Athena's Secrets

by Donna Del Oro

  Alex studied her for a moment. “You mustn’t give up on the male gender. Others might find your powers, and your mother’s and my mother’s abilities, absolutely awesome. Intriguing and wonderful.”

  “Only if you’re a cop and need help solving a crime.” Athena looked pointedly at her mother. She hadn’t had the chance to share with her mother her experience working with Detectives Palomino and Ochoa, and how she’d felt afterwards.

  Her mother placed a hand over hers. “I know all about what happened. The detective called and brought me up-to-date. He hoped I wasn’t upset about your getting involved, but he was desperate to try anything. He was very impressed with you, ’Thena. They had no record of their Person of Interest even having a brother, or what the man’s family background had been like. The younger brother had been listed as having died at age sixteen in the fire that killed their parents. Now, they believe he’s alive and living under an alias. Anyway, you helped them enormously, figlia mia. They haven’t located the younger brother and the older one insists he died, but they’re working on it, the detective says.”

  When Alex looked over at them, puzzled, her mother elaborated on the case she’d been helping the Metropolitan D.C. homicide detectives with. He turned to Athena, respect and awe mirrored in his dark eyes.

  “You’re helping the cops, too?”

  She squirmed a little in her chair. The memory of the images that she received after touching those jackets made her lose her appetite. She winced and pushed her plate away.

  “Well, I don’t think I want to keep doing it. I saw a part of life that freaks me out. I never want to see that again.”

  She suddenly realized how hypocritical her stance was. Wasn’t the horror she saw that day, part of life, too? Wasn’t it too late to deny her own awareness of the dark, violent side of human nature?

  Her mother’s intense stare caught her attention. She hoped the older woman understood her squeamishness, so when her mother smiled, Athena thought that maybe she did.

  “I’m happy you haven’t had to experience firsthand the ugliness of humanity,” Anna said softly, gently. “But if you are willing to continue helping, know that your art and all the beauty you can create will sustain you through the darkness. Your art will give you a wonderful escape.”

  Athena hadn’t considered that before, that her love of art and painting would be a refuge from the troubles and horrors of life. And she realized something else just then, too. Her mother was warning her about something. Warning her that because of her unique clairvoyant powers, Athena would not be able to avoid those very horrors of life. Maybe she had a role to play that she could no longer avoid.

  No, that’s a role I never want to play again.

  Alex’s eyes lit up as the server approached with their dishes. “Ah, that reminds me. I thought your portrait of Kas was, well, awesome. Mom loved it, too.”

  “Yes, she told me last night. Kas said nothing about the painting. What did he really think of it? Please, I can take the truth.”

  Alex screwed up his face, which had Athena guessing already. She scowled and snapped her napkin over her lap in an impatient gesture.

  “Oh, don’t tell me. He thought I made him look too handsome, too clean-shaven and soft. Not macho enough.”

  “You’ll have to ask him yourself. I wouldn’t want to spoil the fun.” Alex could barely disguise the impish delight behind his grin. The man was irrepressible and charming, but occasionally exasperating. Still, Athena liked him.

  However, given such an oblique response from Alex, Athena had nothing more to say. She dug into her shrimp salad and shrugged. Oh well, can’t please everyone.

  Of course, Kas didn’t like it. I’m a blonde.

  ****

  Wednesday was another unseasonably warm day, so both Alex took Chris and Athena on the lake in the family’s ski boat. Kas would’ve come, according to Alex, but he had an early morning call. The sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team was needed in the mountains to track down three skiers who had wandered off one of the trails just before closing time the day before. The Team suspected the three had gotten lost and couldn’t find their way back. They probably had spent the night on a forested slope and were scared to death. Or one or more of them was hurt, and they’d decided to stick together. Good thing the temperature hadn’t fallen below fifty degrees Fahrenheit, although in the mountains it had sunk to close to freezing.

  At any rate, at six that morning, according to Chris, Kas had thrown on his one-piece Vortex suit and snow-hiking boots, grabbed his equipment, and headed up to the Team’s rendezvous site at Boreal Ridge. He’d had no idea when he’d be back. Instead, Alex allowed Kas’s black-and-tan German shepherd, Spartacus, into the ski boat for the thrill ride.

  The wind whipped in their faces as Alex skippered them around the lake, slowing down to mosey into coves and small inlets, created by the American River’s south and east forks. For several minutes, Athena had her arm slung around the dog, relishing his furry coat and savoring his enjoyment of the ride. When they hit a few wake bumps from other boats, she cinched her arm more tightly around the dog so he wouldn’t get tossed off the stern. Spartacus turned his pointed head in her direction, and Athena could swear he actually laughed. The sound that escaped the dog’s throat was like a girl’s high-pitched yawn. Athena smiled and hugged the dog’s neck.

  Images flashed through her mind: Kas’s various experiences with Spartacus, their long walks together on the property, the human’s tenderness as he fed and cared for his pet, the dog’s deep, emotional bond to his two-legged friend. By the time they returned to the Skoros dock, Athena felt like she knew a side of Kas she’d not yet seen. The dog kept to her side on the half-mile trail to the house as if he’d sensed something special about her.

  Thursday morning, while the kitchen staff scurried about, she helped her mother and Lorena set the dining room table. With Alex’s help, they’d extended the table to accommodate sixteen, and placed china and crystal glasses and goblets according to Lorena’s direction. A bedraggled Kas joined them briefly to look in on the arrangements. He’d slept late apparently, having put in a full day the previous day with the Search and Rescue Team. As he leaned against the French doors and drank coffee, he capsulized the rescue situation.

  “We were in the sheriff’s helo and found the skiers on the backside of one of the lower mountains at Squaw Valley. When they heard us, two of them ran out from the tree cover and flagged us. We lowered to about forty feet and realized one of the skiers was hurt. Another deputy and I harnessed up, zipped down our line with a gurney, and strapped up the injured skier and ran the line back up so the two on the helo could grab him. They winched up the remaining two skiers who were suffering from hypothermia and got them wrapped up in special blankets. Pete and I had to wait on the mountain while the helo offloaded at the Squaw Valley first-aid station. An ambulance took the three to the Truckee hospital. We set our flares to guide the helo back to us, because the helo pilot is new, and in all the excitement we weren’t sure he’d set his coordinates. Anyway, we had to put in a stint at the Truckee hospital, and then later at our Boreal field site to fill out paperwork. Finally, I was back on Interstate Eighty for the drive back home.”

  Chris stared. “Wow! Awesome!”

  Kas’s cheeks colored. “These guys were lucky. Not all our rescues end up like that. Wait until they get the county’s bill.”

  Why hadn’t he joined them for dinner last night, his mother asked? Still jumping inside from the adrenaline high, Kas had met some friends at a watering hole in nearby Auburn. At that point in his story, he glanced over at Athena, then looked down at his coffee.

  He was with a girl.

  Why that should’ve mattered, she didn’t know. But when Kas suggested a turn about the lake on the Jet Ski to Chris and Alex, she thought quickly. She wanted to go with him.

  “Sorry, bro,” interjected Alex. “I promised Chris I’d take him down to the American River for a couple hours of fishi
ng.” He turned to his mother, palms up and out. “Don’t worry, Mom, we’ll be back by two or three at the latest. I’ll do the bar, make cocktails for everyone.”

  Lorena pointed her finger and waggled it. “Cocktails at four, Alex. Everyone’s dressing up a bit, so don’t make the poor boy late.”

  Athena turned to Kas and blurted out, “I’d love to go Jet Skiing!”

  Despite Kas’s dark, fulminating look, Athena added excitedly, not waiting for his refusal, “I’ll go up and get my bathing suit on.”

  Although she’d been Jet-Skiing once before, she couldn’t hide her excitement. Not even from herself. She ran up the spiral staircase.

  She was finally going to get some alone time with Mr. Mountain Man.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kas didn’t speak much as they left the house—actually, a three-story mansion in Italian Revival stucco with limestone railings and pediments. There were two large outbuildings and a four-car, detached garage with what appeared to be second-story apartments. Gravel and flagstone walkways connected the mansion to these outbuildings and a few of the walkways disappeared into the woods behind the mansion’s patio and pool area.

  Kas pointed at one of these gravel paths that led through a thicket of oak trees. He seemed to observe how Spartacus was glued to Athena’s side, his tongue flopping out happily, and his tail wagging excitedly.

  “We’re pals,” she said.

  Kas led her down the back terrace steps to the gravel path behind a row of shrubs surrounding the pool and patio. They’d have to cross twenty acres—about a half-mile, Kas said—to the family’s boat dock.

  “I know,” she said, “Alex already took us out in the boat.”

  Kas gazed at her with a speculative look. “Women like Alex. He’s the family charmer. Guess he stole your heart, too.”

  “Hardly. I’ve grown wary of men who’re too charming.” Athena smiled, bent over and rubbed behind the German shepherd’s pointed black ears until he almost purred with pleasure. Kas looked surprised.

  “He usually takes a long time to warm up to people.”

  Athena scratched under the German shepherd’s long jaw. “Like his master, I suppose. We became friends yesterday during the ski boat ride. Spartacus told me a lot about you and how he feels about you. You’re his sun and moon, his alpha and omega. He showed me all the things you do together.”

  Kas halted on the path. “You read my dog’s mind?”

  She didn’t mean for her tone to be so defensive, but out it came. “Well, yeah. It’s what I do. I was holding him in the boat. He doesn’t think in words, of course, but the visual imagery and feelings were there.”

  He shot her a crooked smile, then slapped a palm against his thigh, a signal for Spartacus to heel at his side. The dog looked over at his master, back at Athena, gave a whine, and reluctantly moved away from her.

  He mock-growled at his dog, which caused Spartacus to perk up his ears. Something was going on with these two-legged humans but the dog didn’t know what.

  “That’s for being a traitor, boy. Telling this girl our secrets.”

  Athena grinned. “Don’t worry, he didn’t reveal secrets about any of your girlfriends. I don’t think Spartacus knows or cares about that.”

  “C’mon, boy.” Kas beckoned as Spartacus rubbed his fur against his master’s leg. “You’re something else, Athena,” he added, “You’re here three days, and already stealing my dog. But you don’t want Alex? Most women I see hate my dog but crush on Alex. You’re a strange one.”

  She almost tripped. Somehow his words both pleased and stung her. “Strange, huh? Well, I don’t think I want to be friends with you after all.”

  He snorted but kept on walking, leading her down the path. “No danger of that happening. I don’t make friends with tall, pretty blondes, especially if they have ESP.”

  He thinks I’m pretty. That thought unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.

  “Because of your mother’s precog dream? You’re bothered because she saw you ending up with a tall blonde?”

  “Maybe. She said the tall blonde would have the gifts of the ancient Greek priestesses. That kind of narrows it down, doesn’t it? But hell, no one tells me what my future’s going to be, not even my own mother.” He stopped and fixed his gaze on her face. “Anyway, by strange I meant unique, special. What you, your mother, my mother have—this bloodline of females is extraordinary. You need to be protected.” He looked away and continued walking. “Alex and I do what we can for Mom. We guard her secret. We don’t let the outside world exploit her. Your mother has her husband. I suppose you’ll have to find a protector, too.” Kas looked down at Spartacus, who was trotting alongside. Athena heard his implied message: Don’t expect me to be him.

  “Yes,” she said, her chin up, “perhaps. Right now I can protect myself.” She wanted to change the subject. “Alex told us he’s engaged. What’s she like? He just said her name was Nicole and she’s the daughter of your father’s business partner. Another Greek-American.” She was forced to speak to his back.

  “Nicole Theopoulis. A GAP, Greek-American princess. She’s beautiful. Spoiled, shallow, and she’ll make him happy in the short-term, miserable in the long run. But there you have it. No accounting for taste.”

  His frank reply caught her off-guard. She stared at his profile as he slowed down and let her catch up. They walked alongside each other in silence for a while. Maybe there was more to this guy than she realized. Kas wore faded blue jeans and a white T-shirt that stretched over his chest and back. He walked with a strong, relaxed gait and exuded a quiet self-confidence. Like he knew who he was and didn’t pretend to be anyone different. What you see is what you get, kind of attitude. Take it or leave it. With a heavy dose of cynicism and a hefty chip on his shoulder.

  Athena had slung on black sweat pants and a black, v-necked T-shirt over her solid black bikini. She wore no makeup and had hastily pulled up her hair into a ponytail. Her usual look but not her best one. Oh, well. Inside her chest, her heart pounded. What’s going on? Is this a panic attack? Why should I care how he feels? Didn’t I just tell him I didn’t want to be his friend? Why was I so rude?

  A flash of insight struck her.

  “Kas, are you afraid of me?” She expected an outburst of mockery or ridicule.

  He laughed shortly, but it was a self-deprecating laugh. “A tall, pretty blonde who reads minds? Who’s supposed to come along and save my sorry ass, somehow, some way. And I’m supposed to save her? Now why should I be afraid of that?”

  She chuckled, too. “No reason, I guess. Not if you don’t believe in your mother’s predictions.”

  That sobered him quickly, although he continued to wear an ironic expression.

  “Y’know, we wouldn’t have all this, if it weren’t for my mother’s powers. When she and Pop first got started, she’d see a vacant field in the middle of nowhere and say, ‘Buy that field. In a couple of years, a big highway will come right through here.’ So Pop did, and that started the whole ball rolling. We always take her to a location that we’re thinking of developing. She tells us if it’s go or no.”

  Surprised, Athena said, “I didn’t know that. I wish Mum would have visions like that. She sees other things, creepy, ugly things. Killers and rapists.”

  “So I hear. We—my father, Alex and I—protect my mother from people who’d try to exploit her. Is there anyone protecting you and your mother?”

  More than a little surprised, Athena halted. “Not really. Father pretends we’re normal, and I suppose Chris does, too. Mum and I—we keep our clairvoyance a secret from everyone. Everyone except the police, that is.”

  They’d come to a fork in the path. Ahead of them, through a thicket of oaks and pines, Athena could see the lake glimmering in the sunlight. Kas took the path to the right. “Follow me.” He headed for the boathouse that she could now see about fifty yards away. “We’ll have to wear wet suits. The air’s warm, but the water’s snow melt.”
<
br />   “I live in D.C. so I can handle it. I can read minds but can’t do weather forecasting. Go figure.”

  Kas harrumphed. “I hear you work part-time at a coffeehouse. Seems like you could make more money doing psychic readings. But then, you’d have to expose yourself and your secret.”

  “Yes, that won’t do. I guess it’s safer this way.”

  “I know, my mother feels the same way. There’s a history of the bloodline having problems when people find out the truth. There’s always a group in society that doesn’t understand, people who take advantage or exploit them, or use them as scapegoats. I guess that means there’s been some witch-hunting in the past, burning at the stake, that kind of thing. The Romans would kidnap soothsayers and hold them as slaves. I’ve heard only the Temple seers in Greece were off-limits. Even so, the Temple priestesses had Guardians assigned to them day and night.”

  She looked at him. He wasn’t joking. The protective side of him was rearing up. “I’ve heard that, too. I thought it was just nonsense, Mum trying to scare me into keeping it secret.”

  “Can’t be any harm nowadays.” He glanced back and grinned. “Now, if your secret came out, you’d get celebrity status and your own reality TV show.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “Not interested.”

  “Well, whenever you want to read me, go ahead. No skin off my nose. I’m sure that what you see will either turn you off or bore you to death.”

  “Then I guess you’re different from all the other men I’ve known,” she tossed back. “Even my father doesn’t like it. Men like their secrets.”

  “All the other men?”

  “Figuratively speaking,” she said wryly.

  He frowned and ran his gaze over her. “Chris filled me in about you. You’re nineteen. An art student. Single. He says you had a hard time when you were younger. With your clairvoyance, I mean. Trusting people, making friends. Sorry for my blunt speaking, but this is who I am.”