Persephone Alcmedi 00 - Wicked Circle

tsk-tsk ed her teasingly. “And you thought they would lose a whole day without you.” He unrolled the paper.
    “I never said they’d be a whole day behind, and for the record, your secondary request ate up my first two hours of the night. I just got back.” She pointed to a few places that had markings in red. They had a brief discussion concerning changes to the original plans.
    Menessos approved of her solutions and rerolled the paper for her. “Did those two hours pay off?”
    “VEIN’s biggest jet is scheduled to arrive at Dulles in D.C. for refueling, then is heading for Hopkins. Arrival is set for twelve twenty.” She checked the display on her satellite phone. “About five hours from now.” She paused. “Ivanka?”
    “Mountain messaged me that she was in recovery. He will let me know when she’s able to be released.”
    “They won’t keep her overnight?”
    “They might, but I want her brought here.”
    “Her quarters are ready. As are the rooms of the Erus Veneficus, per your request.” She gave me a look that was happy, but with an undertone of sneakiness.
    “Thank you, Seven.” Menessos strolled away.
    I didn’t follow. Seven was the previous Lustrata. I had so many questions, but I hadn’t had a chance to speak to her since she’d told me her true identity shortly before the battle with the fairies. I switched the grasp on my broom and offered her my hand to shake. “I hope we’ll have a chance to talk again.”
    She wrapped her arms around me. “It’s good to have you back,” she whispered.
    “Persephone?” Menessos called.
    She released me and I joined Menessos at the elevator.
    “She likes you,” he said as we rode down.
    “I’m glad. I like her too. Would like to know her better.” She was, after all, Cleopatra VII, as in the Cleopatra. Who wouldn’t want to ask her a million questions? But, since she went by the name Seven now, it was easy to assume that she didn’t want to be known for her past.
    With that thought, I gained a little insight as to why Menessos didn’t want the world at large to know his own past. He wouldn’t be seen as who he is , but as who he was.
    That drew my thoughts to Johnny. I wanted him to be who I knew him to be. But he isn’t himself since we unlocked his tattoos.
    Maybe I’d been hasty in getting rid of the in signum amoris.
    Am I doubting Hecate?
    I followed Menessos from the elevator, down the stairs of the theater, up the ramp and across the stage. I situated my broom to lean against my seat, noting the Beholder on his knees a few feet away from Menessos’s throne. He was wiping what appeared to be a new decorative inset in the floor. Someone called out, “Testing the light,” and a glow rose up from under the stones the man was wiping clean.
    Rejoining Menessos, who had waited for me, we wound our way through the backstage area to where our separate rooms were located. I started up the stairwell that led to my rooms directly above his.
    “Do you wish to freshen up and then join me? Or may I join you?”
    Halfway up, I turned back with a telling sigh. “Promise no funny business?”
    “I am not a comedian.”
    “But you are who you are .”
    “Indeed.”
    At least I knew what to expect with him. And after thousands of years, he didn’t bother denying it. As I watched him ascend the stairs I wondered if he’d wrestled with it. I wondered if he’d won. Or if he’d lost and come to terms with it.
    I punched in the entry code, Beverley’s birthday, and entered to find my quarters were candlelit and a fire blazed in the double-sided hearth. The warmth that greeted me, the sweet gesture behind it, almost spouted the waterworks again, but I kept the tears in check. Hearing Menessos arrive at the door behind me, I said over my shoulder, “This isn’t a strategizing setup.”
    “Just now, you require a soothing environment.”
    On my way inside I stripped off my blazer-hoodie combo. “You have a plan, don’t you?”
    He appraised my face, my body. “Indeed.”
    Noting the double entendre, I clarified. “For the shabbubitum.”
    “Them, too.”
    I carried my coats toward the bar, intending to hang them across the seat. “Tell me.” Then I noticed how dirty and torn the back of my blazer was. “Shit.” The den rooftop had ruined it.
    “I can get you a new jacket. Any kind you like.”
    “That won’t gain you the favors you’re after.”
    Menessos entered the kitchenette and opened the refrigerator. “It