Typhoon Warning (Olympic Cove Book 6)

Fate brought them together. Desire will not let them go.

Once the centaur Chiron ran with thunder in his veins, the earth trembling beneath four hooves—until the gods took it all from him.

Now trapped in a human body he barely understands, he’s thrust into a war against the Mad Nereid and the cunning saurian god Zhidō. His only anchor is Dr. Zoe Antoniou, a brilliant paleontologist whose fascination with ancient creatures may hold the key to stopping Zhidō.

But they are not alone.

From the shadows, the god of medicine Asclepius watches—his gift of healing concealing a far more perilous experiment. As fate and desire draw the three together, they uncover a truth that could change the world … or doom all of humankind.

Excerpt available here.

Fantasy Romance, MMF
Word Count: 114,000
Heat Level: 4
Published By: Belaurient Press

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Novellas and Short Stories in the Olympic Cove series:

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Excerpt

Erick leaned against the peeling white railing that ran around the nursing home’s porch, trying not to feel impatient. After four years of marriage to a hospice counselor he’d accepted the fact that evenings and weekends could get cut short if Al was called to help a dying patient. And he didn’t mind that, he really didn’t.

But when they were out somewhere together and Al got the call, then turned those big brown eyes on him and said, “We’re so close and this won’t take long—could you just come with me?” Then he had to decide whether to stay in the car or risk seeing things he really didn’t want to see. I’m not an asshole, I’m really not. But why can’t I drop him off and pick him up, you know, after?

The purplish thunderheads flickering with lightning and dumping rain over Tampa Bay weren’t helping. Come on, mi amor. I want to get home before we have to swim there.

Something moved in the corner of his eye. He turned, hoping it was Al but fully expecting to see an aide coming out for a smoke break. Instead, a translucent centaur stood there, giving the rain a disgusted look.

He gasped, stumbling backwards into the nursing home’s siding. The centaur glanced at him, then did a double-take. Then he raised a hand and waved.

Shit shit shit. “Y-you,” Erick stammered, throat clicking dryly. “W-what are you?”

“Huh. You can see me. Interesting.” The shimmering shape smirked at him. “I’m a ghost. Also a centaur. And yes, centaurs were real but we all died out a long time ago. The bigger question is, why can you see me?

Erick wondered if he should lie. Why? It’s not like he won’t believe me. “I’m a brujo.”

“A witch?” The centaur nodded. “Yeah, that would do it. Is that why you’re out here instead of inside?”

“Yeah.” He’d been able to see ghosts his whole life, and every nursing home had its share of the sad shades who couldn’t pass on for whatever reason. It was depressing to watch them wandering the halls, and even more depressing when they clustered around him begging for messages to be passed on to loved ones. “Look, why are you here? Didn’t centaurs live in Greece or something?”

The sharp humor disappeared from the centaur’s expression. “I’m searching for an old friend. Did you know that there are eight thousand, five hundred and forty-seven hospitals, nursing homes, and care centers around the Gulf of Mexico?”

Erick shook his head at the strange comment.

“Well, now you do. Anyway, he’s not here so it’s on to the next place.” The centaur squinted at the rain. “Guess I’d better get started. It’s not like I’m gonna get wet, right?” He clopped out onto the soaked asphalt of the parking lot, raindrops passing through his translucent body.

Erick lurched to the stairs. “Wait!”

The centaur stopped, turning back to him. “Yeah?”

“What’s your name?”

That earned him another smirk. “Chiron. Google me if you want the whole story, although most of it will be horseshit. I’m looking for a god named Asclepius, by the way. If you ever run into him—”

Actinic light exploded at the same time as a gigantic sonic boom, throwing Erick back against the nursing home. He clapped his hands over his ringing ears and squeezed his eyes shut, blinded by the bright afterimage of a lightning bolt.

When the echoing thunder died away he hesitantly opened his eyelids, blinking through the smeary glow until he could see again. The rain-soaked parking lot was empty except for a small, charred spot on the asphalt emitting a thin drift of steam. Where’d he go?

A hand landed on his shoulder and he screamed. A worried Al stood next to him, lips moving silently. Are you okay?

He nodded, then tapped his ears and shook his head. “Can’t hear anything,” he shouted. “Lightning bolt hit the parking lot.”

Al winced, then gestured between the two of them and pointed at the car.

Guess his patient died. Erick nodded and allowed himself to be escorted out into the rain, glancing at the charred asphalt as they passed it. Can a ghost be hurt by lightning?

Just in case it could, he sent up a little prayer for the centaur and his missing friend.

****

“Ow,” Chiron moaned. The last thing he remembered was talking to a cute little brujo, and then there was a burst of light and an immense sound that made him feel like he was being crushed by it. Did I actually get hit with fucking lightning? Zeus, you asshole.

He blinked, forcing his eyes to focus. Rainy Tampa Bay had vanished, replaced by the lower slopes of Mount Olympus. He was on the marble road that spiraled up the dusty green mountain and around the regal palaces belonging to the Greek gods.

What in buggering Tartarus am I doing here? And why does everything look taller? Feeling weirdly off balance, he took a step and winced as his right foreleg throbbed in pain.

A pain he hadn’t felt for millennia.

Grimacing, he reached down to massage the spot. Instead of horsehide, he touched skin. Glancing down, he jerked his hand away and let out a strangled yelp.

His human torso no longer joined onto a horse’s body with long, elegant limbs, sleek roan hair, and tidy black hooves. Instead, it continued down to a pair of human legs and somewhat dusty human feet. “What the actual fuck?”

Tentatively, he tried to move one of those strange feet and promptly fell over onto the marble road. Cursing some more, he managed to get back up, waving his arms for balance as his injured thigh screamed at him. Godsdamn it, how do humans stay up on these things?

After a minute of wobbling, he felt slightly more stable. Glaring at the distant palaces, he wondered who was responsible for his current situation. Lightning was Zeus’s calling card, yes, but he hadn’t done anything to piss off his half-brother recently. Plus the Electrical Wonder can’t bring anyone back to life, much less turn them human.

But he did know a divine personage who had that kind of juice. And this area of Olympus just happened to hold a shrine to that very personage.

Steeling himself, he staggered down a dirt path that ran parallel to a rocky ridge, ignoring the turnoff that led to the Fates’ cottage and continuing until he reached a collection of roughly hewn granite boulders that had been arranged into a circle. A wash of energy lifted every hair on his skin, confirming his suspicions. He eased between two boulders, heading towards the center of the stones.

Once there he looked up at the perfect blue sky. “Okay, Grandma. Let’s talk.”