Aphrodite's Secret Read Online Free PDF Page A

managing to knock Zoë‘s tortoiseshell glasses to the ground.
    Zoë blinked, then opened her eyes wide and looked around. Considering her most honed superpower was her X-ray vision—usually negated by her Council-issued glasses—she hoped the walls would turn transparent and she’d get a view of Davy, bored out of his mind and wondering where she and Deena were hiding.
    Nope. The walls stayed quite solid, thank you very much, and no matter how hard she concentrated, squinted, or silently cursed, the world beyond the wall simply refused to reveal itself.
    Zoë licked her lips, not wanting to concern Deena, and not wanting to confess about this new and inconvenient loss of her powers. The
cause
might be reason to celebrate, but the
symptom
was definitely a problem. Especially if it meant she was going to have to face Hieronymous without any superpowers. She gulped.
That
didn’t sound like a good time at all.
    “Well?” Deena asked.
    Zoë shook her head. “I don’t see Davy,” she said. Not
exactly
a lie ...
    Deena’s brow furrowed. “Well, hopefully you’re right and he’s just headed off to the information center to wait for us like we told him.” They’d given the little boy very clear instructions about what to do if they got separated. He was a brilliant kid, but still . .. Zoë‘s stomach twisted at the thought of him alone in a park with Hieronymous running around wreaking havoc. Hopefully some nice mommy type would take care of him until she could get back.
    She banged her head against the wall in frustration. She hated not knowing what was going on. And right now, she didn’t know anything about anything—where Davy was, or what Hieronymous was up to. No, instead of having a bead on the problem, she was sitting in the dark, as helpless as a mortal.
    Her stomach clenched, its knots tightening as much as the ones around her wrists. “I didn’t even hear anything coming,” she said with a scowl. So much for her supposed super senses. “Damn hormones.” They’d been affecting her moods as well as her powers to the point where she didn’t trust her own judgment, much less her ability to manufacture an escape from this predicament.
    Deena glanced up from her bindings long enough to offer a quizzical look. Then she tilted her head back down, gnawing at the ropes like a rat. Zoë sighed. That could take forever.
    “Got it!” Deena yelled.
    Or maybe not
. Zoë cocked her head. “You got your wrists free?”
    Deena nodded, scrambling forward on all fours. “It wasn’t a very good knot,” she admitted.
    “Can you find my purse?” Zoë asked hopefully. “Find my cell phone?”
    “You want to make a
call
?” Deena asked, her voice rising with incredulity. “You can leap tall buildings in a single bound, but you’re going to call the
cops
? Puh-lease!”
    “But—”
    “Just roll over,” Deena insisted.
    Zoë did. It was easier than arguing, and as soon as she was free, she could look for her own phone. Deena started tugging and yanking on the ties that held her captive. After a few grunts and groans and a surprisingly minimal number of colorful curses, Deena managed to work the knots free. “Ta-da!”
    Glancing around the room, Zoë stretched, happy to be free but not sure they were any better off than before. Especially since her purse seemed to be missing.
    Deena leaned back on her heels, obviously pleased with herself. “Can you get us out of here?”
    Zoë licked her lips. “I hope so.” She looked Deena in the eye. “If I can’t,” she added, “Lane’s never going to let me baby-sit again.”
    She purposely kept her tone light to ward off the fear that was fast threatening to consume her. Deep breaths, she told herself. Her powers might be wonky, but that was all the more reason to rely on her training. A superhero never freaked out. A superhero analyzed, then acted.
    “Nothing’s going to happen to Davy,” Deena said, her voice firm. “And you’re a wonderful aunt and