The Deer and the Dragon

Marlow asks how Caliban found her, and he says that he always knows where she is. She tells him about Fauna, Azrames, and meeting the King, his father; she chastises him for risking losing the war against Heaven to prevent this mortal incarnation of her soul from dying.

Caliban says that he’s already found Astarte. He believes that Silas sent him there to protect him and guesses that perhaps Silas doesn’t support the war and is disloyal to his God. Caliban asks Marlow to remove his limitations, and she says that he can do anything because she’s his.

Marlow is irritated because Caliban won’t sleep with her immediately, but she introduces him and Azrames. Caliban recalls hearing of Azrames when he was called “Farefax” over a thousand years ago, and Azrames is a little starstruck by their meeting. Marlow keeps reminding herself that Caliban is real, which makes her happy.

Marlow drives as Caliban directs her to a private fertility clinic called Wild Prairie Rose, and she recalls that Astarte is a fertility goddess. She calls to make an appointment at the clinic that evening, an exception to their rule because she’s a famous author. Before her appointment, Marlow buys some new, upscale clothes and jewelry and rents a luxury car.

Azrames tells Marlow that he and Caliban cannot go into the clinic with her because Astarte—who goes by Dr. Ayona—would know immediately. Marlow tells herself that Merit Finnegan has the poise to handle this, and Caliban compliments Marlow’s ability to adapt to the world around her so quickly.

When Marlow enters the clinic, she encounters the receptionist, Jessabelle, for whom she feels an instant dislike. Jessabelle leads Marlow to Dr. Ayona’s office. The goddess is beautiful, and she wears a golden ouroboros necklace, similar to Jessabelle’s serpent bracelet. When Marlow shakes the doctor’s hand, she recoils as if bitten by a snake.

“Merit” explains that she wants children without the hassle of a man, and Ayona presents her with a menu of possible mates. Marlow compares the goddess to the “Cheshire cat.” Another woman stands behind the doctor throughout the appointment, and Marlow asks if the woman is always present. Immediately, she realizes that she’s made a mistake. Suddenly, Jessabelle and Anath, the other woman, take Marlow’s arms and search for the true-sight sigil, but they miss her tattoo. Now, they know that she’s not just an author.

Marlow quickly mentions Geir, claiming him as a relation, and she shows Ayona her sølje, describing herself as an “unconventional” person seeking unconventional solutions. This appears to put the doctor at ease. Ayona presents a bargain: She wants Merit’s fourth book to be about her in the hope that it will draw converts back to her worship; in exchange, she’ll make sure that Merit gets pregnant. The doctor quickly draws up a contract and tells Merit to sign her real name, not her pen name.

In a flashback to when she was six, Marlow remembers the moment when she decided never to have kids. Now, as she submits to a blood draw, she tells herself that she had no choice but to sign Astarte’s contract. Jessabelle assures her that they can have her “selections” available within 24 hours, so Marlow plans to return tomorrow evening.

After Marlow gets back into the car and tells Azrames and Caliban what happened, Azrames tells her, “You’re hers.” Marlow feels terrible, and Azrames tells her to prepare herself to kill a goddess. Caliban tries to reassure her, saying that she did what she had to do, but he compares her to Helen of Troy, whose involvement led to a great war between two kingdoms. When Caliban, the Prince of Hell, participates in the destruction of a Phoenician goddess, it’s going to incite more violence. Anath, he says, is Astarte’s sister and a war goddess. Azrames believes that they expect Marlow to choose a man to impregnate her tomorrow night and that Astarte will want to be present, as a goddess associated with sex and fertility.

Caliban doesn’t want to tell Marlow his plan because he needs Astarte to be totally at ease. Marlow asks Caliban about the first time they met, but he doesn’t want to tell her. She has a series of strange memories, recalling that she was stoned to death. He tells her that she was on Heaven’s side, and she marvels that the God she worshipped did nothing to help her. Caliban was there, however, and when she asked him not to leave, he stayed by her side.

Now, Marlow takes a long shower to wash off any of Caliban’s or Azrames’s scents, and they’re gone when she’s finished. She spends the day alone, waiting for her appointment. When she arrives at the clinic, Jessabelle looks at her with something akin to veneration, and they ride the elevator down.

Jessabelle tells Marlow to shower before the “procedure” and then put on a white robe. Marlow does so, placing the sølje in one pocket and Silas’s golden poppet in the other. Jessabelle leads her to a room filled with gorgeous men; Astarte is there, and she directs Marlow to mingle, giving her a glass of sparkling cucumber water.

Anath appears on a tablet by the door, saying that she needs the doctor. Jessabelle continues refilling Marlow’s glass, and Marlow begins to relax. One of the men says that she’ll feel better “once the meds kick in” (409), and she realizes that the liquid is drugged. Soon, she finds herself drawn, overwhelmingly, to a man named Yasin. Jessabelle dismisses the other men while Marlow’s attraction to Yasin grows.

Suddenly, Jessabelle gets a call and says something about a “cambion,” someone who is part human, part demon. Jessabelle hangs up and sends Yasin away. Marlow hears Caliban’s voice as he asks if she’s been drugged, and she immediately turns her attention to him. She almost says his name, but he presses his thumb against her lips.

Astarte requires Marlow’s verbal consent, and Marlow gives it. Again, she tries to say Caliban’s name, and he pulls her hair to prevent this. As they kiss, Marlow becomes aware of screaming. She can hear Anath yelling something about trying to kill someone, and Astarte orders Jessabelle to handle the situation in the lobby. Fully drugged, Marlow only cares about Caliban’s mouth and hands.

Astarte moves to join the two of them. Marlow can hear them kissing even as Caliban enters her, and as she turns to protest, she sees Caliban’s free hand reaching into his back pocket. He pulls Astarte’s head back and then stabs her in the heart and slits her throat. Jessabelle appears on the tablet, and Azrames kills her. Caliban decapitates Astarte, and then he and Marlow take the elevator up to the lobby. Dazed, Marlow struggles to understand what’s happening around her.

In the lobby, Anath and an army of parasites fight Azrames, and Caliban joins the fight. As the parasites increase in number, Caliban yells to Marlow to call for Silas. Trusting him, she grips the poppet and summons the angel. When Silas appears, Caliban instructs him to save Marlow, assuring him that he and Azrames can handle the mob. Silas makes sure that Marlow has her sølje, and then everything goes black.

Marlow and Silas reappear in her apartment, and Fauna frantically asks what’s wrong with her. Silas tries to explain and says that he needs to go back. Fauna panics when she realizes that Azrames is in danger and assures Silas that she’s got Marlow covered. Marlow tries to kiss Fauna, who wrestles her into the shower and then she forces her to vomit until all the drugs are out of her system.

Marlow says that Caliban made her call Silas after he killed Astarte. When Fauna learns that only Anath and the parasites were left, she begins to relax. Fauna reassures Marlow, saying that they need to be like sunflowers now. In the absence of sun, she says, people believe that sunflowers turn toward each other. It’s not true, but right now, even if things feel hopeless, Marlow and Fauna should turn to each other for hope.