The Power
Page 78

“Not just with the Titans,” Solos agreed, still focused on the older blonde woman. “But we’ll have daimon problems before we know it.”
“I’m not worried,” Herc replied.
Seth smoothed his hand along my back as the waitress returned with our drinks and we placed our orders. Aiden got a burger without buns, and I felt like that was a crime against nature.
“Worried or not, we need you to find the demigod, not the girl in the skimpiest bikini,” Alex pointed out as soon as the waitress disappeared. “Even though you do seem to have an impressive talent for that.”
So true.
Herc smiled proudly. “You all need to have faith.”
“I have faith,” Deacon commented. “All the faith.”
“I like you,” Herc stated, and Luke inhaled through his nose as he widened his eyes. “Why? Because you recognize how awesome I am.”
“Fuck me,” Seth muttered under his breath, and then louder, “Can you just not talk? At least until the food gets here?”
Herc frowned as confusion flickered across his face. “Why would I not talk?”
“Okay.” I smiled brightly and continued before Herc could. “So the plan for tomorrow is to keep looking here, in the same area?”
Aiden nodded. “Malibu is only about nineteen miles. He has to be around here somewhere.”
I thought about walking nineteen miles and almost wished Herc was talking about himself. The conversation shifted, though, to what it was like in Tartarus for Alex and Aiden, and we lingered well after the food arrived and was consumed. All of us listened to them, even Herc, and I wondered if it was possible to get a tour of Tartarus without being, well, you know, dead. I’d kind of like to see the ball of fire that turned into a dragon that Alex described.
The vibe was good as we headed back to the Motel. Herc was chill, which helped everyone in terms of patience and happiness, but as we neared the Motel a strange feeling hit me as I stared out the window, focused on the dark waters of the ocean.
The roof of my mouth dried. Tiny balls of dread formed in my stomach. A great sense of foreboding washed over me, so strong and insistent that I tensed in my seat. I glanced at Seth. He was focused on the road. Herc and Solos were quiet in the backseat.
My temples pounded as I faced forward in the seat. Nothing was going on, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the peacefulness felt by everyone wasn’t going to last.
The dry spell when it came to nightmares ended that night.
I’d had another one.
The same as before. The unfamiliar Titan was there, this time in the car Seth had been driving. He’d appeared in the backseat and this time he told me something that chilled me to the very core, three words that followed me as I showered and got ready for the day.
Dig a grave.
That’s what the unknown Titan had whispered in my nightmare. Dig a grave.
Needless to say, that sort of freaked me out.
We hit up Paradise Cove again; this time Aiden, Deacon, Luke, and Solos stayed back, which left the rest of us to start the needle in the haystack search. I wasn’t so confident that we’d find him as we drove along Cliffside Drive.
Hercules was confident, though. “He’s here. I can sense him.”
“Is it like a disturbance in the force?” Seth quipped, glancing into the rearview mirror.
I grinned. Star Wars reference for the win.
“Actually, yes.” Hercules nodded seriously.
Seth looked like he was going to gouge his own eyeballs out.
“He’s here. I can feel him.” Herc shifted in the seat. “You need to pull over. Now.”
“Give me a second.” Finding a place wasn’t easy. It took several minutes, and Seth ended up parking near some overlook. “All right. Let’s do this.”
Seth opened his door, and I hopped out, stretching as I walked over. “Whoa. The view . . .”
“It’s amazing.” Alex joined me. Near an edge of a bluff stood an overlook obviously created for the view.
And it was stunning. A breeze washed over my already-warm skin as I stared down at the sand and ocean. The area was rough. Waves high. Black spots in the water, appearing and disappearing every few moments, turned out to be surfers.
Wait a second . . .
Seth walked up behind me and pulled the back of my shirt down. “Your gun was showing.”
“Oh. Awkward.” I turned to Herc. “You sense Poseidon’s son here?”
The demigod nodded. “Yes. He’s definitely out here.”
“Here” was Point Dume, a small community on a bluff, overlooking a strip of sand and the rocky ocean below. A place popular with surfers, by the looks of it.
“Do you think his son is a . . . surfer?” I asked, staring back out over the cliff. A shadowy blob rose up, coasting a wave. “I mean, he is the son of Poseidon, so that would . . .”
“. . . be really cliché,” Alex suggested. “But would make sense. I mean, his abilities are locked up, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have some sort of affinity for water. Did you have anything that, looking back, reminded you of Apollo?”
Not that I knew of, but knowing my luck, people probably thought I was creepy or something.
I started to respond, but Herc was walking off. Alex sighed as she caught up to him. Seth waited for me, his eyes hidden behind the sunglasses he’d taken from Aiden. I was grateful I’d picked up a pair during my depressing shopping excursion last night.