“Yes?” Re lifted a cocky brow at me.
“Magic.” I shrugged. “I must have had a vision of him. Maybe I connected to the Aether and was subconsciously shown his image.”
“Show me the rest,” Re demanded as he pushed the door open and strode back into the gallery.
“You're really arrogant, you know that?” I grumbled as I caught up with him.
Re had stopped before a picture of Huitzilopochtli; the Aztec God of the Sun. The Sun God stood atop his pyramid with a river of blood running down the steps beneath his feet. His chin was lifted arrogantly, and his red eyes glared at the world defiantly.
“You asked about vampires,” Re said. “Here is one of their creators.”
“Really?” I gaped at the painting. “I suppose that makes sense.”
“I've never met Huitzilopochtli, but from what I've heard of him, this seems correct,” he said.
“What about her?” I went to the next painting; becoming as intrigued as he was. “This is Persephone.”
“Persephone,” Re whispered sadly as his hand hovered over the face of a beautiful woman with large, child-like eyes. “Yes; that's absolutely her.”
“She break your heart or something?” I teased.
“No.” He turned to me with a grim look. “She was murdered; ten years ago. They never found her killer.”
“Someone murdered a goddess?” I asked as a horrible ache filled my chest.
I have no idea why it made a difference to me; it wasn't as if I knew her.
“It's not easy to do, especially not for one of us, but yes; someone managed to kill the Goddess of Spring,” Re confirmed. “Another grandson of mine was close friends with her, and I know her husband, Hades. He has nearly lost himself to his grief.”
“That's awful,” I murmured.
“It is.” Re stared at me strangely; his eyes softening as his lips parted slightly. “Will you have dinner with me?”
“Now?” I asked in surprise.
“After the show,” he clarified.
“It'll be late,” I said. “I don't think there will be any restaurants open.”
“Not here.” Re started to smile again. “But I can take us anywhere you like.”
“Anywhere?” I asked skeptically. “You're not talking about tracing are you?”
“That's right,” he said in a surprised tone.
“Tracing isn't safe.”
“When you're with a god, it is.” Re took my hand and used it to draw me closer. “I promise you; I will never knowingly put you in danger.”
“But you might do it without knowing about it?” I challenged.
He shrugged. “I can't be held responsible for things I can't control, and I don't make promises that I can't keep.”
“I can respect that,” I said softly. Then I surprised myself by saying, “All right; I'll have dinner with you.”
Re smiled brilliantly.
“But right now, I have to sell these paintings,” I said. “So, I have to mingle.”
