Page 57 of Dark Restraint

The group I’m walking with splits off after two blocks, and only then do I allow myself to look behind me. The sidewalks are busy at this time a day. It’s hard to pick out just one person from the crowd. Phaedra could be ten feet behind me and I’d never know. The thought makes me shudder.

My phone buzzes in my hand, and it startles me so intensely, I almost drop it. My breath catches in my throat when I read the words there.

Asterion: Go through the door on your right.

I turn to my right. At first glance, I have no idea what the store sells. The windows are clogged with everything from wine to blankets to stuffies. Olympus doesn’t get tourists because of the barrier, so I don’t know why they have what appears to be a souvenir shop here, but I duck through the door all the same. Inside, it’s even more claustrophobic. The aisles between racks of clothing and other paraphernalia are so narrow that my body brushes them as I pass.

There’s no one at the counter, and I don’t know if that’s comforting or worrisome. Again, it strikes me that someone could have taken Asterion’s phone. But the only reason I would be on this street at this time is if I was heading from Dionysus’s building to the Dryad. And the only way they would know that is if they understood my reference earlier. There’s no reason to think someone who isn’t Asterion would know. No one saw me with him that night.

I think.

When a familiar shadow falls across me, I almost sob in relief. “Asterion.” But then I get a good look at him. He’s wavering on his feet a little, carrying himself with a brittleness that would be familiar if I could just focus long enough to understand. “What happened?”

“Not here,” he rumbles.

I swallow down the questions bubbling up in my chest and follow him deeper into the store. He has an even harder time with the narrow aisles than I do. But at least with his bigger body knocking the clothing racks out of the way, I’m brushing against fewer of them.

We duck into an employee break room. There’s no employee to be found, but my brother sits in one of the folding chairs with his head in his hands. He looks up as we walk through the door, and a storm breaks across his expression. “You made it.”

My knees choose that moment to buckle. Asterion sweeps me into his arms before I have a chance to make contact with the floor. His grunt is almost silent, but it goes through me like a rocket. “Put me down. You’re hurt.” That’s why he’s moving so stiffly. I should’ve recognized it. I would have if I wasn’t so exhausted.

“Hurt.” My brother gives a mirthless laugh. “That’s one way to put it. He got shot. By our father.”

29

The Minotaur

We make quite the trio as I lead Ariadne and Icarus through the back door and into the car I called. Doing so is a calculated risk, but I’m still bleeding, and the other two look dead on their feet. If the taxi driver tries to fuck with us, I’ll just kill them. I start to rattle off the address for my apartment, but Icarus laughs and interrupts me. He holds Ariadne’s hand in a white-knuckled grip, but his expression is relaxed. “Come now, Minotaur. My father has known about that apartment since the beginning. He allowed you to have that freedom, but don’t think for a second there aren’t people waiting for us there.”

I wasn’t trying to be overly secretive with the apartment, but I didn’t advertise it, either. It’s irritating as fuck that I didn’t realize how closely Minos was having me watched. “We have nowhere else to go.”

Ariadne stirs. “That’s not true.” She leans forward to catch the cab driver’s eye. “Do you want to earn a huge fare with one hundred percent tip?”

He laughs a little. “Sure, lady. Where are we headed?”

The address she gives doesn’t sound familiar, but from the driver’s response, it’s some distance. He holds out his hand. “Listen, if you want to go there, I’m going to need half up front.”

She sends me a pleading glance; I’m already pulling out my wallet. The amount the driver requests is absurd, but there’s no point fighting now. The longer we stay in one place, the easier we are to track. I still don’t breathe a sigh of relief as he pulls from the curb and enters into traffic. “Where are you taking us?” I murmur.

“Dionysus has no fewer than three houses in the country.” She speaks softly, matching my tone. “They’re going to expect us to scurry to your apartment or one of our allies in the upper city. It will take them longer to figure out we’ve gone outside the city proper. Long enough that we should be able to figure out our next steps and anticipate theirs.”

It’s hardly a foolproof plan, but it’s better than what I have. I lean back against the seat and hiss out a breath when my wound makes contact. The bleeding has slowed, but I’m pretty sure the bullet is still embedded in my muscles. It sure as fuck feels like it. My shirt is plastered to my back; it’s going to be a bitch to get off.

We’ve barely gone six blocks before my phone starts buzzing. I need Ariadne’s help to pull it out, and when I see the name flashing there, I curse. Hermes. “Now isn’t a good time.”

“That’s quite the hostile greeting, and when I come bearing gifts, too. How thoughtless.”

I almost hang up then and there, but our list of allies is rapidly shrinking, and while I would never be foolish enough to list Hermes among them, she’s the only chance I have to bring the barrier down. Or, more accurately, to bring it down on my schedule instead of Circe’s.

“Being shot puts some motherfuckers in a bad mood. You didn’t answer when I called earlier.”

“I was busy,” she says blithely. “But now isn’t a good time for you to leave the city. I need you here. I found the last component we need to bring down the barrier. We can do it. Tonight.”

Tonight.

I thought I wanted it to happen soon, but now that it’s on the horizon, I feel so unprepared. I don’t have my shit. I don’t have any weapons beyond a single gun with a single clip. I have an exhausted Ariadne and an Icarus who’s likely in shock with me. Bringing them is out of the question, but I have nowhere to put them, either. “It’s going to have to wait.”

“Can’t wait. This is our chance. I can probably do it myself, but you said you wanted in, and I’m not above using the tools available to me.”