by S. E. Babin
Out of Sorts Aphrodite
The Goddess Chronicles, Book 2
S.E. Babin
Copyright © 2015 by S.E. Babin
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Viola Estrella
Book design by S.E. Babin
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
S.E. Babin
Visit my website at sebabin.com
Dedication
For Cyndee. Coronaritas are on me next time. As long as Mike drives us home. Or Joel. Or someone. Anyone? Hello?
Contents
Dedication
Introduction
Reader's Note
1. Chapter One
2. Chapter Two
3. Chapter Three
4. Chapter Four
5. Chapter Five
6. Chapter Six
7. Chapter Seven
8. Chapter Eight
9. Chapter Nine
10. Chapter Ten
11. Chapter Eleven
12. Chapter Twelve
13. Chapter Thirteen
14. Chapter Fourteen
15. Chapter Fifteen
16. Chapter Sixteen
17. Chapter Seventeen
18. Chapter Eighteen
19. Chapter Nineteen
20. Chapter Twenty
21. Chapter Twenty One
22. Chapter Twenty Two
23. Chapter Twenty Three
24. Chapter Twenty Four
25. Chapter Twenty Five
26. Chapter Twenty Six
27. Chapter Twenty Seven
28. Chapter Twenty Eight
29. Chapter Twenty Nine
30. Chapter Thirty
31. Chapter Thirty One
32. Chapter Thirty Two
33. Chapter Thirty Three
34. Epilogue
Other Works
Writing tends to be a solitary occupation, which is why it’s so important to have those friends who believe in you and don’t mind hearing you vent about imaginary people, places and things. My best friend, Crystal, is just one of those people. You’re the best and I love you to pieces.
For my husband, who happens to be a patient man, thank goodness. He doesn’t always listen to everything I say, but he still believes in me and my stories. Plus, he cooks dinner when I get caught up in writing or promo, and he hasn’t said much yet about the piles of laundry lying around. I suspect that won’t last forever.
No matter what it is you decide to do in life, there will be some people who say you can’t or won’t. Don’t believe those people. It’s not up to them. Reaching for the stars starts with picking up a pen, or a brush, or whatever tool you need to get the job done. Taking the first step is often the hardest part. To those who’ve offered encouraging words, thank you.
Last are the readers. You all are awesome and amazing people, and I thank you for picking up my books, reading and sharing them. Abby is a wacky character, but underneath all her faults is a heart of gold. Thanks for understanding that and sticking with her. She’ll make it all up to you in the end!
Reader's Note
I’ve taken some major liberties with mythology here. While I tried to stick to the heart of the legends, my characters often take on a life of their own. Thanks for embracing that and going along on the ride with me. This adventure gets a little bit darker as it goes on, but the best things often come when you’re clawing your way towards the light.
1
I was in a hate/hate relationship with Keto this morning. I’d barely taken my first sip of coffee before he was hounding me to yank on a pair of yoga pants and go outside with him to practice tai-chi. As if. Exercise made me sweaty and really cut into my downtime. Plus, thanks to the perks of immortality, I didn’t actually need it, but I finally relented if only to stop Keto from hounding me the entire day. Plus, there was something to the whole body and mind connection when it came to exercise.
So there I was, barely out of bed and without the energy to use magic, hair slapped up on my head in a crazy mess, and listening to Keto bark orders at me. “I thought tai-chi was supposed to be gentle, Keto. You sound like a drill sergeant tossing bunks at four a.m.”
Keto twisted at the waist, his hands together, supposedly holding an imaginary ball of energy. He gave me a withering look. “You are the laziest Olympian I’ve ever seen. Shut up and twist.”
I snorted. “You’ve obviously not been hanging around us a lot. Lots of other chubby Olympians need a boot camp more than I do.” But as I twisted I noticed how tight my muscles felt. Yeesh. Maybe Keto was right. I’d never need to worry about any health problems because I was an immortal, but I could feel out of shape. I glanced over at Keto again, noting his lean angular lines. I wouldn’t mind being a bit more muscular, especially with the line of work I was in now – Zeus’ patsy. Of course that wasn’t my official title, but that’s what my supposed friends whispered when they thought I couldn’t hear them. They thought they were hilarious. Obviously they had a high opinion of themselves.
Fortunately all had been quiet over the last few months. It allowed us all to breathe a little easier and find our footing with our new relationship with each other. When Eris had threatened to overthrow Zeus, it had caused a rift between Keto and me. I’d also lost the friendship of Hermes after I had chosen Marshall, my current and very mortal boyfriend, over him. I didn’t regret anything I’d done, but I still felt uneasy around Keto sometimes, especially considering I was certain he was hiding some big fat secrets from me. But now, staring at him rolling his eyes at me, he felt like the same guy I’d been buddies with over the past several thousand years.
The fact that he was dating my BFF still gave me the heebers, but their life wasn’t any of my business so I did my best to stay out of it. Those two had a weird dynamic between them. Was it true love? I might be the Goddess of Love, but all I got when I tried to look into their future love life was a big ol’ cloud of nothing. That could mean one of two things – their future was still up in the air, a scenario that wasn’t likely, or I was too close to the both of them to see clearly. I figured the latter was probably the cause.
Keto stood up from his twisty, bendy, whatever position and stalked over to me. Apparently I wasn’t doing it right because he grabbed me, twisted and adjusted me a couple of times, and said, “Hold it,” in a grouchy voice. Apparently Mr. Crabby Pants missed his cup of coffee, too. So I held it, even though I wasn’t very comfortable.
He walked in front of me. “Now watch.” He did something that looked suspiciously easy, but when he told me to follow him, I looked sort of like that old television show where the guy did all the silly walks. Keto was struggling to keep a straight face, but his mouth twitched and he burst into laughter.
“Jerk,” I muttered and stood up straight. “Can I go in now?” I pleaded.
Keto let out a long-suffering sigh. “Fine, but I expect you out here every morning for exercise. You are no longer just the Goddess of Love, Abby. You’re on retainer with Zeus now. This means you have to be prepared for whatever he’s going to throw at you.” He turned that long, lean neck up and looked at the sky. “And I have a feeling your mettle will soon be tested ag
ain.”
I’d already started hustling back to the kitchen, but his tone stopped me in my tracks. “Keto? Do you have something you need to share with the class?”
Keto turned to me sharply, but shook his head once. “Just a feeling, Abby. Go in and get your cup of love. I’ll be in shortly.”
I didn’t have to be told twice. I rushed into the house like my pants were on fire. Marshall was standing at the stove looking all together delicious. He was frying bacon. The smell swirled through the kitchen. I wrapped my arms around him, stood on my tiptoes, and pressed my chin into his shoulder so I could look over and see what he was doing.
“Hey, Abs,” he said and patted my hand with his. With the other, he expertly turned the bacon over.
“Making enough for all of us?” I asked hopefully.
“I wouldn’t dare deprive any of the Olympians of the sacred pig of North Carolina,” said Marshall.
“You’re learning, young one.” I poured myself an embarrassing amount of coffee and collapsed at the kitchen table. “Where’s Artie?” I asked after a long, beautiful sip.
“Not sure,” Marshall said. “I saw her stalk out of the house looking like Robin Hood. She was armed to the teeth.”
I chuckled. The house we were in was good for her. Zeus plunked it right smack in the middle of the mountains, surrounded by hundreds of acres. All of us wallowed in the privacy and security it gave us. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if this house could be seen by human eyes, although Marshall had no trouble with it, leading me to believe Zeus had somehow keyed him into the wards I suspected surrounded the property. Zeus had lots of tricks up his sleeve, and I felt magic pouring off of it, though I couldn’t figure out exactly where it was coming from. Considering I was now in Zeus’ employment, I didn’t question it too much. The house was beautiful, almost like he dug around in my brain and pieced it together with all my wishes and wants. That thought squicked me out more than I wanted to admit because I wouldn’t put it past him.
But as much as I hated accepting anything from Zeus, he’d done a fantastic job and we were all deliriously happy here. Artie could go run in the woods and play Snow White with all the woodland creatures. Keto could do whatever mysterious things he did whenever I wasn’t looking and I could relax into a tentative sense of freedom. Marshall enjoyed it here as well, even though he hadn’t officially moved in yet. Neither of us was ready for that. However, he had some drawer space, a toothbrush and a few other personal items over here. Humans were weird, but that’s just one of the reasons why I was so enamored with them.
The screen door in the kitchen opened and Keto walked in, looking mysteriously unsweaty and untired. Sometimes that guy disgusted me. I felt like I’d run a few miles and he looked like he walked off the modeling set. Keto grunted a hello to Marshall, but perked up as soon as he saw that he was cooking.
Marshall snorted and told him to start grabbing some plates. Surprisingly, Keto obeyed. Marshall was starting to fit in here. Keto served himself first, piling on the eggs, bacon and biscuits. He plunked his plate down on the table and poured himself a cup of coffee. I got up to make my plate, but Marshall shooed me away. He set a plate of breakfast down in front of me and topped off my cup of coffee. I gifted him with a brilliant smile and, in turn, he kissed the top of my head before he made his own plate.
A shower of cool, violet magic washed over us and Artie stood in the room, dressed like a woodland elf. Leather gladiator sandals wrapped the bottom of her feet all the way up the bottom of her thighs. She wore a ragged emerald and brown skirt and chest armor that laced in the back like a corset. I refrained from telling her the armor probably wouldn’t help since the rest of her was half-naked. I was constantly messing with her about her choice in attire, but she was channeling full on goddess glory right now, so I was wary of her mood.
She set the bow and arrow down by the fridge and barked out a hello. My eyes widened at her brusque tone, so I said nothing. Maybe some crisp, delightful bacon would warm her chilly mood. Marshall, also sensing Artie was not to be screwed with, quickly finished making his plate and hustled over to the table to settle in beside me.
Keto barely offered her a glance as he inhaled his food. I watched him, my brow wrinkling. It wasn’t like them to be so chilly to one another. Artie cleaned out the rest of the breakfast food, stalked over to the table and plopped down beside Keto. She barely looked at any of us as she shot out a beam of violet magic toward the coffee pot. It drifted over to us and she tipped it with one deft finger move. It poured into her cup and when it was full enough, Artie waved her hand and the pot disappeared.
I dropped my fork. Artie normally didn’t waste magic on simple tasks like that. “Artie?” I inquired, leaning forward on the table.
She held up a hand and mumbled over her food. “Not now. Soon.”
“Mmkay,” I said and gave Keto a curious glance. He didn’t acknowledge me. I shrugged, picked my fork back up and continued eating, a little disturbed. Marshall patted my knee under the table. The meal was eaten in silence, only the clinks of silverware against the glass could be heard and the occasional sips of coffee.
When everyone was finished, Artie sat back, closed her eyes for a second and finally said, “Something big is afoot.”
Cryptic. My favorite thing about the gods and goddesses. “Elaboration would be awesome,” I said after she didn’t continue.
Artie sat up, her cool violet eyes boring into mine. “The woods are restless. The creatures stir in anxiety. The earth beneath my feet rumbles in anger. Gaia is awake, Abby. And she is not a happy camper.”
Breakfast solidified in my stomach. Gaia. Mother Earth. Maybe the biggest, baddest wolf of them all. I was scared of Zeus’ power, yes; I’d be a fool not to be. Gaia was on a completely different plane than Zeus. As in the plane of one of the most powerful women who’d ever walked the earth. She was the only one who’d come the closest to usurping Zeus. “Why do you say that?”
“I am connected to the earth. I am the Huntress. Nothing involving the earth passes my notice. You and I need to talk because you should be able to sense it, too.”
“Me?” My eyes widened. “Why would I be able to sense distress in all the tiny woodland creatures?” I tried to make light of it, but the twist to Artie’s mouth told me she was dead serious.
“You are born of the sea. You should be more connected to the earth than I am.” Artie sipped her coffee. Her eyes dared me to contradict her.
She was right. I was a lazy, lazy bum when it came to honing my powers, especially since they were much different than they used to be. I’d lost most of them a few months ago after Eris stripped them away. The Fates gave them back to me amplified and while the extra boost was supposed to wear off, I battled Eris and drained her of almost her entire power base. She was still a shriveled husk, something Zeus didn’t hesitate to remind me of every now and then. I was trying to best her and accidentally absorbed those powers. The effect seemed to be disturbingly permanent. My power now swirled in an effortless gold and silver light show. The amount of magic I could wield without tiring now was scary, so I was trying to keep it on the down low as much as I could. Letting Zeus know how powerful I suspected I was would be a major tactical error. So around the house, I kept magic use to a low minimum. It was an odd turn-around of events. A few months ago I was weak as a newborn kitten. Now I suspected I could rival, possibly even exceed, the powers of Zeus. I was dangerous and scared to death about it.
Asclepius, the super weird Olympian doctor on Zeus’ payroll, had been around to examine Eris and declared her permanently powerless. She was a liability now and Zeus kept her in a gilded cage. I felt some guilt about her fate, but after seeing what she’d done to Marshall as a way of getting back at me, I couldn’t feel sorry for her. She was an evil woman, but no longer a threat to anyone. Ares was the one I was the most concerned about. Eris was his sister and even though they fought like cats and dogs, he still loved her. My role in her downfall had not yet b
een discussed, but Ares was keeping a low profile after his involvement with her and the failed coup.
I eyed Artie, debating how much to tell her. She and I were of the Twelve Olympians, and even though she was my best friend, if she knew how dangerous I was, I’m not sure she’d keep my secret. I’d be better off telling Keto because with him I’d get a piece of strong, possibly hard to hear advice instead of panic. “I’ll practice,” I said after a long silence.
Artie’s eyes narrowed. She knew I was hiding something. I smiled sweetly. “You’re a good teacher. Just tell me when and we can get started.”
Her mouth twisted. “Later. I need to get cleaned up. And I need a nap. Seriously, Abby. You should call Zeus down here and see what’s going on. I can feel something is about to happen.”
Keto wiped his mouth, tossed his napkin down and nodded. “Me, too, Abby. Something isn’t right. I doubt Zeus will help much, but he might give us a starting point. If it has anything to do with Gaia, we’re going to need all hands on deck.”
Marshall sat silently during our conversation, his hand warming my knee. When Keto and Artie left the table, he stood up and cleared my dishes away. “Gaia, huh?” he finally said. “I wouldn’t mind meeting her.”
I choked on a sip of coffee. “Marshall, Gaia is immense. All powerful, all knowing and completely cray cray. She’s more powerful than all of us combined. If she’s involved, you’d be doing yourself a favor by getting the hell out of dodge.”
