Bright Fire (Bright Fire Series Book 1) (14 page)

Chapter

34

I lock the door to my room and start pacing. I need to come up with a plan. Alec is not going to let this go without a fight. I am pretty sure Cass will defend me, but I'm not sure I can handle that right now. They just don’t understand. If they were in my shoes, would they sacrifice one of the other to save someone else? How can they ask me to do that? 

Without realizing what I am doing, I start throwing clothes into my duffle. I need to get out of here. I can’t do this anymore, and I can’t face Alec or Lyla right now. This is too much for any one person to handle. I don’t want to do this anymore. If I leave they won’t have to go to the Underworld and if I'm attacked, none of them will be in danger. 

I know deep in my bones that leaving is the best thing for them. I take a breath and write a short note. 

I’m sorry. I can’t do this. I’m leaving to keep you safe. Please don’t look for me. If you care, you will stay away. 

Love, 

Dell 

I realize how cliché a Dear John letter seems, but it’s the best I can do. I take a look around the room and before I can change my mind I quietly slide open my window and climb out onto the fire escape.

~~~~

I
should have known I would end up in my parent’s house again. Alec will be able to find me here, but I'm trusting Cass to keep him away for now. I know I can’t avoid him forever. What with facing eternity and all, but I can try to hold out for as long as I can. If they show up, I’ll hide in the attic or something. 

I know they won’t understand why I ran away, but they aren’t in my situation. The thought of letting them down is just too much to bear. Alec and Lyla will think I don’t trust them, and Cass won’t get her best friend back. 

I wander into my dad’s study and sit at his desk. The room still smells like him. The same papers are still scattered on his desk in an untidy heap. Everything about this room is the same. There is a hollow feeling in my chest because I know that I will never see him here again. I will never see him bent over the desk analyzing work papers or hear him laugh at something he read in the paper. The room may look and smell the same, but it will never be the same warm place where I can sit on the couch and read a book while he works. 

I look down and see the spreadsheet in front of me has splatter marks, and I realize they are my tears. The wall I kept in front of the grief since my parent’s death is crumbling around me as I stare at the papers on the desk. I feel a sadness that cut a hole in my soul so deep I feel like it will never heal. 

I’m also angry. Not just angry, but rage so intense it could shatter the windows in a ten block radius. I pick up the paperweight I got my dad five years ago for his birthday and throw it at the bookshelf. It ricochets off the book and hits the ground with a thud. Unsatisfied I grab the stapler and hurl it at the wall. It shatters sending chunks flying in different directions. Feeling a little better, I pick up the lamp and smash it on the floor. I start screaming toward the ceiling, "I hate you! I hate you for doing this to me! Why did they have to leave me here? Why not take me?" I drop to the floor and sob hysterically with my head in my hands. 

I stay like this on the floor of my dad’s study for an hour or so before the tears run out. I don’t feel better, but I know the worst of it is over so I try to get up. I don’t make it very far before I collapse back down onto the couch.

~~~~

I
wake up with a pounding headache that I always get after a crying fit. I sit up slowly testing my balance. The groggy sensation is overwhelming, but lifts quicker than I expect. I head towards the guest bathroom in search of aspirin.

I pour three into my hand and down them; taking a drink directly from the bathroom faucet. I sit on the cool floor for a few minutes waiting for the aspirin to kick in. My migraine eases a bit, and I head back to my dad’s study. I walk over to the bookshelf and pick up the paperweight. I search for the random pieces of the stapler and throw them in the wastepaper basket, along with the lamp. There are still shards of glass from the light bulb so I run to the kitchen to get the broom and dustpan. As I walk out of the kitchen and head for the study, and I notice the door is open. 

My blood turns ice cold. I knew this was a possibility when I ran away, but I'm not ready to die just yet. I hold the broom like a baseball bat and slowly creep around the corner into the study. I raise the broom high above my head, ready to swing and stop short. "Alec, what the hell!" 

He whirls around, obviously surprised. "What happened here? Were you attacked?" He points to the glass shards on the ground. 

"No, I got mad and broke some stuff. Is that a problem?" I didn’t mean to be so rude, but I specifically asked him to stay away. "I guess you don’t care about me since I asked you to stay away." 

He folds his arms across his chest. "Trust me, I don’t want to be here." He’s extremely mad and is glaring at me. 

Hurt, I stagger back a little. Weakly I say, "then why are you here?" 

He looks down and shuffles his feet.

Something is wrong. "Alec, why are you here?" fueled by fear, my voice comes out stronger. 

"It’s Cass, I think.. No, I know.. Hades has her."

Chapter

35

”What do you mean Hades has Cass?!" The panic in my throat strangles the words as they come out. "I just left!" 

"Dell, you’ve been gone for a day and a half." 

"What?" Had I slept for over twenty-four hours? "I didn’t.. I didn’t know." 

"It doesn’t matter," he snaps. "What matters is that someone you supposedly care about is missing. Now are you going to keep running away or are you going to do something about it?" 

His tone pushes me over the edge. "You know what mister high and mighty, I wasn’t raised to be a soldier. I have feelings; I have limits. So what if I ran away? I didn’t ask for any of this. I want my normal quiet life back. If my weakness is too much for you then leave. I don’t care anymore." 

His arms drop to his side. "Is that what you think? That I don’t have feelings?" 

I don’t want to argue with him anymore, so I stand down. "No, that’s not what I mean. I just wish you would remember that this is all new to me. Not to mention extremely overwhelming. I’m scared, not just a little, but scared to death. Of everything; Hades, his minions, losing you guys. It’s so intense it’s hard to breath most of the time." 

That got through to him. He walks over to me and wraps his arms around me in a protective gesture. "It’s normal to be scared, but you shouldn’t let the fear control you, but rather to drive you. Hades isn’t just going to go away. You are always going to be scared of him if you don’t face him. Eternity is a very long time to live in fear, don’t you think?" 

I lean against his chest and allow his embrace to comfort me. We stand like this for a long time while I focus on my breathing. Once my nerves are under control, I speak, "I don’t know what I am supposed to do." 

"Cass is right; you need to make that decision on your own. I can’t force your hand, but you need to really think about the consequences of your choice. If you do nothing, Cass may be locked in the Underworld forever." 

I roll my eyes. "No pressure or anything." My brain is swimming, but I know I could never leave Cass or Persephone to rot in the Underworld. I think I needed to hit rock bottom to see that I needed to follow my destiny. “Let’s go get then. I won’t lose Cass." 

"That’s my girl." 

My heart leaps. "Just one question. How do we get to the Underworld and save not one, but two people?" 

"I dunno yet, but we have to try."

~~~~

Lyla
is looking at a series of maps when we walk into the bookstore. It feels colder without Cass, and I can’t help but notice Lyla’s red-rimmed eyes. She has gotten very close with Cass, and I can imagine this is just as hard for her as it is for me. She rushes to me and pulls me in a bear hug that instantly crushes my lungs. "Can’t breath." 

"If you ever—" She breaks down before finishing the sentence. 

"Shh, shh." I rub her back and lead her to the table with the maps. "Calm down, we are going to come up with a plan to get Cass back and save Persephone." I’m surprised at my courage. 

"But…But" she hangs her head. 

I feel guilty at not noticing the signs of burn out sooner. She is barely hanging on. I’ve been so self-absorbed with my own drama that I didn’t even think about what this situation is doing to her. I continue to rub her back. “Lyla, honey, breath. We will find a way, I promise. But," she looks at me with her puffy eyes, "you are going to go to my room and take a shower. I am going to fix you something to eat and tea. Then you are going to sleep." I hold up a hand to stop her from arguing. "If you want to be a part of this team and help us, you have to take care of yourself." 

She nods weakly. "Yeah, you’re right." 

"I know." I give her a small smile to comfort her. "Go on upstairs and I’ll be up in a minute. Grab whatever clothes you want. Cass has your taste so I'm sure you’ll find something." 

She leaves us and heads upstairs. 

Alec follows me into the kitchen while I search for food. "Do you even know how to cook?" 

"Not really, but I make a mean grilled cheese." I pull out a pan and put it on the stove. "Can you get me the butter and cheese out of the fridge?" While the sandwiches are cooking, I boil some water for the tea. 

"Do you think she will be ok?" Alec looks genuinely worried. 

"Yeah, she just gets hysterical when she’s under a lot of pressure. You should’ve seen her during finals last year, and that was nothing compared to this." 

"I’ve noticed. Last night, she almost bit my head off when I told her I wasn’t going to look for you." 

"Why didn’t you?" 

"Because I wanted to prove that I care." 

"How did you find me?" 

He gives me an exasperated look. “It wasn’t
that
hard, where else would you have gone besides home?" 

"True. I’m sorry about the way I acted earlier. I was kind of hoping a century or so would pass before we had our first fight." I wink at him. 

"Yeah, well, I could have been a little nicer." He looks at his feet. 

"Alec Hales, did you just admit you were wrong?" 

He grins. “It tends to happen every millennia or so." 

"Oh please, you haven’t even lived that long." 

"Yeah, but now you know you won’t hear me say it again for a long time."

~~~~

Lyla
is waiting on the bed when I walk into my room. She looks better already. "I made grilled cheese and chamomile tea. I also grabbed three aspirin. You should take them before bed if you want to avoid a meltdown hangover. Trust me." 

"Been through this before have you?" She smiles weakly. 

"Once or twice. Are you feeling better?" 

"A little. You were right I was headed for a burn out if I didn’t slow down. It's just things have been so crazy, you know? It all piles up. I was afraid to slow down and then the sky fall." 

I nod. I know this feeling all to well. "It’ll get better once we get Cass back. BTW, I’m sorry about running away. I just went through pretty much what you are going through now, and I couldn’t take it. I thought that you guys were better off without me. That you would be safer if I left." 

She rolls her eyes. "Sometimes you can be dense. Don’t get me wrong I love you and what happened to Cass is not your fault. But you as one person cannot protect us from danger. We are a team. I think the fact that we work together is what keeps us safe. I just can't figure out why Hades would want Cass." 

"I guess it’s to lure me to him. I believe Cass was right about Persephone trying to keep me away so I wouldn’t be in danger." 

The color in her cheeks is coming back, but she can’t stop the long yawn that is a result of the chamomile tea. "OK you, time for bed. Dr.’s orders." 

"You are gonna be a great mom." 

I freeze. “Where did that come from?" 

"I dunno it just occurred to me." 

I smile. “Goodnight." 

"Night." She’s asleep before I make it to the door.

Chapter

36

I could sleep with Lyla in my bed, but I don’t want to disturb her. So I go downstairs to look for Alec. He is sprawled out on the floor looking at a mountain of books. "I can't decide where to start. We need to find Hermes, but the lore is all over the place." He lets out a sigh of frustration. 

I drop down next to him. "I have no idea but we have to start somewhere so we might as well just grab a book and dig in." 

"It's nice to see the change in attitude." 

"Yeah, having a love one kidnapped will do that to a girl." Making light of the situation makes it easier for me to handle. 

"I would imagine so." 

It feels so natural hanging out with him. Almost like I've known him for forever. God I sound like a cliché. "So, what do you do for fun?" 

He stops flipping the page of a book and stars at me with raised eyebrows. “What?" 

"I
said
‘what do you do for fun?’" 

"I know what you said silly, I am just wondering why you said it." 

"I just want to learn something about you and the light chit chat makes me feel better." 

"Hmm. I like to practice archery in the woods." 

"Really?" 

"Really. What about you?" 

"I love to read, it's embarrassing how nerdy I am. I like taking pictures too, though I’m not super great. Maybe I’ll go to college for photography; if I go back to high school. I wonder what the principle is going to say about all of my absences." 

"Oh, you’re covered there. Cass called and told the principle you were having a hard time adjusting to the move and you needed some time off." 

Wow. "She really is amazing. I couldn’t imagine my parents choosing a better person to take care of me." 

“Again you dismiss me so easily.” He holds his hand over his heart. 

"You know what I mean." I yawn. "I'm tired. I think I am going to try to get some rest. The letters on this page are all blurring together." 

"I would join you but you know, I’m not allowed to sleep with you remember." 

I roll my eyes and giggle, a little slaphappy from the exhaustion. I hold out my hand to him. "Come on Warrior, I need your protection." 

He smiles ruefully. "Yes, Master." 

"Shut up."

~~~~

"
If
Cass were here she would slap you silly." I listen to Lyla lecturing Alec,
again
, for sleeping next me last night. "When she gets back I'm going to tell her just to spite you." 

"And I’ll tell your mom that you are offering yourself up as bait to King of the Underworld." He retorts. 

"Touché." 

Their banter continues throughout the day, and I'm glad to see Lyla back to normal. Yesterday’s meltdown had me worried that she might not be able to cope with everything. The great thing about Lyla, though, is she always bounces back. 

The three of us are sitting in the back room scouring through books upon books to get any help on how to find Hermes. 

Lyla sighs as she tosses the last book of her pile to the side. “I’m going to go up front and grab some more books. No smooching while I'm gone." 

Alec and I both blush and stick our heads deeper into the books we are reading. 

She bounces off giggling to herself. 

"She can be a real pain sometimes." He says with affection. I've noticed recently that they both seem to have put aside their issues and get along. Even rely on each other. It makes the whole boyfriend/bestfriend thing much easier. I hear a bone-chilling shriek from the front of the store and Alec is out of his chair before I even look up.
Lyla
. 

I dash to the front of the store and by the time I get there I see Lyla wielding a letter opener as a weapon and Alec has a man in a strangle hold. 

It would be funny; if I weren't so afraid. "What the heck? How did you get in here?" 

His response is hard to hear through Alec’s grip on his head. "I picked the lock." 

Naturally
. I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Who are you and why did you break into our store?" 

He looks confused. "Your store? I was looking for my friend Cass, I thought this was her place." 

"She’s… Not here right now. What do you want with her?" 

"She reached out to me and said she needed my help. I owe her a favor, so I came to repay it. Now would you call off your attack dog?" 

"Not until you answer the first question. Who are you?" 

"Who are
you
?" 

Why is he being so evasive? "I am Dell, and this is Alec and Lyla. Now your turn." 

"I am Hermes. And before you ask, no, I am not a fashion designer." 

All three of our jaws drop. "You are Hermes? The Hermes? Messenger of the gods Hermes?" 

”Who wants to know? And I'll ask again, can you call off this brute? It's getting a bit difficult to breath." 

"Alec, let him go." 

He hesitates, then releases his head and grabs his arm instead. 

"Seriously kid what is with you?" 

"Too many attacks recently. I'm going to stay on the safe side if you don’t mind." 

My mind is still reeling. Hermes walks straight into the store. I have a hard time believing it. 

On the same wavelength, Lyla speaks, "How do we know he's really Hermes. It's kind of coincidental don’t you think?"

"Why would I lie about who I am?" 

"Oh I don’t know, maybe because more than one person has tried to kill me recently." 

"OK, how can I prove to you that I am who I say I am?" 

Alec asks, ”How many children do you have?" 

"Four; Pan, Priapus, Autolycus, and I just had a beautiful little girl Angelica. Some texts say I had a child named Hermaphoditus. But come on seriously, I would never punish a child with that name." 

I see Lyla smile a little out of the corner of my eye. She quizzes him next. "What is the name of the giant you defeated?" 

"Which one?" 

"Any." 

"The one you would know about is Hippolytus." 

I don’t trust this guy, and these answers can be found with research. "Anyone can know those answers. What did you do to help Persephone?" 

"I took care of the growth of vegetation, Spring as you would call it. You look just like her you know." 

So he knows who I am. 

Reading my thoughts he says, "Yes, I know who you are Delfia. I was there when you were born. I helped you escape with James and I tried to help your mother escape. That’s why I am on the run from Hades." 

I guess that is just going to have to be enough. I can't see any other way to prove if he is telling the truth or not. "OK, Alec, let him go." 

He hesitates but lets him go. "Try anything and I’ll break your legs." 

"Got it." 

"So, what did Cass say to you?" 

"She said she needed help. Something about a prophecy, but she was pretty vague on the details. Would you mind filling me in or should I wait for her?" 

We are silent for a moment, and he senses something is up. “She
is
alright, isn’t she?" 

Lyla answers, "Actually… she’s sort of been kidnapped by Hades." 

He pales. “Come again." 

Alec speaks to him like he is mentally slow, "Cass. Has. Been. Kidnapped." 

He sits in the chair closest to him. "How did this happen?" 

I’d like to know myself, since they haven’t told me that yet either. 

Lyla tears up. “We were in the back room doing research and there was a knock on the door. Then we heard a scream. Before we knew what happened, Cela and Cerberus got a hold of her." 

"Where were you warrior boy?" 

"How did you know he was a warrior?" 

"It's not hard to tell by the way he was manhandling me. Plus, I heard of your parent’s passing, and I knew you would be assigned a new warrior soon. My condolences." 

Alec looks defeated. “I wasn’t fast enough." 

"Alec, it’s not your fault. If I didn’t have you researching so much you would have been more alert." Lyla’s guilt is written all over face.  

"It’s no one’s fault but the people who took her and we aren’t going to get anywhere playing the blame game. We need to focus on getting her back." 

Hermes looks at me. “And how do suppose you are going to do that?" 

The three of us stare at him. 

"Oh no, I don’t think so. I am not going back there." 

I guess this isn’t going to be as easy as I had hoped. "Look, we need your help and you owe her a favor." 

"I don’t owe her my life." 

"Alec and Lyla, will you run to the diner and get something us to eat?" 

They answer in unison, "What?"

"I need to speak with him, alone." I look at Alec. “Please." 

"OK, but if anything happens to her. I will kill you." 

"Chill out Cujo. I'm not going to do anything to her." 

They head to the door. Lyla tosses me a look over her shoulder that says ‘be careful’.