The twins glanced at each other. “Should be simple enough,” Aphros said. “Can the merfolk take human medicines, though?”
“I don’t know,” Bythos admitted. “But the saline IV is a good idea.” He turned to Nick. “Tell Aph what exactly you want and where he’d be likely to find it at a hospital. I’ll check with an expert to see if you can give our guest human medicine.”
“Who are you going to ask?” A sudden thrill went through Nick. “Oh, my God. Are you going to talk to Asclepius? Or Apollo?”
The demigod sighed. “We should be that lucky.”
****
“This had better be good. I was watching Sharknado,” Chiron growled. The centaur’s muscled arms were folded across his bare chest, and he glared at everyone in the living room.
Nick felt like he was being grilled by the worst of his med school professors again, but no one else seemed impressed by the glowing, semi-transparent centaur in the living room. “It’ll be on again,” Bythos said dismissively. “Besides, the plot is absolutely ridiculous. Sharks can’t survive in a tornado.”
Chiron rolled his eyes. “I know that, you idiot. But Tara Reid is hilarious. Anyway, why am I here?”
“We’ve got a wounded merman who took a speargun shaft through the tail,” Bythos said, pointing at the door to the guest room. “Nick took it out, but—”
“Whoa.” Chiron turned to Nick, giving him a gimlet look. “You treated a mer?”
“It’s not like I had much choice,” Nick said defensively. “Besides, my specialty is emergency medicine.”
“Yeah, for humans.” Chiron came closer, looming over Nick. “What exactly did you do?”
Refusing to lean away from the obnoxious centaur, Nick went over the procedure. “I wanted to put him on a saline drip for the blood loss and give him a tetanus shot, antibiotics, and a painkiller, but Aphros pointed out that a non-human might not be able to tolerate human drugs, which is why you’re here.”
Unexpectedly, Chiron nodded at that. “Good call. Do you have the drugs?”
“In his room.” Nick got to his feet, wondering if he could just walk through the centaur. He barely repressed a shudder. Yeah, let’s not.
They went to the guest room. Inside, one of the bedside lamps shed a gentle light over the bed. Aidan was curled up under the covers on his good hip, his muscled back and the upper curve of his ass visible.
Nick did his best to ignore a surge of interest in the merman’s body, pointing at three syringes laid out on the night table. “I already started the IV. Just tell me if these are safe for him to take.”
Chiron edged up sideways to the bed, studying the mer. “What are they?”
“Tdap, erythomycin, and morphine.”
The centaur thought for a moment, then nodded. “They’re all good. For future reference, the merfolk can tolerate most plant-derived drugs such as morphine, quinine, or scopolamine without problems. Erythromycin is derived from tropical fungi, so that’s okay, too. They don’t suffer from lockjaw very often but it does occasionally happen, so the Tdap shot isn’t a bad idea. Just don’t give him any heavily synthesized drugs without running it past me first.”
“Fine.” Nick administered the vaccination and antibiotics shots, then picked up the IV port and injected the morphine. “Do you want to inspect the wounds?”
“Mm.” Chiron flipped down the blanket, exposing Aidan’s right buttock and thigh. The scabbed exit wound on the back of his thigh looked like it had been healing for at least a couple of days. “Relax, mer. This won’t hurt.”
“I know,” was the muffled reply. “Nick did a good job.”
“Hmph.” Chiron probed the exit wound, leaning over the merman to look at his entry wound. Nick stayed back, trying not to stare at Aidan’s rounded, muscular ass.
Goddamn it, don’t leer at your patient.
Chiron glanced back at him, eyes narrowing. For a moment Nick was terrified that he could read minds, and tried to generate mental static.
“He should heal cleanly. Decent enough work,” the centaur admitted, straightening up and yanking the blanket back over Aidan. “Now, what the hell are you keeping in your closet?”
“What?”
“Your closet, genius. Open it.”
Confused, Nick grabbed the closet door handle and opened it. Chiron peered at the contents. “Gaia’s tits. Where do you shop, Goodwill?”
Confusion gave way to annoyance. “I had to pack fast—”
A hand came up, silencing him as Chiron leaned closer. Blue eyes went wide. “Oh. Oh, shit.”
“What?” Nick peered around the door edge. The closet looked exactly like it had earlier—shirts and jeans hung up on hangers, his bag shoved into the bottom, flip-flops next to it, snake-wrapped staff propped against one wall. “What’s wrong?”
Chiron straightened up, pointing at the staff. “Where did you get that?”
“An antique shop. It’s over in Olympic Beach, Ian knows the owner. Why is everyone getting on my case about it? It’s just a walking stick that looks like–”
“—the Rod of Asclepius,” Chiron finished.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s a pretty good copy, but I still don’t understand—”
Chiron turned, glaring at him. “It’s not a copy of the rod of Asclepius, you moron,” he growled. “It is the rod of Asclepius. I’d know that damned thing anywhere.”
That was the last straw. “Okay, you want to cut me some slack here?” Nick snapped. “I’ve have a really tough couple of days, plus I just found out that not only do mers exist, but so do the Greek gods.” He waved a hand at Chiron’s misty midsection. “And whatever you are.”
The blue gaze turned chilly. “I’m a centaur. The centaur, if you like. The first one.”
“Fine, you’re the centaur. But you can’t expect me to believe that I found the actual Rod of Asclepius in a junk shop in a Florida beach town.”
Chiron folded his arms across his chest. “Why not?”
“Because real life doesn’t work like that!” Nick barely stopped himself from shouting the words. “This shit doesn’t even happen in movies! It’s totally ridiculous.”
The centaur tsked at him. “You’re disturbing your patient, doctor.”
Flushing, Nick glanced at the bed. Aidan had rolled onto his back, giving him a wary look. “Shit. I’m sorry, Aidan. Try to go back to sleep. You,” he turned back to Chiron. “Follow me.”
“By all means.” Chiron nodded at the walking staff. “Just bring that with.”
“Why?”
“Humor me.”
Cursing under his breath, Nick grabbed the staff and started to slam the closet door closed, catching himself at the last moment. “Outside. Now.”
He stomped back into the living room, Chiron on his heels. Ian, Bythos, and Aphros were on the couch, heads close together. “Guys, could we have some privacy?”
Ian straightened up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, except that Mr. ‘I’m the first centaur’ thinks that this,” Nick brandished the staff, “is the Rod of Asclepius. The real one.”
He almost dropped it when the snake’s head rose and turned to him.
I don’t understand why that surprises you so much, physician. And don’t drop me. You do and I swear to Gaia I will give you such a bite.
Nick could feel his eyes bulging as he stared at the now-living snake wrapped around the staff. “W-what?”
The snake ignored him, head tilting to the side as it looked at the centaur. Chiron.
“Pythia,” Chiron said, nodding respectfully. “Didn’t expect to see you again.”
You either, old friend. I didn’t think you were allowed to get involved in mortal matters anymore.
“Technically, I’m not. But someone,” he glared balefully at the sea gods on the couch, “keeps pulling me back in.”
Hm. Well, I for one am pleased to see you again. The snake now considered Nick. So, you’re my new pupil. Well, needs must, I suppose.
&
nbsp; The words sounded in Nick’s head, soft but perfectly clear. Somehow, he made his jaw work. “Why do you sound like Judi Dench?”
I have no idea. Your mind is choosing my voice. Why are we wasting time discussing this? Chiron, have you set up a lesson plan yet?
“Whoa, what?” The centaur held up his hands. “I’m just here to check on a punctured merman.”
The snake snorted, undulating higher on the staff. You know perfectly well that you’re to be the mentor to the Bearer. Don’t try to wiggle out of the agreement just because you’re technically dead.
Nick’s head spun back. “Technically dead? How can you be technically dead?”
Chiron spread his sparkling, semi-transparent hands. “Do I look alive to you?”
The snake’s tongue flickered out, touching Nick’s hand. Chiron was accidentally wounded by Hercules when the hero was forced to fight off a band of maddened wild centaurs, she said. His foreleg was pierced with an arrow poisoned with the blood of the Hydra, which burned ceaselessly. As he was immortal, he couldn’t die from his wound, only suffer until the end of time. Hercules persuaded Zeus to allow Chiron to give up his immortality to Prometheus, who had been chained to a rock in the Caucasus and left to die for the crime of giving fire to Mankind. The brave centaur was then placed among the stars by Zeus himself, and his body formed the constellation Centaurus.
“Which just goes to show that humans can find patterns in absolutely anything and history is written by the winners,” Chiron said sourly. “I’m not among the stars, whatever that means, and there was no place for me on Olympus without my immortality, so my half-brother Hades was kind enough to let me wander around like this.”
Ian cleared his throat. “Um, this is all fascinating, but I think we might want to let Nick sit down before he falls over.”
Nick realized he was weaving slightly. Chiron gave him a judicious look. “Yeah, your color’s off. Grab a seat, kid.”
Still clutching the staff like a lifeline, he stumbled to an armchair and sank into it. “I don’t understand any of this. What’s a Bearer? Why am I supposed to have lessons? What lessons?” His voice rose with every word. “I just wanted to get away from my asshole boyfriend!”
“And there’s the meltdown,” Ian muttered, coming over and kneeling next to his chair. “Nick, listen to me. You’ve already had to take in a hell of a lot today.” He glared over his shoulder at Chiron. “Let’s table the whole Bearer thing for now, okay?”
The centaur shrugged. “Fine by me.”
You’re right. We’re putting too much on him. If it was possible for a snake to look embarrassed, Pythia managed it. We’ll discuss this later, Nicholas. For now, attend to your patient. If you need my assistance, simply take the staff and call my name. The snake wound back down into its former position and froze, becoming carved wood again.
“My patient—oh, shit.” Nick tried to lurch up from the chair, but Ian pushed him back down. “No, I need to check on him.”
Chiron held up a hand. “I’ll do that. Slick, get the kid some alcohol, stat.”
****
Leaving the stunned mortal in the care of Ian, Chiron went back into the guest room. As he’d expected, Aidan was still in bed, curled away from the door and suspiciously still.
Chiron checked the IV line, then smirked. “You can stop pretending you’re asleep, tadpole. I can hear you thinking.”
Reluctantly, the merman rolled onto his back, large eyes blinking in the dim room. “You’re really Chiron, lord?”
“In the flesh.” Chiron waggled transparent fingers. “So to speak. What can I do you for?”
Aidan struggled to sit up. “Where am I?”
“You’re in the home of Bythos and Aphros.” He shrugged. “Technically it belongs to their mate Ian, but it’s all the same thing in the end.”
A look of shock crossed the mer’s face. “I’m in the Storm God’s home?”
“Yeah, but he started out as a human so don’t get all worshippy or anything. He’s short and annoying. You’ll probably like him.”
The mer visibly gulped. “Oh. Are the sea lords very angry with me?”
That surprised the centaur. “For what?”
“For getting shot by a human. For having to be rescued and taken in.” The merman’s fists clenched, and he glanced away. “Mers are supposed to be better than that.”
Chiron sighed. Merfolk pride was a fierce thing. “I wouldn’t worry about it,” he said. “Even if the human who shot you says anything to his friends or family, they’ll just think he’s crazy.”
“Still, I let myself be seen. Be wounded, even. That was just pathetic.”
“Right now, the idiot who shot you is probably in more danger from the Wonder Twins than you are, so stop beating yourself up. How’s the leg?”
“I’ve had worse.”
Chiron nodded. “You can thank your healer for that. Getting Aphros to fetch some morphine was inspired.”
“My healer?” The merman looked at him now. “You mean Nick? He’s going to take care of me?”
“That’s the plan.” He considered the glint in the mer’s green eyes. “You seem really happy about that.”
“He’s mo chuisle, lord.”
The translation popped into his head. The Gaelic term of endearment literally meant “my pulse,” but was more commonly translated to “my beloved”. It was also the term used by the mers for an agapetos. “Oh, Gaia,” he groaned. “Tadpole, how much time did you spend with him?”
Aidan’s expression softened, turning dreamy. “Long enough to feel his hands on me and learn his scent, lord. He’s mo chuisle, I know it.”
“Yeah, I bet you can,” the centaur muttered, rubbing his forehead. “But you’re not going to do that right now, understand? You can sex him up after your tail’s healed.”
“I have to wait that long?” Aidan said, dreaminess turning into worry. “Lord, I can’t. What if he meets someone and mates them instead?”
Chiron thought back to Nick’s comment about an asshole boyfriend. “Yeah, I don’t think you have to worry about that. Now, do me a favor, stretch out and get some rest. If you do that and promise to keep your hands to yourself, I’ll send your chuisle in.”
“I will, lord.” The mer settled back against the pillows, already blinking heavily from the morphine. “Thank you.”
Chiron sighed. “Don’t thank me yet, tadpole.”
Easing his way through the door, he headed for the living room. Nick had already finished his prescribed beer, judging by the empty bottle on the end table, and was working on another one. The twins had disappeared, and Ian sat next to Nick, poised on the edge of the cushion as if he thought the doctor was about to explode.
Chiron clasped his hands behind his human back. “Well, the good news is, your guest is still alive,” he announced.
Nick’s head came up at that, his eyes slightly blurred by the alcohol. “What’s the bad news?”
“The bad news is, he misses you, so put down your drink and go give him a goodnight kiss.”
Glaring, the doctor shoved his beer bottle at Ian and got to his feet. “Don’t think that this is all over, Sparkles,” he said, wobbling slightly. “We’ll talk tomorrow after I sober up.”
“Sparkles?” Chiron clapped a hand over his heart. “I do believe I’m insulted. Next you’re gonna want to see my cutie mark.” He jerked his head towards the guest room door. “Get in there, kid. Your patient needs you.”
Muttering something under his breath, Nick pushed past him. Chiron heard the bedroom door open, then close. “Humans these days. Try to help them, and they just get snotty.”
Ian winced. “Why are you needling him?”
“Gotta get my kicks where I can. Speaking of that, I’m outta here—with any luck I can still catch Tara getting chomped on by a great white. Call me if the mer gets worse.”
Smirking, Chiron disappeared.
****
Nick crept into the bedroom, acutely aware that
he was more than moderately buzzed. Just check on him, say good night, then go crash on the couch.
Aidan was on his back, hands clasped over his belly. “Hi, Nick.”
“Hi.” Nick made himself move to the side of the bed, picking up Aidan’s right hand to check his pulse. It seemed a little sluggish. “Is your heartbeat normally this slow?”
Aidan frowned. “I don’t know. I never really noticed before. Is slow bad?”
Nick tried to think past the beer. “Not necessarily. People who are very physically fit have slower heart rates.” Which was an accurate description of the merman. Even in his human form, Nick was willing to bet Aidan could take on an Olympic swimmer and beat him handily. “Just want to make sure you’re not bleeding.”
Aidan flipped up the blanket, revealing a creamy expanse of muscled flank. The bandages around his thigh showed no sign of blood. “I’m all right. See?”
Nick swallowed hard, trying to ignore an almost painful desire to lean over and lick the muscled groove leading to the mer’s groin. Bad doctor. No licking the patient, even if he could be a freaking underwear model.
Gingerly, he grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it back over Aidan. “Uh, I meant internally. Any sensation of pressure, sharp pain?”
“No. Your medicine helped with that. I’m just sleepy now.”
“Okay, yeah. Good.”
They stared at each other in the dim light. “I should go—” Nick began.
“Would you stay with me?” Aidan asked softly. “Just until I fall asleep?”
The slightly wistful tone in the mer’s voice tugged unexpectedly at him. “I … yeah. Yeah, I can do that.” Spotting an old armchair shoved in the corner, he dragged it to the side of the bed. “It’s probably a good idea anyway,” he said, sitting down. “I really wish I could’ve gotten a CAT scan or MRI of your leg. Call me overprotective, but I don’t like not knowing what’s going on inside you.”
“You could just ask,” the mer said mildly.
“I meant medically.”
“Oh. Why did you drag the chair over?”
“Well, sitting on the edge of the bed would get uncomfortable after a while.”
Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone Page 6
