Triumph of Chaos (Red Magic) (4 page)

She nodded once, and then closed the door softly behind her. For a minute, I wanted to run after her, to hug her like I did when I was little and I thought she could fix everything. But as much as I wanted her help, I knew that my mom couldn’t clean up the mess I’d made.
It’s up to me,
I thought, trying not to panic.

Luck must have finally been on my side. Izzy was online when I logged on, and it only took a few seconds to boot up the video chat. The computer went blank for an instant, but then Izzy’s smiling face filled the screen. Her dark hair was streaked with teal and purple, and I laughed in surprise.

“The hair’s new.”

“Hello to you too. Yeah, I was bored.”

I grinned. “I like it.”

“Good, ‘cause it’s not washing out. I thought it was semi, but I think I used permanent instead.”

Shaking my head, I stood up to ward my bedroom. Once I was sure that our connection was secure, I sat back in front of the computer. “How’s Dr. Farren?”

Izzy sighed. “She’s okay. Out of everyone in the Coven, she seems the most ready to forgive you. Well, maybe.”

“That’s progress,” I tried to joke.

Izzy smiled slightly. “I’m trying, Darlena. It isn’t easy; they’re still mourning Marcus, not to mention the whole Loki thing.”

My stomach clenched when she said her brother’s name, but I tried to ignore the guilt. “I know, I know.” I sighed. “I had just hoped we’d have some help by now. It feels like we’re doing nothing.”

The screen flickered, and Izzy sounded like a dying radio.

“What did you say?”

“I asked if you’ve talked to any of the gods.” She stared at me so hard I almost flinched.

“Have you?” I didn’t want to get into the whole Persephone thing. Like my mother, Izzy had a patron she loved, and she didn’t understand the fact that I couldn’t commit to that kind of relationship.

She nodded, frowning. “Isis says the Egyptian gods are a mess. They’re all taking sides.”

I took a deep breath. “What did she say about Set?”

Izzy’s forehead puckered. “She doesn’t say much about him to me. All things considered, I don’t actually mind.”

I paused, wondering how far I should push her. “Izzy, if you remember anything from your captivity that would help us—”

The microphone screeched. “I’ve told you, I don’t remember anything. Just this feeling of being cut off from Isis, and sometimes I heard voices.” Her lower lip quivered, and I decided to drop it for now.

“Any disasters in Scotland? Has Rochelle come after you yet?”

Izzy raised her eyebrow. “No. Why do you think she’d even waste her time with me?”

“Because you helped me.” I hesitated before voicing my deepest fear. “Anyone who helps me automatically becomes her enemy.”

Izzy snorted. “I’d like to see her try. I beat her once before.” She flexed her fingers, and I thought I saw a flicker of blue surrounding her.

“Just be careful, okay?”

“Whatever, Mom.”

I glared at her impish face, grinning back at me from my computer. “I’m serious. I’ve already hurt you enough.”

She paused. “Marcus wasn’t your fault.”

Pain swelled up in my throat, and I fought back tears.
Shit. I can’t fall apart now.
I shook my head because I was afraid to say anything.

“Darlena, listen to me. He had free will; we all do. He chose to work with you. He chose his fate.” Even across the shaky Internet connection, she sounded older than fourteen. She was like that sometimes; it was easy to forget that Izzy was still just a kid.

But I couldn’t forget the way I’d destroyed her family.

I drew a ragged breath. “Okay. Fine. But I need you to be careful.”

She saluted me with a smirk. “Roger that, boss.”

“And try to remember about Set, if you can, okay?”

She was silent. Finally, she said, “I’m doing my best.”

“I know you are. I’m just frustrated. It’s like I’m fighting smoke. I don’t know what their plan is, or even which gods are involved.”

She paused, toying with a piece of her hair. “Darlena, I know you don’t want to hear it, but this might be the time to take a patron. Then you’ll get more information about the gods, at the very least.”

I glared at her. “Drop it.”

Her gaze was intense. “Fine. But I’m just trying to help.”

The chat screen went blank, and I realized that Izzy had disconnected. Feeling guilty for fighting with her, I tried to reconnect three times, and then I sent her a quick text. I couldn’t afford to alienate Izzy; I didn’t have that many people left who were willing to help me.
Besides, she’s sort of my only friend, besides Justin.

Frustrated, I flopped across my bed.
Why can’t I fix everything?
Xerxes popped out from wherever he’d been hiding to walk up and down my back for a few minutes, but eventually he got tired of it and scratched at the door. I stood up to open it, and then sat back down on my bed, totally at a loss. How was I supposed to solve anything?
All I do is cause chaos.

I squeezed my eyes tight, working to quiet my mind. Marcus’s image popped into my thoughts, and I shuddered. I’d tried to avoid thinking about him since I got home, but now, gingerly, I probed the wound. With my eyes closed, I relived the last moments of his life: the sirens going off all around us, the guard with the gun, the nuclear reactor in the background, and echoing loudly in my memory, Loki’s victorious laughter. Even with all the movies I’d seen, I had never realized how awful it was to actually watch someone die from a gunshot wound. I’d been plagued by the gruesome memory whenever I fell asleep, but that afternoon I was awake, and the scene shifted.

Marcus’s last words had been to Izzy; I knew that. But he looked at me now and spoke directly to me, his eyes locked on mine. “Avenge me.” He whispered the plea twice, and even when my eyes flew open and the memory subsided, I could still hear Marcus’s voice ringing in my ears.

I sat up quickly, and the blood rushed out of my head. Swaying for a moment, I tried to get my bearings. Despite the steamy day outside, my room suddenly felt like the walk-in freezer at the deli, and I shivered. Reliving Marcus’s death had always been painful, but there was an edge to the memory today that made me afraid. I rubbed my hands against my arms, trying to take some of the chill away.

Why is it so cold in here?
Realization dawned on me a second later when I heard Marcus’s voice again. “Avenge me, or you’ll wish we’d never met.”

I stared around my room, petrified.
Is Marcus haunting me somehow?
I forced a laugh.
As if I don’t have enough to worry about
. My first impulse was to call Izzy back and ask if she’d heard from her brother, but that seemed cruel. It was bad enough that I’d killed him; I didn’t need to remind her of that by asking her something thoughtless and impossible.

And it had to be impossible.
Death doesn’t work that way
. Admittedly, I didn’t really know how death works, but when I was in Hades, it seemed like he had the situation well under control. I hadn’t seen any shades drifting off toward the surface or making a break for it. So how was Marcus speaking to me from the grave?

My mouth felt like sand. “Marcus?” Everything was silent, so I tried again. “Marcus, if you can hear me, say something.”

My door swung open with a crash, and I jumped. I peeked into the hallway, but it was empty.

I shut my door and looked around my room. Nothing moved. “Is it really you?” My heart rose into my throat, and I felt a strange sense of anticipation. I waited there, my hand on the doorknob, but nothing else happened. Either I was going crazy, or Marcus had been trying to reach me.
Gods, which of those options is worse?

My dad’s voice broke the silence. “Dinner!” His curt command echoed up the stairs and through my closed door, piercing the strange chill that had settled in my room and bringing me back to reality.

“Marcus,” I tried once more, “please don’t leave. If you’re really here, there are things I need to say to you.”

I waited for a heartbeat, and then headed downstairs to join my family. Mom took one look at me and pulled me aside. “What did Izzy say?”

I had almost forgotten about Skyping Izzy, and I floundered for a moment. “Nothing. She’s fine. She colored her hair.”

Mom smiled, but she still looked worried. Thankfully, she dropped it.

Dinner was tense. Sweet potato quesadillas are one of my dad’s special recipes, but that night they tasted like dirt. I ate fast, hoping to escape up to my room as soon as possible so I could continue trying to contact Marcus, but Dad cleared his throat when I pushed my chair back.

“I think it’s time you re-enroll in school.”

I stared at him, confused, before glancing at Mom. She looked just as bewildered. I tilted my head to one side as I looked back at Dad. “But I was kicked out.”

Dad shook his head. “I’m not talking about going back to Trinity.”

I still didn’t understand what he meant. “There isn’t another magical school in the area, is there?”

He coughed. “You can’t mope around the house forever doing nothing. You need a high-school diploma.”

It dawned on me and Mom at the same moment. My mouth fell open and Mom’s eyes widened.

“Richard, I can’t believe you’re suggesting this. What will happen to Lena?” She glanced at me. “What’s more, what about the Nons?”

“It’ll be good for her,” he said firmly. “Maybe she’ll learn something from them.”

I snorted. “What can Nons possibly teach me?”

He gave me a sharp look. “For one thing, you might learn to respect your elders. I heard about how you spoke to Persephone this afternoon.”

I crossed my arms and glared at Mom, but she fiddled with her napkin, not meeting my gaze.

Dad continued. “And besides, I’m tired of having you lay around the house like some bum. You haven’t solved anything by doing nothing, and it’s time you went back to school.”

This can’t be happening.
“But I haven’t been around Nons in years! You pulled me out of public school, remember?”

Mom jumped in. “I don’t think this is a good idea, Richard.”

He glared at us both. “Lena can’t keep doing nothing,” he repeated.

“But school!” I frowned, trying to articulate my anger. I hadn’t been in school for what felt like six months, but in reality, it had been over a year since I was expelled from Trinity. And that didn’t even start to consider what it would be like to be around Nons all the time. What if I lost control of my temper, and my arms lit up like the Fourth of July? “How is this going to help?”

Dad shrugged. “If you can come up with an alternative, I’ll consider it.”

“How long do I have?” I pounced on his suggestion eagerly.

He closed his eyes, thinking. “I’d say a week is fair.”

I looked at Mom, and she nodded. “We’ll think of something else.” She shot my dad a look, but he didn’t budge.

Dad lifted his hand. “Darlena, I only want what’s best for you. And sitting around the house moping isn’t doing anyone any good.”

I pushed my chair out, barely able to contain my frustration. “Going to school with Nons won’t do me any good, either.” Without looking at my parents, I stalked outside and sat down on the porch, stewing.

The hot air was thick and dry, not the usual humid pressure I’d been used to my whole life. It made it hard to take a deep breath, and I coughed, my thoughts as brittle as the air. Mom and Dad had always had a strange affinity for Nons, but Trinity had been very isolated. I didn’t know any Nons, not really; there were the people I interacted with every day, strangers at the grocery store and people in the neighborhood, but everything I knew about Nons I’d learned secondhand.
And they sure don’t seem like they’ve got the answers I’m looking for.

Why in the world had my dad decided that he needed to send me to school? It was like some twisted fairy tale where the princess gets shipped off to boarding school to get her out of the way. I had to come up with something.

With a sigh, I leaned back and closed my eyes. Instantly, I saw Marcus’s face.

“You have to do something,” he whispered.

Eyes closed, I answered him. “I don’t know what to do.”