The Helicon Muses Omnibus: Books 1-4

by V. J. Chambers

  Once she got outside, it wasn’t the engineering enclave at all. In fact, now she was in the place where she and Owen had lived for a time with their foster parents. The place with the goats. Except for the fact that, in the dream, she still thought she was in Helicon. Dreams were weird that way sometimes. Anyway, Owen was there, feeding the goats. He waved at her. She stalked over to him and shoved him as hard as she could. She told him that she was annoyed with him. She was just trying to get the dimension device so that she could see him.

  After that she began to wake up, because she got confused. She knew that it didn’t make any sense for Owen to be in Helicon. And then she began to wonder why there were goats in Helicon and why Helicon looked like the house that her foster parents lived in.

  But right before she was completely awake, she saw her foster father—well, her old foster father—coming out of the house. He was carrying a big bag which contained the feed that he gave to the goats. But that wasn’t what struck her. No, she was drawn to the fact that he was wearing sunglasses.

  She remembered those sunglasses. They were big, and they made her foster father look like he was a bug. Nora even thought they looked a little bit feminine. The other thing about them was that they were dark, dark black, completely opaque, so you couldn’t see even a hint of her foster father’s features through the sunglasses.

  Nora peered at those sunglasses, and she sat up straight in the engineering enclave, wide awake.

  * * *

  Nora shoved aside the tent flap of Maddie’s tent and forced her way inside. “Maddie! Wake up!”

  Maddie rolled over sleepily in her hammock. “What?” Her voice was muffled.

  “Get up. Come with me. We’re going to see Sawyer.” Nora started back out of the tent.

  “Nora, it’s the middle of the night,” said Maddie.

  Nora turned back around. “I have to tell you something. It’s really important.”

  “So tell me already,” said Maddie. “Why do we have to go see Sawyer?”

  “I want to tell you both,” said Nora.

  Maddie groaned. “Oh, come on. Can’t it wait until morning?”

  “Get out of bed now.”

  Maddie groaned again. She let out a string of swear words. Then, sighing, she sat up in her hammock. Her hair was mussed from sleeping. She glared at Nora. “This better be good.”

  With Maddie awake, the two made their way across the tweens and rebels enclave to Sawyer’s tent. Outside, Nora paused, chewing on her lip. “I don’t know. What if he’s in there with Lute?”

  Maddie gave her a painful look. “You’re just thinking of that now?”

  Nora raised her voice. “Sawyer?”

  There was no answer.

  Nora took a deep breath. She was just going to have to go in there. It wasn’t as if she’d never seen Sawyer naked after all. And if she did see something else that she shouldn’t see, well, she would avert her eyes. Thus decided, she reached for the tent flap.

  “Nora?” The voice was behind her.

  Nora and Maddie both turned around to see Sawyer coming out of another tent.

  Nora looked back at the tent behind her in confusion. She pointed at it. “Isn’t that your tent?”

  “Yeah,” said Sawyer. “But I was sleeping with Lute. We, um, do that sometimes. Is there a reason you’re here?”

  Maddie made a face. “Nora has big news. News that can’t wait until morning and can’t be delivered while we’re sleeping in our hammocks snug and happy.”

  Sawyer nodded. “Oh, well, what is it?”

  Nora looked around. “Let’s go up in the tree house where no one can hear us.”

  Maddie looked positively livid. “You have got to be kidding me. First you wake me up, then you drag me all the way over to Sawyer’s tent, now you’re going to make me climb up in the tree house?”

  “Sorry,” said Nora. “This is sensitive information about what we’re up to, and we agreed that we wanted to keep that secret.”

  Sawyer slung his arm over Maddie’s shoulders. “Come on, it won’t be that bad.”

  The three made their way to the tree house. They climbed about halfway up until they found one of the levels where all three of them could fit, and then they sat down together in a circle.

  “Okay,” said Maddie, “you’re going to tell us now, right? Because the suspense is seriously killing me.”

  Nora took a deep breath. “All right, well, the thing is, I had a dream.”

  Maddie raised her eyebrows. “This is the big story? A dream?”

  “Well, it wasn’t so much the dream itself as it was that the dream made me think of something,” said Nora. “Specifically, one thing in the dream really just jogged my memory.”

  “What was it?” said Sawyer.

  “Sunglasses,” said Nora.

  Maddie buried her face in her hands. She said something, but it was too muffled to be understandable. It sounded like more swear words.

  Sawyer nodded slowly. “Sunglasses.”

  “Yes, sunglasses.”

  Sawyer reached over and took Nora by both hands. He gazed into her eyes, his expression grave. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Nora shook him off. “Sorry, I know I’m not making much sense right now. It’s just that I’m really excited. Maybe I should start from the beginning.”

  Maddie lifted her head. “Please explain it. Please make it so you didn’t wake me up for no reason.”

  Nora rubbed her forehead. “Okay, I had a dream about one of my old foster fathers. In the dream, he was wearing sunglasses.”

  “Nora, this is not becoming more relevant,” said Maddie. “I’m seriously going to have to strangle you, aren’t I?”

  Nora held up a hand. “Hold on. Give me a second. Let me explain.”

  “Sunglasses,” Sawyer repeated again, shaking his head.

  “The thing is, these sunglasses weren’t just from the dream. He really actually owned a pair of sunglasses just like them,” said Nora.

  Maddie rolled her eyes. “Great.”

  “The fact that he owned sunglasses is not the important part,” said Nora. “What’s important is that I specifically remember this one incident. Our foster father had taken Owen and I out shopping. First we went to the grocery store, then we stopped at this little roadside vegetable stand. I think a farmer owned it for something.”

  “Are you getting closer to the point?” Maddie asked.

  “Anyway,” Nora said. “There was also a little ice cream stand right next to the vegetables. I think that the farmers made it fresh from their own cows or something like that. All I know is that I mentioned that I wanted some. But my foster father said that I couldn’t have any. He said it was too close to dinner and, besides, he couldn’t afford it. Well, Owen turned to my foster father and looked him straight in the eye, but my foster father was wearing those sunglasses. And Owen told him that he should buy me ice cream. Now, generally speaking, whenever Owen specifically ordered someone to do anything, they did it. But in this case, my foster father didn’t. He just laughed at Owen and said something like, ‘I’m the boss, not you.’ And I remember that Owen was really annoyed. Because he knew that he could get inside my foster father’s head. He’d done it before. But those sunglasses—those sunglasses stopped him. They stopped Owen.”

  Nora stopped speaking, breathless with excitement. She looked eagerly at her friends, who were both now nodding in understanding.

  “It’s that simple?” Sawyer said. “We just need sunglasses?”

  “They have to be big and they have to be dark,” said Nora. “But yeah, that’s all we need.”

  Maddie hugged Nora. “I’m sorry I doubted the importance of your story. I’m barely awake, you know. If you catch me without enough sleep, usually I’m pretty cranky.

  Nora hugged her friend back. “No worries. We’re all cranky when were tired.”

  “I think we have some sunglasses in the clothing enclave,” said Sawyer. “I’ll bring them to b
reakfast tomorrow. You can tell me if they’ll work or not.”

  “Are they big and dark?” Nora asked.

  “Oh yeah,” said Sawyer. “They were for a Halloween costume. I think the person was trying to dress up as an insect.”

  Nora’s eyes lit up. “Perfect. That’s exactly what my foster father’s sunglasses looked like.”

  “Excellent, then.” Sawyer grinned.

  Nora could hardly contain her enthusiasm. “I think this is actually gonna work, you guys. I really do.”

  “Well, the good news is that I’m almost through with sewing,” said Sawyer. “So in the next couple days, I’ll be back in there to help you guys out.”

  “We’ll work double time,” said Maddie. “We can go in early and stay late. We’ve got to get that dimension device working.”

  “We can do it,” said Nora.

  “Definitely,” said Sawyer.

  Maddie grinned. “Darn it, Nora. Now I’m going to be too wired to get back to sleep.”

  Nora cringed. “Sorry.”

  * * *

  Maddie saw Agler standing outside her tent the following night. It was quite late. She’d been with Nora in the engineering enclave all day, and she was pretty tired. But she and Nora were sure that they were definitely making progress. There were only a few more tasks that they had to complete, and they’d be ready to put the dimension device to use. Now, with the sunglasses as protection against Owen’s mind games, they could really make this work.

  Maddie had been avoiding Agler for weeks now. She’d talked to him now and again, assuring him that everything was all right whenever he asked. But whenever he asked if they could get together and do something, just the two of them, she’d come up with an excuse. Truthfully, she had been really busy lately.

  But that wasn’t the only reason she was keeping him at arm’s length. It wasn’t that she was angry with him for the way he’d behaved with Daryl. She wasn’t anymore. In some ways, as annoying as he’d been, his jealousy had been endearing, showing her that he really did care about her. But, overall, she was ready to just bury the whole thing and forget about it.

  No, the reason that she was ignoring him was that she didn’t know how she could keep from him as big a secret as going to the mundane world to see Owen.

  When he found out that she’d sneaked off without him, he was going to be angry. Beyond angry. And she knew he’d worry about her too. Heck, she’d been gone for half the year already.

  So, when she saw him standing there at her tent, her first inclination was to just turn and run away. She wanted to wait until he left, just avoid seeing him altogether.

  But it was already really late, and if he was still at her tent, that meant that he’d probably been there awhile. He probably wasn’t about to give up and leave. Plus, she was really tired, and she didn’t have anywhere else to go. So, she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and approached him.

  He jumped when he saw her. “Maddie. You startled me.”

  “Well, this is my tent.” She started inside.

  “It’s only that I’ve been waiting for you for hours.”

  She’d figured as much. “Sorry, I’ve been doing stuff with Nora.”

  “Maddie…” He sighed.

  She pulled aside her tent flap and went inside. “Sorry, Agler, but I’m really tired. So if you—”

  “Wait.” He caught the tent flap and held it open. “I need to talk to you. I’ve been waiting to talk to you for days, but I haven’t been able to get any time. You’re always rushing off some place, claiming to be with Nora—”

  “I have been with Nora.” She folded her arms over her chest. “You accusing me of lying?”

  His nostrils flared. “I’m coming into your tent.”

  “Well, thanks for asking permission and all.”

  He came in anyway, looking annoyed. “Maddie, you don’t have to drag this out forever, you know? If you’re spending time with Daryl, then just cut me loose, all right? It’s not what I want, but I can’t handle being in the middle of it. So, if you pick him, I wish you’d just tell me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh gods, Agler, you cannot be serious.”

  “There’s no way you’re spending that much time with Nora. You have to be telling me that, when you’re actually going to see Daryl.”

  “I am so going to see Nora.”

  “It’s practically midnight. What the hell are you and Nora doing together at this time of night?”

  Well, she couldn’t tell him the truth about that, could she? She drew herself up. “That’s none of your business.”

  “I know you’re with him.”

  “I’m not.” She went to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Agler, stop worrying about Daryl. I did care about him a long time ago, but I moved on, and I’m dating you now. We’re the ones who are in a relationship. I’m not interested in Daryl anymore.”

  Agler furrowed his brow. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  He still looked confused. “So, you really have been with Nora?”

  “Yup.”

  “And have you told Daryl this?”

  She made a face. “Well, not so much.”

  He pointed at her. “See? I bet you’re telling him that you’re not really into me. I bet you’re stringing both of us along.”

  “I’m not stringing anyone along.”

  “You need to tell Daryl that—”

  “Agler, shut up.” She had finally decided on a course of action. A way to distract him. She pressed her body against his and kissed him hard.

  He seemed surprised, but he kissed her back, and their kiss was full of the passion it always held. She could feel Agler’s desire for her, his tenderness, his concern, and it was all rolled into a perfect, beautiful package.

  She pulled back, smiling at him. “Come on, silly.” She tugged him towards her hammock.

  “Wait a second. What are you doing?” he said.

  She yanked her shirt over her head. “I’m going to bed. You care to join me?”

  Agler sputtered, but his eyes were glued to her skin.

  She shimmied out of her skirt, giggling.

  “This—this isn’t fair.” His eyes were wide.

  She threw her skirt at him.

  He peeled it away from his face. “I had very important things to say to you, and now I can’t remember what any of them were.”

  “Good,” said Maddie, winking at him. “Now, take off your clothes.”

  “Maddie…”

  She pressed close again, kissing him quickly. Her voice was soft. “It’s you, Agler. You’re all I want.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “Oh, Maddie,” he sighed.

  She led him across the tent to the hammock.

  He nuzzled her neck, whispering to her. “I like what those nymphs did to you. You’re all… curvy.”

  She stiffened. She wasn’t sure how to take that comment. It didn’t make her feel good. Not exactly.

  But then Agler’s fingers were moving over her skin, and all she could think of was how good it felt to be close to him.

  He kissed the nape of her neck. He wound his arms around her body. “I love you,” he breathed.

  Oh! He’d said it, really said it, and it filled her with joy. She turned in his arms. “I love you too. I love you so much.”

  Their lips met in a frenzy. She crushed herself against him, and he held her tight. They fell down on the hammock together.

  * * *

  It was downright cold outside, because it was the day of the Harvest Ball and the weather had been changed to match the season. So it was a cold, cold day outside, wind whistling through trees, blowing all the colored leaves to the ground. Maddie was happy to be inside, away from the wind.

  She, Nora, and Sawyer spent most of the day in the engineering enclave, putting the finishing touches on the dimension device decoy.

  The decoy was something that Sawyer had thought up. It looked exactly like the dimension device,
so it could be left in the engineering enclave, and no one would be the wiser that they’d taken away the actual dimension device.

  The engineering enclave was heated by the same solar heaters they used during the snow. Inside, the three were toasty warm, and when they left to go back to their tents, they huddled under warm coats that Sawyer had brought them from the clothing enclave.

  They were all nervous, but Maddie felt as if it were worse, because she was sure that Agler could tell something was wrong with her. All through dinner, she felt as if the food was too dry to chew properly, and she picked at her plate. Agler was giving her concerned looks the whole time.

  Then she realized it was only because she wasn’t eating, which was bad. That made her feel relieved, and she managed to get some food down. She was also proud of herself, because she realized that she hadn’t even thought about being nervous about eating the whole time. Maybe she was cured. She hoped so.

  After dinner, they all went back to their tents to get ready for the Harvest Ball. This event was probably the most staid and formal of the muses’ festivities. Though it was held around the main fire pit, just like the Winter Ball, it was an event with much less glitz and sparkle. Instead, the Harvest Ball was elegant and simple. Serious, even. In keeping with that tradition, Sawyer had made her an elegant dress. It was a striking shade of deep scarlet. It had bell-shaped sleeves which were decorated with embroidery of vines and pumpkins and leaves. The neckline was simple and flattering, not showing too much skin. Maddie felt very grown up.

  But she also stuffed normal clothes into a bag to take with her. They were going to use the dimension device from the Harvest Ball, so that no one would notice their absence until they were already gone. Once in the mundane world, they’d have to change into something more practical.

  She bundled into her coat and met her friends for the trek down to the main fire pit. She walked huddled close to Agler, enjoying his warmth, watching the puffs of air that issued from her friends’ lips, feeling the chill bite her nose.

  If this was going to be their last night in Helicon, it was a good one.

  But Maddie didn’t want to think that way. They’d be back. She knew they would.

  Of course, she had to admit that she wasn’t exactly sure what their plan was after they found Owen. She was sure Nora had said something about it before, but they’d all been so focused on the dimension device for so long that she couldn’t quite remember the details. She felt pretty nervous about that. It had been years since she’d seen Owen, and he really scared her.