by Nicole Thorn
Celeste started walking away, stopping to wave to the little group, faking care for Jasmine. She only stayed for a few seconds, but she touched Zander’s arm, beaming at him as she said goodbye.
Here we go again.
I left to go and get Jasper so he could check on his sister. Zander applied the ointment to her legs and wouldn’t let her do a thing for herself. She stayed on his lap and was set on the couch for the few times he needed to get up. Poor Jasmine was in for this until she was fully healed. I hoped she liked Zander enough to be okay with that.
When Jasmine dozed off, Jasper and I went back to his studio. We sat in very comfortable silence while he worked and I watched him. I still didn’t know why I liked it so much. Something about watching nothing become transformed into a recognizable thing.
When I got tired again, I laid on his couch. I still watched him working. Shifting things around and sculpting little details out on the pieces. As I was falling asleep, I had a bunch of scattered thoughts. Some of Celeste and if she would come back. And their father. I kind of wanted to go over to his place with Zander and fix up the fence and mailbox ourselves. It would be fun to strike fear in him. Shooting a nail-gun into soft places on him. Jasper probably wouldn’t like that very much. It was still a pretty image.
I shut them all out and just thought of Jasper as I was closing my eyes. I thought of a version of me that was a little braver. One that could handle all of the things I wanted to do with him. The things I was really hoping I would find a way to do. I knew he was fine like this, but I wasn’t. I wanted to give him everything I had to offer. He deserved that much, being with a mess like me.
I just had to believe I would get better for him. Keep moving forward. Always.
27: Remember When We Only had to Deal with Humans?
Jasper
Jasmine had to hobble around on crutches that she dubbed ‘hell on two wobbly legs.’ Zander offered to carry her all over the house, but she declined, because she was a modern woman, who didn’t need a man’s help. After she said that, she also started laughing hysterically, so I’m pretty sure it was sarcastic.
Or the drugs they gave her. She’d been on the drugs the doctors prescribed and whatever Kezia had been giving her. So she wasn’t in pain and she was high. She was staring at the ceiling as I came down for breakfast and she looked so concerned, that I stopped to talk with her. I should have known better. “You okay, Jazz?” I asked.
She shook her head. “The ceiling is moving. Like a lot. What if there are multi-dimensional rats, that can kind of be on this plain, but not really and they’re looking down at me, thinking I’d make a tasty treat?”
“You’re very high, aren’t you?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Not high. Not high at all. I tripped on my crutches,” she laughed. “I went to stand up and the crutch fell right from under my arm, clattering to the floor… I don’t like these pills…” she said. “They make me clumsy and—AH! The rats are gonna eat me!” She ducked her head under the pillow.
I looked up and saw Zander standing in the doorway, holding a mug of what was probably hot chocolate, since Jasmine didn’t like coffee. “Do me a favor? Don’t let her take any more of those pills. I don’t know what they prescribed her, but it’s not doing her any good.” My sister whimpered again, still ducked under the cushions. I was pretty sure she mumbled something about rats, as well.
Zander nodded. “No worries. This is still last night’s dose. No more after she finally comes down from this.” He sat down on the edge of the chair and said, “Jazzy? You wanna look at me?” He was turning out to be a pretty good nurse for my sister, at least if the last twelve hours were any indication.
My sister peeked out from behind her pillow. “They’re gonna eat me. I don’t wanna be eaten. It sounds unpleasant and the idea that I’ll eventually be poop is even more unpleasant. Why do the rats wanna eat me?”
“You’re high,” Zander said. “There are not rats out to eat you and if there were, I’d protect you like the Dread Pirate Roberts. Although, I’d expect you to be more helpful than Buttercup. She was quite useless and I suspect you wouldn’t be able to stand by while I fight rats for you.”
She shook her head. “Of course not. I’m high?”
“Very.”
“I don’t like this,” she announced. “Everything is fuzzy and too sharp. Is that chocolate?” Zander handed it over and she came out of hiding behind the pillow. She took a hearty sip, seemingly unconcerned by the possibly scalding temperature and smiled. “Choc-o-late…”
Zander pat her head. Assuming that she was now in good hands, I left them to it. I had only come into the main house because I needed to shower. Kezia had woken up as well and hopped into the bathroom after me. Juniper, to my knowledge, was still passed out in her room. She hadn’t been doing well last night. She had lost herself in the vision and to her, it felt like she was the one hurting us all. After Kezia fell asleep, I had gone upstairs and read The Cat in the Hat until she fell asleep. It may sound odd that the book comforted her so much, but mostly, I was just happy there was something that could bring her down.
In my studio, I opened the garage door. It was heavily overcast, but the rain hadn’t started to fall yet. It would, soon. The clouds were thick and dark. Obscuring the sun. It looked beautiful to me.
Kezia entered the garage. I knew it was her by the smell of the shampoo and the lightness of the footsteps. She came right up and stood next to me, looking at the sky. “So, one Fury to go. Are you worried she’s going to show up here?”
“I don’t know if I should be,” I said, rubbing one of my shoulders. I was pretty bruised up and sore from yesterday. Partially because of Kezia throwing me, but mostly from taking that swing. Adrenaline had pushed me, but my body isn’t used to throwing around that much muscle. My shoulders were tight and achy. The bruises were light.
I wasn’t nearly as bad off as my sisters. The demigods healed super-quick, so they were back to normal, but Jasmine had a couple of weeks before that leg would be all right, what with the stitches and all. She had scrapes up and down her arms. Zander had to Charm the nurses and doctors into thinking everything was okay. And I’m sure Juniper would be having nightmares about the vision. I couldn’t imagine the horror of thinking I was killing my siblings and not being able to stop myself.
Kezia cleared her throat. “Jasmine said something about rats in the ceiling?”
I laughed, I couldn’t help it. “She thinks they’re from another dimension and that they’re going to take her away and eat her. Zander seems pretty adamant about taking care of her himself, so I’m giving him free reign.”
Kezia nodded. “That’s probably a good thing. She’ll be taken care of to within an inch of her life, but she won’t hurt herself trying to do something else.”
“Does that scare you?” I asked. When she looked at me blankly, I said, “That I’m human. Does it scare you that I’m not as tough as you and Zander are?”
“Yes. It does,” she said, simply. “But not enough to make me go away.”
“Good. Jasmine would chase you and then Juniper and I would have to chase her. It would get crazy, really fast.”
“You wouldn’t chase me?”
“If you wanted to get away? No. I may call you so many times that you have to change your number and I don’t suggest telling me your new address, because I’d send over things that you don’t want and don’t need. I’m starting to think that I’m very needy and that doesn’t sound attractive… Oh, well. I guess you’re stuck with me. If you try to leave, I’ll just take my shirt off and I don’t know, do pushups or some—”
Kezia cut me off by grabbing ahold of my shoulders and yanking my face down to hers. Her lips were soft as ever, like laying my mouth against velvet, rather than flesh and she tasted, just the tiniest bit, like strawberries. I smiled around the kiss, but it only lasted a couple of seconds before smiling became a hindrance.
Her mouth pried mine open and our to
ngues met. Heat blasted through me, as I deepened the kiss even more. My hands dug into her hips until she made a sound. Not of protest. I had her pushed up against me, so that every inch of her was against me. Her hands on my chest and her hips lined up with mine, so that she could feel the stirring of arousal.
Her hands locked onto my shoulders and she pulled herself up, until her feet weren’t on the ground anymore. I knew this was where we usually got into trouble, so I put her back down. “Hold on,” I said. She looked confused and definitely worried, but relaxed when I hit the button for the garage door. “No need for us to give the neighbors a free show,” I said.
Heat flared in her cheeks. This, naturally, did nothing to make me calm down. I took her hand and walked her over to the couch. If she couldn’t wrap her legs around my waist, then she’d be less likely to panic. I didn’t want her to panic. I sat on the couch and pulled her towards me. Those velvety lips hit mine again and a groan rose up my throat before I could stop it.
Immediately, it got hotter, heavier. She shoved me back against the couch and I smiled. “You’re a little rough,” I said, nipping gently at her lower lip. If I had been concerned that that was too much, I would have been delighted when her eyes sparked happily.
“Is that bad?” she asked, as she was crawling up my chest. It was with genuine concern, but it amused me that she was still all over me, while she was asking it. I’m not sure I could have gotten up off the couch, even if I wanted to.
“Not at all,” I said.
She smiled and it was wickeder than anything she’d given me before. She pushed her body against mine until I was flat on my back, on the couch and she was on top of me. Her breasts pressed against my chest. One of her legs was in between mine and the other was curled around my hip.
Hands still tight on her hips, I went from nipping at her lip, to trailing kissing and little bites down her jaw. She made sounds that I would remember for all of eternity as I did it. I’m not sure if she was aware, but her hips were moving against mine, as well. Creating friction that was getting harder and harder to ignore. She had to be aware of how turned on I was.
And I knew, by the way that her fingers bit into my shoulder and the way she kept moving, gaining speed, that she was quickly reaching that wall where she would panic. I grabbed her hips and stopped the motion. She stared down at me, her eyes wild and yes there was a little fear in there, so small that I could barely see it, but mostly she was just confused. “Wha…?
“Unless you want this to go much farther, I suggest we stop,” I said. My voice was deeper than normal and strained. Well, if there wasn’t very obvious evidence pressed against her hip, then I feel like my voice would have been enough.
“Oh… Um… Okay,” she said. I think she was just realizing how close she came to going too far for her sanity. She climbed off me, her cheeks still flushed and her nipples tight. She crossed her arms over them. When I didn’t get up, she shuffled her feet. “Um… Do you need anything?”
“Unless you’re willing to get me a cold water bottle to shove between my legs, I’m good,” I said.
She laughed, a startled sound that pleased me. Kneeling down, she kissed my forehead, but it wasn’t quite enough for me, so I captured her lips. About ten minutes later, we were in pretty much the same position we had been in when we stopped and we had to stop again. This time, she was the one that called it off. She hopped to her feet and cleared her throat. “I’m gonna go check on Inigo. You said he was out of the kiln?”
I nodded and pointed. Definitely needed a minute. Normally, with anyone else, this would have been awkward. The girl going off, completely fine after a make out session, while I tried to get my hard-on to go away. With her, it wasn’t so bad. Maybe because she was still flushed, or because she was kind enough not to comment. I don’t know. When I was finally ready to walk away without being in pain, I got up and made my way over to the station.
“He turned out really good,” I said, looking at the sad clown that Kezia was checking out. She was gently touching all the shiny surfaces. She had given him pale blue hair, the color of cotton candy and his nose was bright and shiny.
“I like him,” she finally said. “He’s not as good as your stuff, obviously, but I like him.”
“I look forward to putting him on the wall,” I said, gesturing to the space cleared for the clown. Kezia glared at me, but I was already working on finding the hook that would keep him from falling and shattering on the ground. “Glare all you want, it’s happening.”
She rolled her eyes, but allowed me to put him up.
There was a polite knock on the garage door. I looked at it, curiously. No one has ever knocked on the garage door before. Not even Celeste, who used to come in through the backdoor to avoid my sisters. I hit the button, since there was no other way to see who it was. The door trundled up and…
“Meg?” Kezia said.
There were two Furies standing in my driveway. I had to blink, twice, to see them correctly. Seers were sensitive to the camouflage that nonhumans use. The Furies have two forms, so that’s not camo, but at the same time, it can mess with us Seers. Make them look blurry around the edges, because they’re more than they seem.
The women stepping into the garage were otherworldly, in the same way that Kezia was. Too beautiful to be human. One, I knew, was the first Fury we killed. Her name was Meg and she was hanging back. The other Fury strode forward and by deduction, I assumed she was the one that died the day before. Great…
The Fury stopped about two yards from us and said. “Where are the others of your party?”
“Uh, inside,” Kezia said. “You want me to go get them?” The Fury nodded and Kezia hopped up and rushed inside. I took that to mean she assumed I was safe from them. She wouldn’t have left me to die by Fury.
About two minutes later, Zander and Juniper came out. I’m glad they left Jasmine inside. She was in no condition to be out here. “Hey… Fury,” Juniper said. “In our garage.”
The Fury smiled. “I am Alecto.” She was tall, like her sister and curvy to boot. Enough that the simple dress she was wearing clung to her in a way that would have men and women turning to look at her no matter where she went. Long black hair hung in curls down her back and her eyes were ice blue. Cold, cold eyes. I’ve never seen eyes that pale other than on a Siberian husky.
“Well, Alecto,” Zander said. “What are you doing here?” The suspicion in his voice was clear. Sure, we knew that Megaera had come by before and everything turned out okay, but he’s been a little paranoid ever since my sister had been attacked. Since my sister had been attacked, I was okay with his paranoia.
Alecto smiled and it was just as sharp and cold as her eyes. Some long ago memory knocked loose and I remembered that she specialized in anger. Looking at her now, I had no trouble believing it. Anger can run hot and violent, but the truly scary kind is the cold, patient. The kind that can wait decades to be satisfied. The kind of anger that Alecto’s smile hinted at.
It was almost surprising when she said, “I’ve come to absolve you. All of you. My sisters each need to forgive you for your crimes and declare them just, for you to be free of us.”
“What?” Kezia said, looking at Megaera. “You didn’t think to mention this the last time you came by?” She must’ve felt brave if she’d willing to talk to a Fury in such a way.
Megaera smiled. “Why mention it? I know my sisters and I trusted that they would forgive you for your crimes. We have failed you and it is the only thing that can be given. Forgiveness. Therefore, why should I worry you over little details like that?”
“Oh, because we have to kill your third sister and she might not be so keen on that,” Kezia said.
Alecto waved a hand that had long, delicate fingers. “Worry not. Tisiphone will not begrudge you her death, if you are in fact able to deliver that death,” she said. “I’m quite shocked that you managed to kill me and Megaera. Tisiphone is the one you should worry about, though. She is the one th
at alerted us to your presence and her desire to kill you is… quite large.” Alecto spoke with almost no emotion in her voice. It sent chills across my skin and the cold eyes only added to it.
Kezia and Zander looked at each other. They had killed two Furies, but both times had nearly been cut down in the process. They had lost their home and had been put through the emotional wringer. It somehow seemed so unfair. They’ve suffered enough, why should they suffer more?
“Why are all of you in Seattle anyway?” Zander asked. “Aren’t there a lot of places you should be taking care of?”
Alecto and Megaera didn’t look at each other, but I got the sense they were communicating in some one. By the amusement in the tilt of Alecto’s mouth, I assumed that it was at our expense. “Should we separate?” she asked. “Would you remove yourself from your sister’s presence?”
“So you always travel together?” Kezia asked.
“No, of course not,” Alecto said. “We are older than you can imagine. There have been many times where I was away from my sisters. Many of them.”
“Then why?” Kezia asked, suddenly curious too. “Why are you here and why are demigods suddenly on the menu for killing? Don’t you think Demeter and Aphrodite would be upset if we were to die?”
Megaera said, not unkindly, “No. I do not think that. The gods have populated the earth with the demigods in the past and they are all dead now. It’s the oddest thing. You’d think the children of a god would be hard to kill, but they seem to meet their end rather quickly, rather often.” She looked saddened by the words, but she spoke them as utter fact. Looking at the mythologies Juniper had uncovered, I understood why.
“Is there a reason you’re here?” Kezia asked again, ignoring the comment on her mortality.
Alecto smiled, thinly. “There’s a reason for everything. Even if it’s a small one.” Then the Furies were gone. Disappearing into thin air. I blinked. I hadn’t been aware that Furies could do that.
