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Inside was a cozy little space. Not what I was expecting considering the drunken frat party hanging around outside.
Warm, light wooden floors carried small two-person tables with cushioned, high-backed chairs on either side. A large fireplace dominated the back wall, fed by steady flames pouring from the palms of a tall, freckled woman behind the bar.Hanging wood chandeliers topped with dozens of candles, lighting the dancers with a fiery glow.
A four-piece band played in the corner, playing a jaunty, foot-stomping tune that got half the room on their feet.
Alex went up to the bar and ordered two ales as easy as you like. She handed them over without question.
“And two rooms, please,” he said. “Next to each other.”
“All taken for the festival tomorrow.” She passed us a plate of sliced fresh bread and dipping oil. “Only one room left.”
“We’ll take it.”
Alex passed me my mug and the room key.
Lower drinking age.I accepted my mug quick.That’s one point in this world’s favor.
I downed half of it before we made our way to a booth in the back, tucked away from the music and dancing. My mom was snatched by mythical monsters and I spent two years in a psychiatric hospital being told over and over again that I made it up because I couldn’t handle the truth of what I did to her.
Of course I drank.
“Mundanes can’t handle it.”
I paused midsip. “Excuse me?”
“The answer to your question. Why does no one in their world know that ours exists?” Alex reclined his chair, gazing at the dancers. Half his face was covered, but I could tell he was smiling. “Mundanes deal with enough unbeatable monsters of their own. They want nothing to do with ours.”
I nodded slowly, taking that in. Sexism, racism, classism, poverty, crime, sexual assault. We worry about enough things when we step out the door each morning. I couldn’t imagine if I also had to worry about three-headed dogs tearing me limb from limb on my way to school.
“But it’s for our safety too,” he continued. “So that we can live free and use our power in service of the gods, and not in service of mundanes’ constant bid for dominance and control.”
I opened my mouth to argue but stopped. My world had weapons and chemicals, and we cut bloody swatches through communities and nations to gain control. I could only weep thinking about the devastation that would reign if someone like Alex was captured by a maniac and forced to boil alive everyone that maniac wanted dead.
Kind of like how those monsters stole my mom to control me.I absentmindedly twirled the bracelet.Bad things happen when our worlds collide.
“How did we get here?” I helped myself to some bread. “How did all of this get here and when did we separate? I mean, we all know the stories of the Greek gods and their habit of hooking up with humans.”
“Hooking up?”
I laced my fingers together and smacked my palms over and over. Alex snorted, laughing.
“What the fuck is that?”
“Fucking is what that is.” I giggled too. “Greek gods liked humans a little too much.”
“Actually,” he said, leaning in. “That is how we got here. I’ll tell you the whole story right now, but no guarantee you’ll believe it.”
“I’ll believe just about anything today.”
“All right. Long ago,” he began, “the gods of Olympia ruled the heavens, hell, and everything above, below, and in between. But they were not like other gods, and you just said why.”
My brow rose. “Because they liked humans?”
“They were fascinated by humans,” he said softly. “The way they lived, worked, and died. How they loved, toiled, and strove for more. Instead of staying high above them on MountOlympus, the gods couldn’t resist interacting with the mortals who shared their shape but not their power.
“The gods bestowed great gifts on the mortals they favored—from wealth and riches to children born of god and man. Entire cities flourished under their patron god’s indulgence, while the enemies of those people suffered under their god’s wrath,” he said.
“The Grecian people believed in the Olympians so fiercely and with such devotion, their faith became an unstoppable force that fed the gods and made them unstoppable in turn. With the gods on their side, the Greek empire stretched wide—conquering many civilizations. Then—”
