Chapter 26

"Always a reason?"He laughed scathingly. "There are times when we would cease our manipulations as you call them. We don't need to feed off your energy constantly, you know. Do you know what happened when we did? Boxing was invented."
"Boxing?"
"Yes, you know."He waved his hands impatiently. "With the ring and the gloves and such."
"Yes, I know what boxing is,"I growled. "So what?"
"So, because your people didn't have anything to fight over, they started fighting as a sport. They beat on each other just to see who was stronger. Two men hit each other until one falls and doesn't get up, and not only do your people call this sport, but they also flock to watch it in droves. They bet on the outcome and then fight with others over winning or losing those bets. Of course, it started much earlier than that. The Romans had their gladiators; I just thought you might relate to the boxing thing better. Your people hate far better than they love. They wallow in it while love is tossed aside so quickly. I simply make use of it, of your own natures."
"You manipulate everything don't you?"I was so angry that I was shaking. "You think you can manipulate me by twisting the facts to suit your purpose. Yes, we can be violent, we can hate with such passion that it crumbles cities to dust. We study the ways to kill and we teach them to our children. Then we take pride in the learning. We can be horrible and truly evil, but that is only one side of humanity."
I took a deep breath and clenched my shaking hands until they stilled. Blue eyed me with the strangest expression; a slight furrowing of his forehead and a snake-like intensity in his eyes. He nodded for me to go on, but didn't say a word, and I was a little shocked to see his own fists clenched on the table.
"We are good at hating,"I started again, "but we are so much better at loving. You say that we fight over property and religion. I say that we love enough to give those things up. Prince Edward gave up the throne of England to marry an American woman. Lady Godiva humiliated herself to save her husband. The Shah Jahan ordered his kingdom into a two year mourning period when his wife died and then he built the Taj Mahal in tribute to her. We'd sacrifice anything for those we love. You say we toss love aside, but even in war—in the midst of hate—men have jumped onto grenades to save their comrades. You've accepted sacrifice from humans for too long, you've forgotten that you're not the only ones we sacrifice for. We also sacrifice ourselves for each other."
"Yes, very moving."Huitzilopochtli frowned as he searched my face. "But you forget that most of your great love stories end in hatred. Guinevere betrays her husband for Lancelot, and the King tries to burn her at the stake. Cleopatra is just as untrue to Julius Caesar and kills herself over the mess she made. Even the renowned Napoleon and Josephine split up due in part to adultery. Troy was demolished for the love of one woman, and King Henry VIII killed his wives so he could trade them in for new ones. Then his daughter Mary tried to bring the Spanish Inquisition to England to please her husband. You love fiercely because you cannot—even in this—separate yourselves from your hate."
"Those are extreme examples,"I gritted out. "Stories are told about things that are unusual or shocking. You don't hear the millions of simple tales about how everyday people struggle through life; standing beside each other faithfully until the day death finally parts them. How sometimes their love is so strong that even death cannot stop it. Their souls find each other again in the next life; searching the world until they are once more with their beloved. The reason I fight you Gods isn't hatred; it's love."
"Look at you,"he huffed. "You don't fight for love! You sit there so indignant, judging me, hating me. This is what I meant by you proving my point. You blame me for all this bloodshed so that you may have a reason to hate me, to kill me. You heard one side of the story, discovered one little piece of the puzzle, and you lifted it up and shouted Aha! I've found the problem! You decided you'd fix it without ever stepping back and taking in the whole picture. You can't admit that I may be right because then you would lose your reason to hate. It has nothing to do with love! If there is anything else, it's fear that motivates you."
"No."I stood up, and he followed suit. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to you rationalize your actions to me, and I'm certainly not going to listen to you tear apart mine!"
I pushed my chair back and started towards the house. When I heard him following, I sped up. I'd almost reached the glass doors when he grabbed me and swung me around.
"Don't run from me, little witch."Huitzilopochtli's hands squeezed my upper arms tightly. I was going to have more bruises. "It's useless; the sooner you learn that, the better."
"Maybe you'll catch me in the end, Blue,"I used his new name deliberately and felt a small twinge of satisfaction as his jaw clenched, "but it's not useless. As long as you're chasing me, you won't have me, and I intend for you to not have me for as long as possible."
Huitzilopochtli's hands tightened for a second and then he smiled. It was an icy smile; smug and devoid of any other emotion. He let go and stepped back to bow to me. "Then by all means; run, little witch, run. I think I'll enjoy the chase."
I looked up and the heat in his eyes terrified me. When they began to glow, I turned to run; lifting my skirts up as I went. Through the open doors of the bathroom, I ran and his laughter followed me mockingly. He was so sure of himself that he was giving me a head start. I glanced at the closed door to the hallway and realized why he was so confident. I still couldn't leave the room. I screamed at the door in frustration, and the door clicked open; swinging wide on silent hinges.
I gaped for the space of two heartbeats before I gathered enough wits to grab the box that held my weapons and bolt out the door. In the hallway, I almost ran straight into Aphrodite. She steadied me and then pointed down the hall toward the stone room. Had she opened the door?
Blue's startled shout carried to us, and she gave me a push. I mouthed thank you to her, and she nodded with big exasperated eyes; pointing again before making a shooing motion. I smiled and ran in the direction she indicated. Hooray for sisterhood! I guess even goddesses could feel it. The stone room was just a little further. If I could make it there, I could trace out and escape.
I entered the room and threw a quick glance back over my shoulder. Aphrodite was nowhere to be found, but Blue had just entered the hallway. Our gazes met for a second and in his eyes, I saw shocked defeat. Huitzilopochtli knew where I was headed, he knew he'd miscalculated, and he knew he'd never reach me in time. I was already chanting the spell to take me home when I hit the spot where we traced in. Instantly, I was sucked through; dissolving into the Aether with the sounds of Blue's anger nipping at my heels.
I blinked at the blinding Hawaiian sun, back in the same alley I started in days ago, and I began to laugh. I laughed like a raving lunatic. A couple passing by glanced at me and then quickened their pace. Not such a bad idea for me as well. I needed to get out of there.
I ran from the alley; garnering a few startled gasps and stares. I heard one little girl ask her daddy if I was a princess, which almost started me on the hysterics again. Instead, I held it together long enough to reach the parking lot where I'd left my car.
Oh crap; it was going to cost a pretty penny to get my car out. At least I'd parked valet. I always do when I go hunting so I don't have to worry about my keys. The guys knew me there so losing my ticket wouldn't be a huge problem either. When you drive a Jag (yes, I kept Ku's car; surprise, surprise, no one reported it stolen) and you're a woman, you tend to get noticed. I also had enough sense to leave my purse in a hidden compartment in the trunk.
I hurried to the valet booth, and Jimmy smiled up at me. Jimmy was an old surfer who'd spent his life on the waves and finally woke up one morning to realize he was forty-years-old with no marketable job skills. So, he was a parking lot attendant, and he was surprisingly happy about that.
"Hey, sista!"Jimmy jumped up and grabbed my keys. "Wassup wit' da kine?"He motioned to my dress. "What is dat?"
Jimmy spoke the local dialect known as Pidgin. It made me smile every time I heard it come out of his very white face. The surfers had adopted it, but originally it was a way for all the different immigrants to understand each other. It was a mix of English, Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese. Tourists thought it was funny, some even thought it made people sound ignorant, but I loved it. My ancestors had come here to work in horrible conditions with people from many different cultures, and they had triumphed together by creating a new language and a new culture all of their own. The language was a part of their legacy, and it was also the sweet sound of home to me. I'd take it over Blue's cultured accent any day. I smiled brightly at Jimmy.
"I was at an early Halloween party."Good thing it was October. "What do you think?"
"Looks sick!"He ran off to get my car as I laughed.
Jimmy pulled up quickly because he always parked my car near the front. "K sista, here ya go!"He jumped out, and I popped the trunk to retrieve my purse.
"How much?"I fished out my wallet and hoped I'd brought enough cash.
"Five bucks."He grinned. "I went lose your ticket cause you so pretty in dat dress."
"You're so full of it, but thank you."I laughed and slipped him twenty-five dollars.
That was another reason they all remembered me; I tipped big. I threw the box with my gloves and sword in it on the passenger seat and jumped in.
"No worries."He waved as I drove off.
No worries, indeed. It turns out that I didn't need the ruby slippers, after all, I had my very own Glinda. Out of respect for her saving me, I sent up the first prayer I'd ever made.
"Thank you, Aphrodite,"I whispered as I stepped on the gas. "There's no place like home."