Mystic Ink (25 page)

This is what she wanted. The comfort. The passion. The love.

He
was what she wanted.

Her feet left the ground and didn’t touch down until the next morning.

Chapter 22

Zephyr knew they would come for him, to punish him for his interference. He waited patiently and passed the time sorting papers and leaving instructions for his business manager to ensure smooth operations while he was gone. Hopefully, not permanently.

The winds shifted outside the open office window. Salty air mingled with the Yankee pot roast being served in the Inn’s dining room.

Closing his eyes, he slipped into his wind form and hovered above the desk. There was no sense in running, not that he would even consider it. There was no escaping the Fates. When they summoned him, he would go.

He had no regrets. He would do it again. Nix was his friend. He had hoped that she would be more, but that was not meant to be. She belonged to Cal and Cal to her.

Someday, he would find the right female.

There was a soft knock on the door. Zephyr assumed his mortal form and called out, “Come in.”

The paneled door creaked open on its old hinges. Three fashionably coifed women shuffled into the office: Clotho, Atropos, and Lachesis. Lachesis, the last one in, closed the door.

“Hello, ladies.” Zephyr put a smile on his face. No reason not to be cordial. “Can I get you some refreshments? You’re all looking very well.” In fact, they looked positively radiant. Each carefully polished, wearing the latest haircuts and designer clothes. Like the Housewives of Ancient Greece.

“This is not a social call. As you well know.” Lachesis settled into one of the armchairs in front of his desk. She pulled a smartphone from her expensive leather handbag. “You’ve gone too far this time.”

“Yes. Assisted in an Epic Quest.” Atropos, the Fate who could cut the thread of life, had her hands tucked in her coat pockets.

“We cannot turn our backs on such a transgression.” Clotho tugged on her honey-colored hair and withdrew a single long strand. “If you were mortal, we could just snip the thread of your life and be done with it.”

“Ah, but I’m not mortal.” Zephyr breathed in a lungful of fresh air from the breeze flowing through the window.

Lachesis, the decider of destiny, stopped tapping on her phone. “No, you are most decidedly
not
human. And since you are now the guardian of a seal, your immortality must be preserved.” She and her sisters stilled as if in silent communication.

They all approached his desk. This was it. Judgment time. He should have felt some fear. Instead, he felt relief. And joy at being released from his monotonous existence. If he were honest for a moment, he would admit that the last century, without Flora, had been absent of color. Dull and lifeless. Like he had become.

Clotho held out the golden strand of her hair. “For your crime of interference . . .”

Atropos withdrew a pair of small gold scissors and held them open, poised over the strand. “We sentence you to a dual existence bound by day and night.”

Lachesis passed her palm over the scissors and the golden thread. “So it shall be until the time you learn your lesson, then you shall be free.” The thread was snipped.

Golden brilliance surrounded the trio. The light flared outward in an eye-blinding flash.

When Zephyr’s vision cleared, they were gone.

And he was still standing in his office. Vertigo swept over him. He swayed, then sat hard into his desk chair. When the waves of dizziness passed, he realized something was different.

It was him.

All his senses had changed. The light wasn’t as bright. Sounds were harder to hear. And the wind, his beloved companion, was absent. Fear flooded him. His heart pounded in his ears. He stumbled over to the mirror hanging by the door. His body seemed out of whack, like he couldn’t smoothly coordinate his movements. When he reached the mirror, he examined his face.

“Gods save me.” He leaned against the wall, knees weak, hands trembling. Zephyr swore he could hear the Fates laughing at him.

Epilogue

Atlantic Ocean

The boat rocked up and down on the waves. The open sea, not Cal’s favorite place, but it was where Nix was, and he had agreed to come for the ride. He had been honored, in fact, to be invited to witness a ritual Nereids seldom let outsiders see.

“You okay, Cal?” Nix wrapped her hand around his biceps. The motion didn’t seem to disturb her at all. In fact, the change from land to sea brought a warm, golden glow to her skin. The blue in her eyes had become richer, deeper, and more beautiful. If that were even possible.

“I’m fine.” He patted her hand. “You ready?”

Nix nodded, then walked to the stern. They had chartered a boat for the occasion. The mortal who had rented them the boat was reluctant at first to let the two of them use the boat overnight. But Nix had poured her Nymph charm on him and the man easily fell under her sway. Nereus had offered them use of one of his many yachts and Nix, unsurprisingly, declined. She had huffed that she “was perfectly capable of handling a vessel on her own.” Not to mention, if she couldn’t, Cal could.

At the stern, Nix reached around her neck and unclasped the locket holding Rocky’s soul. Cal could feel its vibrant energy, as if Rocky knew they had finally arrived at his birthplace. In the distance, Cal could see a long stone outcrop jutting from the ocean: the breeding ground for Rocky’s pod.

The gloaming, the time when light was replaced by dark, was fast approaching. Splashes and faint throaty howls approached at high speed. Nix stood with her eyes closed, her power rushing outward, calling Rocky’s family. A group of Harbor Seals approached the boat. Their sleek speckled coats glided in the water like angels of the sea. Flippers beat against the water in a low steady cadence.

A thousand tiny lights glittered on the dark water—a thousand souls, each unique and each once a living being—had come to welcome Rocky into the fold of eternity. Cal swallowed down the hard lump that burned in his throat. The mist of an unshed tear clouded his vision at the beauty of the moment.

Nix opened the locket and released the small orb from the pendent. Rocky’s soul glowed and lifted, hovering above her open palm like a small will-o’-wisp. The splashes in the water abruptly stopped. Low keening howls filled the air.

“Old friend. It’s time to return home,” Nix said, leaning over the railing, arm outstretched.

Cal resisted the urge to clutch the waist of her jeans as the ship pitched gently. It wasn’t like she would drown if she fell in.

The soul floated out, hanging above the water. The animals below changed the beat of their chant. Nix joined in, singing. Her heavenly voice invoked the ancient tongue of the Gods. After a moment, Cal joined in, surprised that he still remembered the words. The song was seldom sung these days, but like riding a bike, the lyrics came back quickly.

When the soul’s light touched the sea’s surface, the sky lit up and illuminated the bodies below: living seals and the ghosts of the departed. It was quite a crowd. The orb reformed and melted seamlessly into a shadow of Rocky’s mortal form. The ghost Rocky splashed beneath the waves and circled below. Nix waved to him. With a final fin flip, he swam away with the living and dead of his family.

The dark of night reasserted, leaving a clear, star-filled sky.

Cal surrounded Nix with his arms, sheltering her from the cool air. “This is how it should be.”

“Free to live.” Nix turned to face him. She put her arms around his neck and nuzzled his throat. “Free to love.” Her tender lips caressed his in a deep kiss.

He couldn’t agree more. They were together. Forever.

Read about Zephyr, God of the West Wind,

and Kalliope, a Muse on a mission,

in the second book of the series:

Mystic Storm

The Fates haven’t been kind to Zephyr, God of the West Wind. After interfering in a Hero’s Journey, they’ve cursed him. Yeah, he probably deserved it. But come on, does he really have to spend his daylight hours trapped in a woman’s body? And did they have to take away his power over the West Wind, too?

As if his life isn’t complicated enough, a Muse – a supernatural tabloid journalist – appears on his doorstep. So what if she’s irresistible, whip smart and probably the only female on the planet who doesn’t find him charming, he has dangerous secrets that he’ll do anything to protect.

Kalliope is a Muse on a mission: Find her wayward brother, Niko, and bring him home. By leaving her island sanctuary, she’s broken the “rules”, but she’ll risk banishment to save him from yet another ill-fated scheme. She’ll even accept help from Zephyr, the immortal world’s most undeniably gorgeous and notorious rake.