Gods of Chaos (Red Magic) (30 page)

Marcus tried to help me clean up the mess, but there wasn’t much we could do. Eventually, we gave up and walked away from the smoldering forest. I was a wreck, but he didn’t try to comfort me, and I retreated into silence. After an hour, we reached the edge of the woods. I finally spoke.

“I want to find Izzy.” My words were quiet, but I could tell Marcus heard me by the way his shoulders tensed and then relaxed. He didn’t answer, though, and after a few more moments of silence, I tried again.

“If we want to find Izzy, I think we’ll need some help. From a large group,” I ventured.

Marcus glared at me. “I don’t want their help.”

“But they owe it to you. I think the Coven is our best bet.”

He grimaced. “Why can’t we just figure this out on our own?”

I laughed, gesturing at the woods that surrounded us. “Because we’re doing such a great job of that.”

He refused to look at me. “I just don’t want them involved. They won’t act in her best interests.”

“How do you know?”

“Have they ever?”

I took a deep breath. “Maybe they feel guilty about it. I think they’ll help us. Or, if not all of them,” I amended, “I’m pretty sure Dr. Farren can give us some information.”

“I thought you said they wouldn’t help you before. Why should it be any different now?”

“Because now,” I pointed at him, “there are two Reds to be dealt with.”

He looked skeptical.

“When it was just me asking for help, they didn’t want to do anything. They told me to leave it to them, and they basically ignored me.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “But it’s impossible to ignore two Red Witches.”

“Exactly.” I shuddered slightly, thinking of the smoking forest behind us.

The words had barely left my lips before Marcus grabbed my hands. I only had time to register the wild energy pulsing up my arms before everything went black.

When I opened my eyes, we were standing in his messy studio apartment back in Edinburgh. “Gods, why do you have to do that? Can you warn me next time?” My stomach was churning, and I lurched as the ground finished spinning.

Marcus smirked. “I got us here, didn’t I?”

“Why didn’t you do that sooner?” I grumbled.

He didn’t answer, and I swayed unsteadily on my feet as Marcus pulled his phone out of his pocket. Swiftly, he dialed a number.

“Dr. Farren? It’s Marcus Welty.”

His eyebrows went up in surprise. “No, Izzy didn’t find me. Darlena did.”

Gradually, the room was slowing down, and I staggered to the sink to get a glass of water. A thin layer of dust coated the faucet, and the water tasted stale. I tuned Marcus out, concentrating instead on getting my ragged breathing back under control. When I turned around, Marcus handed me the phone.

“Here. Why don’t you call home? You’ve been out of touch for a few days, and they might be worried.”

His kindness surprised me. I took the phone, but before I dialed I asked, “What about Dr. Farren?”

“She’ll pick us up in a half hour. She’s calling the Coven now.”

I nodded, and then began to dial my parents’ number.

My mother answered on the first ring. “Darlena? What’s the matter?”

I hadn’t realized how much I missed the sound of her voice until now. “Nothing, Mom. I’m okay.” I drew a deep breath to keep from crying.

“I would hope so! Did you need something?”

Did I need something? I wanted to laugh; I needed way more help than she could offer. “I didn’t want you to be worried.”

She laughed. “Lena, you know I never worry about you when you’re with Justin.”

Time slowed down as her words penetrated my foggy brain. “With—wait, what are you talking about?”

Her voice tightened. “You’re not with him? Then who are you seeing tonight? When you left for a movie, I assumed it was with Justin.”

This didn’t make any sense. I could only repeat her words in confusion. “A movie?”

Mom’s voice rose sharply. “Darlena Agara, you’re not doing any drugs or anything like that, are you?”

I stared at the phone, aghast. “Mom! Of course not.”

“I should hope not!” Her voice softened. “Enjoy your movie, and make sure Justin has you home by midnight. Not a minute later, young lady!”

Speechless, I hung up the phone. I swayed unsteadily for a moment, replaying our conversation, and then my legs gave out. Marcus quickly grabbed my arms and helped me to the futon in the corner. He sat close to me, not touching, his face concerned.

“Is anything wrong at home?”

Numbly, I shook my head. I leaned against him, seeking comfort, but he didn’t put his arm around me.

“Then what is it?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. Finally, I said, “My mother thinks I just went to a movie with my boyfriend.”

His brows furrowed. “She thinks we’re dating?”

“No!” I snapped. “She thinks I’m home.” The truth of what I’d said sunk in, and I gasped. “How in the world?”

Marcus sat back as if he’d been struck. “What’s going on?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. But I need to get home! This isn’t right.” I started to stand, but he pulled me back onto the sofa. My hand tingled, but he didn’t let go.

“Not yet. We have to find Izzy and bind Hecate. You can’t leave now.” His voice was firm, but I heard the desperate note in his tone.

I wanted to help Marcus, but my family came first. “There’s something really weird going on! I have to fix it.” My voice broke, and I struggled to maintain my composure.

Marcus squeezed my hand gently. “Think about it, Darlena. For some reason, your mom thinks that you’re safe and sound. Maybe this is a blessing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Now you can do what you need to do without worrying her. You don’t even need to tell her about our plan if you don’t want to.”

It made sense, but I was still worried. “But why does she think I’m home? This is just weird.”

He sat up suddenly. “When you went to the Greek Underworld before, how did you manage it? Weren’t your parents freaked out?”

I shook my head, wondering why he brought that up. “No, because Persephone stayed behind and glamoured herself to look like me. They didn’t even know I was gone.”

He smiled triumphantly. “She’s probably done it again. You said you spoke to her at the cairns the day I disappeared, right?”

I nodded skeptically. “But why would she do something like that without telling me?”

“We’ve been sort of unreachable lately,” he remarked dryly.

I thought about what he’d said. It made a certain amount of sense, but I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something about his scenario didn’t fit. “I guess,” I agreed slowly, “but I still think we should mention this to Dr. Farren and the Coven. Maybe they know something.”

“Agreed. But stop worrying. We’ve got more immediate concerns.”

“Like what?”

He leaned back against the cushion wearily. “Like facing my family again.”

“How long has it been since you saw your grandparents?”

His mouth tightened. “Years. I didn’t exactly grow up going to Grandma’s house on Sundays.”

I nodded, feeling awful for him. What must it have been like to grow up the way he did? “But they’ll help us. The Coven owes it to you and Izzy.” I sounded more confident than I felt, and Marcus stared at me for a minute before answering.

“I’m not so sure. But you’re right; I don’t know what else we should do.”

A buzzer sounded and I jumped. Marcus chuckled and put his arm on my back soothingly. Without conscious thought, I leaned into his hand, feeling safe for a moment.

“That’s the bell for the street. Dr. Farren is probably here.”

I wished I’d had time to take a shower and get rid of the grunge from our nights in the forest, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen. I wobbled a bit as I stood up, and I reached out a hand to Marcus to steady myself. He clasped my hand and gave it a squeeze, and I squeezed back. I’d gotten used to the weird electric current between us, and I almost didn’t want to let go.

“Are you ready?” His voice was soft.

Shaking my head, I let go of his hand and walked toward the door. “No. But we’re out of ideas, remember?”

He nodded. “Let’s hope this isn’t a mistake.”

Dr. Farren didn’t say much on the drive, and I shifted uncomfortably in the front seat. From time to time, I caught her glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, but her eyes darted away as soon as they met mine. Marcus snored softly from the back. Somehow, he’d managed to fall asleep as soon as we were in the car; I wondered if he was playing possum so he didn’t have to talk to Dr. Farren. When we arrived at the farmhouse in the countryside, the driveway was filled with cars. Nervous, I glanced at Dr. Farren, but she remained expressionless.

Frances opened the door before we had climbed the steps. She rushed forward, crushing Marcus in an embrace. He looked startled for a minute, but then he patted his grandmother on the back, staring down at her white head.

“Mother!” a sharp voice barked from the house, and I looked up to see the bird-like librarian standing there, glaring at Marcus.

“Mother?” I whispered to Marcus. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

Marcus ignored me. “Nice to see you, too, Uncle Sam.” Gently, he gently pulled away from Frances.