Page 28 of The Demigod

Enjoying my own body.

And, gods, I enjoyed it, alright.

But that was over.

I had to get my head back in the game. We’d wasted half the night.

By the time I checked one small cave in the craggy cliffside, the sun was already starting to peek across the horizon.

With a sigh, I made my way back to the tree to find Daemon walking toward me from the opposite direction.

“Anything?” I asked, directing the question to his chin because I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eye.

“Walked my ass right into a bear’s hibernation lair,” he said, making my gaze shoot up, inspecting him for injuries.

“Did it get you?”

“Don’t insult me, shadow girl. I can hold my own against a bear or two. Actually, I’d like to go back.”

“Go back? Why?”

“It didn’t occur to me,” he said, falling into step beside me as I started toward the estate, “until I was already on my wayback. Maybe that’s the perfect cover. It would certainly keep any humans away, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s true, I guess. Maybe we should both go back tonight. I can get us both past them.”

“Get past who?” a voice asked, making my heart sink to my feet even as Daemon tensed and then took a half-step in front of me.

Then, stepping out from behind a tree, was not Oizys, Eris, Ares, or the Keres.

No.

It was a man.

One I was reasonably sure I’d never seen before.

That said, there was something familiar about him. The crown stuffed with colorful feathers over his wild, wavy hair. The strange, almost taunting smile on his face.

“Who the fuck are you?” Daemon asked, moving in a circle as the man walked around us, always keeping me slightly behind him.

“It’s Momus,” I declared.

“Who the fuck is Momus?”

“The god of satire and mockery,” I said, watching as the man’s smile grew wider.

“My reputation precedes me.”

“He’s… the son of Nyx,” I declared.

“The son of Nyx,” Daemon repeated, glancing over at me, and I swore I could read his thoughts.

Your brother?

“What are you doing here?” I asked Momus.

Because, while he was the child of Nyx, he wasn’t exactly as, I don’t know, wicked.

In fact, he kind of just ridiculed everyone. He thrived on finding fault in humans and gods alike, then mocking them with those faults relentlessly.

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