“What do you mean?” Zeke asked.
“When I found out the Hero’s Ring was being used basically for joyriding, I sent someone to either give her a little ‘nudge’ or get it away from her,” Trinity said.
“If it was one of yours, that must have been one hell of a ‘nudge’,” Zeke said.
“I did what needed to be done,” Trinity said. “But what should have followed from that… I can trace the pathways of fate as good as anyone, and better than most. It’s not what you’d call a ’science’, of course… but Serena would have to have been watching like a hawk if she was able to swoop in and knock her off course.”
“Well, that is a possibility,” Zeke said.
“You sound like you think there’s another one,” Trinity said.
“Look, the ’someone’ you sent… you’re talking about one of three, right?” Zeke said. “You, La Luna, and the other one. Torchbearer, hound, serpent… the three faces of the new moon. And I know you’re not talking about yourself…”
“You know an awful lot, for a potion-pushing dildo salesman,” Trinity said.
“Yeah, well, I’m a potion-pusher who’s got the torchbearer of Hecate and the first fallen in his dildo shop,” Zeke said. “C’est la freaking vie. What I’m getting at is this: one of your associates went AWOL as part of this whole mess, right?”
“If by AWOL you mean utterly unmade, that’s a strong possibility,” Trinity said.
“What a shame,” Zeke said. “How long did she have until retirement, again?”
“Luna was the Hound of Hecate for longer than I’ve been bearing the torch,” Trinity said.
“And you think that’s not a reason for her to seek early release?”
“Not that kind of release,” Trinity said. “She didn’t have it in her. If she did, she would have done it sooner.”
“Yeah, well… if you’re convinced she was on the side of angels, figuratively speaking, then that leaves the other one,” Zeke said. “The serpent. What if she did what you said, only instead of ‘nudging’ your ring-girl, she sets up a bank shot that knocks Luna into the corner pocket and leaves the Seeress to pick up the spare?”
“You should stay away from sporting metaphors,” Trinity said. “And Anne’s not that stupid.”
“No? Hey, I’m just the dildo salesman,” Zeke said. “But you’ve got one agent gone, one agent whose ‘nudging’ went badly wrong, and you’re so far out of the loop that you’re here listening to me. This is all, you know, speculatory. Speculative. Whatever. But it really seems like you’re being played.”
“The crab’s got a point,” Morgenstern said. “You’re really off your game, Trinity. What would your old mentor think, if she could see a sideshow psychic stealing a march on you like this? Actually, the old battleaxe probably could see it… she just didn’t mention it out of politeness.”
“Quiet,” Trinity said. “I brought you here to prevent eavesdropping, not so you could participate in it. I’ve got some thinking to do… in the meantime, none of this leaves the room. And Zeke, you’ll want to remember that he owes me a third boon. If any of this gets back to the Seeress… if she even finds out I was here, I’ll be back, and then he’ll be back, and then when we’re both done, you’re going to have the chance to explore an exciting new career as the Hound of Hecate.”
“Not that it will ever come up, because I would never, ever go behind your back… but aren’t there some pretty specific requirements for that job that I don’t fulfill?”
“I’ve studied your species,” Trinity said. “I know you’ve got ovaries in there. We’ll just throw out everything that doesn’t fit.”
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