Chapter 123

“I knew you were smart. I didn’t know you were a kataraménos [damned] genius, Iokaste.” Hephaestus leans back in his chair and chuckles. I look over and see his dark eyes twinkle at my plan.

“So you can make it happen?” I smirk at the compliment. “She broke our deal. So now there’s nothing stopping us from going on the offensive.”

“Hmm. Yes, is this what you’re thinking?” He pulls a small shiny metal top out of his pocket and spins it on the table. A spotlight emanates from the toy, creating a 3-D screen. We all watch in awe as Heph reaches into the beam of light, creating bright lines with his fingers, bending and manipulating them until he has a sketch of what I described to the team.

“Heph, that is exactly what I had in mind.” My eyes light up at the realistic diagram.

“I’ll need to go do some… uh… maintenance… to make it happen, but yes.” He muses with his thick Greek accent. “In the meantime, you work on your fighting skills. Do you prefer a long sword or Claymore?”

“Arnie? You’r