The guys and Remi were waiting for me when I came back in, they were all looking concerned, and I suspected it wasn't completely for my health.

"You're sure I'm the girl for this?"

Alexei, Nico and Christoph looked at each other nervously before Alexei said, "Absolutely certain."

"Real convincing, guys."

"We need to leave now," said Alexei. "We've wasted too much time already."

"Where are we going?"

"The airport. And then, Mount Olympus!"

"JFK has flights to the home of the gods?"

Alexei rolled his eyes. "Of course not. We have to make a connection in Athens."

"I'll go pack," said Remi, heading for his bedroom. I still wasn't sure how he was taking this or what he was thinking. It was great that he wanted to come, but... I wasn't sure it was a good idea. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to him and, when you came down to it; he wasn't the demi-god. I was.

"You may not come," said Alexei, firmly.

Remi wheeled about. "I'd like to see you try and stop me."

Which was a brave thing to say. Remi was in great shape, but faced with these three, he looked puny by comparison. Nico folded his massive arms to make the point, but Remi was unabashed.

"I'm not letting her go without me. You'd have to kill me."

Alexei held up a hand as Nico took a step forward. "I have no doubt of that, Remi. And it is good that Cat has such a loyal brother. But only the one performing the tasks may enter the Olympian domain."

"I don't care about any of that shit, I..."

"Remi," I stopped him.

"I'm not letting you do this alone."

"Some things a person has to do alone."

"How am I supposed to protect you?"

I smiled. "You know I can look after myself."

“And by ‘look after yourself’ you mean you're gonna try and run a con on the gods?"

"You think I couldn't?"

He couldn't help grinning. “If anyone can, I’m damn sure it’s you. But..."

"No buts. You're more use to me here. I need someone to visit Mom, and you're the only other person she trusts. Or recognizes. Plus, I want to know more about what I'm dealing with. I want to know everything about the gods, about the myths; the works." It was standard practice for a con; do background research on the mark. Was that what I was planning - the con to end all cons? Or was I just trying to give my brother something to do? Maybe both.

Remi nodded, not happy but accepting.

I turned back to the three guys who, within a crazy short time, had gone from being figments of my imagination to my only companions on the most dangerous journey of my life.

"Just give me a moment to pack some clean underwear."

I'm a New York City girl, it's where I was born and raised, it's where I work and play. Mom and I never had the money for foreign holidays so we'd throw a few things in the trunk and spend a week or two with my Granny out in the country. It wasn't even that far out of the city but it felt like a whole other world to me. By the time Mom was committed, Granny had died and I was with a foster family, soon to be joined by Remi. The family was comfortable but big expensive vacations were still not an option and I can't say I really cared.

All of which is shorthand for saying that I've been on a plane a grand total of twice in my life, both domestic flights - I've never been out of the U.S. On those two flights I was so nervous I had to be sedated. I was kind of hoping that I'd grown out of that fear of flying, but within moments of sitting down beside Nico in the first class section, I knew that I was as terrified as ever. I did my best to hide it - being a demi-god and last hope of mankind does not go well with blind terror and puking in a bag - but as the engine started, I was already shaking like a leaf.

"Could I get a drink?" I asked.

"I think you've got to wait at least until we're in the air," replied Nico.

In the air. How the hell is it even possible? How can several tons of metal and people be in the air? Crazy. Honestly, that seemed crazier to me than anything else that had happened to me in the past day or so.

I clung to the armrests of my seat like grim death until my knuckles turned white, as my face turned green. I liked to think of myself as a tough cookie - like a 'broad' from a 1930s gangster movie - but I guess we all have our little secret fears, and it was going to be tough to keep this one a secret.

As soon as we were at 'cruising altitude' - whatever the hell that is - I got the stewardess over and ordered myself a pair of large vodkas, which I downed before Nico's staring eyes.

"What?"

He shook his head. "I like a woman who can hold her liquor." He sounded impressed, so I decided not to tell him that I was drinking to take the edge off of my fear, and if I passed out in the process, then so much the better.

The vodka did its work and I settled back into my seat, uneasy but no longer panicking, and tried to focus on the in-flight movie.

"You don't like flying much, do you?" asked Nico.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well," Nico counted off on his fingers, "you've been shaking like a cement mixer since we arrived at the terminal..."

"Why in hell do they have to call it 'terminal'?"

"...you've been drinking neat vodka like it's mineral water, your fingers are embedded so deeply in the armrests that you're in danger of peeling the vinyl off, and no one in the history of cinema has ever given such earnest attention to Cheaper by the Dozen 2."

I glanced at the screen on which the sequel, which no one had been waiting for, was playing - there are some things which you just can't defend.

"I guess I am a little bit of a nervous flyer."

"Anything I can do?"

"I could use another vodka."

Nico tilted his chiseled features to one side. "I rather doubt that that is the case."

He had a point. The alcohol was sloshing inside me already. "Do you get a smoother journey in first class?" I asked hopefully.

"Are you asking me if one part of the plane is less susceptible to turbulence than the rest of it?"

"Yeah. Is that possible?"

"No."

"That's what I thought."

There was a pause as Nico tried to think of something to say to take my mind off things. It was nice to spend a bit of time chatting with one of the guys about something that wasn't my ancestry, my destiny and the general unraveling of the world as I knew it. I was actually getting to know them. Nico was the friendliest; sweet and kind and funny, and not over-burdened with brains. The sort of guy I had enjoyed casual relationships with for a month or two, because that's the sort of guy who treats a woman well and doesn't ask too many questions about what she does for a living. The disadvantage is that that's also the sort of guy who is genuinely hurt when you break up with them.

"Ever been to Greece before?" asked Nico.

"Never been abroad before."

"Wow."

"You don't have a Greek accent," I observed.

"Well, I'm not exactly Greek," Nico explained. "Not in so many words. I mean, I'm from Greece, but I'm not human - not exactly - so I don't qualify for Greek citizenship."

"Being human is one of the requirements, is it?"

"I've never looked into it, and I doubt there's a species box you can tick on the citizenship form, but I assume."

I considered this for a moment. "Not human, huh?"

"Does that bother you?"

I shrugged. "I've given up being bothered by things."

"Good call."

"If you're not human, are you..."

"A god?" Nico shook his head with a wan smile. "I'm what they call a living effigy. I was built by your father to serve him."

"Built?" I imagined the sort of workshop that would be required to build Nico. It had a lot of heavy machinery and there was welding going on. In fairness, he did look more 'built' than any man I had ever met.

"From human flesh," Nico added hurriedly. "I am identical to any other human in every way, inside and out. Every way but one."

For a moment, I wondered what he was going to show me as he lifted his T-shirt.

"You see?"

"I see," I breathed, trying not to get flustered at the sight of abs on which you could have grated Parmesan. Nico was so not like 'any other human'.

"I wasn't born," Nico went on, "so no belly button."

It was only then that I noticed the absence. I had been so caught up admiring the muscles - the way they caught the light and moved as he breathed - that I hadn't spotted that Nico was indeed without a belly button.

"And Alexei and Christoph; they're the same?"

"Yup."

I wasn't sure what to make of any of this but it had very successfully taken my mind off being on a plane. Unfortunately, at that moment, the whole vehicle lurched in mid-air, like we'd run over something - can planes do that? It was probably a pretty minor bump to an experienced traveler, but to someone like me, it was as if the whole plane was plummeting toward certain death. I bounced up in my seat, trying to get out - as if leaving the plane was a viable option. Only my seatbelt held me in place and I scrambled free from it as the plane lurched unpleasantly again.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do - I didn't have any particular plan, I just no longer wanted to be in this seat or on this plane. As I tried to clamber over Nico to reach the aisle - which was like ascending the great north face of Everest - I felt large but gentle hands on me, calming me, restraining me. The panic drained away and I half-sat half-collapsed where I was, draped between my seat and Nico, straddling the armrest between us and one of his legs. I came to rest against the rock-hard contours of his body and found his regular breathing oddly comforting.

"That's it, take a minute." His hand on me was no more than comforting and yet every nerve in my body seemed centered upon that point of contact. To be touched by Nico was exciting, even like this.

"Feeling better?" He stroked a finger under my chin to tilt my head up so he could look me in the face. I saw in his black eyes concern tinged with just a hint of something else that had me aching inside.

Unable to stop the impulse, I darted forward and kissed him. His lips parted and I touched a hesitant tongue to his less hesitant one, closing my eyes and losing myself in the moment.

He tasted so good, warm and sweet, and I leaned closer. His chest was like a wall of muscle and I groaned as my nipples stiffened against it. His fingers dove into my hair, pinning me into place as he explored my mouth. A rush of heat pooled between my thighs and I arched my hips experimentally.

It was only then that he pulled away, his onyx eyes blazing with need.

“You’ve been drinking, Cat. I don’t want to take advantage.”

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. I pulled away, breath still coming short as I refused to meet his gaze.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"I'm not." His voice was low and raspy, but it was loud enough for me to be sure of what he had said.

I clambered back into my own seat and turned my attention back to Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

I had now kissed two of my strange and apparently inhuman companions. One had not been my choice, though I had welcomed it, the other had been one hundred percent my choice, though I had felt guilty from it. I was right to feel guilty. I was on a mission to save the world and I was using it as a chance to get my rocks off? People who save the world aren't supposed to do that. Except for James Bond, but let's face it; he's a dick. He pulls it off, but he's still a dick.

Perhaps I should have left things there but I kept thinking and it didn't take me long to come to the realization that this was not the source of my regret. However wrong it was for the potential savior of the world to treat the whole thing like a dirty weekend, that wasn't why I had felt bad for kissing Nico.

I felt bad because I was also attracted to Alexei and Christoph. I had felt oddly like I was cheating on them. Which was not to say that I didn't want Nico, as well. I liked all three of them.

A lot.

Jesus Christ.

I pressed the button for the stewardess.

"Yes, Miss?"

I sucked in a breath and forced a tight smile.

“Vodka. And keep them coming.”