Hermes' Search

She wasn’t in the woods. He knew that much seconds after he had scanned the woods. Or if she was, she was definitely unconscious, but he didn’t see her or any human shaped heat form in those woods. Maybe she was dead, but he doubted it. If she was kidnapped, like he thought she was, then they wouldn’t have killed her. And depending on how much they knew about the gods, she would be waking up soon.

Hermes decided to double check, and headed for the realm of Hades. He never liked traveling ‘down there’, but it wasn’t the end of the world for him. Well, okay, maybe it was. He found Hades in his palace, speaking with the three fates. Just who Hermes needed to see.

“Well met, brother.” Hades looked up, as if expecting Hermes to appear just then. Hermes rolled his eyes.

“Future interfering again?” He asked, bowing to the three ladies, they all stared at him, and the lady of the future giggled at him. “That means trouble.” Hermes commented.

“What do you need?” Hades asked him.

“Did you get a Katrina something or another over the past little while? She was in Choice with everyone else?” Hermes asked him.

“She’s still alive.” The lady of present answered him before Hades could.

“Where?” He asked, then remembered how frustrating these particular ladies could be.

“Against the rules.” Present answered him. Hermes nodded in resignation.

“Thank you, ladies. Thank you, Hades. I’m sure I’ll stop by to catch up soon enough. Its been a while.” Hermes said, disappearing. So, she was alive.

He assumed she was most likely kidnapped. It certainly seemed that way. His immortal heart squeezed a little bit – it was most likely those trouble makers that were brought up at the immortals’ meeting held by Ari. They might be trouble makers, but they were cunning, and someone would have to outsmart them. Because if that woman, who was completely innocent, turned up dead, then each and every one of them would take a flight with Hermes, and it would not end well. He was thinking of volcanoes.

Hermes made his way back to Choice campus and Toby. He was feeling extremely guilty. All it would have taken was a simple transport by him of Katrina, and he would have known exactly where she was now. Once he had someone’s fingerprint, it was like an automatic beeline to them.

“Anything?” Toby asked when he turned around to see Hermes materialize. Hermes shook his head in response.

“She’s not in the woods, but she’s not dead. Where’d you put the dog?”

“Ari set up a fence for him. He’s outside playing.” Toby responded. “Why, can the dog help?”

“Possibly. It has happened before.” Hermes said, remembering suddenly in ancient history when Artemis had turned a dog into a human. Several times. “Let’s see what Ari wants to do. Where is she?”

“In class.” Toby pointed to the grand hall. Hermes realized that Toby had been manning the desk.

“Playing secretary?”

“Someone needs to be here.” Toby told Hermes. “Otherwise the doors are locked.”

“Why don’t you let me set up a nymph here for you? I’m sure you have stuff at home to do.” Hermes offered, and Toby shook his head.

“No, I’m fine for now. Tomorrow, probably. What could have happened to her?”

“Well, you know how the Trojan war started? The background?

A lot of part gods, gods, and everyone else feels that its necessary to kidnap or capture their enemies in order to gain power.”

“Alexander.” Toby said angrily. “I knew that man was trouble.”

“Yes, it was probably him and his gang. Which means tonight, Ari and I can travel to their normal residencies and see if they’re there.” Hermes said. “But I think that they had an idea what they were doing. It may take a while or a ransom note to get her back.”

“But she’s safe?”

“Most likely.” Hermes agreed. “I don’t think they would kill one woman in cold blood.”

“But they killed those thirty people last year.”

“But they set a fire to do it.” Hermes explained to him. “It’s a lot easier to set a fire than it is for a mortal to look someone in the eyes and stab them, shoot them, asphyxiate them, or even poison them. You establish a sort of personal connection with the captured.”

“Stockholm syndrome?”

“Kind of, sort of. Mortals are, for the most part, wired to not kill their own kind except in anger.” Hermes said. Ari entered the front room, choosing to walk through the door.

“Hey, Hermes. Any news?” Ari asked, and Hermes shook his head.

“We think she was kidnapped.” Toby said. “What can we do to get her back?”

“We’ll think about it.” Ari said, throwing an arm around Toby’s shoulders. “Don’t you worry. We’ll find her. Eventually.”

“Dead or alive? Those guys are pure evil.”

“They’re just... misled.” Ari assured him, then squeezed him. “But whoever did this will pay. You still need to focus on your studies.”

“I know. I just... if I had turned you down, on this, on all of this, I would never have put her in danger.”

“This is not your fault.” Hermes told him sternly. “This is the fault of those people that kidnapped her. Not yours. Understand?”

“Sure.” Toby said reluctantly. “But that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“You feeling bad does nothing for the situation.” Ari pointed out to him. The last thing they needed was a depressed leader. “We should have taken steps to control them before this, instead of warning them.”

“Yeah, again. My fault.” Toby told her.

“Is not. That is our fault.” Ari reassured him. “Now, you hold down the fort here. Hermes is going to search the site where the dog was found, and see if he can find any clues, since he came to your call. And I am going to go finish classes. Tell people that she’s sick, for now.”

“That an order?”

“Yes.” Ari laughed at him, and released him from her grip. “Play some computer games. Your dad isn’t even up yet. I left a note saying you went out for a hike today, so don’t worry about him. Alright?”

“Absolutely.” Toby told her. He was shaking slightly, mostly in anger, but a little in fear. The realm of the gods had just got a lot more threatening.

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