The ride back to the Campbell town house wasn't exactly a fun time for all. After refusing to have anything to do with a MacDonald, doctor or not, Jerry was trying to be the stoic warrior. Cait had strapped him into the seat belt which he'd endured with only a few choice words for the way she'd made it too tight, then she'd announced she was going to catch a ride later with Bart after she discussed Jerry's case with him. That left me in the driver's seat. You can imagine what Jer thought about that.
"Are you sure you know how to run this machine?" he finally asked after I'd bumped the post for the fourth time.
How the hell had Cait gotten this car into the tiny parking space? I wasn't all that current on shifting gears either and the car kept groaning objections and dying.
"I've got this, give me a minute." I tapped the car in front of us and its alarm went off. Fantastic. I backed up quickly, made a hard turn then managed to get us out of there before an angry car owner came out to check on his Bentley. Yes, this was an expensive neighborhood. As far as I could tell, I hadn't done more than dust his bumper.
"There. We're on our way." I made a grinding shift into second and hit the gas. "You all right?" A glance showed me he really wasn't. If his brain had been in this century, he would have been livid about how I made his Jag suffer through my gear shifting.
"What happened to all the horses?" He held on to the strap that dangled by the window, his other hand braced on the dashboard when I made a turn.
"People still enjoy horses. As a hobby." I stopped for a red light, the car died, and started rolling downhill. Edinburgh is all hills. Not exactly where I'd have chosen to relearn standard transmissions. Damn. I put both feet on the brake while I waited for the light to change before I started the engine again. "There are still race courses and events where people show off their horsemanship. But horses aren't used for transportation anymore." Green light. I got us going again, barely. It took a minute or two and the car behind me blasted his horn when I almost rolled back into his front bumper.
"What's that noise?" Jerry grimaced, his head obviously still hurting.
"An ass who wants me to go faster." I sped up. "You're still having headaches. Maybe that means you're trying to remember."
"Of course I'm trying to remember!" he shouted, his hand inadvertently bumping the gear shift during one of my wide corner turns. "Damn it, Gloriana. Slow this monster down."
"Sorry." I pulled over and stopped to study his pale face. He'd looked almost ruddy right after he'd fed. Now he was fading again. So soon. "Really sorry. I know this is hell. I can't even imagine it. Well, I sort of have a clue. A guy I knew once made me forget we were ever together. Seems he just erased a year of my life." I shook my head. "But that's not nearly the same."
"Another man? How many have there been when we were supposed to be in love for centuries?" He leaned back against the glass. "Fill in some of the blanks in my memory, Gloriana. This relationship we had. How was it?"
"We took breaks from time to time, Jerry. You would see other women. I would see other men." I looked out at the dark street, remembering. It beat me if I could understand now why I'd been so dead set on my independence. Surely we could have worked out a compromise without going our separate ways.
"That doesn't sound like love to me. What happened to being faithful? Vows?" He bumped his knees against the dash. "I have to get out of this thing. How far are we from the town house? This area looks familiar. It must not have changed that much since...You know."
"No, it hasn't changed in centuries. The Campbell town house is just up that hill." And the hill wasn't doing me any favors again. My legs ached with the effort to keep from coasting back when I needed to go forward. "Go ahead. Get out. And this 'thing' is your luxury vehicle that costs more than my shop makes in profit in a year." The car died again and I pulled up the emergency brake. I opened his seat belt and he reacted like he'd been released from a straightjacket.
"There. Now you can walk. I'll drive and meet you there. You'll recognize the place. The old stone buildings are historic, preserved exactly as they were back in the day." I knew I had to give him some space but hated to see him distance himself again. He fumbled with the door latch and succeeded in making the window go up and down a few times before finally managing to open the door.
"They were built to last. I guess Da put more effort into keeping the town house in shape than he did the castle since we're staying there." It wasn't a question. Jerry climbed out, slammed the car door and strode away.
I started the car again, tried not to strip the gears and drove on up the hill, keeping an eye on Jerry in my rearview mirror. When I pulled up in front of the door, a servant came out to greet me and put the car in the garage. I just stood there, waiting.
"A letter came for you, Ms. St. Clair." The servant handed me a thick envelope then got in and drove the car around to the back.
I turned the envelope over and saw a strange seal impressed into red wax. It was right out of an ancient playbook. Olympus? I broke the seal and pulled out an engraved invitation.
"The pleasure of your company is requested at nine o'clock tomorrow night. A car has been arranged to collect you. Semi-formal attire."
I couldn't believe it. My mother certainly worked fast. Couldn't her guy have at least given his name? I really, really wanted to decline this "invitation." Ha. It was more like a command performance. There was no place to RSVP. If I was a no-show, I was sure there would be consequences. To Jerry. Who would stab him this time? Or would she go straight for the lightning bolts?
He walked up just then, his face tight with pain.
"At least it looks the same. But I'm sure it will be filled with all manner of things that I don't understand." He followed me inside. "Bart tried to explain some of them on the ride to Edinburgh. Televisions. Telephones. Airplanes. No wonder my head aches. There is too much to try to understand."
"You're right. You should probably just go to bed. Rest."
"I feel like less than a man, Gloriana." He stopped with his hand on the newel post. "Bloody hell. I am less than one if I would tell a woman such a thing."
"No, it's all right. I'm glad you can share your feelings with me." I slipped my hands around his waist and looked up at him. "You're all man. My man. I just wish you could remember that. You've been my rock. Everything to me. You've saved me from so many horrible things, Jerry." I kissed his lips, thrilled when he just took it, didn't shrug away.
"You have always been a warrior. It's why we had to take breaks from time to time. I...I just didn't have it in me to be a meek woman who let a man take charge." I leaned my head against his chest. "I felt like I'd lose myself if I let you always take care of me."
"That's nonsense. I don't think I'd like a weak woman. Hate sniveling creatures afraid of their own shadows. I remember that much." He actually brushed his hand over my hair. "I'm glad to hear that I wasn't worthless. Not a brute either, I hope. Though lately I've been so bloody angry. Not sure I can keep my temper in check once I lose it. It's a bad feeling."
"You'd never lay a hand on me." I leaned back and made sure he knew I meant this, from my heart. "You were protective, possessive but not obsessive. It's taken me a long time to realize the difference. It's one of the reasons I came crawling across an ocean to see you."
"Crawling across an ocean? You really do talk strangely, woman." He smiled and leaned his cheek against my hair. "I am so damned tired of not knowing. Not knowing who I am. Where the hell I am. Who we are to each other."
"It's okay, Jerry. Start over. Pretend we just met." I stepped back and put out my hand. "I'm Gloriana St. Clair. I run a vintage clothing shop in Austin, Texas, in America. I love shopping and hate doing the books, though I can balance my checkbook."
"Jeremiah Campbell, lately from Castle Campbell in the Highlands of Scotland. I can sit a horse and, when the bagpipes call me, can dance with a sword if given enough whiskey."
"Really? I've never seen you dance, Jer."
"I guess you've never seen me drink enough whiskey then, lass." He grinned and picked up my hand. "Now I'll take one of your kisses before I go to bed. I know I've still got an hour or more before dawn but this damned head won't quit aching."
"I understand." I moved in and put my arms around his neck, happier than I'd been since he'd greeted me at my car when I'd first arrived. A fresh start. If I could just win his heart again...I'd done it once. Who was to say I couldn't do it again? I slid a fingertip around one of his ears and up into his thick curls. "A kiss. I think I can spare one."
He leaned down and met my lips with his, pulling me in until I felt his body hard against me. My undead heart pounded and I wanted to pull up his shirt so I could feel his skin, dip my hand inside his jeans to tease his stomach and lower, where I felt him stir. No, we were going to get to know each other and it should be slowly. He tasted of the whiskey he'd had earlier and I quite liked it. I hummed my pleasure and tightened my grip on his hair.
He pulled back, his cheeks flushed for the first time in hours. "Gloriana. I wish I could remember. Please believe that."
"I know you're trying." I ran my hand over his rough cheek, my stomach turning with the knowledge that, even with the poison out of his system, he still couldn't or wouldn't recall me. "Relax and let this happen in its own time. I believe in us and that we are meant to be."
He leaned down and kissed me again. This time I felt his urgency, like he was trying to push a memory out of his muddled brain. Finally he gave up and put me from him. "Good night, Gloriana."
I stood there at the bottom of the stairs, my hand on my swollen lips. "Good night, Jeremiah." Close. It had felt close that time. Or was I inventing something that only existed in my mind?
"The servants said you got a package. From an expensive boutique." Caitlin set it on the coffee table in front of me. "What's up, Glory? Why haven't you opened it?"
I'd been avoiding Jerry's sister since sunset. She'd probably have a million questions about my "mother." I'd left my stained blouse at Bart's with a note, asking him to test it for a match to my DNA. Using one of the doctor's scalpels, I'd smeared my own blood on the other side of the blouse. Bart could toss the blouse when he was done with it. Hopefully the doctor wouldn't ask questions about the test. Yeah, right.
"It's probably a gift from my mother. I really don't want to be obligated. But, then again, maybe she owes me. I didn't exactly have a happy childhood. Not that I can remember it. Seems amnesia is an Olympus favorite." I ripped open the package and pulled out a gorgeous red dress, the kind I'd always dreamed of having. I couldn't believe it even came in my size. But a quick check in the neckline assured me it did. The red silk was soft and cut to show off my curves without hugging them too tightly. The note inside was brief: "Wear this tonight." No need to sign it. Of course my mother had sent it. So what? I wasn't about to turn down something so expensive or so beautiful.
"Wow. Tonight? What's happening tonight?" Of course Cait had read the note over my shoulder.
"I have to go out. Family obligation. To get my mother off my back. You didn't tell anyone about her, did you, Cait?" I shut the box.
"Tell anyone about who?" Jerry stood in the doorway, Bart by his side.
"Tell them, Glory." Cait grabbed my hand. "I don't feel right keeping this from either one of them. And Bart showed me the blouse you left there. I helped him run the DNA tests. They were a match. The bitch is your mother, there's no denying it."
"Mother? Gloriana, what is this about? Have I forgotten you have a mother still around?" Jerry walked over to sit in a chair across from me. "What is DNA?"
"You didn't forget her. This is a new development. Not a good one either. As for DNA, it's something in our blood. Bart could probably explain it in scientific terms but I doubt we'd understand a word of it." I smiled at the doctor. "Anyway, nowadays we can do a blood test to prove if someone is related to us or not. This woman appeared recently and has been claiming to be my mother. Last night she gave me a blood sample. I asked Bart to run the test to check out her story." I glanced at Bart.
"She's your mother all right. Or a very close relative. No doubt about it. The markers were all there." He smiled. "Cait's a witness. Must say the blood is interesting. Not like any I've examined before. I'm glad to have a sample. Bet her powers are off the charts."
"No kidding. She's the one who fried my favorite pair of shoes." Cait shook her head. "You really don't want to run into her in a dark alley. Right, Glory?"
"She's a certified bitch." I glanced upward. I was taking a chance, talking smack about her; she could be tuned in right now. Hopefully not. Maybe she was still trying to coerce one of the Olympus single guys into showing up tonight for this blind date. Why would any of them be willing? With a vampire? Even with my goddess connections I wasn't exactly in their league. Look at the dress she'd sent me, four sizes bigger than what she wore, no doubt about it.
"Tell them the worst, Glory. It might help Bart with Jerry's cure." Cait got up to stand beside the doctor. I could see that they were developing a relationship. Their body language screamed hot chemistry.
I glared at her. There was no way spilling beans about my mother's reason for poisoning Jerry would help anyone, and it was bound to ruin my tenuous start with my man.
"Spit it out, Gloriana. What is the worst?" Jerry leaned forward. "Is your mother involved in this somehow?"
Jerry might have memory issues, but he was still sharp when it came to making connections.
"Um, I had no idea who she was, if I even had a mother, until after you were stabbed, Jer. Then she showed up on the castle grounds to let me know she had played the witch and spelled Mara."
"Really?" He leaned back. "I wondered...I know you think I gave Mara a pass on that stabbing, but I had my doubts. She did wield the knife."
I stared at him. He had actually sounded like modern Jerry for a minute there. Maybe things were coming back to him.
"My, uh, mother was the one who put something on the knife to make you lose your memory. She was punishing you for making me vampire. Apparently a daughter who drinks blood is disgusting in her world. She wanted you to forget me and move on."
"It worked." Jerry's fists clenched and unclenched. He was getting upset and I didn't blame him. With me? Again, understandable.
"But I don't know, now that the poison is out of your system, why your memory hasn't come back. I can't get an answer from her about it either." I glanced at Bart. The doctor was riveted. "Believe me, I've begged her to fix you, Jer. But she's not in any hurry to make you whole. In fact..." I was almost afraid to put this theory out there, but it was in line with what Bart had said. "My mother's having me jump through some hoops, dangling the hope that she can make things right. But I don't know. I got the feeling that since Bart's tests proved your blood is clean now, that maybe she's bluffing. That you could remember, if you would remember."
"What the hell does that mean?" Jerry was on his feet, his face like stone. He was furious. "You think I don't want my mind back?"
"No, I get it. It's involuntary. You can't help yourself." I stood and walked around the coffee table. The box on it reminded me. If my mother did have the means to cure Jerry, I had a date to go on. "And I'm doing everything I can to get my mother to fix you. She claims she's got another trick up her sleeve. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm beginning to doubt it. Bart suggested..." I looked to the doctor for support.
"She's right, Jerry. All the signs point to posttraumatic amnesia. There are a few things that can break you out of it, like the hypnotism we already tried. But time might be all you need. Unless Glory's mother has a magic potion of some sort." Bart stepped close to Jerry and offered a smile. "I'm not ready to give up on you and do we really want to rely on some wacked out nut job to come up with a cure?"
I nodded. He'd described my mother to a tee. I hope she'd heard him in Olympus. Maybe it would bring her to her senses. What she'd done was crazy, no getting around it.
"Thanks, Bart. But time? Screw that. I can't spend years like this." He shoved Bart aside and stormed from the room.
"I'll go after him. He shouldn't be alone right now." Cait glanced at me apologetically. "You had to tell them, Glory. You get it, don't you?"
"Yes, you're right. It all needed to come out. Especially since I have to get ready to leave in about half an hour." I picked up the box. If there was the slightest chance my mother could really help Jerry, I'd date Zeus's dog and kiss him on the lips.
"Tell me about your mother. Maybe we can figure out how to cure Jerry if I can understand where she's coming from." Bart blocked my exit from the room.
I filled him in on the whole Olympus thing while he took notes.
"What kinds of things have you seen her do?" Bart had a page full of notes.
"Well, she's big on lightning strikes and thunder. That's popular on Olympus. She fried Cait's shoes. She can freeze you in place so you can't move a muscle, but then I can do that too. It's a cool trick. Very handy when you're in a tough spot. She can read through paranormal blocks. You know, read your mind when you think everyone's locked out? I inherited that one too." I smiled. "So watch it around me." His eyes narrowed. "Don't worry, I only intrude in an emergency."
"Interesting. I'll be thinking about this. Can you shoot lightning too?" He wrote something down.
"I wish. There have been many times when I'd like to have fried a few people, her especially, though I know she'd have been way out of my league. The woman has mad skills." I sighed. "Good luck, Bart. I've got to go. If you talk to Ian MacDonald, to consult on this case, let's keep this about my mother between you and me. As you've noticed, the Campbells are really uptight about the Macs. Too much historically bad blood, and to Jerry history was like yesterday."
"I get it." Bart grinned. "But Ian is a great source for ideas. I gather you've had dealings with him."
"More than I'd like. He's not to be trusted. And that's learned on my own, no prejudice involved. He's played some dirty tricks on me and I'd be skeptical about whatever he suggests to do with Jerry." I sighed. The clock was ticking. "Now I've got to go get ready. I have to make this date, and a dress like this one demands serious makeup and effort on my part. Plus I have no doubt my mother will be eavesdropping to make sure I play fair."
"Sorry about that." He patted my shoulder. "Must have been quite a shock, finding out who she was."
"In more ways than one. Imagine sticking your finger into a power outlet while your feet are in water." I sighed. "But it's what I've got, so I'll deal." I paused in the doorway. "Be nice to Cait, she's a good friend."
"No worries there. I know a woman who deserves better when I meet one." He suddenly sniffed the air. "And here she comes. See you later. Maybe."
I headed up the stairs, brushing past Cait who barely noticed, her eyes locked on Bart. I was glad for her. She'd had some seriously messed up relationships in her past and Bart looked to be a good guy. Finally.
"Where are you going?" Jerry caught me as I was about to get into the limo.
"Out." I had almost made a clean getaway. Now he was eyeing me in the dress that was almost the right size but a little skimpy in the bodice. Yes, I'd gotten it zipped but the neckline was probably not intended to expose quite so much bosom. Jerry certainly noticed the landscape.
"Looking like that? Are you meeting someone?" He dragged his eyes away from my cleavage to where a uniformed driver held the back door open for me. The limo was a vintage Rolls-Royce. Nice.
"Yes. It's business. I won't be late." I slipped into the backseat, careful of my skirt, which was ballerina length. I loved the way the chiffon flowed around me. I didn't love the way Jerry grabbed the door before the driver could close it.
"Business? What kind of business? You say you own a little shop in this new world. Yet you look like a woman on her way to a seduction. Are you meeting a man, Gloriana? Was all that talk about our starting over just so much blather?"
"Please just let me go, Jer. I can't deal with this right now. I'm not out to seduce anyone. Trust me on that." I blocked my thoughts but could read Jerry's clearly. He didn't trust me and wasn't sure what to think. My dress was too bold for a lady to wear in public. At least to a man who still hadn't figured out what was acceptable in this new time.
"Deal with what? You think I'm jealous? Should I be? Can't I ask a simple question and get a simple answer? Obviously not. Off with you then." He backed away, slamming the car door himself before the driver could do it. I saw him cross his arms over his chest and just stand there as the man climbed into the front and drove us away.
I didn't care where we were going and didn't pay attention to the direction we went as I relived that very frustrating conversation. Of course Jerry thought the worst. I would have jumped to the same conclusions if I'd seen him drive off looking his best and he'd refused to tell me where he was headed. And I did look my best. My mother knew her stuff and I felt pretty darn good from head to toe in my expensive outfit that had included lacy underwear, even shoes. I wished I could have worn it for Jerry and been able to plan an evening with him. Dressed for a seduction? If only.
All too soon we pulled up in front of an elegant town house in a classy part of town. It might even have been near Bart's offices. I really should have noticed where we'd gone. What if I wanted to leave early? Could I even find my way back to Jerry's? Probably not. Stupid on my part but it was too late for regrets. I let the chauffeur help me out of the car and entered the stately home where a servant took my clutch purse and escorted me to a sitting room. A fire blazed in a massive marble fireplace and I would have admired the beautiful antiques in other circumstances. As it was, my nerves had me pacing while I waited for what came next.
It didn't take long. The man who stood in the doorway seemed to just appear. At least he wore earthly clothes, very expensive ones, instead of a toga. His tuxedo was custom tailored to show off a buff body. He was tall and tanned, like maybe he surfed. That crazy thought made me want to laugh. A god from Olympus on a surfboard? Okay, now I was losing it. But his blond hair looked sun bleached and his light eyes glowed with the golden warmth of the sun itself. Actually, he was beautiful. Huh? I didn't throw that word around when it came to men, and preferred the battlescarred toughness Jerry had.
But I found myself drawn to his side when the man smiled, his perfect white teeth gleaming. It took me a moment to realize this was all probably an illusion. But it was a dazzling show.
"Gloriana, what a pleasure to meet you." He took my hand in his. The warmth of his skin surged into me, even down to my toes, which were stuffed into new designer sandals - thanks, Mom.
"Hello. May I ask your name?" I couldn't keep from smiling. His charm was contagious and I couldn't stop myself from moving even closer, to feel more of his warmth.
"Apollo." He winked, like he expected me to gasp or something. Instead I wracked my brain. I should have read up on Greek mythology before I came but I did realize this was one of the biggies.
"Apollo? Aren't you the god of the...?"
"Sun." Proud grin. "Your mother assured me you'd be hungry for a glimpse of my brilliance." No bashful boy here, obviously.
Now I got it. He was daylight, that elusive sunshine I never got to feel on my skin. No wonder I was drawn to him. My mother was nothing if not a clever bitch. "Since the sun isn't something I get to see on a daily basis and hasn't been for over four hundred years, I'd have to say you're a novelty." I couldn't seem to let go of his hand. Or look away. He was shining, glowing.
I had that tingling goose-bumpy feeling I got when watching a sunrise. Which I'd been lucky enough to do briefly not too long ago with the help of one of Ian MacDonald's drugs. But that was such a rare and costly deal that I doubted it would ever happen again.
"Not just a novelty, Gloriana." He pulled me into his arms and I have to admit I didn't resist, still under the whole sunlight spell. "Close your eyes and let me take you on a little journey. Give you a taste of what your life would be like if you came back with me to Olympus."
Nothing like going straight for the pitch. Was there a timer going somewhere? Whatever happened to dating, the getting-to-know-you stage? Maybe the gods and goddesses had their own playbooks. If Mr. Perfection here was willing to take me on, my mother must have offered him some sweet deal. Even dressed in the prettiest gown I'd ever owned I felt like a troll compared to his masculine gorgeousness.
"Uh." I couldn't manage to complete that brilliant thought because my eyes drifted closed and we were off, riding in a chariot of all things, across a blue, blue sky. My mythology was coming back to me and I had a feeling I knew where this was going. Sure enough, green fields, snow-topped mountains then crowded cities raced by below us. It was magical. Because all the while the heat of that glowing orb, the sun, caressed our faces and our bodies from above. I now wore a skimpy flowing sundress and my hair blew behind me in the warm breeze. He held me firmly around my waist and I felt completely safe as we careened across the sky.
I lifted my face to the sun, thrilled to actually know the heat of midday again. My breath hitched when I imagined a life where dawn wasn't the enemy. Apollo pressed closer and I knew that he would hold me by his side forever, day after day, as we made this brilliant sun-drenched journey, seeing places I'd never even imagined existed.
A turquoise ocean gleamed under us and we swooped down to land on a tiny island. While he rested his horses, we splashed in a cove. Then he led me to a feast laid out on an elegant tablecloth. I could eat! I devoured exotic fruits whose flavors burst inside my mouth. When the juices ran down my chin, Apollo laughed and kissed it clean, calling me delicious.
Then he carried me to pristine white sand where he made slow and elegant love to me. I sighed in his arms, more thrilled by the heat of the sun on my naked body than the weight of him as he touched me and whispered Greek love words in my ear. He consumed me, giving me physical pleasure until I cried out his name. But he couldn't touch my heart. That stayed cold despite the heat all around me.
When the sun started slipping toward the horizon, we ran to the chariot, hurrying to reach our home on Olympus. We were almost panicked but made it safely before night fell. Apollo hated the night and wasn't allowed to ride after sunset or something dire would happen to us both.
I gasped and pulled away, back to reality with a thud. "No! I would never see the night again?"
"I am a man who lives only for the daylight, Gloriana. Being with me means you would never have to endure the night again - the darkness, the strange creatures who stir then and prey on the weak. I don't know how you tolerated them." He brushed a warm hand down my cheek then teased my lips closed with a fingertip when I might have opened them, showing my fangs. I knew he would hate them. For a moment I was tempted to lean into his touch, savor that warmth, say yes to a life of sunshine with a man who hadn't once mentioned my imperfections. No.
"I don't just tolerate the darkness and those creatures. I'm one of them, Apollo. To me the night is beautiful. It's where I belong." I tried to push away but he wasn't ready to give up yet. Whatever prize my mother offered, it must have been a doozy. "You can't want me. I'm in love with someone else."
"You'll forget him. Your mother says he has already forgotten you." He trailed a fingertip along my ollarbone, tracing the edge of my dress where it dipped between my breasts. "Come with me, Gloriana. You'll soon be unable to call him to mind yourself, once you have experienced the glories of Olympus. I can guarantee it. We have everything there a woman could want. I have everything a woman could want." His eyes darkened and he gave me a look I recognized. Oh. So Apollo liked a full-figured woman. Good to know.
"I'm sure you are wonderful. But you can't make me forget the man I love without Olympus trickery. Are you that desperate to please my mother?" I gasped when his eyes flashed golden sparks. Oops. He didn't like that "d" word.
"I please only myself." His voice was hard and his hands tightened on my shoulders until I winced. "However" - he seemed to remember that there was something he had to gain here because like a switch had been flipped, he was suddenly all smiles and warm golden light again - "I have been known to please my lovers until they are never again satisfied with anyone else." He slid his hands down to grasp my hands.
"Apollo." I tried to pull away.
"Relax, Gloriana. Think this through. Surely you could never regret leaving the darkness that man you claim to love made you a slave to so long ago. I can give you the sun." Apollo's smile was a brilliant flare of pure light. "Riding by my side will make you the envy of every other woman and many men in Olympus. I don't make this offer lightly."
I finally managed to put some distance between us. It was obvious to me that his endless journeys had made Apollo forget how to share his heart with a woman. He didn't seem to care what I wanted but was determined to pull me into his world, to make me into what he needed me to be. An accessory. And a means to an end. Whatever he and my mother had going, he wanted to win here.
"I'm honored by your offer. Truly. I don't know what kind of favors or rewards my mother promised you if you could get me to come with you, but this isn't going to happen. As much as I'd like to see some daylight, thanks, but no thanks." I ran out of the room and grabbed my purse from a table in the hall.
Outside, I looked up at the night sky. A three-quarter moon gleamed overhead surrounded by glittering stars. I had learned to love the night and couldn't imagine a life without its beauty. My mother had played the wrong card tonight. I turned when I heard footsteps approach down the brick sidewalk.
"You turned down Apollo?" My mother clearly wasn't happy. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder shook the bricks under my feet.
"He wasn't my type. Too self-involved." I started walking. I didn't have a clue if it was toward Jerry's or not. I just wanted to get away from my mother.
"He's highly placed, very highly placed. I thought you'd jump at the chance to see the sun after centuries - "
"You thought?" I whirled to face her. "What do you know about me? You figured a vampire would be keen to see the sun. Any vampire. But I'm not just any vampire. I'm your so-called daughter. It would be nice if you'd try to understand what I really want. That's Jeremiah Campbell. Not some self-important god from on high. Get it?"
"You need to get it, Gloriana. Being a vampire was a tragic accident for you." She laid her hand on my arm and I felt the power surge down to my fingertips. It was like being hooked up to a Taser. If she burned out the soles of my pretty new shoes, I was going to be pissed. She must have read my mind because she let me go.
"Thank you. I admit you have excellent taste. Love the dress, the shoes, even the underwear. Do not love the man. Now will you give up on this and give Jerry back his memory?" I reached out this time, touching her lightly on her shoulder. As usual she looked perfect, this time in a blue designer evening gown that matched her eyes. Where was she going? To a fancy dress ball? No matter, she looked beautiful and I wished I had her tiny waist and flair for wearing clothes.
"Compliments are nice but have no sway with me, Gloriana. You want a tiny waist? On Olympus I will make it so." She gave me an assessing stare, waiting.
"Not worth it, Mother. Even Apollo didn't mind my generous figure. Maybe the guys get bored up there with all the females the same size." I smirked, loving the idea.
My mother shook her head. "I suppose it's possible. I'm sorry Apollo didn't suit. I was sure...No matter. I have four more tries. Brace yourself. There are more arrows in my quiver and I will loose the next one tomorrow night." Mother smiled and covered my hand with hers. "If nothing else, you will get a nice wardrobe out of this. And I saw that you were tempted with the Sun God. I was glad to see that you have an open mind."
Now, that left me speechless. Had I been? Tempted? Maybe for a minute. Not by the man, of course. But offering daylight had been major. I didn't like to think that I could have been so easily led off course. I loved Jerry. I wanted him well. And to stay here with him. End of story.
My mother smiled and sent a lightning bolt sizzling down to raise my hair and make it fly around my head. "No, your story is not ended, Gloriana. Not even close. The best is yet to come. Apollo was my opening salvo. You will love man number two. Just wait and see." And with that she disappeared.