Catalyst (A Grace Murphy Novella) (4 page)

Sometimes you just need short chapters to set it all up. Or maybe the author is just lazy….

After the Medusa incident, things had gone smoothly. We'd picked up a few churros and made our way through the rest of The Quarter, peeking into nooks and crannies and shopping for gizmos and gadgets.  Aside from the ride, it was my favorite land.

I'd scheduled an entire week but we could probably have done the entire place in a couple of days. Even though there were two separate parks, it really had never been an enormous venue. They were talking of expanding now that there was room to build, but it would be years before anything would get started. 

The last two years hadn't exactly increased the world's population and despite the increase in prices, sales were down.  Soapbox Preachers were gathering crowds on every major street corner, working the people up into monumental 'End of the World' frenzies.  It was bad for business.

Was it the end nigh? Maybe.  That was as good of a reason as any to get out there and enjoy life.

The honest truth was that I wanted a few days with my kid where we were part of the hum drum of humanity.  So far, my plans had gone awry. Looking back, I suppose that this is where I should have realized that the shit was on the verge of hitting the fan.  They do say hindsight is 20/20.

***

"You're staying here."

"Why is that a problem?"

"Why aren't you staying in your own room?" I crossed the room and looked out the door as if my angry death stare would open up a free room for him to stay in.

"I told you, they don't have any empty rooms. You have a suite. I can sleep on the couch."

I closed my eyes and ran through the possibilities in my head.  One – he would snore obscenely loud and I'd murder him in his sleep. Two – I'd sneak out in the middle of the night and jump his bones in a fit of unrequited lust. 
Mmm, I should probably have moved that up to one. Let's face it, he was looking like a gorgeous pile of mashed potatoes and gravy and I'd been on a carb free diet for a long, long time.  Three – we'd get along famously and nothing would happen, making this the most normal vacation I'd ever taken.

I snorted out loud at the last point.  Hah – what were the chances of that happening?

He threw me a confused look that I ignored. "Fine. Take the couch. We're getting up early for the Princess Power Hour."

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't judge. I like the Princesses," I replied defensively.

"Shall we take you to be made up?"

I cast my eyes down at the floor, looking anywhere but at him. I could feel the tips of my ears heat up from my blush. "I'm too old. I've already checked."

A bark of laughter was the response I got and I turned and
beelined to my bedroom before he could say anything else to intensify my embarrassment.

"Tomorrow we hit Futuristic Land. Cool?" I hollered into the main room. Dylan's room was on the other side of the sitting room and he had his French doors open. Typical teenager, they listened to every single thing that they weren't supposed to, used that stolen knowledge
against you at the first inconvenient opportunity, and never heard when they were supposed to be listening.

"Sure," he called back.

"That's fine with me too," Heph joined in.

I rolled my eyes and started folding the booty from the day.  I'd picked up a few pairs of pajamas and some hoodies and t-shirts for both Dylan and myself.  "I'm going to—"

My sentence was cut off by the swoosh of an envelope being slid beneath my door.  I cocked my head in curiosity and headed over to the doorway to find out what it was.  The final checkout bill wasn't supposed to be delivered until our last day. Nothing else was expected.

I bent over and looked at the plain vellum with my name scrawled across the top.  Old Grace would have immediately picked it up and ripped open the seal.  New Grace knew better than to pick up unexpected packages.

I unconsciously rubbed my wrist where one of my mother's lessons had left me with a rash that lasted a month.

"Heph?"

"Yes, Grace?"

"Were you expecting any deliveries?"

"Not that I can remember. Why?"

"An envelope was just slid under my door."

"So, read what's inside."

"Not after what Diana did to me."

I heard a sigh come from the sitting room and his heavy tread as he joined me. "So do you sense anything from it?"

"I'm sorry, those powers haven't come online. What kind of things should I sense?"

I was being flippant, but he answered me seriously. "Well, you can determine any magical traces by sensing for any lingering power residue coming from the paper. It looks like a regular envelope. No spells that I know of attached."

"Oh."

I picked up the envelope and slid a fingernail under the flap to break the seal.  A single sheet of paper lay inside.  Dropping the envelope on the table I unfolded the paper and read.

"I knew it was too quiet," I whispered.

"What?" he asked taking the paper from my hands.

After a few moments a quiet, "Interesting."

"Yeah," I replied quietly – as if the careful reaction would keep things copacetic for just a few more minutes.

It's all just a big fat trap… all of it!

"You realize that it's a trap." He flicked his wrist and the page sailed gracefully onto the table top.

"Of course it's a trap. What else would it be? It's like a bad spy novel plot. The villain invites the dashing hero to a fancy dinner. There will be drinking, dancing, a slinky black dress and then a bad monologue where said bad guy threatens the world.  I've seen the movies. I'm not interested in going to a real life Cos-play."

I strode to the window and peered out the drapes. The park was still lit up like a Christmas tree and I lost myself in the glow.  I always did like
blinky lights.

"You're not curious about what this could be? You've never wanted to dine at the exclusive restaurant?"

I turned and rolled my eyes. "Of course I have and I am. But I'm here for the kid's birthday.  I've already gotten into one fight. Isn't that one enough adventure for a vacation?"

He smirked.
"Obviously not."

"Do you think she's out to finish what she started?" I asked, thinking that my getaway from Medusa had been entirely too easy.

"Naw. It's not her style.  She's more likely to sneak up on you in a dark alleyway and knife you in the kidneys while you watch in horror as her snakes devour your fingers."

I shuddered. "I don't know how I sleep at night."

"Booze. Have you tried booze? There's also exhaustion from sex.  You should try sex."

My brow arched in surprise. "Is that an invitation?"

"Do you want it to be?"

I let out a snort and moved away from the window. "When you decide that you're a big boy and can ask me out on a date without the games and innuendos, you know where I'll be."

He grabbed my arm and swung me around.  "Who says I'm interested in a date? Maybe I just want a quick roll in the sheets."

I bowed and threw my arm out, gesturing to the wide world around me.
"You have a couple of billion women to choose from. Have at it."

"So you're not interested."

"I'm not interested in you treating me like a piece of meat, Hephaestus."

"I tried treating you like more and you rebuffed."

"I was in the middle of a crisis. I wasn't interested in starting something that I didn't know if I'd be able to stick around for." Now we were getting into uncomfortable territory.  It was all fun and games until someone brought up past relationship rejections.

"I seem to recall you pining after Captain Awesome. If he would have asked you, you would have set up house and spread your thighs with a smile."

He realized he'd gone too far a fraction of a second before my palm connected with his face. It helped bring home that point when the force of my blow dislocated his jaw.   He'd deserved the slap. I'd just forgotten how much stronger I was these days.

I left him and his hanging jaw behind in a storm of fury.  I get that he was jealous.  Hadn't I said worse with regards to Hope? But being on the receiving end didn't make the words any prettier.  He had a
damned fine way of expressing his affections.  I spared a glance as I turned the corner into the master bedroom and saw that he was standing rigidly with fists clenched. 

He was spoiling for a fight. It was almost as though he would feel better if he could brawl it out. 
Or not. God only knew what went on in that man's head. Maybe that was our problem. He didn't emote well and I wasn't good at playing guessing games. Was it so hard to ask for some up front honesty?

The man was a least five thousand years old. You would have thought that he'd have learned how to talk to girls in all of that time.

"You guys would fight over the color of the sky if it was in dispute."

I looked at Dylan and closed my eyes. I'd not forgotten that he was
there, I'd just hoped that he hadn't been paying attention.  Yeah, maybe it was time to take those blinders off.

"And he'd probably still be wrong," I smiled and sat down next to my kid. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, doing the same thing as today. Riding rides and eating everything in sight. It's a goal."

"Everything in sight?
That's a lot of food."

He shrugged. "I'm always hungry."

I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. "I know, I gotta feed you more. I guess as long as you're working off those calories, I'm not going to fuss."

He gasped and reared back in mock shock.
"You? Fuss? Why I never."

That got a laugh out of me and I fell back on the mattress and smiled. "You're an impudent puppy."

"Does this mean I'm going to have to start pooping on the floor?"

I shook my head and closed my eyes. This was the problem of raising someone that acted just like you. You had to deal with the consequences of your own sarcasm.  "I just
.. I don't even…"

He chuckled and pulled me into a full hug. "You're so easy, Mom."

"Yeah, I know."

"So what was in the letter that you guys were arguing about before you started in on your relationship
squidge."

"You shouldn't be listening in on adult conversations."

"How else am I ever going to know anything?"

I didn't have a good answer for him. That was how I'd found out about anything when I was his age too.  It didn't mean that it made me comfortable, but unless I wanted to put my kid in a soundproof bubble for the next four years, I was going to have to deal with his spying.

"It was an invitation."

"To where?"

"To a private dinner at the Club tomorrow night."

"Cool, you should go."

I took a deep breath. Just because I wasn't an expert on this Hunter business didn't mean that I didn't have wisdom to impart.  "Bubby. What makes you think this isn't a trap?"

"What makes you think it
is
? Can't an invite just be an invite? Mom, you're a semi-famous writer. Why
wouldn't
they send you an invitation?"

That struck me as wholly logical and I sat there dumbfounded for a minute.  When was the last time I'd looked at anything without suspicion? A few years ago I would have been thrilled for an invitation to the exclusive Club.

He stared me down.

"Fine.
Gosh. Fine!" I broke eye contact and had a moment of utter discomfort. Whoa, did my kid just alpha me?  When he was little we'd giggle over his attempts at big dog domination. He'd try to stare me down and say he was the alpha dog. Until now, I'd always been the last to look away.

"Good." 
A kid of few words, my son.

"I don't have anything to wear, though," I bit my lip, got up and walked over to the closet to sort through the clothes that I'd brought with me.

"Mom. You can teleport. You can go get new clothes and be back in time for supper."

He had me there. "Better yet," he continued. "You can call Grandma and ask her to bring you something."

I grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him into a hug. "You want to be my date Smarty-pants?" I smiled.

"No – absolutely not.
I have ulterior motives in asking Grams to come down. She'll actually go on the drop rides with me. Unlike some cowardly person who shall remain nameless." His eyes slid towards me and the grin on his face widened.

"Did you just call me a coward?" I pushed him away playfully and put my hands on my hips. "That sounds like a
challenge, Mister! You're not so big I can't put you over my knee."

He scoffed. "I'd like to see you try."

Was this a test? I didn't want to back down but I also didn't want to hurt him. Well, when in doubt, duke it out. "Okay, kid. Let's do this."

His eyes shot wide open in surprise. "What? Here?
Right now?"

"
Mmm, you're right. I'd have to pay for any damages to the room. Right now, meet you on the Field."

By Field, I meant the Field of Bubbles – the place in Olympus where all of the Hunters trained daily. Beyond the obvious space it offered, we wouldn't be in danger of hurting anyone. The bubbles that surrounded the area acted as dampeners. Any stray magic would be dissipated before causing damage to the outlying areas. Also, I wouldn't get arrested for child abuse if someone saw me attacking my kid with a sword.

His face turned grim and he nodded once. "Okay, Mom. You're on."

We both teleported into the Field and took up stances opposite of each other. "Here are the rules," I explained, stepping a few paces back. "It's on until someone cries Uncle."

"Okay," he said cautiously. "What else?"

I took an internal deep breath. There was a line between beating someone down and asserting parental dominance.  If I were to be fair to Dylan, I'd admit that over the last couple of years I hadn't done much to earn my son's respect.  I hadn't adapted to this life as well as he had. He treated it like a comic book. Average every day kid gets super powers, gets to beat stuff up.  With the exception of his kidnapping and near death (which he was still in therapy over) he'd taken to his new life like a fish to water.

No, I didn't want to beat him up. I guess I just wanted to impart the knowledge that I was still his Mom and just because we weren't living an ordinary life, didn't mean that he got to be disrespectful.  Would I regret this later? Maybe.

"That's it. We have healers here. If something gets broken, they can fix it." I shrugged and tried to look indifferent.

His eyes widened and he called in his short swords. All of the children started off with a Greek short sword in their training. From there, they graduated to different weapons and styles of fighting.  The hope was that by the end of their training, they would have a solid affinity for the weapon that best suited them and their fighting style.  He'd just started his sword training with the older kids so he was still on the beginner blade.

Since I'd had a crash course, Drew hadn't gradually introduced me to new weapons like this. I'd learned fighting with my kukri and had little experience in wielding different weapons.  The only other thing in my arsenal was a pistol. I didn't plan on shooting my kid so I'd stick to swordplay.

His blade and mine were of similar length but since he had grown taller and his arms were longer, I'd have to stay inside his reach. But I didn't plan to draw this out.  I'd go in, bury him up to his chin and mock him until he gave up.

Easy
peasy.

"So there are no other rules," he asked warily.

"I just said no." I answered with exasperation. Jeez, this was cutting into shopping time. I was starting to regret my need to throw my proverbial dick around already.  But now that I'd challenged him, I couldn't take it back.

A small smile curved his mouth and I had a moment of panic. What did that mean?  Why was he smiling at me?

"Okay, Mom. I'm ready when you are." He swaggered a little toward me and I had to press my lips together to keep from laughing.  Teenaged boys, what could you do with them? Nothing, that's what. You put up with their shit for four years and prayed to the gods that you didn't kill them before they left their obnoxious stage.

"Good. Let's do this."

I called in my kukri and rotated my wrist, swinging them around to warm up a bit.  I waited for him to come at me. I'd expected him to go on the offensive right away. 

I couldn't have been more wrong.  Mid swing, he disappeared behind a swirl of snow. Without warning, bolts of ice flew toward me.  He expanded his field so I couldn't quite pinpoint where he was in the midst of the storm of flakes.

I cannot remember a time when I was more proud of him. Nor could I remember a time when I was more afraid.  This had gone from a small skirmish to remind him who was boss to something real. In that moment, my heart broke a little.  He was willing to hurt me and that knowledge buried itself in my gut and festered. I barely dodged the missiles by flattening myself onto the ground, pulling a wall of stone up over my head.

He'd aimed for body mass and a few flew low.  One spike caught my triceps where my arm had bent to catch myself in the fall.  I gritted my teeth and extended my shield.  Through my connection to the ground, I determined that he wasn't standing in the middle of the mini cyclone but towards the left side. That was smart. Most people would aim for the middle assuming that their opponent would be standing in the center of the storm.

Whoever was training him was good. 

I took a few seconds and tried to think of the best way to disable him without actually hurting him.  Just because he was playing dirty didn't mean that I had to.

Round hardened balls of clay broke through the surface of the ground at his feet and threw him off balance. The storm wavered and I could see his arms fly up over his head as he tried to save himself from the fall. I pushed my own shield back and sprinted to his position. If I could incapacitate him now, there wouldn't be any more bloodshed.