Mayhem: Goddesses Of Delphi Read online

  Her shoulders slumped as she completed the task. The air pressurized around her as the pulse reach the earth.

  Lime-colored mist swelled to the left of her as Mnemosyne materialized. She clucked her tongue against her teeth and scolded, “Another mess for me to clean up, I see.” She looked at Thomas. “You again. I should have known. The power of love overcame the strength of my spell with you. Are all your memories intact?”

  He nodded. “I believe so. I’m also ready to make some new ones with Nia, so I’m going to ask you nicely not to take them away from me again.”

  Nia’s diminutive aunt emitted an infectious laugh. “I’d promise, but this isn’t up to me. Zeus will decide when you get back to Olympus.”

  She turned and focused on the stirring crowd. Lifting her hand and shutting her eyes, she began to chant.

  “Daughter.” Gaia scurried toward them. “We will meet you in the boardroom. I’m taking Hailey with me.”

  Nia’s heart sank. Likely Zeus would erase the memories from both Thomas and his niece. And where would that leave her? “Is that necessary?”

  “Zeus believes so. We risk detection.” She turned toward Hailey and laid a hand on the child’s shoulder. “Did you do any of the rides today, sweetheart? I have one last treat to take you on. Brace yourself. I do believe you will enjoy this.”

  A look of wonderment and delight lit Hailey’s face as Gaia levitated them. Graceful purple mist swirled surrounded them. In the blink of an eye, they, the rest of the Muses and Zeus vanished from sight.

  Thomas ran his warm fingers along the inside of her elbow, turning her to face him. “So Zeus really is your dad?”

  “Uh-huh. Are you ready to take another trip through the Hollow? Our presence at the corporate headquarters is required.”

  In response, Thomas wrapped his arms around her waist, and braced his feet apart. “I’ll go anywhere as long as it’s with you.”

  Blinking away happy tears, Nia moved them into the Hollow after her mother.

  Chapter 25

  Pressure built in Thomas’s head as the sky blue mist consumed them. He squeezed his lips tightly together and pinched his nose to pop his ears. Bright spots of light dotted Nia’s void form and pale rose glowed in the center of her body, pulsing calmly. He glanced down his body, glowing with a simple silver with a spot of cobalt light pulsing weakly where his heart would be.”

  Hailey’s charming giggle reached his ears, and he looked around for her. His sense of direction was wonky. A small burst of anxiety jiggled his heart and tensed his shoulders when he couldn’t automatically track his niece.

  She’s just there. Turn your head to your left. See that small silver form in the midst of the large purple one? That’s Hailey.

  “How do you know for sure?” he asked, his voice curiously muted, as if talking into pillow. He located Hailey, suspended in the midst of a purple haze with a golden center.

  Her answer reverberated pleasantly in his head. All mortals glow silver in the Hollow.

  The tension left his body as her calm voice soothed him. Nia’s mist blanketed him, brushing against his body. Even though, at the moment, her form was basically a cloud, the sensation aroused him. His cock hardened and lengthened. Nia’s soft voice chuckled through his head.

  “You can feel that?”

  Yes, and it feels wonderful.” Warm, salty mist caressed his lips. “But you’d better tame that reaction. We’re almost there and my dad won’t want to see you with a hard-on, you know?”

  He no longer heard Hailey’s giggle and assumed it meant Gaia had arrived at their destination. The air surrounding Thomas intensified, crystalizing into shapes and forms. In the blink of his eyes, Nia’s body transformed, solidifying in his arms. Her lovely face filled his vision, her blue eyes aglow, but pinched with nervousness.

  “You okay?” she asked, her voice low.

  He tightened his grip around her waist and pressed his mouth to hers. The soft satin of her plump lips under his was a heaven he wanted every day. He lifted his head and met her gaze, hoping she’d see the love in his. “I am now.”

  Behind him, a throat was loudly cleared. Pink flashed into her cheeks as she closed her eyes, and drew a deep breath. Thomas craned his head around and spied Zeus slouched in a plush, high backed chair, drumming his fingers on the padded arm.

  Backing away from him, Nia laid her hands on his wrists and stepped out of the circle of his arms. Her red hair bounced on her shoulders when she turned to face her father. A wave of surrealism washed over Thomas. He’d fallen in love with the daughter of the king of gods. That he accepted gods existed as a truth might be the most amazing thing.

  Thomas took his first look at the room they’d landed in. Eight women, every one a red-head, he’d seen at the festival sat around a spectacular conference table with a black granite top. Seven of them sent warm smiles at Nia, the eighth scowled at him. He tipped his head toward the angry woman and offered a smile. She rolled her eyes and flipped open the notebook in front of her.

  “Ignore Callie.” Nia lifted her chin, indicating the glowering woman. “She’s the oldest and has always been crabby. It’s her fault resting bitch face is a thing.”

  Thomas couldn’t help but feel Callie had judged him and found him not quite good enough. Didn’t matter. He wasn’t here for her. Nia and Hailey were his priorities.

  His ears concussed as Gaia popped into the room. Without Hailey.

  Panic arrowed up his torso and speared into his brain. He moved toward Gaia. “Where’s my niece? What have you done with her?” After seeing the crowd at the Institute descend on them and hold Hailey’s tiny body over the edge of the cliff, he wanted her tucked safely against his side.

  Gaia laid her hand on his chest, right over his heart. A warm glow invaded his soul, easing his worry. She patted the spot as she spoke. “Hailey is safe. She’s with Artemis in the childcare center. We didn’t think she should be present for this meeting.”

  “Artemis?” Thomas searched his brain for who that was. Had he met her but didn’t remember? The way he hadn’t remembered Nia?

  “The goddess protector of the vulnerable.” Nia ran her hand over his face, stroking her thumb over his cheekbone. “All the kids love the childcare center Artemis runs for the company. There’s a waiting list to get in.”

  With her hand between his shoulder blades, she urged him into one of the comfortable chairs surrounding the massive table. She took the seat next to his, claimed his hand out of sight, and laced their fingers together.

  A door opened in the paneled wall and a man raced into the room, a helmet stashed under his arm. “Sorry I’m late. I was collecting the latest reports.” He made his way around the table. Extending his hand to Thomas, he grinned. “I’m Hermes. I’m in charge of communications for Olympus. I’ve seen the video feeds of the incident. What you did was astounding, but we have a public relations mess on our hands.”

  Oh lord. Did that helmet have wings on it? This was the messenger god. Thomas did a covert check of the guy’s leg, looking for a matching set of wings. What he saw was expensive Italian loafers and cuffed trousers.

  Hermes smirked at him then twitched his pant leg up, revealing a wing-free ankle. “That part is made up.”

  “Hermes, please take a seat. We do have an agenda to follow. We’ll get to your part shortly.” Zeus’s stentorian tone demanded attention. He turned his stark blue gaze on Thomas. “We must decide what to do about this mortal.”

  Despair flooded her system at Zeus’s words. Nia had already lost Thomas once. The thought of the gods stealing his memories from him again chipped a chink of her heart away. It dropped like a rock into her stomach and settled hard and cold.

  She tightened her grip on Thomas’s warm hand and pleaded with her father. “Zeus, please don’t erase his memory. At least not of me. I’m begging you.”

  “Urania, you must not interfere. Remember, this is a mortal who denied helping.”

  Thomas fidgeted next to
her, his cheeks flushed with ruddy color.

  Zeus turned his gaze toward Nia, but frowned as Gaia lowered gracefully to the seat next to hers. Narrowing his eyes, he pointed to Gaia. “Woman, I do not need your prodding. Of course I’m going to do what is right.”

  “Be sure you do, or you will be sleeping in one of the guest cottages for the foreseeable future,” Gaia replied, cold steel underlying her pleasant tone.

  “Daughter,” Zeus addressed Nia. “Did you do something to restore your mortal’s memory?”

  Hearing him refer to Thomas as her mortal sounded like heaven. Maybe Zeus would ignore his initial refusal and accept her love for the brave man at her side. “I did not. But know this…if I could have, I would. Today was the first time I’ve seen him since that night at the Athenian.”

  Thomas stirred beside her. “You took my memories away, but nobody thought about my niece, Hailey. She remembered Nia and reminded me frequently of her.” He faced her, his expression relaxed and wondrous. “I smelled your perfume on my pillow. And found your hair in my brush. You were never completely out of my thoughts. Even though I didn’t recognize you, I knew you. That by itself is magic.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. She blinked furiously to keep them from falling. She’d managed to make him believe in the power of magic, but at what cost? The public relations snafu Hermes referred to bloomed in her mind. Thomas had a wide platform of social acceptance thanks to the popularity of his television show. And now, he knew the reality of deities. For thousands of years their true purpose, to watch over and inspire mortals, had remained a closely guarded corporate secret. Thomas could expose them all.

  Better that his memories were erased. His and Hailey’s.

  Desolation bulldozed her spirit. She slumped against the padded back of her chair. “You’re going to have to remove the knowledge of gods and Olympus from his mind.” She covered her face with a trembling hand. “That first good-bye at the Athenian nearly destroyed me. Having to go through it again surely will.”

  “Quit being such a drama queen,” Mel scoffed, her laughter filling the air.

  “That’s rich, coming from the Muse of Theatrics,” Clio retorted. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Mel, who fidgeted in her seat in response.

  Zeus slapped a thunderous hand on the granite tabletop. “Daughters! You are not so old that I can’t punish your misbehavior.” He stared at each woman in turn, even pinning a quelling look on Gaia. “Where the Hades is Atlas?”

  The door swept open again, admitting Atlas with Ken on his heels. “I’m here. Sorry, we had to double-check our calculations. Without Nia’s help we got stuck with the gravity aspect.” Atlas hustled across the slate floor toward Nia. After handing a sheaf of papers to her, he delivered another set to Zeus.

  The paper whispered softly as Nia flipped through the report Atlas and Ken had pulled together in record time. While she studied it, Mars materialized from the Hollow. He went directly to Zeus’s side, bent low and spoke quietly into his ear.

  “What’s going on?” Thomas asked, his voice low and meant for her ears only.

  Nia set the papers on the table and laid her hand on them. “Remember I explained that the coronal burst a few weeks ago had misaligned the moon?”

  “That was real?”

  “Thomas, none of this has been made up.”

  “Sorry, it just seemed like, well, not possible.”

  “It was most definitely possible.” Eyeing the whispered conference between Mars and her father, she tapped the report in front of her. “It appears in the instant you believed in magic, gravity released its grip on the world. Did you feel it?”

  “Like a floating feeling? I thought that was because I’d held your arm while you were doing whatever it was that you did to put the crowd to sleep.”

  There was that. It was a memory she could hold dear while she spent the rest of this lifetime alone. And missed him desperately in the next ten or hundred. She crushed the thoughts before they made her cry. “I’m not sure why it worked that you were able to help me. But the instant you locked your hand on my arm, all my energy focused on the task.”

  “The power of love, baby.” He pecked her cheek. “But what happened when we were all sort of floating?”

  Desire bloomed through her at the touch of his lips. She fought to remember his question. “Without gravity to restrain his effort, Atlas shrugged the moon back into the correct orbit. That eliminated all but the most basic mayhem. The stuff you’d generally see during a full moon.” She dropped her chin and peeked up at him through her eyelashes. “Do you remember the challenge?”

  “You said you had to lead a man…me, to believe in magic or all of the Muses would become magpies. It’s a good sign you aren’t a bird, right?”

  “Very good. We won this round. But Pierus isn’t done. He’ll be back to challenge another one of us.”

  “Can’t something be done about him?”

  “Zeus has a meeting with Dice next week. She’s the Goddess of Justice. We are going to seek legal respite from Pierus’s take-over attempt.” She sat up straighter as Zeus waved Mars away.

  Her father was pale and haggard looking, like the stress from the battle had rooted in him. Concern trumpeted through Nia as she tossed her mother a look. Worry had etched into Gaia’s face, bracketing her mouth with pained lines.

  “Father, are you well?” Nia questioned, her voice soft.

  “I’m fine.” Smiling weakly, Zeus surged upright in his chair. “Mars reports that as of a short while ago, most of the lunacy among mortals has ceased. Order has been restored, no one recorded any of the occurrences on their cellphones, thanks to Nia’s quick action.” He beamed at her.

  Polly slapped her phone on the table. “The station just uploaded video to our cloud. I’ve reviewed the footage and it shows only typical festival activities. No film was captured at the observation deck.”

  “Mayhem has been released into the aviary with Tyranny,” Mars reported. “When I left them, they were pecking each other. Typical sibling rivalry.”

  “It appears we’ve won this challenge,” Zeus intoned, his deep voice reverberating in the room. He turned his gaze on Thomas. “Now we must decide how to proceed with Mr. Wilde.”

  Nia tensed. “Do we need to rob him of his memories?”

  “Daughter, he is a public figure. He has a wide platform that exposes and debunks myths and legends. Like us.”

  “I won’t expose your secrets.” Leaning forward, Thomas looked at Nia with assurance and confidence in his eyes. He turned his attention to Zeus. “I want to spend the rest of my life protecting your daughter, all of your daughters, from scrutiny.”

  Zeus shook his head. “You have no idea what that entails.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’d do anything for Nia.” Thomas slid his fingers through hers. “I want to marry her. If she’ll have me after I refused to help at first.”

  Happiness charged up from her belly and wrapped around her heart. She smiled through the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. “She’ll have you.” But would he still want her after they wiped his memories clean?

  “Probably should have asked your dad first, though.” Thomas shrugged and glanced at Zeus, one brow raised. “I want to marry your daughter, sir. With your permission.”

  Zeus held his peace while Gaia hugged her from the side.

  Gaia projected a quiet thought into Nia’s head. He’ll agree. I’ll see to it.

  “It is not just you we must worry about.” Zeus studied his hands. “Your niece is aware of our existence as immortals as well. She’s travelled through the Hollow. Without the benefit of slumber.”

  “Things were a bit crazy at the observation deck. You can’t expect me to remember everything.” Gaia’s tone was sharp as she defended her neglect to put Hailey to sleep on the trip.

  Zeus lifted his hand, palm out, and then resumed drumming his fingers on the armrest. He studied Thomas through narrowed eyes.

  He hadn’t d
enied Thomas’s request, nor hers to leave Thomas’s memories alone. Nia crossed her fingers under the table and prayed for a miracle.

  Tucking one of her hands through his elbow, Thomas folded his arms on the table. “Has this been done on a child before?”

  “This is one answer I do not have. But know this—we have never intentionally hurt a child before. We would take great care to avoid harming Hailey, son.”

  There it was. Son. A sure sign Zeus had accepted Thomas. Giddy lightness stole through her system.

  “You understand that her well-being is my immediate concern. She’s already suffered great loss in her life at the hands of terrorists. I will do what it takes to protect her.”

  Zeus bristled. “Are you comparing me to a terrorist?”

  Nia bit back the groan in the back of her throat. One step forward seemed destined for a giant stumble back.

  “Not at all. I simply want to ensure my child remains happy and healthy as part of this family.” He stroked his thumb over the back of Nia’s knuckles. “If we can selectively remove memories, I’m all for it. I distinctly remember Nia telling me that Hailey was in danger and to keep her safe. That memory stuck with me at crunch time. Can we do that?”

  “We must wait until Mnemosyne arrives,” Gaia chimed in. “To attempt to answer now would be futile.”

  “Is there other business to attend to?” If not, Nia was ready to head for home. Well, Thomas’s house anyway. She’d induce slumber in Hailey to move her through the Hollow again. One less memory they’d have to deal with down the road.

  “One final thing. I granted Jax an immortal lifetime in sync with Clio’s. I would gift this to Thomas as well. If he wishes.” A smile jumped in Zeus’s eyes, but he kept it off his lips.

  Happiness fizzed sparkler-bright within her. Tears gathered behind her eyes and she blinked hard as a smile blossomed on her face.