Chapter 21

"What were you expecting, little witch?"Huitzilopochtli's laughter tickled my ears.
"You eat regular food?"
"Of course."He frowned slightly. "You've read too much nonsense about vampires. They're as you are. The only difference is, they need blood."
"Then the Sun?"
"It does not affect me. I'm a sun god, after all. It's the source of my power."He sobered a little. "Although, something in the transfer did weaken my children. It takes them centuries to be able to stand sunlight. I believe that the heat of the Sun must be matched by the heat within. Without balance, one consumes the other."
"Garlic, holy water, crosses, stakes through the heart?"I'd killed a vampire once and it had been easier than killing Ku, but if what Huitzilopochtli was saying was true, I'd been careless and lucky… very lucky.
"Garlic is just plain ridiculous."Huitzilopochtli waved it away. "Holy water is useless; how could something created for blessing be used to kill a god? Crosses are associated with old magic, but they've no power over vampires. And as far as stakes go; shove a big pointed stick through anyone's heart, and they'll have trouble getting up again. The only way to kill them is through decapitation, like with any god. They're of my line after all."
"But these are all strong human beliefs."I studied him; wondering if he was trying to mislead me. "Gods are shaped by our beliefs. Those things should hurt vampires, if for no other reason than because we believe they will."
"Your belief only shapes Gods. Vampires aren't Gods, they're the creations of one, and as such, they're untouchable by human belief. I'm not a vampire, but a god so myths concerning vampires don't apply to me."He cut into his hen with relish. "Besides, what human truly believes in vampires? With the creation of artificial light, humanity has gradually forgotten the reasons they should be afraid of the dark."
"That's a bit of a catch twenty-two isn't it?"I still hadn't touched anything.
"It's the truth."Huitzilopochtli made a prompting motion with his fork at my food. "Vampires are not what you believe them to be and neither am I."
"Enough of this nonsense,"Lir's sharp voice carried over to us from his seat, two chairs down from mine. "Do you even know who you've captured, Huitzilopochtli?"
"I've caught a sweet witch in my net."He leaned in and kissed my cheek.
I felt tingles dance down my spine. They met halfway with the terror creeping up from my gut and changed into a wave of nausea. I was hoping my identity would escape notice.
"Humph."Lir sneered and looked at me triumphantly. "I thought your face looked familiar so I did some research and guess what I found?"
Huitzilopochtli raised a brow. "You've ever bored me with your games, Lir. Just say what you must and have done with it."
"She's the Godhunter!"A thick, accusing finger pointed at me.
Huitzilopochtli blinked once, but none of the others even twitched. I guess I knew what the god huddle had been about earlier.
"Is it true, Vervain?"Huitzilopochtli looked at me as if I'd just morphed from a cute fuzzy caterpillar into a rare butterfly.
I wanted caterpillar status back and fast. Where's a hookah when you needed one?
"I have no idea what he's talking about."I wasn't going down without a fight.
"You disgusting little liar."Lir evidently wasn't as impressed with my charms as some of the other gods were.
"Whoa."I held up my hands. "Ease up there, Daddy Dearest, at least I didn't try to off my own offspring."
"My offspring are my affair."Lir stood up regally, but I was satisfied to see that he was shaking. "And I will not be lectured by a human who dares to murder Gods."
"I'm rubber, and you're glue,"I sang out like a three-year-old.
Lir turned a very unbecoming shade of red. For a second, the whole table paused, and I was sure we were all waiting to see if cartoon steam would start shooting out of his ears. Oh, well, I guess it was a no-go on braiding each other's hair and gossiping over bonbons. He raised a threatening hand toward me and began to chant something. I automatically went for my dagger, but before I could pull it free, Huitzilopochtli stood up and walked over to Lir.
"You're no longer welcome in my home."Huitzilopochtli's dark fingers closed around Lir's neck; showing up starkly against the pale column.
Lir's eyes rolled wildly but other than that he did nothing, his whole body going limp as Huitzilopochtli lifted him. Silent but angry footsteps reverberated through the room as Huitzilopochtli carried Lir outside and down the hallway. There were no screams or shouts. Just silence and then the soft pad of Huitzilopochtli's footsteps coming back toward the dining room.
The rest of the gods immediately went back to eating with forced gaiety. I looked around me with wide eyes and felt as if I were trapped in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Specifically, the one with the boy who could change reality and had terrorized his family until they turned into frightened sycophants. The remaining gods wore the same expressions as that tortured family had. In the episode, a woman meets the boy and stands up to him in a maternal sort of way (you know, that whole kind but firm thing), and he goes off to live with her. I do seem to recall that he kills his entire family first but oh, well, the message is the same; power respects courage.
Huitzilopochtli entered the room with a furious look on his face.
"Pray, do not fall in love with me."I grabbed my glass and lifted it to Huitzilopochtli in salute. "For I am falser than vows made in wine."I took a big sip and smiled at him as if I watched Gods literally throw each other out of their homes every day. "Besides, I like you not."
Huitzilopochtli laughed and it was his genuine laugh; loud and boisterous. It startled everyone, including me, but the gods looked truly shocked. They stared from him to me, and I saw something I hadn't expected to see in their eyes… hope. Maybe I should tell them what happened to the boy's family on The Twilight Zone.
"And she quotes Shakespeare."Huitzilopochtli smiled at me proudly, as if I'd just shown my worth. Something I should have probably refrained from doing. "Eat, little witch. I don't want you to fall ill."
He nudged my plate, but I just stared at him. I was suddenly so tired that I wasn't sure if I could even get the food to my mouth.
"Please eat, my lady,"Kuan Ti whispered from my left, and I looked over to see his eyes full of genuine concern.
Was this the way the bad guys were supposed to act? I don't think Kuan Ti had been given the bad guy book of Standard Operating Procedures.
"Okay, okay."I forced myself to cut the chicken and take a bite.
"Now, tell me why you just lied to me,"Huitzilopochtli's voice was deceptively neutral.
"What?"I sputtered and nearly choked on my chicken.
"Lir is never mistaken when it comes to his research."He sliced at his meal; severing meat from bone with surgical precision. "You're the Godhunter. It makes sense, of course. You being in the company of a god known to be a human-rights activist, your magic-filled weapons, your fierce fighting; you're the God Slayer."
"I prefer the term Human Liberator, thank you."
He exhaled sharply. "You humans love to justify things by giving them pretty names."
"I don't have to justify anything, especially not to you."
"Don't you?"Huitzilopochtli took a sip from his goblet and the liquid looked thicker than my wine. It clung to his lips until he licked it away. "I'm a god you'd like to kill. Don't I deserve to know why you want me dead?"
"You know why."I watched the thick liquid drip slowly down the side of his glass.
"I know what you've said. You don't like gods who try to make your people kill each other. This is my crime then? Instigating? It's hardly a crime worthy of the death sentence."
"Millions die because of your instigating,"I growled.
"I don't kill them personally."HHe smiled serenely.
"So, humans aren't the only ones who like to justify."I shot him a smug look that wiped the smile clean off his face.
"I think you've had enough to eat."Huitzilopochtli's chair crashed back as he stood and grabbed my arm in one swift movement.
"Well, I've had a lovely time. Thank you all for such an entertaining meal."I waved the Miss America wave as Huitzilopochtli dragged me from the room. Elbow-elbow, wrist-wrist, elbow-elbow, wrist-wrist.
"My lady."Kuan Ti got to his feet and bowed gallantly.
Huitzilopochtli yanked me down the hall and pushed me into his bedroom. He slammed the door in my face without another word. The coward.
"I wanted to go back to bed anyway."I stuck my tongue out at the closed door.