Lucky Courage (9781370361410)

by Washington, Amanda

  “You know what to do, Tweety.”

  What?

  They had a plan? And they’d kept it from me? After all the ribbing about my trust issues? “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  The blacksmith still wouldn’t look at me.

  Tweety’s body stretched and contorted until he was once again a giant lion-eagle.

  The coppery-sweet smell of blood told me Demarco was bleeding out. I needed him to save himself before it was too late. I dug my heels in. Whatever plan they’d made ended here and now.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Demarco. Release me, or he kills you and then takes me. That’s the only way this ends.”

  “You better listen to her,” Shade added. “She’s more stubborn than Antaeus the giant. She won’t leave.”

  Demarco’s gaze finally locked on mine. “I love you, Romi. Forgive me for this.”

  Forgive him for dying? “No. I won’t.” How could I? His life was an unnecessary sacrifice.

  “Go with Tweety. Get out of here. Don’t let Shade catch you.”

  Magic whipped around me as Demarco’s command set my body in motion before the reality of what he’d done sunk in. I headed straight for Tweety.

  Another scream tore through him, as he doubled over in pain. Shade no longer needed to kill him. Demarco had just killed himself. He’d broken his vow to never manipulate me. It was a death sentence. Nobody ever survived, which was why the magic was so powerful.

  He was dying, and I was walking away. I couldn’t turn around. My feet stopped on their own beside Tweety’s crouched form and I climbed up on his back.

  Demarco’s scream turned wet. His insides were imploding. Blood was filling his lungs. He’d broken a vow and now he was paying the price.

  He was dying.

  And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it, because he’d commanded me to walk away. The asshole!

  Anger and helplessness brought more tears as I stuffed the essence in my backpack and clung to Tweety’s neck. I didn’t want to. Demarco was making me do it. I silently cursed his name as his will kept my arms around Tweety’s neck and we took flight.

  For my safety.

  He was dying to save me.

  Shade must have realized what was happening because his scream of rage blended with the death cry of Demarco. He wouldn’t get the pleasure of killing Demarco, nor would he get me. Not today.

  Clinging to Tweety, I buried my face in his feathery neck and cried as the wind beat against my body. I don’t know how long we flew. It seemed like forever and only a minute. My heart hurt and my brain fought Demarco for control until finally…

  “Turn around, Tweety,” I said.

  The griffin kept flying.

  But Demarco’s command had worn off. I was no longer bound to do his will, which meant we were either too far away or he was dead. Praying it wasn’t the latter, I pulled shadows to myself and took Tweety and I both back to the ruins.

  The griffin screeched in protest.

  “Not part of your goddamn plan?” I asked, jumping from his back. “Yeah, well screw you!”

  Everyone was gone. The coppery-sweet smell of blood was so strong I could barely breathe as I ran to the unmoving lump lying where Demarco had been standing. More tears fell as I checked Demarco’s neck for a pulse. His heart was faint, but still beating. “He’s alive, Tweety. I need your help carrying him.”

  There was so much blood. But more worrisome than the blood loss was the vacant look in his eyes, no longer silvery-blue but now dark like Doreán’s. Unblinking, they stared straight up at the sky.

  Desperate, I did the only thing I could. I blew across Demarco’s chest. Gold specks shimmered before disappearing into his skin. It wasn’t enough. He needed every ounce of luck I could give. I took a deep breath and blew over his entire body.

  “What are you doing?” Tweety asked. The griffin was once again in human form. “And what is that? It’s not magic.”

  Apparently today was the day all secrets and plans would be revealed.

  “Tyche is my mother, Tweety. I’m filling his body with luck.”

  “What?” Tweety gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Are you really gonna play that card with me right now?” I snapped.

  The griffin wisely shut his mouth.

  Although the outside of Demarco was a wreck, the inside was what I worried about. I wiped the blood from his lips, took another deep breath, and then gave him a luck-enhanced version of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. His chest rose with the influx of air, but his eyes were still vacant, his body still lifeless, and when I checked his pulse, it was still weak.

  “We need to get him out of here,” I said.

  Tweety dropped to his knees on the other side of Demarco. “Okay, what do you need me to do?”

  Tweety’s griffin strength enabled him to pick up Demarco in a fireman’s carry.

  “He’s weak,” I said. “The shadows are going to attack him. I’m going to have to make myself scary so they remember I’m in charge. Don’t you dare show any fear. None. I mean it. Demarco’s life depends on this, Tweety.”

  He looked me in the eyes. “I won’t.”

  Satisfied, I held onto the guys and wrapped us in shadows. They came for Demarco, but I turned my anger, frustration, and worry into rage. My body stayed human, but I let myself be as pissed as I dared. The shadows felt my rage and instantly took their eyes off Demarco to fall at my feet in surrender. Destination locked firmly in mind and still holding on to the guys, I ignored the whelps and took us to the forest outside of Asclepieion.

  Once we were out of the shadows, I released my rage.

  “You were red,” Tweety said, hurrying toward the tree that marked the border. “Glowing red. I think I prefer the shadows.”

  Interesting. I’d never seen Shade turn red and glow before. Whatever I’d done left me feeling exhausted and stumbling after Tweety and Demarco.

  By the time we made it through the ward, we were both sweaty and streaked with Demarco’s blood. Asclepius stood on the other side.

  “Hurry, we’ve been waiting for him,” he said, leading us to one of the huts where his wife and several of their children helped us lay Demarco on one of the healing beds. Nobody said anything as Tweety and I backed away so Asclepius and his family could work. I’d never heard of anyone surviving a broken vow before, but we were in Asclepieion, where nothing died. Surely that had to count for something.

  “Asclepius has brought back the dead before,” I muttered aloud, unsure of whether I was trying to comfort Tweety or myself. Probably both. I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, feeling both exhausted and restless.

  The air was thick with worry and tension. I’d never seen the siblings look so upset over a patient before. Hygieia—the goddess of hygiene and health and eldest daughter of the family—busily cleaned Demarco’s wounds while Machaon—the eldest son and a renowned surgeon—came behind her with a needle and thread, stitching up what he could. The other daughters, Panacea, Aceso, Iaso, and Aglaea flitted around the room working with herbs and candles and putting different poultices under Demarco’s tongue. The other two sons, Podaleirios and Telesphoros, were absent.

  Between his stitching jobs, Machaon flashed me an angry look. Although he and I had never been close, he’d always been polite and kind. Startled by the sudden animosity I saw in his eyes, I wondered again why Aglaea had been the only sibling who’d met with us during our visit.

  I tried to get a read on the other siblings, but no one would even glance in my direction.

  Fearing the worst, I pushed off the wall and asked, “Will he be okay?”

  Aglaea intercepted me. “Walk with me?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “I need to stay with Demarco. What’s happening?”

  She turned to stare at the table. “He will live, Romi. He has to.”

  Her response startled me. “What do you mean he has to?”

  “Mother will explain soon. Come. You need t
o get cleaned up. And I should see to those cuts.”

  I’d forgotten all about the damage Enyo had done, but at Aglaea’s reminder, my arm and cheek started to ache. Still, I resisted. Aglaea grabbed my hand. “They will be a while and there is nothing you can do for him. Your blacksmith will be fine. Tweety can wait here with him.”

  Tweety nodded. “Go, Romi. I’ll stay.”

  I was still ticked off at him, but Aglaea was right. I needed to clean up and maybe if I got her alone I could squeeze some answers out of her. Aglaea led me to another hut, undressed me, and helped me into one of the healing tubs. She handed me a sponge and soap and I started scrubbing the blood and sweat off my body while she went to work on my hair.

  “Demarco is very courageous,” Aglaea said.

  “And careless. I don’t know why he did what he did. We had other options.”

  “Do you love him?”

  The question caught me off guard. I dipped under the water to buy myself time to think. The memory of Doreán staring up at his father for the first time hit me like a sledgehammer, destroying what was left of my resolve. Tweety had once told my kid that his dad was a superhero, and I knew by the look in Doreán’s eyes he believed it. And he should. Demarco was a superhero. He’d sacrificed his life for me, after all, and that’s the kind of messed up shit superheroes did.

  Yes, I loved him.

  I spent the next several hours praying for the chance to tell him.

  EPIONE FOUND ME shortly after Aglaea stitched up my arm. The goddess of soothing pain looked older and more worn and haggard than I’d ever seen her look.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked, sitting up on the bed.

  Instead of answering, she walked over and embraced me. Then she sat beside me. “We need to talk.”

  “Demarco?” I asked, searching her face for clues.

  “He’s fine, dear. Or he will be soon.”

  “What does that mean? Why is everyone being so vague? Asclepius was waiting for us. How did he know? What’s going on?”

  She patted my hand reassuringly. “Do you remember Asclepius’s story about how Zeus threatened to smite him with a thunderbolt if he snatched one more life from Hades?”

  “Yes,” I replied. “A life for a life. There must always be balance, which is the reason Asclepius doesn’t raise people from the dead anymore.”

  Epione’s eyes moistened and she looked away. “Until today.”

  “What? Demarco’s not dead. He has a pulse. He’s breathing.”

  “Your luck and our medicine have kept his body alive, but Romi, his essence is already gone. You know what happens to our kind when we break an oath. He’s trapped in the underworld.”

  “But you said he’s going to be fine. Oh gods. Asclepius…” I choked up.

  “Asclepius will be taking his place.” She smiled. “A life for a life.”

  No. Asclepius was needed here. He was the best physician the heavens or earth had to offer, and he’d be missed. I’d miss him. I only got to see him again for a short time, and now he was going to die? “But he can’t.”

  “He can and he will,” she assured me. “He made the decision long ago.”

  Well that made things clear as mud. “Long ago?” I asked. “Demarco just… it just happened.”

  “The fates told us this day would come. When you showed up with the blacksmith we knew it was only a matter of time.”

  More tears came. They threatened to drown me with the realization that Asclepius and Epione had known, yet they’d welcomed us into their home and helped us as much as they could. Overwhelmed with their selflessness, I dissolved into sobs. When I finally got my emotions back under control, everything else began to make sense.

  “Now I understand why your other children didn’t eat with us. They knew we’d come to take their father away.”

  “Sweet child.” She laughed. “You can’t take that man anywhere he doesn’t want to go. He made this choice. And not just for you, either, so you can get over yourself right now. If you don’t get Zeus back into power, Demeter will continue her temper tantrum and the people will starve. Not just humans, either. Anyone who hasn’t learned to sustain themselves with magic will die. Asclepius has lived a long, full life and he’s chosen an honorable end to it. Don’t you dare reduce the importance of his sacrifice. Now, what did the Pythia tell you about Demarco?”

  “About Demarco? Nothing. She did tell him something about me, though… that he needed to get me to trust him, because without him by my side, I’ll fail. Demarco also said something about the Pythia before…”

  Epione nodded. “Yes, He’s carried out his role splendidly. He’s a good man, Romi. I couldn’t ask for a better match for you. The fates were right.”

  And yet I felt like they’d just punched me in the gut. I stood and started pacing. “How much of this was planned?” I asked. “Tweety and Demarco tricking me into the vow not to steal? Eris inviting Shade to host the battle after-party? Demarco forcing me to leave? Tweety whisking me away? My bringing Demarco here? Was it all planned?”

  Epione watched me pace. “The fates don’t require planning, Romi. What happens, happens.”

  Completely undone and unable to fathom her ability to be okay with any of this, I threw my hands in the air. “This sucks, Epione. How can you be so calm? Your husband is about to give his life because the fate of all humanity rests on my shoulders. Mine. Why me, of all people? Do you have any idea how absurd that sounds? Like complete and utter bullshit.”

  Epione stood with me. She waited for my rant to end before grabbing my hands once again. Smiling down at me, she said, “The fate of humanity has always rested on the shoulders of someone like you. And you know what? It’s survived. Come now. My husband is about to pass from this world and your blacksmith will be on his way here soon. We should be there to say good-bye to the one and welcome back to the other.”

  “I’m sorry, Epione,” I said as she led me out of the hut.

  She hugged me to her side, draping her arm across my shoulder. “Me too. But everything will work out, you’ll see. Let’s stop by the bathhouse and wash your face. Can’t let the men see us crying. We’ve got to be strong for them now.”

  * * *

  Asclepius died. Despite the crushing animosity from all his children except Aglaea, I stood there and watched it happen. I said good-bye to him, apologized, choked back tears, and thanked him. He closed his eyes and his spirit… his essence… whatever made him him… it left. I felt it go.

  I don’t know what he did next. My mind imagined him marching up to Hades’s front door and demanding Demarco’s life back, but I don’t know what actually happened. Hades must have been happy to see the physician who’d snatched back so many lives from the claws of death, though, because it took less than a minute for Demarco to open his eyes. They were once again the silvery-blue I’d come to know and love.

  My heart felt torn in two at the sight. Although I was over-the-moon to have Demarco back, the loss of Asclepius left me feeling strangely hollow. And angry. If the blacksmith had only listened to me, I could have figured out a way to fix this. Nobody would have had to die.

  Epione disagreed. She pulled me aside while her children worked on Demarco and let me have a good old-fashioned talking to.

  “Romi, the fates say if you make a deal with Shade, you’ll fail. If Demarco isn’t by your side, you’ll fail. You can’t possibly believe you know what would have happened better than the fates. Tweety and Demarco couldn’t tell you the plan, because we all knew you wouldn’t go through with it. Those two love you. Demarco proved just how much when he did what he did. I know you’re angry, but you need to get over it. You have three more essences to get and you’re going to need their help.”

  “Can I get Asclepius back?” I asked.

  Epione crossed her arms and stared me down. “What do you mean?”

  “When we go up against Hades. Do the fates say anything about us getting Asclepius back?”

  “The fat
es don’t see everything, Romi. Come now. Your blacksmith is going to be a little sore for a while, but we’ll give you some herbs to take home with you. Steep them and they will help.”

  “You’re kicking us out?” I asked.

  Her lips pulled into a tight smile. “My family needs to mourn, and you need to meet with Athena.”

  By the time we returned to the hut where Demarco was being cared for, he was sitting up and wearing a hemp robe. He gave me a crooked smile and despite the residual hurt I felt over what he’d done, I smiled back. I couldn’t help myself. I loved him, after all.

  I gave Epione and Aglaea one last hug before collecting my griffin, my blacksmith, and our belongings, and getting out of their hair. Demarco had to lean heavily on Tweety and me as we helped him down the stairs of the shop and onto the sofa. I wanted to put him in bed, but he insisted on sitting up.

  “You have the essence?” he asked.

  I tugged it out my pack and showed him.

  “Good. Call her. Please see if we can get some time with Doreán.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “Do you want to rest first?”

  He started to shake his head no, but winced. “I need to see him, Romi.”

  Right. Demarco had almost died. Of course he’d want to see our boy. I nodded and called Athena’s name aloud.

  Within seconds, a knock rang against the door. Tweety hurried up the stairs to let the goddess in. I handed over the essence—thankful to be rid of it—and asked about Doreán.

  “One hour,” she said and turned to leave.

  “Athena, please. Demarco… died.” I swallowed around the word. “I know we can’t keep him.” Even if we could, I refused to put him in the kind of danger we’d be in until we dealt with Shade and restored Zeus. “But can he please stay with us overnight?”

  “I am not without compassion and I understand the ordeal you’ve gone through, Demarco.” She snapped her fingers and Doreán appeared, grinning up at me.

  “Mamma!” he shouted.

  I fell to my knees and opened my arms. He rushed in and tackled me.

  “Artemis will pick him up tomorrow at sunrise,” Athena said. Then she vanished.