“You were.”
“Why didn’t I go?” Zeus asked.
Perses’ eyes shot daggers at Hera. She caught his look and sighed.
“Husband?” Hera asked.
Zeus turned to look at her.
“We should talk,” Hera said.
~~~~~~~~
Saturday morning — 5:35 a.m.
New York City, New York
“Daddy?” Noelle asked.
Her voice was filled with panic.
“I’m here,” Aden said.
He clicked on the bedside lamp. She had been in a drugged sleep when he got in so he’d lay down on top of her covers. She rolled onto her side. Her arms went around his waist.
“You’re here,” Noelle said.
“We were locked in,” Aden said. “We left Denver the moment we were able to get out.”
“And Mommy?” Noelle asked.
The word “Mommy” always confused Aden. He opened his mouth to respond that Noelle’s mom was in prison before his brain kicked in to remind him that Sandy was Noelle’s “Mom.”
“She’s with Sissy,” Aden said. “Delphie too.”
“And how is. . .” Tears fell down Noelle’s face. “I dreamed she was dead.”
“She just got out of emergency surgery,” Aden said.
“She’s not dead?” Noelle asked.
“It was touch and go,” Aden said. He and Sandy had agreed to be honest with Noelle. “But you know Sissy.”
“She’s really stubborn,” Noelle said.
“I was going to say ‘tough,’” Aden said.
“That, too,” Noelle said.
Her head nodded against Aden’s waist, and he looked down at her. MJ and Bestat had taken Noelle to see Sissy last night. Noelle had gotten so upset that the doctor had sedated her.
“Do you remember seeing her last night?” Aden asked.
He felt Noelle’s head nod against him.
“She seemed so. . .” Noelle stopped talking.
“Well, according to Sandy, she’s in recovery,” Aden said. “The doctor is hopeful that they’ve found all the places she was leaking.”
“Why did she leak so much?” Noelle asked.
Her voice was sleepy, but her arms held on tight to his middle. He closed his eyes before thinking of a way to respond.
“The bullets hit her ribs,” Aden looked down at Noelle and she nodded. “The little pieces of bone went everywhere.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Noelle said.
“They said what we’d expect them to say,” Aden said.
“Sissy is healthy and strong,” Noelle said.
“She’s in excellent health,” Aden said.
“They said that crap when we were there,” Noelle said.
“Crap?” Aden asked.
“Sorry,” Noelle said with a sigh. “Artists swear a lot.”
“Does Noelle Norsen swear a lot?” Aden asked.
“Sometimes,” Noelle said with a snot-filled laugh.
Aden held her tighter. He felt his shirt getting wet from Noelle’s tears. Knowing his daughter, he didn’t speak. He held on tight until she came up for air.
““I don’t like that ballerina.” Noelle’s voice was bitter.
“What ballerina?” Aden asked. He stroked her sleep-rumpled hair.
“That one Ivan was going to screw,” Noelle said.
Aden leaned back to look at Noelle. Her left eyeball looked up at him, and she shrugged.
“Sorry, Daddy,” Noelle said. “I’m too upset to use polite words.”
Aden had to look away to keep from grinning.
“He was going to screw her!” Noelle said.
“I’m sure that’s true,” Aden said.
Noelle snorted.
“According to Sandy, Ivan is quite popular with the ladies,” Aden said.
“I’m sure he is!” Noelle said.
Noelle became quiet. After a few minutes, Aden looked down to see if she was asleep. She was staring straight ahead.
“What’s going on?” Aden asked.
“When everything awful happened, you know, on the sidewalk?” Noelle asked.
Aden waited for her to continue.
“The ballerina screamed at the top of her lungs. The guy shot at Ivan and Sissy and then me. Bang-bang! and spssh. The bullets sprayed pieces of rock all over Ivan. And the ballerina screamed, you know. And then, bang-bang and Sissy went ‘gagagah’ and fell down. And the ballerina was screaming, screaming at the top of her lungs! Then bang-bang. But MJ turned me around, and the bullets went into his clothes. Thump, thump!. And the ballerina was screaming. And the guards came out and ran after the guy who shot us. And the ballerina kept screaming. And MJ dropped me down so he could help Sissy. I held Sissy’s head, you know?”
“And the ballerina kept screaming?” Aden asked.
“Yeah,” Noelle said. “From like way over there.”
“She wasn’t in any danger,” Aden said. He held onto her shoulder.
“Uh-huh,” Noelle said.
Noelle fell silent again.
“What is it?” Aden finally asked.
“Why did Ivan say he was Sissy’s husband?” Noelle asked.
Chapter Three Hundred and Forty-six
Awakening the dragon
“Um,” Aden said.
“I mean, he planned on screwing the stupid ballerina,” Noelle said. “Did you know she didn’t stop screaming until MJ told her to knock it off? Ms. Behur joked that she was glad she and Ivan didn’t. . . you know. . .”
“Screw?” Aden asked with a grin.
“Right,” Noelle said. “Why did she say that?”
“She probably thought the ballerina would be loud,” Aden said.
“Oh,” Noelle said. Aden glanced at his daughter. As was typical, Noelle was so focused on her own puzzle that she ignored the whole loud thing. “So after Sissy died, and the paramedics gave her shocks, and Ivan said he was Sissy’s husband, and Ivan got in the ambulance with Sissy, and the ambulance took off. Whirrrr!”
Noelle imitated the noise the ambulance made.
“She was still screaming?” Aden asked.
“Yeah,” Noelle said. “MJ slapped her and told her to stop screaming. And you know what she did?”
“She got mad?” Aden asked.
“How’d you know?” Noelle asked. Aden shrugged. “She started yelling about Ivan being Sissy’s husband and MJ being a jerk and the guards not saving her and everything. MJ was mad. He grabbed her elbow and pushed her into the limo. When the door closed, everybody — you know like people watching on the street and the guards and stuff — they applauded.”
Noelle shook her head.
“Sounds like it’s good that she didn’t stay,” Aden said.
“I guess,” Noelle said. “If everything awful didn’t happen, she’d be here now.”
“There’s a thought,” Aden said.
“Makes me sad,” Noelle said. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “Sissy and me. . . She was going to stay in here last night so we could watch cartoons before she had to practice. We figured Ivan wouldn’t get up so super early. Ms. Behur’s housekeeper brings us breakfast in bed. Sissy gets to eat waffles and eggs and bacon on Saturdays. We were going to eat and watch cartoons and. . .”
Noelle fell silent. Aden went back to stroking her hair.
“Now, Sissy’s going to die,” Noelle said. She let out a heart-wrenching sigh.
“She hasn’t died yet,” Aden said.
Hearing Aden’s even tone, Noelle sat up and looked at him.
“I say we have waffles and eggs and bacon,” Aden said.
“And coffee with lots of cream,” Noelle said. “I didn’t say that because I thought you’d be mad.”
“Coffee with lots of cream,” Aden said. “We’ll watch cartoons to celebrate.”
“Celebrate?” Noelle asked. “What do we have to celebrate? Everything’s pretty awful.”
“We’ll celebrate that you’r
e alive,” Aden said.
“But . . .,” Noelle said.
“Sissy’s alive, too,” Aden said. “Your brother’s alive and Charlie is too. Tink and Ivy were targets, you know.”
“They were?” Noelle asked.
“They are doing just fine today,” Aden said. “It seems to me that this was a pretty unsuccessful attempt to get out of trouble.”
“You mean that guy in Arizona?” Noelle asked.
“According to Delphie, he’s getting his comeuppance today,” Aden said.
“He is?” Noelle asked.
Aden nodded.
“What’s that mean?” Noelle asked.
“No idea,” Aden said. Despite herself, Noelle giggled. Aden smiled at her. “Teddy said he talked to you last night.”
“MJ set it up.” Noelle nodded. “I just cried.”
“He’s pretty worried about you,” Aden said. “Nash wants to talk to you, too. So let’s send them a text to see if they’re up.”
“Can we talk to Charlie, too?” Noelle asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Aden said. “That is if they’re awake. It’s two hours later there.”
“I bet they’re awake,” Noelle said.
“I bet you’re right,” Aden said.
There was a tap at the door.
“Come in,” Aden said.
Bestat’s head appeared in the gap of the door. She looked at Noelle for a long moment and then glanced at Aden.
“I’m so glad to see that you’re up,” Bestat said.
“We’re wondering if we can have waffles with bacon and eggs in bed,” Aden said.
“And coffee!” Noelle said.
“And coffee with lots of cream,” Aden said.
“Coming right up,” Bestat said.
“We were thinking of watching a few cartoons before going to see Sissy,” Aden said.
“I just got off the phone with Sandy,” Bestat said. “Sissy is being moved out of the ICU right now.”
“She is?” Noelle’s voice rose with excitement. Under her breath, she asked Aden, “That’s good news, right?”
“Very good news,” Aden said.
“We thought we’d go for a visit in an hour or so,” Bestat said. “Does that sound good?”
Noelle gave Bestat a solemn nod.
“Good,” Bestat said. “I’ll be right back with breakfast.”
“Are you going to join us?” Noelle asked.
“I usually hang out with my girls on Saturday mornings,” Bestat said to Aden. “Would that be all right with you, Aden?”
“Please join us,” Aden said.
Bestat gave him a toothy grin and closed the door.
“I’m going to. . .” Noelle pointed to the bathroom, and Aden nodded. Noelle got to the bathroom door before she turned back to her father. “Why did Ivan say he was Sissy’s husband?”
“MJ said he wanted to get on the ambulance,” Aden said. “Why?”
“Oh, nothing,” Noelle said. She took a step into the bathroom.
“Nothing?” Aden asked.
“Just seems like he should be,” Noelle said. “Even the ballerina said so.”
“When she wasn’t screaming?” Aden asked.
Noelle giggled and closed the door. Aden gave a slow shake of his head and called Sandy.
~~~~~~~~
Phoenix, Arizona
“More champagne?” Otis asked. Naked, he was leaning against the bed board. Mari sat next to him.
“Sure,” Mari said.
Otis slipped out of bed and picked up the bottle they’d been drinking from.
“It’s empty,” Otis said. “Can I go out . . .?”
“Sure,” Mari said. “Why?”
“I thought we were in a time gap,” Otis said.
“We are,” Mari said.
“I don’t want to be caught out there with nothing on,” Otis said.
“Fair enough,” Mari said with a grin.
In hopes to drive a promise from her, he gave her a dark scowl. She shrugged. Shaking his head, he pulled on his pants and went out into the living area of the suite. He weaved his way around the living male statues to pick up two bottles of champagne. He made his way back into the room. When he got there, Mari was smoking some kind of hand rolled cigarette.
“No smoking hotel?” Otis asked.
“Time gap,” Mari said with a smile. She held the cigarette out to him and he shook his head. “Do come back to bed.”
He opened a bottle of champagne and gave it to her. She set her cigarette down and took a drink from the bottle. Grinning, he dropped his pants and got in beside her. Lost in post-coital bliss, they drank champagne and thought their own thoughts. After a while, Mari sighed and put out her cigarette.
“My mother hates it when I’m like this,” Mari said.
“Like what?” Otis asked.
“‘Non-princess like,’” Mari said.
“What is ‘princess-like’?” Otis asked with a smile.
She slipped out of bed. His eyes naturally followed her naked form, which made her smile. She grabbed her wand and held it over her head. She was transformed into a floor-length, maroon velvet dress, complete with a tiara encrusted with diamonds in the family crest.
“Princess Mari, at your service,” Mari said.
She gave a deep curtsy. When she looked at him, Otis’s face seemed stuck in a partial grin.
“What?” Mari asked. “You look positively starched.”
“I’m wondering if you’re wearing lingerie under that dress,” Otis said.
He raised his eyebrows, and she blushed.
“And if I’m not?” Mari asked.
“You should come over here,” Otis said.
“I’m beginning to see why so many people love you dearly,” Mari said.
Otis laughed. He beckoned her back to bed. Grinning at the idea, Mari crawled across the bed toward him. He slipped his hands under the velvet.
“No panties,” Otis said.
“Not for you,” Mari said.
“I like that,” Otis said.
“My mother will never approve,” Mari said.
“Of your drinking?” Under the velvet, Otis stroked her rear.
“No.”
“Your smoking?” He leaned forward to kiss her lips.
“Well, that, too.”
“Then what?” Otis asked.
She leaned forward to kiss him. Their lips and tongues moved with hungry abandon. She pulled back.
“My mother will never approve of you,” Mari said.
“She might,” Otis said.
“She won’t,” Mari said.
“Is this a problem?” Otis asked. “We aren’t married.”
“No we aren’t,” Mari said.
“We’re not even dating,” Otis said.
“You never take me anywhere.” Mari mock hit his chest, and he grinned.
“We’re just enjoying a time gap,” Otis said.
“This is true,” Mari said.
She balled up the skirt of the gown so that she could slip onto him.
“Tomorrow, if there is one, we’ll decide if there’s a next,” Otis said.
“Suits me,” Mari said. “But it doesn’t change anything.”
“Your mother won’t approve of you whiling away a time gap with me?” Otis asked.
Mari shook her head.
“You’re making up your mind as to what to do with the men in the other room!” Otis’s voice was indignant.
“I’m indulging in carnal pleasures with a human,” Mari said.
“Is it our age difference?” Otis asked.
“Maybe,” Mari said. “How old are you?”
“Eighty-two,” Otis said.
“You don’t look it,” Mari said.
“I’m a healer,” Otis said. “My people have long lives. My father was two hundred and two years old when I was born.”
“Hmm,” Mari said.
“How old are you?”
“Um,” Mari
said.
“Your brother Keenan was born in 400 AD,” Otis said. “That means you were born . . .”
“Before that,” Mari said. “Actually, quite a while before that.”
“So it’s not our age difference,” Otis said.
“Doesn’t mean she will approve,” Mari said.
“I’m hurt,” Otis said.
“You’re not,” Mari said.
“I’m not.”
Mari grinned and moved her hips.
“I bet your mother would approve of that,” Otis said.
Mari laughed.
~~~~~~~~
Olympia
“Whatever you have to say, you may say it here,” Zeus said. “You are my queen, my partner in everything.”
The crowd became very still. Hera looked out into the court for a moment before smiling at Zeus and nodding her head.
“Princess Tanesha is correct,” Hera said. “We owe your life to Hedone. She agreed to come with me to the Sea of Amber to freely trade her life for yours.”
“Trade Hedone for the great Zeus?” The ruler looked genuinely confused at the idea.
“The serpents wished to drive all love out of this world,” Hera said. “That was their mission. Since Eros gave Hedone his powers, her destruction would have destroyed love in the world.”
Zeus gave a slight nod to indicate that he’d heard Hera.
“She offered herself in replacement of you,” Hera said.
“What do I care?” Zeus shrugged. “I destroyed the entire serpent race and their Sea of Amber.”
“You would not be able to have done that if it were not for Hedone, my love,” Hera said.
“Hedone did what she should have to protect her Lord,” Zeus said.
Hera scowled at him.
“Don’t look at me like that, woman,” Zeus said. “The past is over. The serpents are dust. Hedone is here, and here she’ll stay.”
Zeus nodded to Hera.
“Isn’t that right?” Zeus said. He raised his hands and the crowd cheered.
Hera looked confused. She touched his arm and he turned to look at her. They communicated silently. Hera shook her head, and Zeus just smiled. Finally, he nodded.
“If anyone can come up with a compelling reason for Hedone returning to her human existence, speak now,” Zeus said.
Tanesha and Fin stepped forward.
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