“No,” Zach replied, humbled. “You’re the only person in the world I believe would be willing to help me. But it’s no use. Sooner or later he’s going to kill me.” He turned and began to walk across the field.
“Then we’ll just have to kill him first,” Matt raised his voice after Zach.
“You have no idea how,” Zach fired back derisively over his shoulder.
“Why? Because he’s blood brothers with a god?”
Zach’s back stiffened and his stride slowed.
“Which one?” Matt pressed, taking several steps closer to Zach. “Tell me which god and maybe we can find a way to get rid of him!”
Zach turned around but held up his hands in a stop gesture, warning Matt not to follow him. He backpedaled as he spoke, and the look he gave Matt was hard and hopeless.
“Go home, man. And stop helping the Scions! Tonight’s riot is nothing compared with what’s coming, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. The gods have a special place picked out in hell for the full mortals that fight against them, you know.”
“How can you know what the gods have planned?” Matt shouted after him. “Doesn’t Automedon work for Tantalus? Zach, answer me! Which god is Automedon’s blood brother?”
But Zach had disappeared into the dark.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Helen?” Orion said from far, far away.
“Gods, you’re heavy,” Lucas groaned.
Helen couldn’t figure out why they were making such a racket when she was trying to sleep. It was rude.
“Sorry, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so crowded in here,” Orion replied in an annoyed voice. Helen tried to recall where “here” was.
“It’s not what you think. I came to guard her while she descended,” Lucas grunted. “You know what? If she won’t wake up, toss her off.”
“Why are you two being so noisy?” Helen mumbled peevishly, finally opening her eyes.
She saw that she was lying facedown on top of Orion, and he, in turn, had Lucas pinned underneath him. All of them were stacked in her tiny bed, tangled in the blankets and dusted with ice, like frosting on the layer cake. After all that had happened in the Underworld, it had slipped Helen’s mind that she had descended while Lucas held her in his arms, and even though a lot had transpired in that other universe, just milliseconds had passed in this one before she reappeared back in her bed with Orion in her arms.
Helen looked down at the Scion sandwich and tried not to blush. There was no reason for her to be embarrassed about any of this, right?
“Why are you so damn heavy?” Lucas asked breathlessly as the air was pressed out of his lungs. “I’ve lifted school buses with less effort.”
“I don’t know,” Helen mumbled, and tried to release gravity. It didn’t entirely work, although she did feel herself lighten a bit. “What the hell is going on?”
“What’s wrong?” Orion asked.
“I can’t float!” She shivered as the ice in her hair melted and turned into cold water that ran down the back of her neck.
“Calm down and try again,” Lucas said gently.
She did, and after a few moments it worked. She hovered over Orion as she unwound the constricting blankets, and then wafted away from him.
“That is so amazing,” Orion said, looking at Helen in awe as he got off Lucas and out of bed.
“You’ve never seen Helen fly?” Lucas said, and then he nodded as the reason why occurred to him. “No powers in the Underworld. Huh,” he mumbled to himself, staring at the fast-melting ice on Helen’s bed, deep in thought.
“Lucas, we did it,” Helen said. He glanced up at her, quickly discarding his absorbing thoughts. “We’re all free—the Scions, the Furies. All of us.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, almost daring to smile.
“Only one way to find out,” Orion said. He took out his phone, dialed, and waited until someone on the other end answered. “Hector. We think it’s over. Get to Helen’s as fast as you can.” He ended the call and looked at Helen and Lucas impassively. Lucas’s eyes widened with worry.
“Are you sure that was a good idea?” Helen asked Orion uncertainly.
“No, he’s right,” Lucas said, and seemed to brace himself for another encounter with his cousin. “It’s better to test this with just the four of us. Safer.”
“Okay. But can we do this outside?” Helen asked sheepishly. “My dad really loves this house.”
As soon as Helen said it, she was overwhelmed with worry for Jerry. She’d put the thought of him on the back burner so she could focus on what she needed to do, but now that she wasn’t running around like a crazy woman for the first time in what had to be the longest day of her life, Helen was desperate to find out what had happened to her father.
She led Lucas and Orion down to her front yard and then pulled out her phone to call Claire.
“How’s my dad?” Helen asked as soon as she answered.
“Ahh. Alive,” Claire said tentatively. “Look, Lennie, I’m not going to lie to you. It’s bad. We’re on our way back to the compound now. Jason and Ari are going to work on him there, but other than that, I don’t know what to tell you. I’m driving, so I’d better go. I’ll call later if something happens, okay?”
“Okay,” Helen tried to say, but it came out a whisper. She hit the end button and wiped her wet cheeks quickly before she looked up. Orion and Lucas were staring at her.
“Is Jerry . . . ?” Orion began.
“He’s not good,” Helen said in a strangely high voice.
Helen began to pace, and she didn’t know what to do with her hands or her feet. She touched her nonexistent pockets, ran her fingers through her snarly hair, and tugged at her clothes. It was as if all of her extremities had just picked up and started flapping on the breeze, like one of those fan men dancing outside a car dealership. Without Jerry, she was just one big loose end.
“Jason and Ariadne are very talented, Helen,” Lucas said in a low voice. “They’ll fight for him. You know that, right?”
“Yeah,” Helen said in a distracted way, still pacing. “And if they can’t save him, I’ll go down there and I’ll . . .”
“Don’t say it Helen,” Orion interrupted urgently. “You may be the Descender, but Hades is still lord of the dead. Remember what happened when you said you’d free Persephone? How easily he dealt with you? Don’t even think about trying to steal from him.”
“He can’t have my father,” she said, suddenly very still. She looked up and stared at Orion, daring him to defy her. “I’ll turn the Underworld upside down and shake it until Jerry drops out if I have to, but he can’t have my father.”
“Helen,” Lucas said, his face masklike with fear, “no mortal can cheat him or beat him. Please listen . . .”
“Luke?” the questioning voice came from across the dark yard.
Lucas spun around to face Hector, who was striding toward them across Helen’s lawn. Whatever he was going to say to Helen was immediately forgotten. Hector stopped a few paces away from Lucas, and they stared at each other tensely, both waiting for the Furies. Who didn’t come.
“Son of a bitch,” Lucas whispered, too stunned to move for a moment. He looked at Helen, shocked. “You really did it.”
The cousins came together and clasped each other in a fierce hug, both of them apologizing at the same time. While Helen looked on, she felt Orion staring at her. She glanced over at him and found him watching her with worry.
“Princess!” Hector said as he released Lucas and scooped Helen up into one of his big hugs. “I knew you could do it.”
“I had a lot of help.” Helen giggled as Hector lifted her off her feet and squeezed her.
“I heard,” Hector said, putting her down to face Orion. He pulled Orion into one of his manly back-thumping hugs, and then turned back to Lucas. “Where’s the rest of the family?”
“Almost all of them are back at our house, but less than an hour ago I saw our fathers fighting Er
is in the riots. Looked like they had her cornered, but I didn’t see anyone fighting Terror. He could still be on the loose.” Lucas gave this report with soldierly precision.
“I just wish I knew why all these small gods are making cameos today after so many decades of silence.” Hector bit his lip. His eyes darted up and met Helen’s, and her shoulders slumped when she got his meaning. Why was everything always her fault?
“Wait. Where else have the small gods been seen today?” Orion asked, sharing a confused look with Lucas. Hector filled Orion and Lucas in on Thanatos crashing the Conclave in New York, and the fact that Automedon might have broken his contract with Tantalus.
“Where’s Daphne?” Orion asked, concerned for her.
“Last I saw she was electrocuting Skeletor. Why? You looking for a fight of your own?” Hector asked Orion with a devilish smile.
“Hell yeah,” Orion replied immediately, grinning back at Hector. Helen thought they were enjoying the prospect of a showdown with the small gods a bit too much.
Helen had to shake her head to clear it. For some reason she kept seeing Orion and Hector in armor. When Hector turned to include Lucas, her déjà vu got even worse. For a moment it looked like Lucas was wearing something that looked like a toga.
“Wait, guys. Helen’s dad was injured. And I’m not sure I like the idea of her being in the middle of riot with Automedon on the loose,” Lucas interjected before they could charge off. He glanced over at her and his brow wrinkled with concern when he saw her face. “Ah, Helen? Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, shaking herself out of it and rubbing her temples. “I’m just so tired I think I’m starting to see things.” Like a marble palace lit by torches and everyone decked out in leather and bronze.
“Then go to your father,” Hector told her. “Personally, I think you can take the Myrmidon, but whatever. Stay safe. The three of us can handle this without you.”
“No, I should help.”
“Go,” Orion said, rolling his eyes at her. “If we get into trouble, you can come rescue us with your almighty lightning, okay?”
“Are you sure?” she said with a grateful smile, already taking to the air.
“That is just fricking awesome,” Orion breathed, forgetting everything to marvel at Helen as she floated above him. Acting on impulse, he reached up and ran the backs of his fingers along the back of her calf. Helen swallowed hard around the lump in her throat and looked at Lucas, who was purposely looking elsewhere. Orion followed Helen’s eyes and dropped his hand, realizing what he was doing.
“Get out of here, Princess,” Hector said knowingly. “Go take care of Jerry.”
Helen couldn’t help but glance at Lucas and mouth the words Be careful to him as Hector and Orion turned toward the center of town.
“You too,” he whispered back, his eyes warm. Her stomach was already filled with butterflies from Orion’s intimate touch, and now they grew to the size of a 747. Lucas turned and broke into a run to keep pace with Hector and Orion, leaving her hanging breathless in midair. As she watched them speed off, she couldn’t decide who she wanted to stare at more—Lucas or Orion. Her attention was so torn between the two of them that she felt like she was watching a tennis match.
Deeply confused, Helen flew to Siasconset, landed in the Delos family’s backyard, and forced herself to change gears and focus on her father. She rushed into the house and went right to Noel, who was in the kitchen, cooking up a storm.
“Helen!” she said, barely looking up from the twenty-gallon pot she was stirring. “Go downstairs, past the exercise room, and into the cellar. You’ll find three freezers. Open the short one and take out the big roast. Hurry-hurry! Everyone will be hungry.”
“Short one. Big roast. Got it,” Helen said, and bolted off to run Noel’s errand. She didn’t even try to argue. She may not have been around the Delos family for very long, but she knew enough to know that when she was in Noel’s kitchen she’d better do as she was told. She came back in half a second and put a frozen roast the size of an ox in the sink that Noel was pointing at in a hassled way.
“They’re working on Jerry in the guest room we normally put you in,” Noel said, finally turning to Helen with a sympathetic look. “Go quietly. If one or both of the twins are sleeping, don’t wake them. It could injure them.”
“Okay. Thanks,” Helen said.
She twisted her hands and shuffled her feet, not knowing what to do with herself. She knew she was supposed to go upstairs and check on her father, but she didn’t want to see him hurt. She felt her loose ends starting to flap around again.
Looking at Helen’s attack of the fidgets, Noel’s eyes widened and she immediately put down her scorched wooden spoon, wiped her fingers on her apron, and pulled Helen into a big, soft hug. At first Helen was startled stiff, but then she just let go and really leaned into it. Noel smelled like bread dough and baby powder. Helen couldn’t remember anyone but Kate ever feeling so fluffy and relaxing. It was like hugging a warm muffin.
“Better?” Noel asked as she leaned back and looked Helen over appraisingly. “You look exhausted. Did you stop dreaming again?”
“No, I can dream,” Helen said, laughing a bit as she smoothed down her now torn and dirty dress and wondered how Noel knew about the whole non-dreaming thing. “It’s just been a really long day.”
“I know, honey. And you’ve done so much,” Noel said, cupping Helen’s face in her hands and looking at her intently with wide, loving eyes. “Thank you for bringing my Hector back to us.” Noel kissed her on the forehead, the gesture reminding Helen of Lucas. Which reminded Helen . . .
“Wait. How could you know about Hector? That happened, like, five minutes ago.”
“All my boys call me first whenever they have either really good or really bad news. It’s the in-between news that boys are not so good with,” Noel said with a grin and narrowed eyes. “You’ll see for yourself someday.” Then she turned back to the counter, picked up a giant knife, chopped something like it had insulted her, and dumped its sorry bits into a bubbling pot.
Surprising herself, Helen wrapped her arms around Noel from the side and stole a quick hug. Noel absentmindedly kissed the top of Helen’s head and stroked her hair while she stirred, like she was used to both giving and receiving random affection at any given moment from any kid in her inner circle. More relaxed now and ready to deal, Helen went upstairs to find her father.
Automedon left his master in the strange in-between land at the bottom of the cave, went above ground, and summoned his slave. The mortal boy was not accustomed to his new life of servitude, but luckily for him, he was moderately intelligent and didn’t make many mistakes. As soon as Automedon relayed directions to the cave and inquired after the arranged provisions, he raced back to Nantucket, still not certain if the curse of the Furies had been entirely lifted or not. He was willing to take the chance and move forward with the plan either way, but it took him a full thirty-eight minutes to return and locate the Face.
At first, Automedon had looked for her at home, but found only her scent lingering heavily in the front yard. He could taste that she had not been alone, and that even the Outcast had been with her at her house. A brief glance at the ground told Automedon that there had been no confrontation, no Fury-induced fight. There was only one explanation for that.
The Descender had been successful! After so much waiting and watching, after so many generations had proved themselves unworthy, it was finally time. His master was right. All that she had needed was a little push, a little incentive to figure it out, and she had. This was no look-alike. This Descender was the princess he had been waiting for—the real Helen.
Fired up by this new victory, Automedon tasted the trails. They were still so fresh he could sense the emotions of the Scions who’d made them. There was nothing but brotherhood in the air—brotherhood and undying love. The taste of love rose, and then faded in the turbulent winds of the atmosphere. She must have flown away. The m
en had definitely run off together to the center of town, back toward the distraction that had been carefully orchestrated to occupy the small army of powerful Scions that guarded this new—and Automedon would swear before the gods—true Helen. So far, everything was going according to plan, except for the most important part.
Automedon held very still. He couldn’t afford to waste one movement. This was the event that three and a half thousand years had built. Everything was in order, everything was finally as it was always meant to be—except for one thing. He had to find Helen.
She wasn’t at the home of her mortal father. She wasn’t with the lover. She wasn’t at school. Unless Helen had left the island, which she almost never did, there was only one place left: the satellite dwelling of the House of Thebes in Siasconset.
Both of the twins were sleeping, one on either side of Jerry in the big, white bed that Helen herself had healed in after her fall with Lucas. Jerry looked pale and sunken, like he had been deflated. Lying on top of the covers and curled up like cats at the bottom of the bed, the twins had their eyes closed in restless sleep.
They were panting and their fingers kept tensing into claws, their brows wrinkling in unison as if they were sharing the same nightmare. The air in the room was baked dry as a desert. Helen knew that meant they were following Jerry around the edge of the dry lands, just outside the Underworld, trying to shepherd his frightened spirit back into his body. They were fighting like crazy, that was obvious, but they both were covered in sweat and paler than sheets of paper. Helen knew they wouldn’t last much longer.
Kate stood up from a chair in the corner and rushed to embrace Helen when she entered the room. As they hugged, Helen saw Claire sitting on the floor on Jason’s side of the bed. Claire gave Helen a wan look and stood up gingerly, like her legs had fallen asleep a long time ago. The three of them silently agreed to go down the hallway to another room before they had their talk, so as not to disturb the trio in the sickbed.