Page 23 of Midlife Demigod Unexpected

Chapter 17

I stared at the screen silently. It felt like all the power was being sucked out of the room by the man there. He combined it with his own power and commanded the space. I instantly didn’t like him though. He was a little too confident the way he looked out of the screen. It was as if he was smiling at Kartika and expecting her to come crawling back. They had told me the stories of how he was betrothed to her and how she had rejected him, but I could tell by the look in his eye he was expecting her to return.

Bile rose in my throat, but this was part of the deal. We had to try and solve the problem of the cemetery and playing to this asshole’s tune was going to be part of the deal.

“There you are my precious darling.” His smile almost made him look sincere, but he was a dark Fae of ill repute and one I didn’t have a good feeling about. I certainly didn’t like the way he looked at Kartika.

“Where is Styx?” Kartika asked.

“No need to be jealous of her.” Morel smiled warmly at her. “May I come visit you tonight?”

Even from where I was standing in the shadows, I could feel Frank bristle in the kitchen. I guess gargoyles had hypersensitive hearing as well. There was no way Frank was on board with this idea of Morel meeting with Kartika. I knew Kartika and Frank were a thing, and it was a dangerous game she was playing trying to entice Morel.

Morel seemed amenable to the situation though, smiling at her and appearing quite warm.

“How are things going over there?” Morel asked her. His face had taken on a demeanor of concern.

I wasn’t buying it.

Kartika seemed enchanted enough to be convincing. “We have been doing a lot,” she said. “Have you been able to get the river fixed for the Lady Styx?”

Suddenly it wasn’t quite what I had expected. I had expected to stay in the shadows and hide in the corner and not be noticed by anybody, but Morel had a way of seeing past the obvious. While he and Kartika were doing their dance, he was seeing beyond her. The only problem was, Mae and I were beyond Kartika.

“There’s a sense of something new at The Estate,” Morel leaned forward as if peering in the corners of the red room.

“You never explained how you got me off The Estate,” Kartika said.

“Styx can make portals,” Morel said, waving his hand dismissively, like it wasn’t such an amazing gift at all. The only person I knew who could make portals was Doctor Strange and he wasn’t real. I stared at Morel, trying to figure him out, but too late I realized my mistake.

“You have her,” he said with a surprised grin.” You have found the last member of the coven. I’m surprised you didn’t tell me immediately,” he paused but then waved away his perturbance. “But never mind. All that matters now is we know we have her.”

“The coven has her,” Kartika said.

“Don’t you realize we want the same things?” Morel said. “We want the portals working and flowing. We want Undirheim to get the souls they’re not getting now, so we have to work together to make it happen.”

“The only problem is that your way of doing it means there’s a zombie apocalypse and all the humans die too,” I said.

“Helen,” Mae said, grabbing my wrist and trying to pull me back.

I shrugged her off. “What does it matter? He knows I’m here now. We might as well talk face-to-face. He’s the one trying to destroy the cemetery.”

I walked forward, going straight up against the crystal screen. I could feel Kartika swallowing hard next to me. She was tough, but she didn’t like to see her friends in danger. Me moving in front of Morel was definitely inviting danger.

I wasn’t afraid though.

There was a deep heat, a golden glow inside my chest making me feel proud, solid, and capable. I simply walked up to him, understanding he had something going on with some demigod, but it didn’t worry me in the slightest.

“You can’t have our portal,” I said fiercely, staring him down.

He turned towards me a cold smile pulling at his thin lips. “And the sixth one arrives,” he said majestically. “And do you, my dear, know what you are, because I have known your sisters in the coven do not a clue as to what they are.”

“There’s no shame in figuring things out as you go along,” I said. “It’s better than hiding in the shadows and trying to use other people to your advantage. At least we’re trying to figure out our own advantages.”

“And you are staying at The Estate also?” Morel asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Trying to plan a midnight rendezvous?” I snickered. “You’re not my type. I like my guys with a bit of…let me think…kindness, respect, you know the simple things in life.”

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