Chapter 9 #2
“No, you are not fine,” Lorelai said matter of factly. “You hit your head, you could have a concussion...”
“He doesn’t have a concussion,” Isabelle tutted. “Like one piece of glass hit him. He’s fine.”
“See, the vampire says I’m fine...” Theo murmured.
Isabelle chuckled. “Thought you didn’t believe in magic and vampires and all that jazz—”
Theo groaned. “Maybe that glass did hit me harder than I realized.”
Calliope reached out, setting her hand on his arm, and he looked up at her.
“Callie, I—”
“What happened?” she asked as she knelt on the floor beside him.
Spike scooted over to make room for her, not saying a word. Mars did the same.
“I don’t know, I was just... you know that debris left behind? The purple dust or rocks or whatever—”
Everyone turned to look at her with interest. Mars especially.
“Yes,” she said shakily.
“Well, I kept hearing this whistling sound and it sounded like it was coming from the display so... I just got up to check it out and saw the rock dust or whatever was like... moving. Like jumping around and—”
“Theodore went to remove the case and the whole thing just shattered,” Spike said in alarm.
“It literally just happened, Cal,” Mars said carefully.
“Right, of course. Are you sure you are all right, Theo?” She reached out, trailing her fingers over his temple. He didn’t look hurt. There were no scars or wounds or even a pink bump.
His verdant gaze drifted to hers and his cheeks pinkened as he said, “I am now,” and Calliope felt her heart beat faster.
Mars chuckled beside her.
Calliope blushed as she dropped her hand.
“Alright then, get up. Don’t just sit there,” she nodded to Mars and Spike.
“We’ve got a shattered case to clean up and I’d like to speak to Theodore. Alone.”
Lorelai and Izzy nodded as Spike touted, “I’ll get the broom.”
Calliope helped Theo up as Mars brushed past her, heading to Lorelai. Calliope guided Theo to the lounge couch in front of the large painting from the exhibit. One she did not care for. A large painting of several muses dancing around a fire with a satyr, a centaur, and... a pegacorn.
It was like Chuck was everywhere, when he was nowhere. A constant reminder of youthful innocence and soured friendship.
“What really happened, Theo?” she asked as she guided him to sit down. She sat beside him, the cushions shifting from her weight, sliding her closer to him.
He sighed, looking back at her. “I just... heard the sound and it was driving me crazy, so I went to check it out, and just... poof. I saw the shimmer of violet and I went to open the case so I could see what was going on and it just shattered to pieces. I’m sorry, I—”
“No, no. Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault. Perhaps it was just too hot or the sun hit the dust wrong, or—”
“Or maybe I’m just cursed,” Theo said with a smirk. “Maybe fate changed its mind about me.”
Calliope shifted beside him, holding his gaze. His dark eyes were soft, glistening with that spark of hope but also sadness, as if Theo truly believed he was not good enough to be chosen by fate.
How wrong he was.
He ran his hand along his face, and she noticed as he did so, the sparkle of dust along his cheek. Iridescent dust.
The diviner itself did not leave glittery dust in its wake, and the debris left on the velvet, the glittering debris was not iridescent in nature.
Calliope grasped his hand and turned his palm over. His hand was covered in iridescent dust, shimmering like diamonds in the low light.
“Whoa... what the hell is that?” Theodore asked.
Calliope’s blood chilled.
“Is this the hand you touched the display with?” she asked.
Theo nodded, shifting his position. The motion drew them closer together, until their thighs were touching. Neither made it a point to move.
“Yeah, why...”
Calliope’s fingers slid over his palm, through the familiar silica-like dust. There was only one creature she knew who could leave such a bright, illuminating film in his wake.
A creature who was looking more and more guilty by the minute.
“It’s pegacorn dust,” she said carefully. She traced her finger along his palm lines. “Left by a pegacorn when they transform.”
“A pegacorn? What the fuck is that?” Theo asked in alarm.
Everyone turned their way.
Mars’s heavy gaze met hers.
“A pegacorn is a fabled creature. A unicorn with wings. Extremely rare,” Mars said.
Theo looked between them all. “How rare?”
Mars licked his lips. “As in, only one exists.”
Theo looked up at Calliope.
Her heart ached, her stomach churning. But Calliope did not look at Theodore. She stared at Mars, imploring him with her gaze.
“Guessing you two know a pegacorn,” Izzy asked.
Lorelai interjected, her gaze dancing between Mars and Calliope. “You don’t think—”
Mars sighed. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”
Calliope felt a tight squeeze upon her hand, the motion jolting her from her dissociation. She turned to see Theo holding her hand.
His thumb brushed the back of her hand, spreading sparkles of pegacorn dust along her pale skin.
“This... this is a good thing, right?” Theo asked. “I mean, if there’s only one pegacorn and his prints are all over the glass... then... it’s pretty clear who’s the thief, right?”
Calliope gazed down at him. Her heart felt torn between admitting the truth and withholding it.
“That doesn’t explain why the glass shattered, though,” Izzy chimed in.
“Izzy’s right. Pegacorn dust isn’t volatile. It doesn’t usually react to humans.”
Mars met her gaze. “What was the sound like?” he asked.
Theo squeezed Calliope’s hand, settling it in his lap.
She didn’t let go, for fear if she did, she may disappear completely. Everything was converging on her at once.
“What do you mean?” Theo asked.
“I mean, was it like a whistle or a song, or like a strung guitar string—”
“Yes,” Theo’s eyebrows shot up. “The last one... like a long note. It was... driving me crazy.”
“Someone care to explain?” Lorelai pressed.
“The diviner shows you your fate, your mate for eternity,” Mars said.
Calliope shrank in the seats, curling closer to Theo, who did not push her away. For she knew what Mars was going to say and she wasn’t certain she was ready to hear it.
She wanted to crawl into a ball, disappear, and never return.
“And in most cases, both parties will see the thread. Fate’s thread. It will lead them to their mate.”
Spike nodded. “Right. Theo said he saw a violet thread, and Calliope did, too, so why—”
Mars gave her a soft, understanding look. It was odd to see such a look on the God of War’s face.
“Because there’s another thread, entangled with Calliope,” he said. “And Theodore here—her mate—” He spoke the word aloud and the room fell silent.
Theo looked up at Mars, his eyebrows furrowed. “Mate?”
Mars sighed and Calliope closed her eyes. Theo’s hand grew warm against hers.
“Yes, Theo. I believe you and Calliope are destined to be together. But—”
“But what?”
Calliope felt the tears sting her eyes. She could not hide the truth any longer. No matter how badly she wanted to.
“I’m fairly certain your thread reacted to his. The one who is entangled.”
“The pegacorn guy?” Theo asked faintly. He turned to Calliope and in his gaze she could see the anxiety, the fear. The panic.
In her experience, men did not respond well to the idea of being bound eternally. Human or god.
“Callie, look at me...” he implored.
She hated how she did so without a second thought. No human should be able to pull her attention, her command, quite like this.
She’d barely known Theodore for three days.
Three days, and it was as if he’d wedged his way into her heart, yet always been there. It was as mysterious as a masquerade, as powerful as a chariot in the sky.
She looked at Theo with watery eyes, choking back a sob. His green gaze captured hers.
“It’s true,” she said. “I didn’t want to tell you, I know you don’t believe in fate or destiny, or—”
“I might not believe in those things, Calliope, but I don’t have to believe in them, to believe you.”
His words settled in the air between them. Calliope nodded.
“And this pegacorn, you’re sure he has the diviner?” Lorelai asked.
Mars nodded.
“It makes sense,” Spike said. “Pegacorns wield light magic. Which the tapes were blinded by a bright light. And Theo’s thread lit up, reacted to the pegacorn dust. Broke the glass. So... I’d say all roads point to pegacorn.”
“But how do we... untangle Callie and this winged asshole?” Izzy asked.
Mars crossed his arms, twisting his lips. “Well, for starters, we have to get the diviner and then use it to sever the bond between Callie and Chuck.”
Hearing the words out loud were too much. Calliope felt the tears, the ache in her chest erupting like a volcano.
Theo pulled her into his arms, and she let him, forgetting for a moment they had an audience.
“Hey, it’s okay, don’t worry, Princess, we’ll figure this out,” he whispered in her ear.
She wrapped her arms around him, the spark in her catching once more as his words settled on her.
His arms were warm, his touch soft. She could hear the steady beat of his heart in her ears, beneath her palm.
“The entangled thread needs to be cut so the thread of divine fate can find its truth,” Lorelai said, pulling all their attention.
Calliope let out a sigh as she wiped her eyes.
“But if there’s an entangled thread, doesn’t that mean, her mate was already divined?” Izzy asked.
Mars shook his head. “The thread never closed. Which means Calliope may have been his fate, but—”
“He wasn’t hers,” Theo spoke solidly.
Mars nodded. “Precisely.”
“So how are we going to get this Chuck of the Corn guy to give up his thread and the diviner?” Izzy pressed.
Mars huffed in exasperation. “One thing at a time. First, we need to find Chuck.”
Calliope met his gaze.
Theo held her close, still not letting go, and Calliope loved the feeling as much as she felt ashamed. Even now, her fingers itched to feel paint and canvas, to paint her aching heart. But they also ached to touch Theo. To get lost in his silken hair, to feel his pulse beneath her palm.
He was her mate.
Mars was right, and the moment she’d heard the word, it struck a chord within her, lighting her spark into an eternal flame.
But Chuck had sustained his open thread.
He still believed Calliope was divined to be his. As he had all those years ago.
Perhaps his theft was a desperate attempt to divine his own mate. Or sever the bond that was preventing him from finding his own.
How had things become so complicated?
“And just where are we going to find a pegacorn stalker at?” Izzy asked.
Mars grinned as he gazed back at Lorelai, then at Spike and Izzy. Finally, his softened gaze landed on Calliope and Theodore.
“Why, the only place you’ll ever find a horny supernatural on a Monday night. At the Den of Sin.”