The Mighty Ones' Fall

Chapter 14: The Lady Athena

As the nymph, Damien, Darius, Hannah, Layna, Brady, and I got closer to the riverbank, muffled voices changed into comprehensible dialogue. But before the nymph could step out into plain sight, I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back into the shadows; I knew the conversation would stop as soon as we made ourselves known, and I was determined to find out everything I could about Alec and the gods first.

"Seriously, dude. You've got nothing to worry about," one voice said in Greek, powerful and utterly male in tone, borderline arrogant. Lord Poseidon's spirit. Peeking out from behind a bush, I could see the black-haired god floating on his back but barely even making ripples in the calm waters of the deep pool, which was created by the small waterfall to our left. Two other leaf-clad nymphs treaded water beside him as he showed off his perfectly toned and tanned upper body.

Meanwhile, with his shirtless back facing us and his owl tattoo glaring at us, Alec sat at the edge of the river pool, dangling his bare feet in the water. He scratched his head and sighed. "How can you be so sure? I feel like I've failed her somehow."

"Alec, you know Athena. She has reasons for everything she does. She hasn't abandoned you. And I bet you only feel confused because you have a bunch of crazy gods stuck inside you," came another voice, this one female, soft but strained. I hadn't even noticed the girl lying on her side in the grass and facing the pool, her long, light brown hair falling gracefully over her shoulders. The short white dress she wore was as bright as snow, and her skin, a touch paler than Alec's and much paler than Poseidon's, had the glow of a goddess. That's right - a goddess. In just two days, it appeared Alec had developed the skill and strength to summon not just one, but two gods' spirits at the same time.

Actually, make that three. Because lounging on the rocks near the base of the waterfall, to my far left, was Lord Pan, satyr and god of the wild. Right away I had recognized him from the previous summer. He was shirtless, as satyrs usually are, and his goat legs were covered in reddish-brown fur, but with his shining eyes and curly hair, he was handsome nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Lord Pan was also the first god on the scene to notice my fellow Knowing members and me hiding in the bushes. "Pardon the interruption, Persephone," he began, talking to the goddess while staring straight at us, "but it looks like we have some company."

All at once, in order to face us, Lady Persephone rolled over, Lord Poseidon and the nymphs stopped swimming, and Alec jumped to his feet, pulling his sword straight out of the pocket of his dirty jeans. I can't say I was surprised that the hero did not lower his weapon when he recognized us. After all, he had never truly trusted us.

I was surprised, however, when Lady Persephone spoke up. "Alec, put down the goddamn sword. What are you going to do, kill a few unarmed kids?" She rolled her eyes at him impatiently, but I just frowned. To be honest, I found it unnerving that she called us "kids," since we would have been the exact same age if she were still alive.

With his blue eyes narrowed, Alec reluctantly obeyed Lady Persephone's orders by sheathing his sword. He paused and then demanded to us, "What the hell are you doing here? My sources told me that the whole lot of you was dropped off by some harpies and Erinyes last night. There are only a couple of monsters I will actually work with, and harpies and Erinyes are not them."

"We're the six from the prophecy," Layna announced brightly. "We've come to break the 'clouded wall.'"

But Alec just ignored the blonde and looked to me instead, probably for a better answer. "We didn't ask the harpies and Erinyes to pick us up," I informed him curtly. "They just did. And it's lucky we found you, because Jason sent a search party here to kill you."