Shaw nodded in a pensive way. “Would you prefer to enter the cave first, Godhunter?”
“Not at all.” I shooed him in. “If you wanna take point, by all means, go forth into the creepy snake cave.”
“Well, someone go in already,” Horus growled. “Or have we forgotten there are children about to be murdered?”
“What is up with you?” I turned to narrow my eyes at Horus. “I mean, you're not a jerk who wants kids to die or anything but you're notthis guyeither.” I waved a hand at him.
Horus flushed and looked at Hekate. Hekate rolled her eyes.
“What's going on here?” Pan asked as he pointed back and forth between Horus and Hekate. “There's something you're not telling us. And by us, I mean me. I demand an explanation.”
“This isn't the time,” Horus snapped. “Can we just save the children and talk about this later?”
“Save the children?” Pan gaped at Horus. Then he slowly shifted his gaze to Hekate's stomach. “Katie, are you knocked up?”
“What did you just ask my wife?” Horus snarled.
“Oh, whatever,” Pan huffed. Then he amended, “Are youwith child?”
Hekate grimaced but then nodded.
Persephone squealed in delight and ran over to hug Hekate. Karni Mata, Artemis, Sarasvati, Mrs. E, and even Eztli offered their congratulations. The women gathered around the Goddess of Necromancy and gushed their happiness all over her. All except for me.
“Horus, get your wife out of here right now,” I growled.
Everyone went still. Behind me, the Itakupe were entering the cave, having waited long enough for our nonsense to end. I cursed under my breath and started following them.
“Vervain, you don't get to tell—” Hekate started.
I swung back to face her. “I nearly lost Lesya because I was dumb enough to go into battle while I was pregnant. Do not make my mistake, Kate. Go back to Pride Palace and wait for us there. Protect that child; we can save these without you.”
Kate deflated. Horus, who had been so gung ho mere moments earlier, put his arm around his wife and gave me a grateful, relieved look. He was worried about the kids because he was feeling the impending weight of fatherhood but his biggest concern had been for his wife and their unborn baby. I nodded to him in understanding as he traced away with Hekate.
“Anyone else have some big news to share?” I asked.
Silence.
“All right then, let's get a move on.”
We headed into the gloom—gloom which darkened with every step. I could see in the dark and Gods are known for their superior senses, but someone didn't like the idea of walking through the pitch-black toward a bunch of snake shifters. I think he was a bit rattled by his bestie's revelation.
“Can one of you sun gods pull a Jerry and let there be light in this damn cave?” Pan whined.
Re's metallic skin started to glow. He turned up the wattage until a halo of light extended a good five feet around him. Pan was about to thank him when a rustling came from above us.
“Oh, no,” Brahma muttered with trepidation. Then he shouted, “Get down!”
It was the last thing that could be heard for a good three minutes. That is, the last thing besides the rush of leathery wings. A flurry of little black bodies swooped down and outward. The bats flew past but that small group was only the beginning; more of them came from further in the cave, doubtless startled by the sound of the others. As they surged by, I pondered the saying “like a bat out of Hell.” One bat couldn't possibly be as impressive as a whole cauldron. And yes, a bunch of bats is sometimes referred to as a cauldron (I learned that along with the owl parliament). The more widely used term is a colony of bats, but I'm going with cauldron because it's the coolest collective animal term I've ever heard. Even better than a murder of crows, in my opinion. Though, I might be biased since I'm a witch. My point is, a single bat—fleeing Hell or some dark snake cave—is hardly cause for alarm. The saying should be “likebatsout of Hell.”
After the churning cauldron of bats made their dramatic exit, we straightened and stared at each other in the way people do when they've just experienced something startling and a bit humiliating together. It was the we-are-never-going-to-talk-about-this look.
“Well, that wasn't at all ominous,” I noted as we started down the cave again. “I feel like I need to quote Batman but I can't think of anything besides 'To the Bat Cave,' and that's just weak.”
“Especially since it looks as if we're already in the bat cave,” Trevor muttered.
We made it about twenty feet before we came to an owl blockade. The Itakupe were huddled up and some distressing sounds came from the center of their group.
“How about,holy huddled owls, Batman?” Viper suggested with a smirk.
