by Lisa Kessler
She pondered the question before answering. “It’s not impossible, I suppose, but the effect wouldn’t be as strong as if he were nearby.”
Ted rubbed the back of his neck. “When you say it’d drain him, would he be physically vulnerable? The muses somehow killed Philyra, so is it possible that Kronos could be killed if he were weak enough?”
She opened her bulky leather purse and pulled out a shard of crystal. It was about six inches long and although it wasn’t polished, but it still sparkled. The shaft was gnarled, crooked like it had once been fluid, and both ends were pointed and sharp. “It’s fulgurite.”
Ted shook his head. “Not ringing a bell.”
She held it up toward the setting sun and the shard glowed orange like smoldering embers. “Fulgurite is a crystal made by lightning striking sand, and this one was forged from a bolt sent down by Zeus. His lightning bolt struck the beach, and this piece still carries some of his divine power.” She held it out for their inspection. “I believe if we can weaken Kronos enough, I can bury the shard in his chest and pierce his heart.”
“Will it kill him?” Ted asked.
“I don’t know.” She tucked the crystal back into her bag. “But I believe it’s our best chance.”
“Good enough for me.” Malone made one more note on his phone and stuffed it back inside his pocket. “We need to figure this out soon. It’s going to be hard to keep the department in the dark much longer.” He glanced over at Mikolas. “Can you take Ted and Mrs. Zervos home?”
“Yeah.” Mikolas looked over at the truck about ten yards away. “I’ll go check on Mark and his wife, too.”
The detective nodded. “Thanks.” He offered his hand to Mrs. Zervos. “Thank you for helping us.”
She shook his hand. “Zeus always loved humanity; he was just fascinated by mortals. But I never understood his fondness until I lived among you. Although your lives are fragile, your hope is unbreakable.” The sunset reflected in her mesmerizing eyes. “I’ve known generations of Zeus’s daughters, and every muse has been a gift.” She released Malone’s hand and looked directly at Ted and Mikolas. “Protect them.”
Gavin sat down, not trusting his exhausted legs. “You’re telling me that Zeus, the god with lightning bolts, is in Crystal City?”
Clio shifted in her chair. “Yes. I gave him my word I wouldn’t tell anyone but Mason.”
“Why?” Tera’s voice squeaked. “Why wouldn’t he want us to know?”
Tera stood up, tears swimming in her eyes. It took all Gavin’s self-control not to take her into his arms and comfort her. Hell, he didn’t even know what was wrong, but seeing Tera in pain tore at his insides.
Tera’s attention stayed focused on Clio. “How could he let Polly die in that fire?” Her voice broke. “He could have saved her. I don’t understand.”
Clio got up and hugged Tera, her own voice a little shaky. “He told me his only advantage over his father is the element of surprise. If he uses his power, Kronos will sense he’s on this plane with us. All of humanity is depending on him defeating Kronos again.”
Gavin stared out the window while they clung to each other, his pulse thrumming. There had to be a way out of all this. He just wasn’t seeing it yet.
Tera stepped back, wiping her eyes. “So I guess we just get killed one by one while he waits for his chance to surprise Kronos?”
“No.” Gavin met her eyes. “We’ll find a way through this.”
She shook her head and sat on the couch again, but this time she was beside him. Before he realized what he was doing, he took her hand, and her fingers laced with his—tightly. Hope and responsibility mingled into a warmth radiating from his heart through his chest.
Clio returned to her chair. “Do you remember Zack, the man from the hospital when Erica had her baby?”
“Yeah.” Tera nodded. “He lives at Blessed Mary’s Village. Same place as Cooper’s grandmother and Lia’s poker group, right?”
“Yeah. And he’s Zeus.” Clio paused, allowing the information to sink in. “I figured it out at the hospital, but he made me promise not to tell anyone. He said he’s the only one who can stop his father, and if Kronos finds out Zeus is in our world, he’d lose the advantage.” She cleared her throat. “I’m telling you guys this because I trust you not to say anything.”
Tera chuckled, wiping her nose. “Shy girls are great secret keepers.”
“Wait a second…” Gavin frowned. “You’re both seriously okay with knowing there’s someone in Crystal City who is capable of beating this Kevin-Kronos guy and not dragging his ass in here to protect you?”
Clio glanced his way. “If Zeus is right, and surprise is the only hope of stopping Kronos, then we have to find another way.”
Tera met his eyes. “I know this sounds insane, but our calling is to inspire humanity. We’re not god-killers.”
“I get that.” He lost himself in her eyes for a moment. Dammit, he was not going to let anything happen to her. “But you’ve got to be able to defend yourselves, right?” Gavin ran his thumb along Tera’s hand as he shifted his attention to Clio. “At Callie’s place, you all voted not to tell Ted how you killed that other immortal. How about clueing me in?”
“Well…” Clio clasped her hands together. “You’re a Guardian, so I guess you need to know. Mason’s gift from the gods is Herculean strength.”
Gavin leaned forward. “So if Mason is strong enough to kill an immortal, can’t he take out Kevin?”
Clio shook her head. “Not exactly. There’s more to it than strength.”
Tera squeezed Gavin’s hand, drawing his attention to her. “Mason’s family line can be traced back to Greece—to King Lycaon. He’s a Lycan.”
Underworld and its sequels popped into Gavin’s head. “You’re saying that Mason is a werewolf?”
“A Lycan,” Clio corrected. “Werewolves shift with the phases of the moon. The sons of King Lycaon were cursed to be wolves by Zeus. They shift because of Zeus’s magic. So when Mason is a wolf, he’s more or less made of that magic and immune to the powers of the gods.”
Gavin raised a brow. “Why doesn’t he shift and end this mess with Kronos, then?”
Clio pushed her glasses higher up the bridge of her nose. “He was only able to kill Philyra because she threatened my life. As soon as I was in danger, the gift of strength came forward while he was in wolf form, and he decapitated her.”
Gavin leaned back against the sofa. “We’d have to bring Mason, in wolf form, to a confrontation with Kronos and then get the bastard to threaten you.”
“Something like that,” Clio admitted, “but with Kronos’s ability to manipulate time, he could paralyze us by slowing time or, worse, speeding it up. He could kill us without ever threatening me directly. Mason wouldn’t be affected as a wolf, but he also wouldn’t be superstrong, either.”
She was right. Gavin raked his free hand back through his hair. “We’re fucked.”
“We still have Rhea up our sleeves.” Clio forced a smile. “Lia told me that Rhea has a weapon made from some of the lightning that drove the Titans into Tartarus. She believes it can stop him.”
But what if it didn’t? Gavin looked at Tera. His cell phone interrupted that thought. He got up and circled the couch heading for the door as he pressed the “Accept” button on his phone. “Hey, Nate. Any luck?”
“No.” Nate cursed under his breath. “Is Tera with you?”
“Yeah.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Why?”
“Because we got Mark Gibb’s wife back.” His voice dropped a notch. “And she’s aged at least fifty years.”
Gavin’s heart stuttered. “What? How?”
“Apparently Kevin’s also the God of Time. He used her to send a message to the members of the Order—and us, apparently—that if they don’t obey him, he can wipe the human race out of existence in the span of a week. Or so he claims. Rhea says he’s bluffing. According to her, he has to focus on a person’s specific timeline
to have an effect on them, and he can’t maintain any changes if he’s not close to that person. He’d have to travel all over the world to follow through on his threat.”
Gavin nodded, keeping his voice down while Clio and Tera chatted on the couch. “He slowed time on us this afternoon. I could still move because of my gift, but very slowly. The strength of it did weaken after he left us behind, and the farther I drove from his place, it finally faded away.” Gavin went into the kitchen and added, “Tera’s mom was with him. I had to leave her behind.”
“Shit. He has some leverage now.”
Gavin shrugged, staring out the window. “Potentially, but I think he was just using her to lure Tera in to meet with him. It almost worked.”
It’d been way too fucking close to working.
“Keep me in the loop,” Nate said. “If Rhea is right and manipulating time weakens him, we might get a day or two of peace, but if he’s got Tera’s mom, you can bet he’s going to make another play for Tera.”
Gavin shook his head slowly. “Who is watching the other muse who doesn’t have a Guardian yet?”
“Trinity? She’s staying with Clio and Mason. Did Clio fill you in on him?”
“Oh, you mean how he’s a Lycan and killed an immortal?” Gavin chuffed. “This is all so far out there it’s tough to believe it even while I’m living it.”
“You don’t have to believe it. Just help us stop Kronos and get that theater opened.” Nate’s smile came right through the phone. “We’re lucky to have you on our side.”
“What is it with that theater? Tera tried to tell me about the original Les Neuf Soeurs, and I did some googling on my phone, but I’m still not following. I get that the great minds went there centuries ago, but why is the Order of the Titans trying so hard to stop it from opening now?”
“Long story, but the short version is that the immortal Mason killed also happened to be Kronos’s lover. She’d been involved with the Order since its inception, and when Belkin Oil started drilling offshore, she saw a chance to free her lover.”
“What’s that got to do with the muses?”
Nate cleared his throat. “Oldest motive in the book. She had a son with Kronos, and Zeus’s son killed him. She blames Zeus and has hunted his daughters for generations.”
“Making Zeus feel the loss she did.”
“Something like that. I was the first Guardian in this group, and I’ve come to believe when the muses open that theater, humankind is going to be inspired, and hope will be alive in this world like never before. It’s going to be a beacon, Gavin. We need to focus on that. We can’t control the gods, but we can help finish that building. Kronos won’t be able to stop humanity’s ability to create and dream. That’s true power. So next time you go over there, stand in the center of that stage and tell me you don’t feel it.”
Nate’s voice became distant as he shouted something to another officer. “I’ve gotta get over to the hospital and see what the docs come up with to explain Trish Gibb’s rapid aging. Be careful, and call me if you hear from Kevin.”
CHAPTER 14
Ted drove Mrs. Zervos back to Blessed Mary Village, trying to come up with something to say. What did you ask the Mother of the Gods?
“Do you miss your son?” he blurted. He groaned inwardly. That was a dumb question.
She checked her seat belt again. “Of course I do. But I understand his choice.”
“His choice?” He exited the freeway and stopped at the light. “What choice?”
“To leave this dimension.” She shook her head. “His father was too obsessed with the prophecy that his children would take his power. He was content to protect the world, but he had no interest in humanity. Zeus was the opposite. My son was bewitched by mortals. He couldn’t keep his distance from them, and his meddling made both realms rife with drama.” She glanced out the window. “Humans still tell the tales. Mythology, they call it. No longer can they imagine Olympus as a real place, but it was as real as you are.”
Ted had never been a history buff, but growing up around the Order of the Titans, he knew some of the stories. And she was right: they were stories. On some level, he’d never thought of them as true accounts of history.
Rhea looked his way as the light turned green. Something about her eyes had his heart racing. Eternity, the birth of the world, the rise and fall of civilizations—it was all there in her gaze. He forced himself to focus on the road.
“One day Zeus realized his interference was hurting both the gods and the mortals, so he used his lightning to divide the realms.” She folded her hands on her lap. “But even now, he still cares for humanity.”
“How do you figure that? Why isn’t he here right now?” Ted made a left into the Blessed Mary Village parking lot.
“Because his daughters, these muses, continue to live again every generation. Inspiration is in their blood, their souls, and their hearts. I’ve known many of them through the ages. My granddaughters…” She shook her head. “As long as they’re still in this world, a part of my son is, as well.”
Ted turned off the engine. “And the Guardians?”
“They’re proof of Zeus’s love for humanity, too. He knew by making the muses mortals, they were vulnerable, so their destinies are tied to men bearing the mark of the gods.”
Ted rubbed his forehead, thinking of the Greek billionaire. “Mikolas has the mark, but his muse was… Well, she’s dead. So his gift will never materialize.”
Her eyes sparkled. “How would he know if she’s dead? If he bears the mark, he should never stop searching.”
“He told me his grandmother is the Muse of Astronomy. This generation’s muse—”
“Nia.” She nodded. “Beautiful girl.”
Bitterness bubbled in Ted’s gut. “She was the first one the Order…eliminated.”
She turned to him, no trace of a smile on her face. “They murdered her. She wasn’t a contestant on one of those reality shows you mortals watch. She was a light in this world, and you ordered her to be killed.”
Ted pressed his lips together, fear tensing his muscles. How could Rhea know that? Did Lia tell her? Couldn’t be. He hadn’t confessed that he’d given the order, not even to Trinity. Or at least, he didn’t think he had.
Tentatively, he lifted his gaze to her face. “I’ve done things that I regret. I’m trying to make them right.”
“You reach for redemption, but can one who has hurt so many ever be redeemed?”
“I don’t know,” Ted whispered, staring out the windshield. “But I’m trying. That has to count for something.
She touched his shoulder, and Ted jumped. Her lips curved slightly. “You remember Mrs. Mardas and Mrs. Spanos, the Guiders of Destiny? They’ve been burdened with visions of the potential futures ahead of us since the dawn of Man. Those possibilities are constantly changing.” She reached for the handle on the door. “A choice is coming for you, Ted Belkin. It will come at a heavy cost.” She got out and looked down at him. “But your desire for redemption encourages me.” She slammed the car door and walked toward the building at a clip no woman her age should be able to muster.
Ted replayed her cryptic words over and over in his head as he drove home. What the hell was she talking about? It was probably one of those things that will only make sense at the right moment. Either way, it didn’t sound good.
Clio went home, and Tera quickly vanished upstairs. Gavin rolled his shoulders back and drew his gun. He’d make one last perimeter check around her building. Not that a bullet would even stop Kronos, but it was all he had. And now that Mark Gibb had his wife back, he wouldn’t be making a grab for Tera, so either Kevin would send someone else or he’d come himself.
Gavin rounded the corner of her building. Kevin still had Tera’s mother. He probably didn’t know about their strained relationship. For all the god knew, Tera might offer to trade herself to save her mother. And despite their toxic relationship, Tera might try to do just that. Gavin shook off the thoug
ht. For now, Kevin needed to recharge his power, and then they’d surely hear from him one way or another. Like Nate had said, they might have a day or two of peace.
He finished his sweep of the courtyard. Empty. Good. He holstered his Glock and went back to the condo, setting the alarm and engaging the dead bolt. He headed to the couch and pulled off his shoes, but all his attention was on the stairs.
Now that he was sitting alone in the silence, the improbable reality of the day settled on his shoulders. It wasn’t a stalker or an ex-boyfriend hunting Tera; it was an immortal who could control time itself. And ever since this morning, he’d been promising himself that once the threat was gone, he’d make everything up to Tera and do his best to mend the hurt he’d caused. He’d believed that by pulling back, he could be more focused on protecting her, but after today, he realized there was a very real chance there may not be a tomorrow.
He wasn’t willing to waste the time they did have. He got up and climbed the stairs. Pausing at the threshold, he rapped on the open bedroom door. “Tera?”
She came out of the bathroom in a purple nightshirt with NOBODY PUTS BABY IN THE CORNER printed diagonally across the front. She stopped brushing her long hair, her eyes wide. “Is everything all right?”
“No.” He shook his head, correcting himself. “Yes. I mean, there’s no one outside. We’re safe.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Good.” Then she crossed her arms like she suddenly remembered she was angry with him. “So why are you up here?”
“Because I need to tell you something.”
“It can’t wait until tomorrow?” She went back into the bathroom and returned without her brush. She leaned against the doorframe, her silky hair draped over her shoulder. “Today drained me.”
“Me too.” He locked his gaze on hers. “But this can’t wait.”
“Fine.” She walked over to her bed and sat on the edge. She didn’t invite him to join her, so he stayed put near the door.
Gavin cleared his throat. “I was an asshole this morning.”