Odysseus notched another arrow into his mighty bow. He sent it whizzing through the air, and Antin dropped to the ground.

One down, one hundred and seven to go.

Hidden by my Helmet, I watched Odysseus shoot arrow after arrow, slaying suitor after suitor, while Telemachus took many suitors down with his spear. Mouse and Philo ran up from the storeroom, armed to the teeth, and joined the fighting. It was four against the many, and the many were dropping like flies.

Once they understood what was happening, the remaining suitors ran into the Great Hall to get their weapons. But the arms racks were empty. The suitors could only shove tables onto their sides to shield themselves from Odysseus’s arrows and Telemachus’s spear.

Just as things seemed hopeless for the suitors, Mel, the disloyal goatherd, ran into the Great Room, his arms piled high with swords, spears, bows, and arrows.

He’d raided the storeroom! He began passing out weapons to the suitors.

As the armed suitors fought back, the battle heated up. A spear barely missed Telemachus. An arrow whizzed by Odysseus’s ear.

Things were looking rough for the good guys. And Athena? She was nowhere to be seen. What could she be doing that was more important than helping Odysseus right now?

I spotted Mel racing back to the storeroom. I wasn’t going to slay any suitors, but I could stop him from getting more weapons. I sped invisibly after him.

Two minutes later, Mel was sitting on top of a wood pile, tied hand and foot. Odysseus could decide what to do with him later.

When I returned to the battle, I spied a young warrior fighting beside Mouse and Philo. He was cutting down suitors so fast it made my godly head spin. Who could he be? And then I knew — it was Athena in disguise! About time that goddess joined the combat.

The young warrior suddenly morphed into a large black bird. It spread its wings and flew up to the rafters. From this high perch, the bird cawed out spells, causing even more chaos.

Every suitor who shot an arrow missed his target. Every spear thrown by a suitor clattered to the ground. But the spears and arrows of the four never missed their marks.

Finally the four ran out of spears and arrows. Odysseus drew the ivory-handled sword that Yalus had given him in Phaeacia. He glared at the suitors. So many were still standing! And all of them were armed with spears and swords, bows and arrows.

Could Odysseus and his crew survive this battle?

Odysseus must have thought they could, for he gave a fierce battle cry and the four men charged the suitors.

His cry was joined by a terrible roar from above. Everyone looked up to see the black bird transform itself into Athena, the terrifying goddess of war! Her whole being glowed with a blinding white light. The furious goddess held up the Aegis, her great golden shield. On it was a huge 3-D likeness of a Gorgon’s head.

Still roaring, Athena swept down from the rafters. While Odysseus and his men cut down suitors with their swords, the goddess of war flew at them, shaking her Aegis. The Gorgon’s eyes bulged angrily. Her face contorted with rage. The golden snakes sprouting from her head writhed and hissed at the suitors. Every suitor whose heart still beat took one look at that Gorgon and dropped dead from fright. Only when all one hundred and eight suitors lay lifeless did Athena set her Aegis down.

The four stood before her, panting and gasping for breath. They’d fought for hours without stopping and were covered in blood from head to toe.

But before he’d even caught his breath, Odysseus said, “We must carry the bodies out to the courtyard.”

And the four began the task.

When they had emptied the Great Hall of bodies, Mouse went to rouse the servants, and the Great Clean-Up began. As you can imagine, it was a horrible, nasty, foul, disgusting, nauseating job. But none of the loyal house servants seemed to mind scrubbing blood off the tables or washing gore off the floor. That’s how happy they were to be rid of the suitors.

“Musicians! Bards!” called Odysseus, and they came to him.

“My king,” said a bard, “we never wished to sing for the suitors.”

“They forced us to play!” added a musician.

“I understand,” said Odysseus. “Now play and sing for me. Passersby will hear music. They will think that Queen Penelope has married at last, and that there’s a wedding party going on behind the palace walls. That will give us a day or two before the relatives of the dead men come here seeking vengeance.”

Even after a brutal battle, Odysseus was using his head.

Next, he called for his old nursemaid, Clea. When she came to him, Odysseus smiled. “Clea,” he said, “you who knew me before anyone else, go now and tell the queen that Odysseus is home. I will clean up and wait for her by the fire.”

“No happier news could I bring to my lady!” Clea exclaimed, and she hurried to Penelope’s rooms. Odysseus went off to bathe.

Now Athena appeared beside me. As before the battle, only I could see her. She’d lost the glow and, I’m happy to say, the Aegis.

“Nice work,” I told her.

“Thanks,” she said.

“But why did you wait so long?” I asked. “I was getting nervous.”

Athena laughed. “You know how mortals are, Hades,” she said. “They like to think they can do things all on their own. So I thought I’d see how that went for a while.”

“Four against more than a hundred?” I said. “It’s a good thing you didn’t wait any longer.”

“I know what I’m doing, Hades,” said Athena. “Those suitors were a nasty bunch, deserving of their fate. Well, I suppose you’re heading back to the Underworld now.”

“Soon,” I said. “But I’m not leaving until Penelope learns that Odysseus is home.”

“Maybe I’ll stay for that, too,” said Athena.

“Good call,” I told her. “Leaving now would be like reading a book and stopping on the second to last page.”

Before long, Odysseus appeared, freshly bathed and wearing a clean robe. He sat down on a fleecy sheepskin near the fireplace to wait for his wife.

A short time later, Penelope appeared. Without a smile, she walked slowly toward the fireplace, looking suspiciously at Odysseus.

“This is how you greet me when I come home to you after all these years?” he asked her.

“It has been many years since I have seen my dear husband,” said Penelope, taking a seat on the far side of the fireplace. “How do I know you are not some pretender?”

Odysseus sighed. “I am too tired to play games.”

“This isn’t going well,” Athena whispered.

“Clea!” Odysseus called. And when she came running, he said, “I need to sleep. Make up a bed for me in the hallway.“

Now the old spark returned to Penelope’s eyes. “There’s no need to make up a bed, Clea,” she said. “Bring the marriage bed out into the hallway for him.”

Odysseus smiled a sly smile.

“Ah, she’s testing him,” I whispered to Athena.

“What a pair,” Athena said, shaking her head.

“I built the frame of our marriage bed myself,” said Odysseus. “I built it from an olive tree rooted to the ground. Its living branches make the bed posts. If you wish to move that bed, Clea, you’ll have to get an axe and cut down the tree.”

Now Penelope broke into a smile, and I could see in her face the girl I’d met long ago at Helen and Menelaus’s wedding. The girl who’d won Odysseus’s heart.

“Forgive me, my dearest husband!” Penelope cried, going to him. “I was so afraid. I didn’t dare believe that what I’ve wished for all these years had finally come to pass.” She threw her arms around Odysseus.

“That’s more like it,” said Athena.

After the hugging and kissing, Penelope sat down close beside Odysseus and took his hand, and he began to tell her all that had befallen him since he left her to sail away to Troy.

“I know this story,” I murmured to Athena.

“Me, too,” she said. “I don’t need to hear it again.”

Unseen, we left the palace and went outside.

“Nice working with you, Athena,” I told her.

“Likewise, Hades,” she said. “You know, I think I’ll stay in Ithaca a while longer. There could be a problem when the relatives of the suitors show up.”

“Good point,” I told her. “I was thinking I might hang around for a couple more days myself. I’d like to see what happens when Odysseus goes to see his old father, Laertes.”

“There’s a great little diner on the far side of the island,” Athena said. “The roasted eggplant is amazing. And the kebabs? Out of this world.”

“What are we waiting for?” I asked.

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