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"You did what!" Athena sputtered (unattractively, Venus noted) as she stared wide-eyed at the glowing orbs that held the two mortal spirits

"Well, I couldn’t just let the the orb that floated closest to her "It was just too awful and too soon They’re both so young"

"Mortals die Period You shouldn’t have interfered hat Fate decreed for them," Athena said

"Oh, please! These are modern mortals They don’t believe in Fate"

Hera rushed into Venus’s oracle chaave oddess broke off as she caught sight of the floating orbs Her smooth brorinkled "Are those mortal spirits?"

"They are indeed," Athena said

"Well, what ever are they doing here? Are they lost?"

"No They are not lost They are the spirits of two ht the regular orgasrumental"

"Venus!" Hera’s voice was sharp, re the Goddess of Love that she was in the presence of the Queen of Olympus "Why are the spirits of modern mortals in this chamber?"

"One of them"--Venus paused, studied the orbs and finally pointed at the one closest to her--"this one, I think, is the spirit of the mortal woman I have chosen to help us out with our Achilles problem The other is her best friend"

"Which still doesn’t explain why their souls are here in Olympus instead of in their bodies back in the ," Hera said

"They can’t be in their bodies because their bodies are dead," Athena said "Actually, burned to nothing but ash"

"Burned? Dead? But how could you choose a burned-up dead mortal for Achilles?" Hera rubbed her teracefully before her, plucking the goblet of a drink of it

"It’s all really very easy to explain," Venus said, sending Athena a dark look

"Then explain Please," Hera said

"I chose the mortal woman for Achilles when she was alive Then there was an accident while she and her friend were leaving a party and, well, they were killed I si and happy And," she added pointedly, "Kat was so coht their bodiless spirits here?" Hera paused and sighed "Venus, I understand how easy it is to get attached to mortals, but you didn’t do these women a favor They should be on their way to the Afterlife that awaits the we can--" Abruptly Hera’s voice broke off A look of shock passed over her lovely face and the goblet of ah her hand to shatter on the marble floor

"Hera! What is it?" Venus cried as she and Athena rushed to her side

The goddess’s face had gone horribly white "My priestesses! They are sobbing for me"

"Here, sit Breathe deeply and tell us what has happened" Venus guided Hera over to a soft chaise as Athena conjured a fresh goblet of aoddess waved the drink away

"It’s the Greeks They are sacking my temple that rests just outside the westernmost wall of Troy" She passed a shaky hand over her eyes as if to wipe the ioddesses "I don’t understand this My teet sacked I ae and Family, Queen of Olympians There is no reason to defileto faint "I have to sit down"

"You are sitting down," Athena said

"What do I do?" Sweat broke out over the goddess’s too white face "My priestesses are beseeching me!"

"I don’t know!" Venus sat heavily on the bench next to Hera, took the aulp "I’m Goddess of Love People fornicate in my temples, which I don’t consider defilehtly crazy one at that--will hurl himself on his sword, but that really can’t be helped"

"I knohat to do"

Venus and Hera looked up to see Athena putting on the war helmet that had just materialized

"Do I need to remind you that I am Goddess of War?"

Venus and Hera shook their heads in tandeo No one defiles one of our teray eyes narrowed "Or you two could stay here Zeus will probably be angry that I’ve become involved"

Slowly Hera stood Her knees were clearly unsteady, but her voice was sharp as flint "Zeus and his orders to stay out of it be dao unpunished"

Venus and Hera exchanged a glance "We’re going with you," said the Goddess of Love "If Zeus is going to be angry, let hiry at all of us"

"So be it," Athena said "Stay close to oddesses disappeared Venus waved her hand in the direction of her oracle and a shi the two spirit orbs safely within its shell

They materialized in the aftermath of destruction

"Oh no!" Hera sobbed Then she straightened her spine and pressed her lips tightly together "These are ri to move toward the first of the crumpled bodies

"Stay with her I’ll deal with the butchers who are still here," Athena told Venus before striding swiftly from the room toward the distant shrieks andfro sick to her stomach, Venus joined Hera as she bent over a woman’s broken body As were the rest of the women in this interior roo the sky blue linen robes of those ear to the service of the Queen of Olyht that the fresh scarlet of her blood looked grotesque and a supreme defilement in this te colors of pastels, the lovely scent of sweet incense and thevoices

"She was one of my most elderly priestesses" Hera’s voice was thick with tears "She tended this teoddess touched the dead woman’s head "Let your journey to the Elysian Fields be swift and peaceful," she murmured, and the air around them stirred with the power of Hera’s prayer Hera looked at Venus "We must bless all of them"

"Of course" Venus squeezed her friend and queen’s hand, and then the two of the on each fallen priestess an eternal blessing for peace and happiness

It was at the base of Hera’s statue in the inner women who had died with their arms wrapped protectively around each other The dark-haired wohastly head wound The blonde who had joined her in death had been skewered through the chest by a sword

"Sacrilege! Blasphemy!" Hera hissed the words, her sorrow and horror at last being replaced by righteous anger "These two aren’t even " The goddess pointed to the spilled goblet of wine and the broken jar of honey that lay discarded and ruined beside their bodies

"She looks familiar" Venus pointed to the dark-haired woold trim on her stola worn only by those of the royal house of Troy?"

"Hera!" Athena’s shout interrupted theoddess burst into the inner roo, blue-robed woled cry, Hera rushed to her, helping Athena to lay her gently on the marble floor The Queen of Olympus used her lap to pillow the fallen woman’s head

Venus peered down at the woirl, barely out of puberty She had a terrible sword slash in her upper arht rivulets of fresh blood Her eyes were closed, but sheshe was definitely alive

"Who did this?" Hera’s voice was cold and hard