Sirenz - By Charlotte Bennardo Page 0,23

him. If I can throw his schemes askew, it gives a small bit of satisfaction.”

“But if we don’t get Arkady, then—” Shar began.

I elbowed her in the arm to stop her. “Nondisclosure?” I mouthed, wide-eyed. We probably already said more than we should have.

Demeter stared menacingly at us, and the halogen lights over our heads flickered and buzzed. “I really don’t care about your little arrangement with him. I want my Persephone back. That is my only concern.” She crossed her arms and turned away from us, but I could feel the anger rippling off her. The dogs whimpered.

“Soooo, you know about …” Shar started cautiously, then pointed at herself and me. “You know. Our arrangement.”

Demi’s chin inched up. “I’m a goddess. There’s not much I’m unaware of.”

“If you’re a goddess, then you have to know a way to get Persephone back,” Shar argued.

Demeter seemed to grow even bigger, if that was possible, and together, Shar and I shrank and backed up into the wall.

“Impertinence! If there was a way, don’t you think I would’ve done it?” she boomed. “We all have rules to follow, otherwise it would always be forever-summer because she’d be with me instead of him!”

Demeter was not to be trifled with. We seemed to be stuck in the middle, though, so we needed to make peace with her. Or at the very least, get her to see us as unwilling victims of Hades’ plan.

I drew myself up to my full height—all five foot three inches—and stepped in front of Shar. Trying to appear conciliatory, I said, “I wish we could help you with that—”

“We’ll try and stay out of your way,” Shar added, nodding very hard. “We don’t want any trouble.”

Demeter spun around and regarded us with a speculative gleam in her eye that unnerved me. I felt Shar inching closer to me.

“There is … one possibility,” she murmured, moving closer to me. “I think I want to keep both of you in my sights.” She smelled like a field of flowers; if I closed my eyes, I’d swear I was standing in an open meadow in springtime. I fought the urge to relax my guard and kept my eyes on her. She reached out an elegant finger and poked at the black cat hanging on my purse handle. “Tell me, do you really think these things work?”

“Absolutely,” I answered, with as much confidence as I could muster. “I think it’s more of a psychological thing. You know, it makes me think I can do what I need to do.”

Demi nodded thoughtfully. “Charms are all very well, I suppose. But you can’t depend on them. You and Sharisse should concentrate on using your talents.”

“That’s a little difficult,” Shar said, “considering that every time we use them, we grow feathers and claws. I don’t want to add a beak to match my feet!”

Demeter waved a dismissive hand. “The power you have goes far beyond the uses he’s divulged. You two haven’t even begun to realize what you’re capable of.”

I didn’t understand. I’d scrolled through the iPhone a few times, and the rules seemed to be in line with everything Hades told us. Our powers—the enthralling look and the compelling speech—were always in effect; they only worked on males—we’d discovered that tidbit on our own; and they were more potent when we were in close proximity to each other. Once we’d enthralled someone, we could leave them and wait for the effects to wear off naturally; the duration was determined by how intensely we’d used the gift on them. Or, we could release them immediately by saying ase me isihi, which Hades thoughtfully footnoted was Greek for “leave me alone.” It also reminded us that we took on more physical Siren traits every time we used the gifts. I couldn’t find any mention of additional powers, which made me suspicious … of Demeter, but also of Hades and the iPhone. What was the truth?

Demi fixed her eyes on us. “Pay attention. I’m only going to say this once.” She leaned in confidentially. “Your wiles don’t just affect mortal males, you know. Even a god would be susceptible to you if you tried hard enough. Sharisse could have him under that well-pedicured size-ten foot of hers.” She stroked the wolf dog. His eyes were far too intelligent and he seemed to be grinning.

“But—” Shar protested.

Demeter slapped a hand on one hip and stared at us with a bored expression.

“How do you know this?” I couldn’t help asking. “What would