by Holly Hook
The others threw themselves to the ground with thuds. My dagger trembled in my hand, shaking from the incredible show of power. Pain exploded over my body with each hailstone as the barrier slowly came to a close overhead. It wasn't fast enough.
"Giselle!" Prometheus shouted. "Hurry!"
I opened my eyes.
The hail whipped to the side and through the dark torrent unleashing from my dagger.
And stopped.
Lightning flashed. A massive wall of vapor, flying leaves, and airborne trees showed itself, no more than a mile and a half away, and then the night descended, hiding the horror. I took a sharp breath and reached out, sensing my wall, urging it upward and overhead. All the storm had to do was get over it and descend right on us. And I knew it would.
I pointed my dagger at the sky.
Hurry.
The darkness obeyed, and a new beam of purplish blackness shot to the heavens. Lightning flashed again, but now a thin film of darkness spread out above.
The hail stopped and the wind fell away.
And then the full brunt of the storm arrived.
I instinctively ducked at the roar, a horrendous sound that somehow trumped the one I'd heard in the Sorting Temple. Grasping at gravel, I waited for wind and debris and death to batter me from all sides, the surrounding air stayed calm.
I looked up, pushing myself into a crouch.
I hadn't thought it was possible to look straight up into a monster tornado, but it spun above us, raging, twisting, with lightning illuminating the sides. Debris shredded and turned to daggers just a hundred feet above, but the darkness over Cursed Academy, the tinted dome that shielded our campus, erupted into purplish black sparks as it consumed the debris. The bizarre show looked like the apocalypse. The tornado remained overhead for what felt like an eternity, when it could have been just seconds, before the winds slowed, the column up to the stars narrowed, and the monster curved, struggled, and fizzled out.
Clouds turned listless as silence fell. My ears rang from the horrific noise. The barrier held. I blinked, but the roar remained in my head, nothing like that I could command, and I breathed out, collapsing back onto all fours.
"Giselle," the titan said, appearing above me and extending his hand. "You did it. All the students are still alive because of you. Come on. To my office."
I was shaking. Could I even get up?
I had done this.
My whole existence turned into a blur. But the titan had a point. My limbs trembled despite me still holding the Chaos Dagger. I was too tired to even care about the gray, cracked look. Despite everything that had happened, I let Prometheus hold my arm as he guided me to the front doors of Cursed Academy.
Despite my victory, a sense of defeat swept over me, threatening to pull me into the ground.
Now I would face everyone like this. If my hands and arms looked like this, what did that spell for the rest of me?
"I'll need to become principal again," Prometheus muttered as we walked down the barren corridor. "Immediately. Then Zeus can't attack the school directly. I'll send out an announcement tonight. Giselle, you did well."
"Um." At least everyone was still huddled in the basement.
I had put a barrier around the school, but it was a destructive barrier, something even worse than what Hades had created. What would happen if a person tried to walk through it? I sensed my dome, which I could still detect if I threw my mind out there, wasn't selective about what it destroyed. And I didn't think I had the precision to make it that way.
And Ronin...
He hadn't been here to see this. Saving lives didn't matter anymore, because he saw me trying to kill his father. His only family. And who wanted a girlfriend like that?
"My office," Prometheus repeated as we reached the door. "I bet Hades left some nectar there." His tone darkened as he spoke.
"Nectar?"
"It will replenish your magic far more quickly than regular food can." The green torches spit at Prometheus as if welcoming him back after a year's absence. "Then you can create a disguise for yourself if you want. All immortals can shape shift."
Dizziness stole over me again, and not just because of exhaustion. I wanted to feel like a normal person. Why did I ever take that for granted, back when I still lived in Colton Corners? I wished Grandma had managed to keep me there. "I can get rid of this?" I let my gaze flick down to my arms.
"You can cover it up," Prometheus said as we reached the office.
It remained locked when he pulled on the door. I leaned against the wall, glad he'd taken his fiery hand off my arm. After what happened with Zeus, I didn't want any guy touching me, even if it was just to steady me. Maybe I didn't even want Ronin touching me. Even if he hadn't run from me in terror, what would this incident have done to our sex life?
But he was gone.
Gone.
"How long before Zeus comes back?" I asked.
"He could not penetrate your barrier," Prometheus said, fishing around in his jeans pocket. "He can make attempts, but now he knows you can hold him off. You are the only one who can." He cast his green-flecked stare at me. "There hasn't been someone like you in many millennia, perhaps longer."
I resisted the urge to rub my own eyes. I was still wearing my brown contacts, but I knew if I took them out, the purple flecks in my own irises would show, revealing an ancient type of power. I closed my eyes, just wanting to be back in my bed in Colton Corners.
"You did well," Dominique said, drawing up behind us. "Everyone in this school is alive because of you."
Then I let my eyes fly open. "But not because of you. Obviously you didn't care about Percival."
Dominique stood ten feet away, but she backpedaled and grasped the wall as Alonso pushed in front of her. If the werewolves had come in, they could all raise their hackles and growl at me. "We've done some wrongs, yes, but Mother is right that there are times where we cannot be nice." His steely, brown gaze warned me back. "When we're attacked, we must fight back. I regret that a student from here died, but sometimes people are misguided by Zeus."
I swallowed hard. "Percival was tricked. Zeus sent him on a suicide mission."
"I am going to have to ask the two of you to leave, as I am bound by the Oath," Prometheus told them. He unlocked the door, having found his key. It slid open with a click, and a bit of icy cold wafted out, left over from Hades's presence. But the feeling quickly dissipated. "I'm sure there is a supply in here."
Alonso frowned. "I am not surprised Zeus sent that boy on a suicide mission. Had we known, the fight may have turned out differently."
Was that real regret on the robed man's face? Before I could ask, someone thudded up the basement steps, which were almost right across from the office. The sound echoed down the hall and Celestus rose to the top of the stairs, looking right and left.
His gaze landed on me for a brief moment, but it wasn't until he stared down Alonso and Dominique that darkness came over his features. Celestus bit his lip as he then looked to Prometheus, his old friend, who lingered in the doorway.
And then Celestus stormed back down the steps, black robe swishing.
I had no time to dwell on the fact that the world was falling apart. I followed the titan into his former office, which was largely unchanged since Hades had taken over. The space was plain as if the dark god had no intent to make this a home away from home. He'd never liked mingling with those who had screwed him over.
I barely noticed as Prometheus opened drawers and cabinets, or when he pulled out a small glass bottle of glowing, golden liquid. "Drink this. And by the way, this is not a drug for your friends to partake in. It can overwhelm those who are not fully immortal." He handed the corked bottle to me, which smelled sweet even though it was sealed.
"I need...to change...my appearance," I said, a ghost of a hope spreading through me. After drinking the almost sickly-sweet liquid, strength flowed back into my limbs and my mood even lifted. Maybe there was a chance I could find Ronin and get him back,
and even make my friends believe that I wasn't going to turn on them. Celestus was already in a bad spot and wouldn't be sympathetic, at least not to Prometheus. But he was a reasonable guy and might help me.
But I had to act fast. The longer I stayed around the Lower Order, the more rumors would fly. Even if they did say they were helping the budding monsters.
"Yes," Prometheus said. "Close your eyes. Envision the form you want. The longer you focus, the stronger the effect will be, and the longer it will last. There will be times where you can't maintain a disguise, but during times of calm, it should be easy. However, it does use magic, but so long as you choose something you don't have to focus much on, you should be good."
I felt better now so I closed my eyes and imagined what I looked like earlier that evening: green dress, not torn, and normal-colored skin. I'd seen myself in the mirror enough times that night to know what I looked like, how Ronin saw me, how my friends viewed me. A faint tingle swept over my skin and in shock, I opened my eyes and lifted my hand.
Clear. Normal.
I sighed in relief. I looked normal, but my senses remained heightened and every little detail of the office popped out at me. This was just a mask, and I sensed the truth lying underneath. Now was the time to go down and talk to Mikey and Maria. Cal. Wendy. Natalia. At least I had her in my corner. And maybe she could even open a route to speak with Ronin and clear up the deal. If he knew what his father had done, he'd have to understand, even if the idea hurt him.
"Giselle, don't let that nectar get to your head." Prometheus offered a tight smile.
I had to try to reconcile now that my appearance wasn't alarming. "Thank you." I left the office to find Alonso and Dominique standing near the entrance of Cursed Academy, and no one at the basement steps. The storm from minutes ago had scared everyone to the point where they feared coming back up to the main level. Once I told them the deal, that a massive tornado wasn't going to kill them, then the attitude towards me would have to change.
Or maybe the nectar was making me too confident.
I reached the basement steps and descended. People muttered and whispered in nervous tones. Reaching out with my mind, I sensed the barrier still around campus, strong as ever.
Once at the bottom of the steps, the basement laundry area stretched out, complete with dozens of students in suits and dresses. Friends remained in huddles. Other people had moved to stand behind laundry machines, ready to duck if the roar came back. Some people had paled. Even the bus drivers had taken shelter down here and Celestus had gone to stand next to Natalia. Though he had his arm around the oracle, I sensed tension in the way Natalia kept her shoulders up. Celestus glared at me. The Lower Order were his sworn enemies and I'd been standing next to them.
And perhaps he was even in danger. After all, he'd spent his career hunting them and educating Apollo's employees about their attack tactics.
Shit.
"Mikey? Maria? Wendy?" I asked, voice floating over everyone's heads and filling the space.
The whole basement stopped and faced me. Was there a way to keep my voice's presence to a minimum? A way to keep myself from dominating every place I spoke in?
"Giselle." Maria looked to me from the center of the room, where she had moved to stand beside her boyfriend, Ted.
Mikey and Cal looked at me, frozen, but it was Wendy who approached after she looked to my other friends in turn. Being a descendant of Hades, she was the one drafted to walk over and talk to me. Even with my disguise, I was officially the scariest person in the room: even scarier than the matured Siren girl in the corner, or the matured Cyclops fourth year standing between two washing machines. I could only imagine what atmosphere I gave off.
Wendy slowly stepped forward, sword still hanging over her skirt. It gave off the dreaded thrum as she approached, but like the hailstones, the sound just washed over me without any effect. She swallowed, stopping a few feet away.
"Am I really that bad to be around?" I joked. If it wasn't for the nectar, I wouldn't be able to face this right now, even with my normal-girl disguise.
"You...give off an atmosphere now," Wendy said.
"I'll have to ask how to tone it down. Hades did," I said.
"Hades has a helmet of invisibility that can mask him," Wendy said. "I bet he used it that night when he snuck up on you and Ronin. You don't have that."
Great. A bit of my newfound confidence wavered. Wendy deserved the truth. I whispered, "Wendy, Hades is...he wasn't trying to come after me. He was warning me about Zeus. We were in the Sorting Temple and he tried, well, he tried to force himself on me." Despite my changes, just talking about it made me feel gross and weird.
Wendy's jaw dropped. "You're saying Zeus isn't just an asshole, but a rapist?"
I swallowed. Admitting it made the whole world turn upside down again. "Yes."
"Then what else is he?" Wendy asked with disgust. She grabbed her sword as if she wanted to cut the sky god right here. "He sent me on that impossible mission. Knew I could never get into Olympian. And I wanted to go to his school. Wait until Hades hears about this. At least Hades doesn't cheat on his wife."
Maria and I exchanged glances. This would be the part where she'd jump in and speak, but only silence hung between us. Somewhere, Celestus announced that the storm seemed to have passed without harm, and people could begin to come back upstairs. All around me, people walked to the stairs, upping their pace around me. One of the poor bus drivers ran up the steps.
I gulped.
Everyone sensed something wrong with me.
Everyone feared me.
"Maria," Ted said, tugging on her arm, eyes begging.
I couldn't take it anymore. "Well, I'm sorry for the atmosphere I give off, but I've had a rough night. Oh, and we're now part of a divine war. So yes, I'm not giving off happy vibes."
Maria's lip trembled. "You feel different."
I hadn't gotten to the worst part yet, that I could no longer help my friends by taking Cal's healing power and transferring it to them, and that they'd soon mature into full monsters as a result. Or that the Lower Order now dangled the only hope of saving them in my face, forcing me to play along. I'd come all this way to have a terrorist group manipulate me, and as the thought hit, the last of my confidence melted away. I wanted to sink into the floor.
"I know I do." Why couldn't I say it? "I know we're all worried."
"No kidding?" Mikey asked, backing into Cal. Cal squeezed his shoulder as a bit of sunlight appeared around his hand. Bags had formed under his golden-flecked eyes. Cal could help Maria and Mikey for a bit, Mikey more than Maria. But even he had limits.
"Giselle," Prometheus said from the top of the stairs. His voice filled the basement, which had cleared out.
Maria and Mikey took the chance to backpedal from me. Only Cal and Wendy remained nearby, putting themselves between me and my other friends.
"What?" I asked.
"You should have your full strength back. I know you don't like to stay on campus," the titan said, "but we need you here for the summer. You'll probably need to renew the barrier every week or so just in case. There are also times you may need to...open it for people." He emphasized those last words, as if he knew the Oath were creeping up on him. "You'll need to let the students out tomorrow, and stand guard in case Zeus or those sympathetic to him try to attack. They will go after soft targets to get to you."
"Step aside," Dominique said, pushing her way past Prometheus until she dominated the top of the stairs. I wondered what the other students were thinking, seeing the Lower Order leader in our corridors. "Giselle. He's right that Zeus will attack soft targets."
"Like you?" I burst, advancing on her. Why hadn't she listened to Prometheus and left?
She held up a hand. "You want to help your friends. I can see it on your face. The Lower Order only attacks the gods and those who are helping them dominate the world," she spat. "When have we ever attacked a hospital? A school? Zeus has done that and far more. Some
of the other Olympians are no better!" Hatred shone in the witch's eyes so much that it was my turn to backpedal. "My point exactly. If we end Olympus, we cure all those inflicted with monstrous genes. And you need us to reach Olympus. Today is the beginning of a new and beautiful relationship."
Chapter Three
I don't know when Maria and Mikey vanished or when I walked back up to my locked dorm and flopped down on my bed. But I did know that the place felt empty for the first time in ages. Usually, Ronin stayed with me, and if he wasn't around, Maria, Mikey, and Wendy did.
I fell into an exhausted sleep, dreamless. When I woke, the summer sun streamed through the window. Late morning. Maybe even close to lunch time. Today was the first day of summer vacation for all of Cursed Academy, and the day the fourth years would depart to start their careers and the rest of their lives.
But not me.
I couldn't go back to Colton Corners in this state. I didn't want to inflict myself on the rest of the world. Even normal people would sense something was off when I was nearby. I would never fix this. Ever.
"Great," I groaned, speaking quietly so I kept my voice to myself. I didn't need to scare everyone when I spoke, either. I held up my hands, stomach lurching, but my disguise had maintained itself overnight. I sensed I could keep that part up if I didn't go crazy with magic. Good. At least one thing was going right.
I had to try to talk to Maria and Mikey before they left for summer vacation. When they came back, we'd all be in our fourth year. Would I even still be a student? Or something else?
I texted Ronin. I can explain everything.
Yeah. The classic I screwed up line from every bad romantic comedy. I sent the text, waiting for something, anything, even if Ronin told me to never speak to him again. Zeus would be the historian for this incident. My only hope of speaking to Ronin, was, oddly enough, the same chance he'd figure out the tornado had been caused my his father. Zeus would try to pin that on me or random chance. It was summer and bad storms did happen.
After waiting fifteen tense minutes, I rose from bed, aware of the strength in my limbs. My heart felt like lead. Most people would be leaving by now. Changing out of my green dress, I threw on the most normal, drab clothes I could: a gray tank top and old jeans. I wanted to make the tiniest splash I could.
