The Highrise was as still as a tomb. Hebe cleaned the Highrise as effectively as she did Bill’s dining room and transferred the remains to the original Mount Olympus, the same place she put Demeter’s remains. No physical trace of the crime remained -- No stench of blood, no stray droplet, no shredded flesh or bone fragments. No one would ever guess the worst crime possible was committed in my penthouse. It was as lovely as a magazine ad.
“Dion, you can go back to Olympia, now,” I said after glancing around the kitchen.
He nodded, said, “Cheerio,” and then vanished.
I walked out to the balcony and my three companions followed me. This is where it started, where Helios fell. Circe invaded my home and kidnapped the person most dear to me. My anger swelled.
I took a deep breath to force the memories away and then beckoned to Ares. We locked eyes and soon had Bill and Hermes in our huddle. Hermes led us up and then we hovered over the Highrise. That green spider’s web is what I sought. I knew as time passed the thread would diminish and finding it may prove difficult.
However, it could take a couple of weeks for it to vanish completely.
Bill found a shimmering thread this time using his keen observational abilities. City lights after sundown glinted off of the filament that floated in the air. It wound around the city several times, then stopped over a run-down hotel in Newport News.
Ares found the second thread that fluttered away from the hotel and went in a straight line to the west.
Near St. Louis, she went north into Canada. The filament became so bright, I knew it to be a decoy. Hermes took us back to St. Louis. We floated around, watching carefully until we saw the wispy green thread, again. It fluttered away to the east. That one led us on a merry chase, too.
We followed thread after thread, finding decoy after decoy. The real thread eluded us. We floated back to the Highrise and started over.
I found another filament. This time she only went as far as Charlottesville.
I gave the signal and Hermes took us back to the penthouse.
We all headed straight for the kitchen. The refrigerator was stocked to capacity as if someone had shopped that very day. We made ham and cheese sandwiches, found a large bag of chips to accompany them, and drank glass after glass of sweet iced tea. I finished off my midnight snack with a banana and two apples.
We sat on barstools at the counter in the kitchen and noshed until the tea was gone and then chips. Finally, I was ready to discuss what happened.
“Bill, when you were investigating the deaths in Hampton Roads, you remember the first murder?”
“Yeah. It was that car up near Williamsburg.”
“Right. I saw that car. It hit the back of Eli’s Corvette and when he and I got out to investigate it, the car was empty of everything except too much blood. Eli and I had gone to Charlottesville that day to an antique show. We went to several shops and walked all over the city that day, had dinner, and then went to hear a jazz band at a club. We headed home sometime after midnight. While looking over the car with the blood, I remember a feeling in the air of dread or foreboding, so Eli and I left the scene, knowing we could do nothing for the driver. Plus, we didn’t want to have to answer a bunch of questions from the police.” I had their collective attention.
I continued, “What if Circe saw Eli and me in Charlottesville and then followed us? It would have been a simple matter for her to have killed the driver of the car that hit us. She may have thought we were looking for her and that prompted the reign of death.”
Bill nodded and then said, “That could be. If she uses Charlottesville as her base of operations, then we have a place to start. I can’t think of any other way to proceed.”
“Why Charlottesville?” Ares asked.
“Why not?” Bill replied. “It is small enough to go unnoticed by many but large enough to hide in... about 50,000 people live there. If she doesn’t commit any major crimes there, then it will escape most people’s notice.”
“And not so far away from major metropolitan areas that she is completely out of touch,” Hermes added.
Ares nodded and then said, “So we have to figure out a way to find her lair if that is where she really is. We have to outwit the witch.”
“What about an undercover operation?” Bill said. “Hey, can you guys change the way you look like she did? She fooled even Athena, here, with that trick.”
“I am not a master of illusion,” Ares said, shaking his head in the negative.
I had never tried it, but that didn’t mean it couldn't be done. I rose from the barstool and imagined myself looking like Zeus.
“Whoa!” Bill said as he jumped out of the bar stool. “Nice to see you again, Your Majesty.” He reached his hand toward me.
Ares laughed out loud. “Bill, it’s Athena.”
“That’s right, Bill,” I said in Zeus’s voice. Then, I changed my appearance to look like Hebe. And then, Hermes.
Bill’s mouth hung open and he said, “Damn, that is a handy talent to have. Can you do it, Ares? Hermes?”
Both shook their heads.
“No worries. The world has things called wigs, sunglasses, contact lenses, and fake mustaches. We can dress up like we’re going to ComicCon,” Bill said. “You’d be surprised how much something as simple as a different hairstyle can change a person’s appearance.”
They all grinned and then I turned the conversation serious, “Bill, as part of the Virginia Criminal Investigations Department, you have jurisdiction in Charlottesville. Right?”
He nodded.
“Do you have any contacts there?” I asked.
“I have contacts everywhere.”
“So, how about old fashioned police work, then? Mostly because Circe will not expect it. And something tells me if that is her base of operations, that’s where we find Helios,” I said.
“It could work,” Bill conceded. “Do you have a picture of Circe? I could send it off to some guys I know.”
“I didn’t get a chance to grab a selfie of us together,” I said with more sarcasm than I intended.
“I can send a description. That is better than nothing. I’ve seen this witch, so I know what to tell them to look for.”
So, we had the beginnings of a plan. I didn’t feel as if I was flying blind or simply reacting to a bad situation. “Ares, take us back to Olympia. We can sleep a few hours and then get started, again.” We turned off the lights in the Highrise and left Norfolk.
We all arrived in my bedroom and I collapsed on the bed. Feeling bereft of energy, I motioned to my friends. “This bed is big enough for all of us.” I didn't need to make the suggestion, again. Ares lay on my right and Bill on my left. Hermes snuggled behind Bill. I draped my arm over Ares and Bill pulled me into an embrace from behind. Like a pile of puppies, we all fell asleep nearly instantly on the comfy oversized bed.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
I woke up first, with my head on Ares’s shoulder and Bill sleeping on top of my hair. I knew as soon as I moved, everyone would awaken, but the bathroom beckoned. The men allowed me to untangle myself from them and I crawled over Ares to get out of bed. I showered and changed into a multi-colored tiered skirt, brown sandals and, a dark blue peasant top. I added several strings of colorful beads and put bangles on my wrists. I found an oversized milticolored sweater and pulled it over my arms.
We ate a huge breakfast and then got ready for our trip to Charlottesville, Virginia.
To change myself to look like Julie Adams, all I had to do was to make my hair look gray and age my face. Round John Lennon glasses with red lenses completed the look I chose.
Before transferring to Charlottesville, we landed in the Highrise penthouse, this time, courtesy of Titan. He left immediately to resume his search for Hecate. As before, we went out to the balcony to get ready.
Ares wore a fake black mustache, a cowboy hat, faded jeans and plaid shirt making him look like he belonged in the old west. He pulled on a leather jacket and zipped it up to keep out the chilly air. Bill wore blue jeans and a hoodie sweatshirt, looking nothing like a police detective. Hermes donned a curly brown wig, completely altering his appearance with that one minor change. I changed myself to look like Julie Adams, the manager of my bookstore, mostly because she was the first one I thought of.
This time, I transferred us and instantly we stood in the parking lot of a car rental place on Seminole Trail in Charlottesville. I walked into the building and made arrangements to rent two vehicles. Ares and I would travel in one and Bill and Hermes would travel in the other, the idea being that we could cover twice as much ground if we split up.
“You know what you are looking for?” Ares asked me as we walked toward the nondescript white car.
“Not really. But if we simply drive around, I may be able to sense Helios.”
“Athena, let me drive. You can concentrate better that way.”
I tossed the keys to him. He was right. I needed to concentrate to find Eli because Circe would be blocking him like crazy.
Ares drove up and down streets that looked as if they should be in a Thomas Kincaid painting while I stretched out with my feelings to catch a hint of Eli. For several hours, we searched the streets of Charlottesville. I kept in touch with Hermes via his cell phone and neither he nor Bill had found any clue as to Circe’s whereabouts.
We met to eat a fast food snack together and then went back to the streets.
Bill reported that he talked to the police and the fire department and none of them had seen an attractive woman with bright red hair.
He also checked with his contacts in Charlottesville and still had no joy.
Dinner consisted of a pizza we picked up. Ares and I ate in the car.
Midnight and the streets were mostly deserted. Dark magic sailed high on the cold winds and snow threatened. I felt that magic before when Circe was near. Eli should not be far away, but I was still unable to touch him. The hours drifted by and still, we searched. The town closed down and only an occasional convenience store remained open. Thousands of people slumbered behind closed doors which made my job of searching even easier. Sleeping people released very little natural energy.
Dawn approached when Helios Sun God would be the strongest and I finally felt a glimmer. “Turn the car around,” I told Ares and he did. I phoned Hermes to let him know where we were, and Hermes told me they would arrive in a few minutes.
Ares made a left down a road that announced it was a dead end and I hoped the sign wasn't prophetic. I saw the house, covered in a dark blue-green ward, and pointed it out to Ares because underneath the blue and green was the distinct shade of yellow that Circe, with her darkness, could not recreate. Helios gave us a beacon to follow.
Ares stopped the car and we waited until Bill and Hermes arrived on the road a few minutes later. Rather than talking, we joined hands to communicate. I sent the message, “We will breach her barrier and go through the doors. Ares and I in front, Hermes and Bill in back. First, I am going to surround you three with a ward of protection so she can’t destroy you like she did the others.”
I heard their silent assent. Weaving the wards took only a few seconds. Then, we removed our weapons from the vehicles and I boldly walked toward Circe’s barrier.
Unraveling it was almost too simple, but I knew how to do it, now. Plus, that could mean she wasn’t home.
Bill and Hermes crept around to the back of the house while Ares and I waited at the front door. I steeled my nerves. With a wave of his hand, Ares unlocked the door and opened it.
Inside was dark with the heavy drapes drawn to keep out the nourishing sunlight. It smelled like a sewer and I held my nose to keep from sneezing. I heard tiny things scurry along the walls and I could feel the eerie dark magic hanging in the air. The taste of blood lingered on my tongue. The whole house felt evil. Why didn’t the bad guys live in a nice clean condo once in a while?
In a few moments, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I saw my husband, or something that looked like him, hanging from a chain attached to the ceiling in what should have been a dining area. I reached out with my feelings to touch the body hanging there, seemingly devoid of life.
Whoever it was stirred slightly and I felt Helios for the first time in days.
When Bill opened the back door, a sudden light flooded the area.
Underneath the body was blood and other foul liquids that steadily dropped from the bottoms of the feet.
Eli still had his glorious hair, although it was matted with blood and filth. His body was battered nearly beyond recognition. He raised his head to look at me and the tiniest smile touched his lips. “Took you long enough.” His head dropped to his chest. This was truly Eli. I felt him as I have felt him thousands of times before.
Weak, yes. Hungry and thirsty, yes. In agony, yes. But, he was Helios. Helios hid nothing from me, making certain I knew it was truly him who hung before me.
“Get him down from there and take us directly to Olympia,” I instructed.
“She could follow us,” Bill said.
“Let her. Olympia is my power center and she can’t touch me there.”
Ares released the chains with a wave of his hand and then all four men transformed into swine; the Helios swine being bloodied and not moving. I swung around and she stood framed in the front door.
“You came into my house, again, bitch,” she said.
“You stole what was mine. You killed my people. You and I are at war, so there are no more rules,” I told her.
She hit me with a metaphysical jolt and I flew across the room and out of the back door. I tumbled until I was a hundred feet away. I felt like I was just hit by an oncoming semi-tractor trailer. It took me a couple of seconds to shake off the pain that lanced its way through my head and back. I rose to my feet and ran to her house. The back door closed of its own accord. I grabbed the handle and pulled it off the hinges. I flung the door at least two hundred feet away.
Inside, the four pigs squealed in new agony as she tried to wound them, but she couldn’t destroy them as she did the people in my Highrise. I knew I had the upper hand at that moment and the knowledge pleased me greatly. I reached for Circe, grabbed her hair, and dragged her out of the house. I had to give my men time to get Helios away. Once in the yard, I punched her in the face and smiled when she staggered backward. Only then, I pulled my short sword from the scabbard on my back.
She transformed it into a snake, again. So, she wanted a duplication of our previous battle at Phobos’s plantation house. This time, I wasn't fooled by her illusion, so I swung the snake in her direction. I cut her deeply in the upper right arm. She didn’t waste any more energy on maintaining illusions. My sword looked like a sword, again so I stabbed and found her liver. She started healing from the wounds, immediately. That trick also required a great deal of energy. She didn't have endless reserves, so I could continually hack at her, forcing her to heal herself.
I felt the rage of Ares for lack of a better phrase. She killed people who were pledged to me. She wounded my husband. She knocked me on my backside. I threw my energy in her direction, intending to explode her like I did the valley in the Caucasus where Eli used to stable his horses, but she blocked me. The energy spilled around her and knocked several evergreen trees down. I attacked again and created a huge hole where she was standing. Circe fell in.
She transported out of the hole. She threw dirt in my face and while I dealt with the sand in my eyes, she punched me in the face and I saw stars exploding in front of me. I kicked her in the gut, hoping to tear her liver wound open and it worked. Once again, she bled profusely from the gash in her middle.
Maybe she realized she was losing. Maybe she thought she could better win if she destroyed my power partnership. Whatever the case, she vanished and when I heard pigs squeal, I knew she was inside the house once again. I transferred into the house immediately behind her.
Only then did I realize that two pigs remained--I assumed Bill and Ares. Both jumped on Circe and knocked her to the floor. They repeatedly bit her and gored her with their tusks. They suddenly were Ares and Bill again, but the change in form didn't diminish their attack. Ares managed to pull a knife from the sheath on his thigh and he stabbed her in the heart.
Circe laughed and the knife flew out of her chest and across the room. She shook off her attackers and stood. Bill shot her with a handgun several times and it appeared not to affect her at all. A direct frontal assault would never work. I threw my energy in her direction again, but she winked out of the room just as it should have hit her. The front wall of the house vanished in a cloud of dust. I heard boards creaking and knew the roof would fall at any second, so I transported the three of us to Olympia.
Ares stood on the patio beside my bedroom and said with considerable feeling, “That freaking witch needs to stop turning me into a freaking pig. That freaking hurts.”
“Are you two alright?” I asked.
Bill said, “I think I am.” Ares nodded.
I ran to the kitchen to find Eli and Hermes and instead, I found two pigs. One was bleeding and obviously very sick and the other danced from one foot to the other while Apollo gently touched him to discover the extent of the damage.
“If this is like the last time our Hermes was so transformed, then he will retain all his abilities,” Apollo explained.
T
he pig head of Hermes bobbed up and down and he said, “Tell this buffoon that Eli needs his help. Not me.”
“Apollo, Hermes requests you take care of Eli, first.”
“That’s him?” Apollo asked, pointing to a large red hog.
“Yes. Let me turn him back into Helios, first,” I said. Just as I did with Hermes just a few days ago, I unraveled the intricate spell Circe placed on her father. When he was Helios, again, he lay very still on the kitchen floor.
Apollo raised him up to the snack bar. He touched Eli’s shoulder and his head at the same time. After a few seconds, Apollo announced, “It’s not good. He is very weak.”
“What does he need?” I asked.
“Energy.”
“Metaphysical?”
“Yes,” Apollo said, sadly.
“Okay,” I said. I walked up to Hermes the pig and within five seconds, he was Hermes, again. “Ares, Bill, Hermes, let’s do this.” We joined together, the four of us gathering around Helios. I grasped Eli’s right hand and Ares grabbed his left. Hermes stood on my left and Bill stood between Ares and Hermes. I felt the energy building as we shared each other’s thoughts, feelings, wants, and desires. Mostly, we shared energy, propping Helios up until he could heal or be healed. Minutes or days could have passed, but we accomplished the task at hand.
We let go of our hands all in the same instant and I said, “Try it now, Apollo.”
He stared at me for a few seconds, nodded, and then touched Helios, again. Helios opened his bright shining yellow eyes and asked me, “How long was I gone?”
“Too long. You were gone too long,” I said.