Godtown

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Anger seethed at my insides, cutting me just as hard as the icy wind on my neck as I walked back to my apartment. After my meeting with Zeus, I didn't think it was possible to feel any angrier. Clearly, I was mistaken.

Morning came. I got dressed, slipped on my overcoat, and tugged on my fedora. The moment I did so, shadows fell from the brim of the cap all the way down to my dark leather shoes. In an instant, I vanished from the apartment, cloaked in shadows, not that anyone noticed. My three dogs were still passed out on the couch. Medusa could be standing in front of them with all her snakes and they wouldn't muffle a bark. They were as still as statues.

I didn't bother taking the car. For what I wanted to know, I needed to be on foot. The black chariot would only draw attention, and attention was one thing I didn't need right now. I left OlympusTowers in a huff, still safely cloaked by the shadows.

I walked down to the corner of Olympus Terrace, trying to move past the various commuters who staggered past me in their usual Monday morning haze. For the first five minutes, staying out of the way of gods commuting to their day job had become a routine. I simply paused, waited for an opening, and then breezed by the gods, clad in jet black suits and gray blouses, as they headed toward OlympusTowers. Unfortunately, I became too confident in my game of "dodge god" as I approaching the intersection of Olympus and Pyramid.

My foot crossed the concrete threshold of the street curb when a burly form struck me in the chest. I tossed my foot back so fast it collided with the shin of a well-dressed god who unwittingly flanked me. I could feel a gust of wind blasting my face so hard I had to fight to keep my fedora planted on my head. The traffic pulsed forward like a subway train. I was only inches away from it. Behind me, the god I had inadvertently kicked looked around with a confused look on his face. I didn't care if he found me. I just hoped he didn't take one more step, pushing me off the corner and into a raging sea of rush hour traffic.

The stoplight changed, prompting a metallic flood of cars. I anxiously moved forward, a stampede of commuters armed with briefcases right behind me. If I ever slowed my speed, they would connect with me in an unwanted way, forcing me to answer some questions. I didn't have time for this. I reached my destination half a block later. Who knew being invisible was so exhausting?

I walked through the doors and then through the lobby without a single glance or thought. A wizened old secretary with skin tougher than the leather of my shoes never looked up from her desk as I walked by. No one in the waiting room paid me any mind, all too engrossed in a library of newspapers and magazines. The only thing more depressing than a rundown god was a bored god, and this waiting room was filled with them.

I reached for the door. I hesitated. I didn't know what was going on in there. What was she doing? More precisely, who? If I played this wrong, this could be highly awkward. I twisted the doorknob and entered the room.

Luckily, Selket was alone. She gazed at a clipboard, the massage table thankfully absent of any client. I started to move towards her, confident in my stealth. Too confident, it turned out.

"Please close the door behind you," Selket said to my general direction. "I find it very rude when someone enters unannounced."

With no choice but to obey, I shut the door, the clank of the door leaving no doubt I was in the room. With a frustrated sigh, I lifted the fedora from my head, the shadows around me purged by the bright light of the room. I looked at Selket.

"Hades." She said without looking up from her clipboard.

"Selket," I said. "You don't seem very surprised to see me."