“I’ll bet.” A master vampire lived in this house? Riley hadn’t realized that or she never would have agreed to venture out here to help Kraft. Though she had no problem encountering danger, she wasn’t suicidal. Master vampires were known to be a little crazy along with cruel. But Fara seemed so nice.
“Fara, what can you tell me about the Bloode—er, the things I can’t talk about? Do you know why your, ah, the goddess wants my clan’s artifact?”
“Not exactly, but she can tell you while I go back to work.” Fara smiled and stood. “So great meeting you.”
“You too.” Riley meant that. It was nice to see a friendly face after dealing with Khent last night. And Kraft. She felt her cheeks heat, remembrances of how good Kraft had felt when kissing her making her hot and bothered.
Her stomach rumbled again.
“Well, now. Let’s take care of that, shall we?”
Riley blinked up at a teenage girl who’d appeared out of nowhere. She had long, black hair, bronze skin, rich brown eyes, and smelled powerful. “Hello?”
“Hecate, at your service.” The goddess stuck out a hand.
Riley hadn’t expected the goddess to look like a kid. She automatically reached for the girl’s hand and shook. A buzz of energy lit her from the inside out and had her growling at the teenager while trying to disengage from her grip.
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” Hecate took her hand away and laughed, and the sound was like the tinkle of windchimes, light but lingering. “Riley Foster. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s sit and eat. I’ll tell you about vampires, and you can tell me what you know about Hirpus.” The goddess paused by the refrigerator and shot her an impish grin. “And what you know about Kraft.”
CHAPTERTEN
Hecate studiedthe young lycan and did her best not to smile when the woman’s jaw dropped.
Oh yes, this will be a very good match. That’s if the stubborn nachzehrer and the equally stubborn lycan don’t screw things up.
“Why don’t you go first? Tell me about Hirpus.”
“I, ah, Hirpus.” Riley swallowed. “Yes, I can tell you about her.” Riley settled down and sipped at her coffee. Hecate poured her a refill, which seemed to unnerve Riley before she continued. “Thanks. So, we all know of the great She-Wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus back in the 700s BC. Supposedly, the god Tiberius rescued the twins from the river and gave them to her. But pack accounts say Tiberius had his head up his ass flirting with some river nymphs and didn’t notice the drowning babies.”
Hecate grinned. “That sounds about right.”
“Hirpus heard them crying, saved them, and took them to her cave, where she cared for them until they went to live in the world of man. Then Romulus and Remus fought about where to settle their grand city. Everyone assumed Remus died, killed by his brother or one of his brother’s men. Romulus founded Rome, and the humans multiplied.”
“They do breed at an impressive rate,” Hecate said, amused.
“Yeah, they’re all about havingbabies.” Riley scowled, saw Hecate watching her, and blanked her expression. “From what lycan history tells us, Remus didn’t die. He just went back to live with Hirpus until she tired of being around so many mortals. He went with her when she moved on to the next plane of existence. We aren’t sure where.”
I’m not sure either, and that bitch owes me money for the last time she brought her girlfriends in for 80s night at the bar.
“But Hirpus loved her twins. She knew Romulus had chosen his human brothers and sisters and would go on to live and thrive as the founder of Rome. Remus was not so human. He wanted to be like his mother. Not his birth mother, but his real mother, She-Wolf.”
“Yes, I know what you mean.”
Riley flushed. “Right. Hirpus gave Remus the gift of the direwolf. He was the first berserker, we think. I mean, we all know the story of King Lycaon and how he insulted one of the gods, who turned him into a beast. And that’s how most of the magir think lycans were created. But we are more than that silly reference.”
“It’s not that silly. Lycaon was a jerk who insulted Zeus by cooking up a horrid stew. Not made from body parts, though. Just from base animal entrails. Zeus was not all-knowing, because he ate that crap. But he was really peeved with King Lycaon, so he turned him into a slobbering wolf. Over the years, Lycaon didn’t grow any less annoying, becoming more ancient beast than true wolf. That’s why so many confuse the lycans’ ancestors. But I agree, you come from Remus, whereas the wolf shapeshifters can probably trace their lineage back to Lycaon. Unfortunately, your species was misnamed.”
“I guess you’d know, huh?”
“I would.” Hecate studied the young lycan. “Do you think the artifact, that statue of Hirpus, belongs to your clan?”
“Not just my clan, but all the dires. We keep her protected.”
“Really?” Hecate snorted. “Because your peeps didn’t even know that thing existed until you found it a few months ago.”
