Author's note- I do not own the characters and make no profit. And despite my goal of keeping true to the Greek myths, I succumbed to the temptation to tweak them a bit to fit into my story line better. My bad. I have no will power. Apologies to mythology buffs.

A gazillion thanks to my beta, Valawenal!

Chapter 7

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Jake sang in a deep throaty voice with perfect pitch.

"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen. Nobody knows my sorrow."

After the first excruciating hour of holding the planet aloft, Jake's arms and shoulders stopped hurting and the burning sensation in his thighs began to fade. He was so relieved by this that he chose to simply enjoy the absence of pain and not to explore the thought that he had the absence of all feeling now. He was still sweaty, though. Rivulets of sweat poured down his face and chest as he stood in the full glare of the sun. He was probably going to have the worst sunburn ever. And dehydration was likely to be an issue if Atlas didn't return soon.

Perhaps dehydration was not the most pressing problem he should be worrying about. Damn, does the fate of the planet depend on my bladder control? And is there any chance that Atlas will bring back a cheeseburger?

Now that this planet holding business didn't hurt so much, Jake found his newest nemesis was boredom. Every moment seemed to crawl by in slow motion. There was nothing to look at, nothing to listen to, and no one to talk to. This was dull work. Once he had mentally balanced his checkbook, he moved on to deciding who should be on his Christmas card list. At the moment Cassandra and Ezekiel were not on it.

Jake spoke aloud. "Darn you Cassie! What were you thinking? I thought you had more sense than to take a magical book out of its display case. And you, Ezekiel! Trouble follows you like an old hound dog."

Jake chuckled. One hour of this and I am already losing my sanity.

The next time his friends knocked him onto another time, dimension or galaxy, Jake fervently hoped it was a magical movie instead of a book. That way, he reckoned, they could actually hear him scolding them.

Well, it was just no fun to yell at people who were not there. Maybe he should just drop the planet. Maybe he should dribble it like a basketball. Take that, you two! So, Cassie, you thought you had a headache before, huh? Bounce, bounce, bounce. Hey, Ezekiel, I don't supposed all those objects falling out of your pockets are not pilfered, huh? Bounce, bounce, bounce.

Bored with his retribution fantasies, Jake idly wondered how many spiritual songs he could remember and sing before Atlas got back. And Jake was quite confident that Atlas would come back. After all, Atlas took an oath. He swore by his beloved brother's life that he would return here with the Book of Myths. What worried Jake was the fact that while Atlas did swear to return, he did not swear to take the planet holding duty back. Yep. That's gonna be the problem.

"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen. Glory hallelujah!"

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One last vigorous brush to his chest sent a cloud of pink pixie dust into the air as Flynn bounded into the Library, tossed his messenger bag onto the floor and pulled up a chair for himself. He was feeling very good about the mission he had just completed, which may have been why it took him a minute or so to notice the grim expressions on the faces before him. He felt his grin slowly fading as he looked around his circle of friends.

"Oh, oh. What's wrong?"

Eve folded her arms and hung her head. Cassandra turned away, appearing distressed. Ezekiel looked…well, exactly like Ezekiel always looked, though Flynn noted the avoidance of direct eye contact. After an eye roll and a soft huffing sound of disgust, Jenkins succinctly listed the events that led up to Jake's disappearance.

In the pregnant silence that followed the narrative, all eyes focused on the Book of Myths which was resting benignly on the table before them. Flynn squinted and leaned forward for a closer look at the illustration.

"What the heck is Atlas wearing? Is that a…"

"Flannel shirt!" the others said in chorus.

"Oh. Oohhh. That's really Jake?"

"We believe so, " Jenkins said.

"Then this is a Carron's couplet book. I wasn't aware we had one of those here. In fact, I wasn't even sure that story was true," Flynn said in awe.

"Yes, it is likely a Carron's couplet, and yes apparently we do have one, and yes, the story appears to be true. What we don't know, is precisely how to proceed. Eve, please tell Flynn about your trip to Athena's temple."

As Eve told her story, Flynn could feel his stomach tightening and a fluttering sensation in his chest. Eve was his Guardian, which itself was a special relationship. But if he was being entirely honest with himself, he would have to admit that his feelings for Eve had been steadily growing into something more. The thought of the danger she had put herself in had Flynn folding his hands under the table to hide the shaking. He was relieved when Jenkins commented on their next step, which gave him just enough time to gather his thoughts and emotions before responding.

"It seems unwise to send anyone else into the book in the chapter that Eve visited, "Jenkins said, "but I do not know a better option for locating the other Book of Myths."

Flynn pondered the issue. "Eve, did Athena say when she was going to deliver the book to Zeus? If we could pinpoint a timeline, perhaps we could intercept the book in another chapter."

"Before you select another chapter, I would caution you to choose one that is prior to the one that Jake is in," Jenkins said.

Cassie looked up in interest. "Why? What difference would it make?"

Jenkins looked away briefly before responding. "As we do not know how long Jake can last, we should not waste efforts entering the book after Jake did."

Eve broke the ensuing silence. "Actually, Athena said that she asked her brother Hermes to deliver the book."

"Excellent!" Flynn said. "Jenkins, find us a chapter on Hermes. He was the messenger god. I will go into that chapter and see if I can get the book."

Conspicuously silent up until this moment, Ezekiel spoke up, "I believe that I should go."

"Look, Ezekiel…I know you feel some responsibility for this, and I do commend you for volunteering, but I have a bit more experience than you," Flynn said.

"Oh, I am sure you do," Ezekiel said firmly, "but I am definitely the better man for the job."

Cassandra and Eve looked equally startled at this turn of events, while Jenkins gave Ezekiel a speculative look. Flynn took a breath and nodded. "Explain."

"This is Hermes we are talking about," Ezekiel said. "I may not be an expert on mythology in general, but I know all about Hermes. He was young, handsome, fast, agile and known for his practical jokes. Sound like someone you know?"

"How do you happen to know so much about this one particular deity?" Eve asked.

" Hermes…" Ezekiel looked smug as he paused for dramatic effect, "was the patron God of thieves!"

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Ezekiel sat at the table gazing at the Book of Myths, currently open to a page featuring Hermes. Now that the moment had come to enter the book, he was regretting his ill-considered insistence that he should be the one to go. Flynn and Eve had objected. Cassandra had pleaded with him to let her go instead. Strangely, it was Jenkins that stood up for him and convinced the others that Ezekiel really was the most likely choice to enlist the aid of Hermes.

So here he sat, staring at that stupid book and planning to risk his life for Jake Stone, of all people. He knew that the others were waiting in the hall and wondering what was taking him so long. Ah well, he thought, let's go steal a Librarian. Ezekiel reached out, closed his eyes, thought how very much he wanted to survive this experience and touched the page.

His fingers tingled, and the light penetrated his eyelids. And oddly, just before the swooshy boom, he thought he heard something strange. For just a split second, he could have sworn he heard singing.

"Nobody knows…"