'Huh?' I looked up from the baffling inscription to see Doug leaning against the doorframe.
He nodded toward my book. 'Mortensen. He's up in the cafe again, typing away as usual.'
I closed the book, holding it tightly with both hands. 'Doug... are you up on your Greek mythology?'
He snorted. 'Don't insult me, Kincaid.'
' Thetisand Peleus... they were Achilles' parents, right?'
'Indeed they were,' he told me, smug with the confidence of his area of expertise.
For my part, I was simply puzzled. I didn't really get the inscription or understand why Seth would reference the Trojan War's greatest warrior.
'Do you know the rest?' Doug asked me expectantly.
'What? That Achilles was a dysfunctional psychopath? Yeah, I know that.'
'Well, yeah, everyone knows that. I mean the really cool part. About Thetis and Peleus.' I shook my head, and he continued, professor-like, ' Thetiswas a sea nymph, and Peleus was a mortal who loved her. Only, when he went to woo her, she was a real bitch about it.'
'How so?'
'She was a shape-shifter.'
I nearly dropped the book. 'What?'
Doug nodded. 'He approached her, and she turned into all sorts of shit to scare him off—wild animals, forces of nature, monsters, whatever.'
'What...what'd he do?'
'He held on. Grabbed her and wouldn't let go through all of those terrible transformations. No matter what she turned into, he just held on.'
'Then what?' I could barely hear my own voice.
'She finally turned back into a woman and stayed a woman. Then they got married.'
I had stopped breathing somewhere around the word 'shape-shifter.' Still clutching the book, I stared off into space, a great winged feeling swelling in my chest.
'You all right, Kincaid? Christ, you've been weird lately.'
I blinked, tuning back in to reality. The feeling in my chest burst out, launching into glorious flight. I started breathing again.
'Yeah. Sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind.' Forcing levity, I added, 'I'll do my best not to be too weird from now on.'
Doug looked relieved. 'Coming from you, that might be a long shot, but here's to hoping.'
'Yes,' I agreed, smiling. 'Here's to hoping.'
Reading Order
1. Succubus Blues
2. Succubus On Top / Succubus Nights
3. Succubus Dreams
4. Succubus Heat (coming June 2009)
5. Succubus Shadows (coming March 2010)
