Trish waited until around lunch the following day to confront chance about his recklessness. She watched as he went about making sandwiches for them both, and waited until he sat down before speaking.
“How could you have been so reckless?”
“Huh?” he looked up, startled, with no idea to what she was referring.
“Challenging my Grandfather to test you?”
“How did you find out?”
“Grandpa spoke with Vince, who came over and told me. So I’ll ask again – how could you be so reckless?”
“You don’t understand what they did to me, what they said.”
“So tell me.” she pleaded.
he opened his mouth to speak, to tell her about the vivisection of his memories, of what Ares had said to him about a destructive personality…but he couldn’t. “I can’t. I don’t know why, but I can’t.” he took a bite of his food. “You’ll have to ask your Grandfather or – ” he stopped, unable to speak again. He sighed. “You’ll have to ask him.”
“Believe me, I intend to.” she said, turning her attention to her food.
Chance reached across the table for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I would do anything for you and Emily.” he said. “I mean that. I’m not going anywhere – I promise.”
“How can you make that promise when you don’t know what you’re up against?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll find a way.”
She bit her lip, trying to hold back tears. He got up and moved behind her in order to give her a hug. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I was angry at the time and didn’t think.”
She hugged him against her. “You’d better come back.” she warned. “Or I’ll find a way to make you regret it.”
“Noted.” he said. Nothing else was said the rest of the meal. they devoted their attentions to each other and Emily for a while, before Trish gave him a kiss and said she was leaving to confront her grandfather.
The drive over was familiar but quiet, and when she pulled up she saw him sitting on the porch in his chair, just enjoying the outdoors. He watched as she pulled up to the house and parked, an unhappy, determined look on her face. For his own part he was none too pleased with the business at hand, and could tell what she was there for.
“Vince told you.” he said after she stepped up onto the porch of the old rambling farmhouse.
“He did.” she said, folding her arms over her chest. She was angry…but this confrontation felt wrong. She’d never been mad at her grandfather in her life, so this moment was more than a little awkward. “How could you accept his challenge? It was obviously said out of anger!” she snapped, while trying to keep tears at bay.
“Honey, you don’t understand….”
“I don’t! I don’t understand any of this! So why don’t you tell me? Tell me why I should accept this!”
He sighed, and patted the chair next to him for her to sit. Once she had sat down, he looked at her, very seriously. In his face she didn’t see the man she knew and loved – she saw his other self – his real self – and it scared her.
“Do you remember the stories I told you about the Fae folk?” he waited until she had nodded before continuing. “Do you remember about the Oaths they take?” she nodded again. “Challenging a deity is a little like that – especially after it’s been accepted. If someone breaks it, there’s consequences on both sides – though it would be worse for him to withstand because he’s mortal.”
“But why did you have to accept at all?” she asked, wiping some tears from her eye. This act hurt his heart, and he reached over to wipe tears from her other eye.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart. I’m sorry to have hurt you. I admit, my temper got the better of me. I am a deity after all, and we are a petty and jealous lot at times.”
She sniffed. “What happened to set him off like that though? Can you please tell me? He couldn’t.”
Greg sighed. “I took him to see Mnemosyne.” he started. Upon her puzzled look, he continued. “She is the goddess of memory. We sorted through his memories to see what his life had been like, to determine what kind of person he is. I know what he’s been like since he’s been here…but that’s only been a year. Leopards don’t often change their spots, so I needed to be sure now that Emily’s in the world.”
“What did you see?” she whispered.
“He’s had a rotten life. Neglected by his parents, a frequent delinquent, the killer combo of illiteracy and dyslexia, drug addiction…thing that indicate a destructive personality – and I told him that. I told him I didn’t like his destructive tendencies. That’s when he challenged me – told me to test him, to see if he was worthy.”
“What if he’s not?”
“He’ll spend his days wit your Uncle, Hades. If successful I will give him a piece of ambrosia – that will put his lifespan and abilities on par with yours.”
“I don’t have any abilities.”
“You do, sweetheart – you just haven’t been taught yet. That will happen soon.” he looked at her, watching a range of emotions cross her face before continuing. “I have to set things up so that they are challenging.” he explained. “That doesn’t mean I can’t bend the rules a little.”
“How do you mean?”
“He’ll be able to ask for help from one person – and that person cannot have a speck of divinity in then, so no help from Jasper.” he watched as she processed the information.
“But he could ask someone we know?”
“Yes – and I have a recommendation if you can’t think of anyone.”
“I think we might be thinking of the same person.” she said.
Greg nodded, and leaned back in his chair. “Just so. The man is the father of your daughter and has just as much to prove as Chance does, in my eyes. He’s also the most capable of helping.”
“What is the test going to be?”
“That I can’t tell you. For one, I don’t know yet. But when I figure it out, you’ll know.”
“Is there anything you can guarantee me?” she pleaded.
He closed his eyes a moment before reopening them. ” I can promise that you and Emily will be safe and protected; always.”
“What…how bad could the consequences be if he backed off?” she asked, her voice a whisper.
“Death – if he’s lucky.” Greg responded honestly. Trish bit back more tears as she slowly stood. Greg stood as well and hugged her. “Honey, I’m sorry. I’ll bend the rules if I can. I don’t want to see you hurting.”
She hugged him tightly. The man she knew and loved wasn’t completely gone through this interview after all, she decided. He was still her grandfather, still cared…but there were issues, now. She broke away from him after a bit.
“I should get home. It’ll be time for Emily to eat soon.”
“Do you want me to drive you?”
“No – I’ll be okay. Thank you.” she said, reaching into her pocket for the keys before stepping off the porch and over to her SUV.
“One more thing.” he said, and she stopped, turning to face him.
“I asked Hades about your rose. He called you clever and confirmed that, yes, it works on the undead.”
“Thank you.” she said. She gave Greg a last look before driving off, heading home. On the wya home, she made a decision – she would pack up Emily, and take her with to go see Vince, and talk to him in person about the conversation she had just had.
“How did it go?” Chance asked when she walked in the door.
“Not horribly. Grandpa said he would bend the rules as much as he could in your favor. But all that may amount to is getting one person to help you, and it can’t be someone like myself, him or Jasper – no divinity.”
“Who do I ask then?”
“Vince.” she said, as though it was the obvious choice. “He’s been around a while, so I’m sure he’s picked up a wide array of skills. He won’t be able to do it for you, but he can help.”
“He would be the answer.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing – just now that I look at it, he’s the obvious choice.”
“I’m going to feed Emily, then take her over to his place and discuss with him the conversation I had with Grandpa.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
She thought for a moment and then nodded. “It’s probably best that you ask for his help instead of myself anyway. Can you go get Emily, please?”
Chance nodded and retreated upstairs to get the baby, and brought her down. Trish settled in to feed her while Chance packed a diaper bag and brought forth her car seat. He waited patiently for Trish to finish before taking Emily and fastening her in, then they both walked out, loaded into the car, and Trish paused before getting in. “Chance, can you grab the rose and put it in Emily’s backpack?”
“Why?”
“I might need it.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Chance disappeared into the house for a few minutes and came back with the case, and wedged it into the main compartment of the diaper bag. Once everyone was settled in and secure, she drove out to Vince’s.