David was my other worry. I didn’t know what had happened to him. No matter how much I begged Galilea to turn me over to the Council to see if they were responsible for David’s disappearance, she wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t bear it another day.
I knew that Galilea wouldn’t be happy about it, but at this point, I didn’t care what anyone thought. I was going back to Athens with or without her.
The door to Galilea’s room was cracked open. I was about to knock when I heard more than one voice coming from the other side. I lowered my hand and turned to leave, but then I overheard Olympia, Galilea’s cousin, raise her voice.
“I want her gone,” Olympia said.
“This is my house. I decide who stays and who leaves.”
“I can’t believe you brought her, knowing I was your guest.”
“Funny, I don’t remember inviting you. Besides, the reason you’re here is because you found out that Dahveed was coming.”
“You could have told me who she was six days ago. Don’t you think it hurts to find out that he chose someone else over me?”
“David and you happened eons ago, Olympia. Get over it. Suck it up and move on.”
Jealousy didn’t even begin to describe what I felt as I pictured David and the platinum blonde goddess together.
“Oh, you mean like you pretend to do with Galen?” said Olympia.
“You don’t know anything about my relationship with Galen.”
“I know he’s unfaithful. Everyone knows. He’s making a fool out of you. And he’s never going to marry you. Why don’t you suck that up and move on?”
There was a short silence.
“Olympia, if you weren’t my cousin, your teeth would be in my hand right now,” Galilea said.
“Threaten me again and I won’t care if I’m related to you—Cousin.”
Suddenly, I heard a clang on the door followed by a gasp. The gold tip of a knife had sliced through the wood.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” Olympia hissed.
“Believe it, baby. And get your fat ass out of my house.”
I heard footsteps approach the door. I didn’t have time to walk away and risk being caught eavesdropping, so I knocked. The door opened wide, and Olympia stepped out of the room. Her blonde hair sparkled even in the shadows. Without so much as giving me a glance, she walked past me, her hourglass figure swaying like a mermaid in the ocean. Then, with a shimmer she disappeared into nothing. She was gone.
Galilea, still in pajamas, stood from the bed and pulled the knife from the back of the door.
“Morning.” Galilea walked to her bed. “Did you get any sleep?”
“Not much.”
She picked up a book from her nightstand. I recognized the cover—Rockin’ the Heart by Gracen Miller. I would’ve never guessed Galilea was a bookworm.
“That’s a great book,” I said.
“It is. I wish I had more time to read.”
“Yeah, me, too.” I sat on the bed. “So, Olympia didn’t look too happy. What was that all about?”
“Don’t pretend. I know you heard. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her and David. I just didn’t want to add a catfight to the list of problems we already have.” She tucked the knife under a pillow. “I wanted—needed—to get her out of here. I don’t know how she found out David was coming. She’s been skeptical about the lies we told her since she arrived. She started asking questions. Thank Deus she’s gone.”
“I’m leaving, too.”
“What? No, you’re not.”
“I have to. I’m going back to Athens.”
“Isis…” Galilea closed her eyes. “They hate us. No one in that family is going to tell you anything about David.”
“What else am I supposed to do? I don’t even know if he’s alive.”
“Ahem.” Someone interrupted from the door. “Sorry to interrupt, but I can’t find the coffee filters.”
“Dr. Gunn.” What was he doing here?
“Good morning, Isis. Nice to see you’re still, uh…”
“Human?” I asked, and he nodded. “When did you get here?”
“Late last night. Miss Galilea picked us up at the bus station.”
“Who is ‘us’?” I looked at Galilea. For a minute, I thought he might be talking about one of David’s family members.
“I couldn’t leave my wife,” Dr. Gunn explained. “Plans were made with Miss Galilea over the phone on the day I visited you in Athens.”
“Have you spoken to the family since then?”
“No. We felt it was better to stop all communication until we were all here.” Dr. Gunn took off his glasses and cleaned one of the lenses with his handkerchief. “If I may ask, who is it that might not be alive?”
“David.” I felt my heart contract as I spoke his name aloud. “The last we heard, he was missing.”
“Oh dear.” Gunn’s blinking twitch set in. “I was afraid something like this would happen.”
Galilea and I exchanged a quick glance.
“Sharing is caring, Dr. G,” Galilea said. “Tell us what you know.”
“Well—I might be wrong by inferring,” the geneticist said, looking at me.
“You’re a genius,” I said. “Are your assumptions ever wrong?”
“This time, I hope they are. Otherwise, Gio Carboné may have already added a new piece to his collection.”
Why did his words make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end? I shivered.
“I think I told you this before. I know where Carboné lives. I can help you find him.”
***
Mrs. Gunn—Eileen, as she had asked us to call her—filled coffee cups at the breakfast table. She was one of those women that looked classy wearing no make-up, except for red lipstick and mascara. After introducing his wife, Dr. Gunn told us that she had been the head of one of the labs at Johns Hopkins University back in the States where they had met. Now, she was his research partner, a tidbit about his work he had never told anyone. The type of people he had become associated with in his research was the reason he kept it a secret. It turns out Eileen was a scientist, too. A biologist.
“This is useless!” I slammed my phone on the table. Not one of David’s family members would answer my calls. “I’ll find him on my own.”
“Are you crazy?” Galilea’s eyes widened. “If Carboné’s men don’t kill you, the Turpis... No way. Uh-uh. You’re not going. I won’t allow it.”
“You’re not my mother. I don’t have to ask for your permission.”
“I said no.”
“I. Don’t. Care.”
“No one can find you here. They can’t find any of us. It’s the only safe place for you, and I won’t let you go.” She squeezed my hand. “Promise me you won’t leave, Isis.”
“This house isn’t exactly small, Galilea.” Eileen set down her coffee. “Plus, it’s not like it’s invisible from the top of the hill it’s sitting on.”
Galilea raised her eyebrows at me. So that’s why Eros and my father hadn’t show up knocking on Galilea’s front door. They couldn’t find the house, because they couldn’t see it.
“Is that why you’re taking so long to heal—because you’re using all your energy to keep the block up all the time?” I asked.
Galilea nodded.
“I’m not following,” Dr. Gunn said.
“This house is a refuge,” Galilea said. “It was built for the one I was born to protect. It’s been here for over two thousand years. No one can find it because it’s invisible.”
“Is that even possible?” Eileen gave her husband a confused look, and Gunn shrugged.
“Trust me. It’s possible,” Galilea said, and then turned her attention to me. “Does that tell you how important it is that you don’t set a single foot outside?”
“No, not really.” I stood up. “You’ve been talking in riddles since we met. I haven’t heard a single explanation come out of your mouth about why you’re protecting me or how lo
ng you’ve been spying on me.”
“I can’t tell you why I’m protecting you because I swore an oath. You have no idea how big of a deal that is.” She looked down at the table. “And to answer your question, I’ve been following you since you left the States.”
I gawked at her.
“I didn’t tell you because I was afraid of how you might react,” she said. “I needed you to trust me. And judging by the way you’re looking at me, I know you’re having a hard time with that right now, but just this once, do what I’m asking. Stay.”
I considered Galilea’s request for a minute because of the urgency in her voice. But the sickening angst that I felt in my stomach when I remembered what twisted plans Carboné might have for David wouldn’t let me give in. I couldn’t just wait around and hope for the best, when I knew what type of sicko had abducted him. I was irritated that his family wouldn’t answer my persistent phone calls.
“Dr. Gunn, can you draw me a map to Carboné’s house?” I asked.
“Jesus Christ!” Galilea slammed her hand on the table. “What do want from me? You want me down on my knees? I’m begging you, Isis. Please, don’t leave this house. Please.”
“If you can give me a reason that outweighs David’s life, I’ll stay.” Galilea’s mouth opened, but she said nothing. “That’s what I thought.”
***
As I packed a change of clothes and other things into my backpack, I could hear Eileen’s voice down the hallway. It was coming from the library where the scientists had set up their computers.
“…her eyes.” I caught Eileen’s last words in the sentence. “Tobias told me she was changing, but I didn’t expect this.”
“You should learn to expect anything now that you know about her.” Galilea paused, “Well, about us.”
“You know, to Tobias and me, this is all like a dream come true,” Eileen said. “His hypothesis, all these years of research—the Prodigal Project as we call it—is based on the belief that your people and ours procreated and because of that DNA combination, geniuses, like my husband, are the outcome.”
“Looks like you’re pretty close to finding out the truth,” Galilea said.
“Would you be willing to tell us about your race?” Gunn asked.
“Dr. G, if we get out of this alive, I’ll give you whatever you want. Just keep working on a serum to slow the change. We need time. How long does she have, anyway?”
“Three days, if my calculations are correct. If there have been any triggers, the change may be sooner.”
“Her emotions cause her eyes to change. She doesn’t eat or sleep. She’s irritable,” Galilea said. “Is that what you mean by triggers?”
“Yes. Which means she may have less time than I estimated. Though we don’t have a final serum ready, we do have a trial narcotic that we believe may slow the change, but we’re unsure of the dosage.”
“What happens if you don’t get the dosage right?” Galilea asked.
“If it’s too low, nothing,” Eileen said. “But if it’s too high, she’ll go into cardiac arrest.”
That last sentence caught my attention. I tiptoed down the hall. Their backs were turned away from me as they all peered at a small glass vial with a yellow liquid in it that Eileen was holding up. She set the vial on a wooden rack. I tiptoed my way back down the hall and to my room.
A few minutes later, I heard steps clicking in the hallway, coming closer.
“You—” Galilea pointed at me as she walked into the room “—don’t know how to fight. You’re clumsy and impulsive when you’re nervous. You can’t tell a demon from your left foot. You’ll probably get lost on the way to Carboné’s place, and that’s if you don’t get killed on the way to Athens. And I bet your phone’s battery is about to die. From my point of view, you don’t stand a chance.”
“Gee, thanks for the motivating pep talk, Wednesday Adams.” I took my phone out of my pocket and glanced at it. It showed a sorry three percent left on the battery life. I plugged it into its charger.
“Unless…” Galilea tapped her chin with her finger. “Well, if you had a hot, kickass partner that came along to watch your back, then I think you’d be okay.”
“Forget it. Calling Eros is out of the question.”
“I wasn’t talking about him.” She frowned.
“I know you weren’t. Why can’t you ask if you can come?”
“Because I don’t want you to feel like I’m trying to manipulate you or boss you around like everyone else does. You think that I am, but I’m just trying to look out for you.”
I zipped my backpack and hung it on my shoulder.
“How do you know all this stuff about me?” I asked. “It’s like you know all my secrets.”
She pulled up her shirt enough for me to see the burns on her stomach were almost completely healed. From a string on her waist, there hung a red velvet pouch. She untied the knot on the bag and emptied the contents on her hand: five small rocks.
“These are my Stones.” She handed me one of the brown rocks. “They don’t look like much, but they help me see things. Important things. They led me to you.”
“So if they helped you find me, maybe they can help you see David. To find out where he is.” And then it dawned on me. “Wait, you already know this. You could’ve found out where he was six days ago, and you waited all this time?”
“Not with the injuries I suffered. I took a real beating. I had to regain my strength. But now…” She nodded. “I think I can manage it.”
I placed the brown Stone back in her hand.
“Then do it.”
Galilea curled her fingers around the Stones. “Under one condition.”
“I knew it,” I huffed. “You deities are all the same. What irrevocable deal do I have to make to get you to help me? You want one of my kidneys?”
“I don’t need a kidney. But…” She looked at the Stones in her hands, rather than at me. “I could use a friend—the real kind, not the kind that pretends to be. Not the kind that stabs you in the back or forgets about you when they find someone that’s more fun.”
“I’m confused.” I narrowed my eyes.
“About what?”
“It’s just—I thought we were already friends.”
“Thanks,” she said.
Galilea placed the Stones on the bed, and as if by some magnetic force, the rocks began to rearrange themselves. Symbols materialized on each Stone in the color of liquid fire. The irises of Galilea’s eyes disappeared, leaving in their place a white glossy canvas. Whispers filled the air, and Galilea stood immobile and unblinking for what seemed like a long time.
“I see David,” she said, at last. “He’s below ground level, in a cellar or dungeon. I’m not sure.”
“Is he—alive?” It was hard to get the words to rise out from my throat.
“Yes. The man I see next to him is smoking a cigar and wears a hat. I think it’s called a fedora.”
“That’s Carboné.”
“There are…” Galilea turned her head in all directions, “five men guarding him. But the Stones tell me there are more. Many more.”
Galilea’s eyes fluttered and her eyes returned to their normal state.
“What else did you see?” I asked.
“I saw you walking into the house, and then it ended.”
“That means we make it there alive. That’s got to be a good sign,” I said, and Galilea nodded. But something about the way she looked at me made me feel uneasy. “Is there more?”
“No. I’d better go get ready. I’ll be quick about it.”
***
While Galilea changed, I took the opportunity to peek into the library. It was empty. I walked over to the desk and looked at the vial that contained the tranquilizer narcotic that the scientists had fabricated. The sound of approaching footsteps caught my ears, and without deliberating further, I took the vial and shoved it in the front pocket of my jeans. I walked into the hallway and met Galilea.
&nbs
p; She was wearing black leather chaps over skintight jeans and a black leather corset. Her boobs were threatening to spill out. She had a different pair of boots than I was used to seeing her wear. They were knee-high combat boots with steel tips. She was hugging what looked like a pile of black leather against her chest.
“That’s what you’re wearing?” she asked, as if I were the one dressed for an S&M affair.
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
“Here.” She handed me a similar looking corset as hers. “Put this on.”
“Uh… I’d rather stick with my t-shirt.”
“We can’t take chances. This baby is bullet proof.” Galilea knocked on the leather corset.
“Can I wear my shirt over it?”
“No need. You can wear this instead. It’s a whole outfit.” She dropped the pile of leather in my hands. “I’ll be waiting for you in the foyer. Dr. G is already drawing out the map for us. Don’t take too long.”
I returned to the bedroom. I laid out the items on my bed: the black leather corset, a pair of knee-high, black pointy boots, a black jacket, and a black holster that wrapped around the waist and thigh.
When I was finished dressing, I looked in the mirror. I looked like the Terminator’s harlot.
“Galilea.” I stood in the foyer hugging my backpack to my chest, trying to hide my overexposed chest. “About this outfit…”
“What about it?” she asked, taking the backpack from me. “Whoa! You look hot! Now you’re ready to kick some serious ass. But you’re missing one thing.” She slipped a gold blade out of her boot and tucked it into the holster pocket on the side of my thigh. “There.”
“I don’t feel comfortable wearing this,” I said, trying to pull up the top of the corset.
“But you look great.” Galilea circled me. “Doesn’t she look great, Eileen?”
“You both look—very—uh—” Eileen looked at her husband. “Tobias, what’s the word I’m looking for?”
“Determined,” Dr. Gunn said.
“Are you sure you can handle this?” Eileen asked.
“I’ve been in major wars. I’ve fought demons and gods alike.” Galilea put on a pair of dark glasses. “This is nothing.”
“And you, Isis?” Eileen asked.