The Gatekeeper's Sons Read online

  Chapter Twenty-Nine: Than’s Apology

  Therese was walking between her parents as they crossed the Royal Gorge Bridge, over a thousand feet above the raging Arkansas River, when she heard someone behind them call her name.

  It was Gina Rizzo, and with Gina were about twenty scraggily men wearing turbans and carrying swords.

  “Get them!” Gina shouted.

  Therese and her parents started to run, but Therese slipped, lost her balance, and fell over the side of the bridge. Her parents reached their hands out to her from on top of the bridge, but it was too late. Therese was free falling a thousand feet toward the bottom.

  She could make out various shapes in the solid granite formations all around her as she fell closer and closer to the raging river below. One group of rocks resembled a giant hand, like that of a god. That triggered an idea in Therese’s mind.

  I’m dreaming.

  She stopped herself midair and sailed up through the gorge. She turned several somersaults in the air to be sure. Yes! She was relieved to discover she would not crash to her death against rocks or in the raging river, but even more than that, she was glad to have a means to find Than. First she would seek out Hip.

  She stuck a fist out and flew out of the gorge. She hadn’t gotten very far when Hip appeared.

  “Nobody establishes lucidity during a free fall,” he said, flying beside her. “You are spectacular to watch. What a treat.”

  “Why thank you. I’m glad you find me so entertaining. But I need your help. I want you to take me to Than.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Why not?”

  “You’ll die.”

  “Just for a second. Just long enough to give him a message. Then you can pull me away.”

  He crossed his arms in front of his chest and grumbled, “Sorry. It’s impossible. Got to go.”

  Hip vanished from her sight.

  Therese decided to try another route. “Thaaaaannaaaatos! Thaaaaaaannaaaaaatos!” She would keep screaming his name until he came to her. “Thaaaaaannaaaaatos!”

  The sound of her own voice woke her. “Thanatos,” she mumbled, not quite the yell she envisioned in her dream. Clifford sprang to his paws and looked at her, wagging his nub of a tail. “Sorry, boy,” she said. “It was just a dream.”

  She looked at her clock. “Ten? I slept till ten o’clock?” She sat up in her bed and rubbed her neck. It was hot this morning, and the sun coming through the trees and in her windows was unusually bright. She crawled from her covers and went to her bathroom, trying to recall the details of her dream. She knew she had been looking for Than and hadn’t been able to find him. Hip refused to help her. Maybe Than had warned Hip to keep her away from him. After brushing her teeth, she came back to her room and turned on Jewel’s lamp.

  “Good morning, sunshine,” she said in a friendly voice to her tortoise, who hadn’t yet opened her eyes.

  “Good morning,” a voice answered. It was Than’s.

  She turned to the window, thinking he was on the ground below, but he wasn’t. He was in the room with her. He wore the white trousers and white shirt from her earliest dreams, before he had come to Earth.

  “I heard you calling me.” He fidgeted with the hem of his white open shirt. “Sorry it took so long. I was waiting for Hip to relieve me.”

  She resisted the urge to run into his arms. He was bathed in sunlight, and his dark wavy hair looked soft to the touch. “Why did you leave?”

  He scratched his chin. “I needed to give the humans a break from their dreamless nights.”

  She ran her fingers through her messy hair. “I wish, I wish you would have told me you were going.” She rubbed beneath her eyes, hoping there weren’t mascara rings.

  “I’m sorry.” He crossed the room and pushed a strand of her hair that must have been poking straight up over to the side.

  A wave of heat surged through her. She couldn’t meet his eyes. “Than, I know you’ve changed your mind about me. But I just want you to know, I want you to know that I haven’t changed mine.”

  He lifted her chin. His blue eyes were bright in the sunlight. “What makes you think I’ve changed my mind about you?”

  “You, you said you had doubts,” she stammered.

  His face broke into a grin. “About taking you as my wife, but not about how I feel.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  He stepped back and fell into a chair beneath her window. Clifford jumped into his lap, and Than pet him. “I’ve made such a mess of your life. You had an ordinary human life, and now I’ve pulled you into a war between gods. Not to mention the fact that you adore life and would probably despise the Underworld.”

  She stepped closer to him. “Go lie down, Clifford.” Clifford sulked over to his pillow in the corner beneath her other window. She looked at Than, trying to muster up courage. Finally she blurted, “I don’t care about all of that. God, Than, I just want to be with you. Can’t you see that? Why can’t that be all that matters?”

  He stood up and took her in his arms.

  “Just tell me the truth,” she demanded. “Do you love me or not?” Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.

  He returned the intensity of her gaze. “I do,” he said in a husky voice. Then he covered her mouth with his and gave her a deep, lusty kiss. “I do love you,” he said again.

  A hunger like she’d never known took possession of her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. A feverish, burning sensation flamed through her skin. Her heart either pounded frantically or stopped altogether; she could no longer tell. She grabbed fistfuls of his soft dark hair and pressed her body against him. Her knees trembled. She held on for dear life.

  He took her up in his arms and carried her to her bed just as she was about to fall. He laid her down on her back and knelt on the floor beside her. She took his face in her hands and kissed him.

  “I love you, too,” she said in between kisses. “You’re all I think about.” She kissed him again. “I don’t want to live without you.” Then she said, “And if you leave me again, I swear I’ll kill myself to be with you.”

  He stopped and lifted his face to look into her eyes. “Don’t say that, Therese. Promise me you’ll never do that to yourself.”

  “No.”

  “If you love me, promise me.”

  “If you love me, don’t make me promise.”

  “Then there’s only one thing to do.”

  “What?” Fear pricked her skin.

  Than grinned. “Introduce you to my parents.”

  He covered her lips with his and she laughed with joy. She laughed so hard, she couldn’t stop. Clifford pranced around the room.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, still laughing, almost hysterical now. “I’m so sorry.”

  He laughed at her and plopped beside her on the bed. “Don’t apologize. I love to hear you laugh. I rarely hear laughter.”

  He blushed, and she wondered why, but instead of asking, she broke into another fit of laughter.

  “I can’t stop. I can’t breathe.”

  “I seem to have that effect on people lately.”

  His hand at her waist sobered her, and she caught her breath. “You make me so happy. I like you so much.”

  He rolled to his back. “I’ve never been happier.” Then he sat up. “Hey, I have an idea.” He had a curiously sneaky expression on his face.

  “What?”

  “Let’s travel the world together today. Let’s start with Paris. I’ve heard it’s the most romantic city.”

  She sat up with her mouth hanging open. “Are you serious? Paris?”

  “And London, and Tokyo, and Honolulu, and Cairo, and all the places I’ve been to but never visited properly.”

  “What will I tell my aunt?”

  “The truth. Tell her you’re spending the day with me.”

  With her traveling robe from Aphrodite and her golden locket from Pallas Athena, Therese held
on to Than’s hand in front of the Melner cabin and closed her eyes against the bright light. The invisible plastic wrapped itself around her, and she held her breath, but soon the pressure was gone and she could open her eyes.

  First they arrived in Paris, in the Louvre for just a minute and held hands while they gazed at the Mona Lisa, where a fashionably dressed woman complimented her robe and wanted the name of the designer. Therese grinned at Than and explained it was a gift; she didn’t know. Although it was lunchtime in Durango, the sun was just about to set here.

  “How about a cruise?” Than asked.

  “How will we pay?”

  Than pulled out a wallet from his trouser pocket. “My father gave me this before I left. It’s magical. The paper bills become the currency of whatever country I am in at the time. See?” He pulled out the bills and showed her they were euros.

  They boarded a private dinner cruise near the Eiffel Tower and sat outside on deck in the cool evening. A light breeze blew from the Seine, and the soft sound of violins lingered in the air. While the sun sank behind the Eiffel Tower, they ate omelets and soup.

  While they ate, Therese asked Than a few questions about what it was like to be a god.

  “Can you hear people’s thoughts?” she asked, taking a sip of her Diet Coke.

  “Only when a person prays directly to me.”

  “Does that happen often?”

  “Yes, but people pray to me under the false assumption that I have anything to do with the timing of their or their loved one’s death, so I tune them out. It just makes me sad.” He looked into her eyes and smiled. “But your prayers to me are different.” He winked. “Finally, instead of begging me to postpone my visit, or pleading for me to take them swiftly to avoid the agonizing pain, somebody actually wants me just for me, for my company. You can’t know how exhilarating that is.”

  Color rushed to her face. “Wait a minute. Do you hear me every time I speak to you in my mind?”

  A huge grin crossed his face.

  “The other night…” she dropped off.

  “When you begged me to kiss you?” he teased. “And when you complimented my butt?”

  She licked her lips. “Okay, I’m going to have to be more careful.”

  “Don’t.”

  She tried to recall other times she might have said things to him in her mind. Color rushed to her face, but what did it matter? He knew how she felt. Why should she hide her feelings from him?

  When they had finished eating, Than said, “Let’s go see another sunset, this time in London. We have to hurry. The sun’s about to set.”

  They leaned on the rail of London Bridge looking out over the Thames as the setting sun cast its golden hues across the water. A crisp breeze carrying the smell of rain blew into their faces. A shower was on its way. Sure enough, within ten minutes, it began to drizzle, but they stayed to enjoy it.

  Therese asked another question. “Can you make yourself invisible and eavesdrop on what others are saying?”

  “Yes.” He looked down as color came across his face.

  “You look guilty. Have you ever done that before?”

  He shrugged and the corners of his mouth turned up. “Maybe.”

  “Have you ever eavesdropped on me?”

  “Once or twice perhaps.”

  She punched his arm. “Tell me everything, Than. I mean it! I want to know!”

  The rain came down a little harder now, sending chills down Therese’s back.

  “Let’s get out of this rain first.” Than put both arms around her.

  They took a taxi past Buckingham Palace, and drove around until the rain stopped. Then they strolled through St. James Park as the sky turned into night. “Please tell me?” Therese asked now that there were no other people around them.

  “Let’s pop over to Tokyo first. It’s late morning there.”

  They took another cab over Rainbow Bridge and gazed at the cityscape, the sun just coming up from the east.

  “That’s Tokyo Tower, I believe.” Than pointed to the tallest tower in the city.

  “Yes, sir,” the cab driver said. “The tallest one there. Also known as the Sky Tree Tower.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Therese said. “Now let’s go someplace where we can talk.”

  “How about Cairo for dessert?”

  “I better call my aunt,” Therese said, getting out her cell.

  The cab driver gave them an astonished glance in the rearview mirror. “That may take a day of travel, sir.”

  “Just drop us at the nearest museum,” Than said.

  Although by Durango time, the hour was late, approaching ten o’clock at night, it was sunrise in Cairo. They looked out over the Pyramids of Giza and gazed for a long while at the magnificent Sphinx, with its lion body and human head, before heading to a restaurant for dessert, or what was to the other tourists breakfast. On their way to the Lakeside Café, they strolled through Al-Azhar Park and caught a glimpse of the mosques and the Citadel. The café itself was a cluster of white pavilions floating on a lake with citrus groves visible through the screens. They ordered coffee and Baqlawa, which the waiter had explained was made of many layers of paper-thin dough with a filling of crushed nuts and sugar between the layers. Once the waiter left to fill their order, Therese asked her question again.

  “So tell me. When did you eavesdrop on me?”

  Than rolled his eyes. “You aren’t going to forget about this, are you?”

  “You promised.”

  The waiter returned with their coffee.

  “Thanks,” Therese said.

  Once the waiter left again, she said, “So?”

  “Okay. Remember the first day you came to work for the Holts, and you had lunch with Jen?”

  “No way! You were listening?” She tried to recall what she had said. Jen had liked him then, too. She shrieked and covered her mouth. She had talked about her boobs!

  He laughed at her, like he knew what she was thinking.

  “When else?”

  “I may have listened in on a few of your conversations both times we went to the Wildhorse Saloon.”

  “Oh my God!”

  “Like I said. You can call me Than.”

  She slapped his arm. “Quit saying that!”

  “I just wanted to be sure you weren’t already in love with someone else. So many guys asked you to dance. I worried you were in love with them all.”

  She threw her head back and laughed.

  “I might not have been wrong about Pete, though. I heard you went out with him last night.” Than frowned.

  Their dessert arrived.

  “What’s this called again?” Therese asked the waiter.

  “Baqlawa.”

  “Mmm, it looks good,” Therese said. “Thank you.” When the waiter left, she said, “Were you there with us at the movie theater?” She dug her fork into the pastry and took a bite. “Oh my gosh, this is so good.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” He took a bite. “Mmm. You’re right. It’s delicious.”

  “So were you at the theater?”

  “No. I had to work. But just before I left, I heard Pete call and ask you to go, and you said you’d ask your aunt.”

  “You were there? In my room?”

  Than blushed. “Are you angry with me?”

  “I’m only angry that you didn’t make yourself visible and kiss me, especially when you saw me crying.”

  “Yeah. It was hard not to take you in my arms.”

  “I’m angry that you didn’t.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She sipped her coffee. “The waiter probably thinks we’re crazy eating this for breakfast.”

  “I doubt it. He’s probably used to international travelers. Plus, people do sometimes eat it for breakfast here.”

  Therese smiled. She never would have referred to herself as an international traveler, but she supposed that’s what she was today. “So then you saw my visit with Pallas Athena? And you know ab
out my locket?”

  “No. She gave you a gift?” He looked flabbergasted.

  “There’s an inscription.” She opened the locket and tucked in her chin so she could read it. “The most common way people give up their power is by believing they have none.” She closed the locket and lifted her chin. “I guess she wants me to believe in myself more.” Then she added, “Too bad you weren’t there. It was really awesome.”

  “Yeah, I left as soon as she transformed from the snake.” He swallowed a sip of his sweet iced tea, loaded with extra sugar. “I didn’t want to anger her. She would have sensed my presence.”

  “Did you know she was the snake all along?” She loaded her fork.

  “Not at first. I sensed her later, when we were walking home from the Holts’, which is part of the reason I didn’t go into depth with you about how I was feeling. I didn’t want her to overhear.”

  “Oh. That makes sense now. But you scared me, you know. I was so hurt.”

  He looked penitent. “I’m sorry. I really was thinking of you and all that you would sacrifice.” He kissed the tip of her nose and asked, “Can I make it up to you with a sunset cruise in Honolulu?”

  She wiped some crumbs from her nose, which he had put there with his kiss. “The sun is setting in Honolulu?”

  “Yes. If we hurry, we won’t miss it.”

  She gave him her biggest smile. “That could work.”

  The wind lifted her hair from her back before she opened her eyes and found herself on a catamaran holding Than’s hand with the sun setting in the distance behind the Honolulu cityscape. A tourist beside her jumped and muttered, “Excuse me. I didn’t see you there,” and Therese stifled a giggle. God travel was amazing.

  The catamaran sailed along Waikiki Beach. The ocean glistened with an orange hue, and three dolphins leapt from the water with the volcanoes spread out on the horizon behind them. According to Than, Diamond Head, its vast silhouette resembling the profile of a tuna, was the largest of the volcanoes.

  She quickly called her aunt—it would be later in Durango—and told her she was next door at the Melner cabin and Than would walk her over in a half hour, when the movie he and his sisters had rented was over. She hated to lie, but who could pass up a third sunset in one day?

  Over a loud speaker came a series of clicks and long and short tones, and the captain of the vessel explained that a hydrophone enabled them to hear the dolphins speaking to one another underwater.

  Therese couldn’t believe she could hear them so clearly. “Wow. I wish I could understand what they’re saying.”

  “They’re excited about the boat,” Than said. “They get bored easily, and racing the cruise ships gives them something to do.”

  She smirked. “That’s one theory.”

  “It’s no theory, Therese.”

  She looked at him with her mouth dropped open.

  He laughed and turned to watch the dolphins.

  In a low voice, she asked, “You can understand what the dolphins are saying?”

  He answered softly, so the other mortals couldn’t hear, “Gods can understand all languages, including animal languages.”

  She couldn’t speak for a minute. She had to let that sink in.

  He put his face close to hers and pushed her windblown hair from her eyes. He spoke softly, again, tenderly, “That’s how I knew about the snake that night with Dumbo.”

  “What a wonderful gift,” she murmured. She looked at him intently. “That just makes me more certain of my decision.”

  He covered her lips with his.

  Outside of her house in the dark night at half past midnight, while clouds obscured the stars and the moon, Therese and Than walked up the gravelly drive. Therese didn’t want the day to end. It had been so perfect. “When will I see you again?” she asked as they approached the steps to the front of her house.

  “Tonight, if you want, after you visit a while with your aunt and her boyfriend. I suspect they waited up for you. I could wait for you in your room.”

  Therese heaved a deep breath, desire prickling her skin. Would he touch her again the way she longed to be touched? He must have sensed the mood washing over her, because he pulled her body close to his, nearly crushing her against him, and let out a sigh.

  “Mmm,” she purred. “That sounds good. I’ll be right up.”

  He gave her a sideways grin. “Talk with your aunt first.”

  “Right. Good idea.”

  Than walked her in and Therese found that Carol and Richard had, indeed, waited up for them, and she wondered if he had other powers, like seeing the future. Luckily, her aunt said she was glad Therese was having fun. They spoke briefly before Than said goodnight to Carol and Richard and then left through the front door. Therese followed him back out through the screened front porch. “Later,” she whispered with a smile.

  “That’s a promise,” he whispered back. He pecked her cheek and vanished.

  Therese sighed and crossed back into the living room, taking her favorite chair by the empty fireplace. Clifford jumped in her lap. She wondered if he had anything to say to her. She’d have to ask Than later.

  “Hi boy. Did you miss me?” she asked her dog.

  He panted and wagged his tail.

  She laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  “Did you have fun today?” Carol asked from beside Richard on the sofa. Carol’s legs were curled up beneath her, and she and Richard shared a quilt. They had the television turned on to a movie.

  “One of the best days of my life,” Therese said. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible a month ago.”

  Carol and Richard exchanged looks of amusement, but then Carol said, “Be careful, Therese. You’re at that age when a person gets her first broken heart.”

  “I’m not worried,” Therese said with a sly smile.

  “We might also want to discuss a curfew. Eleven o’clock sounds more reasonable than after midnight for a fifteen-year-old.”

  Therese sighed.

  Carol and Richard asked more about her day, and Therese made up stories about sightseeing in Durango. She turned her Parisian cruise into white-water-rafting and her London-Bridge-gazing into a lift over Purgatory Mountain Resort.

  “Oh, what good ideas,” Carol said. “Richard and I should have come along. He’s never done those things.”

  “You and I can go tomorrow, then,” Richard said. “You can take a day off, can’t you?”

  “I don’t want to leave Therese here alone all day.”

  “I won’t be alone,” Therese pointed to the back deck. “The officer will be here. Plus, Than and I are going to…” an idea hit her. “Than said he’d help me sort through mom and dad’s clothes and things. I’ve decided to donate most of them to charity so someone can get use out of them.”

  Carol got up and crossed the room. “That’s a great idea, sweetheart.” She kissed Therese’s cheek. “Oh, I’m so glad to hear you’re ready for that.”

  “Maybe you want to go through mom’s stuff?”

  “I took one sweater I gave her a few years back.” Carol returned to the couch. “I don’t really want anything else, I don’t think. And you should keep her jewelry and pass it on to your daughter one day.”

  “I guess you’re right. But I won’t keep all of it. So let me know if there’s something you want.”

  “Maybe one ring to remember her by—the opal ring my mom gave her as a graduation present.”

  “Sure.” Therese couldn’t wait another minute to meet Than upstairs in her room, so she faked a yawn, said she was sleepy, wished them good night, and used every ounce of self-control to resist running up the stairs.