9. Sam
9
SAM
W hat was it I should do? I hadn’t been able to sleep all night, and now I couldn’t stop wearing out a hole in the floor as I paced back and forth in my small but elegant bedroom. All I could see was Herme’s strong face, his wide shoulders, and that smile that melted my very being.
I had to do something. I was going fucking stir-crazy in here. It was my prophecy, but how could I go on the quest if I were stuck inside all day, hiding from the organization I had to help stop?
From heaven fire will rain – from below a sunken terrain. Pacts are shattered – no friends remain – the world will slide to the insane. If vines there be then vines can save and keep the secret safe away. Earth and vines were the territory of an Elemental. But what could I do with my meager abilities? Vines? My mother could scatter morning glory seeds and have a full, bushy vine in a matter of seconds. She could coax them right out of the ground and blossom in an instant. That kind of magic was hard on the plants and diminished their life. But she could do it.
I couldn’t. How was I supposed to save my mate if I were a total fuckup with no power to save him? I could throw a punch… kind of. But in a fight, what good would I be? I’d only be in the way.
I would lose him.
Then I would lose myself. The end of the world – the end of my world would be the moment he was no longer here.
That was insane. I’d just met him, but when your fated mate crossed your path, nothing had to make sense anymore. The only thing that mattered was him, and he was fucking dreamy. That wavy hair that I needed to run my fingers through passionately was a thing of beauty.
Tonight. I just had to get to tonight and we would be together again. That’s what he said.
God, he made me nervous. He was an immortal being, and for the first time, I had no doubt about it. Gods were real and walked among us. How silly it was that I didn’t believe it right away. Were all the heartthrobs in the world some form of god? It’d be easy to believe.
I had to get to tonight.
What could I do to settle my mind and stop that prophecy from spinning around in my head?
Tim had said there was a package delivered to my office. What was inside it? Maybe it was something that was important to the stupid prophecy? He had said it was a package from The Truth. What if someone there was trying to help us – to give us information? Or what if it wasn’t from them at all? He had said he couldn’t see much – all he knew was there was a package, and he assumed who it was from because of the man waiting for me. A trap? But maybe not. Maybe the two were not the same.
Maybe it was the thing that could save Hermes. The thing that could help me to save my love could be sitting in a box on my desk. Maybe it was just something I ordered online.
I was being watched, but they didn’t know where I was. They also didn’t know my office the way I did. They didn’t know my new friends, either. Kitty could get in, and no one would notice. Syke was a changeling who could take on the form of anyone he had ever met. Things were different because of that, right?
I was stupid and rash. I had no idea what I was doing or who was waiting in the shadows to capture me. But I knew in my heart that I couldn’t stay in this room any longer. It was a chance. A stupid and Hail Mary type of chance, and I had to take it. I had to know.
I opened my door, and Kitty was curled in front of it, pretending to nap. “I know you’re awake. It was your turn to watch me, huh?”
She stretched and morphed. “We’re just trying to keep you safe.”
“Is Syke around?”
“Yeah. He just got back from somewhere about an hour ago. Wanna go see him?” She stood up.
“I want to see both of you.” I grinned maniacally.
“Alright. I think he’s in the study.” She tilted her head, and I followed her. “You were pacing. It was very loud.”
“You didn’t have to sit outside my door. I’ve seen the security here. I think I’m safe.”
“You have no idea how important you are. Only you can stop the prophecy by fulfilling your part in the prophecy.”
“I'm afraid I’m going to be a disappointment,” I whined. “But I have an idea.”
She took me down the hall and up another set of stairs. God, this place was massive. How many floors were there? I hadn’t been able to explore since I was hiding, and Eros didn’t want the wrong person to see me. We walked down a small hallway where there was only one small door at the end. She didn’t stop to knock before opening it and stepping aside.
“I think he’s finally made a decision,” she laughed throatily.
“About time. What is it?” Syke morphed into Apollo and stuck his tongue out at me. “What’s your idea?”
I told them about what Tim had told me, and they just looked at each other.
“You want to know what’s in the box?” Syke morphed back into himself. It was freaky and very cool at the same time.
“He said it was a package, so it could be a box.” I shrugged.
“It’s always a box. Don’t ask me why,” Kitty giggled.
“She hopes it’s a box. She likes to curl up inside them,” Syke teased.
“I have to know what’s in there. What if it’s something that could help us? It feels like it’s a clue, and we’re just trying to ignore it.”
“Someone is waiting for you. That means it’s dangerous.” Syke nodded and bit his bottom lip. “Apollo and Eros will be really annoyed if we do this. But… I agree. You need to have all the information. Do you have any pictures of the people you work with? A janitor or assistant that no one would pay much attention to. I need a new face if we’re gonna do this.” He stood up and stretched his long arms above his head.
“Apollo stole my phone so I couldn’t be tracked. I could show them to you if you could pull up the internet. Jake has Valley Tok, and he’s got access to the entire building since he’s maintenance. I think he’d be the right choice. He usually only comes in after four. So, if we time it right, he wouldn’t be there when you are.”
He handed me his phone, and I quickly pulled up the app, typed in Jake O’Reilly, and clicked on his photo. Syke took the phone back and grinned. “Irish and hot. I like it.” He morphed into an exact replica of maintenance man Jake.
“So you’ll do it? You’ll help me.”
Syke smiled. “All you had to do was ask. We’re family now.”
And that’s how I found myself in an ugly wig with large black glasses. Kitty had a collection of costumes that they used to use back in the day when they were being burglars.
“Stop adjusting the wig. It’s perfect.” Kitty rolled her eyes.
“People are going to think I’m dressed up for Halloween,” I moaned, feeling like an idiot. Maybe I was being punked.
“Trust me, no one ever notices the homeless and people who are difficult on the eye. The best way to stay under the radar is to think you’re above it. Be the eyesore, and people will always look elsewhere.” Kitty slapped me on the shoulder.
“She speaks nothing but the truth.” Syke grinned in his Jake O’Reilly skin suit.
“Do you remember how to get into the office?” I asked as we hid around the corner from the five-story building I had spent too much time in for the last couple of years.
“Third level, fourth door to the right down the hallway. I got it. Trust me, kid.” Kitty morphed into her cat form and wagged her tail as she slinked along the building.
Syke looked at me seriously, put his hand on my shoulder, and squeezed. “You sure you want to come? It would be safer for you to stay outside. No harm, no foul. I get it.”
“It’s my quest. I think I have to, don’t you?” I was trying hard to stop my knees from shaking. It was fucking scary walking in there when you knew someone meant to hurt you or kidnap you.
“God, if I get you captured, Eros will divorce me.” He grinned wickedly. “Kidding. He couldn’t live without me, but I know he’d be pissed. Come on. Keep your head up and act like you belong.”
“Got it.” I lied. I had nothing. I was hoping to stay behind them unless I had to run in front of them.
We walked around the corner, and I pulled the blazer around me tightly. It was as hideous as the wig. Did anyone wear velour anymore? I looked like a reject from Boogie Nights.
Syke threw the door open and waved at the attendant. I walked behind him and kept my eyes focused on his back. God, I was so fucking nervous that my legs felt like spaghetti. I was heading into danger, and the most dangerous situation I had ever been in was an orgy at the baths when I first moved here. The floors were very slippery.
It was also exciting, and I hated that part of me liked it. I needed to do something – anything to suppress the thoughts inside my head of our impending doom.
Kitty stood at the top of the stairs and wagged her tail. That was our sign that all was clear.
“Come on. The stairs are safe.” Syke headed to the small stairway that no one ever took. The building had elevators, and no one ever chose to walk up the narrow stairs. So far, the plan had been going well. I hoped I wasn’t fooling myself.
We followed Kitty to the third floor, and she placed her paw on Syke’s shoe. “Kitty goes first.” He cracked the door, and she slid through.
We waited. After a few minutes, we heard a soft scratching on the door. Syke cracked it once again, and Kitty slid through. She morphed and stayed crouched down. “There’s a man sitting in the office across the hall.”
“Tall guy? Smells bad?” I asked. “That’s Marvin. He’s one of our producers.”
“That’s not Marvin. It might wear his form, but whatever or whoever is in that room is not human. It’s something I’ve never smelled before.”
“Alright, then… That changes things. If there’s some powerful being waiting for you, I’m not sure that we can proceed. What do you mean it wears his form? Is he like me?” Syke but his bottom lip and tan his fingers through Jake’s messy hair.
“Doesn’t smell like you or any other shifter I’ve met. He smells like rotten eggs.”
“Magic. I’ve heard Eros talking about it with Loki and Apollo. Dark magic has a bad smell, like rotten eggs or burned hair. What does that mean?” Syke looked between us, and we both shrugged.
“I mean… It’s possible that he… He might be a golem. My grandmother used to talk about them. They only have one purpose. If it is a golem, its purpose is you,” she said quietly and pointed to me. “It would take powerful magic to create one. They only do the task the creator gave them, and they won’t stop until it’s finished.” Kitty looked like she was about to return to her cat form and run away.
I swallowed hard. “Great… Now what?”
“We still go forward with the plan.” Syke nodded. “If the golem is really here for you, then let’s give it something to chase. I can always transform again and slip away. I just have to keep some distance between it and myself.” Syke shifted into a perfect representation of me. It was alarming.
“Syke, no. It could be too dangerous,” Kitty whined.
“She’s right,” I said sternly. “You have a kid.”
“I also have a life that would be destroyed if all of this comes to pass. We have to know if there is something on your desk that could help us at all. But it could also be a trap, I guess. No matter what happens, do not open that box until we’re someplace safe. Understood?” Syke looked at me sternly.
“Yes. Are you sure?” If I were him, I would have totally backed out.
“No, and that means yes!” He opened the door and walked quickly down the hallway. Kitty and I followed behind just enough to stay out of the way. We watched him stop and wave to whoever was inside the office, and then he headed back towards us. We pushed ourselves into an open doorway.
There was a bang from the other office.
Syke/me came barreling down the hallway and rounded the corner quickly. Marvin, or the golem version of him, lumbered behind, and we knew we only had this one chance. I dashed to my office door and grabbed the small box that I had never seen before, which sat on top of the middle of my desk. I stuck it in my pocket, and Kitty and I headed back down the hallway towards the stairs.
Marvin came into view, and we ran right into Syke, who was running to the door himself.
“Come on. That thing is faster than it looks.” He threw open the door, and we ran down the stairs. As we descended onto the first floor, we heard the third-floor door to the stairs bang shut.
“Fuck. He knows how to walk downstairs.” Syke laughed. “Come on. We have to lose him.”
“Golems don’t get tired. They never stop., Kitty shouted as we ran out the front door.
“Then we have to hide.” Syke laughed as we dashed across the street and into an alley. He quickly fished something out of his pocket and bent down over a manhole cover. “Old habits die hard.” He stuck the tool in the cover and pulled it open. I had never scurried down a hole so fast in my life. Syke pulled the cover back into place, and we were plunged into darkness.
“Home sweet home. I think I’ve missed the place,” Syke laughed and morphed back into himself as we descended the ladder. “We used to live down here. We’ll take the underground around and come up a couple of miles away. He’ll never find us.”
“Did it always smell this bad?” Kitty wrinkled her nose.
“Yes, but so did we. Do you have the box?” Syke asked.
I heard Kitty’s feet hit the ground, and I landed shortly after her. It was pitch black down here.
“I do.” I grinned. “Hopefully, it’s not a bomb.” I pulled it out of my pocket and showed it to them. Syke flicked his lighter and looked at it.
“It smells like the Earth. I don’t think it’s a trap. I think it might be a coincidence. Maybe the box just happened to be there at the same time as the golem. Tim didn’t know. Maybe?”
“Or it’s a trap. We’ll open it when we’re safe and not a moment before. If there’s something bad in that box, I think we should be somewhere safer,” Syke ordered.
I looked and saw my mother’s handwriting on the box. My work address is in her scrawl, but more than that, it is my name. Samueli, as she called me. “No, it’s… It’s from my mother. I am sure of it. No one else would know what she calls me. It’s safe. I promise.”
I shook it gently and could hear the rustling from inside. Mom was always trying to get me to connect to my abilities as an Elemental and was always trying to help me. Seeds. I knew what was inside. And for a brief second, I knew that when I opened them, I would discover that they were the seeds of vines. I just knew.
“Maybe things are looking up,” I grimaced.
I still wasn’t sure I could ever get them to grow if I needed to.
I had never been able to before.
We made our way down the sewer tunnel. It was disgustingly gross.
“You all really used to live down here?” I asked, trying to understand.
“Let me tell you a story…”