* * *
At the council meeting that night, Phoebe announced that they’d be having a special meeting of the council to discuss the portals the following day around noon. The food enclave had consented to provide a lunch buffet, and Phoebe recommended that anyone interested in having a say about it show up then. She said that the threat was becoming more pronounced, and that the muses were going to have to work on some way to protect themselves. “This meeting,” Phoebe said, “will be focused on searching for solutions, not on blaming various people for allowing the portals to exist. I hope everyone comes with that in—”
At which point Phoebe was interrupted by a blast of green light from the fire pit. Everyone gathered around stood up, startled.
The fire pit no longer contained a fire. Instead, it was full of winding green vines and branches, each of which seemed to be undulating of its own volition. The green was bright, so bright it shed light on the faces surrounding the fire, turning them all a shade of green.
Then, abruptly, the vines all disappeared, and in their place, floating over the fire pit, was a man. He was slender, with curly dark hair and swarthy skin. He had a beautiful face, like a cherub or a small child. When Nora gazed into it, she felt a kind of rapturous joy. His head was wreathed in a twisted crown of green vines. He leapt forward, landing in front of the fire laughing, and his laughter seemed to reach inside her, making her own happiness bubble up.
The fire blazed again.
The man turned his grinning face on the muses, searching each of them until he settled on Phoebe. Then he ran to her and embraced her. “Phoebe, it’s been too long.”
Phoebe was stiff in the man’s arms. She extricated herself, stepping back. “Dionysus. I guess you’ve come for May Day.”
Nora’s breath caught in her throat. This was Dionysus? Owen’s father? She’d known that Owen claimed to be the son of a god, but somewhere in her brain that hadn’t quite computed. Now, here the man was, standing in front of her. He wasn’t like an ordinary man at all. He was somehow radiant, even though he wasn’t glowing. Being this close to him, Nora could feel his power, sort of oozing out from his body, wrapping her in tendrils of excitement.
No wonder Owen had such magnetism. His father’s presence was enough to change her mood.
Phoebe seemed to be thinking of Owen as well. “You’ll be happy to know that your son’s returned to us, I suppose.”
“Which one?” said Dionysus, grinning. His grin was infectious. Nora found herself smiling too, and she could see that many of the other muses were also grinning.
Phoebe didn’t seem affected in the least. “Owen Asher, of course. You might remember leaving him here over ten years ago.”
Dionysus scratched his curly head. “Owen...”
Owen pushed his way through the crowd of muses to stand in front of his father, his face expressionless. Nora felt a pang. She suddenly realized that as happy and jolly as Dionysus might seem, he didn’t know who his own son was.
Dionysus noticed Owen, gave him a head-to-toe sweep with his gaze. He held up a finger. “Nimue.”
“Hello, Father,” said Owen.
“You’ve gotten enormous,” said Dionysus. He embraced Owen with the same gusto he’d embraced Phoebe. Owen was hesitant, but he hugged his father back. Dionysus turned to Phoebe. “What do you mean returned? Hasn’t he been here all along? I thought the muses would look after him for me.”
“Nimue came and took me away,” said Owen. “Only a year or so after you left.”
“That raging bitch,” said Dionysus. He considered for a moment. “She could do amazing things with her tongue, though, let me tell you.”
Owen cringed.
Dionysus looked out at the muses again. “Everyone’s so solemn.” He reached into his shirt and pulled out a corked bottle. “I brought wine! Who wants a drink?”
The muses began to crowd forward.
Phoebe raised her voice over the conversation that was beginning to break out. “Remember, tomorrow at noon, there’s a special council meeting to discuss the portals!”