Volcanoes (27 page)

It didn't take long for them to put the fire out and find me. My nose was starting to itch so I hoped it wouldn't be much longer before they declared me dead and sent the coroner for me.

"There's a body i
n here," a fireman was telling the boys. "We've located someone's remains and have called the morgue to come and pick them up. They could be hers.  If they are, I don't think it will be a problem for them to release the ashes to you as soon as a death cer
t
ificate is recorded."

Dylan wailed and I was sorry we had to act this out without him knowing. One more therapist visit to add to his growing number.

"Did it get colder out here? Man, this crazy Colorado weather. It could really snow at any time."

Great,
he had gone all blizzardy.

"We should get those scrapes treated," Hephaestus said gruffly. "Do you have the statements you need?"

"I believe so," the man answered. "Do you have a phone number I can use to reach you if I need something further?"

"It's a fo
reign number," Poseidon added. "We aren't actually from around here. We were going to stay the night downtown before leaving tomorrow for our home country."

Talk about lying on the fly. I was impressed.

"Yes," Hephaestus continued. "We were bringing her h
ome from her convalescence in South America. She was going to show us your Garden of the Gods but needed different shoes or something. I can't even remember, Poe. Can you?"

Were there tears in his voice? Damn. I would never be able to lie this fluidly. Ne
ver.

"You look like shit, Grace." Georgie whispered.

"I'd like to see how you'd look covered in this crap," I muttered back.

"I've got her," George called. "Bring in the body bag!"

"Ugh, seriously?"

"Do you want to get out of here dead?" She had a point
.

"What are you doing here? You're always in Ops."

"We're shorthanded at the moment."

"I want an explanation when we get somewhere private," I warned.

"Yes, her family can follow me to the morgue and I'll have them fill out the required paperwork," she c
alled over her shoulder.

"You sound pretty good at this," I commented, surprised.

"I went to college Grace," she said with a smile. "I'm actually a licensed pathologist."

"Shut the front door."

"Shhh, I need to zip you up and talking corpses end up on the
six o'clock news."

I shut up and tried to lie as motionless as I possibly could. My body was still but my mind was whirling. Why were they shorthanded? Where
was
everyone and, more importantly, what were they doing?

I didn't have t
o wait long for answers. I heard the doors of the coroner
’
s van slam shut and the bag was unzipped. I straightened my arms and legs.  The outer shell broke off and left a pile of ash in the bag. "Oh crap," I said. "I'll clean this right up."

"No, Grace, wa
it," Georgie grabbed my arm to halt my dusting. "DNA evidence that it was you who died in the fire."

"Oh," I responded, in awe of this girl's smarts. "I wouldn't have even thought about it."

She tapped her forehead and said, "Super genius."

I grinned. "Oka
y.  Tell me what's got everyone away from Olympus."

"It's pretty awesome when you have an enemy that has no idea how to use Technology. Nyx's kids never were really tech-savvy, I gather. Anyway, Diana and Drew triangulated where the call from Brandon's cel
l phone came from and they took an army with them."

"Stop the car."

"What? No, we have to get to the morgue."

"No, I need to be there. I have to make sure that Rose gets out alive."

"Grace, there's a procedure to follow and you aren't even up to fighting w
eight yet. I know this because before she left, your mother said
–
‘
Don't bring Grace. She's not up to fighting weight yet.
’
"

I did not appreciate the dimple in Georgie's cheek as she smiled. Normally I did. I wanted to pinch it and tell her how freakin'
adorable she was when she smiled at me. Right now I wanted to punch her in the face instead.

"Georgie, you can't do this to me. She was my best friend. Besides, I owe some people an ass kicking."

I tried puppy dog eyes but didn't get far with them. "And r
isk your
mother
punching me in the face? No thank you."

"
I'm
going to punch you in the face," I responded testily.

"I'd like to see you try." She said in a very matter of fact tone.

She had a very good point. I would have a hard time right now.

The entir
e argument was irrelevant. The sound of metal groaning and collapsing filled the cab and then Georgie and I were tumbling head over heels as the vehicle toppled end over end.

We landed in a heap and I checked her pulse without thinking. Georgina was an im
mortal. A car accident wasn't going to kill her. I actually took a moment to be grateful that it hadn't killed
me
. It didn't even knock me out, which meant I was becoming more resilient by the day.

I crawled into the front seat and checked the pulse of our
driver. It was steady so I left him and shimmied out the front where the windshield had been busted out.

I looked around for the obstacle that had caused the crash, expecting another car. Maybe a boulder or a deer. We sometimes got them out this way.

I
was treated with the sight of a fuzzy headed Lyssa. "I was just thinking about you," I called.

"I bet you were, you bitch!" She snarled. "What did you do to my brother?"

"I don't know. What did I do to your brother?" I asked confused. Okay, I admit it. I
wasn't really confused. I was hopeful but she didn't need to know that.

"He won't wake up!" she screeched and flew at me.

My body bent at an impossible angle as I dodged her attack. My legs followed the backbend and I ended up kicking her in the head on my
way back up.

She staggered and whirled on me. Slim rapiers appeared in her hands. "I'm not even going to bother with the games. I'm just going to kill you."

"But I like playing games," I retorted.

Shit. Okay. She had weapons and I was standing in the mi
ddle of the road, naked as the day I was born.

What? You thought I'd be dressed after my body turned into a walking lava pit?

She thrust with one arm, and sliced with the other. It was all I could do to stay on my feet - much less avoid the razor sharp bl
ades.

"My world for a fucking pair of weapons!" I cried out in desperate plea.

For the first time in as long as I can recall, Fate gave in and said, "Okay."

My twin kukri appeared in my hands and the weight felt amazing and solid. A maniacal grin split m
y face. "You may kill me, but I'm going to make you look even uglier than you do now on my way down, bitch."

She didn't even respond to my taunting. She just came at me with her weapons flying so fast I could barely track them.

When you watch movies, fles
h being stabbed and sliced has a sound. Before I started
getting
stabbed and sliced, I thought it was all for effect. But there is a distinctly wretched sound when metal meets flesh.

I didn
’
t feel the cuts right away, but I knew that they were there
–
jus
t waiting for sweat, dirt or lemon juice to happen upon them.

Georgie and the other Hunter were still unconscious in the van and my rescue team was nowhere in sight. I had to pull up my big girl pants and face this demon on my own.

"I regret not killing
you before," I said wearily.

"As if you could have," she answered.

"For once, I'm tired of verbal sparring. Let's do this."

"I'm shocked."

"I'm surprised you even use that word anymore considering what Zeus did to you," I snickered.

If I lived through t
his, I was going to have them make a Grace Muzzle. It had been hard keeping up with her before
–
it was nearly impossible when she was furious.

My blades met hers but just barely. I was on the defensive and I couldn
’
t see a scenario where I would be able t
o go on the offense. What had happened to the righteous belief that I was going to kick her ass the next time I saw her? What had happened to the rage and anger over what she'd done to my friends and family? She fucking blew up my house!

My body was scream
ing with exhaustion and all of the righteousness in the world wasn't going to make me suddenly turn into a superhero that could win this fight.

Blood ran in a steady stream from dozens of small wounds in my body making the grips on my swords slippery. The
ir weight was unfamiliar after what seemed like so long without them.  I regretted not training every day.

Her face split into a hideous grin when she realized that I was through. "This was easier and much less satisfying than I thought it would be, Grace
," she crooned.

Oh how I hated her dulcet tones. I thought for a moment as I stood there, chest heaving for any kind of oxygen it could get, that maybe I should just drop my swords. If I let her finish me off, I could stop the fighting. I was tired of fig
hting. I fought with my son, my mother, Drew - even Heph. I'd made more enemies lately than friends and enough was enough.

Something in me had to change because I couldn't keep this up.

I know what anyone reading this is thinking - was Lyssa messing with
my mind? I wish she had been. No, unfortunately this was all me. Wanna know what I really wanted? I wanted to sit out in my backyard with a tall glass of lemonade and my Kindle. A cool breeze would be blowing, just enough to dry the sweat from my sun kis
s
ed skin.

I'd be wearing one of those big floppy hats and Scooter would be sitting next to me, basking in the glory of the Colorado sun. My son would be playing with his perfectly normal friends and life would be kosher.

I blinked away the sweat in my eye
s and took a really hard look at Lyssa. This scarred, haggard woman had taken away that life. She'd framed me for the murder of my husband, blown up my house and wrecked any chance of Grace Murphy having a normal suburban town life.

"I worked hard for tha
t house," I said quietly. She'd stopped attacking.  I couldn't figure out why, but was glad for the reprieve.

"I struggled for
everything
I had. I had to do so much just to get on the loan. And you just blew it up.  Like it had no meaning. What do you peo
ple have against me? What did I ever do to you and yours that you would start a war against me?"

She tilted her head to the side and studied me. After a moment the corners of her mouth lifted. "You were vulnerable. It was easy to go to war against you - yo
u had so much to lose. None of the others spend much time outside of Olympus anymore. You were easy. We could get to Zeus and Diana through you. All we want is our mother freed."

I was vulnerable. Really? That was the only reason? I hadn't hit anyone's dog
with my car. I hadn't snubbed someone's mom at the PTA meeting. I was vulnerable and could be used as a tool for a greater purpose.

The kernel of anger started slowly in the pit of my chest. From there it spread like a warm, welcoming glow. I welcomed th
is feeling. I wanted this anger because it was what made me Grace Murphy. If I wasn't pissed off at some injustice in this world, I wasn't breathing.

This injustice just so happened to hit home a little more closely. "You suck." It was all I said. I didn'
t have any other words. I could have come up with a diatribe or I could have monologued her to death, but I didn't want to waste the energy.

I flew at her. I wasn't going to use the swords or the training that Athena, Drew and Diana had tried to instill in
me. I was just a
really
pissed off woman who was tired of being fucked with.

She raised her sword to hack me down, but I grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm until her grip loosened and the sword fell to the ground. With my other hand, I grabbed what ha
ir was left on her head and jerked.

She screamed and tried to break free but I had her at an awkward angle. I tumbled to the ground, holding fast. When we hit, I pounded her face into the road with all of the pent up rage, anger and despair that had been
sequestered within me.

I generally held onto it all. Sure, I would explode and bluster - but it never got so far as this full blown, Viking rage.
 
I saved that for the special occasions.
Not this time.  This time, I went into berserker mode and just screa
med wordless sounds as I inflicted beyond imaginable pain.

She finally gained purchase and flipped over. Her fist connected with my windpipe and I flailed, gasping for breath. She thought this was the opening she needed to finish me off. All she did thoug
h was push the final button needed for me to explode.

My body welcomed the lava skin this time. It promised
the rage
, a sacrifice worth the price of standing out here in the open where anyone could see me transform.

Lyssa tried so desperately to remove h
erself from my warm embrace, but it was too late. I pulled her close and whispered, "I hope you burn like this for eternity for the atrocities you've committed against my family."

I held her until her screams died out. I held her until she was nothing but
ash scattering in the wind.

It should have felt better but the victory was weighted with a sense of dismay. So many deaths had occurred in such a short time.  She was just another number in the body count.

Lyssa's death had no special meaning, other tha
n the fact that she couldn't hurt us anymore. It should have been enough but it left me cold. It would have been naive of me to believe this was the end of it. I knew it wasn't. These two weren't even the ringleaders of this entire farce. It would just es
c
alate until this world ran with blood if we couldn't figure out how to end it once and for all.

My skin hardened and blackened as I sat amid her remains.

That is how Marisol found me.

"So, instead of writing you spend your free time sitting naked in the
street?"

I gasped and reached for my weapons, startled out of my catatonic state.  "What
–
what are you doing here?"

"I figured it was time to come clean. After all
–
you've killed a brother and a sister and…
well, who knows what
’
s going on with Hypnos."

I staggered to my feet, a little wobbly, but determined to face this new threat head on.

"Whoa there, kid. I'm not your enemy."

"Aren't you? You just said I'd killed your family. If you'd said the same to me, you wouldn't have a head right now."

"That's pr
obably because I have infinitely more patience - and sense - than you do, Grace."