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gutters along the stairwells. Pumps had been installed and during rainy season, the excess could be siphoned off to avoid flooding. The water was routed to chambers where it was recycled into use for city parks.
    I passed by the Temple Valhalla. A group of priests brawled on the lawn. Chances were it was battle practice. They kept in top shape and, though they drank themselves under the table on a regular basis, they were a good group. Because of Hans, we had been invited to more feast days than I could count. I had staggered away from the Peninsula of the Gods far too many times after a night partying with the Viking wonders.
    Naós ton Theón, the temple of the Grecian gods, was located on a middle tier, near an elevator landing. Though I usually took the stairs, I was still sore. I decided to give myself a break and ride down. I didn’t want to strain myself on the steps.
    “Tier Three,” I said when the elevator asked for my destination. I leaned against the side of the car, the steel cooling my forehead. I was wearier than I realized. Usually I could weather a long day followed by a long night, but the Crossroads had left me drained. The ride was short, but by the time the doors opened all I wanted to do was go home and fall back into bed.
    “You with me, Queet?” I hadn’t heard from him since last night.
    A shift, then a whirling sparkle racing by told me that he was around. “Ready as I’ll ever be. She summoned me, too. Said I needed to hear what she had to say.”
    “Hmm…this should prove interesting.”
    Naós ton Theón was to the right, about half a block down the path. I passed the Coliseum, where the Roman gods hung out. A long line at the door caught my attention, but then I remembered that today was Saturday, and there was some sort of festival to Saturn going on.
    Working my way around the crowds, I continued along the broad city street. Each tier had a railing to prevent people from falling—or being pushed—over the edge and as I walked along on the narrow sidewalk to the outside of the moving walkway, I stopped to peer over the side at the fountain below. A chill wind blew by and I inhaled the scent of brine and ocean water. It smelled like home. Really, when I thought about it, the Peninsula of the Gods was the one place I actually felt like I belonged.
    Up ahead, Naós ton Theón gleamed against the sun. Built of cool marble, it had gray veins running through the stone, giving it a luxurious, mottled look. The Temple rose four stories into the air. As I ascended the steps, forgoing the moving ramp, it struck me just how different life had to be now compared to when the gods were first worshipped. Some days, I wondered what it would have been like, belonging to Hecate back in the time when Greece first rose to prominence, but I never really went anywhere with the thought. I liked modern life, even though I was living in the squalid part of the city.
    At the entrance to the Temple I got in line at the M&M detector. Metal and magic . There was always the danger some zealot from another pantheon would come crashing through, hell bent on creating trouble. The priest manning the detector motioned to the scan board in front of him.
    “Left hand, please.”
    I placed my left hand on the flat screen. My chip would work on most scan boards, at least initially, but if they tried to track me, they’d find the altered code and that would be trouble. But the temples were good about never misusing their technology. It was the government that fell down on the job.
    A moment later it beeped, bringing up information on his monitor. “Kaeleen Donovan, aka Fury. Theosian, aligned with Hecate. Weapons?”
    I slid my sheath off of my back and handed him the sword, then pointed to my left thigh. He withdrew Xan from her sheath while the other priest unsnapped the thigh band and withdrew my dagger, examining it. His hand brushed my bare skin, but he was a professional and there was nothing about the touch that