Chanel Hastings & The Treasures of Aphrodite Book 1: The Magic Girdle

Chapter 20: Angry Bird Takes Me Down Memory Lane

OOTD: Same...

Makeup: None...

Hairstyle: Loose...

Fragrance: Monkey and forest.

Dear Diary,

Moral of the story?

When a monkey gives you a warning, listen to him.

No, seriously. I really should have just listened to the monkey.

You see, the walk to Eurybatus's grotto was pretty long. He led us through all sorts of bushes and winding pathways that we would have never discovered on our own.

The path was also decked out with all sorts of traps: nets, nooses, knives, and more. Eurybatus was courteous enough to point out most of them, but every once in a while, he'd play a little prank where he'd see a trap, but conveniently fail to mention it. We'd nearly walk into the trap, only for a hyper vigilant Mikhailo to notice it, and pull us away from it at the last second.

When I begged Eurybatus to quit with the near-death pranks, he had joked and said, "Come on now, love! Near-death experiences build so much character, yeah?"

Fortunately, it had taken no more than Mikhailo pulling out his sword and pressing its tip to Eurybatus's neck for him to stop fooling around with the traps.

After what felt like an eternity of walking, we finally reached a border of tall trees that gave way into a small clearing. Right at the entrance was a small, shallow-looking pond, supplied by a few small streams and decorated at its edges with snowdrop flowers. At the other end of the pond was the grotto, formed by an opening in a big, jagged-rock cliff, covered with moss and branches. From where we were standing, I could spot a pile of stuff that looked like where the cercopes had kept our stolen goods.

Before I could pass the border, Mikhailo stuck out his arm.

What now?, I thought impatiently.

"Survey your surroundings first," said Mikhailo. "We don't know what kind of trap we're about to walk into."

Eurybatus let out a sinister chuckle, and then smiled sweetly at me. I frowned at him, and then scanned the environment, wondering what he could have been hiding. None of us noticed anything out of the ordinary; just a little snow, and the occasional squirrel or bunny.

"I don't know what kind of trick you're planning," I said to Eurybatus. "But you'd better think twice if you want these amphoras."

He scoffed. "Yes, yes. I remember our deal. You retrieve your things, I receive free magical food. That's it, yeah?"

I studied him for a few seconds, then took a second look around the grotto.

Still nothing.

"I don't see anything sketchy," whispered Tharika.

"Me nether," Mikhailo said. "But still, keep your guard up. I don't trust the baboon one bit."

Eurybatus bared his teeth. "It's guenon, you molding cabbage!"

"'Guenon'?" repeated Mikhailo.

"Yes! Not a baboon, a guenon. I am a beautiful guenon monkey!" exclaimed Eurybatus. "Gah, what a fool. I'd wager that if I cracked open your skull, it would be a barren wasteland!"

Mikhailo didn't respond, but I could feel the anger radiating off of him. Underneath his feet, a jagged circle of ice began to freeze the ground around him. Eurybatus was taken aback, but made no comment, which was probably for the best.