“Aphrodite is your supervisor. You’re working for Hera.”
If I recalled, Hera was a jealous bitch. Like seeing the ingredients of a recipe come together, I slowly grasped the truth. “If that’s true, then those two Greek goddesses could be working together. Does Hephaestus make your arrows?”
Ernie nodded, a light going off in his head. “And Aphrodite imbues them with power . . . oh my gods. Theseus and the arrow. I knew I didn’t misplace any of mine!”
I glanced at Dahlia, who nodded her agreement.
“What do you want to bet Aphrodite convinced her hubby to help? Maybe for a quick roll in the hay?” Dahlia asked as she lifted an eyebrow at me. I nodded.
Ernie flew so he was between Dahlia and I. “Wait, this is more than the arrow, isn’t it? What are you two referring to?”
Dahlia pulled the flask from behind her. “Oil of fennel. Prometheus’s Fire. Snake oil, burns through Drakaina skin and can kill monsters. Ring a bell, Ernie?”
His shoulder’s drooped and he fluttered to the floor, something I’d never seen him do. “Damn, I was hoping she was just spouting off.”
“Who?” I demanded.
“Aphrodite. I think . . . I think you’ve pissed her off too.”
Oh, well, wasn’t that just a bucket and a half of rotten peaches.
CHAPTER 12
“What could I have possibly done to upset Aphrodite?” The question burst out of me at the same time the oven timer dinged. I moved on autopilot and pulled the muffins out, dumping them upside down on the cooling rack with a thump. Ernie grimaced and held a hand out like I’d kicked a puppy. I grabbed a muffin and tossed it to him.
He grinned and gave me a wink. Tossing the muffin back and forth between his hands to cool it, he answered me. “The thing is, she’s kinda jealous. Achilles, despite his rather wounded ego, has been talking you up. ‘Beautiful Monster’ is what he’s been calling you. I walked in on her ranting about making sure people knew who the real beauties were in the world, not some Drakaina that just showed up out of nowhere.”
“Beautiful Monster. Sounds like one of those cheesy new romance novels,” Dahlia muttered. I shushed her.
“But . . . Achilles hates me,” I said.
“Yeah, but you totally flipped his switch. Achilles loves a strong woman.” Ernie grinned as he took a bite of muffin. “You’re breaking hearts everywhere you go, Beautiful Monster.”
I groaned and shook my head. “Beth thinks I turned Theseus away from her, that he’s in love with me too.”
Ernie stopped chewing. “What?” Bits of muffin flew out of his mouth, landing on my lap. I flicked them off.
“Long story. Look, can you just tell your boss I’m really not doing this? That I just want to be left alone?”
He chewed thoughtfully on his muffin for a moment. “She won’t believe me.”
I blew out a puff of air. “Some help you are.”
He flew up so we were eye to eye. “Listen, it’s not my fault. Didn’t you ask Merlin to make you special?”
I glared at him and snatched the remainder of the muffin away. “Don’t you try and make this my fault that your boss is obviously nuttier than a batch of Christmas cakes.”
He made a grab for the muffin, and I held it back. “I don’t know how much to trust you, Ernie. How do I know you aren’t going to run to Aphrodite and tell her . . . I don’t know what you’d tell her, but something to make her angrier. How do I know you won’t run to Theseus, or Hera?”
His mouth hardened into a fine line. “You’ll just have to trust me that I’m doing everything I can.”
I handed him the muffin and stepped back. “I’ve done that before, Ernie. Trusted men who were supposed to be there for me. Roger. Remo. Tad. You. Even Zeus said I could trust him.”
The front door clicked open, and Tad’s heartbeat preceded him. “Do I hear my name?” He stepped into the room, his eyes lighting on the muffins. “Thought I smelled these from outside.”
I looked back at Ernie. “You have to earn my trust now, Ernie. I’m not just giving it to you like a free cookie.”
He put the last of his muffin down on the table. “Then I guess I’d better go. Since I’m not trusted, that is.”
Without a backward glance, he flew out the open window, disappearing into the night. I swallowed the desire to call him back and tell him all was forgiven. I couldn’t afford to be the nice girl anymore, and it killed a part of me to embrace that truth.
I looked at Tad and refocused. “Did you find Theseus?”
“Shit, sis. You going to just act like Ernie isn’t a friend? You pretty much booted him out.” He frowned at me, a muffin in each hand.
I glared at him. “I didn’t boot him out, I gave him a choice. And if you want to keep your muffins, I think you’d better reconsider those words. Ernie is dodging questions and working for more people than he has fingers. Explain to me how I can trust him.”
Tad popped the whole muffin in his mouth and grinned around it. “Mfffn gdd.”
“Yeah, buttering me up won’t save you now,” I grumbled, but I still smiled.
He swallowed the muffin down and licked his lips. “Theseus is holed up in Seattle, not far from Mom and Dad’s place, actually.”
A nervous zing of energy snapped through me. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, you know that big house on the corner? The one that’s been for sale for like a year because it was way overpriced?”
I nodded. “He bought it?”
“I don’t know if he bought it, but he’s living there. It’s gated and everything, I tried to get in, but he’s not doing interviews until tomorrow.”
“Interviews, you can’t be serious now.”
He nodded. “He says he understands my desire to get away from you, but he’s got other people looking to be on the ‘right side.’”
Although it was good to know where Theseus was, I wasn’t sure how it was going to help me. Tad leaned back in the chair. “You ready for dinner at Mom and Dad’s tonight?”
I groaned. “Damn. I forgot about that.” The fact that I’d even been invited had been a shock until I realized that it had been Dad making sure I was part of the family event.
“We have to decide what to do with this.” Dahlia held up the flask. “Can we just pour it out, down the sink?”
I frowned. “I don’t know.”
The front door clicked open, and the three of us froze. While I picked up a heartbeat, I didn’t immediately recognize it.
Yaya called out, “Darling granddaughter, are you baking?”
Relief swept through me. “When am I not, Yaya?”
She greeted Tad first with a pat on his cheek. A thought rolled through me like a wave of undulating coils. “Yaya, what are you doing up at this hour?” Hard to believe it was only the middle of the night, with all that had happened so far.
“I’m old, Lena Bean, and that means I do what I want. And I don’t sleep worth shit anymore.” She rubbed at her right hip. “What I wouldn’t give to be young again and free of this.”
She pointed at the flask. “What’s that?”
“Fennel oil. We were just going to pour it out.”