Page 59 of Dark Restraint
“Life is too short, Minotaur. You have to get your kicks where you can. And I like when people underestimate me. It allows me the element of surprise.”
Impossible to determine where she is. The open space makes sound bounce strangely. I resign myself to this experience and keep moving. “I don’t fuck with that. If people underestimate you, then they’re always trying you. If they’re scared of you, they don’t try you at all.”
“A difference of opinion.” She steps out of a shadowy doorway on the other side of the room. And promptly sneezes. “Gods, I know Poseidon likes to stay in his hidey hole, but would it kill him to send a maid through these outbuildings from time to time?”
I look around again with renewed interest. “This is one of his buildings?”
“It was. Long time ago. This isn’t the city center or the shipyards or the university, so people like to pretend it doesn’t exist.” There’s something in her voice, something that sounds almost like memory. She beams at me before I can confidently nail it down. “You look like absolute shit. Rough day?”
“You could say that.”
“Well, I need you in tiptop shape, so get in here and let’s patch you up. We have a little bit of time before we can move anyway.”
I reluctantly follow her through the doorway into a room that makes me question what the space I just left was. Because it’s set up like a dorm room, with two faded twin beds pressed up against opposite walls and a doorway that leads into a bathroom. At least the dust isn’t as bad in here. “What is this place?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” She grabs my arm and I allow her to lead me into the bathroom. Hermes crouches down and pulls a sparkling new first aid kit from beneath the sink. At my look of confusion, she shrugs. “You never know when you might need something like this. A smart person would keep them stashed around the city so they’re never far away.”
I shake my head. “You’re Hermes, party girl and irreverent trickster. According to MuseWatch, you’ve never been in a proper fight.” There have been some drunken brawls, but the videos of those events seem like she’s having the time of her life, not intent on hurting anyone.
“You did your homework on me. Cute.” She lays out various tools from the first aid kit. It’s far more loaded than any first aid kit I’ve ever seen before. She points at my shirt. “That’s dried to your wound, hasn’t it?”
“Stop dodging my questions.”
“Maybe you should start actually asking questions instead of just making statements.” She tugs my jacket off, and I consider fighting her, but I really do need this taken care of. So I hold still while she peels my shirt off and whistles under her breath. “You’re lucky. A couple inches either way, and he would’ve shattered your scapula. Or your shoulder. Messy, messy.”
I let her guide me to a stool I hadn’t noticed before. “Why do you have first aid kits stashed all over the city, Hermes?”
“I’m only going to answer you because you’re about to be in excruciating pain and I don’t need you to flinch away or punch me. Ready?” She doesn’t wait for a response before fiery pain shoots through me as she starts digging out the bullet. But true to her word, she starts talking. “Everyone thinks that I’m practically magic. It suits me for them to believe that I can come and go from any place at any time.”
I grunt, but there’s not enough air in my lungs to form a reply. Thankfully, she doesn’t appear to need one.
“It takes a lot of work to look so effortless, and it’s not easy to live a life of sneakery. Sometimes I get hurt, but I wouldn’t be a very good mysterious Hermes if I was constantly going to the hospital to get patched up. So I do it myself.”
It makes sense. And yet I’m left with more questions than answers. “Why do it at all?”
“No one tells the truth in Olympus. Only a fool takes everything at face value and doesn’t delve deeper for the secrets. They’re more valuable than money.”
The pain of her digging around my back has black spots dancing across my vision. I take several deep breaths until they retreat. “How do you know Circe?”
“Got it!” There’s a clink as she drops the bullet into the sink. “You didn’t even pass out. The first time I had to take a bullet out, I passed out twice before I managed it. Granted, I was doing it to myself, but you’re still impressive.” She pats my shoulder.
I could press her on the Circe question, but the truth doesn’t really matter. I plan to get the fuck out of the city before whatever secrets are revealed and sins are called due. “What now?”
“Now, my dear Minotaur, we’re going to take a trip to the catacombs.” I start to twist to face her, but she smacks the back of my head. “Hold still. I know what you’re about to say anyway.” Her voice drops, and she does an eerily accurate mimicry of my voice. “Hermes, I didn’t know that Olympus has catacombs.”
I open my mouth, but apparently she doesn’t need me to hold an entire conversation by herself. She answers in her normal voice. “Most people don’t know that Olympus has catacombs, Minotaur. There’s been a lot of knowledge about this city lost over the years… Unless you know where to look for it.”
30
Ariadne
I honestly expected a trap, even with Asterion’s reassurance. But when the taxi drops my brother and me off in the theater district, the street is deserted. We’re a few blocks off the main avenue that has the theater, so I suppose that makes sense. It’s the middle of the day, after all. Most people are at work, and it’s not time for the lunch rush.
I lead my brother to a strange gate between two tall buildings with the address molded into the iron of the arch overhead. The only part of the setup that looks remotely modern is the keypad over the knob. It clicks open the moment I type in the code that Asterion gave me. So far, so good. Without meaning to, my hand finds my brother’s, and I link my fingers through his. Just like we used to do when we were children and facing something scary.
I glance at him. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m not.” He gives me a brief smile. “Let’s get inside before someone else tries to kill us.”