Deep Water (12 page)

She leapt to her feet. “
What
?”

He raised his hands again, allowing
himself a glare at his sisters-in-law. “More, I cannot tell you until we’re
alone.”

Inch by inch, Amphitrite stiffened until she
looked like a marble statue of herself. “Medusa is dead. She cannot be harmed
by Thetis,” the Nereid ground out. “And you are not fit to say her name. Now
get out.”

His own temper flared. “
Ammie
, stop being ridiculous. You need to know—”

“
Get
out
!”

The other Nereids gathered defensively
around their sister, all four of them giving him the same filthy look. The hair
on Poseidon’s body began to rise from the power being gathered in the room. Individually
the sea nymphs were weak compared to his own abilities, but they became a
formidable force when gathered en masse.

He gritted his teeth. It was obvious
Amphitrite didn’t know about Griffin, so there was no point in trying to make
her listen to him now. Giving his consort a brusque nod, he opened a portal and
stepped through it to his sons’ cottage at Olympic Cove.

I have been
begging for her forgiveness for millennia,
he thought resentfully.
Enough is enough. If she doesn’t want to
talk to me, she can stay with her bloody sisters for as long as she likes. I’ll
woo Griffin and keep him alive on my own. And once we’ve found Zeus and he
grants Griffin godhood, perhaps she’ll listen to me then.

A smaller, slightly childish voice said,
And
if she doesn’t, I’ll still have Griffin.

He grimaced. In the meantime, he still had
to deal with the Fates and their chatty ways. Summoning his trident, he opened
a gate to Olympus.

Or tried to. Nothing happened.

He tried again, with the same result.

His rage surged again, hot and fresh.
How dare
they
—

They didn’t.
The familiar
presence in his mind, huge and all encompassing, loomed over him.
You have everything you need in the mortal
realm, my child. Olympus is closed to you until you resolve your issues with
your
agapetos
.

Grandmother,
that’s outrageous!

No, it’s sensible.
You’ve already made contact with Griffin. Now you need to talk to Amphitrite.

I tried.
The thought was
bitter.
She won’t talk to me.

He felt a chuckle in his bones.
I know one of your sacred animals is the
bull, Poseidon, but this is not the time to behave like one in a china shop. Telling
someone to stop being ridiculous isn’t likely to get you positive results. Try acting
like a well-mannered adult. You might be surprised at the results you get.

That’s not fair,
Grandmother!

The presence receded, but Gaia still got in
the last word.
When did I ever say that
life would be fair, child?

Still stinging from her rebuke, Poseidon
considered his now-reduced options. He had his undersea palace for residential
purposes and Olympic Cove for a land base of operations. Being barred from
Olympus was galling, but it appeared to be a temporary thing. He would survive.

As for the Fates, he would simply have to
take a more creative route to contact those three harpies.

Determined, he opened another gate and
stepped through.

****

Donald stared at him. “You want me to make
a collect call to the Fates?”

“It’s a human term,” Poseidon said
impatiently. “It means—”

“I know what it means, old friend. I’m
just surprised, that’s all.” The Oracle sat back in his chair, beard twitching
as he bit absently at his lip. “I’ve never tried it, but theoretically it
should work. I can’t promise success, though.”

“It’s worth a try, if you’re willing.”

“Oh, I’m willing. You have me interested
now.” Donald huffed in amusement. “Well, then, let’s see if the ladies are home
to callers.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

As Poseidon watched the Oracle’s body
slowly relaxed, slumping a bit in his seat. He sat up abruptly, opening his
eyes. Instead of Donald’s ice blue, they were obsidian.

“We were wondering when you’d try to
contact us,
Earthshaker
.” Atropos’s dry tone came
through the Oracle’s mouth clearly. “I’m rather impressed—I’d thought you would
send Hermes with your query.”

Poseidon scowled. “I thought this would be
more straightforward,” he said.

The smirk on the Oracle’s face told him
that Atropos knew his true reason for this route. “Well, then. Ask your
questions.”

He wasn’t sure how many questions he would
be allowed, and needed to frame each one carefully. “Did you tell Thetis or one
of her minions that Medusa had been reborn as Griffin Moore?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because their life strands have entwined.
Just as we delivered a prophecy to you, we delivered one to her.”

A chill prickled the god’s skin. The last
thing he wanted was Griffin coming within a hundred yards of his mad
sister-in-law. “What was the prophecy you gave her?”

Atropos shook the Oracle’s head. “You know
the rules,
Earthshaker
. A prophecy is heard only by
the Oracle and the recipient. I will not tell you our prophecy to Thetis, just
as we would not tell her your prophecy.”

“You realize that by doing this, you’ve
put Griffin in mortal danger.”

“Involvement with the gods is always a
dangerous thing, Lord Poseidon. And may I point out that he is dying in any
case? If it’s of any comfort, we have complete faith in your ability to protect
your
agapetos
for the remainder of
time he has left.”

The only thing stopping him from leaping
to his feet and throttling the Shearer was the knowledge that he’d only be
hurting Donald. “What about Amphitrite?” he said tightly. “Are you going to
tell her?”

Atropos’s head cocked to the side. “No.
That’s your task. Not that you’ve been very successful at it so far.”

He heard a sudden creaking, and let go of
the chair arms before he crushed them to splinters. “Are there any other
surprises I should be aware of?”

“If we told you, they wouldn’t be
surprises, would they? That’s enough information, sea god. Get to work.”

The Oracle’s expression went blank, and he
took a deep, hitching breath as his eyes turned blue again. “That was … unpleasant,”
he muttered.

Poseidon stood, grabbing the jug of wine
off the low table between them and pouring a measure into a cup. “My apologies,
old friend,” he said, pressing the cup into the Oracle’s hand. “Thank you for
doing this.”

Donald took a deep gulp of the wine, then
shook his head. “I don’t see how it helped you at all. But you’re welcome all
the same.”

“Oh, it helped. I confirmed where the
information had been leaked from, and I now know that Thetis received her own
prophecy that involves Griffin.” Poseidon poured himself a cup of wine.
“Forewarned is forearmed, after all.”

“I suppose. And Amphitrite? What are you
going to do about her?”

That was an excellent question, and one
that he didn’t have an answer to. Yet.

****

After she’d finally ousted her persistent
sisters with a promise to think about their proposal, Amphitrite decided she’d
earned a glass of
retsina
.

Pulling out a bottle from her wine
cabinet, she decanted the golden liquid into a wineglass, carrying it out onto
the balcony of her condo. It overlooked Olympic Beach’s eponymous beach and
marina, and she loved spending her mornings out here watching the sunrise as
she ate breakfast.

If pressed, she still wasn’t sure why
she’d purchased the condo. True, it meant she was closer to her sons as well as
Nick, Aidan, and Liam, and she enjoyed living in the same area as her sister
Hyacinth and her charming little antique store. But she’d had a variety of
pied-a-terries around the world for centuries. Traveling among them was simply
a matter of opening a portal in the world’s fabric and stepping through. There
was no reason why she had to physically reside so close to a location that
Poseidon was known to frequent.

And you call
yourself a therapist. Psychologist, shrink thine own head.

She sighed, leaning on the balcony and
staring at the horizon. Yes, she would always be attracted to Poseidon. They
were still
agapetos
, despite what had
happened. Their life threads were inextricably coiled around each other no
matter how much pain it caused. But their time was past, and nothing could
bring it back.

And then there was Thetis. Amphitrite
grieved at what had happened to her beloved older sister, but as long as Thetis
focused her hatred on Olympic Cove, Amphitrite didn’t feel comfortable being
anywhere else. Long before she embarked on her human careers in the social
sciences she had been a warrior goddess, fighting alongside her father and
sisters against the primordial sea gods who had plagued the Olympians and their
allies. She still practiced regularly, sparring with trident and net, sword,
and dagger against friendly tritons who were more than happy to help keep her
battle skills up to date.

There was no pleasure now in setting
herself against Thetis. But if her eldest sister persisted in attacking her
family, Amphitrite would be there to protect them. And if it meant fighting at
Poseidon’s side once again, then she would grit her teeth and do it.

Why in Gaia’s name
would he bring up Medusa? Not even my sister could lay siege to Tartarus and
threaten its inhabitants. What could he have been thinking?

Willing herself to relax, she sipped her
wine. It truly was a lovely view, with the sea shimmering under a soft blue sky
and the barrier islands breaking up the horizon with tropical streaks of brown
and green. The beach below was already occupied by mortals on a wide variety of
blankets and loungers, and she could see children bobbing and splashing in the
shallows.

One child seemed more frantic than the
others, fighting to keep his small face above the water. Reaching out, she
willed a wave to lift him and carry him further towards the beach. He got up
with a look of surprise, wobbling in the now-knee-deep water, and dashed onto
shore to his mother.

A win for you,
beloved.

She closed her eyes, imagining the slim
form next to her, elbows resting on the railing next to her own.
Well, I could hardly let the child drown,
could I?

She almost heard the indulgent chuckle.
You protect people,
Ammie
.
It’s what you’ve always done best.

The grief pricked her heart again.
But I couldn’t protect you, could I? I
didn’t even know what you were facing until it was too late.

It wasn’t your
fault.

I’d promised to
keep you safe. But in my selfishness I left you exposed.

It still wasn’t
your fault.
If she opened her eyes she wondered if she would see Medusa standing there,
wisps of the handmaiden’s brown hair dancing on the sea breeze.
You need to forgive yourself, beloved. I
forgave you long ago.

Gaia, she hoped that was true.
I miss you, love. I miss you so much.

There was no reply. There never was.
Rationally, she knew that she was making up both sides of the conversation. But
part of her still hoped that Medusa’s spirit reached out from wherever it
resided and touched her in these moments.

She sipped her wine again, and remembered.

****

Millennia ago

It had taken a quiet word in Athena’s ear
that her handmaiden was looking rather wan and could use some fresh air, but
Amphitrite finally managed to lure Medusa out of the Parthenon for an
afternoon.

When the Nereid arrived at the temple
Medusa was already waiting for her on the steps, shawl modestly draped around
her head and forming a lovely frame for her face. The handmaiden watched the
crowds of Athenians streaming by in the street going about their daily business
with a certain amount of fascination. It wasn’t surprising, Amphitrite thought.
Medusa would see supplicants in the temple regularly as part of her duties, but
as the priestess of Athena she probably didn’t get out of the Parthenon proper
very often.

Perhaps I can get
permission from Athena to take her on a trip.
She and Poseidon had a small villa
on Crete that overlooked the ocean, and it would be a perfect getaway place.
She imagined Medusa playing in the surf and smiled at the thought.

Medusa spotted her and waved excitedly.
Still smiling, Amphitrite climbed the steps, secure in her disguise as a mortal
woman. “Are you ready for our picnic?” she asked.

“Yes, very much so,” Medusa said, taking
Amphitrite’s arm. The scent of rosemary and lemon rose from the handmaiden’s
skin, and Amphitrite indulged herself in a discreet sniff. “But are you sure
it’s safe for us to go out unattended?”