Blackhearted Betrayal (34 page)

I opened my mouth to utter some sort of reassuring platitude, but the marble doors separating antechamber from courtroom swung open, and Nyx in black leather and Fury tats—a nice touch to show her solidarity with us—appeared to escort us inside. All five of us not-quite-immortals took deep breaths and stepped forward.

If watching myriad immortals trickle into the courtroom in smaller groups had been overwhelming, seeing all several hundred of them packed inside a single cavernous chamber took one’s breath away. A circular stage sat in the center of the room, upon which a furniture setup much like a modern-day courtroom had been arranged. Epona sat upon the judge’s bench, serving the role of Mediator, which was similar to an American court’s judge—although she also held the power to break ties once the Tribunal’s members finished deliberating and voted upon a transgressor’s punishment. Guilt was pretty much a foregone conclusion—providing incontrovertible evidence of guilt being the job of Nemeses—and the death penalty not even an option, but there
were
countless other forms of punishment that could be chosen.

Nemesis and Nike—together once more—slithered along my arms, doing their best to send soothing thoughts as I followed in Nyx’s wake. I couldn’t resist speaking to them telepathically, since presumably we’d lose that ability once the ambrosia fully wore off. Is
the death penalty still off the table for immortals now? I mean, considering the fact that …

Nemesis didn’t hesitate to fill in the blanks.
You mean considering you proved that an immortal’s body
can
be killed if the spirit isn’t inside it?

Well, yeah, pretty much.

Nike seemed thoughtful.
If the Triad allowed
that
to become an acceptable form of punishment, They’d be no better than Anubis and Kamanu—and would soon have an even larger-scale mutiny on Their hands.

True. And besides which, nobody even knows whether Anubis can be safely contained, or if she can eventually resurrect her original body.

We fell silent when Nyx led us straight to the center stage and motioned for us to climb the imposing marble stairs. Ala sat to the right at the Rebuker’s table, which I’d expected. More surprisingly, however, Nyx moved to assume the vacant seat reserved for the Defender. While
someone
had to fill the position until a permanent Triad member was chosen—and she’d proven her fitness to serve by defending immortal law even in the face of overwhelming odds—I was surprised at her being chosen since she was still a
lesser
goddess.

I rolled my eyes at my own foolishness.
It’s not like you really know the ins and outs of immortal politics—you can barely keep up with
Fury
business.

We five took up positions in the center of the stage directly facing Epona, Ala to her left and Nyx to her right. Once we settled into place, Epona banged a gavel upon her judge’s bench, and silence descended across the room.

Ala rose to her feet behind her table. “The Triad of Immortals has accepted your evidence and the testimony of the Mother Reckoner to confirm judgment against Anubis the Jackal-Headed, whose soul faced Trial by Feather and was found guilty.” She gestured to Nyx. “She has suggested what we feel to be a fitting punishment, but first, the penalty must be set before you to see if those directly impacted are willing to serve as required.”

Mom, Adesina, and I exchanged glances, certain she must mean us. We were surprised when Ala turned, instead, to Scott and Trinity. “After consulting with Imseti via the priest who has agreed to serve as his avatar until such time as his corporeal form can be recovered, We three agree that Anubis’s soul must
not
be transferred until We can be certain she will not break
free to claim an even more powerful victim as her avatar. Further, having her soul split into pieces—while shocking—can only serve to further keep her in check.” Ala looked gravely from Scott to Trinity. “We understand this is a heavy burden to ask a mortal and arcane to bear, but We feel you both are capable of carrying the load. Especially with the help we shall provide.”

Scott swallowed before managing to respond. “You’re asking that—that we allow Anubis’s soul to remain inside us?”

She nodded, her expression remaining serene.

I couldn’t help but protest. “But Mother Rebuker, with all due respect, wouldn’t an immortal be a more appropriate choice?”

A vigorous headshake met that suggestion. “And risk Anubis’s reunited soul taking control of that being, giving her unfiltered access to the Divine Realm in the form of her unwilling captive, not to mention access to
that
immortal’s godhood?”

My eyes widened. “So you
want
her soul kept in pieces and confined to the earthly realm?” Something which no immortal could promise to do, even if they were willing. They all had duties across the realms, even the dying Otherrealms. Perhaps
especially
there since some of them still sought to end the mysterious plague and, if possible, reverse the damage already done. On earth, where magic itself was at its least potent, Anubis would be
that
much weaker and thus easier to contain. Theoretically.

Still, that was a
lot
to ask, especially of a mortal.

“I’ll do it!” I blurted out. At Ala’s sympathetic look, I hurried on. “At least let me take up part of the burden; surely a Fury would be better able to—”

She cut me off, not unkindly. “No, and for the same reasons an immortal is not a suitable vessel, if on a lesser scale.” Ala turned to Trinity, who was maintaining a damned fine poker face even though she must have been terrified.

“I will do it, and gladly.”

My face took on a comical look of shock at her boldly uttered words. She sounded completely sure of herself, almost eager. She met my gaze and smiled reassuringly, tapping a hand upon the spot where she had been—so it seemed at the time—mortally injured. I blinked and caught her hint. With even a quarter of an immortal’s abilities—and the guaranteed self-healing that came along with it—Trinity would no longer be the weakest link of our partnership. Instead, that
honor
would fall to me, at least magically speaking. If that made her practically indestructible, my ego could certainly survive the blow.

Scott, not to be outdone, nodded his own assent. “I, too, will bear this burden so long as there is need.”

Ala accepted this pronouncement with a small smile. “Excellent. Now, there is the minor matter of Anubis’s godhood. I’m afraid that we’ve never faced this predicament before, and it was quite a quandary until the Mother Reckoner again provided the perfect solution. Since, as Ma’at, she is quite familiar with the appropriate mythos, she shall act in Anubis’s stead as the Jackal-Headed until such time as the two of you have fully learned to control your new abilities, and We are sure Anubis cannot regain control, at which point We shall implement a Persephone solution.”

My stomach grew queasy. Just when I’d started to think I wouldn’t lose either Scott or Trinity, all of a
sudden it looked like I could lose both for significant periods of time. Scott’s worried gaze met mine, but Trinity just looked confused. Then again, up until the moment she inherited a portion of divinity, the woman
had
been a die-hard atheist. “Persephone?”

I spoke before Ala could although my voice came out extremely husky. “Persephone, daughter of Demeter, Greek goddess of the harvest. When Hades, lord of the Underworld, stole her away to be his wife, Demeter spread drought across the earthly realm due to her heartbreak over losing her daughter.”

Trinity let out a sound of recognition. “Okay, I remember that story from lit class. They work out a deal where Persephone stays half the year with Hades—winter—and half with her mother, right?”

“R-right.” My anguished eyes moved from hers back to Scott’s.
How
could I go half the year without one of them at a time? She was my closest friend and vital partner on the force; Scott was my heart and soul. I couldn’t understand how Demeter had been able to bear making such a horrible deal with that asshole Hades.

Is it not better than losing one or both to death?

There Nike went, being all logical again and, damn her,
right
.

Scott, formerly perfectly willing to make up for his treacherous deity, started showing that mercenary streak that typically drove me crazy. “No
way
can I afford to spend half a year at a time in the Underworld, begging your divine pardon. And I thought the goal was to keep Anubis’s soul
out
of the nonearthly realms.”

Nyx rose smoothly. “The goal is to keep
all
of Anubis’s soul out of the nonearthly realms at any one time, which a Persephone solution accomplishes quite
neatly, while still allowing Anubis’s followers to be tended to. The only other alternative would be to completely eradicate her worship, which poses problems of its own.”

Unhappy murmurs broke out among the assembled immortals. Religions
did
die out completely whenever arcanes lost faith as much as mortals did—but it was rare. Even then, most gods and goddesses made sure to cultivate multiple aspects—such as Nyx-as-Ma’at—to ensure
someone
would always be worshipping them. Arcanes were also a stubborn lot when it came to carrying on the old ways—as with Scott’s Warhound family tradition of serving Anubis even today.

“Okay fine,” Scott said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that Trinity and I have lives and duties of our own on earth. We can’t just be leaving them for
six months
at a time.”

Epona’s turn to rise gracefully. “A Persephone solution does not have to follow the story literally; We are free to set our own terms.”

Hope stuttered to life inside my chest. Were it up to me, the immortals would have gotten the better end of the deal from sheer gratitude. Luckily, Scott was a
way
better negotiator. He and Trinity exchanged silent looks—or
were
they silent? The way they kept looking at each other suggested they
could
be communicating on some Wonder Twins type of level. I had to admit that any sort of telepathy would certainly make it easier for them to share the duties of Anubis’s godhood …

Although thinking of those two—even partially—as immortal was
really
starting to trip me out.

The newly minted Wonder Twins nodded, and Scott spoke up again. “We’ll agree to one day on, one day off.”

Another buzz swept the room, ended only when Epona banged her gavel again. “Impossible. Switching back and forth so often will be entirely too disruptive.”

He shrugged. “Perhaps. But you are asking for a
very
large sacrifice with no guarantees that Anubis will not someday steal control—and possession—over our bodies
and
souls.”

The three Triad members consulted silently, cementing my belief that Scott and Trinity
did
have some weird Wonder Twin telepathy going on. Epona turned her implacable stare back on Scott. “Three months at a time.”

“Three
days
, and we
might
have a deal.”

Gods, only
my
mate would have the audacity to price-gouge immortal beings who had existed since before his earliest ancestor.

Epona shook her head. “One month on and off.”

Hope grew even stronger.
Surely
I could endure a month at a time without them if I had—

“One week on and one off—our final offer.”

As audacious as it seemed, I knew that he and Trinity had them between a rock and a hard place. Nothing guaranteed Anubis
could
be safely transmuted in pieces to other arcanes or mortals—or that new recipients would have the necessary strength of mind to hold firm. And these two had proven their dedication to justice and the Triad in ways no one else had.

“Deal,” Epona agreed without further dickering, suggesting that had been what they had hoped for all along.

My heart soared as realization set in. Sure, going seven days at a time without seeing one or the other of them would be hard, but
not
impossible. Plenty of people had to travel constantly for their jobs. We could make this work!

Apparently considering that matter settled for the moment, Ala turned her attention to the Nemeses in our group. “Both the Triad and
Gens Immortalis
as a whole owe the three of you a debt of gratitude.” She glanced at Adesina with an actual look of sorrow marring her typical serenity. “Please accept our condolences on the loss of your daughter, who was a true Fury to her last breath. As your reward for bringing the traitors to justice, know this: Durra has agreed to serve as the new Jackal-Headed Duality’s chief guardian in Duat. You will also be allowed to speak with her once every seven days via mirror so long as you live.”

Tears of both pride and gratitude shone in Adesina’s eyes. I couldn’t help a smile of my own. As huge a pain in my ass as Durra had been, Ala was right; she
had
been a true—and loyal—Fury to her dying moment.

Ala turned to Mom. “As
your
reward, Allegra Holloway, we offer this boon: the same right to speak with your mother Maeve once a week since she has requested to serve the Jackal-Headed Duality in Duat until such time as she can be restored to her body—or dies a true death.”