Chapter Five: Pros and Cons of Smiting
With Argus driving, we screech to a halt in front of the Empire State Building in no time at all.
Quite seriously, unless you're stupid, fearless, an immortal, or all of the above, riding in a car that Argus is driving is the most terrifying experience of your life and certainly not one you wish to repeat.
By the time I finally gets the van door to open, Theia practically throws herself outside and onto the sidewalk. This draws the attention of random passersby and busybodies, but she doesn't really seem to care.
In the rearview mirror, I see Argus raise an eyebrow.
"My driving's not that bad."
I smile apologetically before shoving Travis out the door and bailing out.
Now out on terra firma once more, we grab our packs out of the van.
I have a backpack and a satchel. The backpack contains several drachmas, American money, ambrosia, and other necessary items while the satchel is really my quiver full of celestial bronze arrows along with a few silver arrows. Never know when those might come in handy.
Once we each have our packs, we say good-bye to Argus while trying desperately not to betray the sheer terror that is slowly working its way down to fear and eventually just to a horrible memory of the ride here. Though I'm not sure if we accomplish our goal, we shut the van door and watch as Argus speeds off, tires screeching as he turns a corner.
As soon as he is out of sight, Theia shivers.
"Never again. Do you two hear me? Never. I swear on the river Styx that I am never going to ride in a car that Argus is driving, ever again."
A distant roll of thunder in the slightly darkening skies informs us that, whether she had meant it or not, the River had heard her.
On that slightly ominous and foreboding note, we walk through the doors of the Empire State Building and, without a moment's hesitation, approach the guard reading at the front desk.
"Excuse me?" I say as politely as I can manage. He ignores me.
Other than Travis, I might be one of the hardest people to upset; care to guess one of the few things that will upset me? I hate being blatantly ignored.
"Excuse me," I repeat, forcing the book down onto the desk and holding it there.
He begrudgingly tears his eyes away from the book and looks up.
"Yeah? Can I help you?" he asks more out of annoyance than any actual desire to assist us.
"Excuse me, Mr…" I glance down at his name tag and after a few seconds, the letters stop swimming around long enough for me to read 'Addams'.
"Yes, Mr. Addams, we need to get to Olympus. It's very important," I explain, trying to sound as serious and professional as one can possibly sound upon stating that one's destination is, in fact, the home of the Greek gods. I mean, apparently people hearing this tend to think the person saying it is not quite right upstairs. Go figure.
He stares at us blankly for a moment as if to suggest that:
A.) I'm crazy.
B.) I'm stupid.
C.) He is just a mortal.
OR
D.) All of the above
"What are you talking about? Olympus? As if. There's no such thing. This is not April Fool's Day, kids. Now scram."
I would've believed that he was just a regular mortal, too, if it hadn't been for me looking at Theia to see that her right eye is twitching and she's gritting her teeth. These are classic signs that she has just heard a lie.
I learned early on in our friendship that you do not so much as exaggerate the truth to or around Theia. Because of who her father is—Apollo is also the god of truth—she's like a human lie detector. A human lie detector that gets very, shall we say, 'upset' when being lied to.
In one smooth motion, she leans over the desk remarkably threateningly for a sixteen- year-old and glares at the guard.
"I really don't like being lied to, so, for your sake, I'm going to assume that you just misunderstood my friend. We. need. to. get. to. Olympus. Like, now. Clear enough for you?"
The guard swallows nervously, but tries to hold up his façade of being tough and intimidating. It would be so embarrassing to run away screaming like a little girl because of a little girl… Well, littler than him anyway.
"Look, kid. I—"
"They're with me," says an annoyed voice from behind us.
All three of us turn to see a very familiar figure walk out of the elevator and over to where we stand.
"Hey, Mr. D…" Travis nervously greets him.
I honestly can't blame him for being nervous. I would be too if I'd sent Mr. D a wine catalogue in the mail a little over a week ago. Yeah… Mr. D didn't take that so well…
Mr. D looks at him disdainfully.
"Yes. Hello to you, too, Trey."
"It's Travis," the guiltily nervous son of Hermes complains under his breath, while looking at the floor, clearly finding his black high tops highly interesting.
Thankfully for him, Mr. D is paying him no attention but is instead focusing his glare on the guard who now definitely wants to run away screaming.
"There's no time for your silliness right now, Alans," he scowls, butchering the guard's last name and snatching a security card off his desk.
He then hurries over to the elevator while Travis, Theia, and I exchange glances. Travis shrugs and we quickly decide to follow, not wanting to further irritate the already irritated god.
As soon as we step into the elevator completely, we realize someone else has stepped in behind us.
Upon realizing this fact and the doors closing entirely, I see Mr. D's eyebrows rise dangerously.
This poor unsuspecting little old lady standing in front of me is in severe danger of being eaten by killer grapevines or being thrown into a madness which only Mr. D has the ability to send upon someone. The worst part is that she doesn't even know what she has done by stepping into this particular elevator with these particular occupants.
Mr. D is clearly in no mood whatsoever to have to wait on this mortal woman to get off the elevator before being able to put the security card into the slot, and I just know someone's grandma is going to get it if Travis, Theia, and I don't think fast. Glancing at them, I know they realize it, too.
Coming to this conclusion, an idea strikes me even as the elevator starts to move up, and I wink at Travis and Theia. They'll know to follow my lead.
And so, turning to the old woman, I mentally prepare myself for the crime against my nature that I am about to commit, and then I address her.
"Like, can you believe that jerk over there?" I ask in my best 'Drew' voice possible without me wanting to slap myself. When the old lady turns to me and I know I have her attention, I point at Travis and continue.
"Two years. Two years we've been dating and he forgets our anniversary. Our anniversary of all things!"
"Or maybe you've forgotten when it is," Travis counters, his voice serious, yet sounding quite irritated. "Our anniversary is two days from today. Two whole DAYS."
"I did not forget our anniversary. It is today."
"Not like it'll matter much if you keep acting like this. We may not make it till our real anniversary. You know, the one that's two days from now?"
At this point, I angrily spin to glare daggers at him.
"Are you threatening to break up with me? Like, who do you think you are?"
"One more word from being single again, obviously. I knew I was making a mistake when I asked you out."
"So is that all I am? Just one of your many mistakes in life?"
"Soon to be a past mistake," he retorts humorlessly before looking at Theia. "Hey there, baby. What's your name?"
"Are you SERIOUSLY hitting on another girl right in front of me? And how old is she anyway? Thirteen? Fourteen?"
At this I have to restrain a smile because I hear the woman click a button, a quick glance out of the corner of my eye tells me its two floors up from here rather than the much further up floor that she had originally picked.
"I'm sixteen, thank you," Theia snaps back, clearly enjoying the performance and the reluctant audience member. That's the child of Apollo in her, I guess. Loves to put on a show. "And seems to me like anything would be better then dealing with your attitude. Seriously is she always like this?" she asks Travis.
"Every day of the world," he sighs, throwing his hand upwards as if he is glad that someone finally agrees with him.
"It's a wonder you've managed to stay with her as long as two years."
"I know, right?"
"Listen, little girl," I begin, but the elevator stops, the doors open, and the old lady practically runs out.
I spout off a few more random insults for good measure before the doors close at which time the three of us share a look and then burst out laughing.
"Well, I can see now that threatening you three with insanity will do me no good at all. Perhaps I'll threaten turning you into lovely, silent grapevines next," Mr. D says.
Even though there is a scowl on his face, I'm almost certain that somewhere deep down, he wants to laugh, too.
Nevertheless, the three of us quickly stifle our laughter and the elevator falls silent as Mr. D inserts the card he took from the guard's desk and a red button appears out of nowhere. Just pop! There it is. The rather irked Mr. D practically jabs the button with his finger and the elevator starts to move up.
A new song starts playing through the speakers of the small area, and I strangely observe that the song is Michael Bolton's 'Said I Loved You… But I Lied' which just happens to be one of my favorite songs of his… Which I happen to find myself humming along to only after the other three occupants of the elevator throw me questioning looks.
I immediately stop humming and stare at the floor.
Only after several more awkward moments tick by do the doors finally ding and slide open. Everyone quickly exits the elevator.
Almost immediately, we are surrounded by sprites and spirits running around in a panic while the minor gods whisper in groups off to the sides. Mr. D begins to walk purposefully up the stairs leading to the summit of Mount Olympus. We follow quickly, not wanting to get lost in the chaos and pandemonium that Olympus is in currently.
"Um… Mr. D?" Travis begins, looking around at the scene.
"What, Trent?" Mr. D snaps.
Travis sighs, but continues without correcting him.
"What's going on?"
At his question, thunder rolls from the snowy peak of Olympus. Obviously Zeus is upset about whatever's going on. Very upset.
Mr. D scowls, whether it's at the thunder or Travis' question I am unsure. But either way, it's not a good sign.
"Well, you'll find out soon enough."
"Can't you just tell us?" Theia asks.
"No," he answers curtly, maneuvering through the pandemonium quite well for a big, fat guy.
"Why not?"
"Because."
"You don't know either, do you? Not exactly anyway," Theia continues.
At this statement, he clearly gets flustered.
"I am a god. Why would I not know?"
"Because only the Muses do," I reply thoughtfully, not really addressing anyone in particular, just thinking aloud. I hadn't even realized I'd spoken until Mr. D snorts.
"You heroes think you know everything, don't you?"
Another angry roll of thunder sounds, this time much closer, and I realize that down below us, far below on the streets of the city, people must be running for cover and turning on the weather channel, trying to figure out what is going on with the freak storm.
"Does Zeus know?" I ask.
"No. 'Only the Muses do'," he scoffs, repeating my own words back to me.
Theia looks up at the black clouds before returning her attention to Mr. D.
"Then why is Zeus so upset?"
Mr. D stops in his tracks and spins around angrily, "Because, you irksome children, he knows something is wrong and whenever he knows something is wrong, it tends to slightly upset him. Will that be all?" he finishes ranting, his eyes nearly glowing.
We all nod and look at our shoes, not wanting to look at him for the fear that he might go into his true form any moment thereby incinerating any and all mortals or demigods who might catch sight of him.
Instead, he seems to regain some control and wheels around and stalks up the steps. The three of us exchange nervous glances and quickly catch up while still maintaining a slight distance.
Needless to say, the whole rest of the way up the mountain, Mr. D is asked absolutely nothing else. Nothing. By anyone. Not us and certainly not any of the sprites and lesser gods that had been around us whom Mr. D scared into their respective houses.
Several more silent, tense moments pass before we can see the doors leading into the throne room. Quite honestly, I don't think I have ever been so happy to see such an intimidating sight.
Upon reaching the monolithic doors, Mr. D says something under his breath and the doors leading into the council room open. He boldly walks in, clearly happy to be back.
We warily exchange glances and then follow him into the room.
Thirteen huge thrones tower over us and I strangely wonder if this is what ants see. What they feel like. Insignificant. Overpowered. Awe-inspired. Terrified.
And then that thought is shattered by the sight of three very not happy, 15 foot tall Olympians all turning their attention to us simultaneously.
Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena.
Mr. D leads us forward and, a little surprisingly, stands with us rather than with his fellow Olympians. Theia, Travis, and I once more trade nervous looks before quickly kneeling, our eyes on the Olympians' feet.
"Rise, young heroes," we hear Athena say, her voice anxious.
We do so and I can't help but get nervous as another blinding flash of lightning tears across the sky. A glance at Zeus assures me that one wrong word will get any of the three of us smited….
"I told you they would get here, Brother," Poseidon smiles as he looks down at us.
"Well… If they hadn't gotten here when they did, Chiron would have been sending us new heroes. Maybe some that know how to arrive on time," Zeus growls in reply, an ominous roll of thunder sounding.
As the three of us try to refrain from flinching at the obvious threat, Athena looks to Zeus.
"Father, may we return to the matter at hand?" Athena questions.
He sighs heavily and nods. Almost immediately, all three huge Olympians begin to shrink down to a 'normal' height, though still towering over even Travis and me.
As soon as they have done this, they all take a step toward the three of us, and I suddenly have to fight back the childish urge to run out of the room and hide. By the looks on Travis and Theia's faces, I'm sure that—were I to run—they wouldn't be too terribly far behind me.
"Heroes, Chiron has sent you," Athena says.
There is a moment of silence in which I realize that they are waiting for some sort of reply, and with me leading the quest, that means it is I who must speak.
"Yes, Lady Athena. The Oracle prophesied to Chiron and me."
Suddenly, they all look even more upset than before, if that is at all possible, and they exchange worried glances.
"What was prophesied?" Poseidon asks anxiously.
This confuses me slightly. Shouldn't they have already known what the prophecy said?
I push the thought from my mind as I repeat the Prophecy to them.
Before I even finish, Poseidon begins looking to Zeus, but waits until I have recited the last line to speak.
"I am unsure what to make of this, Brother, but it troubles me greatly indeed."
Mr. D glances at us before turning his attention back to his fellow gods.
"It seems that we must consult the Muses on this matter."
"Yes," begins Athena, "the Keepers of Song and Art clearly indicate them, but why?"
"Well, rather than debate it some more, why don't we just ask them? We're wasting time right now," Theia states boldly and bluntly. Leave it to Theia.
Travis immediately elbows her, his eyes practically bulging out of his head as he hisses, "Are you crazy talking to them like that? Need I remind you that Zeus has a tendency to strike down children of Apollo who step out of their place?"
By the end of his statement, all the eyes of the Immortals had shifted to Theia, and Zeus is clearly not amused.
"You dare speak out in such a manner to us, mortal?" he bellows, the sound reverberating off the marble floors and columns.
I know he's going to incinerate her. I just know it. He's going to smite her with the Master Bolt and kill her, but I can't lose one of my best friends. I have to do something. Please Athena, let my words be wisely chosen.
"Lord Zeus, please forgive my friend's impetuous statement. Youth often clouds one's judgment," I say quickly. "She is merely anxious to come to a solution for this. We all remember the last Great Prophecy and are hoping to avoid such a tragedy this time."
Theia glares angrily at the floor. I know she doesn't like what I just said, but it was necessary. At the moment, it doesn't matter if she is happy with me or not, just that she is alive and breathing.
"Well spoken, child. Well spoken indeed," Athena smiles at me, and I realize that she had answered my silent plea. With one small nod of her head, she turns her attention to Zeus. "I believe we all wish to avoid the events of the last Prophecy."
"Please, Brother. Quiet your anger. The girl meant no harm. Let us focus on the situation."
"As much as I would love to rid myself of one brat at least," Mr. D sneers, "it would only be an inconvenience to send for another one to take Mia's place."
Zeus seems to debate internally the pros and cons of smiting her anyway before sighing angrily and looking at the three of them.
"As you three wish it. Well then, What is our next course of action?"
"I say we send the heroes to search out the Muses and then—after they have heard them—have them send the Muses to us so that we may be informed as well," suggests Athena.
Mr. D nods.
"I second it."
Zeus looks to his brother now.
"And you, Poseidon?"
"Yes, I agree. This will allow the heroes more time to act without having to report back to us their findings."
"Then it is settled," says Zeus as he turns his gaze to us. "Depart, heroes and search out the Muses. Send them to us once you have heard the trouble."
We all bow to them and quickly scurry from the room.
Well, there's another chapter and two more will follow directly. :)
~Kanae~