We Will Heal These Wounds

by Nicole Thorn

  “Candy doesn’t work either,” Kizzy added. “She won’t eat it.”

  I sighed. “So, I can’t buy her love. Wonderful. How about just getting her not to hate me?”

  Her sister shrugged. “I think you’re boned. And not in the good way.”

  I rubbed my hands down my face, taking a moment. This would be difficult to pull off, and a small, small, small chance existed where I would lose. But I never lost anything, so that seemed mad. I should just talk to my mother. She would know what to do.

  I looked up at our surroundings outside of the car. We drove on a road with no other cars, and either side of the road had trees taller than I’d seen since I moved to America. Green surrounded us, bright enough to burn my eyes. The cloudy sky made everything visually interesting. Bright green, and dull gray. It reminded me of where I came from, and it made me feel a little less out of place. I missed my old home, away from everything and everyone.

  Juniper blinked a few times, then shook her head. I assumed she snapped herself out of the vision. “Okay, we’re almost there.”

  Zander turned into the woods, carefully driving through the thick of trees. When it became obvious that we wouldn’t get the car any farther, we had to stop and get out.

  “How close?” Zander asked Juniper while he popped the trunk.

  She closed her eyes again, taking a deep breath. “Maybe a couple miles.”

  Fun for all.

  Everyone but Juniper and Jasper gathered their weapons, and we took off. We headed the rest, and I got us a good distance from the others. Not enough that we would lose them, but enough that I could talk to Juniper with some illusion of privacy.

  When we got to a fallen tree, I took her by the waist, and lifted her up so she wouldn’t have to risk tripping. Instead of thanking me, she smacked my arm and told me not to touch her again. I sighed each and every time she hit me for the trees I guided her over.

  Juniper didn’t help me out with the conversation. I started telling her about when I had been a boy, hoping it would humanize me a little bit. I didn’t think it worked, because she wouldn’t say anything.

  “Come on, luv,” I said with exhaustion. “Please, I’m trying here.”

  She gazed at me harshly. “Why? Why are you trying? Why do you think you want me?” Because if you think that just because the others in the prophecy are coupled up, means we should be, then you are fucking crazy.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s the farthest thing from the truth.”

  She looked at me like she already knew, and didn’t say anything.

  “Why is it so difficult for you to believe that I might just want you because of who you are? I like you, Juniper. The prophecy is utter rubbish, and I refuse to let it dictate anything in my life.”

  I waited patiently for Juniper to respond, and in that time, I lifted her over more broken branches. This time when I set her down, she didn’t get upset with me. She stayed at my side as we walked, and her fingers curled.

  “Nobody wants me,” she said quietly. “I’m not the kind of girl someone daydreams about getting. I’m not fun, or really pretty, or good at anything. I’m not—”

  I stopped her before she could go on. “Let me correct you on a few things. Pretty is subjective, but I happen to think you are absolutely stunning. And I have more fun bantering with you than I’ve had in a long time. Good at things? Well, I’ve yet to see you do much more than hit me and clean things between hunting for a dog. Though your right hook wasn’t bad. And I happen to daydream about you plenty. I spent most of the car ride thinking about a scenario where I take you to a nice dinner, maybe a film, then take you home, push your dress up to your hips, and bury my face between your thighs.”

  “Oh!” she squeaked, face turning bright red as her eyes became double their normal size.

  I nodded. “Yup. I would very much like that to happen.”

  “Why?” she asked, somehow astonished.

  All right, so how do I explain this to an adult . . . “Never thought I would have to give the birds and the bees talk to someone. But when I see you and think about you naked, blood starts leaving my brain and—”

  “No!” She held her hands up. “Not that. I mean . . . why me? Why do you want to do that with me?”

  I sighed. “Why am I attracted to you? Why is anyone attracted to anything? I find your personality enjoyable, and your body is lovely, and would look very nice either under me, or bouncing on my lap.”

  What a pretty shade of red she turned, and I thought it complimented her pale skin. “Why do you keep telling me stuff like that?”

  “You wanted to know!” I growled at her, finally getting a little peeved that she didn’t understand.

  “Stop wanting me like that,” Juniper ordered.

  “Not how it works, luv. I don’t know why you’re so sure that you’re not attractive. Surely you realize you look nearly identical to Jasmine, and you hear Zander say all the time how gorgeous she is.”

  Juniper hung her head, and spoke quietly. “I’m not Jasmine.”

  I wished I could just put my arm around her and make all those little insecurities melt away. But I suppose insecurities like this wouldn’t listen to reason. If they could, then the problems wouldn’t be there. Luckily, she had me, and I wouldn’t let a day pass where I didn’t express how much I cared about her, or what she meant to me, and her value in this world.

  “It was my dad,” she said. Instantly, she had my full attention. “I had some weight problems when I was younger, and he had to start regulating what I ate. He said . . . well I wasn’t as pretty as Jasmine, and I knew that. He called me lots of things. Fat, ugly. The basic stuff.”

  I had never felt something like the rage in my chest before, and I had to attempt to stay calm. I couldn’t do anything about the man right then. Juniper needed me to be better than I wanted to be.

  I attempted to sound calm when I spoke to her. “So, your father is an abusive bastard. Don’t let lies he told you define who you are. He wanted you to feel bad. I don’t know why, but that sounds like the goal; to keep you down. Eating a chip or sweets won’t make you all of the sudden blow up like a balloon, and even if it did, that doesn’t make you any less beautiful. Just consider every word out of his mouth a lie.”

  “Easier said than done . . . ”

  I had a lot of damage to undo.

  “I know how to make you feel better,” I started. “I promised this to Jasper and I’ll promise it to you. I won’t kiss you again.”

  “Good,” she growled.

  I smiled as I stepped over a tree. I stood in front of it, and reached out to take Juniper by the waist. She didn’t stop me this time. I set her down safely beside me, and I kept her from walking.

  “Because you’ll be the one to kiss me next time,” I told her. “I think it’ll be rather nice to let it all build up in you until you burst with affection for me and then attack.”

  Juniper started walking. “Never going to happen, you egomaniac.”

  Another few minutes of walking and we happened upon a cabin. A small cabin in the middle of nowhere, with no cars and no signs of people anywhere. This had to be it.

  Zander walked in front of us, holding his sword tight in his hands. “Guys, how about I go first?”

  Jasmine hurried up to his side, her own weapon in her hand. “Why? So, Cerberus can eat your face? I like your face a whole lot. I mean . . . I would still love you without one, but I think your quality of life would drop.”

  He patted her head. “Worry not, baby. My face would grow back.”

  “Oh, thank the gods,” she breathed.

  I obviously wouldn’t let Zander go ahead alone, because Cerberus wouldn’t harm anyone who came with me. I walked with him, and I opened up the unlocked door to the cabin.

  It appeared empty, though fully furnished and heated. I took one step inside, and I whistled.

  In a split second, I heard scratches on wood and barking. I grinned and waited.

 
Like a little bullet, Cerberus came barreling out from around a corner, tongues hanging out of mouths, and six eyes on me. He came at me, and I knelt down in time for his body to slam into mine. He had a lot of power, even as a puppy, and I went backward. Once on my back, Cerberus took advantage of me with licks to my face, and scratchy little claws all over my body.

  I laughed and patted his side.

  I heard the sword drop onto the floor, and just barely caught Zander dropping to his knees beside me. His eyes went wide and his mouth hung open. “He is . . . so cute!”

  I sat up with my mad dog barking happily and still licking at me. “Wanna hold him?”

  Zander’s face said it all, and I handed over the big pile of puppy. Soon, Cerberus gave Zander the same treatment that I’d gotten. Our people came into the cabin, and Jasmine flipped her shit when she saw Zander holding the puppy. She charged him, dropping down for her own cuddles.

  Kizzy came next, abandoning Jasper as she declared how adorable my dog looked. “He’s so fluffy!” she yelled as she bent to pet one of his heads. He licked her hand, accepting her as I thought he would. She was his aunt after all. Well . . . kinda.

  I got to my feet, brushing myself off as I watched Juniper look to the pile of people and supernatural dog in horror. She inched away, where Jasper moved closer, willing to give Cerberus a pet.

  I wandered over to Juniper’s side, subconsciously letting her know I would protect her from this ruthless puppy who wanted nothing more than a belly rub. When he got it . . . well he looked like a happy fella.

  “Christ,” someone groaned, and we turned our heads in the same direction Cerberus had come from. Sure enough, a blond man stood there, gold eyes and the most put out expression I’d ever seen. He wore a light blue hoodie, worn out The Offspring shirt, and ratty jeans. “I fucking knew someone would find me here.” He threw his head back and cursed in Greek.

  I had to assume he knew who we were. The gods could sense that kind of thing, and most people knew of the Olympians’ children. He didn’t bother introducing himself to us. Skipping formalities saved so much time.

  “Took ya long enough,” I said. “What the hell were you doing in there?”

  Hermes started walking down the two steps to get to the bottom level, and he sighed the whole way over. “I didn’t want to miss final Jeopardy.”

  Zander rose from the floor, leaving the dog but gathering his weapon. He didn’t attack, but he stood prepared.

  “Settle down, pointy,” Hermes said with a raised hand and a bored look. “No fighting today. And even if there was . . . come on.” He chuckled.

  Jasmine patted Zander’s bottom when he sadly put the sword down. “It’s okay. Just pet the puppy.”

  He did.

  Juniper moved behind me, her hands clutching my sides. I reached back to give her a pat, letting her know she would be fine. “So . . . you don’t seem all that bothered that we broke into your cabin and screwed your whole day.”

  Hermes shrugged. “I knew that someone would come for Cerberus. No point in letting it annoy me.”

  “Right . . . ” I said slowly. “If you don’t care that you would get caught, then why the hell did you take him in the first place? You don’t seem all that amused by this prank, if that’s what this was.”

  He shrugged. “Long story.”

  Zander eyed him. “One we would like to hear. So, spill . . . please.” He ended with a big smile that I thought he wanted to look obnoxious, so he wouldn’t get hit.

  “Nah,” Hermes decided. “Best not get myself in trouble with this one’s—” He nodded to me. “—daddy. Or the big bitch upstairs.”

  “Hera?” I asked.

  “Zeus.”

  Jasmine laughed.

  I took a deep breath, staring at the ceiling. “My dad isn’t gonna drop it until he knows why you did this. He’ll only poke at you and get revenge. You know that.”

  Groaning again, Hermes started walking over to the kitchen area. “Fine then.” He opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. “I’ll spill if you promise to only tell Hades, and if you make sure he promises not to tell Zeus.”

  “Whatever,” I responded.

  He cracked his water open, tossed the cap on the counter, and then started picking at the bag of crisps he’d left on the counter. “So like a month ago, I was in Greece, having a little fun. I was with one of the girls that Zeus liked to play with when he comes topside and she might have accidentally . . . drowned . . . a little bit . . . ” Hermes sipped his water casually.

  Kizzy blinked. “You killed one of his consorts?”

  “I didn’t think she would fall for the sharks in the water illusion. She panicked . . . Not my fault.”

  Dick . . . “And?”

  “And,” he went on, leaning on the counter. “I thought no one knew, and then Argus gave me a ring, saying I owed him a favor. He said if I got Cerberus out of the Underworld for a few days, then he wouldn’t tell Zeus what happened. Then the asshole had him kill that poor kid yesterday, and then I had to go erase all the camera footage from the hotel. One big hassle.”

  Argus . . . I knew a bit about him. All seeing, with eyes all over his body. I’d heard that he had been a servant for Hera. He had been tasked with guarding a cow for Zeus, and someone tricked him into tying it to a tree. But it turned out that the cow had secretly been one of Zeus’ consorts, and Hera pulled a fast one. To save her, Zeus had Hermes change Argus to stone. Guess that didn’t last.

  Holding a now calm and sleepy puppy in her arms, Jasmine made a face at the god. “But . . . who cares if he tells on you? It’s not like he’ll kill you, or even really punish you. Especially for a human death. You’ll get a slap on the wrist.”

  “From Zeus,” he emphasized. “Not worth it. So I just slipped in, turned the big furball into a pup, and slipped back out. Done and done.”

  Zander’s eyes narrowed in scrutiny, and he turned the sword in his hand. “Okay, so why did Argus want Cerberus?”

  Hermes shrugged, chewing on his food. “Didn’t tell me. I just did the job I was asked, and now I am donezo. Finished. Caput.”

  Wow, this man annoyed me a lot.

  Juniper started peeking her head out from behind me. Her hands stayed tight on me, but she watched the puppy. Her sister offered up the sleepy little guy, and Juniper did nothing more than scratch his paw. He fell asleep before she finished.

  “We’re taking him,” I said sternly.

  Hermes yawned and deadpanned, “Oh no . . . whatever shall I do without a dog that needs to pee every ten minutes and likes to nip at my feet when I walk? Woe is me.” He tossed more crisps into his mouth, chewing as he rolled his eyes. “How I will miss tripping whenever I wanna walk somewhere, or having to get each fucking head a special brand of meat because they all like something different . . . ”

  I started waving my companions out of the house quietly. They looked at Hermes as his rant went on, but they started walking out ahead of me. Juniper went last, watching the god shove food into his mouth and complain. I put my hand on her back, leading her out.

  “And don’t get me started on him chewing through all of the beds I get him,” Hermes said. “Just rips them to pieces. Does he think money grows on trees? Damn dog. I’ve met squirrels with better manners . . . Ate five of my shoes. Who the fuck does that? Finish off the pair, you little bitch dog . . . ”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:

  Dog Slobber . . .

  Juniper

  “Verin . . . ” I said, looking down into Cerberus’ faces. The puppy sat at my feet, wagging his tail. I didn’t like the look in his eyes. I could detect something sinister about it. And not just because he had six of them instead of the usual two.

  “Yes?” Verin said, sticking his head out of the building. Hermes had already vanished, but Verin had to double check that everything else looked all right. I didn’t particularly care what he did, since I still hadn’t gotten over my anger, but . . . dog. A dog that wagged his tail at me.
I just knew he would launch himself off the ground, and get me filthy.

  “Do something about him,” I ordered. I didn’t point at the dog, because I got the image of him leaping up, and breaking my finger right off my poor hand. I didn’t want that.

  Verin stepped out of the house, and looked at Cerberus. His little butt still went back and forth with how hard he wagged his tail, but I didn’t trust him. Not one little bit. I took a step back, and he jumped upon my feet, licking my ankles with two heads, while the third head bobbed up and down, like he tried to jump at me.

  “Verin!” I shouted. Cerberus had me pinned against the van. “Get this monster dog off me! Ahhhhhhh!”

  “Aw, he likes you,” Jasmine said, because she clearly didn’t love me that much. She sat in the passenger’s seat, snapping photos and smiling sweetly at the puppy. I would never forgive her for this. I would get revenge in as excruciating a way as possible.

  “I don’t care!” I shouted. “Get it off me!”

  Finally, someone took pity on me. Verin lifted the dog up with an arm around his middle. Cerberus squirmed happily until he managed to turn around and start licking Verin’s face. That face had touched mine earlier . . . I felt like I needed to throw up. So much dog slobber. Just everywhere. It had gotten on me, on my clothes. Just . . . everywhere. A sad little whimper came out of my mouth. I would never be clean again. No amount of showering would change the fact that a dog who guarded the Underworld licked my ankles.

  “We should get him home before someone notices him,” Jasper said. He leaned against the car, watching Verin with the dog. He didn’t seem all that bothered by Verin, but I didn’t think the demigod knew that. In all fairness, most people didn’t punch other people when they weren’t bothered. Jasper had only done it because I asked him to, after all.

  “Agreed,” Verin said. “Open up the back. I’ll put him inside.”

  Zander went to do that, while I climbed into my seat, and tried not to dwell on the copious amounts of dog slobber that would probably get all over our stuff. Jasper and Kizzy took the very back, while Zander and Jasmine had the front. Which meant Verin would sit with me.