by S. E. Babin
“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” he said.
I smiled politely. “Sore already? I bet the girl sitting beside you would hate to hear that.”
Said girl snatched her purse up from the bar, glared at the both of us, and left without paying her check. Typhon rolled his eyes, his voice a deep baritone sliding over my skin. Whoever created this version had done a fantastic job of it. I was having trouble seeing him for the monster he was. “She was like all the others. Sheep.”
My eyes widened. “Is that how you talk to all the girls?” I asked him, wondering if this were going to end up with me hog-tied in a dungeon somewhere.
“Only the special ones,” he said and moved even closer. Apparently Typhon didn’t understand the meaning of personal space. He held out a hand. “Ty,” he said.
Clever, I thought. I took it, noting he did not have sweaty hands. Looks like someone paid attention to the details when whipping up this magical new and shiny version of him. “Abby,” I said and started to pull out my purse when the bartender came back with my drink.
He stopped me, pulled out a bill from his pocket and dropped it on the bar. “My treat. It’s not often I get to buy a beautiful girl a drink.”
Liar. I thanked him. “I haven’t seen you around here, and I know quite a few of the people living in town. Are you new here?”
His eyes shuttered and I noticed suspicion on his face. Rut row…dial it back, Abby. I tried to remember how to date and failed miserably. I could flirt, though. I could be a secret government weapon if flirting were considered a bioweapon.
“I’m in town for a conference,” he finally said.
I took a sip of my Jack and Coke, noting with satisfaction the way it burned on its way down to my stomach. “Really? Are you a salesman or something?” I didn’t wait for his response before I prattled on. “Sales must be hard, you know? Talking to all those strangers. Trying to get them to buy something.”
Ty shook his head and laughed. If I were mortal, I wouldn’t say no to accompanying him home myself. He was the perfect mix of cocky and self-deprecating. My kind of guy. “No,” he said. “I work with computers. There was a small IT conference. I’ll be here for a few more days.”
That was my in. “So what do you do with your spare time?” I blinked innocently.
Ty grinned and whispered in my ear. “Pray to meet a girl like you,” he said. “Listen, I know this is forward, but why don’t we get out of here? Maybe go someplace a little less crowded.”
My heart began a slow dull thud. I sneaked a glance over at Ares. He tilted his head toward the door. Of course he wanted me to go with him. He only cared about the end game. Hermes stared at me, a curious expression on his face. Artie looked terrified, which didn’t boost my confidence any.
I flicked my eyes back to Typhon and pasted a smile on my face. “Sure. Let’s go,” I said and tucked my arm into his once we both stood up. I felt a little ill and a whole lot scared. I cast one long glance back at my friends, praying they would follow me. I saw Hermes scrabbling for his wallet to pay the check. Ares stood up, and I turned my head back so Typhon wouldn’t get wind of what was going on.
I was a little squicked out by how warm and strong his arm felt against mine. I’d barely reach Typhon’s ankle in his other form. The whole thing felt weird. And dark. Ty might have a charming and witty personality, but there was a malicious air to him. The girls he had accosted might still be alive, but I wasn’t stupid enough to believe they were unchanged. And if they were pregnant…the gods help us all.
Ty escorted me to his vehicle and even opened the door for me. I believed I had never met a creepier type of gentleman, mainly because he seemed so…normal. I climbed into the Jeep and noticed the spicy scent of his cologne. The entire thing was completely surreal. He got in beside me, smiled reassuringly, and pulled out of the parking lot. I didn’t notice any headlights behind us yet, so I could only pray Artie and the rest of them were following us. Ares might believe Typhon was mostly powerless, but I knew for sure I didn’t want to find out once I was trapped in a room with him.
He drove me to an older hotel on the outskirts of town. The drive over was mostly silent, although it appeared Typhon was doing his best to make me feel comfortable. My stomach was tight and I tried to control my breathing so it wouldn’t come in short, shallow gasps. Someone you pick up at a bar shouldn’t be terrified of you, but I was having trouble mustering up the ability to continue flirting, especially since I was in such close quarters with him now.
He opened my passenger door and held out his hand to help me. I slid my hand in his and let him continue to hold it as he walked me up three flights of stairs. If I had to leave in a hurry, those wouldn’t pose any problems. We were blessed with the ability of flight among many other things. Right now, though, I was pretending to be plain Abby. A sweet, naïve girl who took off with a total stranger from the bar. I could imagine myself being featured as a cautionary tale on all those primetime predator shows.
Ty slid the key in the lock. I leaned against the balcony, looking over in the pretense of being in awe of everything, but I was checking frantically to see if anyone had followed us. So far I couldn’t see anything. My nerves were getting worse. I could feel the pounding of my heart, the clamminess of my hands. Get your crap together, Abs, I told myself. He’s going to become suspicious if you start acting like a scared rabbit.
He motioned me inside the room, and as I walked in the only thing I could feel was surprise at how clean he was. He could give Marshall some lessons.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked as he walked over to the built-in bar.
I declined politely and situated myself on a chair in the corner of the room but not before I missed Ty’s smirk. I mentally willed myself to relax and kicked off my high heels, my feet screaming in pleasure.
He walked over with a loose hipped swagger and I felt my mouth go dry. Dear gods. What was wrong with me? I accepted the drink he had poured me anyway, and Ty pulled up a chair close to me. “So, Abby,” he said and reached out for a lock of my hair, “do you often pick up strangers in bars?”
I tried for a carefree laugh, but it came out more like a wheeze. I was going to kill everyone for this. I was always the scapegoat. I swallowed. “Never – you’re the first one.” I giggled. “I’m sorry. I’m a little nervous. You’re just so handsome and I –”
Ty chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
He sounded so reasonable. So why did I feel like he was going to throw me in a pit and send lotion down to me on a pulley? I took a sip, my shaky hands rattling the ice. “That’s so sweet of you,” I said. I looked around the room. “Nice digs.” And they were. His hotel room was extremely large by normal standards. One large, looming king bed stood in the middle of the room. Off to the back was a large mini bar and a full size refrigerator. There was a full size closet and an area with a microwave and coffee pot. Someone was keeping him up in an above average place, meaning he was valuable to that person.
Another sip of my drink and I felt my eyes go heavy. Weird. I tried to shake myself out of it. Ty’s face loomed against my own. “Are you okay?” Concern and something else flickered in his eyes.
I blinked. “I think so. I just feel so tired all of a sudden.” I took another sip and felt even worse. My eyes began to blur and I saw Ty smiling triumphantly.
“Little Aphrodite.” He made a tsking noise. “You should never pick up strangers. You never know what will happen. By the way, Dionysus sends his regards.” He took the drink out of my hand as my head lolled forward. I’d lost all motor control. I tried to scream, but the sound came out distorted. The last thing I saw before everything went to black was the triumphant smile of a monster.
12
Chapter Twelve
A fuzzy face swam before me and I swatted at it. Strong warm hands clasped mine.
“Abby, thank the gods you’re all right.” I tried to sit
up, but the pounding in my head kept me in a supine position. It was Ares, and as my vision cleared, I saw the concern written clearly upon his face.
Hermes spoke. “You scared the Hades out of all of us.”
I snorted. “Out of you?” I croaked. “That’s rich.” I turned my head and watched as Hermes’ mouth thinned in disapproval.
“Not funny,” he said.
“Who’s laughing?” I retorted. I pushed myself up to a seated position. “How did you find me?”
Keto’s yellow eyes caught mine, concern swimming in them. “We followed you back to the hotel. But,” he paused. “It was the strangest thing, Abs. He left you alone in the room. It’s almost like he knew it was you and he didn’t want to harm you.”
I pushed my curls back from my face. “That’s because he did know it was me. I don’t know how. As far as hurting me, I’m not sure yet. I don’t know how long he was in the room with me after he drugged me.”
Artie walked over and sat beside me, eyes rife with stress. She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Not long. I promise you, Abby. He didn’t have time to do much, if anything at all.”
I wasn’t so sure. This was Typhon, after all. I felt around my body. I was a little sore, but nothing else seemed out of place. “How long was I out?” I asked.
Hermes cleared his throat. “Twelve hours.”
My eyebrows shot to my hairline. “Twelve hours? What the hell did he give me, an elephant tranq?”
Ares shook his head. “I don’t know and that should concern us all. It was similar to a roofie, but you know how strong it had to be if it took one of us down.”
That was the understatement of the year. Substances could affect us, but only in massive doses. I felt like I’d pulled an all-night rager hyped up on ambrosia. “Where’s my purse?” I looked around the room and saw Hermes pick it up and bring it to me. “Did he rob me?”
Artie chuckled. “I’m really not sure what a mythical creature would want with cash so I think you’re safe. This time,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “Maybe next time a centaur will steal your debit card when you leave the bar with him.”
I dug around in my purse. “Centaurs are angry lovers,” I said.
The pause in the room was deafening until I chuckled under my breath.
“Jeez, Abs. I thought you were serious. I was about to buy a lifetime supply of soap and brain bleach to get that picture out of my head.” Artie’s relief fell on mostly deaf ears as I stopped rustling through my purse, my hand on a small silver missive tucked into one of the pockets.
I pulled it out and saw The House of Dionysus mark on it. Ares’ muffled curse reached my ears. He leaned forward to take the missive out of my hands, but I snatched it away before he could read it. The message was meant for me.
Hair rising on the back of my neck, I opened it. The smell of fermented grapes and blood rose through the air and heavily elegant ink appeared on the page.
You are hereby summoned to attend me, Aphrodite, Queen of the Seas.
You may bring one attendee to the Four Seas Hotel, but be sure they are unarmed. I will not take any threats of harm lightly. Burn the missive after you have read it. I will expect you within twelve hours.
-Dionysus
My skin crawled at the thought of visiting him. I’d need to wear my girdle just in case he unleashed one of his famous orgy attacks on me. While I guessed there were worse ways to go than naked and sweaty, I happened to like only certain hands on this body.
“Take me,” Hermes spoke from behind my shoulder. Concern was written all over his face as he took the missive out of my hands and handed it to Ares.
Ares’ eyebrows drew together. He tossed the missive on the table. “He’s right. Hermes should be your chosen. If he means to kill you, he will think twice with Hermes at your side.”
I didn’t follow. I turned a curious gaze to Keto who walked over and sat beside me. “Hermes rescued Dionysus more than once from the wrath of Hera. You could say the Messenger God is the reason the Wine God still walks the earth.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing,” I said.
Hermes shrugged. “I did what Father asked of me. No more, no less. Dionysus will not strike while I am there. If he means to at all. You can take this as my word.”
And his word was a bond. We all knew it. Something was bothering me about this, though. “Why would Dionysus want me to meet with him? I can’t imagine he’s just going to open up and spill the beans.”
Artie took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “Why wouldn’t he? If he has Typhon, he has one of the most powerful weapons ever produced against Zeus. If I had that, I’d consider gloating a bit.”
Her thought process was entirely off the rails. Dionysus was crazy but in a methodical, scary sort of way. I stood up, grabbed the missive, and walked into the kitchen. I turned on the stove burner and torched the letter. The edge of the paper caught fire, a blue entrancing glow emitting through the kitchen. The paper burned for a second, disappearing into thin air soon after.
“Cool,” I whispered.
Ares’ voice close to my ear startled me. “Dionysus will eat you for breakfast, Abby. Listen to what he has to say and get out of there if you value your pretty little hide. Now go prepare. Artemis will attend you.”
I snorted. No matter what kind of knocks Ares took, it never diminished his bossiness. Artie rolled her eyes and motioned me to come upstairs with her to prepare. I’d need to look my best and put a brave face on. Dionysus was surrounded by beautiful women all the time, but I was made to be the most beautiful of all. Perhaps dazzling him a little would save my neck.
Artie rummaged through my closet, making disgusted noises every few seconds as inevitably a piece of clothing that did not meet with her approval would come flying out to land on the floor at my feet. She finally came out, wiping her hands in finality and waved at my black dress.
“You’re going to have to muster up something fantastic. You’ve got nothing in that massive black hole you call a closet.” She pushed her glasses up on her nose as she stared at me.
“I have tons of suitable clothing in there!” I picked up a purple number I’d worn to several high profile occasions on Olympus. “What about this?”
She stuck her finger down her throat and pretended to gag. “Purple says you’re trying too hard. It’s Dionysus. Somewhere hidden in the history books is the little known fact that he created the color purple.”
“He did not create the color purple,” I said sullenly once I realized she was right.
“Go for a bright sunny yellow,” she said.
“And look like a banana? No. How about pink?”
Her mouth turned down as she studied me. “Are you trying to appear weak?”
Artie was beginning to make me want to smack her. “No. I’m trying to appear like the Goddess of Love. Hearts…you know, pink? Love, Valentine’s Day, all that romantic sappy stuff?”
“Exactly,” Artie said. “Weak.”
“I’m not sure we’re going to be friends in about thirty seconds,” I said, frustration growing in my voice. “Fuchsia, then.”
I concentrated on myself and created a long flowing toga of a brilliant fuchsia. Down one side, flowers in all stages of bloom flowed around my curves and down the train. I sent a thin stream of magic toward my hair, sweeping it to the side so it would pour down my shoulder and cascade down to my waist. Through it, I wove daises, roses, and baby’s breath. I topped it off with a comfortable pair of low heeled white boots just in case I had to take off running, and a quick application of natural looking makeup.
Artie’s eyes sparkled with approval. “You look exactly like you should. Dazzling!”
I was still annoyed with her, but I couldn’t help but grin as she motioned for me to turn around and made a low wolf whistle. When I turned back around to face her, she was holding out a jeweled dagger lying on a velvet cloth.
“Take it,” she said and shook her head when I opened my
mouth to say no. “I insist. I know you abhor violence, but you’re going to see a crazy bird. If he gets within a foot of you, I’d heavily consider stabbing him in the heart with it.”
Normally Artie had a sense of humor dry as dust, but I couldn’t see any inkling that she was kidding this time. Before I took the dagger, she wrapped it in the cloth. “It’s coated with poison,” she said.
I took my hand back. “Sometimes you honestly scare the shit out of me, Artie.”
She thrust the dagger toward me and I wanted to run out of the room screaming. “Magic up a pocket and take it. I won’t let you face him with nothing.”
I snorted. “I’m one of the oldest Olympians. I hardly think I have nothing.”
Artie stared at me over the rims of her eyeglasses. “I’m not saying you’re defenseless. I’m saying this is one more thing to help you if you get into a pickle. Your powers are based on love and lust. Dionysus can make you screw your brains out with a complete stranger and die happy. It’s a creepy superpower and one I hope I never get exposed to. So,” she exhaled heavily, “take the damned knife if only to make me feel better.”
I took the knife, holding it gingerly and freaking out a little on the inside even though it was wrapped. “What kind of poison is this?” I asked but wasn’t completely sure I wanted to know.
She grinned as she left my bedroom. “It’s a trademark secret.”
I watched her walk away, hips and hair swaying hypnotically. A bored Artie was a deadly Artie. “You need a vacation from being creepy!” I shouted after her.
13
Chapter Thirteen
Hermes was looking delicious. His long golden legs were on display beneath the forest green chiton he wore. We said our goodbyes in the living room – Ares, Keto, and Artie all standing there with grim looks on their faces. I allowed Hermes to transport us to the Four Seas in Charlotte, the familiar feel of his magic washing over me like a comfortable warm blanket.
