Warrior Rising (Goddess Summoning #6)(6)

“By Hermes’s flamingly gay buttocks, she is absolutely perfect!” The goddess held up a manicured finger for each point she ticked off. “She counsels men, so she should be able to handle Achilles and that silly berserker rage issue of his. She’s optimistic and likes men.” The goddess’s smile was sultry. “Liking men is always a plus when seducing them. And she’s astute enough to know intuitively the falseness of the ridiculous fiction about the Trojan War that has been repeated for…”—Venus paused and grimaced in annoyance—“longer than I would have believed possible.” Venus focused her attention back on the little group of girlfriends and laughed along with them as she listened to them composing a very funny, very literate, very feminist essay for the professor they were calling Mr. Anus.

Venus liked all five of the women, which made her even surer that Kat was a suitable choice for the goddesses’ mission. A woman’s friends reflected who she was—and Venus definitely liked the reflection she was seeing from Tulsa. She especially liked the exotic-looking Jacqueline, who was obviously Kat’s closest friend among the group. Jacky, as they called her, was sassy and saucy and compelling with her quick wit and her lovely caramel-colored skin. Venus considered for a moment whether she may be a better choice than Kat—and decided no, Jacqueline was wonderful, but Kat had more of the much-needed skills to conquer Achilles. Besides, Jacqueline’s lovely dark skin would be too hard to explain among the golden Greeks. “Mores the pity for them,” Venus mumbled.

Venus narrowed her study down to Kat, concentrating with all of her vast powers. The Goddess of Love smiled in relief. No, Kat was not in love with any mortal man. Had she been, Venus, who was Love personified, would have sensed it. Actually, now that she was thinking about it, the goddess realized that out of the five of them, only the very pregnant Heather was committed to and in love with a man. “Well…” Venus drummed her fingers on the side of the marble oracle. “Perhaps when I’ve finished with this little Trojan War issue I’ll return for some lovely matchmaking.” The thought made Venus hum happily. Finding a lover for the fabulous Jacqueline would be her first order of business.

“No!” Venus reined in her enthusiasm. “First Achilles. Then I can dabble with matchmaking in the modern mortal world.” She grinned. “Again.”

But first things first. She needed to bring Kat from the modern world to Olympus, which would not be particularly difficult. The goddess raised her hands and began summoning the power that as one of the Twelve Olympians would eternally be hers to command. The air between her palms started to shimmer with tiny specks of energy brilliant as miniature diamonds. As soon as Kat was alone, Venus could reach through the oracle and transport her to the portal from the modern world to Olympus that stood open, but invisible, in Tulsa. Then Venus would simply zap herself there and speak with Kat briefly. The goddess tapped her chin as she considered. She’d probably have to work some kind of obvious magic to prove to the mortal that she was truly Venus, Goddess of Love. But that shouldn’t take long. She’d get that over with, and then return to Olympus with the mortal and call Hera and Athena here to her temple so that they could all explain in detail to the girl what was needed from her.

As her mortal friend, Pea Chamberlain, would say, easy-peasy.

Still building the power between her hands, Venus looked down through the oracle to see a giggling Kat and Jacqueline making their way more than a little unsteadily down the front steps of Susie’s pretty home to a waiting car. Venus laughed. “Good thing they aren’t driving. Neither of them appears to be sober enough to handle one of those metal machines.” Nor were either of them—specifically Kat—sober enough to bring to Olympus that night. Well, that was probably for the best. She needed to get with Hera and Athena again and decide the best way to move Kat into Achilles’ camp. Kat would need to have some kind of royal status… or perhaps one of them could appear to Achilles and foretell the coming of a priestess who would need his protection…

Venus sighed. This might be more complicated than she’d originally thought it would be. But no matter. She’d just use the oracle to follow Kat home—make note of where the mortal woman lived—and then pay her a little divine visit on the morrow.

Smiling, Venus turned her attention back to the oracle in time to see the huge Suburban run through the stop sign and crash into the little yellow car that held Kat and Jacqueline.

“No! Stop!” Venus screamed, instantly throwing the power she’d been generating through her oracle to protect and surround the car, freezing time temporarily so that the scene looked like a gruesome painting. But even as she gave the command she knew it was already too late. Venus drew a deep breath and waved her hands over the oracle. “Let me see Katrina and Jacqueline,” she said solemnly.

The oracle’s vision telescoped inside the crushed car. Venus’s breath caught in a sob of sympathy. The women must have seen the accident coming. They’d thrown their arms around each other so that now they looked like broken dolls clinging to one another. Kat had a horrid gash on her head and her neck was turned in an unnatural angle. Jacqueline was closest to the spot of impact. Her chest had been completely crushed.

The two women were dead.

Venus felt a terrible sense of loss out of all proportion with how briefly she’d known the mortals. “I should have been paying closer attention. I should have been able to stop it from happening,” she whispered in a tired, broken voice. “They were so young—so vibrant. Their lives were cut off too soon.” As the goddess watched, two glowing golden orbs lifted from the broken bodies of the mortal women. Venus’s eyes widened. “Maybe there is something I can do!” Focusing her power she spoke the command through her oracle.