Page 53 of Thrall
CALLER #6: Oh! [laughter] Oh my God, sorry. Nothing like that. I’m just like, you know. I’m a tall girlie, so I didn’t want it to be awkward for him to reach my neck. But people were shorter back in his time, right? I’ll make it work.
[A longer pause.]
PALLAS: Caller number six, you should know that I have an immediate hang-up policy for prank calls.
CALLER #6: Who said this is a prank? I’m shooting my shot here. [raising her voice] Uh, hey, Rollins vampire? Do you listen to this show? If you’re intoconsensualbiting, you can find me at—
[CALLER #6’s line cuts out. Rustling noises. Then a long exhalation.]
PALLAS: Well, Rollins. You’ll recall that I told you that we create this show together, you and I. Whether you’re a caller or a listener, this show is whatever we need it to be, from hour to hour. I didn’t set out to put limitations on that. But to be fair, I didn’t think that I needed to.
That said. On the off chance that tonight’s call was in earnest, I hope you’ll allow me a caveat. Pallas Radio is for the nocturnal among us. That much will always be true.
But if you’re looking to become a creature of the night yourself? With all the respect in my heart: Do that shit on your own time.
For a clandestine mission, the setup was relatively low-tech. Athena would call Lucy. Lucy would keep a single earbud nestled in her ear. And the call would remain open the entire time so that Athena could listen in. Ostensibly so that she’d know if they needed help. Though, of course, if they needed help, who was there for Athena to call?
Athena looked miserable. Miserable that she would be stuck at the studio, miserable that they hadn’t listened to her, probably miserable wondering if this would be the last time she saw any of them. She apologized that she wasn’t going with them, though to Lucy, that was a given from the start. The last thing she wanted was to put Athena in Vanya’s reach.
Well. Maybe puttingherselfwithin Vanya’s reach was the last thing. But next to Athena, Lucy had the dubious honor of being a secondary consideration. She was an appetizer. She wasn’t the prize. And if Vanya wanted to use her to lure Athena out, maybe he had some slight use for her alive.
They said goodbye to Athena, and started the call. “I’m sorry,” Athena said again as she saw them out the door.
“You can avenge us if we all get eaten,” Natalie said.
“Don’t joke,” Athena said.
“Who’s joking?” Natalie said. “I’m contingency-planning.”
Mila was the last out the door. And watching her, Lucy really felt the limitations of her new senses. She could feel the tension in Mila’s jaw, in her shoulders. She could hear her heartbeat, nearly as quick as Athena’s now. She could read feelings, or at least, she could read how they manifested themselves physically. But she wasn’t Hiro, and she definitely wasn’t Vanya. The thoughts behind those heartbeats were as unreadable as they’d always been.
“Don’t worry,” Mila finally said.
Athena attempted a smile then. “Too late.”
She hovered by the door as they started down the hill to lower campus. When Lucy glanced back, she was still there, as if she were watching a doomed voyage depart from the dock.
Lucy met Natalie’s eyes. They didn’t say anything, not with Athena on the phone in Lucy’s ear. But they exchanged uneasy grimaces.
Mila adjusted her bow’s carry bag across her shoulders. Natalie looked relieved to find something else to occupy her attention. “No quiver?” she said. “Oh—are you going to decapitate him with the bowstring or something?”
It was enough to jar Mila out of her silent misery. “How strong do you think bowstrings are, exactly?”
“How can I know when I haven’t seen you in action yet?” Natalie said.
It actually jarred a laugh out of Mila. “The quiver would be kind of conspicuous at a department mixer,” she said. “But I always keep an arrow or two in the bow’s bag in case of emergencies.”
Lucy surveyed the bag. It did look pretty unassuming; she doubted any present or future philosophers would notice that one of the attendees was toting a deadly weapon around the drinks table. Except perhaps one. If Vanya had spent all these years watching Athena, she doubted that Mila had gone unnoticed.
As they neared the building, Mila said, “All right.” And with just those words, she was the hunter again. “Natalie—when we get in, I want you to stay by the door.”
“Hell no,” Natalie said. “I came here to help.”
“And youcanhelp if one of us gets in trouble,” Mila said. “Lucy will need to be in the middle of things to try to lure him out. I’ll need to stay by Lucy, but not too close. So if something goes wrong, I want you near the sunlight where he can’t get you. If anything happens to us, get back to Athena as fast as you can.”
Natalie looked dubious but didn’t argue. “What about the other students? If things go wrong, should I try to get everyone out?”
“I don’t think he’ll risk a scene,” Lucy said. As strong as Vanya was, he didn’t chase groups. He got people alone. Which meant even he was conscious of being outnumbered.
