Aphrodite's Kiss Read Online Free PDF Page A

straighten “No way at all.”
    “Everything depends on the stone,” Hieronymous said. “My plans. Your future.
Our
future.”
    His father made it all sound so simple. The council’s archaic philosophy needed to be swept aside so that someone with vision could step in. Hieronymous was simply ahead of his time, and the moment of change was fast approaching.
    Right now, the council spun its wheels in a futile effort to protect mortals from their own stupidity. Instead of being gods, council members were practically slaves to mortals, running around saving them from burning buildings or runaway trains. Soon, though, that would change.
    Hieronymous aimed a steady stare at Mordi. “You spent much of your youth with the girl. If it becomes necessary for you to face her, are you sure you won’t be adversely affected by some pathetic sense of familial loyalty?”
    He considered the question. They were cousins, but they’d never been particularly close. Zoë, after all, had her family. And, truth be told, Mordi had always envied her for it. That little bit of envy had always sweetened his inevitable victories over her in each of the frequent tests during their training. “No, sir,” he said finally. It wouldn’t pain him at all to defeat Zoë again.
    He frowned.
Still
...
    “There is something you wish to say?”
    Mordi took a breath. “It’s just that... Well, it is only a legend, after all.”
    Hieronymous swept his arm, indicating the room lined with bookcases packed with rare, leather-bound editions and glass cases filled with odd archaeological finds. “I have spent half a lifetime pursuing this question. Aphrodite’s girdle is real, as is the gemstone that forms its centerpiece.”
    “But the girdle’s been missing for centuries. Just because of that story you believe the stone’s going to somehow end up with me or Zoë?”
    Hieronymous sighed. “Must you be so frustratingly pragmatic? There are too many coincidences not to believe the legend. You and your cousin are both halflings, both born on the same day. Your twenty-fifth birthdays fall on the day of the eclipse. And this, too.” He plucked a plastic box from his pocket and handed it to Mordichai. “The stone is in Los Angeles.”
    The box blinked in his hand. “A tracking device? How?”
    “Generations ago, the stone was set into a necklace that has certain unique properties, the characteristics of which remain a family secret. A legacy, if you will. I was able to create a device that honed in on those characteristics. This week, finally, the device detected a signal.”
    Mordi nodded, silent, as he stared at the blinking green light.
    “You will not fail me.”
    “No, sir.”
    “Excellent. When the eclipse comes, you will prevail,” Hieronymous said. “Little Zoë will have to continue her life as a mortal.” A slow smile graced his lips, and Mordi shivered. “An unfortunate existence, considering what we intend to do to the mortal population, but, hey, those are the breaks.”
    * * *
    “Well, if it isn’t George Bailey Taylor.” Harold Parker chewed on the end of his unlit cancer stick. Beside him, Tweedledum and Tweedledee shifted, practically snarling.
Stupid oafs
.
    “You owe me eight hundred dollars, Mr. Parker.” Taylor had made up his mind to quit this case even before he’d backed out of the parking lot at South Hollywood Elementary. Now it felt good to finally be turning his decision into action.
    “I can’t give you what I don’t have, Georgie-boy.” Parker leaned back against the worn vinyl of the circular booth and lit his cigarette.
    “Taylor,” he said. “I go by Taylor.”
    Parker waved a hand in front of his face. “Whatever. You know I’d help if I could. But I ain’t got a dime to my name. And your snoopin‘ around hasn’t exactly helped me out there, now, has it?” He tilted his head back and belched.
    “Look,” Taylor said, his fingers digging into the edge of the table, his biceps burning with the