by S. E. Babin
“How fast can we get out of here?” I whispered to Artie.
“Depends on if we’re lost or not,” she said and shifted again.
“Do you want me to take her?” I should have offered a while ago, but sometimes I wasn’t all that generous.
Artie gave me a sideways glance. “How altruistic. Yes, take her. She might be tiny, but it feels like she’s two hundred and fifty pounds.”
I stood beside Artie and let her slide Ariadne onto my shoulders. Criminy. She weighed a ton. I cursed Zeus again for the dampening spell over the palace.
Circe was suspiciously quiet after my witty little quip, but her thirty-second warning had come and gone so I was getting super nervous. We picked up the pace, my shoulders screaming under the extra weight. I slogged as fast as I could through the muck, Artie several feet ahead. The first rumblings of trouble came when the water started shifting and churning. We were making more noise than a herd of elephants, but our four legs weren’t enough to make the water violent.
Artie stopped abruptly and I almost smacked into her because my head was down, repeating “mind over matter, mind over matter.”
“Something’s happening,” she whispered.
I held back my smart comment as I watched the water rapidly rising past our knees, up to our thighs until it hit us at our waists. Shit. I still had some of my powers, but they were dampened considerably thanks to Zeus and our secrecy. Artie’s frantic eyes met mine. “Think of something. Please? Water is so not my area.”
I nodded and handed Ariadne back off to her. Once she was settled I grabbed her hand and concentrated all my power into turning the water into salt water. If Circe was cooking up something truly dirty, the salt should take care of it. Plus it would help us float better.
A sharp scream of frustration from Circe rang through the tunnel as Artie and I allowed the water to lift us up. I wish I’d done this hours ago, but now my magic was all but exhausted. Artie held tightly to my hand as I helped propel us forward. I swam as quickly as I could, dragging the two behind me. The water stopped rising, but it took everything I had not to shudder at what we were swimming through.
A loud crack resounded as Circe’s delighted laughter rang out. Artie screamed and I twisted to look behind. Lightning was moving through the water at a rapid pace. Electrocution was the one thing I hadn’t thought of. Here I was thinking demons, zombies, and creepy sea creatures. Circe was obviously smarter and less inclined to care about showmanship. She just wanted us dead.
Artie let go of my hand and quickly threw up a shield. “It won’t last long,” she screamed as she grabbed my hand again. “But maybe we’ll have time to find our way out of here.”
I nodded and swam as fast as I could. The tunnel turned and shifted, and I had a moment of hopelessness when I realized somewhere along the way, we’d taken a wrong turn.
“Artemis?” A puzzled, timid voice said.
I stopped swimming and turned in the direction of the voice. Ariadne was floating with us, confusion on her face. “Why are we in the water? Where am I?”
Artie motioned her to follow us. There wasn’t any more time to waste. “Just come, Ariadne. Thank the gods you’re alive. We don’t have much time.”
Ariadne swallowed hard and nodded once. As we swam Artie filled her in. She listened without interrupting until she got to the part about us being lost in the tunnels. Ariadne shouted at us to stop. Surprised, we both did.
“You two do not know me, apparently.” She shook her soaked black hair out of her face and offered a timid smile. Her eyes were bright green and sparkled with hope, even after everything she’d gone through.
We both shook our heads, even though I wanted to scream at her I didn’t care who she was because we were all about to die.
“Mazes. Labyrinths.” She gestured around the tunnels with one graceful hand.
Maybe it was the lack of coffee. Maybe it was the fact that we had a crazy witch on our tail, but neither one of us was terribly smart right now. “And?” I finally asked once the silence became uncomfortable. I watched as the lightning moved around our shield, cracking and pulsing against it as it worked to find a weak spot.
Ariadne looked pissed. “Mazes and labyrinths!” she shouted. “They are my domain!”
At our blank looks, she grabbed both of our hands, mumbled something about being dropped on our heads and pulled us forward.
“Oh,” Artie finally breathed. “You can help us out?”
Ariadne snorted. “Not sure if I should. Maybe it’s better if you two stay down here so you won’t procreate.”
I laughed. “I like her,” I said. “Even if she insulted us.”
Artie’s mouth twitched. “Me, too. But do that again and I’ll gut you.”
“Oooh,” Ariadne mocked. “Scary.”
We allowed Ariadne to pull us through the tunnels without much ceremony. Considering we didn’t have a clue where we were going, we were happy to relinquish the reins to someone who knew what they were doing. I stole a glance over at Artie and noticed a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead.
“Artie?”
She shook her head once. “The shield. I can’t maintain it much longer.”
Ariadne twisted and gave us a panicked look. “We’re almost there,” she breathed. “Try.”
But Circe had been patient enough. Just as fast as the water filled the tunnels, it began to dissipate. While I wish I could say the lightning disappeared with it; alas we were not that lucky. It cracked and pulsed around us, filling the space with an unearthly silvery blue light. I felt Artie’s shield weaken, small slivers of cracks appearing.
“Run,” Ariadne said in a choked voice. “You don’t want to see what she has planned next.”
Artie and I didn’t waste time agreeing. Instead we did the right thing and hauled ass, the lightning chasing after us, taunting with each small strike. We rounded a corner and screeched to a halt. In front of us stood a chimera, its mouth open in some sick grimace which I briefly thought might have been a smile. If I was about to eat something tasty I might be smiling, too.
I imagined Circe sitting back in her home theatre watching us from her high definition crystal ball. I wanted to snatch out her hair. “Really, Circe?” I screamed. “Is this all you got? We are goddesses!”
Mocking laughter was her only answer. I stared at the beast as it stood motionless.
“Chimera,” I greeted. Regardless of whether we were about to be a meal, it was only polite to greet the monster about to do it. Besides, chimeras weren’t traditionally bad, but most of us tried not to cross paths with one if we could help it.
The beast inclined its three heads. Creepy. I studied it, wondering what the fastest way to take it out was. We had to deal with a lion, a goat, and a snake head. I thought no snake was a good one, so I voted to take out the serpent.
“Any ideas, Artie?” She stood still, her fingers close to the strap of her bow so she could draw it. Thank the gods she’d brought it. I still had my vials. I needed to use those because my magic was diminished.
Ariadne stood frozen, her green eyes wide and frightened. I touched her shoulder and whispered encouraging words even though there was no plan to make it through the next five minutes.
Artie spoke up. “My magic is low,” she murmured. “Maybe we can reason with him.”
I sighed. “Yeah. Maybe we could settle this over a game of cards and a bottle of vodka.”
Artie shot me a glare, and I returned it. Since when did any of us listen to reason? She knew this. From all appearances, Artie was as lost as I was.
The beast stepped forward, its serpent tail swishing hypnotically. “Why are you in my tunnels?” The lion’s head spoke, the voice deep and majestic.
I blinked. No idea chimeras could speak. Perhaps I should pick up a few more books. “We are here to right a wrong.” I didn’t elaborate any further.
The beast cocked its head. “Whose wrong?”
Ah….damn. I didn’t know. “Som
eone is trying to overthrow our king. This woman,” I pointed to Ariadne, “was being used as a pawn. Retrieving her will help us find out who is responsible.”
“Did Circe summon you?” I winced as the lightning still cracking around us found a particularly weak spot in the shield and began pulsing against it. It seemed to have no effect on the chimera. Disturbing and curious.
“Circe has immense power,” the beast said, “but she is not more powerful than Zeus. She called me to this spot, but she cannot make me act. Tell me why I should not destroy you.”
Ariadne stepped forward. “Aphrodite speaks truth. She felt she had no choice but to come here and try to find me. And she did so at great risk to her life.” She gestured at the lightning and our quickly failing shield.
The beast gave her a curious look from the lion’s head. “Trespassing in the palace is punishable by death.”
“We are aware,” said Artie. “But we were willing to take that chance. We didn’t feel we could trust anyone with our plan.”
A sliver of lightning made its way inside the shield. Ariadne screamed with pain and fell to her knees.
“Please, let us pass. We will tell Zeus. I promise you. My word is my bond.” I pleaded with the beast, sensing a strong sense of honor and right and wrong within him. “We will die if we stay here.” Lightning played off the beast’s skin, hitting an emerald green layer of protection unseen until now. This was Zeus’ protector, a strange choice, but obviously a good one, if the size of his teeth and snake fangs were any indication of his ability to do damage.
Before the beast could respond, the walls of the tunnel began to shake. I watched as the fissure in our shield grew larger. The lightning shards fought against each other to be first into the crack. It reminded me of maggots in skin, the way it squirmed around trying to find the softest squishiest part. In this case, it was us.
Emerald green lightning filled the tunnel, and the beast fell on his front knees, its head bowed. I looked around searching for the source of the magic. I had a sinking feeling I knew who it belonged to.
“Of all the tunnels, in all the world, you two idiots had to show up in mine.” The lightning stopped abruptly as the figure the voice belonged to stepped forward.
“Zeus,” I breathed. “Thank the gods.” I mean I knew we were breaking and entering into our King’s castle, but it was for a very good reason. I hoped he understood that.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said. “Tell me what the hell you’re doing here, and then I’ll decide what to with you.” His eyes fell upon Ariadne. His face schooled into blankness, but I could see the thin slash of his lips pressed together in anger. He turned his attention back to me. “If you continue working for me, we’ll have to host some B&E training. You two make more noise than Gomer Pyle.”
Artie released the shield, content the threat was gone. I took a deep breath and wished I hadn’t. The smell was more intense outside of our bubble. Zeus motioned to the beast. “Khan, rise.”
My lips twitched. Zeus was a closet Star Trek fan? I filed this away into my mental blackmail folder. The beast rose, but kept his heads bowed in supplication. Zeus strode over, patted the beast and whispered some words to him. It disappeared into thin air. As he watched Khan go, his eyes went to the ceiling.
“Circe? Mark my words, witch. You will suffer my wrath soon.” Zeus folded his arms across his powerful chest.
“Not if you suffer mine first,” the voice came back and fell silent.
“What a bitch,” Zeus murmured. He gave us all an impatient look and with one wave of his hand, all of us were transported out of the tunnels into his chambers.
I lay on the ground, my forehead touching the cool stone. I wanted to French kiss it and promise never to leave it again I was so glad to be out of those wretched tunnels. I pushed myself up to a seated position and wrinkled my nose as a horrid smell found its way to my nose.
“Gods, Zeus,” I said, as I covered my nose with one of my hands. “What is that smell?” The stench, if anything, got worse.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Says the woman rolling around in my sewer for the last several hours. That stench is all yours, ladies.”
“Ugh,” Ariadne said as she lifted an armpit to smell herself and promptly gagged.
“Would you mind?” Artie asked, motioning to us.
Zeus sighed and with another wave of his hand spiffed us up. Thank the gods. I was pretty sure I had never smelled anything that bad in my long, long life. I stood up and took the seat he offered. Once we were all sitting down, he started in on us.
“I won’t remind you of the penalty for trespassing in the castle,” he said.
I gulped and stared at him with frightened eyes. “Even knowing that,” he continued, “you ladies obviously thought it was important enough to risk the consequences. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t come to me first. I could have made passage much easier for you and manipulated the magic dampening so you wouldn’t have risked your pretty necks.”
I shifted, uncomfortable with his questioning gaze. How could I tell him one of his own trusted circle was trying to usurp him? Maybe even kill him? I met his eyes and didn’t have to. He saw the truth in my gaze. Zeus thumped heavily against his desk as he leaned against it.
“It’s true then,” he said. “Gaia is not responsible. It’s one of the Twelve.” He shoved a hand through his hair and scrubbed his hand down his five o’clock shadow. The gesture made him look tired. And human.
I nodded. “It looks that way. We told no one where we were going. Keto and Hermes knew we would be on Mount Olympus, but they didn’t know we’d be in the castle.”
Zeus nodded. “I can understand your hesitancy, but Hermes and Keto are not responsible.”
I hadn’t thought they were, but the fewer people we told, the less chance anyone had of overhearing us. I had a sneaking suspicion who was responsible, but I didn’t want to say anything until I was in possession of concrete evidence.
“Do you know who it is?” he asked, hope evident in his face.
I shook my head, not yet ready to divulge my theory. “We knew Ariadne was here somewhere. I thought it might be here. With your permission we will escort her to Asheville so we can glean information from her.”
Ariadne cleared her throat. “I’m right here,” she said with exasperation. “I don’t know how much I can tell you.”
“We also have someone back in Asheville who’d like to see you.” I smiled at her.
Her lips trembled. “I’ve been such a fool,” she whispered.
I didn’t disagree. “Love can be tricky, Ariadne. Not all of us figure it out. This is your second chance.”
She nodded and bowed her head.
Artemis shifted in her seat. She’d always been uncomfortable in Zeus’ presence. Daddy Dearest wasn’t really the fatherly type, and Artemis hadn’t formed a strong bond with him. For most of her life she’d been terrified of him, but I saw that was slipping away.
“Not to break up this party, but we need to get back. Father?” She inclined her head and stifled a smile as Zeus turned startled eyes on her.
She rarely called him Father. He cleared his throat. “Ah, yes. Of course. Evidence of your meddling will be cleaned up in the tunnels. Do not enter my castle without permission again, ladies. The next time – no matter what’s at stake – won’t end so well for you.”
We’d gotten off with barely a rap on the knuckles. He made me feel guilty for not coming to him, but it was easier said than done. Eyes and ears were everywhere inside the castle, and we couldn’t risk anyone hearing about our Ariadne suspicions. It wouldn’t be long until her absence was discovered, so we needed to get a move on.
I stood and helped a shaky Ariadne up. “We need to go,” I said gently, mindful of her fragile state but also worried about how much time we had to get out of there and get her to safety.
Zeus gave me a long look. “Keep me abreast of anything you find out.”
I nodded and
looked away. Zeus tugged my hand so I met his eyes again. His jaw clenched. “Anything,” he repeated.
I pulled away from him and with a grim face, Zeus sent us back to Asheville where the gods only knew what was in store for us.
31
Chapter Thirty One
My once gorgeous home looked like a refugee camp. Dozens of women littered the living room, the kitchen, my gorgeous deck. Dozens of pregnant women. I was going to murder Keto and Hermes as soon as I saw them.
Artie took one look at the house, one look at my face, and wisely headed upstairs without saying a word. Ariadne didn’t know my tells yet, so she offered a breathy, “What the hell?” as she stared around my place in awe. There were brunettes, blondes, redheads, the occasional strawberry blonde, but they all had one thing in common – a shell-shocked look and a giant belly.
A flash of short blonde hair caught my eye and I shoved my way through the sea of HCG. Whiskey eyes widened, and I saw him pick up the pace when he saw me coming. I hauled ass after him, eventually catching him before he reached the back door. My hand wrapped around his upper arm and I felt a deep sense of satisfaction when I saw his wince. I might have dug my nails into his bicep a little harder than necessary.
“What in the Hades is going on here?” I whispered between clenched teeth. “Is this some kind of bizarre pregnancy convention, and you signed me up to host without telling me?”
His eyes were wary. “They didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“So you brought them here!” I swept my eyes across the scared women. My anger at Hermes drained. It wasn’t his fault. “You should have taken them to Daddy Dearest,” I said.
He grimaced. “You don’t mean that. You know exactly what Daddy Dearest is going to do with them once he realizes what happened.”
He was right. “I think he already realizes what happened, but I don’t think he knows they’re all in one spot.” I sighed and walked over to the bar to pull out a stool. “Ariadne is here.”
Hermes grinned. “You found her! Amazing work, Abby.”