The Heir of Olympus and the Forest Realm (42 page)

The small party made for the large table and took seats nearest the roaring fire at the end. Gordie looked up, wondering why water wasn’t pouring in through the skylights far above, until he realized with mild interest that it was being diverted just inside the openings, and flowing right into the stone ceiling. The group chuckled about their state of inundation and harrowing sprint without shelter from the storm. They ate fruits and nuts, and Atalo refilled his mug of brew repeatedly. After a while, Ellie excused herself to change and asked Bridget if she wanted some dry clothes.

“Yes, please!” she said, and rose from her seat to follow Ellie towards the sleeping chambers. Gordie watched her go with longing.

“Nice girl.” Atalo grinned and took another long draught.

“Yeah, she’s all right.” Gordie shrugged. Atalo spit ale back into his mug.

“All right? Son, she’s got you wrapped around her finger! Each and every one!”

“Whatever, Grampa! I’ve got it locked down!”

“You better, or your mom’ll take it from ya.” He sniggered into his mug as he took another swig.

“Where do you think Chiron is?” Gordie asked, red-faced and desperate to change the subject.

“Speak and he shall appear.” Chiron approached the far end of the table, making Gordie jump. The raindrops on the mountainside drowned the sound of his hooves.

“Oh, hey.” Gordie tried to hide his surprise. “Where does that water go?” He pointed up towards the skylights.

“It is diverted to perform multiple functions. It drains to a reservoir from which the plumbing you have access to in your quarters is powered. Some of it goes to my workshop, as well as a few other areas of need.”

“Nifty,” Atalo said looking up at the inflow.

“Indeed,” Chiron said. “Atalo, I wish to speak to Gordon in private. Would you be so kind as to give us a moment?”

“No problem,” Atalo said through a belch. “I’m soaked to my danglers anyhow. Best go change.” The chair squalled as he pushed away from the table. There was a slight sway to his body when he gained his feet. He exhaled sharply before making his way back to the sleeping chambers where Bridget and Ellie had disappeared to minutes earlier. Gordie was nervous about this unexpected request for his private audience. Chiron remained silent until Atalo’s heavy, irregular footfalls died out in the hall.

“Gordon, I want to apologize again for the way I treated you today. It was unwarranted.” Chiron held Gordie’s gaze, which was somehow worse accompanied by an apology then if he were admonishing him.

“S’not a problem.” Gordie looked down at the table and waved dismissively.

“Still, it was wrong of me. You and I are a team. Much rides on our partnership—the fate of races, as you know.” Chiron kept his eyes on Gordie, who glanced back and forth between the towering centaur and the mineral grain of the stone table. He now realized this conversation was about more than an apology. Rain splattered on stone above in the brief silence.

“It is my responsibility to guide and advise you. As I have said, I must train your mind as well as your body. Eventually, there will come a time when you must decide the right path for yourself and I must prepare you for that time. But”—there it was, the word Gordie was waiting for—“for the time being, you
must
trust me. I
implore
you to trust me. I have your best interests in mind, as well as the interests of your people.” Gordie continued to stare at the table. “Therefore,” Chiron continued, “I must ask you
not
to go looking for Artemis.” He stared at Gordie, steady as stone.

“All right, I won’t.” Gordie slumped onto the table.

“Your word, Gordon—I want your word.” Chiron remained unflinching.

Gordie’s heart rate quickened and he felt short of breath as if the walls were closing in on him. There was a part of him that still very much intended to sneak off in search of Artemis, but this demand for his
word
felt unbreakable. It was not merely swearing to his best friend that he wouldn’t let secrets of his love life slip: there was a finality to it, and acute consequences.

“All right, my word. You have my word,” Gordie said, looking up at Chiron with a mingled sense of defiance and resignation.

“Very good.” Chiron nodded his approval. “Now, why don’t you go put on some warm clothes while I prepare dinner. Maybe after we eat would be an opportune time to show Miss Bridget to our eucalyptus pool.” Chiron smiled with an ever-so-slight hint of mischief. Gordie returned the smile and then some.

“Not a bad idea, my good man!” Gordie hopped up from his seat feeling buoyed, slapped the table with both hands, and strode towards the sleeping rooms with his chest puffed out.

The firelight of the Great Hall blended into the dim blue light of the narrow corridor, until indigo swallowed orange. Gordie watched his shadow dance in the flames on both sides of the wall, beckoning him onward.

He stopped in his room and disrobed. He removed his wet socks and his last pair of sneakers, shivering as his damp feet touched the stone floor. He pulled on a fresh pair of shorts, which he thought were green, but in the blue light they had taken on the deep, dusky purple of the nighttime sky just before dawn. Rifling through his bag to find the tightest tee-shirt in his repertoire, he rejoiced when he found a plain gray undershirt that would display his chiseled physique. As he was going for a dip, he decided to remain barefoot, and stepped back out of the room.

In the hallway he heard a low murmur of voices coming from the direction of his mother’s room, and crept towards it. His palm slid across the wall as he made his way, listening as the unintelligible noise slowly transformed into coherent words. He stopped just a few feet from the entryway.

“—they don’t really care,” Bridget said. Gordie heard hurt and rejection in her voice and it made him frown.

“I have to be honest, I wasn’t very impressed with your mother,” Ellie said, and Gordie smiled: his mother was not one to pull punches. “But I am impressed by you. I’ve only spent an afternoon with you and it’s obvious that you are an intelligent and sweet young lady. Your parents may be a little preoccupied with their own interests, but I have no doubt that they care about you. I know that I would be proud to be your mother. You’re strong and you have to be, given your situation. Sometimes in life we really do have to go it alone, but that’s not the case for you. If your parents aren’t willing to show you that they care right now, well, there are people here who are.”

Gordie heard a rustling noise come from the room and guessed that the two were hugging. “After all, I think it’s pretty clear that my son cares,” Ellie added. The two chuckled, and Gordie heard a sniffle, but ignored it, disgruntled with his mother for calling him out. “C’mon, let’s go get some dinner,” Ellie said. Gordie’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he turned tail and sprinted on tiptoe for the Great Hall.

When he made it back to the cavernous dining room, Chiron was down on his forelegs stoking the fire, and the table was laden with dishes that hadn’t been there minutes earlier. Big bowls of roasted vegetables steamed, their vapors dancing in tune with the crackling fire. A wooden block of various cheeses glimmered in the firelight: yellows, whites, and veiny blues called his name; a wedge of cheddar had a knife sticking out of it, and a crusty baguette lay next to it elegantly sliced. The familiar bowl of fresh fruit remained in place by the mixed nuts, but there was also a plate of what appeared to be grilled fruits, and Gordie could smell their warm sweetness. He marked the absence of meat, but his stomach still growled in response to the smorgasbord.

Gordie had stopped to marvel at the delectable sight, but came back to his senses when he heard his mother’s voice drifting in behind him and hurried to the table. Chiron groaned as he rose back to his full height and clapped his hands together. Two little clouds of soot rose into the air and disappeared.

“You changed,” Bridget noted with an eyebrow raised as she walked into the room. “You weren’t spying on us, were you?” Gordie noticed with disquiet that she was wearing an ensemble that belonged to his mom: a pair of jean shorts that nearly reached her knee and a pink tee-shirt with a stick-figure man throwing a ball to a stick-figure dog.

“Oh, I don’t think he’s sly enough to pull that off.” Ellie smiled and winked at Gordie.

“Nope, just been sitting here waiting for you ladies to show up. I was in and out just a couple seconds after you left.” He drummed his fingers on the table for effect. Chiron lifted an eyebrow at him, but made no comment.

“The food looks great, Mr. Chiron.” Bridget smiled at him.

“Thank you very much, Miss Clemens. Please help yourself.” He gestured for them to sit, and they took the seats opposite Gordie. Just as they did, Atalo came out of the back hall.

“Thank the gods! I’m starving!” He approached the table and took inventory. “Still no meat, eh?” He looked up at Chiron.

“Still no meat,” Chiron said. Atalo made a ‘Hrumph’ noise as he sat, but pulled a wooden plate to him and started piling it with food. Chiron stood at the head of the table and nibbled on some fruit as the rest of the party ate with gusto. Bridget was apprehensive about eating with her hands at first, but was soon grinning as she stuffed her face, her fingers caked in roasted vegetable purée.

As the rations dwindled, the consumption became far less emphatic, and soon each diner was leaning back in their chair, patting their stomachs. The fire crackled in tune with the rain drops above. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The skylights were now just black holes in the ceiling. Night had come.

“So, where is Bridget sleeping tonight?” Gordie asked, hoping he sounded nonchalant. Ellie shot him a furious glance, but Chiron fielded the question.

“There is another room available in the sleeping quarters. I will make her bed up soon.” He smiled at Bridget.

“Thank you very much.”

“Tough luck, Gordo!” Atalo chuckled before he took a swig of ale.

“Shut up, Dad!” Ellie growled. Gordie thought she sounded like his three-headed canine friend in the Underworld.

“Well, I think I’m gonna go for an after-dinner swim.” Gordie stretched his arms before he rose from the table.

“Oh, are you going to the eucalyptus pool? Can you show me where it is?” Bridget asked.

“Absolutely!” He grinned.

“Great, I’ll grab some towels and meet you guys there in a minute,” Ellie interjected, and Gordie’s heart plummeted. “Maybe even thirty seconds. I won’t be long!” She jumped up from the table and hurried back towards the sleeping quarters.

“You two better get a move on.” Atalo smiled before taking another swig. Gordie grabbed Bridget’s hand and pulled her out of the Great Hall in the direction of the pool.

“Wouldn’t be too upset if you stalled her, Grandpa!” he called back over his shoulder.

“Gordie!” Bridget said.

“You got it, boy-o!” Atalo called after them, but they were already out of sight. The blue flames waved at them as they hurried down the corridor until they stepped into the steamy domed chamber that housed the pool.

“Wow,” Bridget whispered, watching the steam swirl above the fragrant water. Almost before she finished the expression of awe, Gordie was kissing her.

“It’s been too long since I’ve done that.” He smiled as he pulled away from her.

“I know.” She smiled back, her hands on his chest. “But that’s all for now. You’re mom’s gonna be here any second. You behave yourself.” She gave him a sly smirk and his legs felt weak.

“C’mon, let’s hop in the water.” Gordie pulled off his shirt and started dragging her in.

“I don’t have a suit!” She pulled back.

“So just swim in that.” He gestured towards her new clothes and scowled.

“They’re your mom’s. I’ll just put my feet in,” Bridget said.

“Your loss.” Gordie shrugged and waded into the water before he was far enough out to dive in. The sensation was explosive—both warm and cool like he had been eaten by a breath mint. His head emerged and the eucalyptus mist filled his sinuses, temporarily replacing all thought with utter relaxation. He breast-stroked around the pool, almost forgetting that Bridget was even there.

“Are you just gonna swim around while I stand here?” she said on cue, with her hands on her hips. Gordie swam back to the shallows, but tried to keep his body submerged for as long as possible as the warmth soothed sores he didn’t know he had. Water careened off him as he stood up in front of her and grabbed her around the waist.

“You’re wet now—you might as well come in.” He smiled before kissing her again.

“
Ahem!
” Ellie cleared her throat from the entryway. Gordie’s eyes flew open in alarm and he released Bridget, his arms whirling as he fell backwards into the water.

“Real smooth, Casanova.” Ellie rolled her eyes as Gordie resurfaced from the water. “Bridget, don’t worry about the clothes. I’ve got plenty more. Feel free to take a dip.” Ellie set a stack of towels down on the dry stone and waded in to her knees, wearing black nylon shorts and a blue tank top.

“Wow, you’re in really good shape, Mrs. Leonhart,” Bridget said.

“Ew.” Gordie turned away and began to swim again.

“Thanks, Bridget.” Ellie smiled, ignoring her son. “It probably has something to do with my vegetarian diet the last couple weeks.” She sat down in the shallows and slowly waved her hand through the warm water at her sides. Bridget sloshed over and sat next to her, while Gordie tooled around in the deep end, trying to swim off his frustration.