An hour later I was clean, dressed, and in need of something to eat. Selene had helped me with my T-shirt, as my body was still incredibly sore and stiff, but the shower and company had done wonders to lift my mood.
“Hades wants to see you,” Selene said, kissing me on the lips. “I missed you. Probably not as much as Tommy, but it was a close thing.”
I laughed. “I Han Soloed him. I wasn’t sure he’d forgive me.”
“I think it might be the proudest moment of his life that didn’t involve Kasey being born.”
I laughed again, and it caused me to wince. “Ribs hurt.”
“You want me to kiss them better?”
“I’m not a machine.”
Selene smiled. “I’m glad you’re back. I was worried. We all were, except Mordred—he kept coming in here playing you his extensive list of video-game soundtracks. He said it would help, presumably because he expected you to wake up and tell him to piss off.”
“So, if I start humming ‘Mario,’ it’s his fault? Good to know.”
Selene led me out of my room and down a corridor that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a hospital. There was no one around, no one working in any of the rooms we walked past. It was like a clean ghost town.
“What’s going on?” I asked as we entered the lift and Selene selected the floor for the main hangar above.
“For the last four months, you have had lightning strike this facility eight hundred thirty-two times. You created a storm that sat just above this facility. People know you’re here. People we trust, but Hades, Mordred, and Elaine had an idea to ensure that their knowledge of you wasn’t a problem.”
“What idea?”
Selene sighed. “Blood-curse marks.”
The lift doors opened as I was stunned into silence. I looked out across the hangar and saw hundreds of people all watching me as I exited the lift. There was a cheer and round of applause, and I sort of did this weird, uncomfortable wave thing. Because what the hell else are you meant to do when hundreds of people start clapping at you for no known reason?
“What the fuck?” I whispered.
Tommy bounded toward me and picked me up in a bear hug.
“Bones—fragile, human-powered bones,” I whispered.
He put me down and grinned. “It’s good to see you. Mordred said you were essentially human now. I’m sorry you’ve lost your magic.”
“It’ll come back. But it’s a little weird knowing it’ll be a while.”
I looked beyond him to Olivia and Kasey, both of whom waved. Several other young men and women stood beside them, and I knew that they were members of Tommy’s ultrasecret task force he’d put together before Arthur had taken over.
“How bad is it?” I asked Sky, who kissed me on the cheek.
“It’s not good,” she said.
“What’s going on?” I asked Elaine as he she walked toward me with Mordred, Nabu, Irkalla, Hades, and Zamek.
“We need to talk,” she told me, and motioned for me to follow her into a nearby room. She turned to Mordred as we entered. “Get it finished.”
Mordred nodded and walked off.
“Get what finished?” I asked, taking a seat on the table in the middle of the room. “Selene said you were doing something with blood-curse marks.”
“Everyone here has agreed to take part in a ritual,” Hades said from the doorway.
“What kind of ritual?” I asked.
“The kind where we all think you’re dead,” Irkalla said. “Everyone but Hades, Sky, Mordred, and Elaine, yes.”
“Why not those four?”
“Hades and Sky because you need a contact in case something goes wrong during your time of healing. Mordred because he was never going to agree to have anything close to a blood-curse mark put on him again, and Elaine because she used to be in charge of everything. This is the kind of thing you’ll need someone keeping an eye on you for.”
“And where am I going that I need to be kept an eye on?”
“A small town in Oregon,” Nabu said. “It’s very quaint.”
“No,” I replied.
“You have no powers, and Avalon thinks you’re dead,” Sky said. “You aren’t helpful until you’re healed, and if Arthur ever finds out you’re alive, he will burn a country down to find you. We need to put you somewhere remote, but with people we trust. So, you’re going to Clockwork, Oregon. Called that because its founder used to make clocks and was really happy about it.”
“And what do I do while I’m there?”
“Read, write, learn how to whittle—I don’t think it matters,” Irkalla said. “Just stay safe, and don’t bring attention to yourself.”
“Why there?”
“I have people there I trust,” Hades said. “A doctor by the name of Daniel Kuro. I met him in Korea a few decades ago. He’s a good man. I’ve used the town a few times to send friends of mine so they can heal in peace. Or avoid detection.”
“Okay, tell me more about this blood-curse ritual.”
“Mordred, Nabu, and I worked together on this,” Zamek said. “Essentially everyone in this facility will think you’re dead. We considered just having them forget you existed, but that’s too hard. Thinking you died on a field in Wisconsin is a lot easier.”
“Essentially we managed to figure out a way to create the blood curse so that everyone affected will believe you dead,” Nabu said. “They will believe they’ve grieved and have moved on. No one here will be caused any pain by your passing. That was integral to our plan. If anyone decided to dig too deep into your death, or go after Atlas for revenge, it would break the curse.”
“How does the curse break normally?” I asked.
“If any of them see you once the curse has been implemented, they will immediately remember that you didn’t die,” Elaine explained. “Each of them signed a document stating that they agreed to this. We couldn’t do it any other way.”
I walked past them all and out into the hangar, where I found Tommy, Olivia, and Selene. “You all agreed to this?” I asked. “All of you?”
“We need to keep you safe,” Selene said. “This is the best way.”
“Why can’t you come with me?” I asked her.
“Because my father and sister would tear the world apart looking for whoever killed me. The smaller number, the better.”
“They offered me and Selene a chance to not be affected,” Tommy said. “But I couldn’t do that to Kasey and Olivia. I couldn’t lie like that to any of the people who helped get us here. I’m not a spy anymore. Deception isn’t something I want to do.”
“What about those who aren’t already here?” I asked.
“They already think you’re dead,” Diana said. “It won’t be hard to keep that going.”
“So, it’s sorted? I’ll be dead to all of you. I won’t be able to help you fight Gawain.”
“Yeah, this is where things get messy,” Elaine said.
“Okay, how do things get messier than they already are?”