by Holly Kelly
“What are you?” Nicole asked
“I’m a siphon.”
“You drain god powers,” Ty said matter-of-factly.
“Not just drain, I feed them to someone else.”
“Let me guess, Zeus.”
“Yes, and it won’t be long before he feels the absence of Nicole’s power. I was to drain Nicole of all of her power and give it to Zeus permanently.”
“And kill Nicole in the process,” Ty supplied.
“Yes. He’ll hunt her down. And if he can’t regain her power, he will kill her. She is too much of a threat to let live.”
“Are you the only siphon?”
“No, we are many.”
“And are you all siphoning power for Zeus?”
“Many of us are, but it’s her power he covets the most,” she said, gesturing to Nicole.
“Why didn’t he kill her long ago?”
“I don’t know.” Her image seemed to be fading, and her eye sockets darkened.
“Are you dying?” Triton asked.
“Yes, I can’t survive long without a host.”
“If I can find you another host, would you give Zeus his power?”
“No, only the person who places me in the host has access to the power.”
“And would Zeus tell you to kill the new host?”
“No. By removing me, you’ve severed my ties with Zeus. But there is no time to find a suitable host. Now, if you please, put me out of my misery. And, Nicole?” She turned to her, her eyes filled with infinite sadness.
“Yes,” she said, emotion choking her voice.
“I’m sorry for my part in harming you. You were meant for greatness, and I took that from you.”
“No. You helped me! If it weren’t for you, I’d have given Sara to an orphanage and slit my wrists.”
“It would take more than that to kill you, but I appreciate the sentiment.” She turned to Triton. “Now, sea-god. Please, do what you need to do. End my painful existence.”
“No, wait!” Nicole shouted. “I love you, Sypher! Until Sara came along, you were the closest thing to a family I had.”
“I love you too, child.”
Nicole couldn’t contain the grief that engulfed her. She closed her eyes and cried as if her heart were literally breaking. It felt like it was.
She opened her eyes, and Sypher was gone. Nicole threw her arms around Triton and wept.
“Sypher’s not gone, love,” Triton said.
“What have you done?” Triton said, only he wasn’t the one speaking.
“Sypher?” Nicole said, looking into Ty’s eyes. “Is that you? Ty, what did you do?”
“She can stay in my head long enough for me to find another host,” Triton said. “But I have a few rules for your stowaway. First, don’t speak through my lips again. If you have something to say, you tell me first and I’ll decide if I want to relay it. Second, don’t get comfortable. I don’t plan on keeping you there long.”
“And if you don’t stop talking and listen for a moment, you’re going to die, sea-god.”
“Are you threatening me?” he asked.
“No, I’m enlightening you. I’m a siphon. I drain god powers; yours are being drained into the sea as we speak. And as your powers originate from the sea, you will find out real quick what happens when you can no longer—” Her voice cut off. Ty’s eyes widened in horror as he choked.
“Ty! What’s wrong?”
Nicole looked down and saw his legs kicking out. He no longer had a fin, and he couldn’t breathe! “Oh no, Ty!”
Nicole grabbed him and swam him to the door. “Help! Anyone! Triton has to get to the surface. Please, help me. He’s going to die!”
The front door smashed open, rubble flying everywhere. Two long tentacles snapped inside like the tongue of a giant bullfrog snatching a fly. Nicole’s stomach felt as if it were left behind when they flew through the door and raced to the surface. The leviathan moved at an insane speed. Then they seemed to slow as its tentacles bloomed out, but he pushed the water back and accelerated, once again leaving her stomach behind. The entire trip to the surface was a sickening ride of acceleration and deceleration. Nicole looked at Triton, his limbs waving limp in the grasp of the sea monster. Please let him live; he can’t die on me.
Triton felt as if he were about to explode. He coughed and sputtered as water poured from his mouth.
He could hear Nicole. “Ty… breathe. Oh please, breathe.”
He coughed more and then vomited, expelling water from his lungs. Why is the seawater causing him pain? He was a god of the seas, the sea was part of him, and he was part of it. It was his life, his whole being—and it was trying to kill him.
“Wha… what happened?” he asked, and then coughed.
“You almost drowned,” Nicole answered.
Triton had never heard anything so ridiculous. He couldn’t drown.
I told you to let me die.
At that voice in his head, Triton’s anger burned as he pressed his palm into his temple. “What did you do to me?” his voice boomed.
“I was just giving you CPR,” Nicole said. “I saved your life, and you’re welcome.”
“No, not you. Sypher, what did you do to me?”
I did what I do. I did what I’m made to do. I siphoned your powers.
“Well, you’d just better return my powers to me.”
I would if I could, sea-god. If you had told me what you were going to do beforehand, I would have told you how to tie me to you and reserve your own powers. But because you didn’t, they are being scattered. Not only that, but Zeus no longer has Nicole’s power and I can assure you he’s not happy about it. He will come for her. And you’ve lost your ability to protect her!
Triton cursed. “How was I to know?”
“Ty, could you please let Siphon talk through you? I don’t know what in the heck you are talking about.”
“Fine,” he said through his clenched jaw.
“So what will Zeus do about it?” Ty asked.
“He’ll try to get her back anyway he can,” Sypher said, “Which really sucks because without your powers, you’re about as worthless as a human. You couldn’t protect Nicole from a laelaps in your condition.”
“What’s a laelaps?” Nicole asked.
“A kind of dog,” Triton answered, frowning. “So how do I get my powers back?”
“You simply have to find a god that has the power to remove me and then kill me—you know, like you were supposed to do.”
“You seem a bit too eager to die, Siphon,” Triton said.
“I know what I am. I exist to prey on others. I’m tired of it. I figure if I can give my life to save another, Hades will have mercy on me.”
“Don’t count on Hades’ mercy.” Hades was the farthest from merciful that a god could get. He was a prick that would as soon disembowel a person as look at them.
You know I can hear your thoughts, don’t you?
“I don’t know how you could stand it, Nicole,” Triton said. “She’s been in my head for a few minutes and I already want to shove a knife into my temple.”
“I didn’t know any different. It’s really weird that you can hear her, but I can’t.”
“Well, as soon as I find a god to help me, she’s out of there.”
“You’re going to put her in someone else, aren’t you? I mean, you’re not really going to let her die.”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t know how to. The truth was he couldn’t condemn another god to life with Siphon in his or her head.
Killing me is the best option.
Shut up!
“Megalostas,” Ty said, “take us to shore.”
Nicole fell over when the leviathan moved. “Um, I know this is insignificant considering the situation, but I need a little help.” She gestured down. Her fin turned back into legs, but she still had the fin covering on. Triton tugged at the waistband, pulled on a small clasp, and began to unzip it. He looked in her eyes and ra
ised an eyebrow as his fingers brushed over her—the softness of her skin lighting a fire in him. Gods, she’s beautiful.
Oh, no you don’t.
“Uh-uh, no you don’t.” Nicole scowled, speaking at the same time as Sypher. Great, now he was getting rejected in stereo.
“I don’t know how you can go from furious to turned on in two seconds flat.”
“I’m a man,” he answered, as if that explained everything.
“Well, this is completely the wrong time for that.” She shook her head and said, “Turn around, I’ve got an idea.”
He reluctantly turned his back. He could hear the rustle of fabric and then ripping. A few minutes later, she said, “Okay, I’m decent.”
He turned around. She was standing in what looked to be a short skirt. She must have torn off the bottom half of her fin covering. It actually looked amazing. The fabric clung to her body like a second skin and her long, tan legs looked silky, smooth… heart stopping.
With his attention on Nicole, he missed the piece of fabric dangling from her finger in front of his face.
“What’s that?”
“This is yours. You can’t be going to shore naked.”
“Nicole, this is the Mediterranean. No one will think twice about it.”
“Well, I will.”
He took it and looked it over. “It’s going to look like a woman’s skirt,” he said appalled.
“I’m sorry. I don’t happen to have a sewing machine. I wish I could turn it into a pair of khaki shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals, but I can’t.”
“Yeah sweetheart, I wish you could too, because I’m definitely not going to shore in a dress.”
“It’s not a dress; it’s just something to cover you. I will not be seen with you hanging out for the world to see. It’s not decent. It’s obscene.”
As Nicole continued her rant, Triton stepped forward with a smirk on his face. “It’s not obscene. It’s natural.” He lowered his head.
“No way! I’m not kissing you while you’re naked. Or have you forgotten that we’re not alone?” She lifted her hands and slammed the cloth against his chest. Triton knew there was something wrong when a rubber sole hit him in the sternum. Nicole squeaked out a cry as she dropped the bundle onto the sea monster’s back.
They both looked down, gawking at what looked to be khaki shorts, a teal shirt, and leather sandals. “I thought you didn’t have your powers anymore?” Nicole asked uncertainly, her eyes glued to the clothing.
“I didn’t do that.”
Her eyes rose from the pile as they widened. She shook her head slowly. “I couldn’t have done it.”
Actually, she could have. Now that I’m not draining her, you’ll find her powers returning. Watch her closely, sea-god. She won’t know how to control them.
Give me a head’s up. What kind of powers does she have?
I can’t tell you. I only know she’s extremely powerful.
How powerful?
Much more powerful than you.
Triton frowned. How under Olympus was he to help her control powers that great when he had none? This could be dangerous.
“You know, it’s really annoying when you carry on conversations in your head. I know you two are talking about me. What did Sypher say?”
“She says now that she’s not draining you that your powers will begin to return.”
“My powers? Wow. What kind of powers do I have?”
“She’s not sure.”
“Huh. Well, I know I can make clothes. Oh my gosh, I saw this amazing outfit at Neiman Marcus the other day.” She squeezed her eyes shut, her entire face pinched as she concentrated. Her eyes were still closed when she asked Ty, “Did it work? Are my clothes changed?”
Triton looked her over. She looked exactly the same. “Nope. I like what you’re wearing anyway. You should keep it,” he said as he slipped his shorts on.
Nicole looked down and scowled. “The fabric is amazing. But I had to rip it. If there was a proper hem, it would be fine.”
“Maybe you’ll start a new trend,” he said as he slipped on his shirt.
Nicole shrugged. “How do your clothes fit?”
“Perfect.”
Surprisingly, his sandals fit too.
“How long before we reach land?” she asked.
Triton closed his eyes and tried to feel the land ahead. Nothing. He suppressed the panic that threatened to rear its head. He’d never been blind to the sea, and not being able to tell where it ended was beyond disconcerting. “I don’t know.”
“It’s okay. It’s not like you could see it from here.”
“You don’t understand. I should know.”
Nicole slipped her arm around him. “It’s okay. We just need to find a god to…” Her voice dropped away.
“Take Sypher out of my head and put her into the head of another god?” Triton said frowning at the impossible task.
Or if you could find a lonsdaleite container to put me in. That would keep me suspended until a host was found.
Oh yeah, just let me pull one of the rarest substances in the universe out of thin air and form it into a jar so I can put you there. You’re totally not helping, Sypher.
“I don’t know about you, Nikki, but I don’t know of any god willing to give up their powers. At least not up here. If we were in the sea, I could ask my father. We’ve had our differences, but I’m sure he would curse another god for his son’s sake.”
“You make it sound so terrible.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Can you reach him somehow?” Nicole asked. “I suppose he doesn’t have a cell phone, right?”
Triton chuckled dryly. “No.” He closed his eyes and searched for any remnants of his power. There was nothing. “And I can’t summon him—not without my power.”
“Do you think I could?”
“No!”
Nicole jumped out of her skin at his shout.
“Don’t even think it,” he said, his heart pounding at the thought. “He has no idea who you are. He does not react well to being summoned by strangers.”
“He’s your dad. How bad could he be?”
“Bad enough that I would never dream of calling him anything so informal as Dad.”
“Whoa, sounds like you may have had a worse… oh wait. The father I remember wasn’t real.”
Her forlorn face broke his heart.
“I’m sorry,” he said simply.
“Yeah. Me too.” She knelt down. “I wonder who my real parents are. Do you have any idea?”
Triton shook his head as he sat beside her.
“Can you ask Sypher if she knows?”
Those memories were erased before I was placed in her. I’m sorry.
Triton shook his head. “She doesn’t know.”
“You think they’re still alive, don’t you?”
“They’re gods. It’s extremely difficult to kill a god.”
A drop of rain on Triton’s arm and a chilled wind breezing over his skin was the first sign that the weather might be turning foul. He’d been so involved with his conversation with Nicole that he didn’t notice dark clouds gathering in the distance. “I don’t like the looks of that.” He nodded his head toward the darkening sky.
“It’s just a little… storm,” Nicole said as the clouds billowed and darkened. Lightning flashed across the sky. “Actually, I think you’re right. That doesn’t look natural.”
“Megalostas, we need to move faster.”
Triton and Nicole tipped over as the beast accelerated. The rocking motion of his accelerations made it difficult to hang on. Triton’s heart pounded. How could he protect Nicole, when he was no stronger than a human?
Sypher, I need you to stop draining my powers.
It’s not something I can control, sea-god.
Liar! You can control it. You just don’t want to.
“Ty,” Nicole interrupted.
I told you to destroy me.
And let you take the
easy way out? You wanted redemption. Perhaps this can give you redemption. Resist the urge to siphon my powers. Let me save Nicole. Do you want her to die?
“Ty!” Nicole shouted.
“What?” he snapped as he turned toward her.
She pointed into the distance. “What are those?”
Three black silhouettes flew toward them in the distance, backed by the storm—one of the creatures much larger than the other two. Triton’s heart sank. “You don’t want to know.”
“Yes, I do! What are they?”
Triton looked her up and down and sighed. “Zeus’ minions.”
Triton slipped down the side of Megalostas, submerged to his chest, and wrapped his hands around a tentacle.
“What are you doing?”
“I need to call for help.”
***
When Nicole could finally see what the creatures bearing down on them looked like, she agreed with Ty. She really didn’t want to know what they were. The two smaller creatures were terrifying enough, with the head of a woman with crazy-wild hair, and the body of a bird. Those creatures would give her nightmares. But the one in the middle… that one would make her too petrified to ever sleep again. It had three heads! One head looked like a tiger, another looked like a dragon, and the third… an eagle? And its wingspan was as large as a commercial airliner!
“Ty!” She turned to see him sputtering as he pulled his head from the water.
“I can’t do it. I need seawater in my lungs to call out.” He sighed. “I don’t think it would do any good, anyway. With this pathetically weak body, I doubt any creature would hear me here in the open sea.”
He grabbed her ankle. She barely had time to take a breath when he pulled her into the water.
She quickly surfaced. “Ty, you idiot. What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m protecting you.”
“Against that?” she screeched as she pointed to the giant mutant creature.
“I’ve fought creatures like this before.”
“Yeah, as a god!”
“I know what to do. Besides, I have Megalostas to help me.”
“You’re crazy. And believe me, I know crazy.”
