Chaos (Tessa Avery Book 1)

by Lucy Roy

  I smiled, appreciating the gesture. “We’d be happy to have him, then.”

  I turned my eyes on Apollo. “Apollo, could we have a few minutes alone?”

  “Yes.” He kept his gaze fixed on the view outside. “Prometheus, will you excuse us please?” He turned and faced me, his jaw clenched. “I need to speak with Nathaniel privately.”

  Prometheus frowned as he looked back and forth between us, then stood. “Of course. I need to go find where my brother has run off to.” He gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his green eyes. “Should I tell him to plan on attending training on Monday?”

  “That would be great. I’ll let Chiron know.”

  “Wonderful.” He gave a quick nod to Apollo, then me. “Good day, gentlemen.”

  A tense silence hung in the air for a moment after he left. I could feel Apollo’s eyes on me, but I stubbornly focused on the red liquid in my glass.

  “You don’t give up, do you, Nathaniel?”

  “I’m not sure why you would expect otherwise.”

  “Maybe because I asked you to?”

  I snorted and shook my head. “You ask me to go see this girl—"

  “Hestia sent you, not me. I had nothing to do with that nonsense.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Fine. Hestia asked me to talk to this girl so I could try to get an inkling of what this generation of recruits would be like. That’s it.” I took a sip of wine. “And then suddenly, everything seems to be going to shit for her. And you’re telling me to ‘let it be’?”

  “I’m not sure how many more times I need to tell you that, Nathaniel. It’s really quite simple.”

  “You know as well as I do that there’s something wrong with that girl.”

  He turned to face me but remained standing.

  “No, Nate,” he said, biting out Tessa’s nickname for me. “We don’t know that. She is a recruit, a soldier, and nothing more. She has had a few bad dreams, and if you continue to press this, it will only cause problems for her.” He jabbed a long, pale finger at me. “You’d best get that through your head now before you cause yourself too much trouble.”

  I rested my elbow on the arm of the couch and pressed my fingers to my forehead, contemplating what his reaction would be if I spilled my glass of wine on his perfectly white carpet.

  I sighed, frustrated that he was forcing me to spell this out.

  “Aside from the memory she already saw…" I said slowly, “…which she still assumes was a vision or dream, as far as I’m aware, there are hundreds—if not more—that assaulted me during her transformation. She has also involuntarily blocked me from entering her mind twice.”

  His jaw twitched, but otherwise his face remained impassive.

  “Is it possible your powers aren’t as sharp as they once were?” he mused.

  I gave him a withering look but refused to acknowledge his attempt to bait me. “She should not have been able to control water the way she did today.”

  “Why not?” He spread his hands in question. “She’s a Telekinetic. Water is a physical thing.”

  “Stop taking me for a fool, Apollo,” I snapped, setting my glass down on the coffee table with a thud. His eyes flicked down, then back up to me. “You know as well as I do that’s not how telekinesis works. Unless that ball of water suddenly turned solid in midair, she should not have been able to move it like she did.”

  He folded his arms across his chest and glared at me, lips pressed together so tightly his mouth was only a thin line. “What would you like me to say, Nathaniel? That you’re right? That there’s something not right about her? Fine. However,” he held up a hand, staying my response. “Contrary to what you may have been led to believe, I am not required to disclose anything to you about any of the recruits. That includes those who you may have developed a certain affection for. If you have a problem with that, then go take it up with your father,” he snapped, leveling a glare at me. “Because I have no time for it.”

  I met his steely gaze with one of my own.

  “And what will you do,” I asked quietly, “when she starts asking more questions? When other strange things happen with her powers like they did today? Because I can assure you, that time will come.”

  “Are you a seer now, too, Nathaniel?” He smiled derisively. “Last I checked, you hadn’t inherited that particular skill from your forbearers.”

  I rested my elbows on my knees and scrubbed my hands over my face, then sighed and stood to leave. “I can see this was a wasted trip.”

  “For once, we are in agreement.”

  Irritated at myself for thinking he might be at all helpful, I turned and stalked to the exit.

  “And for future reference,” he called when I was halfway through the door, “…I do not appreciate you coming into my home to verbally accost me, regardless of our relationship.”

  Without another word, I let the heavy white doors slam shut behind me.

  23

  Tessa

  One would think, as an immortal, that eight hours of training would be a walk in the park.

  As the hot water beat down on my face and sluiced over my sore body, I realized that person would be silly. My joints felt like they were on fire and my back muscles were full of knots.

  In other words, I felt like utter shit.

  I thought again how stupid I was for not asking questions prior to my transformation. Maybe then I would’ve known to pack some Tiger Balm and a heating pad when I came to Olympia.

  “Tessa, hurry up!” Yana’s voice came through the half-open bathroom door. “I smell like I have been burning shit all day!”

  “That’s because you have!”

  “I am going to go lay on your bed until you get out,” she warned. “The longer you take, the more your sheets will smell.”

  “You better not!” I yelled, just as the door clicked shut.

  I brought my hand up to press the round silver button that controlled the water, but I paused, smirking. Running my fingers over the buttons that controlled the water temperature, I brought it down a few dozen degrees before turning off the spray.

  When I stepped into our room in my maroon bathrobe, Yana was indeed sprawled on my bed, but she’d at least had the decency to take her shoes off.

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “You’re a horrible person, you know that?”

  She laughed, her blue eyes twinkling. “Yes, this is true.”

  She hopped up and skipped into the bathroom.

  “Don’t worry, I left the water nice and hot for you!” I called as I began rummaging through my bottom drawer.

  A moment later, I heard the shower turn on, and Yana let out a yelp as she was hit with the frigid water.

  “Ack, Tessa!”

  Snickering, I pulled on my favorite skinny jeans and a thin, pink sweater.

  As I sat on my bed and started blow drying my hair, I tried to go over plans for working with Damien for the second day of our training. He’d been so irritated with me, and I think a little embarrassed when Nate had sent him away. We’d obviously had some major connection issues when he’d tried to link with me, but I had no clue what solution I could offer outside of “practice makes perfect” or “stop acting like a royal douche.”

  All I knew was that I didn’t want to be wasting time fighting when we should be learning how to use our powers.

  When I turned the hair dryer off, I found Yana scowling at me from beneath the pale blue towel wrapped around her head. “You call me horrible?”

  I tossed her a hair brush and grinned. “Oh, stop. It’s just a little cold water.”

  She pulled the towel off and started running the brush through her wet hair, then pointed a long finger at me.

  “I will electrocute you in your sleep,” she warned as she swept her hair up into a high, tight bun. “Do not doubt it.”

  I snorted. “I wouldn’t for a second.”

  As Yana finished getting dressed, I put on some light makeup, then pulled on my black Chucks.
r />   “You ready?” Yana asked, zipping up her bright blue hoodie.

  “Yep, let’s move. Mary told Eric that we’d meet them in the courtyard. Do you know if Andrei is coming?”

  “I did mention it, but I am not so sure I am his type.”

  “Meaning…”

  She pursed her lips. “I do not think he likes women.”

  “Ahh, that’s right,” I replied as I recalled Eric’s “wingman” comment.

  “I invited Igor, though.”

  My eyebrows raised in amusement. “Okay, then.” I nodded slowly. “I can see it. He’s got those big baby blues.”

  She laughed as she opened the door and stepped into the hall. “The rest of his face is very nice, too.”

  “Whose face?” Mary had just stepped out of her own room, showered and dressed in ripped jeans and a sheer white Henley with a green tank underneath. Anette stepped out beside her in gray leggings and a black hooded sweater.

  “Yana has a crush.” I grinned mischievously.

  Yana’s only response was to punch me on the shoulder.

  “Ow, bitch,” I winced. “That hurt.”

  Yana shrugged. “Serves you right.”

  I narrowed my eyes at Yana, then grinned at Mary. “She thinks Igor’s a hottie.” I laughed as I ducked out of the way of Yana’s fist again.

  “Ooo!” Anette squealed. “He is nice to look at, isn’t he?”

  I was shocked to see Yana actually blush fiercely.

  “Ack, fine!” Yana threw up her hands in exasperation, then scowled at me. “You act like I am the only one with a crush,” she muttered, looking at me pointedly as we exited our hall onto the covered walkway that surrounded the courtyard.

  I stuck my tongue out at her and made my way over to the guys who were waiting for us in front of the large fountain.

  “Finally!” Eric groaned. “What took you guys so long?”

  “Stop your grumbling,” Mary said. “Where are we going?”

  “Someplace with cheeseburgers,” he begged.

  “Sounds good,” Mary responded

  “Okay, let’s go,” Eric said, waving his arms to herd us toward the door.

  “Why are you so complainy?” I asked, moving to keep pace with him. “Food’s only for fun anymore, remember?”

  “Yeah, well, old habits die hard, I guess,” he muttered, flicking his pale blond hair off his forehead in an annoyed gesture.

  He glanced at me, and his expression softened. “You know how it was at home. After every training session with Evan and Joanne, the first thing we’d do was eat. It just became second nature, our normal routine, kind of like brushing your teeth when you wake up.”

  He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his jeans’ pockets. “I guess it’s like one of those—what is it? Pav-whatever responses to exercise.”

  I gave him an amused smile. “Pavlovian?”

  “Yeah, that’s it. The dogs, right?”

  “Yep. So does that mean this is gonna be a daily thing, or do you think you’ll get over it?”

  “No clue. I guess I should try and get over it, but it’s kind of a nice reminder of home, you know?”

  “I definitely get that,” I said wistfully.

  I glanced up at the sky, but it hadn’t yet darkened enough to see Taurus, my common point with John and Analise.

  “This is our home now, though,” Andrei said, falling into step beside us. “Our Earth lives are done.”

  Eric gave him a sideways glance. “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean we don’t miss the place we lived for eighteen years or the people who raised us.”

  “I suppose,” Andrei said nonchalantly. “Our guardians were just doing their jobs, no? They helped to prepare us for our lives as immortals and now we are here. So why dwell on them?”

  I cocked my head. “You don’t miss them at all? I mean, mine were my parents, for all intents and purposes. The best mom and dad I could’ve asked for.”

  He gave me an incredulous look. “Truly?”

  Eric cast a look at me as if to say, ‘Is this guy serious?’

  “I’m guessing your relationship with your guardians wasn’t all that great?” he asked Andrei.

  “No, it was quite fine. They did their jobs. They ensured I had a good education, trained me physically and mentally, taught me how to use a wide variety of weapons, and fed and clothed me. What more would they have done?”

  “I could think of a few things,” Eric mumbled as we reached the portal field and turned left toward Main Street.

  We walked in silence for a few minutes before he pointed toward a building across the street.

  “There, that’s an American place. They probably have burgers.”

  Our group crossed the street toward the narrow cedar-shingled building. When we entered the small establishment, we were greeted by a curvy blond girl who bore the nametag ‘Sissy.’

  “Good evening, everyone!” She greeted us with a wide, toothy smile. “Welcome to Stefan’s. How many will be dining this evening?”

  Mary turned and gave a quick headcount. “Seven?”

  “Perfect, right this way.” Sissy grabbed a stack of thick maroon menus and led us through the semi-crowded restaurant.

  It was so quintessentially American. Green vinyl-covered booths lined the walls, with about a dozen square tables organized in the center. Sports memorabilia in the form of autographed baseball and football jerseys covered nearly every inch of the walls. Interspersed between their glass frames were matted posters or photos of the players who wore them. There were glass cases set up throughout the restaurant that contained various awards, trophies, and championship rings.

  The sounds of Bruce Springsteen surrounded us, blaring from speakers that were recessed into the white tiled ceiling, bringing back fond memories of some of the summer block parties we’d had on my street.

  “Wow, this is crazy,” Mary whispered from beside me. “I didn’t expect it to look so much like home.”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” I agreed. “I wonder what the other restaurants will be like.”

  Sissy led us to two tables at the back of the restaurant, then smiled. “If you’ll just give me a moment, I’ll push them together for you.”

  She set the menus down and began shoving one table up against the other, then grabbed seven sets of rolled up silverware from a busser station that stood a few feet away. With a flick of her fingers, she lit the two candles that sat in the center of each table.

  “So, you guys are the new recruits? How do you like it so far?”

  “It’s pretty awesome,” Eric said, leaning against a nearby booth. I pursed my lips, trying not to laugh as I saw him very obviously check out our pretty hostess. “Have you been here long?”

  I elbowed him, although I wasn’t entirely sure whether it was still inappropriate to ask a woman her age or not.

  “A while,” she said, laughing. “I went through my transition in the early sixteen-hundreds.”

  She finished placing silverware down and motioned for us to sit.

  “Someone will be right over to get you started. Welcome to Olympia! I think you’ll really enjoy it here.” With one last sunny smile, she walked back to the front hostess station.

  “Well, she was nice,” Eric said, opening his menu.

  I cocked a brow at him and smirked before opening my menu. “Uh huh.”

  After spending a few minutes looking over the menu, we put our orders in with our waiter Sam—a shorter guy with a slight build and an easy smile. Much to Eric’s delight, he left us with three heaping baskets of warm rolls and butter.

  “So how was everyone’s first day of training?” Anette looked around the table.

  “Tessa’s day was great,” Mary snarked, although there was a teasing glint in her eyes when she glanced at me. “Apparently she’s mastering her powers pretty quick.”

  I scowled at her and gave her ankle a swift kick. “Zip it, Mare, or I’ll trip you next time we run laps.”

  “What ha
ppened?” Anette asked, looking between Mary and me in confusion.

  “Mary is pissed because she thinks I distracted her while she was working with water,” I explained.

  “You did distract me! ” She pointed a butter knife in my direction. “I had total control of it until you broke my concentration.”

  “It was just a thumb’s up, for gods’ sake!” I rolled my eyes. “And let’s not forget your stupid ball of water. I’m still pissed at you about that.”

  “Oh, that stupid ball of water that you dropped on my head?”

  “You dropped water on her head? I thought you were a Telekinetic?” Andrei asked, confused.

  “I am. Water’s a thing.” I shrugged. “I move things.”

  He frowned, still not looking convinced.

  “So, what does everyone do?” Igor asked after he picked up a roll and started buttering it. “I don’t quite recall from the ceremony what everyone was specialized as.”

  I suppressed a grin when Yana cleared her throat.

  “I am an Electrokinetic, a specialization of fire users.” She jerked her thumb at Eric, the corner of her mouth pulled up in a wry smile. “This one is a Pyrokinetic, so he just plays with fire. You are a Tempest, correct?”

  Igor nodded. “Yes, I am.”

  Anette’s eyes widened. “Storm manipulation? That’s awesome!”

  He grinned. “It is. Today I was able to create a small tornado in a glass box. It only lasted a few moments, but it was thrilling.”

  As we waited for our food, we got the low-down on each other’s powers. Of course, as time went on, we couldn’t help showing off a bit.

  “Tess, pass me the rolls?” Mary held out her hand for the basket that was in front of me.

  Grinning, I focused on the basket, trying to lift a roll and send it toward Mary.

  Just as it would’ve sailed past her, she reached out her hand and snagged it.

  I winced. “Sorry. I’m still working out some kinks.”

  Her shoulders shook with laughter, and she set the roll down on the small plate in front of her. “You better start working harder.”

  “You guys want to see what I can do?” Eric sounded overly excited to show off his pyro powers.