by Tina Folsom
Her knees gave out, and all her strength left her. As the darkness approached, she fought it, but lost. The last thing she felt was the doctor’s arm catching her.
Thirty
Hermes found the door to Zeus’ study ajar. It wasn’t often that he visited his father, but there were times when even he ventured into the lion’s den without being summoned. This was one of those times. And for once, he would tell his father just what he thought of his actions, actions which ultimately endangered the lives of mortals.
As gods they had responsibilities which shouldn’t be taken lightly. Pranks and mischief aside, to willfully risk the lives of innocents only to teach another god a lesson—admittedly, one Triton needed—was irresponsible and went too far. Surely, there had to be another way to punish Triton for encroaching on Zeus’ territory rather than rob him of his powers, powers which were needed now. Not tomorrow, not in a week or a month.
Before Hermes had a chance to push the door wide open, he heard Zeus laugh. The laughter of another man mingled with his. Hermes froze. Zeus wasn’t alone. He had a visitor. And the visitor was none other than Poseidon. To meet Poseidon on Olympus wouldn’t have been a surprise if he were here to plead with Zeus for Triton’s return, but listening to the jovial laughter between the two brothers, Hermes suspected that Poseidon wasn’t here to help his son.
Hermes peeked through the small gap between door and frame and let his gaze sweep over the two gods. Their tunics looked slightly disheveled, and the sweet smell of ambrosia hung heavy in the air. By the looks of it, his father and his uncle had been at it for hours. Which was rather unusual—given that the two didn’t generally get on. Sibling rivalry was a bitch.
So what exactly had brought on this friendly family reunion? Hermes’ suspicion rose instantly. He remembered that the only time Zeus and Poseidon had ever been on friendly terms was when they’d had a common goal, or even better: a common enemy, like when they’d overthrown their father, Cronus.
Hermes’ plan about confronting Zeus directly had just gone out the window. A more subtle approach would be more effective. He was here to help Triton, and antagonizing Zeus in his current state would only make things worse.
“Never mind that,” Zeus chuckled, “I just like to see when he turns all lovesick and heartbroken.”
What? Hermes listened closer.
“Who says he’ll be lovesick? Maybe he finds the right woman and finally learns what love is. Doesn’t mean it has to be one-sided,” came Poseidon’s reply.
Zeus snorted. “I know you love your son, but have you seen how he treats women? I think this is a bet you’re going to lose, little brother.”
A bet? The two gods were betting on the outcome of Triton’s punishment?
“Not so fast, Zeus; nothing is lost yet. Triton will fall in love, I promise you, and earn his way back here. And if he’s lucky, she might even return his love. My boy’s not all bad. He just needs a little help.”
Hermes scratched his head. Why would Triton need to fall in love? The challenge was clearly for a mortal woman to fall in love with him.
“Which nobody will give him, not even his so-called best friends.”
Poseidon interrupted, “Only because you changed the rules mid-game and didn’t tell anybody.”
“Clever, isn’t it? Nobody will know how to help Triton, because nobody knows that he is the one who has to truly fall in love, not the woman.”
“Except for Eros, of course,” Poseidon conceded.
Eros was in on this? Hermes let out a curse. A second later, the door whipped open. Hermes caught the sight of Zeus’ arm in the air as the god moved the door with his powers. Darn, he’d been caught eavesdropping.
“Well, if that isn’t one of my many sons.”
“Father, how nice to see you,” Hermes responded with a forced smile.
Zeus cut him off with an impatient hand movement. “How long?”
“Long enough to realize that you’re cheating. Even by your standards, that’s despicable.”
Zeus rose in one swift movement and an instant later stood only inches from Hermes. “And you, my son, won’t do a thing about it.”
“I’m not going to stand idly by while innocent people will be harmed by your actions.” Hermes kept his voice firm despite the intimidation tactics his father applied.
“What in Hades are you talking about?”
“The storm, of course. You are aware of the storm that’s approaching, aren’t you?” Hermes glared at him.
“Of course, I know about the storm,” he replied, his voice dismissive as if talking to a small child. “Who do you think conjured it up?”
Hermes took a step back and stared at him in disbelief. He caught Poseidon’s eye. “And you agreed to this, Poseidon? Isn’t the ocean your domain, not Zeus’?”
Poseidon shrugged. “You know Triton better than most of us. What would you have us do? The boy won’t grow up. He thinks he can play with people’s feelings. We have to teach him a lesson.”
Hermes shook his head. “And that’s what you two came up with? Are you both quite sane?”
Zeus growled dangerously. “I assure you, we know what we’re doing. And now, since you’ve overheard our little plan, you’re part of it.”
“No!”
“Oh, yes.”
“You won’t make me part of your despicable scheme. I’ll tell Triton what he needs to do. I’ll tell him that it’s not her love he needs to gain, but that he himself has to fall in love. He’s my friend, and you can’t stop me from helping him.”
Hermes turned to leave. The door slammed shut in front of his nose.
“Oh, yes, I can. One word to Triton about any of this, and you’ll be stripped of your godly powers.”
Hermes didn’t turn. “You wouldn’t.” But he already knew the answer to that. His father was capable of anything.
***
Hermes’ fist connected with Eros’ nose. The love god’s head whipped back before he was able to right himself again.
“What the fuck was that for?”
The punch was really meant for Zeus, but since that wasn’t an option, Eros would do, particularly because he was part of the whole charade.
“A true friend of Triton wouldn’t have worked against him.”
Hermes pulled back his arm to launch another blow, but Eros held up his hand in defense. “Before you do that again, would you care to hear my side?”
“Not particularly.”
“Okay,” Eros agreed and punched Hermes in the face before he could even understand what was happening. “How about now?”
“If you put it that way.”
“Thought so.” Eros paused briefly. “You do pack quite a punch. Have you been working out?”
Hermes grinned. “Just a bit. Not that yours hurt any less.”
“Archery builds muscles.” Eros pulled his tunic straight. “Anyhow, I admit that at the beginning I was part of the plan.” He held up his hands when Hermes raised his fist again. “But that changed. At the start of it, it was all like Zeus announced to everybody. Triton would have to find a woman who loved him for his selflessness and kindness. And I was supposed to make sure Triton chose the right punishment.”
“Hold on. How could you be so sure that he would go with your recommendation and not with mine?”
Eros laughed. “Please! You’ve tricked him more times than we all care to remember. Of course, he’d trust me. And besides, I’m sure Zeus would have figured something else out if it had gone wrong. At first, I was fine with all this, but then when I saw that there was no way in Hades that Triton would win the challenge, I decided to help him.”
“How?”
“I was planning to shoot one of those women with my arrow. Unfortunately, Zeus got wind of my plan and bridled me.”
“He bridled you?”
Eros nodded. “I can’t shoot any arrows as long as Triton hasn’t met his challenge. And to make it worse, that’s when Zeus decided to change the rules. He suddenly thoug
ht it would be much more effective if Triton had to fall in love. And of course he didn’t tell him.”
“Bastard.”
“Luckily, Zeus isn’t quite as smart as he thinks he is.”
Hermes raised an eyebrow. “Somehow you make me hope this story has a happy ending.”
Eros smiled from one ear to the next. “Zeus only bridled me from shooting arrows, but he forgot to bridle my bow and arrow, hence somebody else can do it for me.”
Hermes felt like jumping in the air. Here was the solution, right in front of him. “Well, what are we waiting for? I’ll do it.”
“I’m so way ahead of you. I convinced Orion to shoot Triton with my arrow. Everything’s set in motion.”
“Orion? How did you mange that?”
“Orion is so gullible these days. Must be the fact that all he thinks of is how to bed Artemis. Don’t worry, he won’t cause us any trouble.”
“But why didn’t you just ask me to do it for you?”
Eros shook his head. “And what, risk Zeus punishing you if he found out? No. I thought it would be better for Orion to take the heat if word got out.”
“Smart move.”
“See, it’s all good now.”
“But the storm. Did you know about the storm?”
Eros nodded. “I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do now. I can only hope that Zeus will do the right thing in the end and calm the storm himself if Triton doesn’t get his powers back in time. Since Zeus conjured it up, he has the power to make it disappear.”
Hermes let his gaze sweep down to earth and noticed the storm clouds moving ever closer to the Carolina coast. “I wouldn’t be so sure about it. You know how seriously Triton takes his duties. It wouldn’t surprise me if Zeus didn’t lift a finger to calm the storm. What better punishment than to declare Triton a failure both in love and work?”
Thirty-One
Triton put his foot between door and frame before Jonathan, Sophia’s new healthcare worker, could slam the door in his face.
“I’m not leaving until I’ve seen her.”
Jonathan swung the door open again and rested his hands on his hips. But it didn’t intimidate Triton. Nothing would. He was here to talk to Sophia, and by Zeus, he would have that talk.
“She doesn’t want to see you. Don’t you get that into your thick skull?”
“She needs to listen to me.”
“So you can tell her more lies? Haven’t you hurt her enough?”
“Hurt? I’m not here to hurt her.” No, he was here to tell her the truth despite the fact that gods were sworn to keep their cover at all times. They weren’t allowed to let mortals know of their existence. It was the way Zeus wanted it, because he believed that worship of the gods would lead to favoritism and more backstabbing than was already the case on Olympus. Mortals had to be kept in the belief that Greek gods didn’t exist.
“Leave now, or I’ll call the police.”
“That’s not your decision to make.”
“Really? Maybe then I should report the fact that while you were here playing healthcare worker, I lost a week of my life without knowing what happened, without a memory. Don’t you think that’s rather odd?”
Jonathan’s eyes narrowed. The threat was clear, but Triton didn’t care. He knew exactly what had happened to Jonathan. No harm had come to him. All Dionysus had done was keep him out of the way and distort his feeling of time so he wouldn’t know that he’d actually spent a week bar hopping. And because Jonathan would have no feeling of how much time had passed, he would have no memory of his actions during that time either. It was a trick many gods applied and deemed entirely harmless.
“Just let me talk to her. If she wants to throw me out after that, then feel free to kick my ass out the door.”
“Tempting, but no.” He let out an exasperated breath. “Can’t you give that woman a break and move on? She doesn’t need more excitement right now. It’s bad enough what she has to deal with.”
“Please, I can make it better.”
“So you’re playing eye surgeon now too?”
“What?”
“She’s going blind permanently, man, so leave her alone. Go find another victim.”
Permanently? The word echoed in Triton’s head. His Sophia was losing her eyesight for good? A sudden tightness in his chest made him fight for breath. When he found his voice again, the words tumbled out automatically. “She needs me now more than ever.”
As he tried to push past Jonathan, a scream came from upstairs. Sophia. He exchanged one look with Jonathan, and they both ran up the stairs, Triton two steps ahead.
***
Sophia felt the railing of her private balcony give way as she leaned against it. Her hands reached for anything to hold onto and brace herself, but she was unable to shift her body weight backwards.
Panic gripped her as she fell forward, her hands flailing until they made contact. Instinctively she wrapped both hands around the metal rod she encountered.
Her life didn’t flash in front of her eyes. She had only one thought: she would die without ever having felt true love. It wasn’t fair.
Her feet dangled in the air as she hung suspended from the balcony on the third floor. The wind that had kicked up earlier in the day whipped against her. She knew beneath her were some bushes. Would they break her fall and cushion her? Or was the height sufficient to break her neck?
This wasn’t how she wanted to go. It wasn’t right. Her shoulders burned, and the strength in her arms was waning. She needed help. Had she screamed? She couldn’t remember.
“Help!” she yelled. Expending the extra breath needed to scream sapped her energy. She felt her palms moisten. No, she had to hold on, couldn’t let herself slip. Just a few more moments. Somebody had to have heard her. A worker maybe or Jonathan. Somebody, anybody, please!
Moisture collected between her fingers and the metal rod. Her left hand slipped. She stretched as much as she could to wrap it around the rod again, but only her fingertips reached the metal.
In the distance, she heard someone on the stairs, then a door open.
“Sophia!” She recognized his voice, but she had to be dreaming. Maybe she had already fallen and was dead, because he couldn’t be here.
Then she felt a strong hand grip her wrist. “I’ve got you, agapi mou.” The warmth of his hand renewed her strength.
“Take her other arm,” Triton commanded somebody Sophia couldn’t see.
An instant later, she felt a hand wrap around her other wrist. “Got her.” It was Jonathan.
“Now, slowly, we’ll pull her up. Careful,” Triton instructed.
Together they managed to lift her over the edge of the balcony and out of danger. The moment she felt the floor underneath her, she let out the breath she’d been holding. Then strong arms wrapped around her. She would have recognized those arms anywhere.
“Sophia,” Triton whispered into her hair and pressed her closer to his body.
It was so easy to forget everything in his arms. She was safe. “Triton.” Sophia lifted her head, trying to make out his features.
When his lips descended onto hers and kissed her, she didn’t push him back but responded to him with abandon. She could have died, yet she was alive, because Triton had saved her. He deserved a kiss, despite all the lies and deception. And she deserved it too. She needed this, needed to embrace life now.
His kiss was different from all his kisses before. She knew he had been scared too.
Someone cleared his throat loudly, and a moment later, Triton separated his lips from hers. “I almost lost you.” His words warmed her heart. He cared about her.
“You saved me.”
“I guess this means you don’t want me to throw him out,” Jonathan remarked dryly.
Sophia shook her head. “No, Triton and I have to talk. Thank you, Jonathan, thank you for helping save me.” She reached out her hand and squeezed Jonathan’s. “I must have put too much weight on the railing.”
“I doubt that very much,” came Triton’s protest. He released her and stepped away. “Let me have a look at it.”
A few moments later, Triton cursed.
***
Triton touched the smooth edge of the remaining railing. It hadn’t simply broken off because it was worn, no, it had been cut clean through. As soon as somebody would lean against it and put any kind of weight on it, it would break away. This was one accident too many.
“This was no accident.”
Behind him, he heard several people crowd into the room, obviously alerted by Sophia’s screams from earlier. He turned back from the balcony and saw that Jonathan had led Sophia back into the bedroom.
Had he put Sophia in danger by making her the object of his desire? Would his half-brother really go this far to make sure Triton’s quest would fail? Even for Orion, this seemed too drastic. However, considering what had happened to Dionysus, it was pretty clear that Orion had made sure Jonathan had escaped. Only another god would have known where to find the mortal, and only Orion truly had any motives for wanting Triton to fail. No, Orion was clearly involved.
“… railing crashed through. We caught her just in time,” Jonathan explained to the workers. Gasps went through the crowd.
Triton spotted Alice standing in the door, her face worried. “Would you please bring Sophia something to drink, Alice?”
The woman nodded. “Coffee?”
“She’ll need something stronger than that.”
By the time Alice was back with a glass of brandy, Sophia sat on the edge of her bed. She was still shaking from the shock she’d been through. Triton shuddered at the thought that he could have been too late. He blinked his eyes shut, wishing the ugly thoughts away.
“Here you go, Sophia,” Alice said as she handed the glass to her. “What a terrible accident. Maybe it’s time you fired that contractor of yours.”
“Thanks, Alice.”
Triton turned to Alice. “The contractor has nothing to do with this. This wasn’t an accident. Somebody cut through the wood so it would break through if anybody leaned against it. There’ve been too many so-called accidents in this house. First the shower, then the ceiling fan crashing onto Sophia’s bed, now this.”