Page 38 of Hooked on a Witch
“It burns?”
“Yes,” she choked out. “Don’t touch it. When people with magical powers touch it, it hurts more. Our healer tried to fix the scar, but he couldn’t.”
“What I did couldn’t heal this. Usually, I can heal almost anything.” He touched the side of his face over his scars.
“What did that to your face?” She put a finger on the scarred scratches, still not finding them at all a deterrent from his hard, dangerous appeal.
“It happened the first time I faced off against Ericthonians over that item Athena wanted. The thing scratched the shit out of me, and it turns out if I don’t get to the water in time, I scar.”
“Did you scar today?”
“No.”
“Good.” She cast him a small smile.
“Tell me how you got the thing on your stomach.” His hand hovered over the scar as if he could feel the heat, which simmered from the inside out as if revving up to a power burn again.
“Someone shoved a sword through me a few weeks ago.”
“A sword?” His hand hovered above the scar again. “Not many go for swords these days.”
She squirmed against the softness of his touch. “The blade must’ve been cursed or poisoned or something. Doctors said I should’ve died. It went through my liver and intestines, but I didn’t die.”
“The sword must’ve left something inside you when it went through. Something that prevented you from dying. Maybe a piece of the Trident or the whole thing. Did you steal the Trident or do something to miniaturize it and store it inside yourself?”
“I didn’t steal it. I’m not a sea creature who can hold her breath long enough to reach Poseidon’s home, brave whatever scary things guard it, and then tiptoe in, steal it, and get out. I have no powers to miniaturize.”
“You could get in and then do your dimension travel thing to get out. Or maybe even pop into Poseidon’s domain from here, this other dimension?” His eyebrows shot up.
“It doesn’t work like that. Even if it did, I suck at it. Look at today. I’m clearly not good at ending up where I want. It’s a miracle we ended up on this beach after that snowy place. Also, I didn’t have the ability to move between dimensions untilaftermy mother died, which was after I’d been run through with a blade.”
“Why are you in South Carolina when you’re under some sort of gods’ ultimatum?”
“Mom told me to go to South Carolina right before she died. She said I’d find help there.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “What exactly are you aside from a hunter of evil magic people? Whoever you’re descended from has water powers.” Gut instinct told her his water god ancestor was a direct relation, maybe a parent or grandparent.
He resumed his seat and crossed his arms.
She leaned forward. “Which Greek god do you come from? You owe me at least this much.”
“Poseidon.”
“That’s a weird coincidence.” Super jackpot? Maybe not, considering the gods liked to muck around in the lives of her and the other Pleiades ladies. This might be a complex game, and they were the pawns.
“Don’t look at me like I’ve got answers. I’ve never met him. I’ve never seen his Trident other than pictures, which are probably wrong since that’s human guesswork.”
“You’re related to Poseidon. Poseidon has me under an ultimatum. My mom sent me down here for some reason. Any thoughts?”
He shrugged.
“You can get answers, I’ll bet. You’re not as far removed from him as I am from my descendants, are you?”
His face closed down. “What do you want from me?”
“I have to find the Trident and give it back to him within the next week or—”
“You die, everyone you know dies. Scary death shit and end-of-world scenarios. Standard gods Armageddon crap. You said that before.” He shook his head. “I don’t have a clue how to find it.”
He grabbed the cinnamon bun off his plate and bit into it. His eyes drifted closed. “These are really good. Really, really good.”
