We landed in my conference room where Nike waited with Bia and Jason.

“Welcome,” Nike said.

“So what’s up with the fishermen?” I asked, skipping over the court niceties. I was eager to mediate a truce with the fishermen and return to the Highrise.

“Apparently Zeus allowed them to land on the beach anytime they wanted. He would go out and talk to them. All of a sudden I had four Japanese men who smelled like fish asking to see the man who owns the house. They were genuinely disappointed when I told them that he sold his house to his daughter.”

“And where are they now?”

“Camping about a mile that way.” She waved a hand toward the north.

“I’ll see to it.” First, I wanted to visit the horses. It was midnight on Olympia, but I went to the stable anyway. The four horses each had a stall of their own. They nickered when they saw me and I took the time to greet each one of the great four. Bronte snuffled my cheek and I told her, “Helios is sick old dear. He will come soon.” And Abraxas tossed his head and whinnied. He allowed me to pet his nose. Sterope ate the apple I gave her. Even Euos allowed me to hug him and massage his neck. He sniffed my hair and then nuzzled my neck. How could Helios stay away from these dears?

Boreas met me at Euos’s stall and asked, “How is Helios?”

“I don't have a good answer for that. Are they alright?” referring to the four horses.

He nodded. “They seem restless, though. I wash them, brush them, feed them and even ride them, except for the great black beast. Still a one person horse, he is.” Boreas ran a hand through his short purple hair. It looked dyed, but I knew the color was real.

“I am going for a midnight ride.” Boreas merely nodded and stood aside while I made my choice. I pulled Bronte from her stall and Boreas assisted in her livery. I transported myself up, walked her out of the barn, and headed toward the beach. We stayed on the sand, rather than venturing out into the waves.

A breeze off of the water tugged at the ends of my hair and the scent of salt hung heavily. I glanced up to see a shooting star find its way across Orion. The half moon hung neatly overhead, giving me just enough light to be able to keep Bronte on the sand and not lose our way, not that the island was large enough to get lost on for very long.

I smelled the campfire before I saw it. The four men who sat near the fire spoke in Japanese which could prove problematic for me. I know how to speak several languages, but Japanese was one I never learned.

“Do you speak English?” I asked as I approached.

“I speak English,” a man said and then he stood up to greet me. “I am Nobu.” He strained to look up at me on top of the giant horse.

“My name is Athena. My father allowed you to camp on this island?”

“Hai, Athena-San. We camped here many times. He nearly always came out here to talk to us. We often gave him a fish or two. I think he wanted someone to talk to. He lived here by himself with only Hana to keep him company.”

“I know that. Listen, you can camp here anytime you like. I will tell my Chief of Security to allow it. Her name is Nike.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Like the shoe?”

I smiled and said, “Exactly like the shoe.”

Ares trotted up to the campfire on Sterope and Nobu said to his companions, “It is Zeus! Miru.”

Ares said, “I am Zeus’s son.” I introduced them and Ares then spoke to them in Japanese. Good to know. I don’t know what he said to them, but they apparently exchanged greetings and little more.

After a few moments, he said to me in Ancient Greek, “What are you doing out here by yourself? Are you completely daft? We don’t know where Circe is, remember?”

I glared but didn't reply to him. Instead, I told Nobu and his friends goodbye and turned Bronte toward the house. Ares followed.

“Athena,” Ares said when we were out of earshot of the fishermen. “I want to suggest something for you to consider.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“I think what we have in your penthouse is not Helios.”

“You mean he’s changed?”

“No, I think it is someone else. I think it is actually Circe.”

“Just Circe?” I asked him.

“What better way to get close to you especially if she wants to harm you?”

I shook my head in the negative. “I think I would know if my husband...”

“Has he contacted you here?” Ares asked as he touched his head with a finger.

I shook my head no.

“We are connected with our power partnership. Helios cannot hide that well from us. Even you could not. There should be a tiny thread left, but we get nothing from Helios. Bill doesn’t. I don’t.” Ares grabbed my arm and said, “Athena, before we left, I strengthened the ward you put around the penthouse, but it may not be enough. She’s had time to recharge.”

And I suddenly knew he was right. Helios didn’t smell right. He didn’t feel right. It was more than being injured. Helios, or what was posing as Helios, hadn’t even kissed me.

“Let’s go.” I gave Bronte her head and raced back to the stables. I jumped off her back before Ares had Sterope inside. I waited an extra moment for Ares, thinking we would transport together.

He ran to me and caught me before I fell to the hay on the stable floor. A pain lanced through my brain and I suddenly knew several people had just died. I screamed in agony. My chest ached with the strain of my heart trying to beat on its own and I felt too weak to move. I struggled to breathe. My vision blurred. I vomited my lunch. I expected to die any second. Ares swept me into his arms and transported us to the Highrise.

I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision and realized it was tears that covered my eyes in a wet veil. “They’re dead, Ares. My people are dead.” Ares kept a tight arm around me to keep me upright. My knees felt weak and wobbly.

The kitchen was a bloody mess, just like the movie theater, just like Bill’s house when Circe killed Demeter, just like the inside of the car that hit Eli’s Corvette all those months ago. And just like before I had to wrap my head around the gruesome images in front of me. Blood ran off of the countertops and dripped from the ceiling. Blood ran across the floor staining the white tile bright red. I could see shards of bone and what looked like bits of muscle but I couldn't tell how many people were involved.

Bill and Hermes arrived a moment after Ares and I did. Bill looked white as death and Ares wasn’t much better.

I pulled myself out of Ares’s hands. Without a word, I went to the guestroom Eli had been using and he wasn’t there. The bed was still indented from where the body had recently lain.

Ares, Bill, and Hermes looked for him, too, but couldn’t find him. I ran to the lobby and punched the elevator call button.

The door opened and I was greeted with another bloody mess. “Circe!” I screamed. “Wretched whore, did you kill everyone?” The world took on a surreal quality and my head felt too light.

Ares ran into the lobby and said, “I found two more. That makes at least four up here.” Bill and Hermes followed.

“Call Bill’s house and Olympia and warn them. Do not let Helios in, at all.” Bill had his cell phone ready and Hermes removed one from his pocket. Hermes transferred us to the next floor while he called Olympia.

We didn’t find any blood on the 19th floor of the Highrise, but we found a lot of blood on the 18th floor, where Phobos and his group waited. It seemed as if every time we opened a door we found more blood. Thirteen of my people died that day and I felt every death as surely as if it were my own.

My voice sounded flat, even to me when I said, “Hermes, contact every one and find out who is missing.” He nodded.

Then, to Ares, “Ares, we look for Helios tonight. If Circe was here, then Helios is somewhere else. I will look under every damned grain of sand on the planet until I find him.” Ares nodded. I continued, “Circe will not get away with this.”

I watched blood following a path down the grout in the tiles in a bathroom and felt the fury rise. “The witch has just declared war. She cannot kill my people with impunity. Circe will die and anyone who follows her. This is going to get mean and ugly,” I announced, expecting Bill, at least, to protest. No one did.