Read Online The Nymph's Curse: The Collection by Danica Winters - Free Book Online

her. “Governor.”
    The crowd seemed to tighten and a man bumped into her and smiled. “Sorry, Miss.”
    She nodded, but she couldn’t stand being this close to so many people; especially not when the crowd included Stavros. Ariadne smiled at Beau. “I’m going to step out.”
    “I’ll follow you out,” Vickie said, motioning her to lead the way.
    Ariadne smiled, but looked quizzically at Beau, who shrugged. “Uh, sure.”
    Beau reached out like he wanted to hold her back, but he stopped and looked at Stavros. His cheeks flushed. “Okay. See you in a bit.”
    The tent flap closed behind them and deadened some of the drone of the chatter. Kat and Tammy were perched on the wall at the far end of the site. Tammy’s hands were flying as if she tried to desperately express a point she had made.
    Vickie followed her away from the tent and out of hearing distance of the reporters. “What do you think is going to happen today?”
    “I don’t really know. Why?” She looked over her shoulder at Kat.
    “I heard someone saying they thought the governor’s going to shut us down. That can’t happen. Beau will be devastated,” the girl gushed.
    Ariadne held back a smile. “Well, it’s possible. They will need to do an investigation to make sure the body isn’t a murder. Then there will need to be repatriation. And you know the Greeks like their ceremonies … They’ll need to bury the body.”
    “Are you sure that the governor will close us down?” The lusty college student squirmed.
    Ariadne shrugged
.
She could only hope that Stavros had finally realized what the dig could cost them.
    “I need to go.” Ariadne pointed at Tammy. “My friends are waiting.”
    “Sure.” Vickie crossed her arms and bit nervously at her nails.
    Kat’s voices grew louder as she approached. “You can’t stop it … ” Kat turned away from Tammy. “Ariadne, have you talked to Stavros yet?”
    “He’ll come through.”
    “I hope you’re right. I heard about the tablet. And the bones,” Kat said.
    “The dig is shut down.”
    “For now … but how long do you think Stavros is going to keep his cash flow stemmed? He’s going to push the documents — for the body — through as fast as he can. Time is money.”
    “Hi, Tammy, it’s nice to see you again.” Ariadne ignored Kat’s provocation.
    “Howdy,” Tammy answered with a wave. Her eyes were tired, and she looked relieved to have someone else besides Kat for company.
    “Where’s your assistant Ivan?” Ariadne asked as she looked around for the little gray-skinned elf.
    “Oh, he had some business calling him. He’ll be along sometime, I’m sure,” Tammy said, her gaze flashed to Kat, then down at the ground.
    It seemed out of character for the woman to be subordinate to Kat. What was going on?
    “You okay, Tammy?” She looked over at Kat, who had a wicked smile on her face.
    “She’s fine.” Kat answered for the witch. “Aren’t you?”
    “Yeah, I’m fine. Really.” Tammy looked over at the tent. “I’m just getting nervous ’bout the ceremony. That’s all.”
    Ariadne didn’t believe her, but there was no point in pressing the issue. “Are you guys ready for the ceremony? Did you get everything you needed?”
    “We still need a goat, then we’ll be all set,” Tammy said with a sigh. “Are you thinking you’ll be bringing Stavros?”
    Kat glared at Tammy.
    Ariadne sighed. “I don’t think so.”
    “Do you care for Stavros?” Tammy asked as Kat continued to stare daggers at her.
    Ariadne thought for a moment. “To be honest … I think he’s a bastard. I wish I would’ve left him years ago.”
    “I glad to hear ya say that,” Tammy said with a wide smile. “I like you. To see you with a man like Stavros … it’s a shame. You gotta spark the rest of us drool after.”
    Kat snickered. “You don’t know her very well. She’s lived more than a thousand years. If she was
great
don’t you think she would’ve done