by Holly Hook
"We're almost there," he said in a spooky tone.
Ronin made another left down a narrow street. We crept down an alley and away from the main town. A shadow fell over us and a chill swept over my body. At last, the alley opened up and Ronin took us through a small roundabout, which took us down yet another narrow road and into the country again. The residents here might take pay for hosting a pair of Academy campuses but they sure didn't want them near their neighborhoods. At last we turned down a dirt driveway that went through a cluster of trees and arrived at a low, white marble building that gleamed in the sunlight.
"Well, here we are," Ronin said after a pause. "Shall we find out how amazing you are?"
"Shall you just shut up?"
He just smiled. Why did that have to be hot, too?
The sorting temple was unlabeled, tucked into the trees, and surrounded by a wrought iron gate. The front of the building was held up by Greek-style pillars, all polished, white, and fancy like the rest of the structure. Vines hung from the walls of the sides. The doorway was open and inside I could see nothing but dim light and possibly a fountain of water in the center. The building wasn't huge, but it was enough to send a scream up my throat, which I held back because Ronin would never let me hear the end of it.
"Shall I get the door for you?" he asked with sarcasm.
"I can get it."
"Are you sure?"
I shoved the car door open now that it was unlocked and stood there before the temple. Ronin got out too, and I gulped, praying he wouldn't hear it, as I tried to make out what was inside. A couple of cars, a limo and a beat-up sedan, sat on the side of the building. People were here.
"Well, are you going to stand there with your mouth gaping open or are you going to walk inside and find out what wonders await you?" Ronin asked.
"I'm just going to stand here with my mouth gaping open," I said in the same tone.
"Wow! You have sarcasm. I like that. Or maybe you don't because you really are doing what you said."
I sighed. The fight was leaving me. Ronin's attitude gave me the strength I needed to uproot myself from the dirt parking lot and to walk to the gate. Ronin produced a brass key, unlocking it, and bowed to let me enter. My heart rose into my throat as I tried not to look at him. I focused on a brass sign by the door that warned everyone to turn off their cell phones before entering. After fumbling with mine, I managed to power it down and stuff it back in my pocket.
"No backpacks," a young woman warned as I stepped over the threshold and into a long, marble space held up by pillars. Candles flickered everywhere.
My eyes had to adjust for a bit before I saw her, standing among butt loads of candles and blocking my view of the other side of the room. A girl a couple of years older than me, dressed in a lavender toga dress and dark hair in a bun, stood just inside the door. She shook her head at me and grinned, drawing a blush into my cheeks. I'd forgotten that an oracle always staffed these temples. They weren't just used for sorting, but for those who wanted prophecies.
At least she was smiling. Of course oracles, just ordinary humans with Sight, got to go to Olympian Academy and study in their own program. She didn't have a reason to sweat.
"I'm Natalia," she continued, raising her hand to shake mine.
I sensed Ronin's presence behind me, making my neck prickle. I shook Natalia's hand. Getting that part right was easy enough.
"So, the sorting. We're in time?" Ronin asked, and not without nerves. "I honestly didn't think I'd be bringing her here, to tell you the truth."
My cheeks heated as Natalia frowned at him. Something silent exchanged between the two, something worried and tense, but before I could ask if something was wrong—hah, everything was wrong—Natalia cleared her throat and whispered, "They're here. Zeus and Prometheus."
"What?" I mouthed. I knew a god and a titan—depending on who was available—attended each sorting. One represented Olympian Academy and the other, Cursed.
Natalia stepped aside with a small bow.
And then my eyes adjusted and I saw them both on the far end of the room.
Two men, who looked like humans except for their eyes, stood on either side of the round fountain on the far end of the room. Zeus stood on the right like the world's most powerful executive. I'd seen pictures of him on the covers of business magazines, sometimes with his wife Hera and sometimes alone. Since the Awakening, he'd ditched his toga for a storm-gray suit and now ran the biggest power company in the world. Matching gray streaks lined his dark hair and he had the most serious eyes and jawbone on Earth. Though dark brown, his irises held bright, obvious golden flecks. The sign of a god. They bored right through me, sucking the strength from my legs. The air filled with crackling electricity which made my skin prickle. At any point, this being could strike me dead with a freak lightning bolt. I'd never faced a god before and now I knew what people meant when they said it was unforgettable. Wasn't Zeus busy? Why had he come to a sorting? He had better things to do.
A second man stood on the right of the fountain. Complete with spectacles which must be for show, the titan was wiry, stood with his hands folded together, and wore a wrinkled black suit. Sandy blonde hair spilled over a young, but somehow aged face and over one blue eye that contained dark green flecks. As I eyed him, he shuffled away from Zeus. Stress lines extended from his eyes as they shone. Was Prometheus surveying me? Did he look hungry?
They never taught us much about the titans, the deities who existed before the gods, but we knew many of them had caused trouble. Zeus's dad ate his siblings and wound up in Tartarus later, along with some other titans. This titan must be one of the ones who escaped. And I could already tell he hated Zeus.
"Don't fall," Natalia hissed as she got beside me. "Breathe." I could hear the shaking in her voice. So I wasn't the only one quaking. Zeus's presence especially thickened the air. "To the fountain."
I tried to step, but my shaking legs carried me in a circle and left me stumbling. Candles sputtered as if sensing my fear. Ronin didn't dare laugh at me, not in the presence of these deities. The fountain of water waited, and beside it was a marble pedestal holding a scary-looking dagger. Dizziness swept over me. I'd heard how sortings worked. The last thing I liked was blood. And definitely not mine.
Ronin frowned at me and flicked his gaze to the fountain.
That was encouraging.
"Forward," Zeus ordered, beckoning. His suit didn't dare ruffle and his voice was a storm by itself. Zeus didn't need to threaten. His presence was enough.
And my stupid legs carried me forward. I was surprised they held and I didn't go tumbling to the floor in front of these immortals. The fountain seemed to darken as I got closer, and Natalia walked beside me, hands folded and holding her head high.
"It's going to be okay," she whispered.
Finally, someone said I wasn't going to die. But I didn't believe her.
"Step up to the center," Prometheus said with a faint, but tense smile. He had a much less intense voice, almost a caring one, but also one full of that same hunger in his eyes. "Hold out your hand, palm facing the water. Our oracle will determine your destination from here. May the grace of the gods be with you."
Was that sarcasm?
I closed my eyes and did as he said.
They could see me shaking, but no one commented. The air shifted as Prometheus stepped closer.
"Back," Zeus quietly ordered him.
"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Natalia asked, which was very brave of her.
"Please," I said. There was no going back now. You did not run from a sorting temple. It was an automatic jail sentence. Pain filled my teeth, my jaw. Maybe I'd fall over and die before the oracle cut my palm.
Something slid against marble. My eyes fluttered open a bit. Herbs and other leaves floated on the top of the pool, along with bubbles of what might be olive oil. I took a breath, hoping it would keep me from fainting—oh my god Natalia was holding the dagger close to my palm—and I clos
ed my eyes once Natalia took my wrist with her free hand.
"May you have the grace of the gods," she said.
A hot line of pain slashed my palm, followed by a throbbing, sticky sensation along my flesh. I bit in a seethe as my blood flowed from my palm. Drip, drip.
Natalia grabbed my still-outstretched hand and squeezed, which did wonders for the pain. Not. I grunted but no one made fun of me. My flesh protested. I kept my eyes closed, hoping beyond hope that someone, even if it was Ronin, would tell me that I'd make a lousy god descendant.
Below me, the fountain groaned.
"I don't—" Natalia started.
"What's going on?" Ronin asked, and not without a hint of dread.
"The darkness," Prometheus started in awe.
"Is that bad?" I blurted. The darkness didn't sound encouraging. Curiosity won and I opened my eyes.
Yes, the fountain was groaning as if some pent-up energy was waking after a million-year slumber. Darkness swirled within the water like I was staring down into a swirling tunnel that never ended. Purple sparks lashed at the inside. The eerie sound invaded my head, filling the temple with dread. The blackness dragged the olive oil bubbles and the herb leaves in a slow, steady ring.
Bad, I decided.
The sight made me sway on my feet. My knees buckled and my mouth fell open. Beside me, Natalia stared, and Ronin had pushed up to look over my shoulder. He let out a hot breath against my ear.
Zeus cleared his throat as the groan died and the water began to clear. "I have never seen a vision such as this in an oracle's fountain." He looked to Natalia, dumbfounded.
"I don't know what this means, either," she said, eyes wide and helpless. She took a step back.
Zeus slowly turned his gaze to me as his jaw slowly fell. "Giselle Bowman. You are unique. You are to attend—"
"Cursed Academy." Prometheus snatched my injured hand, stretching it over the now-clear water. I cried out in pain as his free hand, now glowing with a faint green, lowered to my exposed wrist.
"No," Zeus demanded, but it was too late.
A horrific burn followed and I gave in to my scream. Prometheus held his palm to my skin as the green glow intensified. At last, after what felt like an eternity of pain, the titan let go and backpedaled. I yanked my arm back, turning it over as I sucked in a breath.
A green, sparkling symbol now decorated my forearm—that of an outstretched hand holding a flame. Even though the burn cooled as I surveyed my skin, and Prometheus continued to back away sheepishly, I felt no better. A heavy, cold dread filled my gut.
Once you were marked—
"What have you done?" Zeus growled at the titan.
"You know the edict. Giselle has been claimed," Prometheus said, backing into a pillar. "She must now attend her school. It is the law."
Sweat broke out over my temples. I couldn't breathe. Zeus slowly advanced on the titan, golden eyes shining with hatred.
"You wanted me to go to Olympian?" I squeaked. "And he just—"
Ronin clamped his hand down on my shoulder, pulling me back. "He's right. You're marked. You now go to Cursed Academy."
Chapter Four
"Go," Natalia mouthed at us. She eyed the exit, too. Nobody wanted to witness immortals fight.
I let Ronin pull me back and out of the temple. Natalia followed. The three of us emerged into the night and Ronin hit the remote to the car, which chirped. Silence dragged out from inside as Natalia vanished somewhere in the trees, leaving me and Ronin alone.
"What's going on?" I asked Ronin.
"In. Zeus is angry."
Good enough. I got in the car as the air started to reek of ozone.
Why did the titan do this?
It didn't matter. I was going to Cursed Academy, otherwise known as Monster 101.
And what ratcheted up the tension was Ronin's silence as he got back in the car. I snapped on my seat belt, numb. He started the car and sped out of the dirt parking lot so fast the tires squealed.
By now, it was dark, almost as dark as that vision in the fountain. Or it just seemed that way because of all the trees. A tremor overtook me. I had that darkness within.
"Ronin, what now? What do you think I'll be?"
"You get to hang out with fellow freaks," he said, but not without a forced grin.
"I know that. And so do you. Are you sure I'm supposed to go to Cursed? Maybe Zeus wanted me to go to Olympian. We should ask again." My pulse raced. If I had to go to Cursed because a greedy titan made a jerk move, I could never live with that. Grandma was right to try to keep me at home.
"Prometheus chose you for Cursed. You've got his symbol. It's done," Ronin explained without looking at me. "Look." He flicked on the cabin light and held up his own wrist. A golden eagle shone under the light. "This is much sexier than your marking."
"Why do you sound frustrated?" I asked.
"Why do you keep asking questions?" Ronin flicked on his turn signal and took us down another side road. Since leaving the sorting temple, he was angry.
"Because I don't want to be a monster? I could be a snakehead in a couple of years."
I waited for him to say I'd look cuter as a snakehead than I did now—it was so something Ronin would say—but he stayed silent as we crunched down the gravel road. A sign warned people they were entering an Academy area. Nice. "I don't think you'll end up a Gorgon. That's not common. Who the heck could have had kids with Medusa? The guy would have had to be blind for more than one reason."
I swallowed, letting out the breath I was holding. Was Ronin making a joke? "Well, what do you think I'll be?"
"I don't know," he explained in a dark tone. Then he grinned evilly and stopped the car, turning off the cabin light. "We're here."
I gulped and looked where he was facing.
A very tall, wrought-iron gate stood before us, and at first all I could see behind the gate was more darkness. Yay. Maybe Cursed Academy was just a pit to the underworld and we'd have our lessons there. But then my eyes adjusted, and I made out a large, sprawling building with black pillars at the entrance. The rest of the wide building was made of rusty brick, complete with vines crawling up all sides. Thanks to the night, I couldn't make out the rest of the campus. An orange moon rose behind Cursed Academy as the gates automatically slid open for us, making a high screeching sound as if warning us back. That wasn't creepy at all.
"Is anyone actually here?" I asked.
Ronin drove us inside without another word. Wow, he was moody. He was acting as if he got to attend this place. Tall trees draped in more creepy vines towered over us on either side. The wide building had dark windows. That must be where classes were held and they were out for the day.
Ronin took us around a roundabout and parked next to the front doors. The black pillars rose way above us, making the place look like an underworld bank. If they had those.
"And here you go," Ronin said, giving me a little bow. "Enjoy your time at Cursed Academy, learning how not to kill everyone around you. And good luck not killing yourself."
"Good luck to anyone who has classes with you," I snapped back. I didn't normally have an attitude, but Ronin was bringing it out in me. Or maybe I was already changing into a monster and that came with the territory.
"Oh, the girls there are lucky," Ronin said with a smile. "They're beautiful, too. God descendants usually are."
If his plan was to make me get out of the car, it was working. I did and slammed the door in Ronin's face. Well, sort of. Silence fell as I backed onto the Academy steps.
With another squeal, Ronin took off, kicking up dust. I stared after him as the red taillights circled the roundabout, leaving me utterly alone on the front steps of the place I had been dreading since the Randy Incident.
Maybe all god descendants were full of themselves and I was lucky I might not be one. I didn't have golden flecks in my eyes, did I? Even the descendants of dark gods had those.
The car vanished through the gate, which screeched shut behind
it, and continued down the dirt road. Part of me hoped Ronin would come back and sit with me until someone came out to show me how great my new life was, but the sound vanished, leaving just insects buzzing in the woods.
"Well," I said. "Time to deal with this."
Only a single orange light hung underneath the marble overhang. I took a breath and eyed the doors, a row of polished wooden ones complete with ugly faces. It was as if the designer wanted to rub some terrifying possibilities in new students' faces. One carving showed, ironically enough, Medusa, and another showed what was probably a werewolf's face. Werewolves were common among monsters. Descendants of Lycaon, a man who had angered the gods and gotten his family turned into wolves.
Another car approached down the dirt road, and I whirled, glad I didn't have to look at the doors anymore, to find that it wasn't Ronin's Mercedes but a simple sedan coming through the screeching gate. The car I'd seen outside the sorting temple. And it was a beat-up piece of crap, too, that needed a muffler. The sight was almost comforting. It would fit well back in Colton Corners.
The old car pulled right up to the steps where I stood like a moron, wondering what to do next, but then the car turned off and someone got out—someone dressed in a wrinkled black suit with spectacles.
My pulse roared in my ears.
Prometheus.
I could have gone to Olympian.
The air heated as I stared down the titan. I couldn't breathe.
“Giselle Bowman,” he said, pausing on every syllable of my name. The oracle must have told him about me. “Welcome to Cursed Academy. Step inside, please. We need to get you oriented.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. How could I yell at an immortal? Bad idea of the year.
"This is unnerving, yes, but we must get started," Prometheus said. "As the principal of this Cursed Academy campus, I must keep things running. Come now." He walked around his car.
Electrified black ice flowed through my veins. The power. It was back. I took a breath, wondering how I would screw up next. As if he could sense it, Prometheus stopped on the steps and held me in his glare. The green flecks sparkled and my mark burned, as if reminding me of his claim. Sweat formed on my temples from the heat. The air felt as if it could burst into flames at any moment.
