My Date From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #2)

Sophie Gets Gone (Part 2)

I peered up to see how much farther. Another twenty feet and I'd be outside.

Shoot me now. Pops was still waxing poetic about Persephone. I glared up at the vicinity of his voice.

"Your perfect daughter planned on coup d'étating your ass. So bite me." That felt good. Even if he couldn't hear me.

"That was all Kyrillos. He led my Persephone astray. I don't like him," Zeus said flatly.

Whoops. Guess he could hear me.

"Well, goody. We have something in common. I don't like Kai either."

As if my voice GPS'd my location, the door I'd originally entered through crashed open below me and Zeus stepped into the room, expensive weighty pen held loosely in his right hand.

Click. Click. His large, broad thumb was getting a real workout on that pen's button. "Leaving us already?"

I startled and froze, dangling in mid-air, more than a bit uneasy at his appearance. I cleared my throat and went for nonchalant. "Well, hospitality Chez Zeus leaves a lot to be desired. No mint on the pillow, room service is more jail than four star, and check out time seems to be never."

A couple of his minions entered to flank him. Called Photokia, or as I thought of them, Gold Crushers, they would have fit right in at a biker bar for the otherworldly. Leather clad, seven feet tall, bald, and solid muscle, with gold thunderbolt tattoos snaking over their heads, these dudes shot lightning from their glowing gold eyes. Needless to say, our previous run-ins had not been pretty.

Time to Speedy Gonzalez my ass out of there. I amped my ascent to "blur," feeling the wind against my face as I streaked upward. The chandelier shuddered violently, moaning its displeasure, but it was still definitely the lesser of all the jam-packed evils here.

So near and yet so far. In a fluid motion, one of the Gold Crushers flew through the air at me. He tackled me to the floor, the fall snapping my light ribbons as I crashed down on top of him with a hard thud. His body was slightly less cuddly than an anvil.

Holy Hannah that hurt. That was gonna bruise.

I kneed him in the crotch, grateful that it worked on bad guys of every species, scrambled to my feet, and fired my light at him. Once I'd gotten over the initial horror of my capabilities when my powers had first surfaced, I'd stayed firmly in "kinda impressed with myself" territory.

I rather enjoyed the whole process now.

My vines caught the Gold Crusher around the ankles, entombing him like a fly in a spider's web. The light spun faster and faster, wrapping him tighter and tighter. He began to age rapidly, his muscles sagging, his skin wrinkling, until with a poof, my light constricted and he disappeared into dusty oblivion. I smirked in victorious delight and snapped my light back into my palms.

Pops had the gall to slow clap me. "Lovely display."

He brushed a spec of lint off of his jacket, all pimped out in a cream linen suit with a matching lightweight fedora. Obviously custom made, unless there was some kind of Big 'n Tall for the giant Greek mover and shaker. From the gleam on his nails to his smooth shaven cheeks and perfectly coiffed hair, Dad was a big old metrosexual.

The cute grey leggings and tunic I'd originally been wearing when I'd arrived were long gone, and I felt like a hobo in my loose, none-too-white pajama-type outfit, dirty bare feet and hair desperately in need of a wash.

I cast a wary glance at the remaining Photokia, calculating my next move. Gold Crushers and I didn't have the best relationship. Mainly because they were big, grudge-holding babies with an unquenchable thirst for death and destruction. And seeing as how I had annihilated a bunch of their brethren (creaturen?) during our brief acquaintance, I shuddered to think what any one of them would do with me now.

But I would never show them my fear.

I gave the Photokia a saucy fingertip wave. "Hey there, Gold Crusher. What's up, you snaggle-toothed freak?"

Zeus' eyes crinkled in amusement. "Don't taunt the minion, child," he said. He lifted his fedora to sweep a lock of dark hair from his forehead. "It's bad form."

The Photokia didn't seem to find me as funny. Not even in a "laugh at" not "with" kind of way. The expression he turned on me spoke of pain happily bestowed. His eyes began to glow.

Zeus held up a hand to cut off his minion's assault. "How about a deal?" I don't think he was even aware that he had sped up his pen clicking, now going about 100 clicks a minute.

I know this because it kept pace with my racing heartbeat.

He caught me staring at his hand. His expression darkened.

A shiver ran through me.

I forced myself to meet his eyes as my stomach churned with the jitters. "What kind of deal?"

I inched my way back under the chandelier in case I needed to book it out of there.

"Tell me where you and Kyrillos are planning to enact this ridiculous coup d'état ritual of yours and I'll let you go."

My brow furrowed. "I have no idea. I don't have Persephone's memories."

Zeus looked at me thoughtfully. "Yes, you keep saying that," he murmured.

Huh? "'Keep?' You've asked me this before?" Of course. "That's why you were drugging me, wasn't it? What'd you use?"

Zeus waved me off. "There's truth serum in the water. And you know, hydration is essential to good skin." He made a circular motion around his face. "You practically glow with youth and vitality now. In the cheeks. Also, I'm immune to the more adverse effects."

Yeah, because younger, more radiant skin was a top priority of mine right now. I shifted my weight and glared up at Pops. "That's why you kidnapped me. To get the location. Why?"

Zeus pursed his lips, considering. "Is this where I do the arch-villain bit and divulge my plan?"

I fired my index finger and thumb at him, gun-style, but stayed on high alert. I readied myself to move quickly, weight on my toes. "Got it in one."