“We probably won’t end up in a position to help the humans anyway.” Draven shrugs.
I raise a brow at him. “I know you’re relatively new here, but you remember all the times when we went to get the shieldwhere we ended up exactly where we were needed? That’s pretty much the standard with these missions.”
“Yup, so if people are in trouble, we somehow end up wherever they are to help. It’s pretty inconvenient.” Raven nods.
“So, if we end up in a position to help, we do, but we don’t go out of our way to find them because Hermes will fix it once he has his power back?” I ask the group.
“I think that’s for the best.” Jayden nods against my shoulder.
“Agreed,” Raven says.
“Okay, so what do we know about Hermes from myth?” I ask.
“He had a lot of kids. I guess that hasn’t changed much.” Draven chuckles.
“Like father like son,” I grumble.
“There is an eerie lack of actual monsters in the myths about him. The most he ever did to smite someone was to turn them into a tortoise,” Adrian says.
“Why a tortoise? That seems oddly specific.” I lean forward.
“She was a nymph he invited to the wedding between Zeus and Hera but she snubbed the invitation. When she was asked why, she basically said she would rather stay home. So Zeus decreed that she would carry her home with her wherever she goes and Hermes transformed her into a tortoise.”
“Okay, that one is actually kind of funny.” I giggle. “She never had another good excuse for declining an invitation like that.”
“At least he didn’t turn her into something evil with big beastly claws,” Kira whispers. “That never made sense to me. A mortal offends the gods so they turn them into a monster. Seems like they gave them all the tools they needed to go on a rampage.”
“It is kind of backward, but I think it was more about making them grotesque. The punishment was loneliness and eventually death in a horrific way.” Raven taps on her armrest.
“Here’s something, but I don’t know if we’ll face it since we have defeated her once already.” Adrian flips the book around so I can see it.
“How many people had a hand in that damn story?” I say sighing..
“Hermes was more indirectly involved. He gave Perseus the tools he needed to defeat Medusa. He didn’t actually have direct involvement with the gorgon.” Adrian taps a picture of Hermes in the background.
“So she’s a possible threat.” I sigh. “That’s just great. I doubt she’ll fall for our tricks twice.”
“Yeah, I’m guessing if the queen goes there, she won’t be easy to beat a second time.” Raven nods.
“We can’t forget the Stymp…” Draven starts.
“Do not invoke the demon pigeons,” I yell. “We’ve already been over this.”
“Sorry, I forgot about that.” Draven glances away.
“It’s easy to forget if you’ve never faced them before.” Jayden nods. “Once you’ve been burned by the acid though, you never forget, and I promise once you face them in Arcadia, it will be an unforgettable experience.”
“So, we are seeing the demon pigeons as a foregone conclusion?” I ask.
“We’re going to their home, baby. I think it’s safe to say we are going to come across them at some point.” Jayden squeezes me closer.
“They won’t fall for our go-to tricks a second time either. We found that out when we were in Arizona the first time.” I tap a finger to my lips.
“There are a lot of giants in Hermes’ history. I wonder how many of them we will have to face?” Adrian frowns.
“We should be prepared to face them all if necessary.” I flip the page.
The story of Hermes’ birth and subsequent mischief fills the page. It’s absolutely fascinating, the complete chaos he caused stealing Apollo’s cattle and creating the Lyre out of a tortoise shell. Then when Apollo caught up to him and brought him before Zeus for his punishment.
