Volcanoes (28 page)

"Oh," was all I could muster.

"I'm not here to kill you.  I mean, I'm not now. I was sent to study you so we would know when - or if - the right time to strike would be."

"S
o…
you
are responsible for all of this?" I waved my sword around me at the wreckage and scuffed my toe in all that was left of Lyssa.

"Not necessarily," she replied archly. "I determined there was something worth saving in you. You've done this all on your own. I could have cut your thread at any time, but I've been watching to see what you'd do next."

I'd known Marisol for years. I'd tr
usted her. At any point she could have given me a heads up
–
some kind of warning. If she was one of Nyx's children, she could have stopped this madness before it had even started.

I didn't even stop to think. My emotions were in control now and without h
esitation my sword was hurtling impossibly fast toward her head.

But then time stopped. Everything, including my kukri, froze in mid-motion.  I could see Marisol's eyes widened in shock and what could even be called sadness on her face.

"I gave you those
Kukri to use against Lyssa. I didn't give them to you so you could just fling them around all willy nilly."

I swung around and was surprised to see a tiny woman appearing to be in her 70s standing behind me. She had neon yellow shorts paired with a bright
orange button down shirt and sunglasses so large they dominated her face. All of this was topped off by a plastic fanny pack with a Disney logo.

My mouth dropped open to ask who she was but I couldn't get words past my throat.  Her springy permed gray cu
rls jiggled as she laughed. "What, I don
’
t get some smartassed comeback?  I
’
m disappointed."

"Who are you?" I finally managed.

"You've called me every name in the book and you don't know who I am?"

No freakin' way. NO way!

She beamed at me and toddled clo
ser. "You look cold." She waved a wrinkled, age spotted hand toward my chest and I immediately crossed my free arm over my breasts with a scowl.

"Nobody's come up with a super suit yet that can survive my bursts of anger," I responded, shrugging. "So I'm
getting comfortable with my own skin."

She snorted and wiggled her fingers. My body was instantly covered in a shimmering fabric that clung to my curves like a second skin. "Don't say I never gave you nothin'."

I raised my other kukri and said, "Hey, I wa
s grateful for this. The rest though
–
I'm thinking you're a crotchety old bitch."

Surprise filled her features and I wasn't sure if she was about to strike me down or laugh. "I've been known to be a crotchety old bitch. Still, I'm a bitch that can turn yo
u into a cockroach, so watch it."

I thought about apologizing but kept silent.

She nodded toward Marisol. "What's your beef with that girl? Why are you about to skewer her like a kabob?"

"She's one of Nyx's. If I'm going to get out of this alive - with my
family intact - then she's got to go."

"Does she really? Or are you perhaps over-reacting?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Was she the one who gave Hypnos the information on my family and friends?"

A smile lit her eyes. "Now you
’
re thinking with that n
oggin. No. She wasn't."

My face hardened with determination. "Then who did?"

"Not my question to answer. Who knows," she shrugged a shoulder and pulled a lifesaver out of her fanny pack, popping it into her mouth. "I think killing someone who could be an a
lly isn't a good move on your part, though - if you're looking for that information."

"I
’
ll tell you what. You give me one of your lifesavers and I'll spare her life."

"Done." She tossed me the rest of her roll. Wintergreen
–
my favorite. "I'm fond of that
one. Reminds me of myself, she does.  See that you treat her better than you have been."

I walked over to where my kukri was left suspended mid-flight and plucked it out of the air. "I'll think about it."

"Good. And Grace?"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Stop calling me a bitch.  I'm not going to keep turning a blind eye to your disrespect."

I gulped. "Yes, ma'am."

I took a few deep breaths to stave off the panic. Holy shit! I'd just had a conversation with one of the Fates and survived. Moreover,
they
we
re the daughters of Nyx, as well. Did that mean not all of her children were ready for her to reboot her life here on Earth?

My brain was whirling so hard I'd forgotten Marisol.  She startled me out of my reverie by saying, "So it looks like my sister has
set you on the path to getting a clue."

I blinked. "You're Lachesis?"

"Are you surprised?"

I thought about it and honestly, I wasn't surprised a bit. Of course Marisol was the Allotter. It fit perfectly. That meant that I'd just been incredibly disrespectf
ul to Atropos. "She's going to turn me into a cockroach, isn't she?"

"She talks about it often
–
and fondly."

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"It's not my job to intervene. I watch and when needed, I assist."

"I haven't seen much assisting from you lately,
lady." I jabbed a finger in her direction.

A sly smile spread across her lips. "Haven't I? But that's beside the point." She waved her hand absently.  "My role in your life is about to pick up. You are faced with discovery from your government. I see why
you felt you had to end your human existence. But it's not time for that, Grace. Your destiny as Grace Murphy hasn't come to its conclusion.  You did not, in fact, die in that fire. However, you can't very well live an open existence. So I will become you
r
intermediary. You will stay in contact with me and continue to write - but in hiding."

Confusion thy name is
–
I didn't even know. I was confused and it was written all over my face. "Why?"

"Because I said so."

I scowled. "No, why aren't you taking your m
other's side? Why are you here talking to me
–
talking about helping me, when you could just kill me?"

"We don't take sides, dear. We're above that. But if we did
–
and I'm not saying we do - you could presume that we are on your side."

I nodded stupidly.
I suppose there were worse things to have than the Fates on your side. I was just still so confused. Where had these guys come from - and why now?

"Sooo…
I continue writing and being Grace Murphy on the lam and you continue to rake in a generous percentage
of my profits."

She beamed and nodded. "Yes, exactly."

"And what do you get out of continuing this ruse?"

"A hefty percentage of your profits," she replied, deadpan.

"No, really."

"Let's just say you aren't ready to face my mother yet.  I've taken a perso
nal interest in making sure you survive that encounter."

I couldn't help the uneasy distrust that was crawling up my spine and I said so.

"Have I done anything in the years you've known me to cause you to distrust me?"

"Noooo." I replied cautiously.

"Then
why start now? I'm your agent. I'm your manager. You just keep doing what you're doing
–
well, except I'd like to see more pages, young lady."

"There's the Marisol I know and love," I said with a small smile.

"Exactly. I'll do what I've been doing
–
which is keeping an eye on you and looking out for your best interests.  You continue onward. Prepare yourself, little girl. She's not going to be as easy as my siblings were."

"You're kidding, right? Your siblings have nearly killed me, kidnapped my kid
and created chaos on Earth."

"Multiply that by a thousand and you'll come close to the devastation Nyx will wreak upon you."

"Shit," I breathed.

"I hear your companions stirring. I'll be off now. I expect three chapters from you by the end of the week. Don
't disappoint me, Grace."

I nodded stupidly and watched her disappear. Georgie came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Do you know who that was?"

"I do now," I answered.

"Jesus, Grace. You're a walking catastrophe. Do you know what she could do
to you?"

"You shoulda heard what her sister threatened."

"Which one?" she asked.

"The old one."

"Shit," she gasped.

"Yep."

It didn't take much longer for the boys to find us. Dylan scrambled out of the car and threw himself at me, with tear
s streaming down his face. "I thought you'd died for real," he sobbed.

"I know," I murmured against his neck. "I'm so sorry. I won't do that again. I promise."

He stepped away angry. "You keep promising and I keep thinking you're dead. When does it stop,
Mom?"

I explained what had happened since our separation and his eyes became wide as saucers. "You
talked
to the Fates?"

"Yep and, as it turns out, I'm not allowed to be dead. So we have to figure out how to turn this whole conundrum around so I can just b
e in hiding. I'm not sure how to do that. Have any ideas Mr. Genius?"

He shook his head at me. "Dude, I'm only 12. I shouldn't have to come up with these kinds of schemes."

"Yep, that's what I thought too."

"I think I have an idea," Heph interjected.

I'd been pretending he wasn't standing right next to me with waves of anxiousness telegraphing from his massive body.  I didn't want to see how concerned he was. If I could pretend he was just annoyed or - at best
–
bored with my antics, I wouldn't have t
o
realize how much I meant to him.  Then I could ignore my own burgeoning feelings.

"Okay, go." I said briefly, avoiding his gaze.

"We're going to plant someone in the police station and say it was a homeless squatter. You're going to cause a very visible s
cene where you cry and sob about your house being blown to bits before getting into a car and driving away."

"That seems too easy."

"Sometimes the simplest way is the best way, Grace. Poe, what do you think?"

"I think that you damn people need to start usi
ng my name," he growled. "Otherwise it's a sound plan. I can teleport her to behind the house. She's already scraped up pretty good so we can say she was hiding back in the trees and bushes, trying to avoid the explosions.  Something hit her in the head a
n
d that's why she's just now coming out from behind the wreckage."

I nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's get this over with. I want to find out what happened with Rose and the others."

There were gasps of amazement as I staggered out from behind the house, wa
iling with sorrow and shock at the loss of my beloved home.  I should have gotten a Tony for that performance. It was up there on the Diva scale of drama queen antics, it was so over the top.

My "family" ushered me into a car and told the press stationed
outside the perimeter that there would be no comments. 

"There have been reports of unexplained DNA found in the house.  Does Ms. Murphy know what it is? Did she blow up her own house to erase the evidence?"

I looked at the reporter with wide innocent eye
s.

"What? What do you mean?"

Poseidon shoved my head into the waiting car and my body followed.  Microphones followed me into the car before Hephaestus ushered them away with the promise that as soon as I was checked for injuries I would give a statement.

The car was followed for about five blocks before we turned a corner and disappeared.

**

Diana was waiting to check me for any permanent injuries when we arrived.  It took all of my will not to blast her with questions.  I let her poke and prod me with n
othing more than a mutinous glare.

"You know you weren't prepared to go into battle with us," she stated calmly.

"So I was prepared to take on Lyssa and the Fates all by myself?" I asked, sarcasm overflowing.

"That couldn't have been avoided. We had no i
dea Lyssa wasn
’
t with the rest."

"Tell me what happened."

"We went in and the place held only our own people and your friend. None of Nyx's children were there. We'd gone in prepared for a fight, but our Hunters were milling about confused as to why they w
ere in an abandoned warehouse in Granby, Colorado."

"Wow, they were close. How did we not find them before?"

"The place barely has satellite much less any relevant logistical advantage. It was actually the perfect place from which to base their attacks."

"
And Rose?"

"She's fine. You can see her in a bit. I want to make sure you're okay first."

"I'm good to go. Did you find Brandon?"

She shook her head sadly. "No. He wasn't there. I'm afraid he is truly dead."

"How did they convince Dylan that it was his fat
her?"

She gave me a look that asked,
‘
Really?
’
"Glamour and false hope on your son's part. I'm sorry he has to go through the loss of his father yet again. But," she continued, "He's resilient. He will come out of this stronger."

"I don't know how
much more resilient he can be before he breaks.  I'm worried about him. I don't know what the next right thing to do is here."

"Maybe it's time to let him bond with the rest of his family so you don't have to be the only one making those decisions for him.
"

It was a wise suggestion.  I tried not to balk, but he'd been just mine for so long that sharing him was difficult. I nodded. "You're right.  Of course."

"Of course I am. I'm always right, dear."

I snorted. "Yeah, right.  Now let me up."

**

I was happy t
o see Rose sitting in a medical bay hooked up to an IV. She looked sedated but if she was breathing then she would be okay. "She'll be fine," Diana murmured when she reached me. "Actually, everyone seems to be back to themselves with absolutely no idea of
what has happened.

"I killed Lyssa," I said in way of explanation. "Kill the puppet-master and they all go free."

"That seems reasonable. I'm having Zachary look at them in depth, just in case. We don't want something like this happening again."

"You know
this isn't over."

She pulled me into her embrace. "I know. We'll find a way to make it safe again. We just need to have faith."

I disengaged and walked over to Rose's bedside. She opened her eyes and myriad emotions - confusion, anger and shame - flitted
across her features.  I took her hand and wouldn't let her pull away. "Hey, you."

"Hey," she croaked.

I gestured to the pitcher of water and poured after she nodded.  She took a long pull before speaking again.

I interrupted her by holding up a hand. "W
ait. Before you say anything." I paused because I wanted to make sure I was clear.  "I'm going to assume you were coerced into betraying me and my family, Rose.  I'm making this assumption because you've been my best friend for more than twenty years.  Th
a
t friend would never have put my son in harm's way.  She wouldn't betray that friendship. So we're going to call this good."

She nodded slowly and tried to say something but I interrupted her again. "No, we're calling it good. Because I've gained something
dark in here," I pointed to my chest. "And if I thought that you were truly trying to hurt my son, I'd have to do something about it.  I don't want to think about that."

My mother gasped and Rose's eyes filled with fear. "Grace!" Diana admonished.

I turn
ed to her calmly. "I'm not taking any more chances with my son's life, Mother.  She needs to know what is on the line if she thinks to casually take the opposition's side again."

"How do you know I wasn't coerced?" she asked, afraid.

"Because
–
you've been
my best friend for over twenty years and the woman I know would have immediately contacted me, no matter what. Because she would have believed that I'd have saved her and her family."

She nodded once. "I would like to go home now."

"I'll have someone take
you home as soon as possible."

"So I guess this means you're not coming over for any more cook-outs."

I looked away so she couldn't see the hurt. "Nope, got a world to save and all that junk. Not much time for grilling."

She didn't respond to that and I w
alked away without another word.  Losing your best friend is like losing a limb. It's supposed to be there and you can feel it
–
but it just doesn't exist anymore.  I felt the emptiness encompass me but refused to cry.  At the rate I was going, it was saf
e
r to not be my best friend these days.

**

I ran into Drew and Dylan in the corridor outside of the Med Unit.  "Hey kiddo, how's tricks?" I laced my fingers through his and pulled him along with me.

"Oh, you know
–
the usual. Trying to figure out when my Mom is going to stop being weird and start telling me the truth."

"Probably never. I heard your Mom is a neurotic bitch."

"It's not that funny, Mom. All of your hopes that we'd have a normal life are pretty much tra
shed."

I grabbed him under the chin and gave it a little squeeze. "Normal is boring, kiddo. Screw normal."

"Sometimes normal is good, Grace." Drew called from behind us.

Heph interjected, "Nope, normal is always boring."

"Just another setting on the washi
ng machine," Zeus piped in.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled as I walked with my boys toward the dining Hall. As usual
–
I was hungry.  The way things had been going these days, I ate when I had the chance.

"What are you going to do about the agents sniffing
around your case?" Drew hip bumped me as he questioned.

"Dunno. I suppose I'll be spending quite a bit more time here in Olympus.  Where
is
Olympus, anyway?"

"I'd tell you but then we'd have to erase your memory," Heph joked.

"And possibly kill you," Zeus
didn't.

I whipped my head around and gave him an injured look. "Really! Don't you think it's time I knew?"

"Please," Poseidon mocked, sidling up beside me. "Like you could keep a secret. You can't even keep your mouth shut when your life depends on it. W
hat makes you think we can trust you with the location?"

"Totally not fair," I grumbled.

Dylan giggled like a maniac behind me and I hid a smile.

"You still owe me a story, Poe. Don't think I've forgotten about you and your lady friend." I raised an eyeb
row at him and continued walking.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you and your mother," he groaned.

I may have lost my best friend and the man I thought I'd grow old with, but I was surrounded by people who cared about me and my son.  They were a hodg
e-podge family, but they were mine.  In that moment, I felt loved - and maybe even somewhat normal.