Goddess of the Rose (Goddess Summoning #4)(48)

"Then I'll have them show me where it is after I have them collect fertilizer."

His thick brows shot up. "You expect the handmaidens to tend the roses?"

She looked at him like he was totally nuts. "How do you expect me, all by myself, to tend this many roses? They need to be fertilized, pruned and deadheaded, and that's just for a start. I'd kill myself trying to do all that alone, not to mention that I wouldn't get it all done. That's not smart or productive."

His face had hardened again into an unreadable mask. She blew out a burst of frustrated breath.

"Are you telling me that the other Empousas did all that by themselves?"

"I do not recall an Empousa commanding the women to do anything to the roses except to cut bouquets to decorate her room."

"What about the fertilizing and pest control and the general care roses always need?"

"These roses have never before needed that kind of care. They simply required the presence of the Empousa to thrive."

"They've never been sick before?"

"Never."

"And before the, um, time you spent as a statue, you'd been here a long time?"

"I have been here since Hecate claimed dominion over the realm."

Which, Mikki guessed, had been a damn long time ago. So for literally eons the roses had been healthy, without needing any care except for the presence of Hecate's High Priestess. Until now, when she had suddenly become Empousa. Great. The news just kept getting better and better.

"Well, it looks like times have changed, or I'm a different type of Empousa, because the roses need care now. I can't do it on my own, so the women are going to have to help me."

He looked at her silently for what felt to Mikki like a long time before saying, "I believe you are a different type of High Priestess."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Neither," he said gruffly. "It is simply a fact."

"I think it's good," she said firmly, determined to be undaunted by his cynical attitude. She knew from her personal propensity for cynicism that the attitude usually hid feelings that were too painful to let the world see. Her cynicism had hidden the fact that she never felt like she truly belonged. She wondered what his was covering. Did it have something to do with what he had done to cause Hecate to turn him to stone and banish him? She realized she had been standing there gawking at him, and she hastily continued. "But I suppose changing worlds has made me more likely to think different is good."

"Odd," he said, his deep voice edged with sarcasm. "It did not have the same effect upon me."

"I imagine if I'd been turned to stone I wouldn't be so willing to think 'different' was synonymous with 'good,' either. But at least you know I can't cause you to turn into a statue," she said and wanted to cover her flapping mouth with her hand and stop her stupid words as she watched his face go rigid with tension.

"Is that all you wish to ask me, Empousa? I should go to the rose wall and inspect the boundary."

"Yes, I'll get the women and meet you at the gate." Mikki had to shout the last part of her sentence at his swiftly departing back. "You're welcome," she muttered. God, he was confusing! One second he was all smoky-eyed and erotically dangerous - talk about the classic bad boy! And the next second he was withdrawn and cynical. It was like he was two people.

"What the hell am I thinking?" She shook her head at herself. "He's not two people; he's a person and an animal, and I need to quit having delusions of a young Marlon Brando (with horns) and remember He Is Not Human." Interracial dating was fine. Interspecies dating? "Please, Mikado. Just please. Relocate your common sense and take care of the roses." With a sigh she started down the path Gii had taken to the center of the gardens, heading into what she was sure would be the continuation of a vastly difficult day.

The gathered women parted like a sea of delicately colored flowers to make a path for Mikki to join the four handmaidens who were standing within Hecate's Temple. Many of the women called greetings to her, but they were decidedly more subdued than they had been the night before. Mikki hoped they were in the mood to work. She climbed the temple steps, smiled a quick hello to the Elementals and then turned to face the crowd. Please don't let me sound as nervous as I am, she thought. Immediately, Hecate's stern voice spoke from her memory. When you speak, it is my power that answers. The memory boosted her confidence. She ignored the lingering soreness in her body and the vague nausea she seemed unable to get rid of and looked out at the crowd, purposefully meeting the eyes of several of the women as she spoke.

"The roses are sick."

Frightened murmurs ran through the group, and Mikki had to raise her hand to silence them.

"But that's why I'm here. I understand roses. I know what they need, and with your help, we can make them healthy again." Mikki was pleased at the attentive expressions of the listening women. "The first thing we must do is fertilize them. So I need you to gather things that roses need to thrive." She paused, ordering the thoughts in her head. She'd already realized the obvious - that she would have to depend on wholly organic methods of fertilizing and pest and disease control, and that wasn't all bad. Many times the natural ways were the best. Last night she'd eaten meat that tasted like prosciutto. That was pork, wasn't it? Which meant they had to have pigs somewhere. It was a start . . .