Demigods and Monsters (The Sphinx Book 2)

by Raye Wagner

  He frowned. “Fine. I wanted to let you know we’re going out of town.”

  She sat up. “Who’s going out of town?”

  He perched on the arm of the chair. “Me and Thenia and those bloody sons of Apollo.” His face screwed up as if he’d tasted something bad. “Might as well get them out of your hair for a bit.”

  “Why? Where?”

  He laughed, but it sounded forced. “It almost sounds like you’ll miss me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course I’ll miss you. Why would you even say that?”

  He snorted and looked away from her. “We’ve got to go to Florida. It’ll be another short trip. You’ll hardly notice I’m gone with all your reading.”

  “Can’t I come?” She didn’t want to stay with Athan. His personality was giving her emotional whiplash.

  “If you hadn’t exposed yourself as a demigod last week, I’d take you. Seriously, your picture is everywhere.” He rubbed his forehead. “Anyway, there’ve been reports of Scylla being off the coast. Thenia and I are going to assess the situation and try to contain her. Then we’ll move her back to the Ionian Sea.”

  She thought about the Mer people and their run-in with Poseidon. “Is it dangerous?”

  He blew out a loud breath. “Poseidon doesn’t get as worked up about the monsters. One way or another, we’ll make her get back.”

  “That sounds an awful lot like a. . .” Threat. He’d said it so casually. Like it didn’t even matter.

  Hope remembered reading about the beautiful nymph, Scylla, who had become a victim to Circe’s jealousy. Glaucus, a mortal fisherman had discovered an herb that could bring dead fish back to life. Curious, he’d decided to try it himself. The herb had made him immortal, but his lower half had changed such that he became the first merman. Glaucus fell in love with Scylla, but she’d been repulsed by his fish features. Because he was a monster.

  But Glaucus had been determined and he’d asked Circe, the goddess of magic and witchcraft, to give him a potion to make Scylla fall in love with him. Unfortunately for all of them, Circe had fallen in love with Glaucus. When Circe had tried to woo Glaucus, he denied her. In her anger, Circe poisoned the water where Scylla bathed. The beautiful woman was transformed into a six-headed monster with tentacles from the waist down. Scylla fed on the flesh of sailors that got too close to her, and she historically inhabited one side of the Strait of Messina. Charybdis—another cursed monster—inhabited the other side.

  “Don’t sound shocked. She’s caused a triangle of destruction, and boats and planes are disappearing like crazy.”

  It wasn’t Scylla’s fault. If you were cursed to be a monster, didn’t something in your nature change? Hope thought about her grandmother strangling men outside of Thebes. That had nothing to do with her being a monster and everything to do with going crazy with grief.

  “Sometimes you have to weigh out the options of doing something you don’t like with doing nothing. Sometimes all the options suck.” He shrugged. “That’s the way it goes. We’ll go see what we need to do and take it from there.”

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “You are going to miss me.” His whole face lit up.

  Hope rolled her eyes. “Why does it have to be you? Why can’t Dahlia go?”

  “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she’s a bit of a hothead.” He chuckled. “Besides, she doesn’t work as well with Thenia. No one can assess situations like Thenia, and despite what Ty or Athan might say, my intent isn’t to destroy Scylla if I don’t have to.”

  Whoa. Destroy her? Something about his words made her uneasy. But she knew him. He didn’t hate all monsters. He wasn’t a vicious killer. “I wish—”

  “You’ll miss our lessons, right?” His dimple flashed.

  He was teasing. And it shouldn’t matter that much, but her eyes welled with tears. Nothing was going right. She couldn’t find the information about the curse. She missed her relationship with Athan. She could feel her relationship with Xan shifting, and she didn’t know how to freeze it where it was. She dropped her head, knowing if she met his eyes, she’d be sobbing. And when had she become such a crybaby? She sniffed.

  And then Xan wrapped her in a hug.

  “Hey, really, don’t be upset,” he spoke into her hair. “I promise we’ll only be gone a few days. I’ll call you every day and make sure Dahlia is giving you a good workout. It’ll almost be like I’m still here.”

  His nearness sent her heart rate into overdrive.

  “I’ll be fine. I don’t know why I’m throwing such a fit.” She laughed apologetically and tried to pull away.

  Xan kissed the top of her head and released her.

  A flush crept across her cheeks, and she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze.

  “It’ll be good to have the three amigos gone, too.” And maybe she could sort out her feelings for Xan. Feelings she didn’t even want to admit were there.

  He grimaced. “I really hate those guys.” He gritted his teeth and stared at the wall for a moment before returning his gaze to her. “Well, I’m glad you’ll miss me at least.”

  Hope moved to punch him in the arm, but he deftly blocked the strike, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her toward him. “Don’t throw a punch at the demigod of war unless you want to fight. You want to fight, little girl?”

  She laughed. “No, sir. Not tonight. I’ll save it for when you get back. Maybe Dahlia can show me some moves so I can beat you.”

  “Don’t count on it. Who do you think trained her?” Xan pointed to his chest.

  “Bummer.”

  “Yeah. But it’ll be good for you to practice with someone else. Dahlia has a different style of movement. You can learn from her.”

  Xan sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs. Hope pulled the other next to his and then sat.

  “I have to say, Hope, you have the makings of a great fighter. If you didn’t let your compassion get in the way, you’d be lethal.” He frowned at the fire for a moment before continuing, “Probably good you have such a conscience, though. You won’t have to learn some things the hard way.”

  “Oh? Like what?”

  “Have you ever killed someone?”

  She shook her head as she inched forward. “Are you speaking from experience?” The idea was ridiculous. Sure, Xan rarely spoke of his past. Only hints here and there. But he was so nice. And yet . . . Athan clearly didn’t like him. And she remembered how biting Xan was when she’d first met him. She’d thought he was a jerk. And she still had no idea why Xan and Athan’s supposed friendship blew up.

  Xan stared into the fire, and his voice was quiet when he spoke, “Having Ares for a father, life was a bit tumultuous, especially in the beginning. He is a very aggressive individual. He has definite opinions and thought things in our “home” should be to his liking—him being a god and all. Not many people will tell a god no, and even fewer will stand up to Ares. It’s probably what attracted him to my mom.”

  He was quiet, and Hope knew there was lots he wasn’t sharing.

  “When things got bad, she threatened to go to Aphrodite, Themis, Dike, or any other god or goddess that could or would intervene. That’s when he left. When me mum died, I grieved in a horrible way. I think there was a time that I was like a monster. I’m sure it was terrible to behold. Then I became destructive in another way, more self-destructive. But even then, my choices affected more than just me. Eventually, I hit bottom and had to make a decision.

  “I made peace with my father and with who I am. Now, I mostly like myself. Although, not everyone else does.” He studied her face. “But, that’s part of being true to yourself. Even when someone else doesn’t approve, you have to be true”—he reached out and briefly put two fingers on her chest—“here.”

  Hope nodded.

  Xan stood up. “I’ve got to go pack, but I’ll see you in the morning. Thenia and I don’t leave until noon. If you want, we can have breakfast.”

  “Yeah. I’d lik
e that.”

  He bent over and tapped her chin with his fist. “Don’t let life get you down, luv. Chin up.”

  She ducked her head and blushed from his touch, then again with his words. And she thought Athan was a sweet talker. “All right. Go pack already.”

  Xan waved from the doorway and then left.

  Hope leaned back in her chair. There was a lot Xan wasn’t telling her, a lot that made him what he was, but it was almost like he didn’t want to be defined by the past. Maybe that was what drew her to him. Because more than anything, she didn’t want to be defined by a curse.

  Despite being hurt by what Athan had done—what she now knew was manipulation and lies—she wanted him to apologize. She wanted him to tell her he’d been sincere and that he really liked her. But even if that were true, then what? It wasn’t like they would live happily ever after.

  And why was he here? He was all nice and chummy with her one minute, then hostile and withdrawn the next. If he was going to stay at the conservatory, would he also be giving her lessons? Should she ask? Would it even matter? She hated to ask for help, and she was going to leave in a week. Questions circled her brain.

  She unwound herself from the chair, grabbed her book, and headed upstairs. She’d ask Thenia. After all, the demigod daughter of Athena had offered to talk, right?

  Hope knocked softly on the dark door.

  “Come in.” Thenia’s voice came through the thick wood muffled and distant.

  Hope poked her head in and swallowed her pride. “Hey. Would you mind talking while you pack?”

  Thenia waved her in. “Not at all.”

  Hope walked into the room, taking it in as she did so. The room was spacious, but inviting and warm. A large, thick carpet covered most of the dark wood floor, and a large bed with rich brown leather upholstery was pushed up against the wall. The bedding was a soft cream that begged to be touched, and there was an upholstered daybed with matching cream pillows. The lighting was muted, and the coals of a recent fire still glowed in the fireplace.

  Hope sat down on the daybed. “Do you need any help?”

  Thenia laughed. “No, not really. I’m never sure what to bring on these trips. I won’t know what I need until we get there, so I take some basics, and then I almost never use anything I take anyway.” She shoved a couple of books and some clothes into a bag. “We’ll make do. We always do.”

  “You’ve done this before?”

  Thenia gave her a half smile. “Once or twice a year. Life creates chaos and havoc. When it’s immortal, it’s our job to take care of it.”

  “Is it always a monster?” Hope had a sinking feeling.

  “No, in fact, usually not. Rogue Skia cause a lot of problems, and sometimes it’s a demigod that’s being destructive. Occasionally, like now, it’s a monster that escapes its binding and makes a mess.” Thenia walked into the bathroom.

  “Oh.” But since she’d been there, it had only been the Mer people and now Scylla. Except . . . “Is that what you were doing in California?”

  Thenia poked her head out. “Two Skia that were killing humans. We sent them back to Hades.”

  “You don’t always hunt Skia?”

  Thenia cleared her throat. “Skia are supposed to be about balance, but I’m guessing that isn’t what you wanted to talk about.” She ducked back into the bathroom and came out minutes later with a bunch of toiletries in a bag. She stopped inside the doorway and gave Hope a pointed look. “You wanted to talk about Skia?”

  Hope took a deep breath. “No, I wanted to ask about Athan.” She paused, unsure of how to start.

  “What about him?” Thenia put the toiletries into her suitcase then eyed the room as if assessing what else to take.

  “Um, does he usually come for a visit? Is he going to stay long? Will he be teaching me? Why is he here?” Hope asked all her questions in a rush, making sure she didn’t chicken out of any of them.

  Thenia walked over to her nightstand and grabbed a book and highlighter. She paused at the writing desk and pulled some gold coins from a drawer. She put the coins in a leather satchel and deposited all of this into her bag. She then turned to Hope.

  “Athan hasn’t come to the conservatory for a visit in as long as I’ve been here. I have no idea how long he’s planning to stay or if he is going to teach, but thus far he hasn’t said anything to me about it. Usually curriculum goes through me, but as a demigod, and a senior one at that, he really doesn’t have to ask permission. He can do whatever he wants. As for why he’s here, I can only guess. But I don’t want to give you false expectations.” She came over and sat on the daybed next to Hope. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

  Hope fell back on the bed then propped herself up on her elbows. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You did pretty well just now.” Thenia patted Hope on the knee. “You’re going to get the most direct answer from him.”

  Hope chewed on her lip as her heart raced with trepidation. “Can I trust him?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve always trusted him, and he’s never given me a reason not to. Although, I admit my interactions with him have been limited. Do you know if he lied to you, Hope?”

  Hope’s stomach was tied up in knots. Literally. Big sailor knots, and the thought of talking with Athan created more knots. “I don’t know if he was lying. He never said he was, but it’s not like he’s going to say ‘I’m lying to you’ either.” Hope’s thoughts went to what she’d learned in the Olympian Library. “And he lied to Obelia.”

  Thenia frowned. “I know she was deceived, and I’ve heard her side of the story, but I’ve never heard his, so I can’t really say where his head was then.”

  “And you said there were other demigods? Other girls . . .?” Hope left it hanging.

  Thenia collapsed next to Hope. “Yes. There were others with similar stories to Obelia’s. I thought about this more after our conversation last week. There haven’t been any of these stories in the last few years, Hope. The only demigod Athan’s brought to this conservatory in the last two years was Panos, Hephaestus’s son. And I heard he brought a girl named Chelli to a small conservatory in Eastern Washington last year.” The demigod’s eyes went to the ceiling momentarily and then back to Hope’s. “It was about eight or nine months ago, if my math is right. Oh, and there was a girl, a daughter of Demeter’s around the same time as Panos. Narella was her name. I never spoke to Chelli, but I saw Narella in L.A. She’s a pretty happy person.”

  “But you don’t know.” Hope was trying to process this information. Part of her wanted to believe there was a possibility.

  “Hope.” Thenia threw her hands up. “You need to talk with Athan. Get it out. Then you can decide.”

  Hope deflated. Thenia was right. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I’m happy to listen, to help you find answers and wisdom. But in this case, the best advice I can give you is to address the issue head-on.”

  “I’m—”

  “Scared?”

  “No.” As soon as Hope said it, she knew it was a lie. “Well, maybe, yes. I mean what if . . .” She played with the satin edge of the pillows.

  “You’ll never know until you talk to him. You have the next few days when your studies will be a little more lax. Take the opportunity to seek him out and ask him. Then you can deal with whatever it is. But right now, you’re fretting about the unknown. And it seems he is, too.”

  Hope took a deep breath. “I think I’d rather go fight Scylla.”

  Thenia laughed. “Sometimes facing pain is scarier than fighting a monster, but I have faith in you.”

  “Thanks, Thenia.” Hope stood up. “I hope your trip goes smoothly. Do you really think you’ll have to kill Scylla?”

  Thenia frowned as if the idea was ridiculous. “Is that what Xan said?”

  “He said you would try to move her back to the Ionian Sea, but if you couldn’t, you’d do what you had to do.”

  Thenia chuckled. “He’s so dramatic.”
She stood. “No. We’ll not have to kill her. Scylla gets bored every few years and goes swimming. Most mortals are agnostic, and they chalk it up to shark attacks or a boating accident. If you pay attention to the news, you’ll see evidence of when something immortal is wreaking havoc. Things won’t add up. But mortals only believe in the gods if they want something. The rest of the time, it’s as if the world exploded into existence.” She surveyed her room. “And Poseidon’s a softie. More than the other gods, it seems. He thinks all the creatures in his realm should be free, so his bindings aren’t very strong.” She shrugged. “It keeps us busy, but it is a waste of human life. Sometimes I wonder if Poseidon is humoring Hades. Not that it matters. There are plenty of creatures under Zeus’s bindings that get free too. Anyway, to answer your question, we’ll move Scylla back. Both Xan and I have done it multiple times.”

  Hope stopped halfway to the door. “Is it safe?”

  “No, it’s not safe.” Thenia went to her dresser. She pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top. “But we know enough to not be complacent, so it will be fine.”

  “Well, be careful.” Hope leaned on the door.

  “I always am. Thanks, though.” Thenia pulled her sweater off and then put on the tank top. “You be careful too.”

  Hope nodded. “I will. Good night.”

  “’Night, Hope. See you in a few days.”

  Hope closed the door behind her and went to her room. She’d make it a point to talk with Athan tomorrow . . . Or maybe the next day.

  “WHO IS IT TONIGHT?” Hope asked. “Are you still going out with”—she searched her memory—“Jack?”

  Dahlia laughed. “You’re thinking of Max, and no, we broke up.” She stood at the mirror in her expansive bathroom, curling her hair. The marble countertops were covered with makeup, hair products, and brushes. The walk-in shower had panels of jets facing each other, and the soaking tub was surrounded by plastered pillars.