The carriage ride home took much longer than the ride to Olympus. Most of the time I spent looking out the window, trying to think the day through. So much had happened, yet I was expecting something strange to come out of the trees and attack me, or for a horrific creature to make an appearance at the very least. I was glad none of that came about before I arrived home, to the welcome of Harry, my butler, and nobody else.
"Welcome back, young master," he said, bowing to me. His garb looked a little dustier than it did this morning, but I guess that's natural when one cleans. "Did you enjoy your time at school?" He smiled as though the look I gave him was enough of an answer.
So I chose to not respond, instead asking, "Where's father?"
Harry sighed. "The master is asleep at his desk, ignoring the letters he's received today. I suggest leaving him alone." I felt myself tense up. Why couldn't the useless bastard do anything useful?
Right. Because he's useless.
"I'm heading to the garden. Bring dinner there," I commanded. Turning my back on my dedicated butler, I started to move.
"Of course, young master," he said. "But first, there is another, much more sudden matter that you must address." He held a polite smile as he gestured to the house. I had forgotten how terrible it looked. As much as Harry tried to clean the place, the only other servant this house had was the groundskeeper, who took me to and from school. So he was the only one cleaning.
"And why is it so sudden that you can't do anything about it?" I asked, picking at my thumbnails to stave off my curses.
The reason for it soon became apparent as a man stood out from behind the doorway, not belonging to the house, yet he leaned against the doorframe with as much grace as a snake.
"How we doing, boy?" he said, his lips, hidden behind a bushy beard, curling into what might've been a smile. His teeth shone dirt yellow. His balding head hid cowardly beneath the brim of a hat, though his eyes were as full of venom as I remembered. He tipped his hat before starting to walk forwards, hand staying next to his hilted sword. "I was gonna talk to ya father, but he's asleep right now. Figured I'd wait for you, boy."
My fists tightened as he got close enough to smell. It was the smell of a man who lived so long in shit, he became it. "What are you doing here, Katharm?" I asked, my body shaking as his name slips through my lips.
He spread his arms, doing a slow spin, as though enveloping the grounds with his sticky warmth. "What else, dear boy? I want mah propertay!" He stopped in front of me, the grin gone from his face, hand on his hilt. He stood over me, more than twofold, and leaned over me. I could see the leaves in his beard, even a worm wriggling around in there. "Or, at least some o' my money back, boy." He raised a hand, scratching his beard, and I knew he did it just so the dirt would fall into my face.
My head hung low, however, so I felt it land in my hair. My grip tightened, my knuckles whitening, as I answered, "You'll get your money soon."
I could feel his smug smile, as hard as it'd be to see beneath the disgusting fuzz on his face. "All of it?" he asked, his voice low as he put a filthy hand on my shoulder. I nodded, biting on my tongue. "Good. How long's 'soon' to a kid like you? A year?"
"A week," I said, bottling up all of my anger in my hands, trying to keep myself from uppercutting his chin. He seemed surprised by it, but then his grin grew even larger, patting my shoulder before pushing himself past me. There was now a dirty handprint on my blazer, caked with so much dirt it was visible. Even if it wasn't able to be seen, it made me feel dirty being touched by such a revolting man.
"A week, then. If you ain't got it by then, well... You're a smart kid, aren't you?" I turned around, watching quietly as he walked away languidly, relaxed in every sense of the word.
"Give me the order, and his head will roll," Harry whispered to me. I opened my mouth, about to do just that, but he wasn't alone. Figures moved out of the trees, all humans riding horses, all carrying weapons. Katharm climbed one such beast without a rider, the meanest looking horse of them all. He rode in front, none of them exchanging a single word as they rode away.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "He'll get what's coming to him. Eventually." Not soon enough, sadly. "Bring dinner to the garden." I walked around the house's front, heading towards the barely-tended hedges that consumed what once was a beautiful garden.