Page 60 of The Void

“You could go over there?” he suggested.

“And say what?” Mia whispered. “Hey, you don’t know me, but I’m a djinn from another realm. Where we initially met, your demi-god version told me I’d find you again and it was my job to get you to remember who you are. Then I fought off a dragon and my evil ancestor, the mother of all djinns. My boyfriend, who happens to be Helios, the son of gods, who can morph into Cerberus, and I want to know if you want to return to Hidden Creek, a small town no one has heard of so you can wake Elpis, a goddess who will help us fight off Moros, the god of doom.” She said it quickly in one breath, then took a deep breath, feeling slightly light-headed.

Lucas was smiling. “You just called me your boyfriend.”

She rolled her eyes. “What are you? Twelve?”

He reached over and took her hand in his. “Whatever we are, I seriously think of us as more than just that.”

She felt her heart flutter. But then it jumped in her chest when the woman got up from her chair and headed directly towards them.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the woman said with a slight frown, “but did I overhear that you are heading to Hidden Creek?”

“We are,” Lucas answered smoothly.

The woman bit her bottom lip. “I hate to ask, but can I get a ride with you?” Lucas’s eyebrows shot up and then he smiled at Mia. “I’m from there and well, my boyfriend…” The woman rolled her eyes. “Well, now he’s my ex. He just broke up with me and left me at the hotel. He even took my purse, and I only have ten dollars in my pocket.” Lucas and Mia didn’t say anything in response, so the woman continued. “I’m Amy, by the way. Amy Reed. My brother Joe owns a liquor store in Hidden Creek. Hidden Creek Wine & Liquor, if you’ve heard of it. You can look me up. I’m not some crazy woman, I swear. I was going to call him and have him come give me a ride, but…” She shrugged and glanced out the window. “I didn’t want to wake him or Liz up this early in the morning since they work late at the store and, well, Liz is pregnant.”

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Lucas motioned towards the spot next to Mia.

“Thanks,” Amy said.

“I swear Ryan normally doesn’t do this. Just up and leave me.” Amy sighed. “Joe’s been warning me about the guy for months. I guess he was right.” She sagged in her chair. “Gosh, you two are such a cute couple. What’s your names?”

“Mia.” Lucas motioned to her. “Lucas.”

“Are you just visiting Hidden Creek?” Amy asked easily as she crossed her legs.

“We’re… thinking of moving there,” Mia admitted.

“I actually know your brother,” Lucas said.

“You do?” Mia and Amy said at the same time.

Lucas smiled and nodded. “I met him the last time I was in Hidden Creek.” His eyes met Mia’s. Of course, he had gone there to fight Moros after she’d been sent to the Void by the three fates.

“Yes, he helped me with… a problem that I had. We rented the house a few miles from their house,” Lucas said.

“Oh, cool.” Amy relaxed.

For the next half hour, while they waited for Amy’s food, they chatted about the town and filled Amy in on where they lived and what each of them did for a living. How they had met, etc. They left out the parts about powers, fighting gods, dragons, and djinns.

Still, by the time they climbed into his car, Mia was pretty sure she and Amy were going to get along great. The only issue was, how was she supposed to wake Pandora up inside of Amy?

The closer they got to town, the more something bubbled deep inside Mia. She hadn’t been to the small town before, but she’d heard about it from both Selene and Lucas.

They were a mile out of town when she asked Lucas to pull over.

“What’s wrong?” he asked when she jumped out of the car.

She couldn’t explain what was happening, only that she felt an urgency. A pull.

“Are you okay?” Amy asked Mia.

“You need to come with me,” Mia said, taking Amy’s hand. “Trust me.”

Amy frowned over at Lucas, who shrugged. “Let’s take a walk?” He reached in and grabbed his car keys and the three of them walked through a field.

“Here.” Mia stopped frowning. The feeling was gone. No, not gone just… paused. She looked at Lucas. “Wrong time.” She glanced up at the sky. “We need to come back.”