Aphrodite's Kiss (37 page)

He stalked around the room once more, trying to rein in his emotions. “Well, I’m going anyway. I’m not leaving her to face Mordichai by herself.”

“There’s nothing you can do,” Zephron said. “We cannot interfere.”

“Screw the rules. I’m going to be there for my sister.” He looked at Donis. “Are you with me?”

“For my daughter? For Tessa’s little girl?” Donis looked from Hale to Zephron, and then to the monitor. “Oh, yes. I’m going.”

“You’re an idiot.” Hoop’s voice filtered over him. “You know that, right?”

Taylor sat at his desk and rubbed his hands over his face.

“He’s right,” Deena said, pacing back and forth and shooting him dirty glares every time she turned. “You said you love her, and then you just up and left her?”

“I
do
love her.” So help him, he did. “But how long do you think we’d last? I mean, how the hell can
she
love
me
?”

“Are you nuts? She thinks you hung the moon.”

“I think that was her great-uncle Joe,” Hoop said.

Taylor glared, and Deena tossed a pencil at him.

“Sorry. Bad joke.”

“But that’s exactly my point,” Taylor said. Why the hell couldn’t they understand? “She’s a superhero, for crying out loud. Leaping tall buildings. Stopping runaway trains. I mean, hell, the girl’s got X-ray vision—”

“Which is pretty damn cool, when you think about it.”

“Hoop!” Deena screeched. “You’re
not
helping.”

Taylor pushed up out of his chair and started pacing. “Why the hell would someone like Zoë want to spend her life with someone like me?”

“Because she loves you, you foolish boy.”

He spun around to see Tessa glaring at him for all she was worth, and suddenly he felt about four feet tall.

“Tessa. I’m sorry.” What else could he say?

“You lied,” she said simply.

The words found their mark. More than anything Hoop or Deena had been saying, Tessa’s simple truth bored into his soul and festered.

“You promised you wouldn’t give up on her. You told her you loved her. And now you’re just going to abandon her?”

“Why would she want me?” he asked again, but it was a pathetic excuse, and he knew it. She did want him. God help him, that amazing woman loved him, and he’d hurt her more deeply than he could imagine.

Tessa stared him down. “Don’t you play that game with me, George Bailey Taylor. Not ever with me. You need a good talking-to, and I’m here to give it to you.”

“Tessa, she’s—”

“Don’t make the same mistake I did,” Tessa said, ignoring him. “Don’t you dare give up on that girl just because you’re intimidated by everything she can do. That’s only part of who she is. Just like that bullet in your leg is only part of who you are. And she loves you. If you really love her, too, I’d better not hear that you’ve let her down.”

He tried to look chastised, but couldn’t help the smile that fought to emerge. There was something so
right
about being called to the carpet by Zoë’s mother.

Heaven help him, he’d been a fool. A damned arrogant fool.

More than anything in the world he wanted to hold Zoë, to tell her he was a jerk. To tell her he loved her and never wanted to lose her.

And he knew in his heart she’d forgive him. Hell, that was one of the reasons he loved her.

He couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not ever.

He pushed out of his chair and his eyes found Deena. “Where is she?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Something about a legend. She’s off to save the world,” Tessa said. The older woman smiled. “Get used to it.”

“Save the world? Fine. Great. Wonderful. But I need to talk to her.” He cursed his stupidity. “How the heck am I supposed to find her? She could be anywhere on the planet.” With an angry sweep of his arm, Taylor wiped the top of his desk clean. “God, I’m such an idiot!”

“Wait!”

They all turned to Deena.

She smiled. “I just might know someone who can help.”

“Elmer?” Deena called, scrambling around on the floor as Taylor watched, baffled. “Come here, Elmer. Oh, little ferret,
please
be here.”

He glanced at Hoop, then Tessa. They both shrugged.

“Deenie, my love,” Hoop said, “what the hell are you doing?”

“The ferret,” she said, rocking back on her heels. “He’ll know where they are.” She glanced up at the clock, and Taylor followed her gaze. It was already past eleven. They had to hurry.

“The ferret that buried his teeth in my leg?” Taylor asked. “We’re looking for
him
?”

“He belongs to her half brother.” She met his eyes. “Taylor, trust me.”

He nodded. “Fine. Keep looking.”

His eyes swept the baseboard as he moved around in Zoë’s kitchen, around the countertop, and back into the breakfast area. He stopped by her table, letting his eyes scour the room, trying to think where he’d be if he were a ferret.

That was when he saw it—the official-looking piece of paper sitting under the salt shaker.

He picked it up and his blood ran cold.

“Taylor,” Deena called. “Would you get with the program, already?”

“She’s giving it up,” he said, his voice barely audible even to his own ears. He read the words on the page, straining to make sense of the letters. After the eclipse, she was giving up her powers.

For him?

He closed his eyes. What the hell had he done?

Deena looked over his shoulder to the neatly printed form. She sucked in a breath and her eyes met his.

“We need to find her,” he said, his voice low and tense. “
Now
.”

“Then we need to find Elmer,” she said, fear in her eyes. “He’s our only chance.”

He nodded. “I’ll check the bedroom.” As Hoop and Deena and Tessa crawled around on their hands and knees, Taylor headed to the back of the apartment. He ripped open the closet and started plowing through the piles of incredibly unfashionable clothes. An ugly jumper, a bright orange and gold dress, a tacky brown pantsuit, a—

Ferret.

Thank goodness
. The little guy opened his eyes, blinked, then came wide-awake, jumping to his feet and hissing.

“Hey, hey, calm down.” He glanced toward the door, feeling rather silly. But he’d told Deena he’d trust her, so...

He put his hand out. “I’m sorry about throwing you off the candy dish to get the stone, but Zoë’s in trouble. Will you help?”

The problem with mortals was that they simply weren’t good at charades.

With much cajoling and bouncing about, Elmer finally got them to drop an atlas on the floor, and now he was doing a little dance on top of the West Coast.

“California?” Taylor asked. “She’s still in California?”

Elmer jumped up and down, bobbing his head, and the mortals slapped their hands together and generally acted silly.

“In Los Angeles, still?” Tessa asked.

Again, Elmer bobbed.

“But we’re still screwed,” Hoop said. “Los Angeles isn’t exactly Podunk, U.S.A. It covers a lot of territory.”

“Here,” said Deena, grabbing Elmer up and plunking him down in front of Zoë’s computer. She logged on, typed a bit, and an image of Los Angeles and a list of activities popped onto the screen.

Elmer’s whiskers twitched. Now they were cooking.

Rather roughly, she grabbed him under his forepaws and held him to the screen. “Point,” she said.

A mite demanding, but he forgave her. They were all worried about Zoë, after all. He skimmed the words, stopping on
outdoor activities
. She hit a button, and the screen changed—popping up a whole list of things to do in Los Angeles.

His eyes glazed over... so much to do, so much to see, and he hadn’t even yet made it out of Zoë’s apartment.

“Elmer!” That was Taylor.

He jumped.
Sorry
! He opened his eyes and focused on the screen. There it was, midway down the page— the Griffith Observatory. That’s where Zephron had said this would all happen.

“You’re sure?” Taylor asked. “The observatory?”

Sure I’m sure. Do I not look sure
? he squeaked.

Taylor shrugged. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Deena, Hoop, and Tessa all nodded and murmured agreement.
Zeus’s zits, you’d think they’d teach ferret in those mortal schools
.

He squirmed, and Deena put him back on the floor as she grabbed her purse and ran for the door. Taylor was already gone, and Elmer ran after them, stopping at the threshold and bouncing up and down.
Come back! Come back this instant
!

After all that—all they’d been through together—and the dang mortals were just going to
leave
him? It just wasn’t fair.

On the walkway, Taylor was sprinting toward the stairs. He paused, turned back, and his eyes met Elmer’s. The corner of his mouth turned up as he nodded. “Don’t forget to bring the ferret!” he called, and Elmer writhed with delight.

As the one called Hoop scooped him up, Elmer preened.

He just might take a liking to these mortals after all.

“Well, well,” said Mordichai, standing near the Egyptian-looking stone obelisk that served as the focal point of the landscaped grounds fronting the Observatory. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Zoë only nodded, too afraid to speak. In her stomach, a thousand butterflies had morphed into broad-winged bats. Behind them, the observatory glowed under the soft electric lights. Below, the sounds of Los Angeles drifted up.

The grounds were eerily empty, as if somehow the vibrations of the legend had kept the mortals away.

“Why don’t we forget the whole thing?” he asked, holding up the stone. “You know you can’t take it from me, and the eclipse will be here soon. All I have to do is hold this stone up, and my father will be able to speak to the Outcasts through me.”

She looked around. “Uncle Hieronymous is here?”

Mordi frowned. “Not exactly.”

“What’s the matter? Is he too chicken to fight his own battle?”

“It’s
our
battle, cousin.” He took a step toward her. “Unless you’d care to join us? You know the council will never admit you. Your skills are”—his hand twirled in the air— “
lacking. ”

“They’re not going to admit me, anyway.” She stood up straighter, trying to make peace with her decision. “I’m submitting to mortalization.”

A look of disgust passed over his face.

“But not until after I get that stone from you.”

“I wouldn’t bet the ranch, cousin, dear.”

She licked her lips, trying to find a way to win. Mordi was right. He
was
stronger. She could tell he’d been holding back all this time, knew he might have done much more harm than he’d actually managed. If she really had to fight him ... “Why are you doing this? Why would you want to enslave all the mortals, anyway? Your mom’s a mortal.”

Mordi snorted, and Zoë realized that maybe that hadn’t been the best argument.

“Why are you so keen on saving them?” he asked. “For that matter, why would you join them? Your precious Taylor? What makes you think that even if you become a mortal that he’ll want to stay with you? Why would he want to? You’re a freak, Zoë, and you always will be. We both are. My mother didn’t want me any more than Taylor wants you.”

“And Hieronymous does?” she spat. “Does he love you, Mordi? Or does he love what you can do for him? If it weren’t for that rock would he care about you in the slightest? He doesn’t even really believe that you’ll beat me, does he?” she asked, remembering Nit and Wit. “He’s the one who sent those creeps to the party. Not you. He’s afraid you’ll lose, isn’t he?”

“Enough!”
Her cousin’s eyes burned with green fire. “My father wants me at his side.
Me.”
His voice was shaking. “Mr. Taylor didn’t want you. He wanted some pretty, normal mortal. Not you, Zoë. Never you.”

“That’s not true,” she cried, but doubt niggled in her mind. She tried to push it away, but it fought back to the surface. She had risked everything for love, and she had no idea how anything would turn out in the end.

“It won’t matter anyway,” Mordi said, his voice stronger now. Firmer. “After tonight, mortals don’t have much of a future.” He swept his arm in a circle and a wall of flame danced up around them. “As they say in Rome, let the games begin.”

* * *

“We’ve got to do something!” Hale watched, helpless, as Mordi whipped and spun and kicked in the circle of flame. Zoë was beaten back, time and again.

Midnight was fast approaching, and the moon had almost entirely disappeared. If Zoë didn’t wrest that stone from Mordichai soon ...

“Together!” Donis called, and Hale nodded. They linked hands, then burst forward, only to be thrown back by the living flames. They landed in a heap, Zephron standing calmly behind them.

“It’s no use,” the elder said. “We cannot even enter the circle. The eclipse has made them both stronger.”

“She’s better than this,” complained Hale, flinching as a stream of sparks from Mordi’s fingertips sent Zoë flying backward. “Why in Hades is she doing such a piss-poor job?”

“Your sister has never found focus. She seems to excel only when her heart is fully invested in the matter.”

“She’s not
invested
in preventing some lunatic relative from taking over the world?”

“I think she’s distracted,” Donis said calmly.

Hale spun to face him. “Well, maybe someone should remind her that she’s not going to be able to spend any time with that
distraction
if Hieronymous unites the Outcasts.”

“I don’t think emotions are quite as pragmatic as you, son.”

Hale shrugged off his father’s platitudes and peered once more into the circle. “That’s it, Zoë!” he yelled when she got in a particularly good punch. The trouble was, Mordi’s powers were well developed. He could levitate, shoot pure energy from his fingertips, and even execute a really neat left hook.

Zoë, on the other hand, was a scrapper.

She was bouncing and dodging, but she wasn’t holding her own. Little by little Mordi was wearing her down, and soon it would be too late.

“Zoë! Somebody help her, dammit!”

Hale turned toward the frantic voice and saw the mortal sprinting toward him, clearly favoring one leg. Behind him, Deena and Tessa and another mortal male struggled to keep up.