Pandora's Box

11. Light Reading

The walk home with Indie is unusually quiet. He doesn't offer anything in the way of conversation and I'm too distracted by the loss of my Sense to supply anything. My plan to spark a vision of Molly also failed. We make it all the way back to the apartment and up the stairs to our floor before Indie breaks the silence.

"What the hell is that guy's deal, Cass?" he asks, the venom in his voice making me flinch. When I don't respond right away, Indie continues. "Why'd you invite him? Didn't you just meet this dude?"

The anger coloring his tone smashes against me and I find my own frustrations rising up to match his. "For your information, I did not invite him. It was a stupid coincidence that he showed up. I didn't realize it was such a big deal that he sat with me while you and everyone else were on stage."

"So you just invite strangers to hang out with you?" Indie's dark eyes search my face, but I can't fathom what for.

"Why not? He helped me today, so why would I turn him away? It's not like I invited him back to my apartment. Besides, you used to be a stranger too, Indie. We have to give people chances, don't we?"

Indie looks at me for a long time and I can see anger, hurt, and frustration twisting the lines of his face. "Yeah, Cass. We were strangers. Sometimes I think you still are one."

I reach for his hand but Indie jerks away. "Don't, Cass. Don't try to read me like that. If you can't see me..." He pauses, biting off the words. "Whatever. Have a good night."

Before I can gather my thoughts, Indie is down the hall, disappearing into his apartment. I try to comb the conversation for context, looking for something - anything - to help me understand this outburst, but the words keep slipping away, tumbling over each other in an incoherent mess. I'm left with the impression that Indie was jealous of Delian somehow. Was it because of Molly?

As I let myself into my apartment, I turn over the idea. Indie got defensive when Molly turned her full attention on Delian. He gets upset any time I bring up harm coming to Molly or the death I see in her future. Could these emotional outbursts mean that Indie is in love with Molly? I had always seen them as good friends, but maybe there's more to it that I couldn't see without my Sense.

Tossing my stuff on the makeshift coffee table, I sink into the couch and close my eyes. Why are people so complicated? Why is it so hard for me to understand them without my extra senses?

It's getting late and I'm tired, but I know I won't be able to sleep for a while. I need something to chase my worry about Indie, Molly, and my abilities away or I'll fret over them for hours. I grab the small stack of Delian's books from the kitchen table before settling back into the couch. The Iliad and The Odyssey look formidable, but Acastus to Zeus, The Pocket Guide to Greek Myths looks like a collection of short stories that might be able to hold my fleeting attention.

Since I don't know what I'm looking for, I decide to start at the beginning and work my way through the book. I'm surprised at the number of entries for 'A' and how many names sound vaguely familiar but come with no context or details. I recognize the name Aesacus, an obscure mortal son of King Priam, and Ajax, an important figure in the Trojan War. Both entries cause my stomach to twist, though I assume that has something to do with the part of my mind that's still mulling over Indie's bizarre behavior and not the actual stories, which aren't that interesting or evocative.

Some of the entries have illustrations. I pause when I reach the entry for Apollo, tracing my fingers over the soft golden hues of the picture. The drawing is incredibly life-like, capturing the god as he strums a lyre, eyes lifted toward the sky beneath a halo of soft curls. It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine my new acquaintance, the self-proclaimed Greek mythology aficionado Dr. Apelos, had modeled his look after this illustration. The entry reads:

Apollo

Parents: Zeus, Leto

Notable Siblings: Artemis (twin sister)

Symbols: Lyre, laurel wreath, python, raven, bow and arrows

Alternate names: Phoebus (Light), Smintheus (plague bearer), Delian (from the place of his birth, Delos), Loxias (Tricky), Pythian (from killing Python)

Son of Zeus and Leto, twin brother of Artemis, Apollo is a god in Greek Mythology and one of the Twelve Olympians. He is the champion of healing, medicine, archery, music, poetry, and the sun. As the patron of Delphi, Apollo is also known as the prophetic deity of the Oracle of Delphi. Considered the most beautiful of all the Greek gods, Apollo is said to have had numerous lovers, including all nine Muses.

See also: Daphne, Heracles, Kassandra, The Muses, Oracle of Delphi, Trojan War

Kassandra? I don't remember a Kassandra in Greek mythology, but who am I kidding? I don't know much about Greek mythology at all. Intrigued, I flip to the entry of my namesake.

Kassandra

Parents: King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy

Notable Siblings: Hector

Alternate Names: Cassandra, Alexandra

The daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, Kassandra was twin to Helenus and sister to Hector, famed for his role in the Trojan War. Beautiful and clever, Kassandra was a devoted priestess of Apollo. When the god visited her and promised her the gift of prophecy in exchange for marriage, she agreed. Once Apollo had bestowed the gift upon her, Kassandra spurned the god, breaking her vow to marry him. Enraged, Apollo cursed her so that all of her prophecies would be correct, but none of her prophesies would be believed. Though she foresaw the destruction of the Trojan War, her father, King Priam, would declare her mad and lock her away.

See also: Apollo, Hector, Oracle of Delphi

What the hell? The story of Kassandra is similar to the one that Delian had told me, in that the young woman receives the gift of prophecy and is cursed by the god Apollo. His version made it sound like she brought it upon herself for flaunting the gift, while this version makes it sound like Apollo was a jerk trying to bribe her for her love. Why would he tell that version and not this one? 

Why did he tell me that story at all?

A familiar knot twists in my stomach as I stare at the entry. Something about it is tugging at me, struggling to surface in the back of my mind as if I've forgotten a memory but can't find the mental path that will take me back to it. I wonder if I know these stories. Maybe I heard them in my youth, but they, like the rest of my childhood memories, are gone.

I flip back to the entry for Apollo, taking in the illustration and rereading the description. It takes this second read through for me to spot it, but once I do, my mind starts racing again.

Alternate names: Phoebus (Light), Smintheus (plague bearer), Delian (from the place of his birth, Delos), Loxias (Tricky), Pythian (from killing Python)

Delian.

Suddenly Dr. Delian Apelos, curator of Greek mythologies, becomes far more interesting. Is that really his name? What are the odds that he would be named after a Greek god, become a scholar of Greek history, and then tell me a story about the one mortal Apollo mixed with that shares my name?

Logically, I know that this could all be a coincidence. Things like this do happen, could happen, right? That something in the back of my mind is throbbing though, like it's physically trying to escape the confines of my skull. My stomach writhes, and I bolt for the bathroom, barely making it before I heave Patrizoni's pasta into the bowl.