Page 54 of Oh No! There's an Incubus in my Hot Spring
My stomach groans at the scent of something smoky, and I look for the source. Right in front of the sushi place is a man grilling fresh cuts of marinated beef. A cute kid who couldn’t be more than ten is passing out samples of the cooked meat to everyone who passes by.
I whimper as I drive past, wishing I could stop in for a bite. I mean, I could…but it wouldn’t be as much fun without Apollo.
The streetlights are all green and I cruise, my mind wandering. I wish there was some way I could help him get out of the springs for a night, like Cinderella. I have magic now; maybe there’ssome way for me to help sustain him while he’s out, like his fairy godmother?
What was it he said? He’s bound to the mountain?
I wonder if I could take a piece of the mountain and that would count? Maybe I’d need more than just rock. What if I took some of the geode?
Before I realize, I’m almost home. I tune back in and enjoy the fluttering of aspen leaves as the RAV rocks against the bumpy gravel drive. Definitely going to need to pave it, and get a paved parking lot, and some signage. This place…how did it even survive in 2002?
I open my purse and grab my notebook. I flip it open and scratch off two more items on the list. Laundromat located and laundry done, but I’ll eventually need to get a washer and dryer here, industrial sized so I can wash the rented towels.
I throw the groceries on top of my folded clothes and sheets in the laundry basket, then head into the house. Apollo is stretched out on the couch beside the fire, reading a contemporary rom-com.
“Welcome home,” he says with a bright smile. “Can I assist you?”
“You keep reading, I’ve got it,” I say, heading for the ancient refrigerator. It rattles as the compressor turns on when I open the door. I definitely want to replace that thing soon, but it’ll cool my groceries just fine for now. And by groceries, I mean seven-layer bean dip, shredded cheese, and flour tortillas. It’s questionable quesadilla night at Casa de Azarolla.
I get the laundry put away and then turn on my laptop at the little kitchen table. I open my running list of things the place needs on my computer and order it by priority. Right at the top is a coffee maker. Yep, that’s a must. I can’t keep going into town every morning.
I open Purchazon and start filling up my cart with a litany of things we need besides the good ol’ bean juice maker. A canopy for the top level so we can cover it for now and prevent it from getting too dirty, pool cleaning nets—one for each level—and some water-testing kits. I put a few more snacks in the cart too.
Apollo chuckles from where he’s lounging on the couch and my smile droops at the thought of him trapped here forever, reading my books. I want to take him out to sushi.
He said he was bound to the power in the mountain, but if that power is just the geode, maybe he can leave if he takes a piece of it with him. As long as it’s safe to remove a piece.
“Apollo,” I say in a questioning tone.
“Yes, lovely?” he replies, turning the page.
“If I were to take a crystal off the geode, what would happen?”
His eyes snap up from the book and land on me. “Why would you want to do that?”
I shrug. “I just have an idea.”
I could tell him, but I want it to be a surprise. I want to see the excitement in his eyes when he realizes he can leave the springs without getting warped back through space and plopped in the apartment.
He throws himself off the couch and walks toward me. “The heart has grown over the last decades. It’s possible that taking a piece of it won’t hurt me. But I don’t really know. It might sever some of my power, but I doubt it would kill me.”
I worry my lip. I wouldn’t want to chance killing him.
“What do you want it for?” he asks, stopping beside my chair.
It’s hard not to be distracted by his abs, especially when there are glowing lines of power thrumming over them.
“It’s a surprise,” I say.
He raises one of his silvery eyebrows, then disappears in a puff of mist.
“Apollo?” I push back the chair and stand, looking around for him.
A sharp pain spears through my heart and I gasp, holding my chest. The ground trembles softly, and then Apollo reappears beside me.
“I didn’t die,” he says in a wounded grunt as he holds up a purple crystal the size of my thumb. My eyes shift from the crystal to the blood tricking down his chest.
“Are you all right?” I ask, my other hand flying over his left pec.
