Once she was on the windowsill Alice found herself struggling to stay calm. She’d ridden a broom once before, after Azura had bolted a bicycle seat to the handle, and this one had handlebars too, it shouldn’t be hard. But the fact was she’d practiced kicking off from the ground, not jumping out of a two story window.

                Gritting her teeth, she swung one leg over the broom and settled onto the bicycle seat, taking a deep breath in through her nose. If she could face a god, she could ride a broom. Simple.

                Still, she shut her eyes as she let herself drop off the window ledge, nearly forgetting to tilt the broom up as the air rushed past her face. Alice shrieked once, eyes flying open. She jerked the handlebars back and the broom tilted up sharply. She had to hold on with all her might so she didn’t fall off. Cursing at herself, she tilted the broom so that it was even, and it levelled off in the air.

                “Alright. Go.”

                It went, and Alice had to hiss “Slower! Go slower!” through clenched teeth as the broom shot forward. Finally she found a speed she liked, tilting the broom slightly so that she was skimming above the rooftops. The view was dizzying, and Alice fixed her eyes on the wide black roof of the city hall in the distance. That was where she needed to go, she was sure of it.

                It was hard to resist looking down at the street as she flew above it. The streets of Sidney were pretty quiet, only a few cars were waiting at the stoplights, and there were small crowds of pedestrians moving in and out of the shops. A few people looked up as she went by, and Alice hastily cast a spell over herself so that she couldn’t be seen. Other magic users would still see her go by, but that couldn’t be helped.

                Doing magic was strange now that the magic was actually in her. All she had to do was think about the pattern, and the spell happened, like the magic was coming together and weaving itself inside her. It was effortless, and exhilarating. Why did anyone bother with weaving anyways? Why didn’t witches just take in the magic and use it that way?

                Alice smiled. It was because there weren’t many people that could actually take in the magic. She’d forgotten about that. Her smile grew grimmer, more of a death grin, as she got closer to the town hall. It was stupid, but she wanted nothing more than to smash her way in there and start cracking heads together. Not a wise move, but it was hard to supress the urge when all the magic was coursing through her. She felt she might even be able to take on one god right now, but not two. It wouldn’t help Altair if she got herself killed.  

                Altair. She bit her lip so hard it hurt. He had to be okay. What if they tortured him to find out about the Halfmoon order? He didn’t know anything, but they might think he did. Although, since the god who had captured him was Aphrodite, they probably weren’t going to need to torture anyone. The goddess probably had…other ways.

                Alice scowled down at the roof tops and said sharply, “Go faster.”

                Another two minutes and she had almost reached her destination. She was going to land on the roof, and had even begun guiding the broom down that way, when she felt it jerk beneath her. It nearly ripped the handlebars out of Alice’s hands, and she stiffened in shock.

                On the handle of the broom, just below where the handlebars were bolted, was a thick rope of pulsing magic. Alice felt her stomach twist. How had she not noticed that there? It hadn’t been on there when she got on, she was sure of it. That meant someone had thrown it up at her.

                Alice glanced down, already reaching down to pry the threads off the broom handle. There was someone on the street, standing there looking up at her. A blonde man standing just behind the city hall building. Adam.

                Her fingers closed around the threads, and a shock coursed through her arm, throwing her back. Alice clutched for the broom as she fell backwards, a scream stuck in her throat. She felt herself slip off the seat, and then she was falling, the sky was reeling above her. She had time for a quick spell, the first thing she thought of was a cushion of air, and then she struck the ground. Air or not, the impact was painful, knocking the wind out of her. She slumped forward, gasping, retching.

                Her fall had been a sideways trajectory, taking her over to the building next to the city hall. She was lying in the back alley now, between two dumpsters. Her nostrils were filled with the smell of rot and garbage, and there was a very angry looking tabby cat standing on the fence staring at her, fur standing on end.

                She had seconds until Adam figured out where she was and came for her. Alice scrambled to her feet, lurching, dizzy. Someone grabbed her arm and yanked her sideways, and when Alice opened her mouth to scream the noise was muffled by a thick, clammy hand. She found herself physically lifted into the air. Shock made her struggle, temporarily forgetting that she was full of magic. Her captor pulled her into the backdoor of the building she had landed beside, and just as Alice was figuring out what spell to use, he let go. She stumbled backwards.

                She was in what looked like a gymnasium. There were folding chairs set up in a row at the back, and an old wooden podium at the front. There were a number of people sitting there, all staring at her with wide eyes. The banner draped over the podium read, “AA-Strength and Hope”.

                Alice blinked around in confusion. Apparently she’d been dragged into an AA meeting. “Uh…”

                The man who had dragged her inside shut the door with a bang, and Alice whirled around, hands lifted, about to cast a spell at him.

                “Woah, hold on.” He put up his hands as if warding her off. “Alice, right?”

                She hesitated, but didn’t lower her hands. “Who are you? Are you with…with them?” If this really was just an AA meeting it wouldn’t do to start spouting off stuff about gods.

                The man shook his head. “Look at us, do we look like greek gods?”

                That got quiet laughter from the group, and Alice lowered her hands, staring at him. It wasn’t the most fail safe test, but he did have a point. Every god she’d ever met had been good looking, radiant even. Of course, they didn’t hesitate to disguise themselves, but she didn’t see why an entire room of them would bother to do so. Or why they would meet under the pretense of something as boring as an AA meeting.

                The man in front of her shifted, putting his hands into his pockets. He was heavyset, with thinning hair and watery blue eyes. Middle-aged, she would guess. Not a god then.

                He seemed to be waiting for something, and Alice was about to open her mouth to blurt out questions when the necklace he was wearing caught her eye. A silver chain bearing a halfmoon charm.

                Her pulse picked up. “Are you…are you the order?”

                The man smiled and stuck his hand out. “I’m Dana, temporary leader. I’m pleased to finally meet Ruby’s granddaughter.”

                Alice took his hand and shook it, feeling dazed. She had a million questions she wanted to ask him, and they were all crowding in her brain at once. But she also had limited time. She had to save Altair. “I…I want to ask you so much, but—”

                “But you have to save your boyfriend.” Dana nodded. “Aphrodite took him.”

                “Yes.” Alice narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you know this was going to happen? It seems like you people always warn me before I get attacked, but not…not this time.” She hoped the catch in her voice didn’t give away how upset she was. She didn’t want to appear weak in front of people that had been friends with her aunt. For some reason it seemed important that they like her, that they thought she was worthy of all this help they’d given her.

                “She won’t touch him until you get there.” Dana gestured at one of the chairs, which the order members had been arranging in a rough half circle. “Please, sit. You can’t go in there alone. The golden arrow will only work once, on one god. And there’s at least two gods keeping him captive. Maybe three.”

                “The third one is Cupid,” Alice guessed. “Is he on our side or not?”

                Dana glanced over at the group, and there were murmurs and a few grumbles. “Cupid is never really on anyone’s side, exactly.  The only thing he cares about is love. But luckily for you, he seems to have taken a liking to the romance between Altair and yourself. In any case, he seems to think if the gods kill you it will be a…um, a waste, I think he put it.”

                “Lovely,” Alice muttered. She could feel her cheeks starting to glow. How did Cupid know anything about their relationship? She hadn’t seen Eric Revol hanging around before the book signing. But then, he was a god, and Cupid at that. Maybe he’d had something to do with how they met. She tried to think back on the first time she’d met him. How he’d ran directly into her shop to escape the people he’d stolen the artifact from. If Adam could get into her dreams, maybe Cupid could influence your decisions if it resulted in meeting someone you’d end up with.

                She shook her head, vaguely unsettled by the idea. “Do you know how Adam has been getting into my dreams? How much does he know about me? Can he access my thoughts when I’m awake?” It was probably best to figure out what she was getting into before she went charging in. How powerful was Adam?

                She finally obeyed Dana’s hand gestures and sat down. The order members were mostly silent, watching Dana. She noticed that each of them wore the halfmoon charm, either on a bracelet or a necklace. A few had earrings.

                “As far as we know, Adam is Adonis, the god of beauty and desire.” Dana folded his hands together, frowning. “We’ve done research on him. He’s a slippery one to pin down. But we’re fairly confident that’s him. He’s allied himself with Aphrodite, which we know for sure, and with Eros, who you call Cupid.”

                “And Cupid is a double agent.” Alice’s head was spinning. “Maybe.”

                “Maybe,” Dana agreed. “It’s possible that Adonis was getting into your dreams through way of a vessel, some kind of magical item that was imbibed with the god’s power. It allowed him access to your unconscious mind.”

                Alice blinked. “A vessel? Like what?” She felt goosebumps spread up her arms, already dreading the answer.

                “Adonis isn’t powerful enough on his own. Since he’s the lover of Aphrodite, we’re guessing it’s something of hers. A personal item maybe.”

                She shut her eyes tightly, wishing her hands would stop shaking. All of Altair’s calls to his “friend” in town. The times he’d gone out and met with him. Had he brought back another god artifact thinking he could sell it? One that belonged to Aphrodite?

                If he wasn’t in danger right now she would have felt like killing him.

                One of the ladies in the circle spoke up for the first time, a blonde woman with glasses and a pixie cut. “You can’t charge in there by yourself. You need us.”

                Alice shook her head, feeling helpless. “I can’t let anyone else get hurt. This is why I left on my own in the first place.”

                “We’re the order,” the woman said. “We can take care of ourselves. We’ve got more tricks up our sleeves than you know.”

                “More than they know,” a man at the back said.

                Subdued laughter and murmurs followed this. Alice frowned and said loudly, “And what happened to Monica?”

                The laughter died away. Dana shook his head, sorrow crossing his face. “She was discovered. For years she went undercover in places we knew were full of gods. She provided us with information. But now the gods are catching on to us.”

                “That’s why we stop crawling around in the shadows and fight back.”

                Alice couldn’t tell who’d said it, but the rest of the order spoke up at this.

                “That’s right!”

                “It’s finally time.”

                “We can meet them head on. The way Ruby intended it.”

                Alice started. “Did she…I mean, she started all of this?”

                Again the result was silence.  When she turned, Dana was smiling down at her, his expression sad. “Yes, yes she did. And she trusted us to protect you, Alice. She knew what was going to happen. She knew the gods would seek you out. The order exists to maintain the balance between gods and men, to keep the gods from meddling in the affairs of humans. The gods have decided, for whatever reason, that you threaten them. So it’s our job to keep you alive.”

                Silence again. Alice’s mind was racing. Finally she sighed and said, “I guess, if you’re aunt Ruby’s friends, you had better come.”

                A smile spread across Dana’s face, and he beamed at her. “Excellent, let’s clue you in on the plan then.”

                “You guys have a plan already?”

                Chairs scraped as the order members moved closer. Dana began to tell her the steps of the plan in a hushed voice, and Alice tried to concentrate in spite of how hard her heart was beating, and the heat of the magic burning beneath the surface of her skin.

                The plan was simple, actually. Pretend that she was going in to barter with Aphrodite. Get close enough to the gods, and then the order would burst in and provide a distraction. Then Alice would stab Adonis with the golden arrow, and Adonis would fall in love with her and do whatever she commanded. She would tell the god to hold back Aphrodite while everyone made a break for it. It wasn’t a lasting solution, but it gave everyone enough time to get away. Alice suspected that everyone would end up at Threads, and they’d have to make a quick trip somewhere obscure. Like a getaway car. Only better.

                Still, the plan was risky, and Alice found herself clutching the bone necklace she always wore. If everything failed, could she call on Styx to help her? It seemed unlikely that the goddess would go up against Aphrodite and Adonis at the same time. As much as Styx had been amused to judge the contest with Athena, Alice didn’t think she’d make enemies out of her fellow gods just to help a couple humans. Storming in on a white horse to rescue people didn’t seem like the kind of thing an underworld goddess did.

                So it was just her and the order members. She’d have to hope they knew what they were doing.

                As the next hour went by, and they readied themselves for battle (it really was battle, if you thought about it) Alice began to suspect that they were every bit as prepared as they’d said they were. She spotted a flash of metal as Dana put something in his hip pocket, and a few of the other members were carrying odd things. One man had an enormous sword that was a dull grey colour, and the others gave him a wide birth. When Dana saw Alice staring at it he said gravely, “The sword of death. It belongs to Thanatos.”

                The god of death. Alice blinked at the sword, backing away a little. “So…what? He doesn’t need it anymore?”

                Dana smiled grimly. “He’s at odds with his sister, Eris, and as far as we know, she is against us. At least, we’ve heard rumours. When he agreed to loan us the sword it was confirmed.”

                The woman with the pixie cut spoke up. “Still, you don’t want to know what George here had to do to get him to agree to this.”

                Alice looked at George, who blinked back at her, staying silent. His eyes were black, the pupils dilated so completely that they took up his entire eyeball. She swallowed hard and looked away, not wanting to know what the man had sacrificed to make a deal with death. The Halfmoon order was deadly serious. The pun didn’t even make her smile.

                But with the sword of death, they might actually have a chance. Things were looking brighter, sort of. She stiffened when Dana reached out to her, then looked down and realized he was holding out a glowing silver thread. It wasn’t like any thread of magic she’d seen before. It pulsed erratically, lighting up the entire area around them.

                “What…”

                “That’s insurance,” Dana said. “Take it. Whatever you do, don’t lose it. We paid dearly for this, more than you can believe.”

                Alice didn’t think he meant money. She held her hand out for the thread, feeling herself start to shake. She didn’t know what it was. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. “What…what do I do with this?”

                “It belongs to Adonis. If the plan goes wrong, use this.” Dana was holding a knife in his other hand. The gold blade was shaped like a halfmoon, and it glittered in the florescent lights. He let the thread drift down onto Alice’s open palm, and she shivered as it made contact with her skin. It was warm…no, it was hot. Pulsing in her palm, like a heartbeat.

                “Put it in your pocket,” Dana said.

                She obeyed, and then stood silently while the leader of the order reached up and wove a spell, creating a belt and sheath for the golden blade.

                “That thread…it’s his life line, isn’t it?” Alice’s eyes were fixed on Dana’s face. The man flinched, but he nodded.

                “How….” She let the question drift off into nothing. How did you go about stealing a thread from the fates, is what she wanted to ask. How did anyone? It would only work on Adonis, because the god was mortal. It might not kill him, but it would certainly send him back to the underworld. But how had the Order…

                She couldn’t help looking around at their faces, at the people standing around her. There was no laughing or joking anymore. Their faces were pale, drawn. They were resigned to this. Ready to fight a war against impossibly powerful beings. And they had obviously sacrificed so much already. Her aunt Ruby would have wanted her to fight alongside them, at least, she thought so. She swallowed hard and went quiet, nodding firmly.

                Dana gave her a smile, one that almost looked like he was proud of her. Then he looked over at the crowd around them. “Are we all ready?”

                There was a subdued cheer that went up, but Alice couldn’t help but notice how grim it sounded. Not a cheer but a war cry. They were going to battle. It was the first time she would face more than one god. And maybe the last.