Lucas pinched his eyes shut and sighed heavily. “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled in a lost way as they reached out and wrapped their arms around each other. “Nothing helps.”
“You have to move on, Helen,” he said desperately.
“I know that!” she cried, resting her chin on his shoulder. The more she thought about letting him go, the tighter she squeezed him. “But I can’t.”
“Forget about me,” he insisted. “That’s the only way either of us is going to survive this.”
“How am I supposed to forget you?” Helen asked, laughing weakly at such a silly suggestion. “You’re too big a part of me. I’d have to forget who I am to forget you.”
Holding Lucas the way she was, she caught a glimpse of their reflection in the vanity mirror opposite her bed. It startled her. Just as she was saying the word forget, she was staring at the word REMEMBER.
She’d totally forgotten she even had a vanity.
She hadn’t looked at it or even acknowledged that it was in her room for over a month now. Written on the mirror in viper-green eyeliner were the words THE RIVER I CAN’T REMEMBER and I SAW IT AGAIN. That’s funny. She and Orion were looking for a river, right?
“Wait,” Helen said, pulling back and looking at Lucas. “Is there a river in the Underworld that makes you forget everything?”
“Lethe,” Lucas answered immediately. “The souls of dead Scions drink from the River Lethe to forget their former lives before they are reborn.”
“The Furies define themselves as ‘the ones who can never forgive and never forget,’ right? But what if they were forced to forget everything, even who they are?”
“They would forget all the blood debts. The Scions would be free,” Lucas said, so softly it was like a sigh.
A moment later they were both looking around the room, confused. Helen’s entire train of thought had derailed and went skidding off the tracks.
“What river was that again?” she asked through an embarrassed grin. “It’s this thing with how I navigate down there. I have to be really specific, or I’ll never get there.”
“Ah . . . I know it. . . .” Lucas wavered for a moment, laughing at himself for being so absentminded. “Lethe! You want to get to the River Lethe!”
“Lethe. Right! Okay . . . so. What do I do once I get there?”
“I don’t know,” he said, a hint of fear creeping into his voice. “Do you see what’s happening?”
“Yeah,” Helen said, balling her fists and trying to stay on point. “This river won’t let me remember anything once I start thinking about it. That means I shouldn’t try to think about it, right?”
“That’s right. Don’t think about it, just do what you need to do.” Lucas turned and fished through Helen’s nightstand, taking out an old pen. He scribbled the words Lethe and Furies on her forearm and then he sat and stared at her in confusion. “I have no idea why I just did that.”
“Okay. Great. I’m going to descend now,” Helen announced tersely, already getting confused and deciding that she should act before she had a chance to think about it too much. “And in case I forget everything, including to come back, I want you to know that I still love you.”
“I still love you, too.” A smiled tugged at his lips. “Are you late for something?”
“I think so. I’d better go.”
Helen lay back, looking up at Lucas, who was smiling peacefully down on her. There was nothing here to fear, but Helen had a sneaking suspicion she should be afraid.
“Don’t tell Orion!” Lucas said urgently, like it had just occurred to him. “It’ll make him forget. You just remember where to go and then let him remember what you need to do once you get there.”
“Okay,” Helen sighed as she snuggled down into the covers. She was so cold. “Compartmentalize. That’s the key to winning the battle.”
“It is,” he said in a distant voice. He stared at her face, smiling softly.
“Why are we even trying to stay away from each other?” Helen wondered aloud, trying to keep her heavy eyes open. “We’re perfect together.”
“We are,” he mused. Lucas shivered suddenly. “It’s getting colder, like the temperature just dropped suddenly.”
“It’s always so cold in here.” She pouted, brushing at the ice crystals forming on her blanket. “Why don’t you get under the covers and keep me warm?”
“Okay,” he said, and although he frowned like something about getting into bed with Helen bothered him, he did it, anyway. He spooned against her back, and Helen sighed as he pulled her tightly against his chest. She tried to turn around and kiss him, but he stopped her, his teeth chattering as he spoke. “You’re tired. Go to sleep, Helen.”
She was tired—really tired. She was already half asleep. As much as she wanted to stay with Lucas while he held her, Helen’s eyes began to droop under the soothing pressure of his arms. The world melted away, and she stumbled headfirst into the Underworld.
Wasn’t I supposed to meet someone? she thought. Oh, yeah! Orion . . .
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Automedon crawled up from the ocean floor, skittering spiderlike on hands and feet as fast as he could to keep up with the third Heir. Underwater, the big Scion was fast, the fastest Automedon had ever seen, and it was all he could do to not lose him. He had his scent, and now Automedon could track him anywhere over land, but underwater his scent washed away in an instant. He couldn’t let Orion escape.
Automedon needed to find the portal he used to fulfill his master’s order—no matter how whimsical it seemed to Automedon. His master had a thing for situations that struck him as “poetic.” From what Automedon overheard at the store while the Heirs were so valiantly pledging themselves to complete their mission or die (about time, in Automedon’s opinion), the young prince was on his way there now.
They were so young, so trusting, that they’d had their entire conversation about their partial success with the Furies out in the open. They hadn’t even checked to see if anyone was listening. The Face was so open and unaccustomed to guile, very unlike her wily mother. That one changed her appearance, her scent, everything, at the first hint of danger. She was impossible to track—doubly so now that she had the new Hector to train. It was as if having a cub heightened her tiger instincts.
The new Hector was formidable, and for the first time in three and a half thousand years, Automedon did not scoff at the Scion who bore the great warrior’s name. He was the first to deserve it, although he still had a lot to learn.
The prince was not to be taken lightly, either. And the lover. Well. Like the dead lord, he had the hand of Nyx on him, and as such he wielded magic older than the gods, older than the titans, even. He was dangerous, that one. The more Automedon watched this crop of heroes, the more he became convinced that his master was right. This entire generation had to be dealt with before they came into their full potential. They were like none that had come before them, especially the Face.
She was far more talented than the others. The tiny fraction of power this new Helen had used on him just minutes before had been a marvel of agony—truly a moment of awakening for Automedon. He hoped to return the sensation shortly.
Sprinting up onto the sandy beach of mainland Massachusetts, on nearly the exact spot where the Europeans built their settlement and began their invasion, Automedon found Orion’s scent and then immediately lost it again. The trail simply ended. Automedon tried to stay calm as he searched.
This one couldn’t fly, could he? Automedon leapt into the air, and after a disconcertingly long time, finally tasted traces of the young prince on the breeze. Extending his leap for as long as he could, Automedon found that the trail sketched a wide arc that eventually led back to the ground.
Orion had jumped into the air as soon as he came up from the beach. The only reason he would have done that was because he knew he was being followed. Very clever, Automedon thought, impressed. He’s obviously bee
n chased before. But never by me.
Once on land again, Automedon found himself having to struggle to keep up, but at least the trail was easier to follow than it had been underwater. The young prince made many attempts to double back and confuse whoever might be behind him. A bloodhound might have fallen for any one of Orion’s tricks, but Myrmidons were not bloodhounds. They were far better at tracking than any dog ever could be.
The young prince led Automedon down into a dark cave, letting the water guide him, and Automedon had to hang back so as not to be heard in the echoing passages. He wasn’t concerned with the dark. He tasted his way, following the chemical trail that the prince had stamped into the ground.
The air suddenly became unnaturally cold, signaling that a portal was near. Automedon surged close to Orion and held perfectly still, silently calling to his master with an ancient prayer. His mind filled with the squabbling of vultures, and he knew that his master had heard him.
The Heir opened the portal and jumped into the dead lord’s land. The split second before it closed again, Automedon darted over and pulled his master through, into the neutral zone.
Helen landed with a thud next to Orion. They were walking down a deep beach that seemed to go on forever—never meeting the ocean or the land in either direction. She looked around, hoping for some clues that would tell her what she needed to do next. Something about a river kept popping up in her mind. It struck her that she had no idea what she was doing, walking on a deserted beach with a guy when there was no one else anywhere in sight. Lucas was the only one who walked on deserted beaches with her. It was their “thing.”
Was she cheating on Lucas?
Impossible! Not even the hot guy next to her (his name suddenly slipped her mind, although she was vaguely aware that she knew him) could make her feel like Lucas did. Although she couldn’t exactly remember how Lucas made her feel at that particular moment, because she couldn’t quite picture his face.
And where the heck was the sun, or the moon, or the stars for that matter? Wasn’t there supposed to be something in the sky?
“I think someone followed me, but I don’t think he made it through the portal,” her beautiful companion said. “I didn’t get a good look at him, but whoever this guy is, he’s scary good.”
I’m in the Underworld, Helen remembered, just before she completely freaked out. And I’m here because I have some very important compartmentalizing to do.
“Hi,” she said uncertainly.
“Hi,” Hot Guy replied uneasily. “Helen? What’s the matter?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing here with you,” she said honestly, relieved that at least he recognized her and called her by her name. “But you know, right?”
“Yeah, I do,” Hot Guy said, slightly offended. “We’re here to—”
“Don’t say it!” Helen exclaimed, jumping up to cover his mouth with her hand before he could say another word. “We have to compartmentalize, or something. I sort of know where we’re going, but you have to remember what we need to do when we get there, or we’ll never accomplish whatever it is we’re supposed to accomplish. I think that’s what Lucas said, anyway.”
“Okay, I can do that. But why are you acting like this? Did something bad happen to you? Please tell me. . . .” Hot Guy pleaded. “Are you injured?”
“I can’t remember!” Helen laughed, vaguely aware that she sounded terribly foolish, while he sounded deeply concerned. He was really worried about her, and that struck Helen as so sweet. “It’s all going to be okay. You remember your part—but don’t tell me what it is—and I’ll do the other thing. You know, the thing that I’m supposed to do because this is my special little quest?”
“Because you’re the Descender?” he guessed.
“Yes I am!” Helen said with happy-camper enthusiasm. “But what exactly is it that I can do that no one else can?”
“You can make us magically appear by the river we need to get to just by saying the name out loud,” he said cautiously.
“Right!”
Following an instinct, Helen wrapped her arms around Hot Guy’s neck, but she had no idea what to do next. Glancing away from his distractingly attractive mouth, she saw, right in front of her face, the words Lethe and Furies written on the inside of one of her forearms. On a whim, she decided to just go with it. She figured, heck, it was a fifty-fifty chance.
“I want us to magically appear by the River . . . Lethe?”
Helen found herself on a riverbank in the middle of a barren wasteland, staring up at a stunning man. She had her arms around him, and he had his hands on her waist, but she couldn’t remember how they had gotten this way.
“You are so beautiful,” she told him, because she couldn’t think of a reason not to.
“So are you,” he replied, surprised. “For some reason I think I know you, but I can’t remember where we met. Have you ever been to Sweden?”
“I don’t know!” Helen laughed. “Maybe I have.”
“No, that’s not it,” he said, a troubled frown tightening his brow. “There’s something we need to do. The water!” he exclaimed, releasing Helen and taking off his backpack. Helen knew she had seen that gesture before, even though she couldn’t remember the boy who’d made it.
“I feel like I’m having the strongest case of déjà vu ever,” Helen said anxiously. “It’s like I know you, or something.”
“You do know me. You just can’t remember because that’s what all of this is about. Forgetting,” he said in a gruff, worried voice, as he took three canteens out of his pack. “You know, Helen, if this idea of yours wasn’t so terrifying I would be saying that it was the most brilliant thing I’d ever heard of.” He looked up at her intensely. “I’m Orion and you’re Helen and we’re here to collect this special water and bring it to three very thirsty girls.”
“I don’t know why, but that sounds exactly right. Hang on,” she said, reaching for the canteens. She held out her hand until he gave them to her. “I think I’m supposed to do this.”
“You’re right, this is your task. My part’s coming up.” He clenched his jaw in concentration. “I just have to remember it.”
Helen looked down into the river’s turbid water dubiously. Pale fish bumped around under the surface, like clumsy ghosts. They didn’t seem smart enough to be afraid of her, and Helen knew she could reach down and pet one with her bare hand if she wanted, but the thought of touching that water was abhorrent to her.
She knew she had to fill the canteens, she just couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to drink from them, no matter how thirsty they were. Holding the canteens by their straps, Helen lowered them into the water and let them fill before raising them. Hot Boy reached out his hand to take one from her so he could screw the lid back on, but she pulled it out of his reach.
“Don’t touch it! Don’t touch the water!” Helen practically screamed as a droplet nearly made contact with his hand. She saw the startled look on her companion’s face and felt a bit foolish for her outburst. “Sorry. I just don’t think it’s sanitary,” she said in a more reserved tone.
“We need to travel, Helen,” he said in a very reasonable voice. “We have to close the lids.”
“I’ll do it.”
She screwed the tops on and put them in the backpack that he held open for her, rubbing a drop of water away between her fingers. He zipped up the backpack, threaded his arms through the straps, and then put his hands on her waist expectantly. She shied away from him.
He was unbelievably good looking, but still. Shouldn’t he at least introduce himself first?
“I’m sorry, but who are you?” she asked suspiciously.
“Orion,” he said, like he was expecting to have to introduce himself, and then his eyes grew sad and intense. “Quick question. Do you know who you are?”
The girl paused, startled.
“How strange,” she said. “I think I’ve forgotten my name.”
“Claire, go help Kate,” Matt said, shif
ting Jerry lower so he carried more of his weight. “She’s having trouble.”
Claire went and took one of Jerry’s legs from Kate, sharing the burden. It was farther to Claire’s car than Matt remembered. If they were lucky, it was still parked where they’d left it. He sincerely hoped that no one had set it on fire or slashed the tires. If it wasn’t drivable, he knew he would end up having to carry Jerry back to the News Store all by himself. Kate and Claire were flagging, and the twins were so exhausted they could barely walk.
Ariadne and Jason had worked a bit on Jerry, enough to get him stable, but things didn’t look good for Helen’s father. They needed to get him back to the Delos compound where the twins could work on him gradually instead of trying to heal him in moments, which drained them terribly.
Ariadne’s face was already a scary shade of puce. Matt wanted to help her so much it felt like a cramp inside, but he didn’t know what she needed. If he were a Scion, maybe he could be more useful.
During the twenty-minute walk to Claire’s car, the twins leaned against one another, talking softly as if they were encouraging each other with small, private phrases that only they could understand. It seemed to take forever to load everyone in, and then Matt had to walk around to the front and shut Claire’s door for her because she could barely lift her arms.
“Call me if you need anything,” Matt told her.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Claire slouched over the steering wheel, utterly exhausted. “Aren’t you coming back with us?”
“No. I’m going to find Zach.”
“What?” Ariadne protested weakly from the backseat. “Matt, he’s a traitor!”
“A traitor who reached out to me, trying to tell me that this was going to happen, and I turned my back on him. Zach is my friend, Ari,” Matt said evenly. “I can’t let him get in any deeper. I have to help him.”
“This isn’t your fault,” Ariadne began to argue, but Jason pulled her back gently.
“Save your strength. You know we need to be careful right now,” he whispered to her, their heads lolling close to each other. Ariadne met his eyes and immediately settled down. Jason looked back up at Matt. “Go get your friend. Good luck, Matt.”