Poseidon (Contemporary Mythos Book 5)

Underwater, a dark tentacle wrapped my waist, crushing me, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. I yelled to no avail, the depths sweeping my voice away, and I clawed and punched, but the arm still didn’t let go. It pulled me farther down until the cold darkness of deep-sea sunk into my pores. My lungs burned, my heartbeat slowing, movements became labored, until finally…I gave up.

I awoke sputtering, coughing, and gasping for breath. My chest ached, and I felt around my torso, expecting to see a tentacle there. Nothing. It’d felt so real. My lungs even still stung from the lack of oxygen in the dream.

Gee, subconscious, can we stick to mysterious, handsome men from now on and not dreams that try to kill me?

Rubbing my temples, I toppled out of bed and prepared to clear my mind, knowing today was a gaming day and I needed to focus. Wednesdays were always my ultimate streaming day on Glitch. Several hours of me playing through whatever game I was into at the time and entertaining my followers in the hopes of donations. Megan knew unless it was an absolute emergency, Wednesdays were off-limits. It never stopped her from trying to screw with me by hopping in and stalking the follower chatroom. I think her goal was to make me crack by screwing up in the game or doing my obnoxious snort laughing on camera. She hadn’t won yet. I could’ve easily kicked her or let my moderators know to look out for her, but her wrath afterward wasn’t worth it.

Slipping the Pelican Beach headset over my ears, I nestled into my gaming chair. Water bottle? Check. Lumbar pillow? Double check. It was time to start this weekly party. After the loading screen for Tides of Atlantis finished and I logged my character into the digital sea world, I went live on Glitch. My camera spurted to life, and the Glitch chatroom blazed on my second monitor.

My head moderator for the day let me know everything was good to go via a direct text message through the system. They would help me keep an eye on chat and filter out the rotten eggs. Those who would say rude or derogatory comments, or request me to say or do inappropriate things. I was thankful for the mods. It helped me keep focused on the game. With the eSports tournament only weeks away, I needed all the practice I could get.

“Happy Hump Day, everyone,” I said with a wide grin.

Dozens of comments flooded the screen. Notification of a new follower made a chiming sound.

“Seems we have a new follower.” I leaned forward to squint at the small text.

New Follower: KingOfFish69

“Welcome aboard, King of Fish,” I said, avoiding relaying the immature ending of his username. He was probably some ten-year-old who snickered every time he passed by the bananas in the grocery store on sale for sixty-nine cents.

I scrolled through the menu, selecting my weapons. I’d made it a habit to start the day with PVE or player versus environment, teaming up with other random individuals to battle Atlantean monsters. However, I gained most followers from my PVP or player versus player style. Particularly in this game. Both kinds of gameplay would cycle through various maps. Some were on land, others underwater, but my favorite were the maps that encompassed both. If one knew the maps well enough, you could be the first to nab land-to-sea-vehicles with Atlantean technology.

Once my character loaded onto the screen, I did a quick scroll through any upgrades I’d earned from last week’s playthrough. A new message popped into the chat.

MissTacoX: Didn’t you get the last armor you needed for the Nautilus set?

I gasped. “You’re right, Miss Taco, I did. I’m such a guppy.”

My aquatic references had become somewhat of a gimmick as cheesy as it was. I’d been on the Glitch circuit for over a year and now even maintained an online shop filled with t-shirts and coffee mugs with my popular taglines and logo for my gamer tag: SaucySiren.

After selecting the gauntlets for the Nautilus set, I grinned, watching the gold sparkles and bubbles flash down the screen. The Nautilus gear was one of the best sets in the game. Not only did it have the highest level of protection and offer an additional experience bonus, or XP, it also looked breathtakingly awesome.

My character rotated a full three-hundred-sixty-degrees, decked in her newly equipped white and metallic gold armor complete with gauntlets, breastplate, shoulder pieces, shin guards overtop of pants, and a flapped skirt around her waist. I opted to wear a removable golden pointed tiara that served as a melee weapon versus a full-faced helmet—beauty over function, but I made up for it in gameplay. However, the pieces that glowed in radiant white when in darker areas of the map made this armor aesthetically beautiful.

FriskeeBizkit: Wow. Your character looks amazing!

HufflePufflenz: Can’t wait to see you kick a$$ with this!

Smiling at all the messages scrolling through the chat came naturally, but I got distracted staring at my character. I’d given her as close a likeness to myself as I could with the long chocolate-colored hair, high cheekbones, petite nose, and brown eyes, but what pulled my attention was the way she looked in the tiara.

KingOfFish69: Can you change the colors?

FriskeeBizkit: Duh.

NinjaMod: A reminder to please respect all questions and comments from other viewers. Thank you, and surf on!

My eyes darted straight to KingOfFish’s comment. “Yes…did you have a specific request, King?” My heart raced as I stared at the chat, ignoring any other comments that popped up, waiting for him to respond.

KingOfFish69: The tiara. Make the jewels teal and the metal a shimmering silver…if you can 😉

Without batting an eyelash, I did as he requested. My character, Aliandra as I named her, peered back at me, the tiara catching the fake glints of light added to the game as you turned your character to-and-fro.

“Thanks, KingOfFish. Nice suggestion.” My palms clammed up, and I quickly closed the character screen, taking it back to the main menu.

“Should we—” I started, but my eyes darted to the next comment from King.

KingOfFish69: Most welcome. :-*

The skin between my eyes wrinkled, focusing far too long on the kissy face emoji he’d sent.

With a quick clearing of my throat, I snapped back to my monitor. “Should we start the evening with some PvE or go straight into beaching newbs?”

HufflePufflenz: With that new gear? Def PvP!

FriskeeBizkit: ^^^^ that.

I’d known the answer before asking, but it also boosted ratings to keep the viewers interactive.

“Let’s start it up then.” I paused for a sip of water as the game found other players to connect to. “Don’t forget to send some fishy love, everyone.”

Dozens of fish-themed emojis flooded the chat—clownfish, sharks, dolphins, and tidal waves.

My throat clenched, spying the image that King sent: a sea turtle.

My eyes darted to the collection of sea turtles cluttering my gaming desk—plushies, Funko POPs, carved wooden figurines.

Noticing the screen had begun to count down for the match start, I forced my attention back to the game, wiping my sweaty palms on my shorts.

The randomly selected map loaded, and I grinned to myself. Pharos Island. A land and sea map—one I knew the layout of best.

“These poor folks have no idea the plankton they’re about to walk off.” I equipped my character’s sword as soon as it appeared on the sandy shoreline.

Several “LOLs”, drums, and laughing face emojis scrolled through the chat.

Once you were in game, it was a matter of navigating the terrain, finding other players, and terminating them for points. There were several randomly sprouting spawn points with treasure chests that’d give the players temporary weapon boosts—one of which was an Atlantean canon, capable of decimating someone with one well-placed ranged shot. I’d played the map so many times, I knew each of the locations, but the order in which they appeared changed.

KingOfFish69: You’re not fighting with a trident?

My face scrunched, flicking my attention back to the screen to keep watch for other players. “No one uses the trident in this game. It’s one of the weakest weapons, KingOfFish.”

FriskeeBizkit: Yeah. Why use a fork when you can use a canon?!

HufflePufflenz: A fork. LMAO.

KingOfFish69: Maybe no one is using “the fork” correctly.

Another player approached in Aquaman movie armor, sporting a computer-generated likeness to Jason Momoa’s face. A purchasable skin they’d put up for grabs when the movie first released.

MissTacoX: Oh shiz, it’s The King of the Seas!

KingOfFish69: Hardly.

I’d have paid more attention to King’s comment were it not for morphing into full concentration mode, getting ready to act, react, and win.

NinjaMod: Please remember that when Siren is in the middle of combat, she may not see your comments! It’s why you’re here, after all, folks. 😊

The approaching player’s name appeared above their heads: AceOfAtlantia.

“Alright, Ace. Let’s see who’s ‘betta’.” My thumbs hovered over the joysticks on my controller, circling him.

The Aquaman armor may have looked cool and flashy, but I knew its defense stats were less than half the caliber of my Nautilus set. A few well-timed swing and I’d win. As he brought his sword crashing down over me, I raised mine, blocking his swing. Exaggerated sparks and heightened metal pangs echoed through my headset. The glowing parts of my armor pulsed in response to my character’s movement.

FriskeeBizkit: Dude. That armor is SICK.

With a double-tap of the “B” button on my controller, I did a barrel roll to gain a different vantage point on him. Crouching when he swung his sword at my upper body, I rolled again and swung at the same time, landing a strike on his torso. His username flashed red, indicating severe damage. One final blow before his character had a chance to regenerate health, and…

Priscilla, my Cory Catfish, landed on my desk with a loud wet thwap.

With my eyes darting from the screen for that one mere moment, Ace sliced his sword at my head, terminating my character and causing me to respawn.

Priscilla flopped, trying to breathe. Not caring the viewers hadn’t a clue why I suddenly dove off-screen, I scooped my fish into my hands and sprinted to the aquarium, plopping her back in. After waiting for her to breathe and swim properly, I returned to the camera.

FriskeeBizkit: What the h3ll happened?

MissTacoX: Did she rage quit?

“I’m here. I’m here. Sorry, all, one of my fish somehow leaped from their tank.” I furrowed my brow as I turned in my seat, staring at my aquarium.

That had never happened before, and I ensured tank security at all times to avoid accidents like that while I wasn’t home.

So. Strange.

A notification chimed from Glitch.

KingOfFish69 just gave 300 shells!

My face grew hot. “Shells” was the word I chose to switch for dollars. Three. Hundred. Dollars. The most I’d ever gotten in the past was a hundred, and that only ever happened one time.

HufflePufflenz: Mr. Money Bags over here.

NinjaMod: Another friendly reminder to please be courteous to all viewers! We would hate to ban anyone for misconduct. Thank you. 😊

A lump formed in my throat as I stared at the notification, watching my character on screen from the corner of my eye performing the fidgeting hops when you’ve gone idle for too long.

“King of Fish, what a kind donation.” I plucked at the rubber overlaying on the right thumbstick of my controller. “Did you have a special request?”

KingOfFish69: I’d love to see you try the trident.

A nervous giggle fluttered from my stomach. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve never used it. I can’t promise I won’t die…repeatedly. That’s not exactly fun to watch.”

KingOfFish69: I think you’d be surprised. Try it. 😉

“What do you think, Sea Farers? By a show of fishy emojis, should I try the trident?” My eyes were glued to the generous donor’s username, spying the flood of emojis flying through the chat.

MissTacoX: We have faith in you, chica!

After scratching my cheek, I opened my inventory and switched my primary weapon to the trident. A chorus of low-pitched male singers sounded, followed by the sound of a weapon slicing through the air.

“Here goes nothing.”

I’d been standing still on the map for so long it didn’t take much to find an opponent. They’d been running across the beach, hoping for an easy kill and that I was AFK (away from keyboard).

Username: ProteinGeyser, charged me full force, sword already aimed and wearing matching Nautilus armor.

“Shit. Shit.”

HufflePufflenz: You got this!

Please make the trident work the same as the sword.

As he got closer, a flash of an ornately patterned trident blocked my vision, turning in mid-air, reflecting rays of light like it was underwater. As if on autopilot, my fingers worked the buttons of my controller. The image rippled away, and I stared at my monitor with my character’s trident skewered into ProteinGeyser’s chest—long-ranged, one-shot kill.

Emojis flooded the chat, followed by so many notifications, the constant chiming made my head ache.

HufflePufflenz donated 10 shells!

MissTacoX: DUUUUUUUUDE!

KingOfFish69: 😊

FriskeeBizkit resubscribed at a new tier level!

“Thank you so much, everyone. I wish I could thank you each individually, but I’ve lost half of the notifications it’s been scrolling so fast.” My cheeks flushed, and I pressed one of my constantly cold hands against my face to cool them.

Another three hours whizzed by, and I used the trident for the entire stream, wrecking in every round I played, finishing as the top player with the best kill to death ratio. King didn’t type much of anything else, except the occasional smiley face when I performed an especially impressive move with my weapon. The strange vision didn’t pop into my head again, and I wondered if I’d ever actually seen it. Could it have been something I ate earlier? I remembered popping a couple of Tic-Tac’s I found in the abyss of my purse but didn’t bother to check the expiration date?

I’d thanked King a final time for the money before signing off and sat in my gaming chair for a solid ten minutes, staring at my sea turtle collection before finally finding the will to move. My phone’s screen lit up on my desk, still on silent as I always did before going live.

Meg.

“Hey,” I greeted meekly.

“Hey yourself. Three hundred dollars? I’m surprised this guy didn’t expect sexual favors for that kind of cash.”

I moved to my aquarium, sprinkling some food on the surface and watching Priscilla swim. “For one, I would’ve shot that down in an instant, and two, he would’ve been banned from Glitch for life.”

“Okay. You’re taking everything literally. What’s on your mind?”

“My fish jumped from its tank.” I squinted, calculating the approximate distance from the aquarium to my desk. “It’s a good ten feet to my desk. You know I keep this thing secure, and even if one did get out, they wouldn’t make it more than a couple of feet.”

“An odd mishap. Your point?”

My eyes panned up to a painting hanging over my bed. One I’d bought on vacation in Key West that called to me like a luring siren. It was a small, minute detail, but it was plain as day as I walked closer. A single, gold trident was behind the waves, drawn to blend in with the coral sprouting from all sides.

I ran my fingertips over it. “I’ve never used the trident in the game. Ever. And I had the best matches of my life.”

“You’re pulling at a fishnet here, Cory. It sounds like you need some sleep. Besides, we got a car ride tomorrow. Remember? A week in West Palm with the sea turtles and cameras?”

“I didn’t forget. How could I? There’s something else. I had this weird nightmare of a tentacle dragging me underwater to the point of me drowning.” Remembering how real it seemed, I traced a hand over my ribs. “I woke up sputtering and choking as if it were actually happening.”

“A tentacle? Like Ursula? You watched that movie a couple of nights ago, didn’t you?”

The Little Mermaid. I had indeed.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Right. Well, stop overthinking things, as you always do, get to bed, and bring those three hundred bones with you. Maybe buy yourself something nice and girly.”

I smiled, letting my hand fall away from the painting. “Or maybe I’ll buy you something nice and girly.”

“Was that a threat?”

“Goodnight, Meg.”

“Nighty, night…Saucy Siren.”

After hanging up, I focused on the trident in the painting. As my hand lifted of its own accord, fingers stretching for the weapon, a familiar voice fluttered past my ear, the feel of a beard scraping against my nape.

Eisaí i thálassa.

With a gasp, I whirled around to find my fish hovering at one side of the tank.