“I’m glad you were able to come so soon,” said Nic as he maneuvered around a crate loaded with bottles of olive oil.
“It did work out well, didn’t it?” said George from behind her.
Cassie didn’t feel the “well” he referred to. The prickle progressed to needle pricks, but she couldn’t see anything wrong. Her radar must be off, out of whack because she was still upset over Apollo.
Nic entered a tiny room with white plaster walls, hugged on one end by a small wooden desk and a spindly chair. A skylight brightened the shabby space and made the room appear bigger.
“Our friends will congratulate you. Most impressive,” said Nic as he moved to the desk.
“Thank you,” chuckled George from behind her.
Pulling open a desk drawer, Nic retrieved a dark glass bottle and a rag. He popped open the lid, covered the opening with the cloth and tipped it over, soaking the rag “I’m glad you came when you did. If it had been an hour earlier, I wouldn’t have had this.” He nodded to the bottle in his meaty hand.
George took a spot just behind her and to her side. “Luck does smile on us.”
Prickles raced down her back. Three warnings, and she decided to listen. “I need to go.” She turned to leave.
George blocked her escape. Nic’s thick arm grabbed her from behind and pressed her close to his bulk. She struggled, but he was too strong. “George, what are you doing? Help me!”
Nic covered her mouth and nose with the rag. “You’re not going anywhere.”
* * *
Apollo was furious. If he’d still had his powers, he would’ve throttled his spoiled half brother. All Hermes had to do was bring him to Athens near his hotel, but no, he’d taken a detour to Delphi. Showing Apollo his former greatness, rubbing his nose in his past glory. If by some miracle Apollo won the bet and gained Hades’ hound, he’d turn the three-headed beast loose on Hermes. At least one set of jaws would bite a piece from his hide.
Hermes had taken his time, but finally deposited him on the outskirts of Athens. Apollo reached the hotel by late afternoon. Time wasted and they had none. He grumbled as he knocked on the door of her room. No answer. Was she just being stubborn or had she gone out? He trudged down the stairs to the front desk. They hadn’t seen her since morning.
Something didn’t feel right, and it was more than the blisters on his feet from walking. Cassie might have run into trouble. She’d lived a sheltered life. All she knew of danger came from human television and dreams. The girl had no real experience.
He left the hotel. The market had closed for the day. People milled about the cafés, but Apollo didn’t see Cassie among them. Where could she have gone? Not to her father: she’d been too angry with him. Apollo’s search brought him near Andromeda’s home. He’d stop in for a moment and see if she might have an idea of where to look.
A thin young man with curly brown hair answered the door. “Come in. Come in. She told me to invite you if you came by. Andromeda hasn’t stopped speaking of the handsome, blond god who visited. I’d know you anywhere.”
Apollo entered. “I’m not a god, just a family friend.” The truth of his words cut him. Not a god. Mortal. And he didn’t care for the situation at all. Her humble home was clean and just as he recalled from his last visit. The young man had an expressive and friendly face and appeared to be about sixteen.
Andromeda nodded in her chair, her chin resting on her full bosom. The boy gently shook her awake. “He’s here.”
She jerked and her eyes blinked open. Apollo smiled at her, feeling that this woman’s time on earth was ebbing away. He wished he’d seen her over the years, that he could turn back time and prolong her life. None of this was in his power. All he could offer was a brief visit.
“Apollo.” She grinned, and then shook her hand at the lad. “Open a bottle of wine for us.” Her crinkled eyes stared at him. “I’m glad you’re here. The sight of you makes my heart sing with the memory of your grandfather.”
“Your memories of him are good?”
“They sustain me in quiet moments. And this young man.” The boy had returned and handed them full glasses, then set the bottle on the table beside the old woman. She smiled at the young man and he grinned back, genuine affection obvious between the two. She lifted her glass. “What troubles you?”
“Why do you think anything bothers me?” Were his concerns so visible for all to see?
“I knew that look of your grandfather’s. It always meant trouble.”
“You’re perceptive. There is trouble.”
Her sparse gray brows lowered. “I’m old and likely can’t do more than listen, but I can still do that.”
“Anything you can tell me could help.”
She settled a blanket over her lap and sat up straight. “Go on.”
He set his glass on an end table. “I’m afraid that something might have happened to my fiancé. My gut tells me that Hydra has something to do with it.”
Andromeda’s gaze shifted to the boy and then back to Apollo. “Hydra? Filthy lot. They tried to convince Jason to join them. We talked about it and decided they were up to no good. He’s a smart boy.” She smiled at Jason and he beamed at her praise.
“You know of them?” Apollo perched on the edge of his chair in anticipation of any morsel of news.
Jason shrugged his slight shoulders. “I hear things. No one pays attention to me as I run errands. I’m always picking up things in the market and the shops for people. After I pay the money, they don’t seem to notice if I stay and listen. It used to bother me, but then I started to learn things. It’s not always a bad thing to be ignored.”
“You’ve heard of Hydra?”
“Sure. They…well, I overheard this just last night.” Jason leaned toward Apollo and lowered his voice. “An American woman is here and her father is some big deal in the US government. Hydra wants to take her hostage.”
A cold ball of lard rolled in Apollo’s gut. “An American? Did you hear the name?”
Jason tilted his head and scrunched his mouth. “Not sure, but her dad’s the secretary of something. I remember that part.”
Apollo’s strength drained from him. “Priam?”
“That’s it.” Jason nodded. “I heard about it when I bought garlic from the herb shop a few streets over. Hydra’s followers meet there sometimes.”
“Will you show me?” Apollo jumped to his feet, adrenaline coursing through his limbs. This might be it. A feeling in his gut urged him to go.
Andromeda’s gaze clouded with worry. “Take care, my boy.”
“I will.” Jason kissed her weathered cheek. “No fears. I’ll be back soon.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
As if propelled by an unseen force, Apollo strode through the streets and alleyways of Athens up a side street and down another, following the gawky young boy, Jason. He couldn’t be more than sixteen, and was as thin as Poseidon’s trident. Apollo’s gut whispered that Cassie was near, not by godly ability, but a deeper sense. He hadn’t expected that. Mortals did have gifts and he needed to make good use of them.
Music played from cafés, joyful tunes sounding over brick and stucco, mocking the reality of what lay ahead. Athens’ destruction, and perhaps their own, loomed like storm clouds on the horizon.
“This is it.” Jason hung back at the corner of the building and leaned against the wall. “See, closed like I said.”
Apollo eyed the structure, careful not to get too close and appear overly interested to any bystander. “Is there a back way in?”
“Well, there was a door, but they closed it off. Now the only other way in is through the roof. They have a window up top.” He leaned closer to Apollo, and in a soft squeak he asked, “Are you planning to break in and rob the place? Because they only have dried parsley and garlic and not much money.”
“No thievery. I’ve come for what’s mine.” Apollo didn’t know that Cassie was inside, but the urge to search gnawed. He headed to the side of the buildin
g to gain a better look.
Jason tailed him, his light footsteps close on Apollo’s heels. “What they got that’s yours?” he whispered.
Apollo tuned his hearing to the shop and listened. Nothing. Mortal hearing did him no good. His jaw clenched. “Are you sure there’s no one inside?”
Jason shrugged. “They’re closed. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Is there a way up?” Apollo motioned to the roof. He’d scale the walls if need be.
“There’s a ladder in back. They dry herbs on the roof and sometimes I haul them up for them.”
“You’re hard working.” Apollo stalked toward the ladder.
“Need to make a living. I’m saving up for something.” Jason hurried beside him.
“How old are you?” Apollo stared at the youthful face with a smudge of dark fuzz on his upper lip.
“Eighteen.”
“What are you saving for, a motorcycle? I see that’s what many young people use to get around the city.”
Jason grinned. “I plan to go to school in America and become a scientist.”
“Do you?” Apollo lifted the wooden ladder, worn and gray. “And what kind of science are you interested in?”
“Nuclear physics. My teachers say I’m gifted, but I don’t know about that.” He shrugged. “I want to find a new source of power.”
Apollo stopped beside a wall obscured by trees. Perfect. They’d be difficult to see from this spot. “I’m surprised.”
“Why? Because I don’t want to learn to blow things up, I can, you know—blow stuff up. That’s why Hydra wanted me to join.”
“Really.” Apollo wedged the rickety, ladder against the building. “You’re a man of many talents.” He surveyed Jason. His eyes didn’t lie. What kind of life had this boy led?
“Yeah, that’s what Andromeda tells me.” His large, dark eyes sparkled.
Apollo bounded up the ladder and Jason stood guard at the bottom. When he reached the top, Apollo spied the small window, only a foot square, impossible for a man of his size to squeeze through. Tension gripped his shoulders. No longer in possession of vision able to burn the hole larger or travel by thought to place him inside, he was forced to use human means for entrance. “Mortality is a curse,” he muttered. Apollo waved at the boy and spoke low “Come up. I need your help.”
Jason raced up the rungs and stood beside Apollo, staring at the skylight. “Yeah, you’ll never get through that, but I fit. I’m skinny and small for my age. I’ve done it before.”
“You have?”
“Sure. Sometimes I hand the dried herbs down through this window. And sometimes I drop to the floor instead of climbing down the ladder. It’s faster.”
“Are you willing to climb inside to find out if there’s a woman in there?”
His wide mouth dropped open. “A girl? You mean the one they wanted to kidnap?”
Apollo nodded. He hoped and feared that was the case.
“Sure,” said Jason, bright eyed and bouncing on his toes.
Apollo unlatched the covering and pushed aside the thick Plexiglas. The sun was setting and they both peered into darkness. A mass that looked like a rolled-up carpet lay in the center of the floor. It appeared soft—at least, softer than the ground.
“I’ll try to land on that carpet to break my fall.” Jason crawled through the small opening feet first. He struggled when he reached his shoulders, but forced passed and slipped down. Apollo heard a thud and then a muffled screech.
“What is it?” Apollo said in a loud whisper.
“I landed on the carpet and it’s moving.”
“See what it is.” Desperation quickened Apollo’s pulse and stared into the abyss.
A rustling wafted up from the darkness and then a grunt. “Ouch,” from Jason.
“Apollo,” screeched Cassie.
No sweeter sound had ever graced Apollo’s ears. Thank the gods. He released a breath.
“Get—me—out,” she growled.
* * *
Cassie’s leg throbbed from the weight of the boy landing on it. There was sure to be a wicked bruise. She was lucky it wasn’t broken. Apollo had carried her out of the building after the boy had let him in through the front door. Now she stretched out on his bed at their hotel with ice on her thigh. Apollo hadn’t spoken to her most of the way, but the whites of his eyes shone red and he cleared his throat often. He carried her up the three flights of stairs and refused to let her out of his sight.
She’d been so relieved that Apollo had found her that she’d let go of her hurt and only now wondered if he’d met with Zeus. “Is your father helping us?”
“What?” Apollo glanced at her as he filled a new icepack. He’d sent Jason out to hunt up more ice.
“What did Zeus say?”
He dropped a cube on the floor. “Oh, nothing much.”
A tingle crept along her neck. “I’m not buying that.”
He flashed her a tight smile. “My father has chosen not to be involved.”
“Ugh.” Why did this not surprise her? In all of myth, when humanity needed the help from the gods, they dithered or were unavailable. “What excuse did he give you?”
“He didn’t feel his involvement was needed.”
“What would warrant his help? A meteor careening toward earth, resulting in total annihilation?” Cassie punched the mattress with her fist. “Zeus is an SOB.”
Apollo shrugged, closed the ice pack and placed it gently on her thigh, midway between her knee and her hip. “How does it feel?”
“Numb, thanks to the ice and aspirin.” She adjusted her leg and made a careful stretch. “Yep, it will be much better by morning. Stiff maybe, but I’ll be able to walk on it.” Cassie rubbed above the swollen spot with her fingers. “Where did you find this kid?”
“Jason works for an old friend. He’s trustworthy and bright. The boy longs for an education in America, but he’ll struggle to pay for his dream.” Apollo sighed heavily, his blue eyes shifting to inky. “He knows something about Hydra’s plans and I believe him.”
Cassie sat up. “What has he told you, other than where to find me?”
“That was luck, but I’ll ask him more when he returns.”
A knock on the door, and Jason entered with a bowl. “You know, we don’t use ice much. I had to go to one of the big American hotels to get this.”
“I appreciate it. Thanks,” said Cassie. “It almost makes up for your landing on me.”
“He stared at her with repentant brown eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were the lumpy carpet.”
“Is that what I looked like?”
Jason grinned. “Yep. You don’t think I would’ve jumped on you if I’d known you were a girl, do you?”
“I suppose not.” She smiled back at him.
Apollo sat on the bed beside Cassie and motioned for Jason to take the chair by the door. His brow creased. “I need to ask you a few questions. Aiding us may be dangerous. Are you willing?”
“I’ve lived on the streets most of my life.” He crossed his arms over his thin chest. “I was in trouble from the moment I refused to join Hydra, more after I agreed to take you to the shop. Too late now.”
He was right. If anyone saw him at the herb shop tonight, Hydra would take care of him. Cassie doubted they’d show leniency because of his age. She felt a ping of discomfort for the boy’s situation.
Apollo rested his arms on his thighs and stared at the boy. “I need more information. We’ve thwarted part of their plan, but they’ll move forward regardless. Is there anything else you can tell me?” He spoke in a soft voice and didn’t push for an answer.
Jason scrunched his face and looked up at the ceiling in obvious thought. “They want to blow up a government building, take hostages, shoot a few people to make a point, and then do other stuff.”
“What…other stuff?” said Apollo.
“Take over the world is what they told me, back when they pushed me to join them.”
Apol
lo didn’t laugh.
Cassie wished it was a joke, but the look on the boy’s face was serious. “How do they plan to do that?” she said.
He shrugged his skinny blue t-shirt-clad shoulders. “I’m not on the inside, so I don’t know details, just what I hear around.”
“Is that everything?” Apollo wiped his hands on his thighs.
“They may have changed their scheme, but they’d planned to bomb something in Athens.”
Cassie flinched, and then groaned from the pain of movement. “I won’t do that again.” She rubbed her leg. “Do you have a time?”
“Sure. They told this guy George all about it while I picked up fennel seeds in the herb store. I ducked around a bunch of hanging garlic and listened. They didn’t notice me and talked for another hour. I knew Andromeda would wonder what took so long, but I couldn’t leave and get caught listening.”
“Of course not,” said Cassie. Smart boy. George? It had to be that damn traitor of a friend.
Apollo clenched and unclenched his fists and stared at the floor. “We need to know how they mean to get into the embassy.”
“Embassy?” Jason sat up. “I never said it was the embassy, but they did say that was a possible target. Wow. They mentioned the seventeenth of this month.”
“The seventeenth.” Cassie’s stomach roiled. “That’s when the officials meet in Athens to negotiate with Hydra. Are you sure?”
Apollo leveled a glacial blue gaze on her. “He’s right. The attack is fated for two days time.”
Jason cocked his head toward Apollo. “Fated? Whatever. That must be the plan. Wait until they have a bunch of prisoners in one place and then take them hostage.”
Apollo nodded. “Wise move.”
“What?” said Cassie, her head jerking toward Apollo. “You can’t agree with this.”
“No, but it’s not a bad plan.”
Cassie sat back against the pillows. “No, it’s not.” Damn. My dad will be there.
Jason lifted from the chair and headed for the door, but Apollo stopped him. “You can’t leave.”
Apollo's Gift (The Greek Gods Series) Page 14