Than stepped forward. “I didn’t know you were here, Cousin Hermes.” Hermes stood and took Than’s hand. “What has caused you to grace our presence?”
Therese noticed that Hermes was older looking and not as tall as Than, though his hair was the same dark brown, but curly rather than wavy, in tight knots around his head. His beard looked much the same as his hair. His pale red robes hung to his knees, and a wide gold belt secured the robes at his waist. The belt matched the golden shoes and the helmet lying beside him on the arm of the chair. He wouldn’t blend with humans as well as the others without changing his wardrobe. “I bring grave news from Mount Olympus.”
“How grave?” Than asked.
Meg frowned. “You may as well sit down, Than.” She pointed to a chair, her diamond bracelets jangling. Her usual black go-go boots had been replaced by brown sandals, and her white silk pantsuit gave her a less intimidating look.
“First return the girl,” Hermes suggested.
“This concerns her, too,” Tizzie, in green silk and her emerald set, offered. “She should stay.”
Therese could not imagine how any news from Mount Olympus, grave or otherwise, would have anything to do with her.
“Very well,” Hermes replied. “Please come have a seat. Tonight will be long and grave for us all.”
Before sitting down, Therese asked, “Shall I make us a pot of coffee?” She offered because she needed a cup herself, and she suspected the Melner cabin was well stocked.
Than squeezed her hand. “That sounds nice. Thank you.”
So he’d heard of coffee, but not tea, Therese noted. Or maybe he just didn’t want to bother with asking what coffee was. Hermes seemed anxious to talk.
Than and Hermes sat down while Therese crossed over to the kitchen, which was open to the living room, so she could still hear Hermes speaking as she rummaged through cabinets looking for coffee and filters.
“Zeus sent me to warn you that Ares is supporting this man, McAdams.”
Therese froze like a statue.
Hermes continued, “He hopes to protect the potency of the biological weapon McAdams has already sold to numerous foreign coups. Ares’s ultimate goal is to build a strong power in the Middle East to enable a third world war. He wants to see the U.S. fall.”
Therese shuddered as she scooped the coffee grains into the filter. So they had been after her mother.
Than groaned. “No wonder.”
“That’s not all, brother,” Meg said sardonically. “Listen.”
Hermes said, “In an effort to keep you from winning over the girl, who might someday be a threat to him if made a goddess, Ares went to Cupid and convinced him to shoot his arrow into a mortal man who had a chance of wooing the girl away from you. The man has been struck, and his love is growing more and more devout every day.”
Than shifted on the couch. “What’s the mortal’s name?”
Hermes replied, “Peter Holt.”
Therese dropped the spoon on the kitchen floor, splattering coffee grains everywhere. She looked for a broom as Hermes continued.
“Aphrodite is sick over this, and so is Cupid now that he knows about Ares’s intentions, but there’s nothing they can do to prevent the mortal from loving the girl. However, both have sworn allegiance to you against Ares, and as we speak, Aphrodite is securing the support of Apollo. You know how Ares feels about Aphrodite. Angry isn’t strong enough to describe how he’s feeling now.”
Tizzie said, “Even so, Shining Apollo will be a useful ally.”
“You speak as though there’s a war,” Than said.
“You haven’t yet heard all, brother,” Meg warned.
“In response to this move of Aphrodite’s,” Hermes said, “Ares went to Poseidon to seek his aid.”
Therese finished cleaning up the coffee grounds, fitted the filter in the coffee maker, and added the pot of water. When she returned to the living room to take her spot beside Than on the couch, she noticed the worry in his face.
“Poseidon has agreed to stand by Ares,” Hermes said. “Fortunately for you, Artemis has already pledged her allegiance to the girl.”
“Her name is Therese,” Than said. “So Artemis sides with Aphrodite? That’s highly unusual. Those sisters of yours are typically at odds.”
“Yes,” Hermes agreed. “But Artemis is pleased with Therese’s love for the animals and the forest. It makes no difference to her what Aphrodite chooses; Artemis wants to help the girl.”
Therese’s mouth dropped open. She couldn’t believe she had attracted the attention of so many gods. She felt afraid and excited at once.
“Hades stands with us, of course,” Tizzie added.
“At least for now,” Hermes interjected. “He’s miffed about his son making a choice that offends Ares. He wishes you would reconsider, but he will stand by his promise.”
Than grimaced. “I will not reconsider. Only Therese’s choice to remain a mortal can keep her from becoming my bride.”
Therese felt faint. Than’s love inflamed her, but the whole god and marriage situation was overwhelming.
Tizzie said, “But even with Hades on our side, Ares has a formidable threat against us. Along with Poseidon, Ares has his three daughters—the Amazons—and his wife, Enyo, and their children.”
“Not to mention McAdams and his other men,” Meg said.
“What about your father?” Than asked Hermes.
“Zeus and the others are still undecided. Hera will likely align herself against Aphrodite, but that is merely speculation.” Then Hermes added, “This is the biggest rift between the gods since the Vietnam War. I can only imagine how it will end.”
“What do you recommend, Hermes?” Than asked in a husky voice.
Hermes shook his head. “For now, I do not know. I wish to discuss some possibilities tonight. Ares is an evil, blood-lusting ass of a war-god, and I and my father despise him, but I fear for all who oppose him.”
Therese got up to check on the coffee, and although the pot was only half full, she poured the four gods and herself a cup. Recalling Than and his sisters’ love of sugar, she added generous, heaping teaspoons to each of the cups except her own. She put all five cups on a tray and served them. “It’s hot,” she said. “Be careful.”
“Mmm,” Meg purred. “Delicious. You can add coffee to your new list of bribes for me. Coffee and chocolate will get you what you want from me.”
Tizzie added, “Don’t forget a concert to boot.”
“Thank you for the coffee,” Hermes said to Therese. “And what is this I hear about a concert? Do you play a musical instrument?”
Therese blushed. “The flute.” She hoped she wouldn’t now be asked to perform. She had just learned an evil god helped to kill her parents and was behind tonight’s attempt to kill her—not to mention the fact that Cupid unwittingly locked Pete’s heart on hers, which started a chain reaction among the gods, the largest rift since the Vietnam War!
“The flute! That will please Athena. She invented it, you know, though some folks credit me with it. Perhaps some music would calm us after all this talk of strife and discord,” Hermes said. “If you will play your flute, I will harmonize upon my pipe.”
Therese was about to point out that her flute had been left behind when it dawned on her how easily that problem could be remedied now that she had her traveling robe. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint a god, especially one who could easily change his allegiance. Maybe if she played with him, and played well, she would win his heart. She looked at Than, “Shall we pop back over to my place to get my flute?”
He gave her his brilliant smile and stroked her hair. “Aren’t you too upset to play?”
Of course she was, but she wasn’t stupid. “Not for this company.”
“That’s a good girl,” Hermes said.
Hermes smile cheered her. She stood up, took Than’s hand, and together they traveled to her room where Clifford jumped from her bed and yelped with surprise.
“It’s okay, Clifford,” she said in a soft voice so Carol and Richard wouldn’t hear. She slid her case and music stand from beneath her bed, grabbed some sheet music from her desk, and took Than’s hand. “I’m ready,” she said. Then to her dog, she said, “Be a good boy, Clifford. I’ll be back.”
Although the pressure made it hard to breathe for a few seconds, the trip to her house and back was otherwise effortless with the robe and Than’s guidance. Her feet nearly fell out from beneath her both times she landed, but, fortunately Than was there beside her, with his arm around her waist, ready to catch her.
Therese played on her flute with Hermes on his pipe for a solid hour, which seemed a worthy investment since he said more than twice how much he liked her. And after, the four gods shared many stories about their lives, especially in the Underworld. Therese finally heard the complete story of Hercules and understood from Than’s contributions and his reactions to the others that his opinion of Hercules was very low.
“His emotions got the best of him,” Than complained. “He never stopped to use his head.”
Meg laughed, “I’m not sure his head would have done him much good.”
“Now there’s a wonder,” Hermes said. “Perhaps it’s a testament to the values of humankind that such a one like Hercules, with no apparent intelligence, would be considered the greatest hero among the Greeks.”
Tizzie added, “His temper got the best of him. Even I know the importance of temperance.”
“He killed his wife and sons while enraged,” Meg said. “Normally Tizzie would persecute such a heinous crime, but Hercules wanted to be tormented. He begged us to make him suffer. So Apollo told his oracle to send Hercules to a king he knew would come up with a just punishment. So the king commanded Hercules to complete twelve harsh labors.”
“Hercules wasn’t very smart,” Hermes said, “but he was resourceful. First he had to kill a lion that no weapon could injure, and he solved that problem by using his own hands to choke the beast. Then he had to kill the Hydra, which had nine heads that would only grow back multiplied each time Hercules hacked one off. He eventually seared the necks as he chopped them to keep the heads from growing back.”
“Iolaus brought him the iron,” Than said. “Hercules didn’t think of that on his own.”
“He spent a year catching Artemis’s sacred stag,” Hermes continued. “Then he spent another year capturing a great boar from Mount Erymanthus. Let’s see, after that he had to clean the Augean stables in a single day, which he did by shifting the flow of the river.”
“But most of his labors required no cleverness,” Than said. “Just brute force.”
“True,” Hermes agreed. “He had to drive away the birds plaguing the people of Stymphalus, fetch the savage bull Poseidon gave to Minos, and round up the man-eating mares of Thrace. What else? Oh, yes, bring back the girdle of Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons. You’ve got to wonder why Apollo didn’t intervene with that one.”
“Now that right there is an example of what I mean when I say Hercules allowed his emotions to get the best of him,” Than said. “He acted rashly, without reason. After all the help Hippolyta gave, he assumed she was responsible for the Amazon attack stirred up by Hera. He killed her without even offering her a chance to explain.”
“We should have been granted access to him then,” Meg snarled.
“But Hermes has told of nine. There were three more,” Tizzie said. “He had to bring back the cattle of Geryon, who was a three-bodied monster, and then he ran into trouble with Atlas when he had to fetch the Golden Apples of Hesperides.”
“But the hardest labor of all,” Hermes said, “was the last. Hercules went to the Underworld and captured Cerberus, with Hades’s permission. Poor Cerberus had to find his own way back.”
“That’s not when Hercules most offended me, even though he tied me up until I told him of Hades’s permission,” Than said. “I was there when he took Cerberus, and he wasn’t cruel to the poor beast. I made sure of it. It was much later, after the Fates made their deal with his friend Admetus, that he angered me.”
“What happened?” Therese asked.
Hermes shook his head. “When Hercules heard that his friend’s wife had died, he rushed to the Underworld to retrieve her. If only he would have waited for more explanation.”
“What do you mean?” Therese asked. “What explanation?”
Hermes said, “Long before, the Fates had hinted to Admetus that his life was about to end, and Admetus begged them to let him live. They said they would if he found another to take his place. Admetus asked everyone he knew, including his elderly parents, but no one wanted to die for him, until he asked his wife. So his wife took his place and went with Than to the Underworld.”
Than grimaced. “I should have stopped Hercules when he came for her years later, but he was such an arrogant ass. I took pleasure in watching him put his foot in his mouth. When he came to me and pushed me aside, I was ready for him this time and could have easily taken him, but I knew that as soon as he delivered the woman to Admetus, Admetus would die, and Hercules would realize what he had done.”
“That’s not Disney,” Therese mumbled.
Than had heard. “What?”
“Nothing,” Therese didn’t want to attempt to explain the Disney story of Hercules.
Than shook his head. “What man asks his wife to die in his place? That’s plain cowardice.”
Something clicked for Therese just then. Than was just, not cruel. Her admiration for him multiplied like the heads on the hydra.
“What?” he asked after she had looked at him for many seconds.
“Nothing,” she smiled. In her mind, she said, “I’m falling in love with you.”
He gave her a huge grin, as though he had heard her thoughts.
It was four in the morning when Therese and Than returned to Therese’s bedroom. Now she was utterly exhausted, and Than had just a little over an hour to rest before getting up and heading to the Holt ranch for pen and barn duty.
Than waited with Clifford curled in his lap on top of her bed comforter while she changed clothes in her bathroom. When she returned to her bed in her nightshirt, Than pulled back the bedcovers for her. Her heart skipped a beat with anticipation. She crawled in between the sheets and lay back on her pillow. She looked up at him expectantly, suspecting he wrestled with his own desire, for she could see it in his face. Kiss me, she said in her mind. Oh, please, Than. Kiss me.
He pulled the covers over her body and up to her neck and tucked her in so that she was under and he over the comforter. He leaned down close to her face and brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes. “Your skin is so soft.” He rolled onto his stomach and propped himself on his elbows and touched his fingers to her cheek. He ran a finger along her lips.
Therese closed her eyes as the longing swept through her. Please, Than. Kiss me.
He moved closer to her so that when he spoke, she could feel his breath on her skin. “You feel so good beneath my fingertips.”
Her breaths came rapidly, and she felt like she was flying.
He whispered, “I’ve never touched someone as much as I’ve touched you.” He smoothed her hair away from her face. “I’ve never longed for anything as much as I long for you.”
Kiss me, she said in her mind. Please, Than. Kiss me.
“But I’m afraid,” he whispered.
She opened her eyes. “Of what?”
“I’ll take more of you than you’re ready to give,” he said breathlessly.
“I’m ready,” she sighed, but she was frightened and excited and nearly out of breath.
His breaths were as rapid as hers, his brow bent in agony. “I might not have the strength to let you choose. If I kiss you now, if I take you now, I want it to be forever, but it’s too soon, too soon for you to decide. I don’t want to be like my father was with my mother.”
“I want you,” she breathed. “So you see, it won’t be like that.”
“Forever?”
She nodded. “Please kiss me.”
He swallowed hard and then ever so gently touched his lips to hers.
She closed her eyes and was soaring now, spinning, her heart going wild. She touched her hands to his face and held him to her. Something electric passed between them. Oh, Than, she thought. I want to be with you forever!
He lifted his face.
She opened her eyes, and they shared a smile.
“You feel nice,” he said. “But I want to give you more time. I want you to be absolutely sure. A week isn’t long enough for such a decision.” He kissed her lips once more and then stood up from the bed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And before she could beg him to stay, he disappeared.