Nothing happened.
There was no chill wind from beyond. No strange sounds. No flashes of light. Nothing. We were all watching so intently that I worried the pressure was making Stella too nervous to work magick.
But then it happened all at once. Her hand moved so quickly I couldn’t even see it, sketching so furiously on the map, I thought it might shred. The whole time, her eyes stayed firmly shut, and her lips never stopped moving, chanting the spell over and over again. Then the pen stopped, as if it had run into an unseen wall.
“The Oracle’s in Bell’s Corners,” Stella informed us, opening her eyes and studying the map. “Look for the rose garden.”
She handed me the map. She’d circled the town. It wasn’t far. On the margin, there was a beautiful sketch of a rose and what appeared to be a lush garden.
“Can you tell us anything about the guardian? Or the Oracle’s price?” I asked, handing the map to Justin. He’d have to be our navigator. The rest of us knew little about the mortal world outside this town.
Stella shook her head.
“Didn’t think so,” I sighed. “Let’s go.”
“I’m staying here,” Stella stated firmly, moving protectively to Sarah’s side.
I nodded. I’d expected as much, and I couldn’t punish Stella for being loyal. Besides, magick needed preparation. She wouldn’t have that if we ran into trouble. Not to mention, from the way she was shaking, Stella wasn’t going to be casting any powerful spells for a while.
“Someone should stay with them,” Justin said.
“Do you have a coven you could call?” I asked.
“No.” Stella sighed. “We worked alone. But I think Sarah said she met some witches at a festival last summer. I can see if she has their contact info somewhere.”
Beth shrugged. “I’ll stay behind.”
I cocked an eyebrow.
“I might as well,” Beth explained. “I don’t know squat about Oracles or magick or any of this. But I can dial 911 at the first sign of anything even remotely dangerous.”
“That’ll have to do,” I said. “We need as much firepower with us as we can get. And Justin needs to drive us.”
“My van’s out of commission,” Justin reminded us. “Big spear through the tires? Remember?”
“Take my parents’ van,” Beth offered, tossing him a set of keys. “It should be parked in my driveway.”
As we left the apartment, Stella caught my arm.
“Good luck,” she said fervently.
As I continued down the hall, I could’ve sworn I heard her whisper, “You’re going to need it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
We were on the highway in no time, and I quickly realized that it was one of my favourite places to be. Despite what had happened the last time, I loved watching the world whirl by. There was just something about it. Maybe it was the sense of being able to take in so much in so little time. It was like being a god again, seeing the world in a single glance. I missed that. As a mortal, I was so small, my vision so limited. No wonder mortals felt so lost and confused half the time.
It didn’t take long to reach Bell’s Corners, and we rode in silence almost the whole way. We had too many questions and too few answers. No one knew where to begin. Not even me.
As we passed the sign welcoming us to Bell’s Corners, there was no change in the atmosphere, no electricity in the air. I was secretly disappointed. I’d hoped that I’d sense the power of the Oracle somehow. But there was nothing. Bell’s Corners was just an ordinary town like the one we’d just left.
“Anybody see any rose gardens?” Justin asked.
“Pull in here.” Hermes pointed. “Visitor Welcome Centre. We can ask where the garden is.”
“Or if there even is one,” Zeus grumbled.
He didn’t trust magick. Or witches. They belonged to Hecate, not to him, and their power defied explanation. That was more than enough to put them in his bad books.
The Visitor Welcome Centre was actually a booth manned by a girl lost in her smartphone. She didn’t even notice us walk up.
I concentrated, pulling my power into my eyes.
“Allow me,” Zeus said, eyeing the girl. He couldn’t keep the appreciative gleam out of his eye
My jaw clenched. I should’ve known he wouldn’t miss a chance to flirt with a mortal, even right in front of me. This gave him the perfect excuse.
He rested his elbows on the ledge of the booth. It was impossible to miss him. It didn’t matter how clueless this girl was. She’d feel the heat of his skin, and smell the heady musk that rolled off him in tantalizing waves.
When she looked up, her jaw dropped. Her phone fell to the ground. I heard a satisfying cracking sound. But she didn’t. She didn’t see or hear anyone but Zeus. So much for using my powers.
Zeus locked his cloudy blue-grey eyes on her wide brown ones, and it was over before it had begun.
“We’re looking for a garden?” He grinned at her.
Charming mortals was his favourite hobby. For Zeus, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. Stupid fish. In a very small barrel. With a machine gun.
The girl couldn’t speak at first. Instead, she made an embarrassing strangling noise. I rolled my eyes. She didn’t notice. She was too busy blushing. Zeus pretended not to notice.
“You . . . the . . .” she stammered.
She couldn’t even remember his question. She hadn’t really been listening. Only staring. Drinking him in.
I felt something twist inside me, and I bit down hard on my lip. I refused to be jealous. Not now, and not of her. Some insignificant mortal speck. Surely I wasn’t that pathetic. And yet, in my heart, I knew I was.
Justin was looking at me. I could read the sympathy on his face. But when our eyes met, he wisely looked away. I wasn’t here to be pitied. Whatever else was true, of me, of Zeus, of our joke of a marriage, I was still a god, and I was still a queen.
“Garden?” Zeus reminded the girl gently.
She shook her head and blinked, as if she half-expected Zeus to vanish right before her eyes. When he didn’t, she started to fumble with some papers under the ledge. Finally, her eyes never leaving his, she managed to pull out a map. She circled something in the centre.
“This it?” Zeus pointed at the circle.
She nodded dumbly.
“Perfect.” Zeus grinned again. She was dazzled.
“Perfect,” she repeated. She didn’t even know what she was saying.
“Thanks so much for your help,” I snapped.
I grabbed Zeus by the arm and hauled him away before he embarrassed himself--and me--any further.
“Happy now?” I asked, as we got back into the van.
Zeus just smirked.
“She was twelve,” I said coldly.
“Was not,” he replied. “She was at least sixteen.”
“I meant her I.Q.,” I snapped.
Zeus ignored me. He handed Justin the map. Soon we were parked at the edge of a lush garden: Bell’s Corners Botanical Gardens.
“It’s the one from the map,” Justin said. “Totally identical.”
“No kidding,” Zeus said.
“I meant from this map,” Justin, pointing to the map Stella had drawn. And he was right. The scene before us was exactly as Stella had drawn it.
We piled out of the van and headed into the garden.
High, flowering hedges towered around the garden, providing complete privacy to anyone enjoying the beauty inside. A narrow cobblestone pathway wound from the entrance until it was lost behind some shrubs. Somewhere, not too far away, I heard running water.
“There must be a fountain,” I guessed.
I let my fingertips trace the bark of a tree as I passed by, losing myself in the splendor around me. Flowers of every colour and shape. Intoxicating fragrances that seemed to change with every second. An explosion of colours and scents, dizzying and enchanting. I couldn’t keep the smile off of my face. It was bliss.
“
Breathtaking,” I sighed. “It’s . . . perfect.”
No one said anything. I turned around. I was alone.
“Where . . .” I began. Then, realizing I was alone, I cut myself off. I looked around. All around.
No one. Just the hedges marking the outside of the garden to my left, and endless patches of flowers and enormous trees to my right. I couldn’t see the other side. Surely the garden couldn’t be that big.
“Zeus?” I called out.
No answer.
“Demeter? Hermes? Artemis? Apollo?”
Still no answer.
“Justin?”
My surroundings suddenly began to change. The trees seemed too large and imposing. They loomed over me menacingly. The flowers were blindingly bright. Their scents were suffocating. The sky wheeled above me. The sun was everywhere I looked, beating down on me with scorching heat. I felt myself falling.
And then I felt strong arms around me.
“You okay?” Justin asked.
I stared up at him. I was too surprised to even answer him.
I shook myself.
“I’m fine,” I assured him, as he helped me stand. “I just lost my balance. Where is everyone?”
“I was just asking myself the same question,” he said, “when I heard you scream.”
“I did not scream,” I replied. “I do not scream.”
“You do a great imitation then,” he replied, trying not to smile. He wasn’t trying very hard.
I ignored that.
“You didn’t see anyone else?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Just us two.”
My eyes narrowed. But then I heard it. Slithering.
“Did you hear that?” I whirled, trying to spot whatever made the sound.
“Hear what?” Justin asked.
The raspy sound came again. Louder this time.
“Okay, I definitely heard that,” Justin said, his voice tight. “But what . . .”
Something grabbed my ankle in a vice-like grip and yanked me to the ground. I fell hard, almost smashing my face on the ground. Then it began to pull.
“Justin!” I screamed, clawing at the ground as I was dragged away.
Justin tried to grab my arm, but I was moving too fast. With lightning speed, I was being swept painfully along the ground. Flowers and bushes became a blur. I couldn’t slow myself down. And I didn’t want to think about where I was headed.
Still I risked a look behind. I spotted it. An exposed tree root. I barely managed to grab it with one hand as I was dragged past. Then I grabbed with the other. Miraculously, I held on. I’d stopped.
But not for long. The pulling was getting stronger. I couldn’t hold on. I was being torn in two.
“Justin!” I yelled again.
But he was already plunging through the garden, trampling flowers, snapping branches. “Hurry!” I shouted through gritted teeth. “I can’t . . . hold . . . on . . .”
“It’s some kinda vine,” Justin said. He stomped again and again on whatever was holding me, but it didn’t loosen.
“It’s not working,” I told him. “Try something else.”
“Like what?” he demanded.
“Like anything!” I said. “Bite me free if you have to.”
Justin grabbed a rock and slammed it against the vine. It still didn’t let go. He cocked his head. Then, he pressed the rock down as hard as he could and twisted it against the vine. He kept grinding and grinding until finally the vine snapped. I was free.
I collapsed against the ground, exhausted, relieved, and painfully bruised.
“What was that?” Justin wondered.
“Painful,” I retorted, looking myself over. My clothes were shredded, but at least they’d taken the worst of the dragging for me. I had a few scratches on my arms and legs, but nothing serious.
“We need to find the others,” I said. “Right now.”
Justin didn’t answer. Because he didn’t hear me. He was too busy staring. At me.
I waited. And waited. Finally, I smacked him in the arm.
He looked up quickly, wide-eyed and blushing. “Um, sorry, what?”
“Give me your shirt,” I said.
“My shirt? Why?” he asked.
“Why do you think? I’m practically naked,” I replied. “And I’m not going to die because you’re too busy staring to notice some other psychotic plant’s about to attack us.”
Justin nodded. But he couldn’t help taking one more quick look at me.
Despite my best efforts, I smiled. A little. Zeus wasn’t the only one who could charm mortals. I just didn’t flaunt it.
“Shirt. Now,” I reminded him.
Justin pulled off his shirt and handed it to me. He was tall, so it reached low enough on me to pass for a skirt. A very short skirt.
Justin’s shirt had hidden just how well-built he was. With just his undershirt on, I could see the clear pattern of well-defined muscles. He was lean, but he was strong.
He caught me looking. Unlike Zeus, there was no suggestive grin on his face. He just shifted shyly.
“Let’s go,” he suggested.
We walked back to the path. We did our best to keep out of reach of the trees and flowers around us. It felt foolish, being paranoid of a bunch of plants, but we couldn’t take any chances. Anything might turn on us in this place.
“Do you think this whole thing was a trap?” Justin asked, stepping between me and a suspicious-looking bush.
I considered that.
“No,” I said finally. “Stella wouldn’t send us into danger on purpose.”
“How do you know?” Justin asked.
“Because she needs me,” I said, “to help Sarah. They love each other. I’m sure of it. And mortals will do almost anything for love.”
Justin opened his mouth to say something, but I catapulted myself into him, knocking us both off the path. We landed hard on the turf, but, luckily, he broke my fall. With himself.
“It was for the best,” I assured him. I pointed.
Several flowers along the path were slowly closing their blossoms. I carefully pulled a razor-sharp thorn from my hair. It was coated with an evil-looking fluid.
“They . . . fired those at us?” Justin asked, eyes wide.
I threw the thorn away, wiping my hand on my skirt. “Let’s hope they don’t have more.”
I rolled off of Justin and got back to my feet. I offered him my hand, which, to my surprise, he took. Zeus would never have accepted help. Not from a woman. And especially not from me.
“Maybe the path was a bad idea,” Justin said, scanning for any sign of movement.
“No,” I said. “If the path’s dangerous, it’s because there’s something worth protecting at the end. Something at the centre of the garden.”
“The Oracle!” Justin guessed.
“I just hope the others are all right,” I replied.
We followed the path at a snail’s pace, searching for any sign of danger, however small. But no flowers moved, no trees shifted. Everything was still. Eerily still.
“Justin . . .” I warned.
We were in trouble. But I couldn’t spot it.
Because it wasn’t something I could see.
I realized the moment I smelled it. Indescribable. The smell of comfort. Breathing in that delicious scent, I felt the warmth of a dry bed on a cold, rainy day; the coziness of a roaring fire and hot cider in the depth of winter. I felt home.
Justin was off the path first. Comfort was irresistible to mortals. They spent their whole, short lives searching for it.
But it almost had me, too. I felt myself relaxing, felt the walls coming down, felt the knot I carried inside me unraveling, and I knew immediately that something was horribly wrong.
I quickly covered my mouth and nose with my hand. Even then, the smell was almost impossible to resist. It seeped seductively between my fingers, insinuating itself into my nostrils with malicious determination.
With my free hand, I dug my
fingernails as deeply as I could into my palm. The pain was enough to keep me grounded. A thin, unpleasant anchor to reality.
When I reached Justin, he was curling up into a ball at the foot of a tree. His eyes were closing. If he fell unconscious, he’d never wake up again.
I crouched, careful to keep my hand over my mouth and nose. With my other hand, I pinched Justin as hard as I could. His eyes fluttered briefly, but then closed. I was too late.
I refused to be defeated by a garden, no matter how evil. And Justin had saved me more times than I cared to count. I owed him. Besides, without him, I was alone here--and I didn’t want to be alone.
I used my free hand to peel back his eyelids. I’d see just how tough this garden really was.
Justin was on his feet an instant later. He looked at me, hand over my mouth and nose, and smiled, confused.
“That’s a new look for you,” he said wryly.
“Shut up,” I muttered. I led him back to the path.
“So, are you going to explain the whole ... ?” He gestured at my face.
“No,” I replied.
I couldn’t risk telling him the truth and undoing my mental tampering. I’d told his mind that it didn’t smell anything, but I wasn’t ready to test that by drawing attention to the strange smell all around us.
We made it to the centre of the garden. A huge, gleaming fountain stood in the centre of a marble plaza. It was perfectly smooth: three bowls, each bigger than the one above, with water overflowing from one to the next. The alluring smell disappeared the moment we stepped on the plaza, and I removed my hand from my face with relief.
But there was no sign of the others. I felt a sick dread.
“Am I seeing things?” Justin wondered aloud.
I didn’t say anything. I was too busy scanning the path for any sign of the others.
“Is that water flowing . . . backwards?” Justin asked.
I turned and looked at the fountain. He was right. The water flowed down to the final bowl, but then switched direction and flowed back up.
“Justin,” I murmured, a smile slowly spreading across my face. “We’re not alone.”
Hera, Queen of Gods (Goddess Unbound) Page 11
