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“No one from The Corporation. My source is a regular attendee of Magnarella’s events. His description of the match intrigued me, so I asked to watch the video. That’s when intrigue became genuine interest.”
My heart stopped. “There’s a video?”
“Not to worry, sweetie. It isn’t intended for public consumption. To the untrained eye, everything appears as it should, but I saw enough to decide to vet you myself.”
“Is that why you let the wild boar in the nightclub? To see if I sprouted wings or horns?”
She curled her fingers around the metal post of the gate. “I was curious to see how you would handle the situation. I certainly didn’t expect that sweet little kitten to breathe fire, so that was a bonus.”
“Sunny is an unofficial bouncer.”
“Well, she’s far more effective than the idiot at the door. One sultry look from me and he completely missed the giant set of tusks that wandered in behind me.”
I tried not to be offended that Larry insisted on checking my ID with the laser focus of Superman, yet Addison’s smile blocked his view of a giant wild boar.
“If these animals are so important to you, maybe you shouldn’t have left them to roam freely around town.”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to round them up and hold them hostage in your house.”
“What did you expect me to do?”
She offered a casual shrug. “I assumed you’d try to kill them.”
And she wanted to make a note of how I accomplished that. Got it. “What makes you think I didn’t kill them?”
“Because you can’t. That’s why I said ‘try.’”
Good to know my efforts would’ve been in vain if I had decided to off them. “Why are you using an alias and an enchantment to hide your identity from me? Unless you’re someone I know, I don’t see the point.”
She glanced at the sleeve tattoo. “Twenty bucks says you’re an only child.” Her gaze flicked back to me. “I’m only asking nicely one more time.”
“Why ask nicely at all? Channel your inner goddess, barge in, and take them.” An idea clicked into place. “You can’t.”
She bristled. “Of course I can. I choose not to. Send the animals outside before I lose my patience.”
I folded my arms. “No.”
Addison began to pace outside the gate. “This isn’t part of the game, Lorelei. Release them, and I promise I’ll explain everything.”
“Explain first. Here, I’ll even help you get started. You’re an avatar. Which goddess, I’m not sure yet. You work for The Corporation, but you’ve gone rogue. They don’t know you’re here, and you don’t want them to know, hence the fake name and tattoos. You probably didn’t go through the proper channels to borrow the beasts, and you’re worried if they find out you stole their gods from Pandora’s box, you’ll be in big trouble—unless, of course, you can tell them something worthwhile that will get you off the hook. Tell me, Addy, what’s the penalty for stealing from your employer?”
Addison didn’t flinch. “Death, usually. Depends on the value of the stolen goods.”
“And which goddess are you?”
“You first, sweetie.”
I sidestepped the request. “What do you do for them? Intelligence officer?”
She released a throaty laugh. “Gods, no. I’m much too unpredictable for that.”
An unpredictable goddess. That knocked at least one prospect off my short list.
“How did you figure out they were gods?” she asked, sounding genuinely curious.
I couldn’t tell her about my entry into the Aztec god’s mind. “Magic,” I answered.
“Impossible. Those collars are designed to block magic, which means you have a different kind of power that allowed you to bypass the spell.” Her eyes narrowed. “Which means you could’ve killed them, after all.” She pressed her face between the posts. “Which begs the question—why didn’t you?”
