Defying Fate

Chapter 17-p2

Note: Happy New Year

Odysseus blinked in the bright sunshine as they stepped onto the stone marina of Ithaki. The ship had been docked neatly and expertly, and the two massive ewes that had been in the hold were now standing on the stones, eating from an equally large bale of hay, which had been rolled into a cylinder. A team of officers stood on the docks watching the sheep, or on the deck, looking confused.

Most of the earlier crowd had dissipated, leaving only a few curious bystanders behind a temporary-looking fence. One such man waved at Odysseus and his friends.

"You there! Hey you! Is this your ship, I'm a student at the university of Athens and I'm studying ancient mythology in the area. Can you tell me what sources you used for the research in building your boat? What made you decide to build the penteconter instead of the better documented trireme?" He hardly seemed to pause for breath as Odysseus stared at him. "Is it true that you were sailing with no navigational equipment or radio, not even for emergencies? What would you do if you got lost? Or was that the point? What's with the sheep? Are they real? Were you going to eat them? Were you worried about your crew contracting scurvy? Was it some kind of experiment— were you trying to trace the old route? Did you sail all the way from Turkey?"

"No more questions, please," the stranger called confidently, sliding past one of the barriers and ushering Odysseus and the others to follow. Odysseus' head was spinning. He didn't really know what a "trireme" was, or where "Turkey" was, but, he hoped that the stranger would provide some answers.

They walked in silence down narrow streets for several minutes before the stranger turned back to them, grinning widely.

"That was fun, huh? I haven't been this hands-on with mortals for years." He pulled a face. "Or has it been... decades, centuries?" He looked thoughtful, counting on his fingers absently. "Forget it. It's good to see you again, old friend."

"Do I know you?"

"Child, you don't recognize your own great-grandfather?" The stranger whipped off his glasses and for a flash, Odysseus saw him in far more familiar clothing, a white cloak, a cap with wings—before reverting back to the suit and hat.

"Hermes—I—" Odysseus stammered. His grandfather had been a son of Hermes, though at three generations removed, Odysseus had inherited very little godly power, if any.

"But the question of the era is; what are you doing here?" Hermes interrupted, looking between the four of them. "It may have been a long time ago, but I know my blood when I see it, and last I checked you all died over four thousand years ago, unless you were somehow granted immortality and even Poseidon was never that cruel— probably."

"Four thousand years?" Eurylochus repeated in shock.

"And that's highly unlikely given your um, state," Hermes continued like he hadn't spoken, looking them up and down. "No one wears chitons anymore, gentlemen." He glanced at Cassandra. "You could still pull it off, but you're going to need some shoes."

Cassandra looked at her bare feet, her cheeks turning red. She had hardly said a word since they'd gone through the portal. Odysseus reached out to her, concerned, but Hermes clapped his hands and drew all their attention again.

"Our chariot awaits, you can stay at my house while we get this figured out."

"You have a house?" Odysseus asked.

"It's a recent acquisition," Hermes said with a wink. "As is the chariot. This way."

Once again he led them through streets Odysseus thought should be familiar to him but they were not, until they came to another plaza, where a number of the colorful machines that Odysseus had seen by the marina were lined up in neat rows. Hermes held up a small device and pressed something on it, and one of the machines honked.

"Alright, everybody in the car!" Hermes said, opening the doors to reveal a pair of comfortable seats in the front, and a sofa-like bench in the back. He helped Cassandra into the front seat, and gestured for the three men to climb in the back.

They squeezed in, and Hermes closed the doors behind them, closing them into a very small space.

"I don't think I like this," Polites muttered.

"Where are the horses?" Eurylochus asked.

"No horses!" Hermes said, inserting a key into its keyhole in the front panel of the vehicle and the car roared to life. "We ride!"

Music blasted from all around them, and Odysseus jumped, accidentally elbowing Eurylochus in the ribs, and they were moving, much too fast through the streets. Odysseus closed his eyes, held Asterion close and prayed for it to be over soon.