CHAPTER 17.

THE NEXT FOUR DAYS WERE FILLED WITH ANSWERING OFFICIAL inquests about the exploding boat, dealing with the insurance company, and trying to calm down Tory, who wanted to head right back to the site and excavate even though much of their data had gone up in flames. The only ones happy about the delay were Thia, who had more time to spend with Scott and Brian, and Kichka, who was able to hunt uninterrupted for stray mice in the alley behind their flat.

And deep inside, Geary was more than fine with the delay, too, since it meant more time with Arik. He proved himself to be a tremendous help to her. He kept her completely grounded even while her temper was snapping, and he had an unnatural ability to get the Greek officials to bend to his will. If she didn't know better, she'd swear he had his god powers back.

But he was definitely still human. He just knew how to influence people to get what he wanted.

She sighed as she lay naked in bed with him in the late afternoon. It'd been a particularly grueling day. Between dealing with her usual business with the salvage company and a couple of clients who didn't want to pay for having their cargoes retrieved or their boats towed, and the insurance company that was trying to prove she'd intentionally blown up her boat to get the money out of it, she was thoroughly exhausted.

The only good thing had been the mind-blowing sex, and now Arik was rubbing her back while she lay beside him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked. He'd been unusually quiet all day.

"Nothing."

She turned her head to look up at him. He was completely naked except for the sheet that was pooled in his lap. His hair was mussed and his lips swollen, while he had a day's worth of whiskers on his cheeks. He was a little flushed from their play, which only made his eyes paler and bluer. "I don't believe that. You seem preoccupied. What's on your mind?"

He squeezed her shoulder with a touch so expert it wrung a moan from her before he answered. "You've had enough stress. I don't want to add to it."

"Oh, what the heck?" she said with a smile. "Add away. At this point, one more problem would be nothing to me."

Laughing, he kissed the shoulder he was working on before he moved down to massage her arm. "I was just thinking how strange it is that no one has attacked us these last few days. I keep waiting for the Dolophoni to return."

She propped herself up on one arm to watch him. "Maybe Apollymi scared them off."

He took her free hand into his and massaged it between his fingers. The small circles went up her arm and made her literally melt. "I don't know. They're not the type to scare all that easily."

He did have a point, but honestly, she preferred the thought that Apollymi had scared them off. That meant they wouldn't be back. "So what exactly are you thinking about their absence?"

"That they're waiting for me to get comfortable here so that they can strike while I'm not looking."

She liked that thought even less. "Maybe you're just being paranoid."

"Do you really think so?"

No. But she couldn't bear to say the word out loud. It was just too hard to think about. And the other thing she didn't want to think about bulldozed its way into her thoughts right behind it—Arik's time here was getting shorter by the second.

Which triggered her to glance at the clock. As soon as she realized the time, she jumped up, clutching the sheet to her breasts. "Hey, we need to get going if we're to meet Kat on time."

Arik nodded even though he was starting to dread this meeting and he didn't know why. He'd been the one to suggest they return to Atlantis, and yet he had a bad feeling that he couldn't place. Something was going to go wrong. He knew it.

Perhaps he'd been human long enough to develop a degree of intuition. Or maybe he'd been attacked enough to know that the most likely place for the Dolophoni to strike next time would be underwater, where he and Megeara wouldn't be able to escape or really fight…

It was a chilling thought.

Because of that, he kept it to himself as they showered, dressed, and then headed for their rendezvous with Kat. He didn't want anything to taint Megeara's happiness after the last few days she'd had. Everyone had been chipping small pieces of her joy away, and he much preferred her smile.

This was what she'd dreamed of, and no matter what, he was going to give it to her.

Megeara was beautiful in a light summer top and jeans as she drove him out to the docks, which looked like they had a gaping hole where her old boat had been. In a weird way, he missed that boat and was sad to see it gone. He could only imagine how hard it must be for Megeara, since it was the same boat her father had used on his expeditions. She didn't say it, but Arik could tell by the longing on her face as she looked to the empty moorings that she missed the boat, too.

For this excursion, they were going to use one of her smaller company boats—just to make sure no one knew what their intent was. It was also small enough that they could man it with just the three of them.

"Is Tory going to be here?" he asked.

Megeara parked her car in the sandy lot that was off to the side of the marina. "No. I told her I needed her to reconstruct the excavation maps that'd been destroyed. She has no idea that we're even heading out today. She thinks we can't move until she finishes her project."

"That was evil of you."

She gave him a shy smile. "I think we're all a bit evil when it comes to protecting our families."

"Are we?"

Geary turned in the seat to look at him. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"No, not really. I mean, yes, I know the definition of family, but our families on Olympus don't work the same way yours does and we don't have the same attachment for each other."

"What about your mother?" Geary asked. "Surely she took care of you?"

He nodded. "True, she birthed me."

"And then?"

"I was handed off to attendants who tended my needs until I was old enough to be trained."

"Yeah, but didn't one of the attendants love you?"

He frowned at her. "They were servants, Megeara, not family. There was no love, and even if there were, I was too small to remember it."

"How small?"

Arik sat quietly, thinking, but nothing came to mind. He didn't have very many memories of childhood, and there was nothing there as he struggled to remember anyone taking care of him. "I don't remember. That's just the way it's always been done and I'm sure I was no exception. I honestly remember nothing of being a child, except for my training."

Geary was doing her best to understand his world, but it made no sense to her. "And what kind of training was this?"

He sighed as if the matter irritated him. "Even though we're cursed, we still have residual emotions when we're born. Those have to be stripped from us and we have to be shown how to enter dreams, as well as what is allowed for us to do there and what is forbidden. Then we have to learn how to fight the Skoti who will ultimately fight us for control of the human host. It takes years to fully master our powers, and it's all very complicated."

It sounded like it. But one part of that stuck out in her mind. "And how do they strip emotions from you?"

"Usually by beating," he said in an empty tone. "It's actually quite Pavlovian. You show an emotion and the punishment is such that you learn it's better to feel nothing than to suffer the consequences of having them."

"Does the training ever fail?"

"Sometimes."

"So what do they do then?"

"They execute us."

She wouldn't have been more stunned had he reached over and slapped her. "You have got to be kidding me?"

"No," he said in all earnestness. "At least I don't think I am."

Still, Geary was incredulous over his blasй tone and that they would simply kill the Oneroi for no other reason than they continued to have emotions. How cruel was that? "And all of you accept this?"

He appeared to be as equally baffled by her standpoint as she was by his. "Have we a choice? Unless we mount a revolution against Zeus, this is what we have."

"Maybe it's time you revolt."

He scoffed at her indignation. "It's not that simple. The pantheons have a balance of power and you have to be extremely careful adjusting it. One wrong move and you can destroy the entire world. What good would overthrowing them be then when we'd all be dead?"

As much as she hated to admit it, she'd lost this argument. "You make an awesome point."

"Yeah."

Geary opened the door and got out while his words haunted her. Her poor Arik. She had to save him from this nightmare he was caught up in. She couldn't bear the thought of returning him to that life where there was no one to care for him. To hold him or love him. It just wasn't right.

"Why are the gods so callous to our suffering?" she asked as he joined her in front of the car.

He took her hand in his before he answered. "The world is filled with suffering. If you open yourself up to it, it will consume even a god. But not all of them are callous. ZT is one who cares."

"I thought you said he wasn't a god."

"True. He is technically human, but he does have the powers of a god and immortality, and he does care about humanity in spite of what he says. And in spite of what they've done to him, he's never lost his compassion for others. There are several more like him who feel the same way. Who protect humanity."

"Yes, but is there a true god who does so?"

He thought about it a few seconds before he answered. "Apostolos."

Geary was surprised by his choice. "Apollymi's son?"

"Yes."

"I thought he was dead."

"That's what the rumor says."

"But you don't believe it?"

Arik shrugged. "You hang out in dreams and you hear all kinds of fascinating things. Apostolos is alive and I've heard his mother speaking with him. I know that he often tries to calm her down when she's extremely irate and threatening to destroy the world."

Geary took a second to let that soak in, "How ironic that the Great Destroyer's child would be the one who cares about the very people she wants to destroy."

"It is, but he does. He understands the grand scheme of things and consequences better than anyone else, and unlike the other gods, he won't punish people for their mistakes."

"Why not?"

"Let's just say that if I had to choose between my life and his, I'd much rather live mine."

Geary frowned. Jeez, how horrible had Apostolos's life been that Arik would make that declaration? It was a scary thought. "Wow. You seem to know a lot about him even given the fact you hang out in dreams."

"Yeah, well, I've been in his a time or two, too. I just hope he never remembers it or I'm really screwed."

"Hi, guys."

She looked up as she heard Kat's voice. The tall blonde stood on the docks in a pair of shorts and a loose T-shirt.

"Hey, babe. Glad you made it."

Kat shrugged. "Well, if you really intend to go poking around Atlantis again, I want to be there for it."

"I'll bet you do," Arik said under his breath.

Geary scowled at Arik's odd tone but chose to ignore it as they neared Kat on the docks. "Do you have all the gear ready?"

"I do."

Geary was grateful.

"Did you tell anyone what we're doing?" Arik asked Kat as they joined her by the boat.

"Not at all. I know how to keep a secret."

"Good." Geary rubbed Arik's arm before she headed to the boat. "Come on, kids, let's get this under way. We have a date with destiny."

Arik paused as Kat narrowed her gaze on him with such intensity, he could actually feel his skin burn. "How many times do you have to be warned? I can't believe you're this stupid."

"I'm not. She and I have an agreement. We give her a couple of innocuous trinkets to prove that Atlantis is real and save her father's reputation and then she will doctor her findings to help send others off on a wild-goose chase. She will help us safeguard the location of Atlantis."

Kat looked stunned by his declaration. "Are you serious?" she asked in a low tone that only he could hear.

"Yes. She understands why it can't be found and is in full accord."

"I don't believe you."

"Ask her."

Kat led him on board the small boat where Geary was already making preparations to sail. "So, Gear… where's the rest of the team?"

Megeara looked a bit sheepish. "I'm thinking we only need the three of us."

"Why?"

She met Arik's gaze before she answered. "Look, Kat, I know how much finding Atlantis means to everyone, especially you, but I've done a lot of thinking and I don't want it really found. I know it doesn't make sense to you right now, but I think this is for the best and I want you to trust me."

Kat still looked unconvinced by Geary's reasoning. "So why are we going back?"

"A couple of reasons. One, I want inarguable proof that it's there, to silence everyone who laughed at my dad, and two, we need to destroy the datum so that no one will see it and get curious about it. The last thing we need is someone digging down there on a site we helped set up."

Kat folded her arms over her chest as she gave Geary a doubting stare. "Are you sure about this?"

"Positive." Geary reached out to pat Kat's shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Kat. I know you wanted to be there when we unveiled the discovery, but we can't tell anyone where Atlantis really is."

Kat shrugged. "Don't apologize to me, Doctor. It's your excavation."

Geary couldn't believe that Kat wasn't angry or hurt. But she was grateful for her friend's levelheadedness.

Of course, there was a third reason Geary wanted to go. Apollymi. If Geary unleashed Apollymi, she would save Arik. But since Kat didn't know that and Arik would kill Geary if she mentioned it to him, she kept that to herself. No matter what, she had to save him. She couldn't stand by and let him die because he'd wanted to be with her. It was wrong and she loved him too much for that.

In less than an hour, they had the boat prepped and were under way. Kat was at the helm while Geary stayed on deck, looking out at the passing boats around them. The island was breathtaking in the background, rising up out of the water with a grand majesty unparalleled. Her father had been right. Greece was one of the most beautiful places in the world.

And this was the first time in years she'd headed toward the site without feeling anxious and elated.

There was definitely nothing but dread in her stomach now. She glanced over to where Arik stood, checking their diving gear. For once there was no guessing about Atlantis. There was no doubt. It was there. Waiting. Just as her father had said.

She was about to show it to the world.

And release a goddess…

Geary gripped the rail as she again heard Apollymi's voice in her mind, calling out to her. She could save Arik. Keep him safe forever.

The promises sounded so good to her, especially as she watched him laying out their gear.

There's no other way. She'd done her own research and checked it with Tory. Neither of them had been able to think of or find any example of a god becoming human. At least not unless the god was cursed or there was some other extenuating circumstance that didn't apply to this case.

It was hopeless. To keep Arik, Geary would need Apollymi.

"What am I doing?" Geary whispered. "Don't meddle in the affairs of the gods, unless you want to get eaten." It was a lesson that resonated through ancient literature.

Who was she to tamper with fate? But as she watched Arik, she couldn't stand the thought of losing him. The thought of sending him back to die.

"It's an interesting moral dilemma, isn't it?"

Geary tensed as she heard a voice to her right. She turned her head to find a handsome man standing in the shadows, barely a silhouette. His black hair was short and the glowing blue eyes marked him as another of Arik's brethren.

"Who are you?"

"M'Adoc," he said in a low tone. "I'm one of the three leaders of the Oneroi."

A wave of fear went through her. "Are you here for Arik?"

He glanced over to where Arik worked, unable to see him in the glare of the afternoon sun. "Ultimately, yes. But I know from my dealings with humans that you're going to fight me if I try to take him, and that I don't want."

"You're right about that. I won't give him up. Not now. Not ever."

"I know. You love him. It's why I heard Apollymi laughing a few minutes ago." He glanced back to Arik, who was checking their small dredge. "I give my brother kudos… to gain the love of a human is no small feat. The ability of the human heart to sacrifice for the one it loves… there is nothing on Olympus that can even begin to compete with that."

A weird chill went over her body at his words and the way he said them. It gave her insight to this stranger. "You've known love." It was a statement.

His jaw flexed as if he was gritting his teeth, and a flash of pain darkened his eyes, confirming it. "The Oneroi know nothing of love and the Skoti know even less."

Still, she didn't believe him. He'd known it and by the looks of it he'd lost it. "Then why are you here?"

"To warn you not to be foolish."

Well, that was nice of him. But she didn't need his warning. She'd never been a stupid woman. "And how am I foolish?"

"You've given your heart to someone who has sold you out completely." He cast his gaze meaningfully at Arik.

Geary scoffed at him. "You're wrong. Arik loves me."

He shook his head. "Arik has no conviction. If he had, he'd have never been turned by Solin."

"You don't know that."

"Oh yes, I do. Arik is weak. He's always been weak."

"You—"

"Sh," he said, cutting her off. "Before you defend him, ask yourself this. How does a Skotos become human?"

"He already told me that. He made a pact with Hades."

"Yes, and you're a woman who has spent her entire life steeped in ancient Greece. Have you learned nothing of our ways? Has a god ever given such a gift without receiving something extremely valuable in return?" There was an ominous note in his voice.

"What are you saying?"

"You mean so much to Arik that he bartered your life to be here. He isn't the one who will die when his time ends, sweet child." His blue eyes were searing with heat. "You will."

Geary shook her head in denial. That was total crap and she knew it. "You're lying."

"I can't lie. I'm Oneroi."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Arik came out of nowhere to rush M'Adoc. She expected them to fight. Instead, M'Adoc allowed Arik to grab him by his shirtfront, shove him up against the wall, and hold him there.

Like a true Oneroi, there was no anger or any emotion evident as M'Adoc stared unblinkingly at him. "I told her the truth."

"You what?" Arik asked from between gritted teeth.

"I told her of your deal with Hades. That you swapped her life for your mortality."

Arik's face went pale as his eyes filled with absolute horror. He didn't deny it. Rather, he looked guilty.

Geary knew then that M'Adoc wasn't lying. "Is this true, Arik?"

He cursed before he shoved M'Adoc again. "I have no intention of fulfilling that bargain."

M'Adoc looked at her. "As I said, he has no conviction. We don't understand human emotion and we can't handle it. When he returns to his true god state, he will come back here for you and kill you. As promised."

"Bullshit!" Arik roared.

Geary wanted to believe in Arik's rage. She needed to. But part of her was drawn toward M'Adoc. He made a convincing argument.

He looked at his brother with those cold, unfeeling eyes and it made her wonder if that's what Arik would look like once his time had expired. "You know it's true, Arik. When you are no longer corrupted by human emotion and Hades tells you to kill her you will do it. You won't have a choice and you won't have any feelings left for her."

"Never!"

"Not even when you're chained in Tartarus, under Hades' constant abuse?"

Arik flinched. He couldn't help himself. Too many centuries of torture hit him at once, and those had been doled out by Hypnos. No one was better at making a god suffer than Hades. Everyone knew that. Arik met Megeara's worried gaze.

"He's telling the truth, isn't he, Arik?"

Arik watched as she backed away from them. He released M'Adoc and turned to face her. "Megeara, please…"

She shook her head back and forth as she looked at him as if he were scum. That look cut him straight to the marrow of his bones. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because I was stupid, okay? I didn't want to hurt you." He reached for her, but she stepped away.

"You intended to kill me?"

He tried to explain, but his tongue seemed to thicken in his mouth as fear seized him. How could he even begin to make her understand? "It wasn't like that."

"Then explain it to me."

"I'd already made the deal when Hades set down the terms. I had no choice. He sent me here before I could even try to renegotiate."

"And so you intended to kill me," she repeated.

"In the beginning, yes, but—"

"But what?" she asked, her tone ragged with pain and rage. "There's no but here, Arik. You fully intended to kill me. How could you?"

"He's Skoti."

"Shut up!" he snarled at M'Adoc. Arik turned back toward Megeara. "Please, baby." He reached for her again.

She stepped back. "Don't touch me."

Arik couldn't breathe as he saw the tears in her eyes. The betrayal. She was hurting, he knew it. He could feel it like his own pain. It cut through him, lacerating his heart. "I would never hurt you. You have to believe that."

"Great words for a man who'd planned my death from the beginning, huh?"

She was right. How could he ever convince her that he'd changed? He was Skoti and Skoti were nothing.

He turned on his brother, hating him for telling her. "Damn you, M'Adoc."

"There's nothing to damn me over, Arik. I'm not the one in the wrong here. You are. You should never have made that bargain."

He wanted to kill M'Adoc for this. But he was right. It'd been wrong of Arik to come here. He should have been content to stay with her in her dreams.

M'Adoc spoke calmly. "Skoti are forever selfish, Megeara. It's why we must police them. They become mad with their hunger to the point they don't care who they harm or how they harm them so long as they get what they want. Arik wanted you and so he was willing to kill you for it." He met Arik's gaze. "If you truly mean what you say now, then for once, do the decent thing. Surrender yourself to me."

Every instinct inside Arik rebelled at the very idea of it. Every one. They would kill him and he knew it.

But then he would die anyway. Hades would never allow him to renege on their bargain. No one backed out of a deal with the devil.

And perhaps this was the kindest end. Megeara hated him now. She thought him the lowest of forms. If he left with M'Adoc, she wouldn't grieve for him or ask herself if maybe there was something she could have done to save him.

She would be at peace.

That would be the best gift he could give her.

"He's right, Megeara," Arik said, forcing all emotions out of his tone. "I would have killed you once I returned to my natural state. I'm sorry."

Geary couldn't breathe as he spoke those words. Part of her had still believed in him over M'Adoc. She didn't want to think that her Arik could ever harm her.

But if what they said was true…

It stung her so deep in her heart that she felt as if she'd die from the pain.

Arik turned to M'Adoc and whispered something to him. She couldn't hear it, but M'Adoc inclined his head before Arik sighed. "Then I'm ready to go."

His crystal gaze met hers and the love she saw there singed her to the spot. "Good-bye, Megeara."

She noted the satisfaction in M'Adoc's eyes.

Satisfaction…

"Even in human form we feel nothing." M'Adoc should have no emotions at all. None.

But he was satisfied.

Realizing that if M'Adoc could feel, he could lie, she opened her mouth to stop them. But before she could make a single sound, M'Adoc placed his hand on Arik's shoulder and the two of them vanished from the boat.

"No!" Geary shouted, her heart pounding as reality crashed through her.

Arik was gone.

He was going to kill you, her mind tried to rationalize. But the scariest bit was that part of her didn't even care. It wanted him back no matter what.

She felt the boat slowing down.

Kat came out on deck and approached her slowly. "Where's Arik?"

Unable to even begin to explain Arik's disappearance, Geary burst out laughing hysterically until she started crying and gesturing hopelessly toward the prow. She honestly felt like she was having a nervous breakdown. How could she tell Kat everything? The woman would think her crazy and who could blame her?

Gods in the real world? None of this would be believed. Ever.

Kat scowled. "Hon, are you okay?"

"No," she said, trying to gain a handle on herself. "No, I'm not."

Kat cocked her head in a gesture that reminded Geary of Solin whenever he was "listening" for something preternatural.

"What are you doing?" Geary asked.

Kat let out an uncharacteristic curse. "M'Adoc was here? How could you let him take Arik?"

That snapped Geary out of her hysteria.

Surely, not…

"If you tell me that you're one of them, then I'm absolutely going to freak out."

Kat's face was deadly earnest. "Then you better freak."

"Good God, is no one what they seem? Is Kichka the Egyptian goddess Bast in disguise?"

"No, Kichka is a cat."

Uh-huh. She was supposed to believe that after the bomb Kat had just dropped on her? "And let me guess. You're a god, too, right? Which one? Athena? Hera? Oh, what the heck? Aphrodite?"

Kat gave her a droll stare. "No. I'm not a god. I'm a servant to Artemis."

"Artemis?" Yeah. That just sounded so much better… not. "The goddess of the hunt, huh?" Geary looked down at the wood deck. "There must be some kind of vapors coming up off the floor of the sea—like the oracle of Delphi. That's why I'm seeing and hearing all this insanity." She nodded, liking the sound of that argument. "I'm hallucinating, aren't I?"

"Oh, get a grip," Kat said irritably. "If you can accept Solin, Arik, and M'Adoc, you can certainly accept me, too."

"One would think that, wouldn't they? But I've known you too long to think that all this time you've been hiding a secret like this from me."

"And now you know why I wasn't thrilled when you found Atlantis and wanted to start digging around the city."

Well, since she put it that way, it did make sense. "And were you in on my death plan with Arik, too? Are you the one who killed my father?"

Kat's eyes blazed in anger. "Excuse me? You don't need to be tossing around ludicrous accusations like that. I had nothing to do with your father's death. I loved that man. He was weird and strange, but I loved him and I would have done anything to keep him safe. While you were off in America, I was here with him, doing the best I could to help him and keep him alive even though he was bent on killing himself."

Tears filled Geary's eyes at the truth. "I'm sorry, Kat. I'm just upset and I don't mean to be taking it out on you."

Kat nodded. "No offense, but you should be sorry. How could you let M'Adoc take Arik?"

"Arik was going to kill me."

"Hardly."

"It's true," Geary said past the lump in her throat. "Arik admitted it."

Still, Kat scoffed. "Arik loves you, Geary. It's so obvious it's painful. No man, god or otherwise, watches over a woman the way he does you and then lets her die, never mind kills her. That's just stupid."

"Yeah, he loves me now, but when he loses his emotions next week, what then? M'Adoc said that he'd kill me without question. He said that Arik would have no emotions or choice but to do as they said." There, it sounded rational. Kind of.

"Arik?" Kat asked incredulously. "Do what he was told? Please. He hasn't followed the directions of any god in thousands of years. That's why he's Skoti."

All of Geary's fears that M'Adoc was lying came rushing back. "What are you saying, Kat?"

"No offense to you, kid, but what I'm saying is that you just ordered a man who loves you to his death."