Marker of Hope (27 page)

Knowing I didn’t have to lie to Claire any
longer lifted the heavy veil I’d been hiding under for months,
which to me seemed like decades. But now that she knew, she was at
risk, too. If the Council found out she was aware of the existence
of deities, they’d send someone to erase her from the face of
Earth. Luckily, we’d soon have an army to help protect us.

CHAPTER 30

It may have been the pregnancy or my new
genetics, but my hair grew fast and long. The ends of it touched my
waist—the length it’d been before I left for Greece, back when my
life still held a tinge of normality. But normality was a foreign
notion to me most days, the rare exception, today.

I stood in front of the Christmas tree,
staring at the twinkling lights and the carefully placed ornaments
on each branch. Colorful pieces of giftwrap lay scattered on the
living room floor. The scent of fresh pine and gingerbread warmed
the air. Alezzander offered toasts in the name of family, while
Galilea made Galen jealous by allowing Frederick to kiss her on the
cheek under the mistletoe.

It was uplifting to have a holiday feel so
familiar. What added more to the day’s festivities was there were
no more secrets to keep from anyone. And though knowing it wouldn’t
last but a few more hours, it’d been a long time since life felt
ordinary. Nevertheless, I was thankful. But this feeling of
normality was a sole illusion.

Frederick, my first commander, began to train
me to think like a leader, a title I’d never get used to. He said
my mind needed to learn how to demand and command. He told me I
didn’t have to think of myself as a leader, but I did have to
convince the deities who’d join his
my
army I was one.

I glanced out the window into the dark night.
Outside, hiding in the forest and below ground, a few dozen fresh
members of his my allegiance stood watch. I’d met two of
them—Chrosis and Zedin, who switched off with Ayrie and Onarit when
they needed rest. All four were present tonight. Chrosis and Zedin
were plastered against the living room wall like wallpaper. They
didn’t look as though they were having fun. I often caught them
giving me funny looks and wondered what they were about.

Chrosis wasn’t conventionally handsome. He
was rugged and dark, but had all the sexy deity mojo. That was how
Galilea described him, anyway. His counterpart, Zedin, was a
seven-foot-tall redhead with a braided beard. Neither of them
talked unless spoken to. I tried to make conversation with the two
on several occasions, but their answers were curt, and they called
me “madam” a whole lot, which annoyed me. They may not have been
people persons, but one thing was certain, they were very good at
looking bad.

I’d learned Ayrie, who was currently flirting
with Eryx by the fireplace, was my second in command under
Frederick. Onarit, who was talking to Dr. Gunn and Samuel, was an
advisor.

This thinking like a leader crap was proving
to be very confusing.

“Hey…” David hugged me from behind. “What are
you looking at out there which could possibly be more interesting
than me?”

“I’m not looking at anything. I’m staring
blankly at nothing,” I said. “I’m wondering what we’ll be doing
this time next year. Where we’ll be.”

“Somewhere nice, I hope.” He slid his hand
over my stomach and kissed my cheek. “You realize we’re two months
away from becoming parents?”

“Yup.”
And closer to war.

“We’ll have to decide on a name soon. Do you
have any in mind?”

“No. Do you?” I asked. He nodded. “Let me
hear them.”

“You may not like them.”

“You don’t know that. C’mon. Tell me.”

“Okay,” he said, turning me to face him. “I
was thinking maybe, Juliette, Karis, Valentina, Eve… What do you
think?”

“I like those.”

“Honey… Isis.” Claire waved with her phone
from across the room. “It’s for you.”

“It’s probably my grandmother,” I told David.
“I’ll be right back.”

I took the phone from my mom’s hand and
walked into the kitchen where it was quieter. Ayrie followed.

“Everything okay?” she asked. I showed her
the phone. “Ah… Well, I’ll be in the hall if you need me.”

“I won’t.” I placed the phone on my ear.
“Hello?”

“So are we not friends anymore or what?”

“Andy?” I was so happy to hear her voice. “Oh
my goodness, it’s been…”

“Months,” she said, finishing my sentence.
“I’ve left you voice mails. You never call me back. I’ve gotten
zero texts from you since I last saw you.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I’ve
been…uh…busy.”

“That’s a lame excuse, but whatever. It’s
Christmas Eve. I forgive you.”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling.

“So your mom said you were at David’s house.
I didn’t know you guys were back together. Can I drop your
Christmas present off there? See you for like a minute? And you
can’t say no, because I’m two minutes away.”

“Two minutes?” I panicked.

“Well, okay, like five, unless I hit a red
light. Oh, and I picked up a big surprise for you.”

“Oh yeah?” I looked down at my gigantic
belly. “I bet my surprise is bigger.”

“Stop trying to outdo me, girl. See ya in a
few.” She hung up.

“Ayrie,” I called out. She was next to me in
the blink of an eye. How was she so fast? “Ayrie, I have a visitor
coming, so you have to tell whoever you need to tell not to kill
her.”

“Yes, madam.” She nodded and walked away.

“Ayrie, wait,” I said. “Chrosis and Zedin
might scare her, so get rid of them. And I guess you can be a
distant Chios family member or something. Pretend to be, I
mean.”

“Can I be Eryx’s girlfriend, instead?”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever. Just go tell your army
not to kill my friend, please.”

“I’m sorry, whose army did you say?” Ayrie
asked.

“
My
army,” I corrected.

“That’s right.” She smirked.

I watched Ayrie signal Chrosis and Zedin from
the hall. They walked out the front door. I returned to the living
room and stood at the entrance.

“Look at what you’re standing under,” David
said, pointing up at the mistletoe. “I get a kiss.”

“Later, hot lips,” I breathed. “Andy is on
her way here.”

“Who’s on their way?” Frederick asked.

“My best friend,” I said.

“I thought I was your best friend,” Galilea
sounded offended.

“My other best friend,” I said. “Hey,
Frederick, could you lose all that,” I motioned to the weapons
strapped on his leg, “dangerous-looking stuff while she’s here? And
could you pretend to be human?”

“Isis, calm down. Why are you so nervous?”
David asked. “It’s just Andy.”

“You don’t know her like I do. Andy picks up
on things. She’s always been good at it.”

“Well, if she gets out of hand, I can make
her forget,” Galilea said. “That’s not a problem.” I glared at her.
“Or not. Geez! Someone woke up on the hormonal side of the bed
today.”

“What’s happening over here?” Nyx walked over
to us.

“Isis is freaking out because her,” Galilea
made air quotes, “best friend is coming.”

“Andy?” Nyx asked, her eyes glazed over. “How
nice of her to drop by.”

“Are you—drunk?” I asked her.

“That depends on your definition of drunk,”
Nyx said in a loud voice, and then snorted.

“Here we go again. Why did I marry a woman
who can’t hold her liquor?” I heard Alezzander say from the sofa.
He walked over to Nyx. “Dear, I think you’re done for the night.
It’s time for us to go to bed.”

“Why, Alezzander!” Nyx slapped his arm. “You
shouldn’t say those types of things to me in front of the
children.”

“Holy smokes! What were
you
drinking?”
Claire laughed.

“Ambrosia liquor,” Nyx said. “Pairs well
with… everything, I guess.” She cackled.

“It certainly doesn’t pair well with you,”
Alezzander told her. He whisked her up in his arms. “Good night,
everyone. Merry Christmas.”

The doorbell rang. I turned to Frederick. His
weapons were gone. Ayrie was back, holding Eryx’s hand. He didn’t
seem to mind. I took another look around at everyone. They looked
normal enough.

“Are you going to get the door?” David
asked.

“Oh. Right.”

I straightened my dress out before I turned
the knob. I opened the door and there was Andy, holding a pizza box
and a small gift. We’d eaten pizza together on Christmas Day when
we exchanged presents every day since we’d met.

“Surprise!” She held out the pizza to me with
a wide smile. But her smile quickly faded, replaced by an
expression of surprise on her face.

“You remembered,” I said, taking the
boxes.

“What—is that?” She pointed to my
stomach.

“Uh… Surprise?”

“No shit,” she said, eyes wide. “And you
didn’t bother to tell me?”

“I thought you might’ve already known. This
town is so small, and news tends to travel fast.”

“Yeah… I don’t live here anymore, remember?
This the first time I’ve come home since I started college. Of
course, if you’d read my emails, you’d know that.”

“I haven’t checked my email in a long time.”
I winced. “Sorry.”

“This isn’t like you. Like at all.” Her brow
creased. “Should I be worried?”

“No.” I shot a glance at David, who was
watching me from the living room. “It’s just that there are new
changes in my life. They’ve been taking up a lot of my time.”

“Mhh.” Her mouth was tight. I could sense the
hurt in her eyes.

“Andy, it’s good to see you,” David said as
he walked up behind me. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Would you
like to come in?”

“I can’t,” she said. “Bill’s in the car.
We’re going over to his parents’ house. They’re waiting on us to
open presents.”

“Speaking of presents… I didn’t know you were
coming, so I don’t have your gift,” I said. In reality, I’d
forgotten. Claire had been the one to buy the items on my gift list
since I was closed off from the world. Galilea had been the one to
make the list. Maybe she’d left off Andy on purpose.

“That’s all right,” Andy said. “Just answer
my calls once in a while, okay?”

“I will,” I said, “but my phone keeps dying,
so…”

“Story of your life.” She rolled her eyes.
“Anyway, have a Merry Christmas, you two.”

“Merry Christmas,” David and I said.

Andy hurried to Bill’s car. She waved before
she slid in, and then the vintage Mustang drove away.

CHAPTER 31

The New Year arrived and along with it an
eerie silence. There’d been no Turpis attacks, which I found
strange since I was a month away from giving birth. Galilea’s block
was failing, which gave the demons a perfect opportunity to attack.
Yet not one hellish creature showed its ugly face. I wasn’t
complaining, but it made me nervous. Very nervous.

Part of my army, now composed of one hundred
sixty-seven immortal deities, set up camps in different sections of
the eighty-two acres of forested land of the Ebony Estate.
Frederick told me of a deity among my warriors with the power of
camouflage—sort of like a chameleon, but he could extend his
ability on a grander scale. He helped disguise the camps to look
like the forest. I hadn’t met any of the warriors, but I’d met this
one. His name was Cezario. He helped conceal not only the
campsites, but also the estate and me when Galilea’s invisible
block grew weak.

While most warriors were stationed above
ground, dozens remained hidden underground, in Sub Terra Station as
Frederick called it. Of them, a handful of warriors served as
moles, traveling between Caelum and Earth to keep us informed about
my enemies’ plans. As of late, none of the spies had anything to
report.

***

I woke up extra early to surprise David with
heart-shaped pancakes in bed. I tiptoed past the remodeled den
where Ayrie was asleep on the couch. I heard Frederick and Onarit
having an indistinct conversation on the front porch as I walked
through the foyer and to the kitchen.

From the cupboard, I took a bowl and fetched
the necessary ingredients. As I reached for an egg, I felt a pain
in my lower abdomen. It was so sharp it made me bend over. I
grabbed hold of the counter with one hand to steady myself. It
disappeared as fast as it came.

Probably gas
, I thought. I began to
beat the batter, wondering if there were any candles in the house
to stick on top of the tower of pancakes I planned to make.

“Hey,” Ayrie said walking into the kitchen.
“What are you doing up so early?”

“Making Valentine’s Day pancakes for David.
It’s also his birthday, which he didn’t tell me about until a few
days ago. I feel bad I don’t have a present for him.” I pouted. “He
says birthdays aren’t a big deal to deities. That’s the oddest
thing I’ve ever heard. Why don’t you guys celebrate birthdays?”

“Early on, when we’re children, we do. What
kid doesn’t like birthdays, right? But after a thousand huge
birthday parties, it gets boring—loses its appeal.”

“Really?” I cracked the egg into the bowl. “I
don’t think I’d ever get tired of having birthdays. You only get
one a year. It’s nice to have a day to look forward to.”

“Do you have big parties with a lot of people
on your birthdays?” Ayrie leaned her shoulder on the kitchen
doorframe.

“No. Actually, I never had a birthday party
with more than five friends when I was a kid.” I began to hand-beat
the batter. “I’ve always been very selective with my friends. Plus,
my parents couldn’t afford lavish parties.”

Not that I was upset I’d never had a huge
birthday party. My dad and my mom gave me the best they could
afford. My birthdays never lacked at least one present or cake and
ice cream. The memories Hector and Claire created for me would
always be dear to my heart.

“Do you wish you’d had a big birthday party?”
Ayrie asked. “I could arrange one for you.”