I heard men shout as Ryder’s power rained down on them, but I didn’t stick around to watch the damage. I turned to the right and started sprinting as fast as my flip-flops sliding across polished tile would let me.
Ryder’s body was at my back, his palm pressing into the small of my back and his quick footsteps right behind mine. We skirted along the baggage check-ins, knocking over line markers and anything else in our way.
Just as I felt pressure build behind us, like either Hades or Ares had released a power of their own, Ryder guided me to a sharp left and we ducked out of the way just in time.
With more open space in front of us, we took off running as fast as we could. Ryder was in Toms, so his running was much easier than mine. I slid all over the place. Eventually I ditched my cheap shoes.
I kicked them off, letting my bare feet slap against the cold tile. I heard a commotion behind us and I knew that the gods and their giants had caught up to us.
My breathing wheezed in my chest. What would I do if they caught us? How long would I give myself to fight?
This was the end of the line. I could feel it.
We had nowhere else to go.
Security showed up in front of us. They flooded the airport like a SWAT team. I reared back, afraid they would shoot us.
Ryder spun around and I went with him. Giants behind us, human security in front of us. We were in an airport without tickets and Ryder’s Bronco was trapped back in long term parking.
“What do we do?” I panted quietly. Security started shouting at us to raise our hands and lie down face first on the ground. “Ryder!”
“Hermes,” Ryder answered quickly. Only it wasn’t a response to my question. It was a call for help.
Nothing happened.
My voice was a choked plea, “Hermes.”
He appeared in front of us as quickly as I said his name. His mouth was twisted into a smug grin until he took in our position. “Oh,” he mumbled. He stepped between Ryder and me and put his arms around our shoulders while airport security tried to reconcile the man that had just appeared in front of them from thin air. Hermes turned to Ares and Hades and the cocky smile reappeared on his face. “Brothers,” he gloated as a greeting.
Chapter Twelve
“Messenger!” Hades shouted at him. “We will see you soon, little brother. You cannot keep us out.”
“Race you there,” Hermes laughed.
Hades’ face contorted with rage just before he disappeared. Or really, I disappeared. Hermes had moved us. One second we stood in the middle of a very volatile situation in the middle of the Kansas City airport; the next my bare feet were buried in warm sand and a Mediterranean breeze tickled my naked arms. I blinked up at a bright sun and cloudless sky. I could hear ocean waves crash against a rocky coastline and seagulls call to each other overhead.
Clearly we were not on a mountain. But maybe Mount Olympus was metaphorical?
I shrugged out of Hermes’ hold and turned to face him. “This is not Olympus.”
“Oh? And you’ve been to Olympus before?” Hermes taunted.
“This is a beach!” I countered.
“I thought you liked the beach,” he tossed back.
“I love the beach. Do you want to find out how much?” I started walking backwards toward the sound of the water rushing against rock and wet beach only to watch Hermes throw up a frantic hand to stop me.
“You’ve made your point. Enough.”
I raised an eyebrow and wondered how much damage I could cause in this much water. Looking out at the glistening surface of the body of water that stretched out from several yards away to the horizon, I felt the natural surge of power in my blood that came from the close proximity. I’d felt the same rush every morning on the island. I would wake to a thrumming in my veins and a quickened pulse.
You’re home, my blood would sing.
This is where you belong, my heart would beat.
I trusted my reaction to the water about as much as I trusted Nix.
