Pandora (Book 3) (The Omega Group) (8 page)

Mirissa opened her mouth and forced out a barely audible
reply. “There’s nothing.”

Greco sucked in a breath as if he'd taken a blow to the
stomach. Growling like a wounded animal, he turned and strode away, leaving her
standing in front of her room. He paused long enough to slam his fist against
the wall before disappearing around the corner at the end of the hall.

“Goodnight, Greco,” Mirissa whispered. Brushing a tear from
her cheek, she entered her room and closed the door behind her.

Flip sat at the head
of a long, golden banquet table with Aphrodite perched on the seat at his right
hand. She lazily fed him decadent treats from the overflowing platter in front
of him.

“I missed you so,
Flip,” she said.

“Don’t you worry, pet.
I’ll be at your side for the rest of eternity.” Flip lovingly caressed her
cheek before turning his attention to the peon currently polishing the floor at
his feet. “Make sure that marble has a mirror finish before you’re done, or
else.”

“Yes, sir. It will,
sir,” Daedric said with a horrified look.

Nibbling at a piece of
berry-filled pastry nestled in Aphrodite’s delicate fingers,
Flip
—

“Horse companion!” Ares bellowed.

Flip awoke with a start to find himself in Ares’s library.
“Yes, Ares. What can I do for you now?” He wasn’t sure what annoyed him more;
being once again teleported against his will, or having such an incredible
dream interrupted.

“Tell us what you’ve learned about the key-holder.” Eris’s
voice, though beautiful, sent a shiver through him. It had been five thousand
years since she’d last been on Mount Olympus, but her cruelty remained
unmatched by any other god—even Ares.

Flip cringed. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I mean, what information have you uncovered that might be
useful to us?” The implied threat of bodily harm—or worse—if he didn’t produce
worthwhile intelligence hung in the air.

Flip cleared his throat. “Well, they are a very close group.
They fight
for
each other as much as
they fight
against
their enemies.
It’s quite remarkable, actually. Mirissa was willing to sacrifice her own
safety to make sure I didn’t get hurt when Daedric pretended to try to injure
me.”

“I wasn’t pretending,” Daedric mumbled from his seat on the
leather sofa.

Flip glared at him. “I hope you like marble floors,
Daedric.” The furrow in the half-breed’s brow said he didn’t have a clue Flip
would soon be a higher god and more than capable of taking revenge on those who
annoyed him.

“So, in all your time with the girl, the only information
you’ve been able to garner is that she’s nice?” Eris looked less than pleased,
which caused Daedric to lick his lips, as though salivating over the expected
carnage.

Ares made his irritability known by hurling Flip to the
floor. “My sister believes we’ve been going about this the wrong way.” The look
he shot at Eris made Flip wonder who was actually in charge.

“You said as much yourself,
brother
.” The tone infused into that endearment showed how little
love the two siblings shared. “Daedric has come at this girl head-on more than
once and lost. Sometimes, all a situation requires is a little finesse.”

Daedric stood at the unspoken insult. “I don’t understand
why you don’t just kill her yourself.”

Eris twitched with anger. “Because, when Zeus made this
little bargain, he decreed that no god could interfere with either side.”

“But didn’t we already do that when I retrieved the box?”
Daedric’s usual arrogance was replaced by confusion.

“In case you forgot, you’re not a god. Getting the box was
the whole reason Ares sired you, moron,” Flip sneered.

Eris waved off their conversation as though it meant nothing
to her. “Flip, tell me everything you know about Mirissa.”

“She’s quite powerful for a human. Even more powerful than
she gives herself credit for. She’s very young, so her confidence level is
lower than it should be.” He looked at Daedric, dreading having to utter the
next sentence. “She doesn’t believe she could have beaten the half-breed
without the help of her family and friends.” Before Daedric could interject
some self-serving comment, Flip quickly added, “But I’m not sure that’s the
case.”

Ares strode forward with his chest puffed out. “Then we kill
her family. Her friends, too. Everyone important to her.”

The goddess gave him a droll stare. “Zeus may be arrogant,
but he’s no fool. He’ll be watching, waiting for us to break his rules and
interfere. No, we must be careful.” Eris pondered the situation for a moment,
then a cruel smile lit up her face. “Tell me, Flip. Of all the people she is
with, who does she rely on the most?”

Flip had to think about that one for a moment. His first
thoughts were of Greco. She was definitely emotionally attached to him and held
him in high regard. But Flip’s gut told him something different. “I’d have to
say her father, Steve. Given their history, his presence empowers her more than
anyone’s.”

Eris clapped her hands together, the corners of her lips
curling into a sinister grin. “There you have it, boys.
 
One accident—completely innocent, of
course—and our key-holder problem is solved.”

The breakfast in what passed as a restaurant in their hotel
left much to be desired. Mirissa pushed the watery eggs around her plate with a
fork while waiting for her parents to join her, daydreaming of a mile-high
stack of blueberry pancakes. At least the coffee tasted all right, and with the
serious lack of sleep she was dealing with, that was a definite plus.

“You look tired, sweetheart.” Her mother pulled up a chair
and waved down the waiter. “By the looks of your plate, I’m guessing I shouldn’t
get the eggs.”

“Stick with toast. They can’t screw that up too badly.”

After placing her order and taking several long gulps of
coffee, Myrine got down to business. “I just spoke with Beck. There’s still no
sign of Daedric in this dimension. His last known whereabouts, according to the
tracking device, is interesting, though.” When Mirissa didn’t take the bait,
Myrine continued. “He left our dimension at the base of Mount Olympus.”

“Seriously? I don’t suppose there’s any chance that’s some
sort of huge coincidence.”

“Not likely. My guess is the myths were right, and all of
the gods are still living there, just not in our dimension. If that’s the case,
and if Ares is still pulling Daedric’s strings, there’s a good chance the box
is there, too.”

Mirissa pushed away her plate of uneaten food. “If it is,
then we’re in real trouble. If I can’t get to the box, how am I supposed to
close it?”

Her mother smiled in the way all moms did when they felt
their kids were getting disheartened. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

For the briefest of moments, Mirissa wanted to tell her
mother everything Artemis said. She allowed herself to get caught up in the
fantasy that her destiny to die was simply another problem her mother could
figure out.
If only that were the case.
Although telling her the truth would lessen the weight Mirissa had to carry on
her
shoulders, that
was the only good it would do.

Her mother and father would risk anything to save her, even
if it meant putting the rest of the world in jeopardy. Just having to make the
choice in the first place would destroy them. No, Mirissa wouldn’t put them in
that position.

“I probably don’t say this enough, but I love you, Mom.”

Myrine cocked her head to the side. “I love you, too,
sweetheart. Is everything all right? You seem a little melancholy this
morning.”

Mirissa scrounged up a smile. “It’s nothing. Greco and I
just had a bit of a fight last night. Nothing for you to worry about.”

Mirissa’s father chose that moment to join them. “I can kick
his ass for you if you want,” he said while mussing her hair.

“Not necessary, but thanks for the offer. I’m lucky to have
you. Both of you.” Mirissa blinked back the tears that threatened to shatter
her resolve.

“Wow,” Steve said. “That fight must have been a doozy to
make you this mushy. Would it be wrong of me to hope for more arguments between
you two?”

The easy banter throughout the meal gave Mirissa the
fortitude to stand by her decision. If these were to be her last days with her parents,
this was exactly how she wanted them.

“Excuse me.” A petite woman with short brown hair, wearing a
rumpled business suit, stood to the side of their table. “Myrine Colson?”

Mirissa’s mother nodded. “That’s me. How can I help you?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but the hotel receptionist told me
I might find you here.” She fidgeted with her glasses as she spoke, pushing
them up the bridge of her nose, and then pulling them lower again. “My name is
Jill Gulick. The White House sent me.”

Myrine let out a long sigh. “Of course. It’s nice to meet
you. This is my husband, Steve, and our daughter, Mirissa. We were just heading
up to our room. Why don’t you get settled in yours and meet us there. Room two
thirty-two. It’s sort of become our base of operations since this hotel lacks a
conference room. I’ll gather the rest of the team.”

Using the short time they had available while their liaison
went to her room, Myrine brought the troops together. “She’s here. Beck, I need
you to stay behind while we check out the area where Daedric’s signal
disappeared. Ms. Gulick will want an update, and Flip needs a babysitter.”

Beck crinkled her nose as though she’d smelled something
awful. “Oh, this is gonna be an awesome day. What, exactly, am I supposed to
tell her?”

“As little as possible,” Steve said with a wink.

“I’ve already called Julian,” Myrine continued. “He’s
emailed several files detailing the clouds, the storms, and the archeological
site. There’s no mention of anything supernatural, but there’s enough info in
them to hopefully keep her busy. You’ll have to ad lib from there.”

“Lucky me,” Beck groaned.

A knock at the door signaled their time alone had ended.

Myrine looked to each of her team members and gave them a
quick nod. “Here we go.” When she opened the door, a bleary-eyed Flip, grasping
a cup of coffee as though it were a lifeline, greeted them.

“Good morning,” he said.

Myrine wasted no time. “Flip, we have a guest about to
arrive. She can’t know about our unique abilities. Do you understand?”

“Um, okay. But you’re not very good at hiding that stuff. I
mean, you let the cat out of its chair pretty quick with me,” Flip said.

“We let the cat out of the
bag
,” Orano grumbled.

Flip’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I know you did. That’s
what I said, isn’t it?”

Mirissa interceded before Orano could strangle the little
guy. “Just, keep it a secret, okay?”

Flip shrugged his shoulders as though he’d been asked a
million times before to hide the truth about preternaturals, then plopped
himself down on the empty chair in the far corner of the room.

Beck directed everyone’s attention to her laptop’s screen.
“They’re giving an update on the storms.

********

CNN
Special Report

Meteorologists
worldwide are still reeling at the sudden formation of six hurricanes across
the globe. Each storm is said to have the potential to become a category five
or higher before making landfall approximately three days from now. Experts
agree that, should these storms continue to strengthen at their current rate,
the devastation caused will be incalculable.

What does this mean
for you? Currently, evacuations are underway here at home for residents along
both the eastern and western coastlines. People are being strongly urged to
relocate as far inland as they are able until these storms pass. Satellite
communications, though still functional, are quickly deteriorating as the
atmosphere continues to be blanketed by quickly expanding rain clouds—a
phenomenon called “rain fade.”

In related news, on
the heels of international shipping companies recalling all of their
transoceanic vessels to port, there are unconfirmed reports that fourteen ships
may already be lost. With no communications received from any of these vessels
since shortly after the storms appeared, officials are fearing the worst.

Stay with us here at
CNN as we bring you the latest news on what is now being called Stormaggedon.
I’m Julia Saxon, and we’ll be right back.

********

“Things are going to get much worse,” Myrine said. “We only
have a few days to fix this, or …”

Mirissa patted her mom’s shoulder in a lame attempt to
alleviate her stress. “We’ve got this, Mom. It’ll be okay.”

“Hello?” The liaison pushed open the already ajar door and
entered the room.

Myrine began the introductions but was interrupted when Flip
bolted from his seat.

He ran his fingers through the tangled mess of his dirty
blond hair and pushed his way through the crowd. “I’m Philip Petrakis. It’s a
pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand and, when she grasped it to shake,
he instead brought her fingers to his lips, planting a light kiss on them.

Mirissa stifled a giggle. If this had been a cartoon, Flip’s
eyes would have been replaced by two bright red hearts. To her surprise, the
woman actually blushed.

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Petrakis. Truly,” she said,
casting her gaze away.

“All right, I think it’s time for us to go now,” Steve said
with a smile. “Beck has some files for you to read, Ms. Gulick, which should
bring you up to speed on what’s been going on. We’ll be back in a few hours.”

“Don’t you
worry.
I’ll make sure
she has everything she needs.” Flip’s gaze never left the woman.

“Just remember what we talked about, Flip,” Mirissa
whispered in his ear.

As they left the room, closing the door on poor Beck and her
two unwelcome companions, Mirissa let out the laugh she’d been holding. “I
think there was a bit of a love connection there.” She looked at Greco, hoping
to find him laughing as well, but saw nothing but a blank stare.
Don’t worry, Beck. You’re not the only one
that’s going to have a long day,
she thought.