26
DAY 265 A.F.
DEATH’S LAIR
—Crazy like a fox!—
I jerked up from my pillow, waking from my first night at Death’s. My eyes were gritty from holding back tears, my muscles sore with tension. I glared to find Cyclops beside me atop the bed, his weight straining the wooden frame. He blinked his eye, giving me a whatcha gonna do? look.
Had I heard Matthew, or dreamed I had? Barely daring to hope, I tentatively called, Matthew?
—You sound scared, Empress.—
I leapt to my feet. Matthew, is that you?!
—Why shouting? Inside voice . . .—
Tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes. Why haven’t you answered me?
—Hurt my head. Just wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep.—
Oh, God, are you going to be okay?
—Jack said I have a tête dure. Hard head. Said the boulder got hurt worse than I did.—
My mouth went dry. Is he okay?
—Everyone’s happy I’m awake. And frantic all the time. Jack thinks I’ll lead him to you.—
Tell me what happened.
In his confusing, stilted way, Matthew relayed the mine collapse. He described having to swim under fallen beams while dodging boulders. Having to dig to get at a shaft of light, before the water rose and cut off their air. Clawing at rock till they could see the bones of their fingertips.
I was horrified by what they’d been through, but so freaking proud of them for surviving. How are they doing?
—Finn. Leg healing. Heart broken. Lark tricked the trickster. The Moon sets. She failed to protect you; isn’t used to failing at anything.—
Matthew, if you knew this was in our future, why allow it to happen?
—Not all bad is bad. Endgame, endgame. We live. Hierophant dies. You are where you’re supposed to be.—
Go through hardship to get to the ultimate goal? That had been some serious hardship. And why am I supposed to be here? Death keeps threatening to kill me. Hey, he can’t hear my thoughts anymore, can he?
—I broke ranks! Renegade! Eyes empty of him.—
What about your past deal? Your debts?
—Jack is bellowing at me to tell him where you are. He is swearing to Christ a lot. I stare at my hand.—
Have you told him I’m okay?
— Told Jack you’re alive. Okay in lair of Death?—
True. But, sweetheart, maybe you could fib and tell him I’m completely safe?
—He wants to come for you.—
So Death could “gut” Jack? You have to keep him out of the Reaper’s way! You can’t ever show Jack how to reach this place. Lead him on wild-goose chases, anything to keep him from this man. Taking Death down is all on me.
—Always was.—
Then tell me how. With poison?
—Passion.—
That’s disgusting! In the words of Finn, are you humming my balls?
—You can’t fight Death with force.—
Um, that’s kind of the definition of fight. But, Matthew, he put a cilice on me. I can’t use any of my abilities.
—If he bound your powers, then your powers are already working.—
I don’t understand.
—He gave you that cilice because part of him thinks to keep you. You are the card that Death covets.—
The room seemed to spin. So that was what these new Empress dreams were supposed to teach me! The earlier dreams had instructed me how to use my arsenal; this one was to teach me how to use Death’s one weakness against him.
His attraction to me.
Matthew had said I would fight Death with my powers. I’d thought he meant some kind of attack. But the Empress also had the power to beckon and allure. You and all the other Arcana expect me to seduce him. I gave a bitter laugh. To win his trust. Was that how past Empresses got him out of his armor?
—You fight him with your powers.—
And now Matthew believed Death had already changed his course with me, planning some kind of sick captor/hostage future. A plan I would have to capitalize on?
At least up to a point.
Two problems. Death still hated me. And even if I could turn off my own aversion to him, I was in love with someone else. How could I flirt believably with someone I was plotting to take down?
If I win him over, the first piece of armor I’m getting him to shed is this cuff around my arm. It continued to pain me, as I was sure he’d intended. Matthew, Death despises me. What happened in our past lives?
—You both have waterfalls on your cards.—
What does that mean?! You haven’t seen him with me. He is cruel and merciless.
—The Reaper thinks about touching you. All the time.—
GROSS! I’m not talking about this with you.
—You will not leave Death’s home until he trusts you. Proximity. Seduction. Freedom. It’s in your nature.—
Matthew faded from my mind, leaving me more confused than ever.
In my nature? No wonder Death had called me a femme fatale. Because I’d been one! Had I coaxed him out of his armor, then tried to sink my claws into him? That would certainly give him reason to hate me above all other Arcana.
I couldn’t decide what was more disturbing: how diabolical I’d been in past lives, or that I was even considering repeating history in this one. I gazed out the turret window at the dark sky and recognized the truth. I would do anything to get back to my friends. To get back to Jack.
Even seduce a knight named Death.
I now had a mission, and failure was not an option.