The Helicon Muses Omnibus: Books 1-4

by V. J. Chambers

  Nora chewed on her lip. The nervous feeling from before was threatening to come back. She sank back down onto the bench she was sitting on and took another drink of meade. Everyone was quiet. Nora looked from Daryl to Maddie to Agler. All of them were staring at their feet. She sighed. “I’m going after him anyway.”

  Agler put a hand on her shoulder. “No. Stay. Let Jack take care of it.”

  Nora kept drinking.

  The afternoon wore on, although less boisterously than before. At some point, Maddie and Nora decided they had enough room left in their stomachs to try some of the delectable desserts that were laid out. The honeyed mead was too sweet when she had chocolate mousse in her mouth, so Nora switched to drinking dry wine. Afterwards, they were both full to the brim. They lounged next to the fire, watching the sun slip lower in the sky. In the gathering darkness, the fire baskets of May Day blazed all over Helicon, as far as the eye could see. They were bright spots of warmth, of hope. Nora felt drunk and loose. She didn’t think she’d been quite this drunk since the time that Dionysus had been in Helicon. Inwardly, she groaned, thinking of the hangover she was going to have tomorrow. Usually when she had a hangover, Sawyer was feeling just as poorly.

  Speaking of Sawyer... “What do you think happened to Sawyer and Jack?”

  Maddie chuckled. “We probably don’t want to know the real details of what they’re doing.”

  Nora guessed she was right. Sawyer and Jack did have a tendency to disappear for long periods of time. They were probably making out. She sighed. She missed Sawyer. If she was going to be this drunk, it would be nice to have him around.

  “Actually,” said Agler, “Jack and I were talking about going into the mundane world. Maybe that’s where he and Sawyer are.”

  “Awesome,” said Daryl. He turned to Maddie. “We should go. Do you want to?”

  Maddie shrugged. “Yeah, that could be fun. I went last year. But I was kind of hoping to see the fairies before I left.”

  As if on cue, Nora noticed thousands of tiny spots of brilliant light seeming to swarm out of the numerous fires all over Helicon. They were like fireflies that never went out, but they glowed in various colors. Green, purple, blue, silver. They flitted up into the night sky, blending in with the stars. Nora pointed. “Looks like you got your wish, Maddie.”

  Maddie’s eyes lit up and her lips parted. “Oh. They’re so beautiful.”

  They were positively magical. All of them turned their attention to the glowing tiny balls of light. The fairies soared through the air, coming straight for them. They hovered in the air around their heads or darted in and out between them. Sometimes they paused long enough that Nora could almost make out their human-like features. A tiny hand here, the hint of a nose there. The fairies were so delicately perfect.

  But the tiny flying ones weren’t the only fairies who had arrived. Already, Nora could hear that the music had changed. The fairy musicians had joined the Muses. The addition of their otherworldly instruments gave a strange wraith-like quality to the music. It scurried up Nora’s spine, making her shiver. Panicking, she reached for her glass of wine and gulped at it. Maybe it was only the memory of last year. She’d found Owen with one of those fairy musicians. She could still remember the shock, the way it had felt like her insides had been ripped open. It seemed that no matter what she did today she couldn’t stop thinking about Owen. She shivered again.

  “One dance,” Maddie was begging Daryl. “One dance, and we’ll go to the mundane world, okay?”

  Agler nudged Nora. “What do you think?” He grinned at her. “You wanna dance?”

  Nora’s first instinct was to say no. She felt shivery and frightened. But it all seemed stupid, didn’t it? She drank some more wine. The liquid seemed to warm her, to chase away the bad thoughts. She smiled at Agler. “I’d love to.”

  Agler stood up, offering her his hand. She let him help her to her feet. Hands joined, Agler led her out into the field, which was swarming with fairies. He pulled her body tight against his, and they began to sway. Nora felt the way she always did, like the music of Helicon spoke to her body without words, telling each muscle how to move. Amazingly, the same thing seemed to happen to Agler, and their bodies moved together in perfect sync. It was heady and powerful. The music seemed to strum in their bones. They were caught up in a swirl of beautiful, glittering lights. There was nothing but music, movement, and each new moment blooming like a brand-new rose.

  Agler’s voice was a deep rumble against her ear. “The fairies almost seemed too small to be real, don’t they?”

  “Mmm,” said Nora.

  Agler gestured with one hand. “I just saw a tiny little boot print in a patch of dirt over there. I couldn’t believe how small it was.”

  Nora arched an eyebrow. “Fairies wear boots?”

  “You got to believe me,” said Agler. He twirled her under one of his arms, and she laughed. “Everything’s so beautiful, isn’t it?”

  Nora looked around, taking in her surroundings. “Absolutely.”

  “So,” said Agler. “Do you want to go to the mundane world?”

  Nora gazed at the rainbow of fairy lights. She let the ethereal music penetrate her. She looked into Agler’s green eyes. She shook her head.

  One corner of Agler’s mouth pulled up. “Me either.” He chuckled softly. “It’s funny, because I’ve gone every May Day and Halloween since I turned fourteen. For the first time, I want to stay here.”

  “I guess the mundane world is sort of exotic for you, huh?” Nora peered up at him. “For me, it’s boring and lifeless. Helicon is the exciting place.”

  “Dancing with you, I have to say I agree.” Agler planted a kiss on the top of her forehead. “I don’t know what it is about you...”

  All the alcohol that she’d drunk made Nora feel lightheaded and invincible. Here, encircled in Agler’s arms, she was safe. She could tackle anything, conquer the world. “Agler—”

  “No. Don’t say it. I know it’s not what you want. I know you’re not ready. But I don’t know why, Nora, I can’t help myself. I’ll wait. Just don’t make me keep how I feel to myself.”

  She touched his cheek. “That isn’t what I was going to say.” She sighed. How did she explain? For some reason, dancing with the fairies, everything seemed different. “You know, Owen always made me feel like it was my fault. Everything was my fault. It was only this time last year that I finally realized that it wasn’t my fault. It was him.”

  Agler stopped moving. “Oh, crap. I didn’t even think. You guys broke up at May Day last year. This has got to be a hard day for you.”

  Nora nudged him to make him dance again. “That’s just it. Maybe it took until today for me to realize it. But the reason my relationship with Owen went badly was because of Owen. Not because of me. I guess I’ve just been thinking that if I could make sure I did everything right, I could keep myself from being hurt again. That’s why I’ve pulled away from you. I blamed myself for the pain. I thought it was my fault. But it wasn’t. So I don’t have to be afraid. I can be with you, really be with you, and that doesn’t mean anything bad will happen.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying no more being friends that kiss. I’m saying no more avoiding each other. If you still want me, I want you.”

  Agler sucked in his breath. “Are you serious?”

  Nora nodded. “Completely.”

  He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. At first the kiss was sweet and tentative, his lips barely brushing hers. But when Nora threw her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his, the kiss deepened. They stood in the middle of the field, fairies flitting about them, stars twinkling down on them, and kissed each other like they had something to prove.

  But after a few minutes, other dancers started bumping into them. They were stationary, and everyone else was moving. Agler seized Nora’s hand and led her away from the dancing, into the darkness. They half-stumbled, half-walked until the sound
of the music faded into the distance. Then they collapsed onto the soft, cool grass, and they were kissing again.

  Here, away from everyone, Nora could hear the gentle chirp of crickets. She lay on her back, and gazed up at the night sky. But then Agler was over her, and his lips were on hers, and she slammed her eyes shut against it.

  Agler propped himself up on his elbows and gazed down at her. “Just to make sure I’ve got this straight, you did say you want to be my girlfriend, right?”

  Nora giggled. “Yes.”

  “And you’re not gonna change your mind? This isn’t some crazy May Day madness?”

  Nora was still giggling. “You’re one to talk. Why did you drag me out into the field? Are you planning to ravage me in the tradition of Maypole dancers?” May Day was a fertility festival, and apparently the muses used to celebrate it pretty literally. Maypole dancers use to have to be virgins, but they wouldn’t have stayed that way.

  Agler shrugged. “Well, that would kind of depend on you.” His hand snaked over her thigh, pushing aside the ribbons of her dress’s skirt.

  Nora gasped. She pulled him down to kiss him again. His fingers traveled higher.

  Even if the muses didn’t use May Day as a way to systematically devirginize girls, that didn’t mean they weren’t “celebrating fertility” in a pretty intense way. Nora remembered that last year, the fields surrounding the dancing had been full of couples. She’d discovered Owen among them, with a fairy. The thought of Owen shot icy terror through her body. She shuddered.

  Agler pulled back. “You okay?”

  “I...”

  Agler’s hand traveled even further up her thigh. “It’s all right, Nora. Just relax.” He leaned down to kiss her again, and that was when she saw it.

  Agler’s eyes flashed—light blue.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Nora screamed. She brought up her knee and jammed it into Agler’s chest as hard as she could. “Get away from me!”

  His eyes changed back to green, and his features settled into a shocked and confused expression. “Nora?”

  She crawled away from him, pushing herself to her feet as soon as she was able. “Stay back!”

  He was on his feet too. He took a step towards her. “What did I do?”

  Nora screamed again. “Back off. Just back off.”

  He held up his hands in surrender. “Fine. I’m staying back. What’s wrong?”

  Nora gritted her teeth. “Don’t play innocent. You’ve been watching me all day, haven’t you? That’s why I kept feeling afraid. You’re inside his body!”

  He furrowed his brow. “Nora, you aren’t making sense. Are you okay?”

  But Nora didn’t get a chance to answer, because her screams had brought several people running. Too large man grabbed Agler by the arms. “What did you do to her?” they were yelling.

  “Nothing,” said Agler. “Let me go.”

  But they dragged him off anyway.

  Nora was surrounded by sympathetic voices and soft touches on her shoulder. They told her she’d be okay. They told her everything would be all right. They draped a blanket around her shoulders. They led her away as well.

  * * *

  Nora was sitting inside Phoebe’s tent. She’d shrugged off the blanket that they’d given her. She wasn’t cold.

  Phoebe stood over her, her arms crossed over her chest. Phoebe didn’t look happy. “Start at the beginning.”

  Nora twisted the edge of the blanket together with her hands. “I’ve been feeling nervous ever since I saw Himeros this morning. He told me I could lead the procession with Sawyer. He seemed really interested in me. And then his eyes changed color. They looked like Owen’s eyes. Later on, Agler’s eyes did the same thing. I think Owen is somehow getting into different people’s bodies so that he can watch me.”

  Phoebe raised her eyebrows. “How much have you had to drink today, Nora?”

  “I don’t really know. Why would you ask me that?”

  “You’re slurring your words something awful,” said Phoebe. “You smell like a distillery. Now I’m not sure if you’re aware, but drunk people have been known to see things that aren’t there.”

  Nora shook her head. “No, it’s not like that. I started drinking because I felt scared. It made me feel better. I hadn’t had a drop when I saw Himeros’ eyes change.”

  Phoebe pulled up a chair opposite Nora. “Frankly, I’m not sure what to do with you these days. You’re awfully fixated on Owen. But I wonder...” She fixed Nora with a steely glare. “The last time I spoke with you, you made a point to let me know that you knew about Nimue and the muse child. The more I thought about it, the more I wasn’t sure that anyone knew about that besides me. So, how did you know?”

  Did this matter? “What does that have to do with this?”

  Phoebe smiled tightly. “Let me illustrate a scenario for you, Nora. What if you actually have met Nimue? What if you’ve been working with her all these years? After all, you’re exactly what she wanted. She wanted a muse child. She got you. But she must have known that we’d never trust you. So what a clever plan it would be to use our mistrust for her own means. If we blame Owen, then we think that Nora is innocent. And as long as you keep us thinking that Owen is a threat, you have free reign to do whatever you want here.”

  Nora was confused. “Wait. Nimue wanted me? I thought I only got taken by accident, because Owen was so enamored with me. He told me he wouldn’t leave without me. What did Nimue want with me?”

  “I’m not going to play that game,” said Phoebe. “Anything that I explain to you will only give you an advantage. You’ll know what we know, but we don’t know what you know.”

  “I don’t know anything! Owen is after me, and he’s using people here in Helicon. That’s all I know.”

  Phoebe shook her head. “You know what I think? I think you’ve done it all. I think you left that message in the snow. I think you made up that flower. And now I think you’re making this up. Perhaps Owen was never the threat. Perhaps it was always you.”

  Nora swallowed hard. “Phoebe, you couldn’t be more wrong about this. I-I would never hurt Helicon. This is my home—”

  “Isn’t that what Owen said?”

  “I swear to you—” Nora broke off. “What are you going to do?” she whispered. “Are you going to send me away?”

  Phoebe was quiet. She got up out of the chair and walked away from Nora. Without turning, she said, “There’s a chance I’m wrong, I suppose. Maybe you’re telling the truth.”

  “I am!”

  Phoebe whirled on her. “How did you find out about the muse child?”

  She couldn’t keep this a secret any longer. Even if she, Sawyer, and Maddie did get in trouble, she had to come clean. “We saw it in a discarded part of an old inspiration thread. We went under the waterfall, at the edge. I don’t know what it means.”

  Phoebe pressed her lips together. “If that’s true, why didn’t you tell me before?”

  “Because we were forbidden to go there. I didn’t want to get in trouble.”

  Phoebe took a deep breath. She turned away from Nora again. “I just don’t know.” She sighed. “Whatever the case, I don’t suppose you blame Agler Thorn for what happened tonight?”

  “It wasn’t Agler. It was Owen.”

  “Of course it was.” She sounded weary and sarcastic. She turned to face Nora again. “I’m watching you, Nora. I want you to understand that. I won’t take any action yet, not until I have some kind of solid proof. You can stay.”

  Nora was relieved. But her problem hadn’t been solved. “What about Owen?”

  “He’s in the mundane world.” Phoebe’s voice was severe. “Let’s have no more talk of Owen for a while, shall we?”

  Nora’s face fell. Phoebe didn’t trust her. It was devastating. She chewed on her lip. “I guess Coeus didn’t find anything.”

  “Coeus?”

  “When I talked to you before, you said you’d have him try to make something to s
ee if magic was coming into Helicon from someplace else. I guess he didn’t find anything.”

  Phoebe sighed. “He tells me the gadget he made is still a prototype. It isn’t ready yet.”

  “Oh.”

  It was quiet.

  “Well,” said Phoebe, “that will be all, then. Off with you.”

  Nora stood up and followed Phoebe out of her tent. Agler was sitting outside, his head in his hands. He was flanked by several muses. They were guarding him, stony expressions on their faces. Phoebe waved a careless arm in their direction. “You can let him go. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

  One of the guards protested. “You didn’t hear her scream. He was doing something to her. If she’s taken it back now, it must be because she’s afraid of him.”

  “Trust me, he’s fine. The situation is more complicated than you could possibly imagine,” Phoebe said.

  Sighing, the guards relented. They let Agler stand up. He wouldn’t even look at Nora. Instead, he trudged off away from the tent without saying anything. Nora chewed on her lip, unsure of what to do. Finally, she just took off after Agler.

  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to speak to him. For all she knew, Owen was still controlling his mind. And that had to be what happened. Owen had done it before. There was no reason not to suspect that he could be doing it now. It explained everything. Why she’d seen Owen’s eyes in other people’s faces. Why she’d been frightened all day. But Phoebe didn’t believe her. Maybe Agler would. But maybe Agler was just Owen in disguise. Maybe she couldn’t confide in him. She didn’t know what to do.

  She caught up to him anyway. “Agler.”

  He stopped walking. “What do you want?” His voice was raspy.

  What did she want? “Are you yourself right now?”

  Agler turned to face her, anger and anguish written all over his face. “What kind of question is that?”

  “I know Owen was controlling you earlier. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “What? Have you lost your mind?”

  Maybe she had. Everyone seemed to think that about her these days.