"Who cares what word they use?" she screeched. "End of the world is end of the world regardless of whatever term you use for it. The point is, Sin is now going to try to overthrow me again and take my place. Do you know what that means?"
"There will be much rejoicing?"
"Katra!"
She sobered. "Sorry. I get it. He wants revenge."
"Yes, for something I didn't do. I need your help, Katra. Please."
Kat sat there for a moment, contemplating. It wasn't like Artemis to ask for anything. She always demanded it-that only told Kat how much Artemis feared Sin. But even though it was obvious the goddess was scared, Kat suspected there was more to this story than Artemis was letting on. There always was. "What aren't you telling me?"
Artemis gave her a blank stare. "I don't know what you mean."
"Of course you do." Artemis never told the whole truth about anything. "And before I commit myself to some disaster, I want to know everything about it."
Artemis's face hardened. "Are you telling me that you refuse to help me after all I've done to you?"
That actually summarized it well. "I think you mean 'for me', Matisera, not 'to me'."
"As if I care. Now answer me."
Wow. For a woman asking for help, Artemis had a wonderful way of expressing it. But then that was her nature, and Kat would be suspicious if Artemis was anything less than authoritative. "What do you want me to do?"
"What do you think? Kill him."
Kat was aghast. "Matisera! What are you asking?"
"I'm asking for you to save my life," she snarled, "which is the very least you could do for me. Especially after all I've given you. He will kill me if he gets a chance and take all my powers. Who knows what he'll do to mankind once his godhood is restored. How he'll make them suffer. I've already gone to Acheron and he has refused to help me in any way. You're the only hope I have."
"Then why don't you kill him yourself? I know you're capable of it."
Artemis sat back in a huff. "He has the Tuppi Shimati. You do remember what that is, don't you?"
"The Sumerian Tablet of Destiny, yeah, I remember it." Whoever held possession of it could render another god powerless. It could also used to strip a god of their powers entirely thereby allow the possessor to kill any god they chose. Not exactly something the gods wanted in the wrong hands.
Artemis swallowed. "Who do you think Sin will come after now that he has it?"
No-brainer there. Artemis. "And with that you have my undivided attention. Don't worry, Matisera. I'll get it from him."
Artemis actually looked relieved. "I don't want anyone to know our past. You of all people understand how important it is that it remain hidden. Don't fail me this time, Katra. I need you to fulfill your word to me."
Kat flinched at the reminder of the one and only time in her life she'd failed in her mission to Artemis. "I will."
Artemis inclined her head before she vanished.
Kat lay back in bed, thinking of what had just transpired. On the one hand, she had no doubt that Artemis was telling the truth about the Tablet of Destiny. Sin's pantheon had been the one who'd created it. If anyone knew how to find and wield it, Sin would be he.
But Artemis was still Artemis.
Which meant some important parts of this story were most likely missing and before Kat went traipsing off after another god, even a fallen one, she wanted to know as much about him as she could.
Reaching for her cell phone on the nightstand, she flipped it open and noted the time. It was one A.M. for her, but in Minneapolis it would be midnight. She pressed the 6 button and waited until she heard a soft, feminine voice answer.
Kat smiled at the sound of her friend's greeting. "Hi, Cassandra, how ya doing?" At one time, she'd been Cassandra's protector for Artemis. But since Cassandra had become immortal and was married to the ex-Dark-Hunter Wulf, Kat had been reassigned... and then traded off to the Atlantean goddess Apollymi.
Even so, Kat was still close friends with Cassandra and made it a habit of visiting her friend whenever she could.
"Hey, baby girl," Cassandra said with a laugh. "We're fine. We were just finishing up a movie. But I can tell by the tone of your voice and the time of this call that you've got something more on your mind than checking in with me."