TQO: Silvertongue

TQO: Silvertongue is an intro short for Orrin Shaw.

Silvertongue
Orrin Shaw chuckled to himself. After a good couple years of peace to himself, Zeus had finally caught up to him. The king of the gods had sent in a team of demigods to pick him up and drag him to Olympus. He had surrendered, knowing he was no match for any of them in a fight. At that moment, he was sitting in the back of their van, hands folded on his lap and staring at the demigod across from him. She appeared to be a daughter of Ares, and was sharpening a rather deadly looking axe.

It had been about an hour of silence in the drive, so he decided to break it before one of them did. "Tell me, what does Zeus want with me?" The demigods looked at each other, taken aback by the sudden break in the quiet. "What makes you think Zeus wants you?" The daughter of Ares asked him carefully. He allowed a small smile to cross his face. "The Camp Half-Blood beads around your necks indicate you are from the Camp. The fact that there are four of you says this is not a quest, but rather a mission for Olympus. If that were true, the fact that I am alive indicates that Zeus does not want me dead, but rather wishes for my services, in some form."

The demigods looked at one another, and, judging from the impressed and shocked expressions on their faces, Orrin decided that he was correct. He looked at the daughter of Ares and gave her a sly smile. "Would you be willing to explain, darling?" Before she could answer him, the hilt of a sword was struck across his face. He rolled with the strike and fell to the side. He looked up and saw another demigod was standing over him, and angry expression on his face. "Judging from the anger on your face, you have some sort of possessive desire over her. That or the two of you are an item. That aside, would Zeus want his cargo damaged because of something so trivial?"

The demigod sat down again, clearly annoyed by the logic. The remaining fifteen minutes of the ride were spent in silence, a smug silence, on Orrin's part. When they arrived at the Empire State Building and got in the elevator, some really annoying elevator music started playing. "I wonder who chooses the playlists for elevators." Orrin said aloud. There was no response. "The songs tend to be annoying, but when you get used to them, they can be rather...relaxing. Of course, when you're trapped alone with someone in an elevator, your mind is not on the music. Especially when you're trapped with four people in an elevator, as you don't know what their lifestyle is like, and for all you know-" He received a smack upside the back of his head and shut his mouth.

He was taken to the throne room and left alone with Zeus. The king of the gods looked down on him with disgust. "People like you make me wish we gods stopped reproducing. However...you are necessary."

"And what do you need me for, my lord?" Orrin replied. Zeus sighed. "You are good with money, and you are good with talking. I'm putting something together that needs those talents."

"I can talk someone into slitting their own throat and signing everything they have to me in their will. You need that? What have the gods come to?" Orrin said insultingly. "And, what if this new low causes me to refuse?"

"If you refuse, I'll kill you. There are others with your talents, and you cannot hope to escape. Someone like you enjoys life, and doesn't want to die."

"Point taken. I shall do your work, my lord."

"Good. There is a chamber waiting for you. I will have a servant take you there." Orrin was led to his chamber, and he lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling for about an hour. Then, he heard the door open, and looked up. He saw the daughter of Ares sneaking in, and a smile crossed his face.