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Description
Livelong Day

During winter break, when the worst storms came, Arise fled to the desert, searching for the warm and the dry while he endured the season, which was inevitably anything but. Any desert would do. Last year, he had wanted Dove to come with him to Egypt. This year, however, he was dragged off with Jinn, Glory, and Loki. It was a frustratingly familiar situation, but at least this time it wasn't an outright kidnapping. He could call Dove whenever he liked. And steal Loki's laptop. And always, always meet in the dreamscape.

The reason for the road trip was an investigation, he discovered, after hours of dosing off in the back seat with heavy metal throbbing against his eardrums. Glorious unceremoniously yanked his headphones out when they had crossed the Texas border – not gently, either. He glared at her and leaned against the door of Loki's black convertible, wishing dully that they had taken his old truck instead. What if it rained?

Jinn was going on about the desert, speaking fluently in the dialect spoken by the court of Poseidon. It took a few minutes of listening to his low explanations before the words began to take reasonable shape in his mind. He rather preferred English, now, strangely enough; it had been the most difficult to learn in Icarion's lifetime.

"For the last few years, there's been a stirring of the monsters in the wake of the demon war," Jinn said. He looked over at Loki, grinning broadly with yellowed rows of teeth.

Loki rolled his eyes. "It wasn't a war, per se," he muttered.

Jinn laughed from the bottom of his stomach, a rich, deep sound. In the back seat, Glory smiled to herself. She loved seeing Loki made uncomfortable. It was such a novelty. Though admittedly, this whole trip had been Jinn's idea, not any of hers. She fingered the bronze medallion hanging around her neck, and listened.

"And then we heard rumors of a waste in the land. Everything was dying out. Animals fled. Plants withered," Jinn continued, the laughter dropping away like heavy stones. "It spreads up to the mountains in the west of this country. We found another zone with the dragon people, and another in South Africa."

Arise sat up with a jerk. "How did no one notice?!" he interrupted. "Texas is… you know, a state and all. Thousands and thousands of people. Houston. Dallas. Austin. Right next door to Mexico. That's impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible, Ari," Loki murmured, absently, "Though it is unlikely."

"You know that's not what I meant," Ari said. "It's a wide range force of power. That would take massive effort. Something going wrong inside the earth. The balance of everything. It doesn't make any sense."

"The old gods could do it," Glory pointed out. "Plagues and such." She looked at the two blood-brothers, and then back at Jinn. He knew more than they did, clearly, but that didn't mean he had a plan. It looked like they were just stumbling around like usual, hoping to figure things out before a massacre. Like the war all over again, only there weren't supposed to be any enemies left worth fighting now.

"My sister Ubilibet didn't think it was a person. She visited the dragon people for me. They hoped it was a curse, and she could break it, like I taught her to do. She has the talent." The shapeshifter grinned briefly, out of pride. "But…. When they showed her the wellspring, there was nothing she could do. It was like this waste. Animals sickened, if they weren't driven away, and wandered aimlessly until they died along with all other life. But if humans drank – "

"They forgot, didn't they?" Arise guessed. He was putting it together, albeit slowly. Waters of death. It sounded horribly familiar.

Glory tilted her head, twirling a long lock of brown hair around ¬her index finger. "Wait. I don't get it. Why would they forget anything?"

Jinn nodded. "Not just forgetting. The dragons said they heard a woman singing when they came near."

"It sounds more like a ghost," Glory said, doubtfully. "They do that, sometimes."

Loki finally spoke up, with a distinct trace of acid in his tone. "No, it sounds like the Underworld has sprung a leak somewhere. Shouldn't you know about this?"

"I don't do plumbing."

Jinn cleared his throat. It was a noise not unlike a firing furnace, and the other three took the cue, wisely, to shut up. There wasn't a lot of space in there for a lot of angry dragon, and anyway, Loki rather liked this car. It listened to him.

"The Lethe and the Styx. Ubilibet tried to bring me a cup of it, but it crumbled as soon as she took it away from the waste. But I know the waters are mingling unnaturally out of the deeps. They should be meeting us to tonight, to go for the source, to find out the rest."

"They?" Ari asked, as politely as possible. "Your sister and…?"

Ari remembered Ubilibet vaguely, from the years before Sapphire. She had been a child thing, growing in her scales and unable to shift her shape yet. She had been living at Triton's training camp during the Underdweller conflict, but hadn't learned much yet about defending herself. When an agent infiltrated on behalf of the Courts, she had barely survived the attack. Jinn brought her to him when his knowledge had been exhausted. So the first time he met her, her bronze skin had been covered with cursed burns, sickly and feverish to the touch; he and Auguri together had struggled in the healing over a period of weeks. She had been patient, and sweet, and hadn't complained too much. He wondered if she was the one with the unfortunate unibrow, or if that was the sister. Jinn had a rather lot of them, anyway.

"Triton, Ubilibet, and Ghislain are coming together. Grink stands guard against the monsters, He doesn't much like dry land these days since his injury. I called Seraphina and Ambrosius, but no answer yet. And Izzy, too. She's going to come late, though, since she's taking a look on the other side of things now," Jinn explained. "I don't think any more of the Cousins would help."

"Del isn't coming," Loki threw in, casually. "She's insufferable right now because of the child."

Loki's eyes had been pointed straight ahead for the entire ride, as if trying to avoid looking at what was behind him. He didn't seem to need to use mirrors to steer or even notice turns; it wasn't that he was speeding all that much, particularly, but he just smoothly ignored little things like traffic lights, and none of the other drivers complained. Traffic was something that happened to other people.

It was her, Glory figured. She felt somehow unqualified for the position, if that position was holding the ire of a trickster god.

Description
Livelong Day

During winter break, when the worst storms came, Arise fled to the desert, searching for the warm and the dry while he endured the season, which was inevitably anything but. Any desert would do. Last year, he had wanted Dove to come with him to Egypt. This year, however, he was dragged off with Jinn, Glory, and Loki. It was a frustratingly familiar situation, but at least this time it wasn't an outright kidnapping. He could call Dove whenever he liked. And steal Loki's laptop. And always, always meet in the dreamscape.

The reason for the road trip was an investigation, he discovered, after hours of dosing off in the back seat with heavy metal throbbing against his eardrums. Glorious unceremoniously yanked his headphones out when they had crossed the Texas border – not gently, either. He glared at her and leaned against the door of Loki's black convertible, wishing dully that they had taken his old truck instead. What if it rained?

Jinn was going on about the desert, speaking fluently in the dialect spoken by the court of Poseidon. It took a few minutes of listening to his low explanations before the words began to take reasonable shape in his mind. He rather preferred English, now, strangely enough; it had been the most difficult to learn in Icarion's lifetime.

"For the last few years, there's been a stirring of the monsters in the wake of the demon war," Jinn said. He looked over at Loki, grinning broadly with yellowed rows of teeth.

Loki rolled his eyes. "It wasn't a war, per se," he muttered.

Jinn laughed from the bottom of his stomach, a rich, deep sound. In the back seat, Glory smiled to herself. She loved seeing Loki made uncomfortable. It was such a novelty. Though admittedly, this whole trip had been Jinn's idea, not any of hers. She fingered the bronze medallion hanging around her neck, and listened.

"And then we heard rumors of a waste in the land. Everything was dying out. Animals fled. Plants withered," Jinn continued, the laughter dropping away like heavy stones. "It spreads up to the mountains in the west of this country. We found another zone with the dragon people, and another in South Africa."

Arise sat up with a jerk. "How did no one notice?!" he interrupted. "Texas is… you know, a state and all. Thousands and thousands of people. Houston. Dallas. Austin. Right next door to Mexico. That's impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible, Ari," Loki murmured, absently, "Though it is unlikely."

"You know that's not what I meant," Ari said. "It's a wide range force of power. That would take massive effort. Something going wrong inside the earth. The balance of everything. It doesn't make any sense."

"The old gods could do it," Glory pointed out. "Plagues and such." She looked at the two blood-brothers, and then back at Jinn. He knew more than they did, clearly, but that didn't mean he had a plan. It looked like they were just stumbling around like usual, hoping to figure things out before a massacre. Like the war all over again, only there weren't supposed to be any enemies left worth fighting now.

"My sister Ubilibet didn't think it was a person. She visited the dragon people for me. They hoped it was a curse, and she could break it, like I taught her to do. She has the talent." The shapeshifter grinned briefly, out of pride. "But…. When they showed her the wellspring, there was nothing she could do. It was like this waste. Animals sickened, if they weren't driven away, and wandered aimlessly until they died along with all other life. But if humans drank – "

"They forgot, didn't they?" Arise guessed. He was putting it together, albeit slowly. Waters of death. It sounded horribly familiar.

Glory tilted her head, twirling a long lock of brown hair around ¬her index finger. "Wait. I don't get it. Why would they forget anything?"

Jinn nodded. "Not just forgetting. The dragons said they heard a woman singing when they came near."

"It sounds more like a ghost," Glory said, doubtfully. "They do that, sometimes."

Loki finally spoke up, with a distinct trace of acid in his tone. "No, it sounds like the Underworld has sprung a leak somewhere. Shouldn't you know about this?"

"I don't do plumbing."

Jinn cleared his throat. It was a noise not unlike a firing furnace, and the other three took the cue, wisely, to shut up. There wasn't a lot of space in there for a lot of angry dragon, and anyway, Loki rather liked this car. It listened to him.

"The Lethe and the Styx. Ubilibet tried to bring me a cup of it, but it crumbled as soon as she took it away from the waste. But I know the waters are mingling unnaturally out of the deeps. They should be meeting us to tonight, to go for the source, to find out the rest."

"They?" Ari asked, as politely as possible. "Your sister and…?"

Ari remembered Ubilibet vaguely, from the years before Sapphire. She had been a child thing, growing in her scales and unable to shift her shape yet. She had been living at Triton's training camp during the Underdweller conflict, but hadn't learned much yet about defending herself. When an agent infiltrated on behalf of the Courts, she had barely survived the attack. Jinn brought her to him when his knowledge had been exhausted. So the first time he met her, her bronze skin had been covered with cursed burns, sickly and feverish to the touch; he and Auguri together had struggled in the healing over a period of weeks. She had been patient, and sweet, and hadn't complained too much. He wondered if she was the one with the unfortunate unibrow, or if that was the sister. Jinn had a rather lot of them, anyway.

"Triton, Ubilibet, and Ghislain are coming together. Grink stands guard against the monsters, He doesn't much like dry land these days since his injury. I called Seraphina and Ambrosius, but no answer yet. And Izzy, too. She's going to come late, though, since she's taking a look on the other side of things now," Jinn explained. "I don't think any more of the Cousins would help."

"Del isn't coming," Loki threw in, casually. "She's insufferable right now because of the child."

Loki's eyes had been pointed straight ahead for the entire ride, as if trying to avoid looking at what was behind him. He didn't seem to need to use mirrors to steer or even notice turns; it wasn't that he was speeding all that much, particularly, but he just smoothly ignored little things like traffic lights, and none of the other drivers complained. Traffic was something that happened to other people.

It was her, Glory figured. She felt somehow unqualified for the position, if that position was holding the ire of a trickster god.