“But don’t fool yourself into believing you’re safe. Alexis used her magic constantly to contact and communicate with spirits. She had access to the Line before she knew what to do with it. You don’t have enough of a release. You crave the power in your blood, and the effort to keep it at bay is messing with your mind. Deny it until this whole town burns. I don’t care. It’s nothing to do with me. But if you let us leave without hassle, I’ll transfer that house to you. No strings. No paperwork leading back to me—or anyone. Sell it and pocket the money, if you want. Get the local government to accept Airbnb and start a business, whatever.”

“I don’t want your house or your dirty money.”

“I don’t give a shit, you arrogant twat.” Kieran threw up his hands and turned away. He was done. “Fuck me, how does Alexis deal with people? What an annoyance.”

“Why weren’t you strong enough to send her away?” Dylan asked, sounding suddenly unsure.

“Because I loved her too much. A good woman has the power to make a strong man helpless. She is my world, and I will skin you alive if you go after her.”

15

Alexis

“After what Kieran said, I feel like we should’ve warned the townspeople or something,” Mordecai said the next morning as the small motor brigade left the Chester village, headed for the airstrip that housed Kieran’s private jet. Amber drove an old, beat-up Bronco at the front, with everyone else following in various newly acquired vehicles that couldn’t be traced back to real identities.

“If they are too stupid to see a magical person in their midst, then it’s their own fault,” Daisy said, riding in the back seat. She’d been too slow with calling “shotgun” to procure the front. “The only reason that guy didn’t show up at our door this morning is because Kieran messed things up. This is why Harding told Kieran to let us handle it. We turned Dylan’s mood all the way around last night. He relaxed a lot. If we’d just gotten one more chat in…”

In an unexpected burst of chattiness before they’d left that morning, Jerry had told us what had gone down on the mountainside last night. Dylan had apparently sat on a rock for a long while afterward, staring at nothing until the small hours of the morning. He hadn’t bothered telling Jerry to get lost.

Despite what Daisy said, I didn’t think anyone could’ve talked Dylan into joining us. If I’d been in his shoes, I doubt I would’ve even kept my cool long enough for a chat. So no, I didn’t think Kieran had made or broken anything. From what I could tell, Dylan would never be willing to work with another Demigod.

Maybe, though…just maybe, meeting us, experiencing our dysfunctional but loving dynamic, would change things for him down the line. Maybe he’d venture out and try to live a magical life again. A good life, with a boss who treated him well and deserved his respect. I hoped I’d get to meet him if that ever happened. I’d definitely say, “I told you so.”

“Is Amber set on going after the ones on her list?” Mordecai asked, his hands clasped in his lap.

“Yeah. We still need a bigger, stronger crew,” I replied, somewhat dismally. “I don’t think we’ll get it by the time we need to meet Demigod Lydia, though. So…”

“Demigods are a serious hassle,” Daisy said, falling back against the seat. “All the maneuvering and strategizing…”

A line of shiny black SUVs passed us, headed toward the Chester town, starting with a Hummer and decreasing in expense and awesomeness down the line. Chrome sparkled in the climbing tangerine sunlight. Fresh paint and dealership plates gleamed.

“It’s only a hassle when you’re the one lacking power and prestige,” Mordecai replied. “For them, all the strategizing is probably a nice break in their monotonous, never-ending lives.”

“Yeah. But since we always seem to be the ones lacking power and prestige—”

Thane, driving the Ford pickup in front of me, swerved into a pullout area on the side of the mountain road. His brake lights screamed red, and dust and rocks blew up behind him. Amber had stopped just in front of him, and behind me, Kieran pulled in as though he’d expected the sudden stop.

My phone rang, patching through to the Jeep’s speakers.

“What’s up?” I asked Kieran.

“Demigod Flora just passed, leading a train of seven SUVs.”

The kids and I both turned in our seats, looking behind us. “That was a Demigod?”

“The Demigod of New York, yes. She has a pinched face and wears her hair in an outrageous beehive. Amber and Bria both agree that it was definitely her. First six SUVs are full. The last is probably carrying supplies. She has a large team on the ground, and I wouldn’t doubt a helicopter will be flying over shortly. She doesn’t do things by halves. Never has. There is no way she is up here for a holiday.” He paused for a moment. “She’s a Demigod of Zeus, Alexis. She’ll want Dylan like Aaron wants you.”

A chill froze my blood. “How could they know about him? You said we were careful.”

“We were. But not everyone around us has taken a blood oath. Amber will be looking into this when we get back, trust me.” A growl rode his words. “I’m calling because you promised Dylan that if someone found out about him, you’d show up and save the day, correct?”

“I mean…not in those words, but…yeah, I did promise I’d help if we were the reason he came under fire. If we led people to him, we owe it to him to help. This is crap, though. We obviously have a rat.”

“I agree, but here’s the thing: given how well he knows that mountain, there is a strong possibility that he’ll be fine. Much of her force is of Zeus’s line. They won’t be able to feel through rock—if he stays hidden, Demigod Flora will go home empty-handed.”

“If we show up, will we just aggravate things?”

“The problem is that, traditionally, the people of Zeus’s line don’t hide,” Kieran said. “They are brave to a fault and their ego is maddening. They’d rather stand and fight in pure bullheaded stupidity than resort to what they deem cowering in a bush.”

“Careful, your rivalry is showing,” Daisy murmured.

“Okay, but Dylan is hiding from the magical world,” I said. “His life is basically cowering in a bush.”

“Right. Which is why I give him a strong possibility of being fine. The issue is…Demigod Flora is arrogant to a fault. It’s easy enough to get fake IDs, but I doubt she’ll try to sell the identities, like we did. She’ll raise suspicion without trying. Unless, of course, she has already called the local government and alerted them to a magical person in their midst. If that’s the case, they’ll provide her with an escort and she’ll be free to hunt the mountain.”

I stared at the speakers for a moment. “How does any of this result in him being fine?”

“The more resourceful magical types, like Jerry or Amber, have the training to escape situations such as these.”

“Dylan wouldn’t have done a bang-up job of escaping you.”