Derek and Sofia will object to us using them without GASP’s final seal of approval,” Fallon interjected. “Okay. I’m down. Count me in.”
“You really don’t have any other choice,” I said with a grin.
“What, you’d make me go, if I didn’t want to?” he retorted, jokingly scowling at me.
“You’re damn straight.” I laughed. “You’re good for us, Fallon. I hope you know that.”
He blushed like a lovestruck teenage girl. “Aw.”
“And! You can’t go there without a witch,” Kailani added, hands on her hips. She’d assumed her commanding pose, the kind that made it clear it would be her way, or the cosmic highway.
“You want to go to Mortis?” I asked. Knowing her strength and her fusion with the Word, I sure wouldn’t have objected to her coming along for the ride. Kailani was a most gifted White Witch-swamp witch hybrid, and she was particularly good at what she did. She’d come a long way since Strava.
“I’d like to, but I’m still needed here and in all the other sanctuaries,” she replied, her shoulders dropping. “The fae require my care, not just the White Witches’. But I’ll give you two of Lumi’s apprentices. Hold on.”
“Wait, who are you—” Fallon never got to finish his sentence, for his answer came as soon as Kailani closed her eyes and summoned Acantha and Nethissis. They appeared next to her, tall and proud and beautiful creatures, clad in long white dresses with wide gold bands clasped around their waists. Dozens of small silken pouches hung from the bands, likely filled with swamp witch spell paraphernalia.
“I believe you remember Acantha, a Bajang of Stonewall, and Nethissis,” Kailani said, smiling.
Eva gasped and rushed to hug Nethissis, a Lamia from her mother’s protective detail. “I’m so glad to see you’re coming along!” she said.
Nethissis grinned. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Meeting Death has been on my to-do list since we first learned she existed.”
“Acantha and Nethi, as we call them, are the first two of Lumi’s apprentices to ascend. They’re now full swamp witches, like me,” Kailani replied, beaming with pride.
“Oh, wow,” I breathed, my eyebrows going higher than ever before. “How did that happen?”
Kailani shrugged. “I guess… I don’t know!” she said, laughing lightly. “We assumed it was because of this current situation. The Word wouldn’t tell me, but I am inclined to at least think that it might’ve softened up on the apprentices, allowing Acantha and Nethi to become fully-fledged swamp witches.”
“We need all the magic muscle we can get,” Riza replied. “Maybe that’s what the Word had in mind as well.”
“Either way, we sure didn’t mind.” Acantha giggled, while Nethi gave me a startling glance—the kind that said she’d do a lot more than just look at me.
And Eva was quick to pick up on that, as she scowled and moved back to stand by my side. Granted, Eva and I weren’t in any kind of relationship, but I doubted either of us could deny the intense magnetism between us. It had become uncomfortable for me to exist without at least seeing her.
Nethi was gorgeous, though. Not as beautiful as Eva. But she carried herself with a lot of grace and dignity, her hair long, straight, and copper red. Her eyes were white with amber rings around the irises, the sign of a full swamp witch, and her Cupid’s-bow mouth could easily make any man wonder what it would be like to kiss her. I felt Eva’s eyes on me, so I turned my head and found her watching me—her aura flared with swirls of gold, pale yellow and a dirty red. She certainly didn’t enjoy me looking at Nethi. I decided then that I would need to find a moment to have a word with her. We’d known each other for long enough to be able to just talk about this… this thing between us. I didn’t want Eva getting the wrong idea.
“Okay, so, we’ve got two swamp witches on our side to go visit Death. That’s great!” Fallon said, loud enough for all of us to look at him and forget whatever thoughts we’d just had.
Phoenix settled in front of his monitors with Ibrahim by his side, and they began a new search through the astral maps of the In-Between, looking for Mortis based on Herbert’s memories of the place.
“And it’s an honor to be a part of such a powerful and… dashing crew,” Acantha replied, smiling and constantly stealing glances at Herakles. She ran a hand through her rich, blonde