Nora turned around, surprised to see that Phoebe was in the visual arts enclave. She stood up, setting down the tiny horse. “Phoebe?”
“You are in here,” said Phoebe. “I was looking all over the enclave.”
“I’m helping Mica with her inspiration thread.”
“Oh, well that’s nice,” said Phoebe. “Do you think she could spare you for a little bit? I was wondering if I could talk to you.”
“Sure,” said Nora. She went over to clean off her hands, and then followed Phoebe out of the visual arts enclave.
Phoebe didn’t speak until they were out in the meadow on the other side of the enclave, far enough away that no one could hear them. Then she turned to Nora. “I wanted to talk to you about Owen.”
Nora swallowed. Last year, Phoebe had been convinced that Nora was making up all the things that Owen was doing. She didn’t think that the sickness was Nora’s responsibility too, did she?
Phoebe smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Nora. I’m not here to accuse you of anything.”
Nora let out a relieved breath. “Oh. Good.”
“You know him better than anyone, though, Nora. You grew up with him. You spent your childhood with him. The two of you were lovers, at least briefly.”
“Oh, Owen and I never…”
“I meant that you were in a romantic relationship,” said Phoebe. “I’m not concerned with how intimate you were with him.”
Nora nodded. “Right. Well, I guess you’re right. I know him. But, the thing is, Phoebe, I’m not sure anyone knows Owen. Everything he did was carefully calculated. He did things because he wanted me to behave in certain ways. I’m not sure how much of what I know of him is really authentic, and how much of it was manufactured to make me do whatever he wanted.”
“I understand that. But I still have to talk to you, because I don’t know who else I could consult. Will you try to answer my questions?”
“Best as I can.”
“Thank you,” said Phoebe. “Did Owen ever indicate to you that he’d like to go to another one of the dimensions?”
“I don’t think so,” said Nora. “He took us to Avalon, but it was only because he was trying to kill Nimue.”
“He hates her, doesn’t he?” said Phoebe. “As near as you could tell, his feelings for his mother are genuine, not manufactured?”
Nora nodded. “She abandoned him, and she was cruel to him, and she tried to hurt me. He despised her.”
“And he cared about you.”
“Yes, but Nimue did that to him in order to manipulate him into stealing a muse child,” said Nora. “She took it away when we were in Avalon. I’m not sure if he’s still even interested in me.”
“That’s what’s been bothering me,” said Phoebe. “If Owen isn’t obsessed with you anymore, then why is he still trying to harm Helicon?”
“I don’t know,” said Nora.
“Even before, his actions were always centered around you,” said Phoebe. “This time, however, he’s harming everyone else.”
“Well, he’s harmed people before.”
“Yes, but only in order to make you do what he wanted.”
Nora chewed on her lip.
Phoebe sighed. “He’s become even more dangerous and unpredictable now that he doesn’t care about you. Perhaps that was the only thing that reigned him in. Maybe his concern about what you thought of him kept him from hurting anyone too badly.”
“He’s really damaging Helicon, isn’t he?”
Phoebe looked away. “The amount of inspiration threads we’re sending out this year is down, Nora. I can’t deny that. We’re still managing, but more and more people get sick every day. And I have no idea where Owen is. Do you have any kind of clue where he might have gone?”
Nora didn’t. “Maybe he went looking for Dionysus again? Maybe he wanted to connect with his father.”
“Given the way they parted, I think that seems unlikely, don’t you?” said Phoebe. “Wasn’t Dionysus indifferent towards him?”
“Yeah,” said Nora. “But maybe he didn’t want to connect. Maybe he wanted to get even.”
Phoebe considered. “That’s a possibility, I suppose. I can get in touch with Dionysus, even though Coeus won’t like it.” She made a rueful face. “But I’ll have to do what I can for Helicon.”
“Sorry I can’t help more,” said Nora.
“It’s all right,” said Phoebe. “But promise me that if anything else occurs to you that might be helpful that you’ll come to me, even if it seems obvious or unlikely.”
“I will,” said Nora.
Phoebe clasped her hands. “We have to find him, Nora. I don’t know what we’ll do if we can’t stop this epidemic.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Kevin, Jed, and Otto were sitting around the fire pit in the tweens and rebels enclave. Nora had only known them before as Black Curly Hair, Tie-Dye T-shirt, and Red Handkerchief. They were the people that Owen had gathered up to reveal his plan to rule Helicon two years ago. They looked mostly the same, if a little older. They were all drinking beer that had been spiked with the truth cordial.
“What’s this about?” said Kevin. “I’m starting not to buy the idea that you want to have a memorial for Daryl.”
“Yeah,” said Jed, eying them. Nora, Sawyer, Maddie and Agler all stood in front of them, glaring down at the other three. “It seems like you guys are mad about something.”
“Not mad,” said Maddie. She sat down on a bench with them and motioned with her head for the others to do the same. “Actually, we wanted to talk to you guys about Owen, and we weren’t sure if you’d come if we were up front about it.”
“Owen,” said Otto. “Yeah, that doesn’t really make us real popular, you know? The fact that we hung out with him?”
“We didn’t mean to, you understand,” said Jed. “He could be real convincing when he wanted to be.”
“Yeah,” said Kevin, “he’d just look at you, and suddenly, you’d be doing whatever he said to do. It was weird like that.”
“You mean he controlled your mind?” said Nora.
“Nah, not really,” said Otto. “It was more like…” He looked at the other guys. “Like you wanted to make him happy. Like you really wanted to.”
“He wasn’t as bad as people say,” said Kevin.
“He wasn’t?” said Agler. “What makes you say that?”
“He cut off my freaking finger!” said Sawyer, clenching his teeth.
Nora caught him by the shoulder and shook her head. They didn’t need to argue with these guys. They needed to know what they thought.
He relaxed, but his eyes still flashed.
Kevin had a far away look in his eyes. “He was different than everyone else. He had good ideas. You know, he was right about the fact that the council is no good at protecting this place against threats.”
“Yeah,” said Jed. “Look at what’s happening with the sickness everyone’s getting.”
“Except the security enclave, though,” said Otto. “Ain’t a single one of us sick. It must only affect the muses.”
“Is that really true?” said Maddie. “No one in the security enclave is sick?”
“Not a one,” said Kevin.
“Now, if Owen hadn’t been kicked out,” said Jed, “then that sickness wouldn’t even be happening.”
“Because he’s behind the sickness, right?” said Nora.
“Well, that’s what everyone says,” said Otto.
“And who knows, maybe they’re right,” said Kevin. “I mean he could probably figure out some way to do it, don’t you think?”
“Sure,” said Jed. “But why would he? He loved this place. It was his home.”
Otto chuckled. “Remember how he used to go on and on about how long it took him to get back to Helicon, and how he belonged here, and this was the only place he’d ever belonged and all of that crap?”
Jed laughed. “Yeah, he never shut up about stuff like that.”
“W
ait,” said Agler. “Let me get this straight. You don’t think Owen is behind the sickness?”
The three guys all looked at each other, then shrugged.
“I don’t know, he could be,” said Kevin.
“Maybe,” said Otto.
“And you’re not helping him with it?” said Sawyer.
“Us?” sad Jed. “We haven’t talked to him in years.”
“Not that I wouldn’t help him,” said Kevin. “I mean, let’s face it, all the crap that happens around here would never have happened if he’d been in charge like he wanted. He would have run Helicon better than the council. They probably only threw him out because they knew that they sucked, and they didn’t want him stealing their jobs and showing them up.”
“Owen did a lot of bad things,” said Nora. “He hurt people. He controlled people’s minds.”
Otto nodded. “You know, it’s funny. Any other time, if someone asked me about this stuff, I’d say that he controlled my mind too. I wouldn’t admit that I agreed with him. But for some reason, it’s like I can’t stop telling you guys exactly what I really think.”
“Me too,” said Jed.
Kevin folded his arms over his chest. “Why are you guys talking to us?”
“We’re curious about Owen,” said Maddie. “We thought you guys might know something about him. Where he is, how he’s getting the sickness into Helicon, what he’s up to, that kind of stuff.”
“Well, like we said,” said Otto, “none of us have seen him, right guys?”
“Right,” said Kevin.
“Right,” said Jed.
Otto narrowed his eyes. “Did you do something to us?”
“Do something?” said Maddie.
“No,” said Sawyer.
“Like what could we do to you?” said Nora.
“Just because I happen to think that some of Owen’s ideas are good doesn’t mean that I’m a bad person, you know,” said Kevin. “I know you guys hate him, but Nora, you’re his ex-girlfriend, and no one gets along well with someone after a breakup. The rest of you are all her friends. You can’t see Owen clearly.”
Sawyer held up his hand, pointing at his missing finger. “Oh, I think I see him clearly enough.”
The guys shrugged again.
“Look, I think Owen would be a good leader for Helicon, that’s all,” said Jed.
“But that’s not something I’d generally want to broadcast,” said Otto. “You did do something to us, didn’t you?”
Maddie stood up. “You know, we’re good here. Maybe you guys should just take your beer and head on home. We don’t need to talk about anything else. It’s a sore subject and all.”
“How long before it wears off?” said Jed.
“Until what wears off?” said Nora. “There’s nothing to wear off.” She let out a nervous giggle.
Jed, Kevin, and Otto didn’t look convinced.
* * *
“I don’t know what’s worse,” said Agler, pacing in front of the fire pit. “That we’re nowhere closer to figuring out how Owen’s doing this, or that the three of those guys are still Owen’s bitches.”
It had taken some convincing, but they’d finally gotten the other boys to leave the enclave.
“Yeah, it’s disturbing,” said Nora. “They really don’t seem to understand that Owen’s bad news.”
“They want him to take over Helicon?” said Sawyer. “That would be the worst thing that could possibly happen.”
“It never will,” said Agler. “There’s no way that the council would ever let him.”
“Could they stop him?” said Nora.
“Of course,” said Maddie.
“Definitely,” said Sawyer.
“How?” said Nora. “The council isn’t particularly good at dealing with threats, you know. If Owen really wanted to take over Helicon, how would they stop him?”
No one said anything.
Nora studied her hands. “You know, maybe that’s what all of this is about. Maybe he’s going to make any muse that would get in his way sick. Then, when we’re all helpless, Owen will sail in and set himself up as the king of everything. I mean, now that he no longer wants me, what’s left for him to want? Helicon, of course.”
More silence.
“Well, if the council can’t stop him, then we will,” said Agler.
“How?” said Nora. “We can’t figure out how he’s doing it. We can’t get a break in interrogating people. Every time we test a theory, we’re back to square one. We can’t stop him either.”
“Nora, he’s exiled,” said Sawyer. “He can’t take over Helicon.”
“Don’t you think he could find a way around that?” Nora squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the last time she’d seen Owen. He’d been angry and crazy and determined. He hadn’t cared about anything except himself. The tie he’d had to Nora had been broken.
Sawyer put his arm around her. “Hey. Calm down.”
She looked up at him. “I’m scared.”
He rubbed her back. “We’ll do something.”
Nora turned from Sawyer to Agler and Maddie, including all of them in the statement. “What?”
No one met her gaze.
Finally, Maddie cleared her throat. “Um, what if they were right? What if Owen isn’t behind this?”
“It has to be Owen,” said Agler. “Doesn’t it?”
“He seems like the most logical choice,” said Sawyer. “After all, we know he hates Helicon.”
“No,” said Nora. “He doesn’t hate Helicon.”
“That’s right,” said Maddie. “They even said it. He considers this place his home.”
“He loves it here,” said Nora. “Even his idea of ruling it is out of some kind of misplaced idea of protecting it.”
Agler stopped pacing. “You think it could be someone besides Owen?”
“I don’t know,” said Nora. “If it’s not Owen, then who?”
“Well, we barked up the wrong tree before with Owen,” said Agler. “We thought that he was the one opening the portals, and it turned out to be Dirk. Maybe this is the same kind of thing.”
Nora thought about it. “Maybe he’s not interested in Helicon at all anymore. Maybe when he lost that tie to me, he decided to ignore me and ignore Helicon.”
“Well, if it wasn’t Owen,” said Agler, “then we’ve got to try to think of who else it might be. If it’s somebody like Dirk, then it would be an outcast. Someone who doesn’t like it here.”
They all looked at each other, blankly.
“Who doesn’t like it in Helicon?” said Nora.
“We’ve got to be on the lookout,” said Maddie. “Look for loners, people on the fringe.”
“And then dose them with the truth cordial?” said Sawyer.
“Yeah,” said Nora.
“What if it’s not someone in Helicon?” said Sawyer.
“What if it isn’t being caused by a person?” said Nora. “What if it actually is a sickness, and it was transmitted here somehow?”
Agler sat down on a bench. “We need to do more research on the sickness as well. Find out if the people who came down with it have anything in common.”
“Okay,” said Maddie. “Well, how about we split up? Nora and Sawyer, you guys can work on finding loners and asking them questions. Agler and I can start asking questions of the sick people.”
Nora took a deep breath. “That’s good. That’s a good plan.”
Maddie smiled. “You think so?”
“Yeah,” said Nora. “Hey, maybe we aren’t horrible at detective work after all.”
* * *
Mellinoe Spring was lying in her hammock, nearly motionless. Her skin was pale, and her lips were dry and cracked. Her eyes and hair looked dull. She spoke in a barely audible whisper. Agler took her hand in his, his heart going out to her. She looked so pathetic. He realized that he’d been too taken up in his own petty concerns to pay much attention to the sickness. He hadn’t known how awful it truly was.
“We only want to ask you a few questions, Mellinoe,” he said.
“We’ll try not to tire you out, okay?” said Maddie.
“Okay,” Mellinoe breathed. It was hard to hear her. Agler was gripping her hand, but she didn’t have the strength to grip back, so her hand was limp in his.
“Did anything out of the ordinary happen before you got sick?” said Maddie.
Mellinoe furrowed her brow. “No.”
Well, that wasn’t helpful, was it? Agler gave her hand a squeeze. “Do you think you could give us a run down of what you did the day before you started feeling bad?”
Melinoe drew in a raspy breath. “I can… try.”
“Take your time,” said Maddie.
“I worked on a dress that day. Something I was making for my mother. I nearly finished it.” Mellinoe coughed several times, a dry, hacking sound. “I had lunch in the fabric enclave with some of the other muses. And I went by Mack River’s place because he wanted me to adopt one of his little chimera creations. I was going to go back tomorrow to get it. It was some kind of bird thing. But I got too sick to make it, and I never did.”
“Anything else?” said Agler.
Mellinoe went into a coughing fit again. “No, nothing else. I went to dinner at the main fire pit and stayed for the council meeting. I stayed late, drinking wine and dancing. Then I went to bed. The next day, I started to feel weak.”
She didn’t look like she could take much more questioning.
Agler patted her hand. “Thank you, Mellinoe. We’ll let you keep resting now, okay?”
Mellinoe coughed. The sound was deeper and more scraping.
Maddie got her some water.
When they left the tent, Mellinoe had quieted, but she was too weak to hold the glass of water by herself. Her eyes drooped.
Agler wished there was something else they could do for her. It was awful to see her lying there like that, incapable of getting up.
Maddie looked stricken as well. She was quiet as they left Mellinoe’s tent.
They walked together for several minutes in silence.
Then Maddie spoke up. “Well, that’s one down.”
The Helicon Muses Omnibus: Books 1-4 Page 77