It came toward me.
I rushed to meet it.
CHAPTER FIVE
As I charged toward it, the yokai lifted its hand and sprayed larvae at me. If even one touched my skin, its venom would paralyze me.
But that wasn't going to happen. I'd already closed my eyes.
I arced and dodged, weaving and ducking as the larvae streamed through the air all around me. Most missed me completely. The ones that hit just grazed my clothing.
By the time the yokai lowered its hand, I was already directly in front of it. I swung the shovel as hard as I could, smashing it in the side of the head with all my might.
The yokai's head flew off its body and splattered against the wall. The corpses of hundreds of larvae slid down, leaving a trail of blood and poison.
But the fight wasn't over. The yokai didn't need its head. It didn't need any single part of it. It wasn't one thing; it was thousands and thousands of separate things, and as long as even one larvae lived, the yokai lived.
Headless, the yokai tried to grab me, but my powers were faster. I ducked and slid on my knees towards the door, whirling the shovel around me. This time, I smashed the yokai's knee, crushing another mass of larvae against the teacher’s desk.
The yokai began to topple towards me, but I was already on my feet, running back to where Demeter and Jason were. They'd set up a barricade of desks to block any more larvae the yokai might fire at us.
"You were amazing!" Demeter beamed, as I ducked behind a desk.
"I'm always amazing," I reminded her.
Jason said nothing. His eyes kept shutting. He forced them open again, but they inevitably closed a moment later. He was barely able to sit up. He was fading. Fast.
"What else did you manage to get through the window?" I asked Demeter, eying the bag in her hands.
"Mostly useless gardening junk," she admitted. "But there are these."
She laid out a barbecue lighter, lighter fluid, a can of bug spray, and some insect bombs. Not much, but it would have to do.
"Use the shovel to break the window," I told her. "Get out, and take Jason with you. I'll take care of the yokai."
Demeter nodded. I tucked the lighter into the waist of my skirt and pocketed the insect bombs. Then I grabbed the spray and lighter fluid. I risked a look over the wall of desks.
The yokai had reformed. Smaller, after all the larvae I'd killed, but whole. It was even more cautious now. It was approaching carefully.
I kicked a desk near where we were hidden, sending it skittering across the floor. I dove behind it. A mass of larvae sailed inches over my head and splattered against the wall. I whirled and sprayed a cloud of bug repellent at the disgusting mass.
But I realized too late that the shot was just a distraction. When I turned back, the yokai was looming over me, its larvae pouring down like rain.
My finger never left the trigger of the bug spray. In a cloud of repellant, I rolled to the side, swinging the bottle towards the yokai's face. It screamed and stumbled backwards.
But before I could rejoin the others, the yokai reformed. Fresh larvae crawled up to fill in the holes where dead larvae had been. It staggered back towards me.
I doused the ground in front of me with lighter fluid. Still disoriented from the bug spray, the yokai stepped directly in the puddle and fell to the ground. Its body disintegrated into a mass of writhing worms.
I tossed an insect bomb on top of it.
Avoiding any stray larvae that might be on the floor, I ran along the tops of the desks until I reached the front of the classroom.
Larvae were everywhere. Most were dead. But a few still twitched with life. Either way, it was too dangerous to step down. Dead or alive, their venom was paralyzing. I couldn't risk brushing against one by accident.
Demeter had managed to smash apart the window's hinges and pull out the frame. She was trying to lug Jason through, but he was too weak to help her.
The yokai had reformed yet again. It spotted them. Distracted, Demeter was a perfect target. It headed right for her.
But luck was on our side. The yokai was hurt. Badly. It was constantly falling apart and reforming. It stumbled as it walked. It definitely couldn't fire any more larvae in its current condition. But that didn't mean it couldn't kill Jason. Or my sister.
I ran back along the desks, tearing the top off of the lighter fluid and flinging the entire can at the yokai, hitting it directly in the back. The yokai dissolved briefly, but began to reform. I'd only bought myself a second. A second was all I needed. I'd already pulled the lighter out from my skirt.
Grabbing a textbook from the counter, I tore out some pages, lit them on fire, and tossed them into the lighter fluid covering on the ground.
Fire roared into the air and sped its way along the trail of lighter fluid directly to the yokai. It blazed up the creature. The yokai screamed as it sizzled and fried. Its arms flailed. Charred larvae flew everywhere.
Demeter was already outside, pulling Jason the rest of the way out.
I crawled along the counter towards them.
The fire was raging now. I could smell my hair starting to burn. When I reached the window, Demeter pulled me through.
Behind me, the yokai kept screaming as it burned alive.
I couldn't quite keep myself from smiling at the sound.
CHAPTER SIX
"That was too close," Demeter said.
"Way too close," I agreed.
We'd managed, just barely, to half-carry, half-drag Jason from the school to Justin's safehouse, the same one he'd taken us to the last time we were in the mortal world.
Looking around, it was impossible not to think of him. It felt like he could be around any corner. This place, his parents' old house, had meant so much to him. It was a piece of him I could touch, I could see, I could smell. The memories, the regrets, started to tug at me, pulling at my thoughts, tearing at my heart. Soon, I was drowning in them. They crashed down on me, and I was swept away.
"Hera? Hera? Hera!"
I blinked. How long had Demeter been calling my name?
She winced as she realized how loud she'd been. Jason was still sleeping in the next room, his body working to adapt to the divine power that now surged through his veins.
"You're not..." Demeter chose her words carefully, "having a waking dream, are you?"
"How did it find us?" I demanded, ignoring her question.
"The yokai? It must have sensed us. Who we really are," Demeter reasoned.
Beings from outside the mortal world could feel each other. Monsters could sense us. We could sense them. At least, we usually could. But monsters, beings of pure Chaos, could sometimes mask their true nature if they were clever and powerful and cautious enough. Thankfully, most weren't.
But this yokai had been. I hadn't expected that. It was getting too easy for me to forget who I was, who I really was, and the fact that I didn't actually belong in this world at all.
"When the yokai doesn't report back to Ekhidna, she'll investigate," I said. "She'll figure out where it died, and from there, she'll be able to narrow down where to search for us. As soon as Jason wakes up, we have to go."
"Go where?" Demeter asked. "We don't know where any of the other Heroes are."
I considered that. "Teens are the best vessels for our power. Their minds aren't rigid, and their bodies are resilient enough to handle the new power."
"But we can't go back to school," Demeter said. "You said so yourself."
"We might not have any other choice," I sighed. "We can't leave the Heroes at Ekhidna's mercy. She'll just send her monsters to pick them off one by one. We have to be there to help them."
"Actually, there might be another way."
We turned to see Jason leaning against the wall. He was still yawning and stretching. But he was awake. And he looked better, much better.
"How do you feel?" I asked.
"Good," he answered. He paused. "Great actually. Strong. The strongest I've ev
er felt."
He grinned. Then his hand brushed the amulet on his chest. He looked down. Frowning, he pushed at the amulet. It didn't budge. He pushed harder. Still nothing.
"It's a part of you now," I told him.
"It burned into me!" he exclaimed.
"A small price to pay for power," I replied.
He sighed. "So, who is this Ekhidna we're after anyway? Another insect thing?"
"Worse," Demeter said.
"She's queen of monsters," I answered. "Their mother. They all come from her."
"What does she want?" Jason asked.
I took a deep breath. I'd known questions like these would come. They just didn't have easy answers.
"The short version," I explained, "is that the forces of Chaos, monsters, struggle constantly with the forces of Order, gods. But our battle isn't open in your world. It's hidden."
"At least it was," Demeter murmured.
"Something's changed," I continued. "Chaos thinks it has a chance to seize control of your world."
"And you're going to try to stop it," Jason guessed.
"We are going to stop it," I said. "But we need help."
"From people like me," Jason said. "People with powers. Which is why you're trying to figure out where all the kids hang out."
"Yes," I said.
"Then you're in luck," he replied. "Because we've got a one-stop kid shop."
"Oh, really?" I replied, crossing my arms.
"It's called the Halcyon," Jason said. "It's an underage club. Live music and dancing mostly. Overpriced virgin drinks. All the cool kids hang out there. And all the not-so-cool kids."
"So, basically, everybody," Demeter said.
"Basically," he agreed.
"Then, that's where we go," I said.
"We'll leave whenever you're ready," Demeter told Jason, giving me a warning look.
He was young. He was strong. But he'd been through a lot. We couldn't risk burning him out.
Jason grinned. "I'm ready. Let's go kick some monster tail."
"Actually, most monsters don't have tails," Demeter informed him.
"It's an expression," he sighed. "Can we just go?"
I took a deep breath. "Yes. Please."
So we did.
CHAPTER SEVEN
"See anybody sparkly and Hero-like?" Demeter asked.
She sat beside me at the bar, bouncing along to the beat of a song neither of us had ever heard before.
As Jason had promised, the Halcyon was packed with people, but there were no glowing auras, no Heroes, just kids willing to pay a ludicrous cover charge to stand around in a dimly-lit and questionably-hygienic space with people they saw everyday at school anyway.
I rolled my eyes. Mortals.
Jason had disappeared almost as soon as we were inside. Demeter and I were looking for Heroes, but Jason had a different job. Gods couldn't do magick. Neither could Heroes. But Jason had just enough humanity left in him for one spell.
I'd given him the words to say to his parents over the phone, words that Hecate had assured me would cloud their minds and keep them from worrying about him until this was all over. With any luck, that would be soon.
Three more amulets. Three more Heroes. Then we'd finally be able to take on Ekhidna.
"So, no Heroes, huh?" Demeter guessed when I didn't say anything. "Well, the evening doesn't have to be a total bust. I mean, we could relax. Have a little fun."
She looked at me hopefully.
"Go have fun," I said. "I'll find Jason and tell him that we're giving up for tonight. He can enjoy one last night as a normal mortal."
Demeter nodded and headed straight for the dance floor. Heads turned as she walked by. She wouldn't be alone for long. She never was. She radiated joy, and mortals flocked to her.
I wanted time to myself anyway. Being in Justin's house had shaken me. It wasn't just him that was getting to me anymore. It was anything even related to him. I didn't know what would set me off next. It could be the smallest, most harmless thing, and I couldn't afford to lose control now.
A hand closed on my shoulder. I turned, expecting Jason or even Demeter.
Zeus.
I blinked.
But it was still him.
And yet it wasn't. He stood the same way, smiled the same way, had the same eyes. Stormy grey eyes. Zeus' eyes. I knew them anywhere. I'd loved those eyes for so long. I'd hated them even longer.
And yet these weren't quite Zeus' eyes. They were too young, too new, with no trace of anger or bitterness or fear.
I blinked. I hadn't heard a word this boy had said to me, and he was looking at me expectantly, grinning the same stupid grin that Zeus used when he was trying to be charming.
"What?" I asked.
"I said, you look bored. You want to dance?" he repeated.
Even his voice reminded me of Zeus. Rich. Deep. Powerful. It was achingly familiar.
Worst of all, it reminded me of how much I missed home. I'd chosen to come to the mortal world to do my duty and finish what I'd started. I'd also wanted time to make sense of everything that had happened the last time I'd come to the mortal world. When I'd fallen in love with Justin. When I'd watched him die.
But deep down, I missed the Heavens. I knew my place there. I knew who I was there. Maybe it'd been a mistake to come back to the mortal world. I never used to make mistakes.
The guy was still staring at me, waiting for an answer.
"I ... Sure," I replied.
The words just slipped out. I was too stunned to take them back.
The boy took my hand and led me to the dance floor. I couldn't look away from his eyes. The way he was looking at me. Excited. Eager. Hungry. Zeus hadn't looked at me like that in so very, very long. The last person who'd looked at me like that was Justin.
The pounding music slowed as he pulled me onto the dance floor. It became silkier, smoother. I followed the rhythm easily. I flowed with it, and his grin widened. He pulled me against him. We moved.
To my surprise, I felt myself relax. All the tension drained out of me. The seething sea of emotions inside me calmed. I just moved. It was like I could finally breathe again, and it felt like I hadn't breathed in forever. It was so natural. It didn't take any effort at all to surrender myself to the moment.
Then I saw it. A flicker. A flame. Deep rust orange. All around me.
I jerked back.
The flame wasn't around me. It was around him. Around this boy. This Hero. How had I not seen it before?
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Darren," he grinned.
He didn't ask me mine. It didn't matter to him who I was. That was when I finally realized where I'd seen this boy before. I'd met him the last time I was in the mortal world. It was at his birthday party. He'd been like Zeus then too, right down to cheating on his girlfriend, practically right in front of her.
Now here he was again.
"Come with me," I said.
It was impossible to find anywhere to be alone in this club, so we went outside. There were still people everywhere. I'd forgotten how crowded the mortal world was. Full of people. Full of feelings. Full of memories.
"Where're we heading, beautiful?" he asked.
I didn't answer. I found an alley a couple streets away. It would have to do.
"Adventurous," Darren said, as we headed into the shadows.
"It's not what you think," I assured him. "I need you..."
"Then we're on the same page, beautiful," Darren interrupted.
He leaned in to kiss me. I pulled away, not bothering to hide my disgust.
"Don't interrupt me," I snapped. "And don't call me 'beautiful.' My name is Hera. I'm Queen of Gods."
Darren's face darkened. He was impatient, just like Zeus: all grins and charm when he was getting what he wanted, but the moment things didn't go his way, his true colours shone through. He was just a spoiled little boy in a man's body.
"Look, are we doing this or not?" he demanded.
/> "What we're doing is having a conversation," I said. "An important one. The most important one you're ever going to have."
"Oh, no," Darren sighed. "You're one of those. Look, I'm not really a talking guy; I'm a doing guy. So, whatever you're selling, I'm not interested. Bye."
Darren turned to leave. I couldn't let that happen. I grabbed his wrist and quickly spun him around backwards. He was too surprised to fight back. He stumbled over my right foot and fell on his back. I knelt on his chest as he lay stunned on the ground.
Darren was big. Very big. I had to talk fast.
"Your whole life, you've had it easy," I said. "You're a natural at sports. You're gorgeous. Everyone loves you. But no matter how many games you win, no matter how many girls you go through, it's not enough. You're bored. And I know why. Better yet, I can change it."
Darren threw me off him. I caught myself before I slammed into the wall of the alley.
"You're a full-on psycho, you know that?" he shouted as he stood up. "You stay away from me!"
He turned to go.
I closed my eyes. "I'm not crazy! And I can prove it. Your phone is going to ring in a second. It's your mom. She's going to tell you that the doctor didn't find anything. But there is something, Darren. Your mom is sick."
My head felt like it was about to explode. The pain was blinding. I'd never pushed my powers this far before. But it was working. Darren had frozen.
When he turned, his face was consumed by rage. His voice shook with fury. "I don't know how the ..."
His phone rang.
He stopped talking.
It rang again.
He just stared.
"Answer it," I told him.
Reluctantly, he pulled out his phone.
"Mom? Hey. What? Are you sure? They're 100% sure?"
He looked back at me.
I shook my head gravely.
He looked at me helplessly. Another painfully familiar expression. Just like Zeus, he turned from a towering man to a desperate little boy in an instant, and in that instant, all my anger and all my hatred disappeared.
I shut my eyes again. My stomach churned.
"Tell her 'intestinal adenocarcinoma'," I said.
Hera, Queen of Mortals (Goddess Unbound) Page 3
