The Helicon Muses Omnibus: Books 1-4

by V. J. Chambers

  Nora set an iron skillet on one of the ten burners on the stove and ignited it, musing over the contradictions in Helicon. Most muses lived in tents, gathered around fire pits. There was a primitive undercurrent to the atmosphere here. But in other ways, Helicon embraced more civilized things, like the state-of-the art kitchens in the food enclave and some of the elaborate buildings in the architecture enclave. The muses were not ones to make a great deal of effort unless a technological advance improved their ability to be creative and comfortable.

  “You were drinking with Jack last night, weren’t you?” Nora asked Sawyer.

  “I had a couple oatmeal stouts from the wine and spirits enclave,” Sawyer said. “I didn’t get drunk or anything.”

  “Nora and I are wondering what’s going on with you and Jack,” Maddie teased.

  Sawyer looked embarrassed. “Nothing, really.”

  Nora cracked eggs into a bowl and began beating them. “Nothing? And how much sleep did you get last night exactly?”

  “We were only talking,” said Sawyer. “He’s fun to talk to.”

  “But you like him, don’t you?” said Maddie.

  “Do you need me to slice the bread, Nora?” asked Sawyer.

  “Sure,” said Nora. “But don’t change the subject. You have a big crush on Jack and don’t deny it.”

  Sawyer picked up a serrated knife and went at the loaf of bread with gusto. “Sure, and you and Agler brought us our snow stuff last night, but you don’t have a crush on him.”

  “I don’t,” said Nora. “I’m not doing relationships right now. They complicate everything.”

  Maddie sighed. “You guys are both going to be paired up soon, and I’ll be the only one left.”

  “I’m not getting paired up,” Nora insisted. Using a fork, she speared a piece of bread that Sawyer had cut and drenched it in the eggs she’d been beating.

  “You will eventually,” said Maddie. “But not me. I’ll be fat and unloved forever.”

  Sawyer gestured with the knife, pointing it in Maddie’s face. “I thought we had forbidden you to use the ‘F’ word about yourself.”

  Maddie rolled her eyes. “Eff you,” she said.

  “You are beautiful and smart and fun,” said Nora. “The right guy is out there.”

  Maddie didn’t say anything.

  Nora transferred the first piece of French toast to the hot skillet, where it sizzled. “So, Sawyer, while you and Jack are talking, there’s no flirting happening?”

  Sawyer’s shoulders slumped. “I’m flirting,” he said. “But I think Jack is weirded out by the fact that I wear skirts all the time.”

  “Did he say something?” asked Nora.

  “Not exactly,” said Sawyer. “But he likes guys, you know, and I’m...”

  “I think that’s enough slices,” Nora said, putting a hand on his arm. Sawyer had hacked the bread to pieces.

  He put the knife down. “It’s not that I want to be a girl or anything. It’s really not. Well, I mean, there are things about being a girl that I like. Like wearing skirts. But there are things about being a guy I like too. And I don’t think I can change that. Not even for Jack.”

  “Who says he wants you to change?” asked Nora.

  Sawyer shrugged. “Who would want me the way I am?”

  “We would,” said Maddie.

  “Absolutely,” said Nora. “We don’t ever want you to be different.”

  * * *

  After breakfast, the three headed across the bridge over the stream in Helicon, which was now frozen, to an open field where the muses made snow sculptures each year. The sculptures were works of art, intricate and beautiful, and the best were transported to the main fire pit at the end of the week for decorations at a winter ball. Last year, Nora, Sawyer, and Maddie had made a big sculpture of Catling, which had been selected for the dance. On the way over, Maddie chattered about how they needed to do something bigger and better this year, really blow the Catling sculpture out of the water.

  Nora hadn’t given any thought to what they might sculpt, and she didn’t think Maddie putting pressure on her was helping her creative juices get flowing. Hopefully, the strong coffee that Sawyer had made would, once the caffeine kicked in.

  “Maybe a horse or something,” Nora said as they walked.

  “That’s an animal,” said Maddie. “It’s too close to Catling.”

  “A shell,” said Nora. “An enormous conch shell.”

  “It’s winter,” said Maddie. “Shells are a summer thing. I don’t think so.”

  “Well, what do you think we should make?” Nora said.

  “You’re the visual art person,” said Maddie. “You’re even sculpting every day.”

  “Yeah,” said Nora. “From life. It’s really boring. I sculpt whatever I happen to see in the enclave right then and there.” She turned to Sawyer. “What do you think we should make?”

  Sawyer stopped short and pointed at the meadow. Because they were up so early, no one else had started work on one yet, and the snow should have been fresh and untouched.

  But it wasn’t.

  There, in the center of the meadow, written in enormous block letters carved into the snow, was a message. It said, “You’re mine.” And underneath: “Soon.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Nora tramped through the snow towards Phoebe Rain’s tent. Phoebe was the head of the council, and the muse in charge of Helicon. Sawyer and Maddie struggled to keep up with her.

  “Nora, there’s no reason to think that was written to you,” said Maddie.

  “And there’s no reason to think Owen has anything to do with it,” said Sawyer.

  “He said that to me,” said Nora. “That I was his. He knows I’ll be making a snow sculpture. He put it there so I’d be sure to see it. It’s from Owen, and it’s meant for me.”

  “But Owen was exiled from Helicon,” said Maddie.

  “He can’t get back here. How could he have written a message in the snow?” said Sawyer.

  “He could find a way,” said Nora. “He always finds a way. He’s Owen.” She and Owen had grown up together in the mundane world. As a small child, Owen had been everything to her. Her best friend. Her family. Her protector. He was the one who’d told her that she was a muse and that she didn’t belong in the mundane world. She belonged in Helicon. As she’d become an adolescent, their relationship had become romantic. She’d trusted Owen back then. She’d turned a blind eye to his cruelty and manipulation, because he’d never been jealous of her time or friendships. Of course, back in the mundane world, Nora hadn’t had any friendships. Not really. Owen had fought hard to get them back to Helicon, and she’d thought that once they were here, everything would be perfect. But Owen had become possessive and frightening. He’d threatened her. And when she’d tried to break it off with him, he’d managed to take over the minds of her friends. He’d used them to force her to do what he wanted. After he’d killed someone, he’d been exiled. Nora knew she should feel safe, but she didn’t. She wished sometimes that she’d killed him when she had the chance.

  “Nora, you’re overreacting,” said Sawyer.

  But they were already at Phoebe’s tent, and Nora was barging inside, yelling for Phoebe.

  Phoebe’s tent was sectioned off with hanging tapestries. Nora pushed them out of the way until she found Phoebe and her partner Coeus asleep in a hammock together. She knew she should have been embarrassed, but she was too scared. “Phoebe, you need to wake up.”

  Phoebe sat up, her brilliant white hair mussed. She had dark, nut brown skin, a shocking contrast to her hair. She rubbed sleep out of her eyes. “Nora?”

  After Phoebe and Coeus were dressed, they followed Nora out to the meadow to see the message themselves. Neither of them seemed quite awake yet, so Nora did her best to fill in the details for them.

  “It’s obviously from Owen,” she said. “He found a way back, and he’s doing this to torture me. He wants me to know that I belong to him, and that no
matter what happens, he’s going to force me to do whatever he wants.”

  Phoebe and Coeus exchanged a look. They were both quiet for several minutes.

  “I’m really sorry Nora woke you up,” said Sawyer. “She’s upset.”

  “We tried to stop her,” said Maddie.

  Nora glared at them. This was important. It didn’t matter if they didn’t believe her.

  “I suppose you could be right,” said Phoebe finally. “Maybe this is a message from Owen. But he hasn’t gotten back into Helicon, I can assure you of that. As head of the council, I would feel if the binding spells we’d placed on him had been breached. They are still holding, Nora.”

  “Owen’s crafty,” Nora said. “He could have found a way.”

  “Maybe it’s not from Owen at all,” said Coeus. “Maybe it’s a message from someone who’s very serious about this sculpture competition. He’s trying to communicate that his competition is ‘his.’”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” said Nora.

  “Neither does thinking that Owen’s in Helicon,” said Phoebe. She looked thoughtful. “I don’t know, Coeus. The message does seem to be a bit threatening.” She patted Nora on the shoulder. “I’ll bring it up at the council meeting tonight. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  But Nora wasn’t exactly comforted by that thought. The council was a bumbling group of idiots sometimes. They argued about everything. From what Nora could see, they were completely ineffective against anything actually threatening. Last year, Dirk Night had been ripping holes in the fabric of Helicon for nearly the entire year. He was right under the muses’ noses, but no one had been able to find him. If Nora and Owen hadn’t caught him in the act at the Winter Solstice, no one might ever have known it was him. Nora didn’t think the council would do a much better job at figuring out who had left this threatening message either.

  * * *

  Nora clutched a mug of hot chocolate and leaned in close to the fire. The council had been in session for almost a half hour at this point. Themis Branch, the head of the philosophy enclave, was talking. He was huddled inside his warm snow clothes, but they were stained with various colors of liquid, even though he must have only had them for a day. Themis seemed to spill things on himself a lot. “We assisted the engineering enclave with building heaters for the snow last week, and I hardly think the philosophy enclave is needed to help with setting up for the ball.” He sat down.

  Coeus stood up. “May I speak?”

  “The council recognizes Coeus Dust,” said Phoebe. She looked annoyed, the way she usually did during council meetings.

  “If the philosophy enclave refuses to assist, then who do they propose we ask for help from?” said Coeus.

  “Perhaps the story enclave,” said Themis. “After all, they don’t seem to produce tangible goods either, but their creativity is never threatened.”

  “Oh gods,” said Phoebe. “Not the discussion on what makes something tangible again, please.” She turned to Coeus. “You will use the story enclave. And you will cease asking the philosophy enclave for assistance of any kind.”

  “Phoebe,” said Coeus, “philosophy doesn’t do anything.”

  “I resent that,” said Themis. “And besides, excluding us is hardly necessary. We are more than willing to lend a hand in helping Helicon exist. We haven’t reached a definite conclusion, but we’ve been actively discussing the differences between creating for the sake of creating and creating for the benefit of others. We do feel that there are definite advantages to being part of a larger whole and—”

  “Wonderful, Themis,” said Phoebe. “But I have to point out that at least once a week the council fields a complaint from the philosophy enclave that you’re being asked to help out too much. So, you need a break.”

  “I move,” spoke up another muse, “that the engineering enclave not ask the philosophy enclave for assistance for the next three months.”

  “I second that,” said another muse.

  “That’s what we tried last year,” said Coeus, “and you can see how well that turned out.” He rubbed his temple in frustration.

  Phoebe sighed heavily. “The motion has been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion?”

  Coeus folded his arms over his chest. “I don’t see how it’s going to make any difference.”

  Phoebe looked out over the gathered muses. “Any other discussion?” There was silence. “All those in favor?”

  There was a halfhearted chorus of “ayes.”

  “Those opposed?”

  It was quiet.

  “Motion passes,” said Phoebe. “Let’s move on. I’m sure many of you are aware that there was a set of words carved into the snow this morning. I’m asking now if anyone has any knowledge of how those words got there, please step forward now and explain. We would like to believe that the message is innocent in nature, but we can’t rule anything out at this point.”

  A rustle of muttering moved through the muses, but no one directly answered Phoebe.

  Phoebe raised her eyebrows. “Am I to assume then that no one knows anything about this message?”

  Themis lifted a hand. “The message was quite cryptic wasn’t it?”

  “We hope it was some kind of joke,” said Coeus, “but Phoebe thinks it sounds threatening.”

  Sitting on the bench watching, Nora was beginning to feel as if she couldn’t breathe. This was the way the council operated. It was slow. Everyone felt the need to give their opinions, but no one ever offered solutions. Nora was certain that she knew who had left the message, and she didn’t feel she had time to waste on listening to the council deliberate. She shot to her feet. “It’s obvious who that message is from, isn’t it? It’s from Owen, and it’s for me. He’s found a way back. Instead of sitting around here talking about it, we need to find some way to stop him once and for all.”

  Techne Lift, the head of the science enclave, stood up as well. “Since when are we allowing tweens to speak out like this in the council?”

  Phoebe motioned for Nora to sit down, making an apologetic face. She addressed Techne. “Surely you can understand how she feels. You know what Owen put her through.”

  Nora was still standing. “Not just what he put me through. He manipulated the minds of many of the muses here. He hurt the entire community.”

  “Nora please,” Phoebe said. “We have no evidence that Owen is even involved.”

  “Who else could it be?” said Nora.

  “This tween is obviously hysterical,” said Techne. “She’s interfering with the inner workings of the council. Get her under control, Phoebe.”

  Nora shot a withering look at Techne. She didn’t understand. But it hardly mattered. The council was a waste of time. Nora wasn’t going to stay here and listen to any more of this. In disgust, she turned and stalked away from the main fire pit. She didn’t look back. She kept walking, heading back to the tweens and rebels enclave. She was too frustrated to handle being around any of it right now.

  She was halfway across the bridge when Agler caught up with her. “Nora, wait!”

  She faced him, clutching the railing on the bridge. “I’m not going back there.”

  Agler shook his head. “No, you don’t have to. Techne was completely rude. She shouldn’t have said that about you. Of course you’re upset.”

  His reassurance made her feel weak. Now she was holding onto the bridge for support. “Do you believe me? Do you think Owen left that message?”

  “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” said Agler. “I have no idea.”

  She looked down into the stream beneath the bridge. It was getting dark, and the water was a dark torrent. She was terrified, and no one agreed with her that the danger was real. “It had to be him.”

  “Nora...” He put his arm around her.

  She let go of the railing and leaned back against his chest. He was warm. He smelled like pine needles and fresh Helicon air. She liked being close to him. His maleness was comfortin
g in a way that Owen’s never had been. Owen had always scared her, but there was nothing frightening about Agler. He was sweet and good. Resting against his firm body, she could almost believe that he could protect her. Even though that was silly. No one was a match for Owen. He was a demigod.

  But she turned in Agler’s arms and held onto him, tilting her head back so that she could gaze into his eyes.

  He looked a little confused. “I thought...”

  Nora wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him.

  Once her lips were against his, she felt as though something violent in her had been released. She kissed him furiously, clinging to him, unable to let go. She poured all her frustration and fear and confusion into that kiss. And as long as his lips were on hers, it seemed like nothing mattered.

  He drew away from her. His voice was soft. “It’s going to be okay.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

  What was she doing? Kissing Agler didn’t make anything better. In fact, it probably made everything worse. Nora let go of him. She chewed on her lip. “I’m sorry. I...” She didn’t know what to say. She looked behind her and then back into his eyes, and then she ran.

  * * *

  Nora wandered in the woods for what seemed like hours. When she finally returned to the tweens and rebels enclave, she saw that a group of tweens was gathered around the fire pit. Agler wasn’t there, and for that she was relieved. She did see Sawyer and Maddie sitting together on a bench. She went over to them and sat down.

  “Nora!” said Sawyer. “Where have you been?”

  “Just walking in the woods,” said Nora. “I was upset. What did I miss at the council meeting?”

  “Oh, they formed a committee to investigate the source of the message,” said Maddie. “Are you okay? We were worried. Agler said he saw you earlier, but he didn’t know where you were.”

  At the mention of Agler, Nora got a funny feeling in her stomach. “I’m fine, but I wish the council would do something more than form a stupid committee. They had a committee last year to try to find whoever was creating the portals, and that accomplished a whole lot of nothing.”