Don’t you ever sleep?”
“You know what the Crossroads do to me. Every time.” I always seemed to arrive after a rough night. I wasn’t sure why, but that was just the way things seemed to play out. I took a seat on the sofa opposite her desk.
“Yes…well…make use of this.” Hecate handed me a box filled with chocolates. “Zeus was in a good mood and he decided to give everyone gifts. It’s not a good idea to admit that you don’t like chocolate when the god of the realm decides you should.”
I gazed at the box warily. Five pounds of exquisite chocolate, by the looks of it, but I was cautious. Zeus’s gifts were tricky. “They aren’t cursed, are they? I mean, he’s not going to show up in my bedroom in the middle of the night and try to play footsie, is he?”
At that, Hecate slapped her leg and laughed. “Oh, Fury, I do love your sense of humor. But no, I wouldn’t worry if I were you. Hera keeps pretty close tabs on him lately. She’s not thrilled about the influx of Theosians into the pantheon, all those lovely young women who have joined Olympus as minor goddesses. But no matter, I doubt he would try to bed you anyway. Zeus tends to like his women a little more… pliable …than you. All I ask is that you put the box in a bag when you carry it out. Actually, I have a shopping bag you can use. I just don’t want it to get back to him that I gave them away.”
I accepted the box and popped one in my mouth. The exquisite flavor of melting chocolate combined with raspberry filling exploded on my tongue, and I let out a sigh of contentment.
Hecate just stared at me, shaking her head. “I think I could bribe you to do anything as long as I gave you enough chocolate. All right, tell me about the Abom.”
Fueled by the chocolate and the realization that she was actually in a decent mood, I told her exactly what happened. “I picked up his Trace when I was about two blocks from the Sandspit. He came in off the World Tree—I’m fairly sure he hadn’t been here too long before I found him. He was hungry and went for Tommy-Tee. That’s when I took him over to the Crossroads. He was so big I didn’t think I could handle him on this plane.”
“I see. Well, good enough on that. Have you noticed that there seems to be an influx of Abominations lately?”
I had an answer for that question, too. “Yeah, I have. We generally get two or three a month, but so far, I’ve taken out seven in the past three weeks.”
“That’s what I thought.” She frowned. “Keep an eye on things and let me know how many come through over the next two weeks. But that isn’t why I called you here today. We have a bigger problem, but you’ll have to wait a moment. I forgot to bring one of my files in with me.” And with that, she quickly exited the office, shutting the door behind her.
I relaxed, stretching my legs out to stare at the tips of my boots. I still felt bruised on the inside from being out on the Crossroads, but it would fade.
“Nice boots,” Queet suddenly shouted at me. Or rather, it felt like shouting because he was projecting his thoughts into mine, and the communication was amplified, given where we were.
“Damn it, Queet, don’t shout at me. You nearly broke my eardrums.” Relenting, I murmured, “Thanks. I found them in a penny-store.”
I turned my leg to the side and stared at the whip trailing down to the top of the boots right above my ankle. Like my blades, that too had been a gift from Hecate.
The day I turned twenty-one, she had taken the tattoo gun to me herself, as a rite of passage. I had never experienced physical pain like that before or since. And there it was, a weapon that I could never lose. If someone yanked it out of my hand, it would burn their fingers and appear back on my leg. By the same token, I couldn’t wear pants anymore without losing access to it, so I mostly wore shorts and sometimes, a skirt, which made for some cold winters. But I had found that a long
“You know what the Crossroads do to me. Every time.” I always seemed to arrive after a rough night. I wasn’t sure why, but that was just the way things seemed to play out. I took a seat on the sofa opposite her desk.
“Yes…well…make use of this.” Hecate handed me a box filled with chocolates. “Zeus was in a good mood and he decided to give everyone gifts. It’s not a good idea to admit that you don’t like chocolate when the god of the realm decides you should.”
I gazed at the box warily. Five pounds of exquisite chocolate, by the looks of it, but I was cautious. Zeus’s gifts were tricky. “They aren’t cursed, are they? I mean, he’s not going to show up in my bedroom in the middle of the night and try to play footsie, is he?”
At that, Hecate slapped her leg and laughed. “Oh, Fury, I do love your sense of humor. But no, I wouldn’t worry if I were you. Hera keeps pretty close tabs on him lately. She’s not thrilled about the influx of Theosians into the pantheon, all those lovely young women who have joined Olympus as minor goddesses. But no matter, I doubt he would try to bed you anyway. Zeus tends to like his women a little more… pliable …than you. All I ask is that you put the box in a bag when you carry it out. Actually, I have a shopping bag you can use. I just don’t want it to get back to him that I gave them away.”
I accepted the box and popped one in my mouth. The exquisite flavor of melting chocolate combined with raspberry filling exploded on my tongue, and I let out a sigh of contentment.
Hecate just stared at me, shaking her head. “I think I could bribe you to do anything as long as I gave you enough chocolate. All right, tell me about the Abom.”
Fueled by the chocolate and the realization that she was actually in a decent mood, I told her exactly what happened. “I picked up his Trace when I was about two blocks from the Sandspit. He came in off the World Tree—I’m fairly sure he hadn’t been here too long before I found him. He was hungry and went for Tommy-Tee. That’s when I took him over to the Crossroads. He was so big I didn’t think I could handle him on this plane.”
“I see. Well, good enough on that. Have you noticed that there seems to be an influx of Abominations lately?”
I had an answer for that question, too. “Yeah, I have. We generally get two or three a month, but so far, I’ve taken out seven in the past three weeks.”
“That’s what I thought.” She frowned. “Keep an eye on things and let me know how many come through over the next two weeks. But that isn’t why I called you here today. We have a bigger problem, but you’ll have to wait a moment. I forgot to bring one of my files in with me.” And with that, she quickly exited the office, shutting the door behind her.
I relaxed, stretching my legs out to stare at the tips of my boots. I still felt bruised on the inside from being out on the Crossroads, but it would fade.
“Nice boots,” Queet suddenly shouted at me. Or rather, it felt like shouting because he was projecting his thoughts into mine, and the communication was amplified, given where we were.
“Damn it, Queet, don’t shout at me. You nearly broke my eardrums.” Relenting, I murmured, “Thanks. I found them in a penny-store.”
I turned my leg to the side and stared at the whip trailing down to the top of the boots right above my ankle. Like my blades, that too had been a gift from Hecate.
The day I turned twenty-one, she had taken the tattoo gun to me herself, as a rite of passage. I had never experienced physical pain like that before or since. And there it was, a weapon that I could never lose. If someone yanked it out of my hand, it would burn their fingers and appear back on my leg. By the same token, I couldn’t wear pants anymore without losing access to it, so I mostly wore shorts and sometimes, a skirt, which made for some cold winters. But I had found that a long
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