could finally open her eyes and focus them. All she could see in the
sweeping, blinding flashes sent out from some distant lighthouse
were walls of sand. Under her right cheek was a warm T-shirt.
After a few moments she realized there was a person in it. She was
lying on top of a man. The lumpiness under her head was his chest
and the bobbing sensation was him breathing. She gasped. The
Delos boys had caught her.
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Helen? Lucas asked, his voice faint and breathy. Make sound.
If alive, he barely managed to say. He didnt sound like he was going
to kill her so she answered.
Alive. Cant move, she whispered back. Every syllable sent
threads of pain radiating out from her diaphragm.
Wait. Listen to waves. Calm, he said, struggling with every
word as her body weight tried to press the air out of him.
Helen knew she couldnt so much as raise her arm, so she relaxed
like he told her to and just watched as the world swayed up and
then back down with every breath he took. They waited in the intermittent
light and dark of the lighthouse signal, listening to the
surf fizzing in the sand.
As the agony began to lessen into something semi-endurable,
Helen was able to notice more things about her body. From what
she could see, her outward shape seemed mostly normal, but her
insides felt gooey and soft, as if she were a freshly microwaved
chocolate chip cookie. Her bones were barely supporting the
muscles and tissue they were supposed to, and there was an itchy
heat in her marrow. She recognized that sensation as being similar
to the one shed experienced once when she was learning to ride a
scooter and accidentally flipped the thing. Some part of her knew
at the time that she had broken her arm, but by the time she got it
X-rayed it was as good as new. The itch meant she was healing.
Somehow, she had fallen out of the sky and survived. She really
was a monster. A freak. Maybe even a witch. She started to cry.
Dont be scared, Lucas managed to say in one try. Pain will
pass.
Should be dead, she whined quietly through her liquefied jaw.
Whats wrong with me?
No. Not wrong. Youre one of us, he said with a slightly
stronger voice. He was healing just as fast as Helen was.
And whats that?
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We call ourselves Scions, he said.
Offspring? Helen mumbled, remembering the definition from
one of Hergies despised Word of the Day assignments. Offspring
of what?
Lucas answered her. Helen heard him, but she didnt. The word
demigod was so far from what she was expecting to hear she had to
think about it for a second. She had prepared herself for it to be
something horrific, possibly even evil, which made her the way she
was.
Huh? she blurted out stupidly, so confused she had stopped
crying. Her view jiggled, and Helen realized that Lucas was
laughing.
Ouch. Dont make me. Laugh, he said even though his chest
kept bouncing up and down.
It felt funny to have her head bobbing around like that so she
started laughing, regretted it, but couldnt seem to stop. It was almost
as if the pain was so awful she had to laugh it off.
This really hurts, he said as he started to get hold of himself.
If you stop, Ill stop, she said, her fit winding down as well.
In between recurring snickers, they went back to quietly managing
their pain and waiting for their bodies to knit themselves
back together. Despite the pain, the time ticked by soothingly. Out
of one ear, Helen could hear the steady thump of Lucass heart,
and out of the other she could hear seagulls. Dawn was on its way,
and she felt completely safe for the first time in weeks.
Why dont I hate you anymore? she asked when she felt like her
head bones were solid enough to enunciate properly.
I was just wondering the same thing. I think the Furies are
gone. Lucas sighed deeply, like a huge weight had just been lifted
off his chest, even though Helen knew her head was probably as
heavy as a bowling ball. I was scared for a moment when we were
in the air. It was very hard not to engage you.
We? Oh, you can fly! Helen said, realizing.
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She remembered how Lucas had a habit of appearing and disappearing
so suddenly, and how she had heard the thuds and scuffs
of his takeoffs and landings. She had never seen him fly because
she had never thought to look up.
How did you get under me? she asked, shifting her position
ever so slightly.
I caught you. I saw you faint and slowed your fall as best as I
could, but we were already close to impact when I got an arm
around you. He shifted as well, and then flinched in pain. I cant
believe were alive.
Neither can I. I thought you were coming to kill me tonight, but
instead you caught me, she marveled, still stunned. You saved
my life.
It was as if the fall had knocked all the rage right out of her. She
didnt hate Lucas at all. She felt the pressure of his arms lying
across her back increase slightly, quickly, and then relax again.
The suns coming up, Lucas said after a while. Hopefully, my
family will be able to see us now.
All I can see is your chest out of my right eye and mounds of
sand out of my left. Where are we?
At the bottom of our impact crater on the last bit of beach before
Great Point Light at the absolute tip of the narrowest strip of sand
on the northernmost end of Nantucket Island.
So . . . easy to find, Helen quipped.
Practically in my backyard, Lucas joked, and then flinched
painfully when he laughed. He went quiet for a moment before
speaking again. Who are you? he finally asked.
Im Helen Hamilton, she replied hesitantly, not sure what he
was getting at. She wished she could see his face.
Your fathers name is Hamilton, but thats not your House, he
said. Helen could feel the capital H in the word House just from
the inflection he used. You would normally have taken your mothers
Scion name rather than your fathers mortal one. Who was
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she? he asked as though he had been meaning to ask her that
question all night.
Beth Smith.
Beth Smith. Right, he said sarcastically.
What?
Well, Smith is obviously an alias.
You dont know that. You dont know anything about her. How
can you say that isnt my mothers name? Helen asked, getting
defensive.
She had never even known her mother, and here was this
stranger assuming he knew more than she did. It cut Helen a little
to have to admit to herself that perhaps he did. For the first time in
hours, she was also hyperaware of the fact that she was lying on
top of him, and she didnt want to be anymore. She tried to put
pressure on her forearm but a searing pain informed her that there
would be none of that. After a few feeble attempts to roll off of him
she gave up. She could feel him smiling, and his arms tensing to
hold on to her just in case she managed to get away.
I know your mother wasnt named Smith because you can fly,
Helen, now hold still. Youre hurting me, he said frankly.
Sorry, she said, suddenly realizing that hed taken the brunt of
her weight when they hit the ground. His injuries were probably
far worse than hersand hers were awful.
As she watched the sand turn gray, then pink, then coral with the
rising sun, Helen thought that this was the second dawn she had
seen in as many days. Of the two, she much preferred this one. She
was in far more pain, but she was also alive and completely free
from anger. Helen hadnt realized how heavy the burden of hate
had been until she was allowed to put it down.
She heard a voice calling for Lucas, and although she knew they
were in danger lying helpless in that pit, she didnt want to be
found. What if the Furies came back with the rest of the family?
Here! Lucas called weakly.
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Wait, Helen pleaded. What if they still see the Furies when
they look at me? I cant defend myself in this state.
No one will hurt you, he promised, his arms tightening slightly
around her.
Hector . . . she began.
. . . would have to get through me first, he said resolutely.
Uh, Lucas? she said leadingly, not wanting to insult him by
pointing out the obvious.
Yeah, he replied with a chuckle, catching her drift. I know Im
not exactly Secret Service material right now, but trust me. I wont
let any of them harm younot even big, bad Hector. He isnt as
terrible as you think, you know. He managed to tilt his head to the
side enough to meet Helens eyes.
Youre his cousin. You have to think the best of him.
Ill leave it up to you, then. I cant hide us, but I wont call out to
them if you dont want me to, he said, and let his head roll back
out of her sight.
They lay there listening to his family call his name over and over,
but Lucas kept his word. He didnt make a sound, although he did
flinch when he heard Cassandras exhausted voice. She sounded
desperate and frightened. They all did. And Helen was to blame.
After a few more moments she couldnt stand it any longer.
Here! Helen yelled as hard as she could. Were over here!
Are you sure? Lucas asked carefully.
No. She chuckled nervously before calling out again, this time
with Lucass help.
There was a lot of yelling from down the beach, and the sound of
feet pounding across the sand. Then Helen felt Lucas try to reposition
his head to look at someone standing above them.
Hi, Dad, he said apologetically.
Castor muttered some kind of oath that Helen didnt recognize,
but the meaning was clear enough. Then he starting giving orders,
and Helen felt someone thud down next to her.
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My gods, Ariadne whispered to herself. Helen? Im going to try
to roll you off, okay? But first Im going to have to try to speed up
the healing of your bones a bit. It will feel a little hot, but dont be
afraid, healing is one of my and Jasons talents. Jase, come and do
her legs, she called up.
Helen felt another thud, and then she felt the twins slide their
hands gently down along her arms and legs. There was a burning
sensation inside Helens bones that was nearly unbearable, and it
made her wonder if she would be better off without any healing.
Right before she begged them to stop, the burning mercifully
ended. The twins counted to three and gingerly flipped her onto
her back like she was a runny pancake. Helen tried to be brave, but
she couldnt stop a scream from slipping out. Every muscle, every
inch of skin, every bone in her body was lit up with pain as though
someone had filled her bloodstream with flaming-hot shards of
glass.
She gritted her teeth and took deep, calming breaths before she
felt like she had enough control to open her eyes. When she did,
she saw Ariadnes luminous hazel eyes, fringed with the same incredibly
long lashes as Jasons, looking down at her with compassion.
She studied Helens face carefully, and then gave her a tired
smile. Helen thought Ariadne looked drained, as if what she had
done for Helen had cost her. Her bow-shaped lips were ashy instead
of their usual cherry red and her long, chestnut hair stuck to
her perspiring cheeks.
Dont worry. Your face is already going back to its right shape.
Youll be your usual, exquisite self by nightfall, she said, smoothing
Helens hair comfortingly. Keep still. Ill be right back.
Helen glanced around. For the first time she could see where she
and Lucas had spent the night. It took a moment to register that
they were in a hole in the ground that was at least five feet deep
and three times that wide, and it took even longer to register that
the hole had been made by their bodies when they fell. She felt
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water seep into her clothes as it leached up from the damp sand,
and realized that Lucas must have been lying in a cold puddle all
night. She rolled her head to the side so she could look at him.
There was a faint Helen-shaped dent running down the length of
his body, and his chest was nearly caved in from the weight of her
head and shoulders. His face was pinched up in a grimace. He
hummed to himself a little as if to try to give his vocal cords
something to do other than howl. His father hovered over him,
looking Lucas directly in the eye and talking softly. She saw Lucas
give a tiny nod, bite his lower lip, then take a deep breath and
strain. His chest expanded into a more normal shape, and then Lucas
suddenly let his breath out and panted as if he had just lifted a
great weight. A tear trickled out of the corner of his eye and ran into
his hair.
His father said something reassuring and then pulled himself
smoothly out of the hole and started talking strategy with Hector.