Adrian’s vision could be true and if I make that bargain, then everything is over anyway. Am I willing to sacrifice myself for nothing? Absolutely not.
We get to the Hephaestus floor but Kira is nowhere to be found. “Hey, Grant, where’s Kira?”
“That girl spends all her free time either at the forge or with those men of hers.” Grant shrugs.
“We should have checked the Ares floor first,” Raven says. “They wouldn’t be on the Hermes floor because it’s too crowded.”
“Let’s check the forge first and then try the Ares floor once we get back. I don’t want to keep going up and down the stairs if I can help it,” I say. “Thanks, Grant.”
“No problem,” he mutters and turns his back on us.
The campus is quiet for the first time in weeks since all the crazy bullying started. I guess forced training is tiring them out enough that they don’t have energy for much else. I’m glad it’s working so far.
Trudging through the forest, the sounds soothe my battered soul. The rustling of the trees in the breeze. The sun is setting and I have never been so thankful for a sunset in my life. The weeks without Artemis were brutal.
“Do you think she’s out here?” Raven asks.
A tree branch smacks her in the face and a tinkling giggle sounds from the trees. Raven spins, gripping her battle ax, and bellows.
“You would think they would get bored with torturing you, by now,” I say.
“Dryads are long-lived and they can hold grudges with the best of them.” Jayden chuckles. “If Raven didn’t provoke them so often, they might get bored, but her reactions are pretty entertaining.”
“Shut it, Jayden. You’re going to make this worse,” Raven scoffs.
“I’m only speaking the truth,” Jayden says.
“Look, we’re here. Once we’re inside, the dryads won’t harass you anymore.” I open the door and a blast of heat hits me in the face. “Fuck, I forgot how unbearably hot the forge is.”
“Hey, guys,” Kira chirps, but the expression doesn’t match the happy tone.
“Hey, you okay?” I ask her.
“Yup, everything’s great. What are you doing here?”
“Let’s talk in the war room. This place is stifling.” I shake my head.
“The guys say the same thing. They are hanging out in the war room as well. I was just checking on a special project I asked Claude to work on for me.” Kira waves for us to go out first.
“Cool, we may have an idea for something as well that we need your help with.” I place my hand on the magical scanner and wait for the door to click open.
Dax and Draven are sitting around the table huddled over the maps spread on it. They glance up at the rest of us as we file inside. I nod to them before turning to Kira.
“You made the magic scanners and figured out how to push magic into things. Can you make a magical radio so we can hear what’s happening in the world? I need to know how bad it is.” My shoulders slump.
“I’m not sure. Do you want a normal radio that plays music or something else?”
“I need the news radio stations. I need reports on missing travelers, plane crashes increasing. Anything odd that could be attributed to Hermes weakening.” I sit in one of the chairs.
“I think it’s possible to do. I have learned a lot about my magic in the last few weeks. That’s how my father was able to make things like the…”
I cut her off. “Don’t say their name. We call them demon pigeons.”
Dax furrows his brow. “Why aren’t we saying their names?”
“It might summon the fuckers and trust me you don’t want those assholes anywhere near you.” I shudder.
“Yup, we don’t use their name. It’s instant death from above.” Raven flips into the chair beside me.
