Guardian of Atlantis (The Children of Atlantis) (14 page)

“Oh.”

“When you throw demigods into the mix, it can be a real problem. Are they working for their parents or are they trying to gain power for themselves? Anyway, it’s your job to stop all of them.”

“I’m supposed to stop a god
or demigod
from getting what he wants?
How?”
Raven’s chest tightened. Her first instinct was to run far away. But looking around the room, there was no escape. Even the doorway was
now
blocked by Ethan Knight.
The sight of him standing there made her heart beat a little faster.

“I’m wondering how you’re going to do it myself. You’re so pathetic,” said Elizabeth.

“That’s e
nough Elizabeth!” roared Ethan.

Elizabeth jumped, “Ethan, when did you get here?” She stood up and slinked over to him, putting her hand on his arm.

“What are you doing?” Ethan glared at her.

“Raven and I were just havi
ng a little chat
.” Elizabeth slid her hand up Ethan’s arm.
“Since she’s awake, why don’t we go somewhere and talk.”
She turned and sneered at Raven, letting Raven know Ethan belonged to her.

“Get your hands off of him!” growled Raven.
She clenched the blanket, wishing it was Elizabeth’s neck.

A look of pure surprise covered Elizabeth’s face. “Did you just tell me—
”

“Get your hands off of him.” Raven couldn’t explain the rage building inside her. All she knew was Elizabeth need
ed
to get away from Ethan before she ripped Elizabeth’s arms off.

“Elizabeth, you’re upsetting Raven. I really think you need to leave.” Ethan removed her hand from his arm and stepped away from her.

“Yeah, you need to go.
Now.”
Leslie stepped through the doorway followed by Ari and Bree.

“Why should I have to leave?” Elizabeth sounded hurt. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Just making moves on Ethan again.” Bree crossed her arms. “You should have gotten the hint by now. He’s not interested in you.
Never has been and never will be.
”

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. “He’s definitely not interested in you.” She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“So what?
He’s not interested in me.
Big deal.”
Bree’s chin quivered. “But it looks like he’s found more than just a girlfriend
. I’m happy for him and Raven. A
nd I won’t stand here and let you get in their way.” Bree squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.

“Well said.” Ari patted Bree’s shoulder.

“Whatever,” Elizabeth’s nostrils flared slightly. “Just remember. You called me. I didn’t call you.” She pushed her way past Bree.

“Good riddance.” Raven felt the rage slowly seep from her body.

“How are you feeling?” Ethan put a paper bag down on the bed next to Raven. He sat down in the chair Elizabeth had sat in earlier. “You’ve got a lot more color in your face.”

“Okay, for a member of the walking dead. At least body parts aren’t dropping off. That would be embarrassing.” Raven turned a couple of shades of pink.  She hoped her little
bit of humor
would lighten their moods.

“Speaking of dead.”
Leslie put her hands on her hips. “Running off on your own was not a smart thing to do. We’re supposed to protect you.”

“Which you can’t do if you’re dead.”
She knew the girls were upset with her,
but it was better than the alternative
.
They could get over being mad at her. They couldn’t get over being dead.

“But we could have prevented this from happening,” said Leslie. Ari and Bree nodded their heads in agreement.

“Maybe.
But what if you had gotten clawed instead of me?
Or if Meritus got a hold of you?
You would be dead.” Raven looked at Ethan. “Am I right?”

Ethan turned to the three girls. “You know she’s right about that.” He turned back to Raven. “But you should have come straight here
to Sam’s house
like I told you.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “How long have I been here?” she asked, changing the subject.

“It’s Saturday. Four days.” Ethan gestured to the brown paper bag. “You need to eat.”

“Saturday?”
Raven’s eyes grew huge. “You’re not joking are you?” She looked from Ethan to the girls.

They all shook their heads.

“Mom!
She’s going to kill me. Does she know I’m here? I’ve got to get home.” Raven tried to get up but Ethan jumped up and put his hand on her shoulder, keeping her in the bed.

“Eat,” he ordered her.

Raven felt the wave of power roll off of him. She blinked and shook her head. “That doesn’t work on me.” She tried to shake off his hand.

“Maybe not, but you’re going to stay in bed and eat. You have to rebuild your strength,” Ethan said more gently.

“He’s right, Raven.” Bree moved to the foot of the bed and put down a duffle bag. “After you eat, we’ll get you into the shower.”

Raven nodded. She picked up the paper bag and pulled out one of the sandwiches she found in it.

“
There’s chicken salad and ham and cheese sandwiches
. Drink some more water before you eat.” Ethan handed her a glass of water.

Raven drank the water and ate one of the chicken salad sandwiches under several pair
s
of watchful eyes. “Has anyone talked to my mom?” she asked after she swallowed the last bite.

The girls suddenly found interesting things to look at in different parts of the bedroom. Ethan was the only one who didn’t look away from her.

“What is it you’re not telling me about my mom?” A sinking feeling filled Raven’s stomach. “It’s bad. Isn’t it?” She chewed on her bottom lip.

“I’ve had your house watched, in case Jay or Meritus return,” said Ethan.

“And?”

“Your mom has not been home. I’ve got others
out
looking for her.”

Raven swallowed. “Mom’s missing. We were fighting Tuesday morning. That’s the last time I saw her.” Raven put her hands over her mouth to stifle the sobs.

“We’ll find her,” said Ethan. ‘You need to finish eating.” He rubbed her shoulder gently.

Leslie put down a book sh
e was pretending to read
. “Was your mom going any place special?”

Raven shook her head. “She said she had a job interview, but she didn’t say where or even for what. I don’t even know if she made it there or not.”

“Did you try her cellphone?” asked Ari.

Raven nodded.

“That was one of the numbers on my cellphone?” asked Ethan.

Raven nodded again.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find her.” Ethan tried to reassure Raven.

“It’s because of me she’s missing. It’s because of
this key
codes
to Atlantis business. Isn’t it?” whispered Raven.

“It’s probably just a coincidence,” said Leslie.

“Yeah.
Right.
No one’s safe with me around.” Raven sucked in a ragged breath. “I can’t stay here. No one’s safe.”

“Raven, you have to calm down,” said Leslie.

“Yeah.
What she said. Besides running is not the answer,” added Bree.

“Raven, I told you I would keep you safe.” Ethan lifted Raven’s face so she had t
o look at him. “We will find your mother
. I promise you. But I need you to promise me you won’t do
anything foolish. Promise me
,
Raven. I almost lost you once already.”

“I won’t do anything foolish, but I’ll do whatever it takes to find my mom.” Raven clenched her teeth. And I’ll do whatever I have to, to keep everyone safe from me, she told herself.

Ethan’s cellphone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket
and shook his head
. “I have to take this.” He walked out of the bedroom.

“Don’t worry. If anyone can find your mom, Ethan can.
” Bree sat down next to Raven. S
he wiped tears from her eyes. “If I can’t have Ethan, at least it was you who got him.
I don’t know what I’d done if it had been Elizabeth.
”

Raven frowned. “What are you talking about? I don’t have Ethan. I wouldn’t do that to you. There is no Ethan and me.”

“You honestly don’t know do you?” asked Bree.

“Know what?”

Bree sent Leslie and Ari a silent plea for help. Leslie took a seat in the chair and Ari plopped down on the floor next to her.

“Let’s start with
some basics. The people we
read about in Greek mythology are real,” said Leslie.

“Like we’re nymphs.
Well, actually children of nymphs.” Ari smiled brightly. “But
it
makes us nymphs.”

“And Ethan’s a Hellhound,” said Bree.

“Most of the events in the myths were greatly exaggerated. You know. Like how stories grow bigger each time they’re told,” continued Leslie.

“Okay, I get
it
.
For the most part.”
Raven sighed. It was still a little difficult to accept what she thought of as nothing more than myths to be real, but she was getting there. Didn’t legends have a thread of reality in them? “What does this have to do with Ethan and me?”

“Hellhounds are a bit different than the rest of us.” Bree blushed.

“No joke! They turn into smelly monsters.” Images of fangs and rows of sharp teeth filled Raven’s head.

“I’m not talking about their Hellhound side. I’m talking about the fact that they take a mate for life.” Bree turned red.

“He
llhounds mate for life. And this
affects me how?” Raven lifted an eyebrow questioningly.

“Hellhounds are extremely protective of their mates.”

“Bree, you’re going to have to bop her on the head. Raven, Ethan’s found his mate. It’s you.” Leslie grinned.

“I’m what?” Raven stared at the girls. She slowly shook her head.
“No way.
No freaking way!
I’m only sixteen. I can’t be anyone’s mate.
”

“Yes, freaking way. It’s kind of romantic.
You
,
the Guardian of Atlantis.
Ethan
,
the alpha Hellhound of the teen pack
in town.”
Bree sighed. “The Fates must really like you.”

“Or they’re having a heck of a party at my expense,” said Raven.

Leslie’s
cellphone chirped. “We’ve got to
go.
It’s
mom,” she said after reading the text
message. “Stay here. You’ll be safe.” She stood up. “We’ll be back as fast as we can.”

Bree leaned over and hugged Raven. “I’m sad because I lost the guy I’ve had a major crush on for years. But I’m really happy for you.” She got off the bed and followed the other two out of the room.

Raven stared at the empty doorway for a long time.
“Un-freaking believable!
I haven’t been on a date and now I’m Ethan’s mate.” She shook her head. Looking around, Raven sighed. “I can’t stay here.” She mustered all of her determination and got out of the bed. Though a little shaky, she didn’t fall down like the last time. Grabbing the duffle bag and her clothes out of her bag, Raven went in search of the bathroom.

A short time later, Raven made her way down stairs. “I’m so outta here,” she said as she opened the front door. The rain was still falling out of the darkened skies, but it was daytime. Ethan’s jeep was sitting in the driveway. Raven went down the front steps and over to it.
After a quick search, she found the keys
in a small tray in the center console
under some papers
. Underneath them was the key her mom had given her for her birthday.

She smiled and slipped the old key into her front pocket.

“If he leaves the keys in it, he’s asking for me to take it.”
Raven tossed her bag into the passenger seat and slipped in behind the steering wheel
.

The engine started on the first try.

“First thing.
Find mom.” Raven pushed in the clutch, put the jeep into reverse, and backed out of the driveway and took off down the w
et street as fast as she dared.

9

In elementary school there seems to be an assembly or a speaker in the classroom for everything. You know, like when you have the unit on healthy teeth. The dentist shows up with toothbrushes, toothpaste,
and the dye tablets you chew
to show where you didn’t brush your teeth. Afterwards, no matter how much you brushed, there was always a patch of the purplish dye left in your teeth.

I remember the time the policeman came to speak to my class. We even got to sit in his police car. He turned on the siren and lights. It was really cool stuff. The message we were supposed to come away with, besides obey the law, was if we needed help, we could go to a policeman and he would help us.
Always.

             
--Raven Weir’s journal

“Use a blinker, you stupid jerk!” Raven yelled at the third person who, in less than ten minutes, pulled out in front of her. “You just couldn’t wait two more seconds. Could you?
Stupid jerk!”
Her knuckles were white and her finger tips numb, but Raven didn’t dare let go of the steering wheel. The last patch of water she ran through sent her hydroplaning into the other lane. At the last minute, the wheels caught
the
pavement and she was able to pull back into her lane seconds before plowing head on into another vehicle. “Just let me get there in one piece. Just let me get there in one piece,” she chanted through clenched teeth.

Lightning streaked across the sky, creating unusual patterns.

“Great! Absolutely great! Like I don’t already have enough problems,” grumbled Raven. She turned off the main street onto a side road that went straight past the police department. She glanced up at the sky. “You got anything else you want to throw at me?”

Lightning snaked down from somewhere deep within the heavens and struck an old pine tree about twenty yards from the jeep. The tree exploded with a tremendous bang. Sparks, pine needles, pine cones, and small chunks of wood pelted the jeep.

Raven screamed and ducked, jerking the steering wheel to the right. The front tires bounced up over the curb and onto the sidewalk.

Raven jerked the wheel back to the left and slammed on the brake and
pushed in the
clutch
at the same time
. The jeep sketched in protest as it bounced back onto the street and skidded to a stop. Luckily
this time
, no one, but
Raven
, was on the road.

“Not funny! I was just kidding!” She fought to catch her breath. “Someone’s got a serious attitude problem. And it
ain’t
me,” She was still shaking, but she couldn’t sit there in the middle of the road either. The rain continued its onslaught mak
ing it difficult to see anything in front of her
. The windshield wipers just couldn’t keep up. Each pass cleared the windshield, but only for a second or two.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” she told herself as she got the jeep back into its lane.
“I never want to dri
ve in the rain. Not ever again!
”

Minutes passed and finally Raven caught a glimpse of the police station between the swipes of the wipers.  The huge six story monstrosity of glass, steel, and concrete stuck out like a sore thumb against the backdrop of trees and much older,
red
brick buildings lining the street. Raven pulled into a parking space in the lot across the
street from the police building. She made sure she wasn’t too far from the exit
but not too close to the building either.

Broadcasting the fact she was driving was definitely not a good idea.

There was the small matter of her not having a driver’s license.

Or even a learner’s permit.

And then there was the fact,
she
had
borrowed her mom’s car without her permission and got into trouble because of a fender bender even though the accident wasn’t her fault.

Raven put the jeep into first gear and turned off the engine. The warmth filling the vehicle retreated as the cold and damp inched their way back into the space. Raven shivered. She glanced out the windshield but with the rain blasting away at the glass, she couldn’t see anything but her shadowed reflection.

“I’m doing the right thing.” She told her reflection. “If someone’s missing, you report them to the police and they find them. And mom’s definitely missing.” Her reflection didn’t seem any more convinced than she did. Raven sighed. “I’m here. I don’t have anything to lose. And I’m not hurting anyone either.” She opened the door and jumped out into the rain. “So much for staying dry,” she grumbled as she ran across the parking lot to the police building.

Raven stopped under the building’s awning and shook some of the water out of her hair and off of her clothes. She paused at the glass door to the police department and looked in for a few second before she grabbed the
handle of the glass door. T
he minute her fingers touched the metal
,
she let go and jumped back.  Slowly Raven rubbed her hand then her arm. A weird sensation,
like
some sort of strange vibration, shot through her hand and up her arm as soon as she touched the handle. It didn’t hurt, just felt really weird, but it surprised her, and it made her feel really, really strange, like a low current of electricity was running through it. She stared at her hand, then at the door handle.

Raven looked up. One of the cops watching her leaned over and whispered something to the cop next to him.

They knew she was there.

She had no choice.  If she didn’t go in, it would look oddly suspicious, especially since she’
d been standing at the door star
ing in.

Raven slowly reached for the metal handle, but she stopped—her fingers not even an
inch from it
. What if it shocked her again?
It couldn’t happen again. She shook her head and grabbed the handle
.
The door swung open without any problems.
Raven walked in relieved s
he didn’t receive another shock or any other surprise.

Raven stood off to one side, wondering who she should talk to about her mom’s disappearance. She rubbed her hand again. Little electric tingles were shooting through it.

One of the officers, who had watched her, disappeared through a backdoor. Raven assumed,
hoped, he was just going off on an errand or something that had nothing to do with her, but the way her luck was going lately, she kind of doubted it.

“Excuse me.” Raven’s voice cracked a little bit. She cleared her throat. “Excuse me,” she said again as she moved closer to the front desk.

“Can I help you?” The officer’s whole demeanor dripped with boredom.

“I need to talk to someone about my missing mother.”

The officer reached into the stack of trays behind him and pulled out a folder. “She probably just went to the store. She’ll be home about the same time you get there.” He hid a yawn behind his hand.

“She’s not shopping
.” Raven nervously played with
he
r
pendant
.

“Then she probably went to see her boyfriend. Don’t worry. She’ll return, eventually. They all do.” He opened the folder and started copying something from it. “Go home.”

“She doesn’t have a boyfriend and she’s been gone for several days.” Raven’s agitation reflected in her voice. She let the
pendant
drop.

“And I guess you’ve checked the hospital too?” The officer didn’t even look up from what he was doing.

“That’s what you get paid the big bucks for.” Raven’s tone was more forceful. “Why don’t you put that stuff down and quit ignoring me. I may be just a teenager to y
ou, but my mom’s missing and i
t’s important.
Besides, it’s your job to find her.
”

The officer looked up. “Check that attitude of yours before you find yourself in real trouble. Go home. I’m not wasting my time filling out a missing person’s report when the person’s not really missing. All you teenagers are alike—me, me, me.”

“Everything okay, Joe?”
The officer who went into the back reappeared.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” grumbled Officer Joe. “Just another rude teenager who thinks she’s someone.”

“Isn’t
she
the fifth one this week?” asked the other officer.

“Third one this morning.”

The officer shook his head. “This weather brings out the nuts. Never fails.”

“And they all find their way here,” said Officer Joe. He closed the folder and put it into a tray beside him.

“So give her a lollipop and send her home or call social services. Tell them we have another abandoned kid here. Either way, she’ll be out of our hair.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “So much for serving and protecting,” she muttered under her breath.

“What did you say?” Officer Joe asked, leaning forward.

“I said
,
I need to speak to a
detective in charge who can help me fill out a missing person’s report because obviously you’re way too busy to help me.”

“You’re mom’s not missing. Go home.” Officer Joe shook his head. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“It’s Saturday. They don’t have school on Saturday.” Raven rolled her eyes causing the other officer to laugh.

“Saturday school would be a good thing. It would eliminate a lot of problems for us,” said Officer Joe, his face turning pinkish. Putting his hands on the desk, he stood up and leaned forward. “If you don’t get out of here in the next five seconds I’m going to arrest you for disturbin
g the peace. Then I’ll
lock you away in one of the cells out back and forget you’re there.”

Raven stared wide-eyed in disbelief. She watched the two officers high five each other.

“Didn’t we get something about a student at the high school attacking a teacher and the janitor a couple of days ago?” asked the cop from the back room. “I think there was something in the report about some stolen property too. A necklace, I think it was.”

Officer Joe nodded. “Charlie was talking about
it
yesterday. Can’t fi
nd the girl anywhere, and A
gent Morrison is really interested in her. Maybe this is her.”

“Where’s Charlie? He’s got the report.”

“He’s in back talking to Agent Morrison. Just glad it’s not me. Bad enough the chief’s let them use a couple of offices. But now Agent Morrison’s interrogating the officers, like we’re the guilty ones,” said Officer Joe.

The officer talking to Joe nodded his head toward Raven. “You’d better get rid of her, and I don’t mean arrest her. Just get her out of here, or you might find yourself being interrogated by those guys in black. And don’t file anything about a missing person. Not one word. They’re pulling in all officers who filed missing people reports in the past three months.”

“Can’t put her in one of the cells and forget about her then. You’re right.
It
would cause too many questions,” said Officer Joe.

“No, definitely not the cells.
But you could…”

Raven didn’t wait to hear what his idea was. She backed away from the desk and crashed into several men wearing black suits and dark sunglasses even though it was raining.

“You really need to watch where you’re going,” said the leader. He grabbed her arm keeping her from falling.

“Yeah!
Sure! If you weren’t hogging the whole floor like morons I wouldn’t have to watch out for you,” she mumbled. “And get your grimy claws off of me.” Raven jerked her arm out of his grasp.

“They’re not grimy. I washed them this morning. Cleaned under the nails too,” he whispered just loud enough for Raven to hear. He gave her a toothy grin.

“Good for you. You want a cookie?” Raven curled her lip into a sneer. She pushed past him and all but ran to the door. Her fingers curled around the cold, hard metal handle.

“Stop her!” A female voice rang out.

Raven’s heart dropped. Surely the voice didn’t mean her. Glancing over her shoulder she saw a tall, red headed female wearing a black suit, point at her. Raven ga
sped. Her heart pounded
wildly.

The man in black she collided with raised an eyebrow at her. She couldn’t see his eyes behind the dark glasses and he no longer grinned. “I told you to watch where you’re going.”

Raven’s eyes widened. The man’s lips didn’t move.

Not a muscle!

She was sure of it.

But he had spoken! She very plainly heard him.

And he knew she had.

“Don’t stand there like stone statues. Stop her!” the red haired woman yelled again. “She has the necklace.”

“And she thinks that’s an insult?”

The
male voice filled Raven’s head, again
loud and clear. “This isn’t good,” she mumbled. “
Now,
I’m hearing voices in my head now.