“Then what was Thalia doing here?” Brian asked.
“She came for Achelous. According to the journal, the last time anybody had seen him was here, and she was trying to find his trail,” Harper elaborated.
“But she didn’t find it because he’s dead,” Gemma added.
“Well, probably dead,” Harper said.
“Why Achelous, though?” Brian asked. “Why not any of the other gods or goddesses? There have to be a lot of them, right?”
“I don’t think there are really that many anymore, but Achelous always had a good relationship with the muses,” Harper said. “He actually fathered children with two of them.”
“Wait.” Brian held up his hand. “The muses are Penn’s and Thea’s mothers?”
“Right,” Harper said.
“So Thalia was their aunt?” Brian asked.
“Right. But I’m pretty sure they weren’t close,” Harper said. “In fact, from what I’ve gathered, the sirens have had no contact with any other of their family members in centuries.”
“Okay.” Brian thought about it for a second, and it must’ve satisfied him, because he said, “Just wanted to clarify. Now continue.”
“So Thalia’s in Capri, and she thinks that Achelous will help her because he’s helped muses in the past. But she can’t find him. So she goes to this soothsayer—”
“What is a soothsayer?” Gemma asked, cutting Harper off.
“I don’t know exactly. I think it’s kind of like Lydia,” Harper said. “But that’s how Thalia referred to her.”
Then something occurred to Harper, and she flipped through the book, scanning the pages until she found the name she was looking for. “The soothsayer was named Audra Panning.” She looked up at Gemma. “Do you think she’s any relation to Lydia?”
“Yeah. Her last name is Panning, right? And she’s from Capri because she went to high school with Marcy.” Gemma nodded. “We should call Lydia right now.”
“I don’t have her number, and Marcy is coming over in”—Harper craned her neck to check the clock on the microwave—“like twenty minutes to get the book. She’s taking the journal out to Lydia’s so she can translate the back part of it, so Marcy can ask her then.”
Gemma pushed back her chair. “Well, I should get dressed, so I can go with her.”
“You can’t go with her,” Harper said. “You have the play today. Two shows.”
Gemma scoffed. “That’s dumb. I should be going out there instead of doing this stupid play. This is way more important.”
“You’re doing what you need to do right now, which is placate the sirens. That’s a really huge part of making this all work,” Harper told her calmly. “Because if they’re pissed off or suspicious … it’s not good for anyone.”
“You need to do what keeps you safe, Gemma,” Brian said, and his tone was much more firm than Harper’s had been. “And right now, that’s acting like everything’s normal. You need to do that, so you don’t draw attention to your friends, who are putting themselves at risk to solve this.”
“But I should be the one putting myself at risk,” Gemma insisted. “This is my problem, not theirs.”
Brian balled his hand up in a fist and slammed it down on the table, frightening both the girls. “I hate that I can’t protect you from this. It’s my job. You’re my little girl, and I’m supposed to…” He gritted his teeth and shook his head. “All I want to do is run up that hill and beat the hell out of those girls for getting you into this mess. And I know I’m not supposed to say that, because I’m your dad, and I shouldn’t condone violence, especially not on girls.
“But they aren’t girls,” Brian growled. “They’re monsters and … it takes all my strength not to go up there and settle this for you. Because I know I can’t. No matter how badly I want to take your place, to save you from all of this, I can’t.”
“Dad, you’re doing everything you can do. You’re supporting me, and you’re helping me.” Gemma reached over and took his hand.
“But it doesn’t feel like enough. As long as you’re in danger, anything I do will never be enough,” Brian insisted. “So if the safest place for you is going to that play, pretending everything is fine, while that friend of yours gathers information, then that’s what you need to do. Do you understand me?”
Gemma lowered her eyes and nodded. “I do.”
“We’ll solve this, Gemma,” Harper promised her. “And we have a clear course of action now—find Diana, the goddess who helped Bernie’s Thalia become mortal. And if Lydia is related to Audra, the soothsayer who helped Thalia find Diana, then Lydia might know something.”
“Do you think this Diana will know how to break the curse?” Brian asked.
“I don’t know,” Harper admitted. “But she knew how to free Thalia from her being a muse, so she must know something.”
“So those are your leads?” Brian asked. “Trying to find Audra or Diana?”