Created by Chaos

by Melody Rose

  “Wonderful,” I said a little too excitedly. My hope rose up way too high only to have Oliver smack it back down like a blocked jump shot.

  “But I’m afraid they are far too busy to help you now,” Oliver said with a quick shake of his head. While his voice made it sound like a pity, his neutral expression never faltered.

  “Busy with what?” I countered as I flung out my hands, putting the nature spirits on display. They stood and sat around us, braiding one another’s hair, pampering Benji, and tending to the fire. “Because they sure don’t look hella busy to me.”

  “You are not in charge of them and what they do,” Oliver said, and from his tone, I couldn’t tell if I had really offended him or if this was another exaggeration. “That’s my job. And I’m telling you, they’re busy.”

  The drama teacher sent me a pointed look before his interest turned back to his drink.

  I bit the inside of my cheek in an attempt to tamper my frustration. We both knew that the nymphs weren’t busy. That was utter bullshit. But Oliver wasn’t going to just let me work with the nymphs for free. That much was clear.

  I cleared my throat before speaking, not sure I wanted to ask the next question, but knowing I didn’t have a choice. “And what will it take to clear their schedules so that they are less busy?”

  Oliver sniffed loudly and ran a sausage finger beneath his nose. Then he licked his lips, and his eyes looked up to the corner of his vision, considering. As if the bastard didn’t already have a prize in mind.

  “I suppose,” the son of Dionysis said as he tapped the cleft in his chin. “I could be persuaded to change their schedule if you could help me.”

  “Help you with what exactly?” I said through gritted teeth.

  “I have an odd number of students in my drama class this semester,” Oliver said, his voice slow and slick. He stuck out his arm straight and examined his fingernails, refusing to look at me as if I wasn’t worth his time. “An odd number makes it very difficult to direct partner scenes, you understand.”

  My intestines turned into knots as I figured out what he was insinuating. “You can’t be serious,” I gaped, unable to shut my mouth from sheer shock.

  “I’m dead serious,” Oliver said. He held out his hand with the goblet, and one of the nymphs took it from him. Then the demigod leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I don’t joke when it comes to the theatre, Cheyenne. Join my drama class this semester, and I’ll make some time in the nymph’s schedule to teach you weaving and wood carving.”

  My mouth filled with bile, and there was a weird taste on my tongue. I couldn’t imagine joining a drama class. It seemed completely unnecessary and wholly disinteresting. Plus, with all that I had to do already with finishing my studies to graduate early and do all of my Olympic Official duties, adding one more thing to my plate seemed impossible.

  “Cheyenne,” Benji said, suddenly appearing at my side.

  “Oh, did you finish your massage?” I asked sarcastically.

  Benji shot me a look before not answering my question and continuing with what he had to say. “I know it seems like a lot, but you’ve got help. You’re not alone, remember?” My friend put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

  I rolled my neck, letting my head hang back for a moment while I groaned. “Damn it, Oliver. You suck, you know that?”

  Oliver gasped and recoiled, putting his hand to his chest again. “My dear, insulting me isn’t going to help you get what you want.”

  “Cheyenne,” Benji said out of the corner of his mouth in warning. “Be nice to him. You need him.”

  My kneecap jiggled in frustration and nervousness. There was a weird feeling between my shoulder blades, pressing into me, and making me squirm. I didn’t appreciate the fact that I was being forced to make all of these sacrifices, ironically piling everything up into my lap. It didn’t seem fair, but I knew that the end game was more important than anything else. I needed to get Ansel and the rest of the soldiers home as soon as possible.

  How bad could one drama class be?

  “Fine,” I relented, the word coming out in a big exhale. “Fine. I’ll take your…” I coughed to keep myself from saying something insulting like “stupid” or “unnecessary.” “Class. I’ll take your class. When can the nymphs help me?”

  Oliver clapped his hands together like a kid who just got a bike for Christmas. The noise sounded like two pieces of meat slapping together.

  “Excellent! Just excellent.” Then, the drama teacher held out his hand, curling in a finger towards him. He looked off to the left, indicating to some of the nymphs in the circle. “Pomona and Iynx, come here, please.”

  Two gorgeous nymphs joined Oliver at his side. One of them had skin painted with moonlight and a round face, still filled with baby fat. Her curves rolled off her like a waterfall, and her strawberry blonde hair sat atop her head in a loose bun. The other one was long and lean, with stick-like arms. Her skin was also as pale as a vampire’s, but her hair was a shocking blast of blue. Her nose curved downward, almost like a beak. It was from that feature alone that I was able to tell the two apart, identifying the long-nosed one as Iynx and the rounder peach colored one as Pomona.

  “May I introduce Pomona and Iynx,” Oliver said with a nod in the general direction of the nymphs. “Pomona is--”

  “A wood nymph who watches over fruit trees and was tricked into marrying Vertumnus after he disguised himself as an old woman,” I rattled off, the facts popping up in my head automatically. “She’s also the creator of the pruning knife, so thank you for that. And Iynx is the daughter of Pan and Echo. Hera turned her into a bird when she made Zeus fall in love with Io. Then her bird form was given to Jason by Aphrodite as a symbol for her passionate love for him. Even though we all know how that turned out.”

  There was a familiar stunned silence as I finished. The nymphs stared at me in awe, Pomona with her hand hovering over her mouth. Iynx, on the other hand, crossed her arms over her flat chest and glared at me. This reaction didn’t faze me because her story was much sadder than her nymph sister. I’d clearly angered the bird nymph with a recount of her ancient Greek exploits, but I didn’t care. It was a part of her history, and I didn’t want to waste any more time.

  So I sucked on my teeth and said, “I know who they are. And I’m Cheyenne, daughter of Hephaestus. Do you know how to wood carve and weave?”

  Pomona nodded while Iynx grunted, which I took to mean yes.

  “Great,” I said as I plastered a smile on my face. “When can we start?”

  10

  We started the weaving and carving lessons the following week. Admittedly, I welcomed the reprieve from the Olympic Official meetings and accelerated classes. The meetings had been an utter snooze fest. Literally.

  I almost fell asleep in one, with my head dipping down onto the table, right out of a movie. Annika had to kick me constantly under the table to keep me awake.

  I didn’t care about battle strategy or how they were going to allocate the budget to replace the grass on the north end of campus. It just seemed like unnecessary information that clogged my brain, especially when I was still trying to memorize fight sequences and tactical courses added to my schedule.

  My friends were true to their words and helped me study as much as they could. Violet was a queen and had my meals already prepared for me so that I didn’t even have to go into the cafeteria to get them if I needed to spend time studying at my house. Or she’d just come and make it right in my fancy kitchen, which I never stepped foot in. Violet could have owned that room in my house for all I cared.

  Esme, Darren, and Benji took turns with the tutoring and quizzing. It helped that each of them had their own things they were studying too, which made me feel less alone. Darren was learning how to ride a pegasus properly with his Aeras branch. Though, admittedly, he did have some extra practice in that area considering that we “borrowed” two winged horses in our first year for a rescue mission.
Violet was even learning how to navigate the Argo, which was a mandatory lesson for all Nero soldiers. Sometimes, while Darren was tutoring me, Esme would help Benji with his Gi branch-specific lessons. This was especially lucrative since she was a graduated Gi soldier already, and he was learning to evolve his powers beyond just copying plants but making them larger and smaller as needed.

  However, Benji was a less enthusiastic student than the other two. He mostly acted as the friend that made sure I took a break every once in a while. He forced me to go on walks, just to soak up the fresh air. As much as I resented him for this, I appreciate the break.

  Even working in the forge felt like a chore which was different for me. Normally the smithy was my refuge from everything stressful going on in my life. There was nothing I loved more than sweating out my problems while I hammered on a piece of white-hot steel. However, the assignments for new weapons for the soldiers on the front lines poured in. It was basic equipment, stuff that I could make in my sleep. Nothing new, exciting, or challenging.

  While it wasn’t hard, it was tedious. The sheer amount of swords, knives, and armor needed were enough to make even the most experienced blacksmith balk.

  Luckily, I had Arges to help. He took over teaching the blacksmithing classes, and while that consumed the majority of his time, his millennia of experience with being a master blacksmith helped him churn out the necessary weapons. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get it all done without the cyclops, so I was grateful for him. Plus, with his strength, we didn’t have to fight over the power tools since he mostly didn’t use them.

  I did feel bad for Khryseos and Argyreos since I didn’t have the proper amount of time to spend with them. However, Mac easily stepped in to take care of the dogs, letting them roam around the farm as they once had before I came to the Academy. When they weren’t out in the fields with the farmer, they would keep me company as I studied or lay down next to me when I eventually collapsed into bed at the end of a long day.

  Eventually, I got into a system. Even though my class schedule was consistent, I always had to be on duty as an Olympic Official, and the orders for weapons just kept coming in from the front lines. My friends truly made it bearable and got me through day by day. If I didn’t have Violet feeding me, Benji making sure I was mentally sane, and Esme and Darren holding me accountable for my homework, I’m sure I would have been able to do it all.

  It was a challenge I accepted with as much grace as I could. There were some days I woke up, ready to take on the world. Others, it was harder to crawl out of bed, especially if I had an Olympic Official meeting that morning. But I even found my voice in those meetings over time. I learned the views of each of the Officials and knew that in the future, I would learn how to use them to my advantage. I never thought that politics of any kind would be in my future, but I was a quick study.

  But now, I was about to add another thing to my plate, something that my friends couldn’t help me with. This part, making the new tools for the Moriai, was completely up to me.

  I wasn’t exactly nervous as I walked up the path to the nymphs’ encampment. But my shaking hands and unsteady steps told me otherwise.

  I paused my walking and took a couple of deep breaths. I reassured myself with the knowledge that my father, Hephaestus, was the god of not just blacksmiths, but tradesmen in general. While I’d inherited all of the blacksmithing skills, with my ability to sense metal and resistance to heat, he reigned over tinkerers of all kinds. Maybe I would get lucky, and some of that would rub off on me as well.

  After that mental pep talk, I continued my journey down the path to the nymphs. With each step, I reassured myself that I was a capable and skilled blacksmith. I already knew a little bit about wood carving and could probably adapt those techniques. While weaving yarn was completely foreign to me, I knew I could feign enough confidence to get through.

  The clearing was empty save for Pomona and Iynx. It was a drastic change from the evening version of this same space. There were no twinkling lights or blazing fire in the center. Even Oliver’s throne was missing. Everything was deserted and looked like any other opening in the trees. Save for the two beautiful immortals and a single spinning wheel.

  Pomona held a basket with a checkered tablecloth over the top of it. She rested it on her hip like some kind of washing woman from the nineteenth century. Iynx stood next to her nymph sister, twirling a knife in her hand, while she crossed the other over her chest. While Pomona smiled at my arrival, Iynx continued her scowl from the first night I met the two of them.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

  Iynx’s eyes narrowed, and she stuck her neck out. Not a good look for her as it made the woman more birdlike. “Why do you ask? Do you think we just lounge about all day?”

  “Now, Iynx,” Pomona said as she gave the other nymph a soft pat on the arm. “Cheyenne’s just curious about where our sisters spend their time. That’s okay, isn’t it?”

  The bird nymph grunted her response, but if Pomona was off-put by Inyx’s reaction, she didn’t show it. Her face continued to spread into a cheery smile. “We all have duties throughout the Academy, helping mostly with ground maintenance. We work a lot with your friend Benji from the other night, which is how we knew him already.”

  “Right,” I said with a slow nod. “Well, I guess it’s best that we don’t have an audience.”

  “We’ll still tell them everything that happens today,” Iynx said, her voice coming out as a warning. “So if you fuck it up, then they’ll still laugh at your failures.”

  “Holy Hermes, Iynx,” Pomona said, her own voice rising two octaves in discomfort. “You don’t need to be so critical already. She could be a really quick learner and do well. You don’t know that she’s terrible yet.”

  “Well, let’s find out who’s right, shall we?” the bird nymph challenged the fruit nymph, though she kept her eyes trained on me while she spoke.

  I offered her a closed-mouth smile, trying to keep my irritation to a minimum. “Which one are we going to start with?”

  “Wood carving,” Iynx said as she threw down the knife into a nearby stump.

  I felt the fling of the metal before I heard the thunk. It connected with the wood and vibrated from the force of the throw. I didn’t know if the bird nymph was trying to be intimidating, but if she knew anything about me, she would know that knife throwing and anything to do with metal wasn’t going to frighten me.

  She would have to try a lot harder if she wanted to scare me.

  Something mischievous stirred inside me, and I held out my hand. A smile played at the corner of my lips as I made up my mind. I reached out to feel the connection I had with the metal in the knife. We synced up quickly, and then I forced the carving knife out of the stump.

  Pomona gasped and put a hand up to her mouth, a common gesture for her it would seem. Iynx did her best to seem unphased, but I noticed her eyebrows rise in surprise. She caught herself and quickly brought them back down.

  I moved the knife in midair and brought it to a stop in front of the bird nymph.

  “I think you dropped something,” I said as I wiggled my fingers so that the blade faced away from her, hilt by her chest so she could grab it better.

  Inyx didn’t reach for the knife like I thought she could. Instead, she walked away from it and sat on the stump she just assaulted. The nymph pulled out another carving knife from her boot.

  “You use that one,” she said with a jerk of her chin to indicate the one still floating.

  I shrugged and beckoned the knife forward towards me. The knife compiled, and I let it fall into my outstretched hand. Then I ventured to the stump across from Iynx, never taking my eyes off her.

  “Well then,” Pomona said with a slight cough in her voice. She hiked up the basket on her hip. “I’m going to just be over here, setting things up for my part of the lesson.” Then, the nymph put a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Try not to kill each ot
her, hm?”

  With that, Pomona left the pair of us alone. Iynx leaned back so she could tuck her legs up into a criss-cross applesauce shape atop the stump which was an impressive balancing act. If I was feeling warm to the nymph, I would have complimented her on it, but I kept my mouth shut.

  “So,” Iynx started as she set the carving knife into the side of the stump. She leaned forward and interlaced her lean fingers. “Why do you want to learn wood carving?”

  “I need to make a rod,” I said honestly.

  “A rod?” Iynx said as her eyebrows rose up.

  “A measuring rod, specifically,” I said with an eager nod.

  The nymph eyed me with an unnecessary level of suspicion. “Why?”

  “I was commissioned to make a couple of tools,” I said, choosing my words carefully, though I kept my voice as casual as possible. “A rod is one of them.”

  “Hm,” Iynx murmured, clearly not satisfied with my answer. “Well, luckily, that’s rather easy. The hardest part is going to be making it smooth and even all the way around. That’s going to require smooth knife work and extensive sanding.”

  The bird nymph reached down beside her and pulled up two rectangular blocks of wood about six inches long.

  “Let’s see what you know already,” Iynx said, with a hint of challenge in her voice and a twinkle in her eye.

  I spent the next hour or so doing my best to round out the edges of the rectangle. Unfortunately, my skill was not in carving. I was used to pounding out the shape. I would flatten, pull, and bend the metal to my will. It helped that I could talk to the metal itself and manipulate it using both my magic and my skill.

  Here, I was working blind. The wood didn’t speak to me at all. I remembered the same sensation when I worked with gold the first time. But at least when I’d worked with that material, I was using the same skills I’d trained a lifetime to learn. In this case, I held the knife incorrectly more times than I could count. Also, I couldn’t find the delicacy needed for this trade. I always shaved off too much or too little, causing the rod to be lopsided and choppy.