Prophecy of the Most Beautiful (26 page)

He laughed, a sweet sound that made her mouth water as he brushed some of her hair behind her shoulder. "I'm sure we could find somethin' tha' would suit you."

She swallowed. "I want one like yours. The bronze one."

"Like
Aor
?" He chuckled. "You can't have a
Summoner
, wan."

"Why not? 'Cause I'm a
human
?" She snorted.

"No. Because
Summoners
are the weapons of gods." He paused. "
And
'cause you're human."

"I knew it!"

"But also," he continued, caressing the back of her neck, "
Summoners
contain very pure power––the gods' power. Tha's why they choose the guardians of their weapons carefully. Though guardians are typically royals, not every god has a royal child. Still, you have to be strong to have a
Summoner
because they're kept within us. The power is ours and we can summon it whenever we want. You'd have to be part god to even handle one and tha's jus' the first requirement. You can have a
Morph
though."

"Like Bill?"

"A
Fauna Morph?
Depends on if you find one or not. Or should I say, one finds you.
Faunas
aren't manufactured by Hephaestus like
Gadget Morphs
. They jus' are and if it's their fate to end up with you, tha's wha' it'll be. Swindle and Bill…they were meant for each other. Bill won't morph for anyone else."

She sighed. "So I guess all that leaves me with is a
Gadget Morph
."

He smiled. "Already hatin' on the
Gadget Morphs
, aye? You shouldn't.
Gadgets
are real sound…and disguisin'. Wha' would you want yours to be? It can be almost anythin'."

"A ring!" She had decided after realizing ankle boots wouldn't make great
Morphs
. "When I'm wearing it, it's just a piece of really awesome jewelry. But when I take it off, it's a
dagger
!" She growled the last word making Strafford laugh.

"Okay, Red. You can have wha'ever you want. A ring, it is."

With talk of her future
Morph
finished, he reached up to play with a piece of her hair as absentminded as if it was his own. He tucked it behind her ear and his fingers grazed her neck again. She wanted to lean into his hand this time, but refrained, scared that he would move away from her if she did. She liked him like this. She
loved
him like this––so calm and even kind of sweet––
different
, just like he said he would be at night. She liked having him so close to her. There was barely an inch of space between them and he didn't seem to want to widen that gap, which made him being next to her that much sweeter.

"Your hair is beautiful, wan." His voice was low and throaty.

"Thanks to Crystal Chaos."

"I'll have to send her a thank-you card."

She could barely stand the way he was looking at her. "I thought you didn't like
gingernuts
." Ace had defined the word for her.
Red-head.
"I…thought you didn't like
me
."

He froze. "So not true. I think you're the business. It's me I don't like."

Gods…how could that be?
"Well…
I
think you're pretty great, if that means anything."

"Tha's 'cause you don't know, Red…You don't know what I did…"

Then, as though he had just realized he was actually touching her, his hand fell from her hair. He blinked several times like he had just woken up from some hypnotic stupor and leaned away, putting several inches between them. Looking at his hands like he didn't know where they had come from, he flexed his fingers back and forth until he just balled them into fists. He almost looked like he was in pain.

He looked over at her, and she felt her breath catch in her lungs. Literally, he took her breath away. "Go back to sleep, wan," he said, his voice strained, "An Oracle's mind needs a lot of rest. I'll be outside if you need me. It's my turn to keep watch." He sounded like he thoroughly regretted it and for a minute she thought he would change his mind and stay. But Strafford wasn't going to shirk on his duties, she knew that.

He leaned toward her a bit, gorgeous lips slightly puckered, but after a moment's hesitation, he leaned back and bit his lip.
Had he been about to kiss me
? It took everything she had not to slip into his lap, trapping him, and assaulting his lips with hers.

Finally, he stood. "Sleep tight, wan." There was a tightness to his tone that was impossible to ignore. "Shout if you need me." And then he was up and out of the room before she could breath a single word.

She sat there like a zombie, pressing her fingers to her lips like he had actually planted a kiss there, waiting for the shivers to stop break dancing down her spine.Waiting for her pulse to stop racing and her heart to stop pounding. Waiting for everything that had just happened to make some sort of sense to her. Waiting to see if he would come back and kiss her like crazy until she called for a truce.

But the whole night passed and he never came.

*****

XIX. Chloe

Spending half the night waiting on a a kiss that never came or might never happen had been a stupid idea. Chloe woke up feeling like recycled garbage, but managed somehow to drag herself out of bed, dress and join the others for breakfast, which turned out to be the leftovers of what they had eaten for dinner the night before. She didn't mind that at all. Swindle was a great cook.

Over
Boerewors
(the African sausage) and biscuits, she went over the previous night in her head. Once again, Strafford had used his so called shame to keep her at bay. But all he'd really done was expose more of himself to her. He really believed that he wasn't all that and a bag of Ruffles. He'd been humbled somehow, into thinking that he didn't deserve anything he wanted. Not saying that she believed he wanted her.
Gods
, no. A Prince deserved a Princess, and that, she was not.

Still, they could be friends, right? And friends took care of their friends. Friends looked out for each other and helped one another through their problems.

Oh, who in the world was she fooling? Only
friends
with Strafford Law? With the way her heart thudded every time he was around?
Puh-leeze
. She'd never survive it. Just the thought of it was heartbreaking. And the idea that those pierced lips of his could possibly belong to some other girl…

It wouldn't work out. Bottom line.

An Iris Post had arrived while she was still sleeping and they had waited for her to wake before opening it. They let her have the honor because it was from Hector and Theseus.

With news of her family.

Chloe and the rest of you,

It's Hector. We're here in Adel, sitting on your roof, glad that we're sons of Apollo and can absorb sunlight to keep from freezing to death up here. Why the hell is it still so cold in Georgia? Ain't this the south?

Honestly, we can't say that we miss you guys. It's quiet here and there's nobody here to order us around (No offense, Your Highness). It looks like little Benjamin goes back to school tomorrow and Theseus plans on disguising himself as a school janitor so he can stay close to him. I'm staying here with your mom, but you would think that I wouldn't need to with all the cops going in and out. Your disappearance is a big deal in this little town. There are flyers offering rewards everywhere and we watched the news through your neighbor's window. You're still the top story even after all this time. The news makes your mom sad so the TV stays off most of the time. She spends her days in bed, drinking cup after cup of coffee, and when the night comes, she's so wired that all she can do is pace her room. When she finally cries herself to sleep, it's in your bed. All in all, she's not doing too good, but she's safe and I'm sure that's what's most important to you.

We've been sleeping in the big oak tree outside your bedroom window. It's not very comfortable, but the ground is too cold and hard and the roof is too drafty. We only use it to keep a look out for trouble. Otherwise, we're good. I don't think the Bane witch is coming here. Not after she lost so many siblings at the Chateau, but we're prepared if she does. Your family is safe with us.

I'll write if anything new happens.

-Hector-

It made her feel a mixture of joy and sadness to read about her family. Things didn't seem to be going so well for them, but at least they were safe and sound, and that
was
the most important thing. She just wished she could somehow let them know she was okay. But Strafford was still set against it, stating again that when the time was right he would take her to see them himself. Her hopes were not high that this time would ever come. This was a dangerous world she was a part of now. She didn't expect to see her family for a very long time and that made her heart ache like crazy.

"Hector talks like he's been with them for days," she said, "They only left yesterday."

"Time passes slower here, Chloe," Swindle said. "One day here could be a week in the mortal world. The passage of time depends on the mood of the gods and their moods change like the wind. Ha! Their moods
do
change the wind."

That didn't help her to feel better at all. She had probably been gone from home much longer than she'd initially thought. Her heart filled with guilt and sadness for her family.

"Everythin's gonna be okay, Red."

She looked up and met Strafford's stare.
Beautiful
. Memories of the night before flashed in her mind and the corners of his mouth raised in a knowing kind of way. Avoiding reading too much into that smile, she returned it. She felt better, she really did. She believed that everything
was
going to be okay, just because he had said so.

They didn't leave anything behind in the cottage as they set out for the day, so their backpacks were pretty full. They disguised themselves with hats and sunglasses so she wouldn't be recognized and Strafford wouldn't have to use sun rays to blind people, not that she would've minded watching that awesomeness go down again.

They didn't take any back streets this time, and Chloe took advantage and did a little sight seeing. New Elysium was glorious. Castles sat next to temples, temples were erected next to skyscrapers, skyscrapers towered over the bustling
agora
, which wasn't too far from a string of pub-like symposiums that each admitted a certain clientele. Signs hanging above them read things like,
Men from the 13th Century. Immortals that only pay Homage to Hera. I'm in love with a Sea Nymph. Courtesan Castle Owners
. It was crazy!

They walked through
Effigy Square
, a culdesac of statues displaying the likenesses of the Olympians, minor gods, nymphs and beasts; and down
Temple Row
, a spotless street paved white where a temple dedicated to each Olympian had been erected. Swindle stopped to pay homage at the white marble monument to Hermes and Strafford gave Ace one of his engraved daggers to offer to Apollo. He adamantly refused to pay homage himself, but Ace seemed delighted to be the one to do it, so everything worked out.

Finally ditching their disguises, Strafford led them into the more deserted east side of the province and they walked along until they stopped in front of what had to be the tallest skyscraper in the city. Literally, it stood so tall, the top of it disappeared into the clouds. The sign above its entrance read,
The Neverending Tower.
Strafford stepped right up to the sliding doors, but she and Dropper were the only ones to follow. She turned back, confused, wondering why the other two were just standing there looking horrified.

"I'm not going into the bloody Billows," Ace said, his head tilted back.

"Me neither," Swindle said. He glanced up and shivered.

"The what?" Chloe questioned.

"The Billows of Elsewhere," Strafford said, frowning, "And not tha' I'm required to explain my methods, but Chiron all but practically commanded me to come here and see where they lead us. We'll find answers here, so tha's jus' wha' we're gonna do."

"No," said Ace.

"Why the bloody hell not?"

"You know why not!"

"Why not?" She questioned, feeling the unease in their midst. Dropper was now facing skyward and looking a bit distressed. A few passersby stared at them with wide eyes, then hurried out of sight.

"See? Even those blokes know we mus' be crazy to go up there!"

"And," said Swindle, "You know how risky this is. We could end up just about––"

Strafford cut Swindle off. "Don't you think I bloody know tha'? You think
I
wanna go up there? I spent all yesterday tryin' to come up with alternate solutions and got nothin'. So if you can think of a better plan of where to go from here, I'm all ears."

No one said a word for a very long time.

"The Billows it is, then."

"Wait!" She exclaimed. "What
are
the Billows?"

The doors slid open again. "Come see for yourself," Strafford replied over his shoulder as he entered the building.

"Damnit!" Ace stomped a foot and dragged along behind him. One by one, they all trailed inside.

It was nothing but a tower with a staircase inside. That was all…initially. She stopped at the bottom of the set of stairs and looked up. Her mouth fell open when she realized she couldn't see where the winding stairs stopped. It was almost like they…
didn't
.

She leapt up a flight to catch up with Strafford, leaving the others groaning and dragging behind. "What is this place?" She had to be careful. There was no railing or walls to keep her from plummeting to the bottom.

"Didn't you read the sign, Red? It's the
Neverending Tower
."