“Well, I’m not human. And if you don’t want to turn me over to the Council, then you’ll have to kill me yourself, because turning into a blood-thirsty beast isn’t in my plans.”
Samuel stared at me in silence. There was a knock at the door, but he didn’t make the slightest attempt to answer it.
“That’s for me,” I said, standing to open the door.
“Hey.” Galilea was leaning against the doorframe. “You okay in there?” She put a piece of gum in her mouth.
“Fine,” I said. “Give me a few more minutes.”
“Can I see him?” Galilea tried to peek into the room just as Eros stepped next to her.
I felt Samuel walk up behind me. He opened the door wider.
“Galilea, Eros, this is—”
“Samuel,” Eros said. “It’s been a long time.”
“Is this who you came here with?” Samuel asked.
“You two know each other?” I glanced between them.
“We do,” Eros said. “Now, I remember where I know you from, my sweet. I was present at your birth.”
“What?”
“Why are you with her, Eros?” Samuel’s brow creased. “If you’ve used any of your charms on her, so help me Deus, I’ll—”
“Relax. I didn’t use anything on her,” Eros said. “Isis is my fiancée.”
“No, I’m not.”
“She is,” Eros said, then looked at me. “You are.”
“You’re not marrying my daughter.”
“We can discuss that later, oui?” Eros said, putting his arm around me, and I slapped it off. “Tell me, Samuel, were you able to do the father-daughter bonding thing? Did you tell her how much you regret conceiving her?”
“Shut your mouth,” Samuel said through gritted teeth.
“Did you tell her how you were going to kill her at birth?” Eros asked.
“Is that true?” I looked up at Samuel.
“Wow.” Galilea elbowed me. “Your life is like a soap opera. This is getting good.”
“Who’s this?” Samuel sized up Galilea. I ignored his question.
“Were you going to kill me?” I asked again.
“No!” Samuel said.
“Now, Dr. Leumas,” Eros said. “That’s a flat out lie. Don’t play with her feelings.”
“Eros, if you say another word, I’ll make your balls shrivel up like prunes,” Samuel growled, and Eros widened his eyes in mock horror.
“Why didn’t you do it?” I stared up at Samuel’s green eyes. “Why didn’t you kill me? It would’ve been so much easier.”
“I couldn’t.” Samuel walked away from the door and into the office.
“But you knew what I was,” I said, following him. “You knew what would happen. You could’ve ended this all before it even began.”
Samuel turned back to look at me.
“Isis, I delivered you. I was the first to hold you. How could I kill my own child—my blood?”
“Tsk, tsk, Samuel. You lied to me. You told me you had killed her—burned her remains,” Eros said leaning on the desk. “But now, I know your dirty little secret.” Eros glanced at me. “No offense, my sweet.”
“Stop calling me that!” I snapped.
I felt blood rushing to my head so fast that it hurt and made me nauseated at the same time. I started trembling and the room began to spin. I put my hand on my head and took in deep breaths. Before I knew it, I was on the floor. My body was jerking and contorting in ways I couldn’t control. I felt screams trying to escape my throat, but no sound came out. The lights on the ceiling became a blur. Then the room dimmed until I was surrounded by blackness. The last thing I heard was my heart beating in my ears.
***
My stomach churned. I felt the urge to retch. I turned over and rolled off the edge of the flat surface I had been lying on. With a thud, I landed face down on the floor. I rolled onto my back and let out a small moan as I gazed up at the ceiling. Galilea stepped into my field of view and looked down at me.
“You look like shit,” she said.
“I feel like it.”
“What happened to you? You went all Regan MacNeil.”
“Who?”
“The girl that puked up pea soup in The Exorcist.” She held out a hand to help me up. “Can you stand up?”
“I think so,” I said. “But I still feel a little shaky.”
“Does this type of thing happen often?”
“Not convulsing, no. First time.”
“You know what I’ve noticed? Your eyes change when you get nervous or angry. It happened when you snapped at Eros, right before you went into that seizure.” She put her index finger on the side of her chin. “And now that I think of it, the same thing happens to Dr. Banner.”
“You know someone else like this and you didn’t tell me?”
“You’ve never heard of The Hulk? What kind of childhood did you have?”
I rolled my eyes at her. I suddenly realized how perfect she was for Galen.
“I know you’re shaky, but do you think you can walk?” Galilea asked, and I nodded. “Good. Because we have to get out of here before Eros and Samuel get back.”
“Where did they go?” I used the examination table I had fallen off of to steady myself.
“I messed with their memory a little. I made you and me invisible, and then made them forget everything. Gave them fake memories. They went to have coffee like jolly old friends. But the effect won’t last too long. My power is limited when it comes to deities—unfortunately. Eros is going to be majorly pissed when the effect wears off. So come on. I don’t want to be here when they get back.”
“I need Samuel’s help. I can’t go anywhere.”
“Samuel can’t help you, Isis.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because he told me. He said there was nothing he could do to stop the change.”
“He can take me to the Council. They’ll know what to do with me.”
“Oh, I’m sure they will, but Samuel also said he wasn’t going to do it. Whatever they do to you, they’ll do to him, to your mother, and to David and his family… and me. Is that what you want—all of us dead?”
“No. I just want all of this to end. Why can’t anyone understand that?”
“Stop that.” Galilea raised her finger at me. “Don’t you go freaky-eyed on me, girlfriend. I can see your irises changing.”
“I can’t control it.”
“Yeah, I figured that much.” Galilea put an arm around me, and helped me walk. “I sure wish I had that antidote that Reed Richards developed.”
“Is he another deity?”
“I wish. Reed Richards is a character from the Fantastic Four. He gave up on the antidote when it didn’t work on The Hulk, but it might’ve worked on you.”
“Galilea,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“You and Galen should never have kids together.”
At a red light, Galilea stared at the screen on her phone. I fished my own phone out of my back pocket. It was dead.
“We have a sixteen-hour drive ahead of us,” Galilea told me. “I think I can cut it down by two hours if I speed. But I’m going to have to bring down the block that’s keeping us invisible. I’m getting a headache from holding it in place. That means Turpis can see us, so we can only stop for gas.”
“Can’t we just take a plane?”
“That would be like caging ourselves up. If Turpis attack, where would we run to at 30,000 feet in the air?”
“Right,” I sighed. “Tell me why we’re going to Bucharest.”
“It’s where I live. No one will find us there. Plus, we have a meeting to attend.”
“A meeting? With who?”
“I told you that after we ditched the tick, I’d take you to get answers. Remember?”
“This person—or people—that we’re meeting, can they help me stop the transformation?”
“Doubt it.” She stuck a cigarette in her mouth and lit i
t.
“Then why drive all that way? It’s a waste of time.”
“Here. Have a drag,” Galilea said, sticking her cigarette between my lips. “You need to calm down.”
“I don’t smoke.”
I flicked the cigarette out the window. Galilea frowned at me and reached for her boot, pulling out another cigarette. I wondered what else she had stuffed in there.
“Don’t you want to know why you were born different? Everyone has a purpose, Isis, including you.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot lately. Why don’t you just tell me what that purpose is and get it over with?”
“Can’t.” She shrugged. “I told you, I’m not allowed to tell anyone. Also, I don’t know the whole story, so I’d just confuse you.”
I leaned my head back against the car seat.
“So after this—after I get my answers—what happens?”
“That’s the part I don’t know.”
***
Sixteen hours. That was a lot of time to reflect. But instead of thinking, I’d been listening to Galilea sing along to the same songs by a group called Hot Wired over and over again. I rested my head on the window and tried to cancel out Galilea’s singing. The sun was setting, and soon we’d be surrounded by the darkness of night. I bit on my thumb nail as we pulled into a gasoline station.
Galilea turned off the stereo when the gas attendant walked up to her side of the car. She slipped him a few bills and rolled up the window.
“How many hours will this car go without having to stop to fill up again?” I asked.
“It’s a small tank. About four, five hours. Why?”
“It’ll be dark soon. If a horde of Turpis come, we won’t see them.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve had enough time to rest and regain strength. I’ll raise the block back up, and we’ll be invisible for most of the night.”
Knowing that we’d be unseen didn’t make me feel as safe as I would’ve thought. I would feel a lot safer if David was with me. I felt my chest tighten when I saw his face in my head. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It hurt to think of him. I forced my mind to let his image go.
Galilea shifted the car into gear and drove onto the road. I was thankful that she didn’t turn the music on again. Another few minutes of her loud singing and I might’ve ended up with irreparable hearing damage.
The sun disappeared over a hill in the distance as we drove on. I thought about Samuel, and how he wouldn’t take me to the Council no matter what I said. Neither would Galilea… or anyone else, for that matter. I understood their reasoning. But what would it take for them to see that I was a menace? Would I have to eat one of them? I cringed at my sick thoughts.
Galilea stuck her hand in her boot and slid out the gold knife I had attempted to use against the Turpis earlier that day. She placed it next to her leg on the car seat. I stared at the sharp edge. Galilea gave me an uneasy look and switched the knife to the other side next to her lap, between her and the door. I wondered if she knew what was going through my head.
***
We had been driving in silence for a long time. Except for the car’s headlights, there was no other source of light on the road. I looked up at the stars through the door window. With the glow of the moonlight in the night sky, I could see the gray silhouettes of flying birds. They were headed in our direction, getting larger as they approached.
“What type of birds do you think those are?” I pointed. “They look kinda big.”
“Um—no. Not birds. I’m pretty sure those are demons.”
“Turpis.” I straightened my back. “But they can’t see us, right?”
“Well…”
“They can see us?” I looked out the window, feeling my heartbeat drumming hard in my chest. “Were we ever invisible to begin with?”
Galilea didn’t answer. She killed the headlights and shifted the car into another gear. At a faster speed, she trailed onto the side of the road and into a forest. She parked under a low-lying, branch and turned off the engine.
“There,” she said. “As good as invisible.”
“I can’t believe you! You lied to me.”
“Keep your voice down.” Galilea frowned. “I was trying to keep you calm. I didn’t want you spazzing out, like you did in your father’s office.”
“You and everyone else need to stop trying to protect me. All you’re doing is holding me back from what I know has to be done.”
“Ugh,” Galilea hissed. “You’re an ingrate, you know that? Some of us don’t have a choice. I was sent here to keep you safe. And all you’ve done so far is pity yourself and try to take the easy way out—trying to kill yourself and running away from David, who is probably the only person that understands what you’re going through.” Galilea shook her head. “He gave his life to you. And the other Isis—Paulina, or whatever name she uses—she was born to be your decoy.”
“How do you know all of that? I haven’t told anyone.”
“There’s a lot more to me than you think you…” Her words trailed off. She twisted her head quickly as she scanned all of the windows. “Did you see that?”
“No,” I said just as a blurred silhouette dashed across the front of the car, and I gasped. “Turpis.”
“Bloody hell.” Galilea reached for the ignition.
The car’s engine roared to life. In less than a second, Galilea was driving in reverse at a reckless speed. She clutched the gold dagger tightly in her right hand. As she sped through the forest, she evaded fallen trees and stumps like a pro… until a broken tree branch blocked the rear window. I could tell by the look on her face that Galilea was struggling to navigate through the trees using solely the two side view mirrors to guide her. A sudden rear impact made my head jerk back against the headrest, then sent me flying forward against the dashboard. The car came to a complete stop.
“Take it!” Galilea handed me the dagger.
She turned to open the door, and a hand landed flat against the driver’s side window with a loud slap. We both screamed. Out of the darkness, a face appeared next to the hand on the window glass, and we screamed again. All of a sudden, a bright light beamed through my window, shining on Galilea’s face. Then the light turned away and illuminated a face next to my door. Eryx.
“It’s Gemini,” Galilea sighed. “Jump in the backseat, and don’t say a word. They don’t know you’re here.”
“But—”
“Do it now,” Galilea said without looking at me.
Was I invisible? I had to be for them not to know I was in the car, too. Was this the way Galilea was protecting me—by keeping me hidden?
I dove into the back seat just as Galilea clicked open the car locks. The door on the driver’s side opened and the car’s dim interior light flickered on. Galen stuck his head in.
“Your screams must’ve been heard for miles away,” Galen said. “This fangirling over me has to stop.”
“I was singing,” Galilea said.
“That didn’t sound like singing to me.” Eryx slid into the passenger seat.
“I see you’re back to that horrible grunge look with torn clothes.” Galen poked his finger through one of the holes in Galilea’s shirt.
“Aaahhh!” Galilea hunched over and hugged her stomach.
I winced. I couldn’t even imagine the pain she must’ve been in all this time from the burns the Turpis left on her.
“What’s wrong?” Galen gave her a concerned look.
“Cramps.” Galilea exhaled. “It’s that time of the month.”
“I didn’t need to know that.” Eryx made a face. “And what happened to your car?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, as if the damage wasn’t evident.
“It’s a wreck, like you,” Galen said. “The windshield has a hole in it. It’s covered in dents.”
“Oh that.” Galilea rested her head on the steering wheel. “I’ve had really bad PMS. I needed to hit something. Hormones are a bitch.”
br /> “I still don’t understand what you see in her.” Eryx looked at Galen, and Galen shrugged. “So…” Eryx said. “What are you doing in these woods, Galilea?”
“Camping.”
“Gally.” Galen shook his finger at her. “Are you lying to us?”
“Why would I do that?” Galilea glanced between Galen and Eryx.
“Are you hiding something—or someone?” Eryx asked.
“Nope.” Galilea pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“Brother, my Gally doesn’t lie to me. Do you, Gally?” Galen, lifted her chin with the tip of his finger, and Galilea gave him an uneasy smile. “Are you going to tell us why you’re out here by yourself, in the middle of nowhere, when you’re supposed to be in Bucharest waiting for us?”
“Okay, fine. I’ll tell you.” Galilea sighed. “You see, I ran out of girl products. Know what I mean? So I went out to buy some, took a short cut to the pharmacy, but I got lost on the way and ended up here.”
Galen’s fingers tapped the dashboard. His face turned hard.
“That’s enough of your games.” Galen’s voice sounded deeper than it had a minute ago. “Where are they, Galilea?”
“Who?”
“Dahveed and Isis.”
Did he just ask for David?
“How the hell would I know? David is your brother, not mine. Why are you looking for them, anyway?”
“They ran away,” Eryx said, glancing at the back seat. For a moment, I thought he might’ve been able to see me.
“No kidding?” Galilea raised her brow. “Did they leave a note?”
“No, but Dahveed didn’t show up to this morning’s meeting with the Council,” Galen said. “After the meeting adjourned, when we arrived at our home in Athens, they were gone. We waited, but they never returned.”
That can’t be! I had seen David leave. He had told me he was going to that meeting. Why hadn’t he gone? I couldn’t hear what they were saying over the sound of my heart beating in my ears, so I leaned forward to try to listen to what they were saying.
“And what makes you think they’re with me?” Galilea acted like she was offended. “I haven’t spoken to David in over a year.”
“You’re the only one that David trusts and knows can keep them hidden from the Council,” Eryx said. “He still thinks there’s a cure for Isis’ and his condition. And according to the geneticist whose help we sought, the metamorphosis will finalize in a few days. They’re a threat to anyone they come in contact with. Please, if you know, tell us where they are.”