Chapter 6: Beginning

Kate

Henry left early in the morning, kissing me on the forehead before heading out silently. There was no note about where he went or what he was doing. I sighed and fell back asleep, enjoying the time to myself.

Around 9, I decided it was probably time to get up, exhausted as I still was. Link had come to take Milo to Persephone's when he first woke up since Henry and I were property of the Council until further notice. Even so, I crawled out of bed and put on a pair of nice soft jeans and a baggy shirt, that, with the right sweater, hid my baby bump. Barefoot, I padded to the bathroom to brush my teeth just as I heard the door to our room slam shut. "Henry?" I called out.

"I'm going to kill him!"

I peeked out of the bathroom. "Kill who?" My husband stood in the center of the room, his hair a regular mess, seething.

"James! Who else? That diabolical, inconsiderate, little-!"

"Okay, okay, back up... I thought you and James were on good terms, now?" I walked over to him and ran my hands over his shoulders. "Talk to me, babe."

"Well, turns out that Mari has memories of "her parents" taking her to places like Paris and Athens and London," Henry said.

"Okay...and that's bad...how? Exactly?"

"Apparently, Ava asked James to give Mari false memories about her parents. Her entire childhood until she's nine is a lie!"

"Well, that means that Ava cared about Mari! How is that a bad thing?" I may just still have been tired, but I really couldn't see the issue here.

"Well!" Henry stopped, then let out a huge rush of breath. "It just feels wrong to me to force Mari to have fake memories."

"I'm sure they're better than her actual childhood was with a heartbroken Sven Diggens taking Ava leaving out on her." Henry looked at me and for the first time, I saw the pain in his eyes. We had two children of his own, but Mari almost died on our property. He pulled her out of a river, just like he did me. "You care about her, too, huh?"

"She reminds me so much of Ava. Her looks, her sense of humor..." He walked over and sat on the bed. "I couldn't protect her, you know? I feel like..."

"Like you owe her at least this much. Look, we'll do everything we can to help her. I want her safe, too."

He extended a hand and I walked over to sit beside him. He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my hair. "So, what first?"

Mari

"I'm telling you!" I scream at the guard. "I have to see Henry and Kate. Now."

He stares stoically at the wall behind me. "Henry and Kate are not in. They will be back soon, I'm sure."

"This is not a "they will be back soon" sort of issue!" I cry. "Link!"

"Hey, what's the fuss?"

I

whirl to see Hermes—er, James—wandering up the hall. He looks much more serious than the last time I saw him, having traded his t-shirt and headphones for a sport coat. "I need to talk to Henry and Kate."

"I can get them a message. What's up?" He leans against one of the entry hall pillars. He's watching me, curiously, as if not quite sure what I will do next.

Should I tell him? I mean, he is on the Council. But Hermes was always...shifty...in Greek myth, wasn't he? Can I trust him?

As if reading my mind, James nods his head to one side. "Why don't we go for a walk around the garden, huh?"

I give a little nod and we walk outside together. We walk in silence for a while until he turns to me. "So what's up?"

"I don't know if I should tell you."

"I'm the only person you should tell. I'm the gods' messenger. I carry all of their sensitive information all over the world and have since before human beings knew how to speak."

Wow. That just...wow. Okay. "But I don't know you that well yet."

"I'm James. Also known as Hermes. Caduceus. Winged heels. The works. That's me!" He gives me a winning smile, but I see a hint of frustration in his eyes.

"But, can I trust you?"

He rolls his eyes impatiently. Then, he thinks for a split second before bending down and kissing me hard. I'm surprised, and then jump back. "What the-?"

"Did that help with the whole trust thing?"

"Wha...What? What even... No! Of course that didn't help! If anything, I'm more distrusting now!" I turn on my heel and stalk back to the house, wiping the taste of the ancient god's lips from mine. As I reach the door, Henry appears.

"What's wrong, Mari?" His eyes have that scary, dark look in them again.

"Oh, thank God... Henry, I have to talk to you." I look at him, pleading for him to hear me.

"Yes, of course, Mari...what is it?"

He pulls me into the sunroom and we sit down on a couch. I look at him biting my lip. "Last night, I had a dream, but I don't think it was really a dream. It was like I was conscious."

"It was probably a vision then. What did you see, Mari?"

"It was...There was this cavern, I guess. There was a ceiling and a floor, but no walls. And there was mist everywhere...And three ladies were all standing around." I take a deep breath. "Henry, I saw my mother. I talked with her."

His eyes go wide. "What exactly did they say? Tell me everything."

"They said we may not have seven days for me to complete my tasks."

He's about to say something else when Nicolas runs into the room. "Mari!"

I turn. "What? I'm in the middle of—What?"

"Did James just kiss you?"

Henry pulls me back to him. "What?"

"I...yes, but it was... I pulled away!" I look back at Nicolas. "I have no idea why he did it. He was trying to get me to tell him something."

"But you definitely pulled away?" Henry asks.

"Well, duh! I'm not really in the habit of making out with strange men in the garden!"

Henry gives a little chuckle. "Trust me, Mari. It's a good thing. Nicolas and I asked James to help with your testing this morning. Kate said there was some obvious attraction between you two the other day."

I scoff, loudly. "On his end, maybe. I tend not to be into guys who actually use 'god' as a description of their physical beauty."

Henry and Nicolas both laugh out loud and, for a moment, I forget about how terrified I am. Then, Henry stops. "Well, that's two down, Mari."

"That was a test? That awful kiss?"

"Are you attracted to James?"

"I...Well, I..."

"That's a yes!" I hear. Kate walks in and smiles.

"But I didn't want him to kiss me. Does that count?"

"Well, the Lust test will continue for however long the other tasks do, but, as for now, you're doing fine," Kate says.

I swallow. "What about my dream?"

Henry takes a deep breath. "We'll do everything we can." He stands and takes Kate's hand, leading her out of the room. "Oh, and Mari?"

I turn to look at him.

"It was James' idea."