The Helicon Muses Omnibus: Books 1-4

by V. J. Chambers

  Jack shrugged, getting up off the blanket.

  She chewed on her lip. On the other hand, she really didn’t have anything to do, did she? If she didn’t go, she’d just end up getting drunker here. And she didn’t have anyone to hang out with. She got up too. “Hey, Jack, wait.”

  “Change your mind?”

  She grinned. “Let’s go.”

  * * *

  Sawyer peered out into the darkness. He was perched on one of the benches around the main fire pit, looking down over the field below, where fairies and muses danced, played, and sang. There were lights and revelry, and he was overcome by how much he enjoyed all of it.

  Lute was sitting on the ground next to him, plucking out a tune on a tiny guitar. The music Lute made swam in between the rest of the music, filling in holes and harmonizing. It was perfect.

  Sawyer took a long drink of his mint margarita. He was pleasantly buzzed, but not wasted drunk, and he was glad of it. Too often, he ended up drinking too much at May Day. He was glad he hadn’t overdone it this year.

  Lute looked up at him, giving him a lazy smile. “What do you usually do on May Day?”

  Sawyer considered. “You’re looking at it.”

  “You don’t miss your friends?”

  “We saw them earlier.” Sawyer raised his eyebrows. “Do you miss your friends?”

  “Whatever, I don’t have friends like you do,” said Lute. “I mostly float around, hang out with different people.”

  “Do you want to dance?” said Sawyer.

  Lute raised his eyebrows. “Do you want to go on a walk?”

  “You mean…?” Sawyer gestured with his head out into the darkness, beyond the lights of the music and dancing. There were lots of people out in the fields on May Day. It was a fertility holiday after all. People wandered out under the cover of night to be closer to each other, but Sawyer had never been one of those people.

  Lute set down his instrument and stood up. “I mean a walk.”

  Sawyer nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

  They were quiet as they strode down through the field. Sawyer watched the brightly-colored fairies darting through the air. They were beautiful and magical. They went past the fairies, past the dancers, past the musicians.

  The darkness enveloped them. It was colder out here than it usually was at night in Helicon, owing to the fact that it was spring today. Sawyer hadn’t felt it amongst all the activity and people, but now that they were farther away, it was chilly. A little shiver went through him.

  Lute’s hand brushed his, and he shivered harder, but for different reasons.

  Feeling bold, he seized the other guy’s hand, entwining his fingers with Lute’s. They walked together like that, holding hands, their bodies close. Sawyer felt again as if he was riding a cresting wave, as if energy was building around the two of them.

  They walked and walked. Any time they saw another couple (most of whom were lying in the grass), they swerved away to give them a wide berth. But after a while, they didn’t see any more couples. They had walked quite far from the celebration. The music in the background was muted now. The sounds of insects and the whispering breeze could be heard.

  “I’m afraid,” Lute whispered in his ear.

  Sawyer stopped short. “There’s nothing to worry about out here. It’s perfectly safe.”

  A low laugh. “No, I mean I’m afraid of doing… things with you.”

  “Oh,” Sawyer’s voice was quiet too. He tried to make out Lute’s face, but it was too dark out here. He could only see a shadow of his features. “I’m afraid too.”

  “You? But why? You’ve kissed men before.”

  “Is that why you’re afraid? Because I’m not a girl?”

  More soft laughter, self-deprecating. “Well, that’s all I’ve ever done. And you’re not like them. You’re like this force. You’re fierce and tall and pretty and strong and…” Lute’s fingers suddenly left Sawyer’s hand and crawled up his arm. He caressed Sawyer’s bicep. “Hard.”

  Sawyer’s body responded like he was a live wire. He didn’t think he’d ever wanted to do something so badly in his entire life. Grab him. Grab him and kiss him, he told himself. But he didn’t move. Instead, he only got out a hoarse whisper, “You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

  A sharp intake of breath from Lute. “I want this so bad. I think about it. I lie awake in my hammock, and I think about your body, and I’m so goddamned curious, but…”

  “But?”

  Nothing. Lute’s hand traveled higher, his fingers brushing Sawyer’s shoulder. “I… I don’t think I’m gay.”

  “I know that. You’ve told me that before.”

  “No, I mean… what if it’s just some weird fascination I have with you? And what if we start, you know, doing things, and I can’t handle it?”

  Sawyer had never heard such vulnerability from Lute. He suddenly realized that they were the same. They were both terrified. They were both afraid of their desire for each other. And that could only be because it was powerful. He turned, seeking the other guy’s face in the darkness. He found it. Stroked the outline of Lute’s jaw. “We won’t know until we try, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s true,” Lute gasped. He grasped Sawyer’s hand, holding it against his cheek. His own fingers slid up to Sawyer’s neck, and he tugged the other muse closer.

  Sawyer could feel Lute’s breath, warm against his skin. He could smell the liquor they’d both been drinking. “I think you can handle it,” he said, and he was surprised at how sultry his voice had gotten. He was teasing Lute, self-assured and sexy. When had he become that guy?

  Lute let out a little groan. And then his mouth was on Sawyer’s—hot and wet and urgent.

  Sawyer had never felt anything like it. He didn’t even know how to describe it. He felt as if he were going to pieces, but at the same time as if he was the strongest and most whole he’d ever been. It was pleasure, it was triumph, it was soaring through the night sky like a bird, floating away from anything that had even bothered him. He kissed Lute, and he clutched the other muse tight to him.

  Lute sighed against his mouth, in pleasure and release. Sawyer could hear it in his voice, feel it in the way he moved his lips.

  They melded their bodies together, and it felt like they belonged that way, like they were meant to be close.

  * * *

  “Not Virginia,” Nora was saying. She and Jack were holding tight onto each other in order to stand up, because they were both pretty drunk. The default place to end up in the mundane world was usually a place in Virginia for some reason, but Nora had no desire to go there.

  Jack shrugged. “Fine with me. I could use a change, anyway. Where do you want to go?”

  She seized his hand. “Just clear your mind. I’ll get us there.”

  He raised his eyebrows, but she nodded at him, apparently hoping to convince him by bobbing her head. When he didn’t protest, she assumed she had his acquiescence, and she closed her eyes to picture the place she wanted to go. That was the way that it worked. If you concentrated hard enough, then you’d pass through the thin veil between the worlds and end up wherever it was you wanted to go.

  When she opened her eyes, she and Jack were standing on a dark road in the country. To one side, the road stretched off into the distance, flanked on either side by a barbed wire fence. To the other side, there was a tidy little house with a bright light burning on the porch merrily. Nora looked at it and smiled.

  “What the hell?” said Jack. “You brought us to the middle of nowhere.”

  Nora started walking behind the house, tugging on Jack to come with her. “You’ll like it. Come on.”

  “Where are we?” Jack was coming along behind her, stumbling a little.

  She felt more alert since they’d arrived here, and she moved quickly and precisely. Behind the house, there was a fenced-in area, and the area was full of tiny goats. Seeing them made her smile even bigger. She pointed. “Look. Aren’t they cute?”

&nb
sp; Jack squinted. “Seriously? You brought me here for cute animals?”

  Nora giggled. She stamped her feet. “Hey! Hey, goats!”

  The little goats all turned and looked at her and they began running in her direction, but every few feet, one would stiffen up and fall over. Nora dissolved in laughter.

  Jack was alarmed. “What’s wrong with them?”

  “Nothing,” said Nora, between giggles, “they’re fainter goats. They just do that. It’s a muscle condition they have. It’s part of their breed.”

  Jack knelt down, watching as a goat who’d just fallen over got up and trotted in Nora’s direction.

  Some of the goats had reached them now. Nora petted them through the fence. “Sorry, goats,” she said, “I didn’t bring anything to feed you.”

  Jack yanked an apple out of his pocket. “I took this from the feast. Will they eat that?”

  “They’ll eat anything,” she said. “But you only have one. You should keep it. You’ll only make them jealous of each other.”

  Jack stroked one of the goats under its chin. “They’re really friendly.”

  “Yeah, they’re awesome.”

  “How did you know about them?”

  “Owen and I used to live here.” Nora looked around. “The woman and the man who own these goats were our foster parents. They weren’t so bad. The goats were cool, and we each had our own rooms.” She gazed fondly at the house. “They were nice to us. It was a good place to live.” She looked back at the goats, her smile fading. “But Owen made us leave. He was always doing that. Back then, he said we were in danger, but I think it was just because I kind of liked it here. Owen never wanted me to find any happiness in anything other than him.”

  “Oh,” said Jack. “Well, that sucks. I mean, the goats are cool, but I’m sorry Owen was such a jerk.”

  “Me too.” Nora ambled around the fenced-in enclosure. “There was a little shed back here. It was actually a really old house, built back in the 1920s or something. It only had two rooms, and it still had the old potbelly stove in it.” She turned a corner into the woods, following a path.

  Jack came with her.

  She pointed. “It’s still here.” She approached the old house. It was green, but you couldn’t see that in the dark. The siding was peeling away and the steps to the front door were rickety. “Owen and I used to play house in there. He could be fun to play games with, but only if he got his way about everything.” She rolled her eyes.

  And then she froze.

  “Whoa,” said Jack. “Is someone in there?”

  Nora had seen something move behind the windows too. She snatched hold of Jack and yanked him back behind a tree. They knelt in the brush of the woods, on one side of the path.

  Seconds ticked by.

  Nothing.

  No movement in the house.

  Nora looked at Jack. “You saw something, didn’t you?” she whispered.

  “I thought I did,” he breathed back. “But maybe…”

  The door to the house opened.

  Nora froze.

  Someone stepped out. A man—a young man. His hair was dark, and he was about the same height and build as Owen. She couldn’t be sure, of course. She hadn’t seen Owen in two years. But it could be him. That could be Owen.

  The young man had his head down. She couldn’t see his face. He checked to make sure the door was shut, and then he went down the path, head still down.

  She leaned forward, trying to see him better as he passed.

  But it was too dark. She couldn’t be sure.

  The young man disappeared from sight.

  She and Jack were quiet for several very long moments, waiting to see if he’d come back.

  Finally, Jack murmured, “We should get back to Helicon.”

  She nodded in agreement. Suddenly, she felt stone-cold sober, and not the least bit like celebrating.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Could it have been someone else?” said Sawyer.

  “Of course it could,” said Nora. “That’s what I’m saying.” It was the next morning, and Nora was gathered at a big table in the dining room with all of her friends. Sawyer and Lute were there, Maddie and Agler, and Jack. There was a big spread of potatoes, bacon, and omelets that everyone was attacking as they talked.

  “We couldn’t make him out,” said Jack. “But it did look like him. I don’t know. I’m not an expert on the guy, but it could have been him.”

  “It definitely wasn’t the man who owns the house,” said Nora. “He was my former foster father, and he was a lot older.”

  “Well,” said Maddie, “couldn’t someone else have bought the house?”

  “And the goats?” said Jack.

  “Oh, I guess not.” Maddie furrowed her brow.

  “It could have been a foster kid,” said Nora. “He looked young. But I don’t know if he looked as young as seventeen, and in the mundane world, after you’re eighteen, you get turned out of the system.”

  “What?” said Agler. “That’s awful.”

  “Yeah,” said Sawyer, “Nora was telling us last year about how in the mundane world, you’re an adult at eighteen.”

  All of the muses exchanged a look, as if that was the strangest thing they’d ever heard. In Helicon, muses didn’t come of age until twenty-five. However, younger tweens had a lot more freedom, living on their own in their own enclave and everything, so Nora felt as if the muses actually treated the younger people here with more respect than people did in the mundane world.

  “If it was Owen,” said Nora, “it doesn’t make any sense for him to have been there.”

  “Yeah, he’s not the kind of guy to have a sentimental connection to goats, is he?” said Sawyer.

  “Didn’t you tell me he stole the dimension device?” said Lute, looking at Sawyer. “You said after he cut off your finger, he took the device, right?”

  “Well, what does that matter?” said Nora.

  “Just,” said Lute, “if he can go to any dimension he wants, why would he be hanging out in the mundane world?”

  “I don’t know,” said Nora, “that’s why I said it doesn’t make any sense.” She bit off a bite of her bacon. “He did like that old house, though. We used to play in that house for hours and hours on end.”

  “Anyway,” said Jack, “it would have been weird for anyone to be rummaging around in that house in the middle of the night.”

  “But it might not have been Owen,” said Maddie.

  “Well, that’s what I’m saying,” said Nora. “It might not have been him. I don’t see why it would have been.” She looked around at the others for reassurance. “I don’t want it to have been him. But I don’t want to stick my head in the sand if he’s out there plotting something.”

  “He’s not obsessed with you anymore,” said Sawyer. “So, even if it was him, maybe it doesn’t mean anything. I mean, maybe he’ll still leave you alone. Leave Helicon alone.”

  Nora chewed on her lip. “He always thought of Helicon as his home.”

  “But he’s been exiled,” said Agler.

  “But it’s not like him to just give up,” said Nora.

  “Look,” said Maddie, “he didn’t see you, right?”

  “Right,” said Jack.

  “I don’t think we should panic,” said Sawyer. “I think we should keep our eyes open, and be prepared in case something does happen. But I don’t think seeing him means that we have to worry.”

  “I hope you’re right,” said Nora, peering anxiously at all of them.

  “And, hey,” said Agler, “if it is him, and he is starting something, then we’ll deal with it. Heck, we took on Loki last year. He’s a freaking Norse god. We can handle Owen.”

  “We’ll be there for you, no matter what,” said Sawyer. “Don’t worry.”

  “Definitely,” said Maddie. “We’ve got your back.”

  Nora looked around at her friends surrounding her, and she felt a surge of comfort and harmony. This was her home, and
these were her people. And even if she didn’t have a relationship, she had a network of people who cared. She felt like grinning and bursting into tears all at once. No matter what she had to say against Owen, she had to be grateful that he’d gotten her back home to Helicon in the first place. This was where she belonged, and she was so happy to be here.

  * * *

  For weeks afterward, Nora braced herself for some sign of Owen, but it didn’t come. She was fairly sure that her friends were right. Whether she’d seen him or not, she didn’t have to fear him anymore. It was only hard because things had been so difficult the past few years.

  This year, things were back to normal in Helicon. There were no emergencies, no tears in the fabric of the world, no wasting sickness ravaging the land of magic. Instead, it was a bright happy place where she could create and be content. This was the way it was meant to be here. The craziness was against the grain, not the other way around.

  She didn’t know how long it would take before she was going to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, but she liked the idea that she was waiting for nothing.

  So, she spent most of May and June working on a joint project between the story enclave and the visual arts enclave. The story muses wanted to tell stories to the kids at the babies and toddlers enclave with props and illustrations. She and some of the other visual arts muses worked on painting big pieces of wood with bright and detailed scenes from the stories. The scenes slid into a big wooden set-up and they were held upright by groves. Whenever it was time for the next picture, it was easy enough to slide one out and slide another one in.

  The kids really liked them, and Nora felt cheered to have been part of a project that had lifted their spirits.

  In her free time in the evenings, she was growing more accustomed to seeing Lute and Sawyer together. She could tell they were happy together, and the ache that she felt when she saw them was fading. Still, sometimes, she felt quite alone, especially when she saw Maddie and Agler together as well. Both her best friends were in happy relationships, and she still felt raw and hurt after what had happened with Sawyer.

  She had trusted him so much, trusted him with her heart, and he had betrayed her trust. She knew that there had been something missing from their relationship, some physical component, and she could see that Sawyer had found that with Lute. She was glad for him, and she could see that Sawyer was different with Lute than he had ever been with her. So, it wasn’t as if their relationship could have worked forever, anyway. But recognizing the flaws in her union with Sawyer didn’t stop the pain. She was still sometimes devastated by it.