Chapter 6

Today was my first day at the Healing Center. I was super apprehensive. Pulling on some dressier pants and blue button-up blouse, and some loafers that I swear weren’t there yesterday, I checked myself in the mirror. The guys insisted I eat breakfast; Ryder made French toast, eggs, and bacon. I barely touched my plate. Zane teleported us to the end of a block across town. Snow piled up on the sides of the street, traffic was busy, and the roads were filled with people on their way to work. Zane interlaced his hand with mine as we walked to the healing center.

“It will be okay, love,” he said reassuringly, kissing the back of my hand. “Asclepius is a nice guy and son of Apollo. He cares about people. His voice is so calming, it can put you to sleep,” a smile curled his lips.

The healing center was a huge white marble building with massive white columns and a life-size golden statue of Apollo in a golden chariot holding a Lyre. I raised a brow.

“Apollo is also a nice guy but extremely vain,” Zane chuckled.

The center was very welcoming yet intimidating at the same time. We walked past a row of small evergreen trees, and white wrought-iron benches peppered the lawn on each side.

We approached the entrance and saw employees sitting with patients, walking with them, and teaching tai chi. All the employees were in white and had an ethereal glow. Zane walked me to the entrance, took my chin in his hand, and kissed me.

“You got this, love,” he whispered. “I’ll meet you right back here this afternoon.”

I nodded, “Thank you.” and he disappeared.

I swallowed hard and opened the giant glass door. The foyer was enormous, with a monumental gold fountain of dolphins frolicking in the water. The front desk was a massive slab of white marble with flecks of gold, and the woman behind the desk was on the phone. She was tall and slender, with long blond hair pinned into an immaculate bun and in all white. I walked up to her, and she smiled, put her finger up, and continued to talk.

“I’m confirming your appointment, Mr. Stevenson, tomorrow at 3 PM for your full body massage,” she said. “Yes, that’s correct, we have you all set with Theseus, yes, great. See you then,” she hung up the phone.

Giving me a huge smile, “You must be Theodosia!” She said excitedly.

“Thea,” I smiled.

“Thea, it’s so nice to meet you! I’m Cora, and I run the front desk. You’ll be working back here with me to start, but let me show you around first.”

Cora came out from behind the desk and guided me through the other side of the foyer. Doors lined each side of a very long hallway, and each door had frosted glass and gold lettering.

“It’s pretty self-explanatory; we have many rooms here to utilize. The rooms set aside for the divine are on the right side of the hallway here. And on the left, for our mortal guests.”

“We have the meditation room,” she opened the door and let me peek around the corner. The dimly lit room was full of a lavender scent that filled my nose. Three people were inside, all hovering, legs crossed above the floor. The sound of dripping water surrounded the room. She closed the door quietly.

“This next room is our consultation room. Our healers meet with our guests and work through whatever might be ailing them, mentally or physically, and then a healing program is put into place with the very best care.”

“To answer your question, we do not charge our mortal guests for our programs; living in the world of the divine is difficult for many, and our divine membership fees offset the costs,” she smiled.

I blinked a couple of times. “I’m a telepath, Thea,” she beamed, patted me on the shoulder, and we continued.

The next room was the healing room. Cora opened the door and peeked into the room. There were a few guests, and each of them had a healer with them. One of the guests radiated a green glow when the healer touched their hand.

“It’s one of our healing methods; this room focuses on healing injuries, illnesses, and divine ailments. On the other side, our healers use a mortal healing method with just a touch of the divine,” she winked.

There were so many rooms; we passed an art therapy room, an herbal garden, a library, and a gymnasium. The last room we passed was the room of divine waters.

“The room of divine waters is only for our divine guests, with several exceptions, which remain confidential,” she smiled. “Let’s go up front, and I can show you where you’ll be working.”

The front desk area was immaculate. Cora put me near two telephones. One was blue, and one was white.

“The blue phone is for when you confirm appointments for our mortal guests; the white phone is for the divine. There are also two lists, one blue and one white. There is a script here for anything that may arise. You’ll be here three days a week, and next week, once you learn the ropes up here, I’ll have you start assisting in the art therapy room,” she smiled. I liked that idea.

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“The restroom is the third door on your left,” she smiled and returned to her seat. Well, that’s going to get annoying quickly. I thought, hoping Cora couldn’t read my mind from down the hall. I pushed open the restroom door; the entire room was white marble. There was a small fountain in the corner, this place and fountains; I’m going to have to go to the bathroom every five minutes with all the trickling water sounds. I finished using the facilities, washed my hands, returned to my station, and began making calls. A man was being walked out of the center. He was trying to get out of the grip of the two healers. I snuck around the other side of the front desk to my station.

“Mr. Monroe, I am so very sorry about your ailment, but we cannot intervene in the affairs of the divine.” A man was standing by Cora in front of the desk. He was tall and very well dressed with sandy blond hair, with a hint of gray in his hair and neatly trimmed beard. He looked familiar; then I remembered the statue. He looked exactly like his father. Asclepius.

“You have to help me! Please!” The man pleaded. He hiccupped after every word he uttered.

“I’m very sorry, but those are the rules. Sneaking in here with glamour is not allowed either, sir.”

“Please, hiccup, I’m hiccup desperate!” hiccup.

“Athos and Porthos will show you out.” Asclepius turned to where I was sitting.

“Theodosia, so nice to meet you. I’m Asclepius.”

“Nice to meet you. You can call me Thea,” I smiled.

“I’m so very sorry you had to see that. That is not typically what happens here. Usually, all our guests are much easier to handle. When the divine afflicts a mortal, there is a reason: we are not allowed to interfere. No matter how much we’d like to help them.”

“That seems unfair,” I said.

“Yes, I can see how someone as young as you would see it that way, Thea, but there have been too many conflicts between mortals and the divine; we don’t want to start a war.”

“Maybe some of the divine need to be brought down a peg or two!” I was getting mad, but I closed my mouth because I didn’t want to cause issues during my first hour there.

Asclepius laughed deeply, “I like you, Thea; we need more people willing to speak their minds in this world.” Cora even chuckled a bit. “Are you settling in alright?” a small smile curled his lip.

“I just got here less than an hour ago. Cora took me on a tour of the place. It’s beautiful, and I hope to help however I can,” I said.

“Wonderful. Tomorrow, Cora can show you the rest of our healing center. There’s more? Of course, there’s more, dummy.

“Our building is pretty big, and don’t call yourself a dummy,” he gave me a small smile.

I could feel my cheeks get hot. “So you’re a telepath like”..-

“My mother here,” his eyes smiled, “yes,”

“Lovely,” I said.

Asclepius laughed hardily. “See you soon, Thea,” he left with a smile.

Cora approached me, holding a candy wrapped in blue cellophane, “Now that you’ve met Asclepius, I can give you this.”

“Oh, I’m good, thanks,” I said.

“It’s called Icinial root candy. We use it to block your thoughts from others. Asclepius always wants to meet the new employees as a test to see that you’ll be a good fit. Now that he’s done that, please take one each time you come into the center. We have some guests that have done some things that aren’t very nice to people’s minds. The candies ensure they cannot read or influence you,” she smiled.

I took the candy, “Thanks,” I said, opening the wrapper and popping it into my mouth.

I made about a hundred calls in my first three hours; Cora was very impressed and insisted I take a longer lunch break. The cafeteria looked average, but all the food was from divine recipes. The chef looked just like Willow! Hells! I got my food and quickly went to a table across the cafeteria with a beautiful view of some fantastic gardens. It was full of colored roses, greenery, and, of course, a fountain.

I was too busy enjoying my food; it was so good. Then I realized the woman who looked like Willow was standing by my table.

“You’re Thea, right?”

“Yes,” I said, trying not to sound apprehensive.

May I sit?” She asked. She sounded like her sister, too.

“Sure.”

“I heard you would be working here. My sister told me about you.”

I didn’t say anything.

“Thank you,” a smile curled her lips. “Everyone’s afraid of that little bitch, and I’m glad someone stood up to her for once!”

My shoulders dropped. That’s not at all what I was expecting. “She’s a bit intense,” I smiled.

“That’s an understatement. Willow is the baby, so my mother coddled her and gave her anything she wanted. She’s a spoiled brat who does whatever she wants. I’m so tired of it. I wish I were there to see it,” she smiled.

“You’re not the first one to tell me that.”

“I’m Iris, by the way; I’m the assistant chef here.

“The food is amazing!”

“Thank you,” Iris said. “Willow isn’t supposed to be around Nico; my mother doesn’t care enough to keep her away. She didn’t see any reason they couldn’t be together; she just agreed with Zeus to keep the peace.”

“Does Nico know that?” My eyes were big; she was spilling the tea so quickly.

“Yes. He does it to piss off Zeus,” a small smile curled her lips.

I chuckled, “Yes, he seems good at pissing people off.”

“Well, I should get back,” Iris said. “If you need anything, let me know. And if you run into my sister again, I want details!” She snickered.

I made many more phone calls during the second half of the day; and got lost in my work. I felt like I could make a difference here. I didn’t expect to feel this way about it. I also would not admit that to my mother.

“Thea, I think a gentleman is waiting for you,” she smiled.

Zane was in the foyer with a bunch of pink roses, my favorite. My heart melted. He is amazing. I never thought I’d feel like this about anyone, let alone another demigod- well, two demigods. Nico was a holdout, but with the pull, I had to these beautiful men and vice versa, it was only a matter of time.

I ran up to Zane, and he spun me around and kissed me.

“How was your first day, my little goddess?” He flashed that killer smile, and I melted again.

“Night, Cora,” I waved. She waved back.

“It was very nice,” I said.

“I’m glad, my little goddess. It was too quiet at the house today. Ryder’s been watching the clock all day and dramatically sighing because you aren’t home yet. Nico was pissed off about it after the first hour, so he sent Ryder out on some errands,” Zane chuckled.

I laughed, “These roses are amazing; they’re my favorite, that was so sweet of you.”

“It’s only your first day once,” he said, bending down to kiss me again.

We got past the courtyard, and he grabbed me around the waist, “Hold on, love.”