Intrigue (20 page)

His loud laugh rang out again as I put my hand over his mouth. He kissed my hand then posed a question to me to better explain. “Do garlic, holy water, and stakes hurt you?”

“Well, a stake through the heart would.”

“Just as a stake directly through the heart
might
kill me. We are harder to kill because we are harder to catch. We also mend faster. As for the trifecta, my favorite wings at BW3 are Spicy Garlic. And, I could bathe in Holy Water or drink it, and it would feel wonderful. I am a god by trade.”

“Why keep yourself a secret if you’re so harmless, and you’re just a bunch of night owls?” I demanded.

“We are far from harmless, and humans still out number us. So it would either cause a war, or they would try to oppress us. And the basic fact is although we are at the top of the food chain, we need you to survive—that gives you power. Finally, your race is an unpredictable one. We cannot anticipate what you would do or how you would handle it. We have more power and control by staying in the shadows and living in symbiosis with humans.”

“What would stop someone from going to the Detroit Free Press tomorrow and announcing that immortals exist,” I asked.

“Other than that person sounding crazy and having no proof, nothing I guess. As you can see, we blend in. We have rules that govern our interactions with humans. If you are a human-made vampyre, we generally send you far from home once your age becomes an issue. During the night, we protect our palaces and playgrounds, so only the humans that we want in are let in. During the day, they look like the deserted buildings.”

While he was discussing immortal lore with me, he had unconsciously started to play with my hair. I began to wonder if Olympians had other special powers. So I inquired, “Is minding reading another one of your godly gifts,” I teased.

He first looked down at his hands gently touching my hair and then up at my eyes with a grin that sent shivers up my spine. He seemed to understand what I was asking, “Human-made vampyre have no additional talents beyond their usual evolutionary advantages. Demigods have other talents like Proteus has affinity for the sea. He has some control over currents, creatures, and conditions. Whereas, his sire, the Olympian Poseidon, has more control over the same elements.”

“So, Mr. Pro Athlete, what is your special talent?” I quietly inquired.

He hesitated, looked directly at me, and said, “I am known as the Messenger of the Gods and the Protector of Humans. I am at my best when serving and protecting. I generally move around since I am a messenger and a protector. However, there is great need of me in Detroit to protect humans.”

It was true that he certainly protected me this evening. However, I was a witness to immortal business, and witnesses had memory loss. So I tentatively fretted, “What do you do with witnesses to demigod extracurricular activities? Am I about to fall asleep and wake up with memory loss?”

Rafe was both shocked and slightly offended by my question. He took my hand in both of his and velvety promised, “I can’t bite you, Siren, and I will always protect you from everything, especially from yourself.” He smiled, captured my eyes in his and kissed my hand without breaking eye contact.

It felt like my heart stopped for a second as my breath caught, and I whispered, “That is quite a job you’ve taken upon yourself, Rafe. I don’t usually need protecting, but having an immortal to watch my back will definitely make me feel protected.”

With those words, I felt a game-changing decision was made. I continued to question him, and he continued to dodge and weave about the lives of his fellow immortals in Detroit. He briefly discussed the three Graces, but my adrenaline rush was fading fast. I knew that I needed sleep and time to process before I could coherently ask more questions, so I stopped him with, “I think I have hit my freak out limit for the evening, Rafe. How about we call it a night, and we pick this up tomorrow? I was supposed to stay at Jazz’s house, but I need my own bed and own space tonight.”

Rafe slowly leaned over and kissed my forehead as he said, “I wouldn’t want you to start doubting your sanity or mine.”

I laughed and sarcastically said, “Don’t worry. This all makes perfect sense,” as I sat my seat back up.

Rafe followed my lead, and we quietly exited the SUV. We quickly made our way to the back of my house. With slightly trembling and sore legs, I stepped on a patio chair conveniently located by my tree. Rafe shook his head at me and said, “Let me handle this,” as he swept me into his arms. Somehow he managed to jump up, open my window that had been cracked, and deposit me inside in a blur of movement. Next thing I knew I was peering down on him standing on my lawn. I was pretty flockin impressed.

He grinned then stole from Shakespeare as he whispered up at me, “But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she.”

I just shook my head down at him and whispered back, “That’s not
really
the Shakespeare play you want to use as a model for our relationship.” But, just to show him that I was not a Shakespeare slacker I threw back, “The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, And the place death, considering who thou art, If any of my kinsmen find thee here.”

He blew me a kiss as he left, “Don’t worry. We are much more like Benedick and Beatrice from
Much Ado About Nothing
.

I hoped that was the case as I watched him disappear. I shut my window and went straight to where I left my comfort pajamas. As tired as I was, I needed to record the highlights of tonight’s events, or I was gonna wake up and think I had taken some club drug. I quickly typed up the bullet points of the night before I crashed into my bed face down.

Chapter 17: Jumping Off the Pedestal

A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space. —Gloria Steinem

I woke up with a start as my mom pounded on my door and yelled, “Calli, are you in there? You’re burning daylight, dear!” I felt like I had physically and mentally got my eyas kicked. Although I loved sleeping in on the weekends, noon was a little bit later than usual. I dragged myself to the door.

“Sorry mom, I came home early so I could sleep in my own bed for awhile.” I smiled at her sleepily. This was a safe lie because she liked to sleep in.

“No problem. I just have to go in soon and at least wanted to have lunch with you before I go. And the phone has been ringing off the hook for you this morning. Keyana, Jazmine, and Thrace have all called,” she said.

I didn’t want my slight panic to show so I quickly said, “Oh, Flock! I missed karate. How about I change, wash my face and brush my teeth, while you get lunch ready. I will be downstairs in ten minutes.”

“Sounds good. Your dad is doing that extra shift, so he should be back by dinner,” she commented as she started to head downstairs.

I tried to process everything that happened the night before, but it was just too early to wrap my brain around all the drama—both human and immortal—before I had my caffeine. Maybe it was all just a totally freaky dream. I saw my laptop open. As soon as I typed in my password, my journal popped up, and I knew last night was definitely not a dream. Then I spotted my phone. I had several texts from Jazz and Key, but I opened the one from Rafe first. It said, “No, it was not a dream, Beatrice” I couldn’t help but laugh.

I knew my ten minutes were passing by, and my mother would come back up to get me so I finally shuffled to the bathroom.

I grabbed my flannel pj pants to change into and bolted toward the bathroom. I needed to stay calm and in command until my mom left for work. Then, I could have my psycho-billy-freak out and go check on Thrace. After I made sure he was safe, I was going to have to decide what to do about our relationship,
again.

I hurriedly washed my face, brushed my teeth, and put on some deodorant before heading downstairs.

Mom had made her homemade macaroni and cheese, and she had put some in a bowl for both of us. As I ate, mom droned on about the procedure she had to assist with. I thought about whether I should discuss possibly breaking up with Thrace with her. I better get my mom’s take on this cause she was definitely going to hear about it. I tried to broach the subject in a general manner. “Mom, do you think a person should stay with someone that they realize they only love as a friend?”

This statement shocked mom because I generally don’t share my feelings about my personal life with her. “I don’t know, Cal. It depends on the circumstances. I think the scenario happens a lot,” she astutely replied.

“I think I need to break up with Thrace. We are just not working as a couple even though he was all I ever wanted. In reality, we just don’t match up well. But, I don’t know what to do because it would kill me to lose him as my friend.”

“Tough one, Cal. Sometimes the truth hurts, but you have to be honest with him. Maybe give him some space, but let him know that you expect to remain friends with him and you don’t want to lose him. Well, I see it’s going to be a little tense around the Edonides and Oeagrus households,” she tried to joke.

“I should probably do it sooner rather than later. I will try to head over to his house tonight. I think this might be the hardest thing I have ever done or the stupidest,” I groaned.

“Well, I have to run Calli, but let me know what happens when I get home. Can you throw the dishes in the dishwasher?” she said as she headed toward the garage not waiting for an answer.

I quickly did as she asked, then headed upstairs again. Alls I wanted to do was sleep when I got back to my room, but my cell phone was already ringing. Rafe hesitantly inquired, “How was your slumber?”

I quickly replied, “It was surreal, as was the heart-to-heart talk I just had with my mom.”

Rafe sheepishly asked, “You finally let her know that immortals exist, and you have been hanging out with one for the past month?”

I just laughed at his lame attempt at humor. I let out a breath and told him that I was thinking about breaking up with Thrace. I finally confessed, “I just don’t think it is fair to Thrace for me to have feelings for someone else and still keep him dangling. But, he’s my best friend, and it is hard to let that go.”

“I am sorry to put you in this position, Calli. I know you love Thrace. But, I don’t apologize for caring about you. Plus, it
will
be safer for Thrace to not be around you so much if you are involved with immortals. The closer he is to that world, the more dangerous his life becomes,” he said in a serious tone.

I pondered this for a minute and had to agree with him. I never wanted what happened to Thrace last night to ever happen again. “Promise me if he somehow gets caught up in that again, you will try to protect him,” I pleaded.

“Calliope, I am the Protector of Humans. That is my job, Siren.”

As I said good-bye to Rafe, I thought about my next move and what needed to happen today. I tried to block out the immortal stuff and focus on the human relationship stuff. I called Thrace’s house. Honey answered and told me that Thrace had already left to go get his car from Spart’s house. I subtly tried to ask how they were doing. Honey said that they had fallen asleep in the den like usual and managed to eat a full breakfast before they left. She said that Thrace would be home this afternoon. I felt so relieved and some of the guilt of last night left me. However, I still needed to do what was right. I was about to trade in my own personal fairy tale for a world of Greek myths and legends.

I ran upstairs and took a quick shower. My hair still smelled like smoke from the rave. Once I was feeling all clean and fresh again, I headed back to my room to choose the appropriate breaking up with boyfriend clothes options.

Rules for Appropriate Breaking Up Attire

The five-minute walk to Thrace’s house took more like ten minutes today. I tried to rehearse what I was going to say. If there was one thing I knew, it was that he was not going to give up our romantic relationship easily. I reached his lovely ornate door and knocked: decisions, decisions, decisions, SUCK.

Thrace opened the door, exhaled loudly before he said, “You are a site for sore eyes. You would not
believe
the morning I have had. Maybe you can help me clear some things up!” He then gave me a big hug that lifted me off the ground.

As he leaned down to kiss me, I stepped away and said, “We need to talk, Thrace.”

He seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and replied, “Let’s go in the den.”

As I walked toward the couch, I was flooded with what happened here a few hours ago. Thrace shut the door and turned to face me. “Thrace, what do you remember about last night?”

“Funny you should ask that. I remember driving to the rave with Justin and Spart, but then it’s all a blur. We must have been pretty messed up. I was hoping you drove us home because the car wasn’t here. What happened?” Thrace said urgently.

I reviewed my options in my head and tried to stick to the truth as much as possible, “Shortly after you got to the rave, we had a fight. We split up and the next thing I knew I saw you, Justin and Spart hooking up with these three girls. You, your friends, and the girls headed out of the dance floor to parts unknown. I went to try to find you. You had gone into an empty room with the girls to hook up. I caught a ride home. It sounds like someone dropped you guys off.” Everything that I said was true even though it was the biggest lie I ever told.