Architects_Sons of Olympus

by Helen J Perry

  She was going the wrong way, back toward the light in the forest she'd just left. But she never saw the forest. As she rose, a soft black cloth blanket was wrapped around her head. She couldn't see through it. Panic rose from the pit of her stomach, which clenched with fear. Her throat seized. She couldn't breathe. She'd taken her final breath.

  And.

  Then.

  Nothing.

  Pain and darkness and warmth in that order were the three things that she identified when she awoke.

  In a panic, she tossed and turned and soon escaped the thick black blanket wrapped around her.

  Night had fallen, so she was still in darkness.

  Via the moonlight, she made out the familiar gnarled trees. She'd apparently been knocked unconscious and left there. Her pack was right beside her, undone, flopped open, with items spilling out. Her head hurt too much to try to make sense of it.

  She sat up and groaned. Every part of her ached, but her head most of all.

  White mist blew across the ground. It would have been just around her feet, but slumped down as she was, cold, white tendrils wrapped around her body. She struggled to her feet to escape the eery and unpleasant cloud. She rested against the tree and her elbow disappeared into a hollow. That's right, the route to her destination was right beside her. She just had to get in that hole and go. She picked up her pack and rummaged in her pocket for her pass, but came up empty-handed.

  The brooch was gone.

  As she searched deeper into all her pockets her heart sank. She'd have to go back to her parents’ home and wait for the men, her men, to come and find her.

  They would come and find her. She was sure of it.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The hope that her men would collect her from her parents’ house required that she got there first.

  Jade had been dragged from a secret passage, knocked unconscious, left for dead, and robbed. It was dark; she was alone in the woods and feeling every bit as bad as her predicament suggested. She wasn't sure she could walk to Beaumont.

  She opened her pack. She'd taken the precaution of putting together a few medical essentials including painkillers. A couple of tablets for her head and some water would probably help. When she'd found the painkillers and a spare bottle of water, she dropped the pack on to the floor, and it almost disappeared into the river of fog that billowed around her feet.

  Jade drank and swallowed and intended to wait for some personal improvement before moving on.

  She looked around and saw eyes looking back at her. Several sets of eyes glinting in the moonlight. Eyes that were just above the swirling mist.

  The wolf-like creatures came closer, and for a moment Jade was gripped with fear.

  If ever there was a fearless, constant optimist it was Jade, and even though things didn't look good for her, she smiled at the creatures. "You're the Spartans’ dogs aren't you?" She hoped so, they looked like Lauren's dog. "Do you remember me? I'm not going to hurt you." They could tear her apart, she was sure of it. "I'm not a monster. Where are Spartans? Where are Alex and Jasper? Where's Greg? Where's Lauren?"

  The dogs didn't look amused. They didn't wag their tails or run off looking for their masters. Jade just hoped she was right. She had to cling to the hope that these were domesticated dogs that were trained to hunt monsters and weren't ordinary wild animals.

  The thick mist suddenly began to fall and clear away. It washed away all in one direction, moving like the last dregs of water in a bathtub once the plug has been pulled.

  What is going on?

  Jade knew she shouldn't be surprised by anything in these woods.

  A woman stood beside Jade.

  Jade hadn't seen or heard her approach; it was as if she materialized there to Jade's left, so she turned to face her. The woman had long dark hair and wore a long white dress. Unmistakably a costume of the ancient Greeks. The sort of thing Jade just didn't find surprising any more.

  "Come with me." The lady stepped behind the tree in the direction that Jade hitherto had behind her.

  She turned and was amazed to see a Greek courtyard very similar to that at the home Lauren shared with her three Spartans. Humble buildings surrounded an outdoor hearth where a fire smoldered.

  The lady in white picked up some small logs to feed the fire. "I can't let this go out. When the dogs called me, I neglected my duties," she said. She spoke in a soft, calm voice. She didn't sound troubled by the dogs or the dying fire.

  Carrying her pack, Jade found a surge of energy carried her forward to join the lady, and without waiting to be invited, Jade slumped onto a bench by the fire.

  The lady who found her tended the fire while other women brought food and drinks. The women didn't speak. They wore traditional long Greek dresses and sandals.

  Jade accepted the refreshments. She didn't know how long it had been since she last eaten and she thought food and the sweet flavored fruit drink might help her to feel normal again.

  Another woman put a cloth on Jade's head and wrapped it around. She didn't question or protest against the action because it felt soothing. It instantly eased her pain.

  When the fire was roaring, and Jade felt equally revived, the lady sat down a little way from Jade and focused on her.

  "Where am I?" Jade had an idea, but couldn't believe the truth of it.

  "You are safe in Olympus." The lady smoothed her hands over her dress. Even though she's just been placing logs on to an open fire, her hands were clean, and her dress remained pure toothpaste white.

  "Why didn't the Spartans stop me from coming here? It's not supposed to be easy for anyone to just walk in here." As her brain seemed to be functioning, Jade added, "I suppose it's because you brought me."

  The lady smiled. "The Spartans are busy. The Alopeki dogs found you and reported your predicament to me."

  "Who are you?"

  "You know who I am." The lady accepted a drink from one of the silent waitresses.

  "I'm in Olympus, and you're keeping the fire burning. Are you Hestia?"

  "I am," Hestia confirmed.

  Hestia was the first born of the Olympian gods, a sister of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. Jade had met a few minor gods before, like Philip and Autolycus. But she never imagined sitting with and talking to one of the original major deities. Jade said nothing. What could she say? She wasn't sure if she was supposed to bow. She ate and drank instead, the food had been offered to her, after all.

  Hestia observed Jade and the smile never left her face. "This wasn't your destination. Where were you going?"

  "I was on my way to the Folly of King Minos, when I was attacked."

  "I can't take you to Crete; it's too far from the fire. But I can take you to the entrance of the Labyrinth."

  "It's no good without the brooch. I'll just get lost."

  "Jade, you will find your way through. Pheidias has designed it that way."

  "I'm?" Questions whirled around Jade's head, not least how did the goddess know her name and she settled on the one that seemed least important. "Pheidias?" Really? That's what she said.

  "He calls himself Philip these days."

  "These days?"

  "When he was constructing classical Greece, we called him Pheidias. He left his cup with his name on it in his workshop at Olympia. It's a wonder someone didn't run off with it." Hestia laughed, and Jade stared at her wondering what the woman was talking about.

  "The old jokes are my favorites, but I can see you aren't amused."

  Jade stared. She would've laughed, but she didn't get the joke.

  "The sprint was an important race at the Olympics. The place was full of athletes. It's a wonder a runner didn't run off with Pheidias' drinking cup." Hestia chuckled again.

  "Oh. I thought you meant a cup like a trophy." But it still didn't make much sense.

  "No, I meant his drinking cup. Seriously, all his tools had his name on them."

  "Weren't they always naked?" That was a detail that Jade did remember
for some reason. "Where would they conceal their stolen goods?"

  "Jade, that joke has served me well for two thousand years, but you are spoiling it. I doubt if I'll be able to tell it again without an explanation about where they hid the cup. My wife said I should have dropped the joke about the third time I told it, perhaps she was right."

  "Your wife?" The books said Hestia was a virgin. Jade was certain she remembered it correctly because it seemed quite a few of the goddesses were virgins but none of the god-dudes that she'd ever heard of. "I thought you were single." Jade said diplomatically.

  "Between you and I, Jade, that myth was put about by one of the male gods after I rejected him, but I'm not naming names. The thing is, as far as he's concerned, if a dick isn't involved it doesn't count as sex."

  Jade's mouth went dry, and she sipped her drink pleased to hide her face in the cup. If she never thought she would sit by a fire in the dark with one of the major gods, she also never guessed one day she'd be discussing sex and dicks with a goddess.

  "I told him his sex life must be very dull if it is defined by putting his dick in a woman's vagina and do you know what he said to that?"

  "No," Jade said, honestly, wondering who they were talking about.

  "He said in an ass counts too."

  Hestia laughed at this, so Jade did as well. Humor seemed to lighten the burden she carried.

  One of the other Greek ladies came over to Jade and started to unwrap her head. She assumed the women who didn't speak must be servants.

  "You've no need to worry," Hestia continued. "I've spoken to Pheidias at great length over the years about precisely that sort of thing. He's far more open-minded and imaginative. He knows there are more ways to satisfy a lover."

  Jade's mouth fell open. She shut it. Her mind had worked overtime with questions for this great lady, but Jade had been unable to vocalize them.

  "Don't look surprised, Jade. I know Pheidias, Philip, if you prefer that name, he wants you as much as any man."

  "Does he?"

  When Jade's head was completely unwrapped, another lady began to brush her hair.

  "Don't they all? You are beautiful."

  "I'm sort of with someone, well two guys, actually."

  "I should think you are. Pheidias wouldn't expect to have you all to himself. That's just unreasonable."

  "Is it?'"

  Hestia didn't answer but stood up. She held out her hand. "I can't take you to the Folly of Minos, but I can take you to an entrance of the Labyrinth.

  Protests formed in Jade's mind but stayed there entangled with all the unasked questions. Jade stood and walked with the great goddess to one of the nearby buildings.

  The door was open, and the lady waved Jade to go first.

  Jade stepped into the dark building expecting something similar to the Spartan buildings that she had visited with Lauren.

  When she entered, instantly lights came on, and she found herself standing on a tiled floor in a long passage. The walls were roughly carved out of the rock. She was in a tunnel exactly like those she'd seen before.

  While her instinct was to turn and run back out, she could see an open door at the end of the passage, not fifteen feet from her, and it appeared to open into the great hall.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  For a minute or two Jade, simply stood at the spot where she entered the room. With some surprise, she looked all around. The hall was filled with people standing in small groups and muttering or rushing from one place to another.

  They weren't a unified body of people. Their diverse appearance by way of dress, age, and skin tone, as well as the fact that they largely ignored everyone except their own crowd, made it seem that it was pure coincidence they were all in the great hall at the same time. They weren't all together any more than people gathered in an airport or at a busy train station.

  If they were back in Beaumont, the clothes would have meant a fancy dress ball. There were classical Greek costumes as well as clothing from around the world, modern and traditional. There was also a lot of bare flesh too as it was hot and clammy.

  This was no party. There was no music to cover the low murmur of voices engaged in earnest conversation or mask the somber atmosphere.

  It was dark outside. Wall hung torches and central candelabras illuminated the room, the flickering lights cast long shadows. It would be difficult to find just one or two people in the crowd, and she couldn't give up hope that Nic and Karl were somewhere nearby.

  It would be easy to lose people in such a crowded room. Jade decided to head for the end of the room where she would have arrived originally if she had come down the helter-skelter tunnel from Beaumont forest.

  The room was too crowded to take a straight path, and she was forced to weave around groups of people until she reached the outlet, right where she expected to find it.

  She looked around bewildered. Her men weren't there.

  Hot and weary, Jade dropped her bag and slumped against the wall.

  When she hadn't followed them, Nic and Karl must have become worried, but where had they gone?

  Of course, they would look for her. Could they have found a way back? Perhaps they were in Beaumont woods right now seeking for her.

  Without that brooch, she wouldn't be able to find her way to Beaumont and back again. Given that she'd only just arrived at the Folly of King Minos she wasn't about to worry for a while. Logically, if the guys were looking for her and she went off looking for them, there was a strong chance they would completely miss each other.

  She decided to stay put, in the location where they should have met each other in the first place. After a wait of many minutes leaning against the wall, she slumped down to sit on the floor.

  Jade realized that though her head felt considerably better after whatever it was Hestia's servant had wrapped around it, she wasn't fully recovered from her ordeal. Her body felt tender, her head ached, and she felt incredibly tired.

  After many more minutes, her eyes shut. She decided to rest them behind her eyelids.

  "Jade. Oh, Jade, we were so worried."

  Her body filled with relief as she recognized the voice.

  Her eyes pinged open to see Philip squatting down in front of her just as his hand came to rest on her shoulder.

  "What are you wearing?" She asked before she could stop herself, she already knew the answer. And it really wasn't the most important question in her mind. It was just a shock to see him like that when she opened her eyes.

  "It's a chiton." He didn't move. He didn't realize her comment was not so much about what he was wearing but what he wasn't. And the fact that she could clearly see he wasn't wearing underwear. As she was slumped down half asleep, even squatting, his knees were level with her nose giving her a clear view of everything beneath the skirt of his little white dress.

  "But, Philip, why is it so short?"

  "Because this is the typical male attire where I'm from. I don't know if you know this, Jade, but we're on the isle of Crete. And it's the summer. It's not a dress. So what is the problem with what I'm wearing?"

  "Nothing at all. It looks nice on you, and white goes nice against your tanned skin. The whole ensemble looks particularly good from down here." Jade had a full-on view of his dick hanging beneath his it’s-not-a-dress-but-a-chiton. It did look good from where she sat. If he didn't know or didn't care decided she decided she wasn't going to tell him.

  Philip smirked as if he'd just caught on to her thoughts. "I'm pleased to see you're well Jade."

  How nice it must be to come from a culture that doesn't have the same issues and hangups about bodies, Jade thought. Philip helped her to her feet.

  "What's going on around here?" She glanced around the room indicating all the people. "And where are Karl and Nic?"

  "Come to my private chamber, and I'll tell you. You look tired, Jade, and I certainly am."

  She stood firm. "I need to wait for Karl and Nic. We're supposed to meet here."

 
"They're safe. They aren't here, but they will come to my room when they return. Don't worry, Jade, you'll be reunited."

  Jade wasn't in the habit of taking up invitations to men's private chambers, even though she met Karl that way. That was a one-off. It was different with Philip, and not just because he was an ancient god underneath his youthful appearance. She'd always felt safe with him. Their bond of friendship had been instant and lasting.

  He led her to one of the doors that had been locked when she visited the hall previously. He placed his hand flat on the door, near the handle. A pad of numbers became visible, and he keyed in a code. The door clicked open for him on the sixth digit.

  "If I'd been watching more carefully, I'd could've learned the code and sneaked into your chamber." Jade remember the ravens that seemed to spy on them the last time she arrived in the hall. She looked up but didn't see any birds.

  They entered.

  Dominating the space in a central position was the largest bed Jade had ever seen. It was covered in crisp, white linen. There was a large comfy sofa to one side of the room and some closed doors on the other side. As in the great hall, the windows were situated high in the wall; Jade wasn't tall enough to look through them.

  The room was large and furnished with splendid luxury. There were paintings and tapestries on the walls, and many sculptures positioned around the room. If this was Philip's room, he clearly liked art and comfort.

  Jade had expected something like the Spartan's home, but this was a complete contrast.

  "And, believe me, it wouldn't be worth sneaking in here. Not at all. Although I do have some rather nice twentieth-century Italian fashion pieces in the dressing room. You wouldn't be able to get in with just the code, anyway. So don't count on it."

  "Why not? Do you have magical charms protecting the place?"

  "We don't need magic when we have science, Jade. Without the correct DNA running through the blood, the numerical keypad will never become visible. And it is not sufficient to severe my hand and press it to the door. The detector will know there's no consistent pulse. You'd have to amputate my hand and transplant your own, to get the blood pumping. But then it'd be the wrong DNA. We think it's a pretty tight security system. Archimedes developed it, of course."