Out of Practice Aphrodite (The Goddess Chronicles Book 1)

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Out of Practice Aphrodite (The Goddess Chronicles Book 1) Page 14

by S. E. Babin


  A gasp broke from Nerrie and she rushed toward it. Frantically, she grasped branches and moved them about. After a few moments her shoulders sank and she turned toward us, a horrified look upon her face. A shuddering breath came from behind me and I turned to see Zeus’ face pale. He sank to his knees, his strong face haggard. Hermes stood away from us, a perplexed look on his brow.

  Yep, something smelled here and it wasn’t me. I understood the loss of an Olympian treasure and the effects of what could happen if the apples fell into mortal hands. But Eris had the apples. Of course it was concerning, but the look on Zeus’ face made me think I was missing a major piece of the puzzle – one that had something to do with the apples. I was going to figure this out if it killed me.

  Nerrie staggered to a bench and sat down with her head cradled in her hands. I thought she had issues with authority, but I walked over and sat beside her. I touched her shoulder in a gesture of solidarity. Artie walked over to us and sat at our feet. She also looked confused about the reaction. I expected anger, not the bone deep sorrow I felt from Nerrie and Zeus. We sat there without words, my mind furiously trying to put the pieces together, while also listening to the sounds of nature coming from the grove. The magic was deep and ancient here. I could stay here forever and never get tired of the scents and sounds. Back in New York the only nature sounds I heard were the ones my sun clock put out when I turned it on.

  Zeus stood up, weariness evident in his posture, and walked toward the smaller tree. He placed his hands upon one of the branches and closed his eyes. Magic poured from his hands and strain creased his handsome face. Above us, emerald green, the color I associated with his magic, poured from the tree and assembled into a picture.

  Zeus was constructing the minutes of the theft. Eris appeared inside of the grove, alone, in a puff of gray smoke. Dressed in a black chiton, she looked every inch the Goddess of Chaos. Deep red hair framed her exquisite face, but the effect of her beauty was ruined by the cruel twist to her lips.

  She carried a staff that sparked with magic and a simple basket in her arms. Eris glided toward the tree and reached a graceful hand up toward the branches. Almost lovingly she caressed one of the apples. Then she tore it from its home and placed it inside of the basket. She worked methodically, going from apple to apple. No one interrupted her and there was no indication anyone had been alerted to the theft. A concerning thought since the tree was supposed to be the most heavily guarded place on the mountain. Once all of the apples lay in her basket, she took one more look around and disappeared from the grove as quickly as she had come in. The magic dissipated quickly once the theft was over.

  A growl broke forth from Zeus’ throat. “I’ll kill her.”

  “Not if I do it first,” said Hermes.

  Nerrie sat stock-still through the replay of the theft, but her body began to shake. “I– I have no idea how she managed to break through our defenses.” Her head still bowed, she sighed and spoke again. “I’ll understand if you no longer wish to have me, my liege.”

  Zeus’ head snapped back toward her. “Nonsense. I don’t know how she did it, Nerrie, but I will find out. Sometimes the most surprising people can figure out ways around seemingly foolproof security.”

  She raised her head. “But the apples–” she started.

  “Will be found,” Zeus said. He fixed those emerald eyes on me. “Right, Abby?”

  What else could I say? “Right.” Highly doubtful, I thought.

  A raised brow from Zeus told me he could see right through my words and deep to the heart of my doubt.

  “Everyone join hands,” he said brusquely. “I’m taking us back to my chambers, direct.”

  Seconds later we stood in his private chambers, a place I had never been and hoped never to see again. It was decidedly male. A huge four poster bed stood in the middle of the room, its blankets still in disarray. Apparently Zeus’ housekeepers weren’t allowed in here and he wasn’t much of a bed maker. I was with him. Why make it when you just plan to mess it up again? The room had an earthy scent unique to Zeus. I was uncomfortable with this private look into his life. I liked to imagine he had a human side to him, but this was almost too much. Books lay haphazardly in a pile on the nightstand. I saw the latest Jim Butcher sandwiched in between Chekhov and Austen. His taste in literature made its way to my heart and my viewpoint of him softened a bit. Zeus was an enigma, that was for certain.

  He waved his hand and a circle of chairs appeared in the middle of the room. We all sat, staring expectantly at him. I felt something big was about to happen and judging from the looks on Artie’s and Hermes’ faces they thought the same thing.

  Zeus paced the room for a few tense moments before coming to stand in front of us. “I know that you all are fiercely intelligent and can smell a rat.”

  Okay. I wasn’t expecting that. Artie stifled a grin as we waited for him to continue. “If you haven’t already guessed, the apples are more than they seem.”

  Duh.

  We all waited for him to continue. He speared me with a glance. “The power of Olympus comes from many places. The mountain itself, the earth, and the gods and goddesses who live here. We all know our power is not infinite, but some possess more strength than others. I’ve been around longer than most of my subjects have been alive, but the apples have been here since time was created. I’ve noticed lately that my powers are not what they once were. I have been remiss in checking on the apples. I trusted Nerrie too much. I don’t blame her for what happened, now that I’ve realized the depth of Eris’ well of malice. I will tell you that the apples must be recovered and returned to the grove. Without them, Olympus will fall.”

  Wait. What? My mouth dropped open.

  Artie jumped in. “What do the apples have to do with the state of Olympus?”

  “Some of my power comes from being connected to the lands of Olympus, but the majority of my power rests within the apples.”

  Oh, boy. I hadn’t expected that one. Not even a little bit. Hermes jumped to his feet. “Are you serious, Father?” His face reddened and his chiton swirled about his knees. “All this time you were holding such a precious treasure right under our noses?”

  Zeus had the grace to blush, but he matched Hermes’ angry tone. “When you have something so precious, it’s best not to act secretive.”

  Hermes didn’t agree. “It’s the perfect time to act secretive! Who knew the secret about the apples?”

  I was curious to know this as well. “Only Hera,” he said. “But I do not believe she betrayed me on purpose.”

  Doubtful, but I kept my thoughts to myself. Another thought occurred to me, one I was comfortable about voicing. “Did she know how to bypass the grove’s security?”

  Zeus gave me a withering look. “Of course she did. She’s been my wife for thousands of years.”

  “If Hera is the only one who knew, she’s obviously the person who told Eris. But why?” Jeopardizing Zeus’ rule would affect her standing as well. It seemed counterintuitive for Hera to have revealed any of their secrets unless she was willing to relinquish her role as queen. This wasn’t something I could reconcile with Hera’s personality. She loved ruling. Zeus and Hera had a somewhat interesting and unconventional relationship, but who was I to judge? No matter what happened or how many women Zeus turned to, Hera always stood by him. His mistresses never fared very well, but that was their fault for getting involved with him. Everyone knew Hera had a vicious jealous streak.

  “I don’t know why. She’s been acting strange lately.”

  I chuckled. “The redecorating?”

  “So you noticed? Among many other things, Abby. She’s been calm, a word I never thought I’d apply to my wife. Listen, we have our problems, everyone knows we do. But someone’s personality doesn’t change overnight. I could never believe Hera would give up our secrets like she did. I should have known right away that something was wrong, especially when my magic began to falter. Much like yours.”

  So
he knew about my wonky magic, too. At the look on my face he rolled his eyes.

  “Of course I knew,” he said. “We all know your matchmaking skills are out of practice, but no child of Olympus should struggle that much with their powers. I could have helped you if you’d said something earlier. Now I’m not so sure. All of my magic use now requires a much greater effort. If the apples aren’t recovered soon, I’m afraid to see what will happen.”

  Artie piped up. “So what was the deal with the match you were forcing Abby to make?”

  Zeus grinned, an out of place gesture for the situation we were in. “Are you kidding? I love watching her squirm. As soon as she revealed herself to mortals I knew there was another factor at play. There was no way after all of these millennia Abby would screw up like that. Recently there have been rumblings about Orpheus and Eurydice. The apples were the only thing that could have saved them. No love goes unrequited for that long without one of them having a plan. At the time, I didn’t know the extent of the issue, but by sending Abby out to get them back together, I had a feeling she would unravel some of the goings on. It was sheer luck she stumbled upon Eris when she did.”

  “I’m a lucky gal,” I muttered.

  After his initial outburst, Hermes had sat back down. His body vibrated with anger. “So you willingly placed Abby in danger, knowing she was not responsible for what happened the night of the concert?”

  “Of course I did, son.” And that was Zeus for you. Self-serving to the end. I was a pawn in a much bigger game. “But now I need your help, all of you.”

  Artie huffed. “And why should we help you now? As far as I’m concerned you’re just the Great Wizard, hiding behind a curtain and expecting everyone to bow and scrape.”

  Zeus moved quicker than expected and bent down to Artie’s eye level. Through gritted teeth he bit out, “I am still the King of this mountain, Artemis. You would do well to heed me.”

  In response Artie rolled her eyes. “Finally.” A beautiful smile lit her face. “I finally am no longer afraid of you. For millennia I’ve been terrified of your power and for the record, you’ve abused it a little bit. Our King…controlled by fruit. This is too rich.” Bubbly laughter broke from her throat. I was apprehensive. This didn’t seem like Artie.

  Zeus raised his hand, presumably to wrap it around her pretty throat. “Wait!” I stood up, reaching for his arm. “Wait. Zeus, she’s still under Eris’ compulsion.”

  He turned to look at me, anger still evident in his gaze. He lowered his hand slightly and leaned in toward her ear to examine the earring. In his presence, the jewelry began to glow a sickly yellow. Artie cried out and slumped forward. I shot over to her, but Hermes grabbed my arm.

  “Let Father deal with it,” he whispered harshly.

  I wasn’t sure Zeus was going to deal with anything, especially after what Artie just said. Reluctantly I pulled back and watched as Zeus examined her still figure. “Is she okay?” I whispered back.

  Hermes nodded. “I think so. The jewelry is reacting to his proximity. I believe he still possesses the power to deactivate the jewelry. Artie may need some recovery time, though.”

  “I’m not sure how much time we have,” I said grimly. Knowing what we did about the apples, time was even more critical.

  I watched closely as Zeus conjured a ball of golden light in his hand and guided it toward her ear. My stomach tightened and I prayed Artie would be okay. Once the orb touched her ear, a high pitched keening rang out through the chambers. Artie’s body straightened and locked. Her eyes remained closed, but her face tightened in a painful grimace.

  Strain was evident on Zeus’ face as he worked to detach the earring. Golden light covered them both and seconds later I heard a metallic snapping noise. The earrings fell to the ground and Artie’s body lurched forward. Zeus caught her and swept her up in his powerful arms. He gently carried her over to his bed and laid her down with more care then I had ever seen him use.

  “Zeus–” I stepped forward, concerned about Artie lying in his bed and Hera coming home to find her there.

  “Relax,” he finally said. “Hera hasn’t been into my private chambers in months.” Realizing what he had said, Zeus’ face tightened and he turned away from us. “She needs time to heal. I’ll have her moved to the guest room once our business is concluded.” He stood over Artie, a thoughtful look on his face. “She is much stronger than I gave her credit for,” he said, surprise evident in his voice.

  “She is the strongest woman I know,” I said in a soft voice. I walked over to the bed and sat beside her, brushing a lock of chestnut hair from her face. I noticed she looked more at peace than I had seen in a while. “How long will she be out?”

  Zeus shrugged. “I’m surprised she was able to hold off Eris’ compulsion for as long as she did. There’s no way to tell when she’ll wake up, but it should be soon.”

  I nodded and squeezed Artie’s hand. Maybe now that the earring was off, things would be better between us all. My thoughts drifted back to Keto. I knew he could take care of himself but he had never been gone this long before. If Eris had intercepted him, I didn’t know if I would be able to help him without endangering everyone else.

  I sat at Artie’s bedside for a few more moments before I turned my attention to Hermes and Zeus. “So what now?” Zeus stood across the room, a grim look on his face. Hermes stood on the other side, arms crossed, staring at his father. I needed to get him out of here before he said something regrettable. “Hermes?” I stood and hesitantly walked toward him. He started, shaken out of his thoughts, and extended a hand toward me. I allowed his fingers to clasp mine and he pulled me closer. He never took his eyes off Zeus and I wished I knew what he was thinking in that moment.

  Zeus spoke first. “If Eris is involved, you’ll need a strong plan and more help than I can provide. I can’t risk the secret of the apples getting out. My job here will be to see what I can do about Hera’s compulsion and minimize the damage already done. I doubt hers will be as easy to break as Artemis’ was.” Zeus crossed the room and sat back down in one of the chairs scattered across the room. He leaned forward and rested his head inside of his hands. “I never thought I would say this for as long as I lived, Abby, but I need you right now.”

  My heart lurched. Immortals never get involved for the short-term. Grudges never subside and rulers stayed in power until they were either disposed or dead. Usually both. It was the long game for us. For Zeus to admit he was powerless without outside help was telling. He stayed in power because he was ruthless and brutal, not because he was a benevolent ruler. Benevolence on Olympus resulted in one thing – death. So we grew up knowing to keep our heads low and stay away from Zeus. But I never thought about what it must be like for him – to constantly have to watch his back and to be careful who he allowed into his circle. I felt terrified and awful. But I also felt a sense of pride that Zeus had entrusted me with his greatest secret. He could have killed us all and tried to retrieve the apples himself, but he chose us to help.

  It would probably get us all killed, but it didn’t stop the warmth in my heart at finally realizing Zeus may only be cruel because he had to be. Maybe his heart wasn’t in it. I knew better than to voice any of my thoughts to Zeus. He wasn’t what you’d call a fluffy guy and he wasn’t above creative torture. No way I was pushing my luck today.

  “All right, Zeus. We’ll do what we can to get them back.” Hermes stiffened at my words. It was possible I could lose another ally if he didn’t go along with this plan. I squeezed his hand and stared up at his profile. “Ready to go?” I asked softly.

  A nod was his only response. “Please send Artie back to us when she’s well, Zeus.”

  Zeus grunted in assent and waved us away. A wash of magic poured over us and before I had time to blink, we were standing back inside my cabin. I swayed on my feet. Hermes reached over to steady me and led me over to the kitchen where we both sat down on the bar stools.

  “So–” he began.

>   I interrupted him. “You can leave if you want to. I know you don’t think this is a good idea. But you have to realize what could happen if anyone else gets their hands on those apples.”

  “Leave?” A perplexed frown stole upon his face. “Why would I leave?”

  “Why wouldn’t you leave?” I asked, exasperated. “Your father just admitted his entire rule has been a lie. Now he expects us to clean it up.”

  “Exactly, Abby. That’s exactly the reason I’m not leaving. He’s my father. Why would I let you take the fall for something that is his fault?” He pushed away from the bar, anger evident in his frame. “I’m tired of cleaning up his messes, but we can’t risk someone else coming to power, especially Eris.”

  “I don’t know how we’re going to beat her,” I finally said. A long moment of silence fell between us.

  “I do.” I spun in my seat at the new voice inside of the cabin. Keto stood there, bloody and beaten. His clothes fell in shreds around him, but he stood tall and fierce. His angular face had taken the worst of it and one eye was swollen shut. I gasped, shocked at his appearance, but the feeling of relief he was back here and mostly in one piece was enough to have me shoot across the room and embrace him.

  An inhaled breath was the only indication of the pain he was in. I took him gently by the arm and led him over to the couch. He sat down slowly and leaned back. His breath came in pants so I let him sit there for a few moments waiting for the worst of the pain to subside. Keto had magic, but he was never gifted at the art of healing. I could heal some wounds, but I was unsure whether I could help Keto, especially with Eris screwing with my magic. I set my shoulders, inhaled as much air as I could, and willed my magic to the forefront.

  “Don’t,” came the harsh response from Keto. I ignored him and continued to gather the magic around me. Hermes came to my side, one hand resting on my shoulder. He began to pour his magic inside my body which allowed mine to burst to the forefront. Gold and amber light poured from my hands and I touched his face.

  The magic swirled around us and everywhere it touched him, his skin appeared whole and unblemished; the magic dissipated into the air once the job was finished.

 

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