by Holly Hook
And he didn't pull away.
He could withstand my darkness. We were both full of our own.
But at last, I pulled away and immediately, his electricity faded.
"Please try," Ronin said, gasping for breath.
I nodded. Could I take the risk of skirting around Dominique and finding my own way to help Maria and Mikey? She'd made the consequences very clear. "I will."
Chapter Eleven
Though Ronin hadn't said it out loud, the meaning was clear.
Working with those who killed his mother was a deal breaker in our relationship, and possibly his cooperation in whatever plan the Order had to infiltrate Mount Olympus. Ronin didn't mean to put me in this position, but I knew how he was. His darkness was a different type than mine, and perhaps even more debilitating.
And even if he did intend to put me here, he had a point. Just the fact that Ronin had willingly walked into Cursed Academy was a miracle.
Ronin's words swirled through me the next day, and the next, as classes continued. I could barely focus even in Divine History. Celestus talked about how Arachne spun tapestries showing what assholes the gods were, and got turned into a spider by Athena. Everyone in class looked at the floor, even Tiffany, as Celestus finished the lecture. He seemed to have it out for Athena, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hera.
It also turned out that Hera had cursed Hercules with insanity, forcing him to kill his own family. And after meeting her in person, I believed it. The auburn-haired, tight-lipped wife of Zeus liked going after the women he lusted after and his illegitimate children. Ronin was lucky to have made it this far.
And I visited him after classes every day. Each day, I found him and Elliot down in the secret room. Poor Elliot had to spend the evening hours, from five to ten, babysitting Ronin. Sure, Ronin could blast him with lightning, but why? Even his magic couldn't get him out of the box of thick metal bars.
"You know, sponge baths suck," Ronin said, leaning against the bars as I walked into the basement that Friday.
"It's not fair they're keeping you in here," I said.
"Well, they know I'm dangerous," Ronin said with a smile, flexing his biceps. For a magical second, it was like old times. "What do you expect?"
"Ha ha," I said, trying not to look at Elliot. Elliot had coped with the situation by making the other half of the secret room his office. He'd even moved in a cot of his own and decorated his desk with an assortment of steampunk lamps and intricate clocks that I knew Maria would like. Elliot was an intelligent man and didn't deserve to get stuck with one eye in his forehead.
But he was also a reminder of what I had to do.
"Hear anything about this master plan yet?" Ronin asked, tone darkening.
"Not yet," I said. What was taking so long? Dominique was leaving me in the dark and I had the sense that was part of how she exerted power over me. "But I made them promise not to hurt you. Prometheus hasn't said a word. He can't know that you're down here. He's gone back to his tactic of looking the other way."
"Figures," Ronin said, leaning against the bars with his arms crossed.
"I'm getting tired of this," I said, which was the truth.
"So am I," Elliot said. "But we can't let Ronin out. Or Dominique will make our lives more miserable than they already are. I've tried talking to Alonso, but he won't go against his mother. I've even tried to tease him and call him a mama's boy."
"Good for you," Ronin said.
"I'll talk to Dominique. Tell her we should let you out of this damn cage," I said. "I've got to find her first. She's been going in and out of this school."
Ronin screwed up his face and I knew what he wanted to ask. He wanted me to tell Prometheus about the Lower Order sneaking around, forcing him to take action. He wanted me to take the burden of this off myself. But I couldn't. We stared at each other for what felt like forever. I nodded. "I'll go look for her now."
"Please do," Ronin said. "We can't keep doing this. I'm here because Zeus needs to be stopped. And I won't rest until he is. But I won't disrespect my mother."
By the time I reached the top of the basement steps, anger tightened my fists into balls and my breath came in ragged gasps. Since I hadn't found a way around working with the Order yet, I was going to make Dominique own up to what her group had done to Ronin's mother. Right now. I might be dark, but I wasn't going to get friendly with murderers.
Ronin deserved better.
The evening light was long and tired. Maria and Mikey had gone to the dining hall to play board games with Wendy. On the way out of the building, I walked past Cal, who was no doubt coming in to visit Mikey. His inner sunshine seemed to snap out of existence as we approached each other.
"Hey," Cal said, flinching as he laid his gaze on me.
"Hey," I said, keeping my voice low and friendly. But he must have detected the rage boiling within, because he backed up and bumped into one of the green torches. The heatless flame trembled.
"Is Mikey here?"
"In the dining hall." I pointed, hating this reminder of what I was. "Stop being afraid of me. Please. And Mikey needs your help." He'd been showing his blue tint more and more lately. A few minutes here, a few minutes there. It faded each time, but was becoming more frequent, even with Cal's nightly visits.
Cal rushed inside and no one stopped him. I eyed the office, which Prometheus holed himself in all the time now. He titan leaned over his computer, typing away, trying to tell himself that no anti-Zeus activities were taking place. And he was doing a good job. More anger rose in me, tightening my chest. The principal of the school was leaving all this to fall on me. Stupid Oath. That was Zeus's fault, too.
I stormed outside.
It was a pleasant evening, still warm, and a few second years sat on the edge of the fountain in their blue robes. The students scattered, gathering their books, as I approached. Swallowing hard, I kept my distance and walked right into the trees. Dominique would have to hear me if I called.
What if I did something desperate?
Used too much of my power?
Had to pull a nasty threat?
I shuddered, thinking of the chain reaction. That hole to the void had taken a full three days to shrink and close, according to the news that Wendy followed.
"Dominique!" I shouted into the trees, putting full force into my voice. Crushing underbrush, I continued deeper into the woods, closer to my border. I wanted to see where the Lower Order was camping.
And I found them, just within my border. In a clearing I'd never visited, a ring of hitched tents gathered around a fire pit. I counted a full dozen tents, but no one seemed to be home. The monsters had taken off somewhere, maybe out on some errands. Trash wrappers and fast food bags lay everywhere. An old grill that looked pulled from a trash pile sported white ash on the grating. The Lower Order wasn't exactly living it up out here.
"Dominique!"
"Giselle." She clapped, sporting her awful smile, as she stepped out of the trees. Dominique stopped just ten feet away, close enough for me to see the golden flecks in her eyes and every ring of her twin wheel tattoos. No one had come with her. Dominique had been walking around the woods, alone. Breathing out, I listened. Silence.
I got right to the point, grasping the handle of my dagger. I didn't pull it from my belt, but I was sure the gesture was enough. The witch turned her gaze to it and tensed, but she didn't back away. The person least afraid of me was the one who should fear me the most.
"We can't keep Ronin in a cage. He wants to stop Zeus, too. Trust me. He's suffered at the hands of the sky god, too. Just not in the same way that the monsters have. He's not the spoiled brat you think he is."
Dominique shook her head. "We cannot take that risk. We need a child of Zeus. Even with Zeus's track record of fathering children, they are rare in the modern world or too young for us to find. Zeus has simply not had enough time to sire more offspring. Surprising, really."
"We can't keep him locked up!"
"You two are
on the rocks. Can you even keep him from running away?"
Ouch. I balked as my heart sank to my shoes. "Don't shift the blame to me. I didn't murder his mother."
Dominique paused, expressionless, before she lifted her eyebrow. I waited for her to laugh. To insult Ronin.
"His mother?"
Seriously? "You know. When you broke into one of Zeus's mansions and murdered her!"
"We try not to kill civilians," she said. "But sometimes it happens by mistake. Why would I purposely kill one of Zeus's victims? Why would I even kill a woman who is with him willingly, as Ronin's mother sounds like she might have been? These women have enough problems of their own."
"Don't lie to me," I said, approaching. I tightened my grasp on the dagger.
"I may be a lot of things, but I am not a victim blamer. Look elsewhere," Dominique said. She drew close, staring right into my eyes. "I take responsibility for my errors alone. Kill me, and you are all doomed, in one way or another."
I swallowed. I could stab her. Wanted to. We stood in a stalemate. "I won't let Ronin leave. But the longer we keep him in that cage, the more he will want to run away when we let him out. And we will let him out."
Dominique pursed her lips like she was about to spit. Let her. I sensed a victory.
"I have the border up, remember? All I have to do is close the hole in the barrier. He won't leave." How could she argue with that?
"Giselle," she said with a tsk.
"You have a bit of class." Doubt gathered under my heart. Her hard expression told me she had no other answers. She would continue to dangle everything over my head and make me do tricks.
"Class goes out the window when you have a mission. So does kindness. Get used to it."
My thoughts shot back to when we stayed in one of Zeus's hidden mansions. Ronin's sudden psychological pain, and then the Lower Order's attack. "You didn't have to curse Ronin with nightmares and mental torment last summer!"
"He needed to see the truth! Face his real memories!"
I gulped. "What do you mean? What truth?"
"We do not invade homes and kill civilians unless they attack us first," Dominique said. Her wrinkles deepened with hate.
"So you're saying Ronin's mother went after you and you retaliated. That's a nice thing to make Ronin face," I said. There was no holding my anger back anymore. I grabbed the front of Dominique's black robe and shoved her back against a tree. She felt light, like a sack of Styrofoam, and choked as I held her against the rough trunk. I stared her in the eyes as they widened in shock. "You're sick and you play sick games! Tell me how to get to Mount Olympus myself and I might spare your life."
The darkness within me laughed.
I was going over the edge.
"You are not a cold-blooded killer." The witch chuckled. "You won't kill me."
It was the last thing I expected her to say. Everyone else looked at me like I was the most terrifying thing to walk the Earth. But Dominique had pulled me into existence. She was different. My knees trembled. "Tell me!" I drew the dagger, gulping. I had to, for once, take Dominique's advice and throw kindness to the wind. I had destroyed Achlys but a human was different. Dominique wasn't completely evil. My hand shook as I brought the dagger up to her throat with my free hand.
Orange magic sparked around her palms, but she made no motion to strike me. Her gaze flicked side to side and I read fear for the first time. "Zeus has closed off Olympus to all but a few gods. Even some of the Olympians cannot access it now. We will need the help of several gods to open the portal, and Zeus's essence. This is why we need Ronin. He is the next best thing to Zeus."
"And?" I asked, prompting her to continue.
"Since the gods cannot know they are helping the Lower Order or helping to end Zeus until the very end, it will take some time to recruit them. We must...go around their awareness, so to speak. At least for now. It is a dire situation for them."
Now I knew why most of the Lower Order was gone. "Which gods?"
"We are trying to figure that out."
Her words were better than nothing. Once again, I detected no lie. Dominique maintained eye contact despite the dagger shaking two inches from her throat. Her answer was better than nothing. "Can I do this myself?"
She smiled. "No. You will never find the gods in time to save your friends."
I shuddered. "Then I will let Ronin out and you will not cause Maria or Elliot any distress," I ordered. "He won't leave campus. The better we treat him, the more likely he'll be willing to help. What do you need from him?"
"Just a bit of his blood."
That was less terrifying than I thought. "Thank you," I said, determined to get back and tell Ronin this information. He deserved the truth. Maybe he'd know how to contact the gods himself. And I could warn Elliot, who could get out before things blew up. I lowered the dagger and steadied my knees. At least I had gained a bit of an upper hand again. I might not have kicked the Lower Order from this plan, but we had a start.
We would have to find another way to get back at them later.
Had they even killed Ronin's mother? The doubt remained. He needed to see the truth.
What if--
I released Dominique, waiting for her to make me swear I'd keep Ronin in that cage, but she said nothing. I hated that. Maybe keeping her thoughts from me was her last way to screw with me. I'd have to make extra sure to keep Maria out of a distressing situation, then. And I would.
Chapter Twelve
Ronin stretched when I let him out. I didn't have the key to the padlock over the cell door, but I'd broken into places before with my power. Not wanting a repeat of what happened in the Old Row parking lot, I stick the tip of my dagger into the keyhole, summoning the smallest possible void which crumbled the lock from the inside out. Easy. The remnants of the lock fell to the floor as Ronin watched, wide-eyed.
"What about--" he started, gaze flicking to Elliot.
"My daughter. She can't see me," Elliot said. "Let me off campus. Dominique will try to cause us both pain." His gaze got hard and angry. Even with my enhanced senses, I couldn't tell if he was pissed at me or the Lower Order leader. And Dominique had never said I could release Ronin.
"I will," I promised. "I had to close the barrier for now, but I'll let you leave right now."
Elliot's anger fell, leaving relief and disappointment. He'd wanted to help fix the world and now my actions had kicked him out of the anti-Zeus movement. "I'll see if I can be helpful elsewhere."
"Thanks," I said, hiding my relief. "Ronin--"
"So is the Order kicked out too, or are they still around?"
I could barely get the words out. "Still around, unfortunately."
"Damn," Ronin said. I don't know if I can do this, he meant.
How could I comfort him? He needed to see the truth. "Ronin. I need to ask you something."
"Okay. I'll wait here." He plopped down in the chair Elliot had vacated.
I led Elliot out of the basement and past the dining hall, where groups of students still played board games or gathered around laptops and phones. Elliot glanced into the open double doors, briefly pausing on Maria. She sat on the far end of the room with Mikey and Wendy while Cal placed a mug of coffee in front of Mikey. Maria kept all her attention on the board game in front of them. I should be in there, having fun and blowing off steam.
Elliot turned away quickly and hurried out the front door.
The walk to where I had closed off the barrier seemed too long and too short. I cut open the hole, letting Elliot out, and he walked through the trees, departing without a word. How did a guy with one eye hope to help us from out there? It wasn't as if he could even walk down the street without freaking people out. Monsters tended to stay out of sight.
I walked back to school in a hurry. I'd let Ronin out. That was a point in our favor. But he still stood in the secret room when I checked.
"You're still here," I said, going back to our kiss the first night he got stuck in the cage. T
he cell door lay open behind him, and Ronin rocked on his heels, unreadable. There were some expressions even I couldn't decipher.
"I'm still worried about you. Giselle, you still don't have complete control over your power."
"I'm better than what I was. It doesn't explode out of me like it used to."
"You're a gatekeeper. Not a master."
He'd spoken my fears. "I've figured that out. I won't summon more than one void at a time again."
Ronin closed in. "But what about Mount Olympus? We know what the Order wants. I agree Olympus needs to go if the gods are going to treat everyone like slaves, but do you realize what that's going to entail?" He wouldn't dare step closer. Ronin was keeping a good, safe distance between us, in more ways than one.
I gulped. I'd been shoving the thought to the side and now Ronin, who had more time to think than I had during the past week, was forcing me to face it. "Great. Thanks, Ronin." I tried to sound lighthearted, but that was impossible.
Destroying Olympus meant doing something even worse than what I'd done in the parking lot.
And I might not escape from it.
"Giselle, maybe there's a way to just make some of the gods go to sleep again," Ronin said. "We don't know why they went to sleep before."
Maybe Dominique would know but I hated talking to her. Now that Ronin was free, what would she put on the table between us? Maybe she was sadistic enough to sacrifice Maria or Mikey's happiness forever and make them mature faster. Yikes. The thought made me want to lash out at something.
"I don't know if there is one," I said. "I'll ask Mrs. Ershaw. Let's head up to my dorm. I still have the same one and it's locked tight. Dominique won't find you in there."
Ronin shifted and my heart sank. "I can't, Giselle. I love you, but, well, it's me."
"No, it's not you. Bad shit has happened and no one can deal with it!" Anger rose in my chest. I hated my position. But I knew why Ronin was scared to get close to me again and it was the past. "Ronin, what exactly happened that night you lost your mom?"
