by Nicole Thorn
“You have one?”
“Yeah, my parents got me one when I started being the Oracle. They thought I was too energetic and needed to burn some of it off. But when it stops raining, we can go do double jumps. It’s nice to lay out there and stare at the stars.”
Aster didn’t respond to me, patting his lap as he sat there. He might have been fine to sit there and not do anything, but I didn’t want to be a bad host. If I blew it now, then I wouldn’t get to keep my new friend. Then I’d be all alone except for when the seers or demigods needed something from me.
I didn’t let my sudden panic show, breathing quietly through my mouth while I tried to catch my breath. Aster didn’t notice, still staring at the floor. When he did stop staring, he reached for my colored sticky pad. He pulled off a blue one and started folding the paper up. I let him do that, pondering what we could spend our time doing.
Normal people would have had a better time with this. They would have known what to do. Ah! I could do that.
I dove for the phone on my bed, jostling Aster as he folded up the paper. He didn’t look over at me as I laid on my stomach, typing something out to Jasmine.
Me: Hey, so what do you do to entertain boys?
A minute later, I got my answer. Jasmine: Well I usually take off my pants. That seems to entertain Zander.
Me: What if it’s someone that I’m not snuggling with.
Jasmine: Um . . . give me a sec. I’ll ask my sisters.
I waited again for her to get me an answer, and I let my feet dangle off the edge of the bed. My toes wiggled as I rolled from side to side, almost bumping into Aster. My butt might have hit him on the arm, but he didn’t say anything.
My phone beeped, Jasmine saying: Kizzy said she likes to make art with Jasper. Juniper mostly cleans her room while Verin plays the drums. So . . . I would maybe pick an activity.
Me: Thanks! We can make something then.
I turned and sat up, looking to see what Aster had done with the sticky note. He’d folded it into what looked like a little bird. “That’s so pretty,” I said with a big smile. “How did you learn to do that?”
Aster shrugged. “I think I was just messing around and started making shapes.” He handed the bird to me.
My eyes went wide. “You’re letting me have him?”
“Sure.”
Gasping I threw my arms around him. “Thank you so much! I love him. What do you wanna name the little fella?”
“Uhh . . . You pick.”
I stared at the bird in my hands, wondering what fit him the best. I went through a lot of names before I landed on Orpheus. It seemed to work the best, really. I put my new present on my desk on the other side of the room, where he would live forever.
I heard a knock on my door before it opened, my parents walking in together after getting back to the house. They saw me first, and then they looked to the boy on my bed. Dad didn’t look all that happy.
“Did that man leave?” Dad asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, Apollo had to go for a bit, but he’ll be back. This is his son, Aster.”
He stood up, putting his hands in his pockets. “Nice to meet you.”
Mom exhaled. “Well, we were going to tell you we needed to head out to work now. Is . . . is your friend staying long?”
“Only a bit,” I promised. “I’m sure Apollo is gonna be back really soon.”
Dad made a face. “Apollo, huh? Honey, you . . . ” He turned to Aster, whispering, “Are you supposed to be a god too?”
“Demigod,” Aster responded, a strange look on his face.
Mom rubbed her eyes. “Please, no more of this, Callie. Can you tell us why an adult man showed up to see you?”
“I told you he’s Aster’s dad,” I said.
“Looks a little young,” Dad commented. “Aster, is it?” he asked. “Would you mind telling me what’s actually going on?”
Aster looked at me for a long moment before he answered my father. “That’s my father,” he started. “He was young when he had me. But we came by because he works for the school Callie is about to graduate from. She won some kind of award thing and he wanted to bring it to her in person. He forgot it at the house and went to go grab it.”
“You live close?” Mom asked.
I stopped listening to the conversation, feeling my heart crack open with the lies that Aster said. He went along with my parents, not even backing me up. That was one more thing that they would use against me when this came up later. One more person who didn’t believe me.
Their words all sounded like mumbles while I stood there. I didn’t want to be in the room anymore. But I stayed where I was, listening to gods chatter in my head for a while.
“Will we be seeing you more?” Mom asked Aster. I wanted to tell her no, because liars weren’t allowed to be my friends. The others never lied to my parents about what they were. It hadn’t come up really, but they would have backed me up if it came down to it. They would stand behind me, telling Mom and Dad everything they needed to know but wouldn’t believe. Maybe I should have had Kizzy make a tree in the living room . . .
“You might,” Aster lied. “Dad and I are probably gonna stick around for a while. I’m mostly with my mom though.”
“Is she a god?” Dad asked me.
I stuck my tongue out at him. “One day, you all are going to feel really silly.”
“I know you believe that,” Dad said. “You really worry me sometimes. Your mom and I need to take off, so be good. Okay?”
“Fine,” I said, snippier than I’d meant to be. I wasn’t in the mood to be all that nice. Not only did I have constant chatter in my head, but my parents didn’t even believe me because they couldn’t see any proof. One day, there would be lots of proof. It would be really bad then, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
I watched them walk out of the room, my dad leaving the door open as if someone would be keeping an eye on us. He would probably realize what he did wrong before he walked out of the house.
When I was alone with Aster, I glowered in his direction. “I want to bite your face right now. Just so you know. Saddle up, buddy, because teeth are meeting flesh.”
He came at me with, “I’m so, so, so sorry,” as he hurried up to me. His voice bordered on panic as he implored me. “It just seemed like the better thing to do. If they don’t believe in the gods when their daughter is the Oracle, then it’s not like one more person is going to convince them. And they would have thought I was a jerk egging you on, and then I wouldn’t be allowed over anymore. Not that you would want me over. Just . . . if you did. Which would be fine if you didn’t. No pressure.”
My anger popped like a balloon. He hadn’t meant any harm, and his eyes looked too sad and stressed out for me to stay upset with him. “It’s fine,” I sighed. “But they’re convinced I’m crazy for everything I say. This certainly didn’t help.”
The boy shuffled on his feet. “I only had a split second to decide what to do, and I guess I picked what was easier. Why don’t they believe you?”
I shrugged. “Because the only magic I have is to hear voices that literally no one else can. I can’t prove anything to them, and they’re dealing with their daughter who all of the sudden said she’s the new Oracle, because the last one was murdered, and the Greek gods are all real. It’s a lot to swallow.”
“Are your friends unwilling to help you?”
Every time I thought about them, I got the overwhelming sense that they were way too busy to deal with me. Why should they have taken time out from their problems to come over and tell my parents something that would only make them worry? It was a huge favor to ask, and I would have been the only one to benefit from it, so I didn’t bother asking.
“They have bigger fish to fry,” I said. “And that includes the really bad thing coming. I don’t understand how I’m the only one who feels it. It’s like icy wind always blowing on my face, and everyone else is unaware. It’s awful.”
My eyes we
nt to the sticky notes behind Aster, mapping out all the hints I’d gotten so far. It added up to almost nothing, even months after I first heard about it. If I didn’t figure it out, then I would be letting everyone down. My mountains and the eyes. So much landed on my shoulders, and I didn’t have the means to make any of it right. What good was I if I couldn’t even do that?
Aster turned to look at the wall. A few inches of my walls didn’t have some sort of note on it, but only those few. More sticky notes talked about other scary things that were being dealt with. The people around me had no idea the kind of murmurings that went on under the surface. It felt like something terrible always brewed under the surface, waiting to take lives and set the world on fire.
“You have quite a crazy collection here,” Aster said.
I sighed. “Not crazy. More . . . confused.”
“Looks crazy, but that’s fine. I don’t mind crazy.” He squinted at the notes, moving closer to the wall. “What’s this about blood and war?”
I shook my head. “Nothing, I think. It’s not so bad.”
He turned to me. “It mentions rage, but it’s not so bad?”
I smiled. “There’s love in there too. A few scary things, but all wrapped up in this nice, warm pink aura. So that means that it’ll be fine. It’s the prickly gray ones that we have to worry about. There are lots of those.”
Aster’s eyes went from note to note. “I can see that. You must have an interesting life.”
I nodded as I walked to his side. “Literally never a dull moment. Some people spend their time watching TV and getting to have fun. Then there’s me . . . but that’s okay. I don’t mind it.”
“You should.”
I couldn’t have done much about it. I had this title for life, after all, and it was an important one. Everything I gave up, it was worth it if I could take care of the world.
“Can I ask you something?” Aster said.
“Sure.”
He looked over his shoulder at me. “My dad isn’t coming back for me, is he?”
“No, no I really doubt it. Want more cake?”
“Yeah.”
CHAPTER FIVE:
Life Used to be Easier
Aster
I’D EVENTUALLY GOTTEN home by calling a cab. Callie’s parents seemed nice, but I couldn’t blame them for wanting me out of the house and away from their daughter. The mother especially seemed suspicious of me. She said that Callie’s other friends never stayed that long before, and that they only ever checked up on her.
I wondered if those friends were the ones that only came by when they wanted information.
Either way, I got home about midnight to find my mother sitting on the couch, waiting for me. She scolded me for a solid ten minutes, until I finally got a word in edgewise about how Apollo had picked me up. The second she heard his name, she tensed up and walked away. She hadn’t spoken to me since. I figured that meant she wouldn’t be speaking to me until I apologized for doing anything with Apollo.
As if I had a choice in the matter. Which I didn’t. Saying no to the gods was paramount to sticking your hand into a raging fire and expecting that you wouldn’t get burned. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about it too much, since Apollo hadn’t shown up since the day before.
I had, however, given Callie my number, and she’d texted me fourteen times since I’d left her house. Twice, she hadn’t meant to text me. Once she had been asking if I had gotten home okay. Then the other eleven times, she’d been asking me random questions. Like if I enjoyed Kool-Aid, or if I ever thought about swimming naked in a lake. Specifically, a lake.
I hadn’t known how to respond to that one, so I ended up asking why. She never answered. It had been an interesting night, that culminated in me passing out at two in the morning and waking up to my mother banging around in the kitchen and barking harshly into the phone.
I waited until she slammed her bedroom door shut before getting up. I had ice cream for breakfast, since everything else had been dumped in the trashcan for some reason. I didn’t mind the ice cream, in all fairness. Not like I’d gain weight eating it, thanks to Apollo’s blood in my veins.
Someone knocked on the door, and I glanced over at it, suspicious already. Whoever it was, they knocked a second time, huffing. “C’mon, I don’t have all day. Do you think I just lounge around, screwing everything that moves like Zeus does? Open up, before I blast the door off its hinges.”
Well, that made my mind up for me.
I’d barely gotten the door open before a man pushed his way into my apartment. I stumbled to the side, rubbed the back of my head, and watched the man survey the place. “This is where you live? For the love of me, why don’t you demigods figure out how to decorate a place?”
I blinked slowly. “Who are you?”
“I’m offended,” he said, shaking his head. “So offended. Hermes, you dumbass.”
The man had blond hair that looked like it hadn’t seen a comb in days. He also had gold eyes that looked startling in a handsome face. All the gods looked amazing unless they didn’t want to for some reason. Usually when they wanted to trick someone or be a pain in the ass. Hermes had soft features and a trustworthy face. I figured that had something to do with being the messenger god. He had to look trustworthy if people were going to give him information to ferry about. It also helped him screw people over, since he looked like he wouldn’t destroy your world, even while doing it. He wore clothing that didn’t look too ratty but didn’t look pressed and clean, either. The kind of clothing that would appeal to a great many people.
When I didn’t say anything fast enough, Hermes sighed, tilting his head back. “I’m so tired of dealing with demigods. First, I had to handle those kids a few months ago, when they finally came to get that mutt off my hands. Now, I have to deal with you. I don’t understand how this is always my lot in life.”
“What?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“You’re in my apartment. I’m going to worry about it,” I said, but I didn’t think Hermes heard a single word out of my mouth. He started looking through things that didn’t belong to him. Like my mother’s CDs. I pictured her waking up to find them scattered, disorganized, and then she would blame me. Of course she would blame me, because it would be the easiest thing to do. At which point, I’d have to put them all in the right place again.
“Um, excuse me?” I asked.
Hermes tilted the CD stand over. “There is a lot of nineties pop in here,” he grumbled, turning away from it. I’d barely had a chance to take a breath before he went into the kitchen to rummage through the fridge.
I looked up at the ceiling. “Dad, if this was you, then are you mad at me? Did I offend you?”
“Ooh, cheesecake!” Hermes said. I looked over in time to see him dig his fingers into the cheesecake like an animal and shove some into his mouth.
“Dad, if this is you, then what the hell?” I said.
Hermes finished off the cheesecake in record time, which meant that I didn’t have to worry about my mother talking to me again. She’d give me the silent treatment for the rest of the month. At least she wouldn’t be able to yell at me, then.
Breathing out, I said, “Um . . . Hermes?”
“You don’t have to sound so unsure,” Hermes said, dumping the cheesecake crust into the trashcan. “I told you my name. C’mon, boy, sound like you mean it.”
I didn’t know how you said a name like you meant it.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, deciding that I didn’t need to know what he meant. I’d just pretend that he hadn’t said anything.
Hermes ignored me, opening the pantry door. He pulled out a bag of chips, ripped it open, and started eating them. They were my mother’s favorite chips, the ones that I never touched. I got the distinct impression that this visit would end with me dead, but hey, I had lived a good life. Maybe Hades would have mercy on me.
Throwing my hands up, I barked his name, “Her
mes?”
He grinned with a mouthful of chips, which didn’t look freaky at all, and said, “Yes?”
I tried to remind myself that gods sometimes acted weird and that under no circumstances could I yell at them. They would yell back with natural disasters, diseases, and possibly by turning me into something else.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
He finished his chips, dumped the mostly full bag on the floor where chips fell everywhere, and came around the counter to talk to me. I tried not to wince when I heard the chips breaking underneath his shoes. This felt like a nightmare. The only thing that could have made it worse was if Apollo had shown up.
“Well, I’m here for you, idiot,” Hermes said.
“What?” I asked, blinking.
He nodded, smiling. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m here for a reason. I sure as hell wouldn’t just come to visit you. That would be stupid of me. I don’t even do that with my own children. They’re such nuisances. They summon me for no reason sometimes. The only ones worse are Dionysus’ kids. They try to invoke his spirit at parties, and they like to scream when he chooses to show up, so that everyone knows he’s there. I’m pretty sure he’s still famous for that bachelor party in England, but I wouldn’t ask him about it. I believe he’s very unhappy about the entire situation still.”
“I hope I never meet him, so I can’t ask him.”
Hermes laughed.
“You haven’t actually told me why you’re here, though,” I pointed out.
“Haven’t I?”
“No,” I said.
“Huh,” Hermes said. His eyes slid to the side and a grin broke out on his face. “Ooh, what is this?” He walked over to one of the paintings that I’d done a few years ago, back when I still had the patience to do landscapes. He picked it up and started turning it around and around. “This is lovely. You should give it to me.”
“Yeah, sure, if you tell me why you’re here,” I growled, thoroughly frustrated now.
Before I got another word out, my mother stormed into the room. I felt like bashing my head against the wall. Of all the ways that this situation could get worse, this had been the one I hoped wouldn’t happen.
