“Fine,” he said again. His mouth watered as he rehearsed the words in his head. “I…prom…mise.”
Hecate raised a brow. “Want to try that again?”
Hermes sighed. “I prom…I prom…ise…I promise.”
Hecate lowered her head and narrowed her eyes. “You had better mean it, because if you don’t, you will ruin Christmas not only for the souls, but the entire world,” she said and then vanished.
Hermes stared at the spot where she’d been, quiet as he processed what she’d said.
“She is so dramatic,” he muttered to himself before pouring the contents of her bag on the floor, gleefully shifting through the pile of old, smelly shoes.
A few things happened at once, all rousing Hermes from his deep sleep.
First, he felt cold. He reached for his blanket but found it wasn’t near. Instead, his hand brushed several strangely shaped things. That was followed by a musty, sour odor that made his stomach turn. He tried to bury his face in the crook of his arm to escape the smell, but then he heard a sound.
It was an incessant thumping and squeaking.
He tried to cover his ears, growling in frustration, assuming Hades and Persephone were fucking next door.
“I don’t know if it’s safe to go at it that hard, Sephy!” he yelled.
It was then he heard a cynical, little laugh.
He opened his eyes, instantly remembering what he’d forgotten—to burn the shoes.
“Fuck!”
He sat up on the hard floor, heart pounding as he came face to face with several small, hairy gremlin-like creatures. Three were bouncing on the bed, two were throwing his newly acquired Alitta platforms back and forth while balancing on the lampshades flanking his bed. Another was swinging back and forth on the crystal chandelier above him.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
Hecate is going to kill me, he groaned, balls shriveling at the thought. She’d probably castrate him unsedated, as was her preference for punishing men.
He scrambled to his feet just as another sound drew his attention. It was a loud splash that came from the bathroom.
He raced into the adjoining room to find the bathtub and sink overflowing. The Kallikantzaroi had turned them into pools, using baubles from the mini tree Persephone had left in his room as flotation devices. They’d also torn the soles and laces out of a few shoes and constructed slides and swings.
“Fuck!” he shouted even louder.
Behind him, there was a loud crash. He whirled to find one of the lamps on the floor, shattered.
Hermes growled and summoned his staff, the caduceus. At the sight of the rod, twined with two snakes, the Kallikantzaroi screeched, clamoring over each other for the door.
At least they recognize when they should be scared, Hermes thought, grinning malevolently. In a golden blaze, he swung his staff in a wide circle, magic building, bursting from the top…
But nothing happened.
His brows slammed down as he shook the rod and tried again. The magic raised the hair on his arms, an electric charge that built and released, barreling toward the tiny creatures huddled against the wall…
And nothing.
“What the fuck,” Hermes snapped, exasperated. His staff was supposed to put people to sleep, but for some reason, it wasn’t working on the gremlins.
The Kallikantzaroi let out a peel of high-pitched laughter. Hermes ground his teeth and wielded his staff like a bat, swinging at the horrible creatures.
They let out a chorus of shrieks and bolted out his bedroom door which he had not realized was open. In the back of his mind, he wondered just how many of these fucking creatures were now roaming the halls of Hades’s palace, though he quickly pushed that thought away.
He could fix this.
