Siren's Mark

Chapter 64

It's true. Dionysus has gone by many other names—Bacchus, Zagreus, Liber—but one of his favorites was Eutherios, aka The Liberator.

"Fine," I say. "Call him. But don't tell him anything about Ava. I don't want her dragged into this."

"Okay," Kami says. She grabs her phone and steps away.

As she does, I hear Ava's mobile ring.

"Sorry," Ava says, picking it up. "It's one of my clients. I have to get this."

Kami leans on the kitchen counter while waiting to be connected to Dionysus. Ava steps out on the porch to handle the call from her client.

I lay back on the couch, watching the ceiling fan spin.

"Okay, no problem," Ava says, speaking to her client. "What about it isn't working for you?"

She's a little too far away for me to hear the voice on the other line.

"You mean the scroll bar?" she asks. "I mean, technically yes, we can remove that but you really need..."

I can see her face scrunch up in irritation.

"You do?" Kami's voice says from the other room. I turn to her and she gives me a thumbs-up gesture. "And exactly what would this social call entail?"

"Well, the scroll bar is supposed to move," Ava says, the subtle frustration growing in her voice.

"One hour seems reasonable," Kami says, looking to me for confirmation. I nod.

"Yes, he'll be there," she says. "And you'll have the smoke ready?"

"It really can't be in the center of the page beca-" Ava says. "Yes, I un-"

"What??" Kami asks. Her tone immediately draws my attention and I stand up.

I listen closer, attempting to pick up the other voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kami says.

"Kami, darling," Dionysus says through the phone. "News travels fast... gossipy demons..."

I can only understand bits and pieces of what he says.

What exactly is he getting at?

"Well, don't believe everything you hear," she says, looking at me with concerned eyes.

"...both visit... only fair..." he says. It's too quiet to make out his exact words, but it seems he wants both Kami and me to drop by for a visit.

She looks at me with questioning eyes, which I return with a shrug and a nod.

"Okay, agreed," Kami says. "We'll call to arrange details."

She hangs up and lets herself fall over the side of an armchair and collapse into it.

"Well, that ought to be interesting," she says with a sigh. "Honestly, I'm surprised you agreed to it. But it's good, because it's pretty much our only lead and Dionysus is a powerful friend to have in a crisis."

"Why are you surprised?" I ask.

"Because you're so crazy protective of Ava and Dionysus is, well... he is who he is."

"What??" I ask, a slight growl trailing behind my voice. "Nobody said anything about Ava."

"Shit, Z, I thought you were listening to our conversation!"

"I was! I heard most of it. I thought he was asking you to come too."

"No, he insisted Ava come," she says. "He found out about you two through the demonic grapevine and he wants to meet her."