Deep Water (31 page)

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After depositing a platter of only slightly
scorched scrambled eggs on the patio table and getting a passing kiss from
Griffin and a promise to eat after his shower, Poseidon watched in approval as
his consort used a whirling spear and superb fighting skills to fling their
sons, son-in-law, and
mer
neighbor around the beach.

“Remind me never to piss her off,” someone
said from behind him.

Poseidon turned and grinned. “Chiron!
Brother, it’s good to see you,” he said.

Chiron stared at him. “Who are you, and
what did you do with Poseidon?” he said suspiciously.

“I know, I know. I’m in a better mood
these days.”

“Apparently.” With some reluctance Chiron
gave him a small but genuine smile. “I take it everything worked out with you
and
Ammie
?”

“And Griffin,” Poseidon said, holding up a
pausing hand. “
Ammie
, come and eat!”

The Nereid lifted her spear in
acknowledgement, sauntering back across the beach as if she’d stepped out of a
stretching class. Behind her, her assorted sparring partners staggered towards
Nick’s cottage and a soon-to-be crowded hot tub.

“Chiron,” Amphitrite said with true
pleasure, jogging up the porch stairs and beaming at him. “It’s good to see
you, darling.”

“You, too, gorgeous. You’re still as
beautiful as you are badass.” Chiron gave her a courtly bow. “So, I come
bearing good news and bad. Which one do you want to hear first?”

Poseidon and Amphitrite exchanged a quick
glance. “Bad first, please,” Poseidon said.

“I haven’t been able to find Zeus
anywhere. Apparently he’s gone to ground.”

Amphitrite frowned at that. “Why are you searching
for Zeus?”

“I was hoping that I could convince him to
elevate Griffin to godhood,” Poseidon said. “That would take care of his tumor,
not to mention his mortality.”

Her eyes lit. “Oh, darling, that’s brilliant!”

“It’s only brilliant if I can find him and
talk him into it,” Poseidon said. “Or, more accurately, Chiron here can talk
him into it.” He nodded at his half-brother. “If that’s your bad news, what’s
the good news?”

Chiron smirked. “I need Griffin for that.
Where is he?”

“Taking a shower and soaking some sore
muscles, I would think,” Amphitrite said. “Wait here, I’ll go get him.”

She headed inside. Once they were alone,
Poseidon said, “You haven’t been able to find any sign of Zeus?”

The ghostly centaur looked perturbed. “No,
and that bugs me. I know most of his
boltholes
, and
he hasn’t been in any of them for a while. He usually leaves a few
skidmarks
here and there so that I can track him down if I
have to, but there’s nothing this time.”

Poseidon didn’t like the sound of that.
“What’s the likelihood that he’s holed up somewhere with a mortal woman?”

Chiron’s shoulders rose. “Possible, but he
usually doesn’t go that far unless he’s ass over teakettle about her.”

“Damn. Griffin’s improving, but I would
feel better if I knew we had his elevation to godhood locked in,” Poseidon
said. “I worry that he’ll relapse if I have to leave for longer than a day.”

“Now that, I can help you with,” Chiron
said. “Hey, boss?”

An orange sparkle appeared in the air, and
a tall blond man in a set of khaki scrubs stepped out of it. The scrubs’ top
barely restrained his rippling muscles, and even in the shade of the porch his
hair gave off golden glints. “Greetings, uncle,” he said, giving Poseidon a
pleasant nod. “I understand congratulations are in order. Chiron said that you
have been reunited with your consort?”

Poseidon eyed Chiron, who shrugged. “Greetings,
Apollo. And yes, I have,” he said. “I take it he’s also told you about
Griffin?”

“Yes, and the fact that he has a brain
tumor. It should be simple enough to heal that,” Apollo said, glancing around
the porch. “What a lovely place you have here. So quiet and peaceful.”

Amphitrite picked that moment to come back
out to the porch. Apollo eyed the Nereid’s glistening form with appreciation.
“At least, I assume it’s peaceful,” he quipped.

“Hello, nephew. I was sparring earlier,”
Amphitrite said dryly. “A pity you missed it.”

Apollo smirked. “Yes, well, things to do,
places to be. Now, about your mortal mate. As I said to my uncle, healing him
of his tumor should be simple enough. My question is, what will I receive in
return?”

He eyed Amphitrite again, more
lasciviously this time. Poseidon was tempted to pull out his trident and poke a
few holes in the sun god.
It won’t kill
him, after all.

Chiron cleared his throat, shaking his
head. With an effort Poseidon controlled his temper. “What would you like?” he
asked as he moved closer to Amphitrite, his meaning unmistakable.

Apollo’s expression turned gracious and he
held up his hands in surrender. “My apologies, uncle, if I overstepped myself.
I was just reminded of something by the Lady Amphitrite’s beauty.” He nodded at
her. “I wonder, aunt, are you still in contact with your sister
Ligea
?”

Amphitrite’s brows rose at that. “As a
matter of fact, I just had brunch with her a few days ago,” she said. “Why?”

The sun god laid a hand over his heart in
a dramatic pose. “As you may remember, I was quite fond of your sister once
upon a time, but to my regret your father decided that she was too young for my
attentions. Seeing you here reminds me of her loveliness, and she’s most
definitely of age now. If you could persuade her to have dinner with me, I
would be more than happy to heal your mate.”

“Dinner and what else?” Poseidon said
sourly.

The sun god blinked at him. “Just dinner,
uncle. I’m well past the days of chasing after unwilling nymphs. If the lady
expresses interest in anything else, well,” a grin sleeked across his handsome
features, “I’m sure we can determine what that will be between ourselves.”

“I see.” Amphitrite donned a sweet smile.
Poseidon suspected only he could see the vile humor underneath it. “I’m quite
happy to put you in contact with
Ligea
, Apollo, and I’m
sure that she would be very pleased to dine with you. Shall I call her now and have
her make dinner reservations?”

Apollo clapped his hands together. “That
would be wonderful, auntie. Thank you.”

“No, thank you, my dear. One moment,
then.” With a different sort of smile for Poseidon, she stepped back into the
cottage.

Poseidon turned back to his nephew. “It
took Chiron long enough to find you. I take it things are going well for you?”

“Well enough. I’ve been acting as patron
for various solar power startups, and I volunteer at various clinics and aid
stations that need doctors.” Apollo waved one hand at his outfit. “As you might
be able to tell from my clothing.”

That seemed suspiciously altruistic for
the carefree sun god Poseidon knew. “That’s very generous of you.”

Apollo shrugged. “I like to keep my hand
in. Speaking of that, I was given to understand that Asclepius’s Rod is being
used once again.”

“Yes, the Bearer lives over there.”
Poseidon pointed at the primrose cottage up the beach. “He’s a most skilled and
honorable physician. I believe Asclepius would find him worthy.”

Irritation flitted across Apollo’s face.
“If Pythia judged the mortal acceptable, then I’m sure Asclepius would have
approved of him.”

Poseidon glanced at Chiron, who maintained
a bland expression. “What did happen to Asclepius, if I may ask?”

“That’s an excellent question, uncle. The
answer is I don’t know. I’ve been looking for him on my travels, and I haven’t
found a single trace of him anywhere. And of course Gaia isn’t saying anything.
With his Rod now in the hands of a mortal, I’m starting to think that he ran
into something … unpleasant.”

“This is starting to be a pattern,” Chiron
said. “Asclepius disappears, and now Zeus can’t be found anywhere.”

Apollo gave his half-uncle and disciple a
curious look. “Father goes walkabout all the time to get away from Mother Hera.
He’ll come back when he gets bored. He always does.”

“Let’s hope so,” the centaur said,
frowning. “In any case, I’ve got stuff to do. Poseidon, I’ll keep you updated
about Zeus.”

Poseidon nodded. “Thank you, brother, from
the bottom of my heart.”

“I live to serve. So to speak.” Chiron’s
form flared for a moment, and then he was gone.

Apollo turned to Poseidon, rubbing his
hands together. “Well, then, uncle. Why don’t you introduce me to your mate,
and we’ll see about fixing that little problem of his before I head out to
dinner,” he said cheerfully.

Now I remember why
Apollo annoys me.
Keeping a firm grip on his temper, Poseidon led the sun god into the cottage.
The living room was empty except for Amphitrite, who was pacing while she spoke
on a cell phone.

“Excellent. Thanks, darling, and have a
wonderful time.” She ended the call, beaming at them. “Everything is set,
Apollo.
Ligea
will meet you at Michel’s in West Palm
Beach tomorrow night at 8:00 PM. Dress code is casual chic.” She gave his scrubs
a meaningful look.

Apollo laughed. “Don’t fret, auntie. I
have just the thing,” he said, plucking at his top. “A cell phone? I thought
all the Nereids could speak to each other by water.”

“We can, but using a cell phone tends to
be more respectful of each other’s privacy,” she said. “There’s nothing quite
so
off-putting as hearing a voice come from the toilet,
especially when you’re using it.”

Apollo’s expression curdled a bit at that.
“Very wise. Now, where’s my patient?”

“Here.” Griffin came out of the bathroom
swathed in a ratty old bathrobe and looking nervous. He stopped, blinking at
Apollo. “Jesus.”

“Wrong pantheon, but I appreciate the
sentiment,” Apollo said cheerfully. “I’m Apollo, God of the Sun, Lord of
Healers, blah
blah
blah
,
and I’m here to remove your tumor.”

“Sit down, beloved.” Amphitrite took
Griffin’s arm and guided him over to the breakfast nook, urging him onto one of
the stools. “Apollo has kindly agreed to heal your cancer.”

Griffin goggled at Amphitrite, then at the
sun god. “Just like that?”

Apollo rolled his eyes. “What part of
‘Lord of Healers’ did you not understand?” he said, coming to them and reaching
for Griffin’s head. Understandably, Griffin jerked away.

Apollo paused, sighing. “This won’t hurt,
mortal, I promise.”

“Yeah, that’s what all doctors say,”
Griffin said darkly.

“I am not all doctors, and I am trying to
save your life.” He held up his hands and waited until Griffin nodded.

“Right. Now, then.” The sun god put a hand
on either side of Griffin’s head and closed his eyes. Poseidon felt the god’s
power surge, flowing into their mate and supercharging his aura. It flooded
with red and orange streaks like dye dropped into water. He remembered the
colors from Medusa’s aura, dancing together like ethereal fire.

Apollo opened his eyes. “It’s gone.”

Poseidon let out a juddering sigh of
relief as Amphitrite squeezed his hand tightly. “Thank you, nephew—”

“No, I didn’t heal it.” The sun god
sounded puzzled. “It’s
gone
. I can
feel the gap where it was, but his brain tissue is already expanding into it.”
He stepped back, arms dropping to his sides as he studied Griffin. “Have you
drunk a healing potion or been touched by another god of healing recently?”

Poseidon glanced at Amphitrite. Two spots
of pink came out on her cheeks.
Did we do
this?

He lifted his shoulders slightly.
I don’t know. But being mated to Aphros and
Bythos was what had allowed Ian to survive an
ilkothella’s
bite, and they’re only demigods. I’m the God of the Seas and you’re a goddess
in your own right. It’s certainly not impossible.

The very thought of talking about their
sex life to Apollo grated on him, but it had to be done. “The three of us have
been intimate together,” he said out loud. “A number of times. The Fates now
recognize us as mated. I know that divine seed can give a mortal strength and
stamina, but could we have cured him as well?”

“I would have to say yes,” Apollo said,
thick blond eyebrows going up. He gave Griffin another thoughtful glance.
“Interesting. This could open up an entirely new field of medicine. I’ll have
to do an in-depth study.”

Poseidon didn’t want to know what the
parameters of that study would be. “I’m sure you’ll want to get started on that
immediately,” he said. “Thank you once again for your services, nephew.”

Apollo shook his head. “Even if they weren’t
actually needed here, it seems.” He hesitated, glancing at Amphitrite. “
Er
, does that mean—”

“We’ll accept it as a good faith effort on
your part,” Amphitrite said reassuringly. “Your dinner with
Ligea
will go on as planned.”