by Amy Sumida
“When it's made by hand,” she said with an annoyed look.
“Right; sorry,” I muttered. “Go on.”
“Someone has been attacking the mines,” she said. “I met with the rest of the Twelve yesterday, and we went over the security footage meticulously; there isn't anything suspicious in them. I went down to visit the mine myself—along with several other Greeks—and none of us could find a shred of evidence as to who has been doing this. I even asked Artemis to bring her dogs but they couldn't pick up a scent that didn't belong to one of my employees.”
“How bad are these attacks?” Odin asked.
“Several of my employees have been badly injured and a few have died,” Athena said. “There have been cave-ins at every mine I own. I've had to close all of them. That can't be a coincidence.”
“And you want me to go and have a sniff?” I asked.
“I was hoping that your renowned dragon senses could find something that the dogs weren't able to,” she confirmed.
“I'd better take Torrent with me in case I need to track someone through the Aether,” I said.
“He's here with Artemis,” Athena said as she stood. “They both spent the night after Artie took her dogs to the sites. They told me that you were having some family issues so I wasn't surprised when Aleksanteri returned without you. Then Torrent offered to stay; he thought you might need him when you arrived this morning.”
“That's convenient,” Trevor said.
“I'll look into the soul-stealing while you're gone,” Athena offered. “I have several books on the Atlanteans and the gods we became.”
“Thank you,” Azrael said as he stood up. Then he helped me to my feet. “It shouldn't take us long to investigate the mines.”
“Wonderful,” Athena said with relief. Then she shouted, “Aleksanteri!”
“I'm right here; you don't have to shout,” the owl huffed.
“Fetch Torrent please.”
“Yes, O' Great and Powerful One,” he said dryly as he flapped away.
“And here I thought that I was the only one he sassed,” I said.
“He's an owl,” Athena said. “They sass everyone.”
Chapter Fourteen
Since Torrent and Artemis had already been to the mines, they were able to trace us there directly. We stepped out of the Aether into a sunny afternoon. It was hot and humid in Argentina, very similar to Hawaii, and that would have made me feel at home. Except this wasn't a lush paradise; it was a wasteland.
I frowned as I stared around me at the pumpkin-colored dirt. Just dirt, dirt, and more dirt; the air reeked of it. We stood at the bottom of a tiered bowl that reminded me of an arena. There were ledges cut into the sides of the bowl going all the way up; perfect for a few giants to sit on and holler for their favorite team. Beyond the top lip, there was even more of that rusty earth; rising up into sheer mountains. Directly before us, there was a tunnel cut into the side of the bowl—reinforced with steel bars—but it was tied off with caution tape and littered with rocks and debris.
“I expected Argentina to be prettier,” I murmured. “Greener.”
“It is,” Torrent said. “This is a mine; mines are never pretty.”
“This is what we do to the Earth to get shiny stuff?” I asked with horror. “It looks like...”
“Death,” Trevor said with his eyes fixed on the mine.
“Well, not quite that bad,” I said. “I was thinking more like a wound or Mars after Re got through with it.”
Don't even get me started on what Re had done to Mars.
“No. I mean; I smell death,” Trevor amended.
I took a deep sniff and winced. Trevor was right; people had died there. Some of them hadn't made it out of the mine.
“We're not here to recover bodies,” Odin said gently. “Do either of you smell anything unusual?”
Trevor and I started walking around; sniffing the air like bloodhounds. It was hard to find the scent at first because it was so similar to the earth—and the ancient odor of soil was so overpowering there. But the other scent was a tad sharper; more metallic with a tinge of magic. A god scent.
“I found something.” I stopped at the edge of the mine entrance and let my sight shift with my sense of smell.
It felt as if I started to see the scent, but I knew it was just my dragon's way of helping my human mind understand what we were smelling. The scent looked golden to me; a bright, glowing haze that ambled around the mine and then disappeared into the Aether.
“Torrent,” I said, “I need your help.”
“I got you, V,” Torrent said as he took my hand.
The others would have to wait at the mine, but I didn't bother telling them that; they already knew. Plus, I was too busy keeping my sight—or my smell, rather—on the trail. As soon as Torrent touched my hand, my vision shifted again, and the Inter Realm came blazing to life around me. The world seemed to come into too-sharp focus; that kind of hard edge that you get when you overly enhance an image on a computer. Things were brighter too, but again; it was in that almost unreal way. A picture of life, not the actual living, breathing world. Adding to the alien atmosphere were glowing streams of information that crisscrossed the landscape. It wasn't as congested as it would be in a metropolitan area, but there were enough of them for us to use.
“Give me a minute,” Torrent said. “There aren't a lot of Internet veins going into the Aether here.”
Gods had been connecting their territories to the Internet for awhile now; even before Torrent had come around to open veins of Inter Realm for us. Most gods simply formed a bond between two items, stashed one on Earth, and then its counterpart in their territory. This created a small tunnel of Internet that stayed open in the Aether. The Gods could use these to stream in cable, Internet (obviously), and phone calls.
Torrent could use these tunnels to travel slowly through the Aether; allowing us to take a look around and see where a god went after they traced. Torrent could also unmake wards; magic was like binary code for him, and he was fluent. In a pinch, he could even make a new tunnel, but he'd have to connect it to a god territory to stabilize it, and that would take longer than finding one that was already here. So, the first order of business was to find a stream of Internet that went through the Aether.
“Here we go,” Torrent said.
Torrent grabbed a bright green stream of buzzing information, and I was yanked along the line with him. It didn't hurt; it didn't even strain my joints. The Inter Realm was a realm of information where bodies became forms of energy; very similar to the Aether. In the Inter Realm, you could shape your information however you wished, but that's all it was; your information—like a blueprint that floated along until you needed to be remade. I know; it's a little mind-blowing. I try not to think about it too much. But that's why I didn't get my arm yanked out of its socket; because my arm wasn't technically there. It was my blueprint that got pulled along the energy streams with Torrent.
Finally, he jumped off the stream and landed us atop a mountain. It didn't matter where we were—we were floating in the Internet—but it did matter that there was a tunnel of Internet shooting into the Aether here. It was a brighter gold than the trail we were following and although it was misty, it was more solid than the god trail too. It seemed to be a free-standing ring. There was nothing beyond it if you viewed it from the back, but from this end, I could see into the Aether. I swallowed roughly. Torrent and I stepped into the tunnel and everything changed.
The landscape of Earth was gone; replaced by the chilled blackness of the Aether. It would have been dark—like walking in outer space—but it was so full of things emitting light that it wasn't. Every time someone crafted a spell, an image of their goal remained in the Aether, and every time someone traced, a copy of one of their memories was taken in payment. So, in the space around me, there were hundreds of symbols, items, and memories that played out like 3D hologram movies.
“Do you remember the direction the trail
was in?” Torrent asked.
I tried to orientate myself from where we'd been and where we'd traveled to; generally, of course.
“I think it's that way.” I pointed to the left.
Torrent started walking toward the side of the shaft of Internet; pushing it outward as he went. It didn't so much stretch as extend. Torrent simply brought more of the realm along with him. It was a good thing too because we had to travel a long way before we came across the god trail again. I was certain that if the Internet had simply been stretched, it would have broken. Or maybe just snapped; bouncing us back inside like a trampoline.
“There!” I pointed to the golden haze.
“Lead on, V; you know I can't see it,” Torrent said; his bright green eyes alight with Internet energy.
That's why we had to work as a team; I could see the trail, and Torrent could help me follow it. And follow it we did; for about a hundred feet. In case you don't know; that's not very far when you're traveling the Aether, just a second or two of floating. When we came to the end of the trail, Torrent let go of the Internet, and the Human Realm took form around us again.
We were at the base of an indigo mountain; its sides painted with swaths of burnt orange and moss green. Further back, there was another mountain range; this one capped with snow. It reminded me of the Big Island of Hawaii—as did the tropical plants I spotted nearby—but that's where the similarities ended. There were several varieties of tree that I was certain I'd never seen before, and they were mixed in with fir and pine.
“Where are we?” I asked Torrent.
He consulted the Internet and then said, “We're back in Argentina.”
“Odd,” I murmured as I followed the trail to a hill.
I stopped and stared at the grass-covered mound. I suppose a small hill at the base of a mountain isn't that unusual, but this was the only such formation I could see, and it had a strange look to it.
“Is that hill glittering?” Torrent asked. “Like gold dust?”
“I believe it is,” I said as I stepped closer.
The trail ended at the crest of the hill, and as we climbed, the glittering in the earth collected and condensed before us. It took the shape of a woman; a beautiful woman with shining, mahogany hair that flowed all the way to her ankles. She was lounging on a large rock; patiently working through all that hair with a gold comb. The woman was humming to herself; her face downcast as the sunshine warmed her deeply tanned skin. She behaved as if she didn't know we were there when I was certain that she had specifically appeared because she did.
“Hello,” I greeted her.
The woman stopped humming and combing and turned to face us. Her eyes were gold; a shade lighter than Re's. They were beautiful against the background of her dark skin and hair, and Torrent started smiling at her in a way that would have gotten him smacked by Artemis if she were there.
“Hello,” she said with a soft accent that I couldn't place. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“We followed your trail,” I said. “My name is Vervain and this is my friend, Torrent.”
“Hello Vervain and Torrent, I am Orco Mamman,” she said warmly. “Welcome to my hill.”
“Thank you.” I glanced at Torrent in surprise; this wasn't what I expected to find.
“Where did you follow my trail from?” She asked curiously.
“A gold mine,” I said. “One that belongs to Athena.”
The woman's demeanor changed instantly, and she jolted to her feet with righteous anger. “The Goddess who steals from the Earth! Yes; I know her. How dare she take and take; ripping apart my land and stealing my gold? She has stolen too much, and has ignored all my entreaties to stop.”
“You've asked Athena to stop mining?” I asked with wide eyes. “She didn't seem to have any idea who was behind the attacks.”
“Attacks,” the woman scoffed. “I was defending myself. Athena wouldn't listen. She acts as if she doesn't understand the call of magic; the way gods are required to submit to it.”
“And your magic wants you to attack the mines?” I asked with a frown.
“Defend the Earth,” she corrected. “I gave Athena many warnings; pushing the mining equipment into ravines, ruining the generators, and crumbling little tunnels in the mines. But she didn't listen, and I had to take it further.”
I sighed deeply. “Honestly, I can't find fault with you wanting to protect the Earth. But I can't condone you hurting humans just to get your point across.”
“I didn't mean to hurt them,” she said softly. “I caved in the mines, and some were too slow to escape. I am sorry for that.”
“Please be more careful with your power in the future,” I said.
She blinked in surprise. “All right, I will. Thank you for listening and understanding.”
“I'm only the tracker,” I said softly. “I'll have to report to Athena that you were behind the attacks, but I will also tell her all that you've said to me and try to convince her to close the mines.”
Orco Mamman smiled brightly at me and came forward to envelop me in a hug. “Thank you again, Vervain. I am glad to have met you and your friend, Torrent.”
“You're welcome,” I said. “I'm glad to meet you too, but I have to tell you that I can't guarantee that Athena will listen to me.”
“It's enough that you try,” she said. “I can only hold you accountable for your own actions, and I find those to be honorable.”
“I wish you the best with the defense of your land,” I said in farewell.
“And I wish you the best with that obstinate goddess,” she said with a smirk. “Safe travels, Godhunter.”
It wasn't until we'd rejoined the others that I realized what she'd called me, and what it could mean.
Chapter Fifteen
“Orco Mamman did all that? I didn't think she had the power—or the balls,” Athena growled. “Thank you, Vervain; I'll handle her.”
“She's just doing what her magic compels her to, Athena,” I said gently. “She said she spoke to you about it.”
“We are not animals; controlled by our base instincts,” Athena huffed. “We control our magic, not the other way around. If this woman can't, then she shouldn't be a goddess.”
“Oh, damn!” Artemis hooted.
“All right; you do what you feel you have to, but I'm staying out of this one. Don't ask me to help you hurt her,” I said.
“You sympathize with her,” Athena said it like an accusation.
I just held up my hands and shook my head.
“I'm not closing a bunch of billion dollar mines because some forgotten goddess is offended by them,” Athena declared. “No one knows the name Orco Mamman anymore, and I can make sure it stays that way.”
“Athena, it's only money,” I said in surprise. “You must have more than enough by now. You live in the God Realm; how much could you possibly need?”
“That's not the point,” Athena huffed. “She's challenged me by damaging something precious, and now I must retaliate.”
“Her magic compelled her to act,” I said. “Can't you let it go and be the bigger goddess?”
Athena lifted her chin and frowned.
“This is all she has while you rule Olympus,” I tried again. “Have some compassion.”
Athena sighed deeply. “Perhaps you're right, Vervain. I will close the mines for now, and give this more thought.”
“I think that's kind and generous of you,” I said with a smile.
“I don't wish to be like my father,” Athena said softly. “But sometimes it feels as if I'm fated to.”
“You're not,” I said firmly. “In the entire time I've known you, you've behaved honorably and with cool reason.”
“Thank you, Vervain,” she said sincerely. “And thank you for helping me with this.”
“You're welcome,” I said. “Did you happen to discover anything that might help our problem?”
“Well, in the Greek Pantheon, there was Thanatos, but—as y
ou well know—he's deceased,” Athena said.
“I completely forgot about him,” Trevor said and then his eyes narrowed. “You don't think this could be someone who was close to Thanatos, trying to avenge him, do you?”
“Who?” Athena asked. “Dionysus is watching over Pasithea, Phobetor is too stupid to come up with such a complex scheme, and both Hypnos and Phantasus are also dead.”
“No one else would avenge them?” Azrael asked. “This could be about more than Thanatos; maybe it's about his family.”
“I can't think of anyone who'd avenge them,” Athena said. “But there is the Keres, who might be inclined to avenge Nyx.”
“The Keres?” I asked. “That sounds familiar.”
“They're daughters of Nyx and Erebus,” Athena said. “Vicious things; they feast on the dying before they take the souls to Hades.”
“To Hades himself?” I asked. “Not to Charon?”
“To Hades the place,” she corrected. “All souls must pay the Ferryman. Which leads me to my next tidbit; any Greek who managed to harvest a soul would be compelled by the magic of our pantheon to take it to Charon, and you said that you believe the demon souls were destroyed.”
“I said that I believe they were cut off from their magic. Namely; Luke,” I corrected. “That would lead to the destruction of their souls.”
“Or their souls could have been destroyed, which would result in their bodies wasting away as if they were cut off from their magic,” Athena added.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I suppose the order does make a difference.”
“I don't think any Greek god would have a reason to take Luke's demons to Hades,” Athena pointed out. “Nor do I think that would cut the cord between them.”
“So, you think we can safely rule out the Keres?” Odin asked.
“I do,” she said. “But keep them in mind, all the same. Magic has a way of shifting if the will of its user is powerful enough. You never know; maybe one of them found a way to consume souls and not just dying flesh.”
I blinked at that; magic's ability to transform itself was a fact I hadn't considered. It also made things much more difficult.
