CHAPTER 18
Ted parked on the street. He recognized the house on Lothlórien Lane. A year ago, he’d sent his enforcer here to spy on the Muse of Epic Poetry, but his man had seen an opportunity to take a shot and ended up firing bullets into her living room in rapid succession without hitting Callie or her Guardian, Hunter.
There was no way they were going to be happy to see him today.
It had taken a week of negotiations before Trinity had agreed to a meeting, but she’d insisted he meet her here. It was nonnegotiable. And since his life might depend on comparing notes with the muses, it was time to face his sins.
But damn, he was sick of being a punching bag.
Ted got out and straightened his clothes. He’d chosen to wear slacks and a button-down shirt with a tie. It was probably a stupid idea, but he hoped if he looked all-business, they’d ease up on getting physical and focus on the work ahead.
He went to the door and knocked twice. Trinity opened it without a smile or greeting. “Come in.”
“Thanks for agreeing to meet with me again.” He stepped inside to find a full table of men and women. Every one of them looked pissed. Perfect.
Callie, the Muse of Epic Poetry and current leader of the group, stood, but she didn’t approach him. “We saved you a seat at the table. I can’t promise you any more than that.”
“That’s fine. Thank you.” He took his chair and flinched when a wolf came out from under the table. “Whoa. Is that a—”
“Wolf,” Clio interrupted. “We probably don’t have much time. You said you had something that could help all of us.”
“Right.” He opened his leather portfolio. He thought better when he took notes. “You’re already aware of Pamela Costas and that her true identity is Philyra. She was Kronos’s mistress.”
Clio nodded. “I hope you have more than that.”
He clicked the end of his ballpoint pen, fighting to keep from looking at the giant wolf. “Yeah, so I ran into Lia over at the Village. Clio, Trinity, and I worked on a lead that one of the widows of the founders of Ida Industries might be Rhea.”
“Apparently, I’ve been playing poker with her every week since I got to Crystal City,” Lia took over, giving Ted a chance to organize his thoughts. “My poker group is made up of Rhea and the guiders of destiny, along with Agnes Hanover, who is last generation’s Muse of Hymns.”
Ted tipped his pen in her direction. “And that can’t be a coincidence. The gods are well aware of what’s at stake. They’ve been involved and playing each side, probably since the Titans were imprisoned. But the explosion on the Oceanus offshore oil rig opened a door to Tartarus.” Ted hesitated. “Kronos is free. He’s masquerading as an older guy about my height with silver hair, and his eyes are…” Ted stumbled over how to describe them. “They’re green, but the density of color changes with his moods like embers of a fire.”
“Is he the one who told you that Rhea was the only one who could stop Pamela?” Lia asked.
Ted nodded. “He was very interested in the Order of the Titans and had been making himself helpful until I mentioned Philyra. I don’t think he realized she was in our world.”
Clio regarded everyone around the table. “If his mistress was surviving in the world of man, he must’ve figured his wife might be, too.”
“She assured me she could handle Kronos if he showed himself.” Lia raised her eyebrows. “But she also didn’t offer to protect us.”
Clio was cursing Zeus under her breath. She hated keeping this secret from her sisters. It would make this whole meeting go much faster if she could reveal her source, but she did her best to wing it.
“So far, we know Rhea and the guiders of destiny are in our world, Apollo can make contact through Cooper, and now Kronos is here, too. If we can get Lia’s poker group and Apollo to help us, we could have a chance at stopping Kronos. He’ll be outnumbered.”
Callie held up her hand. “Just a second. I don’t want us to lose sight of the fact that battling the gods is not our calling. We’re here to inspire mankind, to open our theater. We weren’t born with abilities to fight immortals, and our Guardians are here to protect us, not fight gods and goddesses. Whatever is brewing with Kronos and the others, it’s their war. Not ours.”
“They made it ours when Pamela persuaded the Order of the Titans to kill Nia and Polly.” Clio glanced at the wolf and back up to Callie. “We’re in this mess whether we like it or not, and we need to be prepared for the worst.”
Callie raised a brow. “What are you suggesting?”
“I’m saying the rest of the world has no idea Kronos is walking among them, but we do, and if we ever want to see the theater open, we can’t just pretend we’re neutral in all this.”
Hunter cleared his throat, glancing around the table. “The theater opening might be delayed again, too, while we find another—” His gaze landed on Clio. “We find more help.”
Pain lanced through Clio’s heart as memories of her last day with Mason as a man filled her head. She pulled in a shaky breath. “Don’t write Mason off yet. I’m working on it, and he’s a fighter. I’m going to figure this out.”
Ted’s eyes widened. “That wolf is—”
Clio shot him a cold glare, but Callie interrupted. “Before we tell you anything, how do I know I’m not going to see any more gold masks in my security-camera footage?”
Ted pulled his gaze from the wolf. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for…everything. My father was dating Pamela, and she filled his head with stories of the muses and your power to inspire mankind toward cleaner energy. She was the one pushing for the Order to kill the muses to stop that forward progress.”
Nate shook his head. “And you were happy to oblige her.”
Ted put his hands up, nodding slowly. “I know. After my father died, I wanted someone to blame. Our new leader, Mikolas Leandros, has been against harming the muses from the day he got here. In fact, this meeting today was his idea.”
“Then why did he send you?” Callie crossed her arms. “I mean, those are nice words, but how can we be sure the entire Order has had a change of heart?”
“Mikolas thought I had a better chance of being heard because of my connection with Trinity.”
“Past connection,” Trinity corrected without looking his way.
“Past. Right.” Ted cleared his throat. “Pamela poisoned many of the members of the Order against me, and Kevin is probably wooing the others, so I’m not sure how many of the original Order are left. From the beginning, most of them wanted nothing to do with harming anyone.”
“And why the sudden fear of Kronos?” Callie asked, not letting up.
Ted set his pen down beside the pad of paper. “Once we realized Kronos was free and Kevin had sent us to find Rhea, we discovered that we’re not partners with him as we thought we would be. As long as I can remember, the goal was to bring back the Golden Age of Man, and part of the drive to see the mission accomplished was the belief that Kronos would reward our efforts for freeing him.”
“But now you’re realizing we’re all expendable to the immortals.” Clio stroked the soft spot behind the wolf’s ear.
“Basically. And if Pamela were to meet up with Kevin…”
Callie shook her head. “Pamela is dead. Or at least she’s gone from our world.”
Ted shifted in his chair. “How?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Clio snapped. “But soon Kronos is going to figure out she’s gone, and if he had any fondness for her left, he’s going to be hungry for vengeance.”
Nate cleared his throat. “There’s nothing to trace it back to us.”
“He knew Mikolas and I were trying to stop her.” Ted frowned. “We need to watch our backs.”
Callie stood up, signaling to the others that the meeting was over. “We all have plenty to do. Thanks for coming to the table, Ted.”
Ted stared at Trinity, who hadn’t made eye contact since taking her seat. “I’ll be in touch if I learn anything new. I know it won’t erase my sins, but I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.” Trinity kept her attention on the table. Ted stood and closed his portfolio. “I’ll show myself out.”
Clio waited for everyone to leave. The wolf never wandered from her side. One by one, they all said their good-byes and made plans until only Clio and Tera were left at the table.
The Muse of Dance looked around and leaned toward Clio, keeping her voice hushed. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“Me?” Clio tilted her head, puzzled. “With what?”
“Finding a way to bring Mason back.”
An unexpected smile crept up on Clio. “You’re the first person to offer.”
“Unless you need some interpretive dance, I’m probably not going to be much of a helper, but I’m willing to try.”
Clio glanced down at the wolf. Gradually, her grin faded as an idea germinated in her head. “Actually, there might be something you can do. Could I bring the wolf to your dance studio?”
“Uh, sure.” She raised a brow. “Are you going to waltz with him?”
Clio laughed, shaking her head. “You pretend to be quiet and shy, but you’re funny.” She lowered her voice. “It probably won’t work, but I’m wondering if I can get him in front of your mirrored wall, maybe I can get the wolf and the man to come together somehow.”
“It’s worth a shot, right? My last class is over at eight o’clock tonight. Come on by.” Tera stood up, a soft smile on her lips. “See you soon.”
“Thanks, Tera.” Clio held the wolf’s face in her hands, staring into his green eyes. Mason’s eyes. “I need you both.”