We exchanged a look.
"I'll be right back," she promised. "As soon as I have anything to tell you, anything at all."
She turned to go, but then she paused.
"I shouldn't be telling you this," she whispered, her back to us. "But you might want to make yourself scarce for a while. I overheard one of the doctors calling the police."
She gave me a meaningful look over her shoulder, and then she left. But just before she did, she gave Ares one last lingering look. Even smart girls were dumb sometimes.
"I don't like her," Ares remarked, once she was gone.
"I like her," I said at the same time.
"But she won't let us see Darren," he countered.
"I can get to Darren," I replied. "I'll use my powers. You go back to the car. Take Demeter and Jason with you. I'll find you when I have some answers."
"You sound like Ana," Ares complained.
"The difference is you have to listen to me," I replied.
I watched Ares leave with Jason and Demeter. In a strange way, I trusted him. He was simple, and that made him easy to predict. But mostly, I trusted him because I didn't have any other choice. He'd been willing to sacrifice Zeus and me to save the Fates, a neat manoeuvre that would also have given him complete control of the Heavens. I couldn't forget that. Boyish as he was, Ares had a lust for power that rivalled my own. He had to be monitored. Closely.
Pushing those thoughts aside, I closed my eyes. Images flickered. In my mind, I followed Ana back to Darren's room. I was careful to watch for the room number. 402.
I headed down one of the halls. But I wasn't going to get very far before I was spotted.
I headed into a closet when I was sure no one was paying attention to me. I found a stack of scrubs. I pulled them on over my clothes. I opened the door a crack, and slipped back out into the hallway once it was empty.
It didn't take me long to get to the room. I walked with confidence. I had a lot of practice, being a queen. The Queen. Besides, it was a well-known fact that the best place to hide was in plain sight. People rarely challenged someone who acted like they belonged. Of course, I didn't truly belong here, or anywhere in the mortal world. But I didn't feel like I belonged in the Heavens either. I didn't seem to belong anywhere. But I could pretend. I'd spent a lifetime acting. I'd acted like Zeus' faithful wife, and I'd fooled everyone. Especially myself.
When I reached 402, I slipped inside and shut the door. Darren was lying in a hospital bed. The sound of the door shutting woke him. He opened his eyes, or at least his left one. The other was swollen shut. He had several tubes running into various parts of him. But at least he was alive.
"Don't speak," I told him quietly.
I couldn't help but survey his injuries. The ones I could see were horrifying. I was no doctor, but even I knew it was bad. Very bad. Pain was written across each inch of his skin, every feature of his face, despite the drugs being pumped into him.
The door opened behind me. I whirled. The nurse. Ana. Of course.
"I figured I'd find you here," she said. She shut the door behind her.
"I get rules, believe me," I said. "But I have to follow my own rules first. And there are things going on that you couldn't possibly understand."
"Try me," she replied, crossing her arms.
I didn't say anything.
"You seem like a nice person," she continued. "But you have thirty seconds before I have you thrown out of here."
I still didn't say anything. She stared at me. I stared back.
She sighed. "Your secret must be very important."
"It is," I assured her.
"Time's up. Please go," she said. "He needs his rest."
"Fine," I agreed.
But I closed my eyes.
"Is something wrong?" Ana asked me.
"Shh," I ordered.
I let the images flow into my mind. Darren starting to seize. People running into his room, wheeling in a machine, shouting things. Someone tearing open his gown, putting two paddles on his chest. His body convulsing. A monitor line going flat. Their faces said everything.
My eyes snapped open.
"What's wrong?" Ana demanded, her voice rising.
Apparently my face said everything too. But I didn't want to say anything in front of Darren. I looked at Ana and then looked at the door. She nodded and followed me outside.
"What's wrong?" she repeated.
"This is going to be hard for you to accept," I warned.
"Try me," she said.
I sighed. "Darren is going to die. In about an hour. I don't know why, but it's going to happen unless we do something."
"There's a lot of internal damage," Ana admitted. "But I promise we'll do everything we can."
"Wait. You believe me?" I asked.
Ana nodded. "I can't explain it, but I feel like I can trust you, like you wouldn't lie to me."
I sighed. "But that won't save Darren."
Ana bit her lip. She looked around. When the hall was clear, she whispered. "This is going to be hard for you to accept."
"Try me," I replied dryly.
"There might be a way to help him," she murmured so softly I could barely hear her.
"I'll do anything," I promised.
"You see things, right?" Ana guessed. "In your mind?"
She tapped her temples for emphasis.
"And that doesn't ... surprise you?" I said.
"I know someone," she said. "She can ... do things. Miracles."
"A witch?" I asked.
Ana blinked. "Not exactly. I ..."
"Where?" I interrupted.
"She works at a bar not far from here," Ana told me.
She took out a pad and pen from her pocket, scribbled something down, and tore out the page. She handed it to me.
"I'll do what I can until you get back," Ana said. "I won't leave his side."
I was already down the hall. The clock was ticking. And this was a long shot. It was all up to me now. And to whoever was on this sheet of paper.
It'd be enough. It had to be. I couldn't lose another Hero. Especially one who'd already drained the precious power of an amulet, not to mention risked his life for me.
Fifty-two minutes left until my vision would come to pass.
There could be no more failure. And there'd be no second chances. If this didn't work, if we didn't get a miracle, Darren would die.
Fifty-one minutes.
And if he died, our hopes of stopping Ekhidna and saving the world would die too.
Fifty minutes.
I ran.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Half an hour.
Thirty minutes.
Thirty minutes to save Darren.
Thirty minutes to save the world.
I stormed into the bar, the doors slamming against the walls on either side of me. Two winos sitting on stools at either end of the bar idly turned their heads. I could smell them all the way from the door, and judging from the reek, it was a miracle they were still alive, let alone conscious.
I spotted the one I was looking for immediately. She was the only woman in the bar. But it was more than that. I felt her. The power in the air was electric. If I didn't know better, almost ... godlike.
Her eyes locked with mine. She felt me too. But she looked away almost immediately and went back to wiping the top of the bar.
I didn't have time for games.
I walked straight up to her, Ares following closely behind me. My eyes flicked to the clock. Twenty-nine minutes. Not a single one to waste.
"We're closed," the woman told me in a thick accent.
I paused. I felt the time rushing past me. But I had to do this right the first time. So I studied her. I looked for some clue, some hint, any kind of opening I could use.
Plain leather vest. Plain black tank top. Hair pulled back in a plain ponytail. Nothing designed to impress. This woman dressed for herself. She lived for herself. That wasn't going to make things easy.
&nbs
p; And then I spotted it. It was the only jewellery she wore. A necklace. Strands of coral, jet, and gold beads hung loosely in wide loops across her chest.
Then it hit me. It wasn't her that radiated power. It was that necklace. Now that I'd pinpointed it, it was almost painful to tear myself away from it.
"We're not here for drinks," Ares informed her in a dangerously quiet voice.
"Why don't we cut to the chase?" I said. "You're some kind of witch?"
"No," she replied evenly, not even bothering to look up as she wiped the counter. "You?"
"No," I answered.
Second after second, wasted in this useless dance. They ticked by, each one like thunder in my ears. But if I didn't handle this situation just right, I wouldn't get the help Darren needed.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Maria,'" she replied.
Ares stiffened beside me. It took me a moment to realize why. Maria wasn't cleaning anymore. Her hands had disappeared under the bar.
"You can let go of the gun," I told her. "We're not here for trouble."
"Is that right?" she said.
"Wouldn't do much good anyway," Ares warned her grimly.
She didn't seem particularly concerned by that.
"Maria, my name is Hera," I said. "And I'm not a witch. I'm a god."
Her eyes went wide. Finally, something had caught her attention.
"Him?" she asked, lifting her chin. Her voice had a slight tremble.
She was tough, but she was smart enough to realize how dangerous gods could be.
"Ares," he rumbled.
Maria took a deep breath. "What do you want?"
"Ana sent us to you," I explained. "A friend of ours needs your help."
"He's dying," she guessed.
I glanced at the clock above the bar. "In about twenty three minutes."
"You see the future," she said. She didn't say anything for a long time. "I'm sorry, but, goddess or not, it's already too late for me to help you."
Maria had started to shake. That wasn't good. Facing two gods was terrifying, powerful necklace or not, and fear made people stupid.
"We're not asking for your help," Ares growled. "We're telling you. Save our friend. Or we will make you live just long enough to regret it."
Before I could stop her, Maria whipped out the shotgun she was holding under the bar. But Ares was just as fast. He leapt over the bar. She fired. Blood sprayed. The two crashed into the shelves of booze behind the bar, spraying splinters of glass and wood everywhere.
Ares stood. He cracked his neck. The gaping wound in his chest was already knitting itself together.
"Have you completely lost your mind?" I raged. "We need her. Alive!"
"She wasn't going to help us," Ares shot back. "She needed to know we're serious."
"I don't want excuses," I snapped. "I want results. Now, help her up."
But Maria was already getting up. She moved gingerly, but that she could move at all should have been impossible. Ares was massive, and he'd launched himself at her like a human battering ram. No one got up from that uninjured, unless they were very lucky, or ...
Magick.
Maria dusted off the glass and wood from her vest. "I don't care who or what you are. No one threatens me in my place. Both of you, get out!"
The winos at the bar were still blinking dumbly, trying to make sense of what had just happened. But they were far too gone to make much sense of anything.
"Go! Now!" I ordered.
Whether they were actually listening to me or just misinterpreting Maria, the drunks obediently got to their feet and stumbled out the door.
"I meant you, not them," Maria growled.
"I know what you meant," I said. "Let's try this again. But this time, I'll do the talking, and everyone else will do the listening."
Ares and Maria glared at each other, but I continued before either of them could object.
"If you're as powerful as I think you are, you must've felt that there are forces marshalling in your world. Bad things. Monsters," I said. "And while you might have enough power to protect yourself, not everyone does."
"Other people are not my problem," Maria replied.
But I knew what heartless really was, really sounded like, and Maria wasn't it.
"Maybe not," I said. "But I think you care about what happens to them anyway. Otherwise, you wouldn't help the people Ana sends to you."
Maria said nothing. But I'd said all I could say. I couldn't force her. She had to do this on her own.
"This is big, isn't it?" Maria sighed.
"The biggest," I assured her.
She studied me for a very long time. It killed me to just stand there. But I had no choice.
"We have to act quickly," she decided finally.
"Just tell us what you need," I said.
"I have what I need in the back," Maria replied. "Except the key ingredient."
"Which is?" Ares pressed impatiently.
He just couldn't contain himself, even with me standing over him.
"Years," she answered.
The grin that slowly spread across her face was ghoulish. It didn't belong on her face. It didn't belong to her at all. To any mortal.
"Years?" I echoed.
"No one can stop death," she continued. "But I can delay it. I can feed death something in exchange. A trade. Like tossing a guard dog a fat, juicy steak."
"And what death wants is time," I guessed.
Maria nodded. "And death doesn't care who it comes from. Time is time."
"So, use your own years," Ares growled.
Maria laughed humourlessly. "What makes you think my years aren't already spoken for? Besides, if I did that, I wouldn't be able to perform the ritual to make the trade. The process of peeling years away is ... draining."
"Take the years from one of these," Ares offered, looking down at his body.
Maria cocked her head. She stared at me. No. Not at me. Past me.
I felt a surge of power. But it wasn't coming from her. It was coming from behind me. But when I turned, there was nothing there.
She blinked, and the power was gone.
"It won't work," she said. "You can't make a deal with someone else's body. The years have to be given freely by the one they belong to."
"Then what are we supposed..." I started. But then I stopped.
I looked at Ares and nodded. We both knew what needed to be done. He bowed and left the bar.
"I'll get ready," Maria said. "Bring me the sacrifice. But don't wait too long. He doesn't like to be kept waiting."
Before I could say anything, Maria stalked out from behind the bar and disappeared into a room to the right, shutting the door behind her.
Ares came back in with Jason.
"Go stand guard with Demeter," I ordered Ares.
He hesitated. He wanted to stay. But I was far beyond caring what Ares wanted.
Seeing my face harden, Ares clenched his jaw, but he obediently stormed out.
"Ares told me you needed something?" Jason asked.
I nodded.
"I'll do whatever you need," he promised. "I'm really sorry about before. You know, fainting and everything. I don't know what...it won't happen again. I'm not normally weak like that."
I smiled. "I know. Your powers are very demanding. That's not your fault. You'll get used to them."
He smiled back.
And my smile disappeared. "There's a woman here who can help us. With magick. Darren will die if she doesn't do something soon."
"So what do you need me for?" Jason asked.
"The only way to save Darren's life is to make a trade," I explained. "Someone's years for his. Like a blood donation, but a donation of life."
"Wait. What are you saying?" Jason replied, eyes widening. "You want me to ..."
"Give up some of your life for him," I finished.
I tried to sound neutral, but there was no way to casually tell someone that they had to die a lot sooner tha
n they should.
Jason didn't say anything. He just stared at the floor.
"I offered myself and Ares, but we don't count," I said. "We're borrowing these bodies. We don't have our own years to give."
Jason nodded, like all of this made some kind of sense.
"How..." his voice broke, and he cut himself off. He took a moment, and then tried again. His voice was slightly steadier this time. "How many years are we talking about?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "That's up to you, I guess."
"Would, like, a year be enough?" he asked. "Is that enough time to defeat Ekhidna?"
I took a deep breath. I looked at the clock. Then I looked back at Jason.
"I don't know," I confessed. "Maybe. The truth is that Ekhidna can't ever be destroyed. We can stop her, like we've been doing for ... more time than you could possibly understand. But we can't kill her. It will never really be over."
Jason ran a trembling hand through his hair.
"There's more," I admitted. "The amulets that gave you your powers. We don't have many. We didn't want to risk creating them in case they fell into the wrong hands somehow, and the process to create them takes a vast amount of time and comes at a steep cost."
"I don't ..." Jason started.
"I'm telling you this because," I interrupted, "we can't make any more. The only one who can make them is Hephaestus, and he betrayed us. Once an amulet is used once, it can't be used again."
"So what you're saying," Jason said slowly, "is that you need Darren to live as long as possible."
"Yes," I said finally. "That's what I'm saying."
Jason was silent. Then, without warning, he started to shake. I reached out a hand. But then I realized he wasn't shaking. He was laughing.
"Are you kidding me?" he demanded, still laughing as tears fell from his eyes. "I mean, are you freaking kidding me? You want me to give up half my life for him. For Darren. Do you have any frigging idea who that guy is? Who he really is? What he's done to me? To my friends? Every day. Every single day. He makes my life miserable. He makes fun of me. He beats me up. Those guys picking on me in class? His best buddies. And what you saw is nothing compared to what they usually do. Nothing! That guy is a jerk! I hate him! Do you get that? I hate him! I want him to die! I want him to suffer and die!"
I was silent. Jason wasn't laughing anymore. He was crying. And I let him.
Hera, Queen of Mortals (Goddess Unbound) Page 8
