The Weight of the World Read online

  “Teddy, there's a difference between what hormones tell you to do and what you should do.”

  Teddy smirked. “Right,” he said. Teddy didn't believe in denying himself very much. People got ulcers from too much repression.

  She sat in the car, thinking for a moment, “You kind of zapped me, though, when we were making out.”

  “Zapped you? Like Zach?”

  “No... like... I wasn't that into it, no offense, and then I felt a little zap on my neck and I was a little too into it.”

  “Well... you know... hormones.” Teddy shrugged. He was used to letting want direct his actions. It didn't seem that unusual to him. Penny, however, had never felt anything like that before.

  “Never mind,” she said. “Goodnight.”

  Penny ran up to her door and turned to wave one last time before disappearing inside. Celene was waiting up for Penny when she came in, but Penny only said a few words to her before heading up to bed.

  “Oh, woman, woman! When to ill thy mind is bent, all Hell contains no fouler fiend.”

  -Homer

  xi.

  Pan was chosen to judge the beauty contest.

  It was a decision of Aphrodite

  or Zeus and Lamia's fair son Akheilos.

  Wild Pan chose poorly.

  Offended, Aphrodite cursed the goat God.

  She struck him with the keenest love for Ekho,

  who spurned his pursuit and fled, leaving only

  her repeating voice.

  “I will never reveal my dreadful secrets, or rather, yours.”

  -Sophocles

  XI.

  Devon stood in front of her mirror with her shirt pulled up past her stomach, trying to see if there was any visible change in her physique. Her stomach felt tight, but Evan had told her, this afternoon, that he couldn't see a difference. She couldn't ask her mother, as her pregnancy was an unspeakable subject with her parents. She turned to look at her profile and then dropped her shirt and scowled. Maybe she wasn't showing yet, but by the end of the month she would have to stop wearing her cutest jeans and buy something with an elastic waistband. Yuck.

  It was just after sunset. A warm glow still marked the horizon, but outside it was dark. Her parents were out at a fundraiser for her mother's campaign. Being pregnant got her out of having to make too many public appearances. Devon flopped down on her bed and looked out the window at the street in front of her house. A young girl walked her dog on the sidewalk across the road and there was a hoop-less game of basketball being played in the street. She got up to close her blinds when she saw Adam running up the street in a hurry. He tripped and sprawled across his lawn. Was he bleeding?

  Devon ran to the front door. “Adam?” she called as she headed onto the front walkway.

  There was blood dripping from Adam's forehead, down his face, and collecting on the front of his shirt.

  Devon hauled him to his feet and guided him into the front landing of her parents' house. She sat him down on the stairs. “What happened?” she shrieked.

  “I was out taking a walk and someone attacked me,” he said. He was shaking and breathing heavily. Devon grabbed a mauve towel from the hall bathroom and returned. She crouched down to hold it to Adam's forehead. His hair had grown out a bit in the last two weeks and instead of being a military-style buzz cut, it was starting to curl. Now the fringe of those chestnut brown curls was soaked in blood.

  “Were you mugged?” she asked.

  “No. I don't know. He didn't ask for money. I didn't even see him. He was in the shadows. He said...” he winced as Devon applied more pressure to stop the bleeding. “He sicced a dog on me. It was moving so fast, it almost looked like it had two heads.”

  Devon took a deep breath and tried to act like the idea didn't phase her. “That's ridiculous. Like a siamese twin dog?”

  “I mean, I was scared. I didn't see clearly. It was just really fast. I don't know,” he groaned. “Am I going to need stitches?”

  Devon pulled back the towel and examined the wound. “It's not that deep. Head wounds just bleed a lot. Hold this.”

  Adam took the towel and Devon went digging through the medicine chest to find some butterfly bandages. She came back with the bandages and some antiseptic spray and set to work cleaning and closing the wound. She felt a little nauseous as she worked, but she couldn't be sure if that was from the blood or the baby.

  “Did he say anything to you?” Devon asked as she worked. She didn't want to think about the task at hand.

  “He said... I don't think it was all in English. He called me a bunch of weird names... Ago-something? He said, 'You've finally arrived' and then the dog came at me. And I threw it. I threw it farther than I thought was possible and I ran.”

  Devon finished with the last bandage. Adam took her hand. “Thank you,” he said. “I'd be all alone here if it weren't for your family.”

  Her mother had a reputation to uphold. Devon didn't explain to Adam that it was probably more pretense than compassion that prompted Mrs. Valentine to be neighborly to Adam. It was nice to have someone who Devon could talk to close at hand. She didn't care what her mother's motive was when asking her to show Adam around. But now Devon had something else to worry about. The attack on Adam sounded a lot like Epimetheus' attack of Valerie, and two-headed dogs weren't exactly common in south-eastern Florida.

  “I'll be back with some ice in a minute,” she said. She didn't mean to abandon him in her house, wounded and bloody, but she needed privacy. “I need to make a phone call. If anyone asks, you were mugged, okay?”

  Adam kept hold of her hand. “What aren't you telling me?”

  “Nothing,” she lied. “At least, I don't think it's anything.”

  Devon pulled her hand out of his grip and walked into her bedroom. She closed the door and dialed Zach.

  “Uh, hey,” Zach said, sounding confused. Devon didn't call him very often. “Everything alright?”

  “You know our new neighbor?”

  “That guy Discordia says you've been seen around town with? Yeah. What about him?”

  “I think he's one of us.”

  “I'll call a meeting.”

  The emergency Pantheon meeting was held at 8:00 A.M the next morning. Devon picked up Evan before heading over to Dr. Davis' house. The atmosphere was tense. June was shooting dagger glares at Minnie, and Valerie was giving the same treatment to Nick. Something had gone down, but for once, the gossip in Devon was too distracted to care.

  Devon recounted the story of the previous night to The Pantheon. After she finished, the group sat in silence.

  “Well,” Jason finally said. “That sounds a lot like Valerie's attack last fall: cryptic use of Greek names, supernatural attacks, and aside from a few mortals who got in the way, those guys didn't attack normal people. Of course it could also be a bilingual mugger and a scared victim imagining things.”

  “We've already begun to suspect that there's another Titan after us,” Minnie said, “With what happened to Zach's car, I don't think we should dismiss Adam's claims too easily.”

  “What happened to Zach's car?” June snapped.

  Zach launched into that story, catching the rest of The Pantheon up on the details.

  “Has Adam shown any unusual abilities?” Celene asked Devon.

  “He said he threw the dog farther than he thought possible.”

  “So strength?” Frank asked.

  “Or just adrenaline,” Jason said. “So it might be nothing. We are a Miami suburb. People get mugged.”

  “What did you say he called him?” Minnie asked.

  “Uh... Ago... he couldn't remember.”

  “Aegocerus.”

  “Sure,” Devon replied, “Maybe.”

  “Pan. Rustic God of hunting, nature, and flocks. He's not really an Olympian, but he's part of our generation.” Minnie barreled ahead, “And supposing he's just awakening, he might not have his trademark horns and goat fe
et yet. Or, as Zach and I discussed the other day--”

  June made a displeased noise.

  “-- there is a difference between popular myth and our reality. It's not an accurate history. The goat thing might just be flavor.”

  “Or my neighbor really is about to sprout horns and expose us all,” Devon suggested.

  “That is based on an awful lot of guess work,” Celene added. “We don't know if the dog had two heads or the kid panicked. We don't know if he called him a Greek name or if he was just saying something Adam didn't hear clearly. We can't approach him based on so many maybes.”

  “He told me, the first night we met,” Devon added, “that his mother left Olympia Heights when she was pregnant.”

  “We were all conceived or born in Olympia Heights,” Nick said, “So add that to the list of reasons he's probably one of us.”

  “You forget just how many people were probably conceived in Olympia Heights,” Minnie said.

  “Do we bring him in?” Lewis asked. “Do we tell him?”

  “I don't think so. Maybe not until Devon sees him use some kind of powers?” Valerie suggested. “Just to be safe.”

  “So we leave the guy confused and scared? We all accepted this bunch pretty willingly. Now we choose to be skeptics? Dude, no way,” Nick shook his head. “If he doesn't know what's going on, he might run to the police or a doctor and get us all exposed. I say we bring him in now and do damage control.”

  “No. Valerie is right,” Zach said. “This bunch was screened by Dr. Davis and Dr. Livingstone before they were invited. We've all had to prove our powers. He might be an innocent extra and then we've revealed our secret to a stranger who has nothing to do with this.”

  “He's from Olympia Heights and he was attacked by a two-headed dog!” Nick stood up. “Don't be a moron, Jacobs. Clearly he's part of this.”

  Zach, too, stood up, staring Nick down. “Until we know his actual role, I say we play our hand close to the vest. I'm not going to risk the lives of everyone in this room based on what he thought he saw while he was being mugged. He might be a target because he's friends with Devon.”

  “Don't be a tool,” Nick replied.

  Devon stood between them. “Okay, stop. You're both acting like animals. I convinced him not to go to the police about the dog. We don't have to tell him anything yet. If I see him use powers, then I'll decide how much to tell him. Let me do some more fact-finding, okay? I'll talk to him. I'll find out if he's having memory dreams.”

  Peter spoke up from his spot in the corner. “Maybe we should all meet him,” he suggested. “Not in a big reveal sort of way, but maybe if we take turns meeting him, one of us will spark a memory.”

  “That's a great idea, Peter,” Jason said. “In the mean time, Devon, keep your eyes open. Everyone else needs to keep their mouths shut and be careful. Whether or not Adam is Pan, someone has attacked him and Zach. And bears in Olympia Heights? Nobody goes walking alone after dark and everyone has their cell phones ready to speed dial if something pops up. Alright?”

  Nick sat down, rolling his eyes and grumbling. “Whatever.”

  The Pantheon sat in silence. June and Valerie's violent glares were now matched in the silent exchange between Zach and Nick. “Well,” Minnie finally interrupted. “Hate to cut this riveting conversation short, but I have to go to work.” She stood up, taking her purse, and headed out the front door.

  One-by-one the members of The Pantheon departed. Celene picked up a few empty glasses and went to dump them in the kitchen sink. Jason pulled Penny off to the side to discuss her next babysitting job. Zach stayed in the big arm-chair, lost in thought, while June fished through her purse for her car keys. The others had all left.

  June found her keys and hung her black leather purse over her shoulder. She turned to look at Zach, biting her lip as she thought of what she might say to him. Five months ago she thought he was cheating simply because she wouldn't put-out, but if that was true, dating Minnie didn't make a lick of sense. Wasn't she one of the perpetual virgins like Valerie? Perhaps their relationship hadn't fallen apart because of a lack of sex.

  June looked down into her purse, squeazing her keys so tightly that they cut into her hands. She needed to clean her purse. There were too many receipts in there and it was time to sort her change.

  Zach noticed that June hadn't left and snapped out of his daze to look up at her. “What?”

  June's eyes met Zach's. Her expression hardened and she tipped her chin up. “She's all wrong for you,” June snapped before spinning on her heel and heading out the front door. Zach was left in his chair, opening and closing his mouth like a confused goldfish.

  “In anger we should refrain both from speech and action.”

  -Pythagoras

  xii.

  Her plea before the mother was for revenge

  against her husband, Zeus, who had slighted her.

  She asked for a god more powerful than he,

  and Gaia obliged.

  When Hera struck the earth to call her request,

  the creature that breached the surface reached the sky.

  A hundred dragon heads looked down on Hera

  and filled her with fear.

  “There is no beast, no rush of fire, like woman so untamed.”

  -Aristophanes

  XII.

  June Herald slinked down the self-help section of the book store, walking her fingers along the spines of books as she kept her eyes on Minnie Rutherford, who was shelving new releases, blissfully ignorant that she was being stalked.

  It was only hours after their emergency meeting. June was still energized from the article about Zach and Minnie the night before. She watched Minnie head out back to get another box and made her move, crossing quickly to a younger coworker.

  The girl was short with frizzy hair and braces. June picked her because she was straightening out the romance section, but actually sneaking peaks at the backs of books as if picking out her next stealth read. A romantic. She was bound to have the answers.

  “Hey, I'm June Herald,” June said, extending her hand in invitation.

  “Elise Monroy,” the girl replied. “Can I help you find something?”

  June took a deep breath and shrugged. “Maybe,” she said, before flipping her long red hair back over her shoulder and starting in. Her presence was commanding and she could tell the girl was a little intimidated by her. “I have a few questions to ask you. How long have you been working here?”

  “Since April,” she said. “Is there a book you're looking for?”

  “More like book worm. You know Minnie?”

  “Miranda?”

  “Yeah, Minnie. I assume you know who Zach Jacobs is.”

  “You know, I have a lot of work to do,” Elise said, becoming uncomfortable with the way this conversation was going. “You'll have to ask someone else.”

  June wasn't going to give up that easily. She had noticed a change in the way she related to people lately. It had started two weeks ago at Victoria's Secret when some other girl had grabbed the last poolside-blue full-coverage bra in her size. She had given the girl a standard glare of frustration, but something had felt different-- powerful-- and the girl had handed her the bra, apologized, and left the store.

  June had done it again last week while waiting in line at the DMV. Some jerk had cut the line and when the woman in front of June had spoken up, he had called her something horribly vulgar. He had smiled, proud of himself for his disgusting remark, proud of having the balls to just do what he wanted with no regard to others. However, when June simply said “Seriously?” and cut him with that same glare, he had gotten out of line and moved to the back.

  She was starting to suspect it was some new Pantheon power (after all, her previous power of detecting lies was just as subtle), and she was willing to try it here. She focused her disarming glare and suddenly Elise looked like she was about to cry. “Okay, I'll tell you. He's been in he
re almost every day she's worked the last few weeks and they're always off talking. The other day when she was shelving fiction, whenever she'd reach up and her shirt would slide up, I saw him check out that little bit of hip that it revealed. He's totally into her. When I saw that Discordia blog this morning I knew I was right.”

  “Elise, are you alright?” Minnie said from behind June. June whipped around, her hair fanning out behind her like the spray from a flamethrower. “June, what's going on here?”

  “Elise has just been filling me in on your new romance. You're some friend, moving in on Zach. You don't date a friend's ex, Minnie. He's off-limits.”

  “Hold on,” Minnie said. She looked confused. “Who said I was dating Zach?”

  “I saw the photos of him on Discordia,” June snapped, “So don't play stupid. I saw him kissing you last night.”

  Minnie laughed. She couldn't help it.

  “Oh you think it's funny, bitch?”

  Minnie stopped laughing abruptly and stepped closed to June. “Call me that again and see how fast I lay you out on this floor.”

  “Miranda,” warned her manager, Tony. He had seen the signs of confrontation and rushed over, leaving customers at the register.

  Minnie inhaled, letting her whole torso expand with breath before turning around to walk away. June wasn't worth her job. “I turned him down,” she called over her shoulder as Tony stepped between the girls to make sure June wouldn't try anything reckless. “He did try to kiss me, but I shut him down. Glad to know you trust me.”

  June stormed out of the book store and continued out through the south entrance of the nearest department store. She sat down on the sidewalk for a moment, trying to level her emotions before getting behind the wheel of her car. She wasn't sure if she should believe Minnie or not. Zach was charismatic and handsome and romantic, but then again, now that June really thought about it, Minnie didn't seem to care about that kind of thing. June had known that for a while. Zach's charm wouldn't work on Minnie because Minnie had no interest in romance.