by Zachary Howe
“Okay, I agree we should go back to Chiron’s,” he said, shooting a wary look at Bridget. Somehow talking about mythological beings—despite their basis in reality—made him self-conscious: he didn’t want her to think he was a nerd. “But after we go back there, I need to go to Dasos ASAP. I only have one day left of the, ya know, the juice.” He flexed one of his biceps and tried to hide his jubilation when he saw Bridget’s eyes rove over it.
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn about your rampant juice production,” Ellie said. Atalo guffawed and Gordie shot him a cross look. “There is absolutely no reason to go charging in guns a-blazin’. Did Apollo say this had to be done immediately?” Ellie posed this question with a feigned unknowingness that drove Gordie crazy.
“No, but—” he muttered through gritted teeth before his mother interrupted.
“Did he give any indication that it should be? Was it strongly implied?” she said in the same infuriating tone, and Gordie’s temper rose.
“No, but—”
“Well, that’s weird because you were all ready to shoot first and ask questions later. That seems kinda stupid now, doesn’t it?” Ellie fought to hide her smile, and Gordie understood that she was enjoying this—this was his punishment for running off. He decided to switch tactics.
“Grandpa, c’mon, you have to be on my side! Don’t you agree with me?” Atalo shifted in his seat.
“Well, to be honest, Gordo, I think your mother’s right. I don’t see any reason why you need to go after her today. Why not wait a couple weeks so you have two full days of strength? Plus, that way you can get some more training in. Practice makes perfect and all that.” He glanced at Ellie, and Gordie realized he was trying to get in her good graces. Coward, he thought.
“All right, well, now that that’s settled, Bridget, dear, I assume you have spoken with your parents? We can help you meet up with them. I’m sure they’re worried sick.” Ellie’s sweetness was no doubt her own attempt at penance for the way she had greeted Bridget.
Bridget fidgeted and looked at Gordie for support. He just looked back at her quizzically. He didn’t really understand himself why she hadn’t called her parents yet, and now was quite curious.
“Well, I texted my mom, when you were, ya know . . .” She pointed upwards, which Gordie took to mean when he was in Koryfion speaking to Apollo.
“You did? Well, what did she say?” Gordie asked. If he had been absent from his mother for two days and then simply texted her, she would have tracked the location of his phone through geo-positioning and hunted him down within minutes.
“Well, the truth is . . .” Bridget glanced between each party member, all of whom showed the same look of concern on their faces. She took a deep breath and blew it out as if she were about to confess to a crime. “The truth is I wasn’t with my parents when Giorgio took me, so they don’t really know I was kidnapped. My dad was in a meeting and my mom was shopping. She’s gone shopping every day since we got to Paris.” Bridget scowled. Gordie looked at his mom as she sat back in her seat and nodded with tight lips. He didn’t understand what she had gleaned from the story.
“Like I said, I texted my mom . . . I told her that I met a boy.” She shrugged then pulled her phone out and showed Gordie. There was a text from ‘Mom’ that read, “Good for you, sweetie! :) Have fun!!”
“Wait. That’s it?” Gordie asked, dumbfounded. He was starting to see what his mother saw. “You’ve been gone for two days, you tell her you’re with a random guy, and she says, ‘have fun?’”
“Well, we should still get you back to your parents,” Ellie said, but with less conviction than before.
“What about your father?” Atalo cut in, leaning across the table. Gordie looked at him and was surprised to see how angry he looked. “Surely, he’s tried to contact you!”
“Well, no. He‘s usually pretty wrapped up in work,” Bridget said, looking down at her hands, which were wringing together in her lap.
“Son of a—”
“Dad, calm down,” Ellie said in a low voice.
“No! This is ridiculous! What kind of father—”
“Dad.” Ellie grabbed Atalo’s wrist and looked him in the eye. It was both stern and gentle.
“All right,” Atalo growled. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Atalo patted Bridget on the shoulder before he turned to his daughter. “I don’t see why she can’t stay with us for a bit. I mean, as long as her father okays it.” The word ‘Father’ was dripping with contempt. Gordie was on the edge of his seat looking at his mom for consent.
“I suppose if her parents are okay with it . . .” Ellie shrugged, but looked very uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Gordie tried to cover up his animated fist pump by scratching his leg, while Atalo gave a shout of ‘Huzzah!’ Gordie glanced over at Bridget, who was beaming; the effect was enchanting.
“Really, Mrs. L.? Thank you so much!” Gordie was pleased that Bridget had gotten over their rocky introduction.
“No problem. I would like to talk to your mom, though,” she added innocently enough, but Gordie detected underlying anger and excitement.
“Sure!” Bridget pulled out her phone and opened her contacts, scrolled to ‘Mom,’ and handed it to Ellie. Ellie stood up as the phone dialed and walked away.
Before she was out of earshot Gordie heard an icy, “Good morning, Mrs. Clemens.” He smiled, glad that someone else was finally due for a good Ellie Leonhart talking-to.
A couple minutes later she returned to the table looking pleased, and handed Bridget her phone as she sat. “Your Mom said you can stay with us. I will warn you, though—there is an awful lot of downtime on our little vacation and not much to fill it with. No electricity. No internet service. And your phone will be dead soon anyways, since we have nowhere to charge it.”
Gordie was unsure why his mother was trying to scare Bridget off, but he wasn’t pleased.
“But there is tons of stuff to do!” he chimed in. “I can show you Chiron’s lookout where you can see pretty much every star in the galaxy! And there’s the eucalyptus hot tub—”
“Why don’t we have some lunch?” Ellie interjected as she shot Gordie a stern look.
“Hear, hear!” Atalo agreed, cheering and laughing.
15
The Promise
The quartet had a hardy lunch of spanakopita and stuffed grape leaves at a quaint eatery. The walls were painted the same blue as that of the Grecian flag. Five faux-wood tables were huddled together on the off-white tile, stained by the years. The kitchen was open where one elderly woman worked feverishly. Gordie was baffled by the old cook’s dexterity as she tossed multiple sauté pans, their concoctions sizzling and releasing bright, citrusy aromas around the café.
“What kind of food do they have here?” Gordie had asked upon entry.
“Greek, stupid.” Atalo chuckled as he smacked him on the back of the head, which made Bridget giggle too.
As they dined, Ellie and Atalo grilled Bridget as the older generations are wont to do to a youth’s love interest. Gordie watched with mounting horror, but Bridget seemed to handle herself well. She answered all of their questions with zeal.
“Do you play any sports?”
“Tennis—I made varsity this year!”
“Whoa-ho! How ‘bout siblings? Got any of those?”
“Nope. Only child.”
“That’s good news.”
“What’s your favorite subject?”
“Probably geometry—it’s my best anyway.”
“Smart girl!”
“Shall we?” Gordie kicked his chair out and shot up from the table, desperate to stem the tide of the interrogation.
“All right, keep your pants on.” Ellie rose more gracefully and walked to the counter where she paid in U.S. dollars. She had to call Atalo over to help with the transaction. The old woman spoke rapidly in Greek, occasionally tossing in an English word here and there. Atalo squinted and strained his face as if that would help him pickup on the lan
guage he once knew. He licked his fingers as he experimented with a few different monetary denominations. The old woman shook her head until he found the magic number, and she took the money.
“Ready, kiddos?” Atalo waved them towards the exit. They rose from the table and followed the adults out the door. A bell jingled overhead as they walked into the midafternoon sun. The flagstone streets were bustling. Gordie found the clamor comforting. The door across the way was a brilliant red. He looked up and down the street and realized that many of the doors were painted in vibrant hues like this one and the blue one he had seen upon their return. As the street curved down and away he saw an aquamarine, a canary yellow, and a blazing fuchsia. Nodding his head in approval, he decided he liked the quaint town and was glad they had come.
“Let’s push off.” Atalo started his long strides toward the main road that brought them into town, and Gordie let his mother fall in line, hanging back so he and Bridget could walk together behind. As they walked up the street, Ellie shot backwards glances over her shoulder often enough that it looked like a twitch, apparently concerned that her son had plans to run off again. Eventually, Atalo hooked his arm through his daughter’s, forcing her to remain true, for which Gordie was very grateful.
“So, uh, I’m sorry about all that.” Gordie looked back and forth between Bridget and his own feet, just now realizing that he was still barefooted.
“Sorry about what? I like your family.” She smiled at him.
“Really? Even my mom? When she called you a . . .”
“Oh, she didn’t mean it. She was just mad at you! Whatever, she’s still cooler than my mom.” She looked straight ahead at the father-daughter pair.
“How so? Your mom lets you run off to Greece without even asking!” Gordie gestured toward his mom.
“Exactly,” Bridget said. They both looked ahead. Despite Gordie’s protest, he understood what she had meant and (begrudgingly) agreed.
They reached the paved road that brought them into Portaria, and began walking along it away from the blissful bustle of the town. Dirt started to cake onto Gordie’s feet as they walked. After a couple minutes without speaking, a little voice in his head started screaming at him to grab Bridget’s hand, but his arms felt like lead and his stomach writhed like so many anxious snakes. But then Bridget entwined her fingers with his. He felt an instantaneous high and fought a beaming smile until his mouth conceded and curled into a smirk. Then a new concern popped into his head.
“Hey, listen, in a couple minutes you’re gonna see something really crazy—” Gordie started, but Bridget interrupted.
“Oh, please! I’ve already seen an underground statue the size of Godzilla and teleported halfway across Europe! I think I can handle it,” she said with her chin held high.
“If you say so.” Gordie shrugged, and smirked again. They walked on, giggling and swinging their arms. They passed the welcome sign on their way out of town and left the side of the road to head for the nearby tree line.
“So, where exactly are we going?” Bridget whispered into his ear as they approached the forest.
“Somewhere in there.” Gordie waved his hand at the trees. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she met Chiron.
Up ahead, Ellie and Atalo stepped into the underbrush. Bridget and Gordie followed. Twilight had not quite settled upon the forest, but the golden afternoon sun made the spaces between the leaves shimmer. Gordie hopped and jumped as he stepped on one jagged twig after another, but he refused to let go of Bridget’s hand, causing her to jerk around the forest with him. Atalo and Ellie stepped into a small clearing, turned to their left, and stopped. A few seconds later, Gordie and Bridget were climbing out of the bushes behind them. As the late pair looked left, Gordie smiled and waved while Bridget released a brief squeal before slapping her hands over her mouth.
Chiron had just stepped into the clearing and was approaching them in his slow, impressive gait. Bridget stood behind Gordie and tried to steady herself. He could feel her tenseness as she brought her hands back down to her sides. He was pleased that she was making an effort to hide her revulsion.
“Good afternoon, all. I see we have a new party member.” Chiron scanned the group before his eyes stopped on Bridget. He approached the young couple, and Gordie stepped aside to watch the interaction with glee. Bridget’s fists were clenched as if she were fighting the urge to run, while her mouth hung open as she looked up at Chiron. The centaur stood above her and held out his hand. Bridget flinched, but then slowly put out her own and grasped the horse-man’s great mitt. “I am Chiron of Pelion. It is a pleasure to meet you, young lady.”
Bridget spluttered before she finally managed her own introduction. “I’m Bridget. It-it’s nice to meet you too.” Her smile wavered at first, but soon beamed steadfastly.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” Chiron asked.
“Um, well, it’s kind of a long story . . .” She looked over at Gordie.
“Ah, I see.” Chiron turned to look down on his charge. “Apollo knew your weakness, indeed. How was your meeting with him, young Leonhart? I surely hope it was enlightening, as I seem to recall instructing you to stay with your family. Or can I assume you brought them with you?” Chiron knew the answer to this question and Gordie read that clearly in his gaze. His goofy smile—which had cropped up upon watching Bridget quiver under the centaur—faded and disappeared.
“You don’t understand—”
“Of course not, limited as I am to an intellect that pales in comparison to yours—”
“Enough!” Both Gordie and Chiron started as Ellie spoke up. She stepped in front of Chiron, who looked down on her with mild surprise. “He did what he thought was right! You’re training him to be a hero after all. Maybe it is incumbent upon you,” she jabbed her finger towards his midsection, “to teach him to use more than his strength. You don’t seem surprised that Apollo was involved, which means you had some idea that this could happen. Instead of insulting his intelligence, why don’t you,” she jabbed again, “keep him better informed in the future so we can avoid such circumstances.”
The clearing was silent. Not even the forest creatures made a peep. Gordie, Bridget, and Atalo looked between the pair with awe. Chiron looked down on her for a long time, his expression unreadable.
“Ellie,” Chiron said in his thoughtful voice, “I cry your pardon. And yours, Gordon.” He turned to look at Gordie for a moment before turning back to Ellie. “You did indeed raise a bright young man, as well as a brave one. It seems sometimes the latter quality overrides the former, but you are correct—it is my responsibility to ensure he uses both in tandem. As it so happens, in this circumstance he must have used both, since we are graced with the presence of young Miss Bridget here. So again, I apologize.”
Chiron turned to face Gordie again. “You have performed admirably, young Leonhart. Well done. Forgive my trespasses and let us move forward in friendship.” He folded his legs beneath him and knelt in front of Gordie, who was shocked and discomfited by the display of fealty.
“I, uh, no, it’s okay. I mean, you didn’t upset me or anything. Let’s just forget about it.” He chuckled and smacked Chiron on the shoulder. The centaur rose back to his full height, twigs crackling beneath him.
“Well, I suppose we should return to my home. I would imagine we have much to discuss. Gordon, do you think you can carry your young friend here? I cannot sit three comfortably.”
“No problem.” Gordie grinned, excited for the opportunity to show off for Bridget again.
“Very well. Your means of transport this morning might not be the best approach in this case. You would do well to follow close behind me. That is, of course, if you can keep up.” A smile touched the corner of his lips before he turned back to Ellie and Atalo. He knelt down again in front of Ellie to allow her passage onto his back—Gordie wondered if this was another apology. As Ellie and her father climbed onto Chiron, Gordie turned his back to Bridget.
“Hop on,” he said, looking at her over his shoulder. Bridget was looking between Chiron and Gordie, clearly wondering why this group used such strange methods of travel. “C’mon!” he prodded. She walked over and put her hands on his shoulders.
“You’re sure you can carry me?” she asked.
“Seriously? Yeah, I think I can handle it.” She hopped on his back and hugged him with her knees. She was warm and light and he could smell her perfume again. He became lost until Chiron called him back.
“Gordon? Are you ready?”
“What? Oh yeah, what are we waitin’ for? Let’s go!” he said. Chiron nodded, then turned towards the trees on the other side of the clearing before leaping into the forest. Gordie sprang after him.
Chiron was moving fast, and Gordie could feel the forest floor and its varied covering stinging his bare feet, but he made no acknowledgement of it. Chiron weaved through the trees so deftly that it appeared as if they were actually moving out of his way. A second later, Gordie had to reconsider this notion when Bridget yelled in his ear.
“Are the trees jumping out of the way?!” He felt her bodyweight shift as she turned to look over her shoulder. “Holy crap! They are! The frickin’ trees are moving!”
Gordie was astonished by this as well. He thought he had felt a presence in the forest when he wandered through it before, but he still had trouble believing this. It was undeniable though, and he realized why he was able to so easily follow Chiron’s trail before as he catapulted over the forest.