Before we went all the way out to Olympic Drive in the Highlands, I pulled over and used Yaya’s cell phone to call the Blue Box Store Zeus worked at. I kept the phone on speaker. “Store manager, please,” I said.
“He’s not available, would you like to leave a voice message?” a raspy voice answered.
Yaya nodded.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, I’d like to leave a message.”
“Hold, please, I’ll forward you to his voice mail.”
I waited, the line buzzed and clicked, then an automated voice came on.
“You have reached the voice mail of—”
“Zeus Olympia,” Zeus said, then back to the automated voice.
“The voice mail box for this party is full.”
It clicked off, and I handed the phone back to Yaya. She cursed the phone like somehow it was the cell phone’s fault. I had to agree; there was nothing more irritating than trying to leave a message for someone only to be told their voice mail was full. Who didn’t check their messages at least once a day?
Psychos, that’s who. All that meant was I really had no choice; we were off to Zeus’s abode.
Number one (yes, Zeus’s house was number one) Olympic Drive was a mansion. I mean, like a literal mansion built into a hillside, set way apart from any other houses. The fence was fifteen feet high, the gate solid, and the only reason I knew it was the right place was the seal in the middle of the gate with an oversized lightning bolt through it.
“Subtle,” I mumbled under my breath.
Yaya leaned over and pushed the intercom button. It buzzed and clicked before a high-pitched, whispery voice floated through. “Hello, are you here for the party?”
“Of course we are, you idiot. We brought the dessert,” Yaya snapped.
“Ohhh! Dessert! I can’t wait!” The high-pitched voice cooed and giggled. I couldn’t decide if it was male or female. I glanced at Ernie, and he shrugged as if he didn’t know either. More like it didn’t matter, and I had to agree. If it wasn’t Zeus, it didn’t matter.
The gate in front of us slowly slid inward, and Yaya drove us through. Okay, the Granada limped through, if I was being honest, but at least it was still moving.
“That was far easier than I thought it was going to be,” I said.
Ernie tapped on the dashboard, leaning forward on his elbows. “Yeah, that is making me nervous. If he’s just letting people in, either this is a monstrous big party or he’s expecting you.”
“Why would either of those be bad?” I asked.
Yaya and Ernie exchanged a glance I didn’t like. “A monstrous party, Alena,” Ernie repeated.
“Oh dear. You mean, like me?”
Ernie nodded. “And possibly some of the other pantheon. They all have their pets they bring with them for the entertainment.”
I shrunk in my seat. “You mean like . . . Theseus and Beth could be here?” As much as I knew it was coming, I didn’t want to face him. Not yet.
Ernie shrugged and tugged on one wing, straightening the feathers. “Possible, but I mean, more like your new boyfriend Smithy, and maybe his wife?”
Spiked snickerdoodles, this was bad. “Then we’ll just sneak in. Ernie, you can scout it out, right?”
“Too late,” Yaya said. “They’ve seen us.”
We were being waved up to a large covered area right in front of the doors. I looked up at the twisted white marble columns that held the roof, which was easily thirty feet high. I hoped it wasn’t a sign of what kind of monsters would be waiting for us. I mean, I was big when I shifted, but there was no reason to believe that all the monsters were like me in size. I hoped.
I grabbed the container of cupcakes and did a quick count. I had sixteen left. I pointed at the two separate ones I’d originally done up for Merlin and Zeus. “Hide them under the seat, Ernie.”
He saluted me, and I took the fourteen remaining cupcakes with me.
“You aren’t really going to bring them all, are you?” Ernie whispered.
“Yaya told them we were bringing dessert. What do you want me to do?”
We stepped out of the broken-down car. I found myself looking into the most gorgeous brown eyes I’d ever seen.
“Hello.”
My mouth dropped and no sound came out. Okay, a squeak came out.
Ernie floated around so I could see him behind the youth. “This is Narcissus. Good looking, ain’t he?”
I blushed and Narcissus smiled. “I can take these cupcakes for you.”
I tightened my hold on the container. “No, no, I’ll personally deliver them to Zeus.”
“He’s not here,” Narcissus said, a slight frown only heightening that perfect beauty. Good grief, I couldn’t stop staring.
I made myself look over his shoulder so I only really saw half his face and Ernie’s wide grin. It helped, but only a little. “I was told he was at home, and so I made this dessert to his specifications.”
Narcissus shrugged. “He’s not here. He opened his house up for the party and then left. Said he had business he had to handle. Actually, you only missed him by ten minutes.”
I looked at Yaya. She frowned and shook her head. “If he had a police scanner, he would have heard all about the wreck. It’s on the only road that leads here.”
In other words, Zeus had run the second he’d realized I was headed his way. Was he scared of me? Or was he just avoiding the fact that I would hold him responsible? I was betting on the latter. What a jerk face.
My chest tightened with a sudden bout of anxiety I couldn’t tamp down. What the heck did I do now? If he had business, he could be anywhere. “Is Hermes here?”
“Last I saw, he was out by the pool with the rest of the guests. He was given the day off.”
“Who gave him the day off?” Ernie swept between me and Narcissus.
“Hera,” the young man said.
I took several steps back, the youth’s beauty no longer dazzling me. “Is . . . Hera here?”
“Oh, goddess no! There’s only a few gods here. Hephaestus, Hermes, and Achilles.”
“Achilles isn’t a god,” I pointed out, even as I realized that him being here wasn’t any better, really, than Theseus.
Ernie swept around to me. “Hey, Narcy, back off a second.”
Narcissus did as he was asked, a sweet smile plastered on his face. Ernie grabbed my cheeks and turned me to him.
“Look, this is your chance.”
“Chance for what? I was hoping to get info on Theseus from Zeus. Like a weakness I could exploit, you know, his Achilles’ heel?”
“Ha-ha.” Ernie rolled his eyes. “But he isn’t here. So use your charms on Hephaestus and get him to spill about Theseus.”
“But I don’t want to use my charms on him,” I squeaked out. “That is the last thing I want to do. You said it yourself that Aphrodite is upset—”
“That is an understatement, but she’s already upset. You might as well make the upset worth it.” His eyes were serious, no longer teasing.
“You really think encouraging his interest is a good idea?” I grabbed Ernie’s hands and pulled him so we were nose to nose. “I do not need more Greek goddesses trying to remove my head from my shoulders. I’m deep enough in pig slop as it is.”