and Hector took the keys to the Mercedes, saying he would wait for Jason. Ariadne offered Matt a ride home in her sweetest voice, but he demurred. Then, after a brief and very quiet exchange between Lucas and Hector, Lucas got behind the wheel and drove the three girls to the Delos compound, speeding the whole way. As they drove, Cassandra climbed into the back and perched next to Helen with a calm poise that belied her age.
“Did you get a good look at him?” she asked in a level, strangely adult voice.
“Yes,” Helen answered.
“If I showed you some pictures, would you be able to recognize him?”
“Like, mug shots? No problem,” Helen said positively. “I’m pretty sure there aren’t that many guys in the world who look exactly like a bigger, blonder version of Hector but with a scary, pockmarked face.”
She sensed the mood in the SUV shift.
“Creon,” whispered Cassandra.
“Are you sure?” Lucas asked, his head snapping up to look into the rearview mirror at Cassandra.
“Yes,” she answered with a dreamy look on her face. “And Uncle Pallas followed him here from Europe. He’s at home.” Lucas apparently didn’t need any more information. He fished his cell phone out of his jeans and hit speed dial.
“Jase, come in. Cassie can see him now,” he said in a flat, frightened voice. He listened for just a moment and then continued, talking over Jason’s questions. “When we all get back home. Your father’s waiting for us there.”
Helen felt like she had missed an important detail. “Who’s Creon?” she asked Cassandra as soon as she was able to sit up.
“A cousin of ours,” Cassandra answered unhelpfully.
“He’s the one who attacked Hector in Cádiz,” Ariadne said, her voice quivering momentarily. She glanced over at Lucas, who was just about to interrupt her, and kept going. “Okay, they attacked each other. Creon is a radical fanatic, and he’s looking for a fight with any of the moderates, not just us. But it’s Hector he’s really after. Not even you can deny that, Luke.”
“That guy, huh?” Helen asked, folding her arms over her belly as she tried to make a joke. No one laughed. Her right hand felt stiff so she flexed it. A scrap of fabric fell from her balled-up fist.
“What’s that?” Cassandra asked.
“Um. It’s Creon’s. I caught up to him, and when I tried to grab him I sort of ripped his shirt off,” Helen replied apologetically.
“You chased him, caught up to him, and got close enough to rip his shirt off?” Ariadne said in disbelief. Apparently, Creon was fast, even by their standards.
“He saw me trying to fly, okay?” Helen began, sensing that she had done something very wrong. “I didn’t know who he was, I just knew that he’d seen me jump about five stories into the air and I had to get to him before he got away.”
“Great,” Cassandra said bitterly. “He came here to check on our family and maybe pick a fight with Hector, but now that you’ve exposed yourself everything has changed.”
“He was heading right for the school,” Helen said defensively.
“And what was he going to do?” Cassandra yelled back, suddenly furious. “Attack a pathetic normal? Use your head, Helen! For some reason the two women who attacked you haven’t told the rest of the Hundred Cousins that you exist, probably because they want the glory of killing you alone so they can have a Triumph. Creon might be thinking the same way, but if he isn’t, he will tell Tantalus. That means half of the Family is going to be here in a few days—and you can’t even hold a sword yet!”
“Back off, Cassie!” Lucas said heatedly. “We were raised for this, and Helen’s had what? A whole week to adjust?” He looked at Cassandra through the rearview mirror, and even in reflection his eyes looked intense. Cassandra threw up her hands in surrender.
“You’re right, Cassandra. I didn’t use my head,” Helen said, rubbing her stomach. “Maybe we could talk to him.”
Ariadne made a strangled sound.
“What? Why are you all so scared of him?” Helen asked.
“He’s a Shadowmaster,” Ariadne said ominously from the front seat. “He can stop light. It’s unnatural.”
Helen thought about the darkness that wrapped itself around Creon and she knew what Ariadne meant. The sun wouldn’t shine on him, and Helen had instinctively felt like there was something wrong about that.
“Shadowmasters are rare,” Lucas tried to explain a bit more calmly, but Helen could still hear the fear in his voice. “There haven’t been