Storm Gods - G. Bailey Page 0,30

needing to say anything. Granted, it’s only been a day, but still…progress is progress.

“Go ahead, honey,” mum says, setting her silverware aside to look at dad.

“I’m not all that familiar with…you know, magic,” he says, making a vague gesture towards the assembled supernatural beings. “It’s a little weird being the only human here, actually.” He grins self-deprecatingly. “But that’s not the point. The point is, sooner or later we’re going to have to decide what to do. About this Neritous situation.”

It’s something I’ve thought about, myself. We’ve only been here a few days, but I’m already starting to get anxious, and I can tell I’m not the only one. We’re all waiting for the next development, the next catastrophe, and the air of tension that’s permeated the house hasn’t managed to dissipate entirely. It’s yet another reminder of the fact that there are other people involved in this.

Seth clears his throat. “Mr. Kismet has a point,” he agrees, still sounding absurdly formal, but I know better than to expect any different. It’s charming in its own way. “It would be naive to expect him to leave us alone, especially when we’re camping out at your childhood home, Karma. We’re like sitting ducks in here.”

“Not exactly,” mum puts in. “I’ve put anti-magic wards on all the doors. Nothing super fancy, but it’s the best we can afford. The barrier should keep all but the most powerful gods away from the house.”

“Unluckily for us,” I reply grimly, “Neritous is one of the most powerful gods. And Seth is right. As much as I hate to say it, they’re going to have ways of tracking us down sooner or later.” One glance at Killian, who gives me a curt nod, is enough to tell me I’m right. The justice twins weren’t even high ranking in the godly hierarchy when they came after me, and they were still able to track me down in no time flat. It would be naive to think we’re out of the woods, and it makes me go crazy with worry.

“If I may,” Storm speaks up, resting his hands on the table, “I think it would be prudent to consider all our options. We need to pick our priority. Whether that’s hunting Neritous down or getting as far away as possible, we can’t stay here much longer.” His eyes meet Seth’s, and he nods at the justice twin in silent support of what he said earlier. Am I fucking dreaming, or are they actually getting along?

“There’s also the question of Mads,” Peyton pipes up. “She needs—”

“I can speak for myself,” Mads interjects teasingly, giving him a playful nudge with her elbow. “I’d like to see about getting rid of these powers, if we can. And if not…” She takes a shaky breath. “Then I guess I’m going to have to learn to use them. Really use them, I mean, not just channel them like I did the day that I…” She clears her throat, dropping her gaze. “The day that I fought you, Karma.”

“You weren’t yourself,” I remind her and then glance over at Ruby, who is picking at her food on the other side of the table. “We can’t forget about the little one, either. Jade’s name needs to be cleared.”

“So we have a lot of loose ends and no idea where to start,” huffs Damien, crossing his arms. “Sounds about right, actually.”

Hugo elbows him. “You’re supposed to be the optimistic one, here.”

Damien snorts and waves him off. “So what do we do?”

“I can reach out to some of my contacts,” Seth suggests, leaning back in his chair. “No guarantees, especially now, though. I’m not sure how many of them will be on our side, or if Neritous has already poisoned them against me, but it’s worth a shot. In the meantime, we need to figure out a way of getting back to England without drawing attention to ourselves.”

“Easier said than done,” Killian remarks dryly, “and that’s without the talking goat following us.”

“I’ll look into it,” mum promises. “But no more shop talk at the table, guys. Neritous might have ruined our lives, but I’m not about to let him ruin dinner hour, too.”

I guess I should know by now that nothing is ever as easy as it seems when you’re making a plan. I should probably have figured out, as well, that it’s always when you start getting comfortable that something horrible happens. That’s been the story of my life these past weeks, and I was an