Someone was on the football field, throwing perfect spiral passes into a soccer net. Matt jogged through the stiff, frosty grass in time to see Zach bury one in the back of the net.
“Did you see that?” Zach asked, barely even glancing at Matt. “That was just pretty.”
“Yeah, it was. But you always had a great arm. You could throw like that freshman year,” Matt replied, close enough now to see Zach in the bright moonlight. He looked awful—pale, sweaty, and haunted. If Matt didn’t know him better, he would have thought Zach was doing serious drugs. “Is that what this is all about? Football?”
“How do you do it?” Zach asked with a bitter scowl on his face. “How do you hang out with them? Watch them do the things they can do and not hate them?”
“It’s h
ard sometimes,” Matt admitted. “Damn. I wish I could fly.”
“Right?” Zach said through a laugh. There were tears behind that sound, though, and Matt heard them threatening to break out. “It’s like you wake up one day and there are all these invaders, taking your opportunities away. They aren’t from here but we’re supposed to try and compete with them? It isn’t fair.”
There was a dangerous note in Zach’s voice. He sounded calm when Matt knew he was anything but. Matt spread his stance, just in case Zach did something crazy.
“I know a bunch of Scions that would say the same about what’s happening to them,” Matt said evenly. “I understand how you feel, Zach, I do. There are so many times I’ve envied them, even resented them a little. But then I remember that they didn’t choose to be Scions, and I haven’t met one who didn’t suffer for it. I can’t blame them for being born what they are, especially when all of them have lost so much because of it.”
“Well, you always were the better person, weren’t you?” Zach scoffed, and turned to leave.
“Come back with me. Come to the Delos compound. We’ll figure something out,” Matt said, grabbing his arm and making Zach face him.
“Are you insane? Look at me, man!” Zach said, shoving Matt away from him violently and yanking up his shirt so Matt could clearly see that his ribs were covered in huge black bruises. “This is how he treats me when I’m loyal.”
“They’ll protect you. We all will,” Matt promised, horrified by what had happened to his friend but trying to keep his voice calm. Zach’s eyes narrowed and he flicked his shirt down.
“Oh, so now you feel bad. Now you want to help me. Let me guess, you need something.”
“I just want to keep you alive!” Matt was so insulted, he wanted to hit Zach but settled for yelling at him instead. “I was wrong. I should have been there for you the first time you came to me. I get that now, and I am truly sorry. But even if you never forgive me and you’re still throwing this in my face fifty frigging years from now, I still don’t want you to die, you dumb bastard! Do I really need another reason to want to help you?”
“No,” Zach replied, humbled. “You’re the only person in the world I believe would be willing to help me. But it’s no use. Sooner or later he’s going to kill me.” He turned and began to walk across the field.
“Then we’ll just have to kill him first,” Matt raised his voice after Zach.
“You have no idea how,” Zach fired back derisively over his shoulder.
“Why? Because he’s blood brothers with a god?”
Zach’s back stiffened and his stride slowed.
“Which one?” Matt pressed, taking several steps closer to Zach. “Tell me which god and maybe we can find a way to get rid of him!”
Zach turned around but held up his hands in a stop gesture, warning Matt not to follow him. He backpedaled as he spoke, and the look he gave Matt was hard and hopeless.
“Go home, man. And stop helping the Scions! Tonight’s riot is nothing compared with what’s coming, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. The gods have a special place picked out in hell for the full mortals that fight against them, you know.”
“How can you know what the gods have planned?” Matt shouted after him. “Doesn’t Automedon work for Tantalus? Zach, answer me! Which god is Automedon’s blood brother?”
But Zach had disappeared into the dark.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Helen?” Orion said from far, far away.
“Gods, you’re heavy,” Lucas groaned.
Helen couldn’t figure out why they were making such a racket when she was trying to sleep. It was rude.
“Sorry, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so crowded in here,” Orion replied in an annoyed voice. Helen tried to recall where “here” was.