Volcanoes (6 page)

I felt like I
’
d already suffered the worst thing that I could imagine. What else could he realistically do to me that hadn
’
t already happened? "But he didn
’
t," I said softly.

"No, he didn
’
t and thankfully I was able to get here and drive him away before things got too
out of hand." She sighed and sat next to me. A cup of coffee appeared in her hand. It was Pikes Perk. I loved that place. I wished myself a cup too and was inhaling the scent of perfectly roasted coffee within seconds.

"I don
’
t have long in here before yo
ur mind boots me out, but we have a lot to discuss and you have a lot of training to do."

"How can I train if I
’
ve lost my power?" I asked, exasperated.

"It
’
s not lost; it
’
s just taking a nap. I
’
m going to wake you up now. I
’
ll see you on the other side.
By the way
–
you snore like a bear when you sleep. It
’
s no wonder you
’
re single."

My face fell and she realized too late that my ex-husband was pinned to my foyer and my snoring wasn
’
t the reason I wasn
’
t ever going to share a bed with Brandon again.

"Gra
ce, I
’
m
—
"

"Yeah, I know. You
’
re sorry," I finished for her as I sat up from my collapsed position. I wondered why she never arranged me neatly when she knocked me out. I always woke up sprawled the way I
’
d fallen. Maybe she was lazy. Maybe she laughed at m
e while I was unconscious. Who knew? All I knew was that it wasn
’
t a very dignified way to come to.

"Want to hear what I found or do you want to be pissy with me and hold a grudge?" She leaned back against the chair and folded her arms, a look of stubborn
persistence settling upon her face.

I could have smiled. I can tell you what character defect I
didn
’
t
get from my father.

It wasn
’
t long before a team of Hunters were swarming my house - taking samples, cleaning blood off the wa
lls and doing general investigative work.  I
’
ve watched CSI occasionally and
those
guys had nothing on
my
guys.  There was equipment in my house that I had no idea what it could possibly be used for and when I asked what pieces were, I immediately forgot t
he names they were so complicated and convoluted.

My mother hadn
’
t wanted me to watch them unpin Brandon
’
s body and ready it for the
‘
accident
’
that it would soon be in. I couldn
’
t take my eyes off of it. She stood by me, rubbing my back as I cataloged ou
r life together in approximately fifteen minutes.

The day we met, I had been walking in the rain, carrying several folders and reports, trying desperately to keep them dry. I
’
d stepped wrong in a pool of water and ended up flying backwards onto my back. L
ater he said that it was the funniest thing he
’
d ever seen, my feet flying up in the air like a cartoon character. He hadn
’
t even thought that was physically possible.

I
’
d laughed along with him and stared dreamily into his eyes, thinking
–
this man, this
rescuer of wet bedraggled women, would be the love of my life forever.

How wrong I had been. Dylan kept us bonded even though we should never have stayed married as long as we had. But even now, I felt the tremors of love, despite his
betrayal and my fin
al indifference.

Regardless of how it had ended with us, he didn
’
t deserve this fate. I wondered briefly how Clarissa would take this and if his life insurance was up to date. Cold? Perhaps, but it was the only way I could function without breaking down.

Finally the troupe started clearing out machinery and gear, leaving me to pace back and forth in my living room with nothing to do but wait. Diana said that she
’
d stay with me while I waited for the phone call that would tell me my ex-husband was dead.  I
nodded and took her hand.

"I probably don
’
t say this enough, but thank you. I know I get angry and frustrated with you but when it comes right down to it, I
’
m grateful that you are my mother."

"I know you are, dear." She squeezed my hand before pulling m
e in for a hug. "I know that I haven
’
t made the best decisions with regards to you and your life, Grace." She stopped and gave a halfhearted laugh. "I hear you saying the same things to yourself about your decisions with Dylan. It seems like we
’
re not so
d
ifferent after all."

I shook my head and gave her a wry smile. "I guess we aren
’
t."

"We
’
ll do better this time. We
’
ll do some proper training."

My eyebrows rose in question. "Really? Because I keep hearing this and I
’
m still flying by the seat of my p
ants."

"But you get the job done right?" Her knowing look speared me and I shrank a little.

"Well yes. But
–
"

"But nothing," she interrupted. "You obviously make adequate choices. Quit bitching about your lot in life and start making the improvements you
feel good about."

I was taken aback by her frankness. Diana wasn't known for her direct speech. She spoke in circles and innuendos and platitudes and every other adjective I could think of. Okay, maybe she was direct with other people but to date, she
’
d in
undated me with wibbly-wobbly speech.

"I don't
–
I don't know how to do that."

Smiling gently, she patted the back of my hand and said, "I know dear. That's why I've given you mentors. If you could stop being so angry with Drew, maybe you could learn some
thing from him, yes?"

I scowled.

"And Zachary gave you Hephaestus to learn from. Also, I'd like you to start working with Pie."

"Who?"

"Pie," she repeated.

"Who?"

She sighed, rolled her eyes and said, "Poseidon."

"Why didn't you say so?" I was annoyed. W
ho the hell called the God of the Seas
‘
Pie
’
?

"I did. I told you several times. Anyway," she waved off my anger. "You need to learn and he can teach. Besides, he owes me."

I can tell you this
–
I wouldn't want to owe her. Sure, she's my mother and yes, the
re are times when she's very maternal
–
but in general Diana is a hardcore bitch.

"I see," I replied and stepped back. "Do you have a new plan then?"

"Plan?" She looked confused. Good.

"Yes, because the last plan didn't work. I'm thinking that you had thi
s idea of slowly bringing me into the fold, keeping me happy and in line but things went awry. So now
–
you need a new plan."

Her disgruntled look made me smile. "Yes, I have a new plan. One that involves keeping you and my grandson alive.  It's time you b
ecame a proper Hunter, Grace."

"How can I be a proper Hunter if I don't have any powers?"

"I told you," she sighed. "They're not gone
–
they're just taking a break. If you let them rest - and work on your other skills - they will come back in time. You bur
ned them out." She gave me a knowing look. "Now you have to learn how to go about it the proper way."

Go about what? At this point I was so confused I just held up my hand and shook my head. "I can't do this right now. I have some pretty heavy things to de
al with on a more mundane level." I nodded toward the foyer.

"Yes of course, dear. When you're ready."

"Who are you sending to keep me protected? I assume you won't let me stay here alone."

"You assume correctly. I haven't decided yet. I'll take an inven
tory of the available Hunters and decide then."

"Not Drew."

"You need to stop being angry with him and let it go, Grace."

"I'm not angry with him anymore. I just don't want
–
I don't want to become this fake family unit. I can't do that again."

Her gaze ma
de me squirm as she scrutinized me closely. "Hmm."

"Hmm what?" Was I paranoid? Yeah. Of bloody course I was.

"Nothing. Someone will be down shortly. Do try to stay out of trouble, will you?"

"Send my kid back. I need him." My words sounded pitiful and sma
ll.

She nodded briefly and then was gone.

I took a deep breath and sat down on the floor. I didn't have the energy to make it to the couch. I sat there and waited for the phone to ring.

It
would
ring. I
would
get that call that Brandon had died in a hor
rible accident and then I would have to tell my son that his father was dead.

I spent a lot of time whining about my own changes and trials but let's face it, the kid hadn't had an easy life this year. Not only had he discovered that his mother wasn't hum
an - and neither was he
–
but we
’
d
also dropped the bomb on him that Adonis was his father. On top of that crappy sundae, he'd been kidnapped by one aunt and killed by another. It was a miracle that he was remotely well adjusted. I felt like I was holding
my breath
–
just waiting for him to break.

There wasn't enough wine in the world.

It didn't take long for the phone call to come. I was believably upset and shaken. They said that they needed me to come down to the morgue and identify personal effects. The
re wasn't much left of him so they
’
d had to use his dental records.

I cringed at that. "I need to tell our son. Do you need me to do this right away?"

My voice sounded tired. I
was
tired. I hadn't allowed myself to break down yet. That was coming. I just
had to get through telling Dylan first.

"No ma'am," the officer replied. "You can do that later today or tomorrow. It looks like we have another notification to make on this one. You were listed as the emergency contact. Do you happen to know who Clarissa
Murphy is?"

I took a deep breath. He'd married her. "Yes, it's his new wife. I'm his ex."

There was a pause and then he started speaking again, sounding embarrassed. "I'm so sorry ma'am. We wouldn't have notified you if you hadn't been listed as the ICE.
"

"It's alright officer. We were married for several years. I am grateful that you called."

We hung up after a few more minutes of awkward conversation and I closed my eyes and waited. Diana would have my son down here any moment.

It wasn't much longer be
fore he came strolling back into the living room. "So what was that all about?"

"Honey," I patted the cushion next to me. "Sit down. I have something to tell you."

He sighed and a look of resignation crossed his face. He was the oldest twelve-year old I kn
ew and because of that I didn't want to be the one telling him this. I wished for a moment I could get someone else to do it.

He sat down and stared at me with eyes that had already seen too much. "Go ahead. Tell me."

"Your father has been in a car accid
ent, honey. I'm afraid he didn't make it."

The only sign that he
’
d heard me was the tightening of his shoulders.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I was going to be encouraging and patient and loving and all of the things that a mother should be when giving
her baby extremely bad news.

"No," he responded shortly before standing up and leaving the room.

I watched him go, wanting to pull him back to me and hug him and let him cry it out.  He wasn't a little boy anymore, though. He didn't want to cry on my sho
ulder and let me make him feel better. He had to deal with yet another setback in his own way.

My phone rang and I answered with a, "Hello?" I didn't recognize the number.

"Grace?"

"Clarissa?" She was sobbing so hard, I could hardly understand what she w
as saying and then I realized that she was trying to break the news to me.

"Yes, I got the call a while ago, I know. I'm very sorry for your loss."  What else was I going to say? She was the other woman. I didn't
want
to feel sorry for her. As a matter of
fact, I'd threatened to kill her not three months ago.

The line went silent for a moment. "He was right. You are a cold fish, Grace Murphy. You don't even sound like you're sorry he's gone."

For once, I didn't let my temper or sarcasm take over. I simply
said, "Again, I am sorry for your loss. Please let me know if you need anything." And I hung up.

There was a keening sound coming from Dylan's room and the grief that I'd been holding in broke the dam. Tears flooded my eyes and I made my way to my son's r
oom so we could grieve together.

I lay next to him on his bed and wrapped him close to me, letting him cry. I wished that I could read his mind and find out what it was that was going on in there. I could know the right words to say. I could know the perf
ect thing to do to make him feel better.

Shit, maybe I'd feel better too.  Mostly I was feeling guilt and regret. Brandon shouldn't have died. It was a senseless death and unfortunately it was entirely my fault.

We cried until there were no tears left. I
t was then that Drew and Hephaestus joined us. Heph pulled me up off the bed and held me in his arms. The tears started afresh, but he held me until I was all done.

Drew stayed in the room with Dylan and let him talk about his feelings. There was a part o
f me that was bitter and jealous that my son
–
MY
son
–
could talk it out with him and not me.

"He's a man now, Gracie. He's not going to want to talk to his mom about everything. And, let's face it, honey
–
it's quite possible that he blames you for this
."