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And the hits keep on coming.
“Long night?” she asked, as I trudged up the steps to the porch.
“I thought we were finished,” I said.
“So did I, until I saw you at the event.”
Worst fear confirmed. “I drank an elixir just like the other contestant.”
She stared at me for a long, uncomfortable moment. “My real name is Eunomia,” she finally said.
“I can see why you stick with Naomi.”
“That name doesn’t mean anything to you?”
“Should it?”
“Eunomia is the goddess of law and order.”
“How about that? It’s like your parents knew you’d want to grow up to be an investigator.”
“I chose my own name for this vessel.” She paused. “I think you’re like me.”
“I don’t think so. I’m not very into law and order.”
She gave me a pointed look. “You know what I mean. I have to tell you; The Corporation is going to be very interested in you.”
I could practically hear Matilda’s voice in my head, urging me to slay this woman where she stands. Naomi, or Eunomia, threatened my peaceful existence. The goddess seemed to read my mind.
“If you’re thinking about killing me, I’d advise against it. I have a report with your name ready to send up the chain of command should anything happen to me. If I go missing, they’ll come directly to your door.”
“For the record, I didn’t kill Bruce. Your employers were responsible for that.”
“Mr. Huang knew the risks of his post.”
I felt stuck. I’d hurt enough living creatures in the past twenty-four hours. “I’m not what you think,” I said. “Just file your original report and forget the rest.”
Naomi ignored my request. “What’s the point of living this quiet life in the middle of nowhere when you’re a goddess? Use your powers like the rest of us as part of The Corporation.”
“My powers were temporary. They came from the elixir.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“You heard wrong.”
“Who administered your soma?” Naomi pressed. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to escape our notice all these years. I thought we had better scouts.”
Because my grandfather worked very hard to protect me. He knew the kind of life that awaited me if my identity were discovered. He didn’t want that for me, and neither did I.
I said none of that to Naomi, though. I wasn’t willing to give up my secret to an organization like The Corporation.
“I don’t even know what soma is.” Okay, that was a lie. Soma was a ritual drink that was said to offer immortality and other godly powers. It was basically the same concept as Dr. Edmonds’s second elixir.
“The Corporation offers a life of luxury and security,” Naomi continued. “You’d be able to climb out of this money pit of despair.”
That hurt. “Hey, it’s a work in progress.”
She inclined her head toward the Castle. “Good thing you’re set to live a long life because you’ll spend most of it on this renovation project.”
