Starcrossed

testing the waves, almost communicating with them, Helen guessed that he was looking for something out in the dark ocean. She suddenly realized why Hector had chosen this gods-forsaken route—he was looking for something in the water, probably a boat offshore. Why bother with airport records or ferry manifests when you were on an island? In the dark of night all you needed was a rowboat and a small ship of some kind anchored in deeper waters and you could move on and off the continent without having to declare anything to the authorities. You could even move a kidnapped woman.
    Helen’s heart turned over and she started to scan the black water frantically for any hint of a boat. She couldn’t stop picturing the animal look Creon had in his eyes as he brought his dagger down over her heart. Helen didn’t love her mother—she barely knew her—but she wouldn’t wish the terror that she had felt in that moment on anyone. There was an evil inside Creon, and Helen suspected she had only seen a tiny fraction of what he was capable of in their one brief struggle.
    Hector’s shape suddenly darted forward, urged on by a huge burst of speed. Helen’s eyes weren’t as keen in low light as Hector’s and she had to squint to see what he had seen, but when she did, she faltered and nearly fell out of the sky.
    There were dark shapes on the beach. There was no fire, no flashlights to illuminate the scene so it was hard to tell how many people were there. Helen sped up, overtaking Hector from the air, and watched helplessly as a woman was brought to her knees by a big man. Helen heard the woman scream, and suddenly the scream was silenced with a gurgle. Flying faster than ever before, Helen swooped down and got close enough to see Pandora fall lifeless onto the sand at Creon’s feet, and another Pandora, chained and staked to the ground behind them, shimmer and shift into Daphne’s form.
    A second later, a bestial roar erupted out of Hector as he saw the body lying in the sand. His whole frame shook with unnatural rage and pain, and Helen knew the Furies had possessed him. Still far away, Hector bounded across the wet sand, his eyes locked on Creon, as Creon turned and stared at Daphne. Creon clutched the bloody knife he held in his hand and advanced with murderous purpose toward Daphne.
    “Get back!” Helen yelled at Creon as she thumped down into the sand next to her chained mother.
    Helen’s hands glowed icy blue with the light of a gathering bolt. Knowing he was outnumbered and outgunned, Creon immediately turned and ran inland. Just seconds away from reaching his target, Hector snarled and changed direction, chasing after Creon.
    “Hector, wait! Don’t go after him alone!” Helen called after him, unable to leave her bound and wounded mother behind. But Hector didn’t listen to her. Helen saw the two of them sprint away, so similar in physique, from the back they could be twins. For all the world, it looked to her like Hector was chasing a shadowy version of himself.
    Helen turned back to Daphne and ripped the chains off the shackles with her bare hands.
    “What did you do, Mother?” she asked through gritted teeth.
    “Not this!” Daphne said breathlessly as she gestured to Pandora’s body.
    “I saw you in Pandora’s shape from the air!” Helen yelled, raking her hands through her hair and starting to pace with frustration.
    “I did that to confuse Creon—I had no idea he would kill her!”
    “And you didn’t use the cestus to influence him?” Helen asked skeptically.
    “I never influenced him to kill!” Daphne asserted vehemently as she got up off her knees and faced Helen. “I was just trying to buy some time, stall for as long as I could. I never thought he’d do this!”
    “Okay. Whatever,” Helen said, suddenly done with the conversation. She took her jacket off and put it over the gruesome corpse— Pandora’s corpse —Helen thought in grief before she turned back to her mother. “Are you badly injured?” she asked.
    “I’ll be fine. You need to go stop Hector,” Daphne said as she changed gears seamlessly. “Go. I’ll take Pandora back to her family. Then I’ll find you.”
    Helen nodded at her mother, knowing there was more to the story, but that would have to wait. She jumped into the air and headed west, staying low to the ground so she didn’t miss Hector and Creon as they ran through the unbelievably dark interior of the island. Her eyes couldn’t manipulate light