by Holly Hook
At least the Lower Order hadn't pulled any more attacks nearby. The power plant had been repaired quickly, and everything seemed to be normal around Marchamp. In the evenings, Ronin and I snuck out through the barrier, which remained semi-dangerous, to hop in his new ride and take off to whatever nearby towns the Lower Order hadn't attacked. Sometimes Mikey and Maria came with us, sometimes Mikey and Cal, and sometimes Wendy, and sometimes Maria and Ted. They had to take turns since the car only seated four. But it was the only way to get out and have a little bit of fun off campus.
Parties still took place at Cursed, of course, but most involved people cramming into each others' dorms or even splitting a party up among a few different dorms. Wendy no longer went to them. Instead, we just hung out on our own.
"Serena's there," she said one day as she and Maria got into the back of Ronin's car. "She's taken my place as the bitch, I suppose."
"The social bitch," I added.
"She can have the status. I'll be laughing when I transfer," Wendy said. "I'm still wondering what I have to do to prove myself."
By spring, Ronin couldn't avoid catching up on his schoolwork anymore. He had to start spending a couple of hours each day at Olympian again, leaving me with my friends. We'd figured out that Hades didn't come out much during class time so that part of the day seemed to be safe. The days were staring to get a little warmer by then, too, which chased away a bit of the god's influence. My mark was halfway gone at that point, and I looked forward to every morning, knowing that my skin would have cleared a little more than the night before.
But the void within strengthened. The noise in my head sometimes made it hard to focus in Mrs. Allenson's class. And that was with the herb, lacking my birthright weapon, and making love to Ronin and leaving campus every night. So long as I attended Cursed, it would get worse.
And then the worst would happen and I'd lose my transfer. I wasn't the only one at stake here. If I didn't make it to Olympian, I wouldn't keep my ability to take and amplify Cal's power. Mikey and Maria were doomed and Wendy would stay a disappointment in her parents' eyes. The sense of immense pressure didn't help.
And Max kept shooting me scared glances in Combat Training one day in early April. That was a great sign. A trained military man was showing fear. And worse, Ronin had to leave me alone that afternoon and take a test in Advanced Divine History.
"Giselle," Max said, drawing close. "You are hereby allowed to sit out of Combat Training, so long as Hades isn't watching."
"Thank you," I said, dropping my staff in an unprofessional manner. Yes, I was back to using that dumb stick I'd had during my first year, before Ronin had accidentally led me to my real weapon. I wondered where the real Chaos Dagger was now. Probably in Dominique's hands if she'd managed to grab it out of the safe at the Fortress. But even though I'd always been clumsy with the staff, today I had just shot purplish-black sparks from it and shattered the stone target on the other side of the arena.
And everyone was looking at me in a way I didn't like. Maria and Mikey had backed off to the wall and Wendy stood by herself, dreaded sword in hand. As I watched, the green light around it died. Tiffany flinched and Serena shot me a dirty glare that wasn't helping my mental state. My heart raced.
"I will," I said, desperate to break the silence. Just hearing my own mousy tone helped to calm the electric ice spreading through my veins. If I could hold onto the idea that I was a wimp, that might help.
Max nodded, pupils wide and locked with my own. Cold swept through me. What was the deal? This wasn't the first time my powers had come to life during Combat Training. Shattering a statue wasn't unusual here.
I sat on the dust, which thankfully was warm in the sun. Maria and Mikey kept shooting me worried glances that raised my heart rate and punched me in the gut. Something was off. The ice wasn't fading. Every time I closed my eyes, Chaos itself swirled, bottomless and groaning.
Rising, I ran from the Combat Arena and back onto the gravel trail. Taking the curve, I ran past the path that led to Prometheus's former house and into the main building, to where the closest bathroom was located. Ducking in, I bolted to the mirror to see what Maria and Mikey were talking about.
My eyes.
Glittering purple flecks shone between blinks, nestled in the brown of my irises. Even though my skin hadn't gone gray, I sensed the horror lurking underneath, ready to burst free, in the form of that chill. I blinked again and again, pulse rising, but the flecks remained.
I gripped the sink, breathing out, willing the cold to leave me. Some warmth flowed back into my fingers and toes, and then filtered up my arms and shins, but when I checked the mirror again, the purple flecks remained. They would be beautiful if it wasn't for what they meant.
They had never stayed this long.
And I hadn't even used a lot of magic. Today hadn't been unusual.
The bathroom door opened, and Maria and Wendy bolted in. "Giselle," Maria said.
"It's not going away."
Maria threw her strong arm around me, pulling me from the mirror. "We have to get to Apollo. Ask him what's happening."
"You could be in some limbo zone between maturing and not maturing," Wendy said. "We don't know how it works with budding immortals. Yeah, we have to get through that barrier. Max won't flunk us for today. He understands. Come on. Let's hope that he's on staff."
"What if he's not?" My voice didn't fill the room yet, but how long would that take?
"Then we deal with it," Wendy said.
I felt like I was underwater the way their voices sounded. Terror threatened to pull me under and drown me. And fear wouldn't help me. We were close to being fourth years. Close to our changes. Maybe mine just happened in steps.
Wendy joined Maria in putting one arm under my shoulder.
"I can walk," I said, but their body heat was welcome.
"Stay with us," Maria said.
Wendy opened the bathroom door with her free hand. I realized we were close to the office, but Hades was busy staring into his computer screen, a vial of golden nectar beside him. He'd been doing that a lot as if lost in thought. And as we walked past the small window of his office door, he didn't even raise his head to look. Instead, he leaned forward and clicked on his mouse, a bluish glow reflecting off his beard.
Wendy didn't comment. We left the god's cloud of dread behind. We burst out of the front doors and across the front grounds with the vine-covered fountain, then off through the woods to the trail. We had stomped down a faint path in the process of using the hole in the barrier so many times, but at least it blended in with the others that people had created and used for small drinking parties in the woods.
"I swear, I can walk," I said. My body felt strong.
Maria and Wendy looked at each other and let go of me. "You're colder than I am," Wendy said with a frown. "Your eyes. They still have flecks. Can you run?"
"Of course I can."
The three of us broke into a sprint. Branches, now with buds, hit me in the face. Maria charged ahead, holding back huge pine branches and needles for me and Wendy. The woods got thick here, so thick that even the drinking parties hadn't made it back here. The flat cold remained and I was starting to get used to it. Bad sign.
At last, the woods opened up into the small clearing and the green, leering spirit faces greeted us, popping into existence like some Underworld hologram as we approached. But by now, I knew where the hole was.
"So, students have been sneaking off campus."
I froze and whirled.
Hades stepped out of the thick pines as if he had been a part of them. As he did, his black robe snapped free of the branches and settled around him like a living shadow. If I looked close, faces leered from within the dark fabric and faded back into nothingness. The scowl the god gave me sent shivers down my spine, which was an accomplishment because I was already cold inside.
"Giselle," he said, snapping his fingers at the hole in the barrier, which promptly filled with green
spirits and shut off our only escape from Cursed Academy. "You are not going anywhere just yet."
Chapter Ten
"Hades," Wendy said, stepping forward and bowing her head. She was brave, facing down the god she'd angered even if she was his distant descendant.
"Wendy," Hades said with great distaste. "You have been going to Olympian Academy."
We all knew how Hades felt about that. If he couldn't dine among the other Olympians, then neither could Wendy. He was jealous, pure and simple. I swallowed and stepped forward. I had stood up to Zeus. If I could do that, I could face down his brother, right?
But I had no backup here other than Wendy and Maria. They weren't immortal. And with the wall closed, I had no bargaining chip to use on Hades. My best bet in this situation wasn't a threat, but to smooth things over.
My heart raced. Did Hades still--
I spoke. "Okay, we're caught. But we're kids and we go to parties sometimes." Ronin was on the other side of that barrier. "I needed to meet my boyfriend."
Epic fail. Hades took a step closer, eyes shining with something fierce. Hunger? Intimidation? Or worse?
I took a step back, swallowing, and the god smiled as he must have realized he was scaring me. "That's more like it. You are right to fear me. I could destroy all three of you for stealing from my realm right now if I would like. The Oath does not require me to preserve the lives of students. But Giselle." Hades looked into my eyes. Even the golden flecks in them did nothing to offset the darkness. "You can take the powers of others. I experienced that firsthand and I should retaliate. But I've also heard through the grapevine that you can amplify them and give them back to the owner. Can you not?"
All the spit dried up in my throat. The faint low groan remained in my head, begging for use, but through the darkness within, a spark of light flickered. There might be a way to convince Hades otherwise. "Where did you hear that?"
Maria and Wendy glanced at me, and Wendy mouthed, "Serena?"
"I do not have to say," Hades said, turning his attention back to me. "You are close to maturing, Giselle. You've reached the final stages, as I did before I reached full godly status." He didn't sound happy about that last bit.
"The f...final stages?" I asked.
"Do I look like I'm lying?" Hades slowly closed the distance between me and him, robe whispering over dead leaves.
"You're the Lord of the Underworld."
The god balked. "Yes. But I did not choose the Underworld. My role was given to me after Zeus defeated our wicked father, Kronos." Then he continued his advance, bitterness darkening his eyes.
My legs rooted me to the spot as pure dread washed over me. As I took a breath, the god reached out. Took a strand of my hair. Rubbed it between his fingers while Maria and Wendy watched in horror. If he tried anything, neither of my friends could help. A cruel gleam shone in his eyes. Hades wanted me to know I was isolated from Ronin and everyone capable of getting me out of this mess.
"Don't touch my hair."
The god froze, a bit of shock coming over his face. "With the way you are going, Giselle, you should get used to...intrusions. At this point, you have perhaps three months, six at the most before you mature. That is if you don't have to defend yourself."
I wanted to throw up even though he let go of my hair. Hades was willing to make a move on me to force the darkness out. The gesture was clear. "Hades, if I mature into some sort of destruction goddess, I lose my ability to take and amplify the powers of others. If you're looking to have your own magic amplified, you're going about it all wrong."
The god flinched.
I might get out of this.
"The reason I go to Olympian is so that I can keep that ability," I said.
Hades seemed to think. He took a step back, scratching the top of his long, dark beard. "While that ability would be useful," he said, "It would be even more useful if you can simply destroy."
The god's words, which filled the entire clearing and made the spirits in the barrier ripple, came down like a hammer.
I was doomed.
"Do you understand?"
Gulping, I forced a nod. "Aren't you breaking the Oath by doing this?"
"Not at all. You are not subject to any Oath. And Wendy. The more you try to impress the Olympians, the harder they will push back against you. Take that advice from me and turn back now." The god glowered at her, jabbing a finger in her direction. "You may be full of death, but I hope that you value your life."
There it was. The reason I was desired. I balled my fists, angry about this wall, angry about the forced separation from Ronin and angry about the fact that Hades had just closed off my only way out. Our only way out. He was dooming not just me, but Maria and Mikey and Wendy as well.
* * * * *
The Lord of the Underworld let us return to the Cursed Academy building. I didn't dare go back to Combat Training. When I looked in the mirror in the bathroom, my eyes still had the purple flecks, shining like shavings of exotic metal in the browns of my eyes. By now, I was getting used to the new chill in my body and even the slightly higher level of the low groan in my head.
This was my new baseline. My new normal. I sensed I was still semi-mortal. When I spoke, my voice didn't fill whatever room I was in or make people flinch. And if it did, Maria and Wendy weren't showing it.
"I need to take more of that herb," I said.
Wendy, who stood behind me, gulped. "It's obviously not holding things back for you anymore. I thought it would work for longer than it did. Maybe Hades sucked the power out of it or something."
"The asphodel is still working somewhat for me and Mikey, but I know that won't last forever, either. Mikey said that when Giselle amplified Cal's power, that helped a lot." Maria grabbed a paper towel and held it to her face. I wasn't sure why at first, but then I realized from the single heave she gave that she was holding back sobs.
I couldn't take it anymore. Everyone's happiness rode on me and the pressure made the walls close in. "Let's get out of here and end this pity party. We're going to figure out how to get around this. I can still text Ronin and I'm sure Mikey can still communicate with Cal. Zeus will fix this."
"You sure?" Wendy asked. "The gods can't fight with each other. All they can use are passive aggressive tactics."
"And that's enough," I said. "There are ways around the Oath. Look what Prometheus did." Even while he was gone, he was close to achieving his goal, and I wanted to get out just to spite him. For bringing me here and for somehow pointing the Lower Order to the Fortress over the summer. I'd figured out that either he or Hades must have done it, since the immortals were the only ones who knew about Zeus's secret places. All they had to do was convince themselves they were attacking us and not Zeus. "I can't go to class like this."
"You're right. You can't. The whole place is going to explode with rumors if you do," Wendy said. "I'll ask around and see if I can find you some brown contacts. Shouldn't be hard. I might even steal some from Serena. Bitch deserves it after going to Hades. And trust me, I know she did."
I went up to my dorm, though classes were still in session, because Max wouldn't come after me after what had happened. Flopping down on my bed, I let Maria stay with me as Wendy went searching around the school. She'd break into Serena's room for me even though I'd failed to secure us a way over to Olympian. My chest felt heavy with despair. I didn't even have the heart to tell Ronin we no longer had a way to see each other. Hades just might have been waiting for Ronin to stop being at my side, too.
I cursed and punched my pillow.
"There might still be a way through the wall. It's not completely impenetrable," Maria said.
"Well, the opening is gone."
Maria cleared her throat. "The staff have passes, issued by Hades himself. Some of them have to go back and forth between Cursed and Olympian. I'm sure Natalia and even Max will help you."
I lifted my head from the pillow. "But how do the passes work?"
"I'm not sure," M
aria admitted. "Go down and ask Natalia. Now."
I hadn't seen her in forever. "She's going to freak out when she sees me like this."
"She's still Ronin's friend and she will give you a hand. I'll walk down with you."
Even if Wendy found contact lenses before I went down there, Natalia would sense something was wrong. And I didn't want to see her reaction because that would make me feel worse than I already did. Natalia would freak. And since the incident where she'd been possessed, she'd backed off.
But I still needed to see her. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of the staff members. They were my last hope.
Maria took my hand and dragged me out of the dorm. With most classes still in session, Cursed Academy was empty. "You're talking to Natalia. She does grading at this time of the day but we need to catch her now."
I appreciated Maria being there, because even after facing down Zeus and Hades, I didn't have the guts to see Natalia freak out. But I didn't have a choice if I wanted to get out of here. What if I couldn't make it until the end of year dance? It was April now. We had two more months. That was within the window, right?
I had three to six months left if things went well.
That was only if something didn't force out my powers before then. And what were the chances of that?
"Natalia." Maria didn't waste time. She shoved open the door to the Magical Meditation room, which I hadn't seen since last year. The gym opened up around us with its high ceiling and black floor. I eyed the pad where Natalia used to have me sit, separate from the rest of the class as if I were in time out.
Natalia stood at the desk on the far end of the room, hovering over a tablet and punching in what must be the second years' grades for the day. When she looked up and saw me standing there, sheepishly, she did a very Natalia thing and rose, practically charging me before I could react.
"Giselle. I haven't seen you here in forever." Her face contorted into guilt for a second before she put on her professional mask. "Your eyes. Your power." Natalia gripped my arms as if that could give her answers.
