Apollo's Gift (The Greek Gods Series) (18 page)

“Sure. They…well, I overheard this just last night.” Jason leaned toward Apollo and lowered his voice. “An American woman is here and her father is some big deal in the US government. Hydra wants to take her hostage.”

A cold ball of lard rolled in Apollo’s gut. “An American? Did you hear the name?”

Jason tilted his head and scrunched his mouth. “Not sure, but her dad’s the secretary of something. I remember that part.”

Apollo’s strength drained from him. “Priam?”

“That’s it.” Jason nodded. “I heard about it when I bought garlic from the herb shop a few streets over. Hydra’s followers meet there sometimes.”

“Will you show me?” Apollo jumped to his feet, adrenaline coursing through his limbs. This might be it. A feeling in his gut urged him to go.

Andromeda’s gaze clouded with worry. “Take care, my boy.”

“I will.” Jason kissed her weathered cheek. “No fears. I’ll be back soon.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

As if propelled by an unseen force, Apollo strode through the streets and alleyways of Athens up a side street and down another, following the gawky young boy, Jason. He couldn’t be more than sixteen, and was as thin as Poseidon’s trident. Apollo’s gut whispered that Cassie was near, not by godly ability, but a deeper sense. He hadn’t expected that. Mortals did have gifts and he needed to make good use of them.

Music played from cafés, joyful tunes sounding over brick and stucco, mocking the reality of what lay ahead. Athens’ destruction, and perhaps their own, loomed like storm clouds on the horizon.

“This is it.” Jason hung back at the corner of the building and leaned against the wall. “See, closed like I said.”

Apollo eyed the structure, careful not to get too close and appear overly interested to any bystander. “Is there a back way in?”

“Well, there was a door, but they closed it off. Now the only other way in is through the roof. They have a window up top.” He leaned closer to Apollo, and in a soft squeak he asked, “Are you planning to break in and rob the place? Because they only have dried parsley and garlic and not much money.”

“No thievery. I’ve come for what’s mine.” Apollo didn’t know that Cassie was inside, but the urge to search gnawed. He headed to the side of the building to gain a better look.

Jason tailed him, his light footsteps close on Apollo’s heels. “What they got that’s yours?” he whispered.

Apollo tuned his hearing to the shop and listened. Nothing. Mortal hearing did him no good. His jaw clenched. “Are you sure there’s no one inside?”

Jason shrugged. “They’re closed. That’s all I can tell you.”

“Is there a way up?” Apollo motioned to the roof. He’d scale the walls if need be.

“There’s a ladder in back. They dry herbs on the roof and sometimes I haul them up for them.”

“You’re hard working.” Apollo stalked toward the ladder.

“Need to make a living. I’m saving up for something.” Jason hurried beside him.

“How old are you?” Apollo stared at the youthful face with a smudge of dark fuzz on his upper lip.

“Eighteen.”

“What are you saving for, a motorcycle? I see that’s what many young people use to get around the city.”

Jason grinned. “I plan to go to school in America and become a scientist.”

“Do you?” Apollo lifted the wooden ladder, worn and gray. “And what kind of science are you interested in?”

“Nuclear physics. My teachers say I’m gifted, but I don’t know about that.” He shrugged. “I want to find a new source of power.”

Apollo stopped beside a wall obscured by trees. Perfect. They’d be difficult to see from this spot. “I’m surprised.”

“Why? Because I don’t want to learn to blow things up, I can, you know—blow stuff up. That’s why Hydra wanted me to join.”

“Really.” Apollo wedged the rickety, ladder against the building. “You’re a man of many talents.” He surveyed Jason. His eyes didn’t lie. What kind of life had this boy led?

“Yeah, that’s what Andromeda tells me.” His large, dark eyes sparkled.

Apollo bounded up the ladder and Jason stood guard at the bottom. When he reached the top, Apollo spied the small window, only a foot square, impossible for a man of his size to squeeze through. Tension gripped his shoulders. No longer in possession of vision able to burn the hole larger or travel by thought to place him inside, he was forced to use human means for entrance. “Mortality is a curse,” he muttered. Apollo waved at the boy and spoke low “Come up. I need your help.”

Jason raced up the rungs and stood beside Apollo, staring at the skylight. “Yeah, you’ll never get through that, but I fit. I’m skinny and small for my age. I’ve done it before.”

“You have?”

“Sure. Sometimes I hand the dried herbs down through this window. And sometimes I drop to the floor instead of climbing down the ladder. It’s faster.”

“Are you willing to climb inside to find out if there’s a woman in there?”

His wide mouth dropped open. “A girl? You mean the one they wanted to kidnap?”

Apollo nodded. He hoped and feared that was the case.

“Sure,” said Jason, bright eyed and bouncing on his toes.

Apollo unlatched the covering and pushed aside the thick Plexiglas. The sun was setting and they both peered into darkness. A mass that looked like a rolled-up carpet lay in the center of the floor. It appeared soft—at least, softer than the ground.

“I’ll try to land on that carpet to break my fall.” Jason crawled through the small opening feet first. He struggled when he reached his shoulders, but forced passed and slipped down. Apollo heard a thud and then a muffled screech.

“What is it?” Apollo said in a loud whisper.

“I landed on the carpet and it’s moving.”

“See what it is.” Desperation quickened Apollo’s pulse and stared into the abyss.

A rustling wafted up from the darkness and then a grunt. “Ouch,” from Jason.

“Apollo,” screeched Cassie.

No sweeter sound had ever graced Apollo’s ears. Thank the gods. He released a breath.

“Get—me—out,” she growled.

* * *

Cassie’s leg throbbed from the weight of the boy landing on it. There was sure to be a wicked bruise. She was lucky it wasn’t broken. Apollo had carried her out of the building after the boy had let him in through the front door. Now she stretched out on his bed at their hotel with ice on her thigh. Apollo hadn’t spoken to her most of the way, but the whites of his eyes shone red and he cleared his throat often. He carried her up the three flights of stairs and refused to let her out of his sight.

She’d been so relieved that Apollo had found her that she’d let go of her hurt and only now wondered if he’d met with Zeus. “Is your father helping us?”

“What?” Apollo glanced at her as he filled a new icepack. He’d sent Jason out to hunt up more ice.

“What did Zeus say?”

He dropped a cube on the floor. “Oh, nothing much.”

A tingle crept along her neck. “I’m not buying that.”

He flashed her a tight smile. “My father has chosen not to be involved.”

“Ugh.” Why did this not surprise her? In all of myth, when humanity needed the help from the gods, they dithered or were unavailable. “What excuse did he give you?”

“He didn’t feel his involvement was needed.”

“What would warrant his help? A meteor careening toward earth, resulting in total annihilation?” Cassie punched the mattress with her fist. “Zeus is an SOB.”

Apollo shrugged, closed the ice pack and placed it gently on her thigh, midway between her knee and her hip. “How does it feel?”

“Numb, thanks to the ice and aspirin.” She adjusted her leg and made a careful stretch. “Yep, it will be much better by morning. Stiff maybe, but I’ll be able to walk on it.” Cassie rubbed above the swollen spot with her fingers. “Where did you find this kid?”

“Jason works for an old friend. He’s trustworthy and bright. The boy longs for an education in America, but he’ll struggle to pay for his dream.” Apollo sighed heavily, his blue eyes shifting to inky. “He knows something about Hydra’s plans and I believe him.”

Cassie sat up. “What has he told you, other than where to find me?”

“That was luck, but I’ll ask him more when he returns.”

A knock on the door, and Jason entered with a bowl. “You know, we don’t use ice much. I had to go to one of the big American hotels to get this.”

“I appreciate it. Thanks,” said Cassie. “It
almost
makes up for your landing on me.”

“He stared at her with repentant brown eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were the lumpy carpet.”

“Is that what I looked like?”

Jason grinned. “Yep. You don’t think I would’ve jumped on you if I’d known you were a girl, do you?”

“I suppose not.” She smiled back at him.

Apollo sat on the bed beside Cassie and motioned for Jason to take the chair by the door. His brow creased. “I need to ask you a few questions. Aiding us may be dangerous. Are you willing?”

“I’ve lived on the streets most of my life.” He crossed his arms over his thin chest. “I was in trouble from the moment I refused to join Hydra, more after I agreed to take you to the shop. Too late now.”

He was right. If anyone saw him at the herb shop tonight, Hydra would take care of him. Cassie doubted they’d show leniency because of his age. She felt a ping of discomfort for the boy’s situation.

Apollo rested his arms on his thighs and stared at the boy. “I need more information. We’ve thwarted part of their plan, but they’ll move forward regardless. Is there anything else you can tell me?” He spoke in a soft voice and didn’t push for an answer.

Jason scrunched his face and looked up at the ceiling in obvious thought. “They want to blow up a government building, take hostages, shoot a few people to make a point, and then do other stuff.”

“What…other stuff?” said Apollo.

“Take over the world is what they told me, back when they pushed me to join them.”

Apollo didn’t laugh.

Cassie wished it was a joke, but the look on the boy’s face was serious. “How do they plan to do that?” she said.

He shrugged his skinny blue t-shirt-clad shoulders. “I’m not on the inside, so I don’t know details, just what I hear around.”

“Is that everything?” Apollo wiped his hands on his thighs.

“They may have changed their scheme, but they’d planned to bomb something in Athens.”

Cassie flinched, and then groaned from the pain of movement. “I won’t do that again.” She rubbed her leg. “Do you have a time?”

“Sure. They told this guy George all about it while I picked up fennel seeds in the herb store. I ducked around a bunch of hanging garlic and listened. They didn’t notice me and talked for another hour. I knew Andromeda would wonder what took so long, but I couldn’t leave and get caught listening.”

“Of course not,” said Cassie. Smart boy.
George?
It had to be that damn traitor of a friend.

Apollo clenched and unclenched his fists and stared at the floor. “We need to know how they mean to get into the embassy.”

“Embassy?” Jason sat up. “I never said it was the embassy, but they did say that was a possible target. Wow. They mentioned the seventeenth of this month.”

“The seventeenth.” Cassie’s stomach roiled. “That’s when the officials meet in Athens to negotiate with Hydra. Are you sure?”

Apollo leveled a glacial blue gaze on her. “He’s right. The attack is fated for two days time.”

Jason cocked his head toward Apollo. “Fated? Whatever. That must be the plan. Wait until they have a bunch of prisoners in one place and then take them hostage.”

Apollo nodded. “Wise move.”

“What?” said Cassie, her head jerking toward Apollo. “You can’t agree with this.”

“No, but it’s not a bad plan.”

Cassie sat back against the pillows. “No, it’s not.”
Damn. My dad will be there.

Jason lifted from the chair and headed for the door, but Apollo stopped him. “You can’t leave.”

“But Andromeda. She’ll be worried if I don’t come home.”

“You live there?” asked Cassie.

“It beats the street. I do things for her and she lets me stay. It’s a good trade.”

Apollo handed him the phone. “Tell her I have a job for you and you’ll be back tomorrow.”

“A job?” he said, punching in the number. “What does it pay?”

Apollo glanced at Cassie and she nodded, knowing what he intended. She had some savings and they’d work it out. Apollo was a god, after all.

Apollo then looked to the boy. “If you can help us and we succeed, a ticket to the United States and means to attend a university.”

Jason’s eyes bugged out and he shouted, “Yes!”

Cassie giggled at his excitement. “Well, if we get through this, I’m going to need your age and legal name for the passport.”

“My name?” He still bounced with excitement on his spindly legs. “Mignon. Jason Mignon.”

Apollo’s shoulders shook. He leaned back on the bed and laughed, tears streaming from his eyes and ran into his ears.

“What’s so funny?” asked Cassie, bewildered.

He wiped at his eyes and gasped a breath. “Mignon. I have a
minion
.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Morning came too soon. Cassie had taken the bed, Apollo the chair and Jason had nabbed a spot on the floor. Not that any of them had slept much: they were up most of the night planning against the attack scheduled in just two days. Cassie had given up on the ice. Her stiff leg argued for staying immobile and the bruise turned ugly purple-black with a knot of muscle in the middle. Yep, not pretty at all. Her mom would faint when she saw it.

Apollo hunched in the chair over his thoughts, his linen jacket a mass of wrinkles. He looked tired. She didn’t know a god could be affected by anything. Maybe it was worry.

They’d decided late last night to give her dad one more try. He had to see reason. Moving the meeting’s location might be enough to avert disaster. She’d called and left her dad a message to contact her pronto.

If that didn’t work, they had a back-up plan: setting up a strike themselves and closing the embassy before the dignitaries arrived. Jason would be instrumental in that effort constructing bombs. She didn’t agree with violence, but a well-placed explosion, just to blow smoke and draw attention, would do no real harm and close the embassy.