"Yes. Most electronics would have been rendered temporarily useless. Power plants run on electronics, so basic electrical services would be interrupted. Same goes for governments, corporations and the like. Essentially the world would come to a full stop."

"So why didn't it happen?" Callie asked. Her eyes reflected worry.

Nia typed a command on her tablet, sharing a schematic with everyone else present. "Atlas deflected the radio waves from the solar burst. You can see that half the emissions bounced harmlessly into deep s.p.a.ce. No harm, no foul. But the other half slammed into the moon. The impact knocked it out of its normal orbit."

Clio leaned forward. "What effect does that have on Earth?"

"Lunar orbital changes touch all aspects of life. Including behavioral changes in mortals." Nia repressed a shudder. Individuals affected by a full moon were called lunatics for a reason. No one here wanted to see what happened with the moon's trajectory altered. "People will get...a little crazy once the moon hits its zenith, in a little less than three weeks. The new lower orbit will exert more influence on humans."

Zeus appeared deceptively relaxed as he propped his hip on the porch railing. The only indication he wasn't as casual as he appeared was the whiteness of his knuckles as he gripped a can of Red Bull in his fist. "We believe this is the next of Pierus's challenges."

Callie protested. "But no one has received an email from him."

"A magpie appeared in the bushes outside my office right before the eruption. I'll take that as a sign."

"But, we have no idea what the challenge is. How can we fight whatever it is he has planned if we don't have a clue?" Terri's voice was devoid of her usual lyrical cadence.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon." It worried Nia that she didn't know what the h.e.l.l she was up against. The tension at the base of her neck gripped painfully. She glanced between Dad and Mars. "Since the flipping bird came to me, and knowing the type of lunacy we can expect from humankind in the next three weeks, I believe my challenger will be Mayhem."

"It fits." Polly's fingers flew over her tablet. "There have been news reports of vicious attacks in public places across Europe. People being stabbed and cut with knives. So far, the violence seems to be restricted to seaports, Ma.r.s.eille, Split, Helsinki. The EU is investigating, but no group has come forward to claim responsibility."

"Then it has begun," Zeus proclaimed.

His words sent chills along Nia's spine and twisted her gut into a vicious knot.

Without knowing what the challenge was to be, she had no way to stop it. Breathing became difficult. "Why hasn't Pierus contacted us?"

Jax clasped his hands over his ear and groaned. "Anyone else noticing the change in air pressure?"

Mars bolted to his feet, knocking his chair against the wall with a rattle. He strode to the edge of the porch just as an inky black mist flowed across the yard in front of the resort. Spreading his feet wide, he crossed his powerful arms over his chest, an imitation of the perfect club bouncer stance. Zeus tossed his can to the side and took up a position on one side of Mars.

The fog swirled and shifted, rising six feet from the surface. Pressure built in Nia's lungs as a shape coalesced within the haze. Overhead, the flapping of wings drew her attention. A large black and white bird dropped from the sky to perch on a low-hanging branch on the oak tree. Beneath the limb, the billowing vapor took the shape of a man. Pierus, in the flesh, so to speak.

The man wore a dark, exquisitely cut navy blue suit. A diamond stud winked in his regimental striped silk tie. His dark hair, peppered with strands of silver, was slicked back from his high forehead. He wore eyegla.s.ses, which Nia knew were only for show. Immortals had perfect vision to go with their perfect health.

"Wow," Jax said. "This guy has more disguises. First a crazy old man, then a poor street musician. Last time I saw him he was dressed in a toga." He joined Mars and Zeus at the top of the steps. "Never really expected to see him in a power suit."

"Pierus is a master of disguise." Clio's tone held equal notes of disdain and defiance. The man had kidnapped her in the midst of a G.o.d-created tornado and locked her in a large cage. "But without a costume you can see he's just a piece of s.h.i.t."

Pierus tsked his disapproval. He jabbed his hands toward each of the immortals present on the porch, as though issuing a mental thrust, ordering them to remain motionless. Breath stalled in Nia's lungs. What the h.e.l.l? He shouldn't have been able to hold the greater G.o.ds in thrall this way.

Didn't change the fact that, somehow, he held everyone in place with just a hand gesture. He directed his stare at Nia. Against her will she moved forward past the men cl.u.s.tered at the head of the steps. Her head pounded painfully at the pressure he exerted on her. Her feet barely touched the steps as she was compelled down them.

Digging deep within for resistance, she visualized applying the brakes on her car. She stopped her forward momentum as the picture firmed up in her mind.

Pierus c.o.c.ked one eyebrow up, yet somehow managed to sneer. He lifted his gaze toward the canopy of the tree. "Mayhem, I believe you will enjoy challenging this obstinate Muse."

The bird cackled insanely. Nia squelched her urge to cringe as Pierus snapped his fingers.

Behind her she heard a ma.s.sive expulsion of breath as the G.o.d released his hold on her family. Mars and Zeus descended the steps to take up positions on either side of Nia; Jax stood directly behind her. Nia knew without looking, her mother and sisters would be arranged in a warrior-like show of solidarity on the steps.

"Pierus, explain this challenge and then be gone. Your very presence is fouling the air I breathe." Zeus's words came out with military precision.

"You really aren't in a position to give me orders. By the time we are done with this hostile takeover, I will own you and all your riches. While that will smell sweet to me, I guarantee you will not find pleasant the stench of the pit into which I cast you and your daughters." His gaze roved over Gaia. "Your lovely wife I will keep shackled to my new executive chair in the Olympus board room."

Zeus growled and lifted his hand, palm out, as though he intended to shove Pierus back to the circle of Hades the man had climbed out of. Pierus extended his hand at the same time, and their wills clashed like lightning in the s.p.a.ce between them.

"Enough with the power play antics, Zeus." Pierus straightened his tie, then shot his cuffs, looking every bit the corporate executive he wanted to be. He focused his gaze on Nia as Mayhem descended from the tree to land on his shoulder.

Nia hoped the d.a.m.ned bird would c.r.a.p on his five-thousand-dollar Hugo Boss suit. Worry crept through her mind like a fat rat. Why had he appeared in person, rather than send an email? She asked, "What do I need to do, Pierus?"

"Originally, your challenge was going to be rather simple. You merely had to convince one man the 'good nature' of human kind does exist. All these puny people hurting and killing each other in the name of religion or cheap gasoline, or politics. Really, they are making it easy for me." Pierus shrugged. He shot a sneer at Zeus. "But, your father complicated your task immeasurably by sending Atlas to save the world from the sun's eruption."

"Who is working with you this time?" Zeus demanded through pinched lips. His fingers flexed near his hips, but he didn't raise his arms. "You haven't the necessary resources to affect the sun in the manner you did."

Pierus waved his hand dismissively. "My partner will remain silent. But thanks to your interference, now Urania-" he pointed toward her. "Uh, Nia will also have to deal with the lunacy caused by the realignment of the moon."

"So, all I need is to convince one person that good still exists in the world?" There had to be something Pierus wasn't telling Nia, some hidden agenda.

"Yes, this one man holds the key. But, in addition to forfeiting your own existence should you fail, the life of an innocent will hang in the balance. In the future, this one individual could lend inspiration to the man working to ease the plight of the very poorest people in the world. You will be responsible for depriving the human race of a great mind when you fail to save the child who would inspire a great scientist." His voice grew louder as he spoke until it boomed in her ears. He jabbed his finger toward her. "When you fail, this person will not create a system for securing healthy living conditions to those who need it most. I believe, for s.h.i.ts and giggles, I'll bind you to a tree so you are forced to watch the suffering and death of the innocent."

The bird on Pierus's shoulder screeched and preened at his proclamation. He lifted a knuckle to the bird's breast and smoothed the ruffled feathers with the back of his finger. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d's cool declaration drove a stake of anger straight to her core.

"How long do I have to win?" Nia forced confidence she didn't feel into her voice. Bad enough she and her sisters were at risk. But the loss of an innocent life was too horrible to contemplate. "And are you going to tell me the man's name? Or do I have to guess?"

"So many questions." Pierus shook his head. "Are you not an all-powerful Muse?"

Clio moved around Jax and stepped onto the drive with Nia, jostling Mars to the left to stand shoulder to shoulder with her sister. "We've already proven we're powerful. We defeated Tyranny."

Pierus's eyes flashed with strong emotion. "How is my daughter?"

Clio shot a venomous glare toward the bird perched on his shoulder. "Looking forward to the company of her sister."

"Clio, you aren't helping," Nia muttered. She directed her attention to Pierus. "How long?"

"If you have not accomplished the feat by the first night of the full moon, it will be considered a loss." He shrugged and Mayhem took flight. She became nothing more than a dark blotch on the crystalline blue summer sky.

Mist gathered beneath Pierus's feet as he prepared to leave. Panic flared like July's fireworks in Nia's head. "Wait, you haven't told me the name of the man."

"It could be someone you already know. Perhaps Ken. Possibly, it could be a man you've met recently or one you know from long ago. Or, maybe it's Bradley. You will have to decide. But choose wisely, Muse. The fate of your world, and all its human occupants, is now in your hands." Pierus's body was blanketed in mist, but the sudden fog didn't dissipate his obnoxious laughter as he vanished. The maniacal sound rang off the porch's planked oak ceiling.

Beside Nia, Zeus's shoulders slumped and he hissed out a sigh, then gasped as though he'd been holding his breath the entire time Pierus had stood in front of him.

"Dad, are you okay?" His cheeks had lost their normal ruddy color. Nia grasped his arm and helped him up the steps. Jax took his other arm and together, they led him to the love seat. Gaia slid onto the cushion next to him, fussily smoothing the hair at his temple.

Mars stalked to the spot where Pierus had disappeared. He kneeled and spread his hands over the area, as if seeking some kind of residual supernatural signature.

Nia exchanged a worried glance with Mel. Their father appeared ill, and Nia was certain he wasn't just being dramatic. Mel handed Zeus a gla.s.s filled with the nectar he favored over coffee. He waved it off in favor of his Red Bull.

Zeus sipped from the can and then coughed. "I'm fine. Somehow, Pierus managed to hold me in thrall the entire time he was present."

"What the h.e.l.l?" Callie exclaimed, her eyes wide. "How could he do that?"

"He had help." Mars stomped up the steps. "I pick up indications of two distinct deities. I do not know the ident.i.ty of the second. The signature is heavily cloaked and it faded rapidly."

"If we don't know who we are up against, it will be harder to win," Mel whined. Concern for their father etched Mel's heart-shaped face and she wrung her hands together.

Nia would have laughed about her sister's over-the-top drama queen pose, but worry strangled the lighter emotion.

"Enough, daughter." Gaia admonished. She stroked her hand down Zeus's arm. "We will not win with negativity. Nia, do you have any idea of the ident.i.ty of this man you are to convince? We know of Bradley, but not of the other two."

"It most certainly isn't Bradley. For a scientist he totally lacks the skeptical gene. I'm half convinced he believes in the tooth fairy."

"What of the others?" Aerie asked.

"Ken could be my NASA contact, Ken Hillerman."

"It isn't him," Zeus muttered. He knocked Gaia's hand away and pushed upright on his seat. "Ken is your partisan. Like Zeke is for Clio."

"Really?" Nia would never have guessed Ken. "He's so far away. How can he protect me?"

"Up until now, you didn't need protection. He'll be changing jobs this week and joining the corporation to work for Research and Development. He is relocating to Delphi. Your mother has already prepared one of the cottages by the lake for him. He'll live at the Athenian while we search for corporate housing for him. He arrives tomorrow."

"I spoke to him yesterday. He never mentioned coming here."

Gaia put a hand on Nia's elbow. "We asked him not to mention it to you. But after Clio's run in with Pierus, we thought it best to bring him to Delphi."

Callie tapped her foot. "So that leaves this mystery man. Any idea who that might be, Nia?"

Her sister's impatience was evident in her tone and her incessant fidgeting. Nia banked her frustration with Callie and replied, "I did meet a man yesterday. Right before the solar flare, as a matter of fact. Thomas Wilde."

"Doubting Thomas?" Jax's eyebrows shot up.

"What?" Nia drew in a sharp breath. The name seemed familiar.

"It's a television program. This guy, Thomas, chases down myths and urban legends of popular culture and exposes them as frauds. He's a debunker."

That explained his comment at Helios yesterday about the Loch Ness monster. "So he doesn't believe in magic, and goes out of his way to prove it doesn't exist."

Discouragement settled like a wet blanket on her shoulders. She ruthlessly shoved the feeling off. Conceding defeat before her challenge had begun wasn't in her nature. "He could hear my nudges."

Zeus c.o.c.ked up one brow. "What do you mean, daughter? How did he hear them?"

"When I nudged a rude woman, he heard the command. My voice was inaudible, but somehow he knew I'd called her a cow. Has anyone else ever had a mortal hear a poke this way?"

Her sisters all shook their heads. She looked to Jax, the other mortal who'd helped a Muse with her task. He held his hands up and shrugged. No help there.

Something she'd never seen before, the pale light of unease, trickled in Zeus's eyes. "If this is the man who is destined to stand by you for this challenge, you must be careful. For him to know what we are, G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses, could spell disaster."

Revealing the existence of deities to a man whose life's work was to disprove magic could be dangerous. Nia smiled. "Or, it could be a stroke of genius."

Chapter 7.

After dinner, Thomas helped Hailey with a craft project for her summer school then ran a bath for her. While she played in the tub, he tossed in a load of laundry. It was picture day at her childcare center on Monday, and Hailey had insisted she wanted to wear the gauzy, floral top with her white shorts. The shorts had a mud streak on the back and Thomas didn't have the heart to make her change her outfit choice.

He'd come a long way from hanging out with his buddies on weeknights, catching a ball game, or playing pick-up basketball at the gym. Now Hailey was his priority. And she'd come to mean more to him than life itself. He dropped a detergent tab in the washer then shut the lid. By the time water began flowing into the machine, he was on his way to clean up the kitchen. He'd turned into a true domestic G.o.d.

As he cleaned up the hot dog and mac and cheese mess, his thoughts turned to Nia Thanos. Nia possessed the cla.s.sic looks he normally equated with statues of Greek G.o.ddesses. Her glorious red hair and startling blue eyes had drawn him in. Less than one percent of the world's population possessed that hair-eye color combination.

Even more rare than that was her challenging Peggy Dartmoor for being rude. Now that he was hanging with the mommy set, he'd noticed Peggy's intentions were as false as her b.o.o.bs. It had pleased him to see Nia call the witch out the way she had.

Except, had she? Nia's eyes had turned hard and cool before she'd insisted she'd done no such thing. Thomas tugged his earlobe, toying with the small stud he'd worn since his college days. He'd been so certain she'd spoken, especially given that Peggy had actually apologized for her boorish behavior.

Nia had been warm and friendly today when they'd run into her at the Inst.i.tute again. Her att.i.tude with Hailey had been engaged and kind. The silky feel of her skin when he'd trailed his fingertips down her arm had made him want to bury his hardened d.i.c.k deep within her warm heat.

The woman was a dichotomy of sweet and sultry.

Had she found him as intriguing? Probably not in his current role of Mr. Mom. Laughing at himself, he wiped a blob of ketchup off the table. He was going to need to work with his niece on her hand-eye coordination.

Hailey called from the bathroom that she was ready to get out of the tub. After he dried her hair, he wove the long curly tresses into her overnight braid.

He pulled the blankets back on the bed, waiting for Hailey to pick a book to read. While she studied the selection, he plumped her pillows just the way she liked them. "Hurry up, munchkin."

Jutting her hip to one side, Hailey shot him an impish grin over her shoulder. "Patience, Unk. I'm deciding between Alice and Ariel."

Please, please, please, no Disney princesses tonight. He didn't think he could handle that. Although Ariel's thick red hair and rocking bod reminded him of Nia. Thomas's palms itched just imagining running his hands over those lush curves. He shook away his thoughts of what he'd like to do with the s.e.xy woman. Right now, he needed to focus on getting Hailey settled for the night so he could research a new debunking project. He'd been using his filming hiatus to look into new myths he could disprove.

Hailey plucked a book from her shelf, handed it to him, then crawled into her bed. Thank G.o.d, no princesses tonight. He settled next to her, leaning against the pillows.

Before he could begin reading, Hailey laid her small hand on his. "Uncle Thomas?" Her voice was hesitant.

Which was her default tone when she wanted to talk about her parents. He drew a deep breath and responded, "Yes, munchkin?"

"Do you miss my daddy?"

Her question tore his heart as it always did. The sting was swift and razor blade sharp. Doug had been two years older than Thomas, but they'd been best friends. Thomas dropped the book to his lap and wrapped his arm around Hailey's shoulders. He drew his knees up. "I miss him all the time, Hailey. There isn't a single day that I don't think of him and your mom. I tell them how proud they'd be of you, and what a great kid you turned out to be." The sting in his heart relocated to behind his eyes. He blinked. "Except for that one time when you locked us out of the house, you're okay."

She rested her head on his chest. "I talk to them, too. Earlier I told them I thought I'd finally found the right woman to help us."

"What are you talking about? We don't need no stinkin' woman to help us. We're highly capable of helping ourselves."