Fire & Flood (Mythverse #1)

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

I’m doubtful when Cassie leads us to the dining hall. How lame is throwing a dance in the cafeteria? But when we enter, it looks like a completely different place. Bigger, with cathedral ceilings, a dance floor, and a live band playing modern music. I stop, shocked. It’s just like any other school dance except fancier and with better looking people.

The staff is there too, and Kratos is—somehow—even more attractive with a shirt on. Hermes is bouncing from group to group, not knowing who to flirt with. The only person he doesn’t even try anything with is Themis, who is standing by herself in a corner, devastatingly gorgeous in a little black dress and killer heels. But her manner is anything but approachable; she’s got her wine glass in a grip that’s going to shatter it if she’s not careful, and her face is made of stone. I can’t believe this is the same woman who hugged me at the Wall of Weeping. She’s tense as hell, every line of her body ready to react to danger.

A burst of laughter grabs my attention and a tall, beautiful redhead with flowers in her hair separates from Kratos, her eyes sweeping the students. Several girls step in front of their boyfriends, and more than a few of the boys are happy to cower behind their dates, although one or two return her glances.

“Persephone,” Cassie whispers to me. “Keep a close eye on Val, or you might lose him.”

“I’m here with Greg,” I say, stiffly.

“Ha,” Cassie laughs. “Persephone has a type, and Greg is not it. He’s safe from being a boy toy.”

As if we’d conjured him with a word, Greg appears out of nowhere, towing Darcy with him.

“You look…just…wow,” Greg tells me.

“You have such a way with words,” I say, but I blush. Greg’s actually cute in a tux and bowtie. Little stitched bats dot his cummerbund. Darcy is wearing a deep blue that complements Cassie’s dress perfectly.

“Let’s dance!” Fern says, making her way onto the dance floor, not caring that she doesn’t have a partner. We follow and soon my slight feelings of embarrassment leave me. We’re having fun!

Fern isn’t dancing by herself for long. Marguerite appears at her side. She’s wearing a beautiful A-line sparkly gold dress. She and Fern are silver and gold. Fern stops dancing and I wonder which way it will go. A loving reunion or a quarrel on the dance floor.

Marguerite holds out her hands and Fern takes them with a smile. In an instant they are in each other’s arms, and Marguerite whispers something into her ear.

“Awww,” Greg says.

“Yeah, super aww. But Tina looks pissed,” I tell him. Just past the girls she glowers, running her mouth to her vampire friends. “I think Marguerite is on the outs with the popular kids.”

“She can always join our crew,” Greg says.

“Do we have a crew?” I ask.

“Sure! We’re the lovable losers.”

“Hey! Speak for yourself.” I swat at his arm.

“I am,” he says, awkwardly confident, as usual. “I’m lovable.”

“And maybe not quite such a loser,” I admit.

The music changes to a slow dance and Greg gets a dreamy look in his eyes. Oh no, I picked the wrong time to drop a compliment. He comes in for the close contact slow dance, and I’m wondering how I’m going to do the one-millionth friendly-fend-off with him, when suddenly Val is in between us. He’s wearing one of those cheesy tuxedo t-shirts. Yet somehow, on him, it doesn’t look cheesy at all.

“Can I have this dance?’ he asks.

“I thought you broke up!” Greg’s head pops around Val.

Val sweeps me in his arms and away before Greg can finish his sentence, which is incredibly rude to my date, but then Val is holding me against him and I don’t even care.

“You look like a vampire in that dress,” Val tells me.

I can’t help but laugh. “Why do I get the feeling that’s meant to be the biggest compliment you could ever give me?”

“It is.” He pulls me in closer.

I remind myself not to melt into a big gooey puddle. “So good news. Everyone heard about our break up and no one has tried to kill me. So I think it’s safe for us to stop fake dating.”

Val spins me and the room whirls by in a colorful blur. “What if I don’t want to?”

“Um, you broke up with me,” I remind him.

He smiles faintly. “Everyone says that shifters are territorial, but the truth is that vampires are way worse.”

“Yeah,” I nod. “I’ve heard the tracker dorms stink because the werewolves pee on everything.”

Val laughs. “I’ve heard that too.” He dips me. “But that’s not quite what I meant.”

“No, I get it. You were jealous of Greg.”

“Jealous of Greg? No.” Val makes a face like this is absurd. “I just got the sense that you weren’t into this whole relationship.”

“Fake relationship,” I remind him.

“Fake relationship for your benefit,” he adds.

“I thought it was for Tina’s. So she didn’t get expelled for killing me?”

Val rolls his eyes. “She wouldn’t have touched you. I was worried about you, okay? You’re so…helpless.”

“Helpless?” I push away. “I’m the girl who set you on fire, remember?”

“Why are you mad?” Val shakes his head. “Tensions were high. They still are. I offered you my protection.”

I put my hands on my hips.

Suddenly we are no longer dancing. We are standing in the middle of the dance floor, arguing.

“Why?” I ask, suddenly wanting all the cards on the table. “Why help me? You barely know me. Why were you so concerned that you were willing to put yourself out?”

Val stares at me with that unreadable expression. Then he sighs. “Do you want to hear that I’m attracted to you, Edie? Will that make you feel better? You want me falling at your feet like Greg does?”

It is so condescending and…I don’t even know what. My palm itches to slap the smug expression off his face.

“Excuse me,” Persephone is suddenly beside us and then with another blink she’s attached herself to Val like a curvy redheaded leech. “Mind if I cut in here?”

“Darcy, please just listen!” I hear someone wail from the other end of the dance floor. It seems like Val and I aren’t the only ones not having a great time.

I glance around and spot Cassie and Darcy arguing loudly.

“Actually, we’re still dancing,” Val says, reaching for me. I glance back at Cassie and Darcy in time to see him storm off.

“Actually,” I say, “This is perfect timing. Enjoy your dance.”

Persephone smiles and loops both arms around Val’s neck. After a moment Val settles his hands around her hips. A little lower than necessary, if you ask me. He raises an eyebrow at me over Persephone’s shoulder, before turning his attention to her with one of his slanted smiles.

I am torn between jealousy and hoping she drains all the smug out of him, even if she does it through his…I shake my head. Okay, no, actually that image does bother me. I hurry away to Cassie, who is in tears.

“What happened?” I ask.

“I told him it was me who sent the note. I tried to explain but he thought it was a prank. He was really mad. He said Themis was super upset about the whole thing, and said she’d be making sure the staff was extra vigilant tonight. So they’re all on edge because of me, and I… I…”

“It’s okay,” I tell her. “Let’s go after him. I’ll help you explain.”

“Oh, thank you!” She grabs my hand and pulls me off the dance floor. We head out the side door, the music muted to a dull roar as the heavy oak falls shut behind us.

“Where did he…?” I’m glancing to the left when Cassie’s hand goes slack in mine and she shouts.

“Darcy!”

He’s running towards us, mouth open as he sprints all-out, pure terror on his face. I react instantly, my wings erupting from my back, a bright, dazzling red that matches my dress. I fly forward, ready to snatch Darcy away from whatever he’s running from—when this giant thing leaps from out of nowhere landing between us.

It’s man-shaped but I barely get a chance to glance at it before it hefts this huge ax in his hand and with one wild swing—

I scream and Cassie joins in. I whirl around, wrapping us both in my wings so we don’t have to see.

But it’s too late. That thing—a minotaur—separated Darcy’s head from his body with one fatal swing.

And now, it’s coming at us.

“I said, wait to strike!” A familiar voice—frustrated and angry—rings through the hall. I’d know it anywhere.

Ocypete has brought the monsters.

Almost instinctively, my wings retract at the sound of my flight instructor’s voice. They know this person, trust her. With my wings away, I climb to my feet. Behind me, I hear Cassie whimpering.

Ocypete approaches me cautiously, a myriad of shadows behind her threading out into the light, one by one, each more hideous than the last. There’s a minotaur, hairy and muscular, with horns that could impale me and a line of drool hanging from its mouth. A cyclops, his one eye rolling madly. A three-headed dog looms behind the cyclops, and beyond him a creature with a lion’s head, wings, and goat feet. Behind him, just shadows, a silent, looming army ready to invade Mount Olympus Academy.

The dull thud of music from the dance floor continues; no one knows what just happened. I’m facing down this army alone.

“Why are you out here? All students should be inside!” Ocypete is in my face, so angry that I almost feel the need to explain myself. But then I catch of glimpse of the river of blood flowing out of Darcy’s dead body.

“No,” I say, smacking her finger out of my face. “What are you doing? You just killed a student!”

For the first time, I see something like uneasiness in Ocypete’s face. “That wasn’t me,” she says slowly. “Not all of my people are as controlled—”

“You don’t have control of your own army?” I shout at her, my voice breaking. “Darcy never hurt anybody,” I say, my rage sliding quickly into tears. “He was kind…”

“I know, I know…listen, I know,” Ocypete has one hand on my shoulder, my sobbing now mounting to match Cassie’s, who is still behind me. Poor Cassie, who was right all along, and couldn’t get anyone to listen.

“She knew,” I say, wiping my nose. “Cassie knew this was going to happen.”

“But she couldn’t stop it, could she?” Pity asks. “That’s war, kiddo. That’s what I’ve been trying to teach you. It’s ugly and it’s terrible, and good, innocent people die because of it.”

“People like Darcy?” I snap at her, shrugging out from under her comforting grip.

“Yes!” She insists. “Exactly! Didn’t you listen to what I told you that day in my nest? The students are always the ones taking the brunt of the battles, serving as shields for the gods. That’s why I’ve brought my monsters here, now. The gods are gathered. Let me—let us—end this.”

I shake my head. “A monster killed my father! And you want me to believe you’re the good guys?”

Ocypete shakes her head. “Edie, listen”—one claw clamps onto my wrist—“please, think. Vampires don’t like shifters, right? You’re on the same side, but there are issues, aren’t there? Permanent, long-standing feuds?”

I remember the Wall of Weeping, and how a shifter killed a vampire there, kicking off the entire blood feud—a feud taking place on the same side of a much larger war.

I try to jerk my hand from Pity’s claw, but she holds tight. “So?”

“So, it’s the same for us. Levi and your father—”

But she doesn’t get to finish. The music gets louder as someone opens the hall door, and then a scream blasts out. It’s Tina, her fangs elongating at the sight of the monsters crowding the hall. She takes one glance at me, sees Pity’s hand on my wrist, and lunges straight at me.

I’m stuck in place, facing down the vampire I knew would one day kill me, with an army of monsters behind me. It’s the ultimate test and if I freeze—I’m dead.

My wings erupt, knocking Ocypete back as I turn, dashing for Cassie and scooping her from the floor. Tina is knocked sideways by one of my wings, tossed aside only moments before the monster army advances, and forces their way into the dance.

I come to a crashing halt at the end of the hall, Cassie limp and dazed in my arms, just in time to hear Ocypete’s orders.

“Only the gods!” She shouts. “No harm to students!”

But as the screams fill my ears and the last monster stomps through the river of blood that used to run through Darcy, I know it’s already too late.