“You’re going to irritate Crystal if you keep asking that question,” Tiffany said, turning another page in her book.
“Then answer it,” Rob snapped.
Megan dropped his hand, walked through the lawn chairs over to the pool. She removed one book from the side, then another.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Crystal asked at her.
“Whatever it is, Meg,” Rob said, “it’s probably not a good idea.”
“You might want to listen to the hottie, empath,” Brittany said.
That was the second time they had called her an empath. Megan had ignored it the first time. She took a deep breath, but wouldn’t let herself be distracted.
“Thanks,” Tiffany said ever so softly and just to Megan. “I’ve been asking them to clean up for the last two days. We’re really gonna get it if we don’t fix stuff.”
Megan removed the last three books from the side of the pool, set them as far from the water as she could without leaving anyone’s line of sight, and sat, cross-legged on the Astroturf between all three lawn chairs.
“You girls want to tell me what’s wrong?” she asked.
“Meg, you don’t know who they are,” Rob said.
It was obvious he didn’t either, or he wouldn’t have been asking them repeatedly who they were. But Megan was determined not to be distracted.
These three girls were in some kind of crisis, and if the only way to talk to them was to settle the crisis first, then she would do that.
Besides, she felt something close to relief. She had been out of her element all day.
But working with teenagers, especially rich, spoiled, and emotionally neglected teenagers, was something she knew more about than maybe anyone else on the planet.
“Daddy did send you, didn’t he?” Crystal asked.
“So what if he did?” Megan said.
Rob made little warning motions with his hands. Megan pretended she didn’t see them.
“Would it make that much difference if he had?” she asked.
“Well, duh!” Brittany said. “E-yeah. It would.”
“How come?” Megan asked.
“They think Daddy’s out to get us,” Tiffany said. She continued to page through the book, pretending disinterest.
“You don’t?” Megan asked.
“Of course, she doesn’t,” Crystal said. “She thinks she’s so much better than we are.”
“She thinks she’s Daddy’s favorite,” Brittany said.
A lot of issues here. Rob had let his hands fall to his sides. He was watching her as if she surprised him, but a concern line marred his forehead.
“I’d prefer it,” Megan said carefully, “if the girl I asked the question to was the girl who answered it.”
“We’d prefer it too.” Tiffany finally looked up from her book. Her dark eyes flashed with anger.
“But we haven’t talked like normal people since we got this job,” Crystal said.
“Job?” Megan asked.
“Y’know,” Brittany said. “This stupid Fate job.”
“You’re the Fates?” Rob put his hand over his mouth after the words came out. He looked surprised, but Megan couldn’t tell whether he had been surprised by the fact that he had spoken aloud or surprised by the fact that these girls were Fates.
Megan was certainly surprised that these girls were Fates. She had thought the Fates were Fates. Not that she believed the Fates of Greek mythology would be as ditzy as those three women were. But they were more plausible Fates than these young girls.
Although she had noticed that these girls spoke like the three older women, one at a time, all in a specific order.
“Interim,” Tiffany said.
“Interim what?” Rob asked, his fingers muffling the words. He got the question out before Megan could.
“Fates,” Crystal said. “We’re the Interim Fates.”
“Why is everyone surprised by this?” Brittany asked.
“Maybe it’s because we suck at it,” Tiffany said.
“We don’t suck at it,” Crystal said. “We don’t suck at it like those other three did. They made Daddy really mad.”
“We’re making Daddy really mad,” Brittany said.
“Because we’re not doing anything,” Tiffany said. “They made him mad because they did stuff.”
“Which makes sense for us not doing stuff,” Crystal said.
“Y’know, like, duh,” Brittany said.
Megan felt that same swirling, head-turning momentum she’d felt when she’d first encountered the three adult Fates.
She had to work at returning to her own centered place. The key to therapy was listening. And it was hard to listen to these girls because of the way they spoke.
“So,” she said gently, “you have to speak in the same order. You can’t break that?”
“Would you sound this stupid on purpose?” Tiffany asked.
“You sound quite intelligent to me,” Megan said.
“Because she’s the brainy one,” Crystal said.
“And she’s mad at us for making her read all the books,” Brittany said.
“I’m mad at you guys for a bunch of reasons,” Tiffany said. “And you screwed up the order.”
“What order?” Megan asked.
“The speech order,” Crystal said. “We tried a spell out of one of the books so we could talk, like, when we wanted to.”
“And all it did was make Crystal talk first,” Brittany said. “I used to do that.”
“Which is really annoying,” Tiffany said. “I always start to say something after Crystal, but I can’t say anything until Brittany covers us all with her bubblegum breath.”
“You used to like bubblegum,” Crystal said.
“So did you,” Brittany reminded her.
Megan was starting to get a headache. They spoke that way involuntarily? Did they go on tangents involuntarily too? Or was that simply the way these girls thought?
Rob had moved next to one of the bookshelves. He leaned on it, watching the entire interaction. His gaze kept meeting Megan’s, sending her warnings that she pretended she wasn’t receiving.
“Let’s focus,” Megan said. “You’re all angry. Tell me about that as best you can.”
“We’re supposed to be doing this together,” Tiffany said. “Together doesn’t mean I do all the work.”
“We make decisions,” Crystal said.
“We do?” Brittany asked.
Tiffany closed the book with a bang. She looked directly at Megan. The girl’s eyes were so full of fury that Megan could feel it as if it were her own.
“Daddy made this sound like fun, but it’s not. It’s hard, and no one else is trying, except me. And I don’t want to try.” She spoke really fast, as if she were working to get each word out before the others had to speak for her.
“He said we’d just grow into the job,” Crystal said.
“He said all we had to do was what he said,” Brittany said. “But he’s not saying anything except how come we’re not doing our job.”
“Does your father live here?” Megan asked.
“Meg,” Rob said. “Their father is Zeus.”
And you’re the King of France, she almost said, because she would have if he’d been some Los Angeles parent who was interfering with her work. But he wasn’t the King of France, he was Robin Hood, and the father of these three young, confused girls could possibly be Zeus.
If the girls were the Interim Fates.
And the other three were the real Fates.
Who had given up their magic to understand their job better, and then realized that Zeus had cheated them in a power broker takeover.
And if all of that was the case, then Rob was right: Megan was out of her league.
“No,” Tiffany said as if Rob hadn’t spoken. “Daddy doesn’t live here. He can’t. Technically, the Powers That Be aren’t supposed to interfere with the Fates.”
“Who told you that?” Crystal asked.
“She read it somewhere, I bet.” Brittany’s voice was filled with disapproval.
“I’ve been reading because I’m trying to get us out of this mess. It’d be a lot easier if you guys would help,” Tiffany said.
Megan’s stomach lurched. She looked at Rob. He had the same expression, wary and filled with concern. He hadn’t noticed what Tiffany just said.
“Are you serious about that?” Megan asked.
“About what?” Crystal asked.
“About getting out of this mess,” Megan said.
“Yes!!!” All three girls answered at once, their voices so loud they almost—almost—matched the intensity of Kyle’s broadcast.
The concerned line on Rob’s face grew deeper. He made those funny little movements with his hands again.
“Well,” Megan said, “I know how you can get out of this.”
Rob’s movements became more pronounced. This time, she didn’t even make eye contact.
“See?” Brittany said to the others, “I told you this was a test from Daddy.”
“No test,” Megan said.
“How do we know that?” Tiffany asked.
“Do you have magic?” Megan asked.
“Well, duh!” Crystal said. “What good are Fates without magic?”
Rob rolled his eyes, but Crystal had a point. The three Fates that were with Kyle right now seemed completely out of place. Perhaps they wouldn’t be so out of place if they had a little more control.
“But it doesn’t do us a lot of good,” Brittany said. “There’s a lot of rules, and we didn’t know that.”
“Even though we’re supposed to enforce them.” Tiffany shoved the book off her lap onto the table beside her. “No one explained that part either.”
The no one in question had to be their father, Zeus. The man sounded like a real piece of work.
Megan couldn’t deal with him yet. Maybe she wouldn’t have to at all if this worked right.
“Well,” she said, “like you three, I don’t completely understand the rules of magic. I assume you know them better than I do. Can you use your powers to see if I’m being sincere?”
Crystal and Brittany looked at Tiffany. She nodded.
“You gotta start the spell, then,” Crystal said.
“I can do, like, the hand stuff if you tell me what it is,” Brittany said.
“I’ll just do it.” Tiffany made a beatific hand movement. A tiny light formed around Megan.
“Oh!” Crystal said. “I know what you’re doing.”
“Me, too,” Brittany said. “All you have to do, lady, is tell us something.”
“Tell us again that you know how to get us out of this,” Tiffany said.
Megan nodded. “I do know. But it would require secrecy and trust on your part. Can you do that?”
The light around her remained white. She had no idea of that was a good or bad thing.
“Sure,” Crystal said.
“Yep,” Brittany said.
“Of course,” Tiffany said.
Megan smiled. Apparently, the whiteness had been a good thing.
“All right,” she said. “Here’s what I think you need to do.”
Eighteen
Rob leaned against the bookshelf, his arms crossed. Megan had no idea who these girls were. She probably had a vague understanding—from classic mythology—who Zeus was. But she didn’t know his incredible power in the world of the mages.
“Meg,” Rob said before she could go any further. “We may not be able to trust these girls.”
Megan, who had been deliberately ignoring him for the past five minutes, finally met his gaze. “Can you do the same spell over them that they just did over me?”
He could do that and a dozen more powerful ones. But that wasn’t the point.
“They might be sincere right now,” he said, “but their father has a lot more control than you realize. He might be able to warp that sincerity and use it against us.”
Megan bit her lower lip. Crystal, the pretty redhead, teared up. Brittany, the scrawny blonde, bowed her head. Only Tiffany, the one who seemed to have a brain, didn’t move.
“Daddy can be pretty persuasive,” Crystal said in a watery voice.
“Your hottie is right. You probably shouldn’t help us,” Brittany said.
Tiffany sighed, then nodded. “If Daddy wants to, he can pretty much get us to do anything.”
Rob kept his gaze on Megan. He wished he had the abilities her nephew Kyle did, because he would send her a message: Don’t mess with Zeus.
Zeus was one of the Powers That Be. He might actually be the Head Power. There were a bunch of them, almost all of them known as the main Greek Gods. They’d been around so long and had accumulated so much power that they were almost like gods.
And for some reason, a reason Rob didn’t understand, the rules didn’t apply to them. They made the rules, and let the Fates enforce them.
Only the Fates were locked in his office, and these little girls were supposed to enforce the rules, and they were under Zeus’ thumb.
Zeus. Rob couldn’t imagine what that man was like as a father. Zeus had hundreds—maybe thousands—of children, breaking yet another rule. When a mage came into his magic, his reproductive capabilities went away.
Rumors were that Zeus had arranged for men to come into their magic young—around the age of 20 or so—and women to come into theirs after menopause. Ostensibly, the argument was that the hormonal activity made it hard to control the magic, but Rob had always wondered if it wasn’t a ploy by the old sexist to keep women under his thumb as long as possible.
Except his teenage daughters. Who had magic. And who now had waaay too much power. And obviously had no idea how—or even when—to use it.
“So you’re telling me not to trust you as well,” Megan said gently.
Crystal’s tears spilled over her lower lashes. One tear caught on her nose ring, making her look (rather disgustingly) like she had forgotten to blow her nose.
Brittany glanced at her, then blinked hard, as if she felt the need to cry after seeing her sister cry.
But Tiffany just nodded.
“You feel that you can’t stand up to your father,” Megan said.
All three girls nodded.
“I understand that,” Megan said.
But she didn’t. She really couldn’t. Only there was no way Rob could explain that to her. No way at all. She was thinking of Zeus as some human father with a little too much control of his daughters.
Zeus was the closest thing Rob’s people had to a god, and he had control over everyone.
Except the other Powers That Be, of course.
Which had to be why this scheme had even come into existence.
Rob crossed his arms even tighter, almost so that he was hugging himself, and frowned. Something else was going on here, something sinister.
Something that had to do with power, and a lot of it. Zoe had tried to warn him, telling him that Zeus was making a power play, but Rob had ignored that, thinking who cared what Zeus was doing.
Which had to be why Zoe had sent him here, to see the true repercussions.
He loathed the original Fates, but they had kept the systems going. People got their familiars; they learned how to handle their nascent powers; they got their wrists slapped when they called attention to themselves in the mortal world.
What would happen if all that petty stuff got ignored? Magic would go haywire without familiars; mortals would notice out-of-control mages; and the press would learn that half the actors in the business didn’t age because they didn’t age, not because they had fantastic plastic surgeons.
Rob sighed, and tuned back into the discussion. The girls were complaining about Zeus, and to hear them tell it, he did sound like the average father—if the average father had five hundred lovers, a jealous magical wife, and more children than he could count.
“We thought we were his favorites,” Crystal said.
“But we
’re starting to think he hates us,” Brittany said.
“Why else would he stick us with all this work when he knows we’re bad at it?” Tiffany said.
Megan nodded. She seemed interested. Rob wasn’t sure how she maintained that sympathetic expression in the face of all this whining. He was having trouble just standing here.
“Maybe,” Megan said, “he knew you were bad at it when he brought you in.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Crystal said.
“Wouldn’t he want us to do a good job?” Brittany asked.
“No.” Tiffany’s voice was flat. “He told that superman guy that we were going to change the way everything got done, remember?”
“I just remember that Daddy always comes here when there’s tough stuff to be done, and does it,” Crystal said.
Brittany wrapped a strand of gum around her finger. “Maybe that’s why he put us here. So he could really be a Fate without being a Fate, y’know?”
“It would give him a lot more power,” Rob said.
Megan started. She had clearly forgotten he was there. The three girls looked at him in surprise as well.
Rob shrugged. “He would be making the rules and enforcing them. They’d no longer be subject to interpretation.”
“You say that like that’s not good,” Tiffany said.
“Do you think it’s good?” Megan asked in perfect shrink mode.
“Daddy can be—y’know—moody,” Crystal said.
“He forgets sometimes that he said something,” Brittany said.
“No, I don’t think it’s good.” Tiffany tugged on her t-shirt, tucking it under her legs. “You said you could help us.”
Megan nodded.
“But he said not to trust us.” Crystal pointed at Rob.
He bristled. He wasn’t sure why. “Actually, you said that she shouldn’t trust you.”
“Only after you did,” Brittany said.
“But you were right.” Tiffany met his gaze. She was stronger than she looked. He could actually see a bit of Zeus in her—not in guile—it would take millennia for her to have as much guile as Zeus—but in her native intelligence, and in her initial reluctance to use it.
“I’m sure what I’m going to propose will be difficult for you,” Megan said, “but I’ve been in situations like this before—”
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