Liam whiled away the day with Demnosia, waiting for night to fall and the drove of tourists to leave. The nymph network had been unable to uncover anything regarding the substance of the spell, and so in a last-ditch effort, Liam's nymph allies had convinced Albion to meet with Demnosia and him. Straight to the source. Taia had pretty much told Liam that if he couldn't' convince Albion to part with her secrets, there wasn't much else the nymphs could do.
Liam smiled bitterly, wondering what his chances were of convincing the nymph who risked everything to close the portal in the first place to help him open it again. He was surprised that she even agreed to meet. Still he had to try. Nevertheless, he was more optimistic than he had ever been about his chances with the new discoveries about the Walter family. Though Alex was Mia's best friend, and that complicated matters significantly. He hoped to avoid violence if possible. That was another reason why he was here. Maybe there would be some amiable way to resolve this.
By early afternoon, he and Demnosia split, fearing that they would otherwise kill each other. Demnosia had been weirdly pleasant and satisfied since leaving Piston, as if she had accomplished some meaningful task and had reason to feel proud. It almost made her pleasant. Her mood soured though when Liam mentioned that high school jock's accident, and Mia's trip to visit him. Liam had a feeling that Demnosia had something to do with it, but he didn't care enough to ask. In any case, she became unbearable after that.
Liam went to a local pub and grabbed a beer. Without meaning to, his thoughts slipped to Mia, and he smiled. He didn't remember the last time that he was so...not just happy, but hopeful. He allowed himself to think of the possibilities. Once the gods were back, he could get an aiónios stone. True, she too would fade, but they could do so much in the hundreds of years they had with each other. He imaged what her face would look like in the blue glow of Artic glaciers, the awe in her eyes watching the Paris Opera Ballet. She could start her own line, build an empire, whatever she wanted. Have multiple careers. He would just be happy to be there with her. Once again, he looked forward to the future.
The bells of St. Mary's Church broke his reverie. It was five. He and Demnosia had agreed to meet back at the cliffs at six. By the time Liam arrived, she was already at the South Foreland Lighthouse. The lighthouse, which had been filled with screaming children wanting ice cream, was now peaceful. They walked down the coast to where Albion had told them to wait. Demnosia was grumbling about her new designer shoes as she picked her way through the mud. Liam impatiently hurried her along.
They waited and waited at the designated spot. The rose and gold sky darkened to black. The moon rose, bright and cold. The air became frigid. Though the light from the lighthouse was a warm yellow, it seemed far away. Liam shivered, partly from the rapidly dropping temperature, and partly from the forlorn sadness of the place.
"When the Hades is she coming?" Demnosia asked after a while.
Liam shrugged. It wasn't like Albion had a watch. He wasn't even sure she was going to come. By all accounts, Albion hated the Immortals. It was rumored that in the past she trapped all beings within her walls who even mentioned the spell. The one demigod that Liam knew came to her with hopes of reuniting with his family did not return. Liam half suspected that Albion was pulling a vicious prank, to see him and Demnosia forever enshrined in the chalk walls as an act of vengeance and warning.
Around midnight, Liam was jerked awake from a light slumber by a sensation of lorlorn grief so intense it made his stomach cramp. In front of him stood Albion. She was a tall woman. Her skin chalky white, and her hair vivid black, she looked like a hauntingly beautiful ghost. Her eyes blazed with some fierce emotion that Liam could not identify. Behind her stood some of her sisters – tree nymphs, rock nymphs, a whirlpool nymph. Power emanated from her, to the point that even Demnosia looked awed.
"Artemis's son. Your mother was a good friend."
Liam inclined his head in deference. "I had heard her speak about you with respect."
Albion's reputation had been different from the other nymphs', perhaps due to the wisdom of age, perhaps due to her nature. Fair, passionate, considered.
There was a slight awkward pause, as the two parties evaluated each other. Demnosia cleared her throat.
Liam finally said, "I trust that Taia has told you about Olympus. Without the portal, all beings on Olympus will perish, including my mother. There are Olympian children trapped..." Liam had heard Albion had a particular fondness for children, though he wasn't sure if that fondness extended to Olympian children.
"As sad as that is, I'm sure you can see that it is not my concern."
"I understand your animus towards the gods, but most Olympians had nothing to do with that. They weren't even allowed to come to our world the last time the portal was open. From what I understand, they are essentially just like us."
"Everything you know is based on what the gods told you, and we can't trust that."
"I trust my mother."
Albion's mouth twisted, almost sympathetically. She believed him a fool.
"Even if true, who is to say the gods would allow the other Olympians through? Or that they wouldn't wreck havoc like they did last time? Or destroy me for my part in expelling them?
All good questions. Out of the side of Liam's right eye, he saw Demnosia shift. This was it. The moment of truth. They had prepared for this, carefully formulating their answers to cater to Albion's values and preferences, or at least their best estimations based on their research.
Liam began slowly, "There is no guarantee in life. We have both lived long enough to know that. I can't guarantee that the gods would all behave more honorably and patiently than last time. But, I think, for the nymphs, the future is brighter with the gods. They depend on nature for their powers, and your kind enhances that power. They also magnify yours. With them, there is the possibility of cooperation and partnership. The humans don't need you, and at the rate they are currently going, they will destroy nature to such an extent that it will take generations to recover, if at all. You can work with the Immortals. You have negotiating power with them, especially if you organize. You do not with the humans. They are too hubristic. And heterogeneous. Even if some realize your importance, they would never be able to work together."
Liam saw the nymphs surrounding Albion shift. Some nodded. An electric tension filled the air. Many unconsciously caressed the wounds inflicted upon them. Almost everyone had some disfigurement, some reminder of the careless ignorance of humans.
"I think you have forgotten the casual savagery of the Immortals. Or perhaps, as Artemis's most treasured son, you never experienced it." Her eyes grew distant and sad.
Liam inclined his head to acknowledge his place of privilege, that he had not faced the worst excesses of the Immortals. He, however, pressed on. "I cannot deny that the gods caused enormous carnage and suffering. I saw the aftermath of Troy. But are humans any better? Troy would not have happened if the Greek leaders had not wanted an excuse to invade and conquer. Look how they treat each other, after the Immortals left. They are fearful, and their fear makes them mean. That is, after all, why your kind cut contact with them. Because of their destructive nature towards all things they do not understand."
He paused to take a breath, and then continued the barrage, "And they are numerous. They reproduce without restraint, like a weed. Even without malice, they are capable of great destruction, as you know." Liam glanced at a sickly kelp nymph, whose hair kept falling in clumps.
Albion blinked slowly, her eyes now blankly beautiful, showing no hint of what she was thinking. "They are numerous. And ingenious. I have been here since before the dinosaurs, before any earthly creatures. Perhaps before even the Olympians. While we stagnate, they constantly strive. Now, I have been told they have tools that can destroy my cliffs with the movement of a finger. What makes you think your Immortals would still be dominant? Our world could end with two destructive species dueling it out."
"You know the Immortals would be. Dominant, that is. Humans aren't prepared for them, because they don't follow the laws of physics." Liam stopped, not sure whether he wanted to push it. He then continued, not for Albion, because she knew, but for her lost sisters, who did not have her wisdom or durability. "You, the existing natural world...you don't have many other options. It's the possibility of survival or the inevitability of death."
"Nature will always survive, in one form or another. Therefore, we will as well..." Albion replied. But Liam could see the other nymphs shifting, whispering.
"Look around Albion. Look at your sisters. Can you really say with certainty that is the case? And even so, what about the suffering of those who live today, tomorrow? How long would it take for nature to triumph?"
They debated vigorously until Albion abruptly dismissed him. Towards the end, Liam had even began to believe that he was making some headway as he won over some of the lesser nymphs. Then, without warning, Demnosia and Liam found themselves in the cold, clear field outside Dover, inexplicably shoeless. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and the air tasted particularly of the sea. Demnosia and Liam looked at each other dejectedly, bonded, for once, by their disappointment.
* * *
Alex bounded down the outcrop where Wentworth was found last week. It took a lot of cajoling, patience, and some bribery, but he finally got sufficient information out of Hema, the iron nymph who had broken Wentworth's back. It was as he suspected. Wentworth didn't just go there by happenstance and have an accident. Someone led him there and encouraged Hema to toy with him, which Hema did with sadistic relish. Iron nymphs were maniacs.
Alex cursed himself. He should have trusted his instincts on Liam and his aunt, but it didn't even cross his mind that they could be demigods. He thought their kind had died off years ago.
He got to his car and called Mia as he drove towards home. He needed to tell his family so they could come up with a plan, but he also needed to warn Mia. Before anything else though, he needed information. He calmed his voice so as not to alarm her and asked casually about her plans and whether she had heard from Liam. If she was surprised that he asked about Liam, she didn't show it. She had just heard from Liam. He was still away, apparently in Europe, though he was coming back in two days. Two days. He could work with that.
The family was solemn after hearing his story.
"You are sure Hema is telling the truth and not just playing a prank? You know iron nymphs..." Uncle Tobias was skeptical. Uncle Tobias was always skeptical.
"I can't be 100 percent sure, but it makes sense. You haven't met them, but they are different. It's quite a coincidence that these two glamorous city-folk would just randomly show up here in Piston when the portal's unstable. Here, Piston. And how would Hema even know about Miss Lister unless she went to Hema's outcrop? You know no one ever goes there. Otherwise, we would have taken more precautions. She described Miss Lister to a T."
The family debated for the next two hours, trying to formulate a plan. Finally, Grandma banged her walking stick on the ground, bringing silence to the room.
"We will call the whole family here, and we will put up the strongest wards we have and take shifts to stabilize the portal. It won't be long before Olympus collapses. We will wait it out."
"The whole family? There are dozens of us. Where are we going to house them?"
"They can tent and live out of their cars. Tell them to bring supplies. Tobias and Clarissa, go out and buy everything we need for the next two months."
Alex's mother blanched. She started, "Mom, I just don't think it's a good idea to concentrate all of us in one place..."
Grandma interrupted, "We are stronger together. The portal's weak, and we need our full power to stabilize it. It opened slightly the other night. Who knows if that will happen again? We can't risk it. We will be fine. They don't have magic. They won't be able to get through our wards."
Despite Grandma's confident tone, Alex still felt a deep foreboding and disquiet. There seemed to be something missing from their considerations. But he also had more pressing concerns. He was going to be under lockdown for the next who-knows-how-long. He needed to get to Mia and warn her.
As his family rushed around, he snuck out. Mia offered him a Pocky stick out of the pack she was eating after she opened the door for him. She was in a good mood, probably because of the approaching return of Liam. The thought soured Alex's mood even further.
There was no good way of telling someone that their entire conception of the world was inaccurate, but Alex tried to do it as gently as possible. Mia's face changed from bewildered to inscrutable. Usually, he could read Mia like an open book, but as he wrapped up, he had no idea what Mia was thinking. Perhaps she herself did not know. Mia was so rational and scientific. How would such a person accept the existence of nymphs and witches and demigods?
Alex finished talking, and a long silence followed. Alex didn't realize he was holding his breath until he ran out of oxygen. Still, Mia did not speak.
"Say something."
Mia's expression changed, and Alex recognized the new emotion without difficulty. It was anger.
"Alex, we aren't going to happen. This is so like you!"
"What?" Alex scowled in confusion.
Before he could continue, Mia embarked on a full rant - how he was being crazy and couldn't abide by the fact that she had found someone, how he didn't realize that she was a girl until Liam popped up, how he had missed his chance, how she thought that they were over this after the state fair fiasco, how he should just be happy for her, for Christ's sake, instead of inventing this story that was so beyond ridiculous that no sane person would believe it.
Alex tried to get a word in edge-wise, but when Mia was worked up, she was worked up. Alex looked impatiently at his watch. He didn't have much time left. He needed to convince Mia to stay away from Liam, maybe go out of town with her parents for a while until everything settled again. So he floated her. It took a lot of energy, and he trembled at the effort, but he needed her to know that he was telling the truth.
Mia yelped, and her legs collapsed under her after he put her down. She sat in the middle of living room, dazed.
"You believe me now?"
Mia didn't respond.
"Mia?"
"Hold on a second! You just demonstrated to me that physics is wrong. I need a minute."
"I'm not sure that I delegitimized physics. We aren't really sure how our powers work. But we don't have a minute. I need you to listen to me."
Mia looked at him, her eyes focused. He loved that about her – she could always identify and eliminate distractions in a time of urgency or crisis. She was just so capable.
"Get Jess and your families and get them out of town if possible. Make up something. I don't know what exactly is going to happen. This is unprecedented, but I don't want you guys here just in case. And under no circumstances talk to Liam or Miss Lister again. I don't know what their angle is, but if they are working for the Immortals, they are likely insane. My family and me, we are going to fortify ourselves and disappear for a while. Don't come around to our place under any circumstances. Grandma is pulling out all the stops, and I can't guarantee your protection."
"Are you going to be ok?"
"Yes. Don't worry. My family's powerful. We know how to protect ourselves." Alex paused and impulsively pulled Mia into his arms and held on tightly. She returned his embrace, her strong arms crushing him. He pulled back, and she wiped tears from her eyes. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, because all of a sudden, finally, it was so clear what he felt for her. But this wasn't the time. He would wait until things were right with the world, and he could dedicate to her everything that he was.
* * *
Mia tried to follow Alex's directions. Within an hour, she started feeling conflicted, not least because had no idea what she was doing or where to start. She called Alex, but he didn't pick up her calls. She debated driving over to his house, but then thought better of it, with his strong warnings against the conduct still clear in her consciousness. As time passed, she began having more and more questions. It wasn't that she didn't believe what Alex said. She did, and there was no way to controvert the fact that he lifted her off the ground. But as she had more time to think and process, she realized that there were so many things that she didn't know. He said the portal opened to another world, the world of Olympus. He made it sound like a civilization, with the Greek gods and goddesses, whom he called the Immortals, but also others. What were these other people like? Presumably they would also just die? Did she have an obligation to them? Didn't they all? To do something, if they could? But if the gods and goddesses were as powerful and debauched as Alex described, and the Greek mythology she knew didn't make them seem like the most sympathetic people, what would be the consequences?
Her parents came home late from their date. Mia still no idea how she was supposed to get them out of town. Hey mom and dad, there may be a mythical battle happening soon here in Piston, South Carolina of all places. Maybe you should like go somewhere else and lay low a bit until things sort themselves out? Her parents would commit her. She tossed and turned all night in bed, unable to sleep, and left for school as soon as reasonable. Liam called her in the morning during her drive, but she didn't answer, even though it took every ounce of will power. She would speak to Alex first, hash things out. Liam and Alex were both rational, practical beings. There must be some compromise, a solution as opposed to this theatrical stand-off. She laughed to herself, convinced that Alex at least was overreacting. Men.
The only problem was that Alex wasn't in school, and neither was Joe. She called both of them repeatedly, and no one answered. The numbers just kept ringing and ringing. They didn't even go to voicemail. She skipped wushu practice, knowing that Mr. Hong would make her pay dearly for it next time. Mia's parents paid for some lessons, but Mr. Hong, a Chinese wushu champion who somehow ended up in Piston, also trained her on his own time. He was convinced that she was some sort of fighting wunderkind and pushed her as if she would be next grandmaster of the jianghu. She didn't mind, usually, but it did mean that he could be particularly brutal if he perceived her to be less than fully committed.
She bolted out of the school as soon as the final bell rang and drove to Alex's house. The apprehension she felt the night before from his warnings to stay away from his house had dissipated in the brightness of the sun. She sped along on the familiar road. Yet, somehow, she missed the turnoff to the road that led to his house. Mia frowned in confusion. That was weird. She didn't see the turnoff. It was as if the road skipped a section. She did an illegal U-turn and doubled back. She missed the turnoff again. One second she was before the turnoff, and the next second, she was after it. She tried multiple times with same result.
Mia sped to Jess's church. Jess was helping her mom teach preschoolers or something, but this was more important. She apologized to Mrs. Kingston, who took one look at her and motioned for Jess to follow.
Mia drove Jess towards Alex's house, and the same thing happened. After several attempts, Jess made Mia change seats with her so that she could drive. Jess tried several more times before pulling the car to the side of the road. They sat, stunned.
"God. I must be going crazy." Jess rubbed her temples vigorously.
"We can't both be going crazy. Not the same way." Mia then told Jess what Alex had told her last night. Alex had emphasized that she must never reveal his family's secret, but he wasn't just given world-altering information with dire warnings and then just abandoned to figure things out on her own. She needed Jess.
Jess stared at her for some time after she finished.
"Say something!"
Jess continued to stare.
"Jess!" Mia was starting to wonder if she unhinged Jess's brain, which frankly would be the last thing she needed.
Jess blinked, and then redid her ponytail. She always did that when she was nervous.
"You just turned upside down my entire worldview. I think I deserved to have a minute." Jess snapped.
Mia breathed a sigh of relief. This was more like it.
"You need to go and speak to Liam and get his side of the story. Truth be told, Alex's version seems somewhat irrational and biased, and I'm even sure I believe any of this."
"Hm...how else do you explain our inability to find Alex's house, which we have been to thousands of times?"
"Yes, there's that. What I said still stands though. Everything Alex knows is based on family stories about events that happened eons ago. It seems like his family holds a longstanding animosity towards these Greek deities or Immortals or whatever. Yet, from what he says, they seem to be like," She paused here, searching for the right concept, "Like aliens. If their home world is being destroyed, and they face annihilation, I'm not sure we don't have a moral obligation to let them come here. You know, like refugees."
"Even if they have the means to enslave us and did in the past?"
Jess pursed her lips, "I don't know. We don't know if that's true though. I trust God won't let that happen."
Mia frowned. "Well, the Greek myths seem to suggest that there is some merit to the claim."
"Only because the Greeks choose to worship them."
Mia raised her eyebrows skeptically but said nothing further.
"First thing first. You need to speak to Liam. Like were you seriously just going to ghost him? I thought you loved the guy."
Mia frankly had no idea what she was going to do about Liam. Mostly, she had tried to avoid thinking about him. When Alex first confided in her, she was afraid. It dawned on her that she knew so little about the man, even overlooking the possible Pawn-of-Evil-Beings aspect of it all. When she thought back on their conversations, she had revealed so much, and he so little. Then she was angry, because it was obvious that he had not been transparent and open with her. Now...now she was unsure. She couldn't have really expected him to have revealed anything to her. She wouldn't have believed him. She wasn't even sure what his role was in all of this. Alex had claimed that he was a demigod, half Olympian and half human. Was that why there was the constant sadness in his eyes, the sadness which she knew she sometimes drove away, but which always returned?
As if on cue, Liam called her. She looked at Jess, who motioned for her to pick up. She did, with a mixture of hesitation and eager anticipation. He was back, and she agreed to meet him at what she had started to think of as their spot – the clearing in the woods where they had first sparred.
He was already there when she arrived, and he looked perfect. His hair was slightly tousled, and his shirt and slacks were wrinkled. It appeared that he had come straight from the airport. It all looked purposeful, and Mia felt inexplicably heartsick and annoyed. No ordinary human looked that good. He had no right to look that good.
He smiled as she drew near and pulled her close. She breathed him in. He even still smelled good.
"Is your family emergency resolved?" Her question came out more sharply than she had intended.
If Liam had noticed, he chose to ignore it. He continued to hold her close and whispered against her hair, "I have missed you."
Mia had a sudden fear that Liam's senses were more acute than normal humans', and she hadn't washed her hair in a few days.
"Hey. So, I have a kinda crazy gift for you." He said as he pulled away. He took an envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to her.
"You said you have never been to Europe. I saw this great deal while I was surfing the web the other day. It really was too good to pass, and I got it for you and your family and Jess and her parents. It's a two week trip to France. Hits all the highlights – Burgandy, Paris, South of France, Bourdeaux. Five star boutiques..."
Mia didn't let him finish. "Let me stop you right there. My parents aren't going to be able to take time off work on such short notice, and I don't have a passport."
Liam opened his mouth and closed it. He opened his mouth again to speak.
Mia continued without giving him a chance to talk, "And I know, so please don't lie."
Liam stopped. Mia had the satisfaction of seeing that he was truly flabbergasted.
"What are you talking about?" Liam finally asked.
"I know you are some sort of supernatural creature. Or half. Or an alien. I mean, it's hard to define." Mia cut herself short. At this rate, she was going to insult him more than anything else. She regrouped mentally and continued. "I know that you are trying to bring back your people, and I'm not angry. I recognize that there was no way for you to have told me the truth."
Liam didn't try to deny it. Thankfully. She likely would have gotten angry if he had tried to lie again.
"How did you find out?"
"A source."
"Alex."
Mia didn't deny it. There was no point. She could tell that he knew.
"Well, good." Liam was all efficient business now. "Now you understand why you need to go somewhere else for a few weeks. Things are going to get hairy around here. You should get Jessica and her family out too. I like her."
"Let's pause a second. Can you communicate with the," Mia stopped mid-sentence, unsure of what to call them.
"The gods?"
"They aren't gods."
"To humans, they are. But no. More precisely, I can, but I can't control it. Apollo reaches out to me when he can, but the connection's tenuous and sporadic."
"Apollo." Mia rolled the name off her tongue. It felt different now that she knew that he wasn't just some figment of human imagination. Weightier.
"I know this is a crazy proposition, but can't you just go and talk to, you know, Alex and his family? If your home planet is about to self-destroy, maybe they would agree to open up the portal? I'm sure the Walters don't want everyone on Olympus to die."
Liam looked at her and smiled sadly, "That is a crazy proposition."
"Ok. I understand that there might have been some bad blood, but it has also been like a millennium or something."
"The sorceresses won't agree to it."
"You don't know that."
"Mia, I really do."
"Ok. Explain to me how you know without speaking with them." Mia crossed her arms over her chest. Liam should know her well enough now that she was not going to let this go.
* * *
Liam didn't know what to say to her. She belonged to that particular subset of this generation, who thought everything could be negotiated. There were no such things as conflicts, only misaligned interests that could be or manipulated into alignment. They didn't understand grudges that lasted generations and blood feuds. They didn't understand that sometimes interests were so diametrically opposed that there was no reconciliation. He felt the distance in age and experience between them. She had never felt the type of pain and fear that drove people mad, that stuck around for generations, percolating, mutating, destroying. He was going to bring the possibility of it back. The Immortals would take a country like the United States and plunder its riches, exploit its divisions, and annihilate the comfortable mundanity untouched by famine and war. Or he could just give up his task and let this world be, with all its imperfections.
And let his mother die, let the rest of the Immortals die, let the regular, long-suffering Olympians who lived under the yoke of the Immortals die. He had to make an impossible choice.
He squared his shoulders. People lived, suffered, and died. He could not control that, but he would protect his own.
"Fine. I will speak with him. I still want you and your family out of here though. We will work it out when you are safely in Paris."
Mia looked at him critically, "Hm. That would be a no. You need me here."
"Negative."
"Like you really do. You need a mediator between you. There is no way that Alex's family and you would be able to work something out without some arbitrating body that you both trust."
"I won't be able to do anything while you are here because I would be too busy worrying about you. It's not just me, you know. Demnosia is also involved, and let's just say that ruthless doesn't even begin to describe her. She will kill you if you get in the way, without even blinking."
"But I won't get in the way. This conversation between you two will only work if there is trust, and I am the facilitator of that trust."
"No offense, but the sorceresses are not going to trust your judgment. They will just think that you are infatuated with me. Like a teenager." He added the last bit viciously, because it was true, and because he knew that he was going to betray her trust before all this was over.
Mia's face reddened with anger. "Fine. You have your opinions. I have mine. But fact of the matter is, you can't force me to go anywhere, so I'm staying." She stalked to her car and drove off sharply, or as sharply as she could in her tattered Corolla.
Liam looked heavenward. Mia wasn't going to be happy about his next move.