Starcrossed

  Claire, Ariadne pulled Helen down next to her to stop one of the

  hormone-infested boys from getting any closer to her.

  By the time the bell rang for classes, all of Helen’s normal friends

  had been driven away from the table—a table that had been theirs

  since freshmen year. Matt’s sad look made Helen wonder how long

  it had been since the two of them had been able to talk. It must

  have been months.

  Claire wasn’t waiting for her at the trail when track practice started.

  It was silly for her to try to avoid Helen by leaving without her,

  because they both knew that she could catch up with Claire no

  matter how far behind she was, but the intent was clear. When

  Helen came jogging up, Claire didn’t even turn to look at her.

  “Just keep running, Hamilton. I am so not into you right now,”

  Claire said as she veered away and raised her arm in a “talk to the

  hand” gesture.

  From many years of experience Helen knew that Claire needed to

  punish her a little before she’d be ready to move forward. Then

  they’d talk on the phone, make up, and the next day everything

  would be back to normal. Just this one time, Helen wished they

  could skip to the end of the fight, especially since she hadn’t done

  anything, but she knew better than to rush Claire. Instead, Helen

  dutifully ran past her.

  After a few minutes of running alone, Helen started to get bored

  with the mortal pace. She looked at her watch to calculate exactly

  how much time she would need to kill before making her way back

  to the trailhead, and took off across the moors at an impossible

  speed. She knew Lucas could simply step up into the air and start

  flying, but so far that approach hadn’t worked for her. Maybe she

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  needed to be running to get airborne, kind of like an airplane. Here

  was a chance to test that theory.

  As Helen struck out off the trail and through the marshy land

  surrounding Miacomet Pond, she began to sense the lightness she

  associated with flight. There was a fluttery feeling in her stomach,

  a barely contained wildness that she assumed was an expression of

  Scion power. She felt static energy running over her skin. It was as

  if she had rubbed a balloon over her entire body and then held it

  just far enough away so that her whole surface felt the outward tug

  of an electrical field.

  Taking an experimental leap, Helen soared up into the air. At

  first she thought she had done it, that she was flying, but she soon

  felt herself reach the top of a very large arc and begin to descend.

  She had merely jumped higher than ever before—too high—and

  her brain was still hardwired to believe that when she hit the

  ground she would go splat and die.

  She tried to grab at the air, and although there was a part of her

  that knew how to make it hold her, she was either too scared or not

  scared enough to do the trick in time. She hit the ground at an

  angle and went into a skid, her feet digging up two loamy troughs

  in the mud.

  She was fine, of course, but still deeply shaken. Her knees were

  wobbly and she had to laugh to let out the crazy feeling flapping

  around inside her chest. After she had calmed down a bit she

  hauled herself up off her butt. She pulled her feet out of the mud

  and started to walk back toward the school, feeling like a jackass.

  She was covered in smelly muck up to her waist, and in her head

  she pictured how she must have looked as she came down from her

  leap, her arms pinwheeling frantically like a cartoon character falling

  off a cliff.

  She glanced around to make sure no one had spotted her in her

  moment of foolishness, just out of habit, but she wasn’t expecting

  anyone to be near. Her heart turned over when she saw a dark

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  smudge turn into a man’s shape. Then he suddenly stopped and

  changed direction just over the next rise. He had seen her get up

  and walk away laughing after falling from fifty feet high. Worse

  than that, Helen could see there was something wrong with the

  way he moved. He was going much too fast to be human.

  Her entire body tensed instinctively. Without even thinking

  about it she took off after the dark shape. Whoever he was, he was

  headed back toward the high school—back toward Claire, who was

  probably huffing and puffing along, slow and small and human.

  The image of Kate lying unconscious on the ground flashed

  through her head and spurred Helen to run faster. She skipped

  over massive swaths of landscape, bounding recklessly over hillocks

  and cranberry bogs, unable to think of anything but catching

  him.

  She noticed that she was having a hard time finding him in the

  strange shadowy light, but as she got closer, the darkness that

  seemed to swath itself around him abated a little and she was able

  to pinpoint his location. It looked like he was sucking light out of

  the air. There was something creepy about the way the dark shadows

  radiated out from him like a sinister halo—he was definitely

  controlling the light. That meant he was another descendant of

  Apollo—one of the Hundred Cousins from the House of Thebes,

  and therefore a threat.

  From what she could see, the shadowy man was a few years older

  than she was, but still barely out of his teens. When she was only a

  few paces behind him she could see that he had fair hair and skin.

  With a fresh burst of speed she reached out, trying to grab on to

  him, and ripped off his shirt. Finally, he allowed the last of the

  darkness clinging to him to be swept away by the sun glowing on

  his huge, bare shoulders. Up close, he looked so similar to Hector

  in both coloring and build that they could have been twins.

  Before she could digest that fact, a horrendous cramp crumpled

  up her torso like origami, and Helen tumbled to the ground with a

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  scream. She curled up on the ground in fetal position, unable move

  or even take a breath. Through the long blades of grass that partially

  obscured her vision she could see the blond, shirtless Cousin

  trot back toward her with an inquisitive look on his face.

  “Interesting,” he said with cocky smile. Something behind Helen

  caught his eye and he started to back away. “I’ll see you sooner

  rather than later, preciosa,” he promised as he ran off, a dark,

  ominous mist collecting to obscure his outline.

  Helen tried to shout something tough and ballsy after him, but all

  that came out was a pathetic moan. He was gone in a second, and

  she was left to lie there alone until she was noticed or until she was

  well enough to walk away. Finally, she heard someone approach.

  “Helen?” a familiar voice said as it neared. “Oh, no. It is you.”

  “Matt,” Helen grunted. “Get Lucas.”

  He came around into Helen’s field of vision and got down on his

  knees in front of her. “Don’t you think the nurse would be a better

  idea? Or maybe a paramedic?”

  “Please. Lucas. Quick.”

  He sighed once, rubbed Helen’s back in an
awkwardly reassuring

  way, and then got up and ran off. Once she got her breathing under

  control, Helen could see enough around her to take in the fact that

  she was practically in the school parking lot—much closer to the

  school than she had realized. Still curled up in a ball on the

  ground, Helen banged her forehead against her knees. She couldn’t

  believe she had been that stupid. Her ear pressed to the ground,

  Helen heard approaching footsteps that were a little too heavy and

  a little too quick to be a normal’s and smiled to herself with relief

  even though she was still in terrible pain.

  “Thanks, Matt,” she heard Lucas say from somewhere behind

  her. “Where are you hurt?’ he asked her as he came around toward

  the front, Jason close behind him. Helen pointed to her stomach

  and spoke with her eyes. Lucas nodded and looked around,

  confused.

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  “Did you see what happened?” he asked Matt.

  “I think she was running after someone. I don’t know,” Matt said

  skeptically. “I just heard from Gretchen that Helen was chasing

  some guy, then she screamed and fell down.”

  “Is that true?” Lucas asked Helen with a tense face. She nodded,

  and he smiled back at her, his worried eyes softening for her sake.

  He plucked some of her hair off her sweaty forehead and looked

  back over his shoulder.

  “I’m on it,” said Jason too quietly for a mortal to catch, and then

  Helen heard his rapidly retreating footsteps.

  “I should go with him,” began Hector’s voice from someplace that

  Helen still couldn’t see.

  “No, you shouldn’t,” ordered Lucas sharply. “I need you to get the

  girls. They could have whatever sickness Helen has, and they might

  need you. Right?”

  “Right,” Hector said without bitterness, suddenly understanding

  Lucas’s hidden meaning. Cassandra and Ariadne were unaware,

  unprotected, and therefore in the most danger of being attacked by

  the stranger. Hector ran off so silently that Helen couldn’t even

  hear his feet brush against the grass, and she couldn’t help but be

  both impressed and a little frightened by his skill.

  “Matt, can you help me get Helen up? If you could just grab her

  feet . . .” Lucas asked in an apologetic voice.

  “Sure, no problem,” Matt said as he slipped his hands behind her

  knees. “Jeez, Len, you smell awful! Did you have to fall into every

  cranberry bog on the island?” Helen chuckled briefly, but it hurt to

  laugh so she stopped.

  Helen initially wondered why Lucas would ask Matt for help

  when he didn’t need it, but as she listened to them talk and work

  together to carry her to Hector’s SUV she realized that Lucas had

  to be one of the smartest people she’d ever met. Not only did asking

  for help make Lucas seem normal, but it also made Matt feel

  needed. Lucas was treating him like a partner and, more

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  important, like a man. Helen knew that if Lucas ever asked for

  Matt’s loyalty, this simple gesture of inclusion made it more likely

  that he would get it. A fresh bout of pain gripped her so tightly that

  a sweat broke out on her upper lip. Helen blew out her breath

  slowly, trying to navigate her way through the pain.

  Lucas popped the back hatch of the SUV and laid Helen down,

  then asked if Matt didn’t mind waiting with them until his sister

  and cousins came back.

  “If Helen gets any worse, I’m not going to wait for them, I’m just

  going to take her to the hospital. If that happens I’d really appreciate

  it if you stayed here to tell them where I went. It shouldn’t take

  long,” Lucas explained.

  “I’ll stay as long as you need me,” Matt offered with his usual

  generosity.

  “Damn, Matt. Aren’t you tired of watching over of my sick ass

  yet?” Helen asked him with a half smile.

  “You have no idea,” he said back with a smile of his own. It faded

  quickly. “This makes it twice this year. You never used to get sick,

  Len, not even that time we all got the stomach flu after Gretchen’s

  birthday party in fourth grade. The rest of us were puking our

  brains out for two days, but you were fine.”

  “Oh, yeah! That was so gross! Hey, at least I brought you all Gatorade

  and crackers, remember?” Helen said playfully. She was trying

  to lighten the mood, but she was still in pain. She pressed on

  her belly again and Matt frowned. He was worried, and so was she.

  Her cramps had never lasted this long before.

  “Maybe you should quit track,” Matt suggested suddenly.

  “I think Matt’s right,” Lucas said, his face both surprised and

  pleased that Matt had suggested it. “It’s obviously not good for you.

  You should quit.”

  Helen was too stunned to respond. She stared at Lucas with her

  mouth hanging open until Hector, Cassandra, and Ariadne arrived

  and ended the conversation. The girls got in the SUV with Lucas

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  and Helen, and Hector took the keys to the Mercedes, saying he

  would wait for Jason. Ariadne offered Matt a ride home in her

  sweetest voice, but he demurred. Then, after a brief and very quiet

  exchange between Lucas and Hector, Lucas got behind the wheel

  and drove the three girls to the Delos compound, speeding the

  whole way. As they drove, Cassandra climbed into the back and

  perched next to Helen with a calm poise that belied her age.

  “Did you get a good look at him?” she asked in a level, strangely

  adult voice.

  “Yes,” Helen answered.

  “If I showed you some pictures, would you be able to recognize

  him?”

  “Like, mug shots? No problem,” Helen said positively. “I’m pretty

  sure there aren’t that many guys in the world who look exactly like

  a bigger, blonder version of Hector.”

  She sensed the mood in the SUV shift.

  “Creon,” whispered Cassandra.

  “Are you sure?” Lucas asked, his head snapping up look into the

  rearview mirror at Cassandra.

  “Yes,” she answered with a dreamy look on her face. “And Uncle

  Pallas followed him here from Europe. He’s at home.” Lucas apparently

  didn’t need any more information. He fished his cell

  phone out of his jeans and hit speed dial.

  “Jase, come in. Cassie can see him now,” he said in a flat,

  frightened voice. He listened for just a moment and then continued,

  talking over Jason’s questions. “When we all get back home.

  Your father’s waiting for us there.”

  Helen felt like she had missed an important detail. “Who’s

  Creon?” she asked Cassandra as soon as she was able to sit up.

  “A cousin of ours,” Cassandra answered unhelpfully.

  “He’s the one who attacked Hector in Cádiz,” Ariadne said, her

  voice quivering momentarily. She glanced over at Lucas, who was

  just about to interrupt her, and kept going. “Okay, they attacked

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  each other. Creon is a radical fanatic, and he’s looking for a fight

  with any of the moderates, not just us. But it’s Hector he’s really

  after. Not even you can deny that, Luke.”


  “That guy, huh?” Helen asked, folding her arms over her belly as

  she tried to make a joke. No one laughed. Her right hand felt stiff

  so she flexed it. A scrap of fabric fell from her balled-up fist.

  “What’s that?” Cassandra asked.

  “Um. It’s Creon’s. I caught up to him, and when I tried to grab

  him I sort of ripped his shirt off,” Helen replied apologetically.

  “You chased him, caught up to him, and got close enough to rip

  his shirt off?” Ariadne said in disbelief. Apparently, Creon was fast,

  even by their standards.

  “He saw me trying to fly, okay?” Helen began, sensing that she

  had done something very wrong. “I didn’t know who he was, I just

  knew that he’d seen me jump about five stories into the air and I

  had to get to him before he got away.”

  “Great,” Cassandra said bitterly. “He came here to check on our

  family and maybe pick a fight with Hector, but now that you’ve exposed

  yourself everything has changed.”

  “He was heading right for the school,” Helen said defensively.

  “And what was he going to do?” Cassandra yelled back, suddenly

  furious. “Attack a pathetic mortal? Use your head, Helen! For some

  reason the two women who attacked you haven’t told the rest of

  the Hundred Cousins that you exist, probably because they want

  the glory of killing you alone so they can have a Triumph. Creon

  might be thinking the same way, but if he isn’t, he will tell Tantalus.

  That means half of the Family is going to be here in a few

  days—and you can’t even hold a sword yet!”

  “Back off, Cassie!” Lucas said heatedly. “We were raised for this,

  and Helen’s had what? A whole week to adjust?” He looked at Cassandra

  through the rearview mirror, and even in reflection his eyes

  looked intense. Cassandra threw up her hands in surrender.

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  “You’re right, Cassandra. I didn’t use my head,” Helen said, rubbing

  her stomach. “Maybe we could talk to him.”

  Ariadne made a strangled sound.

  “What? Why are you all so scared of him?” Helen asked.

  “He’s a Shadow Master,” Ariadne said ominously from the front

  seat. “He can stop light. It’s unnatural.”

  Helen though about the darkness that wrapped itself around

  Creon and she knew what Ariadne meant. The sun wouldn’t shine

  on him, and Helen had instinctively felt like there was something

  wrong about that.

  “Shadow Masters are rare,” Lucas tried to explain a bit more