Just then Emma passed by, likely en route to see her ex-Maaskab grandmother-a long, long story-in the cellblock over. "Emma!"
"Máax. Hey." She wore a pink baby-doll dress and had her long red hair pulled into a ponytail. She was just starting to show and looked utterly radiant. He could only imagine how Ashli might look if he were ever so lucky to have her carry his child.
"Have you seen Ashli?" he asked. "It's been a day, yet she has not come to visit."
Emma's eyes widened a bit. "Didn't anyone tell you?"
Maledictus inferno. "Tell me what?"
"She left over an hour ago. A complete mess. I tried talking her into staying, but … " Emma sighed. "What the hell did you do, Máax? That girl's heart was shredded like confetti."
"I do not know what you mean."
"You deities never do," she replied.
"Emma, I speak the truth. I have done nothing but send her letters, telling her how much I miss her and love her."
Emma pondered for a moment. "Who did you give the letters to?"
Máax pointed to one of the guards standing in the doorway. "Timothy."
"Timothy? Who did you give Máax's letters to?" Emma asked the guard.
"Brutus, ma'am. He insisted that all communications should pass through him."
Máax felt his blood boil. I will remove his eyelids for this!
"Well, that solves that mystery, Máax, but why did you just … " Emma leaned in and whispered, " … Love her and leave her? And taking the car, Máax. Really? So not classy. Frankly, I'm shocked. You don't seem like that womanizing type. I get you're facing an insanely stiff sentence, but that's no excu-"
"I did not ‘love her and leave her,' Emma. I left a note and sent a limo for her."
Emma had an uncomfortable, pained look on her face. "Oh no, Máax. She didn't get that note, either."
"Fuck! How is that possible? I left it right on the pillow next to her." He punched the glass wall, and his fist simply bounced off. "Fuck!"
"Calm down, Máax, I'm sure we'll find her so you can explain everything." She turned toward Timothy. "Can I have your radio?" Timothy handed it over. "Hey, guys, this is Emma. I need someone to track down Ashli."
A voice came over the radio almost immediately. "She's here with us. Arrived at Kinich's five minutes ago."
Thank the gods, she has returned. She must have realized I would never do that to her.
"That goddess brought her," said the male voice over the radio.
"What goddess?" Emma asked.
"Sorry, ma'am?" the voice on the other end said.
"You said a goddess brought her in," Emma clarified.
"I did?" the man said.
Emma's face turned pale. "Oh no. Ummm … is Ashli okay?"
"Ms. Rosewood," the man responded, "no longer remembers who she is. Or anything for that matter."
Máax felt the world spinning beneath his heels.
"Thank you," Emma said. "I'll be up to the house in ten. Keep her there."
"There must be some mistake," Máax groaned.
"I don't think so. She told me she wanted to forget you. Forget ever meeting you. I guess she got her wish."
Twenty-One
Ashli stood in the bathroom, staring at the face of a stranger in the mirror. The light brown skin and turquoise eyes seemed familiar somehow, but she had no memory of them.
"Ashli! Oh my gods!" A young redheaded woman, also with turquoise-green eyes, burst into the room.
"Who are you?" Ashli asked.
"Oh, dammit." The redhead looked at the strange, tall lady with blonde pigtails who'd brought her to this house. "What happened?"
The blonde shrugged. "I was sitting at Club M-Brace, going through my playlist for tonight when she walked in, demanding I make her forget Máax. Of course, I knew who she was and told her no, but then she forgot and asked again. Then again." She paused. "And again."
"So you wiped her memory? Really?" the redhead asked.
"I know better. The newly heartbroken are completely irrational. But then she lost it and jumped me. Little bursts of something flew from her palms and triggered my powers. It was an involuntary reaction."
The redhead's eyes opened wide. "From her hands? Was it painful?"
The blonde shook her head. "It felt good. Really, really good."
"I don't have a clue, but we don't have time for this." The redhead covered her face and groaned. "Oh, gods, what a mess. Can you undo it?"
"I'm the Goddess of Forgetfulness, not the Goddess of Memory Recovery."
"Ashli?" The redhead looked straight at her. "What were you thinking?"
"Am I Ashli?" Honestly, she had no idea.
"Yes!" The redhead sighed loudly. "Oh, Ashli. What have you done?"
"I honestly don't know. So my name is Ashli? Really?"
The previous evening, Emma confirmed Máax's worst fears. But how had Ashli found his sister-what's-her-face-in the first place? What a damned mess. And if he ever got his hands on Brutus, he'd rip that blockhead's arms from his body.
Well, Máax had had enough of this stercore de bovem and was ready for his trial this morning. He needed this to be over quickly and to fix things with Ashli, not to mention actually fix Ashli. Yes, his freedom was paramount, and come hell or high water, he would get those damned votes to change the laws. He was not going down without a fight, even if it meant betraying one if his own.
Timothy knocked on the glass of Máax's cell. "Ready, sir?"
Máax nodded.
"Sir?"
Right. Timothy couldn't see him. "Yes, Timothy. Ready."
A short walk and elevator ride from the underground prison brought Máax to the Court of the Gods. It looked very much like one might imagine: At the head of the room, fourteen empty marble thrones sat behind a long stone slab table on an elevated platform with neoclassical Roman pillars to either side. An aisle ran the center of the room, between ten rows of stone-carved bench seats, and a solitary wooden chair (for the person on trial) sat toward the front.
Máax took his seat as did Cimil and Zac. They would both go on trial today, too, and they sat behind him in the first row. When Ashli entered, looking her usual ravishing self in a simple black dress, he felt his entire being illuminate. It was such a relief to see her face, to know she was near, even if she did not remember him. He took a deep breath and tried to remain focused; everything rode on his words today.
One of the Uchben guards announced the gods, and the packed room rose to their feet while the deities settled in.
Penelope, who looked like she'd just swallowed Bees' hat, took her seat toward the middle of the long table next to her husband Kinich. She wore plain jeans and a T-shirt, and her dark hair was pulled back into a neat braid. Kinich, who was standard deity size, also wore a no-frills outfit-jeans and a tee. Both looked like they were displeased to be there. Who could blame them? The two had gone through their own turbulence recently. They probably wanted to be at home in bed, enjoying the fact that the end of the world was not coming after all and their baby would be born into a life filled with an eternity of love.
The remaining gods took their places, and Penelope turned on her iPad with a heavy sigh. "I hereby open the proceedings against the deity known as Máax, who has been accused of violating the sacred laws of-dammit!" She threw down her stylus and scowled at Kinich to her side. "This is total bullshit! Why are we doing this? We all know Máax doesn't belong on trial."
Kinich reached for her hand. "Honey, we talked about this already."
"No! I talked this morning. You ignored me."
Kinich scratched his golden scruff. "I merely tried to explain that these are our laws. I created them to protect humans from our abuse of powers."
"Oh, I get it. Your giant bloated man ego doesn't want to admit that you made a mistake, is that it?" she fumed.
Kinich's turquoise eyes shifted to black. "N-n-no, honey. I just … "
"You just what? Want to see Máax disappear forever? All because he saved a few thousand Payal women, tried to stop the apocalypse by rescuing Ashli, and did a bunch of other nice stuff like killing an incubus, saving your sister Ixtab from being stuck inside a portal, and gods know what other selfless crap? Really?"