The Vampires of Athens Box Set by Eva Pohler

Author:Eva Pohler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eva Pohler
Published: 2021-04-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen: Charon

H

ecate opened the iron door, and Gertie followed Hector and Jeno through. Once it was closed behind them, they stood there, recovering. All three were shaken and not sure what to make of their encounter with the lord of the Underworld.

“Thank you,” Hector said to them. “You saved my life.”

“Hades said it was only a test,” Jeno pointed out. “He wasn’t going to kill you.”

“Maybe,” Hector said. “Or maybe he only said that after you refused.”

“It was the right thing to do,” Jeno said.

“Maybe,” Hector shrugged. “Maybe not. But thank you.”

Jeno smiled and shook his head.

“What’s so funny?” Gertie asked.

“I never thought I’d see the day when a demigod would look me in the eyes and see me for what I really am—as something more than a vampire.”

Hector smiled too. “Yeah, well, don’t get too used to it.”

They all three smiled at what they knew was a joke. Since Hector didn’t know how to block his mind, it was an open book, just as Gertie’s had been as a new vampire. Gertie sucked in her lips and quickly guarded her own thoughts after reading Hector’s: You’re making it difficult for me to want to kill your father.

The other day, Gertie had insisted to Hector that she didn’t want to be “saved,” but as the reality of her being a vampire forever sunk in, she felt overwhelmed by melancholy. She was a vampire, and she needed to get used to it.

Neither Jeno nor Gertie replied to Hector’s joke. Instead, they turned and followed the Phlegethon where it met the River Styx and waited for Charon to appear, as they’d been instructed to do.

Finding a seat on a nearby rock on the bank of the Styx, Gertie wondered how on earth they would ever get to Athena’s shield.

Gertie must have let down her guard, because, as Jeno sat beside her, he replied to her thoughts with, “I wonder, too.”

Hector paced along the bank, reminding her of Hades. “Like you said, we’ll have to lure Athena away from her temple. It’s probably warded.” Then he went up to Gertie and took his scabbard from her waist and fit it to his own. “Thanks for holding onto this. I’m still not wearing any clothes, am I?”

She blushed bright red and shook her head. “It wouldn’t matter anyway. Jeno and I can see right through them.”

“It would matter to me,” he said. “I can’t get used to this.”

Gertie understood how he felt.

“We’ll stop by your place on the way to the acropolis,” Jeno said. “You can get more clothes then.”

“Thanks,” Hector said.

“Now, back to our plan,” Jeno said. “How can we lure Athena from her temple?”

Hector continued to pace. “People are motivated by what they love and by what they hate, right?”

Gertie had never really thought about it, but she supposed Hector was right. “Makes sense.”

“So what does Athena love and hate?” Jeno asked.

“We know she hates vampires,” Hector said. “Sorry, but it’s true, or she wouldn’t have collapsed the caves beneath her temple.

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