บท 12: eleven

"That's impossible." Theo finally said, breaking the thick air between them.

"You're a goddess and you barely even have a scratch. How is that possible?"

"I am the goddess of love and beauty who's more than capable of whipping up a simple glamour to hide the very reminder of what they've done to me. I can hardly even look at myself in the mirror, let alone come to terms with the fact that I can feel my power draining every day. Impossible or not, I know when I'm kicking the bucket."

"If you're nearly powerless, how are you capable of making a glamour?" Cassandra asked.

Her inquisitive nature made her all the more determined to discover any and every possible thing she could be hiding. And while Theo didn't feel all too comfortable prying for personal details, it felt as though she knew more than she was leading on.

And every second she spent on the darkening rooftop was much longer than she'd liked. For every moment that passed, bits and pieces of Cassandra's tales would creep into her mind giving her chills about all the possibilities that lie underneath their feet.

"I have my ways. None of which concern you."

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Cassandra said before reaching into her back pocket.

Rather than pulling out a weapon as Theo had horrifically imagined, the all too calm woman simply grabbed her phone and snapped a quick photo of Aphrodite's unsuspecting face. Once she caught sight of the flash in the dark she hurried to lift her arms to cover something neither Cassandra or Theo could see with their own eyes.

"Wow, talk about a bad hair day. Hey Theo, you feel like sharing Gollum's snapshots with the rest of the world?"

"You wouldn't dare." Aphrodite boldly challenged her.

"But I would. See the only thing you actually hold dear to yourself is your pathetic vanity. And all it would take is one press of a button and then it's gone. The world will finally see what the great Aphrodite's come to."

"Could you imagine the disappointment? The rejection? The pity? Because as far as we know, you aren't much more than a pretty face. And now? You're not even that. And that's just sad."

"Cassandra, maybe we should take a step back. We all want the same thing."

"I doubt that. She's from Olympus, a place that most likely comes with a world full of connections, and yet she never dared to try to get revenge for what was done to her. Which tells me she either knows or she knows enough to look the other way. And unfortunately for her, we don't all have the luxury to forgive the unforgivable."

And despite the high chance that this was no more than Cassandra's fascinating paranoia, Aphrodite's silence was very telling.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with. There's a reason I went into hiding, and soon you might want to do the same thing. So I'm giving you one last chance to walk away and leave it all alone."

"It's hard to do so when my life's on the line."

"Is it? If they wanted you dead, you'd be dead. Clearly the objective is something far worse for you."

"Enough with the distractions. You either give me something or you're about to become a front-page freak show."

"You don't understand. I can't." She said looking past Cassandra and frantically shaking her head at Theo.

"You can't or you won't?"

"I can't. Now if that's all you came for, it's probably best you leave now. Especially since the sun's set already." Aphrodite suggested in an all too casual manner.

"What?" Cassandra balked.

"Leave. You never know who's listening in the dark." She said with one final look at Theo before vanishing before their eyes.

"That bitch!"

"We really should go. It's late and I seriously need to lie down and figure out what the hell just happened."

"I'll tell you what happened; she was useless and now I'm going to expose her."

"Don't." Theo stopped her.

"Why not?"

"I don't completely trust her but something was clearly wrong and she was petrified of something or someone and I'd like to find out before burning all the bridges we have to figure it out. For now, let's just go and recollect the data and come up with a better plan. Cool?"

"Fine. But I'm saving it for later."

And without a second glance, she strode back down the steps they came from and hurried to the car. She never noticed that Theo was far behind her heels and several minutes later she finally emerged from the building.

"What took you so long?"

"I just dropped my flashlight. We can go now." Theo simply answered as honestly as she could.

Half an hour and three pizza slices later, Theo found herself tirelessly searching up the building that had yet to leave her mind when she finally got a name. Prior to being the home of many disasters and failed business start-ups it was no more than an empty lot that had been privately owned by a non disclosed citizen and it had eventually been named Death's Door by neighboring towns in their bedtime stories.

Most of the seemingly true facts came from shared retellings of a story that was far too difficult to follow. And that was how she came to ringing up her only hope.

"Hello?" A surprisingly perky voice answered the phone.

"Lisa, how are you?"

"I'm knee-deep in rewatching The Bachelorette for the eleventh time so I guess you can say I'm going pretty good. You okay?"'

"I'm good, but I was wondering if you'd be able to do some under the table research for me. You're the best at knowing the hidden details and I need to know as much as possible."

"Ooh, why?" The curious girl asked.

"An assignment from Joan. It's something small and quiet to work on during my leave. But since it's only in the early development stages I'd appreciate your discretion. This is something I'm really passionate about and I'd hate for it to be spoiled before it's released, you know?"

"I completely understand. And I'd be more than happy to help you out. Whatever it takes to get you back into the office. So what am I looking at?"

"It's a place called Death's Door. I'd love some personal and factual details about it and the surrounding area throughout the disasters struck near there."

"Hm, okay. Give me a few days?"

"No rush. Thank you so much, Lis. I owe you."

"Yeah, I'm calling it now. You didn't hear it from me but Joan arranged a gala in Ryan's honor to award him the key to the city along with an oral excerpt of your article on him. It's still being planned but I'd love a ticket. Can you imagine who'll be there?!"

"Consider it done."

"Thank you!"

"Good luck with the research. Talk to you later."

As soon as she hung up the phone, she was surprised to hear a sound knock on the front door. To her knowledge, Alex had been busily working the past few days and not many people actually knew her address.

Once she pulled on the nearest pair of pajama bottoms she carefully walked to the door and peered through the peephole and saw a very welcome sight.

"Ryan!" She whipped the door open.

"What are you doing here so late?"

"I was in the neighborhood and I felt the strangest need to see you, so here I am. You're not busy, are you?"

"Not at all. In fact, I was just getting ready for bed."

"Ah, then I'll come back at a better time."

"Nonsense", she beamed, "come on in."

"I'm not interrupting anything else, am I?"

"Not at all. After the day I've had I could use some company to cheer me up."

Rather than leading him back to the comfort of her room, he followed close behind while she led him to the well-lit kitchen and took a seat across from her at the island.

"What happened?"

"I was eating out with a friend when we came across this problem in the crossword puzzle. She, being the stubborn person she is, would rather attempt to solve it head-on without even thinking about how it's more than just finding a word. You have to look at the clues and when you know enough, make a smart decision." She explained in the best way she could.

"But isn't it just a puzzle?"

"Not to me. Puzzles are quite literally my life."

"Perhaps I could take a look at this puzzle. Maybe what you really need is an extra head to help make a clear answer." He kindly offers, just as she was afraid he would.

"No need. I decided it wasn't worth the trouble and just put it away for now."

"Is there anything I can do to help keep your mind off of it?"

"You being here and open is enough. It's nice to know I have such amazing support, old and new. Speaking of, I was wondering if you could put me in touch with Henry."

"Oh, why?"

Theo could sense the shift in his tone and it was clear the question came out of nowhere. Before she could answer she pushed herself off the stool and walked over to his side and rested her hands comfortable over his shoulders. All it took was a comforting touch and he visibly relaxed.

"Just to get to know him and give him proper thanks for sending me to you. I'd like to get to know the people that make you who you are and who better to begin with than him? That is if you're okay with it.."

"That sounds nice. As long as you make time in your schedule for me." He said falling prey to the calming effects of the massage.

"Always. If you're free for the night, I wouldn't mind if you slept over. Although I'm used to riding solo and handling my 'puzzles' alone, your presence is growing on me."

"I'd love nothing more. You're lucky I never leave home without spare pajamas in my car. Let me just grab them really fast."

And with a swift nod, he all but ran to the door only to open and find quite the complicated sight.

Michael.

"So about that date.."