She looked up to see Owen and Maddie walking into the tweens and rebels enclave. Her jaw dropped. What was Maddie doing with Owen?
Owen saw her, and his eyes widened. “Um, I’ll see you later,” he said to Maddie and hurried away.
Nora stalked over to Maddie. “Why were you talking to him?”
“You smell like the wine and spirits enclave,” said Maddie. “I thought you weren’t going to drink anymore.”
Nora waved it away. “What was he saying to you?”
“Are you drunk?”
“Not anymore,” said Nora, feeling annoyed. “I just threw up.”
“Great,” said Maddie. “It’s good to see you’re handling this so maturely, Nora.”
“Everything’s screwed up. I can’t do anything anymore.”
“You’re pushing yourself,” said Maddie. “You’re trying too hard. Didn’t Sawyer and I tell you to relax?”
“Yeah, I tried that,” said Nora, “but I’m getting the feeling you’re ignoring the big picture here, which is, ‘What the hell were you doing with Owen?’”
Maddie sighed. “He’s worried about you.”
Nora laughed. “What? He’s worried about me? You can’t fall for that crap, Maddie. He doesn’t even care about me.”
“I don’t know,” said Maddie. “He seemed pretty sincere.”
“That’s what he does. He makes people think he’s like that, when he’s actually a big creep.”
“Look, he knows he shouldn’t have slept with that fairy. But is it possible that you’re trying to turn Owen into some bad guy because you’re angry about that?”
Nora was astonished. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing,” said Maddie. “He asked me about you is all. He wanted to know how you were doing. And the way he talks about you... I know he’s not perfect, but maybe you’re being too hard on him.”
“I don’t believe this. How could you be on Owen’s side?”
“I’m not on a side,” said Maddie. “But you have to admit that when the two of you were together, you were happier. Ever since you broke up with him, you’ve been depressed and angry. And is it really true that when Agler punched Owen, Owen didn’t even fight back?”
“Maddie, this is Owen we’re talking about. You can’t listen to him.”
“Would it be so bad if you talked to him?” said Maddie. “Maybe if you hear him out—”
“Stop it,” said Nora. “He’s done something to you, I just know it.”
“He hasn’t,” said Maddie, looking sad.
Nora sighed. “Stay away from him, Maddie. Please? For your own good.”
“Just talk to him,” said Maddie.
Nora went into her tent, leaving Maddie outside. She couldn’t listen to this anymore. Catling was in the corner. When she saw Nora, she began making her quacking mewling sounds. Nora scooped her up. Catling was on her side, even if Agler and Maddie weren’t.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Abruptly, in the last week of October, the leaves changed. Nora woke up one morning and instead of being greeted by the usual lush green sunny landscape of Helicon, the trees were alight with fiery color. The air nipped at her nose as she made her way to the food enclave for breakfast. She’d been eating alone these days.
Maddie wouldn’t let go of her thoughts about Owen. Every chance that Maddie got, she seemed to chime in on how Nora’s problems were all rooted in her breaking up with Owen. It was a dramatic change, and Nora didn’t trust it. She suspected Owen had done something to Maddie to convince her to act this way, but when she brought that up to Sawyer, who at least agreed with her that dating Owen was a bad idea, Sawyer said she was being a little bit paranoid. “Owen’s not a nice guy. You and I both know that. But he’s not capable of controlling Maddie,” Sawyer said.
Nora wasn’t sure what Owen was capable of doing. But she did know that whenever she was with her friends, she didn’t feel comfortable anymore. They seemed happier than she did somehow. Even if she managed to get Maddie off the subject of Owen (Sawyer usually backed her up), she had nothing to share with them. They’d talk about the projects they were working on in their various enclaves. Nora didn’t have any projects. All she had was a host of failures. She didn’t even bother trying now. Instead, she dragged herself from one enclave to another, simply watching muses. She couldn’t lie around in her tent forever, after all. It was dreadfully boring.
She was up early. She liked to get up early so that she didn’t have to run into Sawyer or Maddie. There was no one in the food enclave except Dirk Night, who was assembling some kind of breakfast sandwich in the kitchen.
“The leaves are different,” she said by way of greeting.
“Halloween’s in two days,” said Dirk.
Halloween. “Muses celebrate Halloween, huh?”
“Big time,” said Dirk. “How have you not noticed? Everyone’s been working on their costumes for weeks now.”
Crap. A costume? She was going to have to come up with a costume? Nora had no idea what she wanted to dress up as. And furthermore, she didn’t think she’d do a very good job of putting a costume together. “What’s your costume?” she asked Dirk.
“I’m not dressing up.”
“You can do that?”
He snorted. “They won’t like it, but screw them. I don’t have to play their stupid games all the time.” Dirk leaned forward. “This place has the maturity of a small, stupid child, or hadn’t you noticed? Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, let’s play dress up and have a party!’ No one accomplishes anything except stupid parties around here.”
There were a lot of parties, Nora guessed. She remembered that she used to think that was neat. Now she didn’t know what she thought. She felt like she couldn’t have any fun. And Maddie was right that it had all started after the break up with Owen. But she didn’t know what was wrong with her. She felt like she’d lost whatever spark inside her that was her identity. She felt faded and tired. She picked up a banana and unpeeled it. “Dirk, have you ever heard of someone losing their muse powers?”
He raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Like a muse turning into a regular human. Like your parents.”
Dirk made a dismissive noise. “No.”
Nora took a bite of her banana. She thought it was happening to her. Soon, they’d ship her off back to the mundane world. She didn’t belong here. She didn’t belong anywhere.
“Why do you ask?” Dirk said.
Dirk wasn’t her friend. He was sullen all the time, and immature in that teen-boy-rebellious way. But for some reason, all of that made Nora feel a little closer to him right now. She was sullen too. “I can’t create things anymore.”
Dirk made a face. “You kidding?”
Nora shook her head. “It’s gone. It’s all gone.”
“What do you mean?”
“I used to be able to draw, but I can’t do it anymore,” said Nora. “Every time I try, it turns out crap.”
Dirk set his sandwich aside and pulled a notepad out of his pocket, along with a pencil nub. “Show me.”
Nora gulped. She gripped the pencil and held it over the paper. “I don’t have any ideas to draw anything,” she said helplessly.
“Draw a star,” said Dirk.
Nora lowered the pencil to the paper. She tried to draw a line. Her line shook and shivered all over the paper. She threw down the notepad. “I can’t.”
Dirk peered down at the squiggly line on the paper. “You used to be good at drawing?”
Nora nodded. Expressing this out loud made her feel like she might cry. She didn’t trust her voice.
“Maybe you need to try something else besides drawing,” said Dirk.
“I have.” Now Nora felt angry. “I’ve tried everything. It’s gone. It’s all gone.”
“Huh,” said Dirk. He picked up his sandwich.
Nora wished she’d never confided in him. He was a total jerk.
Dirk bit into his sandwich and chewed.
Nora took her banana and walked away from him.
“Hey wait!” said Dirk.
She paused and turned.
“You know maybe you shouldn’t dress up for Halloween either. We could do something together.”
Nora raised her eyebrows. Was Dirk asking her on a date?
“You broke up with that Owen guy, didn’t you?”
He was. Nora felt sickly embarrassed. “Listen, Dirk, it’s nice of you to ask and all, but I doubt I’d be much fun.”
“Good for you for dumping him, by the way,” said Dirk. “That guy is a huge ass wipe.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly over him, so you should know that.”
Dirk walked over her, taking another bite of his sandwich. “You’re different than the other muses, you know. I think it’s because you didn’t grow up in Helicon. I like you.”
“That’s flattering,” said Nora, feeling her face grow red. She really wasn’t interested in Dirk in the slightest bit. “But I don’t think it would be right for me to say I’d go out with you on Halloween, because I don’t really feel the same way.”
Dirk laughed. He was chewing, and she could see the food in his mouth. Eew. “I didn’t ask you to go out with me, Nora.”
She blushed even more fiercely. “Yes, you did.”
“I said we could do something,” said Dirk. “You don’t want to, fine.” He shrugged. “But if you’re not dressed up, I’m going to assume you’re game.”
* * *
That evening, Nora was lying in her hammock, trying to keep Catling from wandering over to her favorite meowing corner, when Sawyer came into her tent.
She sat up in her hammock. “What are you doing in here?”
“Nice to see you too,” said Sawyer. “You’ve been Nora-No-Show for over a month now. Is it me? Have I developed grossly offensive body odor?”
“It’s nothing. I’d rather be alone is all.”
“It’s Maddie, then,” said Sawyer. “It’s because she keeps telling you that you should try to patch things up with Owen.”
“Well, that is a really stupid idea,” said Nora.
“Agreed,” said Sawyer. “But I think she’s only saying it because she’s worried about you. And she’s not wrong. You have been weird ever since you stopped seeing him.”
“Did you come in here to tell me to give Owen another chance?” Nora folded her arms over her chest.
“Perish the thought,” said Sawyer. “I never liked him. You know I never liked him. I still don’t like him. But if you don’t like him either, Nora, why are you still sulking all the time? It’s been six months. I know you’ve known the guy your whole life, but what gives with the constant angst here?”
“I don’t know,” said Nora, feeling like she might cry again. “Something is wrong with me. I’m broken.”
Sawyer sighed. “Still with the not creating, huh?”
Nora nodded.
“Maybe it’s like a mental block or something,” Sawyer said. “Maybe you’re focusing so hard on it that you’re jinxing yourself.”
Nora’s nostrils flared. “If you tell me I need to relax and it will all go away one more time, I’m going to sneak into your tent and sew all your skirts into pants.”
Sawyer held up his hands in surrender. “No need to get extreme.”
Nora sighed. “So did you come in here to give me another pep talk?”
“I came in to ask you what you’re going to be for Halloween.”
“I’m not going,” said Nora. “I’m going to stay in my tent. I don’t feel like a party.”
“Not going?” Sawyer held up a finger. “Not acceptable, Nora. The Halloween party is my favorite party in Helicon. My absolute favorite. There’s alcoholic cider and a haunted house and everyone will be wearing the most amazing costumes you’ve ever seen. It’s hands-down the best night of the year. So, you’re going, and that’s the end of it.”
“You said you skipped out last year to go to the mundane world,” said Nora.
“I don’t think I said that exactly,” said Sawyer. “I definitely did not skip out. I worked very hard on my Cleopatra costume last year. I made sure everyone saw me in it before I went to the mundane world.”
“I don’t have a costume.”
“That’s why I’m here to help.”
“Sawyer, I don’t want to go.”
“Too bad,” he said. “Now, either tell me what you want to dress up as in five seconds, or I will decide for you. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”
Nora glared at him.
Sawyer shrugged. “Okay, wood nymph it is. Now, get off your behind, because we’ve got to go hunting in the woods for leaves for your crown.”
And that was how Nora found herself traipsing through the woods outside the tweens and rebels enclave with Sawyer. He was pretty picky about the leaves he wanted to use. He kept holding out branches, scrutinizing the leaves, and saying, “Not quite right. Let’s go in deeper.”
After about a half hour of this, they were quite a ways beyond the enclave. Sawyer sampled another branch. “What do you think about this?”
Nora shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Come on. I know I dragged you out here, and you’re not exactly ecstatic about going to the Halloween party, but you don’t have to be like that about it.”
“You don’t understand,” said Nora. “I’m not saying that to be annoying. I really don’t know. I’ve lost all my senses for this kind of stuff. I can’t create. I can’t tell what looks good. It’s like all my muse powers have completely drained away.”
Sawyer sighed as if she was being melodramatic. “Well, I think these leaves are good.” He pulled the branch away and began twisting it to remove it.
But now the area behind the branch was visible. Nora stepped forward, squinting. “Is that a tent?”
“Where?”
She pointed.
“Huh,” said Sawyer. “That’s weird. Who would have a tent all the way out here?”
“Maybe it’s abandoned,” said Nora.
“No, that cook fire is still smoking,” said Sawyer.
At that moment, a wizened old man, bent double, toddled out from behind the tent. He was wearing tattered patchwork. He had long white hair and a long white beard. He looked up at them. “What do you two want leaves for?”
Sawyer looked uncomfortable. “Um, is it a problem? Because if we’re bothering you, we can go somewhere else.”
“I’m not bothered,” said the old man. “Don’t see a lot of people these days though. Which is good. I came out here for peace and quiet.” He pointed at Nora. “You said something about losing powers, didn’t you? That makes me think of the gods.” He stopped and looked up at the sky. Then he looked back at them. “Well, did you bring any marmalade?”
Sawyer glanced sidelong at Nora. “He’s crazy,” he whispered.
“I heard that,” said the old man. “I’m not crazy. I’m old. You muse kids never see old people, and you act like idiots when you do. Someone should teach you manners. They surely should.”
“We’re sorry,” said Nora. “I guess we’ll be going then.”
“That’s a no to the marmalade, I suppose,” said the old man. “Of all the things I miss, I miss marmalade the most.”
Sawyer stepped forward. “Wait, I recognize you. You’re a muse. You used to live in the story enclave, didn’t you?”
“Indeed,” said the old man. “They call me Ned Willow. I came out here years ago. Couldn’t handle all the noise. No one ever goes to sleep at a decent hour in Helicon. Drums all through the night. Dancing. It’s ludicrous.”
Nora smiled, and she could see that Sawyer was smiling as well. “I suppose it’s much quieter out here.”
“We were actually looking for you a while ago,” said Sawyer. “You told a story once about the gods, and I heard it when I was a kid. I tried to find you so that you could tell it to Nora.”
“A story about the gods,” said Ned. “Oh, that was what I was talking a
bout before. This one said something about losing powers. That made me think of the gods losing powers. And it’s not a story, boy.” He drew back for a moment. “You are a boy, aren’t you?”
“Mostly,” said Sawyer.
“Just like to wear skirts, then?” asked Ned. “Like a healthy breeze around your balls?”
Nora snickered into her hand.
“That’s part of it,” Sawyer said, struggling to keep a straight face.
“Well, anyway, it’s not a story. At least, it’s not just a story. It’s true. It all happened. I remember it like it was yesterday. Would you like to hear it?”
“Um,” said Nora, who did want to hear the story, but wasn’t sure if Sawyer was keen on gathering leaves.
“I guess you might be busy with whatever it is you’re doing,” said Ned. “Still, it’s a bit of a pity. I don’t miss the noise, but I would like some company now and then, I would.”
“We definitely want to hear the story,” said Sawyer.
“Excellent,” said Ned. “Into the tent, then.”
Ned’s tent was set up like some kind of Persian palace. It was covered in rugs and pillows. In the center there was a raised dais, complete with an ornate chair carved of wood. Ned settled into this chair and motioned for Sawyer and Nora to settle onto the pillows in front of him. “I haven’t told a story in quite some time,” said Ned. “At least not to actual people, that is. This will be fun.” He rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath, and began.
“Many hundreds of years ago, Helicon was a mountain top in Greece, and the gods often rode the Pegasus from Mt. Olympus to frolic and rejoice with the muses. Helicon was a place of respite for them, away from the cares and responsibilities of ruling the earth, nature, and mankind. It was a place in which they could be carefree and happy.
“The muses welcomed the gods, especially Dionysus who brought wine and joy when he arrived. One young muse in particular was quite taken with Dionysus, and her name was Phoebe Rain.”
Nora must have made some kind of noise of recognition, because Ned said, “Oh, yes, Phoebe was quite young once. She was not always the wise head of the council she is today. Phoebe is still the head of the council, isn’t she?”
The Helicon Muses Omnibus: Books 1-4 Page 25