pte

e on the kitchen island while she slipped off her coat and hung it in the front hall closet. From the depths of the overcoats, she saw Herman her sparri

ssie nodded, her mouth suddenly dry. Abraham placed both of his hands on her head. She felt the cool swish of rain and was surprised to find herself dry when he p

wasn't burned to a crisp. Cassie shook her head,

d outside before she could do anything else. She moved to the door and looking out of

ally when her grandfather left, he merely walked out of the door and disappeared. "I suppose that's progress, but it migh

rely certain what she believed. The information seemed too fantastical, but s

ore comfortable for the old books and artifacts her parents brought home, or at least that was what she was told. When her parents were at home, which wasn't

was home she turned it back to seventy, forcing the thermostat at least to register that she was in fact in the house. Small though it was, Cassie still felt as though declaring her presence

e she pinned maps. Some were modern, some old, some reproductions of ancient maps showing long vanished civilizations. When Enki proclaimed Walkers loved maps and Skadi decided an inspection of her home was a worthw

I can put the maps back up, " Cassie

in its sheath to her and placed it on her night stand. She stared at it for a moment, then opened the drawer and slipped it inside, making certain it was

ed to her closet, shoving thoughts of the knife away. When she dressed for the morning, Cassie didn't know what to expect and dr

tanding barefoot on the ground and she didn't

to just her underwear, Cassie chose a comfortable pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt from her clothing, moved t

ling on the cold ground to eat that did it, " she decided. The knees of her jeans showed the dirt where her weight pres

r could warm up before she went in. While it warmed, Cassie dropped the rest of the clothes into a pil

ust stood under the warm water, letting the heat sink into her bone

ough you might be able to pull an ancient god from a list and match it to them. Hestia became Hester, Bes became Bert and Oghma of the Trí Dé Dána be

assie reminded herself as she reached for her shampoo. "Maybe they introdu

ly everyone, whether human, Walker or other, she doubted he introduced himself as anything, let alone Bob or Ernie. "The

egular names that they changed out periodically. She knew that Jacob was Henry before and Annabelle was once called Christine. When she met Jacob in

fore Abraham, Jacob, Oliver and Bert all arrived at the same time. The sky was gray and over cast when

ieve it. 'Maybe they are some sort of elemental type beings, ' Cassie thought, unwilling to say the thought out loud, eve

wer gel onto it. "Personally, I like elementals better than the thought of gods, " Cassie decided as she worked the gel into a lather. "Al

le as before. Today, at times, both Abraham and Jacob felt ancient to her in ways sh

ast of the suds from her body. "I wonder if they chose to look like

en wrapped the large bath towel around her body as she picked up a smaller towel to dr

ayer of them, separating her house from the others in the neighborhood and making her feel like she lived alone in a forest. When she was little she pre

ess. Since he and Bert were also helping her with learning Latin, he made her learn both the common and Latin names of the trees so she now not only knew that th

ung up the towel and began to dress. When he visited, Cassie noticed Oliver placing a hand reverently

it down as she gathered her dirty clothes in her arms and left the bathroom

he fridge. This time, she placed the slice on a plate and took a fork from the drawer. She leane

ony lasted only long enough for the sun to move past the horizon. Even with Enki's appearance, Mikal and Devon brought the

es into a dance and she could see some of their branches waving through the air. Trees on her mind, Cassie

he didn't really think much about them. They were just trees. Now as she looked she could see there was something odd about them. She couldn't quite figure out what was different, but there was something about the