by Tamara White
“Well shit. I hadn’t even thought of that. You’re right. But how do I find out what powers I have?” I ask, not liking this new development one bit. I guess I assumed what he meant was I was more like a demigod, rather than a minor goddess. To be honest, none of what was said has really sunk in yet.
“Jeez, Val. Your boyfriends are the sons of Zeus. I’m pretty sure one of them could teach you.”
“Oh, yeah,” I murmur, not having thought about that.
She shakes her head at me before grinning. “Yeah, ‘oh’ is right. But first, we have to figure out why Zeus wants you to help lead his army.”
We head into the main house and I can’t help but feel excited by Nat’s presence. The guys have been great, don’t get me wrong, but nothing beats having around the one person you can tell every little secret to.
As we pass through the entryway, I hear a slight tapping at the front door. Nat looks back to see I’ve stopped and cocks her head.
“Sorry, just go straight ahead until you reach the swinging double doors t. That’s the kitchen. I’m just going to answer the door.”
She nods and keeps walking towards the kitchen while I go to answer the door.
I swing the door open, cursing the fact it doesn’t have a peephole of some kind to see who’s there, and wondering who on earth it could be. After all, nobody ever visits, and Cassandra, my father and all of the guys are already here.
Which is why it surprises me when I swing open the massive door and find Justin standing there, looking tired and disheveled. “Hey, Val, can we talk?”
Son of a motherfucking duck. He really wants to do this now? I can’t exactly invite him in. When I opened the door, I was honestly just expecting a mail carrier or something.
“Um, sure, but it can only have a few minutes? I have guests wanting to speak to me.”
He nods in agreement, his face drawn, and I step outside, closing the door behind me. Then he grabs my hand the same way he has in the past and leads me away from the house. Only when we’re out of earshot does he speak. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. That was stupid of me and I have regretted it ever since.”
“Oh. That’s okay. I should have told you that I wasn’t really sick. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I was dealing with some emotional drama at the time.”
His lips purse and I see a spark of anger ignite in his eyes. “Yeah, I heard. I also heard you were fucking Jaxson.”
Wait… hold the fucking phone! How does he know that? The only time Jaxson and I had sex was in the shower. And unless he was in my bedroom, there was no fucking way he could have known that. Unless Jaxson told him, but I highly doubt Jaxson would go around bragging.
“I have no idea what you’ve heard, but that’s none of your business.” I pull my hand from his, my temper rising. Part of me feels guilty because I know this must hurt him, but it not like Justin and I were dating or anything. I had hoped at one point that we would in the future, after everything was resolved with my case, but then I saw a side to him I couldn’t get on board with.
“Sorry.” He says the word, but there’s no life to it. He doesn’t mean it and looking into his eyes, I see no regret there.
“What did you need to talk about?” I ask, trying to speed this up. I still have other things I have to do, after all. Mainly, discuss what going to the Realm of Light entails and how it will affect me. I realize I should also ask them about whether Zeus will sense me as he did the first time.
Ugh, so many questions, but I still have to deal with Justin first. He really chose a horrible time to come here. Why couldn’t he have done this tomorrow?
Justin sighs and looks down at the ground. “Sorry, you have company and I’m just dealing with stuff. I’ll go. But can I have a hug goodbye first?”
“Of course,” I reply, my heart melting.
He wraps his arms around me, but unlike our previous hugs, this feels tense and uncomfortable.
“VAL! GET AWAY FROM HIM!”
Natalie’s voice echoes across the driveway and I try to turn around to see what the fuss is about, but then I feel a pinch in my neck. Justin leans in to whisper in my ear, “Don’t worry, Valerie. I’ve got you.”
Twenty-Seven
Images flash by, one after another, and I try to hold onto them, but the faces keep disappearing before I can stop them. “No, please stop.”
I don’t know their names, but I feel like I should. Why can’t I remember?
I wake in a dank cell, complete with rusted bars, a bucket and a small bowl of water. I look around and gasp when I see a man trapped inside with me. Jumping to my feet, I go over to make sure he’s okay.
His eyes open the moment I touch him, and a soft smile crosses his face. “Valerie. Thank God you’re okay. I thought they might have hurt you.”
I frown down at him as he sits up. I’m sure where I know him from, but there’s a lingering familiarity. “Do I know you?”
He smiles warmly. “Yes, darling. I’m your fiancé, Justin. Don’t you remember?”
This time, it’s my turn to frown. I’m engaged? Why don’t I remember it, or him for that matter? And why on earth am I stuck in a cell?
A moment later, I hear the sound of click on the stone floor, coming closer. They stop outside our cell and I look up to see my mother smiling at me through the bars. Why do I recognize her, but not my fiancé? “Oh, Valerie, thank heavens you’re okay! I’ve been trying to find you for weeks. Your father kidnapped you. Can you believe it? I had to hire private investigators to find you. Are you okay?”
I look down at myself, assessing for any injuries, but I feel completely fine. “I think so, but my fiancé seems to be injured.”
Justin offers me a small smile. “I’m fine, my love, just tired. Your dad wasn’t happy to hear I wouldn’t help him.”
“What did he want? Why would he kidnap us?”
A pounding headache is building behind my eyes and I groan, clutching at my temples when an image flashes through my mind. It’s of man with amber eyes,and he’s trying to tell me something.
“Valerie, are you alright?” Justin wraps an arm around my shoulders and I have to fight off a shiver of revulsion.
That can’t be right… Why would my fiancé disgust me?
“Yeah, sorry. I think I’m just getting a migraine. Mom, do you have the keys to get us out of here?”
My mother shakes her head sadly. “Sorry, dear. We’ve been searching for hours, but have had no luck. Do you need me to get you something? Some water maybe?”
I smile gratefully. “Yes, some water would be nice. Thanks.”
She nods and walks away, the click of her heels echoing as she goes. Then Justin leads me over to the little bench-like seat he woke up on, where he takes a seat, making me sit down beside him.
“So how are you doing, babe?” I frown at his use of the word ‘babe,’ it feeling foreign coming from him. “Do you think everything’s still going to be okay for conception or should we hold off for a bit when we get out?”
Conception? I can’t believe he’s sitting here talking about getting pregnant when we’re stuck in a jail cell of some kind. Does he not find this whole thing terrifying?
Something nags in the back of my mind and I’m reminded why his question sounded weird. “Justin… you know I can’t have children, right? I was in a car accident with my mom when I was sixteen and it screwed up the way my tubes and ovaries work. They gave me a less than one percent chance of ever being able to have a child.”
As I explain that to him, I start to wonder. How does my fiancé not know about something that is such a big deal to me? I feel like I would have told him when he proposed if it hadn’t already come up, just to make sure it was something he was okay with.
There’s something off about this whole thing, but I can’t figure out what. “Sweetheart,” I start, a wave of nausea coming over me as I force the word out, “I think we’re suffering from some kind of memory loss.”
He chuckles an
d pulls me closer. “I think you may be right,” he says, smelling of Old Spice aftershave.
I resist the urge to gag at the strength of it, and that’s when another thought pops into my mind. Why does he smell like aftershave? I smell like sweat and dirt, but he still smells pretty clean, despite having been locked up in here with me. If anything, it looks like his face was just smeared with dirt for effect, not like he’s been living in it.
When I try to remember how I got here, intense pain starts to pound behind my eyes and I quickly give up.
Before I can question Justin, my mother returns, and rolls Justin and me each a bottle of water through the bars. She then slips a tray of cut up fruit and cheeses through the slit under the cell door. Why is she out there cutting up food for us when she should instead be trying to get us out of here?
The two of us snack on the food and my mother just watches us. “So, how long have we been down here?” I ask finally, expecting for it to have been a day, maybe two, but my mother’s response stuns me.
“You’ve been here for weeks. That’s why we’re trying our hardest to get you out of here. You seem to be having some kind of memory issues. I can’t tell if it’s tied to your blackouts or if he drugged you. Do you remember what happened when your father took you?”
I think about it long and hard, but it’s all just a blank. “Nope. To be honest, I don’t remember anything. It’s like I’ve lost years of my life. The last thing I remember clearly is coming home from hospital after the car accident,” I admit with a frown. I couldn’t even tell you how old I am right now, but I don’t say that out loud for fear my fiancé will freak out.
My mother purses her lips. “Okay, well you clearly need to see a doctor. I’m going to see if one can come to the house and take a look at you while we work on how to get you out of there.”
Okay. Things just keep getting weirder. Why not just get someone to come cut us out of here? Why is she bringing people to us rather than putting all her effort into freeing us?
She walks away before I can reassure her that I’m fine, and doesn’t return for another hour at least. Justin goes quiet, his eyes glazing over in what I can only assume is pain. He must be stuck in memories of our abduction or whatever happened while we were unconscious.
Finally my mother walks back in, with a huge smile on her face. “This is my daughter, Valerie, and her fiancé, Justin. As you can see, they’re stuck in there, and we’ve been unable to find the keys. The police have said we’re allowed to destroy the bars tomorrow, but we have to let the professionals do it. So unfortunately, you will have to assess her through the bars.”
Then the doctor walks into the room and my jaw drops open in shock. That man doesn’t look like any doctor I’ve ever seen. He must be a model posing as one. Jeez, if my doctor was that hot, I’d be sick all the damn time.
“Hello, Valerie. I’m Dr. Light.” He extends a hand through the bars for me to shake, and his green eyes show a kindness that I wasn’t expecting from him. The energy he radiates is that of someone who doesn’t really give a care, which isn’t really the ideal kind of vibe for a doctor to give off. He seems more like the type of guy who’d watch the world burn around him without a care rather than heal it.
His hand grasps mine and time stills as he holds my gaze. “Valerie, we don’t have much time. The whole house is guarded against demigods and gods, all except those who have been specifically invited. I had to drain myself just to get to you. Now, you need to snap out of this spell and find your way back to your guardians. You are stronger than this. Remember, you are the daughter of War! No one can match your abilities.”
As quickly as the words came, the moment his eyes break contact from mine, it’s as if nothing happened. I stare at him with wide eyes as he turns my hand over, checking my pulse and blood pressure like a complete professional.
Did he really just speak into my mind, or was that a hallucination brought on by the fear of not knowing what’s really happening to me?
“Okay, Mrs. Jones, what was the primary reason you decided to seek medical attention?” The doctor asks, looking directly at my mother.
She moves to stand beside the bars and looks down at me sadly. “She is suffering from memory loss. The last thing she remembers is coming home from hospital when she was sixteen.”
Justin joins me at my side and wraps an arm around me comfortingly. “Valerie doesn’t even remember me proposing to her,” he laments, his voice filled with despair.
I roll my eyes, feeling slightly annoyed. Like, come on man, grow a pair. So I didn’t remember our engagement. I have a whole world of other problems, like the fact I can’t remember entire years of my life.
“Hmmm.” The doctor looks at me with a calculating expression before tucking his hands in his pockets. “I’d say Valerie is just suffering a type of post-traumatic stress. Her memory may come back, but there’s also a chance it may not. It all depends on the level of trauma.”
He turns away from me and Justin, whispering to my mother on the way out. But before he leaves, I hear that voice inside my head again. “Your guardians need you, love. Don’t abandon them.”
Twenty-Eight
“Valerie! Come back to me!” That voice. I know that voice! I look around and see a man running towards me. I freeze, unsure why my heart is racing. Is it out of fear? But the moment his amber eyes meet mine, a feeling of love overwhelms me and I rush to him.
He lifts me up and buries his head in my hair, breathing in deep. “I thought we had lost you. I didn’t even think to try to contact you in your dreams.”
I pull back, my face now streaked with tears. I know this man, but I don’t remember him. Why can’t I remember him?
He wipes at the tears trailing down my cheeks. “What wrong, Val?”
I sniffle and look up at him, my heart filled with a deep anguish. “I don’t remember you.”
I gasp as the dream comes back to me and tears spring to my eyes. Who was that man? I look around for Justin, hoping he might be able to give me answers only to find my cell empty. Where is he?
Did my mother somehow free him?
“Hello!” I call out. A moment later, I hear the sound of footsteps approaching. My mother comes into the room, with Justin following her. “Oh thank God, you found the key. Why didn’t you wake me?”
They exchange glances before smiling and turning to face me together. That’s when I notice the two of them holding hands. Okay… now my mind is going into overdrive. “Mom?”
“Yes, darling daughter, Justin and I are in a relationship,” she says, having seen where my gaze went. She even goes so far as to lean up and let him kiss her, which has me gagging. That’s just a new level of gross.
“Clearly I have no idea what is going on here, so why not just let me out of here and I’ll leave you two to live your happily ever after?” I suggest hopefully. I want to be as far from this messed up situation as I can, but I have a niggling feeling that it won’t be that easy.
Justin takes a step away from my mother and glares down at me. Something in his expression has changed from the weak man who was in my cell earlier. Now, there’s a ruthlessness hiding behind those eyes.
“I can’t believe how easy it was to turn you into a moping little child. All I had to do was play you like a lovesick fool and then bam! We had you. After that, we just cast a little memory spell and now look at you, completely powerless. Now all you have to do is one final thing. Then I’ll let you go and give you your memories back.”
I remain quiet, listening to the ravings of a madman. All the while, something builds inside me and a voice whispers in my heart. The same mysterious man from dreams appears now in my mind, his green eyes encouraging me. I smile at him, feeling a wave of calm wash over me.
That seems to unnerve Justin because he looks behind him, frowning when he only sees my mother. “What are you smiling at, fool?”
I shake my head, refusing to answer.
“Whatever. Listen carefully, Val
erie. If I have to repeat myself, I will punish you for it. Now, close your eyes.”
I do as Justin says and shut my eyes, hoping to get the hell out of here soon. “Good. Now I want you to look deep inside you, deep within your soul for a ball of white light. It should feel like absolute peace. I want you to grab hold of that ball and whisper the words, ‘I gift you to the god, Zeus.’ That’s it, Valerie. See—it’s easy.”
As ordered, I look within myself and find the ball of light he mentioned. Except it’s not so much a ball, instead my entire body is filled with that light. It touches every little part of me, so I decide to focus on the center of it: my heart. As I reach within, the green eyed man appears next to me and grins. Then he leans over to whisper in my ear. The word itself means nothing at first, but it sends a flood of memories rushing through me. And slowly, piece by piece, I start to regain myself. My eyes snap open and I grin at Justin and my mother, who are looking at me with eagerness in their expressions.
My mouth opens and the magic word slips free. “War.”
Like my power was just waiting for me to call it to my aid, the cell explodes outward and sends Justin and my mother back into the wall, sliding down it agonizingly slow.
My mother is the first to regain her footing, and she comes running at me with one of the destroyed bars in hand.
Harnessing the power within me, I flick my hand in her direction. A blast of magic sends her flying backward. She falls straight onto one of the many bars scattered around the room, impaling herself.
Justin rises from the ground and I notice something I hadn’t before. It’s not really him there behind his eyes. Those eyes are filled with an anger I recognize now that my memories have been restored. “You’ve made a big mistake, little girl.”
I laugh at that and summon red flames to my hands, bouncing the balls of fire as if I don’t have a care in the world. “No, you’re the one who made a mistake. You took me from my guardians. And on top of that, you used my mother for your own personal means. Now look at her; she’s dead. I did that. And what I do to you will be so much worse.” I pause for a moment, letting a little anticipation build. “You came into our home pretending to be a friend, but you betrayed me. For what?”