Nicole found herself transported to a hill overlooking a little, red-roofed village. Quaint, tan houses dotted the valley, and wildflowers sprung up in patches all around the homes. People were coming and going like ants on unerring paths winding around the town. Children played in the beaming sunlight, and a crowd gathered around a crumbling well. Don’t these people have running water?
The breeze carried the sweet scent of blossoms as it blew through her hair and over her clothes. Clothes? Nicole looked down to see she was wearing a cream-colored blouse, designer jeans, and strappy sandals. Her mother must have given them to her. Nicole was impressed with the goddess’ taste in clothes.
The town below was picturesque, but why did her mother drop her in a place like this? And where was Ty?
A woman ran past her.
“Excuse me,” Nicole said.
The woman didn’t even glance her way, but immediately shouted in a foreign language, ringing Nicole’s ears as she raced past her. What language was it? Where in the world was she?
She stepped around mossy rocks to get to a dirt path that led down toward the village. Men whooshed past her as they ran down the hill, each of them chatting loudly. The crowd around the well swelled in size, concern written on their faces.
Maybe there was a water shortage.
A robust man with a shiny head tossed a coiled rope on the ground beside the well. Another man shouted down it.
“Oh no,” Nicole whispered as her stomach sank. Either a child fell down the well or…
She took off in a sprint and shoved her way through the crowd. “Ty!”
She muscled past several men to get to the center. Peering down into the deep, dark hole, she shouted, “Ty! Is that you?” She couldn’t see anything but blackness.
She heard a frustrated snarl and a faint voice. “By the gods on Olympus, get me out of here!”
Yep. Ty was down a well.
“They’ve got a rope,” she shouted. “They’re getting you out!”
“If she wasn’t your mother, I’d…” He didn’t finish his implied threat. She could only guess how mad he was.
The men dropped the rope down. “Can you see the rope?” a man asked. Looks like someone speaks English in this town.
“No,” he answered.
The man looked around. “It’s not long enough. I need more rope.”
A woman’s voice whispered behind her. “How did he get down there? Did anyone see him fall?”
Nicole turned around and saw a group of women dressed in simple clothes, a couple of them with curlers in their hair. A woman holding a two-year-old girl with a snotty nose answered. “No, and I’ve been here watching my children play for over an hour. I never saw anyone near the well. I didn’t know he was there until a few minutes ago when I heard him shouting.”
“Is there water down there?” another woman asked.
“I don’t think so,” the first woman answered. “Maybe underneath all the trash. I yell at those boys every time they drop their garbage down there, but they never listen to me. And then Iva throws her rancid food down. She says she doesn’t want it stinking up her can.”
“We have a longer rope,” a voice shouted from across the crowd. Nicole looked up to find two young men running, carrying a large cord of rope between them.
“I’ll bet he won’t smell so good when he comes up out of there,” an older woman said.
They dropped the new rope down.
“I’ve got it,” Ty shouted.
“Can you tie it around yourself, so we can pull you up?” said the man with the rope in his hands.
“Yes, give me a minute.”
“Okay, I need all the men to grab some rope,” the man said. “We need all the help we can get to pull him out.” He looked down again and shouted, “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
They yanked and the rope went taut, sliding over the stone.
“Whoa, this man must be big. He’s heavy!” said a young man in horn-rimmed glasses.
Several stones broke off the well, and then the whole side toppled down—thankfully, it fell away from the hole and not down on Ty’s head.
“Don’t stop, keep pulling,” an old man shouted.
It seemed like forever before Nicole could see Ty’s blond head pop up from inside the well. He hefted himself out of the hole and stood—a towering, angry mess. Multicolored sludge coated him from the waist down. His face glowed red in fury. The wind blew gently, carrying the most putrid smell. Nicole gagged.
Oh my.
One brave, old woman shuffled forward. “Excuse me, sir. My name is Hanna. I live just across the way.” She pointed to the smallest house on the street. “Would you like to clean off with my garden hose?”
Shock and disbelief flashed in Ty’s eyes, but softened at the white-haired woman who couldn’t have stood more than four and a half feet tall. He sighed, frowned, and answered, “Yes, thank you.”
Nicole approached. “Ty. Are you alright? You aren’t hurt, are you?”
“I’ll talk about it once I get this filth off my body.”
They walked over together, around to the backyard of the woman’s home. The old woman lugged the hose over to Ty and turned on the water. “You just start rinsing and I’ll get you some soap.”
“Thank you,” he answered simply.
“Do you have some other clothing?” Hanna asked.
“No, I—”
“I’ll bring you some. My husband was about your size.” Hanna shuffled into the house.
Ty stripped off his shirt and sandals, running the hose over his skin. “In my ten thousand years of life, I’ve never been so filthy.”
“Well, you are a sea-god,” Nicole said. “I imagine living under water keeps you pretty clean.”
He looked like he wanted to crack a smile, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and shook his head. “I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Surprised at what?”
He did chuckle then. “I shouldn’t be surprised that the woman who drives me insane would have a mother who does the same.”
“You better mean I drive you insane in a good way.”
His hint of a smile cracked into a full one as he shook his head. “Of course. I also shouldn’t be surprised to have your mother drop me in a hole filled with rotting refuse. But what really surprises me is that she dropped us at the base of Mt. Olympus, practically in Zeus’ lap! Why she did that, I have no idea.”
Nicole looked up to the mountains. “Does Zeus really live up there?”
“Ah, you want to know about the king of the gods?” Nicole jumped at Hanna’s voice coming from behind.
Hanna handed Ty some soap, then turned and laid a faded blue shirt and brown trousers on a stump in the yard.
“What do you know about Zeus?” Ty asked Hanna as he lathered his legs.
“I’ve lived in this village for eighty years. I know everything there is to know about the gods. Just don’t tell the Father.” She glanced toward the chapel on the foothills. “He thinks I’m a proper Christian.”
“So who’s your favorite god?” Nicole asked, winking at Ty.
“Oh, now that’s not something I’d be answering out loud. You never know when one might be listening and get offended.”
Ty chucked. “Smart woman.”
Nicole smiled and asked, “Where did you learn to speak English?”
“English? Oh no, I never learned English. The young ones at the school, they learn English. But me, I’m too old.”
“But—” Nicole began. Ty laid his hand on her arm, interrupting her. She turned to him to see him shaking his head. Her eyes widened at a realization. She mouthed the question to him, “Am I speaking Greek?”
He raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly.
“Besides,” the old woman continued, “I’m proud to be Greek. I don’t need to be Americanized like the rest of the world. What’s so great about America anyway? Do they have Olympus? No. Do they have the gods? No. What do they have? They have money, video games, and an arrogant pride that causes them to look down on the rest of the world. I spit on the Americans.” She turned and spat at the ground.
Nicole held back a chuckle. She guessed she should have been offended, but this ancient woman was just too darn funny. Stepping forward, she put her arm around the woman. “So Hanna, what do you know about Zeus?”
“Oh, Zeus, the king of the gods. Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you about him.” She turned to Ty. “You, stay out here until you don’t stink anymore.”
He smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”
Nicole followed the woman into a small, faded kitchen with peeling wallpaper. Everything around them looked old—clean, but old. “Zeus is a proud god. He rules all under his domain with an iron fist. Well, not really iron—that would be Hephaestus. He’s the god of ironwork. But Zeus is no nonsense, well, unless we’re talking about women. He does have a soft spot for a beautiful woman—much to the dismay of his wife, Hera. Now, she’s a jealous woman. And you’d better not let Hera catch you with Zeus’ boots under your bed. If you know what I mean.”
Nicole smiled, carried along on the journey in the conversation. “Zeus is god of the skies, right?” Nicole asked.
“He’s ruler of all the gods, but his power lies in the skies. He wields his power with his bolt. With his bolt, he has the power to command the winds currents and control the weather. Basically, the skies are his.”
Nicole asked, “If the gods really live on Olympus, why can’t we see them? I’ve heard it’s popular to hike up there.”
The old woman smiled. “Olympus isn’t his home. Well, that’s not exactly right. Olympus is his home, but the mountain we call Olympus is only the gateway to Olympus. Do you understand?”
“Uh…” Nicole frowned, trying to figure out what the woman was saying. “No, I don’t understand.”
“Zeus’ domain in the skies is not completely part of this world.” Ty’s voice came from behind. “Though both worlds are connected,”
“What do you mean?” Nicole asked.
“It’s like… well, it’s like another dimension,” Ty said. “And the link between the dimension of this world and Olympus is found on Mount Olympus.”
“He’s right,” Hanna said. “Hey, you’re not as dumb as I thought you were.”
“Did you think I was an idiot?”
“Well, you did end up at the bottom of a well,” Hanna said.
“Exactly,” Nicole said, earning a scowl from Ty.
“That wasn’t my fault. Tyche dropped me there.”
Hanna burst out laughing. “What did you do to make her mad?”
Ty didn’t answer.
“Well, regardless, I certainly wouldn’t want the goddess of fortune on my bad side—though you’ve got to admire her sense of humor.”
“She doesn’t have a sense of humor,” Ty said.
“You don’t think what she did was funny?” Hanna asked.
“Not in the least.”
“Well,” Hanna said. “I think it’s hilarious.”
“I agree,” Nicole said, earning her another glare. Nicole ignored him and said, “So, Hanna, how many gods have you met?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t know that. They don’t let themselves be known. But you learn to recognize their mark—as it seems your husband does.”
“Mark?”
“Yes, mark. It was bad fortune that he fell down that well. And, you might guess from looking around that Tyche doesn’t concern herself with someone like me. But then, I can’t complain much. I have enough to eat, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. So maybe I earned a little something from her after all.”
“It looks like you’ve had plenty,” Nicole said. “I haven’t always been so fortunate. But then I think I appreciate what I have more because I know what it’s like to go without.”
“You have a point. Perhaps not receiving a blessing from the gods is a blessing in and of itself. By the way, do you two have a place to stay? It looks like it’s starting to get dark. You and your husband are welcome to stay here. I have a small bedroom in the loft with a double bed.”
“But we aren’t—” Nicole began.
“We would be most grateful,” Ty interrupted.
“We don’t want to put you out,” Nicole said.
“It’s no trouble. Come, I’ll let you get settled in.” She led them up a set of dark, narrow stairs to the second floor. Saying the room was small was a major understatement. The double bed took up pretty much the entire room, with a couple of feet on each side. And what little floor there was to walk on creaked with each step. Nicole turned to Ty and whispered, “Careful not to stomp. You might go through the floor.”
“Yeah,” he whispered back, his eyebrows rising.
“Breakfast is at six sharp. Oh, and my son, Alex, will be coming early tomorrow, so don’t be worried if you see a bearded man walking about the house. The bathroom’s there across the hall, and there are extra blankets in the chest at the foot of the bed. Just make yourself at home.”
“Thank you,” Nicole said. “We appreciate everything you’ve done for us.”
Hanna shook her head. “It’s nothing,” she said as she shut the door.
Nicole looked at Ty and her chest tightened. He pulled his shirt over his head and hung it over the bedpost. His muscles bulged, his body lean, muscular—a perfect specimen. When her eyes returned to his face, she found him smirking at her. He stood and stepped toward her. She put her hand out.
“Just because I like what I see doesn’t mean I want it right now. I’m not a slave to my impulses. I have restraint. Unlike some people I know,” she said as she raised her chin.
“Hmmm. Really?” he asked as he brushed her hair away from her face and traced his fingers down her jaw. “Do you have enough restraint to give me a kiss goodnight and nothing more?”
She swallowed and avoided his eyes. “Of course I do.”
She could feel the heat of his body as she raised her lips. Ty leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Her knees went weak and she thrust her hand against his chest, pushing him back. He must have let her because he moved away—despite the fact her effort was weak and her hands trembling.
Ty cracked a smile and raised an eyebrow.
“See, I…” Her words dropped away when she looked into his glimmering, blue eyes.
Without a thought, she threw her arms around his neck and smashed her mouth against his. He responded with a growl and met her with equal enthusiasm. The warmth she’d felt ignited to a fire as he kissed her. Moments later, he tore his mouth from hers to devour her neck, lifting her off the ground. “Gods Nicole,” he said against her throat. “I…” His words dropped away and his lips paused, unmoving as they pressed against her pulsing neck. With an angry growl, he pulled away and sat her down.
Her knees buckled as she sank to the bed. He took a step away from her. His face darkening, he closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Anger colored his cheeks red.
Nicole gasped breaths into her lungs as her chest heaved. Looking up at his frown, she clenched her own fists. His rejection stung as disappointment burned her cheeks. Quickly, the disappointment switched to anger as she lashed out bitter curses. She didn’t often lower herself to speaking profanities, but she thought this situation warranted it. He was the one giving her signal after signal! And now he changed his mind?
His eyes snapped to hers. “Nicole, I… Gods, it’s not you. I want you. Hades, do I want you.” He dragged his fingers through his hair.
“Oh really?”
“Yes,” he said adamantly.
“Then why did you stop?”
He pointed to his temple. “Your unwelcome visitor has a few choice words for me, along with some powerful threats. Apparently, until I get Sypher out of my head, we will be practicing abstinence.” He said the last few words in a near rage.
Before she could speak, he was walking away from her. “I’m going to take a cold shower,” he snapped. The fury he’d displayed went a long way to making her feel better. This was definitely not a rejection. She smiled as he stomped away.
Nicole’s aching body was slow to relax, though. She really could use a cold shower too, but showering with Ty—cold or not—would not be a good idea in her condition.
A long time later, Ty climbed into bed. Nicole ached to reach out and touch him, but she didn’t want to torment herself. He lay with his wide back toward her—a wall between them.
She didn’t much like walls.