89. Hermes Hive #2
The first time he came to Hermes' Hive, he was five and fresh out of the porneion district. He recalled bits and pieces of that day. His stuffy nose. How the tears wouldn't stop. The soft embrace of the courtesans as they prayed away his mother's bad luck before bidding farewell.
He later learned that the person who came for him that night and led him down this dark corridor was Demeter. Apparently, she had won him as a 'price for shame' after her case against Poseidon.
He stopped before a simple wooden door, released a long breath, then knocked.
The door swung open, revealing a bright corridor that forced him to squint.
To the left and right were more doors, evenly spaced and vastly different in design.
He stopped before the fifteenth door. This time, he didn't need to knock.
He placed his hand on its cold, steel surface, hoping his access hadn't been scrubbed yet.
To his relief, the door slid open to reveal a large hall bustling with activities.
As he walked in, some workers looked up.
Others acknowledged him with a nod while the rest remained focused on their task.
Scroll sorters. Crate movers. Aether stone suppliers.
Weapons and tools. All had their sections in the Hive.
Above the organised chaos was a mezzanine with a single door.
"Akrivi?"
He tore his eyes from the door to see Atalanta approaching. Her long twin braids were curled atop her head like horns, and her chubby face practically shone with how brightly she smiled. She never wore that smile as an instructor in Drys Valon.
"Where have you been?" She cradled his face, her eyes soft with concern. "I expected you back at Drys Valon. The hearing went well, I heard. Lonian came back without you."
Akrivi looked away, massaging the back of his neck. "I dropped out."
"What? Why?"
He never had plans to remain at the school. His desire was to run away from the start.
"Shouldn't you know?" he asked. They were in the information business after all. And it wasn't like Ares taking him in exchange for Perseus' brother was a secret. Hermes was there that day.
"You know that isn't my department. What happened?"
He gave a brief explanation, careful to keep what he knew of Medusa out of it. The moment a secret leaves the safety of his head, it becomes fair game to information brokers who were probably eavesdropping on their conversation.
"So now you're scared your father will seek you out?"
"He is not my father."
Atalanta raised her hands. "Fair point. I'm guessing you wish to see master Hermes."
Akrivi had thought of escaping to the land beyond the plains of Tartarus, but after giving it much thought, he discarded the idea. He needed somewhere safer. Since the Moirai vanished, he felt suddenly exposed and aware of his many vulnerabilities.
Atalanta gestured for him to follow.
"You don't think he'd be displeased that I showed up unannounced?"
She waved off his words as she took the stairs at a leisurely pace. "He seems to be in a good mood lately."
Akrivi sighed, relieved.
"The boys at supply miss you. Now and then, they frustrate Dachtylídi's cargo. Little delays and such."
"How long's the delay?"
"One to two weeks."
Akrivi laughed, pleased with their attempts to punish the Dachtylídi merchants. His mother's family were scum and deserved whatever misfortune came their way, even though they'd probably shrug it off with money.
Finally, they reached the door, and it opened as if it anticipated their arrival.
The room was still the same wide, pristine space.
Weapons, strange tools, and vases of different designs sat in lit glass cases.
Along the walls were expansive, moving murals of golden fish swimming in shimmering shades of blue.
The air was pleasantly cool and smelled of clary sage.
When he was younger, it was his dream to have a study like this, and it still was.
Hermes sat relaxed in a cushioned high-back chair with his legs resting on his neatly arranged desk and an open book in his grip. A watching globe sat on a wrought-iron stand to his right; he must have seen him the instant he knocked at the front door.
"You shouldn't be here," he said in his usual bored tone.
"I know."
"Do you?" He lifted his eyes and fixed him with an even gaze.
"I feared he would come for me. Queen Otrera said so."
"Then you should have gone to Demeter. Not me."
"I tried. She is not at home. And I feared my presence would put Drys Valon in danger if I went there."
"Naturally, you came to my place of business because Poseidon is not insane enough to burn my Hive in search of his son?"
Akrivi gulped. "Forgive me."
"Forgive?" Hermes dropped the book face down and peered at Akrivi. "I'm guessing you're hoping I'll smuggle you out of the continent. Keep you hidden somewhere safe."
"Not for free." Akrivi quickly retrieved one of his portal stones and placed it on the desk.
Hermes gave it a dry glance and lifted an eyebrow.
"It has similar properties to aether conductors used for portal doors, but with deviations I introduced." He wasn't sure if Hermes was on the Moirai's side, so he intended to keep his continental travel stone a secret for now. "I was able to create a portal stone."
Now he had Hermes' full attention. He could tell by the way he wove his fingers and slightly cocked his head to the right. "You finally succeeded?"
Akrivi smiled, quite proud of himself. "I gained access to a good supply of aether stones some months back. Desperation and several expensive trials also helped."
Hermes stared at the stone in silence, appearing deep in thought. Then he looked up. "Sit."
Akrivi's heart raced as he complied. This was the first time in his life Hermes offered him a seat in his study. Surely, this meant a deal was coming. Right?
"Does it work perfectly?"
Akrivi nodded, his mind still racing with the fact that Hermes was treating him like a possible business partner. "Yes. I used them in Drys Valon multiple times. Even with another person, a single stone sufficed."
Hermes tapped a finger on his desk, still staring at the stone. "I would need a demonstration."
Akrivi went about it immediately, placing a mirror stone at the opposite end of the room, then reappearing in the spot after walking a distance away and triggering the stone in his grip.
Hermes watched the display with the same dry expression. Was he impressed? He had to be since he offered me a seat.
"It covers up to twenty-five dyor-akona," Akrivi added weakly. Should he have shown him the continental travel stone instead?
"Is that so?" Hermes balanced his jaw on his closed fist, his blond locks shifting across his forehead. He continued tapping a finger on his desk. "You intend to use this breakthrough of yours as payment for my helping you?"
Akrivi needed help, but that didn't mean he would surrender to a bad bargain. If there was anything he could trust, it was Hermes' inability to forgo an opportunity to grow his already unfathomable wealth.
"I want a cut in the portal stone trade as well."
A small frown squeezed Hermes' brow. "This greedy brat."
"I am mortal," Akrivi hurried to explain. "My life is a passing wind compared to your long existence. I only ask that my gains remain for the duration of my lifetime and half of that up to my third generation."
"He already speaks of grandchildren." Hermes cocked his head, amusement shining in his amber eyes. "What if you suddenly decide to become a low deity? Then I am shackled to a business partner for all eternity."
"That will not happen."
"Now he speaks with a certainty of the future." He chuckled dryly before nodding. "Very well. For your mortal life, I shall give you forty per cent of the proceeds."
"Forty?!" Akrivi cleared his throat and lowered his tone. "This generosity... why?"
"I have my reasons," he said casually. "Where do you wish to hide from your father?"
He is not my father. But Akrivi swallowed the complaint. It never worked with Hermes anyway.
"Take me to Hades."
Hermes raised his brow at that. "You wish to pass the Styx border?"
"I heard there's a way to bypass that. Something about a portal door."
Hermes shook his head as he retrieved the book. "I close my eyes for a moment, and my secrets are strewn about."
"Demeter told me."
"Of course, she did." He flipped a page. "I can only help you with the door and a passage up to the gates of his domain. Anything more than that is too steep a request."
"That much is fine." Akrivi bowed. This went far better than he had hoped. "Thank you."
Hermes waved. "Provide the portal stone formula, sign for the contract and be gone before the ink dries. The sooner you're out of my Hive, the better for us all." Then he muttered something along the lines of 'burdensome' and 'Demeter."
The contract included a line about the stone being exclusive to Hermes' Hive. Should he leak the creation method to a third party... death. After signing the contract, he waited for the feeling to come. That sense of accomplishment of taking a big step closer to his goal.
There was some happiness, but floating above it and soiling everything with its ominous presence was dread. Even if he gained all the wealth, it would amount to nothing if Poseidon entered the picture. Could he even start a family in the future with such a terror hanging over his head?
But if Medusa succeeds in killing him...
He shook his head. Rumour had it that Poseidon was next to Zeus in power scale.
That ekhidna may have been as strong as the weakest high deity.
That was nothing compared to the power that Poseidon commanded.
Choosing temporary refuge with Hades was a safer option.
"Pleasure doing business." Hermes waved, and the scroll vanished. "Alma will take you to Hades' gate. Remember her?"
"Yes." She was a low deity and one of the supervisors in Supply. Kind but mostly silent.
"Show her the coin and tell her your destination." A sealed wooden box clattered on his desk. "You'll be the one transporting that to her."
The box vanished into Akrivi's pocket.