Tera Childs - Sweet Legacy

He stares at me, unblinking.

I whisper, “It can’t be that bad.”

His cheeks flush with color, and I’m stunned by his re-action. He’s scared, of what he’s done and of me finding out. I don’t know what to say. Thane doesn’t have a bad bone in his body. Sure, he and Dad fight about his plans for the future, and he barely gets by in school, but he’s kind and loyal and good. He loves his family above anything. The idea that he ever did something so bad that he’s afraid to tell me . . . I don’t believe it.

As I shake my head, he drops his gaze away. “Leave it, Grace,” he says. “Please.”

That shocks me even more than his refusal to answer. Thane doesn’t beg—ever—which only makes whatever he’s hiding scarier. He’s my brother in every way that matters. I won’t push him to tell the secret that causes him so much pain as long as it’s not dangerous.

I stiffen my spine. “Will it endanger my sisters or our mission?”

He flinches, as if the very idea hurts him. “No. Never.”

Thane and I exchange a look, and I know he understands.

“Will it endanger you ?”

He shrugs again and drops his gaze.

“Oh, Thane.” I step forward and pull him into a hug, relieved when he hugs me back tighter than ever. I’m scared for him, but I’m also amazed at his strength, at his willingness to shoulder all of this on his own. He’s incredible.

“Excuse me,” a male voice says behind me. “Can’t a monoceratus get through here?”

“Oh, sorry,” I say, moving out of the way of the entrance.

Turning to see exactly what a monoceratus is, I’m smiling as I look up into the glowing face of a unicorn.

“Holy goalie,” I mutter.

“Yeah, yeah,” the single-horned horse says, walking past me into the cave. “Gretchen and I already went through this once. I’m a unicorn. Woo-hoo.”

I turn to see if Thane is as awed as I am, but he has already disappeared back to Greer’s side. The unicorn walks past me, heading for the golden maiden. Something tickles at the back of my memory. Why do I feel like I’ve thought about unicorns recently? I can’t imagine why. It’s not as if they’re a part of everyday conversation like when I was eight. Maybe there was one in the monster binders I scanned before Gretchen’s loft blew up. That must be it.

I return to the group at the heart of the tiny cave. Greer has almost recovered. Nick and I need to leave soon. We can’t afford to waste any time. We have to go save my biological mother from monster-realm assassins. I only hope we can get to her before it’s too late.

“The line is heavily guarded,” the unicorn tells the group. “Not a chance of getting through without drawing their attention.”

Gretchen swears. “There goes that plan.”

“Isn’t there another way to get to our realm?” I ask. “A back door or something?”

“Back door,” Gretchen’s monkey friend says with a giggle.

The creatures around me exchange mocking laughs and skeptical glances.

“Not one that you would survive,” the golden maiden answers diplomatically. “The only ways of exiting Abyssos are through the door or through the godly realms.”

“Godly realms?” Gretchen asks.

The golden maiden explains, “Hades and Olympus.”

“What’s wrong with them?” I ask. “Can’t we use one of those entrances?”

She shakes her head. “The path from Olympus to Panogia is more heavily guarded than even the door. With an army at your side you could not succeed.”

She doesn’t have to voice the implied, You would not survive.

“That’s why we’re going through the abyss to get there,” Gretchen says. “It’s the only way to bypass the tough security.”

“Hades then?” We can’t just let the assassins find and kill our mother; I can’t, I won’t—not when I haven’t even met her yet. Not when we’re so close. I have so many questions.

“The underworld is worse,” the unicorn says. “Airtight security to keep the dead from returning to life.”

“And the journey through Hades itself would be no easy task,” the golden maiden adds. “Most likely you would not even make it to the Panogian path.”

“Where does that leave us?” Greer asks. “There is no way home?”

She doesn’t sound as freaked out as I am. “We’re trapped here?” I gasp. “Forever? We just give up?”

“Of course not,” Gretchen says, but without her usually infallible certainty.

The group falls silent, and I scan the crowd for any signs of an idea. Anything. There has to be some hope, some way we haven’t thought of.

Greer clears her throat. “What about autoporting?”

We all turn to face her.

“What?” I ask.

“Autoporting,” she repeats, checking her fingernails. Yep, almost back to normal now. “Maybe you can use your power to get home.”

Why didn’t I think of that? I have this power—for just this kind of situation, I hope.

Encouraged, I turn to Gretchen.

“Maybe,” she says, considering.

“It must be possible,” I say. “Euryale autoported to me that night on the pier.”

“Not her body,” Gretchen argues. “You said she wasn’t really there.”

“She wasn’t, but . . .”

“If her powers are tethered,” the golden maiden suggests, “that might explain her incomplete autoportation. It is likely her captors took precautionary measures.”

“That she could still project even her image at such a distance,” Nick says, sounding impressed, “is a sign of her tremendous power.”

“Let’s do it,” I say, clapping my hands together. “It can’t hurt to try. If I can autoport me and Nick back to our realm, then once you rescue Euryale, she’ll be able to get everyone else home.”

“Your power must be well honed,” the golden maiden warns. “Travel between realms is not easy.”

What about this life is easy? Fighting monsters out to kill or capture me, watching my sister almost die, being trapped in this dark smelly place? Everything is hard compared to my life before meeting Gretchen, when I spent most of my time in front of a computer screen. It’s all hard. I bite back the sarcasm and focus my energy on positive thinking.

“I can do it,” I insist. I have no choice. We have no choice.

Gretchen hesitates, studying me. Well, she won’t find any doubts. I’m confident—or at least confident enough to try.

Finally, she says, “Get your bags.”

Minutes later, Nick and I are standing at the center of the group, each of us carrying a backpack of extra supplies. He doesn’t have to go with me—his allegiance is to Gretchen—so I appreciate his coming to help, especially since he already knows the boss and his prized assassins. That information might come in really handy.

Gretchen stands before me, Sillus sitting at her feet, her hands on my shoulders. “You take care of yourself. Find our mother, get to the safe house, and stay put. We’ll meet you there when we get out.”

“I will,” I promise. “You stay safe too. Find the gorgons and get Euryale to autoport you all out of here.”

She smiles, like she’s a little amused by my concern for her safety. Or maybe she’s uncomfortable having someone worrying about her for a change. Well, she’d better get used to that. I’m brilliant at worrying.

I see her glance at Nick, who gives her a look full of longing. I’m glad she doesn’t doubt his loyalty anymore, because that one exchange tells me how he feels about her. She’s his sun, moon, and stars. As soon as we get through this mess—this war—I’ll make sure she does something about that.

For now, we each have our missions.

Taking Nick’s hand in mine, I suck in a deep breath.