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“Because you’re the Descender?” he guessed.
“Yes I am!” Helen said with happy-camper enthusiasm. “But what exactly is it that I can do that no one else can?”
“You can make us magically appear by the river we need to get to just by saying the name out loud,” he said cautiously.
“Right!”
Following an instinct, Helen wrapped her arms around Hot Guy’s neck, but she had no idea what to do next. Glancing away from his distractingly attractive mouth, she saw, right in front of her face, the words Lethe and Furies written on the inside of one of her forearms. On a whim, she decided to just go with it. She figured, heck, it was a fifty-fifty chance.
“I want us to magically appear by the River . . . Lethe?”
Helen found herself on a riverbank in the middle of a barren wasteland, staring up at a stunning man. She had her arms around him, and he had his hands on her waist, but she couldn’t remember how they had gotten this way.
“You are so beautiful,” she told him, because she couldn’t think of a reason not to.
“So are you,” he replied, surprised. “For some reason I think I know you, but I can’t remember where we met. Have you ever been to Sweden?”
“I don’t know!” Helen laughed. “Maybe I have.”
“No, that’s not it,” he said, a troubled frown tightening his brow. “There’s something we need to do. The water!” he exclaimed, releasing Helen and taking off his backpack. Helen knew she had seen that gesture before, even though she couldn’t remember the boy who’d made it.
“I feel like I’m having the strongest case of déjà vu ever,” Helen said anxiously. “It’s like I know you, or something.”
“You do know me. You just can’t remember because that’s what all of this is about. Forgetting,” he said in a gruff, worried voice, as he took three canteens out of his pack. “You know, Helen, if this idea of yours wasn’t so terrifying I would be saying that it was the most brilliant thing I’d ever heard of.” He looked up at her intensely. “I’m Orion and you’re Helen and we’re here to collect this special water and bring it to three very thirsty girls.”
“I don’t know why, but that sounds exactly right. Hang on,” she said, reaching for the canteens. She held out her hand until he gave them to her. “I think I’m supposed to do this.”
“You’re right, this is your task. My part’s coming up.” He clenched his jaw in concentration. “I just have to remember it.”
Helen looked down into the river’s turbid water dubiously. Pale fish bumped around under the surface, like clumsy ghosts. They didn’t seem smart enough to be afraid of her, and Helen knew she could reach down and pet one with her bare hand if she wanted, but the thought of touching that water was abhorrent to her.
She knew she had to fill the canteens, she just couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to drink from them, no matter how thirsty they were. Holding the canteens by their straps, Helen lowered them into the water and let them fill before raising them. Hot Boy reached out his hand to take one from her so he could screw the lid back on, but she pulled it out of his reach.
“Don’t touch it! Don’t touch the water!” Helen practically screamed as a droplet nearly made contact with his hand. She saw the startled look on her companion’s face and felt a bit foolish for her outburst. “Sorry. I just don’t think it’s sanitary,” she said in a more reserved tone.
“We need to travel, Helen,” he said in a very reasonable voice. “We have to close the lids.”
“I’ll do it.”
She screwed the tops on and put them in the backpack that he held open for her, rubbing a drop of water away between her fingers. He zipped up the backpack, threaded his arms through the straps, and then put his hands on her waist expectantly. She shied away from him.
He was unbelievably good looking, but still. Shouldn’t he at least introduce himself first?
“I’m sorry, but who are you?” she asked suspiciously.
“Orion,” he said, like he was expecting to have to introduce himself, and then his eyes grew sad and intense. “Quick question. Do you know who you are?”
The girl paused, startled.
“How strange,” she said. “I think I’ve forgotten my name.”
“Claire, go help Kate,” Matt said, shif
ting Jerry lower so he carried more of his weight. “She’s having trouble.”
Claire went and took one of Jerry’s legs from Kate, sharing the burden. It was farther to Claire’s car than Matt remembered. If they were lucky, it was still parked where they’d left it. He sincerely hoped that no one had set it on fire or slashed the tires. If it wasn’t drivable, he knew he would end up having to carry Jerry back to the News Store all by himself. Kate and Claire were flagging, and the twins were so exhausted they could barely walk.
Ariadne and Jason had worked a bit on Jerry, enough to get him stable, but things didn’t look good for Helen’s father. They needed to get him back to the Delos compound where the twins could work on him gradually instead of trying to heal him in moments, which drained them terribly.
