The Silver Archer 2️⃣ (Percy Jackson)

11. Hermes

Adira

I watched as Percy almost fell to the ground, but I caught him. I put my hands on his cheeks, making him look at me. "Perce! What happened?"

"Did . . . did you see that?" he asked.

"See what?" I questioned.

He glanced at Hestia, but the goddess's face was expressionless.

"How long was I out?" he muttered.

Brett knit his eyebrows. "Dude, you weren't out at all. You just looked at Hestia for... like one
second and collapsed."

"Um, Lady Hestia," he said, "we've come on urgent business. We need to see—"

"We know what you need," a man's voice said.

A god shimmered into existence next to Hestia. He looked about twenty-five, with curly salt-and- pepper hair and elfish features. He wore a military pilot's flight suit, with tiny bird's wings fluttering on his helmet and his black leather boots. In the crook of his arm was a long staff entwined with two living serpents.

"I will leave you now," Hestia said. She bowed to the aviator and disappeared into smoke. I understood why she was so anxious to go. Hermes, the God of Messengers, did not look happy.

I looked at Ginny, whose eyes were plastered on the god, with no side of love, only pain and misery.

"Hello, Percy."

We both bowed awkwardly. "Lord Hermes."

Oh, sure, one of the snakes said in my mind. Don't say hi to us. We're just reptiles.

George, the other snake scolded. Be polite.

"Hi," I waved.

"Hello, George," Percy said. "Hey, Martha."

Did you bring us a rat? George asked.

George, stop it, Martha said. He's busy!

Too busy for rats? George said. That's just sad.

"Um, Hermes," Percy said. "We need to talk to Zeus. It's important."

Hermes's eyes were steely cold. "I am his messenger. May I take a message?"

Behind me, the other demigods shifted restlessly. This wasn't going as planned.

"You guys," Percy said. "Why don't you do a sweep of the city? Check the defenses. See who's left in
Olympus. Meet Brett, Annabeth, Adira and me back here in thirty minutes."

Silena frowned. "But—"

"That's a good idea," Annabeth said. "Connor and Travis, you two lead."

The Stolls seemed to like that—getting handed an important responsibility right in front of their dad. They usually never led anything except toilet paper raids. "We're on it!" Travis said. They herded the others out of the throne room, leaving Brett, Annie, Percy and me with Hermes.

"My lord," Annie said. "Kronos is going to attack New York. You must suspect that. Athena must have foreseen it."

"Your mother," Hermes grumbled. He scratched his back with his caduceus, and George and Martha muttered Ow, ow, ow. "Don't get me started on your mother, young lady. She's the reason I'm here at all. Zeus didn't want any of us to leave the front line. But your mother kept pestering him nonstop, 'It's a trap, it's a diversion, blah, blah, blah.' She wanted to come back herself, but Zeus was not going to let his number one strategist leave his side while we're battling Typhon. And so naturally he sent me to talk to you."