by Unknown
my life.
It was as if the fall had knocked all the rage right out of her. She
didnt hate Lucas at all. She felt the pressure of his arms lying
across her back increase slightly, quickly, and then relax again.
The suns coming up, Lucas said after a while. Hopefully, my
family will be able to see us now.
All I can see is your chest out of my right eye and mounds of
sand out of my left. Where are we?
At the bottom of our impact crater on the last bit of beach before
Great Point Light at the absolute tip of the narrowest strip of sand
on the northernmost end of Nantucket Island.
So . . . easy to find, Helen quipped.
Practically in my backyard, Lucas joked, and then flinched
painfully when he laughed. He went quiet for a moment before
speaking again. Who are you? he finally asked.
Im Helen Hamilton, she replied hesitantly, not sure what he
was getting at. She wished she could see his face.
Your fathers name is Hamilton, but thats not your House, he
said. Helen could feel the capital H in the word House just from
the inflection he used. You would normally have taken your mothers
Scion name rather than your fathers mortal one. Who was
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she? he asked as though he had been meaning to ask her that
question all night.
Beth Smith.
Beth Smith. Right, he said sarcastically.
What?
Well, Smith is obviously an alias.
You dont know that. You dont know anything about her. How
can you say that isnt my mothers name? Helen asked, getting
defensive.
She had never even known her mother, and here was this
stranger assuming he knew more than she did. It cut Helen a little
to have to admit to herself that perhaps he did. For the first time in
hours, she was also hyperaware of the fact that she was lying on
top of him, and she didnt want to be anymore. She tried to put
pressure on her forearm but a searing pain informed her that there
would be none of that. After a few feeble attempts to roll off of him
she gave up. She could feel him smiling, and his arms tensing to
hold on to her just in case she managed to get away.
I know your mother wasnt named Smith because you can fly,
Helen, now hold still. Youre hurting me, he said frankly.
Sorry, she said, suddenly realizing that hed taken the brunt of
her weight when they hit the ground. His injuries were probably
far worse than hersand hers were awful.
As she watched the sand turn gray, then pink, then coral with the
rising sun, Helen thought that this was the second dawn she had
seen in as many days. Of the two, she much preferred this one. She
was in far more pain, but she was also alive and completely free
from anger. Helen hadnt realized how heavy the burden of hate
had been until she was allowed to put it down.
She heard a voice calling for Lucas, and although she knew they
were in danger lying helpless in that pit, she didnt want to be
found. What if the Furies came back with the rest of the family?
Here! Lucas called weakly.
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Wait, Helen pleaded. What if they still see the Furies when
they look at me? I cant defend myself in this state.
No one will hurt you, he promised, his arms tightening slightly
around her.
Hector . . . she began.
. . . would have to get through me first, he said resolutely.
Uh, Lucas? she said leadingly, not wanting to insult him by
pointing out the obvious.
Yeah, he replied with a chuckle, catching her drift. I know Im
not exactly Secret Service material right now, but trust me. I wont
let any of them harm younot even big, bad Hector. He isnt as
terrible as you think, you know. He managed to tilt his head to the
side enough to meet Helens eyes.
Youre his cousin. You have to think the best of him.
Ill leave it up to you, then. I cant hide us, but I wont call out to
them if you dont want me to, he said, and let his head roll back
out of her sight.
They lay there listening to his family call his name over and over,
but Lucas kept his word. He didnt make a sound, although he did
flinch when he heard Cassandras exhausted voice. She sounded
desperate and frightened. They all did. And Helen was to blame.
After a few more moments she couldnt stand it any longer.
Here! Helen yelled as hard as she could. Were over here!
Are you sure? Lucas asked carefully.
No. She chuckled nervously before calling out again, this time
with Lucass help.
There was a lot of yelling from down the beach, and the sound of
feet pounding across the sand. Then Helen felt Lucas try to reposition
his head to look at someone standing above them.
Hi, Dad, he said apologetically.
Castor muttered some kind of oath that Helen didnt recognize,
but the meaning was clear enough. Then he starting giving orders,
and Helen felt someone thud down next to her.
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My gods, Ariadne whispered to herself. Helen? Im going to try
to roll you off, okay? But first Im going to have to try to speed up
the healing of your bones a bit. It will feel a little hot, but dont be
afraid, healing is one of my and Jasons talents. Jase, come and do
her legs, she called up.
Helen felt another thud, and then she felt the twins slide their
hands gently down along her arms and legs. There was a burning
sensation inside Helens bones that was nearly unbearable, and it
made her wonder if she would be better off without any healing.
Right before she begged them to stop, the burning mercifully
ended. The twins counted to three and gingerly flipped her onto
her back like she was a runny pancake. Helen tried to be brave, but
she couldnt stop a scream from slipping out. Every muscle, every
inch of skin, every bone in her body was lit up with pain as though
someone had filled her bloodstream with flaming-hot shards of
glass.
She gritted her teeth and took deep, calming breaths before she
felt like she had enough control to open her eyes. When she did,
she saw Ariadnes luminous hazel eyes, fringed with the same incredibly
long lashes as Jasons, looking down at her with compassion.
She studied Helens face carefully, and then gave her a tired
smile. Helen thought Ariadne looked drained, as if what she had
done for Helen had cost her. Her bow-shaped lips were ashy instead
of their usual cherry red and her long, chestnut hair stuck to
her perspiring cheeks.
Dont worry. Your face is already going back to its right shape.
Youll be your usual, exquisite self by nightfall, she said, smoothing
Helens hair comfortingly. Keep still. Ill be right back.
Helen glanced around. For the first time she could see where she
and Lucas had spent the night. It took a moment to regist
er that
they were in a hole in the ground that was at least five feet deep
and three times that wide, and it took even longer to register that
the hole had been made by their bodies when they fell. She felt
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water seep into her clothes as it leached up from the damp sand,
and realized that Lucas must have been lying in a cold puddle all
night. She rolled her head to the side so she could look at him.
There was a faint Helen-shaped dent running down the length of
his body, and his chest was nearly caved in from the weight of her
head and shoulders. His face was pinched up in a grimace. He
hummed to himself a little as if to try to give his vocal cords
something to do other than howl. His father hovered over him,
looking Lucas directly in the eye and talking softly. She saw Lucas
give a tiny nod, bite his lower lip, then take a deep breath and
strain. His chest expanded into a more normal shape, and then Lucas
suddenly let his breath out and panted as if he had just lifted a
great weight. A tear trickled out of the corner of his eye and ran into
his hair.
His father said something reassuring and then pulled himself
smoothly out of the hole and started talking strategy with Hector.
After a few moments of getting his breathing right, Lucas rolled his
head to the side so he could look back at Helen.
I think the worst is over, he said, squeezing her hand. She
hadnt realized that they had joined hands, but it felt right to her.
She squeezed back gently and smiled. He looked horrible. Much
worse than Helen could have guessed.
Piece of cake, she said blithely, trying to distract him. So what
are you doing next Friday night?
What have you got in mind?
We could try hitting each other with cars, she suggested
cheerfully.
Did that last weekend with Jase, he said with mock regret.
Go to the zoo and throw ourselves to the lions? she fired back
quickly, desperate to keep him focused on her rather than his
caved-in chest.
The Romans sort of wore that one out. Got anything original?
Ill think of something, she warned him.
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Cant wait, he breathed, and then turned his face away as he
rode another shivering wave of pain.
Hey! Little help? Helen yelled, her voice sliding up to a shriek
as she watched Lucas shake. Lucas isnt doing so hot!
No, he isnt doing so hot, Cassandra said in a hoarse, bitter
voice from somewhere around Helens feet. Helen hadnt realized
that anyone was in the hole with them while she and Lucas held
hands and cracked jokes, but she had the feeling that Cassandra
didnt like what she had seen.
Lower the boards down, its time to move them, Cassandra
called up to her father, as if she was the one in charge.
Helens eyes widened in shock that any thirteen-year-old would
speak like that to her elders, let alone be obeyed, but the boards
were quickly lowered down without a word of comment. Jason and
Ariadne eased Helen and Lucas onto the long planks and told them
to hold still. The twins ran their glowing hands an inch above Lucass
body, and Helen saw him grit his teeth as they sped up his
healing. Just when she thought Lucas was about to start screaming,
the twins stopped, looked at each other in silent communication,
and then nodded exhaustedly. They had both lost so much
color their cheeks looked gray to Helen, but they also seemed
strangely happy, like nothing gave either of them more pleasure
than helping someone else. Helen tried to thank them, but Ariadne
told her to save her strength.
Helen and Lucas were kept level as they were raised out of the
crater and loaded side by side in the back of the same giant SUV
that Helen had had so many uncharitable thoughts about. Now
that it was her ambulance, she made a silent promise to never rag
on big trucks again.
Castor was behind the wheel and anxious to get moving. The
longer they stayed on the beach the higher the sun got, and the
more opportunity there was for them to be discovered. Cassandra
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came with them, but Jason, Ariadne, and Hector stayed behind to
fill in the crater and leave the beach looking as normal as possible.
Cant we just put a lump of rock in the middle and pretend it
was an asteroid? Helen heard Hector ask, exhausted.
Do you think that would work? Jason put in, perking up at the
prospect of seeing his bed an hour or so sooner.
No, Cassandra said decisively. This part of the island is a
nature preserve. There are scientists all over the place. They would
know the rock didnt come from space.
Jason and Hector gave identical groans and immediately went
back to work. Again, Cassandras opinion went unquestioned.
Helen had always tacitly assumed that Lucas was the leader of the
kids and that his father, Castor, was the leader of the whole family,
but now she thought maybe there was another, less traditional dynamic
at work in the Delos family. When Cassandra spoke, everyone
listenedincluding Castor. And apparently, Cassandra didnt
need the influence of the Furies to dislike Helen. Which reminded
her . . .
I dont see the Furies! Helen suddenly exclaimed out loud.
None of us do, replied Castor in a pensive voice. Helen heard a
leathery squeak as he twisted around in his seat to look back at
them. Well figure it out later. You two need your rest for now.
She couldnt argue with that; in fact, she could barely keep her
eyes open. As soon as she heard the soporific purr of the engine
she nodded off exactly like a fussy baby on a car trip.
She woke up in a big, white bed as the sun was going down. The
rooms window framed the sky, which was doing things with color
that all the island painters had to be going bananas over.
She wiggled her toes. When that worked out okay she propped
herself up on her arms and got into a sitting position. Swinging her
legs out of bed, she realized that she was in someone elses nightgown
and she wasnt wearing anything underneath it. She knew
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she was recovering from a near-death experience, but she was still
bashful enough to blush. The nightgown was actually more what
Helen would call a nightie, as gowns were generally much longer
and more opaque. Testing her feet on the floor was enough to wipe
her modesty away, however, and her startled cry was quickly
answered with a welcome helping hand.
Easy. Here, hold on to me, said Ariadne. Wow, I cant believe
how fast youre healing. But still, you should lie down for a bit
longer.
She tried to get her to lie back, but Helen stayed perched on the
edge of the bed and took a few breaths.
I kinda cant, she replied, looking up at Ariadne sheepishly.
Bathroom, huh? Okay, she tittered nervously. Ill carry you.
Just dont pee on me.
situation as humorous as possible so Helen would feel more comfortable.
It was something Claire would have done. Helen was still
embarrassed, but with a few jokes and little bit of tact, they both
made it through.
Is it all right if I check and see how youre healing? Ariadne
asked politely when Helen was settled back in the bed. It would
mean that I would have to lay my hands on you, and I want to
make sure youre okay with that.
You just watched me pee, Helen responded with an embarrassed
laugh. So, yeah, Im okay with a checkup. But waitis it going
to hurt?
Not at all. Im just going to take a peek, not grow cells. Thats
what really hurts you. If its any consolation, its no picnic for me,
either. So exhausting, Ariadne said with a smile as she pushed
Helen, making her lie down.
Okay, Helen said uncertainly. She rested against the pillows
and waited for the pain that she suspected was soon to follow, despite
Ariadnes optimistic denial.
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Ariadne put her hands on Helens ribs and concentrated. Helen
felt a faint vibrating sensation, like she was standing in front of an
enormous subwoofer, but, as promised, it didnt hurt at all. After a
few moments, Ariadne lifted her hands and looked at Helen.
I couldnt ask for a better patient, she said with a beaming
smile. After seeing how much damage you and Luke sustained, I
had my doubts. But youre going to be just fine.
Thank you, Helen said earnestly. For the healing and helping
me . . .
And thank you for not peeing on me. Ariadne laughed as a
beautiful pixie of a woman in her late twenties popped her head
around the half-open door.
You two are having way too much fun to be in a sickroom, she
said with a mischievous look in her yellowish cat eyes. Helen had a
feeling that those eyes were usually filled with some kind of
worldly mischief, and she instantly liked her for it. It reminded her
of Kate. She entered the room, tinkling like a shaken bag of loose
change. She had short, spiky hair. Helen noticed that her wrists
were buried under layer upon layer of glittering bangle bracelets,
and although Helen couldnt see them, she could hear that the womans
ankles probably had a few bits of jewelry wrapped around
