By Jove (22 page)

Next to him was Grant, bound and gagged in a chair. There was a crown of willow twigs set awry on his brow. Theo frowned and moved toward him, hand outstretched to pluck it off, but Julian shook his head.

“No, my dear. I must ask you not to touch him.”

“Must you humiliate him by tying him up and gagging him like a common criminal?” she demanded.

“Alas, yes. I’m afraid I must.” Julian looked sorrowful, but there was a glint in his eyes that belied his words and tone.

“Fine,” she snapped. “What did you want me for?”

“What do you think I want you for? To join me so that we can complete our celebration here, and start our life together.”

“I don’t think you were listening before, Julian. I said no. I don’t want to be your wife or bear your children. You tricked me into being your lover before, but I don’t want you. I love Grant.”

“But darling, you agreed to be my wife. Remember?” He cocked an ear toward the ceiling with an exaggerated gesture, and Theo was horrified to hear the sound of kissing and her own voice saying “Yes, Julian. I am yours” at a level that reverberated and echoed in the room.

Grant winced and shut his eyes.

“That was in singularly poor taste, in my opinion,” Olivia said. Theo had forgotten about her. She came to stand a few feet from Theo, her face grim.

“Taste is not the issue right now, my dear. Winning is.” Julian glided over to Theo and put his arm around her. She tried to pull away and when he would not let her, held herself as stiff and still as a statue.

“No, Julian, the verdict’s not quite in.” Olivia took a few paces forward, hands behind her back, looking thoughtful. “Do you deny that you came to Theo in the form of a cat?” she shot at him. Theo jumped; Olivia had evidently been listening in to her conversation with Grant.

He frowned at her. “No, I don’t deny it.”

“Because you knew how confused she was over her relationship with Grant, and how comforting a friendly, purring cat would be.”

“Perhaps.”

“And do you deny plying her with enhanced ambrosial wine in extraordinary quantities?”

“Really, Olivia, I don’t see that this is any of your bus—”

“Do you, in short, deny manipulating Theo, emotionally and physically, with drugs into bed with you, and keeping her under your will for a week by those same methods?”

Julian turned a dull red as he stared down at the floor, pacing a restless circle around Grant.

“Under those circumstances, I don’t think that Theo’s pledge to you is binding,” Olivia finished triumphantly. “You cannot hold her to a covenant you achieved by trickery.”

Julian glared at her for several seconds. Then suddenly he smiled. Theo felt her heart sink into the ground at the sight of the triumph in it.

“Very well,” he said, and raised a hand. And once again, Grant vanished. The ropes that had bound him slipped limply to the floor. The square of cloth that had stopped his mouth fluttered onto the seat; Theo could see where his saliva had dampened it. The willow crown tumbled down beside it.

“Grant! No!” She lunged toward the chair. But it was too late. “What have you done with him?” she snarled at Julian. “Bring him back here now!”

Julian turned to her. “Olivia may have won a point for you, my dear, but I still hold the rest of the cards. My dear Theodora, I give you a challenge. If you want Grant Proctor, you can have him. Provided you can find him. I’ll be generous, and give you until, oh, noon on commencement day. If you can find him before then, you and he are free to go. If not—”

“No! You mustn’t harm him!” she cried.

“Who said I was going to?” Julian said with another horrible smile. “I don’t have to. If you can’t find him by noon on commencement day, he goes free anyway. But you’ll remain here as my consort and yield to my will in all things. And then we’ll watch while life destroys Grant for me. Too bad it’s considerably less than thirty thousand years this time. But the joy of watching him die of old age and illness, and in the knowledge that you are mine—well, I guess I would call that fair.”

Theo stared down at her feet, too angry and shaken for tears. Oh, Grant—

“Blast it, Julian,” Dr. Waterman said, stepping forward. “This is going too far. We swore not to do anything to call mortal attention to ourselves, and you just made a department instructor disappear. Furthermore, I don’t care for this game of yours. I’m going to help Theo find—”

Julian raised one hand, and Dr. Waterman was struck dumb. “Are you, Arthur?” he said gently. “I don’t think so. You’re my brother, and cannot go against me. That goes for all of you here,” he continued in a stronger voice. “You are my guests here tonight, and are beholden to me. If Theodora’s going to do this, she must do it on her own, without your help.”

“Not entirely, Julian.” Olivia stepped forward. “I’m not your invited guest. I choose to help find my colleague, and you can’t stop me.”

Theo turned to her, feeling hopeful for the first time. “You will?”

“Of course. Grant is my friend.” She nodded calmly at Theo.

“Is this your idea of filial piety, daughter? You sadden me,” sighed Julian. He turned to the room at large. “Well, this seems to have brought my lovely party to a halt. Such a pity. Would you all excuse us?” He turned to Theo and held out his hand to her. “Come, my dear.”

She stared at him. “I don’t think so.”

“Would you do me the courtesy of speaking with me in my office for a few moments? Or do you fear me?”

Yes, as a matter of fact, she did. But it didn’t seem politic to admit it in front of the gathered guests. She glanced at Olivia, who gave her a just-perceptible nod.

“Very well,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster despite her fury and anguish, and started to walk toward the door ahead of him. In an instant she found him at her side, her hand in his.

“Manners, manners. Just because we are temporarily at odds doesn’t mean we should treat each other badly,” he murmured to her.

She snatched her hand away. “Temporarily?”

“Of course. I
will
win, you know. In time you’ll be glad of it. In the meanwhile, I should hate to see our friendship affected by this momentary discord.”

They were on the stairs. Theo stopped. “If you were so concerned about preserving our ‘friendship,’ as you call it, then maybe you should have thought about that before.”

“Please, my dear.” He propelled her up the stairs and down the hall into his office, shutting the door behind them. He held out a chair for her. “I would offer you wine, if you would take it.”

Theo almost choked. “You
dare
to offer me your filthy—”

He sighed. “Very well, then. I thought it would be kind if I gave you the chance to yield now, and save yourself several weeks of worry and upset that will only end in your failure. I assure you that Grant will be able to leave here unharmed, which is not something I can guarantee if you insist on searching for him.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. There are dangers in your attempting to rescue him, dangers that are unlikely to harm you as an immortal. But Grant is no longer a god, and is subject to the frailty and weaknesses of mortal men. Furthermore, I only think it fair to warn you that the longer it takes for you to find him, if you ever do, the less able I am to guarantee that he will leave his captivity unscathed and unchanged.”

“What do you mean ‘unscathed and unchanged’?” Theo’s throat suddenly felt tight and dry, so that she almost wished she’d said yes to wine. Almost. “You’re not being very clear.”

“Why should I be? I have no wish to help you in this. I merely thought you should be acquainted with all the facts before you made a final decision.”

“You are too kind.”

With a sudden movement he came around behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “You seem to think I’ve done this as part of some great plot to avenge myself on Grant.”

She squirmed from under his hands. “Haven’t you?”

He ignored her. “If he’d kept away from you, I would never have even known or cared who he was.” His hands tightened, stilling her. “But as much as I will enjoy witnessing his final downfall, my main goal is to keep you.”

“So I can end up like all your other lovers? Dead or transformed into a cow or something?” She tried to laugh scornfully.

“You cannot die now, remember? I never made any of my other women goddesses—only you. Nor do I intend to give you up for anything. Our sons—”

“So I get to live as your brood mare,” she interrupted. “Such an enticing prospect.”

He sighed. “Theodora. Stop being angry with me and listen for a moment. You’re a goddess now, beloved by the Lord of the Sky, the King of the Gods. Just think about it for a moment. As my consort you can do anything.
Anything
. See the world. Live a life of opulence beyond your wildest imagination.” He bent to murmur in her ear. “Or even go back to Sneed and show them all what they lost through their own blindness and ignorance. Revenge can be sweet, even to gods. I should know.”

Through her fury, Theo felt a flicker at his words. How gratifying it would be to visit Sneed now, in her divine form, and smile pityingly upon the thick-necked dullards who once had scorned her and would now fall at her feet.

“Oh my dearest Theodora, the world can be ours,” Julian whispered. His breath caressed her ear. “Even now it is lying before us. Let us take it together.”

With a faint sense of surprise, she realized that she hadn’t thought about Sneed in a long time. It didn’t matter any more. But Grant did. What would she do with the world at her feet? She didn’t want the world at her feet, but Grant’s hand in hers.

“Is there anything else you wished to say to me?” she said, trying to hold herself stiffly as he stroked her neck and arms.

“Can you deny that you were happy all last week with me, Theodora? Can you say that you didn’t take more pleasure from me than you had dreamed possible with anyone?” He tilted her head back and kissed her hard, then released her before she could even protest.

“I’ll let you go now. Believe me, I don’t take your and Olivia’s combined powers lightly. But I will win, and I will welcome you back into my arms come May.” He turned away from her and went to stand by his window, looking out at the night.

Chapter Sixteen

The next morning Theo was heavy-eyed as she walked through the Great Room and toward her classroom. She hadn’t seen any department faculty yet, which was just as well, for she had no idea what she would say to any of them. As she passed Grant’s classroom she glanced inside, expecting to see Dr. Waterman standing at the front of the room.

Instead, she saw Grant.

With a wildly pounding heart, she almost ran into the classroom. “You’re okay!” she gasped.

“Oh. Hello, Theo. Nice vacation?” he asked, turning from the board where he had been writing.

“G-Grant?” she breathed, still staring.

He looked at her. And suddenly she saw that someone else looked through his eyes. Then she saw his features rearrange themselves subtly, until she could see Olivia’s face shining through Grant’s features.

“Did you want to see me?” he—she asked.

“Uh—it’ll wait. After class,” Theo floundered.

Olivia gave Grant’s casual wave. “Lunch?” she said.

Theo nodded mutely and stumbled into her classroom. Fortunately her own students were almost as shell-shocked as she was after a week of excess in Florida and other points south, and were subdued and undemanding that day.

At noon Olivia met her for lunch. Theo felt awkward as she watched her approach in Grant’s shape. What was she going to say to her? Would Olivia think she was stupid, a harlot, or, worst of all, a cold-blooded Judas? By the time Olivia sat down opposite her with a friendly smile, she was nearly shaking with nerves.

“Hello, Theo,” Olivia said quietly, holding out her hand. Grant’s hand. “I’m very happy to meet you, at last. Last night doesn’t count.”

Theo took her hand in a daze. “You are?”

“Of course I am. Grant’s told me so much about you that I feel like I already know you.” Her eyes were warm and friendly.

To her horrified embarrassment, Theo started to cry. “But—I betrayed Grant. How can you possibly like me?”

“No. You were tricked into forgetting Grant. Julian’s responsible for his disappearance, not you. You’re as much a victim as Grant is. He loves you, and I respect him more than anyone else, human or immortal. I’m bound to help you both for that reason, but also because I like what he told me of you, and would like to see you both safe back at Eleusinian. Don’t cry. We’ll solve this together. Julian doesn’t scare me.”

“He scares me,” Theo said, taking a shuddering breath and summoning a box of tissues. She wound up with a stack of neatly folded washcloths. Olivia smiled and summoned a handkerchief for her.

“Julian has his weaknesses, just like the rest of us,” she said, handing it to Theo. “Now tell me everything.”

“Everything?” Theo buried her nose in the hankie. How was she supposed to tell this goddess, famed for her staunch virginity, about what she and Julian—

“I can handle it, Theo. Just because I don’t choose to participate doesn’t mean I hate sex, or abhor others for it. But I’m mostly interested in what he said to you last night in his office.”

Theo told her about her conversation with Julian. Olivia nodded, and was silent as their lunches were served.

“He was playing games with you. Testing you. Trying to see where the chinks in your armor were, and trying to psych you out. Classical warfare technique, only now it’s used in boardrooms. He’s a master at it,” she said as she energetically pursued tortellini in alfredo sauce around her bowl with a fork.

Theo stared at her glumly over her untouched Reuben sandwich. With her new senses, it was too easy to tell that the corned beef in it was a week past its use-by date. And it was even more uncomfortable to sit here staring at a Grant who wasn’t Grant, hearing his voice, watching the sunlight gleam on his soft dark hair and shadow his deep-set eyes. Olivia looked up at her sad face.

“Hey. Don’t worry. I told you before. We’ll find him,” she declared confidently.