Games of Zeus 02- Silent Echoes

by Aimee Laine

  Cupboards opened and closed. Tupperware burped. “All right, then. The rest are on the stove.” Rubber-soled shoes squidged their way toward the door.

  Taylor took a deep breath, and two clicks later, silence filled the room.

  A crow winged into the air.

  Another chime from the doorbell tinkled through the space. Mama can let herself back in. Another ring had Taylor clambering up and heading toward the door as the bells sounded a third time. She grabbed the handle and yanked open her barrier to the outside world.

  Emma and Lexi stood on the other side. “Hi,” they said together.

  Taylor faked a smile while inside she cringed. “Come on in.” The idea of having guests didn’t appeal to her, but ingrained training-by-Janet-Marsh kept that tidbit of information from surfacing.

  The two of them exchanged looks before walking in, grabbing Taylor’s arms and pulling her from the house.

  “Hey! What’re you doing?”

  In the middle of her driveway sat a stretch limo.

  Taylor dug in her heels as her two so-called friends dragged her farther. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where you’re taking me.”

  Behind the limo, Tripp’s car sat, idling, and her mother stood at her own car, the door wide open.

  “Seriously. What are you doing?”

  The driver of the stretch stepped out, walked to the back and held open the door.

  Taylor yanked herself free. “Stop it right now.”

  Emma and Lexi both let go, though the smiles upon their faces remained.

  “He left me, remember? He thinks he’s going to repeat a cycle and kill me.”

  They both stood with their arms crossed over their chests.

  “Hello?” Taylor snapped in front of their faces. “Anybody home?”

  A giggle came from her mom.

  “It’s been a week and a half, Taylor.” Lexi broke the silly standoff. “We gave you the week to get your wits about you. We gave Ian a week to get over himself. The extra few days have been just plain silly.”

  “Martyrdom is just not fashionable these days.” Emma mirrored Lexi’s stance, though the small hump on Lexi’s stomach had her standing out more than her sister.

  “Ian’s not going to kill you,” Lexi said.

  “And, you would know this how?” Taylor ran a hand through her hair. “You’re the one who pointed us to the photo. We have the rings, and we know about the game that ends in my death. Or his.”

  “Yes, we know.” Lexi bobbled her head to each shoulder before righting herself again. “But Ian’s not that kind of guy.”

  “Do you really believe he’d do that?” Emma asked. “Truly?”

  Taylor heaved a sigh. “Of course not. And, I told him so.”

  “I told you before that you’re meant to be together, and I’m never wrong, Taylor. I know this is right for you and Ian,” Lexi said.

  “Oh, well then. Since you said so …” Sarcasm coated her words. “I doubt he thought he would kill me in previous lives, either. But, when all is said and done, the evidence is kinda conclusive. I do have to agree with him, even if I don’t think he’ll do it again.”

  “It’s circumstantial, and I can understand his position, but I swear to you …” Lexi tapped her foot on the ground. “… this is not the eighteen hundreds, not a time where races are separate, not a time where men dictate the rules and lives of women. That was then. This is now. That’s a major game changer.”

  “And, you think lives and circumstance change the path we’re on?”

  Emma and Lexi turned toward each other, Emma facing Taylor again first. “Let me tell you about what you think life will be like and what you can do to change the course of it. My sister here …” She thumbed over her shoulder. “… She and her man are living proof we humans can screw over Zeus. ‘Cause he is the instigator behind all these riddles and games. Not for a minute did I let Lexi wallow in the inherent conflict in her life—and let me tell you, it was just as bad as yours but in a completely different way. Now … she fought me as much as she did Tripp, but as you can see, they are together, godly Greek conflict or not. So, hell yeah, I think you can change your path.”

  Taylor hadn’t yet learned what exactly happened to Tripp and Lexi, except that it related, somehow, to her and Ian. “But, it’s not the same.”

  Emma stuck her hands on her hips. “Why? Because they knew what they were walking into? And you don’t? Dude, so not true. That was even harder for them because Lex couldn’t wrap her head around the solution even when it punched her in the face.” Emma took a deep breath. “So … when I say ‘you can change your path, young grasshopper’, I mean it. I believe it. You just don’t let the past screw with you. Take it by the balls and yank it.”

  Taylor spurted a laugh, hiding it behind her hand. “But—”

  “She doesn’t believe us,” Lexi said.

  Emma shook her head. “Time to bring out the big guns.”

  “Do you know who Metis is?” Lexi smiled as she asked.

  “No.”

  “She was Zeus’s wife,” Emma started. “The most important woman in his life, in fact. She meddled just like Zeus did, but not in the same way. He screwed with humans. She screwed, ha ha, literally, with him.” When Emma stopped chuckling, she said, “Her name alone means wisdom and cunning. For example, she was the one who gave Zeus a nice, little liquid concoction so he’d make Kronos throw up Zeus’s own brothers and sisters. Gross, but that’s what we women do. We look out for each other. For our futures. For our children. For love.” Emma let out a long, sarcastic sigh. “Every mythological loophole comes from her. That includes her ability to give gifts.”

  Lexi added, “Like fire, water, earth and air. Or mental gifts like Tripp and I have. Or whatever.”

  That had been the first real time Lexi had defined her gift. Had Ian told her about Taylor’s? She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Wouldn’t I know if I had a way to fix this?”

  Emma held her palms up to the sky and waved. Lexi blew a breath.

  “You know,” Taylor said.

  They both shrugged.

  “You think the fact I can manipulate air is somehow related?”

  They both nodded at the same time, in exactly the same way.

  “He loves you, Taylor,” Lexi said. “But, he’s just as stubborn as you. If he says he’s going to keep away? He will. He doesn’t break his own rules.”

  “If you want to give this thing you got goin’ on a chance?” Emma waved a finger in the air. “Then, you gotta take the boy by the balls and tie ‘em in a knot about your finger and just hope to hell what Metis gave you will fix it all. If anything happens.”

  “But how is air going to help me not die? I mean, besides the obvious?”

  Lexi and Emma squished up their noses at the same time.

  “Ya’ll do that a lot, don’t you?” Taylor pointed at one and the other and back.

  “So we’re told,” Lexi said. “Just remember, I know you’re meant to be together. I have no idea how it’s going to happen, I just know it. And, I’m never wrong.”

  Taylor put her hand on the limo’s frame but didn’t enter. “What if it all turns out to be true? What if he does kill me, and I have to live all the rest of my lives … to infinity … miserable? How am I supposed to deal with that?”

  “You can either believe Lexi or my magic eight ball. It came up with ‘All signs point to no’,” Emma said as Taylor rolled her eyes. “What if this is part of the roller coaster ride, and this time you’ve figured it out before it can all blow up in your face? Are you really going to give up a chance to try? Isn’t that what life is all about? You’re born. You die. In between, you do … stuff. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Don’t let a Greek god screw with you more than he has. Lexi and Tripp are a testament to that.”

  “You’re being very cliché today, Em.” Lexi nudged her sister’s hip. “In your heart, Taylor—deep in there—do you really think Ian is going to hur
t you?”

  Taylor didn’t believe it. She never had. That mental picture had never come to her like the rest of her past-life memories. She shook her head as she whispered, “No. But—”

  “No buts!” Emma and Lexi said together. Lexi pushed Taylor inside the car. “Sometimes, you’re the lemon and sometimes, you make lemonade. Now get in the limo, and go squeeze the fruit.”

  Taylor chuckled, having absolutely no idea as to the relevance of Emma’s comment.

  “The limo will take you to the airport,” Lexi said. “The plane is waiting. There’s a service that will meet you at the FBO for a ride to Ian’s place. And, here’s a key just in case you need it.”

  “Why—”

  Emma’s glare stopped Taylor.

  She glanced at her sweats, T-shirt and flip-flops.

  “His brother Michael is helping us.” A grin shot across Emma’s face. “So, don’t even worry about Ian not being there or anything.”

  “What if the lemon is too sour?” Taylor hoped she’d used the analogy in context.

  Lexi laid her hand on Taylor’s shoulder. “Then you add some sugar.”

  Taylor burst out a laugh as she dropped to the seat, and the limo driver closed the door.

  • • •

  Michael grabbed the door and slammed it shut. “Sit down already.”

  “Damn you.” Ian stared at the flat panel in the apartment he’d once thought he’d have to give up. Michael had been bossing him around for an hour, and despite his half-witted comeback, Ian didn’t have anything better to do than pick a fight.

  Michael plopped back on the couch. “I said sit.”

  “No.” For all that happened the week before, a year could have passed, and Ian not have known it. He paced to the window, where the late afternoon sunshine sifted through.

  “Your pacing has got to stop.” Sound ceased from the television.

  Ian spun to his brother. “What do you want me to do, Michael?”

  “Anything but this. This—” He waved his arms up and down Ian’s form. “—isn’t you.” Michael stood and marched toward the kitchen, rifled and returned. “Look at this.” He held up a blue, button-down dress shirt.

  “What about it?”

  “It was on the counter. The counter, Ian. You don’t leave stuff like that out. You’re meticulous. You’re anal retentive.” Michael shrugged. “You value your stuff, respect it, take care of it. You’re who I aspire to be, but man, today? You’ve been thoroughly distracted. And wrinkled. And … and just not you. Why?”

  I’ve been thoroughly distracted for almost two weeks; you just weren’t here to see it. “I need to get away.” Long strides took him to the door.

  Michael jumped into Ian’s path.

  “Move,” Ian said.

  “No.” Michael crossed his arms over his chest.

  Ian tried to step around his brother.

  Michael moved into his way again, his chin lifted. “It’s Saturday. It’s sunny. You can even smell the disgusting hot dog vendor on the street as he clogs up all the arteries I’m gonna have to fix one day.”

  “I said move.” Ian forced firmness into his tone. The head shake from Michael broke Ian’s resolve. He stepped to Michael, wrapped his arm around his neck and tugged him into a headlock.

  “Shit, man.” Michael’s hands grasped at Ian’s forearms.

  “You gonna let me leave? That was your recommendation last time I was trying to get some blonde chick off my mind.”

  Michael chuckled. “And look how that turned out.”

  Ian tightened his hold.

  Michael’s foot slipped between Ian’s legs. A second later, the two crashed to the ground.

  Ian let go, scrambled to Michael’s upper body again until he ended up within Michael’s clutches. “Son of a bitch! When did you get so strong?” Ian pulled at his brother’s hands but didn’t succeed in moving either of them.

  Michael’s body flailed until he managed to flip them over. “I wrestled in high school. Don’t you remember, or have you gotten too old?”

  At Ian’s snort, Michael relaxed his hold just enough for Ian to grab his leg and tug at it. If anyone saw them, they’d have to wonder at the contorted mess of limbs the two of them created.

  Michael’s squeeze pulled at Ian’s hamstrings. “Too much for you, old man?”

  One knock and both turned their heads to the door.

  A grin crossed Michael’s features. “Cry uncle, and I’ll let you go.”

  “No.” Ian stretched his arm, capturing the hem of Michael’s jeans.

  Michael zipped his foot away, bending into a position Ian couldn’t even describe. Another knock forced them both to look up, though Ian’s position made it difficult to do so.

  “Gonna answer that?” Michael asked.

  “No,” Ian said.

  “Well, we need a tie breaker, so whoever is on the other side gets dibs.” The doorbell chimed through the apartment, and Michael drew in a breath. “Come in!”

  “The door is locked.” Ian lightened his hold, intent on rising.

  Michael grabbed and tugged him into a crouch. “Oh, no. You’re not getting away that easy. Come in!” he said again.

  “Why—”

  The door creaked an inch. A foot. It opened wide.

  Taylor stood in the empty space, her hands over her lips. “Well, well, well.” She jangled a key, pursing her lips as if to hold back a grin. Neither Ian nor Michael let go, though Ian’s heart did a flip-flop. “This isn’t quite the welcoming committee I was expecting.”

  “Oh no, don’t you stop.” Michael’s grip tightened around Ian’s arms.

  Chuckling, Taylor closed the door behind her and dropped to the arm of the couch. “Need a ref?”

  “Yeah,” Michael said as Ian said, “No.”

  More laughter came from her. “You two have reputations to uphold, and I didn’t think wrestling on the floor was going to fit it, but now I see it suits you both.” She angled a finger at each of them in turn.

  Even in her half-mussed clothes and with the tendrils of hair falling around her face, Ian wanted her.

  “So, how might one win this game?” A slender finger tapped her chin. “I believe it requires one opponent to pin the other, right?”

  “Yes,” they both said at the same time.

  “And, this could go on and on and on and on at this rate, right?”

  “He’s going to get tired faster than I am since he’s so old and decrepit and celibate.” Michael’s snark had Ian snaking his hand around Michael’s wrist.

  In one tug, Ian yanked his brother around to the flat of his back, tugged up his knees, twisted and had Michael’s face against the floor.

  “Ooh,” Taylor said. “Sorry, Michael, but I’m pretty sure Ian wins.”

  Ian let go, and his brother fell flat to the floor. He stood, wiped at his pants, rubbed his hands together and stared at Taylor. “Your turn.”

  • • •

  “What?” Her shriek came fast as Ian moved toward her.

  He reached her before she could even rise from the couch, laying his palms against her cheeks and his lips against hers. Her arms snaked around his neck, squeezing his body closer. Softness reached the edges of her lips, trailed across to the opposite side and returned. She opened, letting her tongue dance with his.

  “Ahem.”

  She pulled him nearer, wanting more, desperate for the touch of his skin against hers, for the roughness of his chin’s shadow against every inch of her body.

  “Ahem.”

  Their kiss—an experience that tied together centuries of a past with the singular presence of that moment—never faltered.

  “A-hem!”

  Her smile broke Ian’s touch. “I think Michael’s trying to tell us we’re in a public space.”

  “It’s my apartment,” Ian said. “He can leave.”

  “You wouldn’t do that to me, would ya? I came all the way up—”

  Taylor snuck a glance at Michael.
>
  He jiggled keys in his hands without adding any sound, his head angling toward the door.

  She closed her eyes.

  Ian stayed silent, rubbing his forehead against hers as the door opened and closed again.

  “Your brother’s a good man.”

  Another touch to her lips. “I know. He wouldn’t let me leave today, even though I told him I didn’t really want him around. Or want to be here. He knew you were coming, didn’t he?”

  She nodded with her head still against his. “Yeah. Lexi and Emma … and Tripp put him up to it.”

  “Damn them.” He pulled away.

  “Don’t you go now, Ian Sands.” Taylor tugged him back.

  He relaxed against her again, melding her to his body, his arms wrapping behind her. His lips caressed her neck. “God, I missed you.”

  “It’s only been a couple weeks,” she said. “Ish.”

  “It felt like years. Decades. Centuries. Like I had you in my hand and someone took you away, and then I got you again only to have to leave you.”

  She trailed her fingers up and down his neck. “Well, if our powers of deduction are right, that’s exactly what happened.”

  He stiffened within her hold. “It’s going to end badly.”

  “Maybe. But, what if it doesn’t? What if there’s a pawn to our rook?”

  “If the psycho lady—”

  “Psychic, Ian. Actually, she said all she could do was communicate with the dead. I’m not sure what that makes her if she can’t see futures. Lexi, on the other hand, seems determined to prove we’re meant to be without telling me how she knows.”

  He chuckled against the skin of her shoulder. “And, she’s supposedly always right.”

  Taylor pushed at his chest so she could stare into his eyes. “Different time. Different place. And, what if you kill me … say … when I’m ninety? I’d have lived a long and happy life by then. We have no conclusive data on me in the previous instances, right?”

  Ian spun away to the mantle. “How can you look at this so calmly?” One hand rested against the wall.

  Taylor shuffled over to him. “I don’t feel it, Ian. I don’t feel like you’re going to hurt me. I had three really long dreams while I was … incapacitated. I only told you part of what I experienced. Each was amazing and full of life, a love so strong I could barely breathe when I was around you—”