blinding smile.
“Six ayes, five nays, with the nays still screaming when I left, but sod ’em. You’re no longer illegal, little Guardian. You and all other mixed-species people are finally free.”
Chapter 39
We ended up staying at the same hotel for the next few days. Right now, there wasn’t much that we could do beyond waiting. Marie’s ghosts as well as the ghosts we’d enlisted were scouring the globe for Ruaumoko, Morana, and Phanes; we were watching the news for any new “natural” disasters that might indicate their presence; and everyone had warned their people and their allies to keep an eye out for the three gods.
Normally, I’d be frustrated by the waiting. Now, I considered it the calm before the storm. Ashael fetched Silver and brought him back to the lovely new suite he put on his tab for us, calling it a belated wedding present. It certainly felt like one to have Ian and my beloved pet under the same roof with nothing to do except enjoy being together.
No, more than a present. It felt like being part of a family, and I hadn’t had that for nearly seven hundred years since Tenoch died.
I knew it couldn’t last, but I didn’t realize how much I wanted it to, even just a little longer, until I saw Cat’s name flash up on Ian’s new mobile.
For an incredibly selfish moment, I considered not answering it. Ian was in the shower, so he didn’t hear or see Cat’s call. I could squeeze out a few more hours with him, if I just turned his phone off until later tonight . . .
I answered on the fourth ring. “Yes?”
“The ghosts came through,” were Cat’s first words. My stomach turned to lead. “The gods are in the Tov province of Mongolia, hiding out in the Togchin temple ruins.”
“That’s good news,” I forced myself to say, then meant it as I added, “No super volcanoes are located nearby, and if memory serves, that area has a very low population density.”
Cat grunted. “Low as fuck as far as people go. I looked it up. There’s a restoration group for the former monastery and a small hostel near the ruins. That’s it for miles. We never would have found them, except that area had lots of slaughters in its history, so it’s got ghosts. Thankfully, one of them talked.”
I closed my eyes, steeling myself. “We need to hit them there as quickly as possible.”
The selfish part of me still wanted to stall, but I couldn’t bear to see more innocent people killed.
“Agreed, but your brother and Ian can only transport two people at a time, and we’ll need to attack in much larger numbers to take them down,” Cat replied.
I heard the bathroom door creak, but I didn’t turn around. “We know a guy who can transport over a hundred people at a time.”
“Really?” Cat sounded skeptical.
“I’ve seen it myself. Ashael went to seek him out two days ago, but there’s no guarantee that he’ll help. He, uh, kind of blames Ian and me for his secret island hideaway getting wiped out.”
Another grunt. “You both do tend to leave a trail of destruction behind you.”
She wasn’t wrong, and if we were lucky enough to survive this, I didn’t think that would change.
“Hey,” Cat said, sounding more tentative now. “I want you to know that I’m glad you and Ian found each other. I think you both deserve to be happy. So know that when you don’t see me in this final battle, it’s not because I don’t care.”
“You’re not coming?”
She sighed. “I want to, but Bones and I talked, and Katie can’t lose both her parents if things go south. She’s already spent most of her life trapped and experimented on like a lab rat. I didn’t even know she existed until she was seven. Now, she’s just starting to act like a little girl instead of a trained killing machine, and I can’t . . .” Her voice broke.
“I understand,” I said at once. “It’s also very logical. Bones’s telekinesis is much more advanced than yours, and this will be a fight of powers, not brawling abilities.”
She let out a sound that was half sniff, half laugh. “I’m glad you see it as logical. I see it as ripping myself apart and hoping the pieces will be rejoined because if I lose Bones, I lose the best half of myself.”
I finally turned around. Ian’s hair was still wet, making it look darker and longer. Water ran