Charon Unguarded (Ferryman Saga Book 1) Read online

  ‘Fine. Are you planning to sit in?’ he asked.

  ‘If it pleases you. Let me just fetch my coffee before it gets cold.’ Instead of leaving the room, she gave the trolley the merest glance and another cup of coffee appeared.

  ‘Stop showing off, Hera.’

  ‘Okay, sorry.’ She sat down in a chair that Charon swore had not been there a moment ago and pulled out a notebook and a very expensive looking pen.

  Charon looked over at Erick who was now staring at Hera, ‘Stop staring, it just encourages them,’ he whispered.

  ‘Is she a witch?’

  ‘Hera? Only in temper. She was Zeus’ consort at one time. A queen in all but title.’

  ‘But she said ‘brother’?’

  ‘It was a different time … best not to mention it.’

  ‘Is she single now?’

  ‘What! Possibly … now is not the time!’

  Erick grinned.

  ‘When you two are quite finished whispering, we can begin,’ Hera said. Her lips pursed but there was amusement in her eyes and Charon could have sworn that she winked at Erick.

  ‘Thank you, Hera, but this is my office.’

  ‘Don’t be a child, Zeus. This is bigger than us. Just listen.’

  ‘Fine, fine. Get on with it.’ He pinched the bridge of his nose.

  ‘Where was I?’

  ‘You received a message from an unknown party and followed the instructions. Do you have a death wish?’

  ‘Not that I know of, sir.’ It didn’t take long to explain all that had happened between bumping into Hermes and now. He’d hoped it would take longer. Somehow, ten minutes didn’t do it justice. He’d decided to leave out what the nurse had told him but realised he couldn’t articulate it even if he wanted to. The words stuck in his throat.

  ‘Would I be correct to say that I am receiving this information second hand?’ Zeus asked quietly.

  Ever the arrogant fool. Just has to be the first in line for everything. ‘Did you not hear me?’ Charon asked. ‘Your son is working with Loki. He released the Titans, and Odin plans to kill me, but you are worried about not having heard this first?’

  ‘I heard you. Whatever my son has done is an internal matter and should have been treated with discretion. I now find out that you have been discussing our business with outsiders—’

  ‘Zeus, stop. I can’t listen to you blather on any longer. You know why he went to Odin first. He just told you. You look for fault in everything he does, but you are forgetting something vital, dear brother.’

  ‘And that is?’

  ‘That if you had not imprisoned the Titans simply for daring to be stronger than us, we would not be in this situation now. We drew first blood in the last war, and when we realised we would lose we locked our problems away and pretended they weren’t there. The dragon told you at the time that you were building trouble for a later day. Well, here it is. At our doors. Charon has been doing your job for weeks because you would rather not dirty your hands with your own mess. Don’t you dare try to deflect this on to him.’

  ‘Hera--’

  Before the conversation descended into a domestic incident, Erick stepped in with the message, ‘Odin wants to meet with you to discuss how to deal with this. He too thinks Charon has done all he can for us. Unfortunately, he also wants Charon dead.’

  ‘Why would he bother to kill Charon? He is no threat to him.’

  ‘Odin disagrees. He knows where Odin’s hall is. He knows our numbers. As far as Odin is concerned that makes him a threat. He also knows everything that has gone on over the last few weeks, including the failure to inform the council.’

  ‘I see, but that puts us all in danger. Ra too. Everyone who was at that meeting is now at risk of losing their position. None of us questioned why they weren’t at the meeting.’

  ‘And that, I think, is what Ra is counting on. He is using your own lust for power against you,’ said Charon.

  ‘Humph. Preposterous. None of them know that Charon had eavesdropped.’

  ‘Possibly true. But you don’t know that none of them called the Council as soon as they were out of earshot. They deal with their matters ‘internally’ too. For all we know they’ve been on to us since day one,’ said Erick.

  ‘You know an awful lot for a minor member of Odin’s court.’

  ‘I’m trusted with certain things, not all. I’m not technically supposed to be here, but Charon seemed to think he’d need me to back up his story. I can see why. You share much with Odin, not all of it is for the better.’

  ‘Enough! I’ll meet with Odin. When would he like to meet? I trust it will not be at his current hall?’ Zeus said.

  ‘Correct. He says the details are up to you,’ said Charon.

  ‘I will meet with him here, at sunset, two days from now. That should give me time to locate and question Hermes. I want to hear his side--’

  Charon spluttered. ‘His side? He told me what he did. He told me why. I told you everything he said and did. He betrayed us all and you want to see if my story measures up to scrutiny?’ He shook his head. Some people just don’t change.

  ‘Don’t you have a message to pass on?’ Zeus sneered.

  ‘Yes. If I survive, I’ll give you a call,’ said Charon.

  CHAPTER 25

  The Storm Builds

  ‘What do you plan to do?’ asked Erick, as they left the building.

  ‘About?’ Charon replied, his mind was not on the task of walking and he tripped over the low wall which ran around the forecourt and seemed to serve no other purpose than to mark a boundary line.

  After much swearing about bloody stupid ornamental architecture being put right where people can walk into it and Erick helping him to his feet, Erick continued. ‘Passing on that message. You can’t exactly go wandering into Odin’s hall again. Not when you know he plans to kill you.’

  ‘I know that. Why do you think Zeus sent me? He wants rid of me too but if Odin does it he’ll get to come over all indignant about Odin ‘breaking the rules’ and come out smelling of roses. I’ve served my purpose.’

  ‘Well? How do you propose to get around that?’

  ‘There isn’t a way around it.’

  ‘There is. Well, there is if you aren’t too proud to ask.’

  ‘You’ll be in enough trouble for helping me. I couldn’t ask you to risk your life.’

  ‘My life? I told you. I’m already dead. That is, I am if I was ever alive. The memory of that story is still so strong even minor players got a sort of half-life. It’s really very confusing.’ Erick mounted his bike and strapped his helmet on.

  ‘How do you deal with it?’

  ‘Mead. Stop changing the subject.’ He passed Charon the helmet, ‘You’re clearly not going to ask so let me save your pride – you lot and your pride, geez: I thought we were bad – I will take the message to Odin. You think of somewhere to hide for the next two days that isn’t home. Odin knows where you live and that’s the first place he’ll send someone to look.’

  ‘Okay, take me— ‘

  ‘Don’t tell me! I can’t know. I need to look him in the eye when I tell him I don’t know where you are and I am not a good liar. I’ll drop you home so you can collect some things, then I’ll be on my way. I don’t even want to tell him which direction you went.’

  * * *

  Two days later, Charon was waiting outside the conference centre again. To be strictly accurate, he was hiding behind one of the huge bushes by the entrance, watching people going in. He hadn’t wanted to be the first one there just in case the next person to arrive happened to be somebody who wanted him dead. As plans went, it wasn’t a bad one as nobody had seen him. Yet. Something had to go right for him, if only by the law of averages, and the last forty-eight hours had been utterly miserable. In the end, he’d been forced to hide at work and live off a cold Chinese takeaway. This had not been pleasant, and there seemed to have only been one dry area in the whole building. Then he had been caught tryi
ng to sneak out so that he could pretend to come back in. It certainly had been interesting trying to explain to the night watchmen why he was there and why there was a camp-bed and a sleeping bag in the boiler room. He was cold, hungry and very stiff, and something told him the day was not going to improve.

  Finally, the coast was clear. Charon slipped out from behind the bush and through the front doors. The front desk wasn’t manned so he sneaked across the foyer and up the service stairs unseen. He hoped there was a service door into that room. If there wasn’t he would have to double back and get past Hera and Hestia. He hadn’t been expressly banned from the meeting, but nor had he been invited. He needed to know what was going on, and he was dead certain that Zeus wouldn’t be sharing it. At least, not with him. If all went well, he’d be able to get in and out without being noticed.

  Thankfully there was a service door and enough people were crowded round it that he could creep in and stand at the back. How many people had Zeus called here? He clearly wanted to make an example of somebody. Could he have found Hermes? He wasn’t there from what he could see, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t in the building. He concentrated on slowing his breathing, it wouldn’t do to draw attention to himself by exposing his nervousness. He had to look like he was supposed to be there.

  The main doors of the office opened and Odin marched in with a stream of attendants. At the rear were the two men who had driven the van that had taken him to Odin the other evening. They looked just as fearsome under proper light as they had under the streetlamps. They dragged a chained figure with a hessian bag over his head. It was filthy and stained with blood. The man’s hands were bound behind him and he was so weak that he couldn’t keep his balance. The men hauled him into the middle of the room and kicked him roughly to his knees. Would this be an execution? Charon hoped not. He’d seen enough of them in his long years, and some of the people delivered to him on the Styx had arrived in buckets. Well, bits of them had. He wasn’t sure he had the stomach for this but he was here now.

  ‘Well, Zeus, I have delivered my man. Where is yours?’ Odin bellowed. Charon wondered if he was capable of doing anything quietly.

  ‘My man has been apprehended. Though I must say, he is in a happier state than yours.

  ‘Show me.’

  ‘All in good time. Why the hurry, Odin? Keen to get back to the comfort of your hall while better men clear up your mess?’

  ‘My mess?’

  ‘Your man deceived Hermes. Loki tricked him into releasing our enemies and was fool enough to believe the Ice Giants could be controlled. Now we must contain the problem and put your toys back in their box too.’

  ‘I assure you, were it that simple, I would be quite capable of packing away my own toys, as you put it. But I did not do this to Loki.’

  ‘No?’

  ‘No. That was our enemy. As you said, he was fool enough to think he could lead them. Once your Titans entered the equation, and believe me they are working together for now, he was no longer of use to them. When he tried to enforce his authority, they beat him up and dumped him on my doorstep last night.’

  ‘So why is he in chains?’

  ‘I am no fool. He betrayed us. An example must be set.’

  ‘I see.’ Zeus leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers.

  ‘Where the situation becomes complicated is that punishing our miscreants will not solve the problem.’

  ‘And just how do you expect us to solve our little problem, Odin? I have it on good authority that you plan to kill one of my people. I’m also tasked with investigating the death of a fae. One …’ Zeus peered at a notebook by his elbow. ‘Robin Goodfellow.’

  A voice mumbled from under the bag. Odin signalled for it to be removed, and the two men dragged it roughly from his head. Loki had been gagged as well, ‘Ha ‘as a f‘ilt’y ‘by,’ he mumbled.

  Odin pulled the gag down, ‘What? You have more to say? My, my, aren’t we talkative today. Speak your piece.’

  Loki coughed. ‘I said, he was a filthy spy! I had no choice.’

  ‘So unusual to hear you actually admit to something. Who was he spying for? I didn’t kill him. That was Hermes’ job.’

  ‘Like that matters.’

  Zeus cut in, ‘Considering it cost him his head, I would say it matters a great deal.’

  ‘That oh so useful idiot, Hermes, went and confronted him in public and let his tongue fly, nearly exposed our whole plan. I didn’t ask questions. His absence was necessary.’

  Charon thought back to that incident. Hermes pushing the boy back over the bar. It would appear this was the mess he was giving Hermes a dressing down for the other night, but Robin was already dead by then.

  ‘Okay. So who would you suspect he was working for?’ Zeus asked.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘I’m sure you can guess.’

  ‘He was a double agent.’

  ‘Who for?’ Zeus was standing over him now, elbow to elbow with Odin.

  ‘The Fae would be the most obvious. Snivelling little fool wanted to ingratiate himself and get back in their good books.’

  ‘And the others?’ Zeus raised an eyebrow.

  Had the Fae sat and watched all this unfolding and done nothing? Had they told the council?

  ‘Others?’

  ‘You said ‘double agent’. You know an awful lot for someone who didn’t ask him anything,’ Odin said. ‘Who else was he working for?’

  ‘That would be us – well, me,’ a voice said from the main doors. It was Ra.

  ‘Guards!’ Odin and Zeus shouted together and within moments Ra was surrounded.

  ‘Unhand me and I will tell you what you want to know.’

  ‘You mean you’ll gloat, and posture just like when you summoned us all to a meeting in one of my own properties,’ Zeus said.

  ‘Yes, well, it’s not just me who’s sick of this place. I’m not the only one who’s had enough of being pushed around by the Fae. We’re Gods! We should be running this place, not hiding in holes and trying not to be noticed.’

  ‘Loki and Hermes are working for you?’

  ‘Not exactly. Loki came to me with the suggestion that there might be a way to go home but it would take time to organise. Somebody needed to do something about our current situation. I merely took him up on his offer and agreed with everything he asked in return for his help. I gave him leave to recruit help where needed. Hermes was collateral damage. All he had to do was keep his friend out of my hair. He couldn’t even get that right. Don’t be too hard on Hermes. If you ask me, just being him is punishment enough.’

  ‘It is not your place to decide our fate or to advise me on how to deal with my people,’ Zeus shouted. He strode up to Ra, jaw set and fists clenched.

  Ra yawned, ‘And yet the only one brave enough to have even tried to stop me is hiding from the both of you with the sword of Damocles hanging over his head.’

  A voice from the back chipped in, ‘I wondered where I’d left that.’ This was answered by quiet snorts of laughter from those who would rather not admit to finding that sort of smart-arsed remark both clever and funny. At least not in public.

  Ra paused and waited for the sniggering to subside. ‘You think me foolish enough to rely on only one spy? You are all so wonderfully petty and parochial, that I implemented my plans without so much of a whisper of complaint. All bar one.’

  ‘He will be dealt with once we find him. Insubordination is a serious charge.’

  Ra laughed. ‘Even now, you cannot allow a subordinate to best you at anything. You had every opportunity to swallow your pride and stop me. Instead you hid and you tried to deflect, and you send servants to find out something you already know.’ There were gasps through the room, and Zeus looked thunderstruck, ‘Yes, I know about the dragon. You might have stood a chance if you had been able to stop bickering and work together. It’s all my plan relied upon and thankfully you did not disappoint.’ He smiled but it did not meet his eyes. At that point,
Ra reminded Charon of a cobra about to strike. ‘What will you do now Zeus, my old friend?’

  ‘You are not my friend.’

  ‘A fact for which I am eternally thankful. You see, I have seen how you treat your friends when it no longer suits your purpose.’ He turned to Odin. ‘And you? What can we say of Odin? The Wise Old Man? He paid with an eye, but it seems all that did was leave you half blind. Little word of advice: if you are going to start removing your own body parts you should make sure they will grow back.’

  Hathor, the goddess who was formed from Ra’s eye and used to spy for Ra, found that her place had been taken on her return. She was most displeased. The moral of the story is, when taking any extended time away from home, always lock the door on your way out.

  ‘Your taunts will not get a rise out of me, boy!’

  ‘Boy? I was three thousand years old before you had even been dreamed up!’

  ‘So much for great age bringing great wisdom. Your scheme has doomed us all!’ shouted Zeus.

  ‘True, there have been a few unforeseen consequences, but none of that will matter once we are home.’

  ‘Will we all get home, Ra?’ Zeus asked, ‘Because from what I hear, your plan was a non-transferable single seat ticket.’

  There were gasps through the room. Charon realised then that some of these people were hearing this for the first time. He wondered how many had secretly rooted for Ra and his plan to go home.

  ‘Ah. Yes, I thought you might have heard that by now. Pity. I’d hoped to keep that quiet. Some clever deduction, and well-remembered lore on the part of your man. What was his name again?’

  ‘Charon. What of him?’

  ‘In short, had he not been such an insufferable busybody on your behalf, you would not have found out, or should I say been reminded of, half of what you know today. You should thank him by the way. You can’t buy loyalty like that.’

  ‘Reminded of?’

  ‘Have you two forgotten so soon?’ Ra laughed, but there was no warmth. His voice had become harsh and sibilant. With outstretched arms, he addressed the room. ‘We are here today because you are both cowards who, when faced with enemies you could not defeat, saw fit to lock them away, banish or enslave them, I merely took advantage of a situation that you two created for yourselves, and I for one cannot wait to see what you do next.’ He inclined his head in a mocking gesture of respect, shook his head, and left the room.