Page 8 of The Hunger
“You left without your phone?” Oanen asked, emerging from the back of the house.
“I got caught up in the moment. With Adira’s ability to portal, I knew I had to move fast.”
Oanen said nothing as he held her gaze.
Megan made a face. “I’m sorry. I’ll try harder not to get caught up in the anger. But you know it’s not easy.”
“No more leaving without me.”
She nodded, and he left again.
“So what happened?” I asked. “Where did you look for her?”
“I was doing my hell gate thing to find where she was. But once I entered hell, I wasn’t drawn anywhere. It was like she disappeared.”
“She does have access to places you can’t visit,” Mom said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Megan is a daughter of Hades, bound to his service to reap the wicked from their mortal lives. That means she’s meant for Earth and the Underworld. Adira is descended from Ymir, descended from Oden himself. She can return to her home world or any of the realms connected to the world tree.” Mom looked at Megan. “You’re not really meant to reap our kind. However, since we exist on Earth, if we veer toward wickedness, you can.”
“In other words, she hid where I can’t find her.”
“Most likely.”
Megan’s ability impressed the heck out of me. But it also gave me an obvious answer.
“If all you need to do is think about someone to find them, you can find Ashlyn.”
The last bit of orange glow faded from Megan’s eyes.
“As soon as you told me she was missing, that’s what I tried. Just like with Adira, I went to hell but wasn’t drawn anywhere except to the stupid tower where I stash wicked souls. I talked to Gran about it. She reminded me that I’m new at this and have a lot to learn about using my gifts. She says I need to be patient and give myself time. It’s like she doesn’t even know me. Am I patient?”
I grinned at Megan’s indignation and sarcasm. Given that she and her Great Grandma had only met a few weeks ago, likely they really didn’t know each other well at all.
Mom sniffled, drawing my attention.
“I think that’s the first real smile I’ve seen out of Eliana since I arrived. I’m so glad you’re here, Megan.”
“Thanks. I am too.”
My humor faded as I thought of Ashlyn.
“How are we going to find her? Did Zayn get back to you yet?”
“Not yet,” Megan said.
“Can you use your whatever you call it to find him?” I asked hopefully.
“I call it hellgating. And it should work on him, but I don’t think I should try. Zayn’s off doing something that even his sister can’t talk about. If I pop in on him before he has a chance to make up for whatever bad he might be doing, I’d probably be compelled to take him to hell, which would screw us over in the long run. I suck at patience. But, in this case, we need to wait.”
“How exactly does waiting fit into our plans for righting wrongs and kicking behinds?”
“I understand your frustration, baby, and I know you’re driven to find Ashlyn. But aren’t we going to address what Adira tried to do?” Mom looked at Megan. “She hinted that I was the cause of their delay in finding Ashlyn then suggested a dinner together.”
“She’s hoping you’ll feed from Megan and Oanen,” I said in understanding.
“Which won’t ever happen. My hunger is nothing compared to my love for you. However, Adira’s miscalculation doesn’t absolve that meddling pain in the ass.” Mom shrugged elegantly at me. “That word’s in your father’s Bible, so I’m allowed.”
