Gods of Chaos (Red Magic) (9 page)

We stared at each other for a minute before he took a swig of beer. The room crackled with electricity.

“Who are you?” His question surprised me.

“I told you my name.”

He shook his head. “I don’t mean that. Maybe I should have said, what are you?”

I bristled. “A Red Witch. Like you, I think.”

“Maybe, maybe not. What else?”

“What d’ya mean, what else?”

He kept his eyes locked on my face. “Who do you belong to?”

“You mean my patron?”

His nod was brief.

“I don’t have one.”

The green eyes watching me narrowed. “I don’t believe you.”

“Well, it’s true! I had Aphrodite for a little while, but then—” I stopped abruptly, feeling my cheeks heat up.

Marcus eyed me suspiciously. “But then what?”

I sighed, deciding that the only way to get anywhere with him was to trust him. “I ate a pomegranate seed. Persephone had given them to me.”

I couldn’t read his motionless face, so I pressed on. “After that, things changed. I was no longer bound to Aphrodite; I act for myself.”

“And you said earlier that you need help with—the Queen.”

The pause was barely audible, but I understood his hesitation. It wouldn’t be wise to draw Hecate’s attention by saying her name again. I shivered and nodded.

“When I first became a Red, she thought I’d cause a lot of destruction. But then I stopped a car accident, and I realized that if I could control my magic, I could maybe cause less destruction instead of more.”

“An interesting idea.”

I nodded, encouraged. “But then she decided I was too much of a liability. She tried to kill me.”

“The gods can’t kill mortals.”

“I know that.” Frustrated, I worked to keep my voice calm. “But she used another Witch.” My voice broke, and I took a deep breath.

He eyed me warily. “And you defended yourself.”

I nodded, not trusting my voice. I hadn’t talked about what happened to Rochelle with anyone yet, and my chest felt tight. A cloud of guilt descended on me, and for a minute, I thought I would lose it in front of the irritating stranger. It took some effort, but I pulled myself together and tried to prepare for his next question.

Marcus took another swallow of beer. “So why Scotland?”

That wasn’t what I’d been expecting, and I exhaled gratefully. “I had a dream. I wanted to find the other Red Witches. I’m not sure why, but I have this feeling that we’re kept apart not because of our danger to humanity but because of the danger we pose to her.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “And then you blew up the vault.”

I stood up. “That was not my fault!” The sight of the girls’ bodies flashed through my mind, and I shut my eyes quickly. I would
not
cry in front of him.

“Are you saying you didn’t unleash Red magic today?”

I crossed my arms and compressed my lips.

Marcus smiled. He looked like a defense attorney going in for the kill. “So you did use Red magic. Here in my domain. Did you ever think that might cause problems?”

Mutely, I shook my head.

He pressed himself off the counter and took a step toward me. “I have a feeling you will cause a lot of problems for me.”

“But will you help me?”

“Help you do what?”

“I need to find a way to stand against Hecate.”

He made a quick banishing gesture at the sound of her name. “And what am I supposed to do?”

“Work with me! Help me try to balance chaos. You control a third of the world. Do you like being responsible for death and destruction?”

Marcus stood like a statue for a moment, not even breathing. I could see a faint red flush creeping up his neck.

“Of course not.” His words were quiet and clipped. “I hate it. I’ve hated it for longer than you, I’d bet.”

“So let’s do something about it!”

He shook his head, his face fully flushed. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Not if we work together. Alone, yes, you’re right, we make easy targets. But two Red Witches together—”

“No.” His voice was sharp, but I ignored the warning in it.

“Do you like being her slave?”

He stiffened and turned his back to me. “I’m nobody’s slave.”

“If you let Hecate use you, you might as well be.”

“I think you should leave.”

I was stunned. “But I’ve come so far to find you!”

Marcus kept his back to me. “Clearly it was a waste of time.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Still, I want you to go.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized how stupid I sounded.

He whirled around, his eyes flashing. “Actually, I can. You are in my domain. You’ve used Red magic here without my consent. I can do anything I want to you, and no one will stop me.” A red glow surrounded him, and I scrambled to grab up my own magic as I took a step backward.

He didn’t make a move toward me, but the air crackled dangerously between us. “But we could help each other!”

“I don’t need your help. I’ve been a Red for longer than you can imagine, and you’ve been one for what, ten minutes? You can’t help me.” He spat the last words fiercely, and I took another step closer to the door.

“Why did you choose Red magic?” I softened my tone, hoping he would let me stay, but he just shook his head.

“Leave. Now.”

I thought of one last thing. “I’m staying at the hostel on Princes Street. If you change your mind—”

“I won’t.”

“But if you do, come and find me.”

He crossed the room in two wide steps and pushed me out the door. “You don’t want me to find you,” he threatened, slamming the door in my face.

I stared at the peeling red paint on the door for a minute, stunned. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I trudged down the stairs and headed back to the street, my thoughts churning furiously. I had come all this way to find Marcus, and I hadn’t considered that another Red wouldn’t want to help. It seemed like the obvious solution to me. Was I the only one who didn’t want to destroy things?

I paced around the city, barely noticing the cobblestone streets lined with souvenir shops and pubs that had caught my attention before. What if this entire trip was just a big mistake? Two more people were dead because of me; what if something else happened? Guilt pressed into my thoughts, and I thought about Sandra and Joan with a shudder. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I clenched my teeth and inhaled sharply.

Forcing my thoughts away from the awful memory of the vaults, I pulled out my cell phone. Acting on impulse, I dialed a familiar number.

The phone rang once, twice, three times, but on the fourth ring it cut off abruptly and I heard a distant voice.

“Hello?”

I smiled despite everything that had happened. “Justin! It’s me.”

“I hoped you would call today.”

“You did?” My heart swelled, and I fought to keep the silly grin off my face.

“Yes.” He paused for a moment. “There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

I wanted to keep my voice light, but it quivered slightly. “Don’t sound so serious!”

“I’ve been having dreams.”

I paused. “Go on.”

“Dreams about you.”

“What every girl wants to hear.” I fought back the surge of fear that rose in my chest. Did he somehow know what I’d done to those poor girls?

“Lena, I’m worried about you.” His voice was full of emotion, and I almost started to cry right there on the Edinburgh sidewalk.

I forced a smile into my voice. “But there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Maybe. But you haven’t made any bargains, have you?”

I laughed bitterly, thinking about Marcus. “Actually, just the opposite.”

He exhaled loudly. “Good. Now is not a good time for you to try to make a deal.”

“You can say that again,” I muttered.

Justin continued talking over me. “You need to be careful. I don’t know why, but I keep dreaming about you winding up trapped. I don’t think you’ll have pomegranate seeds to get you out of any bad choices.”

The seeds had undone my bond to Aphrodite, but they’d also broken the love spell that I’d cast on Justin. I winced at the memory.

“Not expecting any other random seeds, thank you very much.” I tried to sound confident, but my stomach clenched as I remembered that Persephone couldn’t reach me now.

“But seriously, be careful. Please?”

“Fine.” I closed my eyes for a moment, wishing I could lean my head on his shoulder.

He paused. “Is that a promise?”

I sighed. “It doesn’t matter, because I’m coming home.”

“What?” His voice sounded alarmed. “What are you talking about?”

“This whole thing has been a waste of time.”

“Did you find the other Red?”

I grimaced. “Unfortunately.”

Justin was silent for a minute. Then he surprised me. “I don’t think you should come home yet.”

I stared at the phone blankly. “Are you kidding? What’s the point of hanging around here if I’m not getting any help?”

“Maybe you could enjoy yourself.” His tone was so earnest; I could picture his warm brown eyes willing me to stay.

“But I miss you,” I whispered. For a moment, there was silence on the line, and my stomach clenched. Had I crossed an invisible line? I so didn’t know how to act around him anymore, but I needed him. I knew that much.

Finally, he sighed. “I miss you, too. But this is important. What if this is your chance to get out from under Hecate’s thumb once and for all?”

“But what’s the point if the other Red won’t help me?”

“Be patient, Lena. Things might change.”

I closed my eyes, trying not to cry. “I guess.”

“Just don’t make any deals.”

“Fair enough.”

We talked for a few more minutes until we ran out of things to say. Finally, as a joke, I asked about the weather.

“We’re due for an ice storm. They’re saying it’s going to be the worst in twenty years.”

I laughed. “They always say that, and it never is.”

I could almost hear Justin shrug. “I don’t know. Something’s strange about this winter, but I can’t tell what it is.” Mom had said the same thing, and I felt a tingle of unease on the back of my neck. Something about the weather wasn’t natural, but I didn’t want to alarm Justin.

“You’re imagining things. I have to go, but I’ll call you later and let you know when I’m coming home.”

“Give it a chance. Things may change!”

I smiled at the certainty in his voice. “Whatever you say.”

After I hung up, I plopped onto a bench. Justin could always make me feel better. He might have been willing to date me again, despite the love spell and all the other craziness between us, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to put him in that kind of danger. Hecate had already used my best friend to try to get to me, and I couldn’t bear it if something were to happen to Justin, too. It really didn’t matter, I realized; we hadn’t talked about anything that had happened last fall, so I had no way of knowing if Justin thought of me as a friend or something more. He acted like he’d forgiven me for the love spell, but I couldn’t be sure. For the moment, all that mattered was that he was safe, and he was more likely to stay safe if I stayed away from him. That thought gnawed at my heart, but I knew I was right. I wasn’t safe to be around.

A squirrel chattered on the ground near my feet, breaking me out of my melancholy. It scampered off quickly, but I leaned back on the bench, thinking. I’d needed the simple reminder to just focus on the here and now. Sometimes, I got so overwhelmed with my problems that I forgot to enjoy things.

That had been happening a lot lately. I’d hardly noticed my surroundings in Iceland, and now there I was, sitting on a bench in Scotland, and I hadn’t looked around since I’d landed. I shut my eyes and then opened them again, willing myself to really see what was around me.

Even in the depths of winter, I could tell that Scotland was beautiful. Surveying the street from my bench, I felt the irresistible impulse to look for Ebenezer Scrooge. Even though Dickens set his novels in England, something about the dark streets of Edinburgh made me feel like the Victorian era had never ended. I drew a deep breath, taking in the smell of pollution mingled with snow that hadn’t fallen yet. It was strange and beautiful, and I started to relax a tiny bit.

Glancing up, I noticed the slate gray sky for the first time that afternoon. The storm looked like it wasn’t far off. I pulled my old, green wool coat tighter around me and tried to get my bearings. I hadn’t been paying attention to where I was when I followed Marcus to his apartment, and now I realized that I wasn’t sure how to get back to the hostel.

I reached for the bag that hung over my shoulder and pulled out a shiny travel guide. My mom had traveled all over the Celtic lands when she was in college, and she’d offered me her beat-up guide book, but I’d opted to buy this new one. It had seemed silly at the time: I wasn’t planning on doing any sightseeing, so why would I care if the guide was up to date or not? Still, now that I was lost, I was glad I’d listened to my impulse.