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"I don’t knoe have to heal both bodies Theto take Polyxena’s body Shouldn’t we just send the other on her way to wherever it is dead o?" Athena said

Venus shook her head in disgust "Athena, you needto zap a modern mortal into an ancient princess’s body and ask her to do our bidding Oh, and, by the way, that little memory she has of an accident where she and her best friend are killed? Well, yes, that’s unfortunate, but whatever We needed her, so her best friend is toast She should just go about our business and forget about her"

"The problem with that is?" Athena said "And what does toast have to do with it?"

Venus rolled her lovely eyes "It’s just an expression A modern mortal expression that means done, over with"

"And the proble for us without including her friend is that modern mortal women are different than ancient women," Hera explained patiently "They’re independent and s orders Actually, now that I think about it, they’re a lot like goddesses"

"Exactly what I’ve been trying to tell her," Venus said

"I don’t think I like that" Athena frowned

"I don’t think you’re going to like the lines that will start appearing on your face if you don’t stop frowning so oing to like what happens if you rouse the anger of the Goddess of War," Athena said

"Enough!" Hera’s voice shot out, ringing powerfully against the walls of her temple Then she closed her eyes briefly and drew a deep breath "Your bickering is getting in the way of elanced at little Eleithyia, as cowering in a corner "And you’re scaring h stress for one day"

Venus and Athena et this done" Hera gave the two goddesses oneto Eleithyia "We’ll need a cereoblet filled with the teet that forquickly now that she was given a fa only oblet filled with rich red wine

"Very good" Hera nodded her approval Then she approached the bodies of Polyxena and herfor Venus and Athena to join her "Bring the goblet here, Eleithyia, and stand before the bodies When I begin the healing spell, raise the goblet so that the wine can be filled with our power Do you understand?"

"Yes, Goddess" The young priestess moved into place

"Let us join in a circle of divine power" The three goddesses solemnly clasped hands around the fallen princess of Troy and her servant "Concentrate on the wine in the goblet," Hera told them Then she cleared her throat and recited the spell:

"Joined together with a single oddesses three our poe do bind"

Eleithyia gasped as the wine in the goblet she had lifted above her head began to gloith such a brilliant light that it shined in reflection off the distant do here bathed in conjured light,

eift of healing is e ask,

fruit of the vine, accept this as your task"

"It is hot!" Eleithyia cried, but she didn’t let loose her grip on the glowing goblet

"It is the heat of the breath of life Quickly, child, pour the ithin the lips of the princess and her servant," Hera said

Eleithyia ioddess commanded She bent and carefully poured half of the wine into Polyxena’s slack and bloody lips, and the other half into the young maidservant’s stillto work" Venus frowned as most of the wine ran down the pale cheeks of dead woasped and then drew a deep, alan to rise and fall, too

"Keep focused," Hera re the spell

"Wounds mend--health return

the spark of oddesses and the priestess watched, the terrible gash on Polyxena’s head faded, and then disappeared at the sa chest wound shimmered and closed so that the toh the only movement in their eerily still bodies was their slow, steady breathing

Eleithyia fell to her knees and bowed her head "It worked! You have healed them"

Hera touched her priestess’s cheeks softly "Only their bodies, child Their souls are journeying to the Elysian Fields They are but empty shells"

"Well, it just so happens that I have two mortal souls in desperate need of shells," Venus said "Shall I get them?"

"Yes, but Athena and I need to amemnon and Thetis first"

Athena frowned at the newly healed bodies "Shouldn’t you do so about all that blood and such before you put the mortal souls in there? I’m no expert on modern mortals, but I do believe that any wooddess esture at the blood-spattered teh As hed Then she fluttered her fingers absently at Athena and Hera "Go on, don’t worry about this I’ll conjure some satyrs to take care of it"

"Satyrs?" Hera said "Aren’t they ratherood at clean-ups They’re used to it"

Hera and Athena gave Venus twin looks of confusion

"You don’t think I clean up after all those orgies, do you?" Venus shook her head in disgust "I’oddess, not their mother"

Athena snorted

"Let’s leave this to Love, shall we?" Hera guided Athena froain "Have the little beasts clean quickly--this shouldn’t take long," she called back over her shoulder

"Why is it that Love always gets stuck with the mess?" Venus muttered

"Could it be because love can be so messy?" Eleithyia asked with a sweet, innocent s, you’re obviously new to this whole priestess thing, so I won’t blast you into nonexistence for calling asped and looked like she was going to burst into tears

Venus sighed "Not to worry That was just a little divine hulanced down at the two bodies that awaited souls "And while I’ about it I better come up with some new clothes for these two All that blood will never come out…" She continued to mutter to herself as she conjured an entire herd of industrious satyrs and began putting the temple to order

Hera a, hairless boy as oiling the king’s dark, perfectly curled hair, they were alone

"The Goddess Hera!" The boy shrieked and dropped instantly to the ground, pressing his face to the richly carpeted floor Agah for Hera’s taste She pointedly ignored the king and touched the back of the boy’s blond head

"Arise, child I wish to speak with your king alone, but know that you go with " Hera waited until the boy left the rooa that it annoyed him to keep his head bowed before her She noted how he’d swathed hiriod?

If so, he was vastly lad news," Hera finally said