Page 98 of Dead End

“But you didn’t know why.”

“I think I do now.” She dropped the collar back into the bag and passed it to me. “I think we both do.”

“There are eight members of the Board of Directors,” I told the group, once the meeting was called to order. “They’re at the top of the power pyramid.”

“Eight gods don’t sound so bad,” Gun said.

“You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen the state of Dilmun after their attack. When they knew they were about to lose, they made sure to leave as much destruction in their wake as possible.”

“Petty bitches.” Josie shook her head. “I’d respect the hell out of it if we weren’t the ones about to fight them.”

“I would expect more than eight of them,” Kami said. “The crossroads are far more valuable to them than Dilmun was.”

West piped up. “Which gods are we expecting?”

“More than we can handle,” I admitted. “The identity of the board is confidential, but my money is on Bossu, Dis, Mars, and Fafnir. I think Inanna is one, but I can’t be certain.” I glanced at Libby and Kami for confirmation.

“I wish I knew,” Libby said.

“Posy identified Bossu as the chairman of the board. That if we take him down, the rest will follow. They won’t have time to fill the power vacuum.”

Kami shrugged. “I didn’t trust Posy, but I trust her intel.”

Sage lowered herself to the floor in a cross-legged position. “I don’t know any of those names except Mars.”

Camryn ripped open a fresh box of Nerds. “Mars is a candy bar.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll go through all their known strengths and weaknesses.”Thank you, Pops.

“How will we recognize Bossu?” West asked.

“He’s impossible to miss. Three horns and the head of a bull. Fafnir is probably the second most powerful. He’s a dragon god.”

Officer Leo’s mouth opened with a shocked squeak.

In the background, I heard the front door open. “Am I late?” Alessandro skidded past the parlor room and immediately backed up to observe the gathered group. “I think I’ve had this dream, except I’m usually naked.” He looked down at his fully clothed body. “Bummer.”

“How are we supposed to fight a dragon?” Chief Garcia asked, picking up the previous thread of conversation.

“There’s no ‘we,’” West said. “You’re not getting anywherenear the fight. We need you and Kilkenny to set up a line of defense in the residential areas.”

“Can’t Phaedra work on that?” the chief countered. “If she can cast a spell that sets up a protective border around the town, that would free up Leo and I to help you.”

West placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “This isn’t a commentary on your abilities, Elena. You and Kilkenny are best suited to keep the peace and protect the people if the fight spills outside Wild Acres.”

“Which it won’t,” Gunther chimed in. “Because we’re going to contain it.”

A series of affirming grunts and shouts punctuated his statement.

Josie’s voice rose above the noise. “Nobody’s asking the obvious question.”

My gaze slid to the vampire. “Which is?”

“What if they don’t send their leadership? What if we only get the scraps? Do we send a team to Paradise to take them down?”

“They’re sending their A-team, trust me.” I knew it the way a caterpillar sensed the approach of a predatory wasp.

Bert raised his hand. “There isn’t a wolf god, is there? I don’t want to feel conflicted.”

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