Helen stared at the glass of water in front of her as it sweated condensed moisture onto the kitchen table. She’d already drunk what seemed like a bathtub full of water and she wasn’t thirsty anymore, but she held on to this last glass to give herself something else to look at besides the bereft faces around her.
“His whole life is this family. This House,” Ariadne said. Her eyes were wide, red, and staring, like someone who had been stuck in too many different airports in too many different time zones for too long. They all looked like that—like they’d woken up to find themselves on the wrong side of the planet. “How can Hector be Outcast from the House of Thebes?”
“I could have stopped him,” Jason said with grim certainty.
“You can barely sit up straight in your chair right now, Jase,” Ariadne said, shaking her head. Jason had yet to recover from healing Claire, and his twin wouldn’t let him take responsibility for something that he hadn’t even seen. “I was there. I should have stopped it.”
“You weren’t on India Street when Hector killed Creon, Ari,” Helen said, still staring at her water glass. “I was.”
“Stop it, Helen,” Lucas said. “You and your mother saved this family, or at least, you saved what’s left of it.”
Lucas’s words brought fresh tears for Pandora. After several minutes of quiet crying, the family lapsed back into silence. Everyone was thinking the same thought, that if each of them had done one thing differently that day they could have staved off the pain that they were all suffering. Cassandra had told everyone they couldn’t have known what was going to happen, but in saying that she seemed to take the burden of guilt onto herself. She seemed locked in her own head, unable to let go of the fact that she, of all people, should have been able to protect her family.
“Call your mother,” Noel said suddenly to Helen, breaking everyone out of their tortured thoughts. “I’m the only one who can bear to be near Hector now, and I want to see my nephew. He’ll need me.”
Helen nodded and pulled out her cell phone. It was the same phone Hector had given her with bloody knuckles and a toothless grin after Lucas had beat the stuffing out of him, but she buried that memory and dialed her mother’s number. As her phone connected, she stood up to leave the kitchen and wandered toward the front of the house, which was usually quieter.
She heard two rings at the same time, one in her ear and one somewhere inside the house. Helen looked around and found her mother’s bag hanging on a hook in the front entryway. She chided herself for not being more aware. Daphne had been kidnapped; of course she had left her things behind. Helen hit end and heard the phone in the bag cease ringing. She stared at her mother’s purse, and was overcome with an irresistible urge. Just as Helen reached for it, there was a knock at the front door a few feet away from her.
Helen hastily opened her mother’s bag and took out the cell phone. She quickly scrolled down the list of latest calls as footsteps approached from the kitchen. Concentrating on the glowing screen, Helen saw a few incoming unlisted numbers and a single outgoing call to someone named Daedalus before she had to shove the phone back in the bag.
Ariadne appeared in the entryway to answer the door, and a moment later Castor and Pallas appeared behind her. They were tense and probably expecting either the police or a member of the Hundred Cousins. After the briefest of pauses they nodded to Ariadne, signaling that it was okay for her to open the door. When she did, Daphne was standing on the doorstep.
“I call for a meeting between the House of Atreus and the House of Thebes,” Daphne announced as she crossed her arms in an X over her breast and tilted her upper body forward, giving the suggestion of a bow.
Castor and Pallas looked at each other. Whatever hatred they carried toward Daphne needed to be put down now, and they both knew it. Pallas swallowed hard and finally nodded.
“You are welcome in this House and you have our hospitality,” Castor offered formally as he bowed, stepped aside, and let Daphne over the threshold as his sacred guest.
The official meeting between the Houses took place in the library, with everyone arranged around Cassandra’s chair. Helen took her place next to her mother on the couch, and tried not to look at Lucas even though he was sitting directly opposite her.
“First of all, I would like to make amends for the violation of your safety while you were a guest in my House,” Castor began humbly, but Daphne cut him off before he finished his thought.
“Pandora was distraught. She and Ajax had a special bond, and because of that I could never hold a grudge against her for trying to avenge him, especially not now that she’s lost to us,” she said, waving a hand through the air as if to banish the thought. “As far as I’m concerned the laws of hospitality were not violated.”
As she said those last words, Helen noticed Lucas’s eyes snap over to Daphne, and she knew that he had sensed a lie, but decided to overlook it for the greater good.
“I called this meeting to address two very important matters that concern both our Houses,” Daphne continued in a smooth voice. “The first is Hector and his future, and the second is my daughter and her part in the prophecy.” Helen’s head spun around to face her mother.
“My what?” she asked, completely at a loss.
Helen wasn’t the only one in the room who didn’t understand. Castor and Pallas looked around, confused, and even Cassandra shrugged as if to admit she had no idea what Daphne meant.
Jason stood up and took a stiff step forward.
“Helen is the Descender that the Oracle mentioned in their prophecy—the prophecy that says that the Descender will free the Houses from the cycle of revenge,” he said from his place behind his father’s seat. “I only realized it this afternoon, when Helen described the dry lands so perfectly that I knew she’d seen them. That puzzled me at first because I know she isn’t a Healer. Then she told me that she would come down and drag both Claire and me out if I wasn’t strong enough to make the journey on my own. From her confidence, I knew she meant what she said, and I also suspected that she had physically been there more than once.”
“The dust on your feet!” Ariadne exclaimed as she recalled Helen’s dirty feet and the mystery of the unrung jingle bells.
“What about it?” Helen asked, looking around at everyone’s immobile faces.
“The Descender doesn’t just dream about the Underworld, the Descender literally goes down into it in his or her body,” Ariadne answered with a shocked face. “You physically went into hell every night?”
“Your nightmares,” Lucas said, looking at Helen as he began to understand.
“You were with me in one of them,” Helen said back to him in a confused voice. “The night we fell, before we woke up on the beach, I went down to get you, remember? You were lost and blind and I made you to stand up and walk. I made you follow me out. . . .”
Here, Helen had to stop. Forcing Lucas to walk through the Underworld had been like doing surgery on an animal without painkillers. He didn’t understand that what she was doing was for his own good, he only knew that she was hurting him.
“That was real?” Lucas whispered.
Helen nodded and reached out to take his hand, needing to touch him to reassure herself that he wasn’t afraid of her now, but Daphne stopped her hand in midair and pulled it back, shaking her head in disapproval.
“You knew,” Lucas said, turning to Daphne.
“Like Jason, I discovered Helen’s talent this afternoon,” Daphne replied. “That’s one of the reasons I asked for this meeting.”
“And what are the rest of your reasons?” Cassandra asked coldly as flashes of the Oracle aura began to brighten the outline of her face. Daphne bowed her head reverently to the multiple presences that had begun to grace Cassandra.
“Like Aeneas, my daughter will need Sibyl’s help in the Underworld,” Daphne said in a formal tone. “I ask that the House of Thebes care for their cousin, Helen, Heir to the House of Atreus, while she fulfills her destiny in the Underworld. In exchange, I, Daphne, Head of the House of Atreus, will grant refuge and protection to Hector Delos, Outcast of the House of Thebes.”
Everyone shot each other looks, stunned by both the request and the offer that Daphne had made. The room hung in silence as expectations recalibrated.
“Why would you do this for my son?” Pallas asked as he partially rose from his seat, torn between thanks and indignation.
“Because he is one of the strongest Scions I’ve ever seen, but he’s also one of the proudest. The loss of his place in this House is going to change him, and without guidance he could become a danger to us all. I’ve seen it before,” Daphne said evenly. Then she turned to Lucas and looked him in the eye to ensure that what she said was proved true by him. “We are all family, and it’s time we started acting like it.”
“She isn’t lying,” Lucas said, looking over at Pallas, who nodded with relief. Lucas, however, looked devastated. He had heard the truth from Daphne herself—Helen was a member of his family.
Castor and Pallas looked at each other, already in agreement, then glanced over at Cassandra for final approval. She nodded her head once, and then stood up and left the room without another word.
“One last thing,” Daphne continued, tactfully ignoring Cassandra’s rude exit. “Hector wants to know what’s to happen to Creon’s body.”
“We’ll be contacting Mildred to come and retrieve her son,” Castor said, looking down at his hands. “She’ll want to bring him back to his father for the funeral.”
“Of course,” Daphne said sadly. “Will you let me know when she’ll be here? Hector mentioned something about facing her to ask for forgiveness . . . ” she trailed off uncertainly, as if she wasn’t sure Hector should do that.
“I’ll call you,” Pallas promised stiffly, and then hurried out of the room.
Daphne stayed for a bit longer and reassured the rest of the family that physically Hector was going to be fine; but she was blunt about the fact that he wasn’t doing well emotionally. After letting them all know that she would convey their love to him, she departed hastily, saying that she had left Hector alone for as long as she dared. Helen walked her to the door.
“Did Hector see you in Pandora’s shape on the beach tonight?” she asked her mother quietly when they got to the front door.
“No. And he can never know,” Daphne said, staring at Helen intensely. “You and I are the only family he has now and he needs to trust me. You both do.”
Helen knew her mother had risked her life to help Hector, but the way Helen saw it, trust was something that was earned, not something that another person could demand from her. Even if that person was her own mother.
“I’ll be in touch with you over the next few days to let you know what the plan is,” Daphne promised as she took her bag down off the hook and opened the door.
“One last thing?” Helen asked as she held the door open. “I’ll stay quiet about what I saw on the beach if you agree to release Jerry from the influence of the cestus. You never loved him, but Kate does, and I think it’s about time you let someone in your life be happy, don’t you?”
Daphne stared at Helen, shocked that her obedient daughter had finally expressed a mind of her own, then looked off to the side distractedly, like she was listening to a faraway sound.
“It’s done,” she said in a brisk voice, snapping out of her momentary trance. “I can’t make any promises about his relationship with Kate working out, but Jerry’s heart is his own to give or to keep as he sees fit.”
“It’s about time,” Helen said coldly.
“All of this pain I’ve caused, I did it to protect you. And it worked. So I’m not sorry for any of it,” Daphne said, giving Helen a sad smile before turning and walking away.
Helen shut the door and wandered back to the rest of the family, forehead furrowed in thought. As soon as she stepped into the living room, Lucas’s head snapped around to look at her. He gestured for her to come to him. Although she knew it was the last thing that she should do, it was the only thing she wanted to do.
“I have to go home,” she told him as soon as she got to him, trying not to shake too much. “I left a good-bye note for my father on my desk when I thought . . .” She broke off and had to take a breath. “Anyway, I have to get rid of it before he wakes up and finds it. He’s been through too much already.”
Lucas balled his right hand into a fist and shoved it into his pocket. Helen had never seen him make that gesture before, and she realized he was doing it to stop himself from taking her hand.
“Let’s go, then,” Lucas said, turning his face away from hers.
“But I thought you and I were staying away from each other?” She broke off awkwardly.
Lucas shook his head decisively. “Creon had Pandora drag Daphne to that beach because he was going to take her off this island by boat. Which means he was supposed to rendezvous with someone out there on the water,” Lucas said, his expression steely. “When they realize that Creon is missing, they’re going to come looking for him, and when they don’t find him they’re going to come looking for Daphne—and then you. You’re in more danger now than you ever were and I don’t care how hard it is on either of us. I’m not letting you out of my sight for a second.”
“Well, what are we supposed to do then?” she nearly cried out, throwing her hands up in surrender. She had reached the end of her emotional and physical tether.
“Come on,” Lucas said grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the room. Everyone turned and looked at them, but they were too overwhelmed by the losses they had suffered to pay much attention to Helen’s outburst.
“I’m taking her home and staying there to watch over her,” Lucas barked at Ariadne, who was weeping quietly in a chair. As soon as they were outside they leapt in unison into the night sky.
The cold air was like a slap in the face. It knocked Helen out of her confused state and she realized that no matter what she had been through that day, Lucas had been through far worse. It was time to stop feeling sorry for herself and pay attention to him.
Moments later, they landed on Helen’s widow’s walk, and Lucas turned to her with an empty face, letting go of her hand.
“Go in. I’ll be fine up here,” he whispered. Helen took a step closer to him, but he just shook his head.
“I can’t come in,” he whispered, his voice breaking hopelessly. “I’ve lost too much today. I’m not strong enough.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Lucas.”
Helen wrapped her arms around his shoulders, wanting nothing but to console him. She held on to him, propping him up until Lucas was strong enough to stand on his own again. He eased himself away from Helen and gave her a small smile to let her know that he was better.
“Wait here a sec. I have to let my dad know I’m home.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Lucas promised.
Helen flew down to the front yard and noticed that Kate’s car was still parked in the driveway. She landed and went in the front door, not at all sure what she was going to say or do. She found her dad sleeping on the couch in the living room, sat down next to him, and shook him gently until he woke. Jerry looked relieved for about two seconds, then sat up and sighed at Helen in disappointment.
“You know what you put me through, right?” he asked, heartbroken. Helen felt so guilty she couldn’t meet his eyes. She just nodded her head. “You’d better start explaining.”
Helen thought about how so many people in her life already knew what she was, and for just a moment she considered telling her father everything. But if she opened that can of worms she’d also have to tell him Daphne was back, and she couldn’t bring herself to do that. Not after she had finally released him from his unnatural attachment to her. For the first time in almost two decades, Jerry had the chance to have a real life with a woman who actually loved him in return. Helen wouldn’t allow anything to endanger that.
“I can’t, Dad. At least I can’t right now. I guess I could make up an excuse, but it would be a lie,” Helen said hopelessly as she rubbed her hands over her tired face and aching skull. “And I don’t ever want to lie to you.”
“Is this how things are going to be between us now? No trust, no communication, no respect?”
“No, Dad. Don’t even say that,” Helen said shaking her head tiredly and meeting her father’s eyes.
“I’ve been through this before, you know,” Jerry said quietly. “I’ve spent a lot of nights waiting right here on this couch for someone to come home. And she never did. I won’t do it anymore, Helen.”
“Good,” Helen said, seeing a spark in her father that she had never seen before. “I don’t want you to waste one more second of your life waiting for anyone. Not even me. My life is crazy right now and I can’t promise that I’ll never disappear again, but I can promise that I will always come back to you. I’m not going to leave you, Dad. Ever.”
“I know you won’t,” he said as if he was just realizing that it was true. He took a deep breath and sat quietly for a moment, thinking. “Well, I always knew you were different, and I also knew that someday you were going to realize it. That’s all the explanation I’m going to get out of you right now, isn’t it?”
“For now.” Helen said smiling warmly at what had to be the best father ever.
“Would it do any good to ground you?” he asked with a humorous glint in his eyes as he stood up and stretched.
“Probably not,” Helen laughed.
She stood up and gave her father a hug. He hugged her back with more than forgiveness. He hugged her to let her know he accepted her exactly as she was—sleepless nights and all. As they walked to the stairs together a happy thought occurred to Helen.
“You’re going to bed?” she asked, glancing over at him with a sly look in her eyes. He nodded. “I saw Kate’s car outside. Is she in your room?”
“She is,” he said with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. “That’s why I was on the couch.”
“You’re not on the couch anymore,” Helen observed innocently. Jerry paused at his bedroom door and turned to face her.
“Are you going to be okay with this?” he asked seriously.
Helen knew that if she said it bothered her he would turn right around and spend the rest of the night alone.
“Dad. I’ve never been more okay with anything in my life,” Helen said honestly. She went into her room and closed the door firmly behind her to let him know that she was going to give him some privacy.
Helen heard her dad wake Kate up and let her know that everything was okay, and then turned to tear up the note she had left on her desk. She flew out her window to meet Lucas on the widow’s walk.
“Did you hear all that?” she asked when she saw the sympathetic look on his face.
“Does it bother you?” He took the sleeping bag from the chest and spread it out for both of them to sit on.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I would have told you, anyway. Somehow, it’s like whatever I’m going through hasn’t happened to me until you know about it.”
“I know what you mean,” he whispered.
They sat down next to each other on the edge of the widow’s walk, their thighs threaded between the bars of the railing and their feet dangling off the side of the house.
“It’s Monday. We’ve got school in a few hours,” Helen said. “I suppose if we all stayed home it would look suspicious, huh?”
“Very suspicious,” Lucas replied. “Besides, you’re safer in a public place. The Hundred won’t attack you in front of human witnesses.”
“And what about you?” Helen asked, looking at her hands. “Are the Hundred going to come after you and your family now?”
“I don’t know,” Lucas replied with a tired shake of his head. “But whatever they do, they know that if they kill one of their own kin they’ll become Outcasts, and the more Outcasts there are, the farther they are from attaining Atlantis. I think they’ll focus their energy on Daphne and Hector. And you.”
Helen nodded, and debated whether or not she should keep asking questions.
“And tomorrow—what should I say about Hector if anyone asks? Or Pandora?” Helen asked gently, knowing that every time she said their names it hurt Lucas a little more.
“Pandora went back to Europe to study art in Paris,” Lucas said in a hushed tone. “And Hector is home with a nasty case of the flu for the next few days until we can coordinate a plan with your mother.”
“I don’t trust my mother,” Helen said as she stared out at the rising sun.
“Neither does Cassandra,” Lucas replied without looking over at her. “She thinks Daphne is hiding something.”
“Do you think my mother is dangerous?” Helen asked. She turned to Lucas with worried eyes.
“I think she’s entirely committed to freeing the Rogues and the Outcasts,” he answered, choosing his words carefully. “As long as we remember that, I don’t think there’s any reason not to trust her. She hasn’t lied.”
Helen nodded, accepting Lucas’s interpretation. “I’ve got too much baggage to think rationally about my mother.”
“That’s the funny thing about being a Scion,” Lucas said, smiling in the petal-colored air of the chilly dawn. “Our fights tear the whole world apart, but for us, they’re really just family feuds. And no one ever acts rationally when it comes to their family.”
Helen smiled back at him, struck yet again by how perceptive he was. Then she caught herself, and remembered how important it was to keep her distance from him. She turned her face away and forced herself to stand.
“Are you going to be okay?” she asked him. He didn’t answer, but just smiled up her and nodded before turning his face back to the horizon.
“Good morning, Lucas,” she said, her voice soft and sad as she walked away.
“Good morning, Helen,” he replied, not allowing himself to turn and look at her as she left him.
Helen, beloved of the goddess of love, went downstairs to crawl into her empty bed as Lucas, the son of the sun, leaned back on his elbows and watched his father-god brighten the bare wooden planks of her widow’s walk.
