Goddess of Light

Pamela decided that money could buy a lot more than anything. It bought attention and a definitely freaked-out level of concern, although she liked to pretend that the paramedics would have been equally as wonderful with anyone, regardless of their patron's wallet. They'd opened up an IV line of antivenin and fluids before they'd even tried to move Apollo. Pamela stepped back and let them work. Now that she knew Apollo was in no actual danger, she could appreciate the efficiency of the EMTs as they cleaned, dressed and immobilized his wound without sobbing hysterically or clutching at Apollo's unwounded hand.

She did notice that there was a lot of discussion about how good his vital signs looked, especially for a bite so close to an artery. That made Pamela's stomach tighten again, and she shut out the thought of how she had not been able to feel his pulse before Hermes had shown up.

"Snake must've not been loaded," one of the paramedics said as they helped Apollo walk the short distance down the trail and into the flatbed jeep that had been converted into an ambulance. The God of Light had, of course, refused to be lifted onto a stretcher. Insisting he could walk on his own, he stood up and began striding towards the trail, IV line in tow, when they tried to argue with him.

"Loaded?" Apollo asked.

"Yeah, poisonous snakes can control how much venom they shoot when they bite. You must have just startled this one and not pissed it off. Probably gave you a small dose. Close as it was to that major artery, a big, pissed-off rattler could have killed you."

Pamela felt like throwing up.

Apollo seemed intrigued by the paramedic's information, and the ride back to the resort was filled with lovely little tidbits of snakebite trivia she could have gone a lifetime without knowing. For instance, until then Pamela had had no idea that more than 8,000 poisonous snakebites happened in the United States each year, and that, on an average, about 10 deaths due to snakebites are reported. She also found out that horses get bitten regularly by snakes, and that they don't usually fare as well as humans because most horses are bitten on the nose when they lower their heads to investigate the snake. This is by far the most dangerous site for a bite because the resulting swelling often closes both nostrils and causes suffocation.

Pamela held Apollo's hand and tried unsuccessfully to tune out the entire conversation. Ten deaths due to snakebites kept playing around and around inside her head.

"Sir, your sister and Mr. Faust will meet us in front of the ranch house. From there they will follow us to the hospital," one of the paramedics said as the jeep crunched onto the resort's pebbled drive.

"Hospital?" Apollo frowned and shook his head. "I can assure you that there is no need for that."

"But sir, the full dose of antivenin takes several hours to be administered and monitored. It would be best if you went to the hospital and stayed the night for observation. Sometimes snakebite symptoms take several hours or more to appear."

Apollo looked out of the jeep's side window and caught sight of Artemis and Eddie standing beside the limo.

"Just take me there." He pointed.

The paramedic frowned his disapproval, but the jeep followed the driveway to pull up beside the limo. Before the EMT could touch the back doors, Eddie wrenched them open, and white-faced Artemis rushed up. She took one look at her brother, who was hooked up to an IV, had an oxygen line at his nose, and one hand splinted and bandaged, and her eyes promptly rolled up and she fainted in a full-out, gasping swoon of diva proportions.

"Great," Pamela muttered as each and every one of the paramedics flew out of the ambulance and swarmed around the fallen goddess.

"She's never swooned before," Apollo said, watching with open curiosity as Eddie batted away the men, scooped Artemis up in his arms and carried her to the ranch house. The paramedics hurried after him.

"For her first swoon I think she did very well." Apollo started to laugh and then closed his eyes against the jab of pain in his arm.

Pamela hated the way his face paled and tightened if he moved too much. "What can I do?"

Eyes still closed, he shook his head in tight jerks.

Feeling truly helpless, Pamela said, "Okay, well. Your sister is most definitely a drama queen." She tried to keep her tone light.

After only a few breaths, Apollo opened his eyes and smiled weakly at her. "She is that."

"Hurts like bloody buggering hell?" she offered.

"Yes, but I can tell you truly that I'm glad the paramedics have trailed away after Artemis. I don't want to go to a hospital, Pamela. I can tolerate the pain that my father has decreed as my punishment. I cannot tolerate being poked and prodded by strangers." He jabbed his chin in the direction of the IV needle that stuck out of his arm.

"Then let's see what we can do about getting E. D. Faust to throw his considerable weight around and have his appropriately eccentric guest treated here," she said, taking the oxygen line from his nose and unhooking the IV bag from its holder. "It's a damn good thing that I'm an ER addict." She studied him uneasily. She'd not noticed the lines of strain on his face before. "It's really awful, isn't it?"

"Zeus has been true to his word. I am enjoying all of the symptoms of snakebite." He rolled his right shoulder and flinched, as if the pain was crawling up his arm.

"Come on, let's get you inside and settled in your room. I don't suppose they'd give painkillers to a snakebite victim, but I think I have something in my emergency pill pack that will work wonders. I can promise you that after a couple of Tylenol threes and a glass of wine, you'll be feeling considerably less stress and possibly no pain."

"Tylenol three?" He asked.

"Trust me on this one," she said.

He grunted and held his bandaged hand close to his body as they climbed slowly from the back of the jeep, walked up the sidewalk and entered the ranch house - an easy thing to do because no one had bothered to close the front door.

Artemis was lying fluidly across one of the couches in the den. Eddie had knelt beside her. One paramedic was taking her pulse, another was waving a small vial in front of her nose.

"Oh!" she sputtered. "Get that wretched-smelling thing away from me!"

"Now, now... be calm, my goddess," Eddie crooned.

"Hey, that's okay," Pamela called, shaking her head in disgust. "The snakebite victim is just fine, thanks."

Artemis sat straight up. Her blue eyes were wide and pooling with luminous tears as she peered over the top of the couch at Apollo.

"My brother!" she gasped. "Oh, my poor brother!"

She wobbled, flailing her hands in his direction. Apollo went to the couch, and Eddie shifted his bulk so that he could sit beside his sister. Tears spilled from the goddess's eyes, and she hesitantly reached out to touch the bandage wrapped around his hand.

"They said a venomous serpent attacked you. I was so frightened. I thought that you actually might - " Artemis broke off, biting her lip.

Apollo put his arm around his sister and let her cry into his shoulder.

"All is well. All is well."

"What am I thinking?" Eddie seemed to suddenly grasp the entire situation. "You should be on your way to the hospital. Post haste!"

"No!" Apollo said abruptly. "Eddie, I have a boon to ask of you."

"You may have anything within my power to grant," the author said solemnly.

"Arrange it so that I may stay here until Friday."

"Oh, no! You should be surrounded by the finest healers in the land!" Artemis said, looking like she was going to faint again at any moment.

While everyone was focused - once again - on the soothing the goddess, Pamela managed to catch her eye and mouth a single word: Hermes. Artemis blinked in surprise, interrupting her own distressed sobs. During the break in her hysterics, Apollo's voice sounded calm and logical.

"The snake venom does not threaten my life; even these men will attest to the fact that my life signs are steady and strong. I simply need to rest, which I will do better here than in a place where I am surrounded by strangers."

Like a confused child, Artemis looked up at her brother. "You will not be... damaged?" She said the word as if it left a vile taste in her mouth.

Even though Pamela could see that he was still cradling his wounded hand close against his body and she knew he was in terrible pain, Apollo shook his head and smiled reassuringly at his sister. "I will not be damaged."

Artemis managed to control her sobs long enough to take Eddie's hand. "Oh, please. Do not send him away," the goddess pleaded.

"I wouldn't think of it," the big man replied, patting her hand. "Transfer the equipment you need to his bedroom. I shall call in my personal physician to attend Phoebus," Eddie ordered the paramedics.

In awe, Pamela watched the paramedics jump to obey Eddie, who took the ever-vigilant James aside to explain to him who should be called and what should happen when and how and why. As if they existed in the eye of a storm, Pamela, Artemis and Apollo were left in momentary privacy.

"Hermes?" Artemis whispered the question to Pamela.

Pamela answered in the same low tone. "He showed up when Apollo was..." She hesitated, met Apollo's eyes and saw the slight shake of his head. "When he was snake bitten," she amended. "He took the poison from his body, but left the pain - thanks to your pissed-off father."

"We are to appear before Zeus after dusk on Friday. He has decided to close the portal then. Permanently."

Pamela saw surprise on the goddess's face, and then, when Eddie hurried back over to them, she was almost certain she saw something else. Something that might have been sadness.

"It is all being arranged, my friend," Eddie said to Apollo.

"Thank you, Eddie. I will remember your kindness," the god said solemnly.

Eddie put his hand on Apollo's shoulder. "It is my pleasure to follow the ancient ways. In my household the bond between guest and host is still a sacred one."

Apollo dipped his head in acknowledgment. "If the gods still listen to the modern world, may you be blessed for it."

"I have already been richly blessed," Eddie said, taking Artemis' hand and raising it to his lips.