CHAPTER 10
Lia rang the bell at Callie and Hunter’s place. Cooper stood right behind her, his hand resting on the small of her back, setting all her senses on high alert. After Nate’s vision, Callie rescheduled her afternoon appointments so that Lia could bring Cooper by for a hypnosis session. None of them knew if it would work, but at this point, he was willing to try anything to find out what the god of the sun was so desperate to communicate.
Callie opened the door and smiled. She was five feet tall with her black hair in a pixie cut, but her spirit was at least six feet. She couldn’t be contained by her small frame.
She embraced Lia and stepped back, looking up at Cooper. “Good to see you again.” She offered her hand. “Thanks for your heroics during the fire at the theater.”
Cooper took her hand, shaking his head. “I wish I could have done more.”
The paramedics had gotten Polly’s heart beating again that day, but the damage had been done. She never woke up. Visions of Polly in the hospital bed surrounded by beeping machines threatened to drown Lia. She forced the memories back.
“Thanks for clearing your schedule for us,” Lia said.
Callie nodded and moved back so they could enter the house. “Not a problem. I hope the hypnosis will help us. No promises, though. I’ve only used hypnosis to help patients recover from traumatic events. There are plenty of articles out there from doctors who have used hypnosis for past life regressions, but I don’t think it’s ever been used to try to communicate with a Greek god before.”
Callie headed down the hallway to her office and waved to them to follow. Cooper laced his fingers with Lia’s, his thumb brushing over her knuckles as they walked. She looked up and found him staring at her.
“Whatever happens today,” he said, “I’m still kicking your ass at pinball tonight.”
Lia grinned and nudged him. “In your dreams.”
Her heart fluttered. Cooper had lightened the mood and coaxed a smile from her all on his own. There was definitely a sense of humor hiding below that serious exterior of his.
When they got into Callie’s office, Callie sat in a chair in front of her desk. She gestured to the small sofa along the wall. “You can have a seat.”
“I don’t need to lie down?” Cooper asked.
“Only if you would be comfortable that way. In my experience, most people are a little less vulnerable and more open to the guided hypnosis if they sit.”
“Works for me.” Cooper sat, and Lia took the spot beside him.
Callie had a spiral notebook on her lap. “Any questions before we start?”
Lia glanced at Cooper, and he surprised her with a wink. He focused on Callie. “Let’s do this.”
“All right.” Callie looked over at Lia. “You better go wait in the living room. I’ll call for you when we’re done.”
Lia nodded and did as Callie had said, trying not to obsess over everything. Should she have warned Callie about the way Cooper sometimes glowed? What if Cooper connected with Apollo again and had a seizure?
Ugh. She pulled out her cell and fired off a text to her roommate.
Hey, Trin. Cooper is out of the hospital. We’re over at Callie’s right now. What are you up to today?
Her phone buzzed in reply.
Just had a talk with Ted Belkin.
Lia’s eyes widened, her fingers fumbling on the phone keyboard.
You did what? Are you okay?
Trinity responded immediately.
No. I’m pissed.
Lia ran a hand through her hair struggling to piece together a reply that didn’t include Are you nuts? or You remember he’s part of the Order that’s trying to kill us, right? Finally, she picked up her phone again.
Come over to Callie’s.
Seconds ticked by like hours before her cell buzzed again.
On my way.
Lia pocketed her phone and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. Trin could’ve gotten herself killed. Why would she take a huge risk like that? He could have left her dead in a ditch someplace and none of them would have known.
Suddenly she understood why her mother used to rant whenever Lia would come home late.
Callie’s voice faded into the background like a whisper in the back of Cooper’s mind, leading him down a dimly lit tunnel toward a room full of light. When he reached it, a man stood in a library with his back toward Cooper.
The man lifted his head as Cooper entered but didn’t turn around. He spoke in a language Cooper couldn’t understand.
“I don’t know what he’s saying,” Cooper murmured aloud, on some level remembering Callie was his guide.
Her voice whispered through his head. “Ask him to speak English. The library is in your mind. He can use the language found there.”
Cooper followed her instructions, and slowly, the man turned. Cooper dropped to his knees, shielding his eyes from the bright light. “Too much. Back it down.”
A deep voice replied, “You are human.”
“Yes.” Cooper spoke without lowering his arm from his eyes. “You’ve almost killed me twice with your power.”
“Rise, Guardian.”
Cooper stood, straightening to his full height and tentatively lowering his arm. Light glowed around the other man, but it was bearable now. Except the man wasn’t a man at all. Apollo walked around Cooper as if he was a new car being inspected by a prospective buyer.
When he stopped in front of Cooper again, he frowned. “Zeus chose a mortal to protect Thalia?”
“She’s human, too.” Cooper had no idea if he was speaking out loud anymore. He could’ve been worlds away from Callie’s office now. The library inside his head was all that existed.
He tipped his chin up slightly. “Do you know who I am?”
“I think so.”
The man crossed his arms over his broad chest, the light snapping with energy. “I am the god Apollo. I have come to help you protect her.”
“Your power is too much for my body. You’ll kill me.”
Apollo moved to the shelves of the library and withdrew a book. “Thalia lives again. Zeus vowed she would have a Guardian, but you are not a god.”
Cooper frowned. “None of the Guardians are gods.”
“There are immortals among you. We did not imprison all the Titans.” He opened the book and showed Cooper a photo of a…nymph?
Cooper glanced up from the book. “I haven’t seen her.”
Apollo set the book aside with a groan. “She has a human form now. She has been the driving force behind the Order of the Titans since their inception, directing the mortals, pretending to be one of them. She wishes to free her lover, Kronos, and punish Zeus for the death of her son with the Titan.”
Cooper rubbed his forehead. “How am I supposed to stop an immortal?”
The light intensified around Apollo. “The Guardians must protect the muses. Their destiny will be fulfilled. I saved you, and Erato’s Guardian, for this purpose.”
Reed. Erica must’ve been the vessel for Erato.
Apollo held out his hands. “You carry my healing power inside of you, but your mortality limits it.”
“I can’t help that.”
“I know.” He nodded, his hands balling into fists as he paced the room. “You must find the other Guardians and soon.”
“Why? What aren’t you telling me?”
Apollo placed a hand on Cooper’s shoulder. Visions flashed through his head so fast he couldn’t recognize them all. Fires, chess games, nursing homes, a temple in Greece, and guys in Kronos masks, but Apollo’s words were clear. “The door opened for a moment.”
Cooper jerked back. “What door? What are you talking about?”
“Protect the daughters of Zeus.” Fire flickered in Apollo’s eyes. “Kronos is among you.”
Trinity pulled up to Callie and Hunter’s house, and Lia went out to meet her at her car.
“Are you insane?” Lia asked, not bothering with a greeting. “You went to Belkin Oil without telling anyone? What if he hurt you or—”
“Enough,” Trin interrupted. “I know it was stupid, but I had to try.” She closed the car door. “After Mel called to tell me what happened in your parking lot last night, I freaked out. I can’t lose another friend to these bastards.” She rested a hand on her hip. “I guess I thought if I could look him in the eye, maybe I could get him to see he was hurting real people, not muses but flesh-and-blood women. And one in particular who used to believe he loved her.”
Lia wrapped her arms around Trin. “I’m sorry.”
She returned the embrace, her voice muffled. “Waste of my damned time.” She pulled back, shaking her head. “The guy I knew, who ate up the spotlight singing at center stage, is gone.”
“Come inside, I’ll get you a glass of water.” Lia led the way into the house. “Cooper’s still with Callie in her office.”
Trin lowered her voice. “Finding out he’s a Guardian really messed him up?”
Lia chuckled, taking a glass from the cupboard. “God, I wish that’s all it was.”
Trin raised a brow. “What did I miss?”
“We’re not really sure of anything, but it seems like Apollo is trying to make contact with Cooper.”
“You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack.” Lia put the ice water in front of Trin.
She let out a half-hearted whistle. “Wow. Just when I thought our lives couldn’t get any weirder.”
“Right?” Lia sobered. “Hopefully Callie’s hypnosis will make possible for Cooper and Apollo to communicate before he short circuits Cooper’s brain.”
“That’s why he had a seizure at the fire, wasn’t it?” Trin asked.
“Probably.” Lia shrugged. “We’re not positive. Cooper has healed me a couple of times now, but Reed got yanked back from the other side. Cooper is pretty sure that wasn’t him. He was the vessel, but Apollo closed the artery and got Reed’s heart beating again.”
Trin took a sip of the water. “Apollo had kids with the original Thalia, right?”
Lia nodded. “Yeah.”
“Apollo realizes you’re…not exactly her?”
“I don’t know.” Lia glanced down the hallway. “The thing is, I’m more concerned with why Apollo is making contact. We have the prophecy and we’re finding our Guardians, but if he’s trying to help us, there must be more at stake than what we’re seeing.” She paused for a beat. “Think about it. After thousands of years, why else would a Greek god be getting involved now?”