The Blood of Athens (7 page)

The DJ
switched tracks to some kind of accompanying music. It had bass and a
beat, but no real melody. The man who had turned on the lasers shook
his hands to loosen them up and then started to play. He struck each
note by covering a single strand of laser light with a cupped hand.
The lasers, which were every color of the rainbow, lit up the palms
of his hands as he played.

“
I think
this is the theme from Tetris,” Evan said.

“
I think
this is the coolest thing I've ever seen!” Astin said.

They watched
as he moved through a list of songs. The rest of The Pantheon crowded
around their tables. Evan took a pen and a miniature notebook out of
his pocket mid-way through the set and started drawing out plans to
recreate the instrument.

When the laser
harp player took a bow, the crowd cheered. The DJ switched back into
a club remix as the harp powered down and the musician left the
stage.

“
That is the
best idea ever! I want one!” Astin was jumping around, energized
with the possibilities of making music with this space-aged
instrument.

Evan held up
the napkin. “I can make one.”

“
Really?”

“
Really.
When we get home. Of course, supplies will cost a little.”

“
You are the
best!” Astin grabbed the sides of Evan's head. “Evan, if you
build me that thing, I will owe you forever!”

Teddy stood
up. “Alright, who wants shots?” he asked. “I'm paying.”

Celene
approached the doorman with the big chalk handprint on his shirt. He
looked at Nick, dressed in a polo and khakis, then looked down at the
Crocs on his feet, and shook his head. “Dress code,” he said.

“
That's
okay,” Celene said. “We're not looking to come in. We're just
wondering if you've seen a group of students. They're all between
fifteen and eighteen.”

“
I see a lot
of students,” he said. It was clear from his perfect English that
he was very used to dealing with tourists.

“
This one
had a smart-mouthed kid with blonde hair,” Celene said. She opened
her wallet and held up a photo of Penny. “And this girl.”

The bouncer
nodded. “They didn't meet dress code, so I sent them on their way.
There's one other club in walking distance that allows jeans and
trainers, if you go down to the next cross street and take a left,
you can't miss it.”

“
Thanks,”
Celene said. “Really, thank you, Sir.”

“
Good luck,”
he said, before turning back to his line.

Lewis sat at
the bar, sipping from a glass of tonic water. He thought he might be
able to get a drink here, but he wanted to keep his wits sharp. His
mind was buzzing with ideas for mischief. Already the novelty of
sneaking into a night club was wearing thin.

A woman sat at
the bar next to him. She was probably in her late twenties with dark
hair and olive skin. Lewis leaned closer to her. “So what is there
to do in this city after hours?”

She glanced
sideways at him, “Eh... no English.”

“
Ah,”
Lewis sat up straight in his bar stool. “Sorry. Uh...” Lewis
searched his brain for the few phrases of Greek he had learned before
the trip. “Signommi,” he added.

A man seated
on the other side of him tapped his shoulder.

“
Are you
looking for a good time?”

Lewis looked
the man over. “Sorry, dude. You're too old for me.”

The man handed
Lewis a poker chip. “Buy-in tonight is only fifty Euro.”

Lewis took the
chip and flipped it across his knuckles. “Thanks, man.” He
flipped the chip into the air and caught it. His eyes settled on
Minnie, and he knew what he wanted to do. “Really, thanks.”

Minnie pushed
her way through the crowd, heading towards the bar. She needed a
glass of water. It was too hot and crowded in the club for comfort.

She spotted
Teddy's purple skinny jeans at the bar. Minnie slid into the stool
next to him. Teddy was receiving a drink at the bar, something that
looked, to Minnie's inexpert eyes, like Sangria. The bartender
pointed to a man across the bar. He was young, probably only two
years older than Teddy, and he smiled and waved.

“
Can't buy
your own drinks?” Minnie asked.

“
He doesn't
need to know I'm filthy rich. It's the gesture that counts.” Teddy
took a long sip of his drink. “They skimp on the booze at this
bar.”

Minnie looked
between the man and Teddy, confused. Was Teddy playing him for free
liquor?

Teddy leaned
in close and whispered. “Stop looking so lost, Minnie. I'm
bisexual.”

“
Oh,” she
said, blinking. That shouldn't have come as a surprise, she thought.
She was very familiar with his mythological past. “Does anyone else
know?”

“
A few
people at school. Certainly not my mom. My dad's a Senator. A
Republican Senator. It wouldn't be well accepted if it came out that
his son was... fluid.”

“
Well, your
secret's safe with me. Just be careful. Greece isn't as accepting as
the rest of Western Europe.”

Lewis ran up
to the bar, nearly knocking Minnie off of her stool. “Minnie, I
need you.”

“
This is a
dramatic confession,” Teddy teased.

“
So not what
I meant. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her down. “We
have work to do.”

Minnie looked
confused, but she decided to follow Lewis rather than cause a scene
in front of the curious bartender. “I'll see you later, Teddy. Be
careful.”

“
Teddy!”
Lewis said, suddenly remembering something. “Can we borrow a
hundred bucks?”

“
Dare I
ask?”

Lewis grinned
manically.

Teddy shook
his head and pulled out his wallet. He handed a hundred Euro to Lewis
and waved him off. “Now go, before he thinks I'm with one of you.”

“
Where are
we going?” Minnie asked.

“
You'll
find out. It's brilliant!”

“
Live
today, forget the past.”

-Greek
Proverb

ix.

After
the delivery of the infant,
the mother took flight from her Godly
lover.
The father, Lord Apollo, was heartbroken
and left with
his son.

Coronis
had fallen in love with Ischys,
so she abandoned baby
Asclepius,
putting her happiness over her own son--
a most
selfish deed.

Apollo's
sister, Artemis, was enraged,
and she followed Coronis and her
lover.
In the faintest moonlight she entered their home
and
slit both their throats.

Artemis
never told this to her brother,
but instead let her vengeance pass
in silence.
She returned to his side to help raise his son
as a
loyal aunt.

“
Begin
with your own family.”

-Lykurgus

IX.

“
Zach, pick
up your phone. I haven't been able to get a hold of you or June since
Sunday. We need to talk. It's important.” Jason hung up after
leaving his seventh voicemail for Zach. He was on his way back from
the dentist with his kids. An unfamiliar car sat in his driveway.
Jason examined the gold Lexus as he stepped out of his car. South
Carolina plates. The only people he knew in South Carolina were--

“
Jason!”
his father shouted from the doorstep. Of course, Paul Livingstone
bought a new car every two years like clockwork. Jason glanced back
at the gold Lexus and sighed with relief. After Sunday's meeting with
Mr. Spade, Jason had expected the worst.

“
Has it been
two years yet?” Jason asked.

His father
shrugged. “Close enough.”

Jason's aunt
came around the front of the house from the side yard. She had gone
to retrieve the spare key from the planter outside the kitchen
window. Haley shouted, “Aunty Liza!” as she ran towards the
silver-haired woman.

Jason and his
father shared the same crinkly eyes and sturdy jaw line. While
Jason's hair was brown with a mix of silver, his father's hair was
now a brilliant white. Paul Livingstone was seventy-two. He and his
sister, Elizabeth, had raised Jason. Paul and Elizabeth were twins.
Jason's mother had run off with another man shortly after his birth.

“
How are my
boys?” Paul asked, as Jason unbuckled Jamie from his car seat.

“
I wasn't
expecting you, Dad.”

“
Yeah, well,
Joe Lowenstein passed away. You remember him? The snowbird with the
loud wife? We had to drive down for the funeral-- plane tickets on
this notice cost a small fortune-- so we decided to swing east forty
minutes to see you. Hope I'm not interrupting anything. Plans with
the girlfriend?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“
Celene is
in Athens with the school trip,” Jason said.

“
We were
hoping to finally meet her,” Aunt Elizabeth said, disappointed. She
was already busy braiding Haley's hair.

“
She won't
get back until later this week. How long are you in town?”

“
Just for
the night,” she said. “We plan to hit the road tomorrow after
lunch.”

They all
headed into the house. Jason had been planning on baking a pizza for
dinner. Luckily, the pizzas had been buy-one-get-one when he'd last
gone shopping. He preheated his oven.

Jason left his
father and his aunt in the kitchen and took the kids into the living
room. He started up Netflix and signed the kids in to the children’s
channel. Haley and the twins settled down on the overstuffed sofa to
watch cartoons. Jason rejoined the adults at the kitchen table.

“
Of course,
it would have to be okay with Jason,” his aunt said.

“
What has to
be okay with me?”

“
Your aunt
wants to get Haley an iPad for her birthday. I told her kids don’t
need all of that technology. Especially not something that
expensive.”

“
Oh they
aren’t that bad. I’m not going to get her one with 3G for God’s
sake.”

Paul grumbled
and got up to check the refrigerator.

“
Jesus,
Jason, this thing is barren.”

“
It’s been
a busy weekend. I haven’t gone for groceries yet.”

“
Oh, don’t
worry,” Elizabeth said with a gentle smile. “Paul, sit down.
Jason can just make some tea. You do have tea, right dear?”

Jason nodded
and got up from the table.

“
I was
really looking forward to meeting your girlfriend. It’s been so
long since you’ve seen anyone.”

“
You should
have gone on that trip,” Paul said. “We could’ve taken Haley
and the twins. We didn’t do so bad with you, you know.”

“
Yes, well,
there weren’t enough slots for chaperones,” he said. In reality,
Jason didn’t want to leave so close to Devon’s due date. That,
and he didn’t want to be stuck on a plane with Candice Matthews,
even if Celene was there as a buffer.

“
That’s
alright,” Elizabeth said. “You can go on a trip with just the
lady friend now. I can’t imagine it’s very romantic, supervising
teenagers.”

Jason laughed
and shook his head. “No,” he said, rinsing the tea kettle and
drying the outside. “That’s not exactly what I’d call a
vacation.

It was quiet
while Jason put the kettle on and got the sugar and creamer out.

“
I got a
funny message from one of my old residents on the Facebook
yesterday,” Paul finally said.

“
Oh yeah?”
Jason rummaged through the cabinets to find a choice of herbal teas.
He returned to the table to an armful of half-empty cardboard boxes.

“
She says
she saw you at the hospital Sunday? Says you're playing doctor to
some pregnant teenagers?” It was clear from his tone that he was
just waiting for Jason to say she was mistaken. Jason had to wonder
if he had really diverted forty minutes for a visit or if it was for
a lecture.