Page 18 of A Single Thread Of Hope

Just over the rise was the house I’d used for myself over the last few centuries. It was basic, just a place to lay my head until destiny finally presented what it had planned for me.

A flash of golden hair in that direction had me stiffening, my whole body going ramrod straight.It couldn’t be… could it?

Leaning into the shack, I found Listís in the darkened corner. “I’ll be right back.” Moving back across the small clearing, I searched out one of my most trusted hounds, guarding the edges of the shaded packlands. Much like Attie, Sola was a street dog who had no interest in becoming someone’s pet. “Be on alert, but don’t alarm the others just yet,” I said softly, then jogged as casually as I could up the incline toward my home.

What the hell’s going on?

Apollo stood beside the small wooden door of my home, though he didn’t turn to acknowledge I was there. “You know,this is the first time I’ve set foot on Crete since the fall of the Minoans.”

I tried not to growl. “There’s a good reason for that.”

“This island was as much mine once as it was theirs,” he sniffed.

I shook my head. “Then you chose the wrong side. Why are you here?” I knew from experience that if I didn’t get him to the point, he’d talk in circles for hours.

“Can’t a father come check on his son after he’s been locked out of his house for centuries?”

My spine stiffened at his words. “No.”

Apollo sighed, putting his hands on his hips. He was a good-looking man, which was why he had more progeny. He was hard to resist, according to my mother. “Fine. Your brother had a prophecy.”

Delphos. Founder of Delphi and all those annoying Oracles. Apollo was known as a prophetic God, which meant many of his offspring had inherited the power of prophecy. Except me. I turned into a dog.

I lowered my head. I wanted to throw him out, make him leave, but I knew that if I didn’t hear it, I would forever wonder.

Lifting my head, I glared at the man who sired me. “Tell me.”

Chapter 10

WREN

Lying against Nate’s chest in front of the television, I could almost fool myself that nothing had changed today. Nate’s arm was banded tightly under my breasts, like he was worried I’d run from him, now that I knew he wasn’t a virgin when I’d met him. I wasn’t that delusional.

Sure, Nate’s ex-wife was beautiful. Scary as fuck, but gorgeous in a way I couldn’t even imagine, let alone envy. She held herself like she knew she was the baddest person in the room, and while Nate might protest, I wasn’t sure any of the guys could take her one-on-one. Her power felt more like Demke’s than Nate’s. The Godliness of her made my eyes sting.

We’d all suffered through the world’s most awkward sitdown meeting, with Nate glaring at both Morrigan and Clio in equal measure, as they delivered bad news after bad news. Apparently, I’d split the world, which seemed to delight Morrigan endlessly, which in turn was terrifying. The infighting was already becoming bloody, like everyone had just been waiting for an excuse to turn on each other.

Clio had told us that Boston became the epicenter for a time, as monsters tracked me to my hometown. They’d even beguncircling Java Llama, scaring the shit out of my former boss. The idea of Bob pissing his pants in front of his beat-down Nova made me sadistically happy.

Nate had asked about Mrs. Byrne’s house—which was our house now, I guess—and my stomach had soured at the thought of the place being destroyed.

Fortunately, Clio had given us one little piece of good news on that front. “Someone bolstered the wards. I’m not sure anyone but Wren and the Dalai Lama could get in now.”

“Do you know who did it?”

Shaking her head, she’d told us she hadn’t recognized the signature of the wards’ magic, but knew they weren’t Celtic in origin.

I didn’t know if that was reassuring, or even more terrifying. Who would do that? It seemed almost… personal.

Had I been around more Mythics all these years and never known?

I rolled my head to look up at Nate. “Mrs. B wasn’t a Mythic, was she?” If she had been, surely she wouldn’t have died.

Nate nuzzled his cheek against the top of my head. “No. She was human. The best of them, at that.”

I frowned. “Did she know about you, and all this?” I tried to imagine devoutly Catholic Mrs. B, who’d gone to church twice a week and lit candles, holding onto that faith, knowing Gods like Nate and Demke existed.

Nate chuckled. “Oh yeah, she knew all right. Didn’t stop her from ordering me around like she was my elder, as if I didn’t have shirts older than she was. It was part of her charm. She treated me not as someone to be worshiped, but just as someone who mattered, who needed to be kept anchored to the world.” He sighed. “I’ll miss her.”

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