Henry shook his head and they started off. It wasn’t long before he overtook them both with long strides.

“Don’t mind him,” she muttered to Hermes. “He’s just practical. He doesn’t want us to get our hopes up.”

“I don’t know why,” Hermes muttered back, “when hope’s all we’ve got.”

The walk was long, and hot. All three were soaked with sweat in under an hour. A light wind kicked up now and then, just to pepper them with dirt and dust. Andie and Henry’s black hair was dull with it. Talk died off except to ask for water. No one asked to stop for a break. Soon enough the sun tipped behind the horizon, and the desert began to grow cold.

“Hold up.” Andie stripped out of her backpack and dug inside it, then pulled out a hooded sweatshirt.

“Good idea,” Henry agreed.

“I don’t even want to put this on my dirty, sweaty arms,” Andie grumbled. “But it’s so cold.”

It was cold. And to Hermes it felt unseasonably so, after having a sheen of sweat on his skin all afternoon. Andie and Henry shivered, though they tried to hide it. It wouldn’t be much longer before they’d have to stop, and he’d have to track down fuel for a fire.

Not like when Athena and I were here. Back to back through the night. Two godly Popsicles.

“Hey!”

Hermes jumped up. Henry had shouted so abruptly his voice squeaked.

“I think…” He scuffed his sole gently against the ground. “Is this her?”

Hermes zipped to where Henry stood and brushed sand and small stones away from the leather that disappeared into the dirt. His smile spread ear to ear, and he bent his head to the earth and kissed her.

“Ew.” Andie toed Demeter gently. “I mean, you said what she would be like, but … ew.”

“It’s like someone stretched an elephant rug out over the ground,” said Henry.

Andie reached down and touched the skin. “More like … E.T. Like someone made a giant rug out of a bunch of E.T.s. Yuck. E.T. was so gross. I don’t know why people liked that movie.”

“Because it’s a classic, that’s why.” Hermes swatted her hand away. “And watch what you say. If you think she can’t hear you, you’re wrong. And if you think she can’t lift up out of the sand and slap you to a pancake, you’re wrong about that, too.”

Hermes led the way across the skin, and had to focus hard to keep his legs moving at a pace Andie and Henry could manage. They were so close. Close to finding answers, and then to finding his sister. He was going to strangle Athena when he found her. And he was going to hug her tight. He was going to strangle-hug her.

The nerve of you, jumping off that mountain, leaving me there between the Fates and Ares. I’d kill you if I wasn’t so glad you haven’t killed yourself.

“Hermes?”

“What?” He heard Andie’s breath behind him, but got no reply. When he turned, they both stumbled forward, eyes wide. “What’s the matter with—” He stopped, and felt like an idiot. They’d lost the light. He might be able to see and navigate by the quarter moon, but to Andie and Henry it was pitch black. He smiled at them fondly. Who knew how long they’d been soldiering along, trying to follow him with ears alone. And they were both shivering hard.

“Wait here.” He put a hand on each of their shoulders. “I’m going to go find wood somewhere. Be back in a few minutes.”

They insulated Demeter from the fire with several loads of dirt carried in Hermes’ jacket. It didn’t take long for him to gather the wood and scrub kindling, and even less time for Henry to get a decent fire going.

“Let me guess. You were an Eagle Scout.” Hermes sat down on the skin and passed around a bag of taffy while cans of stew warmed in the coals.

“I wasn’t, actually,” Henry said. “But we take family camping trips every summer.”

“That fire feels so good.” Andie groaned. She’d stretched out on the skin and snuggled into it for warmth. It was a little weird, but Hermes and Henry only exchanged a silent smirk. “I don’t know if I even have the energy to eat.”

“Try,” Hermes said. “You’ll need the fuel for tomorrow. We’ve still got another few hours on the skin, and then a trek to who knows where.”

Henry leaned forward and stirred the fire, careful to keep all coals inside the sand trap.

“Is this weird to anyone else?” he asked. “We’re here on her skin, and she’s somewhere over that way.” He jerked his head over his shoulder. “But she knows we’re here, and we’re camping on her.”