Echo the Copycat

by Joan Holub

“Huh?” said Narcissus.

  “Immortal students from Mount Olympus Academy come here on Fridays,” Echo explained hurriedly before she jumped behind a strange, wiggly fern. “We shouldn’t be here!”

  At this, Narcissus perked up. “I’d like to meet some immortals. Maybe they could help my career!” Luckily, his two mortal friends pulled him to hide behind the same bushes as Echo. Just in time, too.

  Seconds later Artemis entered the courtyard, gliding inches above its stone floor in silver-winged magic sandals. As Echo and the others watched, the goddessgirl searched the area with her keen dark eyes. Her bow was at the ready, and a quiver of silver arrows was slung across her back. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she sing-songed under her breath as she zoomed around the fountain.

  “See, she wants to meet us,” murmured Narcissus, starting to stand.

  “No, she’s probably looking for that beast,” Echo whispered. She pointed toward the Drakon where it now stood in the shadows, its once-glowing red eyes now dull.

  All forest nymphs were under Artemis’s protection, and there was no goddessgirl they admired more. However, immortals mostly stayed up on Mount Olympus at the Academy, so Echo had only seen drawings of Artemis before now. Seeing her for real was evergreen! She took note of every one of the goddess-girl’s mannerisms and her hairstyle, planning to copy her entire look when she got back . . . home. But where was that now? Unhappiness speared Echo anew.

  “Artemis?” called a girl’s voice from somewhere outside the maze.

  Artemis glanced over her shoulder. “Over here! In the—” Whap! Not looking where she was going, she’d tripped over the Drakon. It seemed that the beast still had a few last sparks inside him after all, for some flew out as she went down.

  Immediately Echo sprang out of the bushes. “Are you okay?”

  “Huh? What happened?” Artemis shoved a lock of glossy black hair out of her eyes, looking dazed.

  “You were attacked!” yelled Narcissus, jumping out of the bushes now too. “By him!”

  Artemis noticed the beast for the first time. “Aha! I thought I heard a Drakon clanking around in here. This place is off-limits, you know. If the Pool of Magic is disturbed, it disturbs the mechanical beasts around here too. You guys are lucky you weren’t all attacked. But that three-headed fountain there in the pool will turn any beast off including a Drakon, if I can just get over there.” She pushed herself upright.

  In a flash Narcissus was by her side and offering a hand up. “No need!” he said gallantly. “I nailed that crazed beast myself. See? It’s not moving.”

  Huh? Echo stared at him, surprised by his lie.

  “Artemis, are you hurt? What’s going on?” asked a new voice. Three immortal girls flew into the maze on winged sandals, one after the other.

  Echo recognized Zeus’s daughter, the brown-haired Athena, from her pictures, which were all over the news when she won various awards. And red-haired Persephone, too. The very goddessgirl whose clothes and hairstyle Echo had copied—and was wearing even now.

  The third goddessgirl had long golden hair. She was so beautiful that she had to be Aphrodite. Like all immortals, the four girls’ skin looked like it had been lightly powdered with glitter.

  “I saved Artemis from a beast!” Narcissus announced, fibbing again. “He started to attack her, and I knocked him down.” He held up his spear in pretended victory.

  Echo’s eyes widened. Why was he lying like that?

  “Well, thanks so much for rescuing her,” Persephone said to Narcissus. Glancing around the group, she did a double take at the sight of Echo’s chiton. Although she obviously noticed that it was a copy of the one she’d worn in the Teen Scrollazine drawing, she was kind enough not to mention the similarity.

  “Yeah,” Artemis began. “I really apprecia—”

  “And my reward?” Narcissus asked eagerly.

  Artemis blinked at him. “Excuse me?”

  “Surely you’ll grant me a favor for having rescued you,” he prodded.

  The four goddessgirls looked at each other as if uncertain how to respond. Finally, Artemis frowned at him. “You know, you remind me of someone. An actor I know.” She glanced at her friends, who nodded in agreement.

  Are they thinking of Orion? wondered Echo. Both boys were handsome. But although Narcissus did brag a bit (and tell a few harmless lies), she didn’t think he was a total loser like Orion was rumored to be.

  “Wow, thanks!” Narcissus said, obviously thinking Artemis had just paid him a compliment. “As it happens, I’m a model. So I was hoping for an introduction to Zeus. A powerful guy like him could boost my career.”

  “We do owe him,” said Athena, glancing sideways at Narcissus.

  Aphrodite nodded. “Yeah, you might have really been hurt without his help, Artemis.”

  “Zeus will want to thank him,” Persephone added.

  Still sounding somewhat reluctant, Artemis finally agreed. “Okay. Let’s go in my chariot. It’s faster than sandals, and we don’t want to be late for next period.”

  “So you’ll take me?” Narcissus pushed.

  “And me, your assistant,” Echo piped up boldly. Narcissus sent her a surprised look. But then he nodded, probably to keep her quiet about what had actually happened just minutes before!

  “Me too,” Tiresias added. “I’m his stylist.”

  “Yes,” Narcissus agreed. “Oh, and my artist.”

  “Sorry. There’s not enough room in the chariot,” said Artemis. “We can only fit three of you.”

  “Well, at least my stylist,” said Narcissus. “And . . .”

  “Echo,” said Echo, stepping forward and taking the choice out of his hands. This was perfect! It would take way less time to get to MOA in Artemis’s chariot than on foot. The mortal artist Anaxandra looked crestfallen, and Echo felt kind of bad about that. But it seemed the girl lived in a nearby village, and when Tiresias promised they’d meet up with her later, she brightened and scampered off with her easel.

  At Artemis’s summons, four white deer with golden horns appeared out of the Forest and flew into the labyrinth, pulling her chariot behind them. “C’mon,” she called to her companions. Jumping in, she took the reins, and Echo, Narcissus, and Tiresias crowded in with the goddessgirls. The chariot lifted off, and together they whooshed from the Forest.

  5

  Zeus

  THE CHARIOT’S ASCENT WAS SWIFT, and in no time it was zooming along as high as the treetops. Echo had never flown before and secretly held on tight, even as she copied the others’ expressions of calm. Once she realized it was going to be smooth sailing, however, she relaxed for real and gazed excitedly at her surroundings.

  Seeing her interest, the goddessgirls pointed out landmarks below as they traveled, such as the Immortal Marketplace. It was a shopping center halfway up Mount Olympus, in an enormous, high-ceilinged building with a crystal roof.

  “Interesting,” said Narcissus, looking intrigued. “Are there clothes stores? Can mortals shop there?”

  Athena nodded. “Yes. In fact, my dad’s trying to encourage more mortal shoppers to come. Business has been a little slow ever since Typhon terrorized MOA. Storeowners have reported that shoppers are a little leery of leaving Earth to come to the IM.”

  Everyone had heard about Typhon, even nymphs like Echo in the forested mountains of Boeotia, Greece. He was a monster made of whirling tornado-strength winds that had escaped from imprisonment in Tartarus—the most awful place in the Underworld, where only the truly evil wound up. And he’d turned out to be evil, all right. He’d ravaged many lands before attacking Mount Olympus too.

  “See those big decorated floats around the outside of the marketplace?” Aphrodite asked Echo. She pointed to a line of large colorful wheeled platforms that stretched halfway around the IM. “They’re for tomorrow’s parade.”

  Echo nodded, remembering the article in Teen Scrollazine. It would be fun to see the parade. But depending on what happened with Ze
us this afternoon, she might or might not be in the mood to go tomorrow.

  A little farther on, the goddessgirls also pointed out a snack shop called the Supernatural Market, where they sometimes hung out to sip nectar shakes. That certainly sounded like fun! As the chariot neared their final destination, they passed over sports fields and a gymnasium. Eventually the chariot landed in a marble-tiled courtyard in front of the Academy. There, Artemis’s deer magically unhitched themselves and leaped away to graze in the nearby hills.

  Echo gazed in wide-eyed wonder at the famous school. Built of polished white stone, it soared five stories high and was surrounded on all sides by Ionic columns. “Wow, I’ve never seen anything so awesome!”

  “It’s mega-mazing,” Narcissus agreed, sounding awed. “This would make the perfect backdrop for a sketch of me, don’t ya think?” He dashed across the courtyard and struck a pose next to a gadget that Athena informed them measured wind speed. The figures of the four wind gods had been sculpted on it. Their cheeks were puffed as if they were blowing out swirls of wind, and the instrument’s main post was labeled N, S, E, and W for the different directions.

  “With the Academy in the background, it would make an awesome shot,” Tiresias agreed, squinting and framing Narcissus with his hands. “Too bad our artist couldn’t come. We could’ve gotten some fashion drawings done for your portfolio that would have been far more impressive than those we tried to do in the Forest of the Beasts. Maybe we can scout locations for a future modeling session here, though.”

  “You’d have to ask my dad about that,” Athena said tactfully. She and her friends led Narcissus, Tiresias, and Echo up the gleaming granite staircase at the front of the school.

  Pushing through the bronze doors at the top of the stairs, the goddessgirls dropped their winged sandals into a big basket and slipped into regular sandals that they’d left there on the floor.

  “Can we go see Zeus now? Who’s going to take us?” asked Narcissus.

  “I will,” Artemis told her friends. “After all, I’m the one who almost got beaned by that Drakon this guy rescued me from.” She arced a thumb in Narcissus’s direction, and the other goddessgirls grinned at how bluntly she’d put things.

  After the immortal girls parted company, Artemis turned down a hall and waved for Narcissus, Tiresias, and Echo to follow her. As they walked, Echo’s eyes darted here and there. Everywhere she looked there was something or someone extraordinary to see. Wait till I tell Daphne and Pan about all this! she thought.

  It was a huge thrill to recognize some of the students they passed. For instance, the mortal Medusa with a dozen green snakes on her head was easy to spot. And the guy with the trident was the godboy of the sea, Poseidon, of course. There was even a centaur!

  Brightly colored paintings on the domed ceiling above the hallway detailed the glorious exploits of the gods and goddesses. One showed Zeus driving a chariot pulled by four white horses across the sky as he hurled thunderbolts and lightning into the clouds. Hmph! Didn’t he know those bolts of his could be dangerous?

  Echo’s heart began to thump as she reminded herself of the main reason she’d come here. Her stomach had tightened into a pretzel knot by the time they moved down a final hallway and reached a door with a sign that read: OFFICE.

  “Hello?” said Artemis, going inside. There was a tall desk along one wall, but no one stood behind it. “Looks like Ms. Hydra’s not here. She’s Principal Zeus’s administrative assistant,” Artemis informed them. Passing the desk, she went to look into another office beyond it. The door of this one swung crazily from its one good hinge, creaking.

  Narcissus and Tiresias followed Artemis, so Echo sidled over behind them and peeked in too. Her eyes practically bugged out at what she saw. This office was much bigger than the outer office. And it looked like a real tornado had swept through it!

  File folders, scrolls, maps, pieces from an Olympusopoly board game, and empty bottles of Zeus Juice were scattered everywhere. Half-dead plants perched atop dented file cabinets, and chairs with scorch marks on their cushions sat tilted at odd angles. There was a huge golden throne behind the enormous desk on one side of the room. No one was sitting on it, though.

  “Guess Principal Zeus is gone too,” Artemis noted. “We’ll have to come back later.”

  A mixture of disappointment and relief filled Echo. Then frustration set in. She’d been so close to realizing her goal of confronting Zeus about what he’d done to FirHeart!

  Suddenly they heard footsteps, and then a dark-haired godboy raced into the office. When he saw Artemis, he blurted, “You okay, Sis? I heard you had an accident!”

  “No big deal, Apollo,” Artemis said easily. “Just a minor run-in with a Drakon Thespiakos.”

  “What?” said Apollo, his alarm increasing.

  Narcissus stepped forward. “No worries. I saved her,” he said smoothly. He went on to explain his version of what had happened. Afterward, Apollo thanked him sincerely.

  Having heard these lies already, Echo decided it was much too late to correct his story. Besides, where was the harm, really? She glanced out the office window just in time to notice a winged horse take flight. That had to be Pegasus. And wasn’t that Zeus on his back?

  Hearing a swishing sound, she turned toward the front office door to see a lady with nine different-colored heads slither into the office.

  “Hi, Ms. Hydra,” said Artemis.

  “Looking for Zeus?” the lady’s smiling yellow head asked them in greeting. “He just left for the Immortal Marketplace.”

  “Come on. Let’s go meet him there,” Narcissus said to Artemis, starting for the door. Tiresias was right behind him.

  “I don’t think so. Artemis has a class,” Ms. Hydra’s purple head said in a disapproving tone. “And Zeus’ll be busy. He’s working on plans for the parade and a wedding. His guests of honor have arrived.”

  “Oh yeah. I saw something about that in Teen Scrollazine,” said Echo. “There was a picture of him with two people who are going to get married and also with a goat and a bee.”

  “Those were his nannies—the goat and the bee, I mean,” Ms. Hydra’s yellow head told her. “They raised Zeus when he was a boy.”

  “The bride and groom who are getting married on Monday are nymphs too,” Artemis told Echo. Then she looked over at Narcissus and said, “I guess we’ll have to wait till Zeus gets back to tell him about your rescue. Apollo and I both need to start for class or we’ll be late for sure.”

  “You can hang with me till Zeus comes back,” Apollo told Narcissus and Tiresias as everyone left the office and started down the hall. “And you can meet the other guys at lunch.” He smiled at Narcissus. “Heroes like you are welcome here!”

  Argh, thought Echo as she and Artemis followed the boys. She was starting to wonder if she should have called Narcissus on his lie earlier. Could he have fooled himself into believing he really was a hero? No doubt he and Tiresias were already imagining how they could work that hero idea into drawings of Narcissus to add to his modeling portfolio.

  “Fantastic!” Narcissus said to Apollo. “Contacts and networking are everything in my business.”

  “What business is that?” Apollo asked curiously as they all rounded a corner.

  “Modeling,” Echo heard Tiresias tell him. “Have you ever done any?”

  Apollo jerked his head back in surprise. “Huh? Me, a model?”

  “You’re a natural,” said Tiresias. “I should know. I’ve worked with the best.”

  “Meaning me,” said Narcissus. Glancing over his shoulder at Echo, he dazzled her with another of his smiles.

  She couldn’t help smiling back. Modesty might not be his strong suit, but oh, how her heart sang whenever his attention turned her way!

  “We hope to get some great portfolio shots here on the MOA grounds,” Tiresias said to Apollo, confirming Echo’s earlier suspicions. “We’d love to include you and your friends posing in the background paying tribute to Narciss
us the hero.”

  Echo didn’t hear Apollo’s reply because Artemis said, “This way,” and pulled her down a different hall. “You can come to my class and then hang out with me and my friends for the rest of the afternoon if you want,” Artemis offered. “Don’t ask me to do any modeling, though,” she added with a grin.

  Echo laughed. “No worries there. I don’t know anything about that stuff. I’d only just met those mortals in the Forest when you showed up.”

  As they walked, her mind raced. Artemis was really nice to invite her to hang out, but Echo had other plans. She didn’t want to wait for Zeus to get back. She wanted to talk to him now! The goddessgirls had pointed out the Immortal Marketplace as they’d flown here, and she figured she could probably find her way there on her own.

  When they neared Artemis’s classroom, Echo faked a yawn. “I’m kind of tired actually. What I could really use is a quick nap.”

  “Oh, well, you can go lie down in my dorm room,” Artemis offered. She started to turn around. “I’ll take you there.”

  “No, that’s okay. I don’t want to make you late. Just point the way,” Echo urged. Artemis looked a little unsure, but after a bit more coaxing, she pointed up to the fourth-floor girls’ dorm and indicated where her room was along the hall.

  “My dogs are in my room, so be careful not to let them out,” she cautioned. “There are three of them—Suez, Nectar, and Amby.”

  “Oh.” Automatically, even though she had no intention of going up to Artemis’s room, a shiver of fear ran down Echo’s spine. She’d been chased by hunting dogs out in the forest a few times. Artemis must have noticed the shiver, because she added quickly, “Don’t worry. They’re friendly.”

  “Great.” Echo felt kind of guilty about tricking this nice goddessgirl, but she yawned again for good measure and assured Artemis that she could find the room. With a quick wave she started toward the stairs. But as soon as she was out of Artemis’s sight, she changed direction.

  After retracing her steps to the Academy’s front door, she stopped beside the big basket there and glanced around. No one was looking. She reached into the basket to borrow a pair of winged sandals. She knew this had to be against the rules, but she was in a big fat hurry to track down the King of the Gods!