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“To keep her out of trouble, of course. It’s one of the many humanitarian services we provide to this realm.”
I nearly choked on my cappuccino foam at the word humanitarian. “Tell me, Mathis. What’s the difference between a god that belongs to The Corporation and any other god?”
“That’s easy. Destruction. Devastation. We prevent that.”
“How?”
“Unless they’re created and trained by us, we track down and remove the threat, which is exactly what we’re trying to do now.”
“That’s called a monopoly.”
His teeth gleamed. “Winner takes all.”
“So she was a perfectly acceptable goddess under The Corporation umbrella, but the second she left, she became a threat?”
“She consistently violated the rules. It’s far too risky to have avatars like her roaming around the world unchecked.”
“How many avatars have left The Corporation over the years?”
“I don’t have those numbers handy at the moment, but it’s very low, I can assure you.”
“What happens to the ones you manage to catch?”
“We make every effort to reintegrate them into the organization.”
“And if you can’t?”
He shrugged. “I’m the Director of Risk Management. I do what I must in order to mitigate the risk. It’s right there in the title.”
“In other words, if Aite doesn’t come to heel, you’ll obliterate her?” My gaze flicked over his ostentatious clothing. “Sorry, I meant to say you’ll have her obliterated. You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who gets his hands dirty.”
“I do what’s required. There are safety protocols to adhere to.”
“I guess that means you’ll put on a target on my back, too, if you decide I’m a threat.”
His dark eyes locked on me. “We’re not the villains, Miss Clay.”
“You can tell yourselves that all day every day. Doesn’t make it true.”
He rocked back in his chair. “I see we’ve reached an impasse.”
“Pretty sure that’s where we started.” I felt a surge of satisfaction as his perma-smile evaporated.
“How are you so resistant to my charms?”
“If it soothes your ego at all, you’re not the first guy to ask me that.”
He closed his eyes and sighed. “How about this? I’ve been authorized to make you a generous offer as a show of good faith.”
“What kind of offer?”
“We can assist you with your impending mystical problem.”
I folded my arms. “Which mystical problem is that?”
“A certain hunting party that’s making its way to your precious little town very soon.”
“How do you know about that?”
