Athena the Wise Read online

  Heracles nodded.

  “And you could do that without harming it, then return it right after Eurystheus has seen it?”

  Heracles’ face lit up. “That’s a brilliant idea!” Athena wasn’t sure she wanted to know which part he thought was brilliant—the returning it part or the not harming it part. He seemed a little too fond of his club for her liking.

  “Okay,” said Athena. “I think we can nail that one. So what’s labor number four?”

  “We?” Heracles said, eyeing her.

  She nodded. “The deer know me. It’ll save time if you let me help.”

  “Makes sense.” Heracles reached under his pelt and took out his scroll list. Quickly he unrolled and scanned it. “Capture the Erymanthian boar,” he read aloud.

  Athena sighed. “Your cousin isn’t very imaginative, is he? All these tasks seem to have the same pattern. Boar-ing!”

  Heracles shrugged. “You don’t get to pick your relatives.”

  “True,” said Athena. A disloyal thought about her mother the fly flitted through her head. Dismissing it, she said, “First things first. The deer are usually grazing on the lawn behind the Academy this time of day. We’ll ask Artemis’s permission to borrow one of them.” If she lets us, we might have just enough time to show the deer to Eurystheus before nightfall.

  Raising an eyebrow, Heracles asked, “Do you think she’ll agree?”

  “I’ll convince her,” said Athena, trying to sound more confident than she actually was. After all, Artemis might just say no.

  They’d reached the granite steps that led up to the bronze doors of the Academy. “Wait here,” Athena told him. “I’ll run upstairs and see if Artemis is in her room.” Because of her problems with Orion, Artemis was still suspicious of Heracles. Athena figured she had a better chance at getting permission to borrow a deer if she asked alone.

  “Good idea,” Heracles agreed. “Ms. Hydra told me boys aren’t allowed on the girls’ floor.” As he sat No dogs barked, either, so she was obviously out. Athena tried Aphrodite’s room next door.

  “Hi,” she said when Aphrodite opened up. “Do you know where Artemis is?” Peering into Aphrodite’s room, Athena caught a glimpse of her neatly made bed. A plush red velvet comforter stitched with a pattern of little white hearts lay over it, and puffy, heart-shaped pillows had been placed just so, near the head.

  Aphrodite looped a wayward strand of her lovely golden hair behind the perfectly-shaped shell of her ear. “Haven’t seen her since dinner,” she said. Then she eyed Athena closely. “Where were you by the way? We missed you.”

  “I’ll explain later,” Athena said. “I’m kind of in a hurry right now. Heracles is waiting for me.”

  Aphrodite arched an eyebrow. “Interesting.”

  “This has nothing to do with boy-girl stuff,” Athena protested quickly.

  “Of course not,” Aphrodite said knowingly.

  Athena sighed. Heracles’ cousin wasn’t the only one with a one-track mind. But where he was fixated on capturing creatures, Aphrodite was fixated on romance! “See you later,” she said, turning to go.

  “Come by my room later,” Aphrodite called after her. “Maybe I can offer you some pointers.”

  “Maybe,” said Athena, “but I really don’t need them, honest.” She ran back down the hall and took the stairs two at a time to the main floor. She checked the cafeteria, just in case Artemis was still there, but it was empty. Her stomach growled, and she realized she was starved. Heracles probably was too, since they’d both missed dinner. She grabbed a few apples from a bowl that the eight-armed, octopus-like lunch lady kept filled for late-night snackers. Stuffing them into the pockets of her chiton, she headed out the door.

  Athena had only been gone for ten or fifteen minutes, but when she got back outside, Heracles wasn’t sitting on the step where she’d left him. She looked around the courtyard, but he was nowhere in sight. Where had he gone?

  Just as she was wondering where to look for him, she heard a frantic bleat, and the smallest of Artemis’s four deer bounded around the side of the Academy. Moments later, Heracles also appeared. Brandishing his club over his head, he was chasing after the deer.

  “Stop!” Athena cried in alarm. Seeing her, the frightened deer bleated again and ran straight toward her. Athena threw her arms protectively around the deer’s neck as Heracles skidded to a stop in front of them. He grinned. “Good job,” he said, lowering his club to his side. “You caught her!”

  Athena scowled at him. “I hate to think what would’ve happened if I hadn’t,” she said, eyeing his club.

  “Sorry.” Heracles gave his club a shake. “I wouldn’t really have used it. I only wanted to scare her a little. Just enough to get her away from the other deer.”

  Athena stroked the deer along her milky-white back. “Isn’t she sweet?” she said. “Her name is Delta. She probably would have come right to you if you’d held out a sugar cube or a handful of sweet clover.”

  Heracles’ dark eyes sparkled. “Great idea! I didn’t think of that!”

  Athena rolled her eyes. It was becoming more and more clear to her that Heracles really needed her counsel. “Anyway,” she said. “I thought you agreed to wait until we had Artemis’s permission before going after one of her deer.”

  “I know,” he said. “But I thought it would save time if I could catch one while you were gone.” He paused. “She did say yes, right?”

  “I didn’t get a chance to ask,” said Athena. “She wasn’t in her room.”

  Heracles reached out to touch the deer, but Delta shied away from him. With a look of disappointment, he let his hand drop to his side. “She’s beautiful,” he said softly.

  Athena nodded. Remembering the food she’d brought, she emptied her pockets. “Here,” she said, handing Heracles two of the apples.

  “Thanks,” he said, munching hungrily. Athena bit off a piece of another apple and held it out to the deer. After sniffing it cautiously, Delta gently took it from her hand.

  “I don’t suppose we could go ahead and show her to my cousin now, since we have her,” said Heracles. “We could return her before Artemis even knows she’s missing.”

  “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” said Athena. But then she reconsidered. First of all, she had no clue where Artemis was. It might take ages to find her. Secondly, it would be dark soon. Already someone had come out to light the torches around the edge of the courtyard. And Heracles had nine labors to go.

  “How far away does your cousin live?” she asked, stroking the deer’s nose.

  “Not far,” said Heracles, brightening. “You know where that big market is that’s halfway to Earth?”

  “The Immortal Marketplace?” Athena and her friends often shopped there.

  Heracles nodded. “He lives just south of it. So, what do you think?”

  “All right, we’ll go,” said Athena after a moment. She felt guilty about not waiting to ask for Artemis’s permission, but if they could accomplish this task now, they could move on to the boar tomorrow. “We’ll get there faster with winged sandals,” she said. “There’s a basket of them just inside the main door.”

  “I’m on it,” said Heracles. He ran up the granite steps and was soon back with two pairs. He handed a pair to Athena and they both slipped theirs on. “Whoa!” shouted Heracles, wobbling in surprise as the sandals’ straps twined around his ankles. He quickly regained his balance. Then, before the startled deer could even bleat, he swept off his lion’s cape and bundled her up in it, so that only Delta’s head stuck out at the top. Swiftly he tied the bundle to his club and slung it over his shoulder as if the whole business weighed no more than a carton of nectar.

  The deer’s eyes looked huge, but she didn’t struggle. Athena hoped she wouldn’t be too upset by the trip. Already the silver wings on the heels of Athena’s sandals had begun to flap. She hovered just off the ground. “Since you’re mortal, you’ll need to hold my hand to make the sandals work,” she
told him.

  “Really?” Heracles looked at her with eyes as huge as Delta’s. “You—um—won’t mind?”

  Athena considered the question. Would she? It wasn’t like this was a romantic thing. So there was no reason for either of them to feel nervous about holding hands. “Don’t be silly,” she said, extending her hand toward his free one.

  He wiped his palm against his tunic before he reached for hers. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Sweaty.”

  Athena couldn’t help smiling. He was obviously more nervous about holding hands than she was. Not that she had any reason to be, of course! After some fumbling, they finally managed to link their fingers together and were off, skimming their way down the mountain, their sandals barely touching the ground. As they whipped past boulders and trees, Heracles let out a whoop. “Now this is the way to travel!” he shouted above the wind.

  For a few seconds dense clouds swallowed them up, but then they ducked below the cloud line. “Where to from here?” Athena asked when the high-ceilinged crystal roof of the Immortal Marketplace came into view.

  Heracles pointed below and to the right. “Head for Mycenae Hill. It’s over there.”

  Athena nodded. As they neared it, she saw that several stone houses clung to the hillside. Their winged sandals slowed to a hover, and then gently touched down on a narrow road that wound around the hill. Unlinking hands, Heracles gestured to the house at the top, which was larger than all the rest. “That’s where my pipsqueak cousin lives.”

  He set down the bundle with the deer. Delta’s head lolled from side to side for a moment as if she was dizzy, but otherwise she seemed none the worse for wear. Athena showed Heracles how to loosen the straps around his ankles and loop them around the silver wings to hold them in place so they could walk normally.

  Heracles hoisted the deer again. Delta gave a little bleat, but seemed to enjoy looking all around as he and Athena climbed to the top of the hill. When they reached Eurystheus’s house, Heracles rapped sharply on the door. A moment later, a servant answered. “Tell my cousin I’ve come to see him!” Heracles said loudly.

  As the servant disappeared down the hall, Athena heard the sound of something heavy being dragged across a tile floor. She and Heracles followed the sound to a large interior courtyard that was surrounded by columns on all sides. In the center of the courtyard’s mosaic floor stood a huge bronze vase that was taller than Athena.

  Heracles rolled his eyes at her, then walked up the vase and tapped on it. “You in here, Eurystheus, you little coward?”

  A muffled whimper came from inside the vase. “Is that you, Heracles?”

  “No, it’s Zeus,” Heracles said with obvious exasperation. “Who else would it be but me?”

  Athena couldn’t help giggling to herself over Eurystheus being so frightened of Heracles that he’d actually hidden.

  “My servant said someone was with you,” the voice whined.

  “That would be me. Athena,” she said, stepping closer to the vase.

  Eurystheus was silent for a moment. Finally he said, “The Athena that invented the olive?”

  “You got it,” said Athena. “Why don’t you climb out so I can meet you?”

  “No, thanks,” said Eurystheus. “And anyway, I don’t like olives.”

  Heracles’ face turned red with outrage. “You insolent twit!” he roared into the mouth of the vase.

  “Well, come on!” came the vase voice. “They’re slimy and all dark and small like bugs.”

  “Show some respect!” Heracles ranted. “Don’t you know you’re talking to a goddess?”

  Athena imagined Eurystheus cowering at the bottom of the vase. She laid a hand on Heracles’ arm. “It’s all right,” she said. “Not everyone likes olives.” Eurystheus was rude, but she was willing to overlook his behavior—for now, anyway.

  As if suddenly remembering the purpose of his visit, Heracles said gruffly, “I came to tell you I completed the second and third labors. The Hydra won’t be bothering the people of Lerna anymore.”

  “It can’t,” added Athena. “It’s trapped in its lair.”

  A muffled grunt of satisfaction came from inside the vase. “And Artemis’s deer?”

  Heracles lifted the bundle up so that Eurystheus could see the white deer with the golden horns. Startled, Delta bleated.

  “Help!” yelped Eurystheus. “Keep it away from me!”

  Heracles glanced at Athena with a look that said clearly, You see what I have to put up with? Then he placed the bundle back over his shoulder. “Bye, Eurystheus,” he said. “We’ll see ourselves out.”

  Once outside the house, Heracles and Athena unlooped the silver wings on their sandals so the laces could twine around their ankles. Holding hands again, they raced through the darkness back the way they’d come. Curling up inside the bundle, the little deer settled down for the ride, like a contented baby on its mother’s back.

  They had just cleared the clouds when someone called, “Heracles? Athena?” As their sandals slowed to a hover, Athena gulped. Standing on the trail in front of them were Artemis and her brother Apollo. Both had quivers of arrows and their bows. They were obviously just returning from archery practice. So that’s why Artemis hadn’t been in her room!

  Immediately Artemis’s three hounds surrounded Heracles. They leaped up, bracing themselves against his legs to sniff at the bundle on his back.

  “What have you got there?” Artemis asked curiously. Before Athena could reply, Delta popped her head out. Happy to see Artemis, she bleated with joy.

  Dumbfounded, Artemis glanced from the deer to Athena.

  “I—that is, we can explain,” Athena said hastily as Heracles undid the bundle and let the deer escape.

  Delta ran to Artemis, who threw her arms around the deer’s neck. She glared at Athena and Heracles. “I certainly hope so!”

  Hastily Athena explained about Heracles’ labors and the time crunch he was under to finish them. “We planned to ask your permission, but we couldn’t find you.” She lowered her head. “I know it was wrong, and I’m really sorry.”

  Artemis’s expression had softened while Athena spoke. “Well, I guess it’s okay. I accept your apology,” she said. But her gaze hardened again as she turned toward Heracles. “And how about you? Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

  “Um—I—” Heracles stuttered. He poked at the ground with the tip of his club. “No harm done, I guess. Right?”

  Athena could’ve told him it was the wrong thing to say. Artemis stiffened, and even Apollo—who liked Heracles—was frowning. Ignoring Heracles, Artemis stared at Athena. “Maybe you should be more careful about your choice of friends.”

  “Oh, hey, wait a second,” said Heracles. “If you’re going to be mad at someone, it should be me.”

  “I am mad at you, you big lunk!” Artemis exclaimed, throwing her arms wide.

  Heracles blinked. “Wow! I get it now. Sorry I’m so dense. You’re absolutely right. This whole thing was my fault. If I hadn’t talked Athena into it—”

  “Oh, never mind,” muttered Artemis, interrupting him. As Delta nuzzled her cheek, her anger seemed to drain out of her. “As long as you promise it won’t happen again.”

  “It won’t,” Athena and Heracles said at the same time. With that, good humor was restored, and all four walked back to MOA together with Delta trotting along at Artemis’s side.

  Gone Hunting

  THE NEXT MORNING ATHENA WAS UP AT THE crack of dawn. It was Saturday, and she’d made Heracles promise she could accompany him on his next labor to capture the Erymanthian boar. “But wear your armor,” he’d insisted. “Boars are dangerous.”

  She smiled now, recalling how he’d laughed when she’d replied, “Really? I thought those wicked-looking tusks were just a fashion statement!”

  Athena dressed quickly in a blue chiton. She tried not to wake Pandora as she rummaged through her closet for her aegis, a large collar with a shield sewn into the front. She’d never had
a reason to wear it till now, so she’d stashed it way in the back. As she slipped the aegis over her head, she heard a dog barking from down the hall. It had to be one of Artemis’s hounds because they were the only dogs in the dorm. Artemis must have shushed him because within an instant all was quiet again.

  Thinking about her friend, Athena felt a rush of gratitude. Though Artemis had been understandably angry last night, she hadn’t let her anger get out of hand or last too long. Heracles could stand to take a lesson from her in how not to be hotheaded!

  Athena stood on tiptoe to reach her helmet on the top shelf of the closet. As she pulled it toward her, it rolled off the shelf. She made a grab for it, but it bounced off her shield and clanged onto the floor.

  “Huh? What’s that?” mumbled Pandora sleepily as Athena picked up the helmet and shoved it on top of her head.

  “Sorry,” whispered Athena. “I’ll be out of here in a minute. Go back to sleep.”

  But Pandora was awake now. She yawned sleepily, then sat up in bed. “Why are you dressed like that?” she asked as she pushed back a strand of blue hair that had fallen over one eye. It boinged into its usual question-mark shape. “You going somewhere? It’s kind of early, isn’t it? Did you forget that it’s Saturday?”

  “No, I didn’t forget,” said Athena, choosing to answer only the last question. “I’ll be happy to fill you in later, but right now I’ve got to get going.” Dropping to the floor she reached under her bed for a spear that Zeus had given her—“a present from your mother and me.” The spear was so long that she hadn’t been able to think of anywhere else to store it. Her fingers closed around the spear, and she rolled it toward her. When it was free of the bed, she stood up with it. With the blunt end resting on the floor, the spear was taller than the pointy top of her helmet! It was a formidable weapon, but she hoped she wouldn’t actually have to use it.

  Glancing over at Pandora, Athena saw that she was already snoozing again. Good. She opened the door to their room and sneaked out. Thankfully no one was in the hallway. But as she hurried toward the stairs, the door to the bathroom opened and out stepped Aphrodite. She was wearing a pink satin robe and had a towel wrapped around the top of her head. “What are you doing up so early?” they both asked at the same time.