Goddess

by Julie Anne Lindsey

  Tom Mahoning, leader of the Mahoning Clan, and self-appointed Callie Ingram bodyguard, smiled as I emerged. “My queen.”

  I stopped several inches away and lowered my voice. “Call me Callie, okay? I’m not a queen. I’m just me. Nothing’s changed.”

  His green eyes flashed with satisfaction. “Everything’s changed.” He matched his pace to mine and moved with me toward my first period class. “You’re my leader. Queen is a title of respect.”

  “Wouldn’t Zeus’s or Odin’s wives be your queens?”

  Tom slowed his pace. His brow furrowed. “Technically, I suppose, but when do I see them?”

  “I’m not sure proximity’s relevant.”

  “How about coach?” he asked.

  “I’m definitely not your coach. You’re the one teaching me. I know nothing. I’m like an infant.”

  I adjusted the bag across my shoulder. “I don’t know the first thing about being a Viking, or leading an army of them. Battle training is a nightmare. I’m too afraid of my sword to touch it. What if I fail the clans?” What if the men saw through me? My spine stiffened. “Was everyone at breakfast this morning? I mean…has anyone else left us?” Left me.

  “All were accounted for. No word from the Stian rebels either. Another good morning.”

  The Stians were a bloodthirsty, power-hungry clan. They’d nearly killed my best friend Justin and had successfully killed my other best friend, Allison, and me, plus many others. Over the years, they’d strategically killed off the other Watchers, like Liam and his brothers, intending to stop the prophecy and lead the Vikings themselves.

  I nodded on a loud exhale. “Good.” When I’d resurrected as leader, most of the Stians joined me, but a few had held out.

  Many clans had traveled the globe to see me and pledge their fealty, but no one knew where the renegade Stians went and two of my men had vanished last week. What if the holdouts were regrouping? Had I somehow chased the two away?

  We slowed as my first-period classroom came into view. “Will you swim tonight?” Tom stopped at the door.

  “No. No practice on Fridays.” Swimming used to help with my worries. I’d always processed my life while in the water. Lately, nothing helped and there was only time for battle practice and keeping up mandatory human appearances like school and scheduled practices.

  He rubbed his chin. “May I address you as princess?”

  My feminism bristled. “I’m not a princess.”

  Confusion crowded his eyebrows. “I’ve offended you?”

  “No. It’s me. Around here being called a princess is an insult. It’s like saying I’m weak or fragile or bratty.”

  The hair on my arms stood at attention. An overwhelming sense of joy and peace crashed into me, as if I’d found heaven.

  Liam’s voice cut through the noise. “I’ll take it from here, Tom.” He looked into my eyes with sincere pleasure. “How was homeroom?”

  “Great.”

  Tom snapped his fingers. “How about ‘boss’?”

  Laughter bubbled through my chest at the sight of Liam’s shock. After two weeks of taunting Liam with variations of I’m-the-boss-of-you jokes, I loved Tom’s suggestion. “It’s perfect.”

  Tom stood taller, a wide smile growing. “Enjoy Ohio History, boss.”

  “What do you think?” I asked Liam.

  He lowered his lips to my ear. “I think you’ll hate it in less than twenty-four hours.”

  Liam followed me through the classroom doorway. We took our seats at the shared table and opened our notebooks. I fiddled with my pencil. “Tom said there’s still no word on the Stians.”

  “None.”

  “Do you think they’re regrouping?”

  Liam hesitated and a wave of emotion rolled off him. He worried about that, too, it seemed. “We have no reason to assume so.”

  “But you’re worried.”

  “Only for your safety and happiness. I wish I could get definitive word so you’d sleep again, but no one seems to know where they are.” He tilted his head, catching my attention. “You need to relax while you adjust to all the changes.”

  “Stop.” I shook my head. “Stop acting like a parent. Please.”

  He tented his eyebrows. “Are you starting a fight with me?”

  “No.” Maybe. I rubbed my eyes. “Tom doesn’t have to follow me everywhere I go. He must have something better to do.”

  “He likes it. He’s honored by the role he plays in your safety, and he takes it very seriously. I couldn’t ask for better peace of mind. If you ever look outside and don’t see Tom—that’s when you’ll know it’s time to worry.”

  “Awesome.”

  He winked.

  The final bell brought the rest of our class inside. Eli Hawk, another Viking, took the seat opposite Liam. Our tables were full and so was the small room. Mrs. Potter had borrowed a few more stools from wood shop and called it good enough. Eli inclined his head in greeting.

  I lifted my fingers.

  Hannah Snyder, my ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, twisted in her seat to eyeball the three of us. Her dramatic blue streak enhanced the golden-blond ringlets hanging over her shoulder. Hannah and I were friends in middle school, before she became a cheerleader and I started swimming every afternoon. Plus, I’d found her with her face in my ex’s lap last summer, about five minutes before he became my ex. So, there was that. She scooted her chair toward her table partner. “You can sit with us, Eli. I don’t bite.”

  I begged to differ.

  Her table partner practically fell off her stool getting away. Most people were intimidated by the Vikings. Instinct warned they were different, dangerous. Our student body felt the same way about Hannah.

  Eli looked at me. His pale green eyes sparkled against dark mocha skin. Runes covered his bald head, invisible to human eyes. The markings identified Vikings, their clan, purpose, or both. I had plenty to learn on the topic.

  I looked at Liam.

  Liam answered for Eli, loud enough for the room to hear. “Turn around, Hannah.”

  She snapped her gum and glared. “I was talking to Eli.”

  Liam’s level expression didn’t waver. “I was answering for him.”

  Eli watched the exchange intently. Human interactions fascinated him. He’d explained to me one night how he spent most of his life at sea. He didn’t spend time in the human world and he’d never been to high school. We were essentially a live reality show to him.

  Hannah huffed. “You can’t answer for him.”

  “He can,” Eli assured her.

  Mrs. Potter clapped her hands. “Let’s get started, class. We’re beginning a new unit. From now until Christmas break, we’ll study the history of our town, origins of the founding members and the purpose behind the design of Zoar, Ohio’s village garden.”

  I pressed my forehead to the cool tabletop. Only two weeks until Thanksgiving break. I could study for midterms nonstop if I didn’t work at Roll With It that weekend. If I applied myself and stayed focused, I could do well on midterms next month. I closed my eyes and pulled in a long, steady breath. I’d survived a Viking apocalypse. I could handle midterms.

  Chapter 2

  My stomach growled on the way to lunch. Blueberry yogurt and a handful of granola only held a girl so long. I gave the already full table of jocks and jock groupies a wide berth and headed for the lunch line.

  Tom flanked me. “You avoid the ones in blue and white. Why?”

  I glanced over one shoulder at the kids in school spirit gear and rounded the corner for a plastic tray at double speed. “I used to be one of them. I dated the big loud one. You remember Kirk? He showed you around on your first day.”

  “You hit him.”

  Not my proudest moment. “That’s the one. The girls with him were all my friends once. It’s extremely awkward now. They don’t like me, and Kirk hates Liam.”

  I grabbed a bottle of water, a plate of que
stionable lettuce, and a hamburger. The rich, buttery scents of chicken noodle soup tempted me, but I couldn’t afford to entertain my carb addiction during swim season. I’d be asleep before I dove in.

  Guilt churned in my tummy. “I shouldn’t have hit him.” Kirk had been especially crude that day, and loud, insinuating we’d done things together we hadn’t. I’d lost my temper and smacked his stupid face. In my defense, I was probably already on my path to transformation from human to Viking leader and was, therefore, not myself. In hindsight, my changes had begun subtly before death. The Hales’ arrival seemed to have set the process in motion, but I hadn’t known it then.

  Tom nodded slowly, seeming to consider my words. “Because there are rules here about hitting the slow ones?” He lifted a finger to his forehead.

  “What?” His meaning sank in and I laughed. “No. Kirk’s not like that. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s as mean as a snake, but his brain’s fine. Pretty much.”

  He furrowed his brow. “Are you certain?”

  “I dated him.” I pushed forward, dropping my tray on the metal rails of the checkout.

  Kirk belched and pounded his chest at a table thirty feet away. Defending his IQ seemed to say a lot about mine.

  Tom moved to face me, standing shoulder to shoulder with the lady manning the register. She’d stopped staring at Tom last week. I gave her credit. He didn’t look like other students. None of the Vikings did. Their postures were too stiff and their speech too formal. They had bizarre accents from millennia of travel, and Tom followed me like a stalker. I tried not to think of what that looked like to everyone else. He waved a hand at my tray. “Is this all you need?”

  He was handsome in a dangerous way. Based on the mix of shame and lust rolling off the lunch lady, she thought so too.

  Tom leaned toward me when I didn’t answer. “Are you well?”

  “Yes. This is all.” I handed the woman a few wrinkled dollars. “Thanks.”

  Tom collected my tray and led me to my usual table. “Why don’t you use the plastic cards I see other children using? It’s safer than carrying paper currency.”

  “It’s safer not to be a woman, but here I am.” Besides, Dad kept my student account filled with money I refused to spend. Cheating on Mom had ruined more than their marriage. I didn’t want anything to do with him.

  Allison waved from across the lunch table from Justin. “Callie!”

  Excitement zipped through me.

  I fell onto the empty seat and wrapped my arms around her. “You’re back? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Surprise.”

  “Hey.” Tom delivered my tray to the table space beside her.

  Justin cracked open a soda and lifted his chin in welcome.

  I squeezed her again. “Are you staying for lunch?”

  “Most of it, I hope. I’m not back officially until Monday. Dad took me over to the community college this morning to talk with the dean. He said I can make up the missed work online. We came here to talk to my morning teachers. They all gave me a free pass on missed assignments, as long as I take and pass the tests. Everyone’s heard my story, and they’re being really decent about the whole I-was-stabbed-in-a-deli-robbery thing.” She shoved a spoonful of chicken soup between her lips and hummed in appreciation.

  Allison split her time between high school and Wells College. Mornings with us, afternoons with them. When we started college together next fall, I’d be a freshman. She’d be a junior.

  I freed my burger from its bun and poked the patty with a fork. No carbs. “You look amazing. How do you feel?”

  Allison dipped another spoonful of soup. She dotted her lips with a napkin. “I’m good. Still a little sore from the surgery.”

  My attention drifted to Tom, who narrowed his eyes on me. We’d discussed this at length. He and Liam were single-minded on the topic. Allison was alive and that was what mattered. They’d forbidden me from dwelling on the fact she’d been hurt. Killed, actually. I pulled in a long breath. Thankfully, that was behind me. Seeing her lifeless body had been my worst nightmare come to life. I’d stepped in front of the sword to save her, but it hadn’t stopped the Stian from cutting straight though us both. She’d died because I failed. I’d have promised anything to save her. I still owed Zeus a favor for restoring her life, but considering he was eternal, I hoped he wouldn’t need me for a while. When he’d stipulated I return the favor someday in exchange for her life immediately, I hadn’t hesitated. The decision had ruined every night’s sleep since.

  Allison tipped her head, examining me with inquisitive eyes before turning to Justin. “When did she get these streaks? They’re a little badass. I like them.”

  Justin raked his gaze over me in painstaking slow motion. I squirmed. “The hair’s part of her makeover, I think. She did that last week. I believe you’re responsible for the clothes, though, so that part’s on you.”

  She beamed. Her thousand-watt grin evoked smiles from everyone at the table. “Back-to-school shopping. We bought all the best clothes on her dad’s credit card after she and Kirk broke up. I’m glad she’s finally wearing them. It took her three months to get them out of the closet. All those warm-ups and hoodies were awful.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s like, enough already. Everyone knows you’re an athlete. No need to dress like one.”

  Justin’s smile widened. “I still like her best in cutoffs and cowboy boots.”

  “No top, then?” Allison sipped a bottle of juice with profound seriousness.

  His dimple sank in. “Whatever she wants.”

  I forked a wad of lettuce and stuffed it in my mouth. I’d had many fantasies about that dimple before Liam’s family came to town and redirected my attention. If it hadn’t been for the Hales, who knew what might’ve happened between Justin and me? Luckily, I’d never acted on any of my sexy thoughts, or things between us would be beyond weird instead of somewhat uncomfortable. Knowing how often I’d thought about Justin naked was one thing. Having seen him naked would’ve been a problem of cataclysmic proportions.

  Justin dragged his gaze back to Allison. “I like the new look. She was always hot, but this is like cowboy porn.”

  My chin dropped. “Cowboy porn?” Did he really think that? I’d given up any hope of controlling my wild goddess hair and no amount of dye affected the crazy platinum shocks that had appeared out of nowhere, streaking my usual mousy brown with punches of light. As for the clothes, dumping Kirk had done wonders for my confidence.

  “Hell, yeah.” Justin shot me a crazy face. “Skirts and riding boots.” He did a wolf whistle. “I’m looking at a confident woman who loves horses and knows my secret handshake. Are you kidding me with that question? I’d take a bullet for you right now.”

  I snorted and rolled my eyes. Justin and I were the stuff people made movies about. Closer than siblings. Better than lovers. Different from any other friends in history. We used to lie on our backs outside his barn and imagine the cosmos had sent him to Zoar so we could be together. “No bullets necessary.”

  He shrugged.

  “And FYI, I don’t love horses.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  Allison sighed. She planted her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “I missed this so much. I missed you guys. I’m jealous every time you’re together.”

  “What?” Justin and I spoke in unison.

  She smiled. “It’s the pain medication. And the near-death experience. I’m going to say what I’m thinking more often.” Her eyes widened. “Hey, what’s the latest on Oliver Hale?”

  Tom stepped forward and took the seat beside Justin. He’d finished his usual trip around the lunchroom perimeter. “What do you mean?”

  Justin jumped. “Holy shit. I didn’t know you were there, man.” His smile fell. “Aren’t you eating? Do you need money, because I have a few bucks.”

  Tom grabbed my discarded hamburger bun and lined a handful of Justin’s fri
es inside it. “This will be enough.” He took a bite and chewed excessively before swallowing. Probably, he hadn’t though that sandwich through.

  Justin handed him a packet of ketchup.

  Tom spread it on top of the bun like icing.

  Allison looked at me and busted out laughing.

  I joined her.

  Justin leaned over the table, lifting his elbow my way. I bumped mine to his the way we’d done in grade school. Our secret handshake had made a comeback last month when I’d muddled through my confusing feelings toward him. It was like saying, no matter what’s happening with us in the moment, we have history.

  Allison pressed a hand to her chest. “You two are so in sync. It’s not natural. You never argue. You finish each other’s sentences. You’re like soul mates. I’m always the third wheel.”

  Justin flicked a crumb over the table. “Wrong. We do fight and you’re never the third wheel.”

  Tom set the nasty sandwich aside. “The condiment didn’t help.”

  I patted his arm.

  He squinted. “To answer Allison’s question, I believe Oliver’s interested in a high school huma—girl.” He gave me an apologetic smile. We’d talked about that too. Don’t call humans human. It was weird. “She’s a junior. What’s her name?”

  I pointed to Allison.

  “No.” She pounded her feet against the floor. “Really?”

  “This is good?” Tom asked.

  Was it good? Probably not. Not until we located the enemy Viking clansmen who’d stabbed us and murdered our boss at the deli.

  I nodded for Allison’s sake. “Yep. She likes him back.” Massive understatement. Allison and Oliver had already hooked up, but when Liam whitewashed her memories about Vikings, he’d erased those of time spent with Oliver, too. He’d given her a chance to choose someone else. Someone safe. Anyone who spent too much time with a Hale ended up in danger. What we hadn’t counted on was the way she was immediately drawn back to Oliver.

  I stage winked at Allison and impaled another forkful of limp lettuce. “Liam’s driving me home today. I’ll see what his little brother’s saying about you.”