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"How do you know I don't?" He picked up his drink and took a sip.
"You didn't know who I was."
"Ah. Well, I think I'll be suggesting a change to how that works to Min in the morning. Can you imagine if I'd mistaken the identity of the wrong god?"
I smothered a laugh. "Some of them wouldn't be happy about it."
"Like who? Just so I can add that to my notes."
This time, there was no containing my laugh. "I shouldn't ruin my own fun by telling you."
"Hmm. Maybe I'll guess. Zeus?"
"Oh, no. Not recognising Zeus is all part of his game, haven't you read your mythology?" I ran my fingers up and down the stem of my glass without thinking about it, too engrossed in the conversation to actually drink any of it.
"Oh, good point. If I see a giant swan at one of these events, I'll pretend not to know it's him," Damien responded.
"Probably wise, it could just be an innocent swan shifter."
"Fair. All right, so Hades?"
"Definitely not. He'd just think it was reasonable you didn't recognise him with how little he leaves the underworld," I said. Or at least, that was how it was the last time I saw him, it had been a long time.
"Oh, I know. Athena."
I snorted. "She'd probably be miffed, but wouldn't say anything about it to your face."
"Hera?"
"Almost certainly. Should I be insulted that you're only guessing Greek gods? There are other pantheons in the world, you know? Now Ra, he can get a bit huffy about being recognised. If you want to really set him off, tell him that Amun is more important than he is."
Damien raised an eyebrow. "Have you tried that?"
"No, but I've seen it happen." There had been a lot of preening that only went to reminding everyone that Ra could turn into a bird.
"Interesting. Maybe I should take you out for coffee and learn what other secrets you know about the gods."
"Maybe." The words slipped out before I thought about it.
The bartender cleared his throat, drawing both of our attention to him. "Sorry to interrupt, but you're needed," he said to Damien.
"I'll be right there." The man smiled and drank down the rest of his drink. "It's been a pleasure, Aphrodite."
"Likewise."
He smiled and left me alone sitting at the bar and wondering about what had just happened and how unlikely it was to have occurred. It wasn't what Ares had in mind when he suggested I tried talking to people, I was certain of that, but there was a vague hint of interest within me that hadn't been there in a long time, and that was something.
Two
Aphrodite
* * *
There was something strange about visiting Horus' animal sanctuary. Maybe it was the fact he owned one at all, or perhaps because we weren't so far out of the city and yet there was nothing but green spaces and animal noises for several miles around.
I ignored the workers going about their days, and they paid no attention to me. Either they already knew who I was and why I was here, or they didn't care. Most likely the latter. The squat wooden building housing Horus' office came into view and I headed inside, only coming to a stop when I knocked on his door.
"Come in," he called.
