Muse Unexpected (15 page)

The boat reached the edge of the pier with a muffled bump and the dead remained silent, hoping to hear their names called to journey on. The only sound coming from the large ship’s flapping banners.

“Charon…” Penny shouted. She waited a second and grew impatient. She thought at least one part of her journey should be easy.

“Charon.” she shouted again. “I know you hear me.”

“How can I not? Your voice is most disrespectful to me and the dead,” said a voice. It was deep and casual but had a lofty air about it, as if it were greeting an undesirable on the street.

She faced the ferryman. Charon on many levels was quite pleasing to look at, with his white skin, straight black hair and jet black eyes. Similar to the dead, Charon’s eyes were pools of shimmering black ink. They were hypnotic to mortals and could not be resisted. He was tall and was fashionably dressed in a black suit tailored to fit his strong stature. A black, French-cuffed shirt with golden coin cufflinks and black wingtips completed the look.

She wondered if being the ferryman afforded him time to work out and smirked at the ridiculous idea.

“Yoga and push-ups,” was Charon’s response, providing Penny a gentle reminder that in this realm he knows everything and can read the thoughts of anyone who ventures into his territory. She clouded her mind and allowed only the thoughts she wanted the ferryman to know.

“You know who I am and why I’ve come?” Penny said.

“I do not serve those from Olympus, goddess. You have no right to be on this sacred ground and bother me with your travel requests,” Charon said, matter-of-factly.

“You serve all who call you,” Penny spat back. “And the reason for my journey is of no concern to you. Let me on your ship.”

“Hiding your thoughts will not help your case,” he said.

“Well,” she said, changing her strategy. “If you feel that way, I’ll take my gold coins with me, which would be such a shame, for they are special coins.”

Charon lifted his eyes to meet Penny’s and moved closer, appearing to grow several feet in height his complexion becoming paler.

“You forget who you are speaking with, Fallen One. You, who above all have caused great misery to those I travel with, have little ground to stand on right now. I hear their cries of anguish at your hands and take great satisfaction knowing I undo so much of what you have done,” he said, allowing the last words to echo. “Maybe a dip in the river Acheron would silence your tongue and teach you humility. You are no more to me than a piece of filth I wipe off the bottom of my shoe.” The last word came out like a curse and Penny took a step back, unaware of how close she was to the pier’s edge.

Charon continued to curse at Penny as he took yet another step closer. Penny stood on the edge of the pier, her heels within reach of the dead. Suddenly, her former and very dead neighbor launched herself out of the water and grabbed hold of Penny’s right ankle.

Taken by surprise, Penny hit the dead woman with her staff. The bag of coins dropped to the ground and the leather drawstring loosened enough to allow a single coin to pop out. The animated face of Medusa gleamed on one side of it, the snakes of her hair writhing and her sharp teeth gnashing. The coin flipped and the face of Aphrodite appeared on the other side. She smiled and winked. The dead woman ripped away Penny’s staff and crawled up her back, her nails tearing through the old woman’s blouse and sinking deep into her flesh.

Penny beseeched Charon, who stood laughing at her. Right as the old woman toppled towards the bog, she and the ferryman disappeared, leaving the dead neighbor to scream in fury as she fell backward into the water clutching a clump of Penny’s hair. The green liquid evaporated and the pier crumbled into the bog. Within a few seconds the water bubbled and a new, ever-more rotted pier rose from its depths.

Penny fell face forward onto the deck of Charon’s ship, her staff and the purse of golden coins clattering onto its surface. The purse was now fully open and more than twenty-five of the magical coins of Aphrodite glowed back at Charon. Penny thrashed around for a few more seconds and, after realizing she hadn’t fallen into the bog, got to her feet.

“Where did you find these coins? Do you know what these coins are and what they do?” Charon asked.

Penny reached down and collected them, placing all but five back into the purse. Using a slight of hand trick learned years ago, she concealed the five coins until she was able to drop them into the front pocket of her skirt.

“Of course I do. Do you take me for a fool? Give me passage to Hades and the coins are yours to do with what you will. Refuse and I take them back and you can continue on your cruise up this lovely waterway,” she said, not caring if Charon could hear the mocking tone in her voice.

The ferryman licked his lips. “You have a deal, but it’s for only one way.”

Penny smiled sweetly and handed over the purse of gold. “One way was exactly what I was looking for.”

Sophie entered the dining hall, followed by Angela, after being ‘summoned’ by Georgia. Seated at the head of the long, dark mahogany dining table was her grandmother, engaged in conversation with her mother and Aletheria. A small male Hob, whom Sophie remembered her mother calling him Gavin, was standing in the mouth of the fireplace, sweeping ash and soot into a dustbin. A grunt turned Sophie’s attention away from the dining table as Bennett walked in carrying several large white ash logs. She was determined to play it cool, but knew she was failing miserably as she grinned like an idiot... again.

It wasn’t until she got about ten feet away from the table that Sophie realized there was something else in the room.

It was a rather fat cherub fluttering around the ceiling, an irritating giggle exploding from it the moment it saw Sophie. A small swath of cloth covered the bare essentials of its pinkish bloated body and the flapping sound its wings made was anything but angelic. Clutched in its chubby hands was a single white envelope with gold trim.

“What the heck is that? Sophie asked.

Georgia threw her hands up in exasperation. “Well, it’s a page of some sort with a message, possibly an invitation.”

“From whom?” Sophie asked.

Aletheria smiled. “If we could catch the blasted thing, we would be able to answer your question.”

“Let me see if I can get it,” said Callie, standing up. The page fluttered within grabbing distance and she reached over, but in a flash the cherub slapped her hand out of the way and zoomed to the highest point in the room, its giggles echoing off the ceiling and walls.

“Ouch!” yelled Callie, as she rubbed the back of her hand. “That little beast has a wicked slap.”

Aletheria laughed. “Don’t be too forceful with it. It bites,” the Oracle said as she lifted up Georgia’s hand.

Sophie turned her attention to a new app she had been trying out on her Vasilikós-issued eTablet. The app used the built-in camera to scan and determine if the animal or human had supernatural or Olympian heredity. A full description of the entity was provided if it tested positive for either. It was called “Whatsit.”

Sophie tried to capture the flying thing with her camera, but it was too fast. So she pointed it at Gavin, clicked the onscreen button.

Angela leaned towards Sophie and whispered, “In our society, it is considered impolite to inquire about a person’s supernatural status without asking permission or being offered the information.”

“Sorry, Gavin,” Sophie offered. Gavin shrugged and went back to his work.

The cherub giggled and zoomed past Sophie, taking her by surprise. She lost her grip on the eTablet. As she tried to save it from crashing onto the stone floor, Sophie’s foot became tangled in the cherub’s wrapping-cloth and both fell crashing to the ground. The cherub’s laugh turned into a high-pitched squeak as Sophie fell face forward on top of the creature with a disgusting splat. The tablet safely caught in her hands, Sophie lay there for a moment, not sure what to do.

“Oh, God.” Sophie lowered the eTablet onto the floor. “Is it dead? Oh, God.” She squealed. “Someone please look, because I think I’m going to throw-up.”

A booming laugh from the mouth of the fireplace roared through the room, as Bennett finished positioning the logs. Within a few seconds, he stood above Sophie and offered his hand.

Sophie didn’t need to look up to realize who’s hand she was about to take and the agony over yet another embarrassing situation was enough to make her wish she were underneath the cherub and not the other way around.

I could just die. Please let me die
.

“Please,” Sophie said. “I’m afraid I’ve killed the little thing.”

Bennett responded by crouching down to meet Sophie’s eyes. His voice came in calm, rich tones.

“Well, I supposed you could just lie there for the rest of your life, with the remains of a dead fairy stuck to your chest, or you might want to let me help you up and see if the little guy is tougher then he looks.”

Sophie raised her eyebrows and turned her head so one of her eyes could look up at Bennett. His large brown eyes were kind, reminding Sophie of a cow.

She smiled nervously and reached over to give Bennett her hand, but the squishing sound coming from underneath made her breakfast want to evacuate her stomach.

“Oh, God. I can’t do it. I can’t. Isn’t there some sort of special Muse magic remover for gross gunk?”
I may be covered in cherub guts, but the last thing I’m going to do is vomit in front of a hot guy.
All that’s left for me to embarrass myself more would be to fart.

Without warning, Bennett grabbed Sophie’s hand and yanked her up into his arms before she could protest.

Sophie took a quick breath in surprise as she realized his strength. She felt as if she weighed next to nothing in his arms. Her head fell against his neck and she noticed he smelled of earth, grass and sport body wash. She knew she didn’t know him, didn’t even know if he liked her, but there was something about him making her feel safe and incredibly special.

The sound of Georgia’s heels on the stone floor broke Sophie away from her long-awaited ‘Bennett’ moment and Bennett put Sophie down.

“Well, I will give you credit. That was one way to catch the little rat,” Georgia said, as she nudged the flattened cherub with her shoe.

It was sprawled out on the floor, its buttocks exposed and raised. Had the poor, squashed thing not looked so pathetic, its expression would have been funny, as its tongue lay limply on the floor and one eye on the verge of popping out. A few seconds later, the eye did pop out, and Sophie gasped. The envelope was still clutched in its hand.

“Oh my God. Eww, eww, eww. That is so gross. I wish we could film this. Imagine the hits we’d get if we posted it online.” Sophie commented.

Georgia reached for the letter and much to everyone’s surprise the thing extended a flattened hand to smacked Georgia’s hand away. By this time, Aletheria and Callie had gathered near the group and even Gavin had stopped his work on the fireplace to see what would happen next.

Everyone stood watching as the cherub’s mouth twisted and it let out a screech, which turned into a giggle, and it used its remaining functional limb to slap the floor as it tried to peel itself off.

Everyone grimaced but couldn’t help staring until Winnie’s voice entered the dining hall, long before the elder Hob did herself.

“Gavin, you had better be done with that fireplace.” She walked into the room and took in the situation. “For the love of Mary and woodland goddess Ardwinna. You would think no one has ever dealt with a sprite page before.” She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the state of the creature. “Tsk…tsk…tsk…” She clucked, pushing the eyeball back into the flattened creature’s socket with a squish. “Who smashed the wee little thing? Look at it. Such a pathetic little tyke.”

Everyone gestured towards Sophie and she couldn’t stop her tears from welling up in her eyes.

“Oh, now Sophie, don’t be working yourself up into a fit over this little tot.” Without any consideration of the pain she might be causing it, Winnie reached down and yanked the flattened sprite up. She shook it roughly and everyone gasped as the sickening sound of tearing flesh and bone filled the room.

“What is everyone goin’ on about? ‘Tis the way me mum taught me how to handle a situation like this and her mum told her and so on,” Winnie said, the flattened cherub filling out with each breath of air it took in. Winnie snapped the little cherub’s body around as if she was shaking out a kitchen rug and Sophie winced with each yank.

The color had come back into the creature’s face and Winnie gave it a quick rub with her dust rag.

“Sophie, remember for goodness sake, it’s not a baby. It’s a sprite. It takes a lot to kill one of these blasted things. The rest of you should know better. There,” Winnie said, seeing the cherub smiling and giggling. “Good as new and probably even better than new. Oh, look, it’s got a letter. I wonder who it’s for.”

Still in a bit of shock and not wanting to risk flying, the cherub reached out to Sophie and she took the sprite’s lead and approached it. With as much flourish as it could manage, it handed the envelope to her.

“Well,” Winnie said. “With that done, if nobody minds, I’ll take the poor thing in the kitchen for a cup of butter cream. Would you like that, little one?” Winnie asked the cherub, tickling one of the rolls in its neck. It responded by clapping its hands and giggling. “Bennett, if you’re done in here, come along to the kitchen and I’ll fix you a plate of cold, roasted chicken and some bread and cheese. Can’t have you wasting away to nothing. I swear the boy eats like a horse.”

Bennett nodded but hesitated a moment. Sophie enjoyed having him so close and in her heart she hoped his hesitation was because he felt the same. Callie caught Sophie’s eyes and smiled, nodding in approval, and Sophie couldn’t help but roll her eyes at how embarrassing her mother was being. Sophie caught Georgia’s eye and her grandmother’s glare made her quickly take a few steps away as Bennett excused himself. He walked past Sophie, followed by Gavin, and her skin tingled and broke out in goose pimples as his arm brushed against hers. She could feel her skin flush and she glanced after him, as he tried to hide the blush spreading across the back of his neck. She would have high-fived herself had Georgia not been staring at her with daggers in her eyes.

“Well, I guess I should open it,” Sophie said. Everyone held their breath as Sophie broke the wax seal and slipped the heavy calling card out of the envelope. “Who are Cleo, Agatha and Rose?” Sophie asked.

“No,” Callie said to Georgia. “I won’t permit it.”

Georgia chuckled. “You say that, my dear, as if you know who had a choice in you know what.”

“Okay. I’m done,” Sophie said, getting up from the table. “I am sick and tired of being kept in the dark, while each of you discusses my future behind my back. Aren’t any of you the least bit concerned I may have an opinion on the subject?”

“Opinion?” Georgia laughed. “I am amazed by the ridiculous things falling out of her head and onto her tongue.”

Sophie stood there—face burning with rage. Then, she turned and walked towards the door, unconcerned about what Georgia or her mother wanted.

A spark and a crack exploded in front of her and the massive wooden doors slammed shut.

Sophie remained standing, even though she knew the doors were locked and she was stuck there.

“Come back to the table and we’ll tell you everything,” Callie said to her. “No lies, no half-truths. Anything you want to know.” The touch of her mother’s hand on her back made her cringed. She didn’t turn around.

“What does Nothos mean?” Sophie asked.

The room fell quiet.

“It means,” Callie began, “it means mongrel. It’s what the gods called us Demigods. They would refer to us as Nothos as they hunted us down and rounded us up. After torturing a Demigod, they would brand it on their body, so they would be damned for an eternity in the Underworld. No matter what they do in their life, anyone branded with Nothos will suffer in the afterlife.”

“It means this,” Georgia said, walking over to Sophie and removing her bracelet to show the brand.

“Mama.” Callie wailed, rushing towards her. “But you… never told me you bore the mark. Oh God, Mama.”

“It also means this,” Georgia said, unbuttoning her blouse to show several brands across her torso and back. “Each one of these brands represents a battle against an escaped Olympian.”

Georgia pointed to the brand on her wrist. “This one was my first, given to me by Zeus’ wife, Hera. She was a jealous goddess and didn’t care for the idea of remaining in her prison, especially in the hands of a lowly Nothos like myself. When I gave birth to Callie, Hera came out of hiding and plotted to kill my infant daughter for revenge. I defeated her, but not until after she gave me this little parting gift. Aphrodite gave me three, including one you can’t see. She plunged her hand into my back and burned Nothos onto one of my vertebra, just in case we had figured out a way to remove the brands from our skin. They damned me to a future of misery in the Underworld and with my last breath, I will make sure they are damned to an equally miserable existence.” Georgia put her shirt back on and sat back down. “It’s the very least I could do.”

“Mama. Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Callie demanded.

“How does a mother tell her daughter about something like this? It isn’t something you bring up at the dinner table. And when your daughter decides to elope, you certainly can’t bring it up then. When should I have told you? When you were a baby, in your crib, singing a lullaby to you? Hush little baby, don’t say a word, Mama’s damned to hell seven times over, now go to sleep?”