“I’m not really worried about Atalanta,” Persephone told me as we got ready to astro-travel back to Athens.

“I’m not, either,” I said. “She’s strong and in charge. I’d just like to know where she is.”

ZIP! We landed outside Athens.

“I have to run, Hades,” Persephone said. “I’ve got a whole orchard of olive trees without a single olive on them. I’ve got to get over there right away.”

“Bye, Phoney, honey,” I said, reaching for my phone. “I’ll give Artemis a call to see what she knows.” I punched in Artemis’s number.

“Artemis?” I said. “Hades here. I know. Where does the time go? Listen, Persephone and I have just been to Honey’s cave. She told us about Atalanta being captured by hunters.”

“Where have you been for the past ten years?” Artemis asked me.

I winced. “It’s been that long? Anyway, do you know where she is?”

“Of course,” said Artemis. “I’m in close contact with all my Daughters of Artemis. Atalanta lives in the city of Calydon. She likes to hang out at a place called Heroes.”

ZIP!

I landed right outside Heroes. It seemed to be some sort of bar and grill. I walked in. The place had the right name. It was crawling with mortal heroes. I recognized some of them from their heroic pictures in The Athens Times. (Sure, there were pictures in the ancient Greek newspapers, taken with a kamara [old Greek speak for “camera”].) Some of the heroes were Argonauts, which meant that they’d sailed on the Argo with Jason on a quest for the Golden Fleece. (I’d helped out with that quest from time to time, but that’s another story.) I spotted Peleus, one of the biggest, strongest Argonauts. He was playing darts with Ancaeus, another Argonaut. Meleager, the prince of Calydonia—the lands ruled by the city of Calydon—as well as an Argonaut, was keeping score. Castor and Polydeuces, two more men who had sailed with Jason, were waving empty beer mugs, trying to get the bartender’s attention. And was that Hercules heading out the door with Theseus? It was. There were several satyrs, short little goatmen, lounging by the pool table while a centaur—top half human, bottom half horse—tried to sink a shot. Other centaurs looked on. On the far side of the pool table, I spotted three more heroes, Lynceus, Nestor, and Telamon. They sat around a table playing poker with three white-robed young ladies. One had long yellow hair, one long black hair, and the third curly red hair. The three shared a long, brightly colored scarf that looped loosely around each of their necks, then fell down over the red head’s white robe. I looked more closely and saw that it wasn’t a scarf, really, but a thick bunch of separate silken threads. Ah, I recognized these ladies now. They were the three Fates: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. And the silken threads they wore were the destinies of every mortal on earth. It seemed unfair for the Fates to be playing poker. They’d definitely know who had the best hand!

But where was Atalanta?

I stepped up to the bar, happy to see that the menu had some godly refreshments on tap. The bartender brought me a NectaLite. Mmmmmmm. Hit the spot. And then I saw Atalanta. She and Meleager were bent over the jukebox, picking out tunes. Atalanta had grown into a beautiful young mortal. Her long brown hair fell down her back in waves. She was tall, and as muscle-bound as any of the heroes standing in the bar.

A Greek chorus began singing the original version of “I’m Gonna Live Forever” at the tops of their lungs. This was a big hit with heroes, who liked to think that their great, heroic deeds would be remembered for all eternity.

Atalanta suddenly appeared beside me at the bar. She wore a simple white robe belted with some sort of fur. She was barefoot. “Hades?” she said. “Is it really you?”

“It is,” I said. “Artemis told me I might find you here.”

Atalanta grinned. “Great spot, isn’t it? I discovered it when I got back from my long sea voyage.”

“Sit down, Atalanta.” I patted a bar stool. “Tell me your tale. How about something to drink?”

“Great.” Atalanta plunked herself down next to me. She reached way down the bar and pulled a bowl of peanuts closer. “Blueberry smoothie,” she told the bartender. Then she turned to me. “I guess you heard how hunters captured me in the forest.”

I nodded.

“I could have taken three of them,” she said, popping peanuts into her mouth, shell and all. “Maybe four. But there were ten of them. They tied my hands behind my back. I didn’t say a word to them, so they thought I couldn’t talk or understand what they were saying. What morons.” She tossed down another handful of peanuts. “They took me to a ship’s captain. They whispered to him that I was very strong. That I would make an excellent crew member for his ship. They tried to sell me to him for a lot of money. That’s when I spoke up.”

“‘I will crew your ship,’ I told the captain. ‘But only because I choose to.’ And I broke the ropes that bound my wrists.” The bartender delivered her smoothie, and Atalanta downed it in a single gulp. She wiped her lips on the back of her hand and went on. “The hunters ran away in fear. The ship’s captain hired me on the spot. His ship was the Argo.”

“So you sailed on the Argo with Jason to get the Golden Fleece?” I frowned, puzzled. “I helped Jason out quite a few times on that voyage. I never saw you on board.”

Atalanta shrugged. “Maybe you didn’t recognize me,” she said. “I looked pretty much like the other sailors.” Once more she reached for the peanuts. At the same time, Castor, who was sitting next to her, reached into the bowl and grabbed a handful himself.

“Grrrrrrrrr!” Atalanta growled loudly. She bared her teeth.

“Whoa, sorry, Atalanta.” Castor quickly dropped his peanuts. “Didn’t know this was your bowl.”

Atalanta only stared at him as he withdrew his hand and walked away, looking for another bowl of peanuts.

“I see you haven’t given up your bear ways entirely,” I said.

Atalanta shook her head, smiling. “Anyway, sailing on the Argo was a great adventure. I felt bad about not being able to get in touch with Honey, though.”

“She understands,” I told her.

“Bears are cool that way,” said Atalanta. “No pressure.”

“I’ll let her know you’re all right,” I said. “And Mojo and Tiny, too.”

Atalanta smiled. “Tell them I’ll come visit as soon as I get back from the boar hunt.”

“What boar hunt?” I said.

Atalanta swallowed her mouthful of peanuts and said, “King Oeneus and Queen Althea of Calydonia have called on all the great heroes of Greece to come to this spot.”

“So that explains the number of heroes in here tonight,” I said. “Another smoothie?”

“Sure,” said Atalanta. “Raspberry,” she told the bartender. She held out her empty peanut bowl. “Got any acorns?”

He shook his head.

“Peanuts, then.” Atalanta gave him the bowl. “See, this huge wild boar used to ravage the countryside around Calydonia. Hunters went after him, but no one could kill him. Then, suddenly, the boar disappeared. For years, no one saw him. The farmers grew their crops without worrying that the boar would come and eat them. Everyone was glad to be rid of him. And now,” she said, starting in on the peanuts again, “he’s back.”

“And that’s why the king and queen have called all the heroes here?” I asked. “They want you to hunt down the boar?”

Atalanta nodded. Then she chugged her second smoothie.

“Think how proud Artemis would be if I were the one to shoot this boar!” Atalanta’s eyes gleamed with delight at the thought of it. She was a perfect Daughter of Artemis: strong, independent, an eager hunter. I saw some of the other heroes glancing at her. She was also very beautiful. I wondered whether she’d already taken a vow never to marry.

“How about another drink, Atalanta?” I said.

Atalanta waved to the bartender. “Cherry smoothie! And another bowl of peanuts, while you’re at it.” Atalanta sure ate like a bear.

The hero Meleager walked over to where we sat. He had dark curly hair, cut short. He wore a golden loop in his left ear. He smiled at Atalanta. Then he turned to me. “Greetings, immortal,” he said, acknowledging my godly glow. “I am Meleager.”

“Hades,” I said.

“Oh, Lord Hades!” Meleager bowed. “This is a great, great honor.”

“Oops!” Atalanta said. “I should have introduced you, shouldn’t I? I never remember. We bears just sniff to find out who’s who.” The cherry smoothie arrived, then disappeared.

“It’s Prince Meleager, isn’t it?” I said. “Son of the king and queen of Calydonia?”

“This is so,” said Meleager. “How did you know, Lord Hades?”

“Oh, we gods know things,” I said. “So, are you going on the boar hunt?”

“I’m leading it.” Meleager’s eyes lit up just as Atalanta’s had done.

“It’s going to be awesome,” said Atalanta. “All the Argonauts together again.”

The door to Heroes opened. Meleager glanced up to see who had arrived.

“Oh no!” he groaned. “It’s my uncles. My mother’s brothers. I can’t bear them!”

“What’s wrong with them?” asked Atalanta.

“They’re troublemakers,” said Meleager. “Just wait. You’ll see.”

The uncles spotted Meleager. They made their way over to the bar. One uncle was short and stocky. He was missing part of his left ear. The other uncle was tall and thin. He had a black eye. They looked as if they liked getting into fights. I didn’t care to meet these two.

“Excuse me,” I mumbled. “Be right back.”

I walked over to the side of the room. But I kept my eye on Atalanta. I saw Meleager introduce her to his uncles. Right away, the uncles started giving her a hard time. I slowly made my way back and sat on a bar stool not far from Atalanta so I could listen in.

“Atalanta is coming on the boar hunt, Uncle Feus,” Meleager told the stocky uncle. “She sailed on the Argo. She can outhunt most men.”

“No way!” said Feus.

“Not a chance!” said the thin uncle.

“She’s stronger than you are, Uncle Plexippus,” said Meleager.

Plexippus sniffed. “I will never hunt with a woman!”

“Then you’d better stay home.” Atalanta stood up. She was a head taller than the tall uncle. “Because I’m going on this boar hunt.”

“Oh, yeah?” said Feus. “First you’ll have to prove you’re up to it by fighting me.”

“I won’t fight you,” said Atalanta. “I don’t want to hurt you. But I will prove it by wrestling any hero in Heroes. Pick one.”

Feus looked around the room, searching for the biggest, strongest hero of them all.

I looked around too. At least Hercules had left. Atalanta could never have wrestled him to the ground. No one could. Still, all the heroes in the room were muscle-bound giants.

“I pick Peleus!” said Plexippus. “You have to wrestle Peleus and pin him to the ground!”

Oh, great! Next to Hercules, Peleus was the mightiest hero of all. He stood out because he shaved his head completely. He was known throughout Greece as a champion athlete.

Atalanta smiled. “Peleus!” she roared from across the room. “Come here!”

The good-natured hero walked over to her. “What is it, Atalanta?”

“Peleus, will you wrestle me?” Atalanta asked.

“Here?” said Peleus. “Now?”

Atalanta nodded. Peleus grinned. And without another word, the two began circling each other. Everyone moved back to give them room. Atalanta sprang at Peleus. She grabbed him around the waist, lifted him up over her head, and began spinning him around and around. She whirled so fast, Peleus became a blur. The next thing I knew Peleus was lying on the floor on his stomach. Atalanta held one arm behind his back. “Say uncle,” she said.

“Uhhhhhncle,” Peleus grunted.

Atalanta let go. “All right!” she cried. “I’m going on a boar hunt!”