by S. K Munt
‘Just like you don’t see Mix-Masters trying to sell a dot and a wavy line for ninety k.’ The goddess grumbled, eyeing her redheaded daughter disapprovingly and they all laughed.
Calliope smiled down at her mother again, once again saying a silent prayer of gratitude to Marnie, whose young adult series about the Greek Olympian with superpowers and athletic grace enough to challenge men had stimulated young adult imaginations worldwide. The girl’s mother, Mnemosyne, was loosely based on Memoria’s original persona. Though a lot of the things Marnie had written about her were wrong, Imogen had steered her as close to the facts as she could and thanks to the interest in Marnie’s career when it was revealed that she was a close friend of The Hunter Marks, her book sales had skyrocketed and now, via the power of imagination, Calliope had a mother again.
She had a very smug sister too. Imogen never passed up the opportunity to brag about how the sheer power of her aura during her brief interactions with Marnie had brought their mother back from the dead. And she had a point. Not that Callie would argue otherwise-Hunter’s success was so supreme that she didn’t need to brag about it. It was implicit.
‘How’s dad?’ She asked her mother softly, wrestling a sugar sachet from Rya’s tiny little fingers. Her four year old was already too vibrant for sugar.
‘Little more than energy, like Lania.’ Memoria said softly. ‘But their presence grows stronger every day… I think, in a year or so… ’ She stroked Calliope’s blonde hair and laughed. ‘I’m sorry honey of all of your get-ups over time, this is the hardest to get used to.’
Calliope flushed and straightened again, adjusting her fake spectacles on the bridge of her nose. ‘I know.’ Thanks to Raina’s friend’s viral Youtube video, Calliope was now at risk of being recognised after centuries of keeping a low profile. She wasn’t Callie Clay anymore, but the human face, like every other face she could glamour in her still-weakened state, had been similar enough to her true form to warrant a disguise. Her eyes would forever be a rich, wood-grain amber, and her Grecian skin and blood-flushed lips were so much more striking now that her powers had returned. So she’d dyed her hair blonde, taken to wearing glasses and started spending more time in the sun, trying to bronze her olive skin, and blend in with the other Californian girls. Human mens heads turned more now than they ever had when she’d been one of them, but since she’d dyed her hair blonde, they’d stopped muttering: ‘Do I know you...?’
But Calliope was having as hard a time getting used to her face and hair, and her family teased her constantly, especially Imogen who assumed Calliope was trying to steal her bombshell persona. But that just wasn’t true. Calliope was just trying to live, and the Doc Martens on her feet proved that she’d never be the Barbie-Doll type.
‘I’m sorry.’ Calliope went on. ‘But the uh, lady I work for stares at me all the time. I need to keep her off balance.’
Her mother smiled sadly. ‘How is Lauryenne? And the little girl you’re looking after?’
‘Wonderful.’ Calliope grinned, just thinking about her infant step-sister, who was only a few weeks old but had completely stolen Calliope’s heart, or whatever heart she had left under Rya’s clutch. ‘She seems to like the blonde hair- she pulls it constantly.’
‘I don’t know how you do it.’ Imogen shuddered. ‘Once I’m done with them now, I’m done with them. It hurts too much to hang around.’ She wagged a finger at Calliope. ‘But you make sure that Harley-Rose gets to meet her step-aunty Imogen so I can put stories in her mind.’
‘Of course.’ Calliope didn’t doubt that Harley-Rose would take after her biological mother as far as writing was concerned. It was another reason why she wore the spectacles-the glass stopped her from influencing the newborn baby against the destiny Imogen had already glimpsed in her dreams, and kept Lauryenne wedged firmly in the eighties on the Times bestseller rankings.
Calliope thought of her adopted parents, who she had moved to California to be with. They did not know that the live-in nanny they’d hired for their infant daughter had once been their adopted daughter, and yet they were bonding almost as well as when she’d been Callie Clay, and their only child. It hurt her to see how they still grieved the loss of her- so many times Calliope just wanted to wrap her arms around her mother and whisper: ‘I’m here mummy. I came back as soon I was strong enough!’ But their newborn daughter was beginning to take the edge off their pain.
Calliope knew she was setting herself up for another heartbreak; her human mother had hired her to watch Harley-Rose in the mornings and at night so she could continue to write, but once Harley-Rose started school, Calliope would probably become useless to them. But she would take every moment she could living under her parent’s roof without them realizing who she was, and hope that Rya and Harley grew to be the best of friends, despite their three year age gap. It was important to Calliope that Rya have as much family as possible growing up, that she learned how to love in moderation, so when she was old enough to take Calliope’s place as the Muse of music, she would never make the same mistakes: the mistakes that had robbed Calliope of an eternity with Ryan. That had robbed Rya of her father.
And just as her heart turned in a slow, longing thump, the song on the jukebox changed to Girl I’m Gonna Miss You by Milli Vanilli and Calliope’s eyes watered behind her spectacles. She looked heavenward thinking: Thanks Ry. But I’d like my mascara to stay where it is until I clock off for the day!
Ryan- or Ardos- was always reminding her of their love like that. Sometimes in dreams, but almost always through music; turning the T. V on when her favorite video clips came onto MTV, making the cherry blossoms grow in her parents backyard. Sometimes he was just the crisp scent of rainforest leaves wafting through the breeze on a beach where that scent did not belong. She didn’t know if he was a ghost or a guardian angel or what, but Ryan had not allowed Oblivion to sever their connection completely. He’d never return to her, but he’d never completely left her either.
‘Imogen you don’t need to point out how easy it is for you to walk away from people,’ a low male voice grumbled, sounding odd, like something displaced by the atmosphere. Calliope blinked back her tears and smiled to see the man materialize between Hendra and Imogen on the seat. He was breathtakingly handsome; cocoa powder skin, eyes the color of sharp piano keys. He reached across the table and plucked the sugar packet from Calliope’s fingers, turning it over with wide, curious eyes. ‘What is this?’
Imogen groaned. ‘This is a girls day out- who invited you?’
‘You did. By thinking of me,’ Nikolaos said, tearing open the sachet, pouring some sugar on his finger and then touching the white granules to his tongue. His eyes closed blissfully, and then he turned and looked at Imogen. ‘I imagine that your lips taste just as this does.’
Imogen flushed scarlet and her family giggled around her. As much as she bemoaned the fact that her soul mate had managed to wriggle his way into being by her provoked curiosity, she never ceased to blush in his presence, even when she was flipping him off. Calliope wanted to take her sister by the hand and tell her to run to his arms, but love could not be rushed and theirs was inevitable.
‘Imagine away…’ Imogen flapped her hand dismissively. ‘That’s all you’re gonna get, buddy.’
‘You’re so mean, Aunt Imogen.’ Rya complained, smiling at her would-be uncle. ‘In fairy tales, the princess is nice to the prince and that’s how you get to be happy ever after. You’re going to be cranky ever after if you don’t start being kind.’
Imogen blinked at her niece as everyone laughed again. ‘What if I don’t want to be happy ever after?’ She challenged, a teasing lilt to her voice.
‘Then books would be sad for always.’ Rya smiled, her eyes an earnest blue.
Calliope squeezed her daughter tightly. ‘You’re such a clever little thing.’
‘Humph.’ Imogen flipped her hair over her shoulder. ‘I am responsible for Shakespeare, little miss. When you’re old enough to know who th
at is, you’ll see that I don’t need romantic advice.’
Beside her, Nikolaos sighed. ‘Really, darling, Shakespeare again? You cannot milk that forever more.’
‘I can and will.’ Imogen snapped. ‘He is my greatest triumph and no one here will ever be able to deny that, or top it.’
‘Just like no one here will ever be able to get through Ulysses without falling asleep.’ he muttered under his breath and as they all cracked up laughing, Imogen’s eyes widened in indignation.
‘Hey-’ She slapped his arm and Calliope’s breath caught to see the way Imogen’s soul mate seemed to solidify and then beam at the touch. ‘James Joyce was brilliant! Ulysses was brilliant!’
Oh now you’ve done it! Callie thought, winking at Hendra across the table.
Imogen’s soul mate lifted her blonde locks from her ear and loudly whispered: ‘He was boring! So overwritten, that I started to miss Oblivion by the third paragraph, and contemplated staying there.’ He elbowed Imogen. ‘Though if you would like to come read one of your more sensual inspirations aloud to me, I might decide to hang around for a while longer…’
Raina hooted with laughter, Renee’s face went pink and Imogen looked like she was going to become a tornado. Calliope closed her eyes, throwing a sound barrier around their table in case their squabbling gave their entire game away. Imogen continued to stare at Nikolaos in shock for a few beats, but then she chuckled, actually laughed at herself and held her finger up to his face. ‘That sass mouth will be sexy once, and once only, my illiterate little friend.’
He kissed her finger and whispered. ‘We’ll see, you grandiloquent hussy.’
Raina was wiping tears from her eyes. ‘Classic. I didn’t like Ulysses either, I must admit. How it gets counted as a defining moment of human creation is beyond me.’
‘Yeah, it was creative- but it was no Sistine Chapel.’ Renee gloated.
‘Oh blow it out your ear Mona Lisa…’ Imogen drawled. ‘The Renaissance has been over for longer than the cold war: Vampires are gonna be the new Da Vinci.’
‘Don’t get airs about yourself, little sister.’ Hendra growled. ‘You’d be speaking German in this diner if not for me.’ She smiled. ‘Or Latin.’
Calliope sighed, as though exasperated by them all and pretended to write something on her notepad while reigning back a smirk. ‘Gosh you guys are getting awfully competitive… I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but You Can’t Stop The Beat, because the heart of music will go on… and on...’
Everyone groaned. Clio tossed a sugar packet at her. ‘Enjoying that trip down memory lane there miss? You know, none of you would remember any triumphs if not for me.’
‘That’s right!’ Renee chirped. ‘Thanks to Clio we remember Push The Little Daisies and The Purple People Eater too- unfortunately!’
Calliope stuck out her tongue. ‘At least none of my charges ever cut off their ear and mailed it to someone!’
Renee’s jaw fell open.
Raina raised her hands. ‘You’re all making very interesting points. I often wonder, which one of us has made the biggest impact on the world…’ She slid her phone across the table. ‘Why don’t we Google it on my iPhone? The wi-fi in this place is pretty spectacular.’
‘Well the signal sucks on my network.’ Imogen shot back, grinning. ‘Maybe you should spend less time in diners and more time inspiring some dependability?’
‘So you can download e-books faster?’ Raina bit back.
Imogen’s face turned redder still. That was a low blow. They all knew that Raina has saved her ass. She slammed her fist on the table. ‘The Bible!’
‘Rembrandt!’ Renee jumped to her feet.
‘Aristotle!’ Clio crowed.
‘Hey that’s me too!’ Imogen protested.
‘And The Bible’s not mine?’ Clio demanded.
‘The Crusades!’ Hendra put in.
‘I wouldn’t brag about that!’ Renee had tears of laughter running down her cheeks.
Calliope saw through her laughter that Memoria and Rya were looking at them all like they’d turned purple. So she lifted hands hands and declared: ‘The Sound Of Music belongs to us all! But the hills? They were alive because of ME!’ And then she clicked her fingers, and the curtain dropped. ‘So I win.’
The diner noises muted the Muses, who were all too busy falling off their chairs with laughter to carry on their debate. Calliope wiped at her tears under her glasses and then kissed Rya’s head. ‘Okay I gotta get back to work baby.’
‘Okay Mama.’
‘Excuse me? Can I get a table like, today?’
Calliope whirled around, electrified by the voice, and saw Hunter shifting impatiently on his feet in front of her. He had a pale green hoodie shadowing his face, and dark Aviators concealing his eyes, but she recognised his essence more than his form; the air hummed. Calliope already felt like she was going to vaporize on the spot, so when Don’t Speak began to play she thought her legs would give out from under her. Her, Hunter and Ryan, every day together, but not for always. Always was gone.
But Hunter was right in front of her.
‘You-’ she tried to speak, but wet her lips and swallowed back the emotion in her throat. ‘You’re..’ behind her, her family had grown very silent, very still and seemed very focused on their color-in placemats. Renee’s was so ridiculously good that Calliope would have to throw it in the trash after.
Hunter grimaced. ‘Ssh, okay? If you want me to sign your bra or something after, don’t draw any attention to who I am, all right? I don’t want to cause bedlam.’
A snort echoed behind her- Imogen of course and Calliope felt her own indignation then saw it reflected in his shiny lenses.
‘Thanks but, I’ll pass on the autograph,’ she snapped, insulted, and wishing Ryan was there to kick his ass! ‘I preferred your earlier stuff, before you sold out.’
Hunter reeled back. ‘Excuse you?’
‘You heard me.’ Calliope pointed to table five. ‘That booth is free. If your ego fits in, it’s yours.’
Hunter chuckled, lowering his glasses to stun her with his brilliant brown eyes. ‘Honey the only thing I’ve sold out, is Madison Square Garden…four times.’ And then his voice trailed off, and he stepped closer, cocking his head. His hand reached out, touched hers. ‘Hey! Do I know you?’
Calliope shivered at his touch, the delicious kind of shiver she hadn’t felt for years. ‘Sorry, sir, but I’m not one of your groupies.’
‘Mommy!’ Rya tugged on her short, pink pleated uniform. ‘Mommy why are you being mean to Hunter Marks?’ She turned to Hunter, blinking those brilliant blue eyes up at him. ‘You’re mummy’s favorite.’ She whispered. ‘We have all of your albums in our car.’
Calliope thought she was going to melt into a puddle of mortification on the floor. And when Hunter grinned at her, biting his lip as though trying to hold in the smugness of his smile, Calliope thought she was going to melt for several different reasons. ‘Really?’ His voice was as rich as hot chocolate, and when he crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps challenged the pale green sweatshirt material and lost.
‘I’m studying to become an agent. I listen to all sorts of stuff.’ Calliope patted her daughter’s hair. ‘Rya honey, go back to Nanny okay?’
‘Did you say Rya?’ Hunter’s hand was on her arm again and Calliope flinched at the spark created when they touched. He jerked his hand back, his brow rising in astonishment- he’d felt it too. Suddenly, Calliope was hot all over, remembering how much she missed that spark- how much stronger it was now without Ryan’s presence serving as a barrier between them. In fact, Calliope missed Hunter’s warmth, his scent, his everything. He wasn’t a new soul anymore, and though he was still cocky, he wasn’t foolish and- she’d seen enough interviews, read enough articles and attended enough of his performances to know that he had evolved into a man who took music more seriously than he took himself- that his contribution to the world was magnificent and actually worth the sacrific
es Calliope and Ryan had made to get him there.
Hunter Marks had gone from the little boy at the gorge, to a grown man, and he was wonderful. And as she evaluated him, chalking him up to the second best thing she had ever created- after Rya- he wrenched his eyes from hers and stared down at her daughter, shaking his head as though incredulous.
‘Look at her eyes. I haven’t seen color like that since…’
Sentimentality threatened to wash her away as Hunter recognised their best mate in her daughter’s face. She saw the pain flicker across his features and it was all she could do not to throw herself into his arms but he was already beginning to look her over again and Callie was wearing her Docs. She had to separate herself from him.
‘That table is still waiting for you.’ She pointed to the booth behind Blythe again. It was worth a shot, wasn’t it? Hunter had once loved hearing songs re-mixed, maybe he’d recognize a kindred spirit within her latest charge? ‘And don’t worry, we won’t draw any attention your way.’
Hunter’s eyebrows pulled together, and a few tiny lines appeared, which surprised her. For all the partying he did, she’d expected him to look like a catcher’s mitt in the flesh. But he was perfect. Glowing and so muscular that it looked like his fitted white tee and jeans had been painted on underneath his hoodie. Good lord he was still so young! She felt ancient!
He stepped closer, his expression so thoughtful that it was almost alien on happy-go-lucky Hunter’s face. ‘Wait- can’t we talk? Just for a minute?’
Calliope feigned confusion. ‘Why?’ Silently thinking; Don’t Speak! This hurts! This hurts!
‘I don’t know.’ He confessed, then stuffed his hands into the pockets of his artfully ripped jeans. His dark eyes searched hers. ‘Because you’re beautiful?’
Calliope smirked. ‘If that’s the best reason you’ve got, then no, we can’t.’ She turned back to her sisters, dismissing him silently. ‘So… anything else for you ladies?’
The Muses started to order and behind her, Calliope heard Hunter sigh and amble over to the booth, his head dropped, his shoulders shrugging around his ears in a defeated stance.
