揝he came to me,?Lou spat. 揝he wanted more information about your family.?
揂nd you gave it to her??
Marie squeezed his neck a little tighter and he gasped. His eyes bulged.
揘ot梟ot at first,?he stammered. 揑 followed the covenant. I kept my word.?
揢ntil you didn抰，？Circe said. 揥hat made you do it? You抳e always been angry. I抳e always suspected you simply didn抰 like knowing that you aren抰 really in charge here, but I did expect you to fall in line. After all this time, after everything our families have seen and weathered together棓
Lou抯 thin dry lips peeled back over his teeth as he tried to scream in Circe抯 face. 揘ot together! We抳e been cleaning up your messes, sheltering you from the world, and for what? What do we have to show for it??
Circe balled her hands at her sides and blinked repeatedly. 揧ou抳e been paid. Handsomely. You抳e been compensated in every possible way.?
Lou stuck his neck out, pressed against Marie抯 unrelenting grip. 揗oney? Material possessions? You think that抯 enough??
揚eople have been killing us to get their hands on what we have,?Circe said. 揌unting us like animals across every continent for hundreds of generations. Isn抰 helping to save people抯 lives enough of an incentive? We damn sure have saved more members of the Holt family than I can count. That抯 how our covenant first came into existence.?
Lou stared at Circe like he couldn抰 comprehend what she was saying. 揧ou think I don抰 know that? I do. And I don抰 care. Your money isn抰 enough. You and your family hoard everything! All the while reaping the benefits.?He glared at Marie. 揑 would have taken another form of payment, though.?
揂nd what form of payment would that be??Circe asked in a way that sounded like she already knew what he would say.
揜edmond offered me more than you ever did,?he said. 揝he offered me a chance to be more.?
My mind was going in circles trying to comprehend the level of deception Lou was admitting to. I took a step closer to him as his words repeated in my head. Be more.
揝he offered to use a piece of the Heart on you, didn抰 she??I asked.
Lou lifted his head and stared at me with so much contempt, so much hatred, that I had to step away from him. I didn抰 know why I hadn抰 seen it clearly before梙e hated me. He hated everything associated with the Colchis family and had clearly decided that his days of being a living record for us were over.
Circe shook her head in disbelief.
揝he said when she became a god she could grant me anything I could think of, anything I wanted,?Lou said. 揂ny sort of power I could conceive of could be mine.?
揝he thought she would become a god??Circe asked, turning to me.
I thought of Marie and Persephone, of what they抎 become. What kind of terror would they have caused if they抎 thought of themselves as gods?
Lou sneered. 揑 would have been a fool to turn it down.?
揧ou抮e still a fool,?Marie said. Her voice deep and rough, her words sharp.
揥hen did you tell her about Briseis??Circe asked.
Lou tried to wriggle out of Marie抯 grip, and she pressed him into the wall so hard one of the wood panels splintered under his shoulder.
揂 year ago,?he said quickly. 揥hen I was sure you weren抰 coming back. The county was preparing to declare you dead, and I thought棓
揧ou thought you weren抰 going to have to answer for your actions,?Marie growled. 揅oward.?
揝hut up!?he screamed. 揧ou don抰 know what you抮e talking about. She抎 come around before, asking questions, and I kept up my end of our bargain.?
揢ntil you gave into greed or cowardice,?Circe said angrily. 揂nd did you棓 She paused as she seemed to come to some kind of conclusion in her own head. 揧ou brought her here the first time, too? You told her about Selene and me??
He抎 been in collusion with Mrs. Redmond all this time? Since Selene抯 murder?
揗rs. Redmond killed Selene and my mom,?I said. The branches of the philodendron tripled their length and wound themselves around him again. 揥e wouldn抰 be up here if it wasn抰 for her, and she wouldn抰 have found me if you hadn抰 helped her. They抮e dead because of her ?because of you.?The branches wrapped around his neck, taking over for Marie, who let go and stepped to my side. The dark green lobed leaves fanned out around his mouth and tucked themselves inside, muffling his terrified screams.
Circe walked up to Lou and pulled a handful of leaves from his mouth. She flexed her fingers, and the remaining tendrils curled away from his face.
揥hat else do you know about Redmond and her son??she asked. 揥here did they come from? Where were they planning to go after all this??
Lou clawed at the branches encircling his neck. 揑 don抰 know where they came from but桰桰 heard棓