Page 22 of The Seducer
“Finn, did you know…” Hans leaned closer and lowered his voice as if letting Finn in on a secret. “That here in the Motherlands our priestesses are our spiritual leaders. They train from childhood and learn how to master the life energy. They know how to put mind over matter and the best of them can go days without eating or sleeping.”
Finn looked at me and then back to Hans before he leaned in and spoke in the same confidential whisper. “You want to hear something even more impressive?” he asked Hans, who nodded to show his full attention.
“In the Northlands, people are so damn wise that even the village idiot knows to eat when he’s hungry and sleep when he’s tired.”
I got up from the table swallowing a smile. Behind me, Finn’s familiar laughter rumbled.
“Don’t look so offended, Hansi, I’m just messing with you.”
“My name isn’t Hansi, Finn. It’s Hans, and I’d appreciate it if you called me that.”
Right then my cat strolled in and when she saw the two men, she hissed at them.
“Oh, hello, kitty, come here.” Hans was already distracted and reached out for her. “What’s her name?”
“Bast, after the cat goddess of Egypt,” I explained. “Did you know that cats were sacred to the Egyptians?”
“How pretentious to name your cat after a goddess,” Finn said.
I gave him the stink eye. “Look who’s talking! In your country, all men are named after heroes.”
“Is that true?” Hans asked Finn. “Who are you named after?”
Squaring his chest, Finn boasted: “I’m named after Finn MacCumhail, a legendary Irish warrior who was the leader of brave men and who ate the salmon of knowledge.”
“Wow.” Hans gave Finn a genuine smile of recognition before he turned to me. “Athena, your name has meaning too, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does,” I said over my shoulder. “Athena was the goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare, and tactics.”
“Hah, there you have it,” Finn muttered. “A war-hungry witch with a black cat named Beast.”
“Bast, her name is Bast,” I corrected him, “and I’m not a witch.”
“So you say, but then you go around casting curses and you have a black cat.” Finn angled his head. “I’d say the evidence is piling up against you, honey.”
“If you’re so convinced that I’m a witch, you might want to be careful about provoking me. I could turn you into a toad or something.”
“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Finn said and sat up straighter, “unless you would like a toad to kill you.”
“How would a toad kill me?” I asked and shook my head. “A toad seems pretty helpless to me.”
“I’m a fucki… sorry, a freaking Nman and we are resourceful and cunning.” He tapped a finger against his temple.
“Yeah, but you forget that you wouldn’t be an Nman anymore; you’d be a toad.”
Raising his chin, Finn narrowed his eyes. “Not just any toad. I would be the fastest toad in the world and wait silently in the shadows until you fall asleep and then I’d crawl down your throat and block your airways.”
I looked at Finn, giving a grimace. “That’s mean.”
“Hey, I’m not the witch threatening to turn the nice Nman into a toad here.”
“But you’re threatening to suffocate me.” I moved to the couch and started pushing it toward the wall in order to create enough space for the three of us to meditate.
“That’s right, so you better not try any tricks on me,” Finn replied with a satisfied nod of his head.
“Allow me to sprinkle a bit of irony here,” Hans said and helped me get the sofa where I wanted it. “Athena, I think you really should turn Finn into a toad, that would be fun.” He turned to look at us as if waiting for applause.
“You might want to work a bit on your delivery – and a small tip here,” Finn said. “Try not to announce every time you use irony.”
