A Book of Spirits and Thieves (Spirits and Thieves #1)(55)

Aegus slithered out from beneath Valoria’s gown. Today her long skirts were black and trimmed in crimson.

“Such a beautiful creature!” Barnabas exclaimed. “One would never guess how cold-blooded it is.”

Maddox grimaced, knowing Barnabas wasn’t speaking only about the snake.

Aegus hissed, his forked tongue darting out from his mouth.

“Speak, boy,” Valoria commanded, ignoring Barnabas.

He’d spent most of the previous night worrying about how he would answer her. How did one respond to a goddess requesting an impossible task?

With as many lies as required, of course.

“Yes, Your Radiance, I can help you. Whatever you need. We will find this girl’s spirit and conjure it back from the realm of death, if that is where she is.”

“And can you extract her magic? So we can use it to reclaim what was stolen from me?”

Another addition to her list of impossible tasks. “It might help if I knew what the stolen object is that you’re seeking,” Maddox said.

“A dagger,” she said. “A very special golden dagger that has been long out of my reach. I also, of course, want the thief to pay dearly for his many crimes.”

A golden dagger. That was what all this was about?

“This young witch,” Maddox continued, willing confidence into his words. He thought of Livius again. He hated him for the three years they’d traveled together across the land, bilking nobles out of their coin, but he had been an excellent con man. “What does she look like? What is her name?”

“Her appearance? Her name?” Valoria’s eyes narrowed. “If I knew those things, I would have been able to find her myself. All I know for sure is that at the time she died—if she is indeed dead—she was a beautiful and very powerful young witch. She is the daughter of my dead sister, after all.”

Maddox’s eyes widened. “The daughter of . . .” He gulped.

He hadn’t known it was possible for immortal goddesses to have dead sisters.

Barnabas went rigid beside him, watching quietly, his gaze never leaving Valoria. “Do what you do to help Her Radiance, my young friend,” he said. “Do it now so she can get what she most deserves.”

“All right.” Maddox closed his eyes and raised his palms. “There are spirits around us all the time,” he lied. “I will now implore them, ask them for more information about this witch.”

Valoria nodded. “Very good. Go ahead.”

“Spirits, come to me. Answer my questions.” Maddox opened his eyes and glanced around at the tall trees that reached up toward the high ceiling and the monstrous flowers that snapped at any insects that crossed their paths. “Yes, yes, they are here. The spirits are curious about what you seek.” He drew in a sharp breath. “Oh . . . oh my.”

Valoria leaned forward. “What is it? What do you see?”

“There is a spirit here who is cautioning the others not to help you.”

“Who is this spirit?” Valoria hissed.

“King Thaddeus.” It was the name of the former king of Mytica, a kind and benevolent man who had welcomed the goddesses with open arms, willing to share his kingdom with them.

But as the story went, it wasn’t long before Valoria had turned him into a pile of dirt with her earth magic.

“Vanquish him! Send him back to the land of darkness,” Valoria instructed. She didn’t seem too concerned by this imaginary complication. “Do you require a box of silver to trap him?”

“No, Your Radiance. It must be a gold box.” Maddox found the lie very easy to tell.

Valoria glared down at him. “I don’t have a gold box here. Based on what your guardian said, I believed silver would be sufficient.”

Maddox tried to look both thoughtful and regretful. “Alas, he didn’t know nearly as much as he thought he did about my abilities. Apologies, my goddess.”

“Very well.” She sent a withering look at the guard. “Fetch me a golden box immediately.”

“Yes, Your Radiance.”

But before the guard could leave, Maddox fixed a frown upon his face and shook his head as if listening to the dead king. “No, I can’t tell her that,” he said.

“What? What does he say?” she demanded.

“I . . . don’t want to tell you.”

“Tell me, or I will have your lucky charm killed.”

“Tell her,” Barnabas urged. “Now would be good.”

“Well, King Thaddeus says that he forgives you,” Maddox said, cocking his head as if the spirit spoke directly into his ear. “He says he knows you’re very sad, very lonely. He’s heard that you mean to add to your ban of all storybooks and tale-telling by forbidding such simple pleasures as singing and dancing. That you also want to outlaw the consumption of ale and wine. You don’t want your people to have access to life’s simple pleasures. He says that you do this because you are deeply unhappy.”

This was only a guess on Maddox’s part. Valoria was cruel and sharp on the outside, but there was something faded and gloomy in her green eyes that made him think his guess might be correct. The only time those eyes lit up with pleasure was when she gazed at her cobra, her dangerous, beloved pet.

“He forgives me, does he?” she said softly.