Rising (12 page)

Triton exploded in a rage. His fists slammed into every sculpture, every wall, and every lifeless marble figure surrounding him. All but one.

H
e couldn’t bring himself to shatter the beautiful face, the image that had put him into this fury. This statue was created by goddess and former friend, Aphrodite, and had been sent to him as a gift. It was another attempt of hers to heal his heart. You’d think she’d have given up after two thousand years.

As young children
, Aphrodite had been a special friend of his and had had a tremendous effect on him. She’d woven her magic into his heart and into his life. As cousins, they were very close—as close as any brother or sister. As the goddess of love and procreation, she’d showered him with gifts of attractiveness, charm, and magnetism so powerful that it was the rare human female that was able to resist him.

He’d
basked in the attention he got from beautiful women and had fathered many merchildren. The women were a temporary diversion, but the children were never forgotten. At birth, he would steal them away from their mothers and bring them into his kingdom to raise them.

They were his most perfect creations
. He loved each one, daughter and son alike, but their petty problems and irresponsibility pushed him to the brink of insanity. It was that irresponsibility that led to their demise.

Because they chose to mock Poseidon, they were the makers of their own destruction.
Still, Triton had loved them as much as any father and he’d do anything in order to have his children returned to him.

If only he could snatch them from the clutches of Hades. But Hades did not give up those in his domain without a steep price. Triton had tried bargaining with him
countless times. Each time, Hades refused. Now the King of the Underworld wouldn’t even agree to see him.

Triton
looked up at this latest gift from Aphrodite. It was an especially painful jab—the image of a woman best forgotten. It was a reminder of his one great slip that could have brought him infinitely more pain. Who was he lying to? She
had
brought him more pain. Her memory brought him pain even now.

Triton
cursed his own weakness. He had sworn off women, sworn never again to father a child. He would protect his heart at all costs from the painful loss of a father losing his child. The only consolation he found in the situation with this human was the fact that she was barren. If she hadn’t been…

“Philotheos
,” Triton shouted, turning away from the exquisite statue.

“Yes,
Master.” Triton’s faithful servant swam into the room. His many squid tentacles brushed over the piles of broken rubble as he glided across the floor. His wide, bulging eyes surveyed the damage, shocked at the destruction surrounding him.

“Clean this place up
,” Triton said.

Philotheos
jumped, startled at Triton’s tone. He rarely spoke to his servants so harshly. Triton forced himself to soften his tone. “Please, I want all traces of this… scene gone. And take that statue somewhere out of my sight.” He shrugged over his shoulder, not willing to look at it again.

“Should I destroy it?”

“No,” Triton roared, his anger threatening to return. He heard the young squid’s heart take off in a sprint. Philotheos was fearful of his master. Triton took several calming breaths before he spoke again. “Do not destroy it. Just put in a location where I will never see it.”

“Yes, of course
, Sire.”

Triton turned his back on
his servant and the past as he transported himself to a place where he could be completely alone in his misery—the deepest trench of the Mid-Atlantic ridge.

Sara should have been exhausted from her shopping trip with Gretchen. But with the prospect of her first date with Xanthus, she was giddy with excitement. She wheeled into her bedroom, laid her dress across the bed, and showered. An hour later, she was primped and ready to go.

S
ara marveled at her transformation in the mirror. Her layered hair hung in curls around her face and down her back. She’d put on makeup and her new, pale blue dress. The look was undeniably beautiful. Tonight she felt as pretty as Gretchen always told her she was.

A
faint knock on the door woke up the butterflies in her stomach. Sara hadn’t seen Xanthus since last night when he’d kissed her. She hoped he’d kiss her again.

When
she pulled the door open, Xanthus stepped inside. He was dressed in a crisp, black Armani suit and green, Italian-silk tie.
Wow
! was the only coherent thought she could form in her brain.

“Hello Sara
. You look amazing.” He smiled and her heart skipped a beat.

Stupidly, all
she did was nod. Finally, her brain seemed to catch up and she realized what he’d said. She felt her face flush. “You look pretty good yourself.”

“Thanks.
I’m not used to wearing clothes… I mean, um, these
kinds
of clothes. I’m sorry. I’ll admit I’m a bit nervous tonight.”

“It’s okay,
I’m pretty nervous myself.”

“Is everything locked up or do you want me to check the windows?”
He lifted the kitchen blinds to inspect the lock.

“It’s a
ll right. Everything’s locked up. Besides, thanks to you, I have a security system.” She grabbed her tiny, silver, coin purse.

“I know, but you can’t be too careful. Are you ready?”

She nodded.

Xanthus
strolled around behind her and pushed her chair toward the door. “I have to warn you,” he said, “it’s been a long while since I’ve been on a date, and I’m not completely brushed up on American dating customs. I hope I won’t embarrass you.”

S
ara punched in her alarm code and Xanthus pushed her out the door.              

“
Not likely,” she said. Just being seen with him would have other women envious. “Why haven’t you dated for so long? I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have asked that.” The cool night air greeted her blushing face as he wheeled her out the front door.

“
No, it’s fine. I don’t know. I guess I was always too busy for relationships.” He stopped next to a large, black Porsche SUV. Sara looked at the expensive vehicle and raised her eyebrows. This was a lot higher class than usual for her neighborhood.

He
opened the passenger door and lifted her into the seat. The car was warm from the evening sun and smelled of rich leather. She finger-combed her curls as Xanthus folded her chair into the back and came around to climb in himself.

“
So, what is it you do?” she asked as he turned the key. The air conditioning switched on and began to fill the cab with cool air.

“Well,
I guess you could call me a soldier,” he said.

“
You don’t know?”

“
Well, I’m more like a cross between a soldier and a policeman.”

She
wasn’t the least bit surprised. He seemed like the warrior type. “So where are you from?”

“
The Mediterranean.”

“H
ow long have you been in Hawaii?”

Xanthus sighed.
“About a month.”

“And you decided to buy an apartment building? You must want to stay a while.”

“Not really. I’m here on assignment. I bought the apartment building on an impulse. I’ll have to figure out what I’m going to do with it before I have to go back a year from now.”

“Oh, so you aren’t staying?”
Sara asked, disappointed.

He shook his head. “
No. I’m needed back home. I couldn’t ever stay here permanently. You’d love it in the Mediterranean. The sea is amazing and full of life.”

“More
so than in Hawaii?” Sara relaxed against the soft leather. She was comforted, listening to the warm cadences of Xanthus’s voice.

“In Hawaii, sea life clings to the shore line
. Where I come from, there is marine life that goes on for thousands of miles.”

“
Well, I don’t know much about ocean life. I haven’t been near the shore since I was a small child.”

“You
’re joking.” Xanthus’s surprise was apparent. He glanced over at Sara.

“No, I’m actually terrified of the water. I almost drown
ed when I was a child and ever since then, I won’t go near the ocean.”

“Really?
What happened?” Xanthus’s brows furrowed.

Sara
shook her head. “I’m sorry, I’d rather not talk about it.”

“It must
have been traumatic,” he said.

S
he nodded, but didn’t offer more.

***

Xanthus pushed Sara through the doors of an Italian restaurant across the street from the concert hall. He’d done a search for fine restaurants near the concert. He hoped the food was as good as the reviews said it was. They were seated a few minutes later.

“I love this restaurant
,” Sara said. “My mom and I used to go to the one on the Big Island all the time.” Her eyes were a bright, shimmering blue and her cheeks rosy. She’d never looked more beautiful.

“This is my first time here
,” Xanthus said. “I don’t even know what’s good. Do you have any suggestions?”

“The lobster ravioli in tomato sauce is to die for.”

Somehow, Xanthus didn’t think he’d ever consider dying for
any
kind of human food, but he smiled at her crazy lingo. “I’ll take your word for it.”

The waiter stepped up to the table. “Welcome to
the Orchard….”

Xanthus
followed Sara’s suggestion and ordered the lobster dish. She didn’t follow her own advice, but ordered something called cappelini pescatore. A short time later, Xanthus came face to face with the most terrifying thing he’d ever encountered—human food. What lay before him looked strange, foreign, and smelled horrible—like nothing he’d ever come in contact with before.

He took his first tentative bit
e and came to the immediate conclusion that it tasted as bad as it smelled. He didn’t even have anything to compare it to, but given the taste, texture, and burning hot temperature, the lobster was definitely dead.

Xanthus did his best to look as
if he were enjoying the food. Sara’s company more than made up for the terrible meal. He was both shocked and delighted to see she was not afraid to speak her mind. It was very different from Dagonian females, who rarely spoke to males—and that was only if directly spoken to. Even when they did, they never voiced an opinion. Hades. If he hadn’t been so close to his own mother and sister, he wouldn’t have known females even
had
opinions. Sara not only had her own opinions, she spoke them clearly and intelligently.

Resisting her enticing scent was still a trial, but he was finding it easier. She was just so sweet
. He couldn’t imagine breaching her trust.

***

Sara smiled, enjoying every minute of her date. Xanthus gently pushed her and her wheelchair across a sidewalk lined with coconut trees. The sun was just beginning to set, bringing a warm radiance to everything it touched and the cool, floral-scented air breezed through her hair like a gentle kiss. The glowing concert hall beckoned ahead.

“Sara
,” Gretchen squealed the moment Sara and Xanthus stepped through the door. Gretchen hurried over and Hal followed. She beamed at Sara and then looked up at Xanthus. Her eyes went wide and her jaw slack. “Wow,” she mouthed, then composed herself and smiled. “Hi, you must be Xanthus. Sara has told me so much about you.” Gretchen and Hal both had to crane their necks to look Xanthus in the eye.

“Hello Gretchen,” Xanthus
said. “And this must be Hal.”

Hal looked taken aback by
Xanthus’s overwhelming presence. “Nice to meet you,” Xanthus said. Hal hesitated a second before he came forward, clasped Xanthus’s hand, and shook. He then turned to Sara and his face lit up. He came forward and took her hand in both of his. “Sara, you look stunning.” She smiled wide, pleased at his compliment. Then she turned to Xanthus.