“Grandfather, are you in here?” An Egyptian man strode into Re's bedroom. “I hope you're not indisposed.”
“We're clothed; you may join us,” Re called out to him.
The man had short brown hair, golden walnut skin, and dark eyes. He was trim and athletic, with a long, nearly-pointed nose. His clothes were casual business attire—dress pants with a collared shirt—and he had a serious air about him. His gaze fastened on me with interest.
“A human?” The man asked Re in surprise. “I've never known you to take a human lover.”
“The human can hear you,” I said with a grimace.
“No offense meant,” the man said immediately. “I was taken aback.”
“No problem,” I said.
“Horus, this is my...” Re looked at me and made an amused huff. “What are we, sweetheart? Can I call you mine, or is that too soon?”
“I think we've established that we have a connection,” I said. “It would be silly to pussyfoot around it now. Call me whatever you like.”
“I'm so overjoyed to hear you say that, that I can't even bring myself to make a joke about the word 'pussyfoot.'” Re declared and then laughed.
“That's pretty damn happy,” Horus said with a dry, shocked tone.
“This is Vervain, my fiance,” Re said.
“Your what?” Horus and I asked together.
“You said that I could call you whatever I wanted,” Re reminded me with a wicked smile.
“But I assumed you'd ask me before you called me something that would lead to a binding ceremony,” I growled.
“Will you marry me?” Re asked. His tone was casual, but his eyes were earnest.
“Yes,” I couldn't stop the word from coming out. “Now, was that so difficult?”
Re's smile went up five notches as he leapt out of his chair. He pulled me out of mine and kissed me tenderly and thoroughly. When he pulled away, we stared at each other in amazement.
“I'll get you a magnificent ring,” Re promised as he pushed a tendril of hair away from my face. “Then we can start planning the ceremony.”
“Hold on,” Horus interrupted. “How long have you two known each other?”
“A day,” Re announced and then laughed at Horus' expression. “We know; we've already been through the disbelief and have moved into acceptance.”
“Re, you could be under a spell,” Horus said as he leaned in and looked Re over critically.
“We've considered that as well,” Re said as he tucked me in against his side. “Vervain is a witch and an artist. I attended her show last night and saw paintings she had made of gods she'd never met. She had Thor down to the exact shade of his hair, Horus.”
“What?” Horus looked at me with wide eyes.
“Thor and Horus are very close,” Re explained to me.
“Oh?” I lifted my brows.
“There's a war going on,” Horus said grimly. “You humans don't know about it, even though it revolves around you.”
“Go on,” I urged.
“Gods depend on blood sacrifice to gain power and immortality,” Horus said. “When your kind stopped sacrificing to us, some of us got creative. Several gods started manipulating humans into war so they could take the dead as their sacrifice.”
“Like that war that Russia started over oil?” I asked. “The one that lasted four years.”
“That was Huitzilopochtli.” Horus nodded.
I looked at Re in shock. “The Vampire God?”
“She painted him with a river of blood flowing beneath his feet,” Re said to Horus as he nodded to me.
“Accurate,” Horus murmured. “Huitzilopochtli has been giving us hell for years. We actually tried to prevent that war, but Huitzilopochtli is tenacious and keeps finding new ways to infiltrate and infuriate the Russian Government.”
“That's deplorable,” I whispered.
“And that's why my friends and I fight gods like him,” Horus said. “There are still gods who stay true to the agreement we made with humans; to guide and guard them in exchange for their worship. We refuse to abandon them despite the fact that they've forgotten us.”
“So, you fight other gods?” I asked.
“Yes, and sometimes they win.” Horus shifted his gaze to Re. “Hades still hasn't come out of the Underworld.”
“Persephone's husband?” I asked Re, and he nodded. I turned to Horus to ask, “Was she one of your human-supporters?”
“Yes; her and Hades both,” Horus said sadly. “Persephone was lovely; a pure soul. That anyone would even think about killing her is incomprehensible to me.”
“I'm so sorry,” I said as sadness overcame me. “I didn't know her, but I feel her loss.”
Re looked down at me with a pensive frown and then up at Horus.
“This is what I've been trying to explain.” Re waved a hand at me. “We both have these feelings that we shouldn't have. I don't believe it's a spell; at least not one that was cast on us, specifically.”
“What do you mean?” Horus asked warily.
“I think someone may have taken our memories.” Re shook his head. “I'm not sure yet, but whatever has happened, it had a widespread effect.”
“Even you look familiar to me,” I said to Horus as I frowned. “Do you have a tattoo on your upper arm? A tattoo of a bird?”
Horus gaped at me as Re chuckled.
“Go on,” Re said. “Show her.”
Horus slowly pulled up his sleeve to reveal the tattoo I'd seen in my mind; a falcon in flight. It looked far too real to be normal ink.
“How could you have known that?” Horus asked in amazement.
“I'm telling you; we know each other,” Re said. “And Vervain knows our world.”
“Then maybe you could help us,” Horus said shrewdly. “A human on our side may be just what we need to turn the tide.”
“Now, hold on,” Re huffed. “I don't want Vervain involved in that violent business.”
“So, you'd rather me sit back and let others fight
