“And yet it doesn’t feel like a win, does it? The party was a disaster. We almost got our brains fried by some love bug infected cherubs. And your pet bunny went kablooey. What’s up with the rabbit anyway? The exploding? Coming back from the dead? Is he like a zombie bunny or something? And that stuff he sprayed the cherubs with to bring them down, what the hell was that? And where did it come from?”
It wasn’t a secret, so Gigi filled Nico in on how Canary came into being and how the two of them could link and that she could retrieve anything he had previously digested with a thought.
“That is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard of. But having looked into the bunny’s mouth, it’s also the most disturbing.”
“You know what they say about looking into the abyss.”
“Yes. So, what’s our next step, partner?”
“We wait to hear back if anyone can identify our mystery Goddess. And I suppose we contact Faleph to find out if we’ve been fired. The next party is only four days away. That’s not a lot of time.”
“Fingers crossed then that we’ve been fired.”
Chapter Twelve
“What do mean everyone adored us?”
“It quite frankly bewilders me also.” Faleph had ratcheted up his sneer for today’s meeting, adding a hefty measure of disdain.
“But the fight? The damage?”
“Feedback from the majority of party-goers was extremely positive. Apep is very pleased. And he’s very much looking forward to hosting the next event. Everyone invited to the soiree has RSVP’d that they’ll be attending. Now, to the menu.” Faleph clicked his fingers, a large banner appearing in mid-air beside the small table they were seated at.
Nico scanned the list. “I’m sensing a tropical theme. With a bit of a 60’s vibe? Fruit punch?”
“The majority present will be water deities. And my most revered sovereign had the recent privilege of viewing an iconic movie called Blue Hawaii, starring the very talented Elvis Presley. Apep was very impressed.”
“Ah, the pigs in blankets is making a lot more sense now. Could you change the mini hamburgers to pork pulled sliders? I think we should be aiming for retro, and not be slaves to the era.”
“Same here. I’m not going to do anything that involves jello moulds, but I will infuse a whole heap of jellied treats with liqueur in tropical flavours.”
Faleph sniffed, waving his feathered quill in the air, striking out lines on the banner and replacing them. “There. Satisfied?” Before either Nico or Gigi could reply, both the banner and Faleph were gone.
“There goes a very unhappy man.” Nico observed, making a few last minute notes on the pad of paper Gigi had slid his way when Faleph had appeared out of thin air as they were eating breakfast. Other than the mid-air scroll, Faleph hadn’t seen fitto reshape Gigi’s apartment, though perhaps that was an Apep thing.
Gigi glanced at her phone as it beeped, quickly grabbing it closer. “Aunt Patricia made an identification. Meet Qetesh, second born daughter of Hathor, Egyptian Goddess of Love.” Patricia had sent a photo of a lush painting depicting a dark haired beauty lounging on a bed, surrounded by a hoard of admirers, all offering gifts. Gigi showed Nico the painting before scrolling down to see what other information was available. “Deemed a lesser Goddess than her mother, Qetesh is worshipped in relation to beauty, youth and fertility.”
“So she’s a demi-goddess? What about powers?”
“Nothing substantiated. Beauty appears to be her weapon. Oh, but this is interesting, for a time she was consort to her brother, Amren, who was the God of Metal Smiths and Jewellers.”
“Sounds like she either picked up some tips from him, or they’re working together.”
“No.” Gigi shook her head. “He’s dead. Killed by another brother. Hmmm, hold on. Patricia points out this is the second of Hathor’s children we’ve identified as being involved. We came across Hathor’s eldest born daughter, Neith, seven months ago. She’s been going under the alias Belinda Forrest. Maat’s Warriors and Riya thwarted her attempt to take over a cable media network.”
“She’s dead?”
“No, Neith, Belinda, is in the wind.”
“A cable network? If you were plotting to take over the Earth, having the media under your control would be all kinds of smart. You could narrate the news stories to your advantage. Get the survivors organised and under control.”
“And set yourself up as the hero of the piece. Grateful people worship heroes. No better way to power up your Goddess mojothan to act benevolent and calm in a crisis. Give survivors something, someone, to believe in.”
“So big sis’s plan was a swing and a miss. Little sis must be back up. But what is Qetesh trying to achieve exactly? A media network, I get. But I still don’t understand Qetesh’s game plan here. In fact, the more I consider the events over the past few weeks, the less sense they’re making.”
“Yes. The timing is completely skewed. My first sneak infiltrator turned up over three weeks ago now. All poisons degrade over time, so the chances of it still being viable and doing damage at one of Apep’s parties is pretty damn chancy. That’s assuming I didn’t use the tainted products before that date just making a batch of cookies or some chocolates for my shop.”
“Maybe Qetesh doesn’t understand toxins. She did kind of jump gun though, didn’t she?”
