And it was a good thing that we hadn't.
I was able to find Athena's trail at Orco's hill nearly instantly. Torrent and I tracked it into the God Realm, and he unmade the ward that would have kept anyone else out. We went through, took a good look around, and traced back to fetch the others.
The Argentinian Gods had taken Athena to a lush, forested territory. The sound of drumming drew us from a tracing cave, deeper into the humid terrain. The plants were similar to those found on Earth but larger and more savage looking. Tree branches rustled above us without a breeze to stir them, enormous ferns dipped low to brush against our heads, and the passage of large creatures echoed over to us from shadowy areas that sunlight seemed unable to penetrate. I've been in a lot of strange forests in the God Realm, but none had given me the creeps like this one.
It felt alive... and hungry.
I suppose we could have snuck up on the Argentinians, but what would have been the point of that? We were here to fight, not do a quick grab and run. Donnie had the lead, and he was striding forward with angry steps that cracked through the ground with warning thuds. But the drums drowned us out, and when we finally made it to a clearing full of gods, they didn't notice us. It was the child who finally spotted us.
He was blond with blue eyes and fair skin. Hitler would have loved this kid, and not just for his pale appearance. The little boy looked as if he were six or seven. Which made the blood covering his mouth seem all the more horrendous. He opened that bloody mouth and screamed as he pointed at us with a golden wand.
“Don't point that thing at me, kid,” I snarled. “I'll take it from you and beat your butt with it.”
The kid clutched his wand and ran off; deep into the forest.
Donnie and Hades were in the front of our group, but my Intare were spreading out to the sides to fill the clearing; showing off our numbers to the Argentinians. My lions were growling, on the verge of shifting; responding to the scent of blood in the air. There was more than that, though.
I breathed deep and frowned. The Argentinians were having a feast. In the center of the clearing—surrounded by several unusual gods—was a cooking fire with a massive grill set over it. It was one of those types that stood above the fire on its own and could support anything from a chicken to an ox. The carcass on it presently might have been an ox; it was so large.
I noticed Orco and Mayup in the group. They stood beside a man whom I assumed to be Sachayoj, the Father of the Forest. I guess that made them the Mamas and the Papa. I would have chuckled at the thought if they hadn't been staring at us with such gleeful grins. Something wasn't right. Why weren't they running? Or at least attacking us?
To the side of the Argentinian Gods were three Greek gods; Athena, Triton, and Hera. They were bound with ropes that had the gleam of magic to them and strapped to wood poles. Athena and Triton were staring at us with relief and hope, but Hera just hung her head and wept. I don't think she even realized we were there.
“It's about time you got here.” A man stepped forward and looked us over appreciatively.
He was dark-skinned, dark-haired, and dark-eyed. But that wasn't all that was dark about him. He had a scent that made my dragon focus on him; something that called to her primal brain and told it that he was the scariest motherfucker there. Not that he scared my dragon; it was more of a case of one predator acknowledging another. This was who we should take down first.
And that wouldn't have occurred to me without my dragon's input. Because the gods behind this guy, the ones who milled around the cooking fire, were more creatures than men. I think there was one woman among them, but it was hard to tell. She was hunched, with greasy hair hanging over her face, and feet that were turned backward. And she was the most human looking of the bunch.
There was an extremely ugly and sickly looking man with long hair that covered his entire body and the odor of death seeping from him. Next to Cousin It, there was a huge lizard with seven canine heads. The heads whined as the creature waddled toward the back of the group; eyeing us warily as it went. Another hairy guy—not quite as hairy as the first—was as short as a goblin. His lack of height made his enormous penis look even larger. Actually, it wasn't so much large as long; he had it wound around his waist like a belt. Oh yeah; that one made me blink. Did he pass out every time he got a hard-on?
Next to the penis-belt guy, there was a huge snake with a parrot's head. As I looked it over, a forked tongue flickered out of its beak. Coiled beside the parrot-snake, there was another snake. This one looked almost normal except for its size and the pair of undulating, horn-like antennae on its head. Next to him, a giant sheep stamped its hooves in anticipation. Not so scary, you might think, but this sheep looked vicious. First of all, it was over fifteen feet tall. Then there were its blazing red eyes and the sharp edges of its hooves that sparked every time one of them hit a rock. It
