“Isn’t it the same way to destroy your scroll?” Gemma asked.
“No, each scroll has its own set of rules for destroying it, and they are never told to the bearer of the scroll,” Thea said. “Meaning, we were never told how to destroy ours. I don’t even know for sure who was told, and even if I did, they would probably be long dead by now.”
“How did Asterion find out?” Gemma asked.
“One of the muses told him.” Thea waved her hand. “It doesn’t matter. That’s not the point of the story.”
“Then what is?” Gemma asked.
“Pasipha? had turned Asterion and all those other men into minotaurs centuries before he destroyed the curse, long after their natural mortal lives would’ve ended,” Thea explained. “So the second the scroll was destroyed, they all turned into dust.”
“Why?” Gemma asked.
“When the scroll is destroyed, it’s as if the curse never even happened,” Thea said. “And if the curse had never happened, they would’ve been dead and decomposed for many years. So that’s what became of them.”
Gemma realized that this only confirmed what Lydia had told them earlier, and let out a long sigh. “And that’s what would happen to you and Penn and Lexi if anyone destroyed the scroll.”
“Exactly.” Thea picked up her glass and leaned back in her chair. “So, as much as I’d like to help you, I can’t help you with this. I won’t do anything that leads to my sisters’ deaths, or mine.”
Gemma stayed where she was for a few minutes, letting this all sink in. Even if she found the scroll, it didn’t mean she’d be able to figure out how to destroy it. She’d still need to find someone who knew how, and if she did that, it would turn all the sirens to dust.
“Thanks for your help,” Gemma told Thea and got up. “Sorry I messed up your house.”
“It’s fine. I’ll make Lexi clean it when she gets back.” Thea smiled at her, but Gemma couldn’t muster up a return smile. She lowered her eyes and was walking to the door when Thea spoke again. “It’s not here, Gemma.”
“What?” Gemma turned back to her.
“The scroll. I won’t tell you where it is, but I can tell you that it’s not here,” Thea said, sounding almost irritated to be admitting it to Gemma.
“Why are you telling me this?” Gemma asked. “And how do I know that I can trust you?”
“You can’t.” Thea shrugged. “I’m telling you because…” She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know why I am. I just know that you don’t have much time left before Penn replaces you, and … I don’t want you wasting your time looking for something you’ll never find.”
FIFTEEN
Proxy
“Oh, my gawd, everything about this town is horrible,” Lexi groaned as she flipped through the radio stations in Penn’s convertible. “Why did you have to get a stupid classic car? We could’ve had satellite radio.”
“You know me,” Penn said. “I love the classics.”
They were far enough out of Capri that the radio stations decided to just give up and turn into full-on static. Lexi flicked the radio off, then leaned back in her seat, sulking.
“At least we’re getting out for the day,” Penn said. “That ought to make you happy.”
“No, it only makes me sadder because I get to be reminded of how awesome the rest of the world is compared to that stupid little crap fish town,” Lexi ranted. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared straight ahead at the highway in front of them.
“Fish town?” Penn asked. “What does that even mean?”
“It means it sucks, and you know it.” She turned to Penn, imploring her. “When we first got there, you said we’d only be there a few days. We were just supposed to look real quick and get out. Then we were supposed to go to Buenos Aires—”
“If we didn’t find anything,” Penn amended.
“Right, but we totally didn’t find anything,” Lexi said, then corrected herself. “Well, we didn’t find what we were looking for. So we should move on.”
“Lexi, I’m trying here,” Penn said, trying hard to keep her tone even. “We’re going to meet Gemma’s possible replacement right now. I don’t know what else you expect me to do.”
“I know, but why do we have to wait at all?” Lexi whined. “Why can’t you just kill Gemma and go grab this new girl?”
“Because I don’t want to get stuck with another Gemma again,” Penn explained as if she were talking to a small child. “I want to make sure that Liv is a perfect fit for us.”
“I thought you already decided that she was,” Lexi said. “I mean, that was the point of you going off by yourself to search the area for replacements. You were supposed to have already decided she was perfect.”
“She seems perfect, but I want all of us to approve of her.”
“So if I like her, we can turn her tonight?” Lexi asked.
“No, Thea still needs to meet her,” Penn said.