After being away from my mind for about sixteen hours, the Revolt House was slogging its way back into my thoughts. It was nice to forget about it for a night and just enjoy the return of my mother and Hestia, making new friends, and reconnecting with old ones. But forgetting problems did not lead to solutions, and the problems would persist until a solution was forced upon us or found.
My eyes got wide, and I sat back again. While Corey probably felt like he had screwed up, the truth was, I felt like I had screwed up. Corey had been more loyal to me than pretty much anybody ever had. He was definitely the most loyal mortal I knew.
I smiled back at him, and he changed to stalking towards me. The terrifying grin was unwavering on his frozen face. His long nails scraped the ground as he hunched forward, his eyes peering through his scraggly hair, focused intently on me.
I snort derisively and see her face change. I quickly explain myself lest I awake in a pigsty. “I mean you no disrespect.” In fact, I suspect that she is more than capable of doing what is required if the need arises. “But this business of sword fighting, it is something beloved of those like Ares. I have never been convinced of its utility.”
My issue seems to be behind me now. I’m tricking like I want to. With ease. Even a little flair. Now it’s time to get some proper clothes on my back, ones that befit the great trickster that I am.
We drove it hard, taking control of the hunt. We finally hurt it badly enough to prevent it from escaping and healing at the last ambush. It came around an outcropping and ran into a wall of maidens. Arrows flew, and I got under it, slicing a chunk of its leg off before it leaped from the rock wall, but it seemed to disappear again.
I touched it with the tip of my finger and knew it wasn’t right. Mekon had a soft, silky feel about it. This was grittier. I took just a taste and knew what it was. “Colchicum,” I whispered. Someone had added a powdered form of autumn crocus to my blend. It wouldn’t kill me, but it could cause me to spin out of control in the right doses.
I turned to scowl at her. “I’m sick of the way you talk to me,” I snarled. “You speak to me like I’m as insignificant as the mortals you despise so much. I am Dinlas, your God, and I don’t answer to either of you.
I let out a deep sigh and plopped down on the sofa. Knowing Hera as I did, I prepared myself for the lecture I knew was coming.
Running through the opening, it took a moment for our eyes to adjust to the low lighting. Torches in sconces along the walls flickered as we rushed by. The first thing I noticed was the metallic smell of blood.
I walked to the middle of the compound, slowly drawing the cold inward. There was something here. The deserted compound should have been a haven for the hibernating animals, but nothing was here. Even the birds had left, and the only other living thing around was the Qiqirn demon dog.
No, I was not alone anymore. “No, I am not alone,” I repeated out loud as I forced my eyes open. I started to count backward from ten, trying to settle my mind. Flashes of my life started appearing, even though I didn’t want to see them.
The metaphor rolls oddly around my mind, the Americanism harsh against my thoughts. But that’s what I’ve got to get used to from now on. I’ve left good old England behind and removed any temptation to walk into a former accomplice’s business and ask for help. I’m alone in unfamiliar territory. I have to, want to, do this properly.
New Beginnings 
A Reprimand 
The Secret in Silence, Part III 
Interrogation Doesn’t Break Ice 
Stealing A Moment 
Making a Mark 
When It Hits The Fan 
A Goddess Down 
An Explosive Mystery 
