Read Online The Blood of Athens by Amy Leigh Strickland - Free Book Online

Pantheon made their way to the front door and waited
across the street. It was getting so late that it was early again,
and the group knew they would be dragging on their tour tomorrow.
“Where is he?” Teddy asked, tapping his foot impatiently.
    “ Right
here,” Peter said. Teddy jumped.
    “ Shit, don't
sneak up on us like that,” Teddy said, glaring at a seemingly-empty
space beside him.
    “ Guys,”
Peter said, still invisible. “We need to talk.”
    “ We sure
do,” Nick said. The group turned to see Nick and Dr. Davis walking
up the street.
    “ Benedict
Arnold,” Lewis murmured.
    “ We were
just about to come looking for you. You seven are in deep--” Celene
started.
    Peter
interrupted her. “No offense, but we've got worse things to worry
about.”
    “ Peter?”
Celene asked, staring at the empty space between Penny and Teddy.
    “ I'm this
way because I had to sneak out of the bathroom,” he said. “Before
the police came.”
    Celene rolled
her eyes. “What did you do?”
    “ Nothing,”
Peter said. He lowered his voice so that he was just barely audible
over the sounds of late-night traffic on the busy street. “I mean,
someone else did something. There was a body,” he said. “There
was a dead guy in the bathroom. All jacked-up.”
    “ Cool,”
Nick said. “Murder in Athens.”
    “ Wait,
there's been a serial killer in the news,” Minnie said.
    “ Yeah,”
Peter said, “Remember that article we read on the plane? The police
said he liked to kill in public places--”
    “ But they
never released an M.O.” Minnie said.
    “ Right,
well... it might be a total coincidence, but I'd say this guy knows
his Greek history.” They all waited for him to go on. “The killer
left a coin in the guy's mouth.”
    “ Coincidence
or not,” Celene said, “I don't want you seven seen at the scene
of another murder. Let's get back to the hotel. I'll let Jason scream
at you when we get home.”

“ A mad
bull is not to be tied up with a pack thread.”
    -Greek
Proverb

    xii.

    The
infants were twins, but only half-brothers.
One was the true son
of their mother's husband
and the other belonged to the mighty
Zeus.
The boys shared a crib.

    Jealous
Hera plotted to kill the bastard
and sent a pair of most poisonous
serpents
to visit the infants in their crib at night.
Herakles
woke up.

    When
their mother sensed trouble under her roof
she ran in the room to
find one child sleeping
while the other child waved two strangled
serpents
and gleefully laughed.

“ Act when
you know.”
    -Delphic
Maxim

    XII.

    “ We’ll be
in town for Haley’s birthday,” Elizabeth Livingstone said as she
hugged her nephew. Paul Livingstone loaded their suitcases into the
trunk of his Lexus while his sister fussed over Jason. “You’re
getting grey. Pretty soon we won’t be able to tell you and your
father apart.”
    Jason ran his
fingers through the sides if his hair. “Yes, well, working with
teenagers, you age quickly.”
    They said
their goodbyes and pulled out of the driveway. Jason went inside and
sat down with a fresh mug of coffee. The kids were in the living
room, coloring pictures from My
Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and
eating toaster waffles.
    Jason perched
his mug on the ceramic coaster next to his computer and opened his
email. There was an incredibly cryptic message from Celene waiting
for him.

    Jason,
    Everyone is
safe.
    Celene

    He chewed on
the edge of his tongue as he mulled that one over. Surely Celene
wouldn't send an email about just that topic unless it had some
relevance in their lives. Everyone
is safe? Was
there some reason they shouldn't be?
    He was just
reaching for his mug of coffee when his phone vibrated in his pocket.
Jason jumped out of his chair to retrieve it, hoping that it was Zach
finally getting in touch with him. It was Frank.
    “ Frank,”
he said when he answered the phone. “Everything alright with the
baby?”
    Devon's voice
spoke over her boyfriend's phone. “You need