Nyx the Mysterious

by Joan Holub

  “You bet,” the goddessgirl said with a yawn.

  As soon as Artemis and her three hounds had left, Nyx got up again to take the cover off her birds’ cage. Hypnos and Thanatos began to sing at once. After climbing back into the spare bed, which was still warm from the dogs lying on it, Nyx pulled the bedcovers over her head. Despite the shouts and laughter coming from the hallway as girls ventured out of their rooms to go downstairs to breakfast, she drifted off to sleep within seconds.

  6

  A Charmed Life ?

  WHAH?” NYX WOKE UP AND blinked her eyes in surprise when she heard a whoosh outside Artemis’s open window. Thump! Something flew in and hit the floor. She got out of bed and found a notescroll addressed to her tied with a red ribbon lying on the rug. The words “To Nyx” were written on it.

  “Guess one of those magical breezes I’ve heard about that delivers things to MOA brought you?” she asked as she picked it up. Of course, the scroll didn’t answer. She untied its ribbon and unrolled it. Meet us outside in the marble courtyard at one o’clock, the note said. Artemis’s signature was at the bottom. She hadn’t said who “us” was, but Nyx figured the goddessgirl meant her and her BFFs. Or maybe her and her dogs?

  She looked out the window. According to the sundial below, it was twelve thirty already. She needed to get going! After a quick shower in the bathroom that Artemis had shown her down the hall, she tended to her birds. They’d been twittering at each other, as if deep in a private conversation since she’d awakened. Now Hypnos began fluffing out his feathers and fluttering around the cage.

  “Want to fly free for a bit?” she asked him. “No dogs around now, so what could it hurt?” After closing the window, she opened the cage door. At first the birds just remained inside and flew to the top of their cage, landing on the swing that dangled from a hook there. “Come on out. Have fun! Explore!” she urged as she put fresh seed and water inside their cage.

  Finally, with loud squawks, Hypnos and Thanatos spread their wings and zoomed out. They began flying laps around the room, stopping now and then to perch on top of a wardrobe or at the foot of a bed or on the windowsill.

  Nyx gathered up the top layer of a stack of papyrus sheets she’d laid at the bottom of her parakeets’ cage to catch spilled seed and the birds’ droppings. As she dumped the sheets in the woven trash basket under Artemis’s desk, she noticed that some of the papyrus had been torn up and chewed. That was unusual.

  “You guys feeling stressed out?” she asked her birds. “Too much travel yesterday? Anxiety over Artemis’s dogs?” She supposed it was possible. “Well, we’ll be home before too long,” she assured them.

  When she was ready to leave at last, she coaxed both birds to land on her upturned palm. Then, holding the gate of their cage open, she gently slid her hand with the birds halfway inside. After they hopped off, she shut the gate, carefully latched it, and reopened the room’s window to let in fresh air.

  “Be good,” she told them jokingly before she went downstairs to meet Artemis and whoever else “us” included.

  It was a beautifully warm and sunny day at Mount Olympus. Turned out that Artemis, her dogs, and her three BFFs were all waiting at the bottom of the granite steps that led from the Academy’s front doors to the marble courtyard below. As soon as the girls saw Nyx, they waved her closer.

  “We thought we’d all have a picnic for lunch,” Artemis told her, pointing to lidded baskets (presumably filled with food) that Aphrodite and Athena were holding.

  “After all, it’s such a nice day,” Persephone added cheerfully. She had a flower-patterned blanket tucked under her arm, which Nyx guessed she’d brought for everyone to sit on.

  “Sounds fun,” Nyx said. She’d only ever been to one picnic before. It had been held in the Elysian Fields, the Underworld’s most desirable neighborhood. The shades who were lucky enough to get sent there got to feast, play, and sing forevermore.

  Leaving the courtyard, the girls walked toward the sports fields beyond the Academy. Amby, Nectar, and Suez ran on ahead, pausing now and then to sniff at some interesting smell or to roll in the grass.

  Artemis stopped near a fantastic fountain featuring several golden dolphins. Water spouted from their mouths to fall into a wide pool at the base of the fountain. “How about here?” she asked.

  “Perfect.” Persephone shook out the blanket she’d brought, then laid it on the grass near the short stone wall that bordered the fountain. After the girls all got comfy on the blanket, Athena and Aphrodite unpacked the baskets and handed around the hero sandwiches, apples, chips, and Oracle-O cookies they’d brought from the cafeteria.

  As they munched on the picnic foods, Athena asked Nyx, “So how did it go last night?”

  Nyx noticed that everyone seemed to pause in their eating to await her reply. As usual, it made her uncomfortable to be the center of attention. “Fine,” she said at last.

  Aphrodite arched an eyebrow. “Details, please. We know what you do, but would really like to hear how it actually works—that is, if it’s not a secret or anything.”

  “It’s not. And, sure, I’ll tell you,” said Nyx. Before her anxiety could take hold and a dark mist swirl around her, she launched into an explanation. Because this was another opportunity to educate these girls about her life as goddess of the night!

  “So here’s how it goes. First, I put on my magic cape. Then my horse, Erebus, pulls my chariot up and away. As we fly higher, the cape expands behind me across the sky, turning it dark and shaking off stars, too.”

  “Cool!” Persephone enthused. Then she yawned.

  Did her job sound boring? Nyx immediately worried. She didn’t think it was. Even if it was the same routine night after night. However, she was used to a life that was much quieter than the life these girls lived.

  “So does anything unusual ever happen? Thunderstorms, hail, stuff like that?” Artemis asked, reaching for a handful of chips.

  “Well, the weather can be troublesome at times, but I like that it’s never the same. And sometimes creatures come along. Some bats came out last night.” Nyx smiled at the recollection. “I named them Squeaky, Flappy, and Nightwing.”

  She stopped speaking and took another bite of her sandwich. No one said a word. It was as if the other girls were waiting for the rest of the story. But there wasn’t any “rest of the story.” She guessed she could tell about how her cape had gotten tangled. That had been kind of exciting, but it seemed a bad reflection on her abilities. She wished someone else would speak and finally someone did.

  “Medusa has names for all her snakes,” Persephone piped up brightly.

  “The snakey-haired girl? I’ve seen her around the school,” Nyx said, glad to make someone else the topic of conversation. Just yesterday she’d worried about others seeing her as too mysterious and exotic to fit in, but now she was more worried about seeming too dull. She’d always thought of her life as a charmed one, feeling lucky to do what she did. But maybe she simply thought that because this was the only way of living she’d ever known. The lonely life she saw reflected back to her through these girls’ eyes was making her think differently.

  To keep the focus off her—and because she was truly curious about the day-to-day lives of these goddessgirls—she began to ask them questions. Which MOA classes are the most fun? What do you guys do in your spare time (besides having picnics!)? What are godboys like and which are the coolest?

  In addition to funny details about the boys (like that Poseidon played with tubby toys and wore flippers in the bathtub!), the girls told her about their classes (Hero-ology was a favorite, except Aphrodite preferred Beauty-ology). It seemed they often shopped at the Immortal Marketplace, sipped shakes with friends at the Supernatural Market, and took special trips to concerts and amusement parks. Once, they’d even gone to Egypt!

  “Wow, that all sounds amazing!” Nyx exclaimed. Even though she knew she was a loner at heart, she found herself longing to be a bit more like these other go
ddesses. To be outgoing and . . . well . . . carefree. Because, she realized now, her life was anything but that. Unlike these other girls, she had a routine job with big responsibilities. Taking even a single night off was not an option.

  Toward the end of lunch, some boys began playing soccer in the field below the girls. Suddenly, an errant kick sent a ball flying their way. “Duck!” yelled one of the boys. Confused, Nyx looked up in the sky for a quacking bird and got beaned in the head.

  “Ow!” Startled, she was unable to control the black mist that began to spiral around them and their picnic.

  “Whoa!” said Apollo, who’d come after the ball. He skidded to a stop before Nyx. “Sorry about that. You okay?” he asked, peering at her through the mist.

  Embarrassed more than hurt (Duh! He’d meant duck as a verb, not an animal!), Nyx waved away the mist. “I’m fine. It’s just a reaction that sometimes happens when I’m startled or anxious. Like how some people’s faces turn red when they get embarrassed.”

  “Weird,” Apollo said, scooping up the ball.

  Nyx frowned. She didn’t want to be weird. Or exotic. And not dull, either. She just wanted to be herself!

  Yawning, Apollo tossed the ball from one hand to the other, whirled it around his back, and then twirled it on one finger. When it fell off the finger, he chased it as it rolled to a stop beneath the fountain.

  “Whoa!” he said, scooping up the ball. “I’m off my game today. I had this horrible dream last night that a giant scorpion was chasing me in the Forest of the Beasts. Woke me up way too early and then I couldn’t get back to sleep.”

  “The Forest of the Beasts is a place down on Earth where Beast-ology classes go once a month,” Artemis explained to Nyx. “We practice defending ourselves against simulated monsters that our teacher, Professor Ladon, creates.”

  “Yeah, only there was nothing ‘simulated’ about the scorpion in my dream,” Apollo told them. “It had these enormous crablike claws and eight hairy legs, and it was about to strike me with its venomous tail when I screamed and woke up.”

  “Sounds horrifying,” Athena commiserated. Then, just like Apollo had done, she yawned too. “I didn’t sleep well last night, either.”

  With her hand covering her mouth, Aphrodite yawned too. “Me neither. I only got about half of my usual beauty sleep.”

  “Stop yawning, everyone,” Artemis said. “It’s catching!” Then she yawned too.

  Talk about weird! thought Nyx. Why would these immortals all toss and turn the very same night? Could her powers somehow be affecting them during the day in a way that later disrupted their sleep at night?

  “Anyway, glad you’re okay,” Apollo said to Nyx. Then, grinning crookedly, he ran off with the ball.

  Ping! Ping! Ping! The lyrebell sounded a warning that fourth-period classes would soon begin. The girls gathered up the remains of their picnic and started back to the Academy.

  “Artemis and I have Beauty-ology this period,” Aphrodite said to Nyx on the way in. “Want to come with us? Today is Makeup Monday, and that means we can use our class time to experiment with makeup or to make up missing assignments. Hey! We could give you a makeover!”

  Artemis rolled her eyes. “Nyx looks fine the way she is.”

  Nyx sent her a smile, grateful for the comment. Still, she hesitated. She’d always liked her “look” too, but now she found herself wondering if a different look might make her seem less weird (or dull!) to MOA students. It wouldn’t be permanent, just for a little while. She could go back to her usual look when she left MOA to return to the Underworld. So what did she have to lose?

  “Okay, it’ll be fun to hang out and do makeup,” she told Aphrodite. “Let’s go!”

  7

  A New Look

  APHRODITE AND ARTEMIS INTRODUCED NYX to the Beauty-ology teacher, Ms. ThreeGraces, as soon as the girls, trailed by Artemis’s dogs, entered the classroom. The impeccably groomed teacher’s hair, chiton, and makeup were as perfect as in a painting. Her eyes swept over Nyx’s goth appearance with interest, but not disapproval, Nyx was pleased to note.

  “Welcome, Nyx,” Ms. ThreeGraces said in elegant, soothing tones. She smiled warmly. “I hope you’re enjoying your stay here at MOA. Please feel free to look around the classroom and take part in any activities you’d like.”

  As accepting as the teacher was toward Nyx, she was not as happy to see Artemis’s dogs, however. “Dogs and makeup don’t mix,” she told Artemis firmly. “You may be excused for a few minutes to take them up to your room.”

  After Artemis and her dogs left, Nyx had a moment of anxiety. Would her birds be safe all alone with the dogs? Luckily, she was able to dismiss her nervousness before her black shadowy mist could swirl around her. The birds were safely inside their cage on top of a high shelf, she reminded herself. The dogs had grown used to them by now and would surely just curl up on her . . . er . . . their bed to nap.

  Aphrodite linked her arm through Nyx’s. “The cosmetology area is over here,” she said, steering Nyx to a group of tables in one corner of the room. Scattered across the tables were several boxes of tissues, and maybe a dozen bronze mirrors. Nyx hid a smile when she noticed Aphrodite leaning over one of them to admire her own reflection. While not exactly vain, Aphrodite definitely liked to look good. But then, she was the goddessgirl of beauty!

  “Have a seat,” Aphrodite said, motioning to a chair at one of the tables. “Artemis won’t mind if we get started before she’s back. In the meantime, I’ll get the things we’ll need.” So saying, she stepped over to some nearby shelves that were stacked with various supplies, including life-size fake heads. Aphrodite scanned the shelves with a practiced eye and selected several boxes and jars. These she deposited atop the table in front of Nyx. Then she went back to the shelves for a few more items.

  One of the boxes was jiggling. When Nyx opened it to see what was inside, a magic makeup brush catapulted out. Immediately, it flew up till it was level with her nose, about a foot away. Hovering in midair, its bristles curved into a question-mark shape as it contemplated her face.

  “I guess you’re thinking you’ve got your work cut out for you, huh?” joked Nyx.

  Overhearing as she returned with a handful of lip glosses, Aphrodite laughed. “No, it’s just waiting for instructions.” As she set down the lip glosses, which were in varying shades of pink, red, and orange—colors Nyx never wore—Aphrodite said to the makeup brush, “Be patient. We’re not quite ready for your help yet.”

  For a second or two the brush seemed to slump with disappointment, but then it flew down to rest on top of its box until needed.

  Aphrodite handed Nyx a small pot of cream and a couple of tissues. “Makeup remover,” she told Nyx. “First step is to get rid of the white face powder and all that black eyeliner. Oh, and your purple lip gloss too.” Glancing down at Nyx’s fingernails as Nyx reached for the tissues, Aphrodite added, “We’ll deal with the nail polish later.”

  “Okay,” said Nyx. However, despite her consent to the makeover, she was starting to feel apprehensive. Her hands shook a little as she spread the cream all over her face, but at least her nervousness didn’t trigger the black mist. She had just finished wiping the cream off with the tissues when Artemis returned.

  “I like it!” she exclaimed, peering at Nyx’s face. Then she smiled at Aphrodite. “That’s a great look for her!”

  Aphrodite rolled her eyes. “She’s only just removed her old makeup. We haven’t yet started with the new.”

  “Oh.” Artemis grinned at Nyx. “Then I guess that means you’re a natural beauty. Or, given that you’re a goddess, a supernatural beauty!”

  Surprised at the compliment, Nyx mumbled, “Uh . . . thanks.” No one remarked on her looks in the Underworld. Beauty was mostly a concern of the living, not the dead.

  “Artemis is right,” Aphrodite agreed, eyeing Nyx’s face in a professional way. “A bare minimum of makeup is all you’ll need. We won’t use any concealer or face powd
er because your skin is flawless.”

  Hurrah! thought Nyx. She’d have less to wash off if she didn’t like the results.

  First Aphrodite and Artemis surveyed the range of eye shadows that Aphrodite had brought and debated which to use. Hearing them, other girls in the class wandered over to add their opinions. Every now and then some of that same wariness she’d seen in students upon her return to MOA this morning crept into their eyes. But mostly they seemed to forget that she was the goddess of night. Maybe because she looked so unlike herself now?

  Eventually, the group settled unanimously on a sparkly blue eye shadow—almost a midnight blue—that Nyx actually liked too. Excited to have work to do, the makeup brush sprang up from its box when Aphrodite called to it. Then it happily whisked the blue powder across Nyx’s eyelids.

  “Nice work,” Aphrodite told it when it had finished. Nyx opened her eyes in time to see the brush curve its bristle tips in a little bow. Then it flipped end over end to land in its box again. The lid shut tight behind it.

  Now Aphrodite opened a box containing a new brush with fewer bristles, and called on it to apply eyeliner. “Just a thin line along her upper eyelashes,” she instructed. Immediately, the brush dipped itself into a pot of black makeup. Nyx leaned back her head and closed her eyes again so the brush could do its work. She only felt a gentle flutter across her eyelids as it swept liner from the inside corner of each eye to the outside.

  “You have great eyelashes—so long and thick,” Aphrodite remarked as yet another brush applied a small amount of mascara to Nyx’s lashes. Once this task was completed, Aphrodite nodded her approval of the result. “And now for lip gloss.” Again the girls all offered suggestions. Everyone agreed on red, but half voted for an orangey-red called “Dragon Fire” while the other half favored a darker red called “Ruby Wine.”