Cursed Academy (Year Three and a Half)

by Holly Hook

  I'm outside. Hurry. Wendy's gone into the woods. I think she's in trouble.

  Chapter Fifteen

  "Why would Wendy wander off into the woods?" I asked as Ronin and I stepped outside.

  Mikey and Cal stood beside Maria on the porch of Olympian. The colored lights from the fountain danced over them, but all three had dead serious looks.

  "I don't know," Ronin said.

  Maria paced, trying to figure this all out. "I called for her, but she didn't come back. Giselle. It's a full moon tonight."

  The sky was mostly clear now except for some scattered clouds, some glowing silver against the full orb hanging almost above our heads. "I know it is," I said. "Oh."

  "Traditional Lower Order recruitment night," Cal said.

  "But Wendy doesn't want to join them. Especially after she saw what happened to Percival," I said.

  Ronin cleared his throat. "Shit. What if the gods sent her on a mission?"

  "Why would they do that on dance night?" Mikey asked.

  "Wendy was nervous about something. About getting accepted," Maria said. "She's been over the edge since those fourth years attacked her room. Desperate. I know you over here in Olympian have to go on missions against the Lower Order sometimes. Why wouldn't Zeus want a descendant of Hades to prove herself before being marked?"

  My stomach dropped to the marble. What Maria said made sense. "Wendy can't fight off a whole Lower Order pack of werewolves, plus Alonso, by herself. Or Dominique. I've seen them block her powers before. What if Percival went to fight the Lower Order and died as a result?" The more I spoke, the more I hated this.

  Did Wendy's coin have something to do with all this? It matched the one I'd seen Hades studying in his office.

  Ronin flexed his biceps. "I'm the best one to look for her. I can sense her magic if I'm close enough. Zeus did mention you guys would come to Olympian if you were worthy."

  "Then why didn't she tell us?" Maria asked with a shrug.

  "The gods might have ordered her to keep it secret," Cal said. "Come on. We go after Wendy and get her out of this mess."

  I hoped this scenario wasn't the truth, but I couldn't see why it wouldn't be. "The Lower Order might not come out here tonight because most of the Cursed kids are at the dance."

  Ronin took my shoulder. "But Hades knows you're not and he likes the Lower Order."

  "He can't help them or he breaks the Oath."

  He dug his fingers into my flesh. "But he could mention it casually in front of someone who can and will."

  "Then we find Wendy." My throat went dry.

  Ronin got out his keys, making his car chirp. "We're better off driving."

  "We need to split up," Maria said, nodding to Cal and Mikey. "Us three through the woods. You and Ronin come down the drive and circle around to the Sorting Temple. She went in that general direction, which is close to where Percival was found dead."

  "She wants revenge," I choked out. This wasn't just about getting accepted into Olympian. The whole universe seemed to have shoved Wendy into the slaughter chute. Too many chains pulled her to her fate.

  Cal drew his sword, which he'd worn over his suit, and Mikey drew his dagger as the two bolted into the woods. Maria followed. I almost shouted after them, but there was no way they'd come back. Or fit in the car, which was not a designed people mover.

  Ronin and I got in and he revved the engine as he drove around the fountain. "This is crazy. I should have known."

  The dread feeling in my gut intensified, punching me in victory. I told you so. The gods wouldn't make this easy. "Zeus is doing this because I stood up to him."

  Ronin chewed on the inside of his cheek and worked his jaw. "Zeus doesn't like anyone telling him what to do, believe me."

  "Can I just, not go to either school?" I blurted as he circled to the gate. My stomach heaved like I might throw up what little I'd eaten at the dance.

  "Giselle," Ronin said, mouth falling open.

  "Well, if everyone wants to be an asshole--"

  "I know my father's not perfect but Wendy has issues she needs to work on. He exploited them. I'm not happy about that and I'll tell him off. Zeus can take the car away. Who cares?" Ronin turned his flushed, angry stare to me. "He shouldn't have made your friend do something this dangerous. Yeah, I can see why he wants Cursed kids to prove themselves but this is going too far."

  Wendy was vulnerable. Did the coin have anything to do with a possible mission? I didn't know for sure that the gods had sent her on one, but the evidence swung in that direction. "The Lower Order will be around, then."

  "Yes." Ronin worked his jaw. "Giselle, do you think you can fight them without going dark? They'll try anything when you're so close to maturing. Anything."

  An eerie green light exploded in front of the car, outlining a dark shape on the road who spread his robed arms, compelling us to stop.

  "Ronin!" I shouted, seizing his arm.

  Hades.

  He was back.

  "Shit!" Ronin swerved as a tsunami of leering green faces surged forward. A roar battered the outside of the car. Glass shattered. Deathly cold and green light invaded. I ducked as Ronin slapped his hand on my back, pushing me down, and I breathed in a pocket of warm air. The car swerved and I held my breath, tensing, waiting for impact, but a collision with a dark god or a tree didn't come.

  "Ronin!" I shouted, sheer panic coming over me. Hades would mark me. Seal all our fates. If he couldn't escape being miserable, then no one could.

  "We made it," he said, mashing the accelerator. "Sit up. We've got to hurry. I'm taking you straight to the Sorting Temple."

  I sat up and faced Ronin, wind blasting against my face. "But Wendy!"

  "You need to get marked or you're helping no one!" Ronin turned away from me and leaned forward, glaring at the road through broken glass. The windshield of the Lamborghini was mutilated, with cracks across my side and nothing over Ronin's. Hades had been aiming for my boyfriend and might have killed him. Glass rested on Ronin's lap. Cuts crisscrossed his cheeks and blood ran down the side of his face. Hades had hurt him. If it was badly, Ronin wasn't showing it. His angry electricity filled the car and made me flinch. Once he dropped me off, I feared he'd do something stupid.

  "Get marked quickly. Zeus might not help Wendy, but we can," Ronin said. "The Lower Order won't have a use for you once you're in Olympian, so they'll have to back off. But they might try to kill you." He slowed a bit as he barreled us around a curve.

  I held onto my seat. We were almost there. "Why does Zeus have to make this difficult?"

  "He has to do the ceremony in the Sorting Temple with an oracle. It's how it's done."

  I looked behind us to see only darkness. We'd left Hades far behind. "He could have driven us!"

  Ronin slowed just enough at the T in the road to make sure he didn't overturn the car and kill us, and turned towards the Sorting Temple, which was still a bit of distance away. "Then he might have run into his brother and been forced to defend himself. And you know what that means."

  He had a point, but the closer we got to the Sorting Temple, the more my stomach tied in knots. Protection didn't extend out here. It never had. Anything could happen. How fast could Hades move? I might be almost fully immortal, but a clash between two powerful gods wouldn't bode well for anybody.

  Ronin squealed into the parking lot of the Sorting Temple, kicking up gravel. The candlelight from inside greeted us, but otherwise everything was pale moonlight and the shadows of trees against the stars. I got out of the car and Ronin did the same, running around the ruined vehicle and linking his hand with mine. Insects buzzed. "Ready?"

  I swallowed. "Yes."

  We ran into the open entryway of the Sorting Temple together. It had no door. No protection. The Sorting Temple was neutral territory.

  "Giselle." Natalia rushed to me, her lavender oracle rube disheveled like she'd thrown it on in a hurry. Celestus stood behind her, still in his suit from the dance. "We rushed here when
Hades left the dance. It took him hours to figure out something was wrong. Come on." She embraced me, pulling me towards the fountain in the back of the temple. "We have to repeat the rite or there's a chance the Oath will be broken. Two immortals must attend."

  Her words punched me in the gut. "Then Hades is coming," I said.

  "Yes."

  I felt Zeus's presence before I saw the god standing beside the fountain, hands behind his back, and as Natalia released me, he motioned for me to step closer. The air turned to lightning in the making and I gasped at the immense power. For a moment, I wondered if I really was a budding immortal. I felt like an ant in a tidal wave of magic.

  "Hurry," Zeus ordered. "We don't have much time. Two immortals must attend a Sorting, one from each school. We cannot break the rules. Hades will arrive in minutes."

  "Excuse me?" Ronin asked. "He just attacked us!"

  Zeus glowered. "Of course he would attempt to mark Giselle outside the realm of a proper ceremony. And he might sink to Tartarus as a result." Then he softened as he faced me. "We must see where you stand before he gets here. Closer. We can save you."

  "I'm not out of the woods yet?" I asked. "And my friends are still out there."

  "They can defend themselves. If they're worthy, they will survive the Lower Order," Zeus said.

  So he had sent Wendy out. "How did you know the Order would be out here tonight?" The words flew from my mouth as my heart raced. I didn't like the look in Zeus's eyes.

  "Giselle, you are valuable beyond what you know," the god said, jabbing his finger at the floor in front of the temple. "Hurry. We must prevent your darkness from taking over before Hades even gets here, so even if he marks you, you will not go down the wrong path. Celestus. Ronin. Go aid the others against the Lower Order."

  I whirled to face Ronin even as Celestus backed towards the door. Ronin hesitated.

  "I'm not leaving Giselle."

  "She will go dark if she loses her friends. You heard what the other gods said," Zeus ordered, pointing at the door. "Hurry. I cannot leave the temple now."

  Celestus vanished into the night, and as he slipped out, shadows swept over him, shrouding him in darkness. Natalia's chin wobbled as she looked after him, and then Ronin, breaking into a sweat, grabbed the handle of his sword and faced Zeus again. "I can't leave her here if Hades is coming."

  "Son," Zeus said, stepping away from me. "The longer you stand here, the closer Hades gets. We must see where Giselle stands and protect her from my brother." A threat hung in the god's words. He would retract his forgiveness. His acceptance. Everything.

  Ronin backed to the door and faced me.

  In the distance, a boom sounded, sending a small shock wave through the ground. A fight had broken out somewhere in the woods.

  "Go!" I shouted at Ronin.

  We stared at each other for a moment before he closed his mouth and ran out after Celestus, sword already sparking with energy.

  "Now what?" Natalia asked, drawing close. She tapped her dagger on her open palm, ready to begin. But her gaze kept flicking to the doorway.

  "We need to test Giselle before we proceed," Zeus said. "Quickly. Her blood. In the fountain!"

  Zeus's instructions compelled me to move and I broke my terror. Another rumble sounded from outside. Was it thunder or the fight? And was it closer?

  I stepped up to the fountain as the cold spread through my limbs. I had no Ronin or Olympian atmosphere to help me now. I feared what I'd see when my blood entered the water. Zeus moved to stand behind Natalia, shoes clicking against the marble. Candles wavered and almost went out as he walked past.

  I held my hand out, not closing my eyes this time. "If I'm leaning to dark, can we fix that?"

  Natalia slashed across my palm without hesitation, and I winced at the pain, but forced my screaming hand open. Blood dripped into the water--plink, plink, plink--making crimson swirls that spread among the oil bubbles and leaves in the fountain. As I watched, the water darkened. I held my breath. Zeus leaned over the fountain, hands behind his back, and watched intently as the air reeked of ozone.

  I pulled my hand back, struggling to keep my racing heartbeat down. Thoughts of Ronin and Maria and Mikey and Wendy and even Cal swirled through my head, closing in, threatening to drown me. My worry wasn't helping. It was--

  Rippling cracks filled with swirling, bottomless darkness spread through the water, opening, revealing Chaos within. Zeus backpedaled from the fountain, a look of total disgust coming over his face, and I did the same, putting distance between myself and the god.

  "Darkness," he growled. "She is close to becoming destruction incarnate."

  I backed into a marble pillar. The dark cracks and the void inside the fountain faded, leaving the water reddish again. The oil bubbles swirled, forming ghastly shapes.

  "Giselle just went past Hades," Natalia said. "She needs a bit of time to find her lighter side again. And when she's--"

  "Step aside." He glared at Natalia. "I know what can fix this. We have no time for anything else." The god faced me, a sly smile coming over his face and an amused, but hungry gleam coming over his eyes. "If my mortal son can hold back your darkness, I can bring you to the light."

  "Huh?" My voice turned to a croak and the cold and low groan intensified.

  Zeus closed the distance, slowing his walk to something both seductive and predatory. He breathed out on me as he put his hand right above my shoulder, leaning so close I could make out the details of every golden fleck in his eyes, even in the candlelight. He traced his hungry gaze down the front of my green dress, pausing in all the wrong places, and I finally got what he meant with an inner scream and a defensive wave of icy plasma.

  "No," I shouted, lifting my arm to shield myself. A bad taste rose in my throat. If I had to defend myself, I'd--"I don't want you. This isn't the answer. Fear makes me--"

  Zeus slammed his other hand on my shoulder, so hard I felt as if a concrete golem were holding me there, and broke into a smile. A sparkle of amusement danced in his eyes. This wasn't just about swinging me to the right side. This was about revenge. Control. "I suggest we all stay quiet about this."

  My stomach heaved again and I hoped I'd throw up all over Zeus. I reached for his power, but the darkness inside me blocked that ability. It was the only way I might turn him off without the worst happening. He didn't understand or he didn't want to listen to the truth. If he tried anything, I would--

  "Let go of her!" Natalia charged, lifting her dagger. I gasped as she plunged it into Zeus's back with a disgusting squick.

  "Natalia!"

  Zeus's eyes bulged as he released me, raising one hand. He whirled on her, the knife still in his back, and raised his hand, striking the oracle and throwing her to the other side of the room. Natalia came off her feet, hitting one of the pillars with a thud. She fell to the floor, groaning and stunned.

  Golden blood seeped out around the knife. And Zeus, as if it were nothing more serious than a mosquito bite, grabbed onto the blade and pulled it out with an equally horrifying sound.

  I should run. But then he would go after Natalia, maybe even kill her. I searched for a weapon, but there was nothing but the candles themselves. The low groan in my head intensified, thrumming through my ears and jaw. I took shallow breath after shallow breath, dizzy, faint, as I seized one of the candles and wove it at Zeus. Colors spun around me as he faced me again, putting himself between me and the only exit.

  We stared at each other.

  And another explosion, this one much closer than before, echoed through the air. And all concern for myself flew out the window.

  "You sent Wendy on a suicide mission!"

  Zeus smiled. "We don't need monsters. They're a bad influence on you."

  A spike of disgust rose in me, and along with it a rise of the void. I was about to go over the edge. A gray tint slowly spread over the back of my hand as I held the candle to the evil in front of me. Why hadn't I seen? My gut had been warning me for months. C
armen had warned me. "Did you get Percival killed too?"

  But the god charged me, and though I held the candle up to his face, he collided, forcing me to drop the weapon. I flew into the wall as Natalia groaned somewhere, and Zeus's face leered at me, so close my eyes crossed. He dug both hands into my shoulders, sliding one lower and lower--

  Chaos roared to life and icy strength coursed into my limbs. I lifted my knee, striking Zeus in his most vulnerable spot, and before I could pray that the blow would work on gods, he recoiled, curling into a ball and grasping his crotch.

  "You ungrateful bitch!" he shouted, shaking the walls. Lightning bolts arced around the building. "I try to help you and this is what I get." Though bent over, Zeus moved to stand between me and Natalia. And as I watched in horror, he straightened and recovered.

  A single lightning bolt zapped past my face, leaving hot pink afterimages. The god placed his black shoe on Natalia's shoulder. She blinked and seethed from whatever injury she'd sustained. The oracle was alive, but for how long?

  And what would Zeus do before he killed her?

  He opened his mouth to speak, but his gaze went to the doorway, and I couldn't help but follow it. As I did, the air heated in a way I hadn't felt in months.

  Dominique.

  Alonso.

  Hades.

  All stood on their black robes, blocking the doorway, and just behind them stood Prometheus, the fire titan himself.

  Prometheus looked to Zeus with disgust. Back to me. Then to Natalia. Rage flushed his cheeks and he adjusted his spectacles, which seemed to reflect every candle in the Sorting Temple. A faint green glow erupted around Hades as the two immortals just outside looked at one another.

  "Giselle!" Dominique shouted. She held up a dagger I hadn't seen in almost a year, a curvy one with a black handle. I gulped.

  No.

  The Chaos Dagger. She had brought it to me at the worst possible time.