The Helicon Muses Omnibus: Books 1-4

by V. J. Chambers

  He turned her back around. “You’ll be fine,” he whispered in her ear. “More than anything, I want you to be happy, Nora. I’ll see you later.”

  Before she could stop him, Sawyer was already gone. And Agler was right next to her. She let out a nervous laugh. “Agler. Hi.”

  He grinned easily. “I saw you over here and I thought I would come and say hello. Jack should be here any minute. He went to pick us up some drinks. We’re going to check out the haunted house. Was that Sawyer you were with?”

  Nora nodded.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him not in a skirt. At least not since we were kids. He looks completely different. It’s too bad he ran off. I would’ve liked to say hi to him.”

  If Agler wished Sawyer hadn’t run away and he was saying Jack would be there any minute, then he hadn’t sought her out to talk to her. He was only being friendly. “Now that you’re back, I’m sure you’ll see him at some point.”

  “You’re right. So, how have you been?”

  “Good,” she said. “Owen sent me a threatening letter at the Solstice, and then Maddie disappeared, and then we thought Owen had taken her, so we brought him to Helicon, but it turned out that Maddie had accidentally taken herself to Avalon, so we went after her.” She was talking too much. She laughed again. “But the last few months have been pretty quiet.” She chewed on her lip. “How about you?”

  “Good. Hanging out with fairies. Playing a lot of music.” He shrugged. “Sounds like things have been pretty crazy around here.”

  “Well, nothing has really happened since August.”

  Agler looked down at his feet. “Listen, um, Nora. I did want to say that I was sorry. I was kind of harsh on you before I left.”

  This was it. This was when Agler would tell her to all of it had been a mistake. He would tell her that he’d been thinking about her the whole time he was away. He would ask her if he could have another chance. They would kiss. Nora smiled. “It’s okay. Really. Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry too.”

  “I think I just had to get my head clear. There was no way that we were ever going to work. You know, as a couple. If I hadn’t been so close to the situation, I would’ve been nicer to you about it. Now that some time has passed, and I’ve got some perspective, I realize that all I was ever meant to feel towards you is friendship.” He grinned at her again.

  Nora nodded like an idiot. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking. You read my mind.” But her mouth was dry, and she felt slightly sick to her stomach.

  “Really?” Agler was still grinning, and Nora thought it might drive her crazy. “That’s great. It’s so good to know we’re on the same page.”

  Nora did her best to smile back at him. Her face felt tight. She pointed over Agler’s shoulder. “Isn’t that Jack?”

  He turned. “Yeah, it is.” He looked back at her. “Uh...” He scratched the back of his neck. “Listen, this might be a little out of line, but I guess Sawyer told you why Jack broke up with him?”

  Nora thought back. “Oh! Yeah, it was totally ridiculous. He thought Sawyer had a crush on me or something.” The conversation she’d just had with Sawyer flashed bright in her memory. Was it ridiculous? It had to be. She and Sawyer were friends. He couldn’t have those kinds of feelings for her, could he?

  Agler nodded at his feet. “Do you, um, remember when we talked in the spring, and I asked you what had changed between last Halloween and then?”

  Nora did. She remembered that it had bothered her. “I was completely horrible to you back then. I didn’t know what I wanted—”

  “Maybe what changed was Sawyer.”

  Nora took a step back. It was one thing for Sawyer to like her. It was another entirely to suggest that she liked him back. He was her friend. “Wait, Agler, is that why you think we weren’t meant to be together? Because I don’t have a thing for Sawyer.” Maybe if she cleared this up, Agler would come around after all.

  “You spent a lot of time with him. He was the only person you could count on last winter. I wasn’t there for you—”

  “Because Owen was controlling your mind. That wasn’t your fault.”

  Agler shrugged. “Okay, like I said, maybe I’m out of line. But I thought about it a lot when I was with the fairies and certain things seemed clearer. You and Sawyer are always together. You’re close. And I remember that comment you made about how he looked at May Day.”

  “We’re friends,” Nora said. “Nothing else.”

  Jack waved at Agler and called out.

  Agler turned to look at him again. He smiled at Nora. “I’m glad we got to talk. Enjoy the rest of your Halloween. I’ll see you later.”

  “Wait,” said Nora. Was this really about Sawyer?

  But Agler was already walking away.

  Nora rubbed her face. She was feeling really confused. Agler had rejected her. That was devastating, right? So why did some part of her feel a little giddy? Was Agler right? Did she like Sawyer? Did Sawyer like her?

  Well, she couldn’t like Sawyer. Sawyer wasn’t eligible. He was gay.

  Except for the fact that he’d basically told her that he wasn’t gay earlier that night.

  Well, he was practically a girl.

  Except for the fact that Nora had spent the whole year thinking about how Sawyer was a graceful blend of both masculinity and femininity. And tonight, in his costume...

  Was she really going to keep telling herself she didn’t find Sawyer attractive?

  She chewed on her lip, standing all by herself outside the haunted circus tent, and felt alternately terrified and exhilarated. She did find him attractive. God help her, she did. But her attraction to Sawyer was a sweet rush of something forbidden. He was taboo. He was off-limits. She was not supposed to be attracted to a guy like that. She was supposed to be attracted to burly arms and thick necks and rippling muscles. Not to sleek angles and elfin features, and— No one would understand. Most people would think Sawyer was odd-looking or strange. They wouldn’t find him alluring, only comical.

  But now that she was being honest with herself, she’d been feeling an aching curiosity for some time when it came to Sawyer. She wanted to know what it would be like to kiss him, really kiss him. She wanted to run her fingers over his skin—translucent, delicate skin... Would it be as soft as she imagined it to be?

  She drew in a little breath. Even thinking this made her feel deliciously wicked. What should she do? Should she find Sawyer, and—

  But what if she’d read everything wrong? What if he did like girls in general, but not her? That would be so embarrassing.

  “Nora! You’re still here.”

  Sawyer and Daryl were coming across the architecture enclave. Act cool, she urged herself.

  Nora approached them. “Hey.”

  “What happened with Agler?” Sawyer said.

  “Um...” Nora wasn’t sure what to say. She wished Daryl weren’t there, so that she could talk to Sawyer alone. “Nothing really. He just wanted to say hi.”

  Sawyer gave her a hug. “I’m sorry. I know you really wanted things to work out with him.”

  Nora wrapped her arms around Sawyer. So this is what it would be like, huh? It was nice. Sawyer’s arms weren’t big, but they were stronger than hers. She closed her eyes, breathing in his scent—cider and wood smoke. Could this possibly ever work?

  Sawyer pulled away. “Hey, are you sure you’re all right? That was some hug.”

  “I...” Nora took a step away from him. “Could we maybe talk? Just the two of us?”

  “After we go to the mundane world,” said Daryl.

  Sawyer nodded. “That’s why we found you. Daryl says you have to come along.”

  Nora looked at Daryl. “Where’s Maddie?”

  Daryl made a face. “She called me a bunch of names and then she passed out. I left her in the tent. I guess you were right. I shouldn’t have let her drink so much.”

  “Oh, that sucks.”

  “Overall,” said D
aryl, “it’s the best thing. Anyway, now that you’re here, let’s go.”

  Daryl was still harping on this mundane world thing, huh? She chewed on her lip. “I don’t know if I’m really in the mood. Why don’t you guys just go without me?”

  “That’s what I said when I thought you were with Agler,” said Sawyer. “Daryl wasn’t having it.”

  “You have to come, Nora,” said Daryl. “It won’t be the same without you.” He wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders. “Besides it will be like old times. The three of us exploring another dimension.”

  “Yeah, because that went well,” said Nora.

  “We got Maddie back, didn’t we?” Daryl said. “I think it went very well.”

  There was no way she’d get to talk to Sawyer with Daryl there. If only there was some way to get rid of him. “Are you sure you want to leave Maddie alone now?”

  “Come on,” said Daryl. “It’ll be fun.” By this point, he was already walking. Since he had his arms around the both of them, they had to start walking too.

  “I spent most of my life in the mundane world. There isn’t anything particularly exciting about it.”

  “How much of the mundane world did you see?” Daryl asked. “For instance, have you ever been to England?”

  “Well, no.” At the mention of England, Nora suddenly started to feel a little bit excited. She smiled. “Okay. Maybe that could be kind of cool.”

  “Kind of?” Daryl walked faster. Soon they were on the outskirts of the Halloween celebration. They had faded into the darkness, away from the other muses. “It’s going to be great.” Daryl came to a stop. “Now, since you guys don’t know exactly where it is we are going, keep your minds blank and hold on to me.”

  Nora remembered that when you went into the mundane world, if you didn’t have a destination in mind, you were sent to a default spot. Somewhere in Virginia, apparently. However, if you focused on a different place, you could go there instead. It only worked for muses on cross quarter days, when the veil between the worlds was thin.

  She and Sawyer both wrapped their arms around Daryl’s waist.

  Daryl glanced at each of them. “You ready?”

  They nodded.

  Daryl closed his eyes. Nora kept hers open. She watched as the world of Helicon began to waver. It looked like the distortion in the air over a grill on a hot day. Then their surroundings began to break apart and flit away. Beneath them, another landscape appeared.

  A cold breeze wafted out. Nora shivered. It was quite dark here. Very late at night, because the stars looked tired. She could see the outline of a hill in the distance but not much else.

  She craned her neck to look around and came face-to-face with someone. He must’ve been behind them. By the time she recognized the blue, blue eyes, it was too late. She was gazing into them, drowning in their depths. She felt a quick jab of panic.

  But a velvety voice soon soothed that. “Hello, Nora. You’re very happy to see me.”

  A smile broke out on her face. “Owen. I missed you.”

  “And I missed you.” His lips were on hers.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Owen and Daryl were tying Sawyer up, because Sawyer wouldn’t look into Owen’s eyes. Sawyer was struggling a lot.

  “Don’t hurt him,” Nora said. She was very happy to see Owen, but Sawyer was important to her, even if that weird attraction she’d been feeling about him now felt very, very far away.

  Owen ignored her. “This would be a whole lot easier if you would cooperate.”

  Sawyer’s eyes were closed. “No way, asshole.”

  “Almost didn’t recognize you. You don’t look like Twisted Sister. Trying out a new look?” Owen glanced over at Daryl and Nora, taking in their outfits. “No. I guess you’re all dressed up for Halloween.”

  Daryl was holding Sawyer by the shoulders, keeping him from moving. Nora was confused. She knew that she was happy to see Owen. She knew that Sawyer wasn’t. But why wasn’t Owen also tying up Daryl? Something about that didn’t make sense.

  Owen pulled the knot tight at Sawyer’s wrists. He knelt down to tie Sawyer’s feet. “Where’s the fat chick?” he said to Daryl.

  “I didn’t bring her,” said Daryl. “And she isn’t fat.”

  “I can see that you didn’t bring her. Why not? I specifically told you to bring her.”

  “You don’t need her.”

  Owen barked out a mocking laugh. “You played your part too well, didn’t you? Started to think all those things you were pretending to feel were real?”

  Played your part? What?

  Daryl’s nostrils flared, and he let go of Sawyer’s shoulders. Sawyer couldn’t stay balanced anymore and fell down, wrenching the rope at his feet out of Owen’s hands.

  “Look what you did,” said Owen.

  “I don’t care,” said Daryl.

  Nora rushed forward and knelt next to Sawyer. “Are you okay?”

  But Sawyer wasn’t paying any attention to her. “You set us up, Daryl. I take back everything I said. You are a jerk.”

  Daryl turned to Sawyer. “I only did this because he said it has something to do with Nimue. That’s it.”

  Things were slowly starting to make sense in Nora’s mind. “You brought us here to meet Owen?”

  Daryl nodded. “But I was done with him. After Maddie disappeared, I was done with him. You have to believe me.”

  Nora gave Daryl a hug. “Thank you. I’m so happy to see Owen.”

  Daryl pushed her away. He looked guilty.

  “Done with him?” Sawyer said. “What does that mean?”

  “Exactly what I said,” said Daryl. “You didn’t get any more messages from him after that, did you?”

  “You were delivering the messages,” said Sawyer. “You wrote that thing in the snow. You left the flowers in Nora’s tent.” He laughed. “Hell, you even handed that letter to Nora yourself. Did you go into our tents and steal our dresses too? You did, didn’t you?”

  “I stopped.” Daryl folded his arms over his chest.

  Owen had finished tying up Sawyer’s feet. He stood up. “You don’t have to talk to them. You need to talk to me.”

  Daryl shifted on his feet. “All I want to do is help you with this Nimue problem, and then I’m out. I don’t want anything more to do with you.”

  Owen glared at Daryl. “I only needed you to do a very simple job. And you’ve screwed that up. Now run back to Helicon like a good boy and bring back Miss Piggy.”

  “You don’t need her.” Daryl gestured at Sawyer. “You have him. She cares about him. And would you stop calling Maddie names?”

  Owen laughed. “Please tell me you brought the device.”

  Daryl nodded. “I brought it.”

  “Give it to me.”

  Daryl shook his head. “I don’t think you need to have it indefinitely. You tell me where we need to go, and I’ll get us there. And then I’ll take it back to Helicon.”

  For a second, Nora felt sure that Owen was going to strangle Daryl. Then Owen took a deep breath. “You do have it though, don’t you?”

  “I took it. You’re right that security is very lax in Helicon. They’re idiots.”

  “You’re scum, Daryl,” said Sawyer. “You’re worse than scum.”

  “I agreed to all of this before I knew you,” said Daryl. “Once I did, I stopped. At first I thought he only wanted to play some jokes, anyway. Shake Nora up a little bit. When he found out about the dimension device, he wanted me to get it for him once it was finished. After the thing with Maddie, I told him I wouldn’t.”

  Owen was smiling now. “But Daryl. I didn’t kidnap her.”

  “But you could have. And it wouldn’t even have bothered you. That was when I realized that there was something off about you.”

  “I’m different. But you know what that’s like, don’t you? All of the muses can create, and the security enclave is stuck feeling worthless. You know what it’s like to be different.” Owen’s voice ha
d gotten soothing. Nora liked it.

  “It’s not the same.” But Daryl’s voice sounded more unsure.

  “It’s the same feeling. We’re both outcasts. We’re both different. Give me the dimension device. Just hand it over. Once you do that, everything will be fine.”

  Daryl looked uncomfortable. “I can’t. I didn’t bring it here. I brought it somewhere else. Somewhere in the mundane world. I knew you’d try to convince me to give it to you.”

  Owen’s shoulders slumped. “You had to make this really difficult, didn’t you?”

  Daryl didn’t say anything.

  “I’ll deal with you later,” said Owen. “Pick up girly boy.”

  Daryl hoisted Sawyer up, throwing him over his shoulders.

  Owen took Nora’s hand. He kissed her on the forehead. “Sorry about all this, love. We’ll have time to catch up soon.”

  * * *

  Owen led them to the top of the hill, where the air got misty. Nora could hardly see what was right in front of her face, let alone where they were headed. When they were practically on top of it, a shadowy tower came into view. Nora had to bend her neck up to see that the top of it was shrouded in mists.

  Owen opened an oaken door on the side of the tower and let them all in. They entered a vast modern kitchen, complete with a humming refrigerator, bright lights, and spotless tile floors. Nora was shocked. The place had looked so ancient from the outside.

  “Like it?” said Owen. “I’ve been working on it for the past few months. I wanted you to be comfortable.”

  “You installed electricity?”

  “Don’t be silly,” said Owen. “Nimue did that way before we ever got here. You remember being here before, don’t you?”

  Nora didn’t. “No.”

  Owen turned to Daryl, who was still carrying Sawyer. “You can take him into that room.” He pointed. “Then find some way to amuse yourself. Nora and I have some catching up to do.”

  Sawyer began to struggle. “Fight him, Nora! You have to fight him.”

  Fight Owen? But she was so happy to see him. Still... there was something strange about that, wasn’t there? She felt maybe she shouldn’t be so happy to see him. Why was that?