Part 13 (1/2)
Rising from the bench, he strode to her. Uncertainty deepened his eyes to the color of the sea where the bottom dropped off. He lifted his hand toward her elbow, but stopped short of touching her.
Instead, he flicked his thumbnail against a knot in the trunk. ”What will happen if he wins?”
”My sisters and I forfeit our existence as G.o.ddesses and become magpies for the rest of time. I don't want that, because I hated the whole feathers as dresses trend in the twenties. Not a great look on me.” Her attempt at levity fell flat. She sighed. ”But worse, all of the horrible things Pierus's daughters represent will come to pa.s.s. Mortals have stood on the brink of wars and famine before, but this time, they won't be able to step back. Without the Muses around to inspire humans, all light and beauty will fade from the world.”
He was silent for a long time. Dread rose with icy tendrils up Nia's spine as she waited for his response. She hadn't been kidding about not looking great in feathers. But that truly was the least of her worries. She'd been watching over and inspiring humans for so long, her biggest fear was the black and white planet they faced without the gifts of the Muses. If Thomas turned away from her now, all would be lost.
He s.h.i.+fted until his back rested against the tree, facing away from her. Looking toward the sky, he folded his arms again. ”How exactly am I involved?”
Chapter 18.
Unbelievable. Undeniably crazy.
But mostly, it was uncharacteristic for Thomas to want to believe Nia's claim to be a Muse. More outrageous was that he might have some kind of role in saving mankind from a brutal future.
This must be a crazy nightmare, brought on by the events he'd witnessed in the square the other night. Or maybe it was a hallucination. He'd had them before when he'd run a high fever and been severely dehydrated. Those images had seemed ultra-real as well.
Thomas pinched his bicep hard then wracked his brain to try to remember if he'd ever felt pain in a dream before. His logical brain said he must have, but his heart told a different story. As did his muscle, which twinged painfully as he increased the tension between his thumb and forefinger.
”This is insane.” He groaned and rolled his head back, looking up through the canopy of the maple's branches, searching for reason. A warm breeze stirred the leaves overhead as his mind trembled and raced. A hint of Nia's citrusy perfume teased his nose.
There was no denying he'd been frozen in place when that d.i.c.khead, Ken, had raised his fist. Although Thomas's heart had continued its somewhat escalated beat, he hadn't been able to suck oxygen into his lungs. But the sensation hadn't been suffocating. He didn't lose consciousness, and when Ken had entered the house, he didn't need to gasp, as if surfacing after a long time underwater.
Think, Thomas!
This was what he did. His livelihood was based on poking holes in myths and legends. He exposed charlatans and fraud. As she'd spoken, Nia's tone held only sincerity and truth. The bulls.h.i.+t meter that seemed as much a part of him as his heartbeat hadn't pinged even once as she'd woven her fantastic story.
He wanted to believe her. But he shouldn't. He might as well hop aboard the express train to the asylum.
Groaning again, he bent and braced his hands on his knees. His T-s.h.i.+rt snagged on rough bark as he slid to his haunches. Beside him, Nia pushed away from the tree and paced three feet to the left. Lifting his head, he waited for her answer.
Before she could speak, a large, cackling magpie alighted on the bench where they'd been sitting. From a crouched position, he studied the unusual bird. Something was off-like it didn't have enough feathers to cover its body. The eyes, which should have been dark as ebony, gleamed electric blue in the bird's jet-black head.
”Is that your magpie?”
Nia twisted to look, a scowl marring her smooth brow. ”That's Mayhem.” She smacked her hands together, a thunderous clap which had no effect. The bird chattered and squawked on, as if scolding them. ”You are not welcome here.” Nia's guttural voice grated over his senses.
She lifted her arms, palms out and squinted at the bird. As clear as a summer sky, he heard her order the bird away. But her lips never moved. The conversation occurred all in his head.
When the bird didn't fly off, Nia slumped. Thomas hated the defeated set of her shoulders. He spied a long, stout stick two feet from him. The bird's unnerving eyes followed his movement as he reached to retrieve the branch.
He lunged forward and grabbed the limb. Grasping it like a baseball bat, he swung at the foul beast. The creature took to the sky in a screeching, feather-shedding frenzy, and disappeared from view.
Frustrated, Thomas shouted and heaved the stick through the air, following the path the monstrous thing had flown. He rounded on Nia. ”Did that f.u.c.king thing have human eyes?”
”She's molting. It happened with Tyranny as well. Clio said it freaked the Hades out of her.” Nia shuddered. ”It's a display of confidence from their side. They fully expect to win this contest.”
She turned her back on him and ruffled shaking fingers through her hair. Her posture was straight and rigid, as though she had a rod of steel where her spine should be. Swaying side-to-side, she ignored his presence.
Low, whispery sounds reached his ears, but this time, he didn't understand the words. ”Why can't I hear your thoughts right now?”
”What?” She spun around. The lively blue eyes he'd found so intriguing were flat and lifeless.
”I heard you order Mayhem to leave. When you sent your thoughts to me, the words echoed in my mind. But just now, I know you were saying something, but I didn't understand.”
”I was talking to myself, not projecting a thought toward a specific target.”
She rubbed a hand over her neck, as though in pain. It reminded him of finding her with Ken's hands on her. He trounced down a sudden surge of jealousy. Nia had a.s.sured him they were only friends. He took a step toward her. ”Is that how it works? You have to target a thought outward?” Oh h.e.l.l, what was he saying?
”I don't know.” She crossed her arms over her belly. ”None of us have ever encountered a clairaudient before.”
”Clairaudient? Like a clairvoyant?”
Her head bobbed and she shrugged.
He took another step nearer. Wariness filled her eyes, like she thought he was going to restrain her until the men with the white coats arrived. To keep from reaching for her, he tucked his hands in his back pockets.
He drew a breath, released it in a long hiss, and then drew another. ”For the sake of argument, let's say I believe you. What do I have to do to help save the world?”
Coppery curls brushed her cheeks as she shook her head. ”It will never work. You'll never believe. It isn't in your nature. Figures the man who's supposed to help me is a professional skeptic. It's never going to work.”
”Hey, don't discount my nature. What's it going to take?”
”You have to believe in magic.” The bare skin of her thighs thwacked dully against the concrete bench as she plopped down.
”I can believe,” he said defensively.
Cynical laughter ripped through her tight lips. ”Don't you think that's a bit unlikely?”
He sank onto the seat next to her. ”I'd like to try.”
”There's a Yoda moment in here somewhere.” She bounced off the bench as if she didn't want to be near him. She stepped into the patch of moonlight painted across the lawn. ”Thomas, we're running out of time. I'm supposed to lead you back to the magic. To make you ask what if? And help you accept the answer, regardless of what it is.”
”What if what?”
”What if magic does exist?” She paced from one edge of the moonlight to the other, and then back. ”But I've heard you tell Hailey more than once magic isn't real. Right now, you've seen things normal mortals never have access to. I've confided my biggest secret to you. I'm magic. I'm a G.o.dd.a.m.n Muse and you won't accept it.”
Leaping from his seat, Thomas scrubbed a hand down his face. ”It's a lot to take in.” He began to pace alongside her. ”You can't unload a bunch of hooey like that and think I'll fall for it hook, line and sinker.”
Stopping abruptly she wheeled toward him and squinted. The word a.s.shat pierced his mind.
”I heard that.”
”You were meant to.” Jamming her hands on her hips, she glared at him. ”This isn't hooey, Thomas. This is about the fate of the world. And dammit, that sounded overly dramatic. I-”
Nia splayed her fingers on each side of her head, her mouth open, eyes squeezed shut and her expression pained.