by Nicole Thorn
His eyes went wide, maybe realizing how he had been holding me up. “S-sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s okay,” I assured him. “I jumped you after all. I gave you no warning before I did it, and I think I kinda don’t mind you touching my butt. I also wouldn’t mind it if you wanted to play with my hair a little too. That would probably feel really nice. You can play with my hair while we watch a movie. Then you can touch my butt more if opportunity strikes.”
Aster breathed out, trying to laugh. “I don’t know about that.”
“That’s okay, because I do. We should leave now. We can do hair playing before we get back to sleep. You wanna set me down so I can walk?”
He smiled at me. “Nah, I’ll carry you. If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t.” I leaned forward, kissing the tip of his nose before he started walking me out.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Busted
Aster
MICHA, CALLIE, AND I sat at the breakfast table. The morning had been . . . weird. I couldn’t help but feel happy that Callie cared so much. I didn’t think my mother had been all that bad the day before, but based on their reactions when I said this, I was the only one who didn’t think that. Micha had put his hand on my shoulder, looked at me with sad eyes, shook his head, and wandered off. I didn’t have any idea what that meant, but I figured nothing good.
When we got to Callie’s house, her parents had still been in bed. She’d dragged me into the kitchen so that she could get me something to eat despite my protests. Then she realized that she didn’t know how to cook, and we all sat down at the table to discuss where to go from there.
“I’m just saying that I could make us all some eggs,” I said. “I’m a good cook. Well, I’m not amazing at it. I probably couldn’t get a job at a restaurant, not that I would want to. I get enough yelling in my life already. But I’m a decent cook. Okay, I do on occasion have a problem with too many herbs, but I’m an okay cook.”
Micha cleared his throat. “Dude, stop talking before you convince yourself that you can’t cook at all.”
I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. “I mean . . . My mom likes how I cook. I’m sure that’s not just because she’s my mother.”
He snorted at that. “With that dragon, I think it’s more likely that she’d tell you that your food tastes like sawdust than given an undeserved compliment.”
“I could probably make something edible.”
Micha sighed, shaking his head.
Callie slapped her hands on the table, drawing our attention to her. “You can’t cook, Aster.”
I sighed. “I know.”
“She’s not saying that you’re a bad cook,” Micha said, exasperated. “How would she know when you haven’t made anything for her.”
“Should I have?” I asked, turning to look at Callie. “Because if you like that kind of thing, I could probably whip up something tolerable. I made triple chocolate cake once, and while I didn’t get a taste of it, everyone in my class thought that it was all right. They ate it, at least.”
“Triple chocolate cake?” Callie asked, her eyes losing some focus.
“Yeah,” I said. “Chocolate cake, with chocolate icing, and fudge filling.”
Her eyes closed as she made an mmm sound. “I mean, I wouldn’t object to you making something like that.”
I started to get up.
Micha put a hand on my shoulder and started to push me back into my seat. I allowed him to do this, because the Hunter hadn’t done anything untrustworthy. So, I figured that he had a good reason for it. “You’re not making chocolate cake before the sun comes up. That’s not something that I can condone, I’m sorry.”
Callie shook her head. “You can’t cook,” she said again, this time with more authority in her voice. “You are a guest, and as such, it’s my job to make sure that you have food. Not your job to provide it.”
“I’m not a guest. At best, I’m an inconvenience. At worst, I’m a freeloader. You should let me make you some eggs, so that I can earn my keep around here.”
“You don’t have to do anything of the like,” Callie said, starting to get up. “You don’t see Micha saying that he needs to earn his keep.”
“He is earning his keep,” I argued. “He’s keeping you safe. His very presence is probably preventing something from attacking you right this second.”
“It’s true. I’m so dangerous that the sight of me would put monsters off.”
“See.”
Callie frowned. “Well, I didn’t ask him to do that or come here. Not that I’m unhappy to have you around.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I know you’re thrilled,” Micha said, smiling.
“But I did ask you to come over,” Callie said, back to me. “In fact, I knew that you would come over, because I wasn’t going to give you much of a choice. Therefore, it’s even more my job to make sure that you have something to eat.”
“Okay, yeah, but I’m going to be eating your food,” I said. “The food that your parents provided for you and your guests. It would be wrong of me to take up that food and not even offer to make some kind of a meal too. Do you know how much a demigod can eat in a day?”
“I do,” Micha said. “It’s more expensive to keep a demigod than it would be to keep a tiger.”
“How do you know that?” Callie asked.
“Oh, well, I can’t tell you that.”
We both stared at him.
He shrugged. “How am I supposed to maintain an air of mystery if I tell you all my best stories now? It would ruin how you guys feel about me, your unstoppable, infallible protector.”
“Infallible is a bit much,” I said.
“I’d love to hear a story about a tiger,” Callie said.
Micha shrugged. “Maybe I’ll tell you one later.”
I just stared at him, forcibly stopping myself from sliding between him and Callie again. Mostly because it would require me getting out of my chair, moving around the table, scooting Callie over, and then taking a seat. I just didn’t see a way to do that without drawing attention to myself. I always drew attention to myself. It came with being over six feet tall and about as awkward as a porcupine trying to go through a balloon store.
I thought of Micha telling me to cool it the other night. Logically, I knew that he wasn’t the type to tell me he had no interest in a girl to get me out of the way. Yet, I couldn’t shake the certainty that Callie would be more interested in him than in me. Even if she jumped me in my room and had almost toppled me over onto the bed.
Even if she had come to kidnap me because she didn’t like how my mother acted. Those facts should have mattered more, but there was still this voice in the back of my head, saying that I wouldn’t be good enough. I’d never be good enough. I’d die if I kept going off with Apollo, I’d suffer greatly if I didn’t learn how to keep my head down, and no matter what, I’d be nothing compared to other demigods. That voice screeched whenever I got near Callie.
I rubbed the back of my head. Clearing my throat, I said, “Can I just cook breakfast? Please?”
Callie sighed, then her eyes went distant. I wondered if she listened to one of the gods in her head, or if she got distracted by a stray thought. Finally, she reached across the table, and touched my hand. “All right. You go make breakfast. But you don’t get to cook lunch.”
“Deal,” I said, hoping that I’d be able to worm my way out of it later.
Callie’s parents had stocked their fridge recently, so I had everything that I needed to make a big breakfast. Good thing too, because I felt certain that Hunters ate almost as much as demigods did. I started with the bacon, since that would take the longest time to cook. Callie and Micha talked while I worked. I’d tried to interject myself into the conversation every now and then, but I usually just said something stupid that sounded awkward.
Somehow, the topic of names came up. Callie told us that her parents named her after some great aunt that she never met. Then
Micha told us all the different ways people pronounced his name, because it apparently wasn’t spelled the way most thought it should have been spelled.
“What about you,” Callie asked me as I started taking the biscuits out of the oven. They smelled buttery and great. I hoped that it would distract Callie, so I started putting food on the table. She didn’t seem distracted, though. She grabbed a biscuit and a piece of bacon but kept her focus solely on me.
I slid into my seat at the table as well, staring out at the veritable buffet that I had made, enough of everything to feed everyone in the house.
“Do you know why your mother named you Aster?” Callie asked, piling her plate with different foods.
“Uh . . . yeah,” I said, and immediately wished that I’d lied. While part of me didn’t want to ever lie to Callie, because she would be heartbroken if she found out, the rest of me thought it would have been better in this scenario.
She looked at me, her eyes bright with curiosity.
I glanced at Micha, who also watched me.
Sighing, I said, “It’s short for disaster.”
Callie’s hands flew up to her mouth immediately, and I tried to reverse some of the damage that I had done. “It’s not as bad as it sounds, really. It took her like a week or two to figure out what to call me, and apparently, I ruined a lot of things before she figured it out. Demigod babies are hard to handle.”
Callie opened her mouth, her eyes angry, but never got to say anything. Her parents rounded the corner and spotted me there. “What is he doing here?” her father asked immediately, turning to stare at his daughter with narrowed eyes.
“I kidnapped him and he’s going to live with us now,” Callie said. “Would you like to join us for breakfast?”
I’d never seen a man turn so many different colors before, but Callie’s father managed it. He reeled around until he eventually managed to collapse into a chair. “You kidnapped a demigod?”
“Well, she snuck into my room wearing all black and asked me to leave with her,” I said. “Not really a kidnapping.”
Callie’s mother started to rub her husband’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, but what on earth possessed you to do that?”
“His mother is a bitch,” Callie said.
I almost choked on my biscuit while Micha laughed, shaking his head. “You should really join us for breakfast before everything gets cold. It’s delicious.”
“You’ve kidnapped a demigod,” Callie’s father said, rubbing his eyes and staring off into space. “You’ve kidnapped a demigod. Who’s your godly parent again?”
“Apollo,” I said.
He closed his eyes, looking up at the ceiling. “The sun god. The god of medicine. He could poison us. He could fry us alive, if he wanted to.”
“Dad hasn’t fried anyone alive in almost twenty years,” I said.
Callie nodded. “That’s true. The last time he did it, Zeus got really mad at him and told him that he wouldn’t get a second warning.”
Her mother stared at us like we had all lost our minds. Then, with a deep breath, she said, “He will not stay in your room.”
“What?” her father said, staring at his wife.
“Are we supposed to kick him out?” her mother asked. “I feel like that would offend his father more than Callie kidnapping him. Think about it. No, he’ll stay here until he gets bored and takes off. He can share Micha’s room. Until then, we’ll just eat breakfast with them. With a demigod and someone who hunts werewolves for a living.”
“Oh, not just werewolves,” Micha said. “I’m actually quite talented at killing many things.”
Callie patted his hand, and I tried not to stare at the brief contact. “That you are, Micha. And Mom, you’ve probably eaten in the same restaurant as demigods a thousand times and never even knew it. There are a lot of them. Zeus has never been good about keeping it in his pants. Just be happy that Aster isn’t one of his children.”
“I don’t know, creating storms might be cool,” I said, frowning. “Instead, I can only light up a room and draw real good.”
“You light up a room all right,” Micha said.
I glowered at him.
Callie’s parents both looking dazed. I got the feeling that they wished they could forget everything they had learned in the last week or so. They ate robotically and wouldn’t look at me for longer than a few seconds. Until I wondered if I had something on my face.
Callie took a strip of bacon, grinned at me, and said, “Thank you for breakfast, Aster. It’s delicious.”
I didn’t believe her.
***
The next three days passed without much happening. My mother called, but Micha had taken the phone before I could say more than hello. He’d insulted her while lounging back in a chair, twirling a knife in his hands. That didn’t make me feel good about her safety, but I chose not to say anything. After twenty minutes of trading insults, Mom had hung up and I hadn’t heard from her since.
Callie’s parents had calmed down somewhat when nothing more came to kill us. I figured that wouldn’t last forever, but I also figured that we didn’t need to tell them that. Much to my shame, I actually liked it a lot at Callie’s. The two of us played cards for nearly four hours one day, neither of us paying much attention to the actual game. We had been talking. I’d told her of the time that Apollo had kidnapped me from a school trip to the zoo so that he could show me chimera, pegasi, griffons, and other assorted animals. Only about half of them had tried to eat me, so I figured that I’d made out pretty nicely on that deal.
Callie talked about what her life had been like when she was purely human and didn’t know the Greek gods existed. She said that it felt like the moment before you woke up completely. You knew the world around you existed, but you could still fall back asleep if you wanted to.
I’d also continued cooking for everyone, despite her protests. Her parents seemed to enjoy my food, and no one complained when I make steaks for dinner one night. Micha had three of them, and I worried for his health by the end of the meal.
Of course, since we’d been sharing a room, Micha and I had been spending time together too. His arrogance could actually be amusing. With even half his confidence, I’d never spout another awkward word in my life.
The three of us sat outside in the grass. Callie had said something about a picnic. She’d called her friends to ask if they wanted to join, but they were busy doing something else. They hadn’t told her what, but I’d heard the conversation. The Jasmine girl she spoke with sounded genuinely upset that she couldn’t come have a picnic and promised some kind of get together at another date.
These friends of Callie’s all seemed like nice people, but people that didn’t have time for friends. I didn’t know what that meant for Callie, but at least she had me around now.
“Okay. I’ve got a question,” Micha said, putting his hands up in the middle of one of my stories. Calle had asked me to tell her one of Apollo, so I’d launched into that time he’d decided to teach me how to steal. He said that while stealing was Hermes’ department, he wanted to make sure that I could do it too.
“Shoot,” I said.
“After all these times where you’ve almost died, why didn’t you ever ask your dad to take you somewhere less dangerous? I mean, I get that you couldn’t have told a god that you didn’t want to go off with them, but you seem pretty willing to follow Apollo blindly, anywhere he wants to go.”
I opened my mouth to answer, then had to pause for a moment to think about his question. “I don’t know,” I said. “It never occurred to me before.”
“So, the next time he shows up, you’ll tell him to bugger off?” Micha asked.
I didn’t say anything, because I knew that I wouldn’t. As pathetic as it sounded, I only got to spend time with Apollo during those random adventures. I’d lacked any kind of parental bond for my entire life. My mother and I weren’t close, and Apollo had barely been there for the first half and only sporadically there fo
r the second half of my life. So, as pathetic as it sounded, I’d probably go off with Apollo even if his plan involved sending me off the side of a mountain, into a valley filled with flesh-eating horses. That didn’t mean I had to admit it to someone I barely knew.
Luckily for me, before the pause became too long, Callie’s back straightened, and her eyes lost their focus again. After living with her for three days, I’d learned that this happened whenever one of the gods directly talked to her. She could hear them speaking in her head pretty much constantly, but they rarely spoke directly to her. Hermes did it at least once a day, usually to make a prank-call. Callie didn’t seem bothered by this, but I figured that wouldn’t last.
Callie’s face scrunched up.
“What are they saying?” I asked.
“They said something about . . . incoming?” Callie said.
About two seconds later, the air popped loud enough that my ears protested. Someone stood in the middle of the yard, crouching as if they had jumped and landed on their feet. The man looked up, and his features immediately felt familiar to me. It took me a few precious moments to recognize them as Hermes’ features. At least, what he chose to look like at the moment.
A demigod, son of Hermes.
He looked a few years older than me, in his early twenties, but he could have been a thousand years old. His eyes certainly seemed older than that. He had black hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and his eyes were sea-green. He had the kind of lithe body that usually indicated running.
Micha had gotten onto his feet in a second, his bow out and pointed at the intruder.
The man held his hand up, lowering his head slightly. “I don’t mean any harm, Hunter. I’d just like to speak with the Oracle.”
Micha didn’t lower his weapon. “Who are you?”
“I’m none of your concern.”
“Um, he’s pointing a bow at you,” Callie said. “He’s definitely your concern. And if you don’t think he’s your concern, then Aster might be more up to your speed.” She gestured at me, while I tried not to panic. I knew that she hadn’t meant to put me in the spotlight, but she had certainly managed to do so.