thing to do; he'd have to find the precise moment when your life moved in this direction and then change it. If he strikes at you from any other point, a million different variables will come into play, and he could end up making you even stronger.

  But what if I forget this time? I pressed.

  If you forget, I shall remind you, Vervain, Faerie declared confidently. And if you're in the God Realm, Alaric will remind you. We stand beyond the touch of time. Do not worry; your fate cannot be altered; too many lives depend on the choices you've made. A whole race exists because of you, Vervain.

  “The Dark Fey,” I whispered. “They could be wiped out.”

  What I'm saying is that they can't be; not for good, Faerie explained. Time cannot be played with like that. Certain beings must exist, and the Dark Fey were meant to be formed, just as your sons were meant to be born. Fate is far stronger than Time.

  “Faerie says—”

  “I heard her too,” Arach cut me off. “Thank you, Faerie, but I'm sure you can understand why I'm still worried. Vervain's fate may be certain but there are several paths to it, are there not?”

  Faerie was silent for a few minutes before she said, That is true; the path toward her fate could be altered. But what must be, will be, no matter what some Greek god does. Trust in your destiny, Vervain.

  I think I'd rather just trust in my ability to kill him, I said.

  That is also an option.

  Chapter Four

  Arach refused to accept “I'll remind you” as a solution. He insisted that we were faeries, and as such, we had access to magic that was far superior to that of any god. He spent hours trying to come up with a spell that would protect our family. He even thought about calling the High King and asking for Cian's assistance, but I talked him out of it.

  “King Cian's solution will be to close the realm,” I pointed out. “And even if we tell him not to, he might get spooked enough to do it anyway to protect what he treasures most.”

  “Lugh,” Arach whispered.

  “Right; Cian won't want to lose his son,” I agreed.

  “The amount of lives you've touched is phenomenal,” Arach said tenderly as he stroked my face.

  “Which means that this god can do a lot of damage by simply changing my path,” I said.

  “We're stronger than he is,” Arach said firmly. “I have faith in our love; it's no simple affection. We have something that can survive any trauma.”

  “How?” I shook my head.

  “I carry you in my soul, A Thaisce,” Arach whispered before he leaned in to kiss me. “No one can take you from me completely.”

  “Blood magic,” I said eagerly. “If we can't find a spell to stop Nyx, then maybe we can work a smaller one to help us hold onto our love.”

  “A soul bond like you forged with the others,” Arach concluded. “I don't know why we haven't done one before.”

  “Because we are connected in other ways, and we never felt the need.”

  “Now, we have the need,” Arach said. “And it's a good thing that we waited because we can alter this spell into something that will help us survive this.”

  “Blood to Heart?” I asked.

  “No; not a god spell.” Arach shook his head as he pulled me close. “We are Fey.”

  Arach lowered his lips to mine and kissed me savagely; so savagely that he cut my lip. As my blood and recent memories poured into Arach, I bit at him and savored the same from him. Magic rose around us as Arach began to weave a spell; murmuring Fey words against my lips. Then he pulled away to stare into my eyes.

  “If we are parted, we shall be drawn together again, and when we meet, the sound of our names will remind us of who we are to each other,” Arach declared. “I with yours, and you with mine. Your name is burned into my soul, Vervain.”

  “And your name is burned into my soul, Arach,” I said.

  As I spoke his name, I did feel a burning sensation in my chest. It wasn't painful—dragons like fire—but it felt as if it sank deeper than my bones; deeper than anyone could touch.

  “I love you, A Thaisce,” Arach said. “Forever; wherever that forever takes us.”

  Chapter Five

  I spent a bittersweet night with the Fire Fey and my family; gathering memories like flowers and praying that they would last. But flowers wither and prayers don't work for gods; no one's listening. By morning, it was all blurring together as memories do, and I knew that even if nothing were to change, I couldn't possibly remember every aspect of the night before. Except for Arach; I vividly remembered the love we shared later that night. We came close to burning the bed again.

  As time in Faerie caught up with the God Realm, Arach and I gathered the children together for our goodbye. And this goodbye would be real for us; we all knew that it might be our last one. It broke my heart that my boys had to face this with Arach and me; that I couldn't pretend that everything was all right for them. That's what a parent is
supposed to do; make the world seem like a safe place, even when it isn't. But the twins had faced adversity—and saved us from it—before they'd taken their first breaths; their magic and blood prevented them from having the childhood I would have wanted for them.

  “It's okay, Mommy,” Brevyn said, “you're going to do great.”

  My son was comforting me; why did that make things ten times worse?

  “I love you so much.” I kissed Brevyn and then Rian. “Both of you.” I lifted my face to Arach to kiss him. “All of you.”

  Dexter whined, and I bent down to hug him tightly.

  “I won't forget you either, Dex,” I promised before I stood and backed away from them. “I'll be right back,” I said with forced gaiety.

  “If you aren't, we'll know to prepare for the worst,” Arach said grimly.

  My stomach clenched as I realized that he was right. Normally, I'd be back immediately. So, Arach would know, in mere moments, whether history would be changed. And if it did change, he'd have to comfort our boys without me; knowing that they could disappear at any second, and when they did, he'd forget that they ever existed.

  “I'm so sorry that I can't stay,” I whispered.

  “I'm sorry that I can't fight this with you.” Arach's jaw clenched, and he swallowed visibly. “I have never felt as helpless as I do right now.”

  “I'll make it right,” I promised. “No matter what happens, I will make sure that our family is safe.”

  “I know you will, A Thaisce,” Arach said gently. “It's the reason I can let you go.”

  I smiled softly at him, our boys, Dexter, and even Blossom in her pot by the window; keeping that image of them with me as I returned to the God Realm. I reappeared in my bedroom; relieved that I had chosen to leave from there. Because as soon as I reformed, I started to cry.

  It was silly; I know. Nothing had happened yet, but the mere prospect was so crippling. In fact, part of me started to suspect that Macaria had told me all of it just to bring about this panic; that Nyx wasn't working with a time god at all, but the deadly, mother-daughter duo had concocted this ruse just to torture us. I took a deep breath as I considered this theory. It was totally plausible, but I couldn't function under the premise. I had to do everything I could to protect this timeline.