The Tyrant's Tomb

Seeing him tower above me, lightning bolt raised, I had to fight the urge
to cower and plead. I knew it was only a statue, but if you’ve ever been
traumatized by someone, you’ll understand. It doesn’t take much to trigger
those old fears: a look, a sound, a familiar situation. Or a fifty-foot-tall
golden statue of your abuser—that does the trick.
Lupa stood before the altar. Mist shrouded her fur as if she were offgassing
quicksilver.
It is your time, she told me.
Or something like that. Her gestures conveyed expectation and urgency.
She wanted me to do something. Her scent told me she wasn’t sure I was
capable of it.
I swallowed dryly, which in itself was Wolf for I’m scared. No doubt
Lupa already smelled my fear. It wasn’t possible to lie in Lupa’s language.
Threaten, bully, cajole…yes. But not outright lie.
“My time,” I said. “For what, exactly?”
She nipped the air in annoyance. To be Apollo. The pack needs you.
I wanted to scream I’ve been trying to be Apollo! It’s not that easy!
But I restrained my body language from broadcasting that message.
Talking face-to-face with any god is dangerous business. I was out of
practice. True, I’d seen Britomartis back in Indianapolis, but she didn’t
count. She liked torturing me too much to want to kill me. With Lupa,
though…I had to be careful.
Even when I’d been a god myself, I’d never been able to get a good read
on the Wolf Mother. She didn’t hang out with the Olympians. She never
came to the family Saturnalia dinners. Not once had she attended our
monthly book group, even when we discussed Dances with Wolves.
“Fine,” I relented. “I know what you mean. The last lines from the Dark
Prophecy. I’ve reached the Tiber alive, et cetera, et cetera. Now I am
supposed to ‘jive.’ I assume that entails more than dancing and snapping my
fingers?”
Lupa’s stomach growled. The more I talked, the tastier I smelled.
The pack is weak, she signaled with a glance toward the funeral pyre.
Too many have died. When the enemy surrounds this place, you must show
strength. You must summon help.
I tried to suppress another wolfish display of irritation. Lupa was a
goddess. This was her city, her camp. She had a pack of supernatural wolves
at her command. Why couldn’t she help?