The Nymph's Curse: The Collection

by Danica Winters

  He sat the bucket down next to the screen with a thud, and Vickie looked up. “Hi, professor.”

  “Hey.” He stepped to the opposite side of the screen and pushed his fingers through the clumps of dirt that sat on the metal mesh.

  Damn, I hate this type of thing.

  After a moment, he looked up at her. Her fingers fumbled through the dirt.

  He couldn’t bring himself to ask about the governor’s accusations. “Have you found anything?”

  God, sometimes I’m so weak.

  Vickie looked up and smiled, her white teeth sparkled in the sun. “I found a coin, and a few bones, but the best thing was this rock.” She grabbed a stone from the side of the square and held it up for him to see.

  The gray stone was the shape of a heart.

  He picked it up from her hand. The stone was smooth and polished — too perfect for a natural stone.

  “This is a fantastic artifact. Nice find.”

  She laughed. “Thanks.”

  “Why are you laughing?”

  She looked at him with her enormous brown eyes. “Because … you are holding my heart in your hands.”

  Oh, shit …

  Beau laughed nervously and sat the rock down. Her eyes never left him and the action only made him more uncomfortable.

  He turned away from her gaze. “I’ll come back when you’re done.”

  His heart beat fast and hard. Did Vickie just hit on him? Or was it a joke? He couldn’t have a relationship with a student. It was unethical in every conceivable fashion, but her advance did something to him he hadn’t felt since the day at the museum.

  Walking to his dig, he stepped down into the pit. Standing there, he closed his eyes, and tried to remember Ariadne’s face. He could see her golden eyes, her glittering smile, and the way her hair had fallen like silk over her shoulders. He needed to see her again.

  No … He only had a month before the funding ran out. They were down to the last layer, his last shot to prove himself and his theory. He had to focus on work. He needed to find something — and it couldn’t be a woman.

  Picking up his trowel, he forced himself back to work. It would have been better if he was sketching or photographing the stratigraphic levels, but he needed to feel his muscles pull taut beneath his skin … anything to erase the thoughts of Ariadne from his mind.

  Scraping, his trowel made an odd grating sound and he stopped. He pulled the brush from his pocket.

  “Hey, Beau … ” Kaden’s voice broke through the muggy air.

  Beau stopped. Standing up, he wiped his brow. On the edge of the pit stood Kaden and the girl he had seen eyeing his son. “Hey.”

  His son looked over at the pretty girl and dropped his gaze to the ground. Beau held back his smile. “Who’s this?”

  The girl extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Trina. Nice to meet you, Professor Morris.” Beau took her hand and shook it, her grip was firm and she looked him square in the eye. “I hope you don’t mind, Kaden said he would show me around your site.” She leaned around and looked past him, in the direction of the center of the dig.

  Kaden pulled at the back of his neck and fiddled with his hair.

  Ah, young love.

  He envied their naïve desire to fall into a situation that would undoubtedly turn into a disaster.

  “Yeah sure, go ahead,” Beau answered, as he stared at the layer of soil where he had been digging.

  Squatting down, Beau picked up the plastic brush. Feathering the bristles against the ground, the ash pushed back and revealed a face. As he removed more and more soil, he could see the tan of the woman’s face and the dark paint around her golden eyes. Her lips were a subtle shade of red and her dark brown hair was swept up into the classical bun. Underneath her face, was a line of text. He recognized it as Linear A, but that was as much as he knew.

  Sweeping away the dirt beneath the text, his hands began to tremble. Pressed into the tablet was a clear circle, inside of which were smaller and smaller circles all connected by lines. He traced the lines with his finger, some of the lines ended abruptly, while others arced and switched, then came to an end. Dropping the brush, he put his hands to his head.

  He couldn’t believe it. Is it real?

  He ran his fingers against the stone and felt the coarse dirt beneath his touch. It was real. It was a sign. This small clay tablet was evidence … evidence of the Labyrinth. But he needed more.

  Chapter Five

  The dig needed to end. Beau Morris was charming and thoughtful, he listened and cared, and Ariadne couldn’t be around him again. Everyone on the island had seen the morning’s headlines that praised the work of the archeologist and his field crew. Stavros had even made a statement about how he intended to use the dig to create jobs, making it clear he had gone against her wishes to shut the project down.

  This time she intended on making him listen to reason. He wouldn’t dare expose non-humans — not if she had a say about it.

  She walked into Stavros’ office. Bunny’s desk was empty and a giggle escaped from his inner office.

  Not again …

  Ariadne tiptoed to the office door. Touching the handle, she pressed it down, and slowly cracked open the door.

  At the side of his desk was Stavros. His shirt was unbuttoned and his pants rested just above his knees. Bunny’s bare legs were wrapped around his waist, and his hands hidden from sight.

  Ariadne nudged the door open an inch more and could see him cupping Bunny’s tanned breasts as she splayed across the top of his desk.

  Ariadne pulled the door closed and turned to walk away.

  Stavros has never portrayed himself as a saint. This day has been coming for a long time. He is a bull, for gods’ sake. His animalistic urges drive him … But why today? Why when I need him, did things have to hit an all-time low?

  What am I going to do now?

  Going back to the site was too dangerous. What if Dr. Morris suspected her of something, or what if she inadvertently let something slip? The sisterhood wouldn’t forgive her if she gave away their secret. And what would happen if he touched her again?

  A chiding giggle echoed out into the main office. Anger twisted through her. Stavros wasn’t going to get away with treating her like this anymore.

  She turned back around and charged the door. Slamming it open, the handle smashed against the wall.

  Stavros, mid-thrust, looked up. “Ariadne … ” He thrust deeper. “Hello, lover.”

  She balled her fists. A thousand things ran through her mind. Should she yell and scream? Call him a liar and a manipulator? Should she slap him, or go after Bunny?

  Stavros smiled. “Do you want to join us?”

  Bunny looked up at her with a sickening smile.

  What the hell did he think? Does he really expect me to run over to the desk and get to work?

  “You have to be kidding.” Ariadne strode to the center of the room.

  Stavros pulled up his pants, but left the zipper open. “What? We’ve been together for years and the entire time you have been blind to my occasional indiscretions just like I’ve been blind to all of your little seductions. Why do you want to make a scene about this?”

  Bunny sat up and pulled away from Stavros. Covering her breasts, she jumped behind the desk, away from Ariadne.

  Ariadne smirked. That was the smartest thing she had ever seen that girl do. She turned back to Stavros. “I haven’t seduced anyone in a long time. Don’t you try to make this my fault.”

  Stavros leaned over, put his hands on the corner of the desk, and looked up at her. “You have the same needs as I do … Needs that we can’t always fill for each other.”

  “I can’t believe you.”

  He shoved off the desk with an angry force. “What? I wasn’t made to
be with one woman until the end of time. You know this.”

  She did know he was like a typical bull, strong, thickheaded, and driven by the dangling appendages between his legs.

  Stavros walked over to the decanter that sat on the mirrored tray in the corner of the room. “Besides, you know you can never leave me. You and I both know that you will never have love.”

  Bunny’s hands shook as she tried to button her tight white shirt.

  He dropped a piece of ice into his glass and sloshed the ouzo over the little chunk. “Don’t act like such a saint. Let’s forget about this whole thing and have a little fun.”

  Ariadne looked back at Stavros. “There are no saints in this room. But I’m not interested in your impromptu orgy.”

  “Not that many years ago, you would have jumped at a chance like this. What’s going on with you?” He tugged up the zipper on his pants.

  “Nothing is ‘going on’ with me. I’m sick of you and your lack of respect.”

  Bunny adjusted her skirt as she stepped beside Stavros.

  He lifted the crystal glass and took a long gulp. “Aria, I thought we had an understanding.”

  “What? That you could screw whoever, whenever — without a second thought for me and what I may think?” Her neck tensed and she could feel the start of a headache.

  “That’s not what I said … ” He offered his glass to Bunny, who took it with a shaking hand. The secretary took a tiny sip, and then handed the oversized glass back to him. “You are being such a … woman. I thought you were better than this.”

  “I am better than this.” Ariadne walked to the door and opened it. She glanced back over her shoulder at the sight of the two fornicators.

  “Shut down the site, Stavros.”

  He pushed a pen straight on his desk. “I’ll do what needs to be done.”

  • • •

  Stavros and Bunny wouldn’t care. They would never see or understand why Ariadne was hurt and angry. They were two people that were cut from the same cloth, they both wanted instant gratification, regardless of the consequence. Ariadne was the fool. At least she felt like one.

  Stavros had let her down on so many levels. And now Ariadne was going to have to take care of the Morris situation herself as well. She should’ve never thought to rely on Stavros, he would use whomever and whatever he needed to get ahead — even her.

  Thumping her elbows down on the café’s table, she pushed her face into her hands and massaged her temples in an attempt to lessen the throb of her headache.

  She was so angry, but mostly, she was angry with herself. She should have known after the way she had seen Bunny the first day at the office … she should have been prepared to one day walk in and find them doing what they had been doing.

  Why me? Why have I never been able to find a man that cared for anyone besides himself?

  “Ariadne?” A shrill voice invaded her senses.

  She looked up, and standing in front of her, was the worst possible person she could have run into. “Kat,” Ariadne said in a flat voice.

  She looked past the woman wearing a wrinkle-free snowy white skirt and a yellow top and scanned the empty courtyard surrounding the outdoor café. At least Kat was alone, instead of with her little menagerie of followers.

  “You seem absolutely pitiful.” Kat’s lips were pursed as if she was trying to keep back a smile.

  “Thank you. It’s nice to see you, too.”

  Kat reached down and flashed her black snake tattoo as she pulled out one of the extra chairs. She slipped into the seat. “Is this all about that archeologist? How’s it going, keeping an eye on things?”

  “What? Yes, no … ”

  “I thought we talked about this. You need to get the site shut down, so whatever you need to do with Stavros, make it happen.”

  “Actually — ”

  “I don’t want to hear excuses. I have my hands full, I expect you to be able to handle one little archeologist. Though I have to say, you seemed too cozy with him when I saw you two in the museum.”

  “Like I said before, that was nothing. I was throwing him off the trail. I didn’t want him to get suspicious.”

  “You didn’t want him to get suspicious of you — a woman he had never seen — by taking him into the back room of the museum? Really? You are going to try to tell me lies now?” Kat leaned in closer. “I’ve known you for more than a thousand years. I know something is not right with you. But know this — if you screw up, I will make your immortal life a living hell. You will have no more allies.”

  Ariadne gave a tired sigh. “What are you doing here, Kat? Are you following me?”

  Kat’s laugh rang with delight. “No, but that’s not a bad idea. You need a little supervision. We would hate to have you stray.”

  Ariadne dropped her hands and ran her finger down the edge of the linen napkin. Her anger flared right beneath the surface, but Kat, the staff bearer, was the last person she could go against. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” Kat waved at a passing waiter and pointed at the table. “Three cappuccinos.”

  The waiter nodded and walked toward the kitchen.

  Ariadne glared at Kat. “Are you thirsty?”

  “Not especially, but Tammy Blithe is on her way to meet me … well, us.”

  “Tammy. The witch?”

  “One and the same. She and I were planning on going over the final plans for the ceremony. You will play your usual role, but this year I was hoping for more of an edge. We need to pay homage to Epione in a way only we can … ” Kat stared at her.

  Ariadne tried to ignore Kat’s prompt, but after a minute of her piercing stare, she couldn’t hold back any longer. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Ah, well … you might not like it.”

  Of course I won’t. Not if Kat is behind the idea.

  Ariadne played with the napkin. “Just get it over with.”

  Kat smiled gleefully. “You may need to toughen your feet.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  The waiter walked up with the tray of drinks. “Hello, ladies,” he said with a smile, obviously unaware of the interruption.

  Kat leaned into the man as he sat down the drinks.

  “Oh, hello … ” Reaching up, she ran her finger over his nametag, making the dark-haired man blush. “Giorgos.”

  He smiled. “Hey.”

  Kat looked into his eyes and smiled. “Giorgos,” she crooned, “do you have a lover?”

  He looked dazed with her intent stare. “A girlfriend.”

  Kat’s smile never wavered. “Do you love her?”

  “Yes. I think.”

  “You think? Does that mean you aren’t sure?” Kat touched his hand.

  “Yes … no … ,” the man stuttered. “I mean … you’re so beautiful.”

  Kat dropped her fingers from his hand and ran them through her hair. “Thank you.”

  The waiter blinked a few times. “Uh, do you ladies need anything else?”

  “Yes. I’m going to need you to come to me tonight.” She pulled a card from her purse and slipped it into the breast pocket of his shirt.

  “Definitely … ,” the man muttered.

  “Excuse me, young man,” a gray-haired woman said as she pushed her way around the waiter.

  A small man stood at the woman’s side, his head barely as high as the witch’s waist. His skin was a mottled pale white, as if he had been covered in makeup. He pulled at his shirt collar and itched at his skin, and Ariadne caught a glimpse of a patch of gray skin under the edge of his shirt. He must be an elf. It had been a long time since she had seen one.

  The waiter looked down at the little man.

  “You may go.” Kat directed him wi
th a wave.

  The gray-haired woman’s eyebrows rose as the man spun on his heel and walked away. He looked back over his shoulder and his tray banged against the door that led inside.

  “Well, you seem to be doing well.” The woman chuckled. “By the way, this is my friend and assistant, Ivan Chenikylo.”

  The elf dropped his chin, in what she assumed to be a greeting.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Chenikylo.” Ariadne offered her hand.

  He didn’t move. “You can call me Ivan,” he said in a thick Russian accent.

  Ariadne dropped her hand. “Okay. Ivan.”

  Kat leaned back in her chair and looked down her nose. “I don’t know why you even try. He’s an elf, for the goddess’ sake.”

  “Ya won’t talk to my friend that way, Kat,” Tammy growled. “Elf or not, you treat him with respect or ya will be finding yourself another witch.”

  “As always, Tammy, you know how to cause a commotion. Just keep your elf out of my way.” Kat glared at the little man.

  “I think y’all find that he’s the best man you can get to protect your behind.” The witch pulled out the extra chair and sat down. Ivan kept an eye on Kat as he silently moved around to the witch’s side and pulled out the chair between her and Ariadne.

  “Tammy, this is Ariadne Papadakis, one of the women from my group. She’ll be in charge of the statue and the sacrifice.”

  “Ariadne? As in the daughter of King Minos? I’ve heard so much ’bout ya.”

  “She’s one and the same,” Kat said.

  Ariadne nodded.

  “Can’t the poor lady answer for herself?” Tammy scoffed. The witch turned toward her with her back to Kat. “Aria, do you mind if I call you Aria? You can go on and call me Tammy. It’s nice to finally put a name to the face.”

  “Yes, it’s nice to finally meet. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “All lies,” Tammy said with a chuckle. “Though that one about Nico … that story’s true. I skewered his big behind.” The witch winked. “And if I get my say, Stavros will have a long and painful death just like his fat, piggy brother.”