Light flickered over his eyelids as Thomas swam toward consciousness. Remnants of odd dreams of traveling through s.p.a.ce and oversize birds wisped through his brain, elusive and misty. When he cracked one eye open, searing pain stabbed under his skull. After rumbling in his chest like a rocket ship about to blast off, a ma.s.sive groan escaped his pursed lips. The hammering in his head almost made him believe he might be hung-over. But his gut didn't churn with the upset that accompanied over-imbibing. He rubbed his fist over his abs and up to the stubble on his chin. The last time he'd gotten rip-roaring drunk was the week after he'd learned of his brother's death.

He didn't remember drinking last night. To be honest, he didn't remember much of anything from yesterday. The entire day echoed of a black hole. Had he eaten something that made him sick? And where was Hailey? He strained his ears to detect any noise through his open door, hearing nothing but eerie silence. s.h.i.t, he'd forgotten. She'd gone with the Campfire Scouts on an overnight trip.

As he rolled to his back a puff of earthy citrus teased his nose. It reminded him of...something. d.a.m.n, why couldn't he pin that memory down?

Thomas slung his arm over his face and took inventory. The sledge that had been knocking inside his skull receded, leaving a vague ache, minor confusion, and looming emptiness. He breathed shallowly through his mouth and waited for the remaining twinge to vanish. Pushing himself upright on the bed, the sheet puddled around his hips. What the h.e.l.l? He'd gone to bed in his jeans. Just one more thing he couldn't recall. Bending his knees, he propped his elbows on them and scrubbed his hands over his head and down his face.

Agonizing shards of fire bruised a path from his heel to his already reeling mind once he rose from the bed. He hesitated before taking a second step. Holding his breath, one eye scrunched tight, he moved his right foot in front of his left. Huh? He took another cautious step, then another. The pain that had wracked his body a second ago had vanished. What the f.u.c.k is going on?

He plodded to the master bath and flipped the shower to the tortuous kneading spray he typically avoided, and then adjusted the temperature to just south of icy. He stood under the harsh torrent of cold water long enough to clear his head and clean his body. With a towel knotted low on his hips and another slung around his neck, he gathered clean clothes from his closet. He tossed the garments on the floor by the vanity and grabbed his brush.

As he raised his hand to comb his hair, he caught sight of a longish strand of coppery red hair snagged between the teeth. He pulled it free and studied it, not comprehending for the life of him whose head it had come from. Brows drawn together in a frown, he stretched the glossy filament between his fingers.

Too long and red to be his. Not curly or blond enough to belong to Hailey. And his housecleaners were all brunettes.

A ghost of an image of bright red hair teased his consciousness. But he couldn't grasp any details or identify the owner. He carefully arranged the strand on the vanity, his gaze returning to it frequently as he dressed. Something about that single thread of hair tw.a.n.ged around the edges of his heart.

Two hours later, with the mystery of the hair unsolved and still niggling, he was seated at the breakfast bar. A neglected cup of coffee sat near his open laptop. A webpage on ancient Greek theories on the tides and cycles of the moon occupied the screen. Being on hiatus allowed him to plan for future episodes of Doubting Thomas. On a lark, and needing material for the last of ten episodes, he'd decided this morning to tackle a new myth.

Was it true that individual temperaments could be affected by the phase of the moon? The material he'd reviewed thus far had been entertaining and perplexing. The notebook next to his left hand was filled with hastily scrawled notes and thoughts. He'd printed the word lunacy in large block letters at the top and underlined it three times. Beneath it, he'd scribbled Mayhem. As he'd written it, he chuckled to himself that the word could apply to his dreams from the night before.

The alarm sensor in his pantry bleated just as the front door crashed open. From where he sat, Thomas watched his niece wave goodbye to someone just before she slammed the door closed.

"Uncle Thomas?" Hailey sang out, looking for him.

"In here, munchkin," he hollered back.

The slap of her footsteps skipped ahead of the silly tune she sang as she headed toward him. "Thomas, we learned a song about pickles. Do you want to hear it?" Not waiting for his answer, she began a catchy little ditty about pickles and motorcycles, spinning in a circle as she sang.

It put a grin on his face. When Hailey crashed against him, he gathered her up in his arms, settled her on his lap, and hugged her tight. "Your dad and I used to sing that song when we were boys." He joined her in the last verse.

The little cutie dissolved into infectious giggles as he pursed his lips and blew through them to sound like a Harley revving.

She patted his cheeks. "You're a silly." She squirmed on his lap until she faced his computer. She pointed wildly to the laptop. "Hey, it's Ms. Nia!" She jabbed her finger at the screen over a picture in the sidebar. It promoted another page to click on to read more about the Muse of Astronomy.

"Who?"

Twisting she looked at him, a frown pinching her tiny brows together. "Ms. Nia. From Helios."

"Munchkin, I don't know who you're talking about."

As he studied the image an invisible string jerked his heart into his throat. The woman, dressed in a toga, her hair swept up into a sort-of crown on her head, was stunning and familiar. But it was just an artistic rendering of a model. Deep blue eyes blazed below delicately arched brows in the picture. A zing of recognition jangled his brain, but disappeared before he latched onto it.

Hailey reached out and picked up his mug. She sniffed it suspiciously, wrinkling her nose. "What did you put in your coffee, Uncle T? Ms. Nia had breakfast with us. You made French toast."

Taking the cup from her hands, he set it aside. He lifted her off his lap then stood beside her. "Sorry, kid. Don't remember making a meal for anyone named Nia." An aggravating tap in his chest told him his words didn't quite ring true. "We've talked about you making things up."

"But we did." Hailey stomped her little foot, eyes squinty and lips tightly seamed in a pout. "I'm worried about you, Uncle Thomas."

"Knock it off, munchkin. I'm fine," he rea.s.sured her.

"Maybe you need more time on your filming break."

Thomas swept Hailey up under his arm and carried her like a giggly football to the entry hall, where she'd dropped her bag. Lowering her just enough to reach the handles, he waited until she grabbed it before hitching her higher on his side. Holding her like that, he carried his squirming, shrieking burden to her room.

"What do you say we put away your stuff then go grab some lunch? You can tell me what else you did at camp besides riding pickles."

That produced a fresh gale of laughter. "No, silly. We sang songs about pickles. We rode motorsickles."

He mock staggered on the last step. "No! You're not driving already. You can't even reach the gas pedal." He let out a groaning whine. "I thought I had at least eight more years before I had to worry about you behind the wheel."

When they entered her room, he reached behind her legs and flipped her a.r.s.e-over-head onto her bed. The backpack flew from her grip and plopped right into a laundry basket in the corner.

Thomas whistled. "Would you look at that?"

"Looks like my stuff is already put away." Hailey bounced off the bed. "Can we go to Helios after lunch to say hi to Ms. Nia?"

"Honey, I don't know her. We have some other errands to run. Some other time, okay?"

"But-"

"Stop, munchkin." He nearly relented at the dawning disappointment in her eyes. But he held firm. "We'll try to find her when they have the Founder's Day celebration on Sat.u.r.day."

"But that's two days away." She stuck out her lower lip and crossed her little arms over her chest.

Thomas held back his laughter at her pouty display. "You'll live. It's on the grounds at the Inst.i.tute. If there is a Ms. Nia, she's bound to be there, don't you think?"

"Yeah!" Hailey bounced enthusiastically around him. "The Scouts are having a place there to 'cruit new members. They're giving away chocolate bars and popcorn."

"We'll add them to our list of things to see before we check out the carnival rides." Although, riding the kiddie coaster with Hailey after she'd eaten chocolate and popcorn might not be the optimal order.

Hailey grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door, interrupting his mental rearranging of their activity list. Her excited chatter lasted all the way down the stairs, and then out the door to the car.

Chapter 21.

Two days had disappeared with no progress made toward a solution. No other man burst forward to suddenly embrace magic and defeat Pierus. Nia dug deep through all of her previous lifetimes and memories, searching for the answer. Morose best described her mood.

Atlas had materialized in her office three times with updates on his efforts to rehang the moon in the correct spot. They were closer, but he and his employees were struggling with the effort to move mountains, so to speak. He didn't take kindly to her suggestion of using a giant supernatural fulcrum and a little Gorilla Glue to stick it back in place.

Mars had summoned her to the security department meeting at Olympus in the middle of last night. She'd lurched from a dream about Thomas with tears streaming down her face. But she'd trounced on the memories with both feet and moved through the Hollow to the corporate boardroom with renewed resolve.

The news from Mars was that they'd uncovered Cratus's complicity in Pierus's scheme. The G.o.d of strength and power had conspired to incapacitate Zeus to keep him from aiding his daughters in future challenges. Apparently it had p.i.s.sed Pierus off that Zeus had interfered with Clio's round. A bit of a double-edged sword, since Pierus himself was aiding his daughters. Cratus had been sequestered in a shielded cell in the deepest recesses of Hades.

Zeus had been at the meeting as well. Concern blasted against Nia's skull as she took in his pallor and the exhaustion lurking in his smile. When she questioned him about his health, he'd dismissed her worry with a negligent wave of his hand. By the end of the meeting, his color had been restored and the smooth authority in his voice had returned. But after he'd dismissed everyone, he slouched back in his executive chair and rubbed his temples.

Ken had remained at the headquarters to consult with Mars and help Atlas figure out if repositioning the moon was possible. Nia had given all the observatory techs the night off, so she'd been alone when Clio and Jax had popped in to keep her company. She was at work monitoring Atlas's efforts to restore the heavens to order.

After greeting her with a brotherly hug, Jax cleared his throat, his dark brows drawn together. "Stupid mortal question here. What's holding the Earth in place while Atlas is trying to reestablish the moon's...o...b..t?"

Clio socked him in the arm and then smoothed a hand over the spot. "Not mortal anymore, remember? But to answer your question, Atlas is kind of the Navy SEAL of the G.o.ds. He can just do it all."

"Got it." Jax blew out an exasperated sounding breath. "Didn't exactly answer my question, but I'll let it pa.s.s."

"Best idea you've had today." A rosy blush spread across Clio's cheeks. "Well, second best."

Jax laughed and stroked his hand down her spine.

"For the G.o.ddess's sake!" Nia slapped down the clipboard she'd been holding, the crack echoing against the cavernous dome. "Just had to wipe out all memory of me from the mind of the man I love. Your lovey-dovey s.h.i.t is not helping here. If you're going to be like that, take it home. I don't need the company."

A stricken look cooled the ardor in Jax's eyes. "I'm sorry, Nia. We weren't thinking."

"Not with your heads, anyway." Nia adjusted the display on one of the consoles. Satisfied with the settings, she faced her sister and sent her a tiny, mental nudge. "I'm fine here. You don't have to keep me company. I'd rather you go check on Zeus."

"Are you concerned, too?" Clio queried, her shoulders lifted toward her ears.

"Yeah. He hasn't looked completely healthy since Cratus held him in thrall at the Athenian." Nia worried that somehow Cratus had managed to steal some of Zeus's vitality while he'd been immobilized. If that had indeed happened, it could be disastrous for Zeus, and all the G.o.ds employed at Olympus.

As soon as Clio and Jax misted away into the void, Nia strolled to the coffee station in the corner. She'd made pot after pot since early afternoon, and was down to the dregs of the most recent batch. As she poured it into her mug, she found herself wishing for some amaretto to spice it up. But she needed to be vigilant tonight, so she settled for the Amaretto flavored creamer Bradley kept in the mini-fridge under the counter.

The atmospheric conditions in the observatory shifted, then solidified just as she settled in the reclining seat she'd moved to the base of the large scope. The s.p.a.ce around her chest tightened as supernatural mist gathered at the foot of the stairs leading to the platform.

Polly and Mel hovered inches above the ground. After staying cloaked for long enough to determine the coast was clear, the pair eased to the ground and banished the mist.

"What are you doing?" Nia asked, not bothering to rise from her comfortable spot under the refracting scope. Through the open dome, the heavens blinked and shimmered, a sight that typically managed to calm and inspire. Not so much tonight.

Mel climbed the grated metal stairs of the viewing platform. "Thought you might like a little company. Where is everyone?"

Polly dragged a chair, the legs b.u.mping loudly across the metal deck. She positioned it next to Nia and plopped into it. While Mel made herself comfortable on the edge of the reclining bench, Polly consulted her cell phone.

"Darn, I forgot to shut off my GPS again." She closed her eyes, and blanked her face as she sent out a nudge. Nia was sure the jab was directed at a technician for the mobile carrier that could erase the data from her records. Mortals got a little fl.u.s.tered when immortals transported their cellphones with them through the Hollow. Which they did all the time. The Muses were as addicted to mobile technology as regular mortals.

"I gave everyone the night off since they'll all have to work tomorrow for the Founder's Day celebration." Nia took a sip of her coffee. Mel grabbed the mug from her hands and gulped it down.

Nia scowled at her sibling, but didn't bother to s.n.a.t.c.h the mug back. She'd had enough today.

"We're sending two crews from the station to cover it tomorrow. I'll be here as well."

"I'm glad. I want as many friendly faces in the crowd as possible. I'm a little worried. Thousands of people attend this event. There will be ample opportunity for Pierus and Mayhem to get up to no good."

Mel gasped and clutched her throat, not wasting the chance to be dramatic. "You think something will happen?"

"Can't take the att.i.tude that it will be just any Sat.u.r.day in the park," Nia retorted. "Mars promised extra undercover security, in addition to what the Inst.i.tute has coordinated. Better to be over-prepared than caught with our guard down."

Polly finally looked up from the scrolling newsfeed that had held her attention. "There have been reports of violence erupting all over China. But the government quelled the uprisings before they got too out of hand."

"Any other reports of incidents brought about by Mayhem?"

"A riot in Athens, and a train bombing in Mumbai. Nia, these things might have normally happened given the economic state in Greece and the political insurrection in India. But what are the chances of them occurring on the same day? Not likely. No groups are stepping forward to claim responsibility. I believe it's part of Pierus's challenge."

Nia scrubbed a hand over her face, and shoved agitated fingers through her hair. "Too b.l.o.o.d.y many. I can't keep up," she muttered. "I can't win."

Mel patted Nia's leg. "You can. You will. We're all here to help."

The gentle smile on Mel's face warmed Nia. "Thanks, Mel. Just like we'll all be here for you when it's your turn."

"I wonder which stinking magpie I'll have to face." Mel wrung her hands like a Victorian debutant.

"Probably Doom." Polly shot Mel a look designed to tell the Muse of drama to reel the theatrics in a tad.

"Just my luck."

"If I fail, I wonder if the rest of you will have to face the challenge? Or if you'll just convert to magpies along with me?" Nia groused. But a thought blared like a klaxon in her brain. "We never attempted to negotiate the terms with Pierus. I wonder if we could pet.i.tion Dice to adjudicate the dispute."

"It would be smart to ask the G.o.ddess of Justice to help. That way, if any of us fail, we might have a second chance." Polly moved to the edge of her chair. "That's brilliant, Nia. Why didn't we think of it before?"

"Don't know. But why don't you two go check into that."

"Oh, sister. We don't want to leave you alone. We came to help." Mel's voice rose. Apparently Polly's nudge didn't work.

Nia sent a tiny nudge of her own toward Mel before replying. "I'm okay. Really. I'm just going to survey the heavens and clean up what I can from here. There's a scientist in j.a.pan I need to poke a little. He's on the verge of developing a new lens capable of surveying and plotting out a universe he has yet to discover. I want to be sure he is set to move forward before..." She couldn't finish the thought.

Polly huffed out a breath and stood. Grabbing Mel's arm, she dragged their sister to her feet as well. She jabbed her finger in Nia's face. "Never say die."

More like never squawk die. Nia kept the thought to herself. "Let me know what Dice says. It's an angle worth pursuing."

Pressure built in the air around Nia as Mel and Polly began to mist.

"We'll see you tomorrow." Polly's voice floated on the cloud vapor as they blinked out of the room.

Before I become a magpie for all eternity, Nia finished her last sentence mentally. But Polly was right. Giving up before the challenge was over wouldn't accomplish anything. Some solution would present itself.

It had to, for all their sakes.