8. Hermes
8
HERMES
“ A lright, hold that beam in place,” I ordered a few of the guys helping me to bend the metal for the structure. I had been trying to find ways to slow the process down, but it was getting harder to do. I had twice as many guys as I needed, and the structure was growing rapidly. I tried to break the machines, and they were fixed quickly. Nothing I did slowed us down for long.
My mind wasn’t in it. My heart was pounding with him – for him – the one who I had given up any hope of finding. Sam… It was a beautiful name. He was beautiful. So tall and thin with a bright smile and the prettiest green eyes. I could have lost myself for years in his gaze. I hoped I would get the chance. Tonight, nothing would keep me from him. I needed to know how his skin felt under my fingertips.
“Too much, Den!” Someone shouted. “You put too much pressure on it.”
“Bring me another one, then!” I spat angrily. Of course, I had done that on purpose.
“Pay attention. You’ve had your head in the clouds all damn day.” They carried over another piece of bronze.
“They were right. How could my head be anywhere else but where it was? To have your universe collapse and then expand larger than you ever thought it would in the blink of an eye was absolutely insane. Meeting your mate was jaw-dropping in every way.
I didn’t know him at all, which was weird when you really thought about it. But none of that matters when fate ties your strings together and begins to braid them as one. The power of Eros and the Fates combined to create only one true mate for your existence. For someone of my age, it was also stupid. A flaw in the grand plan of things. A flaw that had even entrapped Eros himself within its web.
If the god of love succumbed to fate’s mate, what choice did I have? Choice? Since meeting him, I had no choice. I would die for him, and the way things were working out, I might have to do that. We now knew their plans but had no idea how to stop them without revealing ourselves and throwing the world into chaos and ruin. We had to think fast. The full moon was fast approaching, and it would be too late by then. Hell, it would be too late if this fucking magical machine was ever finished.
It would be finished too soon.
Life was unfair. I met Sam and had to leave him a few moments later. But that kiss… That kiss was the only thing that was keeping me grounded. I had to get back to him, and nothing would stop me from sneaking out of here tonight. Nothing.
“Where is he?” Medea’s dulcet tones assaulted my ears.
“Looking for me?” I stopped the machine mid-bend. It might ruin the metal and that was just fine to me.
“The third level is still not finished.”
“We’re working on it now.”
“The shipment arrives in two days, and we have to be ready to start on the top as soon as it arrives. We doubled the manpower. Why is it still in pieces?”
“You doubled the number of workers, but we still only have so many machines with which to angle the metal. There are only so many men that will fit on the structure at one time. It’s a process, but we’re on track. What do you want me to do?”
“I want it done sooner than that. On time is late, do you understand me?”
“I hear you, but we’re doing our best.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she pushed her bony finger into my chest. “I will tell you when you’re doing your best. If this isn’t finished by tomorrow, Denny, you will discover that it’s best not to cross me. Understand?” Her eyes crackled with power. A mortal would never have noticed that, and I gulped, trying to play my role as best I could.
I should grab her and disappear with the witch right now and take her back where she belonged. Let Tarturus deal with her. But I would not be powerful enough if she used her magic against me. I was fast, but with a thought, she could match me. Maybe even best me.
I was going to have a long talk with Circe and Hecate when I next saw them. This was all their fault. And, of course, they were nowhere to be found. big surprise.
“I understand. We really are on track to finish on time.” I held up my hands in defeat. “But I’ll try to have it done sooner.”
“I’m glad you are finally starting to understand.” With a whirl of her silk skirt, she stormed back out the way she came.
“Dude? She is fucking scary.” One of the other guys whistled. “I almost shit my pants.”
“You have no idea. I need a minute,” I muttered as I walked out of the construction site and over to the woods to clear my head.
I had to think of something. I needed to stop this before Sam got involved. If I lost him – if something happened to him – the world might as well end. My life would. I knew in my heart that I would choose to fade into darkness. How could I live knowing I almost had it all?
“Deep in thought? I could have snuck up on you and stabbed you in the back.” Petey’s voice broke my reverie.
“Petey. What are you doing out here? I thought you were cycled out today. Take a break when you can. It’s gonna be a rough couple of days.” I turned and looked behind me. Petey was nowhere to be seen. “Where are you?”
“She’s still a giant pain in the ass.”
“That she is, I…” It was the way he said it, as if he knew, that caught my attention. I stiffened.
“You really are smitten badly, aren’t you? I’m over here on the other side of the fence, dumbass.” I looked through the chain link and saw Petey standing in the field a few feet away as if he were hiding in the tall grass. “I thought it’d be better to wear someone else, just in case.”
“There are cameras everywhere.”
“Exactly, and he is actually outside camp tying one on at a shitty Irish bar. So, if they see me, they actually only see him.”
“Why are you here, Loki?”
“How the hell did that witch get celestial bronze? I thought the forges of the Cyclops were no more.”
“I don’t know how she’s doing any of this.”
“We have to stop that shipment. If it comes through town, I have all my people on it. The bronze cannot be delivered to her. Understand?”
“Is my time here at an end?” I asked hopefully. “The danger has only grown.”
“Yes, I heard the prophecy, but until we know for sure that we have time – that this is over – I have to ask you to stay. Without someone on the inside, we’ll be blind.”
“I’ll stay, but… Things have gotten more complicated. I found my mate.”
“The bonds of true love only strengthen everything we’ve started here, and the bonds of a God are even more important to keep the veil strong.”
“If anything happens to me – protect him. Understand?”
“We have been partners in this and in tricking your brother to see what had been right in front of him all along. I will not let anything happen to him. He’s quite handsome for a mortal. He looks a lot like you.”
“Does he?” I had never thought about that. “I trust you, even if part of me knows that you only care about yourself. But in this, you have been my ally.”
“As you have mine. I couldn’t leave the city to fend for itself, so I brought you on board. Let’s stop that shipment so we can buy ourselves enough time to figure out a way to end it for good. If it comes to war, Hermes, we will lose.”
“I know. The veil cannot fall.”
Loki turned and disappeared into the tall grass. I stood there, and the only thing I could think about was how I was going to sneak out tonight. Nothing could keep me from Sam. Not even the end of the world.