Olympus Drive Book 5: Situation Normal

Chapter 50

Ari

"Hello boys," I say, letting myself into Than's apartment. His sleek greyhounds greet me at the door, five undead dogs, rescued from the race tracks. Than spirited away their ghosts. As they didn't have any humans to join here, they stay with him.

I lean against the door, getting kisses from the dogs and petting their smooth coats.

"Did you miss me? Good boy Milton, has other daddy been talking crap about me?" I ask, kissing the greying muzzles before looking around the flat. Than must be at work. He'll murder me when he gets back. I sigh. This plus the brick. I'll be in Tartarus.

Wait. The calendar on the fridge isn't changed. Than does that every day.

I check the succulents under the plant light. They're too dry. Than takes perfect care of them; he doesn't let me touch them. Because 'if I kill it I'll raise it from the dead', apparently is not very good plant-parenting and is why he thinks we need to take a class or seven before I'm permanently responsible for a child. Anyway.

I check the fridge. His meals aren't made up for the week. The dog water bowl is nearly empty (they don't need water but they like it) and their kibble is all gone.

I refill the matching silver dishes.

"Where's other daddy?" I ask the dogs, setting Sir Hiss (my snake) one of his logs that we hung from the ceiling.

Than hasn't been here for days. And he wasn't answering his phone? So where is he?

I check. His phone is gone. His work clothes are all folded neat, but there's laundry waiting. And his favorite Yankees sweatshirt that Ev gave him is lying by the bed. He sleeps in that thing. Even if he were staying with anyone he'd have taken it. And his laptop is here. Everything. Like he went to work. But he didn't go to work did he? He hasn't been here for a couple of days at least.

There's a knock at the door.

I didn't really expect it to be Than. But I was hopeful.

However Hyp is standing at the door, wearing a black crew neck sweatshirt over what looks like his fuzzy Koala bear onesie. His hair is mess (as usual) like he just woke up, and his fat face is streaked with tears.

"Is Than here?" he sniffles, looking like he's trying not to cry. Sadly, I don't answer him. My Uncle Thyme and I are too busy saying, "What are you doing here?" to each other.

"No---sorry, Hyp, he's not here—the dogs haven't been fed I don't think he's been here all weekend," I say.

"Let me see," Thyme walks in past me, immediately getting jumped on by five dogs. He's got a little puppy dog stuck in his vest; it whimpers a little.

"He hasn't been with you?" Hyp asks.

"No—we kind of had a fight, he hasn't spoken to me for a couple of days," I say, shaking my head.

"His swords are gone----what are you doing here?" Thyme asks me.

"I can be where I like," I say, folding my arms to hide the cuffs that Gale put on me.

"I can see the cuffs--- you got imprisoned again didn't you? Who'd you raise?"

"Oh, Ari, you promised," Hyp says.

"I did not---promise not to raise people--- I promised to tell Than first and try not to raise people. There is a difference," I say, haughtily.

"Who did you raise? If it was one of my victims I will kill them again you know that?" Thyme asks, annoyed now.

"It wasn't one of your victims---it was your grandson if you must know," I snarl, equally annoyed now.

"What? Lee?" Thyme asks, taken aback, "What---what happened to him? He was with the Hunters—"

"I don't know actually, he and I and Luna were on the trail of something, next thing I know he's dying, poisoned," I say, shrugging, "Luna gave me leave to bring him back so I did. But the moment I'd done it, Gale was snatching me up and imprisoning me for violating the agreement."

"Poisoned how?" Thyme asks, a murderous glint now creeping into his eyes.

"I don't know—no mortal poison or it wouldn't have taken him so quickly," I say.

"What?" Hyp asks.

"Lee—like me---has higher blood in him, we wouldn't succumb as quickly as that as a mortal would to say a copperhead bite or even cyanide or something. We would eventually. But I was healing him in a matter of minutes. I couldn't save him, so I brought him back," I explain, "I don't know what it was, I'd assume Luna does. It wasn't what we were tracking though, I know that."

"No matter, as you said he's back," Thyme says but any trace of humor is gone from his face. "Thank you. I'll speak with my father---obviously you did it at my behest—and at Luna's command."

"It's fine," I say, shrugging. I'd have done it anyway. "As I said—I'm sure Luna knows what did it to him. She dispatched it while I saw to him, I suppose."

"Right, we'll ask her. Come on. Let's go find Than," Thyme says.

"How?" Hyp snivels.

"Here---he keeps a ledger of his rounds," I say, going to the kitchen, "It'll at least tell us what he did the last day I saw him."

"Oh, perfect," Hyp follows me.

"Here—I was his second to last stop see?"

"You threw a brick at his head?" Hyp asks.

"I thought he was Gale," I groan. The ledger entry says 'To do: Murder brick-happy boyfriend'.

"What's he have written next?" Thyme asks, looking then giving up. He's dyslexic, which I often forget until he tries to read and I feel the tension in his mind. It's nothing I can heal, but doesn't mean I can't feel it.

"Something down here—checking chains? It's in other entries, must be some task Uncle Hector has him doing," I say, frowning.

"Well, let's go wherever that is," Thyme says.

"That's all it is," I say, shaking my head, "I don't know where it would be it just says Underworld."

"I know," Hyp says, quietly, "I know who that is. The man in chains. He dreams about chains. And her."

"Who her?" Thyme asks.

"Your wife, you both dream of her," Hyp says.

"Anna?" Thyme asks frowning, not bothering to correct that she isn't his wife, "Why—how would someone down here dream about her? Is this someone I killed?"

"No," Hyp says, "I don't think he's dead. Yet."