by Nicole Thorn
I laughed. “Eros.” He looked over, and waved as we approached. “You got a sucker to buy this place? What poor soul did you have to Charm?”
“None,” he said with a smug smile. He leaned against the sign. “A very nice woman bought this place, and she’s moving in with her kid. They’re from England.”
Kizzy’s eyes scrutinized my brother. “And they picked Seattle?”
Eros shrugged. “Not a bad place to live.”
“If you ignore all the god business, right?” I asked accusingly.
His eyebrows rose. “What are you talking about, kiddo?”
I sighed. “Are you telling me Mom said nothing about Arachne and all that stuff happening here?”
He shook his head. “I’ve been trying to sell this place, and dealing with my wife being away from me. I have my own shit going on.”
I didn’t buy it. I pointed to the house. “Why have you been chasing people away for months, and then you decide to sell now?”
Eros smiled at me, back to his carefree expression. “Because Mom said that we found the right buyer. I just do what I’m told.”
Liar.
“Well,” I said, holding my sister close. “Have fun pretending that nothing happening here is super weird.” I started walking away with my sister in tow.
“I WILL!” Eros shouted back at me.
We retrieved our mailed, and headed back home in time for my girlfriend to come flying down the stairs with a glint in her eyes and a mother fucking dagger in her hands. She skidded to a halt, calling her siblings into the room.
I held Kizzy away from the line of fire. “What the hell!” I said much too loudly as the others joined us.
Jasmine held the dagger in her hands, and I took it in. It looked stunning. The silver blade had been perfectly sharpened, and wide in its curve. It started thin, then widened, and thinned again. Its handle was pure black and elegantly carved in onyx, smoothed out to perfection.
“It’s really light,” Jasmine said, handing it to me. “But it feels so solid in my hand. Like it was carved just for me.”
With further examination, I smiled. “I think it was.” I carefully gave it back to Jasmine. “I’ve only seen onyx weapons on one fighter before.”
“Athena,” Kizzy said for me.
Jasmine arched a brow. “Athena gave me a dagger?”
Juniper rubbed her eyes. “Why . . . ”
Jasper’s expression turned thoughtful as he took Kizzy’s hand. “Where did you find that?” he asked as he started for the stairs.
We followed him.
“My bed,” Jasmine said. “After I got out of my shower.”
We went to Jasper and Kizzy’s room, and the man looked unsurprised at what he found on his bed. He got himself a brand-new head bashy thing. It looked much like the one he used at the camp, but this one didn’t look like a piece of junk. It looked sturdy, and like a better size for him.
Then we all looked at Juniper.
She blinked. “What?”
Jasmine smirked. “We got presents, Juni. I think we should head to your room.”
I felt the little tingle of unease in Juniper as she quickly moved out of the bedroom and to hers. We waited in the hall so that we wouldn’t crowd her in the space.
It sat right on her bed, looking like something waiting in the middle of a dungeon after a boss battle. The weapon looked sleek and black, matching the quiver on the bed. The pattern seemed simple, but as elegant as the one on Jasper’s weapon, and Jasmine’s blade. Juniper’s was black with gold carved into the quiver, stuffed with arrows.
Juniper tested out the feel of it in her hands, and she looked through the scope. “This is pretty,” she finally said.
“It is,” I agreed. “And these weapons of Athena won’t break unless a god does it. So, there’s that.”
These obviously meant ‘thank you from the goddess,’ but I didn’t see them as that. They had been made for battle, not to be displayed or just looked at. For each person, they had been hand crafted. She knew much more than she wanted to say the day before, and we would have to figure out what that was very soon. As the seers fawned over the pretty toys, all I could think of was what they meant.
If this really ended, she wouldn’t have given us weapons.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE:
I Knew That Fish Was Wrong
Jasmine
We all tucked our weapons away, somewhere safe. I wasn’t willing to let mine fall into the wrong hands, but I didn’t have a holster for it either, so it went into my underwear drawer. Which Zander had some comments on. I ignored him, because I could. However, while I did stuff in my dresser, I realized that I had several articles of clothing missing. I frowned over that.
Ah, well. I probably left them in the laundry room, or something. Juniper might be doing some stain treatment. Hardly my fault that I liked mustard, and that shit stained liked nobody’s business. I shoved my drawers closed.
I had to start thinking about the next thing to do for Zander. The teddy bear had been great, but it only got me so far. He still foolishly believed that because his mother was the goddess of love that he could beat me. Silly man. No one could beat me, because I had wooed the son of the goddess of love. Therefore, I was the queen of all things romantic, and as queen, I needed to prove it to him.
The question was, how to top a giant teddy bear?
Hmm. I stepped out of my room, and went straight into Zanders. He had been banished from mine for the underwear/dagger comments. However, when I stepped into his room, I noticed that his drawers hung open and . . . I stopped, and narrowed my eyes at the clothes in there.
“Jasmine?” Zander asked. He lounged on the bed, cleaning his sword. I knew he knew how into that sword I was. The only thing missing from this tableau was his shirtless chest. He smirked at me, which just confirmed that he did this on purpose. I would have to punish him for it later.
“Why are my clothes in here?” I asked, pointing at the dresser. “My clean clothes. Pretty sure these aren’t some of the ones I’ve left in here while I was wooing you.”
“You mean making it painful for me to walk?” Zander asked, sounding chipper. “I don’t know why your clothes are in here. Maybe because you moved into my room, and are refusing to admit it.”
My eyes narrowed. “I did no such thing. I would never move in here when I have a perfectly good room, with all my stuff in it. If anything, you are moving into that room. So, why are my clothes the ones that migrated, and yours are the ones that got to stay in here?” I crossed my arms over my chest, to show that I felt serious about this conversation, and ready to get into it with him.
He shrugged. “Your subconscious is clearly playing tricks with you,” he said. “You secretly would rather move in here, so you took all those clothes, and put them in the drawers. Clearly.”
I snorted. “Those are going back,” I informed him. “The second we get back, I’m moving all those clothes into my room, and all of yours will follow. Mark my words, Zander. Mark ‘em.”
He snorted. “If you need to believe that to be able to sleep at night,” he said.
“We should probably head over to Callie’s now,” I responded. “Before we get distracted by the argument.” Yeah, the argument. Not at all because he swung that sword easily out of sight. I scratched my temple, and looked away. Mmm. Sword. I should parade around the room naked, and not let him touch me, in revenge for the sword thing.
Zander came over to me, and wrapped his arms around me. I did the same with him, resting my cheek against his chest. He felt warm, and I could hear his heart beating against my ear. It comforted me, and I could’ve fallen asleep right there.
His face touched my hair, and I practically melted against him. Zander felt so wonderful. Warm, and safe. I rested my chin against his chest so that I could look up into his eyes. “How are you doing?” I asked. “After everything that happened yesterday?” I bit my lip in worry.
He sighed, his fingers stroking throug
h my hair. “Mostly? I’m hoping that the werewolf I killed didn’t have any family, and wondering why I think that makes it better that I, ya know, killed him.”
I frowned thoughtfully. “You didn’t have a choice.”
“No, but that doesn’t necessarily make it better. Hollow comfort.”
“Does it make you feel better to know that I don’t care about that werewolf. That lady would have been killed if you hadn’t done something. Think about her family. She looked like a nice lady who probably had grandchildren that fawned all over her, and got presents every time she saw them.”
Zander frowned at that. “Still not sure it makes it better, but . . . I’ll take it. What about you? How are you doing? You did stab someone.”
“I did,” I agreed. “It was a bloody mess. People dying all around us. Can’t say I’ll be upset if I never see another battle again. But I think I’m all right. I mean, the nightmares will haunt me for years, but I can’t say those won’t be filled with spiders and snakes. Oh, god, the spiders.”
He laughed, and bent down to kiss me on the cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll smash all the spiders that dare touch you into goo. They won’t know what hit them.” He smiled when he said it, and that had me smiling, just because he was. It sounded so silly, but I liked when he smiled, not because it made him look great—which it did—but because he looked so happy.
My arms wound around him, and I kissed him, cuz I fucking could. We had collapsed on the bed, with me on top, wiggling around to drive Zander crazy, when a noise erupted from downstairs. I popped up, and looked down at the guy underneath me. “You hear that?”
“Yeah,” he said, not sounding at all pleased with the interruption. He narrowed his eyes, and sighed. “I guess we have to check that out, huh?”
“Kinda.” I popped up, and headed for the door, Zander right behind me. We got downstairs just as Jasper and Kizzy came in from the garage, and Juniper rushed in from the backyard. We all looked at each other. “Did you guys hear that too?” I asked.
Kizzy nodded. “Was that you?”
“No,” I said.
The sound came again. I looked around, trying to figure out what it was. It sounded like . . . bumping . . . There it is again. We were all looking around, when my eyes went up, and I said, “Oh, holy shit.” Everyone else followed my eye line, and most of them cursed as well. Jasper just kind of blinked.
“That’s . . . Nemo,” I whispered. I went over to the tank, and got eye level with my fish that so wasn’t a fish anymore. “Um. Hi, Nemo,” I whispered. He bumped the glass again, and I jumped back, fearful that it would break, and leave me soaked in fishy water. He was . . . He was . . .
Big. Sometime between then and the last time I saw him, Nemo had grown until he took up almost the entire tank. His head bumped the lid, and his fins dragged against the sides. Oh, no. Those weren’t fins. Those were legs. He had grown legs. My beta had grown legs, as well as a second head, and all four of his eyes looked right at me. He looked kind of dragon like now. He had scales, and stuff. He bumped the glass again, and made this odd chirping sound. Was he greeting me? “That was so cute.”
I went for the lid.
Juniper shouted, “What are you doing?! You can’t open that lid. What if he attacks you?”
“It’s Nemo,” I said, and opened the tank. One head popped up, and that chirping sound came again. I scratched him behind a scale, and he tilted his head into my hand, clearly loving every second of it.
Zander popped up next to me. He started scratching Nemo’s other head. His little legs bobbed in the water, like he tried to run, and that chirping sound came again. Happy as could be. “See,” I said. “He loves us. Don’t you, Nemo? You’re such a good . . . Um.”
“He’s not a fish,” Jasper said from behind me.
“No . . . ” I said.
Zander was still too busy petting him. Both Nemo and the demigod got really into it. Zander used both hands now, and Nemo kept making that chirping sound, and tilting his head into Zander. I shook my head. Attention slut. Both of them. I should have known better than to let my . . . something . . . around Zander.
“You should come pet him,” Zander said to Kizzy. She gave him a look similar to the one my sister had given to me when I opened the tank. Kizzy inched forward, and peered into Nemo’s eyes. “C’mon. He won’t hurt you. Look into that adorably scaly face, and see the love he has to offer,” Zander said.
Kizzy rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you just said that.” But she reached forward and scratched Nemo’s left head. He dipped his head down, tilted it so that she could get him in the perfect spot.
Jasper and Juniper ventured forward. Jasper didn’t seem all that bothered by Nemo. My brother pet him right under the chin. Juniper wouldn’t touch him. She shook her head when I suggested it. “Nope. I like having all my fingers, thank you very much. Look at those teeth on him.”
“Definitely not a fish,” I said.
“Am I the only one thinking that we have a hydra in a fish tank?” Jasper asked. We all looked at him, and he shrugged. “He got his head cut off, and grew a second one, spits fire, and well . . . Look at him.” We all did. I had been thinking exactly what Jasper had suggested, but had been trying very hard not to say it aloud. How did you take care of a hydra? He needed a better diet than Cheetos and fish flakes.
“There’s a hydra in my living room,” Juniper said. “I think I need to sit down for a second. If you’ll excuse me.” She sat on the couch, and put her head between her knees for good measure. Jasper patted her back comfortingly. I didn’t see the big deal. Nemo seemed to like us just fine.
“We can’t keep him in there,” I said. “The tank is too small for him. He can’t even turn around. I don’t think there’s a tank big enough for him at the store . . . ” I looked mournfully at the too small aquarium.
“We can put him in the kiddy pool,” Jasper suggested. “I think it’s still out in the garage somewhere. You know, until we figure out what to do with him, since I doubt he’s finished growing. How big do hydras get? Who do we even go to with this kind of question?”
“Wait,” Kizzy said. “We’re going to keep the hydra? Like, as a pet?”
“Why not?” I asked. “He likes it here. This is his home, and has been ever since I brought him home from the carnival.”
Juniper sat up. Put her chin in her hands. “I suppose the kiddy pool will work, as long as he doesn’t poke holes in the side, and get water everywhere.” Her eyes got that too wide, freaked out look in them.
“I’ll go get it,” Jasper said, jumping to his feet. “I think the air pump is back there too. I’d really rather not pass out trying to set up a pool . . . ” his words faded as he walked away.
Kizzy blinked. “Why do you guys even have a kiddy pool? Aren’t you all too big for it?”
“Don’t ask,” Juniper said at the same time I said, “It was for the Jell-O.”
EPILOGUE:
Dark Days Are Here to Stay
Zander
I mean . . . of course they had a kiddie pool. Why wouldn’t they own something for Jell-O fights or whatever the hell Jasmine used it for? I did not want to ask, because I didn’t need to know. We had other things to take care of anyway.
“So, I guess we just have a hydra,” I said as we watched the happy little guy swimming around in his new pool. To be fair, Nemo looked so pleased with it all. He splashed lightly, not making a mess.
Jasmine beamed at her pet, clapping her hands. “We’ll need to get him something bigger soon. I wouldn’t want him cramped.”
Jasper smiled. “Yeah, we should keep him nice and comfy. Hell, maybe we can build a pool and let him be like a guard dog for us.”
Jasmine gasped. “That would be great!”
Juniper just shook her head.
I put my arm around Jasmine. “We should be careful about what we let the people next door see. Wouldn’t want them to call the cops, and get us into some trouble.” Though I was sure that
Nemo would be more than willing to take care of anyone coming by to bug his mommy. Having a hydra love you could be bad at all. It meant that sometimes your stuff might catch fire, and you’d need to make room for a weird fish thing.
“They . . . they just gave him to you at a carnival?” Kizzy asked, though she knew the story by now. “Why would they have a hydra at the carnival?”
Yeah, that sounded like something to worry about. How easy was it to get a hold of one of these guys? And how lucky that Jasmine got this one? Because I kept telling myself that we didn’t have a fucking bunch of hydras around town. We did not have time for that.
“Yup,” Jasmine said with cheer.
I patted her side. “Should we all head out now? We can stop by Callie’s, and then go get lunch or something.”
Juniper made a sad sound as she looked at the splashing hydra. “He’s going to make a mess . . . ”
“He won’t,” her sister protested. “He’s a good boy. Aren’t you?” She bent to pet him, and Nemo went nuts. The greedy little guy rubbed up on her hand as if he fed off of cuddles. I prayed to myself that she wouldn’t want to let him sleep in our room. God forbid, our bed.
I had a worry in the back of my mind that one of the gods would catch wind of this and try to take him, or worse. They wouldn’t want a hydra living in a house with so many humans nearby. Exposure would’ve been terrible.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s head out.”
We all piled into my car for the drive to Callie, because we fit, and I was the best driver, obviously. Jasmine got shotgun, and we further discussed how we’d both live in my room after we got back. She insisted that we wouldn’t, but she just wanted to be stubborn. I could live with stubborn, so I didn’t worry.
“Not happening,” Jasmine lied. “I will not move into your bedroom.”
I shook my head, and pulled up to Callie’s house. Her parents’ cars sat in the driveway, so it would be fun getting five strangers into her house when they already worried that their kid lost her mind. Maybe we could play the part of friends that helped her get through a hard time in her life.