The Helicon Muses Omnibus: Books 1-4

by V. J. Chambers

  “Um...” Nora chewed on her lip. She wanted to say that he couldn’t take Maddie’s spot because she would be back soon, but Nora didn’t want to be rude to this guy either. “I thought you usually stayed with your dad.”

  “Yeah, well, not this year,” said Roth. He shrugged. “I don’t know why I’m asking you anyway. I’ll set up my tent wherever I want. You can’t stop me.”

  Nora furrowed her brow. Roth was a little prickly, wasn’t he?

  “Hey, Roth, you’re staying here this year?” called Sawyer. He was walking over to Nora’s tent. “Cool. Maybe we can catch up.”

  Roth tossed his tent stuff on the ground next to Nora’s tent. He eyed Sawyer. “Who are you?”

  “Sawyer Snow. You can’t tell me you don’t remember me.” Sawyer gestured meaningfully to his skirt. Nora had to admit that it made him pretty distinctive.

  Roth looked at him blankly. “Sorry.” He turned back to his tent. “Why are you wearing that, anyway?”

  Sawyer sighed. Nora knew that he hated that question. It wasn’t easy to explain, and it made him feel defensive.

  “Because he can,” said Nora. She took Sawyer by the arm. “Come on, let’s go hang out in the tree house. Roth clearly doesn’t want any company.”

  Roth turned around, straightening. His face had broken into an embarrassed smile. “Oh! Sawyer. Sorry, man. I don’t know how I could have forgotten you.”

  Sawyer folded his arms over his chest. “It’s okay.”

  “It’s just been confusing,” said Roth. “The whole moving back. That’s all.” He offered Sawyer his hand.

  Sawyer shook it. “Yeah, I guess I can see that. Good to see you again.”

  “Good to see you.” Roth yanked Sawyer into a big bear hug, thumping him on the back. “Very good to see you.” He raised his voice.

  The other tweens in the enclave turned to look. He was that loud.

  Abruptly, Roth’s arms moved down Sawyer’s body, grasping his skirt. He tugged on it hard, pulling the skirt off Sawyer’s hips.

  Sawyer scrambled to pull the skirt back up, his face turning bright red.

  Behind him, Roth burst into peals of laughter.

  The other muses who had seen were all cracking up too.

  Nora was horrified. She stood next to Sawyer, and they were the only two people not laughing. It was an awful, jeering laughter, and it reminded Nora of the way the jocks at her school in the mundane world used to laugh after they pelted her with spit wads.

  She turned on Roth, furious. “What’s your problem?”

  Roth barely managed to get his laughter under control. “Just a joke is all. For fun.” He smiled, and he looked like an anime character again—only a demented one.

  It gave Nora shivers.

  * * *

  “Nora,” said Sawyer, “I’m okay. It was last night. I’m over it. I’m used to people making fun of me.” They were in the meadow. Overnight, Helicon had turned into a glistening winter wonderland, a thick blanket of snow covering everything. They’d missed the pristine perfectness of it, though, because Maddie was usually the one who got all three of them up early in the morning.

  Sawyer felt wistful, thinking of last year, when Maddie had skipped ahead of them through the virgin snow, eagerly egging them on to figure out what kind of snow sculpture they’d make. Of course, then they’d found a message in the snow from Owen. So, that had kind of sucked.

  Still, it was too bad that Maddie wouldn’t leave her tent this year. She loved snow.

  “People shouldn’t make fun of you,” said Nora.

  “No one saw anything except my knees,” said Sawyer. “It’s not like I wasn’t covered. Besides, we shouldn’t even be worried about me. We should be worried about Maddie.”

  Nora put her hands on her hips. “I thought you said we needed to give her time.”

  “I did,” he said. “We do.” He sighed. “But isn’t it sad that she’s not enjoying the snow? This is her favorite week in Helicon, and she’s missing it.”

  “It is sad.” She hugged herself, looking out over the snow, now marred by footprints. “I’m starting to feel like everything’s falling apart.”

  He couldn’t stand for her to say that. He touched her. “Hey. I’m sorry.”

  She turned to him, grabbing his hand. “It’s not your fault.”

  He wasn’t sure if he believed that. He was terrified of ruining things for her. Just a few short weeks ago, she’d been his best friend, and he was sure that she’d never be anything except an unrequited crush. Now, she was his, really his. She kissed him and let him hold her, and it still seemed so unreal to Sawyer. He thought if he made one wrong move, she might come to her senses. “Let’s make a snow sculpture. It’s what we do, right?”

  It was their tradition. For the past two years, they’d made sculptures together. Both times, their sculptures had been picked to be displayed at the end-of-the-week Winter Ball.

  “It’s what we do with Maddie,” said Nora. “Without her, it feels...”

  He knew what she meant. “Yeah. I know.”

  “I don’t even have an idea, anyway.”

  Sawyer looked around. Others had started making snow sculptures, but most of them were too recently begun to know what they were yet. It wasn’t a good way to get ideas anyway. The last thing they wanted to do was copy someone else. “How about a castle?”

  “That sounds like a lot of work.”

  “A horse?”

  She gave him a funny look. “A horse.”

  He shrugged. “I’m throwing ideas out here, that’s all.”

  “I don’t want to make a horse.” She blew out a frustrated breath, and Sawyer could see it in the frosty air. The cold made her cheeks and lips bright, her skin pale. She was beautiful.

  “Not a horse, then,” he said. He kissed her. He couldn’t stop himself.

  She smiled at him.

  He kissed her again. She pressed close. The kiss deepened.

  Close by, someone was clearing his throat.

  Sawyer pulled away from Nora, annoyed.

  Roth was standing next to them. He wasn’t wearing the snow clothes that the muses provided. In fact, he was barefoot. Must be some weird fairy thing. Couldn’t feel cold or something. Roth had a nasty smile on his face. “Aren’t you two cute.”

  “You want something?” Sawyer asked. “You going to undress me some more?”

  Roth narrowed his eyes. “So, you’re not gay?”

  Sawyer had to admit, this guy was really starting to get on his nerves. Why did he keep asking questions like that? The truth was that Sawyer knew he was attracted to Nora. Very attracted. That didn’t exactly mean that his attraction to guys had gone away. “Are you? That why you were so eager to get me out of my clothes?”

  Roth laughed. “Nice one.” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking out over the meadow. “So, what’s going on here?”

  Sawyer was completely flummoxed. “What?”

  “We don’t have to talk to you,” said Nora. “Let’s go.”

  “They’re making things in the snow?” said Roth.

  “They do that every year,” said Sawyer. “Don’t you remember the year that you and I tried to make a snow tent?”

  Roth arched an eyebrow. “Really?”

  Sawyer shook his head. “What happened to you?”

  “So, everyone makes something?” Roth was smiling his nasty smile again. “They spend a lot of time working hard on it?”

  “Not everyone,” said Nora. “Let’s not make a sculpture this year, Sawyer. Let’s go sledding instead.”

  Sledding? Sawyer considered. “Sounds cool.”

  “Oh, can I come?” said Roth.

  “No,” said Nora. “Stay away from us.” She stalked off.

  “She’s feisty, isn’t she?” said Roth.

  Sawyer had no words. He turned his back on Roth and went after Nora.

  When he caught up, she turned to him in confusion. “What is wrong with that guy? One minute
, he’s a total jerk, and the next minute he acts like it was no big deal.”

  “Yeah, I’ve noticed,” said Sawyer. “He’s different. He wasn’t like that before.”

  * * *

  Maddie peeked out of the door of her tent to see the snow. She waited to feel something.

  Nothing happened.

  She retreated back into her tent and flopped down onto her hammock. She’d moved the tent yesterday, and she wasn’t sure she liked the way she’d arranged it. She might move the hammock, but, if she did, she’d do it later. It sounded like too much work.

  Going to the clothing enclave for snow clothes sounded like too much work too. She had a heater in her tent from the engineering enclave, so she was warm. If she left, she’d have to wade through the snow. It would be cold and wet and uncomfortable.

  She was staying put. At least until she ran out of food.

  She’d raided the food enclave recently, brought back as many desserts as she could carry. That was all she’d been eating for the past week. Pies and cakes and chocolate and caramel. The sweetness was the only pleasure she had anymore.

  Things hadn’t been going well for a while. After Halloween, Nora and Sawyer had disappeared for two months. They were her best friends, and she’d done everything with them.

  At the same time, her boyfriend Daryl had disappeared as well.

  She’d been utterly abandoned. Utterly alone.

  She’d told herself that they would all come back, and that everything would be okay again. She’d taken care of Nora’s pet, Catling, because she was sure that she hadn’t lost everyone she cared about in one fell swoop.

  But when they did come back, nothing was okay at all. Everything was different. Daryl was gone, and Daryl was an imposter. He’d dated her to be a spy for Owen, not because he actually cared about her. Nora had tried to say that Daryl had started to actually care about her, but Nora was only trying to make her feel better. It was all Nora’s fault, anyway. Owen was obsessed with Nora, and he’d ruined everything because of her.

  Missing Daryl had occupied her for months. She’d worried over him, hoped against hope he would be okay.

  And then she’d found out that all along, he’d been pretending. He didn’t actually love her. Because Maddie was unlovable. She was fat and useless.

  Nora, on the other hand?

  Well, everyone liked Nora. Owen was crazy over her. He would kill for her. Agler liked Nora. He’d been so upset when she rejected him, he’d gone to another dimension for six months. And now, even Sawyer liked Nora. Sawyer was gay.

  Nora turned gay guys straight.

  And Maddie couldn’t handle it anymore. She couldn’t be friends with someone like that. She was so jealous, she couldn’t see straight.

  It made it even worse that whenever Nora talked to her, Nora’s voice was dripping with pity. Maddie wanted to shove that pity back in Nora’s face. She didn’t need her sympathy. She didn’t need anything from her.

  Maddie buried her face in her pillows. Tears were starting to threaten, and she didn’t want to cry. She felt like all she did was cry these days.

  There was a rustling at the opening of her tent.

  “Go away!” Her voice was filled with tears. She hated that.

  The opening of the tent gave way and Sawyer came inside.

  Maddie sat up straight on her hammock. “I said to go away.”

  Sawyer had a bundle of snow clothes in his arms. He dropped them on the floor. “I thought maybe you’d want these. You love the snow. Near as I could tell, you haven’t left your tent, so I figured you hadn’t gotten any snow clothes.”

  “Okay, fine. You’ve brought them. Now go.”

  Sawyer sighed. “I know you’re upset, Maddie, and I don’t blame you, but—”

  “You don’t understand anything,” said Maddie. “You’ve fallen under Nora’s stupid spell.”

  “I’ve what?”

  “She changed your sexual preference, Sawyer. Something’s wrong with that. Something’s wrong with her. Every guy on earth should not be obsessed with her.”

  He furrowed his brow. “What are you talking about?”

  “How Nora gets all the guys.”

  He rubbed his face. “That’s what you’re mad about now?”

  She folded her arms over her chest.

  “I’m sorry that this thing between Nora and me is upsetting you so much,” he said. “We didn’t do it to upset you. It just happened. And we’re happy, and it would be nice if you could be happy for us.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Happy for you? After everything?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Because sitting here and being angry and feeling sorry for yourself isn’t going to help anything.”

  “Get out, Sawyer.”

  He sighed. “I didn’t come in here to argue.”

  “You came to bring me the snow clothes. And you have. Now leave.” She liked it better alone. It was easier alone. She couldn’t handle looking at him.

  “I think you’re searching out things to be mad about,” said Sawyer. “I think you want to be angry, and you’re looking for stuff to justify it with.”

  “I said to leave, didn’t I?”

  “You’re really hurting Nora,” he said. “We missed you so much today, we didn’t even bother making a sculpture.”

  “Well, poor, poor Nora,” said Maddie. “How horrible it’s got to be for her.”

  “She cares about you, you know. I care about you. And things aren’t easy for us either. Owen kidnapped us—”

  “Spare me,” she said.

  “I was going to offer to make you a dress for the dance at the end of the week. I always do. I wondered what color you wanted. But since you’re being such a—”

  “I’m not going to that stupid dance anyway.”

  He nodded. “Fine.”

  “Are you going to leave now?”

  His nostrils flared. “You need to be careful. Because if you keep on like this, no one’s going to want to be your friend.”

  “Get. Out.” She hated him at that moment. He was the most loathsome thing she’d ever seen.

  He left the tent.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Don’t bother talking to her,” Sawyer said. He was rustling through a rack of fabric in the clothing enclave.

  Nora watched his long fingers dance over the various colors and textures of fabric. Blue silk, yellow flannel, white linen. She’d met him here a minute ago to help him get measurements for their dresses for the Winter Ball. The minute she’d mentioned Maddie, his expression had gone stormy. “But I want to talk to her.”

  He turned away from the fabric. “Trust me, you don’t. She’s in a foul mood, and she’s channeling her anger at you for no reason.”

  “Me?” Nora sat down on a chair next to a sewing machine. It was late evening. She and Sawyer were the only two in the vast clothing tent. “What did I do?”

  “She’s jealous,” he said. “Because Daryl turned out not to like her, I guess. She said that you get all the guys.”

  She furrowed her brow. What did Maddie mean by that? “I don’t.”

  Sawyer pulled out some purple velour and showed it to Nora. “What do you think?”

  “It’s pretty,” she said. “Seriously, why would she say that? I don’t get all the guys.”

  Sawyer ran his hand over the fabric. “Well, there was Owen, Agler, and me. And Maddie said you changed my sexual orientation, which isn’t true, but—”

  “Owen doesn’t like me, he’s obsessed with me,” said Nora. “And Agler practically told me to date you at Halloween last year.”

  “He did?” Sawyer put the velour back, looking at her sharply.

  “I don’t get all the guys.” She folded her arms over her chest. “And you liked girls before me, you just didn’t know it.”

  He considered. “Well, actually, I like you. I’ve never really—”

  “Did I change your sexual orientation, Sawyer?”

  “No,” he said. “Not at a
ll. I’m not like that, anyway. I don’t have... orientations.”

  She was quiet.

  “Look, I’m sorry I brought it up. I didn’t mean to upset you. She’s only angry and hurt and sad.”

  Nora’s arms were still crossed. She still felt angry. “Are you making her a dress?”

  “She said she’s not coming.”

  She sighed. She let her arms drop. “Well. That is sad.” She chewed on her lip. “I wish we could help her.”

  “We can’t,” he said. “Not until she’ll let us in. And right now she won’t.” Sawyer tugged out some pale blue brocade. “What about this?”

  “That’s nice. For you or me?”

  He shrugged. “What if we... matched? Is that really corny?”

  “Like wore the same dresses?”

  “No.” He looked at her like she was crazy. “Give me some credit. I’m not without a sense of style here. Just similar fabric, maybe?”

  “I’d be okay with us being in the same dresses.” She giggled. “I guess I don’t have a sense of style.”

  He scrutinized her. “You do okay.”

  “Okay?” She looked mock offended. “What’s that mean?”

  He grinned. “It means that you’re lucky you have me to dress you for really important events.”

  She bounded to her feet and went to him, pressing her body against his. “I am lucky.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “No way. I’m the lucky one here.”

  She loved it when he said things like that. She looked at him. His eyes were still closed. He looked blissfully pleased. She kissed his forehead, then the bridge of his nose.

  He opened his eyes slowly. He had such long lashes. “I’m lucky you want to kiss me.”

  She grinned, flushing in pleasure and a little bit of embarrassment. Being close to Sawyer was still new and exciting. It had only been a few weeks, and they were still working it all out. She wasn’t sure how to respond to his compliments. Should she say them back? Say thank you? Say nothing? Owen (unsurprisingly) hadn’t been much for compliments.

  Sawyer’s hands spanned her waist, and his fingers gently brushed her skin, making her tingle. He kissed her again.