Gods & Ghosts Collection

Chapter 8

Jonah was pissed.

But it was a multilayered thing.

So, he had encountered the Sirens. The Sirens. He’d always found them creepy when he read about them as a kid, but he always wrote it off as mythology.

SirensWell, that same mythology had just entered his consciousness and screwed with his emotions. He even had cuts and scrapes on his lower legs from the experience.

Why did those psycho bitches have to go into his mind and do that? Anyone who knew him knew all about his writing troubles. So for them to go inside his mind and fabricate an illusion of his success infuriated him hugely. After what he’d gone through with the 49er and the Haunts, he had pretty much had it with people messing around in his head.

He’d managed to fight them off and win. He remained safe because something “tethered him to the truth,” as Cyrus put it. It had been quick thinking on his part to throw out that quote that his Nana used to say. That part was true.

But it wasn’t thoughts of Nana that saved him. The truth would remain in his head, though. He’d be damned if he discussed that with Cyrus and Eva around.

Eva…

Jonah sighed. He had been certain that his disdain for her would remain absolute. He hadn’t viewed her much better than he viewed Turk Landry. It also didn’t help matters that the first thing she asked for when they got to the estate was a drink. But his disdain had been shaken by Jonathan’s and Cyrus’s explanations.

He was now convinced that the whole “b***h” thing was a front. He didn’t know at first, but when she said that she could relate to how he felt as the Blue Aura, a glimmer of her true self shone through. It happened again when she looked on Joey’s phone and saw that her eyes were green again. That scared the s**t out of her. So much so that her mask slipped again. Eva had that b***h mask on to hide fear.

This Elliott guy, the murderer, had Eva so frightened that she had to piss people off to hide it.

What had she gotten them into?

Terrence stood up and extended his hand.

"You owe me twenty bucks."

"What? What for?"

"You know what for. That psychic was right on the money. My money. Pass it over."

"Hell no," Jonah scoffed. "She said I"d fall in love with her. That I"d be rich and get a golden parachute. Superstar doesn"t look like she"s about to give us handouts."

"Come on, J! You just met her!" Terrence began to tick off his points with each finger. "Blonde? Check. Golden eyes? Check. Gold? Olympus counts, so check. Insanely wealthy? Also check. And did I mention famous? Triple check."

"I"ll see you, and I will raise you." Jonah ticked off his own fingers. "Blonde? Coincidence. Golden eyes are kinda green now. Olympus. Eh. Wealthy and famous, but on T.V., not movies."

"Fine. I"ll raise you." Terrence seemed to be getting way too much amusement out of this. "Blonde? Natural. Golden eyes? Green came and went so that don"t count. Olympus? It"s real, dude. T.V. famous is still famous. The woman never said movie star, just entertainment. You were the one who threw in movies. And how are you gonna explain why you keep stealing glances at her? You already falling, and you know it."

"Falling? I"m on watch." Jonah shrugged. "This lady is a magnet for trouble. Plus, she is afraid and doesn"t want us knowing. I"m not stealing glances. I"m observing."

"Uh huh. Ok," Terrence nodded. "Then you won"t care if I try to take my shot. You know how many magazines I got saved up just because she does pin-up shoots? That girl is sexy as hell."

"Shoot your shot, brother," Jonah said. "Hopefully, she"ll be enthralled. Cyrus won"t approve, just so you know."

Terrence raised an eyebrow. "That wasn"t the response I was expecting."

"I know what you"re trying to do here. It ain"t happenin". Besides, I got Vera-"

"Who runs off every chance she gets and barely gives you the time of day." Terrence snorted. "Reena! Tell J. to give me my money back."

Reena abandoned her conversation with Joey and approached them.

"What money?"

"The twenty bucks from the psychic. J. doesn"t believe that Eva is the one she was talking about and he won"t listen to reason."

Reena laughed. "Yeah, J. You lost this one. Pretty decisively."

"Ok. Look, there"s absolutely nothing there. Nothing."

"Yeah? I"ll believe that when pigs fly." Reena smirked. "You two keep playing the "I hate you" game to hide the fact that you just want to rip each other"s clothes off."

"Reena!"

"It"s true." She shrugged. "I know that look on a woman"s face. She got hit by lightning when she saw you. Now, she don"t know what to do about it."

"Hit by lightning?" Jonah frowned. "She"s been a Mean Girl...a Karen ever since we"ve met! For the smart one, you kinda overshot that one."

Karen"It"s a front, J.," Reena rolled her eyes. "I told you that she"s scared. On that same note, you"ve been an asshole to her. Why? Are you trying to deny how you feel or something?"

"Hell no," Jonah muttered. "I saw her asshole, and matched her. It was that simple."

"Ok." Reena nodded. "So if she came over and kissed you right now, you"d push her away? Or would you get into it?"

"That"s never going to happen."

"That"s not an answer."

"But it"s the answer you got," Jonah said. "She"s got the old guy, anyway."

"I think that"s just for appearances sake." Reena tapped her fingers against her chin. "Notice how they barely interact with each other? That doesn"t scream red hot romance to me."

"Why are we even having this discussion?"

"Because its fun to torture you?"

"Funny."

"I"m gonna go talk to her. See if I can shoot that shot we talked about." Terrence clapped Jonah on the shoulder. "Since you don"t mind and all."

"I don"t," Jonah said heartily. "It"s just...she has Old Dusty. Brace yourself."

"Where"d she go?"

"She went out to get some air." Jonah responded. "The front porch. Probably."

"Good. That means she"s alone." Terrence grinned. "Wish me luck."

Terrence started to walk away, but got ten steps before he threw up his hands and stormed back over to them.

"What? I thought you were going to shoot that shot."

"And I thought you were going to try and stop me! What the hell, J.?"

"Why would I stop you?" Jonah said in an innocent tone. "I"m interested to see if she shoots you down, or lovingly lets you down. Because it ain"t gonna work."

lets"And why is that, exactly?" Terrence crossed his arms over his chest. "Because of the old dude? If she"s the vapid celebrity type, then the old dude don"t matter."

"She just...seems like she needs a Hollywood type," Jonah said. "Not you know, us bumpkins. For God"s sakes, you invite her to a barbecue, she"ll probably shoot it down and say she only eats grass-fed, free-range cardboard."

"Stop torturing me, J.! Alright. Fine. I"ll go talk to her for you."

"For me?"

"Yeah. I already told her that you weren"t really an asshole and that we"ve been through a lot lately. When I walked her to her room." Terrence grinned. "She thanked me for my insight of removing all the mirrors so she wouldn"t have to worry about a spirit trying to come through. Cause I - unlike you - recognize a good thing when I see it."

Jonah shrugged, feeling a relief he didn"t understand. "This has been fun, y"all. I"ll be in the weight room. If you shoot your shot or what have you, you can come by and tell me how good it went."

"Will do-"

Terrence stepped back in a moment later with a frown on his face. He crossed over to them.

"That was fast."

"Eva"s not outside." Terrence shook his head. "At least, not on the porch. You didn"t see her come through, did you?"

"Haven"t seen her, brother," Jonah said. "I"m sure she wouldn"t be in the gym."

"She would have walked right by us." Reena tugged her ponytail down then put it right back up. "Maybe she went for a walk on the grounds."

"Dammit," Terrence sighed. "I just got my courage up. I"ll try again tonight. Maybe I can walk her to her room."

"Maybe she"ll invite you in." Reena grinned.

"Have fun, man," Jonah told him, oddly relieved again. "And when you"re disappointed, come find me. We can game, okay?"

"I"m not getting under your skin at all, am I?"

"Would it make you feel better if you were?" Jonah asked.

"Yes because then I would know I"m right and you would give me my twenty bucks back!"

"Terrence!" Reena laughed. "So your whole schiek has been to get twenty bucks? What would you have done if she said yes?"

"You know what I would do, Re." Terrence pulled out his phone and showed them a screenshot of Eva. It was an obvious photoshoot, but she was dressed in nothing but a tiny skirt as she walked down a beach. "I"d take care of things."

Jonah took a breath, but shook his head. "That"s stalker-y, man."

"It"s only stalkerish if I actually tried to contact her. Who knew she"d show up here?" Terrence tucked his phone away. "I mean, other than that psychic."

"You better lock your phone," Jonah said. "If she sees that, she"ll put you away in the prison everyone wanted to put Kevin Spacey in."

"She"ll never see it." Terrence shrugged. "Just like Charlize Theron will never see her pictures on my phone. Or-"

"You have more than one?"

"I"m a man, Re. Of course I do. And we"re getting off topic. How are we gonna actually set Jonah up with Eva so I can get my money back?"

"Dude, if the twenty means that much to you, I"ll PayPal you," Jonah said. "You will not be my gilded pimp."

not"I"m not gilded, I"m golden." Terrence grinned widened. "I think you"re afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid that something might happen to make you happy. You get nervous when s**t gets too good, J."

""I"m good, brother," Jonah insisted. "No nerves. Though I"d like to know why she"s so scared."

"I think it has to do with Elliott."

"What"s his story anyway?" Jonah shook his head. "I don"t get how someone who is immortal could be afraid of anything."

"Elliott is just an ass, dude. He"s pretty much known for it." Terrence shook his head. "He"s the creative director and co-host of the show, so he determines their locations. But he is forever sticking Eva in situations where she ends up either hurt or traumatized."

"Traumatized?"

"Yeah. Like, in their first season. One of the clients died of a heart attack right in front of her. The season finale? He had her be bait for a rapey spirit who turned out to be a flesh and blood employee of the hotel they were at. You know that s**t had to leave its mark."

Jonah frowned. "And the boss of the show...agrees to this s**t? What kind of people does she work for? Good ol" boys?"

"Yeah. Elliot is the son of the CEO and founder of Theia. Their staff have all been there forever, so they go along with all kinds of things. As long as Grave keeps bringing in the big bucks, nobody dares to step in."

Grave"So the more successful Eva is, the more danger she gets put in," Jonah said. "Great."

"Exactly." Terrence glanced back at the front door. "Forbes reported that she takes home nearly three hundred thousand per episode now. That"s before her percentage of the ad revenue. And each season is twenty-two episodes long, so you can do the math on that."

Forbes"No wonder she"s rich as f**k," Jonah said.."I hope she invests most of it."

"What she doesn"t invest, she gives to charity. It"s that Hollywood liberal influence."

"Are you seriously talking like that"s a bad thing?"

"Not at all. I"m just saying that there"s more to her than her looks, is all."

"Uh huh," Jonah said. "They believed the same thing about Miley Cyrus. Then she released Bangers, and everything went to shit."

Bangers"You can"t put those two in the same category." Terrence shook his head. "Eva lays low, which is why the paparazzi love to ambush her. Her only scandal has been this supposed suicide attempt which we all know was false."

"What happened exactly?"

"Nobody except Eva and Cyrus really know. She was in Charleston for her parents" funeral back in the fall. The papers reported that she jumped out of a four-story building, but there"s holes in that story."

"Holes?" Reena decided to rejoin their conversation. "Like what?"

"She had a wicked stab wound in her side right where her mark of the Sibyl is." Terrence leaned in like he was giving them good gossip. "And there was evidence that she had been in a physical fight prior to that. Busted face, fist bruises, s**t like that."

"Well she"s immortal, supposedly?" Jonah said. "In Greek mythology, the only thing that could injure an immortal was Athena"s Blade. Assuming, of course, that"s real. So unless Elliott shanked her with that, she"d be hard pressed to prove her story. "

"What do you know of Athena"s Blade?"

The three of them turned to see Cyrus standing close by. He studied Jonah with a cold expression.

"I"ve read mythology." Jonah shrugged. "That was one thing that stuck with me."

"What happened in that hotel room, Cyrus?" Reena frowned. "Seriously?"

"Eva is a very...fragile...individual." He responded. "It would be best for everyone involved if our worlds did not mix together."

"Dude, we ain"t the one that mixed us together," Jonah reminded Cyrus. "That was your boy Apollo. So if you"re butthurt about that, kindly don"t take it out on us."

"Besides all that," Terrence said with a frown, "What"s the deal with that, man? If l didn"t know any better, I"d say that you"re telling us Eva can only have friends you give her permission to have. Please tell me I"m assuming wrong."

"It is my duty to make sure Eva is protected." Cyrus gave them a tight smile. "Anyone who attempts to become friends with the Sibyl must be vetted and they must be able to hold their own."

"You are the one who does the vetting?" Reena asked. "Sounds like that"s a job for Apollo, don"t you think? It just seems like a weird thing that you would be the final say on that."

"Then allow me to clarify." Cyrus sounded annoyed. "Eva doesn"t have friends. It is far too dangerous for her and for them. I ask that each of you keep your distance from her while we are here. Jonah"s dream of the Sirens is proof enough of how dangerous it is to be under the same roof with her."

"Ain"t happening, bro," Jonah said. "Jonathan brought you guys into our zone. There will be no reticence on our end. If Apollo declared it, whatever, but...and no disrespect to you, bro, but...your word isn"t enough. Eva has no friends because you call it? Uh uh. Sorry."

you"We shall see."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Exactly what I said." Cyrus stuffed his hands in his suit pants pockets. "If Apollo deems it so, then we will follow his directive. Yet, that directive will be over soon. If you must aid Eva in filming her show, then so be it. But don"t expect anything further than that."

Jonah"s eyes narrowed. Something about that way Cyrus said that didn"t sit well with him. "No expectations either way, man. I"m just saying that Eva is a grown woman, with her own mind, and own opinions and viewpoints. I say this with full respect, no one here needs to talk to you first. If you were her publicist, yeah. But you"re the muscle. Nothing personal. Just a different set of rules."

"Muscle, yes. I suppose so."

"Speaking of," Terrence spoke up. "Where were you when Elliot pushed Eva out of that window?"

"You are assuming Lancaster was involved."

"Eva said-"

"Eva says a lot of things in an attempt to keep her public persona intact, Terrence."

"Oh," Reena said in a knowing tone. "It"s like that."

"Like what, dear Reena?"

"Don"t call me, "dear,"" Reena said, "And it"s like the situation where you prefer the narrative controlled as much as possible. Why is that, Cyrus? Why do you feel that Eva needs to be micromanaged?"

"As I said, my charge is an extremely fragile individual," His eyes darkened as he turned to Reena. "And given the dangers she faces on a daily basis, it is imperative that as much control as possible is utilized to ensure her safety. Eleventh Percenters face dangers, yes, but not to this extreme. I would prefer that you not put ideas to the contrary in the Sibyl"s mind. My job is hard enough as is."

"There you go again, dude," Jonah said. "What you prefer. What you want. What you desire. We can"t actually put thoughts in Eva"s head. But it seems like you want to be the only one who puts thoughts there. If I"m wrong, tell me. Sounds like you are acting like a mixture of her dad and husband."

youyouyouyou"You have no right to speak like that to me," Cyrus glared at Jonah. "You do not know our world-"

"Shut up." Reena held her hand up. "Eva"s essence just changed."

"What?"

They all saw Eva"s sword vanish from the coffee table. When Jonah started to go around him, Cyrus held out an arm.

"Do not, Blue Aura, believe you can interfere."

"And do not, Cretan, believe you can control me," Jonah fired back. "Now I may not know your world, but I do know these grounds. Now if you"ll excuse me. Jonathan, give me back my batons, We’ll find out what’s up.”

“Jonah,” Cyrus attempted to empty the tension out of his voice, “Eva is not your responsibility—”

“Save it, man.” Jonah was so thankful to have his batons back that he twisted them in his hands a few times. “You don’t want my help? Tough shit.”

He spun on his heel and hurried out before anyone could say anything about thinking or planning. He was on the porch in about a minute, with Cyrus right behind him.

At that moment, clear as a bell, they heard Eva scream. Their heads both shot in that direction.

“Woods!”

Jonah nearly knocked Cyrus over as the two of them tore off towards the woods. He didn’t know what to expect when they reached Eva.

And once they did, he still didn’t know.

“What the hell?”

Eva was surrounded by shadow people. But the composition of their bodies was a bit denser, like soot. They put Jonah in mind of other shadowy, soot-like beings.

“Shades!” Cyrus yelled. “Stop this at once!”

“I don’t think that worked, dude!”

Jonah called over to him. He thought of the Sirens messing with his head again, and the combination lit Jonah with such anger that all thought of worry got stamped out.

He threw down his batons and began to concentrate.

“Jonah, what are you doing? Eva needs us!”

“Get Eva out of the way,” commanded Jonah.

“I need to cut a line through the beasts—”

“Don’t touch a single one!” snapped Jonah as the ground began to tremble. “You might want to get Eva now!”

Cyrus disappeared into the shadows. The shadow beings realized that the ground was trembling beneath their feet, and alarmed, ceased attacking Eva. Cyrus phased into view right next to Eva and pulled her aside. The shadow people didn’t even notice.

Jonah’s concentration came to fruition as the mental cage door closed in his mind. The second it did, that familiar spectral blue cage erupted out of the ground and trapped every shadow beast within. One touched a bar and howled in agony.

“What is this?” cried one of them. “No Greek mortal is capable of such things!”

“I’m not Greek, I’m Southern,” growled Jonah. “And you ain’t welcome on this land.”

He closed his fists, and then cage closed in on the things. The blue cage wiped them out in minutes.

Jonah lowered his hands. Cyrus and Eva looked at him in shock.

“What was that?” asked Eva.

Jonah took slow breaths to calm himself. “It’s got some fancy name, but I call it a Mind Cage.”

“Why were you riled so?” asked Cyrus.

Jonah felt himself return to center. “They reminded me of something else.”

Cyrus’s eyes narrowed, but he let the matter drop as he returned his attention to Eva.

“Dammit,” He snapped. “What are you doing out here?”

Jonah rolled his eyes and extended a hand to Eva. “Apparently, superstars do whatever they please. I hear they refuse to listen to anything. Especially when it’s for their own damn good.”

Eva took Jonah’s hand, and then jerked him down and to the side. Jonah was ready to call her everything except her given name, but then he realized a shadowy form on her sword. The thing gave a final twitch as it faded into the night.

“You missed one, Country,” she muttered. “You can thank me later.”

Eva shoved Jonah hard enough to cause him to roll over on his back. Jonah rolled his eyes again as Cyrus reached down to pull Eva up on her feet. He filed his snarky response away. Now was not the time for it since Eva had taken one hell of a beating. Cyrus’s eyes narrowed as he turned his full attention to Eva.

“Your injuries are your own fault, Eva," He snapped. “I told you to stay on the porch."

Before Eva could respond, Cyrus continued.

"You of all people know what dangers you face right now and yet, you rush off without thinking? If it hadn"t been for the fact we were still in the family room, we never would have realized you needed help."

Eva crossed her arms in front of herself and nodded. "You"re right. I"m sorry, Cyrus."

"When we get back to the house, I want you to go straight to your room and stay there." Cyrus grabbed her arm right above the elbow and Jonah could have sworn he saw a wince flicker across her features. "Let"s go."

"Hey, dude!" Jonah exclaimed. "If you grab Eva like that, you"ll bruise her worse than the Shades! Want to cool it a bit?"

"What did I tell you about interfering, Rowe?" Cyrus glared at Jonah as they began to walk. "Since you are so concerned-"

"It"s fine," Eva interrupted as she stared straight ahead. "I"m fine. I swear it. Thank you for your help. Both of you."

"If you hadn"t left the porch, there wouldn"t have been a need for help."

"You"re right, Cyrus. I should have listened to you. I"m sorry."

"Eva, you don"t have to apologize for walking twenty goddamn feet," Jonah spat. "Cyrus, it"s not interference, it"s a question. The website says Eva"s dad"s name was Martin, not Cyrus. Jonathan wouldn"t have a woman manhandled like that. Neither will the rest of us. Now loosen your grip. The blood is draining from Eva"s arm."

Eva said nothing as Cyrus released a sound that was a cross between a sigh and a growl. He loosened his grip, but Jonah could see he was pissed.

What the hell was going on between the two of them? Really?

Once they reached the front porch, Cyrus steered Eva towards the stairs only to stop when Reena called out to them.

"You. Get in the kitchen. We"ll check you over."

"I can"t," Eva cleared her throat as she tried again. "I"m fine. It was just a scuffle."

"I won"t ask again," Reena said, stern. "Sit and be inspected."

Eva moved into the kitchen with her head down, arms still crossed over herself. The second she was out of earshot, Cyrus turned to Jonah.

"You have no idea what our world is like, Rowe," He glared at him. "Kindness is a weakness that is exploited. You question my methods through the eyes of ignorance."

"Kindness...don"t give me that s**t," Jonah said, "Eva being in danger from violence, so you respond with violence? If you think that is a valid approach, the only ignorant one is your ass. Your world ain"t no different from the rest of them. That s**t was borderline abuse. There is no other explanation."

withCyrus inhaled then responded.

"Eva is my charge. She is my responsibility. She is not a student at the estate. Jonathan nor you have any influence on what happens between us. I want to make that point perfectly clear."

Jonah didn"t back down. "Eva is Apollo"s charge, with you as his chosen hand. Nah, she isn"t a student here, but she isn"t your student, either. If you are in Jonathan"s domain, under his roof, then he does have influence, whether your ego accepts it or not. If you keep acting like as big a threat as those shadow things, or as an even bigger one, I want to make it perfectly clear to you that you will be treated accordingly. Got me, dude?"

doesyou"Perfectly. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to check on Apollo"s charge."

Cyrus went towards the kitchen and Jonah watched him until Terrence bounded over to him.

"What the hell could attack Eva here?" He demanded. "We"re protected by every resource imaginable."

"Shady-looking things, man." Jonah shrugged soreness out of his shoulders. "Something or someone is mixing our Greek and ethereal stuff. Got through some defenses out there."

"So what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"You looked pissed, bro. I"m willing to bet it wasn"t those shady things unless they destroyed one of your batons or something."

Jonah gritted his teeth. "It seems Cyrus the Muscle is a bit old school."

"Old-school? As in mentality?"

"Yeah," Jonah answered, "As well as in how he treats women. Eva got attacked out there, and then he chewed her out for leaving the porch. See that red on her arm? That didn"t come from those Shade things. That came from him grabbing her in frustration."

"Wait. Cyrus did that?" Terrence looked confused. "I"m sure it was just a mistake."

"A mistake? I saw him do it!"

"Come on, J. If Eva was being abused, somebody would have noticed and spoke up. More so, she would have left him. The woman has houses all over the world. It ain"t like she"s dependent on him or anything."

Jonah took a deep breath so as to let Terrence"s words in. "Alright, fine. I ain"t entirely convinced, but I hear you."

"You"re awfully protective of a woman you don"t like." Terrence"s face was shrewd.

"It could be Jessica Hale, as much as I hate her, I"d still step on if I thought she was being battered," Jonah said.

"Yeah, I hear ya."

Terrence and Jonah headed into the kitchen, but stopped just inside the door. Eva sighed when Reena slathered suave on her arm above the elbow.

"I maintain this is completely unnecessary."

"And I maintain that you should get taken care of," Reena grumbled. "What about between now and when you"re healed?"

"Then I"ve learned my lesson about taking on a mob of eleven assholes by myself?"

Jonah almost laughed. If she thought she could spurn Reena’s attempts to aid her, she had another thing coming. Apparently, Cyrus couldn’t withhold his admonitions even with this big of an audience.

“I told you so,” He said to her. “How could you be so careless?”

Cyrus paced in front of the chair while Eva took, at least in Jonah’s eyes, more time than necessary to answer him. After the earful she had gotten in the woods, he almost told Cyrus to drop it. How many times was that old bastard going to keep bringing up that this was her fault?

“Cyrus, I’m fine." She winced as Reena put some sort of cream on the wound across her side. “In fact, I’m not even sure why y’all are going through all the trouble to bandage me up. My wounds will be gone before morning.”

“This conversation is going to drive me crazy,” announced Jonah. “What were those things? They looked like Haunts in the shapes of people. You said there were eleven of those things? I only saw five .”

“Eleven.” Eva confirmed as she shook out the arm Reena had been working on. “I took out five of them before I got ambushed from behind. Six, if you count the one I saved your ass from. And what exactly is a Haunt?”

Jonah stared at her. She took out five by herself, huh? He kind of wished he’d seen that.

“Fine,” said Eva. Apparently, she didn’t want Jonah to tell her what a Haunt was. “Where is Jonathan? If I’m going to tell this, I may as well do it with everyone here.”

Jonah watched Reena pack up the healing satchel that she used with almost as much aptitude as Liz. They all filed through the kitchen so as to reach the family room. Eva grabbed an entire bottle of wine. Christ alive, where did she put all that liquor? But Joey cleared his throat, took it, and poured her a glass. Jonah shook his head. Beyond remedying the effects of a Haunting, he had no use for liquor. He hoped she didn’t expect that crap to clear her mind.

“I am here, Eva.” Jonathan appeared though the door. He nodded to Jonah and Cyrus as he perched himself on the arm of the couch where Eva seated herself. “You did well, Jonah.”

Jonah shrugged. He was more concerned with those Haunt-looking things than praise.

“Look, this is going to be painful to talk about.” Eva started with a ragged breath. “I saw my mom.”

“Your mom?” Terrence leaned forward with his elbows pressed against his knees. “You saw your mom in spiritess form?”

“Yes,” murmured Eva as Cyrus stood over her. “I shouldn’t have seen her. Apollo forbade it. The two of us have a…a horrible history.”

“Exactly right." Cyrus stood stiff in front of her. "Apollo forbade it. Try again, Eva.”

Eva rubbed her hand over her face. “If it wasn’t Janet-“

“It wasn’t. You decided to ignore a perfectly rational suggestion to stay where I could help you.”

Eva’s face became completely blank. She was shutting down. Jonah knew that sort of look anywhere.

“Why don’t you let Eva tell us what happened instead of interrupting her every five seconds?”

“Because Eva has been known to lie on occasion. Especially when she knows she has gone against orders set out for her own protection.”

"Eva," Jonathan raised an eyebrow at Cyrus before he focused on her. "Please tell us what happened."

"I walked right into a trap." She responded in a flat voice. "The incident in the woods was my fault. I apologize for putting Jonah and Cyrus in harm"s way. May I be excused?"

"Not yet. There is more, I think.” Jonathan glanced around the inhabitants of the room, and then at Eva. “Tell us about this trap.”

“What is there to say?” Eva stared at a spot on the wall behind Cyrus" head. “I got slammed against a tree. Their leader told me there were some things worth going to hell for. Said I was a threat to harmony or something. Then I started a good old-fashioned brawl.”

“That’s when we showed up.” Jonah had to describe those beasts. “Jonathan, those things looked like human-shaped Haunts.”

“Those weren’t Haunts, Jonah.” Cyrus spoke, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Eva. “They are called Shades. Powerful creatures blessed by Hera herself. They were believed to be soldiers who had fallen on the battlefield. Only the best were brought forth from the Underworld to serve the Queen of the Heavens.”

“So she has an army of her own now?” sighed Eva. “Great.”

But Jonah ignored her. He wasn’t about to give up that easily. “Why did they look like Haunts?”

“They are products of the same Astral material,” Jonathan explained. “Hera is mixing our worlds to create new monsters.”

Jonah hung his head. So this woman—goddess—whatever, was borrowing from both their worlds to make shadow soldiers. Swell.

And then Jonathan had to go and make things even more swell.

“Jonah,” He said with his eyes on Eva, “I want you to remain with Ms. McRayne throughout the duration of her stay here at the Grannison-Morris estate.”

“What?” Jonah blinked. “But Eva already has a bodyguard. Besides, why me? Why not Terrence? He’s the big fan.”

“Emotions will do no good when you encounter a threat.” Jonathan held up a hand as everyone started to protest. “Cyrus, I understand your position. Yet, I believe the threat your Sibyl is facing is far more dangerous than anything we’ve ever encountered before.”

“I accept your offer.” Cyrus nodded, but Jonah saw him grit his teeth before he continued.. “Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.”

Jonah raised an eyebrow. Really? He was fine with it?

“But now,” Cyrus took Eva’s arm above the bandage Reena had covered her elbow with and helped her to her feet, “I believe it is time for Eva to retire. It has been quite the eventful evening.”

She said her goodnights to all of them as Cyrus steered her towards the door. She stopped at the threshold and turned to face Jonah.

“Thanks, Jonah. I really appreciate your help back there. I’m sorry I got you pulled into a mess.”

The appreciation took Jonah by surprise, but he recovered nicely. “Don’t mention it, Superstar. Thank you for getting that one that was behind me.”

Cyrus guided her out. Jonah plopped down as Terrence whacked Joey on the shoulder with no force behind the hit.

“Let me show you your room, Joey,” He said. “It’s a couple doors down from mine.”

“Sure, man,” said Joey, “How many rooms do you guys have?”

“Oh Lord.” Reena rose and untied her hair. “The number of people in here is in single digits, and still there is bromance. I’m going to paint.”

She headed for her art studio, which left Jonah alone with Jonathan.

“Who thought so much bull—sorry—B.S. could fit into one day?” Jonah asked. “But I’m more than happy to put it behind me. ‘Night, Jonathan.”

“Not so quick, Jonah.” Jonathan never took his eyes off of the door that Eva and Cyrus used to leave. “Remember how I told you that I wished you to remain with Ms. McRayne?”

“Duh, Jonathan, you just said it five minutes ago.”

“I want that to begin now.”

Jonah stared at his mentor. “Um, what?"

Jonathan’s expression didn’t change. “You heard, son.”

“At one a.m.?”

“Time makes no difference, Jonah. You know that.”

“But Jonathan!” Why the hell was Jonathan doing this? “She is in a room with Cyrus!”

“Exactly,” said Jonathan. “His judgment is not what it should be at a juncture like this. And she doesn’t need the distraction that the keeper is undoubtedly causing her at this time. You two have a mutual experience with each other’s worlds. We should strike while the iron is hot. Besides, Cyrus can assist me in assessing the new defenses. ”

“Oh come on, man!” Jonah kind of understood what Jonathan meant, but the timing was garbage. “Just give her the night, Jonathan. I’ll link up with Eva in the morning. If I go in there now, there is no telling what I might be interrupting—”

“Your presence may very well interrupt something,” said Jonathan. “An innocent woman from experiencing a horrific beating.”

That one stopped Jonah in his tracks. Jonathan had to go there, did he?

“You know something, Jonathan?”

“Not for certain, but I recognize the signs. And I won’t have our guest harmed under this roof.”

“Alright, Jonathan,” He said. “Fine.”

Jonah hated ruining moments. Then again, after what he had witnessed in the woods, he wasn"t sure what kind of moment he would be interrupting.

He returned to Eva’s door, no violent intent this time around, and knocked.

He heard stirring, steps, and then the door opened. It was Cyrus.

“What?”

Jonah stiffened at the tone in Cyrus" voice. He wanted to play the asshole? Fine. Jonah could give it right back to him.

"Jonathan wants me staying with Superstar."

Cyrus looked at him. “Now?”

“Yeah,” said Jonah. “ Right now.”

Cyrus shook his head. "She is already asleep. Perhaps it would be best if you waited until—"

Then he heard Eva’s voice. “Can’t it wait until daybreak? I’m all for the extra babysitter. But at one o"clock in the morning?”

Jonah shrugged. These were the same questions that he had asked Jonathan himself. Why couldn’t they understand that?

“Jonathan doesn’t really care about time,” He told them. “When I asked him those same questions, he said Eva and I have a mutual experience now and it’s best to expound on that sooner rather than later. Plus, he’d like your assistance with shoring up defenses, Cyrus. He didn’t want those Shades anywhere near here again.”

Cyrus’ aggravation was still evident on his face, but he relented. “Very well,” He said. “I’ll depart. But if Eva needs me—”

“Cyrus, I swear to you,” Jonah said, “If Eva needs you, I’ll personally see to it that you know about it. Deal?”

Cyrus took a breath through his nostrils. “Alright. See you in the morning—well, later in the morning, Eva.”

Finally, he departed. Jonah stepped into the room to take it in. He saw Eva sitting up with the comforter over her legs. She rubbed sleep out of her eyes; a movement that caused the strap of her shirt to fall from her shoulder. Jonah took a breath as his mind flew in the exact opposite direction he wanted it to go in. The picture Terrence had shown him earlier flashed before his eyes and he shook his head to clear it.

Calm down. Jesus, He admonished himself. It’s just a little skin.

Calm down. JesusIt’s just a little skin.Jonah threw an awkward glance at Eva as he pushed those unnecessary thoughts to the back of his mind. Eva stared back at him.

“So what’s the sleeping arrangement?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. “Because I don’t share my bed with anyone.”

“I doubt that,” Jonah snorted. “I bet Cyrus would be pissed to hear you say that.”

“We don’t have that kind of relationship,” Eva glared at him. “And I’m not a w***e. So no, I don’t share my bed.”

“Calm down, Superstar,” Jonah dropped the sleep bag at the foot of the bed. He couldn’t help but notice there was far less venom in his voice now. “I’ve got sleeping equipment here. All is well.”

Eva shook her head and turned on her side. “I maintain that we don’t have to share a bedroom. We could have just met back up at seven-thirty.”

“My feelings exactly,” murmured Jonah. It was the truth. There was no point in sugar-coating it. “But when Jonathan says something, it gets done.”

Eva scoffed. “Do you always do what you’re told?”

“Hell no,” said Jonah, “but I’m cool with doing this one.”

He placed his batons within reach and their blue gleam faded. He stretched out on the mat he’d brought then placed his hands behind his head. Jonathan owed him for this one.

Big time.

Big timeInitially, he didn’t want to be anywhere around this woman. But then she showed a trace of backbone. Okay, it was more than a trace. She had some badass in her. But then Jonathan had to ruin the ride and stick them together like this. Didn’t he know that the last thing they needed right now was to be shoved down each other’s throats?

This was going to be a long week. How many times was that going to run across his mind?

“This is wonderful. Just wonderful.” said Eva. “I’m not going to be able to sleep now.”

Jonah shook his head. Badass, but still bratty.

“You’re a grown woman, Eva,” he muttered. “I promise you that you can sleep without your boyfriend for a few nights.”

“I told you. It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like?”

“We don’t have s*x, if that’s what you mean,” She snorted. “Cyrus usually hangs out long enough to make sure I’m asleep then he goes and does his own thing.”

"His own thing," Jonah let that just linger there for a moment. "I saw you in the woods. He didn"t seem all that indifferent then, and you were just walking on the grounds."

"That"s because I disobeyed an order. Cyrus used to be a general in the Creten army, so he doesn"t take kindly to people who defy him."

"Even you?"

"Especially me," Eva brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "It is what it is."

"That"s bullshit, Eva." Jonah"s tongue might"ve been too loose at the moment, but he didn"t really care. "You are this Sybil, yes? You are the golden girl of Apollo. If this were Richie Rich, Cyrus would be on the same level as Cadbury. And you wouldn"t see Cadbury behaving like Cyrus did. He is there to protect you, not scold you and demand directives of you. He needs to learn his place because he seems to have forgotten it. I bet he wouldn"t be that liberal with his authority if Apollo was around."

Richie Rich"What did you say?"

"You heard-"

"Did you just pull a Richie Rich reference?" She sat up with a laugh. "Seriously?"

Richie Rich"Damn right," Jonah said, snorting. "The cartoon was before my time, but Nana got them on VHS tapes. I read the comic book and loved the movie. No shame, Superstar. Zero."

Eva giggled; an act Jonah was sure she didn"t do often.

"I have a confession to make," She smoothed out her expression as he sat up to look at her. "I have never seen that movie."

"Never?"

"Nope. I never watched movies or T.V. when I was a kid, and if I slow down enough now to watch anything, it"s usually AMC."

"Well, the critics hated it, but they seemed to have it in for Macaulay Culkin post-Home Alone," Jonah said. "Besides, what do they know, anyway? If you ever get free time, watch it. Good fun from the nineties."

Home Alone"What else do you like?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Eva shook her head. "You don"t have to answer if you don"t want to and that"s ok. I"m not good with this whole socializing thing and I"m pretty sure you don"t want to socialize with me after how I acted today. I really am sorry about it. I can be a real b***h sometimes."

"Well, you were, no denying that," Jonah said, "but I haven"t exactly been a paragon of virtue, either. I love mindless action movies. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Stallone. Van Damme. Even Steven Segal. Terrible actor, amazing fighter. I like WWE. Mysteries. All things Marvel, some DC. And the old westerns and old-ass game shows I watched with Nana."

WWE"I can see that."

"See what?"

"Why you like mindless movies," She gave him a small smile. "Sometimes, it"s nice to shut your brain down for awhile. Not think about anything."

"Absolutely," Jonah said. "I do like adventure stuff as well. Like one of my favorite movies, bar none, is Raiders."

Raiders"Never seen it."

Jonah felt his eyes bulge. Did she just say that? "You"ve never seen Raiders of The Lost Ark? This is scandalous!"

Raiders of The Lost ArkEva laughed. "I"m serious! If a movie came out after 1955, I haven"t seen it."

"What? Why?"

"I don"t know. I just like the classic ones. Everything is so beautifully vintage and everyone was so classy. That element is lacking in modern movies."

"They also lack diversity."

"I beg your pardon?"

Jonah sighed. "Eva, I promise I"m not about to climb on a soapbox or anything, but there are tons of movies in the classic era that l don"t much care for."

"Why not?"

"I"m not the hugest fan of classic movies and period pieces because it"s the perfect excuse for those stuffy execs to make everyone white. There are exceptions, like The Godfather, or basically anything with Brando or Sinatra, Serpico, The Sound of Music, and of course those Westerns with Nana. But I hate whitewashing. And Hollywood was good for it."

The Godfather,hate"They are still good for it." Eva pointed out. "And typecasting is a very real thing. It sucks, but they do that because beauty brings in money. And since the beauty standard hasn"t really changed in over a hundred years, Hollywood keeps pushing the same narrative. White, attractive, thin. Anyone who is different is either - again - typecast or put in administrative roles."

"Right," Jonah muttered. "I had a friend - black guy - who had a dream to make movies. He pitched some ideas, with actors of color, but they all got shot down. He was told that they didn"t have "universal appeal." Anyone with a fully functional brain knew what that meant. He abandoned movies and went into the tech world. Very sad."

"What"s his name?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters. Give me his information and I"ll pull some strings. If movies really are his dream, then I can help with that."

Jonah was slightly surprised. "Asa Russ James. He"s done an indie film or two, but that"s about it. But you can find his name."

"It won"t be that hard. Hollywood circles are small, but we have great investigators."

The word investigators sparked something in Jonah"s memory. The last celebrity who had come to Rome had used investigators to exploit people. He asked his next question before he even thought about it.

"Have you ever met Turk Landry?"

"Yeah," Eva snorted. "How could I not? He"s the competition. Not much of one, mind you, but we run in the same circles."

"You don"t sound too happy."

"I can"t stand him. My last interaction with him was at a premiere for Shadowed Histories - that one season spin-off of his show that literally lasted five episodes? He wanted to do a Halloween special together. When I said no, he gave me the choice to either do the special or sleep with him. Otherwise, he"d find dirt on me and spread it to the media."

Shadowed Histories -"What happened?"

"I threw him in the fountain headfirst."

Damn, Jonah wished he had seen that. He started to say those very words when Eva frowned. She was looking at the spot behind him.

“What? Jonah looked behind him then did a double take when he noticed a thick white mist hovering in the air. He rolled and got to his feet seconds before a man appeared. “What the actual hell?”

“Elliot.” Eva whispered.

Jonah gave the man a double take. Elliott looked like a bluish-white hologram. He looked like a spirit. But he wasn’t in Spirit. So what was the deal?

He looked down at his form and flashed one of the coldest leers Jonah had ever seen.

“Oh man,” Elliot commented, “I gotta admit this is cool.”

"How the hell are you in here?” Jonah had to know. “There are defenses!”

“Relax,” said Elliot in a bored voice. “Your respective masters have pooled their resources, and unfortunately, they’ve been effective. I can’t breach the grounds of the Grannison-Morris estate at this time. But it doesn’t matter. The Shades were able to breach, and I will be able to soon enough. How am I here, you ask? Truth is, I’m not. I’m miles away, on your Astral Plane.”

Jonah shook his head. It couldn’t be true. There was no possible way.

“Are you talking about Astral Projection?!” He croaked. “But you’re a Tenth Percenter!”

“Those little details tend not to matter when your patron is Hera,” Elliott rolled his eyes. “Hera is able to supersede any restrictions your planes of existence may hold. She is all-powerful.”

“Damn,” Jona whistled. “You’re really up her ass, aren’t you?”

“Shut up, Eleventh,” snapped Elliott. “I couldn’t breach your grounds yet, but I could manage this. But it’s enough. Eva, get to the Covington House right now.”

“I’m not really worried about the house right now.” Eva glared at the newcomer with a hatred that was evident. “What I don"t understand is why it"s so damn important to you. Important enough to bring me a f*****g message in the middle of the night."

“Because I"m ready to dance your damn grave,” Elliott snapped “The sooner you go, the sooner I can do that."

"Look, if you set some sort of trap there, then I"m not going."

"Yes, you are. You"re going to be a good little Sibyl, or my victims will never know peace.”

Jonah nearly dropped his batons. This Elliott guy couldn’t have the power. He was a Tenth.

Eva must have caught his expression, because she put all of her attention on him. “What does he mean, Jonah?”

Jonah couldn’t speak for several seconds due to being dumbstruck.

“He—he’s somehow got the powers of a Spirit Reaper,” He responded in a hollow voice. “He is going to usurp spirits to make himself stronger.”

Jonah saw horror, fear, and grief engulf Eva. Instantly, he was furious at this guy. Another damn bully.

“You’re a big man when you’re broadcasting from somewhere else,” He snarled. “You’re screwing with things you don’t understand. Let those spirits go!”

“I warn you, Eleventh Percenter,” said Elliott. “This isn’t about you. It’s about Eva. What do you care, anyway? You’ve known her one day, and from what I hear, your meet and greet wasn’t pretty.”

“Yeah, well, what a difference a day makes, huh?” retorted Jonah. “You won’t hurt Eva. Not in my backyard.”

“Don’t befriend her,” warned Elliott. “Do yourself that favor. Don’t get close to that evil b***h. She’ll betray you, just like she betrayed me.”

Jonah sniffed. “Push someone around, and then paint yourself the victim. Classic. I only see one b***h here, and that’s you.”

Elliot’s eyes hardened. “Okay, Eleventh—”

“Jonah Rowe’s the name,” interrupted Jonah with heat.

“Okay, Jonah,” said Elliott. “I was going to leave you alone. This was simply a means to an end. But now, you’re in the game, too. You’ll die, just like the Sibyl.”

Jonah gritted his teeth. “Death isn’t real.”

“Oh right,” chuckled Elliott. “I almost forgot you people’s cute little shtick. But death will be real. For you and your new buddy.”

“Good luck with that.” Eva lifted her chin as she glared at the image. “You haven"t managed to kill me off yet.”

Elliott pulled his eyes off of Jonah and slowly turned them to Eva.

“You know, even now, I still adore your green eyes. I can"t wait to see that fear in them again like I did back in Charleston."

Jonah snapped his attention to Eva. Her eyes were once again green. He looked back at Elliot’s projection with loathing, but Elliott kept his focus on Eva.

“You will go to Covington House as soon as I am done here,” He told her, “Or those fuckers I killed - including Martin and your w***e of a mother - will never know peace.”

Jonah tossed a baton at Elliott’s projection. It shattered, but he knew that Elliot was on the Astral Plane somewhere, completely unharmed.

He went to Eva, who had fallen to her knees with her face buried in her hands. Jonah didn’t know what to do other than fling an arm around her shoulder. Mere minutes ago, he’d have kept his distance, but the time for awkwardness was long gone now.

For a fleeting moment, Jonah’s mind shifted. Eva didn’t need Cyrus. She didn’t need to be tied to an abusive, ancient keeper. He hadn’t protected her from the Shades, and he sure as hell wasn’t there when Elliot showed up. No. She didn’t need Cyrus.

She needed him. The desire to hold her became so strong, he tightened the arm he had around her before he realized what he was doing.

What the actual hell was that about?

“It’s alright, Eva,” He murmured when he forced his thoughts back to the moment at hand. “He wasn’t really here.”

Eva looked scandalized, hurt, and broken. Then Jonah remembered those last words.

“Why did he say those things about your mom?” he asked her. “What victims?”

Eva raised her face from her hands and gave Jonah a look that clearly said she was terrified to answer his question. She was spared the task though, because at that precise moment, the door banged open, and their friends burst inside.

“What in the hell are you doing?” Cyrus demanded. "Release her. Now."

"You better take that base out of your voice," Jonah snapped before he turned back to Eva. "What victims?"

"Elliot sacrificed twelve people to Hera last year. It was her payment for the power he possesses now."

"God dammit," Jonah growled a little in his throat. "I am tired of this s**t! It can"t be two a.m. and-"

They all looked at each other.

“Jonah,” said Jonathan, “You and Eva have been in this room for a day and a half.”

“What! But—”

Then Jonah remembered. Time on Earthplane and Astral Plane were different. Elliot’s little Astral mind games made them lose time.

“We all lost a day and a half,” said Reena. “We thought we were asleep for a few hours, but now it’s Wednesday. Three p.m..”

“No,” Eva jerked up, her eyes wide. “We missed the Covington House interview—”

“Never mind that, Eva.” Cyrus began, but Jonah cut him off.

“Reschedule it,” He commanded to no one in particular. “For today. Get whoever you need to speak to on the phone and tell them we’ll be there in forty-five minutes.”

“Why?” asked Reena.

“Elliot is holding spirits back from the Other Side,” Jonah announced to them all. “He wants the Covington House thing done, or he’ll usurp them like a Spirit Reaper."