Alice kept an eye out as her friends joined the end of the line. Maya was whispering to Gabriel, who looked irritated about something, and Altair was still glancing around with his hands shoved in his pockets. He looked casual, as if a book signing was the most natural place in the world for him to be.

Alice almost snickered, since the only thing he read were the occasional spy novel. She’d caught him reading “Witches” once, though he’d tried to play it off by saying he was just looking at witches in bikinis. He wasn’t exactly a big reader.

A group of ladies at the end of the line didn’t seem to mind. They were elbowing one another, and one of them, a tall brunette with what Alice could swear was a tail poking out from under the hem of her skirt, glanced back and nudged him. She said something to him, Alice couldn’t hear what it was from there. Altair just shrugged, and the woman turned back, clearly irriated.

Alice turned back to the front and pressed her lips together, trying not to smile too obviously. She was here to meet a blogger, not check out her own boyfriend. She shifted, holding the book out in front of her, straighten up a little. Could Bingo see the ribbon in her hair from wherever he was? She didn’t want to look around and make it obvious, but it didn’t seem like there were many men in the crowd.

Wait, Bingo had never even said he was a man. The thought was a startling one. She’d just assumed, which was a bit sexist of her. Why couldn’t a computer hacker be a woman? Now she was eyeing all the women around her suspiciously. Which one of them was it? Or maybe it was the ogre. No, that was ridiculous. She would have never said to meet in public. She was too obvious.

Alice made herself hold in a sigh. This was starting to get irritating.

There was a commotion behind her, someone was cursing, and Alice turned around, glancing back. She came eye to eye with a very large pair of glasses, which magnified a pair of wide blue eyes that blinked at her quizzically.

It was a woman about her height who had elbowed her way past people in line. She had a short, pixie like cut. She was cute, even if her glasses made her look a little bit like an owl, and she wore a sweater vest over a white-collared t-shirt and a pair of loose slacks. “I like your hair ribbon,” she said, and Alice thought she never seen anyone look so awkward.

So this was Bingo.

It would have been utterly stupid to say “Oh, you’re a woman.” All the same, Alice had to stop herself from blurting out just that. She’d been expecting a skinny computer geek wearing a bad tie, and she’d got….well, a skinny computer geek. Minus the tie.

“Hi,” Alice said, and then she went quiet. It hadn’t occurred to her that they might have a few more minutes left to stand in line to get their books signed, but it would look really strange if they jumped out of the line now. So they waited, and Alice scrambled for something to say.

“Did you bring your book?”

Bingo looked startled, which made her look even more owlish, and then she looked down at the book bag slung over her shoulder. “Uh—yes. It’s in here.”

“Oh…good.”

More awkward silence. Alice shifted. “Um…” she lowered her voice. “What should I…your name?”

The woman’s eyes darted this way and that, and Alice was reminded of a fox being chased by hounds. This tiny, pale woman was clearly highly suspicious of everyone. “You can call me Natasha. That’s what everyone calls me, I mean. Online. Other places online.” She rattled it all out in one breath, leaving Alice blinking.

“Okay, great. I’m Alice.”

“I know who you are.” Natasha’s eyes went wider. “I know exactly who you are.” She went quiet very abruptly, doing another nervous sweep of the room. “It isn’t safe to talk candidly yet. We should get our books signed.”

“Yes, alright.” Alice faced forward again, heart racing. The girl knew who she was, and the way she said it made her think that Natasha had concluded certain things. Certain things about Ambrose and his disappearance. Would the girl tell anyone? Would she put it on her website?

Alice shifted so that she could keep an eye on the computer hacker. She almost expected Natasha to make a run for it. Go back to her computer and update her website to say that the notorious Alice Cunningham had murdered the rock star god.

Well, not murdered, so to speak. But Natasha couldn’t know what had actually happened. She must be assuming terrible things.

The lineup seemed to move incredibly slowly, and Alice finally reached the front and practically shoved the book towards Eric Revol. He took it, flashing her one of his hundred watt smiles. The same smile he’d given the last fifty people. Alice smiled back without thinking much of it. Then Eric Revol’s smile was gone, and he looked far more serious. “Alice, right?”

She froze. “I…yes. How did you—”

The smile turned back on. “Heard you talking to your friend.”

That was doubtful. They’d been standing pretty far away, and the noise level in the room was loud. That only meant one thing. He knew her somehow, or he had supernatural hearing. Neither of those things were good. Eric Revol tipped the book towards her while he signed, almost vertical, and she realized he was holding it like that on purpose. So she was staring at him and the picture of him on the front cover. At his name blazed across the dust jacket in bright red letters.

Eric Revol

Eric Revol.

Revol. Until you flipped it backwards, and Alice was suddenly seeing what should have been completely obvious to her all along. Revol spelled backwards was “Lover”.

How could she have been so stupid? She’d been sent an arrow. Eric’s last name was basically love.  Cupid.

It was him. He was the god. The one the Half Moon order had been warning her about.

Her body was stiff, her eyes locked on his face. Drawing breath had become impossible. Eric Revol leaned forward, still smiling that charming smile.

“It’s not what you think, love.”

Alice gasped, blinked. “Then what—”

“I’m not who you have to worry about.” He handed her the book, leaned back in his chair. Winked at her. “Inscription on the inside, just for you.”

She snatched the book from him, backed away, stammering her thank you. When she grabbed Natasha’s arm the woman gave a small squeak of alarm, but she didn’t resist as Alice dragged her away from the table.

They stopped at the small nook with the tables and chairs, and Alice set the book down on the table, gesturing at the woman to sit down. She scanned the room once, relieved that nobody seemed to be looking over at them.

“What happened?” Natasha peered at her past her thick glasses. “What did he say to you? You look pale.” The computer hacker’s eyes suddenly went even wider and she glanced over at Eric Revol, who was now smiling winningly at the next woman in line. “Wait, Revol. Is he—”

“I can’t believe how thick I am.” Alice opened the book with shaking hands, looking over at the author again. He wasn’t looking this way. He didn’t seem to be interested in hurting either of them. So what was his game?

There was a hastily scrawled message on the back, inside cover of the book, and Alice squinted at it. Apparently Cupid had very messy handwriting.

Natasha leaned forward and hissed under her breath, “Is he a god? Oh my god, wait until I tell my readers about this—”

“Not yet,” Alice snapped. “Hang on a second, I’m trying to make this out.”

The other woman squinted at the scribbles inside the book. “It says ‘Not safe here. Stay away from Adam. Love and kisses, Eric Revol.’ Does that mean anything to you?”

“Yes.” Alice chewed on her lower lip, resisting the urge to bolt out of her chair. For some reason Cupid was warning her. And he was telling her that Adam was here somewhere. Her suspicions about him were clearly confirmed now. He wasn’t just a wizard who’d been tangled up in her dreams. She felt utterly foolish for even entertaining that as an option. There were never any coincidences when it came to her.

She kept her voice low. “You and I are going to walk out of here, but first I’m going to change my appearance slightly. I think there’s someone here I don’t want to see.”

Natasha nodded, eyes shining, and Alice pulled the little vial of threads off the necklace she always wore. There would be enough in it to do a simple spell. A glamour that would make her look like someone else. Of course, she was still wearing the red ribbon, but it might help her to get out without Adam noticing her.

“Prop the book up and pretend to giggle over something inside.”

Natasha obeyed, propping the hardcover book up so that it shielded Alice’s hands from the crowd, ducking her head so it looked like she was reading it. The computer hacker gave a nervous giggle as she stared down at Alice’s hands, watching her weave the pattern together.

“I said giggle,” Alice whispered crossly. “Not laugh hysterically.”

“I’ve never done this before.”

“Okay it’s done.” Alice released the threads and wrapped them quickly around her wrist, concealing it up her sleeve. Now any wizard or witch wouldn’t be able to see the threads, or know that she was wearing a glamour, unless they were sharp enough to catch the occasional blurring that glamours sometimes had around the edges. She doubted anyone would notice.

Natasha was staring at her with round eyes when she looked up. “You look…different. That was incredible.”

Alice stood up, waving her hand at her. “You’re not a witch?”

“I’m just a lousy one,” Natasha said.

Alice nodded, linking her arm through the girl’s and pulling her ahead. Natasha stiffened a bit, and then relaxed. Alice smiled and muttered out the corner of her mouth, “Look like you’re having fun at least.” Then she continued loudly. “God, I’m so hungry, let’s go get some lunch.” She made sure to pitch her voice higher than normal, in case anyone might recognize it.

The girls were nearly at the door when Alice spotted him, and she almost stumbled. Adam was standing at the back of the room leaning against the wall. He was dressed in jeans and leather jacket today, and just the sight of him made her stomach twist unpleasantly. So Cupid had been right. He was there, and he was definitely looking for someone. Scanning the crowd constantly.

 Three guesses who.

She forced herself to look away. Staring would attract his attention for sure. On the other side of the room, near the end of the lineup at the table, her group of friends was standing there, looking as though they were chatting casually.

They weren’t. Gabriel was scanning the room constantly, less than subtly. Maya was frowning, looking up the line and Altair was fending off further advances, this time from one of the fairies. Azura and Shakra were chatting with one another, and as she watched, Azura turned slightly and caught her eye. The older woman smiled slightly and turned back to Shakra.

Alice pulled Natasha out the door. Azura had seen her leaving. She would tell the others that Alice had gone and they’d meet one another at the shop later.

For now, she had to get somewhere out of the public eye.

It was risky going straight back to the shop, but it was the only place she knew they’d be able to talk in private. “Come on,” she told Natasha. “We’re going back to my place.”

She wasn’t sure, but she could have sworn she saw the woman blush.

The shop was empty and silent, and Alice locked the door behind them after they went in, the bell ringing wildly to announce their entrance to no one. She didn’t want to be seen through the windows, since the sign said they were closed, so she led Natasha into the backroom and pulled a chair up to the other side of the desk.

Natasha had been gawping around at the shop as she went through, and she looked up at the shelves in the backroom with the same glazed, awe in her eyes. “Wow, this place is just as cool as everyone said it was.”

Alice hesitated. “You’ve heard about it, huh?”

“Who hasn’t?” Her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. “I know a lot about you, Alice Cunningham. I did a lot of research on you after the Ambrose thing. There are a lot of theories about you floating around out there.”

Alice repressed a smile. “I can tell you right now that none of them are as wild as what really happened. Tea?”

Natasha appeared to be thrown off guard. “Um—yes. Thank you.” She leaned forward eagerly as Alice turned to fill the kettle. “What really did happen? Why do you have gods after you? What’s their agenda for the humans? Are they going to enslave us all?”

Alice frowned, watching the light on the kettle flick off as it came to a boil. “I brought you here because I hoped you would know about the gods. Do you know anything?”

When she turned back she found the computer hacker scowling at her. “I know enough. I have information you want. But you tell me a little bit first.”

Alice had to force her expression to stay smooth. She felt like shaking the woman. The only thing she wanted to do right now was get out of town. As soon as the others got back she wanted to make a break for it. Go somewhere sunny or something.

Run again.

She tried to push that thought aside. It wasn’t running, it was a strategic move. A temporary retreat. If she fought every time a god came after her, sooner or later she’d lose.

“Fine.” Alice set the mugs down on the table with slightly more force than was strictly necessary, and had the satisfaction of seeing Natasha flinch. “I’ll tell you what you want to know. But then you tell me everything you know. Deal?”

“Deal,” Natasha said quickly. “First question, did you kill Ambrose?”

“No.” Alice folded her hands around the tea cup, warming her fingers. “You can’t kill a god. It’s impossible.”

The hacker straightened up in her chair, eyes round. “You do know a lot about them, don’t you?”

“What’s your next question?”

“What happened to Alexie Ambrose?”

Alice chewed on her bottom lip before answering. “We fought. He tried to take my power. I made him swear an oath on the river styx and he broke it.”

Natasha’s mouth dropped open. “You tricked him into breaking a styx oath?”

Alice nodded. “He’s off my back for seven years.”

“That’s incredible.” Her eyes were shining, she was leaning forward, palms on the table. “That’s very clever. Have you had other gods pursue you? What do they want?”

Alice sighed. “Believe me, I wish I knew. Ambrose just said he wanted my power. I don’t know what any of the others want.” She pressed her lips together, having decided she wasn’t going to tell the computer hacker about Athena. There was only so much she wanted on the internet, even if it was a little known blog that only wack job conspiracy theorists visited.

Natasha appeared to think about this for a few seconds. Then she nodded. “Okay, I’ll answer your questions now. About the Half Moon order, right?” She shifted in her seat, eyes studying Alice’s face before she looked away. Alice thought the girl’s cheeks were colouring again. She’d never met anyone who was both so intense, and so shy at the same time. She was definitely odd.

“Tell me everything you know,” Alice said.

“I’ve done a lot of research into the order, but they vanish like smoke the second I think I’ve got a lead. All I know is that they’ve been around for hundreds of years, since humans existed, I think. I mean, as far back as records go, there are hints of them. Half-moons in caves and stuff.”

Alice raised one brow at her. “Do you think that could just mean the moon?”

Natasha shook her head vigorously. “No. Well…sometimes yes. But times it doesn’t make sense. Like, half moons used in Egyptian hieroglyphics in reference to a person, instead of a condition of the moon. Or half-moons drawn on people, like they were wearing them.”  She was so excited her hands were shaking on the handle of her mug. “I mean, it could be coincidence, but I don’t think so.”

“Okay, so let’s say they’ve been around for a while. What else?”

“To this day, I can only find one contact name, but she’s a dead end. I don’t know where to find her.”

Now it was Alice’s turn to lean forward. “What’s the name?”

                “Monika Dobek. There’s even a picture of the woman online. It seems she was a part of some online conspiracy forums at one time, and then about ten years back it was like she just vanished.” Natasha’s thin brows knit together. “I think she was silenced by the gods.”

“If you saw her, would you recognize her again?”

Natasha blinked. “Yes, but how—”

“Wait right here.” Alice turned and ran through the back door, hurrying up the stairs to her suite as fast as she could. She hadn’t really wanted to show the photo of her aunt to a stranger, but it was the only option she had. If that was the woman’s real name, she might be able to track her down somehow. Though she doubted her success rate would be better than a computer hacker. But maybe Azura could help if she knew the woman’s name.