Daughter of Wine

Callida

The dwarves don't try very hard to lose us, which is definitely suspicious. They stay just at the edge of our vision, scampering over red-tiled rooftops, knocking over window boxes, whooping and hollering and leaving a trail of screws and nails from Leo's tool belt, almost as if they want us to follow. 

We jog after them. Leo keeps cursing every time his pants fall down. I feel bad for laughing, but it was such a ridiculous thing. Only Leo would get his zipper stolen by demon monkey dwarves. 

We turn a corner and see two ancient stone towers jutting into the sky, side by side, much taller than anything else in the neighborhood. Maybe medieval watchtowers? They lean in different directions like gearshifts on a race car. 

The Kerkopes scale the tower on the right. When they reach the top, they climb around the back and disappear. 

"Did they go inside?" I ask, sweating in the summer heat. I can see some tiny windows at the top, covered with metal grates, but I doubt those would stop the dwarves. We watch for a minute, but the Kerkopes don't reappear. Which means we have to go up there and look for them. 

"Great." Leo mutters. "No flying friend to carry us up."

"At least you have your sphere back." I offer supportively. 

He nods halfheartedly. "I need my toolbelt to do anything with it." 

"You don't look like yourself without it." I admit. It's true. As ridiculous as it sounds, he looks so different without his little toolbelt. He looks even thinner

We scan the neighborhood. Half a block down, a set of double glass doors opens and an old lady hobbles out, carrying plastic shopping bags. 

A grocery store?

"Leo, have you ever watched Iron Man 3?" I ask. 

He frowns. "Of course. But now isn't really-"

"You know the part, where he doesn't have his suit, and he's stuck in Tennessee, and he goes to the hardware store and makes a bunch of homemade bombs and things to blow up the Mandarin?"

Leo's eyes widen. "Mamacita, you're a genius."

I pat my pockets, and Leo does the same. To my amazement, we still have some euro notes from Rome. Those stupid dwarves took everything except our money. 

We run for the store as fast as Leo's zipperless pants allow.  

I haven't been to a grocery store since I was a kid. No need to go grocery shopping when you have magical plates that feed you whatever you want. Despite our hurry, I can't help but gawk at the vast selection of foods and just... stuff that people can buy. 

Leo drags me along as he scours the aisles, looking for things he can use. I offer to ask, but we suppose it would seem suspicious if I started asking employees for dangerous chemicals. 

Fortunately, Leo doesn't need to read labels. He can just tell from picking up a toothpaste tube whether it contains potassium nitrate. He finds charcoal. I find us some sugar and baking soda. The store sells matches, and bug spray, and aluminum foil. Pretty much everything he needs, plus a laundry cord he can use as a belt. 

We add some Italian junk food to the basket, just to sort of disguise our more suspicious purchases. I also throw in a bushel of grapes, but I don't know why. Maybe it's just a Dionysus thing, or maybe I'm hungry for grapes. 

A wide-eyed checkout lady asks us a few questions about the bag, but I manage to convince her we're throwing an outdoor party. I feel weird translating. 

"65 euros." I tell Leo, who forks over the money. 

We race out of the store and duck into the nearest doorway, where we can keep en eye on the towers. Leo starts to work while I keep watch, absentmindedly eating grapes. They're amazing. I've heard about food being fresher, less genetically engineered in Europe, but I'd never really believed it until now.