Aphrodite

by Kaitlin Bevis

  He shook his head and returned to his seat. “They already hated me. My son died. And it took me weeks to realize he was even missing.” Poseidon cleared his throat and ran his fingers along the wooden bar. “And Demeter . . . I always thought we would—That I would find a way to fix things, to make things right.”

  “You can’t. And you won’t ever be able to.” The words came out blunter than I’d intended, but no less true. Persephone’s mother and Poseidon had been an item for centuries until she broke things off. He didn’t take it well. I didn’t know all the details—the interpersonal drama amongst the gods hadn’t been included in my knowledge base—but I knew it was bad. Demeter had left the Olympian council and disappeared into her own realm, refusing to even speak to Poseidon again, until her daughter went missing and she needed his help. And now Persephone, the nicest god in the pantheon, would barely look at the sea god unless he demanded her attention. And even then, it was with a blatant distrust Poseidon seemed to take as a challenge. Watching him try to prove himself to her was disconcerting, at the least. “But you can do everything in your power not to sink lower. A small consolation, maybe, but better than you deserve.”

  Poseidon blinked. “You have a way with words.”

  They work better than a sledgehammer. Words were my weapon of choice when charm wouldn’t work. “Then maybe you should listen.” I sat next to him, holding his gaze. “And see that I am serious. Pull. It. Together. And if you ever so much as touch me, or gods help me, Poseidon, even look at me with ill intent again, I will invent new and exciting ways to hurt you.”

  The look on my face must have convinced him I was serious, because I saw something, not fear precisely, but something like caution, flicker in his gaze.

  I flashed my teeth in a cold smile.

  Poseidon’s eyes widened in alarm.

  I . . . wasn’t that good. When I turned to see what could possibly alarm the sea god, my heart stuttered in my chest. Impossible. Four passengers separated from the writhing mass of the crowd, their eyes wide, pupils fully dilated. Charmed.

  Like, really charmed. The sheer power pouring through them made my hair stand on end.

  My eyes dropped to the long, glittering silver stakes in their hands. Olympian Steele: the only weapon in existence capable of killing gods.

  Chapter XV

  ALL IT TAKES IS a scratch. I couldn’t breathe. Four humans against two gods should be a nothing-battle. Poseidon could probably handle them alone. With his eyes closed. In seconds. But if Olympian Steele, named for the shape of the blade, not the metal, broke our skin at all, we were dead. No. I was dead. As soon as they broke the shield, Poseidon would teleport.

  But why come after us like this? They could have nicked me any time I’d been off my guard in a crowd. Poseidon too.

  To send a message maybe? That they’re armed, dangerous, and can come at us from anywhere.

  Maybe. But to what end?

  Does it matter? You. Are. Dead. Surely one of them would at least get a scratch in. Move! I told myself. Instead, I sat as though glued to my stool a smile frozen on my face. To an outside observer, I might even look calm, but only because of the paralyzing fear pumping through my veins. I was dead. Even if I somehow got away right now, I was dead. I was stuck on a ship full of passengers that could be charmed. Who knew how many of those weapons were out there?

  They could all have one. My gaze swept the crowded bar. Every single one of them could have one.

  “Okay.” Poseidon stood in a slow, controlled movement and raised his hands in surrender. “Message received, loud and clear. You’re off limits.”

  What? Poseidon thought they were under my control? My fear eased as I saw an opportunity. A very, very slim opportunity, but anything was better than certain death. Right now, I had information he didn’t have. These humans weren’t mine. Right now, the threat—my threat, in his mind—stood in front of him. Next time, he might not see them coming and that would worry him. But would it worry him enough? I had to try.

  “Promise me neither you nor your agents will ever act with the intention of harming me, Adonis, or anyone else I declare off limits.”

  The passengers raised their arms in unison and slashed at the shield with an eerie accuracy, the strobe lights turning the fluid motion jerky. How were they seeing us if we were shielded? The same way you figured out where he was, probably. Big empty stretch of space in an otherwise crowded room. Either that or they noticed you wandering over here and vanishing from sight.

  Yeah, that hadn’t been terribly subtle.

  The shield shuddered, but held. One of the humans, a boy with shaggy brown hair, didn’t look old enough to get in the club. He wore jeans, a blue cotton T-shirt, and sneakers. Next to him stood a man with a comb-over, glasses, and a tacky brown suit. My gaze slid to the next passenger, a brunette in a striking hot pink dress, then to the man with black hair, thick, black-rimmed glasses, khakis, and blue-collared shirt.

  Poseidon edged closer to me and away from the passengers. Sweat beaded along his forehead from the exertion of holding the shield. “I promise neither I nor my agents will ever act with the intention of harming you, Adonis, or any other individuals you declare off limits unless you or they try to harm me.”

  “Physically.” I didn’t want Poseidon to be able to come after us for hurting his feelings.

  “Unless you or they physically try to harm me,” he agreed with a nod.

  The shield flickered, and I struggled to keep my face composed. “Swear protection too, and that you’ll stop with the self-destructive behavior and start behaving responsibly.”

  The passengers bore down on the shield, unrelenting. I glanced around the bar. No one seemed alarmed by the four people slashing at thin air with silver stakes. Were the rest of the passengers behind another shield, or were they all charmed? What the hell were we dealing with? And how drunk did Poseidon have to be to attribute this to me?

  He always thought it was me. The realization hit me like ice water. Of all the known gods, only I had enough charm to pull this off. I bet that’s why he didn’t want me investigating in the first place. Persephone would never believe his suspicions, so rather than voice them, he’d come up with a way for her to figure it out for herself. No wonder I couldn’t access all my powers here. He’d probably capped them on purpose.

  In a twisted way, his theory almost made sense. The first of the demigods went missing shortly after my creation. I’d been working with Zeus at the time, against my will, yeah, but Poseidon couldn’t know what Zeus had ordered me to do before he died. Plus, Zeus had obviously found a way to get in and out of Poseidon’s realm unnoticed. How else could he have gotten Triton?

  Oh, gods. He thought I had something to do with killing his son.

  “I swear. Now call them off!”

  Every second the shield held bought me an opportunity to become a little less helpless. “And any unconditional favors I request in the future. Anything I want that you have the power to provide.”

  Poseidon gave a strained laugh. “You want fealty too? You can forget that.”

  “Not fealty.” Shared power was way too personal. Even if I was the one in charge, the thought of being bound to Poseidon at all gave me the creeps. “Favors.”

  Music surged around us at full force and the pulsing crowd sharpened into focus. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. My resolve wavered, but I took a deep breath and forced myself to wait for Poseidon’s response. Say something, I mentally begged him. Even if I never actually used the favors, having them to hold over him would give me a measure of security so strong, the benefit outweighed the risk of death. I’d be safe. Between being sworn to Persephone, and owning Poseidon, no one, god or otherwise, would ever be able to threaten me again.

  Well, except the four little humans with their magic daggers. They would still be a problem.

 
Poseidon hesitated, probably wondering if he should give me what I wanted or just teleport away. Right now, the threat stood in front of him. Next time, he might not see them coming. “Three favors. Anything within my power, so long as your request doesn’t harm me, my realm, or any other god, granted without condition.”

  Three favors were two more than I’d hoped for. “Deal. And it doesn’t count as a favor unless I say the phrase ‘Poseidon, I’m calling in a favor.’”

  He repeated the whole vow, caveats and all, after me. Then the shield broke. “Call them off!”

  “First tell me what you did to me.”

  “What?”

  “You did something to me. What?” I demanded.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “It hurts when I use my powers and something’s off, I—”

  “Chaos’s Balls, you probably just have realm sickness or something. I’ve got nothing to do with it. Call them off, Aphrodite!”

  Moment of truth. It was time to test if his vows held. “They aren’t mine.”

  Poseidon turned to me, his jaw gaping in disbelief. For a precious second, he stood there, staring in shock. “Are you kidding me?”

  “You promised to protect me,” I reminded him. Inclining my head toward the charmed passengers, I added, “Now would be a good time to start.”

  Chapter XVI

  “YOUR KIND ISN’T welcome here,” the dark-haired man growled, pushing his thick glasses up his nose with his index finger. The kid with shaggy hair and the balding man stepped around him, Olympian Steele gripped tight in their hands. I couldn’t take my eyes off the glittering stakes.

  Poseidon let out a string of curses that would shock any sailor. “Get behind me.” He held out a hand, ready to push me back if I didn’t comply. His trident appeared in his other hand with a flash of gold so bright in the darkness, I found myself blinking away sparkling dots. “And get ready to run.”

  “Run?” I demanded. “Why can’t we teleport?” Poseidon could grant me authorization in a second.

  “And leave your demigod as collateral? My vows prohibit that, thanks to you.”

  I laced my voice with as much sarcasm as I could. “We could always go get him.”

  Pink Dress attacked first, with all the grace of a zombie. She leapt forward, hacking and slashing at the air with the Olympian Steele before she even got within a foot of Poseidon. She was trying to miss. The flashing lights illuminated a wild struggle in her dark eyes. She was resisting the charm the best she could, but what hope could a mere mortal have over a divine force of will?

  “And risk ’porting straight into a trap?”

  Poseidon had a point. You couldn’t shield yourself while teleporting. We might be able to throw up a shield the second we arrived, but we’d be vulnerable for that second.

  “We’re dealing with this now,” Poseidon declared.

  I summoned my charm, gritting my teeth against the pain ripping through my stomach. Gah! What was this? The charm slid off the passengers like water. Swallowing hard, I stepped back, bumping into a barstool. Run? From humans?

  Poseidon dodged an attack from Baldy, then seemed to remember me and threw himself between the two of us, trident whirling to block his Steele. “We’re going to talk about the bargain we just made later.”

  “Talk all you want. Your promises are still binding.” I threw up a shield, power flaring to life within me. Gods, that hurt. Gritting my teeth, I ignored the gut-wrenching pain and pushed the shield at the charmed passengers just as Shaggy joined the fray, Steele shattering my shield in a second.

  I froze. Fighting wasn’t in my skill set. Unlike Persephone, I’d never seen the point in spending my spare time learning self-defense or honing my powers so I’d be ready for a combat situation. My charm could quell gods. Why would I ever need anything more than that?

  Poseidon shoved me to the side, intercepting the Steele with his trident. Baldy leapt to Shaggy’s aid, slashing at Poseidon, but Poseidon sent him flying into the bar, crashing into a wall of bottles with enough force to shatter them. Baldy hit the ground with a thud, alcohol and glass raining around him. The bartender, unperturbed, kept pouring drinks. What the hell? Everyone else danced or stood around in unconcerned clusters. Was the whole club charmed? Holy Hades, what kind of power were we dealing with?

  Don’t just stand there. Do something. Taking a deep breath, I tuned out the pulsing music and concentrated. With effort, I picked out several more charmed passengers as well as a shield enveloping the entire bar. “Poseidon, break the shield!”

  A wave of power swelled from Poseidon. The shield shattered. My stomach wrenched as I blanketed the room with charm in a desperate bid to gain control of the passengers before they panicked and fled. They could come in handy.

  Gods! The effort of channeling my powers sent me doubling over in agony.

  Gritting my teeth, I pushed past the pain, concentration breaking when another passenger lunged at me, knocking me to the floor. Rolling out of the way, I slid across shattered glass. The broken bottles sliced my skin. I leapt to my feet. The uncharmed passengers became aware of the fight in their midst, and rushed toward the door screaming. “Crap!” Pushing past the pain, I refocused my power on the crowd as the music shut off and fluorescent lights flickered on.

  “Are you cut?” Poseidon spared me a glance, throwing up a shield to gain the half-second to determine whether or not I was all right.

  “Not by Steele.” Taking a deep breath, I forced my charm to take hold of the other passengers. “Help me!”

  The bar came to life as passengers threw themselves in between me and the Steele-wielding zombies.

  “Go,” Poseidon shouted, trident swinging in a wild arc. Pink Dress ducked around the blow, slashing at Poseidon, but got intercepted by a crew member acting under the influence of my charm. I ran, Poseidon on my heels. The crowd split in front of me, forming a narrow hallway that closed in behind us. A living shield.

  Scattered within the crowd, I could pick out the passengers who weren’t under my control waiting for us to get close enough to strike. “Red dress! Glasses! Waitress behind the table!” I shouted warnings to Poseidon as soon as I picked out the passengers who would attack, glancing back to gauge his success.

  Poseidon’s trident flashed. Now I understood why Demeter and Hades had been so determined to get him on their side against Zeus. Poseidon wasn’t just powerful. He fought in a way most gods were too complacent to even consider. I couldn’t tell where his powers stopped and his physical prowess began. Green lightning erupted from the trident, followed by a punch, a kick, a shield inverted around a passenger to restrain them. He seemed to be everywhere at once until they tried to strike back, and then he was nowhere.

  “You’re incredible!” I hadn’t meant to speak out loud, and, by rights, I shouldn’t be audible over the fight, but somehow, Poseidon still heard and shot me a grin.

  “You sound surprised. I thought that was common knowledge.” His grin faded. “Watch out!”

  I ducked as another charmed passenger broke through the crowd, slashing at the place where I’d been with the shimmering stake. Poseidon was there in a flash. The passenger went flying into the wall as limp as a rag doll.

  We broke free of the bar and dashed through a hallway decorated to resemble the night sky. If anyone thought it odd we ran like our lives depended on it, I didn’t notice. “Where are we going?” I cried.

  “Water.”

  Right. I veered toward the atrium as the hall opened up into a lobby full of gift shops, tables, and photographers posing random passengers in front of pretty backdrops. The charmed passengers followed right on our heels. “This way!” I rushed across the atrium and up the curved, golden staircase.

  I screamed as a hand closed around my ankle and yanked me down the steps. For a
second, all I could focus on was the stake centimeters from my face. The weapon didn’t move. My gaze shifted up the arm of the passenger carrying the Steele. His face contorted in a grimace of agony. With a violent jerk, he was flung off of me, and slammed into the wall propelled by an invisible force.

  “What?” Leaping to my feet, I found Poseidon. He had one arm up as he cast and recast a shield to keep the passengers at bay almost as fast as they slashed through it, and the other, stretched toward the man, trident extended. “How did you do that?” Telekinesis was not in our skill set.

  “Salt water.” Poseidon panted, the strain from casting a new shield every time Steele broke through evident on his face. “Run!”

  I scrambled up the steps, my mind reeling. There were whispers, rumors, that the original six were capable of manipulating the human body via built-in fail-safes. A control for each god. Water for Poseidon, trace minerals from the earth for Demeter, and the four aspects of the soul for the rest. But I’d only heard rumors. Precious little information about human creation passed down the bloodlines.

  And no one could say for certain whether those same controls were built into us. Forget that for now. How have you not been cut? I’d been knocked over, pushed, and outright missed a statistically improbable number of times not to have sustained a single injury from the Olympian Daggers.

  This fight didn’t make sense. I’d been on this ship surrounded by these people for the last day and a half. Why hadn’t someone taken me out then?

  Maybe I’m not the target.

  What if I was just in the way? Had they addressed both of us, or just Poseidon at the beginning of the fight? He’d stayed behind a shield almost the entire time he’d been on board. Maybe they’d attacked like this because taking down his shield would be noticeable no matter what they did. If you can’t go for surprise, go for strength?

  I burst through the exterior door and slammed into the railing, gasping for breath.