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“Except pigs are actually clean animals,” Ray told her. “They get a bad rap.” He peered over my shoulder. “Gluttony. That would’ve been my guess too.”
“We have the seven deadly sins, right? And we have animals running amok in Fairhaven that represent those sins.” I scrolled through my search results. “The pig’s nightmare gave me a valuable clue.” Phaedra’s theory was starting to look like a winner.
“The vultures are a clue?” Nana Pratt asked.
Excitement rose as I clicked a link. “I believe the pig in my possession is none other than Macuilcozcacuauhtli.” I stood upright and waited for a response. The ghosts simply looked blankly at each other.
“Was that a word or did you sneeze?” Nana Pratt asked.
“It’s a name,” I said. “He’s the Aztec god of gluttony.”
Ray blinked. “You’re telling me we have the Aztec god of gluttony locked in a cell in this house?”
Nana Pratt didn’t wait for an answer. “Why is a god from Mexico running around Fairhaven?”
“The Aztecs were the greatest empire known to Mesoamerica,” Ray interrupted.
“Not the point, Ray,” the elderly lady said.
“I don’t know,” I told them. “What I do know is we have to keep the pig locked up before someone else suffers the ill effects of gluttonous behavior.”
“I think that ship has sailed,” Nana Pratt said. “Have you seen this country?”
I ignored her.
“Who are the donkey and the goat?” Nana Pratt asked.
“I’m still working on those.”
“Maybe you could try that magic spell to get the animals to talk the way you did with Gunther’s sister,” Ray suggested.
“Not a bad idea,” I said. “I’ll text Gun now.” When Dusty drank the god elixir, she’d turned into a swan instead of embodying the full powers of Zeus. Most of the time she honked, but Gun was able to communicate with her via the use of one of his tarot cards.
One quick call revealed that Gun was out of town on a job, which left me with Camryn Sable.
“Can your magic make an animal speak?” I knew not all La Fortuna mages had the same abilities. Their magic was dependent on which tarot cards they’d mastered.
“That depends,” Cam said. “Are we talking about your garden-variety animal in the woods, or the lion that makes people explode?”
“Somewhere in between.”
“Hmm. I’m happy to try, but no promises.”
“How fast can you get here?”
“Sounds serious.”
“I may or may not have an Aztec god trapped in a cage in my house.”
I heard a small gasp on the other end of the line. “He sounds hot. I’ll be right there.”
“Did she miss the part where you said there was an animal in the cage?” Ray asked, amused.
“I think she misunderstood the details,” I replied. She’d find out soon enough.
Ten minutes later, my skin tingled, alerting me to Camryn’s arrival. The petite mage assassin was color coordinated in a beige beret, coat, and high-heeled boots. She ripped open a fresh box of Nerds and tipped the candies into her glossy mouth. Then she held out the box to me.
I waved her off. “No thanks.”
