Ian began to swell. I’d seen flesh ripple like that before. He was shifting into something else. He had Artemis’s powers. Which meant he probably had all our powers.
Ian sprouted fur and claws, then a snout and fangs. A wolf. He was becoming a wolf. One that could turn invisible, thanks to Hermes’s powers. And one that was virtually invulnerable, courtesy of Zeus.
Time for plan B.
“You’re forgetting something!” I declared. “You said it yourself. We’re not so different, Ian. And that means I know one thing that’ll change your mind.”
He’d finished his transformation. He filled the room, all fur and muscle. His lips pulled back in a snarl, baring razor-sharp fangs. He crouched down, preparing to spring.
“Come in!” I called.
Ian’s mother came into the room and stood directly in front of me. Between me and Ian.
Ian froze.
“You do love power,” I told him. “But not for the reasons you think. You’re like me. Which means, deep down, you love power because power means you can protect the ones you love.”
Ian said nothing. His yellow eyes betrayed nothing, but I wasn’t dead, which betrayed everything.
I pressed on. “When you started on this insane--insane--plan, you had to deal with your mother, am I right? She had questions. Heard things. Saw things. You could’ve killed her. Would have, if you were like Ekhidna. You could’ve even wiped your mother’s mind completely clean, or sent her far, far away. But you didn’t, because you wanted her close. You wanted to keep her safe. Because you love her.”
I drew an arrow from Demeter’s quiver and held it against his mother’s throat.
“I don’t want to hurt her, Ian,” I said. “She’s done nothing wrong. But neither have most of the people in this world and in the other worlds, people who are all going to die if you go through with this madness. So believe me when I tell you--for Justin, for myself, for my sisters, for all of creation--I will kill your mother right here and now, in front of your eyes, if you don’t stop this.”
Silence.
For such a long, long time.
Then a growl that turned into a howl. Ian transformed back. His eyes shone with tears, though he glared at me hatefully.
“You made the right choice,” I told him.
“Ssshe’sss just a mortal, Ian!” Ekhidna exploded. “Ssshe’sss nothing!”
“She’s my mother,” he snapped.
“Pathetic!” Ekhidna snarled.
And with that, she lunged at me, claws emerging from her fingertips. Which was what Artemis had been waiting for.
Artemis exploded out of Ian’s mother’s pocket, where she’d been hiding as a mouse, transforming back to her mortal form. She swept under Ekhidna’s claws and elbowed her hard in the stomach. Ekhidna fell backward.
“You can’t trussst them, you fool!” Ekhidna gasped.
Artemis quickly pinned Ekhidna’s arms above her head and knelt on them, using the full weight of her body to keep Ekhidna from clawing at any of us.
“Remove the poison from Justin, Ekhidna,” I commanded. “You’ve lost.”
“Let me go firssst,” she countered, “and I’ll heal him.”
“Trusting you hasn’t worked so well for us in the past,” Demeter shot back.
“There’sss no time to argue,” Ekhidna replied. “My loyalty isss with the power. You have that.”
Justin dropped to his knees. His body spasmed. Black foam bubbled along the edges of his mouth.
“Let her go,” I commanded Artemis.
Artemis shot me a surprised look, but, sighing, she pulled away from Ekhidna. For his part, Ian’s eyes never left his mother. Or the arrow at her throat.
“Heal him. Now!” I told Ekhidna.
Ekhidna curled her lip, but she went to Justin, who was shaking on the ground. She laid a hand on his forehead. I tensed.
“The poissson isss deep,” she warned.
“Just do it,” I snapped.
Ekhidna began to vibrate. Black lines appeared all over Justin’s skin. All the poison was being drawn to the surface. It flowed toward Justin’s face. He writhed on the ground as the toxins forced their way out of his body. He sputtered as black fluid leaked out of his mouth.
I forced myself to watch. I tried to catch his eyes. Maybe I could calm him. Maybe I could make it hurt less.
I was too distracted to see Ian until it was too late. He charged at me. Artemis swung at him, but he brushed her off like a fly; it’d take more than Artemis to stop him now that he had Zeus’s strength.
I’d let down my guard without even realizing it. The moment I’d let the arrow drop below his mother’s throat, Ian had seized his chance.
It was like being smashed by a rhino. I flew backward out of the room. I landed painfully on the ground. I felt pulverized from head to toe. But I had to get up. The longer I lay there, the sooner Ian would kill me.
Sheer panic gave me strength, and I wobbled to my feet. Already Ian was throwing off Artemis and Demeter. They’d tried to slow him down, risking their own lives to save me.
Ekhidna was guarding Ian’s mother. She’d make sure none of us could use her against Ian again.
Ian was beyond livid--he was murderous. At least that meant he ignored the others. I was the one who’d threatened his mother. I was the one who was ruining all of his carefully-laid plans. Ian wanted to annihilate me. I knew that for certain, because it’s what I would’ve done if I were him.
I could work with that.
I dashed up the stairs. I heard Ian behind me. He didn’t shift forms. He didn’t turn invisible. He wasn’t thinking straight. Or at all. He was pure rage.
I knew where I was headed. I just hoped I’d make in time.
A quick right at the top of the stairs. I headed for the front door. I wasn’t going to make it. He was too close.
I tripped. I went down hard, but I was ready for it. I turned it into a slide, and as I slid, I spun to face Ian. He quickly whipped his face away so I couldn’t lock eyes with him.
Well, so much for that plan.
Still, it did give me a bit of an edge. It wasn’t as easy to attack me using peripheral vision.
Ian came toward me cautiously. His rage was cooling. He still wanted to kill me--badly. But he was getting more logical, more dangerous. Much more dangerous.
The timing had to be just right, and the placement had to be perfect--but if there was one thing I could do, it was perfect.
When Ian was a couple yards away, he began to vanish. It had to be now. If he disappeared, I wouldn’t be able to use my powers, and my powers were all I had. Them, and a mirror.
I spun and kicked the hall mirror beside me. It smashed, scattering pieces of glass. A large shard fell in front of me. I kicked it forward.
It slid along the ground and stopped beside Ian. My eyes sparkled and spun as I stared at it. By the time Ian realized I could see his eyes through the shard of glass, it was too late. He struggled to summon enough power to stop me. But I was fast and I was strong, and Ian was too inexperienced and caught off-guard.
He was mine.
Demeter and Artemis ran up the stairs and gaped at us, staring at each other.
“Ekhidna?” I asked, my eyes never leaving Ian’s.
I was going in deep. As deep as I could go, which was very. I wouldn’t take any chance that Ian could break free. Ever.
“Hermes woke up,” Artemis said. “He’s watching Ekhidna.”
“Make sure she doesn’t--” I started.
“Ekhidna escaped!” Hermes shouted breathlessly as he exploded out of the stairway. He was panting heavily.
“What? How?” Artemis demanded.
“Pythons,” he replied shortly. “They broke through the basement windows. Some must’ve grabbed her while I was busy with the others. I only realized she was gone when they retreated.”
“Are you hurt?” Demeter asked. Her eyes focused on a red line trailing down his leg.
“Just a
scratch,” he assured her. “No poison.”
“Should we go after Ekhidna?” Artemis asked.
“Did she finish healing Justin?” I replied.
Hermes nodded. “He’s exhausted, but he’s okay.”
I let out a big sigh of relief. “Let Ekhidna go then. We’ll deal with her later.”
“What if she attacks us?” Artemis pointed out.
“She’s had too many close calls,” I said. “She won’t risk it, especially now that’s she knows how fragile her little alliance really is. She only picks the fights she thinks she can win.”
I turned my attention back to Ian, who was still in the dreamlike state I’d put him in. “Ian, tell us everything you know about the Fates, the god who contacted you, and his plans.”
“I can’t,” he replied.
“More vows,” Hermes muttered.
“Artemis, keep watch,” I said. “I’m betting the pythons were just here to rescue Ekhidna, but we still haven’t heard from the harpies.”
I turned as I heard Justin come up the stairs. He moved slowly. It was painful to see how brutalized he looked.
“Justin doesn’t have the strength to get us inside Ian’s mind,” I realized.
He started to argue, but gave up. There was no denying how weak he was.
“Then how will you get around the vows?” Demeter asked, as Hermes and Artemis left to patrol.
I sighed. “If we can’t unmake the vow, then we’ll have to work with it. If he can’t tell us, maybe he can show us. We’ll make him take us to the Fates. If we get them back, we stop the traitor’s plans, and we can figure out who he is later.”
“I have a feeling once we find the Fates, we’ll find the traitor.” Demeter replied. “He wouldn’t just leave the Fates unguarded. Not when he’s this close to getting what he wants.”
“The traitor can’t see us from the Heavens,” I murmured. I paused. “What if he isn’t in the Heavens anymore?”
“What do you mean?” Demeter asked.
“If you’re going to remake existence, where do you start?” I replied.
“With the only ones who’d try to stop you,” Justin answered. “The gods.”
“He’ll start by erasing the Heavens!” Demeter gasped.
“Which means he’ll have to leave the Heavens,” I said. “And he has to come here so he can harness the power of the Fates. Remaking existence is out of Ian’s league, no matter how many artifacts he’s drained or what the traitor’s taught him.”
“But the Fates are hidden from gods. He’d be blind to the Fates, just like you,” Justin replied. “Only mortal eyes can see through the spells he and Ian used to hide the Fates.”
“It doesn’t matter. The traitor already knows exactly where the Fates are,” I replied. “He doesn’t need find them. He just needs to go to where he knows Ian put them.”
“Well, at least if he comes down and takes mortal form, that evens things up,” Demeter said.
“You think he knows we took out Ian?” Justin asked.
“Ian and the traitor must have some kind of connection. They’ve been keeping in contact somehow,” I said. “That’s how the traitor corrupted Ian and convinced him to join his plan; it’s how he taught Ian magick; and it’s how Ian’s been reporting our movements and getting instructions on what to do.”
“I wonder how they managed that,” Justin said.
“I think I know,” Demeter answered. “Follow me.”
She led us upstairs into the room with the shattered window. She flicked the light switch. It was no more exciting now that the lights were on. Desk. Dresser. Closet. Bed.
But the bed was laden with clothes still on their hangers.
Demeter headed to the closet and opened the door. It was empty. She knelt and pried at the back of the closet. A large rectangular board came off easily in her hand. She laid it on the ground.
The false back of the closet concealed a small, makeshift altar, a bronze tripod with a metal urn on top. Both gleamed in the light. They looked brand new, and they radiated with power. I recognized familiar words in ancient Greek etched on the sides: Forged by blood, pain, and tears, turn Thy face to my prayers.
Demeter moved aside, so I could examine the altar. I looked inside the censer. It was coated with blood.
“This is definitely how they’ve been communicating,” I said. “See the blood? It’s mortal. Don’t touch it.”
“Wasn’t going to,” Justin said.
“Should we destroy it?” Demeter asked.
“No,” I decided. “Something this powerful could come in handy.”
Demeter tossed me a fabric bag from the mounds of clothes she’d dumped on the bed.
“Pass me a shirt, too,” I said.
When she handed me a T-shirt, I wrapped it around my hand. Gently, I took the censer and wrapped it with the shirt, dropping it into the bag Demeter held open for me. I did the same with the base.
I handed the bag to Demeter.
“So, if this is how they’ve been communicating, is it also how Ian got all your powers?” Justin asked.
I considered that. “No. That’s takes a different sort of connection. The altar’s a conduit. It just lets them talk. An artifact to imbue a mortal with powers like ours has to be more than just a pathway--it has to actually store power for him to absorb.”
“So, if this isn’t it, where is it?” Demeter asked.
I closed my eyes and concentrated. “I don’t feel it in the house. Now that I’m focusing, and I know what to look for, I should be able to pick up something from an artifact that strong.” I paused. “With how weak his powers were, I don’t think Ian has used the artifact for a while. It was wearing off.”
“Then it has to be in the only other place Ian spends any time,” Justin answered.
Demeter and I looked at him expectantly.
“School,” he said.
We headed back downstairs, but Artemis and Hermes met us halfway.
“Harpies,” Hermes said grimly. “But they’re not moving in. They’re just circling.”
“They’re keeping us here,” I realized. “Running out the clock.”
Hermes nodded.
“Can we get through them?” I asked.
Artemis shook her head.
“Their patrols fly close and tight,” she replied, “and they have scouts in mortal form standing guard all around the house. Their weapons are tipped with Ekhidna’s poison. I could smell it.”
“So you can’t turn into a dragon,” I said. “Then, we fight?”
“We can’t take on a flock of harpies,” Demeter argued. “Especially a desperate, well-armed one. Not in the condition we’re in.”
“Where does that leave us?” Hermes wondered. “We can’t run. We can’t fight.”
I thought. Seconds turned to minutes. No one said anything. No one even wanted to breathe.
Finally, I decided. “If we can’t run and we can’t fight, then I guess . . . we lie.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
“Harpies!” Ian bellowed from the front door.
At first, nothing happened, and I was certain my plan had failed. I resigned myself to the three remaining options: flight, fight, or the Dreamlands. All three would involve heavy casualties, and none of them were particularly likely to succeed.
But then one harpy flew down, landed on the front step, and cocked its head at Ian. A flockleader.
“I’ve taken the gods prisoner,” Ian said. “I’m going to take them to the school. Accompany us there and make sure they don’t try to pull anything. Understood?”
The harpy did nothing at first. Then it made a series of squawking noises and flapped its wings, hopping. A dozen or so harpies descended and perched nearby. They all cocked their heads expectantly.
I had a sudden terror that the harpies expected Ian to reply somehow. Maybe he knew their language. I sure didn’t. And I wasn’t sure my general commands would cover something as complicated as a spontaneous conversa
tion in a weird monster dialect.
Ian said nothing. Then the first harpy squawked, and they all transformed into identical mortal children.
Ian opened the door and, one by one, we filed out, heads bowed, faces grave, hands tied behind our backs. Before I left, I covered my eyes with a blindfold. It was terrifying, but my powers were useless against the harpies anyway, and I needed to sell this ruse.
The walk to the school felt like an eternity. Every second dragged on. I agonized, desperately hoping that everything would go according to plan, but imagining a million ways that it wouldn’t. Occasionally, I heard the squawks of the harpies. Apparently, even in mortal form, they could only communicate in their own language. But there were no sounds of passersby or traffic. The harpies had transformed out of caution, but this area was still cloaked from when Ian and the traitor were searching for us.
“Guard the perimeter,” Ian ordered the harpies. “I’ll take the gods the rest of the way alone.”
There was excited squawking, even louder and harsher than usual.
“You heard me,” Ian repeated. “Alone. They’re tied up. If they try anything, I’ll kill them. Now go!”
There was a bit more squawking, but it faded as the harpies left. I heard a metal door slamming shut. Then I felt someone fumble with my bonds, and my hands fell free. My blindfold was pulled off, and I was staring at Ian. The cockiness of his grin caught me off-guard at first. But after he finished untying Artemis, his face went blank. He was still under my thrall.
Hermes clapped his hands, beaming.
“I’ve got to hand it to you, my queen.” He grinned. “You are a genius.”
“You sound surprised.” I replied.
“I’ll never doubt you again,” he vowed.
We both pretended that wasn’t a lie.
Artemis carefully led us around a corner; the glass on the doors was frosted, so the harpies shouldn’t have been able to see us, but we couldn’t take the chance.
“What’s the plan now?” Justin asked.
“First, we find the artifact that’s been giving Ian his powers,” I decided. “The traitor has to be on his way, if he isn’t here already, and I don’t want him using the artifact to boost whatever power he brings with him from the Heavens.”
Hera, Queen of Gods (Goddess Unbound) Page 34
