Simply Irresistible (17 page)

His confrontational skills had never been good. He’d always solved problems once they arose, but never had he prevented them before they happened.

Yet another detail those two teenagers had missed when they had confused Dex with a superhero.

“There’s got to be somewhere we can move them,” Nora was saying. She was moving the silverware in front of her plate, sliding the fork back and forth as if she were trying to decide the proper position for it.

Dex twined his fingers with Vivian’s. She gave him a sideways look, combined with a worried smile. She had no idea what to do next, and why would she? All of this was new to her.

“This isn’t like hiding an object,” Andrew Vari was saying. “The Fates will need food and shelter and—”

“No need to discuss us in the third person,” Lachesis said. “We are here and can take care of ourselves.”

That was the problem, wasn’t it? The Fates believed they could take care of themselves, but they had no experience with the modern world and didn’t know how to survive without magic.

Dex had an idea, but he wasn’t willing to implement it until he knew a few things. He squeezed Vivian’s hand, wishing he could consult with her. Wishing she knew everything about him, even the stuff he had purposely blocked from her once he learned she could read his mind.

“If we figure out who is doing this and manage to stop that person,” Dex said, “will someone else appear and come after you in the same way?”

“I should hope not,” Atropos said.

“That’s a good point,” Andrew Vari said. “Can you petition for your magic back?”

The three Fates sat up straighter, as if the question offended them. Vivian’s hand trembled in Dex’s. With her free hand, she rubbed the back of her neck.

“I suppose we could,” Clotho said after a moment.

“But you don’t want to,” Nora said, revealing the unspoken answer. “Why not?”

“We have a purpose here,” Lachesis said.

“To find out what it’s like to be powerless?” Blackstone said. “Now you know.”

“We’re wasting time,” Dex said. “All I want to know is whether or not we’re helping you for the short term or the long term. It makes a difference in what we plan.”

“Good point,” Ariel said. She had stopped fidgeting and was leaning toward the table.

The Fates frowned, as if they were considering what Dex had said.

“Short term.” Atropos’s words sounded final, as if she had made a decision for all of them.

Dex sighed. He could feel the time running out He glanced at Vivian and wondered what she would think of him as he revealed more of himself. He liked the easy camaraderie they had now; would it change when she realized just how much he had influenced the comic books she loved?

Then he shook his head. She already knew he was the prototype for Superman, that Siegel and Schuster had thought their weird neighbor who could run fast and pull off feats of amazing physical strength was an alien, abandoned here from another planet. They mistook his magic for great physical powers, and mistook his character for the open, all-American Superman.

Dex was more like Batman—secretive and protected, not willing to let other people in. Or maybe the better analogy came later, from the comic book artists who had never met him—the Stan Lees, Len Weins, and Frank Millers of the world, who seemed to know what it was like to be an outsider with an outsider’s vision.

Vivian was watching Dex closely. He could feel her concern.

“You all right?” she whispered. No one else seemed to notice his pensiveness. The conversation still continued to run its circles around him.

He nodded, squeezed her hand, and let go. Then he looked directly at the Fates. “I have an idea, if you promise me I won’t get into trouble.”

Everyone turned toward him in surprise. Apparently, he had interrupted Nora, and his comment seemed to come out of the blue.

He ignored the others and just concentrated on the Fates—and Vivian, of course. He couldn’t delete her from his consciousness even if he tried.

“We have no power over you,” Clotho said.

“Right now,” Dex said.

“We’re not as rigid as you people seem to think,” Lachesis said.

Dex swallowed hard. They were that rigid and they didn’t even realize it. It was very possible that once he saved them and they returned to their jobs, they would punish him for disobeying the law.

Vari shot the Fates an irritated glance. “What’s your idea?” he asked Dex. “Because we’re out of time.”

Dex nodded. He looked at the Fates. They had wiped the tears off their faces, but they still appeared fragile. He couldn’t get used to how small they were, and how very human they looked.

“Okay,” he said. “I can take you to the cave.”

“The fortress?” Atropos’s voice rose.

He felt his cheeks grow warm. Vivian turned toward him, her expression surprised.

“I never called it a fortress,” Dex said. “You did.”

“Those books did,” Clotho said.

“Those books were fiction,” Dex said. “They had nothing to do with me.”

“You started them,” Lachesis said.

“I didn’t even know the boys had written the first one until they’d sold it,” Dex said. “And then they sold all their rights to it, so I thought it was over. Some big company was going to deal with it, and the company didn’t know me.”

“You’re talking about Siegel and Schuster?” Vivian asked, awe in her voice.

“No,” Dex said, “we’re talking about whether or not I violated some sacred oath I didn’t even know about.”

“Everyone has heard of the comic book offender,” Blackstone said.

“You’re not helping,” Nora whispered.

“The comic book offender?” Vivian asked.

“There’s enough about our people in various comic books that we knew someone had blown the whole secrecy thing.” Andrew Vari shrugged. “Of course, you could say that about myths, or Shakespeare, or any writer worth his salt—”

“We will not get into your indiscretions.” Clotho glared at Vari.

“You’re one of the reasons we had to crack down on later offenders,” Lachesis said.

Dex leaned back in his chair, feeling discouraged.

“I don’t understand the problem,” Vivian said. “Dex is offering to help you. Stop fighting him.”

“By sending us to the fortress,” Atropos said.

“Which you promised you would get rid of.” Clotho had turned her glare on Dex. He had been wrong a moment ago. She could be just as formidable, even in her smaller, more human state.

Dex clenched his fists. He would not let anger get the best of him. It took all his control to speak calmly. “See? This is what I was afraid of. You just don’t understand.”

“It was an order.” Lachesis’s tone had a bite to it that Dex had heard only once before. “No one disobeys our orders.”

“Disobeyed.” Vari glanced at Dex, obviously hoping Dex got the message. “Get your tenses right.”

“You already compromised your position among mortals,” Atropos said, as if Vari hadn’t spoken. “You risk doing even more.”

That was it. He’d had enough. If the Fates hadn’t put Vivian in such danger, he’d walk out the front door and let whoever do their worst. But he was afraid it would ricochet on Vivian, who didn’t deserve it.

And he had to protect her too. In fact, he wanted to protect her more than he wanted to protect anyone in his entire life.

“First,” Dex said, “the comic book thing happened a long time ago. The boys, as we’ve been calling them, are dead now. No one remembers but us. Second, no one has found my cave in all the decades I’ve had it. Third, that property appreciates every year, and I’m not a rich man. I’m not willing to sell it. Fourth, if people believed comic books—which they emphatically do not— then my cave would be a damn fortress and it would be in the Arctic. And fifth, whether you like it or not, I think taking you there is our only option.”

“To the Arctic?” Clotho asked.

“We’re not fond of the cold,” Lachesis said.

“I think he means the cave,” Atropos said softly.

“What kind of fortress?” Blackstone asked. He had been watching the entire interchange with interest. Dex found it odd that even though Blackstone wanted to be in charge, he let this entire conversation continue without interference.

“It’s not a fortress,” Dex said. “It was an experiment. It’s a home built inside a cave.”

But he wasn’t about to tell Blackstone where the cave was. Dex didn’t trust the man enough to do that.

“They called it a fortress,” Clotho said.

“Who?” Nora asked.

“The mortals. Those boys.”

“The boys who are dead?” Ariel asked.

“Siegel and Schuster,” Vivian said. “But they didn’t come up with the Fortress of Solitude.”

“That’s right,” Dex said. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

“You told someone else?” Lachesis asked.

“I got the idea from the comic book!” Dex raised his voice.

“I thought you said no one got ideas from comic books,” Atropos said.

“I said no one believed comic books were real,” Dex said.

“But if no one believes they’re real, why take ideas from them?” Clotho asked.

“You’ve been accusing me of putting ideas into them, not taking them out,” Dex said. “I never told anyone about the caves, not until you decided to punish me for every leak that made its way into the D.C. and Marvel offices. And most of those didn’t come from me.”

“You just started the problem,” Lachesis said.

“I did not,” Dex said. “Half the stuff came from world mythology anyway.”

“Yeah.” Andrew Vari grinned. “And you guys can blame yourselves for that.”

“This isn’t helping,” Vivian said.

“No, it isn’t.” Dex stood. He was shaking with anger. He pointed a finger at the Fates. “You see why someone has chosen to attack you? You’re unreasonable. I’m trying to help you and you’re—”

“Because you violated a sacred promise,” Atropos said.

“It wasn’t sacred,” Dex said.

“You made an oath to us that you would never interfere with mortals again. You promised to get rid of all the accoutrements, and still, still, you have this place.” Clotho stood too. “If I had power—”

“If you had power, you wouldn’t even know I still had the cave,” Dex said.

Vivian rubbed the back of her neck. Dex frowned. He didn’t like that gesture. He had a hunch it was connected to this entire mess.

“We were out of time five minutes ago,” Vivian whispered to him.

But the others heard and the conversation stopped. Finally, Blackstone took a deep breath.

“A cave?” he asked Dex.

Dex nodded. “It’s really a vacation home now, and no one knows I have it. The only way in is through magic. I’ve been fixing it up. It’s nice.”

“It sounds perfect,” Blackstone said. “Let’s get the Fates there.”

“If we continually use magic to go in and out,” Dex said, “there’ll be a trail. Anyone with powers can find it. We bring the Fates in once and they stay until we find whoever has been attacking them.”

“You don’t need to discuss this as if we’re not here,” Lachesis said.

“Yes, we do,” Van said. “You’re being petty. So he didn’t follow your rules. Or maybe he did. Who cares? It’s not relevant at the moment. And you know, you guys can make mistakes.”

“That kind of logic has gotten you into trouble more than once,” Atropos said.

The Fates might have gotten rid of their magic, but they hadn’t gotten rid of their arrogance. Blackstone’s arms were crossed. Ariel’s mouth was in a thin line, and Vari looked as angry as Dex felt Vivian was watching the Fates as if she hadn’t seen them before.

Then she rubbed her neck again. The gesture seemed involuntary.

Dex sent a small reveal spell her way. A greenish glow tingled against the back of her neck and then vanished. Someone had touched her with magic, but he wasn’t certain what kind.

Maybe his sense in the pet store had been right. Maybe Vivian was the evil mage’s link to the Fates. But he wasn’t sure how that could be. He certainly didn’t sense any evil coming from her. She seemed to be the only person who cared.

Of course, she was the one who knew the Fates the least.

“Well,” Dex said to the Fates, “you get a choice. You go to the cave and you don’t complain about it. You stay until we say it’s safe to leave and you never, ever punish me, nor do you tell anyone else to punish me, for keeping that cave. Or you walk out that door now and survive on your own.”

Vari smirked, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair. Blackstone raised his eyebrows. Nora’s gaze caught Vivian’s and Vivian looked away. Dex felt her nervousness. She was worried that this would turn out badly for everyone.

Lachesis stood beside Clotho. Then Atropos stood. They stared at Dex, their gazes flat, their faces expressionless. They had looked at him like this the first-time they had called him to them, before he had realized he had done anything wrong.

He had found their expressions terrifying then. They were still unnerving now, even though he knew he had more magic than the three of them combined.

“You dare challenge us?” Clotho said.

“You take advantage of our vulnerability?” Lachesis said, almost at the same time.

“You treat us like mere mortals?” Atropos said.

“Which you’re supposed to be right now,” Dex snapped. “Didn’t you say you wanted to learn what it was like to be powerless? Well, welcome to that world, and make your damn choice.”

His words echoed in the restaurant. Everyone looked at him in surprise, as if they hadn’t expected it from him. He hadn’t expected it from himself either, but someone had to take the lead. Someone who would ensure that Vivian wouldn’t be hurt any worse than she already had been.

One by one, the Fates sat down. They didn’t speak. Blackstone took Nora’s hand. Ariel laid her head on Vari’s shoulder.

Dex still stood, his arms crossed, his face set. He had taken quite a risk, and the Fates might make him pay for that risk at some point.

“All right,” Clotho finally said. “Do what you must.”

“But we’ll stay there no longer than a month,” Lachesis said. “Your time.”

“And we’ll need some sort of communication system that’s impossible to track. We’ll need to know what’s going on,” Atropos said.