as the lentil stew was put down in front of her, Helens whole being
was lost in a flavor blur. She was vaguely aware of other people
pulling up chairs or standing around by the stove while they tasted
this or that, got themselves a plate, or just hung out to talk, but she
was far too focused on the ever-changing dishes in front of her to
pick individuals out of the crowd. Noel kept the food coming. A few
times, Helen was aware of Cassandra shuttling trays up and down
the stairs, but it didnt sink in that those were for Lucas until Helen
was falling asleep over something sweet and nutty made out of
dough.
Ready for ice cream? Noel asked her, absentmindedly pushing
a thick swath of Helens long hair behind her shoulder so it didnt
fall into her food.
I think Ive gone blind, Helen replied, unable to chew or swallow
or see straight anymore.
Finally, Noel sighed as she sank into a chair across the table
from Helen. She looked as tired as Helen felt. Jason? Do you think
you could take her up?
Sure, Jason replied, and scooped Helen out of her chair. She
was suddenly very awake.
I can walk! Really, you dont have to carry me, she said,
squirming in his arms.
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Sure you can. Now hold still or Ill drop you, he replied with a
good-natured smile. She had no choice but to relax and let him
carry her.
When they got upstairs, Cassandra came through one of the
many doors, holding a tray stacked to overflowing with dirty
dishes, and Helen got a brief glimpse of Lucas lying in bed. She
tensed and tried to crane her head around Jasons shoulders to get
a better look, but Cassandra shut the door.
Is he really going to be all right? Helen asked Jason as he
brought her into the guest room.
Yeah, Jason said, but he didnt meet her eyes when he said it.
He forced an uncomfortable laugh. Lukes just milking it to get
Cass to pamper him. Hell be fine, he said. He laid her down and
turned to go.
Im really sorry, Helen called out as Jason reached the door. He
stopped uncertainly and turned to listen as Helen unburdened herself
with increasing emotion. I was so scared and I was running
away into the fog and then I felt really light and really cold. When I
looked down and realized that I was flying, I fainted. I always knew
I was strange, that there was something wrong with me, but I
didnt know . . . Helen trailed off. Jason came back to her bedside
and touched her shoulder.
Nobody blames you, he said, but Helen waved a dismissive
hand.
Yeah, you do. You all do. Because I started this when I attacked
Lucas in the hallway at school.
You didnt start this, Jason replied forcefully. This war started
thousands of years ago. Helen gave him a confused look, but he
shook his head before she could ask any questions. Get some
sleep, and dont worry about Lucas. Even compared to other Sons
of Apollo, hes really tough. Jason switched off the light on his way
out, but left the door open a tiny crack in case she needed to call
out for help in the middle of the night.
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Helen snuggled into the down comforter and tried to relax, but
she was jittery with exhaustion and overwhelmed with the strangeness
of the room and the house. And the flying. She could
flythere was no denying it now. She wasnt just a gifted athlete
with paranoid notions about possibly being some kind of genetic
experiment. She could frigging fly, which is aerodynamically impossible
for a Homo sapiens, so she had to be something else. Something
other than human.
The only explanation was what Lucas had said, but that didnt
make much sense, either. The Greek gods were myths, anthropomorphic
manifestations of powerful natural forces, not historical
figures with actual descendantsor so shed been taught in eighth
grade. But now she wasnt so sure. She thought of how it felt to fly,
how the air had become solida malleable objectand she knew
that the argument was over in her heart. Somehow, she was a
demigod, and she was just going to have to accept it.
In the early morning hours, Helen woke up with a start and
looked around at the dark, unfamiliar room. She had been dreaming
about flying, which was great, until she realized she had no
idea how to land. Her first waking thought was that she would have
to get Lucas to teach her. Then it occurred to her he might never be
able to fly again.
Despite what his family said about him being fine, Helen knew
she wouldnt be able to go back to sleep without checking for herself.
She needed to see his face tanned and normal, not white and
scared as it was when they were in the dry lands together.
She touched her feet to the floor and tested them, applying more
pressure until she was sure she could stand, and then made her
wobbly way down the hall to Lucass room. She had never had shin
splints, had never had any kind of sports injury at all, but as she
crept along she imagined that what she was feeling had to be similar,
if not much, much worse. Her muscles wouldnt stretch as far as
usual; her joints felt swollen and hot. By the time she silently
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pushed Lucass door open she was covered in a thin, sickly sweat.
Lying on his back and staring at the moon in the window, Lucas
spun his head to look at Helen as she appeared in the doorway. A
moment passed.
Hi, he whispered.
Hi, she whispered back. May I come in?
Yeah. But quietly. He gestured to Cassandra asleep on a couch
on the other side of the room. She was awake for two days
straight.
Helen made her way into the room, crouching like an old woman
and wincing at the pressure on her feet. She felt like some ridiculous
fairytale hag and she started laughing silently at the thought
of chasing kids off her gingerbread lawn.
You shouldnt have come on your own. Youve worn yourself
out, Lucas admonished her gently.
I was fine a second ago, but it was farther than I thought. Your
house is huge, Helen whispered, aiming her creaky body at the
chair next to his bed.
You wont be able to sit up long. Here, he said as he pulled back
his covers. Youd better lie down.
Helen looked uncertainly at his bed. She had spent all of last
night melded to him, but now it was different somehow. If she lay
down with him it would be a choice. She saw him smirking up at
her, and realized he thought she was being silly. Which she was,
because her knees were shaking with the effort to hold her up. She
tried to sit down as carefully as she could so as not to disturb him,
but at the last moment her legs gave out and she pretty much
flopped into bed with him.
Sorry, she whispered as she gathered the covers over them.
Its okay. Careful of your toesmy legs are splinted, he warned
her. Helen peeked under the covers and saw that his lower body
was wrapped in soft casts. See? Youre completely safe with me.
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He grinned at her in the dark and she grinned back, until the reason
for her draining trek came back to her. Her smile faded.
How bad is it? Can you even tell right now? she asked him seriously.
She propped herself up on an elbow so she could look directly
into his face and scan him for any well-intentioned lies. Even
in the low moonlight dribbling through the casement she could see
the intense jewel blue of his eyes.
Ill mend, he said so softly his lips hardly moved.
Completely? Will you still . . . you know . . . walk and run and . . .
fly and all that?
Yeah, he whispered before she had even finished talking. Good
as new in another day.
It occurred to Helen that all she had to do was lean down and she
would be kissing him. It seemed like such a natural thing to doas
if she should be kissing himthat she was halfway to his mouth
before she stopped herself and pulled back, stunned by her lack of
self-control. She saw him swallow hard.
Lie back, Helen, he told her, which she immediately did to hide
her confusion.
For a few minutes they were both breathing a lot faster than they
should have been, but after a while, Lucas relaxed enough to take
her hand and hold it under the covers. She watched his chest go up
and down in a way that was familiar to her now, and smiled herself
to sleep.
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UNCORRECTED E-PROOFNOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
.....................................................................
Chapter Seven
Because I didnt want to wake up Lucas! a frustrated
voice hissed.
Helen had no idea how Ariadne had made it to the
tea table at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. Ariadne
couldnt fly.
Why are you fighting me on this? Cassandra pleaded quietly.
Hmm. Helen couldnt be on top of the Golden Gate Bridge so she
must be in bed, but she couldnt figure out what Cassandra was doing
in bed with her. If she could only open her eyes and see.
I dont doubt you. But what can we do? asked Noel.
We should leave. Now. Pack up the house and go back to
Europe.
Youre overreacting, huffed Ariadne, not even bothering to
whisper.
Two nights in a row, Ari. They ate the same food. Shared a roof
and a bed, and now they have witnesses! Cassandra said just as
loud.
But they havent done the most important thing! Ariadne
shouted back.
Girls!
Even though she was still so tired she felt glued to the mattress,
the yelling made Helens eyes open. She saw Ariadne, Cassandra,
and Noel standing over her bed. Correction, they were standing
over Lucass bed and Helen was in it. Her eyes snapped open and
her head whipped around to look at Lucas. He was frowning himself
awake and starting to make some gravelly noise in the back of
his throat.
Go argue someplace else, he groaned as he rolled over onto
Helen. He tucked himself up against her, awkwardly fighting the
drag of the casts on his legs as he tried to bury his face in Helens
neck. She nudged him and looked up at Noel, Ariadne, and a furious
Cassandra.
I came to see how he was and then I couldnt get back to my
bed, Helen tried to explain, absolutely mortified.
She gasped involuntarily as one of Lucass hands ran up the
length of her thigh and latched on to the sloping dip from her hip
to her waist. Then she felt him tense, as if hed just realized that
pillows werent shaped like hourglasses. His head jerked up and he
looked around, alert for a fight.
Oh, yeah, he said to Helen as he remembered. His eyes relaxed
back into a sleepy daze. He smiled up at his family and stretched
until he winced, then rubbed at his sore chest, no longer in a good
mood. Little privacy? he asked.
His mother, sister, and cousin all either crossed their arms or put
their hands on their hips. Humiliated, Helen tried to untangle herself
from the sheets and roll out of bed without attracting too much
attention. Cassandra spun on her heel and stomped out of the
room.
Ari, help Helen, Noel said gently as she saw Helens difficulty.
Then she turned and bellowed angrily down the hall. Hector! Get
in here and help your cousin!
Im okay, Helen protested as she stood up on tender legs, only
using Ariadnes helping hand to maintain her balance. She realized
she was wearing that ridiculous scrap of silk Ariadne had the nerve
to call a nightgown, although that detail had escaped her notice the
night before when she decided to take her little stroll.
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Whoa! Thats . . . interesting, said Hector as he arrived and saw
Helen.
Whats interesting? Jason asked as he passed in the hallway.
He poked his head in the door and saw what his brother was looking
at. Aw, damn!
They both stared at Helen, half naked and totally busted as she
got out of Lucass bed. Then they looked at each other, threw back
their heads in unison and laughed.
Okay, okay. Enough, Lucas said defensively. She was worried
and came to check on me, but by the time she made it here she was
practically falling over. I didnt want to wake Cassandra to carry
her back to the guest room, so I had her lay down with me. Obviously,
we just slept. Now, can everyone but Hector or Jase get out
of my room, please? That includes you, Mom. I need a shower.
Helen made it back to the guest room without accepting any
more help than she had to. She was so embarrassed all she wanted
to do was run screaming out of the house, and to do that she was
going to have to prove she was healthy.
No thanks, I got it now, she said to Ariadne when asked if she
needed help bathing.
Okay. Just shout if you need me, Ariadne replied with narrowed
eyes.
Twice Helen had to sit down on the shower floor to rest, but she
eventually managed to clean all the itchy sand out of her hair and