Page 14 of Immortal Sun (Dark Olympus)

CHAPTER 14

CLEO

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find how how far one can go.” –T.S. Eliot

I wake up still annoyed by Cyrus. He has these weird moments of clarity. Just watching him talk while the flames from the fire lit up his face was like watching poetry. He’s so beautiful and articulate, yet he can be so cold.

I turn off my alarm and check my texts.

Apep Kaos

Good news, he’s alive. Someone saw him hiking through the mountains just five days ago, and a bartender said he came in for a beer that same day looking pretty rugged. Unless he fell into the water between then and now. We’ll find him. Any details from you would be appreciated.

I text back right away.

Me

All I know is he said he found some sort of artifact in a cave. Oh, and he said he found clues about our father whatever that means.

Apep Kaos

I’ll look into it further. But this is good news.

Tears fill my eyes.

Me

I don’t know what I would do without you.

Apep Kaos

I’m sure one day I’ll need a cup of sugar or something, don’t even worry about it, Cleo.

I don’t know what Cyrus is talking about, but Apep really is nice and helpful. Then again, there are so many things that don’t make sense with Cyrus, that’s a whole Pandora’s box I need to stay far, far away from.

Ugh, I get ready for the day, snatch my phone, put my hair in a ponytail last minute and jog down the stairs. Bast is nowhere to be found, but the dining room smells like bacon and coffee. I almost float into the room on a cloud. I’ve been so hungry in this place that it’s driving me crazy, maybe it’s because it’s freezing cold inside this castle of a house?

I shiver and reach for a mug, then pour my coffee and grab a plate for bacon and eggs.

I would never admit it to the grumpy guy, but it is nice having hot food every morning just waiting for me. And whatever they put in their coffee tastes so sweet and robust that it’s hard not to drink it faster.

I’m just getting ready to sit down when Cyrus walks into the room. I almost spit out my coffee. He’s in nothing but low-slung gray Nike sweats and black running shoes. Sweat drips off every inch of his body and he has ear pods in.

What sort of music does someone that unhappy listen to, anyway?

He grabs a piece of bacon and shoves the entire thing into his mouth, then he pours coffee into a mug and chugs it despite how hot it is. I could swear I see steam come from his lips, but that would be crazy. I mean I guess if he’s that hot, physically, it could be possible but the coffee is hot too. So maybe not.

He looks over his shoulder at me. No smile. Just intense eye contact. He tugs out one ear pod and tosses it in his hand. “Sorry, didn’t see you.”

“That’s okay.” My voice is way too breathless. I keep my eyes locked on him, so I don’t look at all his bulging muscles and impressive six pack. Why are the mean ones always so nice to look at? “Did you go for a run?”

“A swim.” He shrugs. “Then a run.”

“You have a pool?”

He smirks. “No, but we do have an ocean.”

“I thought we weren’t supposed to take risks on the island.” I lift my mug to my lips. He’s at my side in a flash. How does someone so big move so fast? He towers over me and gently lifts my mug out of my grasp then sets it down, his fingertips grazing mine in the process. “I kept my eyes closed so the salt wouldn’t get it and wore a wet suit.”

He leans in.

Breath gets caught in my throat. He smells like the sea, like sweat, like war. I finally gaze into his eyes. Ships burn across the sea, darkness descends as fire falls from the sky.

I jerk away from him.

He takes a step back. “Why don’t you take the day, grab some warmer clothes, and enjoy yourself?”

My jaw drops. “But last night, I thought?—”

“Sorry. Like I said, it was a rough day. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. Go downtown,” he suggests as he tosses a company credit card onto the table. . “It has no limit. Grab some clothes, grab some food—“ He jabs a finger in my direction. “Whatever you do, don’t go to Apep, that’s the only rule.”

Ah, lovely, he’s controlling me with money. Can’t say I’m surprised. Clearly, his lecture didn’t work so now he’s trying with a black credit card.

I grab it and stand. “Yeah, I think I’ll do that.”

I try to walk past him. He grabs me by the arm, holding me next to his massive body. “Be careful.”

“What’s going to happen to me?” I shrug away from him. “I’m just a visiting college student.”

“Exactly,” he whispers and walks out of the dining room.

I run to my room and grab my purse then start my walk toward town.

A car pulls up next to me once I’m a few minutes from town.

The window rolls down to reveal Enki. “Need a ride?”

“Are you going to feed me bad wine and killer cinnamon rolls?”

He bursts out laughing. “Do you want me to?”

“Nope.” I grin. “But I will take that ride.”

“Yeah, you will.” He winks. “Get in.”

I roll my eyes and get in his black Escalade. It’s warm. I hold my hands up to the vents and rub them together. “Apparently I need warmer clothes.”

“Ah, Cyrus sent you out shopping, that’s new.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” he says quickly. “I know just the place. That is, if you’re adventurous enough to go up there.”

“There?”

He points to the middle of the village as we pull up and park. “See that trail on the opposite end of the small café?”

I lean in and look at where he’s pointing. It’s clearly marked “The Trail of the Dead” in English. I glance at him, one eyebrow raised.

“Don’t worry they just label it that way so tourists don’t go up there, but at the very top of the hill there’s a local store that sells just about everything. The owners like to keep to themselves. They built it in an old house of worship.”

“What did they worship there?”

His face falls. “The Egyptian gods.”

“Do they still worship there?”

“During the winter, sacrifices are made up there to prepare for the following harvest, it’s tradition. But human sacrifices? They did away with those a long time ago.”

Eyes wide, jaw dropped, I stare at him.

He offers a throaty laugh. “I’m kidding, it’s always been animal blood.”

“Oh.” I awkwardly return his laugh. “Did you want to come with me?”

“Some journeys you have to take on your own.” He pats me on the thigh. “And my journey is leading me to the bar, not shopping.”

“Of course it is.”

He chuckles. “If I’m still here when you’re done, I’ll take you back up to the manor.”

I shrug. “Enjoy your drinks, I’m gonna take my time.”

“Good plan.” He nods. “Good plan. Oh, and Cleo?”

I’m already reaching for the door handle. “Yeah?”

“They don’t speak, so don’t make it weird.”

“Because they don’t like people?”

He looks up at the hill then back to me, his profile so sharp that it’s unreal. His messy golden-brown hair is tucked behind his ears, and he’s wearing Under Armor workout clothes, all black except for a green stripe down his pants and green shoes. “Well, it’s not really my story to tell, but rumor has it that the gods cut their tongues out so they wouldn’t tell people the secrets of Olympus. Things, you see, in mythology, were often passed down through stories around the fire. The stories in them are ones nobody should speak of…or hear.”

A chill runs down my spine. “On that creepy note.”

Another laugh. “You’ll be fine. Off you go!”

I hop out of the SUV and slam the door shut. “Thanks, Enki!”

He inclines his head, and I’m already making my way toward the path. Villagers walk around me like I have the plague and when I’m finally at the trail opening, I look over my shoulder and everyone has stopped, like actually stopped walking. They’re watching me.

If Enki is tricking me, I’m going to murder him.

I take my first step on the trail and suddenly feel warm again. The hike doesn’t take long. Brush has been cleared from the path, and I’m surrounded by jagged angry rocks, trees that seem just as tall as the mountains, and so many flowers that I’m wondering how they can survive in such crazy weather.

By the time I make it to the top of the hill, I can already see the small store. Smoke comes out of the chimney and trails into the sky. The building looks like a little hunting cabin. The symbol of a large scarab is burned onto the door. Normally that means power and rebirth. Interesting.

Am I allowed to just walk in? I feel like I should knock. So I do both. I knock, then I open the door.

It’s like the entire cabin goes on for miles, which can’t be right, maybe I just didn’t notice because I was looking at it from the front, not the side.

It’s two stories. On the left are different sorts of metal weapons in a glass case, next to sunglasses and sunscreen, followed by towels, little beach toys, candy bars, and on the right snow pants, large cable knit sweaters, stuffed animals. They honestly have it all, including several sculptures and rocks in the far corner.

“ Hello? Anyone here?” I ask, not too loud. “I mean, sorry, the door was open, I’m here to buy some clothes.”

The sound of someone shuffling across the floor has my ears buzzing in anticipation. The sound hits from left to right, though, so I can’t really tell which direction the shuffling is coming from.

Suddenly, a small person appears down the aisle on the right. She’s hunched over with a cane. Her hair is bright white, and her eyes are a sparkling blue when they finally lock onto my gaze. She’s maybe four feet tall, and that’s being generous. Despite her white hair, she has zero wrinkles on her face. Her skin is so smooth I’m almost jealous. Her smile is wide and mischievous. She holds out her hand.

“You want me to take your hand?” I ask.

She nods twice.

I place my hand in hers. She’s warm, and for some reason, I can feel that she’s happy, really happy to see me.

That’s weird.

We walk slowly to the back of the store. She raises her cane and points at a white cable knit sweater, some fur-lined leggings, another sweater, this one red, then a black beanie and some gloves. Then she stops, resting her cane against the wall. I grab everything in my size while she slowly reaches for a display. It has necklaces and bracelets of every shape, size, and color.

Her eyes close. She holds out her hand again. I take it, enjoying the warmth and her joy.

Her other hand hovers over two necklaces, she goes back and forth until finally grabbing a simple silver chain with a charm. She dangles it in front of me, and then raises her hand to point to the roof—or the sky? Then she gives it to me.

The chain is frigid, but the charm’s hot. Strange. I look at it closer. It’s the ankh, one of the most powerful symbols in Egyptian mythology. It’s a gold cross with a bow on top of it. It’s the concept of life, the morning sun. It burns through my palm like it’s trying to etch itself on my person.

I look up, but she’s already slowly walking to the front of the store with her cane. I follow her and set my things on the counter. She says nothing, just rings me up, and puts everything in a bag. Then she grabs her cane and walks around to me.

I incline my head. “Thank you.”

She mimics my movement, then closes her eyes and inhales deeply. On her exhale, every single nerve in my body comes alive. She pushes her hands together then reaches her left hand toward me.

I don’t move as she presses a thumb between my eyes and draws a cross on my forehead with her fingertip ending it with the bow of the ankh on top.

Frowning, I jerk back, but she smiles and walks away with her cane, leaving me wondering what the hell just happened. I grab my bag and walk out of the store. By the time I’m back on the trail it’s only been a few minutes. I look over my shoulder and almost trip.

The small cabin is gone.

As if it never existed.

I tear through my bag, all my purchases are there, including the necklace, and when I check the receipt it looks completely normal—except she didn’t charge me for the necklace at all. And there’s no way I can go back and ask.

Am I going crazy?

Maybe it’s just hidden behind the trees, but even as I try to convince myself of that while I quickly jog down the trail, I realize I know what I saw. I’m a logical person and that made no sense.

I’m still reeling when I make it into town. That’s not just weird. It’s impossible, right? Am I dreaming? Did Enki feed me something? I’m not paying attention when I walk through the square. When I finally do look up, it’s to see every single person in the square holding up their hands in a praying motion as I walk by them just like the lady in the disappearing store.

I’m more than freaked out when I notice that even small children are doing it as I pass. I go from walking, to jogging, to full on running with my bag away from town and toward the house.

Something isn’t right.

And the only person who can probably give me insight is Cyrus. I make it to the road, and ten minutes later, I see Cyrus walk out of the house. I’m ready to yell his name and wave, when he slams his hand against the tree and keeps walking. He’s clearly pissed—again.

He goes to the cliff and starts walking down the trail. By the time I get to the edge of the cliff and hunch down, he’s already at the beach in front of the house. He gets in a state-of-the-art boat and heads toward the island.

Frowning, I watch as, minutes later, he ties the boat up on the single dock and disappears into the forest.

The sea rages.

And then it rests.

It rages again.

Another tree gets thrown from the island.

And then nothing but silence.

A few minutes later, Cyrus appears again by the boat, and I assume he’s going to get in it.

Instead, he sits on a rock and watches the water. He closes his eyes and then looks up at the sky and reaches his hand up, slowly flames appear on his fingertips before he drives a large flame across the top of the water back to the house, only for it to disappear again.

I stumble back.

Clearly, I’m seeing things.

That’s what I tell myself, so I don’t freak out and lose my mind.

He does it again…and again.

Each wave carries the flame like it was born to. Does he know I’m watching him?

I’m suddenly terrified—no, that’s not the right word—I’m hallucinating and thinking I need to get treatment. Hands shaking, body trembling, I grab onto the tree for comfort while Rat runs around my feet squealing as if to say he’s panicked too.

I can’t breathe.

I can’t think.

Am I sick?

Is something wrong with me?

First the disappearing shop and now this?

Cyrus stands, throws his jacket back like he’s annoyed it’s heavy, and starts walking decisively across the flames that suddenly carry him across the Sound.

“This isn’t real,” I whisper to myself. “None of this is real, I’m in a coma or something.” I smack my thigh then pinch my arm.

Rat stops moving. He sits by my feet and watches while I move towards the rocky edge.

Bast somehow makes it out to me and walks, slowly, resolutely toward the cliff and sits, like he’s waiting for his owner, like this is normal.

My voice is stuck in my throat as Cyrus moves across the flames, his coat blowing in the wind, his expression fierce. Oh, shit his coat is on fire too!

He’s angry.

An angry god among men.

Reality is gone.

All I have is fantasy.

All I have is him walking.

I start to count the steps he takes to keep myself from screaming, from freaking out, calling the cops, from getting admitted to the psych ward.

My hands can’t help but cling to the rock harder like it can somehow anchor me in my own reality rather than this.

Cyrus stops halfway on the flaming bridge and looks up. I half expect fire to start falling from the sky, but instead he kneels on both knees like he’s about to pray, immersed in both flame and water.

The sky rains fire.

And while I’m watching, he opens his eyes. They lock onto mine, and I’m burning in them.

Singed alive with the heat of them.

I start to walk.

And I don’t stop until I’m at the cliff, near the path’s edge, standing.

Bast meows at my feet.

Rat nips at my ankles.

I take the first stair.

The second.

I take the third, and I don’t move my gaze from Cyrus’s. His eyes swirl with madness.

And something tells me, that in seeking his wrath, I’ll finally be free.