The Immortals (38 page)

Disgusted, she let loose a long, angry scream. The roar of a bear. The howl of a wolf.

Theo whistled in appreciation. “Someone might hear
that
.” But no intrepid passerby shouted back. No police siren signaled a rescue. The only sound was the rustling of some creature in the leaves outside the cave. “Looks like only the squirrels know we’re here,” he said after a while.

“Theo. That’s a brilliant idea.”

“What?”

“Shhh.” Selene closed her eyes, reaching for an ancient, primal knowledge she’d possessed long ago. She squeaked. Once. Twice. The rustling noise came closer. She chittered softly. The almost imperceptible click of claws on stone. Close enough now to make out overlarge black eyes, big ears, furry tail. A field mouse. She’d been hoping for a rat. In the old days, she would’ve summoned a bear. Still, it was better than nothing. Slowly, she moved her hands toward the mouse, squeaking soothingly. She
tried to communicate the most basic of ideas—
Come, there’s food.
She couldn’t remember anything more complicated. The mouse’s whiskers twitched rapidly as it approached, sniffing. It crawled hesitantly onto her hand, then up her wrist to the hemp rope, where it sat down and began to gnaw. Theo gave a small gasp of astonishment but, for once, remained silent. Praying for enough time, Selene held her hands still while the mouse worked. His teeth were awfully small.

Approaching footsteps sent the mouse scurrying with only half the rope chewed through.
It might be enough,
she hoped, working the bonds, feeling the new give in the rope.

“I may say things to Everett that sound crazy,” she whispered hurriedly to Theo. “But just go with it, okay?”
If the Fates are kind, maybe I’ll get out of this without having to explain that everything Orion said is true.

The Hunter entered the cave, a flaming brand in one hand and his bronze sword in the other, moving with his usual supple grace.

“Came alone this time?” Theo challenged. “Left your friends getting drunk at the Faculty Club?”

Orion ignored him. He knelt and placed the torch into the charred remains of the fire pit. With two rushing breaths, he blew life into the flames. In the sudden blaze, Selene looked at Theo. His glasses were askew, his hair a tangled nest, one eye nearly swollen shut. But he caught her gaze and held it.

“Don’t do that.” Orion sheathed his sword, took Selene by the shoulders, and turned her to face him. He sat so their eyes were level. “Look at
me
now. Look at me and see me.”

She forced herself to resist the pleading in his gaze. “I see a monster.”

A flash of hurt narrowed his eyes. “I see a goddess.”

“Everett, you idiot—” Theo began.

“My name is
Orion
,” the Hunter shot over his shoulder. “As it has been since my father Poseidon named me. As it was for millennia, while I hung between life and death, waiting for my
father’s promise to come true. And it will be for eternity once I take my place among the Athanatoi. Helen did the research. Nate knew the recipe. Martin found the Caledonian Boar. From there, it was like tracking a deer through muddy ground.” He turned back to Selene. “I just had to make sure that Artemis could follow my trail as easily.”

“You left Helen there in the river, because you knew I would come by.”

Orion smiled and stroked her hair. “I know your habits, my love. I left just enough clues so that, at the end, you’d come to me.”

“Is that why you used the tusk and the vase with my picture on it as your
hiera
? To keep me interested?”

He laughed shortly. “No, I knew once you had the scent, you’d never give up the hunt until you caught your prey. I used the tusk and the vase because your story is my story. And because, by including them in the ritual, I could bring you power. Then, when you finally found me, you’d understand that I’d do anything, anything at all, to save you, to love you, to spend eternity at your side. Last time, your twin tore us apart. This time, nothing will stop us. Can you imagine how much more glorious you’ll be when you’ve stood above the flames and inhaled the burnt offerings as I have? When you’ve witnessed the revelation of the
hiera
? Then, when the final sacrifice is complete, we will both be fully immortal. Your limbs, your beautiful, strong limbs, will never wither and weaken. You will never die, Artemis. I will save you, make you into the goddess you once were. We can leave this filthy city—go anywhere in the world. The boreal forests of Canada, where bear and moose and elk still roam. Africa, to run side by side hunting antelope across the savannah. We could even go back to the sacred grove at Ephesus, my Far Shooter. Things will be as they always were.”

Selene could indeed imagine it. A return to power. To glory. To love. Could it truly be that easy? “The Wine Giver said the
cult would send us back into barbarity. Maybe even bring civilization crumbling around us.”

Orion’s mouth tightened. “After all this time… haven’t you learned that your brothers are liars? I’m the only one you can trust.” He leaned toward her and pressed his forehead against hers. “I was so hopeful on the shore that day, waiting for my father. I knew he’d grant my wish once he saw the depth of my love for you. I dreamed of your white legs sprinting through the forest.” He pressed his nose beside her ear and breathed deeply, the sound resonating in her head like the rush of waves. “Of the smell of your hair. Like cypress on a summer day.” He placed his fingertips on her jaw. “Of the feel of your skin beneath mine. Always cool, like the underside of a leaf.” He ran his fingers down the length of her neck and rested them gently on her collarbone. “I would kiss you, right here, and we would be together, forever.” Even as her mind screamed in protest, Selene felt her body stir at his touch. Try as she might, she couldn’t deny that all she’d wanted, for so long, was to feel his arms around her once more. It had been more than two thousand years since she’d been kissed.

Orion pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. His face no longer held its tinge of cruelty. His eyes, warm and dark, bored into hers. “You killed me then, Artemis. But I came back from death itself to be at your side. Don’t kill me again by turning me away.”

Finally, she whispered aloud the words she’d dreamed of for millennia: “I trusted my twin more than my love. I’ve lived with regret for so long it’s like a shield, keeping the world at bay. Break through,” she begged. “Tell me you forgive me.”

“I never blamed you,” he said, his mouth very close to hers. “I knew even death could not keep us apart.” Orion showed none of Theo’s restraint. He simply claimed her for himself. He pressed his warm lips to hers. Selene felt as if the corner of her heart that had been stone for so long finally melted back into
flesh. Vaguely, she heard Theo protesting in the background. As if in answer, Orion clasped her head in his hands and kissed her deeper, his mouth firm and gentle all at once. His arms snaked around her, clasping her so tightly she could barely breathe. When he broke the kiss, her mind still reeled.

“Tell me you’ll be mine,” he pleaded.

She rested her bound hands upon his cheeks, feeling the familiar, rough scratch of stubble, the bold contours of his jaw. A single tear rolled down his cheek to rest upon her thumb.

Gently, she brushed it away. “I have
always
been yours.”

“Selene, what are you—”

“Quiet, Theo.”

Orion kissed her once more. “You won’t regret this.” He smiled, his eyes aglow. “You’ve made me happy for the first time in an age.” Hungrily, he kissed her cheek, her throat, her eyelids.

When she could think again, she held out her hands to be untied.

“Not quite, my love, I’m sorry. Not until the ritual is complete. Then… then you’ll never know bonds again.” He rose swiftly, leaving her still shuddering from his kisses, and walked to the mouth of the cave to summon his
mystai
.

Theo watched Everett with Selene, growing more furious by the second.
Did I really tell Ruth I didn’t believe in fighting over a woman? It must not have been the right woman, because I feel like I could rip out his throat with my bare hands.
Unfortunately, the cult members had other ideas.

At Everett’s command, Nate pulled a fresh roll of duct tape from beneath his robe. Webb and Andersen grabbed Theo under the arms, dragged him to the center of the cave, and stood him on his feet. “Guys,” Theo begged, wobbling from the ropes around his ankles. “You don’t need to do this. You’re drugged,
don’t you see? You wouldn’t do this otherwise! Can’t you see that I—”

Leaning close, his breath reeking of
kykeon
, Nate slapped the tape across Theo’s mouth. “I can’t tell you how often I’ve wanted to do that.” Unmasked, the initiates appeared more terrifying than ever. Now, Theo couldn’t pretend that Everett had turned them into powerless automatons. The familiar faces leered around him, their smiles tilted toward madness, but their eyes cold.
Perhaps they started this unwillingly, but now they know what they’re doing,
Theo admitted.
And they’re enjoying it.

Webb placed a wreath of cypress boughs and barley sheaves on Theo’s head. They started to chant a wordless, meditative harmony. Then the dance began, a shuffling circle of awkward men, made terrifying by the polished bronze blades in their hands, winking and flashing in the firelight. Theo looked toward Selene. Everett had removed the ropes around her ankles, and now she stood, staring intently into the flames. She hadn’t met his eyes since Everett had kissed her.

Everett put an arm around her shoulders. “I know you care about Theo,” he said gently, “but he’s our chosen Corn King, crowned and blessed. A Makarites, the most powerful sacrifice we can offer.” Selene didn’t protest. He brushed a knuckle across her cheekbone. “The strength you’ve gained so far will stay with you, no matter what happens tonight. That is my gift to you. But to become an invincible goddess again, to make myth into truth—Theo must die.” He kissed her lightly. “Then, as long as we repeat the Mysteries every year, we will live forever.”

How can Selene just stand there,
Theo wondered,
when Everett speaks of an eternity of murdered innocents?
He screamed a muffled, wordless protest through his gag.

Everett turned at the sound. “You’ve been a selfless friend, Theo.” He spoke with his old easy charm. “Even willing to be kind to the man who stole your girlfriend. I know you won’t fail
me now, when it’s so important. You will die to save Artemis, won’t you? So she may return to glory as an immortal?” He ripped the duct tape from Theo’s mouth.

Theo’s lips and cheeks burned where the tape had ripped his bruised skin. But he forced himself to ignore the pain and meet Everett’s eyes. “No. But I would happily die to save Selene.”

Everett laughed. “See, my love! He doesn’t know you at all. I thought maybe you would’ve told him the truth, as I did Helen. She gave the ultimate sacrifice so she might help me.”

“That’s a
lie
.” Theo strained at his handcuffs, aching to strangle him. “Helen didn’t sacrifice herself willingly. You
murdered
her.”

Everett shook his head. “No, my friend. Helen understood. She didn’t even know she was being punished for her infidelity. She thought it was a great honor.” From a pocket, he drew out a small, white gold ring. The edges of the Greek key caught the firelight as he turned it slowly between his fingers. “Not at first, of course. She thought me mad, as you do. But then I showed her I could run faster, climb higher, jump farther, and heal more quickly than any human. You saw it last night with your own eyes, yet you still refuse to believe. Helen was not so foolish.” He sighed regretfully and slipped Helen’s ring onto his pinky finger. “A beautiful girl. And so smart.” He patted Theo roughly on the shoulder. “She knew that thanatoi have only one role. To serve the gods who made them. She gave up her life for mine, knowing what I was.”

Theo started to protest, but Selene cut him off calmly. “And now Theo knows what
I
am.” Still she did not look at him.

“Selene—”

“No, Theo. There’s nothing you can say. Better not to speak.”

“Listen to Artemis,” Everett said, replacing the tape on Theo’s mouth. He took one of Selene’s bound hands in his and kissed it lightly, then turned to his acolytes. “Bring forth the
hiera
!”

From a duffle bag, Martin Andersen withdrew the stolen bell-
krater: a large pottery vase with three red stags leaping across its black surface. Nate produced the familiar bottle of
kykeon
and poured its contents into the larger vessel. Holding the bell-krater by its two handles, Andersen drank deeply, then passed it to the other
mystai
in turn. Before he drank, Webb raised the vase high. “To immortality,” he intoned. Nate went last, then moved to force the drink down Theo’s throat, but Everett told him to stop. “I don’t want Theo’s mind clouded. Last night, he couldn’t trust his own eyes. I want him to go to his death believing.”

“You don’t need to—” Selene began.

“Hush, my love. You’re going to be worshiped once more. Don’t you realize?”

Nate carefully poured a thin stream of
kykeon
into the flames. “A libation,” he chanted in Greek. “For Dionysus, who taught man to make the drink which brings revelation.” Next, he pulled from his cloak a green glass flask brimming with dark liquid and handed it to his hierophant. Everett swirled the liquid so it glinted redly in the fire’s glow. “From the first sacrifice, we reap faith and intelligence,” he said, uncorking the flask. “From the next, tenacity and courage.” He paced around the fire, splashing the blood in a circle as he went. “From the
Pompe
, charisma and beauty. And from the last, loyalty and ferocity.”
That’s Gabriela’s blood he’s talking about,
Theo realized. He shouted unheard curses against the duct tape.

Everett spilled the last drop of blood onto his finger, then placed it on his tongue, closing his eyes for a moment in pleasure. “These are the gifts of the sacrifices. May they make us strong.”

Then Martin Andersen turned to his duffel bag and removed a large, unglazed terracotta vessel shaped to look like a basket, its base roughly decorated with painted grain. Theo recognized the Met’s stolen
kalathos
. Reaching within, the professor withdrew the long, curved tooth of a Hell Pig. He held it aloft and chanted, “We call upon the spirit of the Boar, sacred to the Hunter and
the Huntress.” He threw the tusk into the flames, where it sputtered and began to char.

Bill Webb took his turn. He leaned over the
kalathos
and removed the body of a yellow-headed snake, a dead loop of taxidermy with cotton balls for eyes. “We call upon the spirit of the Snake, creature of hidden truths, sacred to Asclepius, who grants life to the dead.” Another precious specimen disappeared into the flames. Next, a bundle of dried wheat. It sparked and popped in the fire. “We call upon Demeter and Persephone, goddesses of grain, goddesses of life, goddesses of death. Let us be reborn.”