The Helicon Muses Omnibus: Books 1-4

by V. J. Chambers

  But there was no one in her tent except Catling, who was curled up in a ball in one corner.

  Of course, just because he wasn’t in the tent didn’t mean he wasn’t around somewhere. He clearly had found some way back into Helicon. He could be anywhere. Her breath was beginning to come in shallow gasps. She backed out of the tent as quickly as she could. She couldn’t stay here. Alone.

  But where could she go? It was Valentine’s Day. All the muses were off having a romantic evening with their various significant others. She wouldn’t even know where to look to find anyone. And at any second, Owen could appear, emerging from behind any shadowy tree or bush. She didn’t know what he wanted with her, but she knew it couldn’t be good. She hadn’t been doing what Owen would want her to do, and that always made him angry. When Owen was angry...

  She had to find someone. Agler couldn’t have gotten that far, could he? She raised her voice and yelled for him again. She waited. She called his name again. There was no answer. Wherever Agler was, he couldn’t hear her.

  And then a worse thought occurred to her. What if Owen had Agler? Last year, in the fall and winter, Owen had been able to control Agler’s mind. And it was no secret that Owen didn’t like Agler. He could be hurting him. Nora needed help. But who could she go to? Would Phoebe and Coeus be in their tent? Maybe. And maybe while she was looking for them, Owen would find her. She had no idea where Maddie and Daryl were. She hadn’t paid any attention to Maddie’s plans. Agler was gone.

  Wait. She did know where someone was. Sawyer and Jack were in the babies and toddlers enclave. If she ran, she could get there within minutes.

  Nora didn’t stop and think any longer. She took off for the babies and toddlers enclave as fast as she could.

  * * *

  Nora was out of breath and sweaty by the time she reached Sawyer and Jack, who were playing a gigantic game of duck-duck-goose with all of the children. She wheezed on the periphery of the circle while everyone stared at her with wide eyes.

  Sawyer scrambled up from his position sitting cross-legged in the circle to run to her. “Nora, what happened? Are you okay?”

  She struggled to catch her breath. “Owen,” she managed.

  “What about Owen?” Sawyer looked stricken.

  She gasped. “...in my tent.”

  “Owen’s in your tent?”

  She shook her head. “No, but he’s here somewhere. He left...” She paused to breathe. “He left dead flowers in my tent.”

  “Did you see Owen?”

  “No. But who else would do that?”

  Sawyer exchanged a glance with Jack. “Can you hold down the fort here for a few minutes?”

  “What?” said Jack. “Me? Alone with kids?”

  “You’ll be fine,” said Sawyer. “I’ll be right back.” He smiled at the kids. “Just a couple minutes, okay guys?” He turned to Nora. “Let’s see these flowers.”

  “You don’t think we should try to find Phoebe?” asked Nora.

  “Who knows where she and Coeus are,” said Sawyer. “Show me the flowers.”

  On the walk back to her tent, Nora managed to calm down a little bit. She explained what had happened, complete with her fears that Owen had Agler. “He could be anywhere,” she told Sawyer.

  When she reached her tent, she threw it open and turned the lamp back on.

  But the flowers weren’t there.

  Nora furrowed her brow. “They’re gone.”

  “What?” said Sawyer.

  She began to pick things up in her tent, looking for them. But it was as if they’d never existed. “I don’t understand. They were here.”

  “Nora,” said Sawyer.

  “Someone took them,” said Nora.

  Sawyer’s voice was gentle. “Are you sure there were flowers here?”

  “Of course I’m sure. Would I have run all the way to the babies and toddlers enclave if I wasn’t sure?”

  “It’s dark out here, you know? Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you.”

  “No,” she said. “They were here. I swear to you they were.”

  “There’s nothing here now.”

  “That’s because Owen took them away. He’s trying to drive me insane.”

  Sawyer’s eyes were full of sympathy. “Owen’s gone. He can’t get to you anymore. You’re safe.”

  Nora was stunned. “You don’t believe me.”

  “I believe you think you saw them.”

  “But you don’t think they were actually there.”

  He sighed. “It’s just that you’ve been through so much, Nora.”

  “So much that you think I’m losing my mind?” She was starting to feel angry. How dare Sawyer not believe her?

  “That’s not what I’m saying at all. Look, it’s Valentine’s Day. And the last guy you were serious about turned out to be a murderer. It’s no wonder you’re freaked out. Anyone would be jumpy.”

  “They were there, Sawyer. I didn’t dream it up.”

  “What’s going on?” said a voice. They both turned to see Maddie coming out of her tent.

  “Maddie?” said Nora. “Why aren’t you with Daryl?”

  Maddie sighed. “Daryl’s mom was sick, and he had to take her to the healers. He cancelled our date.”

  “That sucks. I’m sorry,” said Nora.

  Maddie shrugged. “He’s a sweet guy. He cares about his mom.”

  “But you must be disappointed.”

  “I’ll get over it.” Maddie bent down so that she could see into Nora’s tent. “Why are you guys looking into the tent? And how come you aren’t with Agler?”

  “Owen left flowers in my tent, but then he took them away to make me look nuts. He probably has Agler too somewhere, doing awful things to him. But Sawyer doesn’t believe me.” Nora crossed her arms.

  Maddie straightened. “What?!”

  “She thinks she saw some dead flowers in her tent,” said Sawyer.

  “I don’t think I saw them. I did.”

  “And now they’re gone?” said Maddie.

  “Exactly,” said Nora. Maddie would believe her, wouldn’t she?

  “And why do you think he’s got Agler?”

  “Because right after I saw them, I yelled for Agler, and he didn’t answer.”

  “Wait,” said Maddie. “Agler was waiting for you outside your tent, and he disappeared?”

  “Not exactly,” said Nora. “I’d sort of just told him to stay away from me.”

  “You didn’t tell me that part,” said Sawyer. “Why’d you say that to him?”

  “He’s possessive,” said Nora. “He wants to control me.”

  “Nora.” Maddie shook her head and then wrapped her arms around her friend. “This is all because he wanted to know where you were when we went down to the cave.”

  Nora pushed Maddie away. “This is all because Owen is after me.”

  “I don’t think he is, sweetie.” Maddie’s voice had taken on the same sympathetic tone as Sawyer’s had earlier. “I know it freaks you out if a guy wants to know where you are. I know Owen made you spend all your time with him. But Agler wasn’t doing that to you. I think deep down you know that, but it’s a really strong feeling, and it’s hard to get rid of. So your mind tricked you into thinking you saw those flowers so that you could blame it on Owen.”

  Maddie didn’t believe her either. Nora felt betrayed. If her friends thought she was crazy, then who could she trust? She stared at the ground, unable to look at either of them.

  Sawyer put a hand on her shoulder. “I have to go back because Jack’s probably freaking out all by himself. Why don’t you guys come with me?”

  Maddie grinned. “Sure.”

  Nora didn’t feel like being around either of them right now. But she didn’t want to be alone. “What about Agler? How do we know he’s okay?”

  “I’ll send Jack out to find him,” said Sawyer.

  “What if something happens to Jack?” said Nora.

  Sawyer threw an arm around Nor
a’s shoulders and pulled her close. “Everyone’s fine, Nora. You’ll see.”

  But Nora wasn’t sure that she would see. She knew she hadn’t imagined those flowers.

  * * *

  Jack didn’t get back from looking for Agler until after they’d put all the kids to bed. The enclave silent, they finally relaxed. Sawyer, Maddie, and Nora were all sitting around the fire pit in the enclave when Jack trudged in and sat down next to Sawyer. He draped an arm around Sawyer’s shoulder.

  “Well?” said Nora, who’d been getting steadily more worried the longer Jack was gone. “Did you find him?”

  “I found him all right,” said Jack. He gave Nora a helpless look. “You’ve done some kind of number on my best friend.”

  “Me?” said Nora. “Where is he anyway?”

  “He’s in the wine and spirits enclave,” said Jack, “getting extremely sloshed.” He brought out a bottle of wine from a pack he was carrying. “I brought this back for us, though.” He offered the bottle to Maddie.

  “No thanks,” said Maddie.

  Sawyer took the bottle from Jack. “Maddie doesn’t drink.” He tipped it back into his mouth.

  “But he’s okay?” said Nora. “He didn’t see Owen.”

  “He didn’t see Owen,” said Jack, “but I wouldn’t say he’s okay.”

  “Why not?” said Nora.

  Jack glared at her. “Because this is like the third time you’ve broken his heart, that’s why.”

  Nora looked away.

  Sawyer passed Nora the bottle of wine. She waved it away.

  “You like Agler, don’t you?” said Maddie.

  She did like him. He was a very nice guy. And an awesome kisser. She nodded.

  “You’ve got a funny way of showing it,” said Jack, taking the wine from Sawyer.

  “Hey,” said Sawyer, “she’s been through a lot.”

  “So has Agler,” said Jack. “He had his mind controlled by Owen. All to keep him away from Nora. And now, when Owen’s finally gone, Nora keeps pushing him away.”

  Nora inspected her fingernails.

  Maddie scooched over closer to Nora. “She needs time. She’ll come around. She really likes him. Don’t you, Nora?”

  Time? She needed... She didn’t answer.

  “Too bad,” said Jack. “Nora, you can’t keep stringing him along like that. You’re killing him.”

  “Don’t talk to her like that,” said Sawyer. “Agler knew what he was getting into. Nora told him she didn’t want a boyfriend. If he couldn’t handle that, then he shouldn’t have gone along with it.”

  “She was sticking her tongue down his throat every chance she got. That doesn’t sound like the way a girl behaves when she doesn’t want a boyfriend.”

  Nora cleared her throat. “Um, I’m sitting right here.”

  But Sawyer and Jack ignored her.

  Sawyer took a drink of wine. “He’s been smothering her. She didn’t want anything serious, and he’s constantly following her around. And he should know that after what Owen did to her, she’s not going to respond well to that.”

  “She’s leading him on!” Jack grabbed the wine bottle back. “One minute she’s hot, the next minute she’s cold—”

  “Come on, that’s not fair,” said Sawyer. “Besides, he’s like three years older than her. He needs to be the mature one.”

  “I’m still sitting right here,” said Nora. Not that she wasn’t appreciative of Sawyer taking up for her, but she didn’t feel like this was really anyone’s business except hers and Agler’s.

  “I’m older than you too,” said Jack. “So what do you mean by that anyway?”

  “Not as much older,” said Sawyer.

  “Are you saying Agler’s taking advantage of her?”

  “Well, he didn’t have to push so much, you know,” said Sawyer. “He could have given her more than a month to recover from watching her boyfriend kill somebody.”

  “Push? Did I push you?”

  “I’m not saying that.”

  “Well, you seem awfully focused on age.” Jack took a long drink.

  “Um, maybe we should change the subject,” spoke up Maddie.

  Jack stood up. “No. You know what? Maybe I should let you be with your friends now. And I’ll go back to Agler. After all, we are the same age.” He stalked off, taking the wine bottle with him.

  It was quiet for several minutes.

  Finally, Nora said, “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault,” said Sawyer. “He was drinking before he got here. Sometimes, he gets really defensive about Agler. I think he actually has a huge crush on him, and he’s secretly hoping Agler will someday become gay.”

  “You think so?” said Maddie, sounding skeptical.

  “Sometimes,” said Sawyer. “It makes sense. They’ve been best friends forever.”

  “But it is my fault,” said Nora, “because Agler’s upset because of me.”

  “It’s not your fault,” said Sawyer. “And I’m not going to take sides against you just because of my boyfriend. Sisters before misters.”

  Nora grinned.

  “Well, it’s not exactly taking sides, is it?” said Maddie. “I mean, Nora, you are kind of being unfair to Agler.”

  “Oh, she is not,” said Sawyer. “He’s being a big baby.”

  Nora chewed on her lip. “I don’t want to hurt him. That’s why I’m trying to stay away.”

  “But you told him you didn’t want a relationship,” said Sawyer. “It’s not your fault he didn’t get the message.”

  That was true, Nora supposed.

  “But you don’t have any reason not to want a relationship with him,” said Maddie. “You like him. He likes you. You don’t like anyone else. Why not just date him?”

  Nora took a deep breath. It was complicated.

  “She’s not ready yet, that’s why,” said Sawyer.

  Was that true? She shook her head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to let someone else tell me what to do with my life.”

  “That’s not what he was doing,” said Maddie.

  “Maybe not,” said Nora. “But it kind of felt the same.”

  * * *

  Nora didn’t stop thinking about the flowers even if it seemed that Maddie and Sawyer had allowed them to be eclipsed by worrying about Nora’s love life. Nora knew they’d been there. She’d touched them, felt their decrepit leaves crumble under her fingers. They’d been real all right. Not a figment of paranoia. But it didn’t seem to make any sense to harp on them to her friends. Maddie and Sawyer had made up their minds about the flowers. As far as they were concerned, Nora had imagined them. If she continued to go on about them, her friends would only worry more about her sanity.

  But that must have been what Owen had wanted, right? He was playing head games with Nora. She didn’t doubt for a second the flowers had come from him. There was no one else in Helicon who’d leave something so ominous in her tent. The flowers were a mockery of Valentine’s Day. Mocking was Owen’s style. Not the muses. They were also a piece of psychological warfare—Owen’s way of showing her that he’d always be able to get to her, no matter what. One thing he would never want was for Nora to feel that she wasn’t connected to him. He always wanted to proclaim his ownership of her.

  The flowers definitely had his name all over them.

  But there were a few things, Nora had to admit, that didn’t make sense. For one thing, how had he done it? Nora wasn’t so sure he was actually in Helicon. For one thing, Phoebe had assured her that there was no way Owen could be here without her feeling it. That would mean that not only had he figured out some way out of exile, but he’d managed to do also block Phoebe’s ability to sense him. Nora was fairly convinced that he was capable of doing both those things—at least eventually. But two months after his exile? It was a little unbelievable, even for him.

  There was also the fact that if Owen were actually in Helicon, he’d most likely want to do more than simply mess with Nora’s
head. Most likely. Honestly, she didn’t know what he would do. Not exactly. But she’d been worried about Agler’s safety the night before because she was convinced that Owen would want to hurt Helicon if he were back. Leaving dead flowers seemed a little tame compared to all the things she imagined Owen would do.

  So maybe he wasn’t physically there. Maybe he was just able to affect Helicon somehow. He’d used a prayer to Dionysus to control people’s minds. Certainly, if Owen put his mind to it, he could have spent a month figuring out how to infiltrate Helicon without actually being there, couldn’t he? By January, he’d been able to leave that message for Nora in the snow. And in February, he’d somehow conjured up those flowers. That also explained why they’d disappeared. Maybe it had been too much effort for Owen to magically project them, and he’d had to stop. She wondered if the words in the snow would have disappeared too. As it was, they’d been wiped over before anyone had had a chance to see.

  It was this thought that drove Nora to see Phoebe. She wanted to know if Phoebe thought it was possible.

  When Phoebe wasn’t in her tent, Nora checked the music enclave. She found Phoebe sitting with a group of drummers outside a tent. The drummers squatted and stood in a circle around Phoebe, each pattering out intricate rhythms. There was a sort of pulsing heartbeat in the music enclave from all the drumming. The air fairly throbbed with it. Phoebe’ voice was like rich molasses—deep and soulful. It flowed over the drumming, filling in the spaces in the beats. Nora was so entranced by its melancholy beauty that she had to stop and close her eyes to savor the sound of it.

  As she let the music sink into her bones, she was struck by how lucky she was. She’d grown up in the mundane world, craving the ability to create. Here in Helicon, she was surrounded by amazing art, all the time. It was inspiring and wonderful. It sustained her. So even though she was worried about Owen and his threats, she had this music to bolster her. And listening to it did make her feel stronger. It settled inside her, filling her up. Her own internal reservoir of peace.

  When the song ended, Nora slowly opened her eyes. She felt relaxed all over, refreshed. She smiled at Phoebe and the drummers.