Finally, there was a man who made my smile brighten. He was average looking at first; with curly, light-brown hair and hazel eyes. But those eyes were brimming with mischief, and that hair was hiding a pair of little horns. His lips looked ready to smile at a moment's notice, and his chin was slightly pointed; giving him a puckish look. The more I looked at him, the more handsome he became.
“Pan,” I said with a smile and surprised him. I looked around the room and named them all, “Brahma. Estsanatlehi and Tsohanoai. Teharon. Ull and...”—I swallowed roughly; briefly overcome by a strange emotion—“Thor. It's nice to meet all of you.”
“How do you know us?” Thor sat forward and narrowed his gaze at me.
“I told you; she's a witch,” Horus said. “She seems to have been given knowledge of us.”
“I don't believe that's it exactly, but we can go with that for now,” Re said as he escorted me to a seat. “Hello, everyone; I hope you're doing well.”
“Re.” Thor nodded. “Thank you for coming and for bringing... Vervain, is it?”
“Yes,” I said. “Thank you for having me.”
“Honestly, Vervain; we're excited by the prospect of a human joining us,” Thor leaned forward. “Your energy—your magic, actually—could change everything.”
“Let's not get ahead of ourselves.” Re held up a hand. “She hasn't joined yet.”
“He's concerned for my safety,” I explained.
“Yes; I hear that congratulations are in order,” Teharon said.
“They are; thank you,” Re said as he shifted our joined hands into his lap. “And I'm not liking the idea of sending my bride into battle.”
“We would protect her, Re,” Thor vowed. “Just having her magic with us could shift the balance in our favor. We wouldn't need Vervain to physically fight.”
Re pursed his lips in thought and then looked at me. “I would want to go with you.”
“I'm okay with that,” I said as I looked at Thor.
“The more the merrier,” Thor said. “But I'm sure you'd like to hear what we're facing before proceeding.”
“Yes, indeed.” Re nodded. “Horus said something about Huitzilopochtli.”
“We believe that he's going to rig the American Presidential Election,” Thor said. “Huitzilopochtli has his claws into one of the candidates, and if this man wins, it will mean war for America; on many fronts. That thing with Russia will seem like a schoolyard fight by comparison.”
“Do you have a plan yet?” Re asked.
“That's what this meeting is about,” Thor said. “We know that Huitzilopochtli will be with the candidate at his next rally, and we think this may be the best time for us to strike.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“We've been watching,” Horus said. “Huitzilopochtli goes to every event so he can influence the crowd; there's no reason for him to skip this one.”
“And what can he do?” I asked. “I know he's the God of Sun and War, and that he's a vampire, but what can his magic actually do.”
“He's not a vampire himself,” Pan corrected me. “He created them, which makes them demigods, but he's a god. We know that he drinks blood and passed that need to his children, but the sun magic seems to have turned into a hindrance instead of a benefit for the vampires. It burns them, but Huitzilopochtli can channel the Sun's heat and incite rage with his war magic.”
“We don't know for certain whether or not he has any vampire abilities,” Thor went on. “But we assume that he does since he is their source.”
“And what abilities do vampires have?” I asked. “I know what Hollywood portrays and what the myths say, but I've only met one vampire, and he wasn't very talkative.”
“You've met a vampire?” Re asked. “Were you intimate?”
“I just said that he wasn't talkative,” I pointed out.
“So?” Re shrugged. “What does talking have to do with it?”
“You do recall my protests when you took me home?” I lifted my brows at him. “What makes you think that I would sleep with a guy who I couldn't get to know?”
“Point taken.” Re nodded; looking satisfied.
“Not that it would matter if I had slept with him, right?” I narrowed my eyes at Re.
“Well... I... uh,” Re stuttered.
“How many lovers have you had?” I asked as I crossed my arms.
The gods in the room tried to hide their amusement and failed utterly. Except for Pan; he didn't even try. In fact, he pulled out a pad and pencil; preparing to note down Re's answer.
“That number has nothing to do with you,” Re said. “I have an appearance that affects women. When they come on so strongly, it's very hard to resist.”
“Especially when you're such a nymphomaniac,” Horus pointed out dryly.
“Yes, precisely,” Re said; not at all ashamed by the title. “You've seen my bedroom; you know that I'm an experienced and eager lover. You, on the other hand, refused me several times before our connection finally made you succumb; that sets a different precedent.”
“She refused you?” Horus blinked in shock.
“Smart woman,” Thor muttered.
Pan was scribbling furiously.
“Are you saying that because I'm not promiscuous, you get to be irrationally jealous over my past lovers?” I asked him.
“Yes,” Re said as if it were obvious. “That's exactly what I'm saying.”
“Oh, dude; that was the wrong call.” Ull shook his head.
“What?” Re looked from the disapproving gods to my glare. “Vervain, I will never lie to you; this is how I feel and this is what I believe. I love that you value intimacy more than I; it's transformed the act from mere pleasure into something profound for me. But it's also placed you on a pedestal;
