Radiant Sin(60)

I snag her wrist. “Stay here.” If there’s danger, I want her as far from it as possible. “Or, better yet, go to our room and lock yourself in.”

“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m not coming with you.” She jerks her wrist from my grip. “Are you going to keep wasting time arguing, or are you coming?”

She’s right. We don’t have time to waste. “Stay close.” I lead the way through the door into the hall. Already, voices are raised somewhere in the distance. Downstairs. “Come on.”

We find Eurydice and Charon in the library. At first, I don’t see what the problem is, but then Charon wraps an arm around her shoulder and steps back, revealing the body of Pan. He lies on his stomach, blood pooling the carpet beneath him. “Oh no.”

Tears pour from Eurydice’s eyes and she allows Charon to pull her into his arms and tuck her face against his chest. “How did this happen?”

“I don’t know.” He looks at me over her head. “We were waiting in the parlor after we were found by Theseus and came in here when we heard a crash.”

“Did you see anything?”

“No.”

Cassandra pushes past me and moves to kneel next to Pan, careful to avoid the blood. Before I can say a word, she presses her fingers to his throat. A few seconds tick by. She looks up sharply. “He’s still alive.”

Just like that, this situation becomes vastly different. “Charon, call an ambulance. Now!”

He pauses long enough to guide Eurydice to a chair just out of the way—and out of sight lines to Pan—and then rushes out of the room. I join Cassandra at Pan’s side. “Do we move him onto his back?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “There could be a spinal injury. We can’t move him until the paramedics arrive. They’ll know what to do.”

I stare down at the man. “What was he doing in here? I thought he went out the front door.”

“He must have circled back.”

It doesn’t matter why he’s here, only that he is. I sit back on my heels and look around. We explored the library briefly this morning, but it’s just like every other personal library I’ve visited. It’s relatively subdued compared to the rest of the house, a reasonably sized room with dark bookshelves and several cozy overstuffed couches arranged around a large bay window. It’s probably a lovely place to spend an afternoon.

There’s also nothing sharp to accidentally stumble and fall against. Not to mention Pan’s wound is on the back of his head, as if someone clubbed him when he wasn’t looking. But what…

“Apollo?”

I look up to see Eurydice standing on the other side of the chair, a marble tortoise held in her hands, blood spattered across its carved back. “I found this under my chair. Tucked away as if someone tried to hide it fast.”

It’s all the proof we need.

Someone tried to kill Pan.





24


Cassandra

Things happen quickly after that. Most of the rest of the guests appear in a group, and under different circumstances, I might be amused by the sheer chaos of half a dozen members of the Thirteen trying to take charge of the situation.

Hard to be amused about anything when I’m watching Pan’s back to ensure he hasn’t stopped breathing.

I liked the cheerful man. I desperately want him to be okay.

Minos sweeps in five minutes later with two men in nondescript uniforms who might be paramedics, but they’re not dressed like any I’ve ever seen. He stops short and looks down at Pan.

My adrenaline is surging. I can’t stop shaking. It’s almost enough for me to miss the pure fury on his face. He masks it quickly. I’m sure I’m the only one who witnessed it, kneeling at Pan’s side as I am.

Minos snaps his fingers. “Stop bickering. We need to help this man.” He motions to the two men who accompanied him. “Get a stretcher and prepare him for the ambulance. It should be here shortly.”

The impulse to throw myself over Pan’s body so they won’t take him is nearly overwhelming. Someone attacked this man, and the only reason he was here in the first place is because Minos invited him. No one else at this party wants Pan dead…

Do they?

I look helplessly at Apollo. He’s got his expression locked down tight. He circles around and cups my elbow, guiding me to my feet. “Let the medics help, Cassandra.”

“If they hurt him—”

“They won’t.” He says it loud enough that everyone stops arguing and looks at him. “Pan is a friend. A number of people in this room—and beyond—would take it amiss if anything happened to him.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to snarl that something already happened to him, but if Apollo can assure no one finishes the job, that’s the only thing that matters.

“Of course.” Minos smiles, all charming host once more. “He’s under my hospitality.”

“Not that that helped him,” I mutter. “He was attacked while under your hospitality.”

The medics make quick work of getting Pan onto a stretcher and whisking him out of the room. Once he’s gone, we’re left staring at each other with an increasing amount of distrust. Pan didn’t slip and fall on the stone sculpture. Someone hit him with it.