Chapter 12

Ull had a beautiful four-story home near the National Zoo. I gaped at the tasteful and modern furnishings as we made our way up to the top floor.

"Are you all rich?"I asked as I looked over a very pricey piece of art. "Stupid question,"I huffed. "How could you not be?"

"Well, magic helps."Ull grinned broadly. "But most of us work among the humans. It's just easier that way. I own a law firm."

"A law firm."I stopped climbing the stairs and turned to face him. I looked him up and down; taking in the long hair and carefree attitude.

"God of Justice, remember?"He winked at me. "I'm actually a god of hunting and winter too, but I thought a law firm would bring the most profit. Orvandil Law is now one of the top law firms in the country."

"Yes; I can see that."I looked at the rest of the group. "What about all of you?"

"I own a line of cruise ships,"Thor said.

"A landscaping company."Persephone smiled. "Little Western Flower has the reputation as the number one landscaper in America."

"Oh, sweet."I wanted to say; well, duh, you are the Vegetation Goddess after all.

"We own tanning salons,"Mrs. E said for her and her husband.

"I deal in antiques."Horus sniffed and looked at me as if I couldn't possibly understand what that meant.

"I have a bunch of car dealerships."Brahma smirked.

"Cars?"I asked.

Well, that explained why he looked like a car salesman.

"It's good money."He handed me a card which read: Golden Swan Exotics: featuring Lotus, Maserati, Ferrari, Bentley, and Lamborghini; Brahma Kanja: owner.

"I make porn,"Pan stated proudly; handing over his own card.

"Naughty Nymphs,"I read aloud. "We can satiate any satyr."

"Catchy, isn't it?"Pan beamed.

"Like Herpes,"Horus said with a grimace.

"My girls are all clean."Pan glared at Horus.

"I'm sure that they are."I tucked both of the cards into my jeans pocket as I climbed the last step.

We'd finally made it to the top floor which consisted of a large open space and a small kitchen off to the side. It was apparently made for entertaining and was perfect for our current needs. The walls were painted light green, the overstuffed couches were chocolate velvet, and there were enough potted plants strewn about to change the atmospheric conditions. The paintings on the walls were all modern, which I'm not a big fan of, but they matched the décor well. The biggest draw, though, was the spacious balcony with an amazing view of the Zoo. We were just far enough away to avoid prying eyes, but still close enough to hear the calls of some of the more restless beasts.

Speaking of restless beasts, the kitchen was sectioned off by a counter that doubled as a buffet table. Ull immediately went to work filling it with an assortment of chips and sandwiches that were disappearing down hungry god throats almost as soon as he set them out. It was nice to have a rest after all the craziness, but even while they were eating, the gods continued to press me about the spell so I barely had time to digest before I was at work again. Damn demanding deities; try saying that three times fast.

I ended up sitting cross-legged in the center of the floor with all of my tools and ingredients placed carefully around me. I had drawn my circle—not literally, I wouldn't want to mess up Ull's thick green carpet—but my wards shimmered around me in the air. I was ready to go. If I could just get some privacy, life would be perfect. Life isn't perfect, though, is it?

"Do you guys mind giving me some alone time here?"I looked up at the gods encircling my circle, and they all frowned down at me.

I felt like Prometheus; facing the gods in Olympus and asking them to give me a break over the fire thing. Hmm, maybe Persephone could get me into Olympus. I hadn't found the spell to break into that particular god territory yet.

"Why do you need us to leave?"Thor crossed his arms over his massive chest. Somehow it made him look even more massive; all of those muscles squished up like taped supermodel cleavage. It had potential bad-ass explosion written all over it.

"I don't need you to; I'd just prefer it."I glared back. "Call me shy."

"Sorry"-Ull's grin was just plain cocky—"my house; I get to stay."

"Why do you even care?"I glared at them as they stood around me; staring down at the human as she knelt before her makeshift altar.

I felt like a sideshow freak. Or one of their followers; a god follower not a freak follower. I think I'd rather be follow a freak.

"We've never seen a human twist god magic."Horus had the look of a scientist peering at a developing petri dish. "I, for one, have no intentions of leaving."

There was a murmur of agreement, and the ring of them drew closer until they pressed against the wards of my circle like a class of kindergartners around a fish bowl.

"Fine."I closed my eyes and tried to pretend that they weren't there.

But even through the circle, I could feel their power fluttering against my wards like a flock of multicolored birds. All of it was magic, except the breeds were different. They each had their own feel, their own tempo, their own look. It was fascinating and very distracting. I sighed and grounded myself; trying to get the image of feathered gods flocking and squawking around my circle out of my mind when an evil idea reared its ugly head.

Gods had been sucking humans dry for centuries. It was about time for a little payback... if my theory worked. I reached out with my magic to connect with the Aether and then sent my focus down into the earth. The bright energy of Nature tickled my toes, but I held off on accepting it; choosing instead to push further. I sent my searching tendrils of awareness back up through the ground and into the bodies around me. Soft gasps came from the gods and a few grunts; of pleasure, pain, or shock—I didn't know, but no one protested.

I had thought that I could connect with the gods and just siphon a bit of energy from them as I do with the Earth or the Moon. But their power didn't just flow into me; giving of itself gently like Mother Nature. It rushed into me as if it were coming home after being gone for years. All of those birds flapped together inside my body until they swirled into one fiery phoenix which seemed intent on making sure that every cell I had was touched by its flame. It filled me to the brink and kept going as if there were more to me than my physical body could contain. My hair lifted up as if a breeze was coming from beneath me, but the air was still. Every muscle I had jerked and tightened. I felt as if I were glowing, empowered, recharged, and most of all, I felt incredible.

I inhaled sharply and refocused. I couldn't let their power distract me or I might drain the gods dry. Wouldn't Horus be pissed then? If he lived. The thought was sobering. For once, I was in the presence of gods who I didn't want to kill. How ironic would it be if I ended up killing them anyway? Ironic and tragic. With a head shake, I shut off the flow, and they sank to their knees around me. Puppets cut from their strings, staring at me in rapt attention; they seemed unable to move.

I picked up the little white stone and washed it with a bowl of salt water, avoiding their eyes.

"I cleanse you of all negativity, that you may hold only my will, and by the power of water, I consecrate and charge you to be a sensor of god magic."

The water dripped from my fingers in glowing drops; flowing over the stone with the viscosity and sheen of oil.

I placed the bowl down and ran the stone through the smoke of some rosemary incense. "By the power of air, I consecrate and charge you to be a sensor of god magic."

Smoke curled around the stone; clinging to it sensuously. Particles within the thick smoke sparked and sizzled.

The few remaining water droplets on the stone evaporated as I waved it through the flames of a red candle. "By the power of fire, I consecrate and charge you to be a sensor of god magic."

The flames turned blue; splitting around my fingers to lick only at the stone. The stone itself warmed, but it was a mellow, comfortable heat.

The scent of rich soil wafted up to me as I scooped some earth out of a small bowl and sprinkled it over the stone. "By the power of earth, I consecrate and charge you to be a sensor of god magic."

The soil fell slowly, shimmering as it went, and clung to the stone as if it were magnetized before falling aside to become regular earth once more.

I traded the bowl for the small silver knife I was using in place of my athame. It had come from Ull's kitchen and was hardly the perfect tool for magic, but I'd cleaned it with some alcohol and it would work fine. When it comes down to it, tools are just tools; the talent lies within the individual. I made a small cut in my left pointer finger and rubbed a drop of blood across the stone.

"By the power of my spirit, I consecrate and charge you to be a sensor of god magic."

The air thickened around me and thrummed with the energy I poured into the stone. I could feel it push in my ears as if I were suddenly submerged in water.

"By my blood, I bind power to this stone; that it shall recognize god magic and alert me not only to its use but to the location of the user."

I sent energy into the little stone until it glowed brightly. In my mind, I pictured it in the Aether—a bright star of power—and felt the corresponding weightlessness that signaled the spell's success. Then I added the god magic. The bit they'd all been waiting for was just a few words I remembered from Ku's book.

"Ilantre, frangis, antul."I closed my hand over the stone, and the light winked out.

Huh. I expected a little more dazzle from god magic. My paltry human magic was showier than that. Oh, well; I knew my little part of it had worked. Maybe it was a god spell beyond my capabilities. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed, but the stone glowed at me reassuringly, and I decided to let my issues go.

I didn't look at any of the gods while I cleaned up and opened the circle. It was cowardice, yes, but I had to finish everything before I confronted their anger. I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to have shocked them beyond rage and into awe, but their continued silence did give me some hope. I had psyched myself up pretty good by the time I raised my eyes and lowered my wards.

The first face I saw was Ull's, and his eyes weren't filled with anger, they were full of terror. I was so shocked that my gaze swung about to the rest of the gods. Only one pair of eyes held anger and they belonged to Horus, but even his fury was tempered by another emotion. I just wasn't sure if it was fear or respect; maybe they were the same to Horus. Everyone else met my gaze with varying degrees of wariness, even Thor looked concerned.

"Well, that taught you guys to hang around where you're not wanted."I gave them my half grin, but it faded quickly when the mood failed to lighten. Uh-oh, this could be bad. "What?"