“Who are you?” Aida asked, afraid of the answer.
“Aglaea, but you can call me Aggie.”
Aida hadn’t realized she was holding her breath, and she released it in a sigh of relief. “You’re a Charis.”
“Yes, that’s right. Sophie asked me to meet you.”
Yumi almost choked on her spritz. “You’re the goddess ofbeauty and splendor! One of the Charites! The Three Graces! I read about you today!”
Several people at nearby tables began to stare in their direction, and a few chuckled at Yumi’s outburst.
Aggie waved a hand, and immediately they turned away. “Now, now, not so loud. We can’t have everyone staring at us.”
“How can they not? You’re so...”
Aggie nodded. “Beautiful, yes, I know. But they see me differently than you are seeing me. To them, I appear as a rather mousy, boring-looking girl who barely managed to comb her hair today. It’s easier that way.”
“I can’t believe I’m talking to a goddess,” Yumi said, her voice much lower. “Until now, I didn’t believe...”
Aida smacked her friend on the arm. “You didn’t believe me?!”
“I did, mostly, but I was skeptical about the god part.”
Aggie laughed. “Well, I’m here, and I assure you, we are quite real.”
Yumi was still gaping. “I don’t understand. Why don’t you gods just appear to the masses? Who could help but worship you?”
Aggie gave her a kind smile. “It’s never been like that. Our interactions are meant to influence human affairs indirectly, guiding or testing mortals rather than overtly altering destiny on a grand scale. Can you imagine? Sophie would go mad with the idea of so much imbalance.”
They were interrupted by the scrape of a chair against the tiled floor and an angry shout. A woman threw her drink in her companion’s face, then turned to rush off the rooftop, tears streaming.
“Ohh, the poor dear,” Aggie said, watching the woman leave. She closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating. Then she turned her attention back to Aida and Yumi. “The tables next to the wet man are tittering about the scene. It seems the woman learned her fiancé has been cheating on her with two other women and confronted him. I fear you’ll start to see moreand more of that sort of thing as happiness dissipates. That’s why I’m here. There is a shift in that precarious balance. We must find Effie. She is somewhere surrounded by sorrow, and her light has dimmed.”
“Why did Sophie send you?” Aida asked.
Aggie grinned. “Because you were asking about technology.”
Yumi knitted her brow. “You know about technology?”
Aggie patted Yumi’s hand. “No, of course not. I can’t be bothered with that. But I happen to be married to someone who does.”
While Aida had been reading of the Charites earlier, she hadn’t dug deep into the history of Euphrosyne’s companions. “Forgive my ignorance, but who would that be?”
“Hephaestus, also known as Vulcan.”
Of course, Aida thought to herself. The god of the forge, the maker of all the enchanted objects of the myths: Jupiter’s thunderbolts, Mars’s spear and shield, Achilles’s armor, Apollo’s bow and arrows, and Mercury’s winged sandals, to name a few.
“This might be a silly question, but which names do you gods prefer? The Greek or Roman? I can never keep them straight,” Yumi asked.
“Whichever you prefer,” Aggie said. “We have many names and realities for humans. Apollo and the Hindu god Surya are the same. The Egyptian god Amun is the same as Jupiter, who is the same as Zeus and the same as Odin. Mithras is the same as Jesus. Ishtar is Athena, and Isis, and Mary. I could go on and on. We use many of the names interchangeably ourselves. Fear not, Yumi, you will not offend by using the wrong name.”
“You think Vulcan can help us break into this database?” Aida asked, choosing the easier Roman name for the god.
“I know not, but if there is anyone who knows what the gods can do with machinery, it’s him. I paid your bill already. If you are ready, we can go there now.”
Aida looked at Yumi, who nodded vigorously. “Yes, let’s do it.”
“Wait,” Aida said, stopping the two from standing. “Myphone tracks me. We think we are able to muddle what it hears, but I can’t stop it from knowing where I’m at.”
