Fire & Flood (Mythverse #1)

Book 3 Chapter 9

9

The mix of bird poop and Cassie’s ambrosia puke is enough to drive me from my room. We did our best to clean everything up, and Fern even cast some sort of air-freshening spell, but Tina and I have still been dealing with the lingering scent of stomach acid. Plus, a hungover Stymphalian bird is not the best roommate. It was beating its head against the window when I woke up this morning, apparently believing that the best way to get rid of a headache is to bash your head the rest of the way in.

The night before brought a nice reprieve; I haven’t thought about my parentage for twelve full hours. But daylight—and a hot shower—brought everything back into perspective. I couldn’t drown my sorrows in ambrosia, and I couldn’t forget Adrianna Aspostolos—or the letter she’d written to Metis, asking for help in delivering her child.

The child of a god. Me.

I find a bottle of good old ibuprofen at the bottom of the bag I brought here what seems like ages ago. There’s also a handful of old photos and I can’t resist quickly flipping through them. Some of them are old, of Mavis and I as little kids in Thing 1 and Thing 2 Halloween costumes. Another is one of those cheesy posed family pictures done in a studio. We all look stiff and unnatural.

I pause on the final one. It’s just Mavis and me again, posing together as we got ready to leave for a middle school dance. It was my first real dance. I was nervous and scared and excited all at once. Mavis was in eighth grade and of course had a date. But she ditched him to hang out with me and my friends. They were so impressed with my cool sister. My feet hurt the next day from all the dancing.

My throat thickens. I thought I’d lost her once and I’m not losing her again.

Shoving the pictures back into my bag and then under my bed, I get to my feet.

I need to find out if the person in the prophecy is me. And I want that letter my mother wrote to Metis; maybe it will have a clue.

I visit Merilee first, but after taking a moment to mentally scroll through the information in her head, she shrugs. “Often the gods hold onto their personal correspondence instead of passing it along to me. They’re not supposed to, but…” Merilee shrugs again. “Gods, you know? What can you do?”

Discouraged, I leave Merilee, unsure where to go next. I’ve met Metis once before and she’s pretty intimidating. I’m not sure how she’ll react to visiting her office and asking for a letter from my long dead mother.

But then I remember that picture of Mavis and me. Now is not the time to hesitate.

I turn toward the infirmary.

I find Metis in her office. As head healer, she spends most of her time working, even the weekends. I knock on her door, and she invites me in with a brief, sharp, “Come!”

I step into her office, which is very different from Themis’s. Healing plants hang from the ceiling, there’s a small cauldron boiling in one corner, and multi-colored vials suspended with string hanging on the walls. In one corner there’s also a hospital bed and a small metal table with a microscope and some glass lab equipment.

“Um…hi,” I say, as Metis looks up at me from behind her desk. Her shimmering silver hair is pulled back into a braid. “I’m Edie. I’m not a healer, but we’ve met—”

“Yes,” Metis says, leaning back in her chair. “You’re the girl who found the scorpion last semester. Saved us a lot of time, too. It was much easier to cure the shifters once we knew the source of the plague. Please, sit down. What can I do for you, Edie?”

“Well…I’m not really sure how to start,” I begin. I’d walked over here only half expecting to find her in, and now that I’m here, there’s no easy way to tell my story.

“The best place to start is usually the beginning,” Metis says, smiling at me.

The beginning…my mother hiding a pregnancy test behind her back when Mr. Zee appeared in her room.

“I…do you remember a student named Adrianna Aspostolos?”

Metis doesn’t hesitate. “Yes, a shifter. Her portrait hangs in the Hall of the Dead.” Her eyes on me are bright, like she’s just discovered a new specimen.

“Yes, it does.” I nod. “Do you happen to know how she died?”

“Of course I do,” Metis says. She leans forward. “I was with her when it happened. Right here, in this room.”

The breath goes out of me, and I grip the sides of my chair for support. “Here?” I ask, my voice light and shuddering.

“Yes,” Metis says, standing and coming around her desk to my side. “She came to me for help, knowing that she was carrying the child of a god, and that the delivery would likely kill her.”

“Then why is she dead? Why didn’t you save her? You’re a god and a healer.”

Metis nods. “She was mortal. I did everything I could, but in the end the delivery was too much. She did, however, hold you before she died.”

My eyes well with tears, one slipping down my cheek. Metis pushes it away with a thumb. Her touch is cool and comforting, and I wonder if my mother found some solace in it as she died.

“She wanted her baby, Edie,” Metis whispers to me. “She wanted you.” She looks strangely triumphant, like she was working on a puzzle and the final piece just clicked into place.

I turn my gaze to hers, cold and blue, the secret inside me reaching out, seeking a connection. Everything I was afraid to tell my friends, everything I wanted to say to alleviate some of the pressure. I feel like I can now. I can, here.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on you.”

“For Themis?” I ask.

“Yes. Themis. Of course,” Metis says, pushing my hair out of my eyes. “Mr. Zee has done endless damage to this Academy, and its students. Themis and I want nothing more to see him gone. He has no place here, drawing the young to him, for his own amusements. If it had gotten out the Academy would be done.” Metis shakes her head. “We had to hush it up. Keep it secret. No responsible parents would send their children here if they knew what might happen.”

She hands me a tissue, and I blow my nose.

“It would destroy the Academy,” I say, realizing. “I found some information in the Archives that said my father—Daniel Evans, the man I thought was my father—had stolen two secrets that could ruin Mount Olympus Academy. Me, and my sister Mavis.”

“Yes.” Metis nods. “And the Archives gave up another secret too, didn’t they? The prophecy that Zeus would die at the hand of one born of his own diluted blood.”

“Me,” I say, my head hanging. “I don’t want to kill him. I know Themis has been weakening Mr. Zee with poisoned ambrosia, and she doesn’t want him killed, either. She’s just hoping to scare him into leaving.”

“A wise choice,” Metis says. “And you are the weapon we need to do exactly that.”

A weapon. Cassie’s words from last night roll through my head. Three in one to wound. Three in one to kill.

“Now that we each know where each other stands,” Metis says, crossing back over to her side of the desk. “What can I do for you? Why have you come to me, Edie?”

“My mother wrote you a letter,” I say, wiping the last of my tears away. “I was hoping you might still have it. I never met her. Never knew her. I didn’t even know she existed until recently. I’d just like to have something of hers.”

“Of course,” Metis says, leaning forward. “It only makes sense. One second, it won’t take long to find it. Merilee organized all my old papers a while back. Now I need only think of what I want...”

She rummages through some drawers, and I take a moment to get myself back together. “Ah, here we are,” Metis says, placing a rolled scroll on her desk. I reach for it, but her hand closes over mine before I can take it.

“I’m glad you came to me today, Edie,” she says. “It gives me a chance to talk to you about something.”

“What’s that?” When she releases me I put the scroll in my bag, to read when I’m alone.

“Themis and I have been working for a long time to ensure that the Academy—and its students—are safe. Themis has more cogs in her machine than you know. In fact, it’s best if you don’t know all the moving parts.”

I nod, thinking of Hepa, and how many times I’ve spotted her slipping out of Themis’s office.

“But Zeus has his own spies and suspicions,” Metis continues. “We need to be sure that those who are under our protection stay safe. That means being cautious. You spend a lot of time with Themis, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

I shiver, my heart gives a jolt. “What? Who said something?”

Metis shakes her head. “Whispers in the wind, child. You can’t believe all of them, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be listening. I think it’s best if you don’t see Themis for a while, to stay safe. She asked me to pass that along to you, as well as—” Her voice drops suddenly. “Can you please make sure the door is locked?”

My pulse pounds as I flip the lock and return to my seat. “What?” I ask, my voice high and tight. “What did Themis want you to tell me?”

“Well,” Metis glances around her office, her voice slackening into a whisper. “She’s perfectly right that killing Zeus could spell disaster.”

“She said minor gods might revolt,” I remember. “Cause earthquakes and all kinds of things.”

“Quite right,” Metis says. “But…Zeus won’t ever step down unless there’s a true threat. One that he knows is real. One that actually makes him fear for his life.”

My eyebrows come together. “Even if we’re not going to actually kill him?”

“Exactly!” Metis says. “But how can we threaten a god if he doesn’t believe we have the power to truly hurt him?”

“Three in one to wound, three in one to kill,” I mutter.

“Ah, you do know,” Metis says, almost to herself. “You know about the sword that can kill a god? The sword that can spill ichor?”

Ichor, the blood of the gods.

“Yes,” I say. “My friend Cassie had a vision last night.” I don’t mention that she was three sheets to the wind at the time. I mean, obviously I can trust Metis with the biggest secret I’ve got, but I don’t think she needs to know about my underage drinking, too.

“Tell it to me,” Metis says, eyes narrowing.

I repeat the prophecy, word for word. “A weapon, one in three to defeat the king of the gods. Three places of learning. One child of his loins. Three in one to wound. Three in one to kill.”

“Yes,” Metis says when I’ve finished. “A long time ago, Zeus and I were...together.”

My mind races, running back over everything I’ve learned about the gods since coming to Mount Olympus Academy. “That’s right,” I say, hitting on it. “You were married to Zeus once!”

“Good thing that’s ancient history. He was a lying, cheating, immoral, depraved…but I digress. Let’s just say he was a bastard in the figurative sense of the word. When we parted ways I asked Hephaestus to forge a weapon for me. It took an incredible amount of magic and…” She shakes her head, her composure slipping. “You don’t need to know everything that went into crafting a blade that can kill a god. All you need to know is that my husband found out what I was doing, and had it broken into three parts.”

“I think I’ve narrowed down where they might be,” I say. I’m pretty sure the part of Cassie’s prophecy about Three places of learning must have referred to Mount Olympus Academy, sss Academy, and Underworld Academy.

“The pieces are at the other Academies,” I say. “He spread them out.”

“Yes,” Metis says. “One is here for him to watch over. One was given to his brother, Hades, to keep under his care. One he handed to his daughter to guard. I can help you find that one when the time comes. It will be the easiest, so you should save that one for last.

“If the pieces are retrieved, you can re-forge the blade. With a child of his blood on our side, and the sword that can kill him in her hands…” Metis’s face becomes sharp, all traces of the kindly woman who had wiped away my tears shoved aside as she is lit from within, illuminated by rage against her ex.

“Um…but we’re not going to kill him, right?” I ask, worried by this sudden change.

Metis’s eyes narrow on me. “Are you not in the assassination class?”

“Yes, but…” I hesitate. “You said we were just going to use the weapon to threaten Zeus.”

“Yes, of course,” Metis says, her composure coming back. “We would never want the lesser gods unleashed on the world. I mean, the poor mortals!” She laughs, her throat rippling. “They’re so funny…all those broken bones.”

“I guess,” I say, realizing yet again how different gods are from everyone else. Metis continues to laugh at something that’s decidedly not amusing. “So, uh, just so we’re on the same page. I’m definitely not killing Zeus.”

The only times I’ve killed have been in defensive situations. And the monsters I took down were strangers. Or maybe I should say the monsters my dragon took down. I’m honestly not sure if I could look Mr. Zee in the eyes—knowing he’s my bio-dad—and kill him.

Metis steps back, disappointment dimming her face. “Well, Zee isn’t at the top of his game. I suppose the weapon alone may be enough to convince him.”

Metis rises, holding out her arms to me as she comes back around the desk, steering me to the door. “The location of the sword shards may be somewhat difficult to manage. I suggest you start with the piece here, at our own Academy. And keep me updated. Remember, your association with Themis has been noted. It’s best that you come to me from now on.”

“I will,” I say. “But how do I know where to look for the sword piece?”

“Perhaps your seer friend…” She trails off, waving her hand in the air.

“Cassie,” I supply.

“Yes, Cassie,” she says. “It is so embarrassing, what a few thousand years does to the memory. Ask Cassie if she might be able to narrow things down a bit. She might find this helpful.”

Metis drops something small but heavy into my hand. I glance down to find a Seer Stone.

“But last time she used one of these, it—”

I look up, but Metis has closed her office door in my face. I’m on my own again.