Chapter 42

Prometheus Gets a Playdate

I was never going to use the phrase slept like a log again. Instead, I would just say I slept like Prometheus.

When morning rolled around, only marked by the slivers in the ceiling changing from black to dull gray, the titan stretched and yawned, pulling himself from his sleeping bag.

"Good morning everyone. Sleep well?"

I was next to Hector, kneeling over a little propane cooking stove to heat eggs. Bianca and Emmitt sat against the opposite wall munching on fruit and energy bars. All of us couldn't help but stare at him.

"I'll take that for a yes." Prometheus breathed in deeply. "Ah, what fresh air. And… do I detect a hint of gunpowder?"

"I should've been used to this after Graham Island," I said, "but nothing ever wakes you up, does it?"

"Of course things do," Prometheus said. "Provided they're loud."

"Like a gunshot?" Bianca asked.

He thought about it. "Hmmm. Probably not. It would takea bit more. Off the top of my head… a constipated drakon has done it."

"Well, it probably hadn't," I said. "Otherwise it would have just been a drakon."

We broke camp not long later. Hector, who had been about ten times milder since Bianca's verbal beat down, said we were over halfway there. The trekking sure felt longer than that. I couldn't remember anything ever looking as sweet as when the dot of light marking the exit came into view.

I assumed we'd step out of the cave to a cloudy, overcast day, maybe with some light snow. Coeus said we'd have good weather, so I didn't expect a blizzard. I expected what we got even less.

Heat hit my face. Not less-cold cold, but real sunlight. The sky was clear. Birds twittered from the tree branches of a sweeping pine forest that stretched on for miles and miles, coating a massive gorgeous vale. Snow glazed the trees, somehow not melting in the sun and making everything sparkle like polished diamond rings.

Hector couldn't help but smirk. "Told you you'd know when we arrived."

"How is this possible?" Emmitt bent down to brush a stalk of grass, tracing his way to the two inches of snow at its base. "This is Kaincha Grass. It shouldn't be able to grow anywhere cold, let alone in snow!"

"Trust me," Hector said, "you haven't seen anything yet."

He led us down a dirt trail off the hill the cave had spit us out on. Walking through these woods was like taking a stroll through a shaken snow globe held up in the sun— snow shone on the branches, glistening flakes drifted to the forest floor, and the thinnest sheet of ice crunched under every step. Squirrels darted along branches and bunnies frolicked with songbirds. It was a certified winter wonderland, all magically preserved at a not-so-cool sixty-five degrees.

Just when I was thinking I couldn't get more impressed, we reached the water.

Think the Colorado River but with Florida-style beaches on each bank. White sand hemmed in rushing water, somehow shining brighter than the snow lining it. Just because somebody thought the snow and sand wasn't enough white, they added swans. Hundreds of the huge birds floated on the water. Other than the river itself, the only thing that wasn't white were seven massive trees, four on the close bank and three on the far one, all the size of buildings with golden leaves prodding at the sky.

"Oh my gosh…" Emmitt stared up at the closest one, gaping. 'That's the most beautiful poplar I've ever seen!"

"Thank ye for the compliment!"

Emmitt jumped. Sticking from the trunk was the top half of a teenage girl in a stylish beige tank top. She giggled, flicking aside gold hair the exact shade of the tree's leaves, and merged with the bark, disappearing.

Emmitt blushed. "Wha- Huh? I mean, who—?"

"Ignore her," Hector said, leading us past the tree. "The Heliades are horrible flirts. You get used to them."

He couldn't see it, walking ahead like he was, but the girl's face reappeared from the opposite side, sticking her tongue out at him. When she caught Emmitt and I looking, she made a "Shhh" motion and winked. Emmitt turned so red I was worried his lips would burst.

"Hey," I said, "so correct me if I've got this wrong, but it's our job to meet these people, convince them to leave this paradise, possibly forever, and come fight in a war that has nothing to do with them?"

"That about covers it," Prometheus said.

"And you think they'll take that?"

"When I set my mind to it," he said, "anyone can be convinced to do anything."

"Except not chaining you to a vulture rock," Bianca muttered.

Prometheus winced, rubbing his stomach. "Ouch. Low blow."

Conversation died as we rounded a bend in the river. Ahead the dirt path we'd been following met a cobblestone road. A huge, arched bridge crossed the rushing river, leading to a surprisingly modern-looking city full of brick buildings and colorful angled roofs.

Waiting for us on the bridge was what I took for the welcome brigade. Armed sentries guarded the close side, each at least twice Hector's size and holding halberds that they made look small. Behind them, midway across, loomed one huge guy with a bunch of attendants in fancy robes and guards fingering sheathed broadswords. Past that, clustered on the city side, were what an armed delegation gets in any city— gawkers. People milled around and craned their necks for a look at the ones on the bridge, until someone pointed at us and they all realized there was something even more interesting to watch. As we approached the bridge, I was uncomfortably aware of just how many eyes were on us.

"I didn't know you called ahead," I whispered to Hector.

"I didn't," he said. "No need to."

The sentries were the last ones to spot us, which didn't say anything great about their career choices. Then again, maybe you didn't need sharp senses when you could swing a weapon taller than some monsters.

The bulky guy on the right beamed. "Hector is here!"

"I can see that." His partner, a head shorter than him with less-blue skin, regarded us with cool eyes. Then she addressed Hector. "Where'd you find them?"

Hector didn't stop, walking straight between them. "Coeus sends his regards."

That was enough for the sentries. They didn't stop us as we passed by, although the guy did say, "Hector, come by the barracks tonight! We made lots and lots of ice cream!"

The woman shook her head. "Give it a rest already. You know he never comes."

I wasn't sure why he would turn down a sweet offer like that. If it was me, I'd be all over 'lots and lots of ice cream'.

It became clear pretty quickly that if the sentries were friendly, the same didn't go for the guards waiting for us on the bridge. They fanned out, putting themselves between us and the giant guy with stares that could've punctured platinum.

Then that big guy clapped his hands. "Calm down," he commanded cheerfully. "They aren't here to hurt me."

When I had been surprised that Hector didn't look like a Hyperborean, it was because I pictured them all exactly like this guy.

His hair was icicles. He had the bluest skin out of anyone I'd seen yet, only slightly lighter than a blueberry. As I was quickly figuring out, that also meant he was big. Thirty-five or forty feet tall, he wore sandals and a toga big enough to replace The Nautes' sail. In his hand, the bottom resting against the straining bridge underneath him, was a staff with a blue orb fixed at the end like he'd stolen it from a giant wizard. From his appearance to the way he carried himself, I figured if anyone had to be one of the three original Hyporean giants, it was this guy.

"Sir," one of his guards said reluctantly, "are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Nonsense. If they were a threat to me, would I have come out to meet them?"

"But—"

The big guy ignored his guards' protests. He stepped forward, towering above them, and looked kindly down on us. "Welcome, guests. Or should I call you emissaries?"

Prometheus flashed a million-watt politician's smile. "Either works, sir. But just Prometheus would be best."

"A titan calling me sir? I can't have that. If I'm to use your name, use mine as well. I insist."

"If you'd have it, Pagomenos. The honor isn't lost on me."

They stood staring each other down, fake smiles so good they almost seemed real. I knew how to spot politicians in their natural habitat when I saw them. To my left Bianca muttered, "I'm gonna barf."

"And who are these?" Pagomenos's basketball-sized eyeballs panned to us. "Heroes? Guests? Guards?"

"All of the above," Prometheus patted our backs. "They are my escorts. Your neighborhood is quite dangerous."

Pagmenos's eyes turned sad. "Lamentably so. Those darn feuding tribes." Then he brightened. "Enough about that, though. You've arrived! We have much to talk about, I'm sure. Oughtn't we get started as soon as possible?"

"You'll get no arguments from me," Prometheus said. "Lead on."

Worried we were about to be forgotten, I raised my hand like I was in class. "What do we do?"

"Whatever you'd like!" Pagomenos turned to address the crowd behind him. "These people are my honored guests! I expect they will be treated with every possible courtesy. So, people, let's show them just how hospitable we Hyperboreans can be!"

The crowd at the end of the bridge erupted in cheering. One or two even started shouting, "They can stay with me!" or "No, no, with me!"

I stared, not sure what to do. "Uh…"

Pagomenos smiled. "We take hospitality seriously here in the North. Something must be done about that phrase about the South oudoing us. Hercules stayed with us you know, and even your namesake Perseus paid a visit."

"I never told you my name," I pointed out.

"You didn't have to." He tapped his temple. "I simply have good eyes."

"Excuse me. Pagomenos." Somehow, while we talked, Hector had gotten right up right up in front of the giant. The paranoid guards that had been glaring holes in us didn't glance twice at him. "They can stay with me."

Pagomenos gaped. The guards stared. Behind me, the sentries that had been pretending they weren't listening broke into choked coughing.

"You are offering to let others stay with you?" Pagomenos actually kneeled down, pressing the back of his hand to Hector's forehead. Maybe more surprising, Hector didn't bat him away. "Did you hit your head on the journey? Do you have a fever? If someone is threatening you, just point them out—"

"I'm fine." Hector leaned away. "I just owe them a bit. They helped me out, and I always pay debts."

"Well, alright." Pagomenos was still staring with wide eyes. "I mean, yes! If you're asking, of course they can stay with you."

"Hold on," Bianca said, "who said we even want to stay with this guy in the first place?"

Emmitt and I kicked her shins.

"We'd love to!" I said hurriedly. "Right, guys?"

"Totally!" Emmitt said. "Absolutely bursting with anticipation. That's us!"

Bianca stared at us, rubbing her shins. Then she sighed. "Ugh. Fine."

"Wonderful!" Prometheus brushed by me. "You three stay out of trouble, you hear. I'll see you in the evening. Ah, and before I forget." He looked Bianca, then Emmitt, then me in the eyes one by one before smiling. "You all did well getting me here safely. Good work."

A warm feeling bubbled in my gut. That was right. It hadn't been easy, but we'd done it. We'd managed to get him all the way to Alaska! How was that for a job well done?

"Of course, you've also got to get me home. Isn't it exciting? You're halfway done!"

The warm feeling shattered. As Prometheus wandered off, trailing Pagomenos's entourage as they cleared the way through the streets, I said, "I'm going to kill him."

"Slowly," Bianca agreed.

"Come on." Hector waved for us to hurry up, standing at the far end of the bridge himself. "I want to g0 home."

Walking through those streets, I felt a sense of empathy with Melissa and the Charlies for their zoo days. We were being stared at like an exhibit. Playing children would drop their baseball bats and action figures to watch us walk by. Business would pause as everyone inside shops pressed their face to the glass to get a look at us. Second-floor windows flew open on houses, filled with curious faces that came in various shades of blue.

"They'll get used to you," Hector assured us. "We haven't gotten visitors in ages. Once the novelty wears off you'll be able to breathe."

"It's fine," I said.

Because as much as they were staring at us, we were staring back.

The city wasn't bigger than Anchorage, but it was bigger than Anchorage. As you got closer to buildings that looked normal in the distance, you realized they were further than you thought, just twice the size of a regular house. Benches got up to the size of rhinos. I spotted one front door you could pilot a helicopter through.

Not that everything was that huge. For every rhino-sized bench there was a regular-sized one, and about six more in between the two. In the baseball game we interrupted by passing by the batter was twice the size of the catcher, and a foot shorter than his friend on first base. Prometheus hadn't been kidding; Hyperboreans really did come in all sizes.

Other than that, it seemed like a normal city, just an unusually clean one. The sidewalk didn't have any gum or cigarette ashes ground into it. The cobblestone streets were immaculate, and there wasn't a spot of graffiti on any of the lampposts.

"Hector! Hector!" As we walked by a basketball court all the players stopped to wave, calling out to our guide. "You're back!"

Me and Emmitt waved back, but Hector barely gave them a nod.

"Not going to say hi?" I asked.

"Waste of time," was all he said.

That wasn't the last time, either. It seemed like the first thought on everybody's mind once they'd gawked at us was to try and get the guy's attention. Not one of them got more than a glance for the trouble.

We walked, and walked, and walked. Maybe that was why Hector was in such good hiking shape: he had to take one every time he went home. Eventually we left the city mostly behind, trees filling the growing gaps between houses. Finally Hector turned off on a winding dirt path that ran into a thicket of trees. A two-story house sat at the end, wood with a shingled roof like a cozy mountain cabin.

He didn't knock on the front door, pushing it open and stepping inside. "I'm home!"

The interior was as comfortable as the outside. A big living room led straight to an open kitchen. All the furniture, from the dining table to the chairs in every corner, was wooden. There was a fireplace that looked like it hadn't been used since forever. Mounted above it was a knight's sword bigger than I was. It seemed like it hadn't been taken down in a while, but there wasn't a speck of dust on its surface.

As we took in the sights something thumped. Then it thumped again, and again, and again…

I stared at the ceiling. "I think your place is haunted."

Hector crossed his arms, glowering. Not at me, though. He was watching the stairwell.

The first thing that clomped into sight was the cane. Then, very slowly, a pair of feet followed. I noticed that one didn't move right, the ankle too stiff, like the joint had been superglued at ninety degrees.

By the time the full person was in view — a middle aged guy that looked exactly like Hector, except for the smile crinkles permanently etched around his lips — our guide-turned-host couldn't hold himself back. He marched over to the base of stairs and waited there, foot tapping angrily but arms out as if ready to catch the guy in case he fell.

The guy smiled, stopping two stairs from the bottom. "Welcome home."

"I told you not to go upstairs when I'm not around, dad."

Hector only got a casual shrug. "I can't let myself be babied all the time. Besides, I always sleep better with a view."

"You'll hurt yourself," Hector said. "What if you fall? It's too dangerous. Way too dangerous."

"The day a flight of stairs does me in in my own home is the day I claw my way out of the Underworld from sheer embarrassment. What would my brothers say? I'd never hear the end of it." Hector's dad picked his way down the last steps, patting Hector's shoulder. "You do an old man's heart good by worrying, though. I cooked some stew, so help yoursel—"

His eyes finally landed on us, and he nearly dropped his cane in shock.

"Ah." Hector glanced at us. "They're going to stay with us for a few nights. They're my—"

"Friends?"

"Acquaintances," Hector said.

"I'll take it!" His father grinned. "Hello! I'm Hesperus, this idiot's dad among other things. I hope this gloomy son of mine didn't cause you too much trouble."

"Oh nothing much," Bianca said. "Just almost getting us killed in an ambush."

Hesperus blinked. "Well that's no good. Guiding people is usually the thing you're best at, son. What happened?"

"Arimaspi found the tunnel," Hector said. "Caught us while we were sleeping."

"It was no trouble," I said quickly. "They just shot at us a little, then we got rid of them."

Hesperus gave me a slightly funny look. "That doesn't really sound like nothing. That's odd, though. I used that cave all the time back in the day, and it's only got two exits. One's in the valley, the other is higher than Arimaspi travel. Did they change their patrol routes?"

"Not as of last week," Hector said. "That, or they've gotten better at hiding their movements."

"Can't be," Hesperos said. "They're always clumsy when it comes to anything but gold and fighting. Strange… Oh, but I don't mean to bore you kids. It's a long trip, isn't it? Sit down, sit down! I'll get plates."

He hobbled into the kitchen, and Hector hurried after him. "Hey, you sit down too! I'll get them."

But Hesperos was already gone. "Got to be quicker than that, son!"

"You're the slowest one here!"

OOO

In the end they split the difference. One brought three plates while the other brought two, and Hector lugged out the stew pot. The food was great, but I couldn't place the stringy meat.

"What's in this?" I wondered.

"Swan," Hesperos said proudly, and I nearly spat out my bite.

"We're eating the birds from the river?" Emmitt asked, suddenly looking a lot less enthusiastic.

"It's quite the delicacy," Hesperos said. "We hyperboreans live pretty long. Long enough that some of us get tired. The ones that want to move on wade into the river, see, and they transform into birds. Birds don't have taxes, jobs, or mortgages, so it's kind of like retirement."

"We're eating your senior citizens?!" This time, Emmitt really did push his bowl away.

"We don't kill them," Hector said, continuing to munch away. "After a while they all pass on. You can tell it's coming when they start singing."

"That's gross," Bianca declared. She took another bite. "But this is good, so… Emmitt, you going to finish that?"

Emmitt scrunched his nose. But he pulled his bowl close and polished off his serving.

Right as we finished someone knocked on the door. I glanced at Hesperus. "Were you expecting visitors?"

"It's for me." Hector pushed his chair back, standing up. "I'll get it."

First the sentries were inviting him out, then everyone in the streets wanted to say hi, and now someone was coming calling. As Hector left I said, "For a guy with no friends people sure seem to like him."

"He was always popular," Hesperos said proudly.

"With that personality?" Bianca asked.

"More like in spite of it. He behaves that way for a reason you know."

Before Hesperos could say more Hector poked his head back in the door. "I'll be stepping out. Pagomenos wants my report."

"Stay safe," Hesperos said.

"I should tell you that, dad. Stay off the stairs."

"Fine, fine." Hector's head disappeared, the door shut, and Hesperos smiled at us. "Would you like to see the view from the balcony? It's lovely this time of year."

Bianca beamed— probably just at the chance to disobey Hector. "Oh, lead on."

The whole upstairs was carpeted. There were three bedrooms with king-size beds and cozy wooden paneling. The walls had paintings hung up. In the guest room they were landscapes. In what I took for Hector's room, the paintings had been pulled down and laid flat against the walls. But in the master bedroom that Hesperos led us into, they were all family portraits. Even as a toddler Hector had looked like a mini-me of his dad, which was especially obvious as he sat on his father's knee, both of them showing identical smiles even if only one of them had teeth. A beautiful woman stood beside them, her own white hair long and elegant, her arm resting on Hesperos' shoulder.

Then Hesperos led us through a sliding glass door and onto a plaster patio with a low guardrail and a couple of rickety lawn chairs. The view was killer. The carpet of trees stood against the backdrop of titanic mountains, the river snaking through in winding curves.

"Did you know the Eridanos runs all the way to the ocean?" Hesperos limped to the guardrail and put his hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes. "This valley may not appear on any modern maps, but it's been just like this for centuries, pristinely beautiful. I couldn't ask for a better home."

Looking out over the glittering scenery, I didn't doubt it for a second. Even breathing the air just made you feel extra alive.

"It's precisely because I couldn't ask for a better home that I'm being greedy when I say this. I've always fantasized about making it better."

"Better how?" I wondered. "You mean like opening a McDonalds, or a Target?"

He dropped his hand from his face, resting both on the stone guardrail. "My plans were a bit bigger."

"So a shopping center."

Emmitt, who'd taken a seat, leaned forward frowning. "If your plans 'were' bigger, does that mean they aren't anymore?"

"Sharp." Hesperos drummed an absent rhythm on the plaster. "I was young, only a few hundred years old. My wife and I… we had ideas, oh so many ideas. Reality hadn't quite sunk its beak into us yet."

I noticed he said 'beak' and not 'teeth'. Something told me that wasn't just him trying to sound fancy.

"You wanted to get rid of the Arimaspoi and the Gryphons," I decided. "They must be a threat to you. The guards at the bridge were too jumpy for people living peacefully, and Hector said the only monsters left up here are those two. You thought if you could get them to stop bothering you, this place really would be the perfect paradise."

Between the tree limbs a family of hyperboreans wandered down the road. The kid pointed at Hesperos and they all waved. Hesperos smiled and waved back. But by the time he looked at me, his smile seemed kind of sad."

"Kids these days are scary," he said.

Somehow Bianca had gotten her glove off without transforming it. She was balancing the thing on her knee, bouncing her leg. "So that's true?"

"All of it. I wasn't so wise as I am now. Or I've lost my ability to dream, but that answer just makes an old cripple sad. At that time my wife and I were both members of the guard, though she was the real mastermind. Operation Attack— Taking the fight to them! We sure came up with some grand names for launching ambushes at night and running away."

"No no," Emmitt said, "grand names are the way to go. Statistics show that enthusiasm rises by as much as 80% when groups feel strongly about their names, most likely stemming from—"

"Superhero nerd," Bianca cut him off, "save it and let him tell the story."

As Hesperos smiled at her, there was nothing sad about it now. "You remind me of my son."

"Great." Bianca flipped her glove in the air by its hem and caught it, glowering. "Exactly what I always wanted."

"And you." Hesperos turned to Emmitt. "You remind me of me."

Emmitt pointed at his chest as if to double-check there wasn't anybody else standing behind him. "I do?"

"You're smart. Good with books I imagine. Big ideas come to you, things you want so badly you'll do what seems crazy to try and achieve them. And even if it doesn't always work out well, with the right people around you you'll never stop trying. A dreamer, maybe a planner, who would love to be a doer."

Emmitt gaped. "You're not psychic, are you?"

Hesperos gave a throaty chuckle. "Of course not! The Hyperboreads never passed that gift down!"

"What about me?" I asked. "Don't I get a comparison?"

"Of course." Hersperos swiveled around to me. "In you I see so much of my wife."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Sorry but uh, I don't swing that way. And you're way too old for me, man."

Bianca nudged my shin. "You sure you should turn him down that quickly? This may be the only chance you ever get."

"That's not true!" Emmitt objected. "I'm sure Percy will have plenty of, erm—"

"What then?" Bianca's eyes glinted. "C'mon, say it."

"Stop teasing him," I said. "And besides, the god of love said I'd be alright."

"Now you're just making things up."

"It's true! We even chatted about flowers and archery and… ruining people's lives, now that I think about it."

A round of chuckling cut us off

"She always had a joke for everything as well." Hersperos rubbed his face. At first I thought the sun was in his eyes. Then I realized he was crying.

"Sorry, sorry. It's been long enough that I shouldn't be acting like this." He sniffed and shook his head. "She was the glue. She'd never admit it, but she was the only reason ideas ever got out of our heads and into practice. I miss her."

"She's gone, isn't she." It wasn't a question, and for the first time that afternoon there was absolutely no bite in Bianca's voice.

"That obvious? Yes, she passed."

"So she turned into a swan?" Emmitt frowned. "We didn't— We didn't eat her, did we!"

"No, no, no. No. Only the fortunate live long enough to make the transition."

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

Hersperos sighed. He twirled strands of shaggy white hair around his fingers, staring at the horizon. "Overconfidence. It all went so well for a few hundred years, heading out at night and whittling down their numbers. There were more of us in those days, some of our friends from the guard. We'd venture out and return in the morning, Hector waiting for us in the valley. It was going so well, we thought why not attack the Arimaspoi horde? If we could just steal their treasures we could lure them into a trap, wipe them out in one go. What could go wrong?" He let go of his hair and hung his head straight down. "Turns out, quite a lot."

"We only barely got to the horde before they were on us. Hundreds of them, armed and livid. We grabbed what we could carry and ran. What we didn't count on was just how crazy those monsters are about treasure."

"Usually, only squads are sent into our valley. Small raiding parties. But that day they swarmed out like ants. There were so many of them, hot on our heels, and we still nearly got away. We were so close, except we'd forgotten 0ne thing. Hector always came out to meet us."

We sat there a few seconds, gloomy and quiet. We could all more or less see what was coming, and it was making the twittering bird songs sound awfully out of place.

"She didn't hesitate." Hesperos shook his head. "When the Arimaspoi went for Hector there wasn't a thought in her mind except protecting him. By the time I'd pulled Hector out of the fighting my foot was mangled—" he thumped his bad limb against the floor with a clink "—but my wife was gone. And the rest of us? We were left.

"Jeez…" Emmitt stared at the floor.

Bianca pushed her hands into her pockets. "Let me guess. That idiot blames himself."

I waited for Hesperos to disagree with her, at least the idiot part. He didn't.

"I should thank you," he said instead. "Ever since that day Hector's gotten so good at pushing people away. You'll have seen it I imagine. He has his mother's charisma, people gravitate to him, but he refuses to let it happen. It's as if he's scared getting close to someone will mean killing them."

For the first time, I wondered if Hector being nicer that morning wasn't because Bianca made him feel bad. I still remembered his shocked face when we beat the Arimaspoi patrol. Maybe we'd accidentally managed to show him exactly what he needed: that there were people who could come face to face with what he was always scared of and walk out the other side.

"I'm not sure what you did," Hesperos said, "but he brought you to stay here. That's the most progress I've seen from him in centuries."

"Dwelling on stuff doesn't do any good," Bianca grumbled.

"Exactly. If only this old man could teach him that the way you three seem to be able to."

Before we could talk any more something appeared in the sky. It was shining so much I thought at first that it was something metal reflecting the sun. Then it came lower and I recognized the shape of a bird.

A swan flapped down to land on the guard rail. Unlike the ones from the river its feathers had this glow, a certain shine, like it had LEDs for arteries. It opened its beak and honked once, loudly.

Hesperos reached out and stroked its chin. The bird tilted its head, eyes closed in pleasure.

"He does?" Hesperos said. "Of course. Which one?"

The bird gave a higher pitched note, chin still raised.

"Interesting. Interesting."

"You can understand it?" Emmitt asked.

Hesperos turned to us. The bird seemed annoyed he'd stopped scratching, right up until he reached back and stroked its plumage while he talked.

"This one any hyperborean can," he said. "It's a bit special. A messenger."

"So what's it saying?" I wondered.

Hesperos looked right at me in a way that made me nervous all of a sudden. "It's a summons. Pagomenos is calling. And well, it seems like who he wants to see is you."

(-)

The three original Hyperboreans are unnamed in mythology, so while Pagomenos exists that name is something I created. To my knowledge no Hyperboreans are ever actually given names, even though the location is referenced in a bunch of myths.