“She’s learning fast, isn’t she, Dad?” Lucas called out.
“Much better than her first landing,” Castor replied jovially, then turned to Helen. “Glad to see you’ve stopped trying to impersonate a comet.”
“Yeah. I’ve also decided to do all my landings conscious from now on. Saves on food costs,” Helen returned amiably, glad that it was too dark for them to see her blush. She smiled at Pallas but he didn’t laugh, or even return her smile. He just watched.
“Very wise of you,” Castor said. “By the way, you’d better not be planning any side trips, Lucas,” he added in warning. “Your mom’s almost done with dinner and she’s not in the mood to wait for anyone tonight.”
“Duly noted. Thanks for the heads-up,” Lucas said as he led Helen back toward the house. By the way Lucas was rushing her along it seemed as if he was purposely avoiding his father and uncle. Either that or he was keeping Helen away from them.
“Okay, what’s going on?” she asked as soon as they got into the dark garage and closed the door behind them. “Your uncle is really weird around me. What did he find out in Europe?”
“No one’s heard of you over there—or at least no one is talking about you. My uncle Pallas came home because he was following Creon here, but as far as we know Creon came to the States without telling his family. We think he just wants to keep an eye on us—on Hector, mostly,” Lucas said with a dark look on his face.
“Did your uncle learn anything about those two women? The ones who attacked me?” Helen whispered tensely.
“No, that’s still a mystery. None of Uncle Pallas’s contacts know anything about them. We don’t think Tantalus knows about you yet, but no one has seen Tantalus in years, so it’s difficult to say for sure what he’s got planned.”
“No one’sseenTantalus?” Helen asked, stunned. “How does he lead, then?”
“Through his wife. She’s the one who gives all the orders to the Hundred Cousins, and has been for almost nineteen years now.”
“Why?”
“It’s a long story,” Lucas said, frowning and looking down. Helen could tell that meant that it was an important story.
“My favorite kind,” she said, angling her head so she could catch his downcast eyes. When she did, she smiled coaxingly at him until he gave in. Lucas took her hand absentmindedly and started playing with her fingers as he spoke.
“My father had another brother. He was the youngest of the boys and everyone’s favorite. Even Tantalus loved him the most,” he said with a grimace, as if he had a hard time believing Tantalus loved much of anything. “His name was Ajax.”
“What happened to him? Did he die?” Helen asked carefully. Lucas nodded.
“He was murdered. By someone he couldn’t stay away from,” he said quickly. Frustrated, he brushed a hand over his face before he continued. “Anyway. When Ajax was killed, my uncle Tantalus went into hiding to protect himself. As head of the House, he feared being overthrown. After that, all of his orders either came in writing or through his wife, Mildred. But no one has seen him in person since then.”
“Mildred? That’s not a Greek name.”
“She’s normal, of course,” Lucas said with a raised eyebrow. “Scions from other Houses usually send us into a murderous rage, remember? Not exactly good for a marriage. And the only other option would be for us to marry our cousins.”
“Oh, right. Forgot about the Furies for a sec. And with just one House left the only Scions around are related to you. Gross,” Helen said, rolling her eyes at herself for missing such glaringly obvious points.
“You’re not related to me,” he whispered, gently pulling on her hand to bring her closer to him. Then, abruptly, he turned and started leading her through the garage.
They could have walked in a straight line around the edge, but instead Lucas chose to bring her through the maze of cars. Right before they got to the door that led into the kitchen he slowed and turned back around to face her with a smile. She could hear his elevated breathing and his hand felt light in hers. For just a moment he pulled toward her, as if he were looking for a way to scuff his chest across hers and fall against her mouth, but at the last moment he turned away and brought her inside the house as if nothing was going on.
And maybe nothing was. Helen was so confused. But as soon as they entered the kitchen she had other things to worry about. Like tinnitus. In an instant, she understood why Castor and Pallas had gone outside to talk. It was really noisy in there.
Noel was working her magic over the stove, and the rest of the family seemed to be collecting around her as inevitably as water running downhill. All the chairs were taken, and the standing room up against the counter was constantly changing as Noel whirled and bullied her way around her work space. Everyone was talking and laughing and arguing at the same time, and although Helen couldn’t understand a word, somehow they all seemed to be understanding each other. It was a Delos symphony, and Noel was the maestro.
As an outsider, Helen could see Noel for what she was—the center of the family, the beating heart that fed all that muscle she was tripping over while she was trying to cook. She was the personification of a warm fire and an open door, and she welcomed, even expected, strays like Helen to wander in and eat her food.
“There you are,” she said without looking up from the stove. “I called your father and invited him over for dinner. I figured you’d be too worn out to do any cooking yourself.” She turned the vegetables she was sautéing with a deft flick of her wrist, just like Helen had seen celebrity chefs do on TV. Helen had always wanted to learn that move, and for a moment her slightly shell-shocked brain was distracted by it. Then she registered that Noel had been talking to her.
“You invited my dad?” Helen asked shrilly.
“I sure did. Pallas is finally home, and since you’re going to be spending a lot of time at our house to train I’ve decided it’s time our families met each other. I asked Jerry to bring your Kate as well, but she’s working at the store tonight, so that will have to wait. Your dad’s going to be here in about fifteen minutes, so if there’s anything you need to brush or wash first,” she said, finally turning around to inspect the windswept girl standing in her kitchen wearing clothes that were about four sizes too big for her, “I’d do it quick,” she finished with a knowing smile.
Helen looked down at her grass-stained feet. She tried to run a hand through her hair, and squeaked with pain when all the short hairs on the back of her neck got yanked out. Ariadne laughed.
“You look like you’ve been dragged through a bush backward. But I can fix that.” Ariadne stood up, pried Helen’s hand away from Lucas’s, and dragged her out of the kitchen.
