Chapter Ten #3
She noticed that she was having a hard time finding him in the strange shadowy light, but as she got closer, the darkness that seemed to swath itself around him abated a little and she was able to pinpoint his location.
It looked like he was sucking light out of the air.
There was something creepy about the way the dark shadows radiated out from him like a sinister halo—he was definitely controlling the light.
That meant he was another descendant of Apollo—one of the Hundred Cousins from the House of Thebes, and therefore a threat.
From what she could see, the shadowy man was a few years older than she was, but still barely out of his teens.
When she was only a few paces behind him she could see that he had fair hair and skin.
With a fresh burst of speed she reached out, trying to grab on to him, and ripped off his shirt.
Finally, he allowed the last of the darkness clinging to him to be swept away by the sun glowing on his huge, bare shoulders.
Up close, he looked so similar to Hector in both coloring and build that they could have been twins, except for their faces.
There was a hollow look to this man, a cragginess that made him seem sickly.
A horrendous cramp crumpled up her torso like origami, and Helen tumbled to the ground with a scream.
She curled up on the ground in the fetal position, unable to move or even take a breath.
Through the long blades of grass that partially obscured her vision she could see the blond, shirtless Cousin trot back toward her with an inquisitive look on his face.
“Interesting,” he said with a cocky smile. Something behind Helen caught his eye and he started to back away. “I’ll see you sooner rather than later, preciosa,” he promised as he ran off, a dark, ominous mist collecting to obscure his outline.
Helen tried to shout something tough and ballsy after him, but all that came out was a pathetic moan. He was gone in a second, and she was left to lie there alone until she was noticed or until she was well enough to walk away. Finally, she heard someone approach.
“Helen?” a familiar voice said as it neared. “Oh, no. It is you.”
“Matt,” Helen grunted. “Get Lucas.”
He came around into Helen’s field of vision and got down on his knees in front of her. “Don’t you think the nurse would be a better idea? Or maybe a paramedic?”
“Please. Lucas. Quick.”
He sighed once, rubbed Helen’s back in an awkwardly reassuring way, and then got up and ran off.
Once she got her breathing under control, Helen could see enough around her to take in the fact that she was practically in the school parking lot—much closer to the school than she had realized.
Still curled up in a ball on the ground, Helen banged her forehead against her knees.
She couldn’t believe she had been that stupid.
Her ear pressed to the ground, Helen heard approaching footsteps that were a little too heavy and a little too quick to be a normal’s and smiled to herself with relief even though she was still in terrible pain.
“Thanks, Matt,” she heard Lucas say from somewhere behind her. “Where are you hurt?” he asked her as he came around toward the front, Jason close behind him. Helen pointed to her stomach and spoke with her eyes. Lucas nodded and looked around, confused.
“Did you see what happened?” he asked Matt.
“I think she was running after someone. I don’t know,” Matt said skeptically. “I just heard from Gretchen that Helen was chasing some guy, then she screamed and fell down.”
“Is that true?” Lucas asked Helen with a tense face. She nodded, and he smiled back at her, his worried eyes softening for her sake. He plucked some of her hair off her sweaty forehead and looked back over his shoulder.
“I’m on it,” said Jason too quietly for an ordinary mortal to catch, and then Helen heard his rapidly retreating footsteps.
“I should go with him,” began Hector’s voice from someplace that Helen still couldn’t see.
“No, you shouldn’t,” ordered Lucas sharply. “I need you to get the girls. They could have whatever sickness Helen has, and they might need you. Right?”
“Right,” Hector said without bitterness, suddenly understanding Lucas’s hidden meaning.
Cassandra and Ariadne were unaware, unprotected, and therefore in the most danger of being attacked by the stranger.
Hector ran off so silently that Helen couldn’t even hear his feet brush against the grass, and she couldn’t help but be both impressed and a little frightened by his skill.
“Matt, can you help me get Helen up? If you could just grab her feet . . .” Lucas asked in an apologetic voice.
“Sure, no problem,” Matt said as he slipped his hands behind her knees. “Jeez, Len, you smell awful! Did you have to fall into every cranberry bog on the island?” Helen chuckled briefly, but it hurt to laugh so she stopped.
Helen initially wondered why Lucas would ask Matt for help when he didn’t need it, but as she listened to them talk and work together to carry her to Hector’s SUV she realized that Lucas had to be one of the smartest people she’d ever met.
Not only did asking for help make Lucas seem normal, but it also made Matt feel needed.
Lucas was treating him like a partner and, more important, like a man.
Helen knew that if Lucas ever asked for Matt’s loyalty, this simple gesture of inclusion made it more likely that he would get it.
A fresh bout of pain gripped her so tightly that a sweat broke out on her upper lip.
Helen blew out her breath slowly, trying to navigate her way through the pain.
Lucas popped the back hatch of the SUV and laid Helen down, then asked if Matt didn’t mind waiting with them until his sister and cousins came back.
“If Helen gets any worse, I’m not going to wait for them, I’m just going to take her to the hospital. If that happens, I’d really appreciate it if you stayed here to tell them where I went. It shouldn’t take long,” Lucas explained.
“I’ll stay as long as you need me,” Matt offered with his usual generosity.
“Damn, Matt. Aren’t you tired of watching over my sick ass yet?” Helen asked him with a half smile.
“You have no idea,” he said back with a smile of his own.
It faded quickly. “This makes it twice this year. You never used to get sick, Len, not even that time we all got the stomach flu after Gretchen’s birthday party in fourth grade.
The rest of us were puking our brains out for two days, but you were fine. ”
“Oh, yeah! That was so gross! Hey, at least I brought you all Gatorade and crackers, remember?” Helen said playfully.
She was trying to lighten the mood, but she was still in pain.
She pressed on her belly again and Matt frowned.
He was worried, and so was she. Her cramps had never lasted this long before.
“Maybe you should quit track,” Matt suggested suddenly.
“I think Matt’s right,” Lucas said, his face both surprised and pleased that Matt had suggested it. “It’s obviously not good for you. You should quit.”
Helen was too stunned to respond. She stared at Lucas with her mouth hanging open until Hector, Cassandra, and Ariadne arrived and ended the conversation.
The girls got in the SUV with Lucas and Helen, and Hector took the keys to the Mercedes, saying he would wait for Jason.
Ariadne offered Matt a ride home in her sweetest voice, but he demurred.
Then, after a brief and very quiet exchange between Lucas and Hector, Lucas got behind the wheel and drove the three girls to the Delos compound, speeding the whole way.
As they drove, Cassandra climbed into the back and perched next to Helen with a calm poise that belied her age.
“Did you get a good look at him?” she asked in a level, strangely adult voice.
“Yes,” Helen answered.
“If I showed you some pictures, would you be able to recognize him?”
“Like, mug shots? No problem,” Helen said positively. “I’m pretty sure there aren’t that many guys in the world who look exactly like a bigger, blonder version of Hector but with a scary, pockmarked face.”
She sensed the mood in the SUV shift.
“Creon,” whispered Cassandra.
“Are you sure?” Lucas asked, his head snapping up to look into the rearview mirror at Cassandra.
“Yes,” she answered with a dreamy look on her face. “And Uncle Pallas followed him here from Europe. He’s at home.” Lucas apparently didn’t need any more information. He fished his cell phone out of his jeans and hit speed dial.
“Jase, come in. Cassie can see him now,” he said in a flat, frightened voice. He listened for just a moment and then continued, talking over Jason’s questions. “When we all get back home. Your father’s waiting for us there.”
Helen felt like she had missed an important detail. “Who’s Creon?” she asked Cassandra as soon as she was able to sit up.
“A cousin of ours,” Cassandra answered unhelpfully.
“He’s the one who attacked Hector in Cádiz,” Ariadne said, her voice quivering momentarily.
She glanced over at Lucas, who was just about to interrupt her, and kept going.
“Okay, they attacked each other. Creon is a radical fanatic, and he’s looking for a fight with any of the moderates, not just us.
But it’s Hector he’s really after. Not even you can deny that, Luke. ”
“That guy, huh?” Helen asked, folding her arms over her belly as she tried to make a joke. No one laughed. Her right hand felt stiff so she flexed it. A scrap of fabric fell from her balled-up fist.
“What’s that?” Cassandra asked.
“Um. It’s Creon’s. I caught up to him, and when I tried to grab him I sort of ripped his shirt off,” Helen replied apologetically.
“You chased him, caught up to him, and got close enough to rip his shirt off?” Ariadne said in disbelief. Apparently, Creon was fast, even by their standards.