by Sam Cheever
Bowing slightly I said, “I don’t believe Nidras has rejected me.”
The king stiffened and I lifted a hand in placation. “I do believe she asked you to tell me that…but I don’t believe she meant it. She’s trying to protect me. I won’t allow that. She needs my help and I’m going to find a way to give it to her.” Bowing again I turned to go.
An enormous hand covered my arm, stopping me. Adrenaline swamped me and I reached for the sword I no longer carried. Turns out I didn’t need it.
“You are a worthy match for my daughter, Hermes. If there is anything I can do to aid you…anything at all…” He let the words drift away and I nodded. I knew exactly what he was telling me. I was right. Nidras had been trying to protect me. And just as she had pushed my help away she was keeping her parents at arm’s length too. Probably for the same reason. She didn’t want to risk their safety in helping her.
But I had no such compunction. I’d take all the help I could get.
Starting with the Fates.
*
They were in the Building of Justice, speaking to the Council of Gods about something too top secret for a mere Cupid to know about. I didn’t really care. I just wanted to talk to them.
I paced the huge entry hall for an interminable amount of time, glancing frequently at the closed golden doors. The two guards watched in silent amusement as I grew increasingly agitated.
I was just about to burst through the doors when they finally opened and Clotho glided through, followed by her two sister Fates, Aphrodite, Zeus and Poseidon.
Atropos had her arm linked through the ocean god’s arm and was laughing at something he’d said.
I hurried forward, stopping before Clotho and halting her forward progress. “I need to speak with you.”
She frowned at me. “We were just going to a banquet.”
“And an orgy,” added Lachesis. She tossed her long, auburn mane of hair and winked at Zeus.
“This is important!”
They all blinked at me. I was fairly vibrating with intensity and I had inadvertently shouted at them.
One does not shout at gods.
Forcing myself to take a deep breath I bowed to Zeus. “My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty. I’m distraught. I need the Fates’ help.”
Zeus inspected me for a long moment as if I were a particularly disgusting bug and then inclined his head slightly. “You may accompany us, Cupid.”
“To an orgy?” My voice squeaked in a less than manly way. I cleared my throat and shook my head, bowing again for good measure. I’m sure I looked like an idiot. “Sire, the woman I love is in grave danger. Time is of the essence. I must help her.”
Zeus thought about this. Love was the grease that kept Olympus running smoothly on its golden tracks. Actually it was lust but the gods liked to call it love. So a man with love on his mind was always to be taken seriously.
This seemed to put him in a quandary.
Finally, he glanced at Lachesis. “Go and help this poor creature with his problem, Sissy, I’ll meet you at the megron later.”
The megron in Zeus’ castle was famous for its symposiums, which in ancient Greece, as well as modern day Olympus, were actually sensual feasts, catering to the intellectual, physical and sexual needs of the participants.
The Fates all scowled at me, as the gods and goddesses left the Building of Justice without them. I would have my hands full trying to get their full attention back. Inspiration struck. “How about a walk in the garden, ladies? I promise I won’t keep you any longer than necessary.”
They reluctantly agreed and we left the Building of Justice, heading for the Garden of Life beyond its doors. As soon as their soft slippers stepped into the magic of the Garden I could sense and feel them relaxing and letting go of their peevishness.
Clotho even linked her arm in mine and pecked me on the cheek. Her soft, blonde curls bounced becomingly as she walked along beside me. “This is about Nidras.”
It wasn’t a question. “You’ve spoken to her?”
Atropos took my other arm. Her pretty face was intent. “Hermes, you must let her go. She has made her decision.”
My heart skipped a beat and I sucked in a silent breath. I’d been telling myself Nidras hadn’t meant what she’d told her parents. What if I was wrong? I shook my head, determined upon my path. “I don’t believe she means it.”
“Oh she means it,” Lachesis offered. She tucked a strand of silky, auburn hair behind a small, pink ear and pursed her soft lips. “She’s taken steps that preclude her turning back now, Hermes. You might as well accept it.”
I stopped, pulling my arms from their grasp. “What do you mean, she’s taken steps?”
Atropos fixed her startling golden eyes on my face. “She came before the Council of Gods this very morn, Hermes.”
Clotho touched my arm. “She bargained for the power to defeat the wizard Grimsbar.”
I shook my head, not understanding. “If she could do that, why didn’t she do it before?”
“She didn’t have anything to bargain with before.” Lachesis’ heart-shaped face was filled with pity. I knew I had to ask the question but I was just as certain I wouldn’t like the response.
“What was the bargain?”
The Fates shared a look filled with meaning. I lost my temper. “Tell me!”
As if they were marionettes sharing a single pole, the three Graces straightened their spines and glared at me, power built from the anger shimmering around them. Standing side by side, the three goddesses created a united front that was sending nearly visible waves of hostility in my direction.
For the second time in moments, I had to take a deep breath and apologize. Lifting my hands I said, “Look, I’m sorry. But I’m nearly crazy with worry about Nidras. She could be facing off with Grimsbar right now and I’m stuck in this bad reverb, running in circles and banging my head against the same brick wall. I need to get to her. And I need you to tell me where I can find her.”
Clotho shook her head. “It isn’t possible, Hermes.”
Her sister Graces shook their heads too. The three of them looked at me with pity. That just pissed me off.
I turned and stalked away, swearing colorfully. There had to be a way to help Nidras and keep her for my own. I just had to find her first. How hard could that be? She’d probably returned to the wizard’s castle. Dread, like ice water, slid down my spine at the thought of returning to that castle. But I knew I would do it. I had to.
Pacing the lush grass of the Garden with my fists clenched in frustration, I almost forgot the Fates were there. So when Lachesis finally spoke I jerked to a surprised stop.
“For the power to kill Grimsbar and free herself from the curse, she bargained away her chance for love ever after.”
All the blood ran from my face and my knees buckled. I dropped onto a nearby concrete bench. Nausea swamped me. She’d bargained away our future. Everything I’d hoped for was gone.
I felt a soft hand on my shoulder but couldn’t find the strength to look up. Clotho’s voice was soft with pity. “I’m sorry, Hermes. But once she kills the wizard you will no longer exist for her.”
As this unhappy thought burrowed its way into my shattered thoughts I jumped, finally looking up into the goddess’s huge, gray eyes. “Then I must stop her from killing him.”
Clotho’s pretty, narrow face clearly showed her surprise. Her sister Graces made small, sounds of shock. Lachesis’ hand covered her mouth and Atropos’ mouth hung open.
I stood up. That was good. If I could do something to surprise the Fates, I realized, nothing was set in stone. I still had a chance to alter fate. “I’m off to the wizard’s lair.”
Almost as one, the three Fates groaned. Lachesis shook her head, sending auburn curls spiraling around her face. “But that’s insane, Hermes. She’ll hate you for helping keep her shackled under the curse.”
I realized I was being selfish. But I had a plan. And if I managed it, I might be abl
e to accomplish removal of Nidras’ curse and still get the girl. Doubt whirled in my chest, along with terror that something might go horribly wrong and I would lose it all but I couldn’t bend under either emotion. “One thing at a time, ladies. One thing at a time.”
I began to pull my power together to leave.
Atropos grabbed my wrist to stop me. I tried to jerk away, knowing that I was surely running out of time. But her grip was like an iron band on my skin. I looked into her face and she gave me a crooked smile.
I blinked in surprise.
Turning my hand over, she slid something into it. “You might be able to use this.”
I frowned down at the vial in my hand. “What is it?”
“A Cupid’s strength.”
I frowned. “Can you be more specific?”
Her grin widened as she stepped back. “Stay safe, Hermes. I wish you well.”
I pulled my power forward and felt the ground softening under my feet as I started to shift away. The last thing I heard as my physical form left the Garden of Life behind was Clotho’s strident voice yelling, “Get weapons! You’ll need them.”
I realized it was a good suggestion and mentally changed the destination of my shift. It was time for another visit to the gnome, Bleark.
*
He was still smelly and warty. And he still had the best arsenal in all of Olympus. I stood in the center of Bleark’s cluttered shop and looked around, not sure where to start.
A stubby, green hand with a wart on each knuckle appeared in front of my face holding a stick.
I frowned at the stick, which was about eighteen inches long, bark free and polished to an unnatural shine. “Birch wand, from the magic mountains in Peru.”
I slid my gaze from the stick to the gnome’s smashed, fleshy face. “I’m chasing a wizard, Bleark… I’m not a wizard myself.”
Bleark’s wide face folded into what I assumed to be a frown. “You got no magic?”
“I do have magic…”
Bleark nodded. “This wand can be tuned to your magic.”
I shook my head. “I’m looking for something a bit more deadly. I don’t want to love the man to death.”
Bleark stared hard at me for a long moment, holding my gaze with his watery, blue eyes. I’d noticed he did this a lot. As if he could see my intentions written on the surface of my eyes. Maybe he could. I squirmed a little under his gaze, not at all sure I wanted the gnome to see what I intended. I knew it had to be done but I wasn’t proud of it.
Finally he blinked and threw the wand over his shoulder without even looking where it landed. “I got new bombs.”
“Bombs. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
I followed the gnome’s shuffling waddle toward the back of the shop. He opened a small door and disappeared inside, leaving it open for me. The tiny room smelled of gunpowder and other, more magical explosives. All four walls were covered in shelves, from floor to ceiling and the shelves bulged and sagged under the weight of all shapes and sizes of explosive devices. Bleark’s watery gaze slid from shelf to shelf, apparently searching for a specific type of explosive, while my fingers danced toward the bulging shelves of their own accord.
The seemingly endless supply of metal, stone and plastic devices called to me from the shelves, promising sweet things and hope for the future with their deadly forms. All I needed to achieve the satisfaction dancing on the periphery of my life was something to blow up with the devices.
Something ugly that needed to go bye bye.
I’d learned something about myself since beginning the quest to help Nidras against the wizard.
Something I wasn’t exactly proud of.
I’d learned that, like every testosterone-laden action figure from classic human thrillers and cartoon heroes, I liked to wreak havoc and blow shit up.
It was a little humiliating, to know that I hadn’t evolved any further than that.
Bleark made a small sound of discovery and, reaching into a tangle of incendiary devices on the shelf in front of him, pulled out a small, pink object that looked like a rubber pig. As he held it toward me, the thing morphed into a fluffy stuffed toy shaped like a bear, then a cup of tea, a book, a feather, a shoe and was working toward becoming a boat in a bottle when I reached for it.
“Morph bomb,” Bleark said with a knowing grin. “Your mind controls its form.”
The thing in my palm turned into an arrow. Logical.
I grinned. “It’s perfect.”
Bleark grinned too. “Yes.”
“How deadly is it?”
Bleark clapped his fleshy, green hands, rubbing them together with glee. “It kill large monsters easily. Gorgon, harpy, gargoyle…”
“Large, flying birds?”
Bleark made a dismissive noise. “Nothin’ left but da feathers.”
I thought the bomb into a coin and slid it into my pocket. “Thanks, Bleark. Now I need something I can fight with. A sword? Knives?”
“Chains.”
I blinked. “Huh?”
Bleark lifted a finger and nodded. I followed him back to the main shop. Bleark went behind the counter and opened a drawer, rummaging around inside for a full minute before finding what he needed. He came away with a long, skeleton key and turned to a small door, only about four feet high in the wall behind the counter, inserting the key into the lock.
He disappeared inside and I could hear a lot of clanking and clanging inside. I bent over the counter and peered through the door. All I could see on either side of Bleark’s wide, fleshy back, were piles and piles of shiny metal links. It looked like a hopeless tangle.
I fought back a surge of impatience. The visit to Bleark was taking way too long. There was no telling what Nidras was going through at that very moment. I opened my mouth to tell him I’d just take the morph bomb and go but he turned toward me at that moment and came out of the room.
He had about a five-foot length of chain around his neck, drooping over his shoulders and down his sides like a large, shiny scarf.
Bleark locked the door and returned the key to its overstuffed drawer before looking up at me. “You pay now?”
I glanced meaningfully at the chain around his neck, lifting an eyebrow in question.
Bleark removed the chain from his neck and whipped it across the counter, toward me.
I gasped as the chain lengthened, coiling in the air like a metal snake and wrapped itself around my shoulders, pinning my arms to my sides.
Bleark poked a button on his old-fashioned cash register and the door popped open with a ding. “That be 200 drachma.”
I jerked against the chain, trying to release my arms but it only tightened around me, python-like. I looked at Bleark but he just stared back at me, unblinking.
“If you want to get paid you’ll need to release me.”
Bleark blinked and grinned. “Oh. Sorry.” Reaching out, he slid a thick finger under the chain and gave it a little jerk. The chain came away and crashed to the countertop, shattering the glass of the case beneath.
Bleark didn’t seem to notice the destruction.
He held his fleshy palm out to accept the money for the chain and the bomb. I paid him, then took my chain and my bomb and left.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with a magical chain. But the sword and knives hadn’t worked very well so I was willing to try something different at that point.
Emerging from the gnome’s shop into the cool, evening air of a perfect Olympus night, I started noodling my next problem. I would need transportation to the wizard’s castle.
Shuddering, I decided I could go by horseback as Nidras and I had done. But that would take several hours and I’d have to go through that fog again. I wasn’t sure I could find my way through it as easily as Nidras had.
There had to be a better option.
A flash of white caught my eye and my gaze slid upward. I grinned. “Oh yeah. That should do nicely.”
Chapter Nine
K
issing the Clouds
So…she definitely wasn’t Pegasus. The man I’d rented her from insisted she was a distant relative of the great horse. But I was thinking the distance was too great to be relative.
Her white coat was spotted and mottled with brown. The flying horse had bulging, brown eyes and a sparse mane and forelock. Her tail looked like something had chewed on it. Her name was Ashtov.
I shifted in the thin saddle, trying to get the bony ridge of the creature’s sway back situated in a less vulnerable area. It was piercing my balls big-time. Glancing back, I wondered why some of the creature’s enormous butt couldn’t have distributed itself over her back to soften my ride.
Sighing, I forced my attention back to the ground below. I’d give the decrepit creature credit for one thing. Her huge wings had carried us quickly and smoothly toward the wizard’s castle.
I was getting close. As I scanned the ground below, I recognized the small town where Nidras and I had spent the night passing beneath my mount’s small, chipped hooves. Casting my eyes ahead, I saw the dark, jagged peak of the wizard’s mountain. Hovering over the surrounding landscape, all around the mountain, a thick, gray fog obscured the ground.
I eyed the fog, hoping my plan to fly over it rather than through it would hold. I was a little disconcerted by the fact that nothing moved in the air above the fog or around the castle as far as I could see.
If I were looking for confirmation of this observation, the creature beneath my thighs seemed eager to give it to me. Ashtov appeared to be slowing measurably as we neared the fog. Her bulging, brown eyes rolled in her head and her flat sides heaved noticeably.
I patted the silky fur of her long, mottled neck. “Easy girl. We’re going to stay above it. Just don’t look down.”
She snorted derisively and I frowned. I got no respect.
As the edge of the roiling gray moved beneath us, Ashtov threw on her brakes and we jerked to a stop, hovering on that edge. She snorted with fear, her mouth frothing. I kicked the horse’s heaving sides and screamed at her but she refused to move forward.
Finally, in desperation, I did what I’d vowed never to do. I pulled my Cupid’s bow from my pocket and, leaning forward to capture the creature’s rolling gaze, I shot an arrow into her sweat foamed neck.
