Page 10 of Half Dead

“Good day, Miss Martell,” Lucius replied. He pivoted to me. “And a good day to you, as well.”

“Can I pet your dog?” I asked, because how could I not?

Lucius smiled. “Of course.”

“What’s his name?”

“Spedo,” Lucius replied.

Posy pursed her lips. “Huh. Who knew the dog had a name?”

As I scratched Spedo behind the ear, his tongue lashed out and licked my arm.

“Ew, gross,” Posy said. “That’s enough of that.” She produced a fuchsia handkerchief and offered it to me. “You’re a VIP about to meet other VIPs. You don’t need dog drool on your arm.”

I withdrew my hand and accepted the handkerchief. Before I could say another word, Lucius and Spedo had returned to their marble forms.

Posy continued forward. “This way.”

“What are they?” I asked, falling in step beside her.

“Lucius is a Lar. His brother Tarquin is in the main lobby.”

“And their job is to greet you?”

She rolled her eyes, as though the question bored her. “They’re Etruscan gods. Their job is to protect their descendants from harm, but since they don’t have any, they protect us instead. In ancient times, each household kept a Lar, who was acknowledged at mealtimes, and whenever you left your house and arrived home again.”

“An entire company of gods needs protection?”

She shrugged. “It’s an old custom. I don’t even know why we bother, except I think they pissed off the wrong board member at some point and ended up stuck in the courtyard and the lobby.”

“And Spedo?”

“Dogs are their sacred animal. Tarquin has one, too. If I get drunk enough, maybe you could persuade me to introduce you since I’m sure you’ll want to know that mongrel’s name, too.”

My heart squeezed as I thought of Cerberus. “I happen to be a big fan of mongrels.”

We stepped into another lanai, this one much larger and surrounded by palm trees. A handsome man approached us with his muscular arms spread wide. “Good afternoon, gorgeous ladies. Is this her?”

“The one and only,” Posy said with a proud smile.

He pumped my hand with enthusiasm. “Melinoe, great to finally meet you. I’m Tonatiuh.”

The name of the ancient Aztec sun god took me by surprise. “I didn’t know you were part of the organization.”

“I move between departments every century or so, keeps the boredom at bay. I haven’t been involved with the mortal realm for quite some time, though.”

“Do you miss it?”

Light shone from his eyes. “What a question. I certainly do. Mortals and I go way back. I keep putting in the paperwork for a return visit, but the head honchos keep vetoing my requests. Don’t know why.”

“Maybe it’s because the last time you were among people, you sacrificed thousands of them,” Posy remarked.

He chuckled. “Could be that. Who knows? The board marches to the beat of their own drum.”

“Who are the rest of the head honchos?” I asked.

“The full list is confidential,” Posy said.

---