DOMINION Bentley Little (accelerated reader books .TXT) 📖

could not seem to pull herself away. For a brief second she considered taking her mother across the river—Styx—and into the land of the dead, but she knew that her mother was gone and nothing could bring her back—especially not that travesty of afterlife.

But she could not tear herself away. It was as if her mother was not completely dead as long as Penelope sat by her, and she held her mother and cried until she had no tears left.

Finally she stood, her back hurting, her legs cramping. She wiped the last vestiges of tears from her eyes. “Let’s go,” she said, and the resolve was evident in her voice. “Let’s kill the motherfucker.”

She met April’s gaze.

“I’ll take you to Olympus,” April said.

They drove up the highway toward Rutherford, taking small side road detours wherever the highway was blocked.

The wineries along the way had been raided and razed, drunken celebrants perched atop casks and crates as the buildings burned behind them.

Inglenook had collapsed it on itself, the old winery building now looking like a bombed crater, chunks of stone wall and strands of ivy protruding from the caved-in earth. Mondavi had been flattened into nothingness by Caterpillars and steamrollers that were still having some sort of demolition derby atop the winery’s remains.

Penelope was driving. Kevin had said that he still did not completely trust Dion’s mom, and although she had offered to drive them, he had insisted that Penelope take the wheel instead. His right hand had been on the screwdriver tucked in his waistband as he made this demand, but April had not argued, and the two of them had gotten into the backseat, leaving Penelope alone in the front.

“Just in case,” Kevin said.

They reached Rutherford, and April told Penelope to head east on Highway 128.

“I don’t want to burst your bubble,” Kevin said, “but we’ve been here, we’ve tried this. The road’s blocked.”

“Not until the last mile.”

She was right. The ambush they’d encountered before was gone, and though the road was damaged and heavily rutted, they were able to drive past Lake Hennessey and into Chiles Valley before a wall of felled trees festooned with ribbons and garlands and dead Christmas lights effectively ended the highway. Penelope braked to a stop.

“You’ll have to hike it from here on in.” April leaned over the front seat, pointed toward the high hill before them. “It’s up there.”

Penelope’s gaze followed her finger. “Olympus?”

“At a lake.” She tried to think of the name.

“Berryessa.”

“That’s it.”

Kevin leaned forward, looked through the windshield. “Somehow,” he said dryly, “I’d imagined mighty Mount Olympus, home of the great Greek gods, as being a wee bit taller.”

“Be thankful it’s not,” Penelope said.

They got out of the car, slamming the doors. “I want the keys,” April said.

“What for?” Kevin demanded. “So you can take off? How are we supposed to get back?”

“You won’t need to get back. You’ll either fail or succeed. Either way it’ll be over.”

Penelope looked at her. “What are you going to—?”

“I’m going to go back and kill your mothers.”

Penelope nodded. She felt nothing. No anger, no hurt, no pain, no regret.

“Then I’ll kill myself. And that’ll be it.” She looked away, turned toward the hill, was silent for a moment. “But I want you to tell Dion…” Her voice broke. “Tell him I’m sorry. And tell him that I would have done things differently if I’d known. I wanted him…” She trailed off, wiped her nose. She turned back toward Penelope, trying to smile.

Her cheeks were wet with tears. “What am I talking about? He’s not Dion anymore. Dion’s gone.”

“But if he’s not,” Penelope prodded gently, “what do you want me to say?”

“Just tell him… Hell, just tell him I love him.” She took a deep breath, wiped her nose and eyes. She held out her right hand, palm up. “Can I just have the fucking keys?”

Penelope nodded, handing over the key ring.

April gestured toward the bottle Penelope held in her hand. “You going to drink that or what? I could sure use it if you’re not.”

“We’ll split it.”

They had not thought to bring a corkscrew, but Dion’s mom expertly uncorked the bottle with one long-nailed finger and downed half the bottle in a single gulp before passing the bottle to Penelope. She closed her eyes, savoring the flavor. “That helps.”

Penelope hefted the bottle in her hands, met Kevin’s worried gaze, then tilted it to her lips, drinking. The wine was sweet and smooth, filling her instantly with a comfortable warmth.

And a growing heat.

She finished the wine in four long swallows, and she tossed the bottle against the roadblock, where it smashed against the logs. She felt good all of a sudden, energized, filled with an unfamiliar euphoria, and she wondered what it would be like to fuck Kevin and April at the same time, to sit on Kevin’s—

No.

She closed her eyes, reined herself in.

“Are you all right?” Kevin asked.

She nodded, eyes still closed. Gradually she opened them. It was going to be hard, but she had to maintain control, had to keep herself from losing it.

At least until they found Dionysus.

Then she’d let herself go.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I think we’d better get going.”

April moved forward, grabbed Penelope’s shoulders, looked into her eyes, and Penelope felt a connection. An understanding, a sharing, passed between them. “Hold on to it until you need it,” April said softly. “Use it, don’t let it use you.”

Penelope nodded.

April smiled. “If I can do it, you can do it.” And Penelope realized for the first time what an effort it had been for Dion’s mother to keep herself under control for this long, to force her mind to override her emotions.

“Good luck,” Penelope said.

It was an odd wish, hoping the woman would successfully kill her mothers, but April’s response was the same: “Good luck to you.”

She was wishing them success in killing her son.

Why had it worked out this way? Penelope thought. Why had all this happened?

“Ready?” Kevin said.

Penelope nodded.

April walked around the car to the driver’s side,