Warrior Rising (Goddess Summoning #6)(18)

“Well, that could be a good thing. It shows that he needs a trigger to make it happen. If I can get him to identify the trigger, then maybe he can disarm it,” Kat said. “Sounds like Anger Management 101.”

“Interesting… You do not seem troubled by the fact that he is scarred,” Athena said.

Jacky answered before Kat could. “As Venus keeps tellin’ you, modern women are different. It takes more than a few scars to put us off.”

“I’d like to think that I have the ability to see beyond the physical,” Kat said.

“Ditto,” Jacky said. Then she pointed down at her body. “Present company excepted. God, do I have to be wearing pink? I hate pink.”

“It looks good on you, though. You really are very pretty, Jacky,” Kat said.

“Pretty white,” Jacky muttered.

“No, really. Is there a mirror around here?” she asked Venus.

“Eleithyia, darling, could you bring us a lovely looking glass?”

The priestess hurried off and returned quickly with a medium-sized round mirror, framed in bronze. Kat took it from her and held it so Jacky could look at herself.

“See?”

Jacky’s eyes got huge. Her hands went up to her hair. “My dear sweet baby Jesus, I have tresses. Long, flowing, curling, blond tresses.”

“They’re pretty,” Kat said.

“They’re f*cking overwhelming. You know I have not one clue how to take care of white girl hair. Especially not this much white girl hair.”

“Oh, darling, don’t worry yourself about that. I can help you. I’m an expert.” Venus shook back her head, causing her own amazing tresses to bounce and shimmer.

“I’m not in hell. I’m trapped in a romance novel,” Jacky said. Then she leaned closer to the mirror. “And my eyes are absolutely sky blue.”

“Well, look at it like this,” Kat said. “If we’re trapped in a romance novel that means we’re going to be having sex. Probably lots of sex.”

“Think so?” Jacky said hopefully. “It’d be nice if it was an erotica novel.”

“One can only hope,” Kat said. Then she took a deep breath and turned the mirror so she could look at herself. “Oh!” Slowly, she touched her face. “Holy shit, how old am I? I look like a teenager.”

“And you, too, have some tresses,” Jacky said. “Although they’re black, and not as stunning as mine.”

“I thought black was good,” Athena said.

“I’ll never understand them,” Hera whispered.

“Seriously, how old was Polyxena?” Kat asked, still staring at herself.

“I believe she was approaching eighteen summers,” Hera said. “Prime marrying age, which is why she was here petitioning my aid. She wanted to be betrothed to the King of Sardis.”

“Good god, eighteen! That’s way too young,” Kat said.

“You are unmarried, are you not, Katrina?” Hera asked politely.

“Totally unmarried,” Kat said.

“Me too,” Jacky said.

“And how old were the two of you?” Hera said.

“I’m thirty-six,” Kat said. “Or at least I was.”

“You’re such a baby, Kat. I’m thirty-eight,” Jacky told Hera. Then she frowned and stuck her face close to Kat’s so she could look at her reflection again. “Huh. I look young, too. No way are we even twenty.”

“Spinsters?” Hera said, clearly appalled. “You chose spinsters?”

“As I have said more times than I should have had to: Modern mortal women are different,” Venus said.

Reflected in the mirror, Jacky’s and Kat’s gazes met.

“Unattractive old spinster,” Kat said.

“Dried up old hag,” Jacky said.

And both women burst into gales of laughter.

* * *

CHAPTER SIX

"Oh, god, we are funny,” Kat said, leaning against Jacky, who was still giggling and wiping her eyes.

“Will you help us?” Venus asked.

Kat looked up at the goddess. “What if I do my best, it doesn’t work with Achilles, and he goes back to fighting? My mythology is shaky, but everyone knows he was a famous warrior who was killed because an arrow pierced his heel, the only place he wasn’t invulnerable. He lived to fight and he died fighting.”

Venus rolled her eyes. “His heel is the only place he’s vulnerable?”

“Rumors,” Hera said, shaking her head. “More incredibly annoying rumors.”

“So the heel thing isn’t true?” Jacky said.

“It makes no sense whatsoever,” Athena said. “How could piercing his heel kill him, or anyone? Modern mortals will believe anything.”

“Hello! It was written by people back in your day—not by us. The tendon that runs behind the heel was even named after him. A long time ago,” Kat said.

“Hey, what about that Trojan horse thing?” Jacky asked. The goddesses turned blank looks to her. “The stupid war was won when, uh…”

“When the Greeks snuck inside the walls of Troy hiding inside a humongous hollow horse,” Kat finished for her. “Or something like that.”