“I have a piece of you now, Mayup,” he said. “Attack me again, and I'll find you no matter where you hide; find you and finish you.”
“I told you, boy,” she hissed, “I'm not hiding.”
With that, Mayup Mamman dove into the river in the most graceful swan dive I'd ever seen—her hair cascading behind her like wings—and disappeared beneath the surface.
“Looks like hiding to me,” Triton scoffed.
It did appear that Mayup had fled, but I had an uneasy feeling about her retreat. I shared a glance with Odin that told me he felt the same.
“I vote we search her glass house,” I said.
“I'm with you.” Triton stalked forward with the menace of a jilted lover.
People who live in glass houses should never leave their enemies alone in them.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Re was waiting for me when I got home, but I wasn't in the mood for his type of therapy anymore. He saw it instantly and shifted his seductive expression into one of concern.
“What happened?” Re asked.
“A lot of posturing, a few threats, and a broken window,” Odin said.
“A broken wall, actually, and that was only the beginning,” I corrected him. Then I said to Re, “It was a glass wall; most of the house was made of glass.”
“And someone threw a stone?” Re quipped.
“A trident,” Odin said.
“We tracked a river goddess,” I explained as I took a seat beside Re on the couch in my master bedroom's sitting area. “She admitted to being the one who damaged Triton's boats, but she said her magic compelled her to do it. It was nearly the same thing that Orco Mamman said.”
“What's this river goddess' name?” Re asked.
“Mayup Mamman,” Odin said.
“That's awfully similar to the last one as well.” Re frowned. “Mamman is obviously the word for 'mother' but the other parts of their names are a mystery to me.”
“I asked her if she knew Orco, and she nodded,” I added. “I feel like this is just the start of something larger. Mayup said that she wanted all the Greeks out of Argentina, not just Triton.”
“I was wondering if you caught that,” Odin murmured. “I agree; this has the feeling of a conspiracy to it. I wouldn't be surprised if those two goddesses showed up again—together.”
“Is there some reason for the Argentinian Gods to hate the Greek Gods?” I asked Odin.
Odin was a lover of knowledge; he knew nearly as much as Torrent without ever having to consult the Internet. So, if Torr wasn't around, I asked Odin.
“Not that I know of, but perhaps we should look into that,” Odin said.
“You know; there is a large Greek population in Argentina; as in humans,” Re mused. “Did this goddess specify that she wanted the Greek Gods out of Argentina, or did she simply say 'Greeks?'”
Odin and I gaped at each other.
“I see by your open mouths that it must have been the latter,” Re noted. “I'm good at reading open mouths... and at filling them.”
“Stay away from my open mouth,” Odin said with a look that expressed all the horrible things he'd do to Re if he didn't. “In fact, just stay away from me in general.”
“No one has a sense of sexual humor here,” Re huffed. “I will share my knowledge with you anyway, Oathbreaker. Since you seem to be ignorant of this.”
Odin narrowed his peacock-colored eyes at Re. If there was one thing Odin hated, it was being called ignorant.
“What else do you know, Re,” I hastened him along before things got bloody.
“If my memory serves, the Greeks came to Argentina in a few waves,” Re said. “Once back in the nineteenth century and a couple times in the twentieth. That's fairly recent as far as gods view things. Perhaps these Argentinian mother goddesses have gotten tired of sharing their land with other humans who worship a thriving pantheon while theirs has faded away.”
“Jealousy,” I noted. “That's a plausible motive. Then you add onto it the insult of the Greek Gods making money off Argentinian goods and it becomes even more motivational.”
“Seriously so,” Re agreed. “Seminar-sized motivation.”
“I think it may be much more than that,” Odin murmured thoughtfully. “These goddesses were worshiped by the indigenous people of Argentina.”
“Yes,” I said as if we'd already reached that conclusion.
“The indigenous people were nearly wiped out when the Spanish colonized the area,” Odin said. “Then things got even worse for them. In the nineteenth century, the Argentinian Government put into place certain policies that worked toward the goal of a white Argentina.”
“Excuse me?” I growled. “Did you just say 'a white Argentina?'”
“There was a constitution made that favored immigration from Western Europe while penalizing the ethnic minorities already living in Argentina,” Odin' mouth tightened as he talked; a clear indication that it bothered him as much as me. “There were laws in place to protect the rights of the indigenous people but they've been largely ignored due to the extreme racism there.” Odin slid a smug look at Re. “How's that for ignorance?”
Re gave Odin a look that said; Got you to play.
“I had no idea,” I whispered in amazement. “When I think 'racism,' Argentina isn't the first place that pops into my mind.”
“You can find racism everywhere, unfortunately. But the point is; perhaps the worship of these Argentinian Gods hasn't faded after all. Perhaps it's simply that their followers have been persecuted into near-extinction and so there is no one left to worship them,” Odin said. “That's enough to make any god furious.”
“And take up arms against the oppressors,” I added.
“The question is; How do they plan on ridding Argentina of the Greeks?” Re asked. “Getting rid of the Greek Gods will be difficult enough, but that's just two gods; getting rid of whole
