Fire & Flood (Mythverse #1)

Book 4 Chapter 3

3

The plane jumps and for a moment we’re all floating. The sparkles in BJ’s dress glittering as they enjoy zero gravity. Then we come crashing down. I hit the hard floor at the same time that air masks fall from the ceiling above the seats. They dangle down in a way that almost looks festive. Like party streamers.

Why did I ignore the flight attendants when they were telling us what to do if the cabin lost pressure? I mean, no one ever pays attention to them, and now everyone is scrambling, fighting over masks, and praying to a variety of different deities. BJ is just kind of stunned, and trying to get her bosoms back inside her dress after enjoying their own moments of weightlessness.

There’s a tug on my elbow, and I turn to find Tina.

“It could be one of the wind gods; I never did trust Zephyr,” she says.

I shake my head. “But all the gods agreed to this competition. Any god who interferes would face Athena’s wrath and from what I’ve heard Zeus was the only one who ever went toe to toe with her. I also can’t see how eliminating Brandee Jean and Sophia helps Zephyr.”

“Edie,” Tina says, cupping my chin. “Sweet naive Edie. Did you learn nothing at MOA? The gods are assholes and backstabbers. We could stand here all day guessing at their motives, or we can do the smart thing and exit this airplane before it falls out of the sky.”

I think about it. “You’re right. If a god is behind this, we need to get off. We can’t risk the lives of the other passengers.”

Tina rolls her eyes. “Right, I was thinking more about our lives. But sure, let’s also think of these strangers we’ll never see again.”

I grab BJ by the elbow and haul her up off the floor. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Go?! Go where?” she shouts. “We’re in a freaking airplane.”

Tina unconcernedly flips her hair. “Um, you realize that Edie is a freaking airplane, right?”

BJ looks at me. “Please tell me we get to leave her here.”

“Go ahead,” Tina smirks. “I don’t need Edie’s scaly dragon a*s; my contestant can fly.”

“That’s right,” I say. “I knew she got something good off Zeus, but couldn’t quite remember what it was.”

“Something good?” BJ’s gaze goes back and forth between the two of us at the two of us. “Flying is just good?”

“Well, all vampires can already levitate, so—” I say.

“And that’s different how?” BJ asks.

“It’s like, floating a little,” Tina says. “Because vampires are awesome and we are born to win.”

Brandee Jean folds her arms over her chest. “Oh yeah? So far floating a little and sometimes looking like you need to have your teeth filed doesn’t sound so winning to me.”

Tina’s eyes narrow to slits. “Come closer and I’ll show you.”

Sophia yawns. “Stop playing with the milkmaid. We need to go.”

I prod BJ up the aisle as I explain, “Vampires are also super strong and very fast. Don’t underestimate them. And maybe stop trying to piss off Tina. She’s part nymph and gods know what else. That means she has extra powers, and could mess you up in ways even I don’t know about. And I roomed with her for almost two years.”

“Wait,” Sophia puts her hand out. “Part nymph? Are you saying my mentor is a Moggy?” She says the word like it hurts her mouth and then shoots Tina a look that could curdle milk.

“Thanks a lot, dragon-a*s,” Tina hisses at me.

“What’s a Moggy?” BJ asks.

“It’s a mixed blood,” Sophia spits the words out.

As Sophia and Tina bend their heads together to argue in low voices, I leave them to it. BJ is trying to grab her carry-on from the overhead compartment.

“Leave it,” I tell her. “We’ve got to go.”

“My entire life is in this bag,” she argues. “Not to mention my crown. Also all my makeup. I’m not walking into a competition au naturel with no change of clothes.”

A flight attendant struggles down the aisle toward us, evading the grasping hands and shouted questions of passengers. “Please, return to your seats,” she says, her polite words delivered in a tone edged with panic.

Tina holds up a hand that demands silence…and gets it. At least six of the freaking out passengers just fall into a type of stupor.

“You’d better buckle in and make an announcement that the cabin pressure is about to drop,” Tina tells the flight attendant. “Because when the wind gods decide they don’t like you, they aren’t just blowing hot air.”

The flight attendant opens her mouth, then closes it. To emphasize Tina’s point, I pop out my wings. The stewardess must have seen enough paranormals in her lifetime already, because she heads back to her seat and gets on the speaker.

“If you want to live, buckle up,” she grimly informs the passengers. Then straps herself in.

BJ follows me to the door, still hauling her bag. “How are you even gonna get this door open? The pressure from outside—”

But she doesn’t get to finish her sentence, because Tina sticks her hand out again—this time literally over BJ’s mouth.

“Seriously, Edie?” she asks. “You backed this wreck? She doesn’t even know her own power. OUCH!”

Tina yanks her hand away from BJ’s teeth.

“The hell I don’t,” BJ says. “Mama always said half the competition is in your teeth, and your hand just learned that.”

Then she wrenches the door open, the strength of Zeus running through her foxy toned arms. She’s sucked out instantly, her dress billowing around her.

“Eeeeeedieeee,” she screams, still clutching desperately to her suitcase.

“Oh gods,” I say, and then pitch myself out the door. My wings catch the draft and I shift, sliding underneath the easy-to-spot fabric balloon that is my mentee. She thumps onto my back.

“Edie, oh my god,” she grabs onto me frantically. “You just saved my life, but you have the skin texture of a crocodile. I will never get mad at you again. I don’t care how many gods you killed, or how many bottles of Lubriderm I’m gonna have to give you from my own limited supply.”

I can’t speak in dragon form, but it’s not like Brandee needs me to answer her anyway. We pass through a cloud, and she has something to say about it.

“This is dampening my dress, and totally ruining my hair. I’ve always been better at the controlled look; windblown just doesn’t work for me.”

We break the cloud cover and under us is blue, endless ocean. Well, nearly endless. Way in the distance is a speck of land. I veer sharply lower... and buck BJ off. Seconds before BJ falls into the water, I land gently on the soft sand of the beach.

“Screw y—” she tries to yell, but doesn’t get the last word out because she’s eating ocean. She splashes the last few feet to shore, dragging her suitcase behind her.

“Forget that whole ‘never being mad at Edie again’ bullshit. You’re gonna get the wrath of Brandee Jean. And nobody likes an angry BJ!”

I shift back into a girl and remind her of the rules. “You have to find your own way to the island. Even if it’s just the last few feet. We don’t want to get you disqualified.”

“And where are those vampires?”

“Sophia and Tina were both sucked out the door along with you, but they managed to close it from the outside so the airplane could get back on course. As soon as we were off the flight, the storm evaporated. Tina was totally right about that being a god.”

“But why would they do that?” BJ asks, as she wrings out a hunk of hair.

Should I be honest? I feel like I’ve already thrown a lot of BJ and she’s taken it like a champ. And it’s not like things are going to get any easier for her in the near future. Once this competition starts, she’s gonna be tested like she’s never been tested before.

I decide to be a straight shooter with her, no sugar coating.

“Well, it seems like one of the gods wants you or Sophia dead.”