29 The Minotaur

29

The Minotaur

We make quite the trio as I lead Ariadne and Icarus through the back door and into the car I called. Doing so is a calculated risk, but I'm still bleeding, and the other two look dead on their feet. If the taxi driver tries to fuck with us, I'll just kill them. I start to rattle off the address for my apartment, but Icarus laughs and interrupts me. He holds Ariadne's hand in a white-knuckled grip, but his expression is relaxed. "Come now, Minotaur. My father has known about that apartment since the beginning. He allowed you to have that freedom, but don't think for a second there aren't people waiting for us there."

I wasn't trying to be overly secretive with the apartment, but I didn't advertise it, either. It's irritating as fuck that I didn't realize how closely Minos was having me watched. "We have nowhere else to go."

Ariadne stirs. "That's not true." She leans forward to catch the cab driver's eye. "Do you want to earn a huge fare with one hundred percent tip?"

He laughs a little. "Sure, lady. Where are we headed?"

The address she gives doesn't sound familiar, but from the driver's response, it's some distance. He holds out his hand. "Listen, if you want to go there, I'm going to need half up front."

She sends me a pleading glance; I'm already pulling out my wallet. The amount the driver requests is absurd, but there's no point fighting now. The longer we stay in one place, the easier we are to track. I still don't breathe a sigh of relief as he pulls from the curb and enters into traffic. "Where are you taking us?" I murmur.

"Dionysus has no fewer than three houses in the country." She speaks softly, matching my tone. "They're going to expect us to scurry to your apartment or one of our allies in the upper city. It will take them longer to figure out we've gone outside the city proper. Long enough that we should be able to figure out our next steps and anticipate theirs."

It's hardly a foolproof plan, but it's better than what I have. I lean back against the seat and hiss out a breath when my wound makes contact. The bleeding has slowed, but I'm pretty sure the bullet is still embedded in my muscles. It sure as fuck feels like it. My shirt is plastered to my back; it's going to be a bitch to get off.

We've barely gone six blocks before my phone starts buzzing. I need Ariadne's help to pull it out, and when I see the name flashing there, I curse. Hermes. "Now isn't a good time."

"That's quite the hostile greeting, and when I come bearing gifts, too. How thoughtless."

I almost hang up then and there, but our list of allies is rapidly shrinking, and while I would never be foolish enough to list Hermes among them, she's the only chance I have to bring the barrier down. Or, more accurately, to bring it down on my schedule instead of Circe's.

"Being shot puts some motherfuckers in a bad mood. You didn't answer when I called earlier."

"I was busy," she says blithely. "But now isn't a good time for you to leave the city. I need you here. I found the last component we need to bring down the barrier. We can do it. Tonight."

Tonight.

I thought I wanted it to happen soon, but now that it's on the horizon, I feel so unprepared. I don't have my shit. I don't have any weapons beyond a single gun with a single clip. I have an exhausted Ariadne and an Icarus who's likely in shock with me. Bringing them is out of the question, but I have nowhere to put them, either. "It's going to have to wait."

"Can't wait. This is our chance. I can probably do it myself, but you said you wanted in, and I'm not above using the tools available to me."

Telling her why I'm hesitating means trusting her in a way I'm not prepared to do. But I don't see how I have any other choice. "I have Ariadne and Icarus with me."

"Ohhh." She manages to stretch those two letters into three syllables. "Why didn't you just say so? Easy-peasy answer there. They can hide out while we get this done. I'll text you an address—or rather, two. One for you. One for them. See you in an hour." She hangs up before I can think of an argument.

Within seconds, two texts come through. Two addresses, just like I was promised. One is on the north side of the theater district. The other is to the east, tucked in the outskirts of the shipyard. I stare at them for several beats too long and curse.

Me: Which is which?

Hermes: You, shipyard. Them, other. Code is 69420.

Fuck, but I don't trust her. Unfortunately, I don't have any other choice. I catch the cab driver's eye. "Change of plans. Keep the change, but I need you to drop me here and take them to this address." I rattle off the one in the theater district. As much as I want to go with them, if I only have an hour, I need to get to the other location—and fast.

Ariadne grabs my arm. "What are you doing? You've been shot ."

"We might not get another chance like this. If I'm with Hermes when she brings the barrier down, then I know when it's coming down. If we don't escape in the direct aftermath, we might not be able to do it at all."

"Then I'm coming with you."

Fuck no. My woman isn't trained the same way I am, and if whatever Hermes has planned is dangerous at all, it means Ariadne will be in danger. She's not ruthless like I am. She's not a fucking killer like I am, either. If she came with me, she'd be a walking target, and that I can't allow.

I open my mouth to shut this shit down but pause. She's staring at me with shining dark eyes and worry written across her pretty features. She's not demanding to accompany me because of some arrogant reason—she's afraid for me.

I take a ragged breath and fight the pain from my voice. "No, sweetheart. We're going to do this quick and dirty, and if you come, you could get hurt."

"Or you could distract him so he gets hurt," Icarus pipes in.

I glare at him. He's trying to help, but fuck if I want her to worry any more than she's going to. "I am not going to be hurt."

"You've been shot."

I swallow down my frustration and pain. "I'll get patched up before doing anything else— if you promise to go directly to this address and stay there."

Ariadne searches my face. "Come back to me."

"I will. I promise."

"Okay." I don't like the way her shoulders slump in defeat, but she nods and that has to be enough. "I'll go to the house. I'll stay there. I promise, too."

"Thank you." I hook the back of her neck and drag her into a quick kiss. "I'm going to text you the code. Do your best to get in without being seen. I'll call you—not text—as soon as I have a timeline."

"Stay safe. We haven't come this far for you to sacrifice yourself nobly."

I force myself to smile because I know it will reassure her. "Haven't you figured it out by now, sweetheart? I don't have a noble bone in my body." I point at the curb. "Drop me here. You've been paid, so get them where they need to go." I let my tone deliver the threat I don't speak explicitly.

The driver holds up his hands. "I've been paid. You got nothing to worry about from me, mister." He pulls to the curb too fast, the movement throwing me back against the seat. My wound screams in agony, but I just grit my teeth and push through it. There will be time to bandage me up later. Hopefully.

I step out onto the sidewalk and watch as the cab pulls back into traffic. It takes no time at all to send the code to Ariadne. She responds with a string of emojis, which don't mean a damn thing except that she's trying to reassure me in her own way. I hate letting her out of my sight, but there's no other way.

It takes longer than I'd like to flag down another cab, and as a result, it's almost exactly an hour later when I walk through the door of the address Hermes gave me.

At first, I think I'm in the wrong place. This little building is dingy in a way that suggests no one has walked through it in a decade or two. Dust is coated thick on the floor, and the ceiling is more cobwebs than not.

Did she set me up?

"I bet you're wondering if I set you up." Hermes's laughter fills the space. "Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly."

I almost turn around and walk out right then and there. Working with Hermes wouldn't be worth the headache if not for the proven fact that she can take care of business. But I don't have a choice. One by one, my avenues have been closed to me. Minos is hunting us. It's only a matter of time before the Olympians are, too.

There's nothing to do but walk deeper into the building. I get the sense that it was an office space at one point, but it's hard to tell. "I thought you said time is of the essence. Why are you playing games?"

"Life is too short, Minotaur. You have to get your kicks where you can. And I like when people underestimate me. It allows me the element of surprise."

Impossible to determine where she is. The open space makes sound bounce strangely. I resign myself to this experience and keep moving. "I don't fuck with that. If people underestimate you, then they're always trying you. If they're scared of you, they don't try you at all."

"A difference of opinion." She steps out of a shadowy doorway on the other side of the room. And promptly sneezes. "Gods, I know Poseidon likes to stay in his hidey hole, but would it kill him to send a maid through these outbuildings from time to time?"

I look around again with renewed interest. "This is one of his buildings?"

"It was. Long time ago. This isn't the city center or the shipyards or the university, so people like to pretend it doesn't exist." There's something in her voice, something that sounds almost like memory. She beams at me before I can confidently nail it down. "You look like absolute shit. Rough day?"

"You could say that."

"Well, I need you in tiptop shape, so get in here and let's patch you up. We have a little bit of time before we can move anyway."

I reluctantly follow her through the doorway into a room that makes me question what the space I just left was. Because it's set up like a dorm room, with two faded twin beds pressed up against opposite walls and a doorway that leads into a bathroom. At least the dust isn't as bad in here. "What is this place?"

"It doesn't matter anymore." She grabs my arm and I allow her to lead me into the bathroom. Hermes crouches down and pulls a sparkling new first aid kit from beneath the sink. At my look of confusion, she shrugs. "You never know when you might need something like this. A smart person would keep them stashed around the city so they're never far away."

I shake my head. "You're Hermes, party girl and irreverent trickster. According to MuseWatch, you've never been in a proper fight." There have been some drunken brawls, but the videos of those events seem like she's having the time of her life, not intent on hurting anyone.

"You did your homework on me. Cute." She lays out various tools from the first aid kit. It's far more loaded than any first aid kit I've ever seen before. She points at my shirt. "That's dried to your wound, hasn't it?"

"Stop dodging my questions."

"Maybe you should start actually asking questions instead of just making statements." She tugs my jacket off, and I consider fighting her, but I really do need this taken care of. So I hold still while she peels my shirt off and whistles under her breath. "You're lucky. A couple inches either way, and he would've shattered your scapula. Or your shoulder. Messy, messy."

I let her guide me to a stool I hadn't noticed before. "Why do you have first aid kits stashed all over the city, Hermes?"

"I'm only going to answer you because you're about to be in excruciating pain and I don't need you to flinch away or punch me. Ready?" She doesn't wait for a response before fiery pain shoots through me as she starts digging out the bullet. But true to her word, she starts talking. "Everyone thinks that I'm practically magic. It suits me for them to believe that I can come and go from any place at any time."

I grunt, but there's not enough air in my lungs to form a reply. Thankfully, she doesn't appear to need one.

"It takes a lot of work to look so effortless, and it's not easy to live a life of sneakery. Sometimes I get hurt, but I wouldn't be a very good mysterious Hermes if I was constantly going to the hospital to get patched up. So I do it myself."

It makes sense. And yet I'm left with more questions than answers. "Why do it at all?"

"No one tells the truth in Olympus. Only a fool takes everything at face value and doesn't delve deeper for the secrets. They're more valuable than money."

The pain of her digging around my back has black spots dancing across my vision. I take several deep breaths until they retreat. "How do you know Circe?"

"Got it!" There's a clink as she drops the bullet into the sink. "You didn't even pass out. The first time I had to take a bullet out, I passed out twice before I managed it. Granted, I was doing it to myself, but you're still impressive." She pats my shoulder.

I could press her on the Circe question, but the truth doesn't really matter. I plan to get the fuck out of the city before whatever secrets are revealed and sins are called due. "What now?"

"Now, my dear Minotaur, we're going to take a trip to the catacombs." I start to twist to face her, but she smacks the back of my head. "Hold still. I know what you're about to say anyway." Her voice drops, and she does an eerily accurate mimicry of my voice. "Hermes, I didn't know that Olympus has catacombs."

I open my mouth, but apparently she doesn't need me to hold an entire conversation by herself. She answers in her normal voice. "Most people don't know that Olympus has catacombs, Minotaur. There's been a lot of knowledge about this city lost over the years… Unless you know where to look for it."