The Arcana Chronicles 5: The Dark Calling

He said, "If I'd gotten there sooner, I could have spared her that battle with the Cups."

"She did all right by herself."

"I saw the aftermath. I'll bet she was glorious in her wrath."

"Glorious? That's one way of looking at it." Though I'd been the one to egg her on, I'd still been shocked. I'd never seen her so creepy. "They drew first blood, but something tells me that woan matter in the long run."

"The Empress has destroyed an entire suit; there will be consequences. If the other suits unite, danger for her will multiply. And she already had a target on her back." His expression hardened, as if he imagined eliminating all those threats to her. "How much power was the Empress able to expend against the Cups?"

"A fair bit, but she burned out fast. She was . . ."

"What?"

Different, I thought. Like she'd enjoyed the violence. When she'd unleashed the witch down in the Lovers' shrine, she'd taken care of business. This time, she'd played with her enemies. No wonder she was worried about heading to the dark side. And I primed that pump. "Nothing," I finally said.

He let it slide. "Based on what you saw, do you believe she can defeat Fauna and the Archangel?"

"She was powerful, but so are they." I replayed Gabriel's wing slicing out at me and said, "She can't go up against them. You and I will have to talk her out of that plan. Before we near the castle, we've got to convince her against it."

"I hold zero sway over her. But I will try."

Didn't sound promising. "I doan suppose coo-yon offered up any wisdom when he sent you the vision?"

Dominija shook his head. "Nothing of consequence to me."

Typical. "I heard he offed Evie in a past life."

"His biggest regret. He was never the same after that."

"From what I understand, if he'd given me directions to the castle, I could've reached Evie before you took her to bed. She would've come back to me. Would've chosen me."

He briefly closed his eyes. "Yes." Seeming to give himself an inner shake, he said, "Which means everything that is happening to us is because of the Fool. He must've wanted the Empress to have a child."

Evie curled up closer to me. Before I'd even thought about it, I pressed a kiss to her hair. Death stiffened in his seat.

"The jealousy's about to eat you alive, non? I can only imagine what's goan on inside you right now."

"My servant stole all that I'd ever worked for, and you took all that I love."

"You sure did make it easy." Stony stare. "What? You're your own worst enemy."

Clenching the wheel, he said, "Newsflash, Deveaux, I was under the thrall of another card."

"You're not now. Here's a hint. Maybe in the future, doan brag that you escaped an Arcana's mind control just so you could behead your wife."

"Should I have lied? As you customarily do?"

"Oh, no, no, I learned my lesson, me. No more lies. But goddamn, man, you could try softly handing her the truth instead of clubbing her with it." I lowered my voice to say, "She's wiped out, scared, and pregnant. Instead of abiding by your sterling sense of morality, consider her and the baby. Think: buffer."

"Buffer?"

He was actually listening to me? Taking advice from a much--much--younger man? "Doan give her anything too heavy to carry." For weeks, I'd been trying to cushion her from the world, and I had. Until today.

"Before Paul struck, I did endeavor to buffer her." He muttered to himself, "The Empress is as fragile as she is strong."

One way to look at her. "Hell, this might be a moot point."

"Why? What are you talking about?"

I met his gaze. "Before she took out the Cups, they bludgeoned her head, threw her on the floor, and bled her. She still might lose Tee."

All light dimmed in the Reaper's eyes. "Then I was too late after all."

"Maybe so," I said, while wondering how much more guilt Dominija could shoulder before he snapped.

44

The Empress

Day 584 A.F.

"Where are we?" I sat up, blinking my bleary eyes.

Aric had just parked the truck. "Outside the cave."

"Really?" I didn't recognize our snowy surroundings.

"I'd like you both to stay here while I clear the area. Allow me to start a fire if possible."

"By all means." Jack turned up the heater in advance of Aric's departure. "The entrance is due north from here. Look for lion bones. Inside, there's a bag for Evie with cold-weather gear."

"I'll return with it." Casting me a last look, Aric dashed from the truck.

As I watched him disappear into the night, I said, "We got here this quickly?"

"Ouais. The beauty of no pit stops."

Aric had simply moved the obstacles. The first time we'd come upon a blocked road, Jack had been keen to help. Aric had told him, "Without proper clothing, you'll get frostbite. Besides, I need no assistance."

Jack had started to argue, but Aric had cut him off: "I am asking you not to get in my way, mortal."

"Then knock yourself out, Reaper. I'll be inside keeping my girl warm."

As we'd watched Aric shoving aside the first wreck, Jack's lips had parted. "Has he always been that strong?"

I'd shaken my head. "Supernaturally so. But not like this."

Over the night, I would rouse from the shock of cold whenever Aric opened the door to go move another vehicle. But then I would promptly pass out again.

I raised my hands to the air vent. "It's gettin

g colder."

Jack enfolded me in his strong arms, his delicious warmth seeping into me. "'Cause we're heading up into the mountains."

"You know that's not the reason it's this cold." The weather continued to deteriorate. The idea of remaining out in the Ash during snowmageddon was laughable. I had no choice but to face Paul. My out-of-options brand of bravery would be forced to rise again.

"I also know the midwife said you shouldn't be worrying about things you can't control."

Ah, but maybe I did have some control over the weather. With the end of the game, the earth should return. Maybe all the united Minors truly would call open season on the Majors, hurrying things along.

Jack stroked my hair behind my ear. "So, we goan to talk about went down with the Cups?"

If we must.

"You didn't have to take that risk, Evie. Letting her have your blood."

"Yes, I did."

"Because you would do anything to save Dominija? Was the alternative so bad--living out a life with me?"

I drew back from him. "Aric said the same thing when I tried to turn back time to resurrect you. Of all the things I've done to him over the millennia, I think that hurt him the worst."

Jack glanced in Aric's direction, as if trying to imagine how the man must've felt. "What happened with your powers in Jubilee?"

"I barely remember the attack."

"You blanked out?"

"No, not exactly." How to explain what I'd felt? "It was like an out-of-body experience, with the red witch in control." Snippets of memories kept slipping into my consciousness.

The sound of my new noose tightening. Of bones snapping. The smell of their fear mixed with my roses.

Practice for the Hanged Man?

Lorraine had whispered something about Richter right before I'd ended her. What, what? "I get scared by what I can recall."

Jack's expression said it'd scared him too. "I goaded you, but it seemed different than it'd been in the past."

"Do you remember when you beat up that man who wanted to hurt your mom? You looked as if some force had overtaken you. I felt the same way. Out of control. Horrified by myself after the fact. But at the time . . ."

"Everything was right in the world?"

"Yeah."

"Evangeline, it ain't ever goan to be easy with you, is it?"

"Nope." He'd asked me that before, and my answer had never wavered.

"No matter what happened, I'm proud of you for taking care of business." He jerked his chin toward the cave. "How're you doing with him around?"