“I don't know what you mean,” I said evasively.
“Don't play innocent with me, Lala,” Re said. “I was in that timeline too. I remember what happened.”
I flushed again as my gaze shot to Trevor. Trevor glanced pointedly at Blue and nodded. Re and Trevor had both been with me in the last timeline; which meant that both of them knew I'd been with Blue.
“Please don't say anything,” I whispered to them. “Nothing will ever happen between us again. You know I don't love him like that, and he loves Eztli.”
“Of course, we won't,” Re said chidingly. “I was just teasing you, Lala. It's been a long time since I've seen you blush. It makes me wonder what the Aztec did that I haven't.” Re seemed to give it serious thought. “There is little that I haven't done with you that I think you'd enjoy. So, what could it have been?”
My cheeks heated again.
“Vhat's zis?” Kirill leaned toward me with a curious look.
“Is there something you'd like to share with the class?” Mrs. E—my good friend who was also the mother of my newest boyfriend, Toby—said in a perfect imitation of a teacher.
“Sorry,” I mumbled like a teenager caught passing notes.
“I'm not at all sorry,” Re said with a lifted chin. “If I wanted the rest of you to hear my romantic whispers to my fiance, I would have said them louder. Since I did not, I expected you all to be polite enough to ignore us.”
“Usually, that would be fine,” Toby said as he glared at Re. “But since we're in the middle of figuring out how to investigate the deaths of some friends, your romantic whispers are annoying and rude; as rude as your attitude toward my mother.”
“Toby, it's okay,” Mrs. E said gently. “We all know how Re is.”
“I don't care how he is to others; he's not going to talk to you like that,” Toby said firmly.
I was surprised to see such fire in the Navajo God of Water, but Toby was big into honor and respect so I shouldn't have been. I understood that he was standing up for his mother, but Re had a fair point; Mrs. E shouldn't have treated us like children.
“Your mother can defend herself,” Mr. T—Mrs. E's husband—said. “And if she can't, I will defend her.”
My eyes went wide at the tension between the three of them; parents and child. Then I glanced at Teharon; Toby's nephew. Teharon looked uncomfortable; his turquoise eyes looking everywhere but at his relatives. His girlfriend—the Hindu Rat Goddess, Karni Mata—was staring at him questioningly, but Teharon just shook his head at her.
So, this wasn't about Re at all.
“There is no cause for anyone to defend Estsanatlehi,” Re said angrily. “I respect her deeply and had no intention of offending her; with attitude or otherwise. I say what I feel and what I mean—directly and honestly—and I expect to be treated the same. All of you should know that by now. If I start being overly polite, then you can get upset.”
Mrs. E laughed. “I was not offended, Re. But thank you for the clarification. I'll be sure to reserve my scorn for your good behavior.”
“As you should.” Re nodded at her.
I frowned at Toby, but he shook his head at me just as his nephew had done to Karni. And then Azrael was talking again; telling everyone of the second possession. The God Squad went to work; deciding on who should go to what site and what we needed to look for. I just continued to stare at the Native American Gods; my racy memories all but forgotten in light of the drama unfolding before me.
“Vervain?” Azrael asked.
“Yes?” I looked up at him.
“Is that all right with you?”
I just stared at Azrael blankly.
“Now, what's wrong with you?” Horus huffed at me.
Hekate slapped her husband in his chest—with a hand encrusted in silver rings—and scowled at him; her scowl emphasized but the Goth makeup she wore. But Horus just sighed tiredly.
“The woman has more issues than Time magazine,” Horus said to his wife. “She has full subscriptions.”
“But we aren't dealing with Vervain's subscriptions right now,” Hekate said. “We've got a demon killer to find.”
“I'm not the one who wasn't paying attention,” Horus said.
“But you're the one causing a scene,” Persephone pointed out helpfully.
Hades chuckled softly.
“Was what all right with me, Az?” I ignored my friends and tried to get us back on track.
“I'll take a team to Spain,” Azrael said. “Trevor, Thor, Tsohanoai, Estsanatlehi, Teharon, Karni Mata, Hades, Persephone, Brahma, and Sarasvati will go with me. “Your team will consist of Finn, Blue, Eztli, Morpheus, Torrent, Artemis, Toby, Odin, Re, Pan, Hekate, and Horus.”
What a mouthful; the Squad had really grown.
“Oh, yay; I'm on Team Vervain,” Horus said sarcastically.
His wife smacked him again.
“I mean; yay,” he tried to add more enthusiasm but failed. Horribly.
“That way, we'll each have a tracker if we find any suspicious trace evidence,” Azrael went on. “Trevor with us, and you with the other group.”
“What about us?” Aidan asked. “Why don't we ever get to go on these investigative missions?”
“Do you want to come along?” I asked him. “You can be with my team.”
Aidan blinked, thought about it, and then looked at the other Intare. They were all shaking their heads at him as if he didn't know when to keep his damn mouth shut.
“On second thought,” Aidan said. “We're more 'tear and claw' kind of folk. Perhaps we should wait until there's something to kill.”
“You're right; we don't want your little kitty angst getting out of control,” Trevor said with a smirk. “Better for you to stay here and train.”
“Anytime you want to train with us, you're welcome to, Wolf,” Fallon said with
