by Melody Rose
31
“It would seem that you owe us quite the explanation, Cheyenne,” the General said, his voice gruff and unimpressed.
“You really want to do this here?” I asked the General, clearly stalling.
To my credit, it did seem like an odd place to lay out the events of the last several hours. We were in a cramped hospital room, with Ansel and I still sharing the thin hospital bed. Darren, Violet, and Benji stood in various places while Esme sat in the chair against the far wall. The General and the rest of the Olympic Officials stood in the doorway and out into the hall of the med bay. It was cramped and unceremonious, quite the weird setting for this encounter.
“Now is as good a time as any and here is as good a place,” the General replied, unphased by my suggestion.
“How did you even know that we were in the Underworld?” I asked, not really expecting an answer from the General. But that thought took up the most space in my brain at the moment. I wanted to know since I thought we had been so careful.
“Maurice got a divine message from his father,” Clarissa offered. She gestured behind her to acknowledge the son of Hades standing back in the hallway.
My face pinched into a clear expression of anger. That bastard god! I should have known that he would have something up his sleeve. I was a fool to think that he would just stick with his deal and not do anything else. But that asshole had set us up from the minute we took Esme. I didn’t know what his endgame was by telling the Olympic Officials where we went, but I knew it couldn’t be good for any of us.
“I would recommend that you start talking because right now, you are harboring a known traitor to the Military. All of you are, which doesn’t bode well.”
The six of us stayed silent, exchanging glances as though we were playing a game of hot potato. Who was going to explain everything to the Officials? How much were we going to tell them?
Part of me hoped we would have enough time to plan this part. We could create a case in Esme’s defense so that she would actually have a chance against all of the accusations. But now, it seemed like we were going to launch that defense right then.
I swung my legs over the side of the hospital bed and placed myself directly in front of the General, trying to look more confident than I felt.
“I ventured to the Underworld to rescue Esme’s soul from an unjust death,” I began. I kept my shoulders back and my voice strong as I continued. “She was not in control of her own actions for the past several years and was instead being controlled by the goddess Eris.”
The reaction of the Olympic Officials ranged from shock, to scorn, to laughter. The General remained stoic and listened to me, though his expression with his hooded eyes clearly said he didn’t believe a word I said.
“Everything we thought that Esme did was really Eris,” I explained. I looked over my shoulder at Esme and offered her what I hoped was an encouraging smile. “So Ansel and I brought her back so that she could clear her name and return to the Military, continuing to protect the demigod legacy.”
The General shook his head. It started as a slow movement until he swung it from side to side with a sweeping gesture. “You cannot possibly expect us to believe this story.”
“Do you have any proof?” Annika asked from over the General’s shoulder.
“I…” I started and then realized the answer was no. I only had Esme’s word and Ansel’s belief in her. When I looked back at Esme this time, it was a much more desperate glance than encouraging one.
Her face pinched together, revealing that she didn’t have anything to clear her name either. My gaze split between the Officials and Esme. Everyone else looked at me, some with hope, others with skepticism. The pressure of every single pair of eyes on me made my stomach curdle.
A sliver of doubt crawled up into the back of my brain. There really hadn’t been any proof of Esme’s innocence. Sure, the image of Eris and the shopkeep in the dress shop matched up, but other than that, the explanation had come from her mouth. And it was a good, believable story. Had she tricked me into being able to come back from the dead and wreak havoc like before? Had the whole memory thing been an act from the beginning to get close to us, to get back on campus?
I thought back to all of my moments with Esme in the Underworld and in Italy. All of them seemed genuine. I believed in Esme’s remorse and regret. It made sense that Eris would be the goddess to trick her and manipulate her this whole time.
I caught Esme’s eye and got an instant reminder of her sincerity. There wasn’t a trace of the evil or vengeance that I had seen in those eyes when we fought. This was the gaze of the woman who welcomed me to the Academy as my recruiter, who had told Ansel when they were first-years that she wanted to protect the stories. Well, now I needed to protect her so she could do that.
Making up my mind, I took a stand. I placed myself directly in front of Esme and faced the Olympic Officials.
“Cheyenne, what are you doing?” Esme hissed out of the corner of her mouth, but I didn’t respond to her. All of my focus was on the Officials, the General specifically.
“I don’t need proof,” I declared. “I believe her. I don’t need any more proof than her word and you shouldn’t either.”
“That’s not how this works, Cheyenne, and you know that,” Buck said with a sad shake of his head.
“I don’t care,” I said, widening my stance. “It’s how it should work. I know she’s innocent, and if you don’t believe her or me, that’s fine.”
“We don’t,” the General declared.
“Not without sufficient proof,” Clarissa added, a finger in the air.
“We’re going to have to arrest her,” Buck said, taking a step into the room.
“Alright,” I said with a shrug, “but you’re going to have to go through me to do it.”
All the Olympic Officials looked at me with shocked expressions. They weren’t the only ones. My friends, too, stared at me with open mouths and awe in their eyes. I knew they thought I was crazy, but Esme was innocent, and I wasn’t going to let them take her away and wipe her memory. I’d fought already to right her unjust death, and I wasn’t going to stop now.
“Is that a threat?” the General said through tight teeth.
“It doesn’t have to be,” I countered. “Don’t arrest her, and then nothing has to go wrong.”
“You’re on thin ice, Cheyenne,” Clarissa said sharply. “Do not regret this decision.”
“I don’t,” I said, speaking the words to Esme. She sent me a grateful smile before I continued speaking to the Officials. “You have been wrong in the past. About me, about Temperance, about Violet,” I gestured to my friend. “It’s possible that you’re wrong about Esme too.”
“This is foolish, Cheyenne,” Buck said with his arms out wide. “Just let us take her in. You don’t need to do this and hurt yourself in the process.”
“If that’s what it takes, then I will,” I announced. I lifted my chin and held my ground.
Then, there was a quick brush of air as someone came to stand beside me. “I believe her, too,” Ansel agreed, mimicking my strong stance. “Esme and Cheyenne.”
“Ansel,” Annika, the other daughter of Apollo, warned. “Don’t do this.”
“It would be wrong not to do anything,” Ansel proclaimed. He stood shoulder to shoulder with me, protecting Esme with our bodies.
Then, to my astonishment, Violet joined us on my other side. Even though she was shorter than the pair of us, her statement was clear.
“I trust Cheyenne,” Violet said, giving me a half-smile. “And I know what it's like to be accused of something you didn’t do. If she believes Esme was manipulated by Eris, then I believe it too.”
Out of nowhere, Darren walked around the edge of the bed to join us on Ansel’s open side. “She should at least be given a fair trial,” Darren declared. “With time to prepare a defense and assemble the facts. To just take her now would go against the code of the Military.”
&nb
sp; “The code doesn’t apply to traitors,” the General sneered.
Before any of the Officials could get in another word, Benji decided to join our ranks. “These are my friends, and they stood by me when I was an idiot and under the influence of something I couldn’t control. I’m standing by them now.”
The five of us looked at the Officials with similar sinking feelings in our stomachs. These twelve had every right to arrest us too now, for harboring a fugitive and defying direct orders. But there was something powerful about the fact that Ansel, Violet, Darren, and Benji had all supported my decision to stand beside Esme. It was quite a different feeling from when I first proposed going down to the Underworld. This kind of loyalty was rare and incredible. I didn’t know if it would be enough to save Esme, but she would at least know that she wasn’t alone. None of us would ever be alone again.
“While that sentiment is all well and good,” the General said, his abrupt tone never changing. “If you prevent us from arresting Esme, then we have the right to arrest all of you as well.”
None of us said anything, but none of us moved either.
“Don’t do this, guys,” Esme said from behind us, her voice low. “It’s not worth it. I don’t want you to get in trouble, either.”
“Shut up,” Benji hissed from over his shoulder. “We’ve got you, okay?”
My heart sang at his words, such a big shift from moments ago when he was accusing Esme. It really was an example of how good of friends I had that they allowed my lead on this, believing me over their own doubts.
“If this is what you all have decided, then we have no choice but to arrest you,” the General announced. He moved his hand forward, signaling Buck and the other Officials to come at us.
I readied myself, unsure if I really was going to start a battle with the Olympic Officials. They were powerful demigods, with way more experience than any of us. Despite the potential beating, we held our ground and stayed in a row, protecting Esme.
Before Officer Buck could get close enough to any of us, there was a flash of light. It went off like a firecracker in the center of the room. There wasn’t a loud noise to go with it, only the bright light, and it soon revealed a woman in its place.
I recognized her sun-kissed skin and the messy, dirty blonde bun. But the most recognizable marker was the copper staff she held in one hand. Her body glowed with an aura of light around her, vibrating radiance. The goddess Phaethusa joined the already crowded hospital room, but she commanded the space.
We all backed away from her, giving her the room she simply needed to exist. The air shifted in the room from one on the brink of war, to something filled with reverence and awe. The Olympic Officials immediately showed signs of respect towards the goddess, with smiles and bows of their heads. The General’s face twitched with annoyance at the minor goddess’s appearance.
“Phae!” I shouted excitedly, not caring about cordiality. A weight I didn’t know I’d been holding fell off my shoulders. I hadn’t seen her since she and Esme fought in Italy. I was afraid I would never see the goddess again, but here she was.
“Hello, Cheyenne,” the goddess greeted me, though she kept her expression straight-laced.
“I can’t believe it,” I said with my arms open. “You’re alive.”
“How many times do I have to tell you?” Phae said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m immortal.”
“Yeah, I know, but it’s still good to see you,” I said lamely.
“You as well,” Phae said with a nod of her head before turning back to face the Officials.
“You know her?” Darren whispered to me.
“We go back,” I said casually with a wave of my hand.
“Great Phaethusa,” Egan, son of Hestia, said by way of welcoming the goddess. “To what do we honor the honor of your presence?”
“I’ve come to defend this demigod you have been so quick to condemn,” Phae said as she reached out a hand to point to Esme.
As though we were choreographed to do so, Violet and I parted so that the Officials could properly see Esme, who stood. Phae beckoned Esme forward with the flick of her hand, and Esme obeyed. The goddess wrapped a protective arm around the daughter of Prometheus.
“I fought with this demigod less than a week ago,” Phae told the room at large.
Because of her status as a goddess, even a minor one, the Officials had no choice but to listen to her as she spoke. All of us were hung on her every word. Once the shock of seeing my godly friend wore off, I realized that her presence was going to be the thing that tipped the Officials in the right direction. She might be the final piece of the puzzle if this went the way it seemed to be going.
“However, while I thought it was the daughter of Prometheus that I fought, it wasn’t,” Phae continued, her voice smooth as she proceeded with her story. “My powers of radiance exposed the true demon living inside her. I forced the goddess Eris from the body of this mortal and fought her one-on-one.”
Suddenly, a memory flashed against my inner eye. I thought back to the moment when Phae rushed Esme at the cyclops’s villa. I closed my eyes, and instead of seeing only one figure glowing, I saw two. I didn’t know what to make of that sight at the time, but if what Phae was saying was true, then that second figure I saw had been Eris. Phae’s powers disconnected the two women, letting Esme live free once more.
The timing also made sense, considering that was when Esme returned to normal and couldn’t remember the last several years.
Part of me wished that Phae had shown up sooner, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I would have rather had her seal of approval now than at any other time during this journey. While gods and goddesses were capable of lying, the Officials would have been a bunch of fools if they didn’t believe Phae. The mark of a goddess wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
“She is who she says she is,” Phae declared. “Her word about Eris is true, for I have seen it with my own two eyes. You should believe your fellow demigods because they speak the truth as well. They are noble for standing up for the daughter of Prometheus. They were willing to fight for the truth, and that shouldn’t be discarded so easily.”
Pride swelled in my chest as Phae’s kind words. I saw her kindness have the same effect on my friends as well as Benji beamed, Violet blushed, Ansel pushed his shoulders back, and Darren straightened his glasses, a smile brushing his lips.
“Thank you for that information, goddess,” Egan replied, his manner gentlemanly.
“We will take it into consideration,” the General interjected, his manner much less polite than his fellow official.
“You will take it as truth,” Phae commanded, her glowing eyes snapping to the General.
“That may be, Phaethusa, but we cannot simply absolve her of all of her crimes,” the General argued.
I couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. Who did he think he was going up against a goddess like that? He must have had balls of steel. But as I watched the two of them confront one another, I was struck with a sense of familiarity. Wasn’t I the kind of person to do the same thing? Hadn’t I gone up against gods with the same kind of recklessness and sass?
I didn’t want to think about the similarities between the General and myself. That led me down a path I didn’t want to confront. So I focused on the matter at hand and tried to find a compromise.
“Then what about a trial?” I offered. “Like Darren said. She deserves the chance to defend herself, and we can give testimonies on her behalf.”
There was silence as the Officials considered my offer. I had to remind myself to breathe because my lungs threatened to stop working from sheer nerves.
“I, for one, believe a trial is the fairest way to assess this situation,” Tene, daughter of Aphrodite, claimed, the first one to voice her opinion.
“I agree,” Fiona, the daughter of Hermes, soon added.
I was happy to hear that the Officials I’d worked with so closely last year to rid t
he Academy of Love Struck decided to agree to the compromise. Another round of agreements happened as the various Olympic Officials spoke up. Finally, it was just the General left. While his vote didn’t matter at this point, because he was outnumbered if he disagreed, I still wanted him to vote yes to a trial. It would be a sign that this man was perhaps not as heartless as I originally thought. The decision wasn’t going to make me like him automatically, but I might be more receptive in the future.
The General’s stormy gray eyes flicked to me for the briefest of moments before he gave Phae a sharp, single nod.
“We shall give her a trial,” the General conceded.
I had to use all of my self-control not to whoop and cheer. It wasn’t the exact victory we had been hoping for, but it was a step in the right direction.
“Good,” Phae said, her voice definitive. “I shall return and give my statement then. For now, Esme should be treated with respect, not locked away like some criminal.”
“That will take some time with the students,” Garth, son of Demeter, said worriedly. “They all know what she has done. Or allegedly done,” he quickly corrected himself.
“I don’t care how you do it, but I know you will,” Phae said, not giving the Officials a choice. “She will not be harmed before the trial.”
The goddess didn’t offer an exact threat, but we could all hear it in her voice. Those were her last words because she offered Esme one more hug and then flashed back out of existence.
The room lost its glow and returned to the harsh lighting of the fluorescent bulbs. If the room felt crowded before, I felt like I was going to suffocate from all the people in here.
The General seemed to feel similarly because he turned on his heel and walked out of the room without another word. Some of the Officials followed him obediently, while others stuck around for a second to talk. Clarissa was the one to approach me.
“We’ll be in touch about when the trial will take place, but I’d imagine it would be sometime soon,” she said with an authoritative tone.
“We would like to clear her name as soon as possible,” I replied pointedly.
