Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X, #1)(49)

He looked over at her with a smile. “And here I thought you weren’t paying attention.”

“I’ve got to stay tuned for anything dangerous,” she explained.

His smile faded. “Yes. They could be dangerous someday. It’s better to stop them now.”

“Then why do you sound so unsure?” His behavior made no sense.

“It’s just sad, that’s all.” Justin stared out the window. “His beliefs mean a lot to him.”

“Beliefs in a fictitious entity,” she reminded him, drawing his attention back.

His eyes searched hers. “Do you really believe that?”

“Of course,” she said, puzzled that a servitor of all people would ask her about one of their country’s founding principles. And yet, as she spoke, she remembered her vision by the statue. No, not a vision. A hallucination. She really did need to own up and see a psychiatrist. But am I crazy if he saw it too? “Don’t you?”

“Of course,” Justin said, echoing her. His face still looked troubled as he turned away. “We did them a favor.”





[page]CHAPTER 12





MIRACLES





“Welcome to the Church of Apollo and Artemis,” said Justin when they reached their next stop. The church was a small white building that had been built up to make it resemble a Greek temple. Faux pillars surrounded the doorway, and a Greek inscription was painted in gold about the door. “Know anything about them?”

“No,” said Mae. He obviously hadn’t expected her to. Religion and myth weren’t taught in schools.

“Apollo’s the Greek god of light, prophecy, music, and a few other things. Artemis is his twin, goddess of the hunt, the moon, virgins—” Justin came to a stop and frowned as he studied the Greek words. “She’s also not mentioned anymore. That’s just welcoming us to the Church of Apollo.” He took out his ego to pull up a file. “Hmm. I wonder if they dropped her. This place hasn’t been inspected in almost eight months. If so, this may be a dead end since she’s our moon connection. Shit. The priestess that used to operate here is a piece of work.”

“You think she’s responsible for the murders? Because she’s linked to the moon?”

“No,” he said swiftly. “Absolutely not. That’s not her style.”

Mae frowned. “Then why are we here?”

“Because she’s got connections to, uh, resources that might help us. Maybe her old partner can help us find her.” Justin looked over something else on his ego, the edges of his lips quirking into a smile.

“What is it?” Mae asked.

“There are reports of this place claiming miracles. That’s always a treat.” He slipped his ego back into his jacket. The two matched. “Another good reason to have someone like Leo on hand. These groups go to extremes to pull off their scams. Leo’s a pro at figuring out what they’re doing. Fortunately, I’m not half-bad myself.”

Mae rolled her eyes. “Now, now, no need for modesty.”

He grinned as the two of them headed inside. “If the same guy’s still here, he’s not really all that stable either. Actually has the balls to call himself Golden Arrow.”

Although Justin had an appointment, no one greeted them at the door, which was unusual. When they stepped inside the church’s foyer, they found a full-fledged ceremony going on within.

“Warning sign,” Justin murmured to her. He’d once taught university classes and often slipped into lecture mode without even realizing it. “They’re feeling cocky if they scheduled a service during a servitor inspection. Worse still that they’ve got this many people out on a weekday afternoon.” He checked his ego. “Looks like a quarter of their regular members are here. And there’s the man himself.”

Through a doorway, she could see Golden Arrow standing at the front of a large room, wearing a white toga that wasn’t even accurate for Roman wear, let alone the Greek culture he was hearkening back to. He wore gold-painted laurel leaves in his dark hair and held his hands upward as he stood over a large smoking bowl sitting on a tripod. Two similarly clad women knelt nearby, one on either side of him. The walls were painted with murals of a blond man in various scenes: shooting a bow, driving a chariot across the sky, etc. Mae squinted at the pictures and then focused back on Golden Arrow.

“There’s a little facial resemblance,” she noted.

“There certainly is. Bad enough to claim to speak for a god, let alone liken yourself to one. Ah.” Justin pointed. “There’s Artemis, but significantly dwarfed. They really have dropped her from the act.”

The picture he indicated showed Apollo with a dark-haired woman carrying a silver bow. She wore a short gown and a crescent moon on her head. Mae studied the picture for a long time and felt chills down her back. When she dragged her gaze away, she found Justin watching her closely. “Ready to go in?”

“Of course,” she said, irritated for reasons she couldn’t explain.

He hesitated a few moments longer and then gave her a small nod as he walked toward the main sanctuary, where the ceremony had gone on uninterrupted. Golden Arrow continued chanting in Greek, with his hands and rapt face turned heavenward.