by Nicole Thorn
I realized then that Callie had vanished. A quick look around showed that she had gone over to stand next to Micha. He didn’t even look at her, but I still felt the urge to slide between them so that Callie wouldn’t forget that I existed. I walked over to them, trying to calculate just how to do that. Callie turned to look at me before I got the chance to do more than reach them.
She beamed at me, looking like a bright star. One that shouldn’t have been anywhere around me. I tried not to hunch my shoulders and back. “Are . . . are your parents all right?” I asked, scrambling for something to say. Anything, really.
Callie rocked forward on her feet, making a face. “Well, they’re not not okay. But I also wouldn’t say that they are okay. I think they’re minds are going squishy with all the information they’re getting. They didn’t believe I was the Oracle a week ago, and now they’re surrounded by demigods, gods, and creatures.”
“I take offense to that,” Micha said, holding a hand up. “I am not a creature. I am a Hunter and expect to be treated with the kind respect that someone of my station is supposed to get.”
“Didn’t you guys used to get chased out of villages with people screaming about witchcraft?” Callie asked.
“That’s hardly the point,” he said.
Callie turned back to me, rocking around on her feet some more. “Anyway, yes, I think they’ll be fine. They just need to get over everything that’s happened around them for the last few days. And get used to the fact that I’m spending time with you.”
“What did I do?” I asked, putting a hand on my chest.
“You’re a demigod,” Callie said. “That makes them nervous.”
“It’s not my fault,” I said. “That’s my father’s fault. He’s the one that was born a god.”
She smiled at me again, shaking her head.
“Ooh! The Princess Bride,” Medusa said. “Let’s watch that.”
“I thought we were going to watch Hercules,” Persephone said. “You know that’s my favorite movie.”
“Really?” I asked. “Hades is a pretty ineffectual bad guy in that.”
Persephone grinned at me, all her teeth showing. “Why do you think that’s my favorite movie? I claim the loveseat, so that Medusa and I can get some cuddling in.” She rubbed shoulders with the gorgon, who smiled back at her.
“If you grab a blanket, we can do more than that.”
“Children present!” Micha said, gesturing to me and Callie. The two of us glanced at each other. I didn’t think either of us felt like children. She had to listen to the gods have sex all the time, and I had grown up with a father that constantly took me out on adventures that would get me killed one day.
Persephone sighed, rolling her eyes. “I suppose that he’s got a point. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t watch both movies and cuddle, though.”
Callie sat down on the couch, another slice of pizza on a napkin in her hand. The pizza absorbed her attention so thoroughly she didn’t notice me leaping in front of Micha so that I could take the seat next to her. Micha raised his eyebrows at me, then sat down next to me, stretching his legs out. He grumbled something under his breath about having to watch children, but I didn’t pay much attention to him.
I didn’t pay much attention to the movies, too caught up in the things within my own head.
Mostly wondering why I cared so much if Micha kept sitting next to Callie. The Hunter hadn’t shown any interest in her, and I didn’t think he would. He seemed more interested in watching the movie, since he kept catcalling all the weird things that happened in Hercules. I felt like insulting even cartoon Hades played it fast and loose with his life.
I kept glancing at Callie, who looked so happy. She had company that wanted to spend time with her without any fringe benefits for once. I knew that her friends couldn’t have understood what they did to her, but I wished that they would pay more attention. Callie could’ve been this happy every day since meeting them, but instead, her eyes looked brighter now than they had since we first met. Her orange hair had been pulled back into a ponytail that barely kept it in check, and her dark eyes stayed focused on the screen. Medusa and Persephone would engage her in conversation every now and then, but she seemed content to just hang out with us.
She looked beautiful.
And with that thought, I finally realized why I didn’t want her spending any time with Micha.
I wondered if my father would be irritated to learn that I had developed feelings for his Oracle. His son and his Oracle. Yeah, that couldn’t have been something he wanted.
The second that I had realized it, I couldn’t shake the thoughts that came with it. Such as holding Callie’s hand again, or maybe even putting my arm around her. Kissing her, even if only on the cheek. One little peck that she probably wouldn’t think anything of. I would, since my brain never completely shut down and never gave me a break. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done something without thinking about it for at least thirty minutes.
Then the werewolf’s body popped into my head. The last time I’d done something on instinct, it had been to kill another living person who probably had a family out there. That was what happened when I did something without thinking. I devastated lives and ended some others.
Which meant that I couldn’t put my arm around Callie. First of all, she probably had no idea that I thought any of these things, which meant that if I acted on them, it would ruin what we had. She’d be weirded out, I’d be left alone, and then the entire world would be sad again.
I’d be stuck with only my mother for company. Until the day that my father got me killed. Oh joy, what wonderous things to look forward to if I ruined everything between me and Callie.
I shifted around, and she glanced at me, immediately smiling. “You okay?” she asked. “You haven’t been talking much.”
“Just tired. It’s been a day,” I said, and immediately felt like crap for lying to her. Callie deserved better than that. How could I ever hope to be anything to her when I started things off with a big lie? Oh, but telling her the truth would have been better? I thought about that and dismissed the thought of telling her the truth. It would only make things awkward, which would make life even harder for the two of us, everything would blow up . . .
And I’d be back to square one.
I couldn’t get out of this.
“It’s getting late,” Callie’s mother called from the stairs. “Maybe think about packing it in?”
Callie frowned. “We haven’t even gotten to bake cookies yet!”
Medusa smiled. “Ooh, we should do that now. C’mon.”
“But—”
“Yes,” Persephone said, speaking up louder so that the poor humans could hear what she had to say. “Cookies sound delightful.”
“Just consider going to bed before two in the morning,” Callie’s mother said, and then I listened to her as she headed back up the stairs. She sounded weary. I didn’t know how footsteps could sound weary, but somehow, hers did.
Callie grinned. “Double chocolate chip!” She leapt off the couch before Hercules defeated Hades in the cartoon, and headed into the kitchen. I got up as if every muscle in my body hurt and followed them.
I’d only gotten about a step before Micha said, “Hey, Aster?”
I paused, glancing back at him. He stood in front of the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. “Yes?”
“You and I need to talk.”
“That’s all right,” I said. “I think double chocolate chip cookies sound good.” I turned to head into the kitchen and made it one step. Micha grabbed me by the arm and started hauling me toward the door. I could have easily gotten away from him, but the thought of the dead werewolf kept me from making a move. Hunters were stronger than werewolves, but not as strong as demigods. I could easily hurt him by accident if I moved even a little too fast.
Despite how hard I tried to keep him and Callie apart, I actually didn’t mind Micha. I certainly didn’t want to
hurt him. And not just because Callie would think less of me if I did something like that.
He called into the kitchen as he dragged me toward the door. “Aster and I are going to check the perimeter real quick. Be sure to save me some cookie dough! I extract all my fees in sugary goodness.”
Callie appeared in the doorway, a nervous look on her face. “Is everything all right?”
“Certainly,” Micha said. “Just being thorough. While nothing would be able to break through me to get to you, I hate bringing out the big guns.”
Callie shook her head, a small smile on her face. I narrowed my eyes at the smile, then at the guy hauling me into another room. I knew my sudden urge to punch him in the face was irrational. I also knew that that didn’t matter and I still kind of wanted to do it. Gods save me from myself.
We got outside, and Micha closed the door behind himself. He finally let go of my arm and I stepped away from him. Much to my surprise, he started walking around the house, actually checking the perimeter. I hesitated, then fell into step behind him with my hands stuffed as far into my pockets as I could make them go. I kept my shoulders hunched, as if something were about to hit me. An old habit that I hadn’t manage to shake yet.
We had reached the driveway before Micha glanced at me. “Now, I’ve already had to tell Callie’s parents this, but I’ll tell you as well. I have no interest in dating or seducing Callie. First of all, she’s underage, and I don’t do that. I’m an eighteen and over kind of guy. Anything less, and it’s not my cup of tea. Second of all, I met her today. What kind of freak do you think I am? Third of all, it’s kind of hard to protect someone when you’re getting emotionally involved.”
I grunted. “I don’t know why you’re telling me this.”
Micha laughed so hard that it startled me. “You don’t know why I’m telling you this? Do you think I’m blind, kid? You were sliding between me and her every chance you got. Even when I wasn’t talking to her, you kept making sure she paid attention to you and only you.”
“I didn’t do that.”
“Yes, you did,” Micha said, snorting. “You’ve been such a pain in the ass since the second we met.”
“All right,” I barked. “Fine, whatever. I hear you. I’ll try not to be such a pain in the ass again.” I twisted the words around so that they sounded mocking. Which, admittedly, didn’t seem like the smartest move on my part. While I was a demigod, nothing kept me from getting myself killed through sheer stupidity.
Micha stopped, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way.”
“Yeah, everybody knows that ‘pain in the ass’ is really a compliment, and you shouldn’t take it seriously.”
Micha threw his hands up. “I’m just trying to tell you that I have no designs on your lady.”
“She’s not my lady,” I said.
“Really?” Micha asked. “Because you’re certainly acting like she is. You’re making such an ass of yourself, it wouldn’t surprise me if she booted you out of the slumber party. Let me tell you something, girls don’t actually like the big, jealous ape thing. They feel trapped, controlled, and distrusted when you do that. If you want Callie to be your lady, then maybe you shouldn’t act like she’s going to sleep with every dude around her.”
“I don’t think she’s going to do that,” I said.
“Again, you’re acting like—”
“I need to make sure she doesn’t forget I’m there!” I said, louder than I meant to. I managed to bring my voice back down, but not the angry tone that I used or the way that I kept shuffling me feet. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Micha either. “Right now, she likes me just fine, because I’m the only person she’s spending time with regularly. If anyone else comes in, then she’ll forget about me.”
Micha stared at me like I had grown a second head. “What?”
I shoved my hands through my hair hard enough that I felt the strands trying to give way. “She didn’t have friends before I showed up, and so she thinks that I’m fun to hang around.”
“And you think that if I spend time with her, she’ll realize that she was mistaken about you and . . . what? Take off?”
My hands went back into my pockets and I shrugged.
Micha continued to stare at me like I had become some interesting creature he found on the bottom of his shoe. That did wonders for me, it really did. “Why would she do that?”
“Why wouldn’t she?” I asked. “I screw everything up, no matter how hard I try not to. I might as well have a hammer that I use to break everything apart.”
“I’ve met demigods before,” Micha said. “Not a lot of them, admittedly, but enough. All of them have been arrogant and downright cocky when it came to how awesome they were. They’re also very emotional creatures, unfortunately. Kind of happens when you’ve got the gods as parents. There is no one more emotionally charged than a god. However, I’ve never met one that has no self-esteem.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” I grumbled.
Micha rubbed his forehead, sighing. “I still think you need to cool it before Callie doesn’t think you’re worth it anymore. She’s not going to forget that you exist. It’s kind of rude of you to think that of her.”
“That’s not it,” I said.
“Then what is it?” Micha asked, throwing his arms up.
I didn’t want to respond at first, figuring that he would berate me. It wouldn’t be the first time someone did that to me, after all. However, it made it obvious that he wouldn’t go away because I wished it of him either. “I don’t offer her anything,” I said. “Even those friends of hers, they don’t come by unless they want something, but they text her every now and then. They make it clear that they care about her. I can offer her the same thing, but she’s already got it. I can’t keep werewolves from killing her. I can’t get her parents to believe her. Nothing that’s happened to her since meeting me is because I did anything.”
Micha shook his head, looking up at the sky. “Gods curse whoever fucked with your head so much.”
“What?”
He started walking again and I fell into step behind him. Micha didn’t say anything for the first several minutes of our walk, but when he did say something, it was in the tone of someone who knew better than the person they spoke with. “You don’t have to give her anything. Only a truly vicious person keeps people around because they give them something worthwhile.”
I didn’t respond to that, because I didn’t believe it. Callie would realize that I didn’t bring anything to the table and she’d start to ignore me. She wouldn’t think that I didn’t need to bring anything to the table to be worth her time. No one thought like that.
Micha and I didn’t talk again as we walked around the house, looking for werewolves or some other nasty. When we didn’t find anything, we headed back to the house. The girls all stood in the kitchen with the first batch of cookies fresh from the oven. All of them seemed to be eating the molten hot cookies without any concern for if they would burn themselves. Persephone went as far as to say, “I’m a goddess and queen. This cookie will not get the best of me!”
We all ate enough cookies to make ourselves nauseous, and then we decided to head to bed. Callie slept on one side of Persephone and Medusa, while Micha and I slept on the other. To keep me and Callie apart, clearly. I didn’t get offended by this, figuring that her parents would prefer if the boys didn’t touch their daughter. I didn’t think her sleeping next to a gorgon would’ve made them feel better, but I didn’t bring that up, either.
Everyone else fell asleep pretty fast, but I couldn’t manage to get there. I kept rolling around, until Micha kicked me in the side hard enough to bruise. Then I climbed out of the makeshift bed and went outside to sit on the back porch. The early morning air felt nice, but really, I wanted to feel the sun rising. I hadn’t gotten a good feel for it since moving, what with the cloud coverage. I hoped that Apollo would clear some of those clouds for me, even though he didn’t normally do that kind
of thing.
I sat there for maybe ten minutes before Callie appeared, looking sleepy. She rubbed her eyes as she walked out and sat down next to me. I thought she looked adorable, with her hair standing straight up from her head in a crazy orange halo. “Are you feeling okay?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Just couldn’t sleep. My mind wouldn’t shut off.”
She scooted closer to me, making me think that maybe she was cold. I shifted so that I’d block most of the wind from hitting her and she offered me a smile in response. “Thinking about anything in particular.”
“Some things that Persephone said,” I responded.
“Like what?”
“Aren’t you tired of listening to the gods?”
She smiled at me. “It doesn’t matter if I’m tired of it or not. I’ve got a lifetime of this. There is no shutting them up.”
I thought about that for a second, then nodded. “I suppose that’s true. And you’ve listened to them enough to know things about them, then?”
Callie agreed. “I know enough that it makes me uncomfortable sometimes.”
“Do the gods ever really care about their children?” I asked her.
She frowned, cocking her head in thought. “Of course, they care. The gods have opinions on everything, even if those opinions are sometimes not great ones. Like that it’s fine if a few thousand humans die if that means they get what they want.”
A bitter smile appeared on my face, and I turned to look at the brightening sky. The sun would be up soon, and I still wanted to feel it. Even if it meant a little less to me right then than it had before.
“Did I say something?” Callie asked.
“No, you just confirmed something that I was thinking about,” I told her. Then I took her hand and she scooted closer to me, looking worried. The expression dropped soon, though, as we watched to see if the sun would break through the clouds today.