by Casey Wyatt
That’s just great. Nix furiously tried to think of a way out of the situation. Portia hefted the staff, ready to throw it like a spear. On the way backward, they passed the men. Nereus looked angry as he argued with Cal and Zephyr. Both were tensed for action, ready to intervene, but were stayed by Nereus’ hand.
Portia dropped her Mantle’s faceplate again. A death’s head smile was plastered on her face. “Last chance to tell me how you tricked me. This staff will pierce a Destroyer’s Mantle. It’s like a heat seeking missile. Once I throw it, it will chase you down until you’re dead. I bet Father never mentioned it. Did you, Daddy?”
“Portia. It’s not too late for you to stop. If you kill your sister, I will have to destroy you.” Nereus stated the fact, plain and simple. He held out his palm. “Give me the staff.”
“Screw you!” Portia drew back and aimed at Nix.
“Wait!” Cal stepped forward, arms raised. “Nix doesn’t know. I’m the one who tricked you.”
Cal had to protect Nix. Besides, she really didn’t know why the seal didn’t work. He did. Nix was pissed. He could tell, even with the Destroyer’s garb, by the tilt of her head and the fists on her hips.
Portia lowered the staff and strutted toward him. Zephyr and Nereus flanked him, each moving into a defensive crouch as Portia neared.
Their posture seemed to amuse her. She laughed gaily, like they were out having a picnic together. Still a Nymph, through and through; levity at the wrong moment.
“Portia. Let me help you,” Nereus pleaded. “I can take these memories away from you. You can go back to your old life.”
Portia shook her head, eyes misty. “No, Father. That doesn’t work for me anymore.”
“We can try again.”
“No!” Her face flushed with anger. “You aren’t locking me up ever again.” Portia fixed her gaze onto Cal, then smirked. “Such a hero you are. Just like your partner, Talus.”
Cal wanted her to stop talking. The memory of that awful day flooded his mind. “It was you. You killed him.”
“I sure did. I would have eaten his heart, too, but that would have meant I’d have to drop the armor, and I didn’t want you to know my identity.” Portia planted the staff deep into the sand. The armor melted off her hands and chest. She displayed a vial filled with silver liquid. “See this? It’s my keepsake. Talus’ blood, squeezed from his heart. I like to remind myself of that day.”
Cal’s entire body heated. Steam rose off his clothing as he fought to control his emotions. He knew Nix wanted a piece of Portia, but he couldn’t promise he wouldn’t tear her limb from limb on the spot. She had caused so much grief. To him. To Nix. “We’re not here to talk about Talus.” He couldn’t kill her. Not yet. He needed to know if she had his soul either hidden away or on another string around her neck.
Portia reformed her armor, again leaving her face visible. She placed her hand back on the staff. “Tell me where the real seal is.”
“Okay. But I want to know where my soul is,” Cal said.
“I don’t have it.” Portia pouted. “It disappeared as soon as I knifed you in the heart.”
“Cal! Don’t tell her anything!” Nix shouted. “Come back and fight me, you stupid whore.”
Portia laughed. “Wait your turn, little sister. Now, Cal. Stop stalling.”
Cal dropped his backpack, shrugged off his holsters, and pulled his T-shirt up to his neck. He fished a portable black light out of his pocket and flashed it over his abdomen. An intricate tattoo glowed under the special light.
“You cheater!” Portia seethed. “You put the seal on your own body.”
“Yup.” Cal waited. It took Portia seconds to try and kill him.
If Nix could have hugged and kicked Cal in the balls at the same time she would have. Ingenious, really. That must have been Cal and Zephyr’s mysterious errand. And the reason why Cal smelled like antiseptic. He’d used the black-light ink—brilliant, ensuring it wouldn’t be visible to the naked eye.
She’s going to kill him, Ban observed.
Not if I can help it. Nix raced ahead. Can you speak to her alien?
Of course. How else do you think we all stay in touch?
In the twenty seconds it took to reach Portia, Nix had outlined her plan.
“Nice try, Nix. Hands on your head,” Portia said, aiming the staff at Nix’s chest. “I knew you would come to rescue your man. On your knees.”
“It’s time to end this, Portia.” Nix complied, placing her hands on her head, then kneeling down.
“Hey. This isn’t the deal we had, Portia,” Cal said, moving toward Portia.
“Back up. Now.” Portia touched the crystal against Nix’s suit. The armor retreated in the spot where it landed. Ban’s fear drummed into Nix’s skull.
“One push and this will go through her heart.” Portia smiled at Nix. “I never did like you. I only stole Nate to hurt you.”
“I didn’t love him.” Nix smiled back. “You two deserved each other.”
Portia’s eyes darted between Nix and Cal. “Of course. But then, how would you feel if I killed Cal? For real this time.”
Metal razors jetted out of Portia’s armor. Cal’s abdomen bloomed red as blood spurt into the sand. “Oh, I know this won’t kill him. But this will.” Portia swung the staff around, aimed straight for Cal’s heart.
“Now!” Nix shouted. Ban issued a command. Portia’s Mantle slid off her like magician yanking a tablecloth out from underneath fine china.
Portia stopped mid-thrust. “What have you done?” She surged forward, but Cal had rolled out of the way.
“Give up, Portia.” Nix scooped up her sister’s Mantle and tossed it to Nereus. “Last chance.”
“I can still kill you!” Portia drew her arm back. Her lips formed the words to command the spear.
She never finished the sentence. Portia’s Mantle rocketed out of Nereus’ hands and molded over her face. Silver tentacles rammed down Portia’s throat, strangling her speech. Sharp tendrils pierced her eyes, penetrated her ears, and wrapped around her neck. They snaked over the hand that held the staff. Without mercy or hesitation, the Mantle forced Portia to impale herself with the crystal.
Nix watched with horrified fascination. It all happened so fast. The crystal pierced Portia’s heart. Then her sister was gone. The Mantle fluttered to the ground.
I don’t understand, Ban. Nix gingerly touched the fallen Mantle with her fingertips.
She is my mate, Ban said. She would not allow Portia to destroy me.
But why now? I thought you were slaves to Nereus. Nix stood up and faced her father. His eyes were fixed far on the horizon. A single tear leaked from the corner of his right eye.
It seems he has granted our freedom, Ban replied. He snaked a portion of his silver skin around the Mantle in Nix’s hand. It’s good to see you, my love, he said tenderly.
Nix disrobed her Mantle. She felt like a third wheel. She packed the two cloaks in her backpack, allowing them a private reunion.
Cal raced up behind her and pulled her into a long, deep kiss. After, he held her at arm’s length, checking her for injuries. “Thank the Gods. You’re okay.”
“Me? What about you?” Nix yanked up his T-shirt. The metal shards were already gone.
“Nereus took care of me.” Cal tilted his head to where her father had been standing. The spot was empty. “Funny. He was just there.”
Typical. Nereus took off the first chance he got. He still had a lot of explaining to do. Nix would corner him, one way or the other.
Devlin and Jason approached them. Zephyr was in the rear.
“I don’t know how I got here, but can we leave now?” Devlin rubbed his forehead. A large goose egg had formed.
“I’m sorry, Nix. She ambushed us like we were rookies.” Jason had two black eyes and swollen lips. A ragged hole had formed where his lip ring used to be. Ouch.
“It’s not your fault.” Nix tried to console them. Soothing the male ego was not an ea
sy task. “No one can stop a Destroyer.”
“Except you.” Cal hugged her hard against his chest. “Looks like Charon’s boat decided not to wait for us to walk back.”
The large ship hung in the sky overhead. The staircase had already lowered and was waiting.
Jason’s face brightened. “Cool. Any chance I can steer us home?”
To Nix’s dismay, Cal tossed the key to Jason. “Sure.”
Zephyr flashed Cal a sour look, but steered a reluctant Devlin up the gangplank. “Come on, Devlin. We can hit the spa when we get back. I have some girls who have been dying to meet you.”
“Uh . . . no thanks. I’ll just head back to my shop.” Devlin sat on a crate, rubbing his head.
Nix paused. Was he afraid of females? Or maybe he liked males? She didn’t have to wait to find out. Zephyr pounced on the tidbit.
“Did you just pass up female company?” Zephyr joined Devlin on the same crate. “Explain.”
Cal snuggled Nix up close next to him on a wooden box across from Devlin and Zephyr. She didn’t even cower when the ship rose up into the sky.
“Come on, Devlin. We’ve been through life and death together. We are a brotherhood now,” Cal urged on. Nix nudged his ribs. “Okay, Warriorhood.”
Devlin cleared his throat, then swallowed hard a few more times. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down like it was spastic. “Okay.” Another throat clear. “I’m a virgin.”
He spoke so quietly, Nix wasn’t sure she heard it right. Zephyr burst out laughing. Cal’s chest quivered in silent amusement.
“Did I hear you correctly?” Nix asked. “You, a Satyr, are a virgin?”
Devlin’s chin jutted out. “Yes, I am. And I’m not going to explain why to you. You have a dick in your refrigerator.”
No matter how much they prodded, Devlin kept his mouth shut the entire trip home.
Now Nix had heard of everything.
Chapter 21
Nix spent most of the following evening cleaning the shop and putting everything back in order. She had rebuffed all offers of help from the others, Cal included. They needed rest and time to heal their wounds. Nix wanted time alone to think. She needed the quiet to reflect on what had happened.
As she swept the floor, she tried to remember the last time a Nereid had died. It had been a long time. Before Nix was born. And none of her sisters had ever committed such treachery against the family or humanity. Nix knelt down and swept glass shards into a dustpan. She stood up and felt a burst of magic. The dustpan clattered to the floor. The glass scattered all over the place.
“Father!” Nix wanted to hurl the broom at his head.
He held his hands up. “Sorry, I should have announced myself first.”
“Ya think?” Nix sighed and started sweeping the mess. Again.
Magic swirled around the room. The debris disappeared, poofed out of existence. The board on the front window was replaced with shiny new glass. The shop was restored back to order.
“You didn’t need to do that, Father.” Nix didn’t bother to try and explain to Nereus that she wanted to do the work. He wouldn’t understand.
“You’re wrong, Nix. I do know the value of hard work.” Nereus held out his hand to her. “Come, sit on the couch with me.”
She stubbornly refused to move. “What? Now you read minds, too?” Was anything private from him?
“No. I can’t read your mind. I just know you. My dearest daughter.” Nereus beckoned her again. “Please, I don’t have a lot of time. I need to return to the council. They are screaming bloody murder.”
Right. Even in death, Portia could cause an uproar. Nix placed her hand in her father’s much larger palm and joined him on the couch.
“I know you want answers. So, I am here to share my knowledge with you first. Not even your mother knows this yet.”
Nix waited expectantly, surprised by the rare honor her father was bestowing on her. They both knew, for all her blustering, that Nereus didn’t have to explain anything to her. Even though he was her father, he was also her boss.
“Here’s what I’ve been able to piece together. Portia was on assignment near Chicxulub in the Yucatan peninsula. I sent her there to investigate the area after a drilling operation reported strange happenings. Divers had been disappearing. There were unusual stories of mysterious underwater voices, drill operators going mad and excessive seismic activity.”
“Portia had completed her mission and returned to base. Her results were inconclusive, so the council decided to take a wait and see attitude. Portia went through the standard Reclamation process and it appeared to be successful.”
Nix could hear the inevitable “but” in Nereus’ voice. “At first, the change in her wasn’t obvious. She was prone to fits of crying and emotional outbursts.”
No big surprise there that no one noticed right away, Nix thought. Portia had always been a vain, obnoxious, drama queen.
“When her behavior became erratic, indiscreet, and slightly violent, I decided to engage the mind wipe protocol again, even though Portia was still on duty. It helped for a while.” Nereus sighed and studied the ends of his fingertips. “She seemed recovered so I sent her on what turned out to be her final mission.”
“The one where she killed Talus in front of Cal and a room full of scared shitless mortals,” Nix spat out.
“Yes, Nix. That one. I have kicked myself a million times since. Talus was a good soldier and a kind soul.”
“So how did Typhon get to her?” Nix wondered if any of them would ever be safe again.
“Chicxulub is an impact crater, the remains of a meteor strike sixty-five million years ago. Zeus imprisoned Typhon in that crater, never anticipating that mortal technology would progress to the point of delving so deep into the sea. Portia, while investigating the area, swam too deeply and was lured by Typhon’s call.”
“Is the prison weakening then?” Nix shuddered at the thought.
“No. Not that I can tell. I’ve investigated the area. Typhon is locked in there. He’s not getting free. I’ve recommended to the council that the area be declared a dead zone. And I know I don’t have to tell you not to reveal what I have told you about the exact location of Typhon’s prison. That needs to remain a secret.”
“I understand.” And she would keep quiet. She didn’t want every crazy in the God world stalking her and her loved ones for information. Again. Once was plenty.
“Portia was in the wrong place at the wrong time, then?”
“Yes and no. She swam too close to the prison, but she also knowingly embraced evil in her heart, and that allowed Typhon the access he needed to complete his seduction of her.”
Nereus stood up. “I’m sorry you had to learn all this.”
“I’m not.” Nix blocked Nereus’ path to the door. “Have you ever considered, even once, that taking away our memories was a bad idea?” She held up her hand. “I know all the arguments. It’s so we can’t reveal secret information or compromise the identity of active agents. Oh, and my personal favorite, so we won’t have to feel bad about what we’ve done in the line of duty.”
“Those are all valid reasons. Reasons that time has borne out as being sound.” Nereus almost sounded petulant.
“I have a Satyr’s dick and balls in my fridge, Dad!” Nix noted Nereus’ shocked reaction with a little too much satisfaction. “It would have been nice to know why I did that and not have to learn about it from a file. And my sister, Chloe. She was raped and brutalized by that bastard Pannis. Does she even know what happened to her? You know, she has spent the last hundred plus years scared, and she doesn’t know why!”
“Nix, please.”
“No. I’m not done. If you had allowed us to function like everyone else, Portia wouldn’t have been vulnerable to Typhon. You also would have learned a lot sooner what Typhon was up to. And Cal . . . he wouldn’t have had his soul stolen away. I love him. How can we have a future if he can die the true death at any moment?” Nix brushed tears
from her eyes. She turned away until her hands stopped trembling.
Nereus sat back down on the couch. He looked very old all of a sudden, like every millennia that he had existed bent his back and hunched his shoulders. He didn’t speak for a long time.
Nix went back to rearranging Mary’s desk supplies. Her emotions were riding so high she might need a spaceship back down. Soft laughter rumbled from her father. It built up to a roar. She wanted to smash the pencils she was holding into matchsticks.
“You always were my savviest child. You’re right. About all of it.” Nereus sprang off the couch with renewed vigor and pulled Nix into a hug that lifted her toes off the floor. The heady fragrance of ocean winds rolled off him.
“So does that mean I can have my memories back? All of them?” Nix’s heart was about to burst.
“Absolutely.”
“And I want the choice to be a Destroyer. Or not.”
“Done.”
Nix wanted to do a happy dance across the floor. Freedom. Finally it was hers. But wait. “And what about my sisters? They have to have the same options as me.” Nix held her breath.
“Yes.” Nereus added quickly, “Especially Chloe.”
“And there is something else I want.” She wasn’t letting Nereus off the hook too easily.
“Of course. You saved the world. And me, from a foolish old man’s point of view. Let me hear what it is.”
An hour later, Nereus left the shop and Nix had never felt so wonderful in her life.
By the time Zephyr turned up, the shop had reopened. Jason was back at his chair inking a customer, and Mary was back to her old, bitch self, ignoring Nix and being nice to Cal. Cal was holding Basil while the bird or basilisk babbled on about dead bodies and the secret of the lost souls.
Zephyr’s arrival meant she had another piece of unfinished business to address. The God of the West Wind knew her too well. “Out with it, Nix. I see that wrinkle in your forehead. The one you get between your eyebrows.”
