Page 35 of Within the Flames
"One of what?" she repeated.
"You know what, Macey. One of the ones who refuses to accept who they are or what they're meant to do. It's never their fault and they never know what to do. When I received you as my charge, I was actually excited. You seemed to have a certain level of acceptance which isn't often found in heroes..."
"I'm not a hero."
"Correction. You're not a hero, yet. But one day, they will sing songs about you and tell your story."
"I hope not," Macey said despite herself. She wasn't the type for that. Just like she wasn't the type to become Queen.
"Regardless of your feelings, you will be. But I was excited. A hero who finally accepted their fate. Who would do what was necessary without it being forced on them by the gods..."
"I thought you said the gods were dead?" she interrupted, receiving a scolding look in return.
"The gods are dead, but I'm talking about the past. Have you any idea how infuriating some of those Greek heroes were? The playwrights were correct in things either being a tragedy or a comedy. You should have seen Hercules." He shook his head and muttered something unintelligible.
"Hercules, son of Zeus?" she checked, suddenly glad she'd wasted a couple of days binge watching the cartoon royalty human children liked to watch.
"The one and only. His twelve trials? All performed by his daimon." Luc's eyes flared.
She still wasn't sure what he was actually getting at. Nor what he wanted from her. But the anger had ebbed away slightly, allowing her to think straight for a moment.
"I thought daimons only had one charge?" she asked slowly, recalling what Cam had said when they'd first encountered Luc.
He sighed. "We do. But we're reborn every time our charge is done. I've seen a lot of lives, but you're the only one I'm charged with in this one."
"Right." She leaned back against the wall, not sure what to do about the unknown man opposite her. He claimed to be there to help her, as her guide, but that didn't quite add up with the experience she was having. He certainly hadn't done much helping as far as she was concerned. "So...you're here to help me?"
"I can only help if you accept my aid."
"Fine, I accept it."
He laughed. "That's not how it works. You have to actually accept it within you, not just say the lie out loud."
He slunk his hand into the pocket of his coat and Macey flinched back for reasons unknown to her. Something about this man had her on edge and she didn't have the slightest clue what.
"Relax, I only want a drink." As if to illustrate his point, he removed a metal hip flask and popped the top off, taking a swig.
"May I?" she asked, her voice shaking. The past couple of days had been rough. A drink would certainly take the edge off.
"Sure." He held out the flask and she got up from her position on the bed to get it from him, only slightly resentful he was making her work for it.
She took the cold metal in her hand and brought the flask to her lips. Swallowing deeply, she glugged down the liquid inside. Or she tried to. Instead of it slipping down her throat as she'd expected, it caught in her throat and a loud cough rattled through her.
"What the fuck is that?" she demanded through the coughs.
"Fortified mead." The daimon shrugged.
"Mead isn't very Greek," she muttered.
"Neither is living beneath the Thames, but I did that too."
"You're very sarcastic for a guide."
"You're very infuriating for a hero."
"That's because I'm not one." Something bubbled up within her, reminding her of the rage of the day before. She tried to gain control again, not wanting to go through the same strain and terror again.
"Do you actually believe it when you say that?" he demanded.
