Illusions: A Grace Murphy Novel

by Nicole Hamlett

  "Darn," I shook my fist and glared into Dmitri's eyes. "Looks like you're lucking out today."

  She smiled patiently at me and shook her head with an 'oh you' look. "Ask him what you want. I've got this."

  "Is it true that-"

  "Not that question, Grace." She shot me an exasperated look.

  I gave her a side-eye. "You said anything I want."

  "Not that."

  "Fine." I'd already obliterated his ability to pro-create. I guess I didn't need to rub it in. "My companion says that you were in league with Nemesis. Tell me about that." Any new information I could get on her could help with my search later.

  I wouldn't have guessed in a million years that Dmitri and Nemesis were in league with each other. I suppose he was sort of her type. Big and dark. That's where the resemblance to Hephaestus ended, though.

  "I will tell you nothing," he growled, straining against his bonds. I silently wished him luck with that.

  After the fight was over, I'd asked George if she'd brought anything that we could use to bind him. The standard stuff, rope, duct tape, etc. wouldn't work. He was inhumanly strong. She'd just smiled, and a pair of thick, black cuffs had appeared in her hand. She twirled them around her finger, eyes twinkling while explaining that they would hold even the great and mighty Zeus.

  "Oh sugar, you don't have to tell me a thing. All I have to do is ask the question, and my friend here can rifle around in your mind for the answers I want. That way I get them unfiltered." I pasted my crazy ex-girlfriend smile on my face. I wanted him to panic. It made his thoughts nice and loud.

  "Oh dear," George patted him on the shoulder. "Those little mental blocks won't work for me. You could say I'm a freak of nature. I ghost right through those. Although," she paused and gave him a little moue of distaste. "I didn't need to know that part."

  "What part," Medusa asked, sidling up to the group. She'd been out disposing of the bodies we'd left.

  "George is reading his mind," I replied.

  "Oh, so it must be prurient. I absolutely want those details." She settled down in front of him and flashed her fangs in a gruesome smile. I think she used it as an intimidation tactic but didn't say so. I didn't want her flashing them at me. "What?" she asked innocently when his face paled. "Do I have something in my teeth?"

  A laugh burst out of me before I could catch it and I had to turn away. "George, what's his mind got for us?"

  "Well," she began with false cheer. "Behind door number one, we've got an unsurprising banal sex scene between himself and Nemesis. I don't think she was that into him. Her face is blank while he does his thing."

  "Well, it doesn't sound like you're a very talented lover, sport." Medusa who was back in her human glamour, plucked at the grass around her and gave him a mocked embarrassed grimace.

  "However, behind door number two it looks like she's doing the same thing to - oh.. Oh, that is interesting." George put her fingers up to her mouth and blushed a little. "Well, she was certainly enjoying that."

  "Enjoying what?" I asked, my hand making a rolling motion to hurry her along.

  "Her time with Apollo. It's obviously Nemesis, but her imagine flashes to Aliana. Oh, crap on a cracker."

  "What?" Medusa and I asked at the same time.

  "She had arranged for Dmitri to show Hecate into Apollo's chambers while she was doing this. She set Aliana up. She wanted us to come here."

  "But why?" I threw down the leaf I'd been tearing to pieces and stalked across the clearing to Dmitri. "Why did she want us here?" He closed his eyes and turned his head away from me like it would make a difference.

  "They expected Adonis and Diana to investigate. Having you come over was just a bonus. It's really unclear. She'd murmur things that he doesn't understand. There isn't any context. She said something like, "The timing is right, the Pearl is ready to detonate."

  Medusa and I looked at each other. She shrugged but said, "It sounds about right. There was something akin to an explosion of magic."

  "But how does Hope play into this?" I turned back to him. "How long has Nemesis been on this planet?" She'd told me that it had been years. She's wanted to get out of the game her mother played. I was so stupid to believe anything she'd said.

  "Oh shit," George breathed. "She's been coming and going for years. Nemesis hadn’t been here long before Hecate put those obelisks up to try to limit her power, maybe siphon off a bit so she wouldn't be able to do so much damage. But that barrier has been standing for decades now."

  "If she was coming and going that meant she had someone who could open Rifts for her. It wasn't me and it sure as shit wasn't Diana. That means that Hope has been compromised for much longer. How has she been able to get into Hope's cell? God—" I let my strangled cry trail off and pounded my fist on a nearby tree.

  We'd locked Hope up to keep everyone safe. The only person who was allowed to visit her other than Diana or myself was Drew. But, if Nemesis could cloud minds, manipulate them, she'd probably been able to stroll right in. What confused me was her ability to Rift at all. Diana had stripped her of those powers, or so I thought. Could those be temporarily gifted? If Nemesis was getting her to open Rifts to this planet, why hadn't she just escaped herself? How had Nemesis been controlling her? More importantly, where was she now?

  Nyx and her children were dangerous to Earth at large, but Hope was hazardous to my immediate family, and she scared me more. Where Nemesis was cold and calculating, Hope didn't have any boundaries, reservations or conscience when it came to hurting others. She was an emotional tornado, ready to strike at any second.

  A warm hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed. "We'll get her. We have to finish up here first." Medusa told me quietly. "Dmitri says that the obelisks were built to power check Nemesis, but it sounds like Hecate started draining power from the locals as a result. Why did she do that?"

  Dmitri answered this time instead of George. "She wanted to create a failsafe that would destroy Nemesis and her family once and for all. She wanted a talisman to protect herself and her loved ones against them." He spat to the side. "She's insane and has been for centuries. Nemesis told me that she was here to kill Hecate and free Apollo from that madwoman's subjugation."

  "Well apparently, she lied, because the madwoman is still in charge." I interrupted. "How do we get into the palace. Where will she be?"

  "I help you; you let me go?"

  I scoffed. "So that you can stab us in the back later? Unlikely."

  "Would you like me to rip his head off?" Medusa asked casually.

  I turned so that I was facing away from Dmitri and gave her a horrified, 'what in the world are you thinking?' look. She shrugged. "It's an efficient way to kill you Atlanceans."

  "I have a sword. I can just behead him. Watching the tendons stretch, rip and then contract again squicks me out."

  "Wait!" Dmitri yelled. "I know a secret way into the palace."

  "Yeah, so do I. It's how Drew and I got out."

  He shook his head in a panic. "No. That one is well known. Which is why the monster is stationed in that forest. I know of another way. I can take you there, lead you through the traps."

  "We can just scrape it from your mind. We don't need you," Georgie said with a cold determination that made me stop and stare at her. This was a new side of her that I wasn't sure I was comfortable with.

  "Ladies," I said, holding my hands up. "I think we need to have a conference about this. Porkchop, would you be so kind as to sit on our guest, so he doesn't try to run away?"

  Porkchop’s head popped up with anticipation, and his excited clicks told me faster than George could that he was happy to help. I wondered briefly if Dmitri had anything to do with his mate's death. Hell, Porkchop might just take care of the jerk for us.

  I gathered the ladies far enough away that he couldn't overhear us and started laying our cards out on the table. "Okay, so we could go in the hard way. After I destroy the obelisk with my fancy schmancy new grenade launcher, we can
probably just walk right through the front door."

  "No, that bridge is rigged to blow." George interrupted.

  "We can teleport in if the barrier is down, though." I insisted.

  "Do we know what's going to happen when the obelisk is destroyed?" Medusa asked, and I cursed her logic.

  "No. We have no idea."

  "Well, that's a problem, because what if there's a backlash? What if it doesn't work as intended and we're all sucked dry of our powers, or worse, blown to tiny chunks of quivering meat?"

  "Crap," I whispered. "George, can you take a peek and see if he knows anything about that? It didn't occur to me that the thing itself could be booby trapped."

  "Well," Medusa had her hands on her hips and was looking like she was going to head up a lecture. "That was your first problem. Always assume that there are traps. Second, we may need to consider that we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way - without powers. I am struggling to maintain my glamour right now."

  My head swiveled to her, startled. "Really?"

  "Yes. You're about to get an eyeful of my alter ego. I fear that I'm wasting energy on maintaining it when I could be using that energy later."

  I sat back and pressed the heels of my palms to my eyes, thinking. After a deep breath, I asked. "How are we going to take down Hecate if she's at full power and we aren't? We're going to have to destroy it despite the consequences."

  "I'll do it," George's voice was filled with grim determination. "I'll blow it up. Of the three of us, I'm the weakest fighter."

  "But we need you for healing and mind Jedi'ing."

  Medusa let out a snort. "Is that even a word?"

  "It is now. Regardless, we can't sacrifice George. She's the only one that can get into everyone's head. I'll do it."

  Medusa fake coughed. "Martyr." She coughed again.

  "Juveniles," George spat. "Medusa is our fighter. You're the one prophesied to go up against Nyx. There are only three of us; it's up to me."

  "Wait!" I put a restraining hand on her arm, and my face lit up like a Christmas tree. "I wonder if we can convince him to do it." I nodded toward Dmitri.

  "I find myself admiring this Machiavellian twist of your mind, Grace. Well done."

  "Wait, do we really want to arm him? I've never implanted ideas in anyone's head, Grace. What if it doesn't take?"

  I thought for a minute. What we needed to do was find out the reasons he'd gone along with Nemesis' plan in the first place. Granted she convinced him through manipulation, but he seemed ready enough to take down Hecate. Maybe we could play on that reasoning to gain his loyalty?

  "You read that he was doing this to take out Hecate, right? Maybe we can just make a deal with him. If we can get rid of the lingering effects of Nemesis' brain voodoo, perhaps he'd go for it?"

  "Grace, you kicked his balls into orbit. I very seriously doubt he's going to make nice with you."

  "Well, he punched me in the face!" It was a defensive excuse, but I wasn't sorry. I'd do it again. "Besides, we don't know; he could actually be very nice without Nem's influence."

  Medusa shrugged. "It's possible. Georgiana, what is he thinking about right now?"

  Georgie flushed. "He's thinking about ripping Grace's head off and penetrating the skull."

  I grimaced. "Okay, maybe he won't make nice."

  Medusa's glamour chose that moment to drop. Both Georgie and I jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of her snake halo. Dmitri, on the other hand, started emitting this high-pitched wail that had us all staring at him wide-eyed.

  "What's he doing?" I whispered.

  "He is unbelievably terrified right now," George replied quietly. "He’s got an irrational fear of snakes, and since she's already threatened to rip his head off, he's now imagining her extra bits biting him over and over again."

  "That's a legit fear," Medusa deadpanned.

  "Welp, this gives us leverage. He’s more likely to agree to anything if it means that she won’t go anywhere near him."

  "Yay," Georgie cheered quietly. "Let's hear it for the power of irrational fear!"

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  It was disappointingly quiet outside the palace. Once we'd convinced Dmitri that by helping us, he was helping Apollo, we made quick time. He explained the layout and told us exactly where Hecate was holed up. Once the barrier was down, we could go right in for the big fight.

  But nobody was around. The guards were gone from the bridge, and the front gates were wide open. It felt suspiciously like a trap. "Where is everyone?" I hissed.

  Dmitri shrugged. "When I left, everyone was at their assigned posts."

  I brought high-powered binoculars up to my eyes and scanned the bridge and the palace gate. Nope, not a soul there. "Do you think she's expecting us?"

  "I can't imagine why not," Medusa answered blandly. "I mean, she did send the death squad after us. I wonder if she realizes that Nemesis isn't with us anymore."

  "Do you think Hecate would be friendlier if she weren't?" Georgie asked hopefully.

  Medusa snorted. "Not the woman I know. She'll be jealous because you're beautiful, afraid because she knows this snake form, and pissed because Grace escaped from her trap."

  "Oh, that's so sweet! You think I'm pretty?" Georgie preened as Medusa, and I glared at her. That was not the right takeaway.

  “Okay,” Getting back on track with this crew was challenging. “Worst case scenario we’re arrested, and we have to figure out an escape. Best case, we storm in, take the woman unaware and are home for dinner.” I shrugged after. Because shrugging implies that something is trivial. This would be easy peasy. Right? Right!

  “Eh, I’ve been arrested. It's no big deal.” Both Medusa and I swiveled around to stare at George.

  “For what? Haranguing ducks in public?” Medusa asked with a smirk.

  “Hey! Ducks are assholes. They’re always pooping on everything and chasing you when all you wanted to do was feed them. But no. Forget I said anything. I think I see movement on the forest side of the bridge.”

  I shook my head and made a mental note to pry the information out of her later. It was beyond reasoning that a person like Georgiana could get arrested.

  After giving George a slow blink, I turned back to Medusa. "Okay, back on track. We blow the obelisk and hopefully shut off the power. Then we storm the palace, find Hecate, and pray she doesn't have a super-weapon that can melt the skin off our bones."

  "Sounds about right," George whispered back.

  "What are we whispering about?" Someone asked, close to my ear, and I felt a rush of goosebumps cover my arms and legs.

  "Oh, hello Hecate. We were just talking about you. How lovely of you to show up." Medusa's voice had taken on a satirical edge, and her tail was twitching back and forth in agitation.

  "Well, you were taking your time coming in. I figured, why not. I would come and meet you instead. What is the point of having an open-door policy, if nobody walks through the door?" She laughed at her own joke, and I finally turned to look at her.

  She looked so – well, normal. Now that I wasn’t being prodded by a paranoid Adonis, I could study her in detail. Hecate reminded me of this friend I have on Earth that I haven't talked to in ages, but she's one of those mother earth, hippy types. Head to toe organic and natural. It didn’t match up with the things I’d see and what everyone had said about her. I expected her to be some kind of maniacal temptress, lounging around in lingerie and leather. Yes, I'd been watching way too many Bond movies lately. She must have picked up on my surprise because she laughed again.

  "What, were you expecting some kind of Milady De’Winter?"

  I nodded with a shrug. "Well, yeah. I mean, you don't look like the type of woman who can cause the kind of personal destruction I've seen on the women who take your husband to bed."

  "Do you know why Vlad the Impaler stuck his enemies on those pikes and displayed them out in the open?" Her voice was neutral, calm and surprisingly pleasant.

  "Because
he was a madman?" I answered.

  "Actually, he was quite sane. He also made the most fabulous beer. I should have gotten that recipe from him. But, I digress. He displayed such carnage to frighten away any other who would think to attack him. It worked for the most part. So, you tell me, if you saw the pictures of the last woman who had committed adultery with my husband, are you more or less likely to let him into your bed?"

  "Oh honey," I said holding my hand up. "Please, I've met your husband. I wouldn't let that man get near me with someone else's dick. Apollo has got a lot to learn about women's rights. What say we ditch this pop-stand, you come back home with us to Earth, and we get you into some therapy."

  Dmitri who had been secured behind us growled threateningly. "You said you would let me take care of her."

  He got a small shrug. "I also tell people that I only weigh 125 pounds. That doesn't make it the truth."

  I turned back to Hecate. "Listen, we're not looking for a fight here if it can be avoided. We just want to disable your barrier and for you to stop hurting people. I'm also going to need Aliana’s body. She's one of ours, and well, yeah, I need her back."

  "You are so precious. No, I don't think I will give her back. Guards?”

  A group of men rushed from the woods surrounding us, and Medusa let out an inhuman roar in protest.

  "Well shit. That did not go as expected," I sighed and slid the Kukri out of my belt loops, pressing their buttons to activate the extension. "Do you think maybe we could talk first before we fight?"

  "No Grace!" Medusa bellowed. "We're fighting now!"

  I sighed. "Well if you insist."

  Medusa turned to Hecate and lunged with her short sword, “We could have done without this. You know what I can do to you. You know why I’m here.”

  Around her neck was a black silk cord wrapped around a thick pulsating crystal about an inch long. My mouth gaped. It pulsed brighter every time Medusa lunged for an attack. Was this the item that was leeching power?

  “You’ll have to catch me first darling, and I have an advantage. I can teleport.”