Chapter 6 – Meet You There
Two days later found them traveling once more by stolen car. Katie was sitting in the front seat, her head against the cool glass of the window, staring at the world rushing by while Travis drove. Hermes must have been looking out for his son, because they had managed to steal and ditch several cars without being caught. They had even come to an uneasy truce.
The morning after the explosion Katie had woken up to find she was wrapped tightly in the comforter Travis had brought her. The strange part had been that Travis had been next to her, with his comforter wrapped around them both. He said that she had been shivering and he was sharing body when she asked. Katie hadn't pushed the issue. Instead she'd unwound the blankets and tentatively stood up, relieved to find her weight supported by her ankle.
They had quickly packed up their meager camp and Travis had brought the things back that he'd stolen and left them on the back porch at Katie's insistence. Afterward, they had gone in search of transportation. That day had been pretty uneventful. They hadn't talked of anything except their friends from camp and other trivial things. They avoided the topics of themselves and Connor. They took turns driving and sleeping and now, on the second day after the dragon disaster, found themselves just outside the Texas border.
"Hey, Katie?" Travis's voice interrupted her reverie.
"Yes, Travis?"
"Where do you think we need to go now?" he asked.
Katie had no idea. Everyone had said Texas. Well here they were, and Texas was a huge state. Where would they even begin to know where to go? She sighed. "I guess we just keep following the road for now. Maybe someone will appear and tell us where to go." She was joking, but considering their parentage, stranger things had happened.
Travis shrugged and continued following the road. He was thinking about stopping to trade cars when he heard the deep, even breathing of Katie sleeping. He glanced over and took in her profile. With her eyes closed and sleep relaxing her, she looked younger than her seventeen years. Her dark hair fell over her shoulder. He noticed the newly acquired scar had faded and was hardly noticeable and her hands, which he'd noticed were constantly in motion since the explosion, were resting peacefully in her lap. "Rest well, Katie-Rose," he said quietly. He turned back to the road.
Katie found herself once again in the crypt. Connor sat in the corner of his cage. He was covered in grime but his blue eyes still held the spirit of someone who wasn't giving up. Maybe it was because he knew Travis and Katie were on their way to rescue him.
The woman came into view again. "They're in Texas, child. It won't be long. Once they find my husband, he will point them our way."
"Why would you want them to find Menelaus? Don't you think he's going to be a little upset with you? He's going to send them to return you to the Underworld."
"Oh I am sure he'll be very upset with me. And they can certainly try to send me back to the Underworld, but I assure you I'm not that easy to kill, Connor Stoll."
Katie gasped and her eyes flew open. The car had stopped and Travis looked at her. "Helen…" she breathed.
"What? What are you talking about?" Travis asked.
"Helen of Troy. She took Connor. But why?"
Travis didn't seem surprised. "The dead must stay dead. It will upset the natural order of things," he quoted.
"What are you talking about?" Katie was confused.
"Nothing. So where is good old Helen keeping my bro?" Travis asked flippantly.
"I don't know. But apparently Menelaus is also back from the dead, and he'll help us."
Travis leaned back in the seat. "I doubt we can just look up Menelaus in the phone book."
Katie shook her head. "No, but I have an idea. We were told to cross a bay. Head east, toward the Gulf of Mexico."
Travis shrugged and started the car again. "We're going to have to switch cars soon," he said as he started toward the Gulf.
They switched cars and stopped for dinner. After dinner, Katie took over while Travis stretched out in the backseat. She drove the long, winding freeway, lost in thoughts about how they were going to kill Helen. Helen was a daughter of Zeus, if her memory was correct, which meant that she could be killed by celestial bronze. That was helpful. She tried to think of anything else that would give them an advantage over Helen. Maybe they could use Paris as a bargaining chip somehow. Katie wasn't sure how though. The man was dead. She would have to think on it some more.
Katie turned the radio on low and found a station that was playing classic rock. Travis was snoring in the backseat, and her eyes were starting to droop. She opened the window, letting the cool night air rush past, drowning out the radio. She could really use some caffeine right now, but they were out of Coke and Travis wouldn't let Katie touch Mountain Dew after she had gone all hyper on him yesterday. They had lost a couple hours of travel because she had been unable to sit still in the car. This, and the explosion, was why they were pulling an all-nighter on the road tonight. They were running out of time. Her dream earlier told her as much. Connor couldn't hold out much longer, Katie was sure of it.
Katie pulled off the highway for gas about five in the morning. She filled the tank and paid with what little money they had left. Travis was still sleeping in the backseat and she envied his demigod-dreamless sleep. They were about an hour away from the Gulf, if her estimation was correct. She wished they could take a shower and get a proper night's sleep. They were going to need their strength for the coming battle.
Before she could start the car, Travis woke up. "D'ya want me to take the wheel?" he mumbled, his voice slurred by sleep.
"I don't know if I'd trust you to drive right now, Travis," she retorted. She held up a bottle of Coke. "I'm good, I grabbed some caffeine."
Travis shrugged. "If that's what you want," he rolled over on his side, which Katie found fascinating that he was able to do in the car given his size, and fell back to sleep.
Katie started the car and drove away. Another hour on the road, she kept telling herself. Just one more hour and they'd see the Gulf, and hopefully all would be revealed as to how this was supposed to help them.
Travis woke up to some sappy song on the radio. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up, yawning. "Where are we?" he asked.
"The Gulf is right there," Katie said, pointing out the windshield.
"What's that?" Travis asked, pointing toward a large structure that looked out of place in this small coastal town.
Katie pulled off to the side of the road and squinted. The town lay in a valley that ended at the Gulf of Mexico. But down there, on the outskirts of the town, near the coast, was a large building that looked almost like… "Is that a castle?" Katie asked incredulously.
Travis crawled into the front seat, nearly kicking Katie in the head in the process. She smacked him in the arm. He stared out the window. "Helen's husband was the King of Sparta. If history is repeating itself… Do you think it's possible he lives there?"
Katie glanced over at him. "You actually paid attention in class?"
He rolled his eyes. "Oh please, you seem to think I'm an idiot. This is my history as much as yours, Kitty-Kat."
"I don't…" she shook her head and sighed. "Let's go see if anyone is home, shall we?"
Katie drove up to the gate surrounding the castle. It must look like a mansion or something to those who couldn't see through the Mist. They stared up at the gates, but they didn't move. After a few minutes Katie sighed and backed away. "Let's get rid of the car, we can walk back."
They ditched the car and grabbed their gear. They shouldered their packs and started back toward the castle. When they approached the gate, a camera trained on them. An electronic voice spoke off to their left. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner," Travis said. "We're looking for the king of the palace."
There was a minute of silence. Finally the gates groaned open. Travis looked at Katie. They both shrugged and walked through them, listening to the gates clang shut behind them.
When they entered the grand foyer of the castle, they were met by a man. "King Menelaus will be with you shortly. Perhaps you'd like a moment to freshen up?" He pointed them toward a door, and when Katie opened it she found a huge bathroom.
Before Travis could say a word, Katie shut the door in his face. She took the time to wash up as best she could and combed the tangles out of her hair. She dug out the least dirty set of clothes she had in her backpack and changed. When she emerged ten minutes later she felt almost human again.
Travis took about five minutes before he emerged, looking semi-human again himself. As if on cue, the man who had met them at the door appeared and led them into a room that held a throne. "King Menelaus will be with you shortly."
Travis and Katie looked around the room. Though they were in an ancient Greek castle, it had all the comforts of modern life. Katie suspected that most of those that had been spewed from Hades were enjoying what modernity had provided.
A door banged and an imposing man in an Italian tailored suit swept in. He had dark hair and piercing eyes. He sat on his throne and looked down at the two teenagers before him. "Travis Stoll, son of Hermes. Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter. I was told to expect you. How can the King of Sparta be of service to two young demigods?"
"We… we need to cross the Gulf of Mexico," Katie said getting right to the point.
Menelaus frowned. "Why don't you just drive to Florida?" he asked reasonably.
"We would, but we were told we had to come by water. Prophecies are strangely specific like that," Travis said.
"I do have a boat going across the Gulf," Menelaus said. "You could ride over on it. I warn you to stay out of the way though. My soldiers won't take kindly to a couple of kids getting in their way."
"Thank you, your Majesty," they both said.
"Don't thank me yet. I need you to do something for me in return."
Katie and Travis both smiled tightly. "Of course, Your Highness. What can we do for you?" Katie asked.
"My wife is trying to raise her lover from the Underworld. I want you to kill her. She must not bring Paris back."
"You want us to kill your wife?" Travis asked.
"I know it sounds harsh, but I also realize our story played out three thousand years ago. There is no need to play it out again. If Helen is stopped, our story will cease. It will save many people."
"She has my brother, your Majesty. I don't plan on going easy on her," Travis promised.
"Ah, excellent! Now, let me offer you rooms to rest in. The ship leaves at sunset. I will have someone wake you and bring you to the docks."
"Thank you King Menelaus," Katie said.
A moment later the king had disappeared and the manservant was back, leading them to their rooms.
Chapter title song credit: – Meet You There (Simple Plan; No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls album released 2002)