Chapter 18
Someone shook her shoulder and she grunted. The buzzing of her alarm clock filled the room at a deafening volume. She jerked awake, sitting up in bed and hitting the off button.
“Ree, are you sure you aren’t sick? “
When she heard her father’s voice, she looked around the room in shock. Where was Roland? Why hadn’t he woken her up?
“Ree?” Her father reached out and touched her forehead. “Are you okay, sweet potato?”
“Um, yeah, Dad. I’m good. Just overslept, I guess.” Brushing the hair out of her eyes, she looked at the clock and didn’t have to fake the panicked look. “I’ve got to get ready for school. Mel will be here any minute.” Hopping out of bed, she ran to her closet and yanked open the doors. Her mouth fell open, and she could feel her eyes bugging out of her head. Roland was standing in the back of the closet amidst a pile of random shoes, shoved between some winter coats and old dresses. He put a finger to his mouth and winked at her. Shutting the door as quickly as possible, she turned around and pressed her back against the crack.
“Dad? Can you grab me a muffin or something? I need to get dressed….” She let her sentence trail off and jerked her head toward her door.
“Are you okay, Ree? You’re acting really odd.” Her father stood up and walked toward her. Panic moved her feet in his direction. Grabbing his elbow, she turned him and guided him out her door.
“I’m fine, Dad. Really. Just in a hurry, you know? I can’t believe I overslept. Must’ve been really tired.”
“Okay, Ree. I’ll go get you something to eat.”
“Thanks, Dad!” Shutting the door, she turned around and ran to the closet. When she yanked open the door and peeked in, Roland was holding up an old homecoming dress with his eyebrows drawn together.
“This is not the color for you.” He tsked.
Yanking the dress out of his hands, she threw it on the floor and pulled him out of the closet. “It was eighth grade—and don’t go through my clothes!” She dove into the closet and grabbed a school uniform before running over to her dresser and grabbing some street clothes to shove into her backpack. “What happened? Why didn’t you wake me up before my dad came looking for me? And the closet is not the best place to hide. I’m really going to have to come up with a better place to stash people.”
“I had to move my car. I didn’t want your parents to see it and grow suspicious. I made it back in the window just as your father was knocking on the door. I didn’t have much time to look for a more suitable hidey-hole.” He sat on the foot of her bed and watched her flurried movements. “You do remember you aren’t going to school today, right?”
“My parents think I am! And Mel will be here to pick me up soon.”
“Well, then, by all means, hurry up and change into your uniform.” One corner of his mouth quirked up when Ree glared at him.
“I’m going to the bathroom to change. I suggest you get out of here.”
“What? No goodbye kiss?”
“I’m sure I’ll see you later. Now, go!” Rolling her eyes, she dashed to the bathroom to change.
Her father had a banana-nut muffin sitting on a napkin next to a bottle of apple juice. Grabbing her breakfast, Ree hollered a goodbye over her shoulder, just in time to hear Melanie honk her horn.
“Ree, I want to talk to you.” Her father came striding from the back of the house, but she was already out the door.
“After school, Dad! Love you!”
She practically dove into the front seat of Melanie’s car, shoving her bag into the backseat and clicking the seat belt into place.
“Well, good morning to you, too.” Melanie frowned at her rushed behavior as she backed out of the driveway.
“Sorry. I overslept. Want half a muffin?”
“Did your mom make it?”
“Do you really have to ask?” Ree shook her head, broke the muffin in two, and handed Melanie a piece. Her friend groaned in happiness after taking a bite. Ree nibbled on her breakfast and tried to calm her beating heart. That had been a really close call this morning.
“So, how’d it go last night?”
“What do you mean?” Ree tucked her hair behind her ears and wondered if she had an extra hairband in her bag.
“I was on patrol last night, Ree.” Melanie rolled her eyes. “I know Roland stayed the night.”
“Oh, yeah. He slept in the rocking chair. Well, I don’t know if he really slept. I think he stayed up to guard the house. Thank goodness he did, though. I hate to think what would have happened if Ares had shown up while I was by myself.” Taking a long gulp of apple juice, Ree grimaced. Note to self, apple juice and toothpaste are a bad combination.
“Whoa, whoa. Ares? As in the god of war, Ares?” Melanie’s voice squeaked on the name each time.
“Yeah. It was terrible. I’m hoping Sophie can come up with an explanation. Roland had no idea why he showed up, but I don’t think it’s a good thing. He called me pathetic.”
“The god of war called you pathetic? Wow. How surreal is that?” Hitting the turn signal, Melanie shook her head in disbelief.
“Well, to be honest, being insulted by a god of war goes a little past surreal. How about insanely ridiculous? He woke me up just to call me names. Not really cool.”
“Most definitely not cool. I wonder what he really wanted.”
“Me, too.” Ree sighed and watched the people walking through the downtown square as she and Melanie made their way to Sophie’s shop. “I really feel like this is a bad thing, but maybe that’s because he seemed to enjoy hurting me.”
“He hurt you? Oh my God. Are you okay?” Melanie swerved the car as she turned to look at Ree in concern.
“Pay attention to the road! I’m fine. Apparently, the reason Brigid didn’t speak to me on the island is because my poor mortal ears couldn’t handle it. Ares, however, didn’t have the same concern.” Ree popped the rest of her muffin in her mouth. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something very wrong was playing out behind the scenes.
“Why would Ares show up at your house? I mean, we haven’t had any contact with other gods. Hecate hasn’t shown up, Poseidon, or anyone else, and they’re related to us. What made Ares decide to pay you a visit?”
“I don’t know. We’re missing too many pieces to this puzzle.”
“Yeah, and Sophie hasn’t really given us much more than the essentials.” Chewing on her bottom lip, Melanie hit the blinker to turn into the parking lot.
“What are you talking about? You know so much more than I do. I feel like everyone knows about things I don’t, and I’m the damn person that’s supposed to save the world!” Ree squeezed the apple juice bottle and gritted her teeth.
“So, why don’t you tell me what’s really wrong?” Melanie pulled the car into a parking spot behind Sophie’s shop and turned to look at Ree. For a moment Ree could only sputter, until her friend cracked and smiled. “I know you’ve been frustrated, frightened, confused, and angry. Every time I’m around, you’re broadcasting one of those emotions. Honestly, I don’t blame you. We’re all feeling that way, but you’re right that you don’t seem to know as much as you should. There is some serious stuff going on and we’re only seeing part of the picture. Which is not good.”
Closing her eyes, Ree leaned back in the car seat and took a deep breath. Once she felt a little calmer she opened her eyes. “Well, I guess we need to go talk to Sophie. And this time, we aren’t bringing any distractions with us.”
“Good deal.” Mel nodded her head as if she was seconding Ree’s statement, and the girls climbed out of the car.
Sophie was in the front with a customer, so the girls went upstairs and changed out of their school uniforms. Ree looked at Mel once they were back downstairs and smiled.
“I feel a little rebellious, skipping school. It’s weird to not be wearing my school uniform during the week.”
“Tell me about it. I almost forgot to bring extra clothes to change into.” Mel sat down at the computer, pulled up her email account, and checked some of the social networking sites. “Oh, the art college is having a special effects event in a few weeks. I wonder if I’ll be able to go.”
“Really? Anything cool?” Looking over Melanie’s shoulder, Ree contemplated what she saw on the screen.
“They have a set-design seminar one day. You might like that.” Mel scrolled down the list of events and gasped. “Oh my gosh. Look at this, Ree. The guest speaker they have talking about designing battle scenes is a total hottie! I’d so like to strategize with him.”
Chuckling, Ree scanned the screen, and her breath froze in her throat. Staring back at her from the computer monitor was Ares. And Melanie was right. Minus the swirling fire in his eyes and angry tilt to his mouth he made an appealing picture, but that wasn’t what had Ree gripping Melanie’s chair—anxiety was making her stomach clench and her heart race.
“Ree?” Melanie looked from the computer screen to her friend and back. “Do you know this guy?”
“That is the very rude and ridiculously attractive Ares.” Ree tried to relax the muscles of her jaw.
“Oh no. That’s bad—and I don’t mean because he’s now off my dateable list. Bad as in, this goes far beyond a coincidence.”
“Yes. Very bad.” Ree pointed at the screen. “Click on the details. I want to see more about his ‘class.’”
“Hmm. Says it’s a one-day deal. Two hours long, and it’s the last class for the entire event. That sounds ominous now that I know who he really is.” Melanie looked at Ree with large eyes.
“Yeah. Always bad to end an event with a battle of any sort. Especially when it’s being taught by the God of War.”
“Good morning, girls! Anyone hungry?” Sophie walked through the door, looking chipper. “Guess what, Ree—I just sold that blue settee, the one that’s been in here for over a year. I told Roland someone would buy it!” Looking at the girls, her smiled drooped. “That isn’t a good look. What’s going on?”
Moving away from the desk, the girls gave Sophie an unobstructed view of the computer screen. As if a light switch was flicked, the older Guardian’s face went blank. Walking swiftly to her desk, Sophie picked up her cell phone and sent a message to someone. Melanie moved out of the computer chair and let Sophie sit down. The woman’s eyes scanned the page carefully, scrolling to the bottom and then clicking on all of the other links. A couple of times she frowned and carefully studied a few pictures. Exchanging a look, Ree and Melanie stood silently. When the door chimed out front, Sophie made no move to go and see about the customer, so Ree took over.
An older woman who had entered the shop was a regular, only wanting to pick up a lamp she’d had refinished. Attempting to not seem rude or rushed when dealing with the ancient lady left Ree feeling snappy. Watching the senior citizen count out the tax in dimes, nickels, and pennies pushed Ree’s patience to the snapping point. After helping the customer out the door, Ree practically sprinted to the back of the shop. Sophie was still looking at the website, her attention so focused that she didn’t even lift her head when Ree came running through the shop door.
Raising an eyebrow in Melanie’s direction, she tried to figure out what she had missed. Melanie shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. Apparently, the older Guardian had not divulged any of her thoughts while Ree had been counting change out front. When Sophie’s cell phone chirped, breaking the silence, Ree almost jumped. After reading the message and sending a quick reply, Sophie leaned back from the computer and looked at the girls.
“Ree, I think you need to come back to the island.”
“Why?” Trying to keep her calm, Ree sat down and looked at her mentor. “I need a good reason to leave my parents.”
“I don’t think you are safe at your house anymore.”