“I know.”
Shaking, I let him guide me down the street. “Where is Tad?”
“Said he had something to do. Suspect he’s gone looking for Dahlia. Don’t worry, I saw him and he still had all your papers.”
I folded the paper I’d taken from Colleen and held it out to Remo. “Do you mind hanging on to this? I seem to be out of pockets at the moment.”
He took the paper and tucked it away into a back pocket.
“Are you okay with Tad and Dahlia dating?” I blurted the question out before I thought better of it. Taboos were taboos, and cross-species dating was a no-no. Kinda like baking with garlic and chocolate. Nobody ended up happy with the results, no matter how you mixed the two ingredients.
“For now. They seem to be only testing the waters.” He winked at me.
I couldn’t help the small smile. Dahlia was my best friend; we’d met when we were both dying from the Aegrus virus. She’d made me laugh when I should have been doing nothing but crying. The fact that Tad was dating her couldn’t have made me happier. Even if it meant they were breaking the rules, dating outside their species. Tad was a naga, and Dahlia a vampire. Sure, they both had fangs, but I doubted that would be enough if anyone tried to enforce the no-hanky-panky-between-species clause.
They were good together, and as long as they were happy, I was happy for them.
My thoughts were swiftly brought back to the situation at hand, though. We were still in the shadow of the courthouse when a man approached us. He wore a black suit, with hints of silver flickering through the threads. His hair was a dark blond, slicked back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. It seemed that the lights behind him highlighted his body, giving him a strange otherworldly glow. Like he’d set up the approach, timing it like an actor strutting to center stage for a soliloquy.
Obviously he was a lawyer. Maybe he’d seen the scene in the courthouse and thought he could bank on it and get himself a job. Judge Watts had said I should get a lawyer. Not that I had any money to pay one, but still it might be a good idea to at least listen to him.
He stopped in front of me, forcing us to stop as well. “Are you Alena?”
I clutched my robe around me, and Remo tightened his hold on my waist. “Yes, and you are . . . ?”
He smiled, and the world seemed to dim around him as he held out his hand. I took it, my manners automatic.
“Of course, let me introduce myself.”
I tried to pull my hand back, but he hung on tightly enough that if I pulled too hard, I’d end up throwing him through the air. “I can’t afford a lawyer, so unless you are willing to go pro bono, I’m not sure I’m your client.”
His grin widened and his eyebrows shot up. “I’m not a lawyer.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “How did you know my name then?”
A cold feeling swirled around my belly as he put his other hand on top of mine, holding me fast. “We were destined to meet, Alena.” A slow hum caught me off guard, a resonance I didn’t understand.
His smile filled my vision, a little burst of light sparkling in front of my eyes. The snake in me hissed, recognizing him as an enemy before I did. “Oh no.”
“Oh no?” Remo whispered. “Do you know him?”
“I’m guessing here, but . . .” I tried again to pull my hand back again, carefully, but the man in front of me held on. “You’re Theseus, aren’t you?”
He let go then, and I stumbled back a few steps with the backlash. Remo caught me, steadying me.
“I am. I thought I should introduce myself. I’d like to discuss the situation we find ourselves in. You see, I need to kill you to be free of the bonds Hera has placed on me. You obviously want to cause chaos and destruction wherever you go, which in and of itself is not something we can have in the world.” He dusted off the arms of his suit.
“What, you aren’t just going to try and cut me in half like Achilles?” I kinda hoped he would. We could fight right here, get it over with.
Funny that I just assumed I would win if we battled on the steps of the courthouse. Maybe I was getting prideful. I’m sure that’s what my mother would say.
There must have been some hint of my thoughts in my face. Theseus smiled again. “Oh, I don’t want to fight you yet. Achilles is a fool, nothing more than a meathead, and really, he underestimated you. It’s a flaw of his, one that has hurt him in the past.”
“You mean the whole heel issue,” I pointed out. Theseus laughed softly, and I wasn’t sure just what was happening. This felt too . . . conversational. Too much like he was trying to be my friend. I didn’t like it one bit. “Aren’t you supposed to kill me and get it over with?”
“Not this time. You’ve upset Hera. You made her look like a fool. The other gods are laughing at her, something she can’t stand to have happen.”
Remo stepped up, putting himself a little in front of me. “So you want to make Alena suffer for surviving Achilles?”
Theseus pointed at Remo, a red ruby on his index finger glinting. “Now you begin to understand.”
“And you wanted to shake hands with me why?” I didn’t know how to handle him. With Achilles, things had been straightforward. He was a bad guy, with thugs, and he’d stolen my brother and threatened to kill him as well as making an attempt on my life.
Theseus was being far too rational for my liking. Far too calculating.
“Ah, because, while I know in the end I will end up killing you, I wanted to see you first. I understand part of Hera’s hatred better. You rival her beauty. Shame.” He smiled and took a step back. “Be assured, my beautiful snake, you will see me again when you least expect it.”
“And then you think you can kill me?” I couldn’t help the confidence I felt, and I knew it came through in my voice. “Achilles thought the same thing, and look where he is now. In a home for the mentally insane.”
Theseus nodded. “But Achilles was a mere human with extraordinary gifts. I am a demigod, Alena. Immortal. You are not immortal. You can be killed.”
His words sank into my heart like lead stones. Immortal. That single word took the stuffing out of me.
He gave me a mocking bow from his waist, flourishing with both hands. “Until we meet again.”
A burst of light exploded at his feet, and I reeled back with a cry. Remo caught me a second time, his head tucked against mine. Blinking, my eyes watered like mad, and my vision slowly came back online. Theseus was of course gone.
Remo’s face was bright pink on one side, a flash burn. I reached up and touched it. “Are you okay?”
He winked, wincing with the movement of that side of his face. “I could use a little color.”
I cleared my throat and looked around us. No one seemed to notice that we’d had a strange visitor who’d just magically exploded out of existence.
Remo snorted softly. “People are blind to what they don’t want to see. Easier to pretend supernaturals don’t exist in their perfect little world, that they all live on the other side of the Wall.”
“Kind of hard with me,” I muttered.