#2 Double Agents (Librarians Fanfic)

The Mission

The room was slightly dark, and smelled of many different things, but mostly of a brewing storm. We looked up, and the ceiling was in fact covered in storm clouds, which threatened to rain on us at any moment. The artefacts in the room were grouped together by what God they belonged to, and sat on shining golden pedestals.

"Well, that's what I call a-," Lamia started, moving just inside the Greek room. I pulled her back quickly, her head jerking as a bolt of lightning struck down just where her feet had been. "Why?" She yelled, not to me, but to the room, "This is not fair!" She looked at me, frustration coursing through her body. "What do we do now?" She asked, looking at me in desperation.

I shrugged, putting one foot into the room. There was no lightning. I smirked at Lamia knowingly, before addressing the room. "Almighty Zeus?" I said, raising my voice as the thunder began to rumble, "Shut up, I'm talking!"

The thunder stopped and I smiled. "I need one of Aphrodite's possessions, and if you don't let me pass I'll tell Hera about you latest fling," I said. There was no lightning, no thunder. Then suddenly, a shaft of light came from between the clouds, lighting up a spot in the massive room. It shined on a particular group of artefacts, as if lighting up Aphrodite's things for us, even though I could smell them from here.

"Come on," I said to Lamia, who was hesitant to step into the room again. She put one foot in the room, looking up at clouds expectantly. As Zeus promised, nothing happened, so she put her other foot into the room. She sighed heavily, before looking at the artefacts around her. "Look at all this power," she breathed, holding out her hands like she wanted to touch them.

"Lamia," I said, giving her a stern look, "Don't. Touch. Anything." I warned her again. This time she gave me a dirty look, but I ignored her. She wasn't used to getting her way, so I just had to keep going with the mission while I babysat her. I approached the Aphrodite pedestals, a sea breeze mixed with rose petals wafting towards me. I coughed, feeling the salt in the air stick in the back of my throat.

I looked over the artefacts. For the goddess of beauty, they didn't seem to look like anything extraordinary. I knew she had many lavish dresses and jewellery and tiaras, but her actual 'artefacts' had definitely been made with their use in mind. There were two that I recognised instantly. There was a white chariot that sat next to the pedestals, which i remembered was pulled by unicorns mostly. It wasn't really ornate, but sleek and clean. There was an inscription in Greek at the top, where the rider would place the reins. The inscription read; To my dearest, though I may not be much compared to you're beauty, I hope my work proves that I too have a love like yours to share.

I smiled sadly, remembering that Aphrodite was still seeing Ares behind Hephestus' back. Lamia sighed behind me, "Come on, are we stealing the tiny white cart or the flimsy scarf?" she asked. At the insult there was a clap of thunder, which made her jump a foot into the air. "Lamia, you are looking at the wedding present of Hephaestus to Aphrodite, and one of the most powerful 'scarves' in the entire Ancient world." I said, getting annoyed with her.

I then turned my gaze to the 'flimsy scarf' as Lamia called it. It was light and pale blush in colour, and folded neatly on the pedestal. Probably Jenkins idea, I thought, he'd want it to be neat. The material was slightly shiny, and as i picked it up it unfolded, falling elegantly. I grinned, it turned black in my hands, matching my outfit perfectly. "Flimsy scarf it is," I said to Lamia, folding it quickly and placing the material into a backpack I'd brought with me.

I turned around, watching Lamia as she twitched cautiously, looking up at the sky as if she might curse. "Lamia, you alright?" I asked, watching her jump.

"Fine, are we done?" she asked, still jumping slightly as she looked up at the clouds. I rolled my eyes before looking down at my watch. I frowned at it before walking quickly out of the room and carrying on down the corridors. Lamia followed close behind me, and I could feel her getting nervous. I continued down the corridors, past all the beautiful books that I had to stop myself from touching. I kept frowning, averting my eyes from everything and trying to be quiet so that we didn't, make an echo through the place.

"Where are we going?" Lamia asked.

"I'm late for work," I mumbled, still speed-walking through the corridors.

"We're at work..." Lamia started.

"You think they pay for my missions?" I said, turning to her slightly as we managed to get to the back door, "This stuff is expensive, plus, considering they only half trust me, I've had to work. Where'd you think I go after my missions?" I asked, lying to her partially. Sometimes I would work, and sometimes I'd reach straight for my phone to text Ezekiel.

"Oh, I had no idea," Lamia said, sympathetically. I called a taxi, gesturing for her to get in.

"Don't worry about it," I said, getting in the other side of the taxi and closing the door. We drove for a while in silence, before Lamia asked another question. "Where are we going now?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm employed in eight different coffee shops around the world, we're just going to the closest one." I said, not looking at her, but instead taking off my jacket. Underneath was just a black, work shirt that I could wear anywhere and I blended in with the other employees. Lamia nodded in understanding, but didn't say anything more.