Blackhearted Betrayal (8 page)

Assuming I survived.

And you talk like you have a choice here, Marissa, like you physically
could
turn down a gods-given Mandate. Even one they’re nice enough to discuss with you ahead of time.
Then I remembered that Nan was somehow a puppet in this whole mess, and I steeled my spine again.
As if you
would
refuse if you could.

Because, when it came right down to it, I had enlisted to serve as the arcane version of a soldier, not been forced into it. One thing to be said for the immortals: They were completely honest and up front about what could be asked of you as a Fury
before
you pledged those unbreakable vows. Until that point, you could always choose to go back to being 100 percent mortal again. But I hadn’t made that choice, and I wouldn’t change my mind if I could. Because, as they were now proving by recruiting us to serve as Nemeses, they held
each other to just as high standards as they did their arcane children.

Again, Kamanu nodded. “We are well aware how dangerous the Mandate we would place upon you shall be; thus, why we propose to make you Nemeses. You shall be true demigoddesses until you fulfill the Mandate, and have the special powers that coincide with that title.”

Wait, we would continue as full demigoddesses while fulfilling this suicidal mission of a Mandate? And get special powers with the gig? Suddenly, it didn’t sound
quite
so suicidal. True demigoddesses shared one particular attribute with full gods and goddesses: namely, they couldn’t be killed.

Of course, that didn’t mean Anubis couldn’t capture and torture our asses, but hey, small favors and all that.

Mom took another deep breath. “If we do agree to this Mandate, agree to serve as your Nemeses, we’ll be going up against sister Furies of our own class, not to mention possibly against my mother, Marissa’s grandmother. Neither of us will kill her should that be asked of us.”

Epona cut in. “It will not be asked, not of you, hopefully not of anyone. We believe she is being somehow manipulated by Anubis; thus, she has not committed any crime that cannot be laid directly at
his
feet.”

Mom relaxed slightly. So did I although I hadn’t realized until then that I’d become just as tense as she. Epona had basically pardoned Nan for any crimes she might have committed—or would commit—while acting as a pawn of Anubis. Now, we just had to prove she
was
one of his pawns and not a willing participant.

Ala’s expression grew slightly more sympathetic at the mention of going up against sister Furies, including Nan. “Even those who pledged to serve Anubis willingly
may find forgiveness if he coerced or threatened them into serving him. Mere arcanes cannot be expected to stand up to the full force of an immortal’s commands.”

“That is exceedingly merciful of Your Graces, and I don’t mean to cast doubt on the wisdom of Your choice, but …how exactly can two demigoddesses prove Anubis’s guilt against the combined might of his arcane and immortal subjects? While stealth and strategy can make up for superior numbers, in this particular situation …”

The Megaera spoke for the first time in several minutes. “It will not be you two alone, Allegra. Several of my sisters will pledge to serve you as you fulfill your Mandate, up to and including giving their lives so that you might succeed.”

I had the sneaking suspicion that my least favorite of her sisters would count among that number, but it was a generous offer, one we couldn’t afford to refuse.

Kamanu bestowed an approving smile upon the Megaera. “Indeed, the Megaeras will assist you in your endeavor, and I suspect you already know several Tisiphones who can be trusted as well.”

Like Laurell and Patricia, to start with.

Mom ventured a question that hadn’t even occurred to me. “And what of the Alecto? Do they stand as loyal to the Deities as the Megaera and we two of the Tisiphone?”

Kamanu hesitated, and his wife took advantage of the pause to speak. “We believe so, yes, although that shall be the first task of your Mandate. To ascertain for sure.”

Mom furrowed a brow. “What do you mean?”

“We have been unable to contact the Prime Alecto for several days now. However, unlike the Tisiphone, she had been cooperating fully before that. It is our hope
that Anubis has somehow prevented the Alecto from either receiving or responding to our communication attempts but that she remains loyal. It shall be your task to ascertain whether this is true, Allegra. If it is not, then you shall bring her before us for judgment. When we bind you to your Mandate, you alone shall have the knowledge of the Alecto Prime’s identity—which you are not to reveal to anyone else unless completely unavoidable.”

Kamanu picked up the thread of instructions. “Once finished with that, we desire that you bring the Tisiphone Prime before us. She
will
answer for her disobedience.”

I swallowed at the thought of what awaited Maylin, such a good friend of my mother’s but now persona non grata with our immortal Makers.

Ala turned her sour gaze upon me. “To you falls the duty of journeying to the Underworld to find proof of Anubis’s crimes and bring him before us for judgment.”

That time the swallowing was all for me. I’d barely made it to the Underworld and back with my life the last time and wasn’t looking forward to doing it a second, souped-up Nemesis powers notwithstanding.

Ala dismissed me with a sniff, then glanced pointedly at her husband. “Well?”

Kamanu remained unruffled but stepped forward. “The time has come for you to choose. Will you serve as our Nemeses, obtain the proof we need that Anubis has committed crimes against the
Gens Immortalis
, and bring him before us?”

I took Mom’s hand in mine and squeezed, nodding when she looked at me. A ghost of a smile flickered across her lips but was gone when she turned her attention back to the Triad.

“Yes, we shall accept this Mandate you lay before us, Your Graces.”

Epona nodded as if she’d expected the answer, and Kamanu appeared pleased. Ala, on the other hand, seemed as disapproving as before. I wondered whether one of us had done something to personally piss her off or whether she was always this bitchy. Not that
that
seemed terribly likely, either: Most earth goddesses lived up to their whole nurturing, motherly-type reps. Then again, there was
always
an exception to every rule.

The three immortals stepped close together, clasped hands, and began chanting in that unfamiliar language the Megaera had used to summon them what felt like hours earlier. The hair on the nape of my neck stirred as pure magical energy crackled in the air. Brilliant silver beams danced around the Triad, arced toward the three of us, and snapped into our bodies. Pleasure so intense it bordered upon pain burst through me, inspiring an unintended moan that sounded extremely sexual. No big surprise, really, considering the thousand pinpricks of sensation that vibrated along my every nerve ending felt better than any orgasm I’d ever experienced.

Not that I’d ever admit that fact to Scott.

The better-than-an-orgasm eventually faded to a dull roar. Mom and the Megaera had again recovered before me—something that was beginning to grate on my nerves. Once they satisfied themselves that I’d survived what I assumed had been the Triad’s granting us official status as Nemeses, they focused on the immortals, who dropped their arms and separated. Surprisingly, Ala’s big, fat sour expression had mellowed into something resembling not satisfaction so much as acceptance. Of course, the deed was done, and I was willing to bet that
only the combined forces of the Triad could now revoke our demigoddess status
or
the Mandate I could feel buzzing through my veins once the metaphysical wallop had dulled somewhat. Huh. Weird I hadn’t felt it immediately—it was way stronger than any of the three I’d felt before. It didn’t hurt—exactly—but the persistent itch at the back of my brain was by no means pleasant, either.

Epona motioned with the scales in her hand. “Go forth as our Nemeses and seek the information we need. Anubis will not dare strike you directly, but beware his followers, who may have no such compunction. We recommend you strike swiftly and silently when possible. You will also find that the next time you shift to Fury form, you will carry our Mark as Nemeses quite clearly. You will enjoy increased abilities in this form and, most importantly, be truly immortal—but take care. You
can
suffer tremendous amounts of pain, and those you care for shall remain as vulnerable as ever.”

Kamanu nodded gravely. “We have faith in you, our Nemeses, but know this: Your status as demigoddesses will last for three days only. At that time, you shall revert to your natural form, and we shall have no choice but to choose new Nemeses.”

Oh,
lovely
. What he left unspoken was the fact our Mandate would remain the same, if the pressure from leaving it unfulfilled didn’t drive us to insanity—or death. And even if we survived, we probably wouldn’t make it long trying to carry out that Mandate as normal—very killable—Furies. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes or snark my thoughts out loud, but barely. The Triad was bound by rules every bit as much as we—perhaps even more—and failure came with consequences. Their
dubious gift of making us their Nemeses had to come with a finite limit unless they were willing to make us permanent demigoddesses, something we did
not
want at this point in our lives even had they been willing to do so. Besides which, doing that meant we’d become ineligible to serve as Nemeses since, technically, we would no longer be Furies.

Ala met our eyes one by one. “Do not fail us, children. You will not like the results.”

With that encouraging piece of advice, she turned to the mirror, spoke several incomprehensible words, and reactivated the summoning circle with as little effort as I might have opened a physical door. Compared to the tremendous amount of work the Megaera had gone through to activate it originally …I couldn’t hold back a shiver at the reminder of how very powerful these beings truly were and how much our continued health and happiness depended upon pleasing them.

Guess now I know how spiders feel when they see me coming …

Within moments, the Triad had disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving behind a magical vacuum. The Megaera sprang into action, banishing the silver motes of energy with what appeared to be greater ease than before. My eyes narrowed as I thought back over the past several minutes. The Triad had spoken of choosing only Mom and me as their Nemeses, but that atom bomb of immortal magic had blasted all three of us. The Megaera shone with just as much silver incandescence as Mom and I now did. Which must mean …

“They made you a Nemesis, too.” Mom’s mouth pursed in surprise, but the Megaera merely nodded. “You knew they were going to?”

“Yes. They asked me if I would be willing to serve yesterday when they requested I bring you before them.”

My eyes widened. “But if we fail—which is a possibility no matter how much we don’t want to consider it—that means that …”

“I’ll die along with you, yes. Or Turn Harpy, which is worse.”

I couldn’t understand her unruffled calm. “Yeah, you’ll die and leave your class without a strong, clearly uncorrupted Prime. How can you risk—”

She turned an intense gaze my way that had me squirming nearly as much as the Deities had before her.
So
not good for my Fury ego. “If we can’t stop Anubis from bringing outright civil war to the Sisterhood, who serves as Prime Megaera will be the least of our concerns. Once he seizes control of enough Furies to take war to the immortal realm, our struggles will seem petty in comparison.”

I shuddered at the reminder. While the Sisterhood could boast never having gone through a civil war, the Deities could do no such thing. Unfortunately for us, however, the rare times war
did
break out among immortalkind,
our
world was the one to suffer. Immortals were truly that—exempt from death—and power plays in their realm
always
spilled over into the others. They became the undying chess masters moving us insignificant pawns across the game board of life. As bad as civil war among the Sisterhood would be, war among
them
would be a hundred times worse.

Rather than speaking those fears out loud, I merely nodded.

Mom let out a heavy breath. “I must admit this was
not
how I intended to spend the next few days.”

A choked laugh burst past my lips before I could stop
it. “Oh, I don’t know; we
have
accomplished one of our goals for the week: making sure the big, bad Megaera stops trying to kill or kidnap our family members.”

The
big, bad Megaera
arched a brow, the hint of a smile glinting in her eyes.

I shrugged. “Hey, it’s not like you ever gave us a
name
to use.”

Her lips twitched ever so slightly and she relented. “Adesina.” She pronounced it “Ah-day-see-nah,” the syllables rolling off her tongue with deceptively easy grace. Pretty name, not that I planned to say that out loud. Partners we might now be, but she
had
tried to have me killed. Or so I had been assuming …

“What exactly
were
Durra’s orders that day in the subway?”