Gods of Chaos (Red Magic) (18 page)

I frowned. “But Aphrodite is a Red goddess. How’d they make the comparison?”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t just Aphrodite. Isis got compared to every major goddess, wherever she went. It’s like people realized she was super important, even if they didn’t understand her.”

I thought about that for a moment. “What did Aphrodite say about me?”

Izzy creased her brow. “I’m not sure. Isis just said she’d heard about you from her.”

I must have looked skeptical, but Izzy continued.

“She had more to say about what I need to focus on right now.”

“And what’s that?”

Izzy looked at her hands again. “Balance. Isis strives for balance, and she reminded me that I need to, too.”

“Balance.” I sighed. “Izzy, I think maybe you need to remind me to focus on that, too. That’s how this whole mess started.”

“Have you given up on finding balance within Red magic?” Her question was tentative, and when I glanced up, she was staring intently at me.

“No. But I’m worried.”

“What about?”

I hesitated, not sure how much I could say to her. “Is it really balance,” I asked, choosing my words carefully, “if a Witch gains power over a god?”

Izzy was silent for a moment. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

“Me, neither. But I don’t know of any other way to stop Hecate. We have to bind her.”

She stood up. “I know.” She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “You said you had an idea?”

“It’s not one I like.”

She nodded. “Me, neither.”

We were silent for a moment. Finally, I said, “We just need to know more before we do something.”

Izzy looked thoughtful. “Let me show you the school library. It’s the whole top floor of the building; if there’s a safe way to bind a god, we’ll find it there.”

I nodded, throwing my coffee cup into the trash. I followed her into the hall, wondering what ideas she’d had that she wasn’t telling me. Maybe there was another way besides making a bargain with Loki. I hoped we could find it if there was.

***

The library was massive. Rows and rows of shelves stretched to the ceiling, and here and there ladders leaned against the stacks, inviting you to climb up and have a look. I stood, gaping at all the books, while Izzy marched up to the librarian’s desk in the center of the room.

No one was in sight, so she rang a small brass bell on the counter. The sound was musical, and a tall man appeared almost immediately from behind the desk. It was as if he had been crouching down, waiting to spring.

“Yes?” He peered down his long nose.

Izzy glanced at me before she spoke. “We’re looking for books about the gods.”

He frowned slightly. “Can you be more specific?”

“Stories about control,” I chimed in.

He glared at me. “Control over the gods?”

“Just myths about different times the gods were, um, incapacitated.” Izzy smiled, batting her eyes innocently.

The stork-like man glanced between us and finally sighed. “There are such stories. But they are not collected in one volume.” He eyed Izzy for a moment. “You follow a god of Egypt?”

She nodded. I took a step back, hoping he wouldn’t try that trick on me, but he didn’t even look at me.

“We’ll start with Egyptian stories, then.”

He led Izzy to a shelf near the wall, and pulled down a thick, dusty volume. It looked heavy; she sagged a bit when he put it in her hands.

“This cannot leave the library. You see how old and precious this book is.”

Izzy nodded reverently, and I leaned in to have a closer look. The dust on the book made me sneeze loudly, and the librarian glared at me.

“Something for you to look at, too, I suppose.” He scrutinized me, and then his expression turned to pity. “You haven’t taken a patron?”

How in the world did he know? I raised an eyebrow but stayed silent. Clearly, this weird man knew his way around the massive library. We needed his help, and I didn’t want to risk offending him by getting into an argument about the supposed value of taking a patron. Besides, he kind of gave me the creeps, and I figured the less I said to him, the better.

He tapped his cheek in thought. “Perhaps a compilation, to help you choose. I have just the thing—it’s written by one of our own faculty members.” He led the way to another shelf, catty-corner from the one where he’d found Izzy’s book, and handed me a slender green book. “You can sit over there to look at these.” He gestured to two wing-backed chairs facing a window.

“Thank you.” Izzy smiled at him, and his expression softened as he looked at her. Even the grumpiest people seemed happier around Izzy, and I wondered again if that was because of her magic, or just her sweet personality.

“Just be careful with these books. You wouldn’t be able to replace them if you damaged them.”

He retreated to the desk, and we crossed over to the chairs he’d suggested.

I flipped through the book he’d handed me. It talked about different gods and the elements, but at a glance, none of the stories spoke of confinement.

“This may be something.” Izzy’s quiet voice was hopeful, and she pushed her open book at me.

I skimmed the tale of Isis and Osiris while Izzy watched me intently.

“So,” I said slowly, still reading, “his brother Set made a coffin to his measurements. And he covered it in gold, and offered to give it to whichever god would fit in it?”

Izzy nodded.

“And Osiris fell for it?”

She glared at my tone. “He wasn’t the only one. All the gods wanted that coffin! If Set had wanted to, he could have trapped them all.”

“But he didn’t. He just wanted to get his brother out of the way.”

“And when Osiris climbed into the coffin, he couldn’t escape.”

I exhaled loudly. “Well, that’s great, except for a few things. One, how would we build a coffin like that, and two, how am I supposed to convince Hecate to try it on for size?”

She looked hurt. “Have you thought of anything better?”

Loki’s offer was on the tip of my tongue, but I shook my head. “Not yet. I’m going to get another book.”

I handed the book back to Izzy and left her happily buried in the myths. I thought about stopping at the librarian’s desk, but frankly, he gave me the creeps. The way he knew that I hadn’t taken a patron was unnerving, almost like he could read my mind. Craning my neck, I wandered around reading the neatly labeled shelves, skimming for something that would help us.

There didn’t seem to be any system of organization in the library. I found “Divination: Tarot” on the shelf below “Gods: Native American.” Despite the weird filing system, I felt better walking through the library than I had since leaving North Carolina. Libraries had always been calming places for me, I guess; when you’re surrounded by books, it’s like nothing else is real. But my fight with Hecate was real, and I needed to focus.

I paused in front of a shelf labeled “Divination: Flame.” Without thinking, I reached up and pulled down a thick leather-bound book. Kneeling on the floor beside the shelf, I began to turn the waxy pages. I was getting absorbed in the book when someone tripped over me.

“Ouch!” I tried to keep my voice down, remembering the stern librarian around the corner, but I was startled. I stood up quickly, clutching the book in my hand.

Dr. Farren looked surprised to see me. “I hadn’t heard anything from you since our meeting yesterday. I thought you might have returned home.” She glanced at the book in my hands, her frown deepening.

I shook my head. “No. I think I have a plan.” I paused, but before I could continue, she cut me off.

“Then maybe you and I should speak somewhere more private.” Her gesture took in the handful of people browsing through the library shelves.

I nodded. “Let me tell Izzy.”

“You’re here with her?”

I ignored her surprised tone. What did the woman think I was, a leper? “Yes. She’s helping me.” I headed toward the chair where I had left Izzy, but it was empty.

Dr. Farren looked around in consternation. “Does she know about you?”

“I’ve told her everything.” Well, not everything, I mentally amended, but Dr. Farren didn’t need to know that.

The book Izzy had been looking at was still on the chair, flipped open to a different page. This one was illustrated, with a red hippopotamus devouring a boat. I looked more closely at it, confused. I didn’t really know much about Egyptian mythology, but the caption said it was a picture of Set attacking Horus.

“Horus was Isis’s son, right?” I asked Dr. Farren, pointing to the illustration curiously.

She nodded, glancing at the book. Suddenly, she gasped. “Good gracious!” She stared at the picture, panic flashing across her face. Her eyes darted around the room and she grabbed my wrist.

“We must act. Now.”

Before I could struggle or protest, she dragged me from the library.

Dr. Farren hustled me into her office, shutting the door behind us with a slam. I watched her seal it with a ward I didn’t recognize, and then she moved clockwise around the room, tracing the ward in each corner and in front of the two tall stained glass windows.

Instead of the floor pillows, the room was now furnished with a massive oak desk. A throne-like chair sat behind it, and a rough wooden stool was placed in front. It was totally different than the office I remembered. The first time we’d met, she’d been friendly and her office had felt welcoming. Now that she was pissed, the office seemed like the setting for an inquisition.

Dr. Farren sat on the throne, her back straight. With a gesture, she indicated that I should sit down, so I perched awkwardly on the stool.

“How well do you know Isadora?” Her voice shook slightly, but her face was an emotionless mask. Still, I felt the tension in the room increase with her question.

“She’s got a brother who practices Red magic, like me.” I paused. What did I really know about Izzy? “She’s a Blue Witch, and dedicated to Isis. She, um, she likes street food and cemeteries,” I finished lamely.

Dr. Farren nodded slowly. “What do you know of her parentage?”

I shrugged. “Nothing, really, except she said Isis was like a mother to her. I wish I felt that way about a god!” I laughed ruefully. “The ones I know are mostly out to kill me.”

The director didn’t smile. “Your friend is an interesting Witch. Do you have any idea where she might be?”

Startled, I almost slipped off the stool. “You think she’s missing? But she was just there a few minutes ago. Maybe she went to grab another book or something.”

Dr. Farren sighed. “You must understand, Darlena, I am still not sure how far I can trust a Witch like you. And there are things that you should not hear from me.”

“What are you talking about?”

She reached for the old-fashioned black telephone on her desk. “I need to contact Isadora’s brother. Maybe he can tell you.”

I swallowed. “You won’t be able to reach him.”

She set the phone down and glared at me. “All right, young lady, it seems that you have some things to explain to me.”