by Holly Hook
I backed out as Maria closed the door again. "How come we've never heard of this place? And why are students hanging out with the principal?"
"That's what I want to know," Maria said.
Something wasn't adding up here. If this was just a spot for the cool kids, why were there older people in this small bar?
Maybe us cursed people didn't have a lot of options for entertainment and we had to share.
Ronin peeked next. "Prometheus," he whispered, staring at me. Light spilled onto one side of his face. "He's drinking his nectar. That golden stuff. If he's distracted at any point, we do it."
My heart leapt into my throat. This was our chance. I might not have to go back to Cursed Academy after this. On Monday, I could be walking to Olympian. Without this green mark on my forearm, Zeus would brand me.
Maria sighed beside me. "Your chance. You'd better take it."
"I don't want to ditch you," I said. "And I won't."
She hugged me. "I know."
This wasn't easy for her. She must be torn between keeping me around and helping me escape. But I knew what would win. The scar on her forearm told me so. She released me and I looked to Ronin, and then Wendy, and then Maria.
Ronin shook his head. And I knew what it meant. He couldn't just walk into a bar full of Cursed kids and not attract attention. Prometheus's radar would go up immediately.
"Stand outside the door and be ready to burst in," I said.
He stood back against the wall of the corridor and offered a salute. "Will do. Good luck."
And then Maria opened the door and we stepped into the Underground.
The loud music wrapped around me, Maria, and Wendy as we stepped inside. The air heated, but the sensation was gentle. Prometheus was relaxed. No one at the bar looked up at us. Now I stood just ten feet from Prometheus, who faced the bartender. I always seemed to find centaurs around booze. That wasn't a shock as they tended to have drinking issues.
The bartender simply offered the three of us a nod. He smiled at Wendy.
"Well, we're welcome here, at least," Wendy hissed in my ear.
The fourth years remained in their huddle, dancing. I felt exposed, even though we were among our own kind. The man in the brown cloak snapped his fingers at the bartender. He had his back turned to me, and he sat between a dark-haired guy—the one in overalls—and Prometheus. I couldn't tell what type of creature he was from here, but from what I'd seen, probably no one here was a normal human.
Sarah and Jamal had disappeared, too, so they wouldn't point us out.
"Why didn't I hear about this place?" Wendy asked.
"Well, it's not lavish," Maria said. "Looks like it's for the working class."
"I'm not a snob," Wendy told her.
The song went silent and changed to a Top 40 hit. Prometheus took a sip of his nectar. The guy beside him wrapped his hand around his own drink—a bubbling green liquid—and took a gulp. I could smell the stuff from here. Cold. Alcoholic. Nasty.
The three of us stopped in the middle of the room. "Now what?" I hissed. All three of us had some Lethe water. What would I tell the titan if he spotted me? He'd want to know how I found this place. I glanced at Wendy, but she nodded.
"I'll tell him I heard about this place by overhearing Sarah," she said. "And we had to check it out. Let me do the distracting."
The new song picked up in beat. I wished Mikey and Cal were here. They could play their entire album. Distract everyone. But they were back at Cursed, defending the girls from the raging Olympians. We were on our own.
Wendy separated from us.
"Wait—" I said. I wasn't ready.
Maria grabbed my arm. "Let her."
Duh. Of course. Wendy was one of Prometheus's favorite students, even if he had pitted her against me during first year Combat Training exams. Wendy appeared at the end of the bar, standing, and Prometheus ended his long conversation to snap his gaze to her.
The air warmed a bit as the titan's eyes widened behind his spectacles. He focused on Wendy and let go of his nectar, but it was positioned between him and the friend.
"Wendy," the titan said over the music. "Have you changed your mind?"
A look of total confusion came over her face. "About what?"
Prometheus shifted. "You know."
A shudder raced down my spine. He wasn't facing the glass of nectar. I pulled the vial from my pocket. The friend went to tap something out on his phone. They were both distracted.
"Yes, I have," Wendy said, throwing out an air of confidence. "I heard this was the place."
The titan clapped. "Splendid. What a turnaround." He put his hands on his thighs, ready to get up. "They don't normally do it here in the Underground, so you'll have to work out a time. And remember, I'm not the one doing this. I'm only watching from the sidelines. Don't expect more out of me."
"I understand," Wendy said.
Maria nudged me, like she'd just realized something, but the glass of nectar called. The guy in the brown cloak continued to text and Prometheus kept his gaze off me. He motioned for Wendy to step to the other side of the room, and with his back to us, he jumped to the floor. Wendy motioned for Prometheus to step over near the door, and to my shock, he did.
His drink.
"We have to—" Maria hissed, reaching for me.
I jerked away, lunging forward. I uncorked the vial of Lethe water and let the whitish, glowing fluid dribble into the half-empty mug of gold. Bubbles burst to life as the fluids made contact.
The Lethe water bubbled like oil, not wanting to merge with the nectar at first. Heaven and hell danced around each other, faster and faster, as a loud hiss emanated from the mug.
I backed off, bumping into Maria.
Faster. Louder.
Bubbles exploded in the glass, golden and white, as a toxic gray vapor rose and thickened.
The cloaked man glanced at the glass.
Maria clamped her hand down on my shoulder and pulled me back.
But it was too late.
The titan's friend grabbed the sleeve of the overalls man beside him and propelled himself, and the other guy, away from the bar.
The drink exploded, shattering glass and cutting over the music. Everything stopped and the chatter died away. The bartender, who had been busy washing mugs in the sink, snapped his gaze to the mess now spreading across the top of the bar. Golden fluid, now dulled after touching the essence of the Underworld, dripped onto the floor and turned to clear water.
But it wasn't the utter failure of our plan that made my heart drop to my chest.
The cloaked man faced me, eyes widening in shock.
It was Alonso. Dominique's son. Second in command in the Lower Order.
And Prometheus had been buying him a drink.
Chapter Eighteen
"Giselle," Alonso gasped. The man was legit shocked. He opened and closed his hands. Maria let go of my shoulder and backed off.
He hadn't expected me to just show up here.
And then I understood.
The Underground was sympathetic to the Lower Order. And I'd walked right into it. These fourth years...even Sarah and Jamal...were they marked? No. They couldn't be, yet, if they could still get through Zeus's border and go to school.
Prometheus turned away from Wendy. He stared me down. Hot air wrapped around me and threatened fire for a moment. But then he got his composure.
"Giselle," he said, almost as professional as Celestus. Prometheus approached with a warm smile, but tension lived in his eyes. "I didn't expect Wendy to bring you here. So, have you thought about things?"
I shook my head, aware that the six fourth years were staring. Ted wasn't among them, but I glimpsed the bluish skin of a Siren. The golden-flecked gaze of a god descendant. The others still appeared fully human, but that didn't mean anything. They were a crowd whose paths I'd never crossed.
We were standing in Lower Order recruiting grounds.
"Giselle?" The titan blocked the way to the
door. He eyed the exploded glass, of which only the bottom part remained, and frowned. "Underworld water and nectar do not mix, sadly."
"You..." I blurted.
Where was Ronin? He had to come in and start shooting lightning bolts any time. He must have heard the explosion. But the door behind the titan stayed shut.
"Yes?" Prometheus asked, as if waiting for me to fill in the answer.
"You're in the Lower Order?"
Prometheus exchanged a glance with Alonso—his friend—and laughed. The sound filled the bar and I shifted to stand closer to Maria. Behind Prometheus, Wendy's jaw dropped. She must have just realized what kind of shit we were in.
At last, the titan stopped and cleared his throat. "I am not in the Lower Order, Giselle. I cannot be, nor can I lend them any support on my own. Even buying Alonso a drink here is a bit risky. But when students go off to join them, I might look the other way. Haven't you noticed the lax security around Cursed Academy?"
Yes. I had. But I had chalked it up to the lack of funds, not...not this. Were the Olympian kids right to suspect us?
"This is bad," Maria whispered.
Wendy, on the other side of the principal, fingered the handle of her sword, but she didn't dare draw it. We wouldn't win against a full immortal. I already knew he was willing to sacrifice Wendy and Maria, even if it would kill him inside. He had proven that during my first year combat exams when he pitted Wendy against me.
"You just let people go off and join them?" I asked.
"And you'd be with them, too," Prometheus said, "if it wasn't for Zeus putting his own magical barrier around both schools back in your first year. Then I had to worry about the gods taking you. I'm glad I arranged your secured dorm well ahead of time."
"But you said you can't help the Lower Order!"
The titan crossed his arms. "I can't help them, but I can neglect some things. And I can't control what some of my students do. Perhaps Duncan tipped off the Lower Order to your presence?" Prometheus shrugged.
"You're trying to make me dark for them!"
"I do that to bring my school more funding. Every day, I tell myself that, and it's true."
"There are ways around everything," Alonso added. He was calm. Confident. And I didn't like that. He could suppress my magic whenever he wanted.
Total silence fell over the bar.
It clicked.
He and the Lower Order were one and the same.
I should attack. The fake Chaos Dagger hung on my belt. Prometheus flicked his gaze to it, as if daring me to draw it and end him. Already the void called. My knees quivered. But if I did, I'd be giving him exactly what he wanted.
There was another option, but that terrified me, too.
Maria seized my sleeve. "Giselle doesn't want anything to do with this. And if you keep us here, Prometheus, you are helping the Lower Order."
The door remained shut. What was making Ronin take so long?
"You think we're the monsters," Alonso said, voice low and resonating. He stepped over to stand beside Prometheus, so he was blocking the door. If he weren't so evil, he might be attractive. "We'll show you who the true monsters are in this world, and they often don't have claws or fangs. Step forward, Giselle. You will not return to school tonight."
Cold plasma filled my veins.
He was going to mark me.
I backed off, sensing that the group of fourth years had closed in. The back of my neck prickled. The broom closet door in the back opened. Jamal and Sarah. Would they help us? We'd never been on bad terms. But they stopped, watching.
"No," I said, a chill running down my spine. Then I faced the principal. "Maria's right. If you let them do this, you're helping them."
He held up one hand, and a flash of heat raced through the room. People shifted behind us. "I am merely here to relax and I won't interfere."
"You're just as bad as them." I had to stop this, and now.
"Ronin has brainwashed you," Prometheus said, opening and closing his fists.
The air thickened. "Why are you doing this?" I raised my voice, hoping I alerted Ronin, but he still did not come through the door. But I didn't dare turn my gaze to it, or to Wendy. She might be in trouble now that I'd blown her cover. "You let your students go off and attack the gods, and kill their people, and blow up buildings? How many people died when you blew up Zeus's power plant?" The low groan of Chaos filled my head as if I had never taken my morning dose. The dam was breaking.
Even if I went dark, I didn't have to go to the Lower Order, did I?
"The question should be, why would I not?" the principal asked with a nod. "Do you know the true history of the immortals?"
"Is everyone I know secretly a Lower Order supporter?" Wendy asked. She had drawn her sword and started to approach Alonso from behind. "First Hades, and now Prometheus!" With a nod to me, she raised her weapon at Dominique's son.
She remembered.
And now she was going to—
"Watch out!" the bartender shouted, gripping the counter.
People gasped. Alonso whirled just as Wendy raised her sword. Green light exploded around the blade and spirit faces danced, wailing in despair, and a deathly chill filled the air. Fury and the same green glow filled her eyes. She was about to use more magic than she ever had.
But Alonso held up both palms to face her. Orange light danced around his palms. The green light around Wendy's blade faded, but not fast enough to stop her attack.
"Duck!" Maria yanked me to the side.
We crashed into the now-empty barstools. One toppled. The man in overalls stared down at us with a single eye in the center of his forehead.
Green light roared and struck Alonso.
He flew back, propelled by leering faces.
The man in overalls was Elliot.
Alonso crashed into the fourth years. People scattered and fell into booths. A fourth year girl—the one with bluish skin—gripped the edge and sent a plate of fries down to the floor. The plate shattered and the air smelled of ketchup. And beside her, Sarah looked at me and let her jaw drop. She and Jamal had crammed into the booth together.
But Elliot ignored it. He turned his single pupil on Maria, who was busy lifting a barstool to shield us, before turning and fleeing to the back of the bar.
"Come on!" Wendy shouted, gasping for breath. Through the legs of barstool Maria now held between us and the titan, I saw Prometheus turn to her.
"I had better expectations of you!" the titan roared. The air heated.
He would turn on her, the top of the third years.
I rose from the floor. Maria, still holding her club and the barstool, couldn't stop me.
Even if I went dark, I didn't have to go to the Lower Order, did I?
Maybe I could—
Prometheus raised his hands towards Wendy, slowly, as if he wanted her to contemplate her fate. Flames danced around his palms. Wendy, now shaking, backed into the wall as her pupils dilated. All the color had left her face. She'd used too much magic. Now she couldn't fight back.
I knew what I had to do.
Icy plasma rushed into my arms and legs and I stepped away from the bar, drawing my dagger as fourth years groaned and shifted behind me.
Prometheus would join Achlys.
I had no choice.
"Prometheus!" I shouted.
The titan whirled.
I pointed the fake dagger at his heart and he paled. The fire around his palms died.
"Giselle," he said. "You don't know what you're doing."
"No," Maria shouted, rising, but she was in another world. The groan reached a peak and blackish-purple sparks danced to life around the dagger. It might be a fake, but the focal point was enough. I was surrounded by darkness. And I would use it.
The air shifted behind me.
Max's voice erupted in my head, yelling at me to pay attention, but it was too late. A brown-sleeved arm wrapped around me from behind, pulling me back. A faint orange glow teased the side of my vis
ion and all my magic died, leaving me ordinary.
Alonso.
The low groan within me died.
Prometheus said nothing. He was being careful not to break the Oath.
Wendy slumped down the wall.
And behind me, Maria gasped. We were outnumbered and Alonso could block my powers to his heart's content. Two fourth years rushed to the door.
Just as it burst open, making them back away.
Ronin entered in his typical fashion, puffing out his chest. Flexing his biceps. And brandishing his sparking, electric sword.
Chapter Nineteen
"Prometheus!" he roared, pointing his blade.
The titan whirled, taking all his attention off me. But Alonso kept his arm around my neck and shoulders, holding me there. I was weak. Chaos had never been farther away.
"You don't belong here," the titan said.
I had been ready to mature.
To fall into their trap.
Air shifted again behind me.
Alonso fell away as a massive weight struck us both. I toppled to the floor. Maria stood over me, brandishing the barstool in one hand and the club in the other. She glowered at Prometheus.
A lightning bolt exploded through the middle of the bar and into the crowd.
Ronin.
People screamed. Two fourth years threw themselves into the wall, sending a mural to the floor. Medusa's glare slipped behind a booth. Another body flew.
Where was Elliot?
"Get up!" Maria shouted, dropping the barstool on Alonso, who groaned on the floor.
Where was my fake dagger? I closed my hand on emptiness. I'd dropped it. It was fake but it still helped. I slid my hand along the floor but Maria grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me up. Colors and murals spun around me. She left no room for argument.
