by Skyler Andra
“It’s got me puzzled.” Rane scratched his chin again. “You don’t feel like the other avatars. You seem to be something entirely different.”
Different how? Why couldn’t I use my powers?
“Obviously, Cupid’s made a mistake,” I said. “How do I, um, give the power back?”
Rane shook his head. This would be where Mads would have laughed and kissed my hand, telling me it was all a big joke. But Rane was all serious and intense and did not give me the impression that the joke was on me.
“You can’t. The god has chosen you.” Rane’s words echoed in my head like some invisible hammer striking the insides of my skull.
“But there’re people after me,” I said, grabbing his forearm. “If I can get rid of the powers, they’ll leave me alone, right? And I can go back to my apartment and things will return to normal?”
“That’s not possible,” Rane said, his voice low. “All we know is that something is wrong, and we had better put it right sooner rather than later.”
There was something so dire in Rane’s tone that I sat up straight, pulling my hand away from his. It left me feeling bereft for just a moment before I shook it away. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that Cupid is missing.”
I drooped my head as the dread in Rane’s words settled in. “Cupid maintains a balance within Olympus to stop all the gods from fighting and killing each other. Without him, it’s driving the other elementals crazy with fear, desperation and obsession. All the opposite emotions of love.”
All the tales I’d heard about the gods in Olympus spoke of their infighting, jealousy, and scheming against one another. Had Cupid gotten fed up and deserted the heavens? Left them all to fight amongst themselves? Teach them about real love and getting along? Gone on a long-deserved holiday and left me to deal with the mess? I probably would have done the same after thousands of years of squabbling.
I thought of the enormous elemental presence of Ares, whom Rane had brought me to meet, and I thought of its strength and terrible rage. Was its anger exacerbated by the lack of Cupid? What would happen if things worsened? If the gods thought that I had taken the love god away?
Rane clapped his hands together. “So that’s the story of why Mads and I were sent to find you and bring you back to the pantheon.”
I guess that made sense. But my mind was still bugging with too many questions, all just as important as the next.
“Okay,” I started. “I’m just going to keep interrupting until I get something like the full story. Who sent you? Ares and Hermes? Who’s behind all of this? Who were the people who broke into my apartment that night?”
His cheeks puffed with air, which he blew out in a rush. “That’s a lot of questions. The other avatars of the gods sent Mads and me to collect you. We’re mostly known to each other, but we usually don’t mingle, because we get on each other’s nerves. This thing with Cupid missing, it’s why we’ve all come together.”
Everyone disliking each other followed in the gods’ footsteps.
“Currently, everyone’s meeting in a safe house in Seattle,” Rane continued. “Mads and I got orders to bring you there and keep you safe.”
I played with a loose fiber on my dress. “Whether I liked it or not, huh?”
Rane leaned back and bent his knees into a V. “Well, the other avatars and I are probably better than the people who broke into your house. And before you ask again, I have no idea who they are. Mads, on the other hand, might know. But if he does, he didn’t tell me.”
“He’s very secretive, isn’t he?”
“Denying me information I need does not help at all.”
“I can imagine.” I sighed and then climbed to my feet.
By the position of the sun directly above, it was almost noon, and we’d been talking for so long that my legs were stiff.
Rane watched my stretch, and though the man had one hell of a poker face, something prompted me to wonder if there was something else in his gaze. Something hot and slightly needy in a way that I didn’t quite understand.
“Well, all right,” I said, slapping the sides of my thighs.
“All right?” Rane sounded almost dubious that I was falling in line. He stood up as well, and I appreciated the fact that he gave me space, as if he worried that everything might overwhelm me.
“Right now,” I said, dusting off my dress, “you’re edging out in front of the fuckers who broke into my apartment because…only because you don’t have a Taser.”
That achieved a little curl of his lips.
“But,” I added. “I need to find some more answers, so that means we’re together for a little while. On one condition.”
Rane pursed his mouth. “And what’s that?”
“If I ever get the idea that I’m being railroaded,” I said. “Or that you’re forcing me into something I’m not on board with, I’m out. Got it?”
He considered for a moment, and I was altogether too aware of the vulnerability of my situation. Rane was far taller, stronger, and faster than me. I think we both knew that if he wanted to stop me, there was actually not a lot I could do about it.
“I understand.” He nodded. “I agree.”
I slackened my tight stance a little. “Really?”
“I’m not in the habit of breaking my promises.” His solemn gaze forced me to look away.
To my surprise, he took my hand, sparking no visitations with ancient gods this time. Only a pleasant tingle along my spine and a curious longing deep inside me. I wondered briefly if it was an avatar thing, or if the gods tended just to choose very handsome men for this position. Maybe it was both.
“Do you believe me?” he asked me.
“Does it matter?” I replied.
He nodded immediately. “It’s important to me that you trust me and that you know that I’m not doing this with some kind of nefarious plot in mind. We need to figure out what’s going on. Olympus, the avatars need your help. I want to help you too.”
The difference between the way he said ‘we’ and ‘I’ in his last statement stood out to me, but I kept it to myself. I thought about it for a moment, and then I nodded.
Tugging gently at his hand, I said, “Until something comes up that tells me I shouldn’t, I believe you.”
I wondered for a moment if that offended him, but instead he smiled. It showed off his straight white teeth, and that made me blink a little at how suddenly dry my throat had become.
“Good.” He squeezed my hand softly. “Let’s get back to my car. And um, maybe do a tick check. We’ve been sitting out here for a while.”
I laughed, because it was such a Boy Scout thing to say. Suddenly, I deliberated about why Ares had chosen this man for his avatar, how Rane had come to it and what he did with it. The tattoo on his arm suggested one story at least, but looking at him as he led me out of the corn, I wondered if it was the only one.
Rane walked slightly ahead of me, leading me for what seemed like ten minutes. Right before he stepped out of the corn, he swore and retreated.
“What the hell?” I hissed, stumbling into his back.
“Look.” Tension surged in his voice, and when I looked across the freeway to Lita’s Diner, I saw what had made him react so violently.
Three identical dark cars in the parking lot, and men in nondescript suits prowling around. They seemed especially interested in Rane’s dark green truck, suggesting they were looking for something.
My throat thickened.
Me. They were looking for me.
But why?
Rane had said my powers felt different from the magic imbued in the other avatars. Did the people after me know this too? Were they after the powers of Cupid to control the gods? Humans? The world? Each prospect had a chill of fear inching along my spine.
Chapter 7
His hand tight around mine, Rane pulled me back into the corn, swearing a few more times.
“Are you good to walk for a little while?�
�� he asked me, his eyes darkening with concern. “We’ve got some distance to cover to get away from here. The more distance we put between us and the goons, the better.”
Walk? Pft. The extent of my exercise experience had been getting from one class to another around my college campus. That probably explained why I carried a little extra weight around my hips.
“Sure, I can walk.” The instant I lied, he dragged me forwards.
Silence clamped down on us as we headed deeper into the corn in the opposite direction.
“Sorry about your truck,” I said, breaking the silence.
“I liked that truck,” he growled. “But it’s not a big deal. I’ll get another one.”
Wow. Did avatars have loads of spare cash at their disposal? Payment for helping their patron gods?
Pretty soon my lack of direction kicked in, getting me lost. Well, more than I had been earlier. Luckily I had Rane with me, and he walked with a confident, yet guarded stride, as if he were in his own neighborhood. An odd sense of relief filled me that at least one of us knew what to do in a situation like this. If I’d been alone, I might have curled up and cried.
We walked in silence until the sun started to sink, leaving breakfast a fading memory. Hunger gnawed at me, but worse than that, I was thirsty. My mouth felt as dry as the desert, and my body felt like it decayed. Since Rane wasn’t complaining, I refused to do it either. Instead, I focused on his broad back and putting one foot in front of the other. But I wasn’t doing too well at it, and stumbled a little. All my attention focused on taking another step just so I could take another one after that. Delirium set in, where I felt oddly separate from my body. Everywhere hurt and I ached.
One second I was walking, the next Rane stopped and I bounced off him. On my rear in the dirt, I looked around, somewhat dazed. The sun had gone, and we were long out of the cornfield. A haze had settled over my mind, but I had a vague memory of some forest and crossing some roads, leading to the broad field we were on the edge of. Far across the grass, a house with bright lights glared in stark contrast to the fading sunlight.
“Where are we?” I asked, my voice hoarse, my throat aching for water.
Rane bent down by my side in an instant. “Where we need to be.” His wrist found my forehead. “Locke, are you all right? Here, lie down.”
I started to tell him that I didn’t need to lie down at all. What I needed was to keep going. Get somewhere safe. But I couldn’t make the words come. Strong hands forced me to lie down on the field, where I stared up at the sky. Rane’s face came into view. Dreamily, I found myself smiling at him, lifting my hand to touch his cheek. Gritty stubble scraped my fingertips as I stroked his face.
“Pretty,” I heard myself observe.
“God, Locke. How long have you gone without water?” He cursed himself, which I thought was uncalled for, and then he looked up.
“Water?” I giggled. “Mads ordered me orange juice. It was pretty good too.”
Rane glanced around for a few moments. “This area is pretty covered. Locke, can you stay here and wait for me to come back for you?”
Lying down was making me feel a little drowsy and easing my pain. I could definitely just keep on lying down. I was a champion at it.
“Sure.” I coughed from my dry throat. “Just come back, okay?”
For some reason, that made Rane look at me with something like sadness. “Of course. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Before leaving, Rane leaned down to plant a kiss on my forehead. His lips felt surprisingly cool, and I sighed with pleasure. Too quickly he departed, and I closed my eyes, wondering if I’d imagined it.
Time seemed to pass in a daze. It felt as if barely a few seconds had gone by when he was back, pulling me to a sitting position.
“Locke, work with me,” he whispered.
I whined a little at being disturbed, at my aching joints and my spinning head. Him moving me reminded me of the first day of summer vacation when my mom had made me get up early.
“Let me just lie down,” I said, my voice hoarse and groggy.
Then I realized that it was dark, the first stars had come out in the sky, and it was definitely not summer vacation.
“What the heck?” I groaned, jerking away from Rane, trying to sit up on my own.
“Here.” Rane pressed something to my lips. A plastic bottle filled with water. “Drink this.”
I bumped my teeth against the hard edge of the bottle. The water tasted cold, crisp and clear. I tried grabbing it from Rane and started drinking the whole thing down, but he pulled it back from me.
“Slowly,” he warned. “You’ll make yourself sick if you’re not careful with it.”
I grumbled a little, but he was right. I took several slow sips until I had finished half the bottle, and then I felt a little better. My head throbbed, and my skin felt a little tight. I supposed it had been a little while since I’d been out and in the sun this much.
When it was clear that I wouldn’t be sick, he asked, “Do you think you can stand?”
His features were tight with worry.
“Yes,” I said, but I wobbled when I climbed to my knees, and fell hands first to the ground.
He swept me up into his arms like a bride. With a matter-of-fact ease that made me gasp, and then he carried me as he walked.
“Do I weigh anything at all to you?” I mumbled.
“Not really,” he said. “It’s like carrying a cat or a squirrel.”
“I think that sounds like an insult.” My voice grunted with each bounce into him.
“Think about it less, then.” There was a trace of humor in his voice, and I felt myself relax a little. If Rane was joking, things couldn’t be so very bad, could they?
I chuckled a little, even if it hurt my throat, and I ended up tucking my head against his shoulder. I wanted to know where we were going of course, and I wanted to have some say in it, but right now, I simply didn’t have the will. Maybe later, after a nap.
***
I blinked when Rane set me down and opened a car door for me. It was an elderly vehicle that had seen better days. There was rust around the wheel wells and the passenger side rear window had a few pieces of duct tape holding a crack together.
“What a rust bucket,” I grumbled as he helped guide me into the seat slowly.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s all I could afford for two hundred bucks.”
“Two hundred dollars?” I shifted, and I could feel how thin the seat’s padding had gotten. I was afraid if I looked too carefully down at the floorboards, I might see the road passing by underneath.
He leaned over me to grab my seat belt on and smiled. “It’s safe enough. I checked it.”
I held my breath as he strapped the seat belt across me, the back of his knuckles glazing across my chest and stomach.
When he was finished, he leaned against the open door. “I figure it’ll at least take us to a place where I can buy a better car before it runs out of whatever is keeping it going.”
I laughed and rubbed my aching head, which was decreasing thanks to the water, but not fast enough for my liking.
“Sorry it’s not as nice as anything Mads probably had,” Rane said before closing my door and crossing the front to the drive’s side.
When he slid behind the wheel, closing the door after him, I asked, “Is that why you don’t like Mads? Because he has a better car than you do?”
I didn’t expect Mr. Serious to find that funny, but to my surprise he started the car with a grin. “I won’t say that doesn’t play a role. Bastard had a Maserati for like two months.”
I laughed, relaxing more around him.
The engine choked a few times, and he made a face, but the car turned. We waiting in silence until the thing started. Thankfully the rust bucket stayed revving and didn’t fade out. Rumbling away, Rane pulled out of the yard onto a country road. It wasn’t terribly maintained, probably accommodating less than a dozen cars a day.
�
��Do avatars just find things and take them?” I leaned my head back against the headrest. “Is that like a perk of the position or something?”
A glint of a smile crossed Rane’s face. “You’re thinking of Mads. Unlike my counterpart, I bought this car as is from the folks who live in that house up the way.”
From my analysis of the two, Mads seemed the type to take what he wanted whenever he wanted, without consequence. Rane on the other hand, presented as the respectful and honest type and I trusted that any day of the week. The two couldn’t have been anymore different if they tried.
“Hermes isn’t the god of thieves and liars for nothing,” Rane explained, glancing at me.
Suddenly Mads gift for tricking people all made perfect sense, even down to him skipping out of paying the bill at the diner. Cheap bastard. But that wasn’t all. I remembered the strange sensation that had struck me when I tried to chase after him. The clouded fogginess in my mind. Was that his doing too?
“I think he used his Jedi mind trick on me to dump me at the diner and get away,” I admitted.
“Sounds like his handiwork,” Rane agreed.
Despite all of Mads faults, there were still good elements about him, his infectious sense of fun and how it made me smile, his sexy swagger, his confidence, and his ability to solve problems in his unique way.
I ran my finger along the car’s armrest where the leather peeled from the edge, thinking of Rane’s truck back at the diner, crawling with men in black suits. They had probably impounded the thing and taken it for fingerprinting or something crazy like that.
“I’m sorry about your truck,” I told Rane.
He laughed a little. “I’ve had that one since I got back, and I was hoping to get another few years out of it.”
I shifted to face him, curious to know more about him. “Got back?”
He glanced at me, slightly startled. “From overseas.”
There was a kind of guarded awkwardness to the way he said it, and putting two and two together from his tattoo, I guessed he meant deployed.
