Daughter of Chaos (20 page)

I thought about what she had said. If the gods couldn’t act on their own, the attention of the various Red goddesses suddenly made a lot more sense to me. Filing that piece of information away to think about later, I asked, “So you’re saying that Hecate isn’t behind all this?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. I see her hand clearly. But she is not able to carry out these actions without mortal assistance. Someone”—she spoke softly—“has betrayed you.”

***

Aphrodite spent the morning teaching me to shield my thoughts. “I hate to see you learn to close yourself from me,” she said regretfully, “but it now seems imperative that I offer you whatever protection I can.”

I agreed. Secretly, I wasn’t as thrilled as I had expected to learn how to block my mind from invasion. It was irritating when the goddess read my mind, but her ability also meant I didn’t have to waste time explaining things every time I saw her.

“Like any spell, this isn’t permanent, but until you discover who means you harm, it would be best for you to shield your thoughts at all times.”

“Even when I’m at home?” I argued.

“Especially then. Hecate would have no scruples about turning your own family against you; in fact, it would suit her purposes to not only weaken you through her magic, but also leave you betrayed by those you love most.”

“But what does she want?”

“I believe that her hope is, once you are weakened, she will be able to influence you again.”

I shuddered, remembering the satisfaction I had seen in Hecate’s eyes the day of the car accident.

Aphrodite continued, making my stomach turn over. “If she can, she will wield you as a weapon of chaos. It would be best,” she added wryly, “if you do not allow this to happen.”

I felt a stab of guilt at her words. Even though I had not allowed Hecate to use me, I felt as though I had given her the advantage when I stopped actively trying to avert chaos. Since the hurricane, I had only focused my efforts on learning love magic. If I had continued to work with the more powerful Red forces, would Hecate have been able to gain a foothold in my life so quickly?

I didn’t know the answer. I only knew that I had to prepare myself to stand against the goddess I feared most. Even my horror of Kali paled in comparison to the calculating appetite for death I had seen in Hecate’s eyes. I worked hard at the spell Aphrodite showed me, and I had just sealed it with a careful knot when I heard the library door open behind us.

I spun around, hurriedly thinking of an excuse to justify my presence if the intruder was Snout, but I needn’t have worried. Justin was crossing the court, peering at the bookshelves for a moment before he spotted me. I glanced back at Aphrodite, but she had vanished.

He walked up to the bleachers where I sat and bounded up them two at a time. All at once, he was there beside me. I grinned at him and tried to resist the urge to fling my arms around him. First, I needed to see if my spell had worked.

“Darlena.” He whispered my name as if it were a prayer, and I felt a ripple of goose bumps cascade down my arms. Then his lips were pressed to mine, and I melted into his warmth. I forgot everything, savoring the sensation of his kiss.

Justin and I spent the afternoon walking hand in hand through the neighborhoods surrounding Trinity. The fall sunshine cast a golden light on everything, and I felt like I had when I’d snuck champagne at my cousin’s wedding the previous spring. It was wonderful.

“I have an idea.” Justin’s eyes sparkled, and I smiled up at him.

“What?”

He shook his head. “It’s a secret. You’ll find out soon enough.”

Turning, he led me through a labyrinth of streets lined with charming World War II–era homes. After a few twists and turns, I was hopelessly lost, but then we came around the bend and I spotted a brontosaurus through the trees.

“Seriously?” I laughed and squeezed his hand.

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t been here since my tenth birthday.” We had stopped walking, but I was smiling.

“So? It’s high time you went back.”

I laughed and let him lead me through the entrance to the science museum. It had been one of my favorite places as a child, but I’d outgrown it a long time ago.

“We’re the only people here without kids!” I whispered self-consciously, glancing around.

He slipped his arm over my shoulders. “Aren’t we lucky? We can do whatever we want.”

I relaxed and started to enjoy myself. We wandered past rocks and fossils, space mission equipment and X-ray machines. I was heading for the animals; the museum kept bears, wolves, and lemurs in outdoor habitats on the land surrounding the building, and even though I hadn’t been there in years, I still remembered where my favorite exhibits were. Laughing, Justin grabbed my hand and ran with me to the first habitat.

“I love the bears.” I was breathless from rushing toward the cage.

“They are pretty cute.”

We pressed against the railing at the viewing area, wedging our way in between children and their parents. Shoulder to shoulder, we stood in silence while we watched the three brown bears sleep, eat, and splash in the water. I sighed in contentment. I would have been perfectly willing to stay right there for the rest of the day, but Justin wanted to see the wolves, so I reluctantly pulled myself away to follow him.

The keepers were just finishing laying out food when we reached the second large fence. I watched, fascinated, as two red wolves slunk along the top of their enclosure, stalking the tray of raw meat. Justin turned away after a second.

“I don’t really want to watch them eat.”

But I was mesmerized. The first wolf had reached the meal and was sniffing it cautiously. Then, with a low growl, it began to tear at the flesh. The kids beside me let out a collective “Eeeew!” before their parents pulled them away. My ears started to ring, but my eyes were fixed on the feeding wolves. It was like I was entering a trance. My hands started to tingle, and I knew that at any second, I’d start shooting Red sparks into the air. Just then, Justin leaned down and kissed me quickly.

I looked at him, my reverie broken. He smiled at me, and my heart flipped.

“Let’s keep walking.”

I nodded, and let him lead me back to the path. I glanced over my shoulder toward the wolves once, but after that I kept my attention on Justin. It was amazing to be with him, and I whispered a silent thank you to Aphrodite for teaching me the importance of love magic.

***

When Justin left me at the door of my house, the sky was already turning the purple of twilight. He kissed my cheek gently, and I reached up to draw him close for a real kiss. After a long moment, he pulled away.

“I should get home.” He didn’t move.

I nodded and kissed him again.

When I finally broke away, I glanced at the house. The lights were on, but the front curtains were drawn. I giggled nervously. “I wonder if my parents are watching us.” For a second, I thought I saw the curtain move, but it must have been my imagination. Still, I pictured my dad standing there with his eye pressed to the sliver of light, trying to see what we were doing. Just to be silly, I waved.

Justin glanced up at the window and smiled. “If they are, they must know how much I love you.”

My throat tightened. “What did you say?”

“That I love you, Darlena.” He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. There was a pause while I smiled up at him like an idiot, but then he playfully flicked my hair and said, “Well?”

I blinked, confused. “Well?”

His eyes looked troubled, but he didn’t say anything.

“Oh!” I exclaimed. “Oh, of course. I love you, too.” I’d thought the words often enough, but I’d never imagined I’d get the chance to say them.

He kissed me again, and a traitorous thought flickered through my mind: did he really love me, or was it just the spell talking?

“I’ll call you tonight.” He lifted my hand up to his lips, and gently brushed my fingertips against them. I shivered in delight.

“I know you will.” I blew him a kiss as he turned and walked down the street. When he had rounded the corner, I looked up at the rapidly darkening sky. I put my arms out and started to spin giddily.

“That was even better than I expected!” I whispered when I staggered to a stop. I started to laugh, realizing that I was standing there, in the dark, talking to the clouds like a crazy person. It was a good thing Justin had already left! Even as I thought it, I knew it wouldn’t matter. He loved me, and that wouldn’t change because I was acting a little crazy. But would it change if he knew about the spell? I tried to ignore that niggling thought as I went inside.

***

That night, my dreams were filled with the heavy perfume of roses and summer, despite the autumn wind that blew outside my window. I didn’t hear the pelting rain, nor did I notice the wind. I dreamt of fields of flowers and sunshine and had no idea that, as I slept, a late-season hurricane was inching closer to the Atlantic coast.

“Darlena, honey, I’m sorry to wake you.” My mind was still groggy with sleep, but Mom kept pounding on my door.

I crossed the room and opened the door. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a hurricane headed our way. We have a few hours ’til it reaches the Outer Banks.”

I rubbed my eyes, confused. “So? We’re far enough inland not to worry.”

She shook her head. “Not this time. This one is strong, the worst of the season, they’re saying. The radio even compared it to Fran. Your dad wants to be safe rather than sorry. I need your help sealing up the house and moving things upstairs in case it floods.”

Groggily, I got out of bed. As I pulled on my sweats, I noticed my old atlas lying on the desk. I flipped it open to North America, feeling the tingles of magic still on the pages of the book. I looked long and hard at the map, considering.

I had averted a hurricane before, hadn’t I? Maybe I could do it again. I drew a deep breath and tried to center myself, but my scattered thoughts kept latching onto the memory of Justin’s lips pressed against mine. It was intoxicating, and I found it impossible to think clearly about anything else.

I shook my head and closed the atlas. I was clearly skilled at love magic; why did I feel the need to meddle in matters of chaos? Pushing away the memory of the last hurricane I’d altered, I headed downstairs and began stacking the kitchen chairs on top of the table. Mom worked with me, and it didn’t take long to move most of the furniture either upstairs or as high as we could put it on the downstairs level. Then we went out to the shed to find the dusty old storm shutters.

“Will we need to postpone our Mabon celebration?”

She looked up at the sky and frowned. “Maybe. It wouldn’t be a good idea to have the fire tonight, that’s for sure.”

“It’ll blow over us. They always do, right?”

Mom nodded, but her forehead was still creased. “I hope so. Something about this storm feels funny.”

I looked up at the sky, but it just looked stormy. Soon I had forgotten what Mom said as I struggled with the storm shutters. I had never helped hang them before, and it was tricky, heavy work. When we were done, I headed around the corner of the house, keeping my eyes on the ground. Mom usually put away her gardening tools, but I spotted her yellow trowel lying at the edge of the flower bed. Picking that up, I detached the water hose from the side of the house and dragged it over to the shed.

“What are you doing?” Rochelle had slipped up behind me, and I jumped, startled. I hadn’t heard her come up, but the wind had started blowing harder, so that wasn’t surprising.

“Getting things cleaned up. Mom says there’s a hurricane coming.” I handed the hose to her, but she made no move to take it.

“So?”

I looked at her, annoyed. “So I have to help get things put away. Shouldn’t you go home and help out, too?”

She shrugged, smiling a strange smile. “My folks will be fine.”

Glancing at the purple clouds, I shook my head. “I don’t know. It looks like it’s going to be bad.”

“My storm will not harm them.”

For a minute, I didn’t understand her words, but then I turned, surprised. “What do you mean, ‘your storm’?”