The Forest Gods' Reign

by Alexandria Hook

  Zeus immediately raised his eyebrows but narrowed his stormy eyes at me in concern, knowing I was almost never hesitant in making a decision. “Is there something else you would like to share with the rest of us?” he questioned, guessing there was more to the story, and murmurs about me were immediately passed along among the other gods.

  Once again, I risked a glance toward the dark-haired boy, whose bright eyes were still innocently wide and unblinking, which is how I realized that he didn’t know much about the whole prophecy at all. And I was not planning on enlightening him.

  I tore my eyes away from Alec’s, after they had lingered on him just a moment too long, and with an indifferent shrug, I lied, “No, there is nothing left to be shared.”

  After I heard Alec let out a sigh of relief and noticed him nervously tug at the collar of his shirt, silence ensued for a minute or two longer, until Demeter piped up, “Okay, that’s fine, but what are we going to do with him?”

  More whispers were exchanged, but the answer seemed easy enough to me. “We’ll leave him with Pan and Persephone. Pan’s hideout is probably the safest place in the forest,” I reasoned, and the rest of the gods’ faces brightened again.

  Artemis was the only one who didn’t seem to agree. She complained, “That just means I’ll have to hunt even more than I already do. As much as I love hunting, Athena, I have to leave some food for the natural predators.”

  Apollo only snorted and told his twin to quit being so whiny. When we had all finally agreed on leaving Alec with Pan, who had been keeping an eye on Persephone since she had been released from Hades, and had piled some rocks on top of Edmund’s body, we headed over to his pool to introduce them. As usual, Pan was lounging on his rock throne and eating purple grapes, while Persephone was swimming in the small but deep pool with some water nymphs. Unsurprisingly, all of their jaws dropped when they saw Alec.

  After Zeus filled them in, Persephone politely greeted Alec. The poor human was having trouble restraining himself from staring at the pale-skinned goddess, who was still wet from swimming and who was wearing nothing but a bikini handmade out of leaves.

  I, however, was keeping a close eye on Alec. He was still frowning over his father’s death, but he seemed guiltier to me than sad because of the way he was nervously running his fingers through his dark hair. I made a mental note of it.

  “So, Alec, do they have monsters where you live? Or was this the first time you saw one?” Poseidon asked as he sat down on the damp grass by the river.

  Leaning on a pine tree, Alec crossed his tan arms and replied slowly, “Back home, there were certain people called the Warriors whose main job was to find and kill any monster that came too close to the base camp. I was just starting out as a Warrior-in-training, so, yes, this was the first time I’ve actually been outside the camp and encountered a monster up close and personal. My father and I saw a few more from a distance on the way here, but we managed to stay away from them.”

  Poseidon nodded, but he quickly followed up with another question, “Do a lot of people get killed in your area? Because every human from the town who comes into this forest ends up dead. We were actually the first to survive, but we know now that we’re gods, not humans.” When Zeus nudged him in the side, Poseidon added, “Sorry about your dad, by the way. Too bad we couldn’t get there sooner.”

  But Alec didn’t seem to hear the apology. “That’s strange,” he mused. “Monsters are usually attracted only to people with the Sight, or people who know the truth about the Greek myths and who can see monsters for what they really are—that includes young children who don’t know about the myths but believe in monsters. So I guess there aren’t too many deaths where I live, especially since no one goes outside of the Knowing base camp very often.”

  He paused, and I thought back to when the Monster Watch and I went into the woods for the first time. Personally, I was betting the monsters attacked all the humans who came into the forest because they felt that their home and maybe even Hades, their leader, were being threatened. I certainly couldn’t think of any other reason.

  “Why?” Apollo cut in. “What do people without the Sight see when they look at a monster?”

  Alec shrugged and said honestly, “I have no idea what people without the Sight see. But I do know that normal teens and adults don’t even notice monsters because they have been blocking them out of their minds for thousands of years now, ever since humans chose to stop believing in the Greek gods. I’m surprised you do not know this.”

  We all lapsed into a state of awkward silence, digesting this information. Even Ares was tapping his chin, thinking—that was something he didn’t do very often—and then he inquired, “How many people are in the Knowing? You know, just in case we need extra soldiers.”

  I should have guessed that would have been what Ares was going to ask. All he thought about was war.

  Alec frowned thoughtfully, then answered, “A couple hundred, give or take a few.” Ares nodded, and I knew all the other gods were doing the math in their minds and realizing that Alec’s Knowing camp had almost twice the number of people who lived in our hometown.

  A few minutes later, after the ongoing flow of questions had finally stopped and Alec had settled in a little bit, the rest of us gathered our weapons and started to head out. I was about to begin walking back with the rest of the gods, but I heard Alec softly whisper to me in Greek, “Lady Athena, I wanted to thank you for killing the Minotaur.” I just turned around and nodded at him in acknowledgment.

  Then, taking advantage of the opportunity, I asked, “You are feeling guilty. Why?”

  Alec only raised his dark eyebrows, not looking very surprised that I had figured him out. “You read people well. My father used to tell me that,” he said wistfully.

  I gave him a dubious look. “That didn’t answer my question.”

  He gave me a weak smile in return, then sighed and finally answered me, “The Oracle told me to come alone. But my father … he always wanted to meet the gods more than anything, and he insisted that he would go, that everything would be fine. He thought we might even be able to have one of you bless the family after all our troubles …” His voice slowly trailed off, and he shook his head before finishing, “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have let him come. This was my quest, not his.”

  Then he began staring at the ground, and I felt terrible for him, so I awkwardly put my hand on his warm shoulder. Perhaps that was an action too forward, too inappropriate for me to have done, but it was too late to take it back. He looked back up and his blue eyes met my gray ones, but this time they looked fierce, not sad. I could tell he was a fighter.

  “Will you train me, Lady Athena? I need to know how to defend myself,” he asked, his tone flat.

  I frowned, but reluctantly nodded after he gave me his most pleading look. I couldn’t help it. Aphrodite was right; he was cute, for a human.

  At last, I turned around to leave him, but acting on reflex he grabbed my arm to stop me. Blushing with embarrassment, he pulled his hand away and whispered, “Wait. Can I ask you one last thing?” When I nodded, he continued seriously, “You said you think I’m dangerous. Why? I’ve done absolutely nothing to earn your distrust.”

  After hesitating a moment, I answered him cryptically. “That is a story which I believe should be told at a later time.”

  I left Alec behind with a very confused expression on his face and set off toward my home, though I heard his voice echo once again through my mind. Please. It was a prayer, the first I had ever received from a human. But I did not send him anything in reply.

  I sighed as I lazily kicked my way through the forest undergrowth, not bothering to try to be quiet to avoid any monsters. Anything that came my way would be a welcome distraction that would only delay my arrival at home even further. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t run into any more monsters. Because it was well known throughout the forest that my friends and I were gods, we weren’t bothered by monsters as much as w
hen we were younger, though that didn’t stop us from making a sport out of fighting them. Even so, I didn’t run into any nymphs or satyrs or any of the rest of the gods, which meant that my friends were probably farther ahead of me and on their way to the Fire Pit for lunch. Feeling slightly lonely, I sighed as I hid my spear, shield, and armor in a hollow log at the edge of the trees.

  I sighed once again as I stepped out into the bright sunlight and walked across the street toward my gray house, its paint just starting to peel near the roof. Looking at the unkempt yard full of weeds in front of it reminded me that I needed to mow the lawn, a task that I usually tried to ignore. Then again, I thought the house’s dilapidated appearance matched what usually went on inside perfectly. Maybe I just didn’t want another façade in my life.

  As I walked through the front door, I could hear voices coming from the kitchen. All talking stopped immediately as I strode into the kitchen, and I found five different sets of eyes staring at me. Finally, my mother put her hand to her head and spoke in a raised voice. “Where have you been? It’s almost one, and I told you to be here at eleven thirty! The one time I ask you to be on time for something, you’re late. Why is that?” But I just smoothed back my hair and tugged impatiently at my long side ponytail, waiting for my mom to stop yelling at me. If only she knew the things I went through every day …

  Eventually, everyone else left the room to talk some more, and I had the chance to make myself a grilled-cheese sandwich and eat in peace. Needless to say, I savored every second of the silence. I would probably be forced to socialize with my cousin Katie for the rest of the day, after all.

  When I finished my lunch, I sneaked upstairs easily, without anyone noticing, and sat down on my bed to read a book. I was in the middle of a chapter when I heard the door creak open, and my cousin walked into the room. I just kept reading and tried not to look too disappointed.

  Katie shot me a fake smile and tied her blonde hair up in a ponytail as she said perkily, “So what are we going to do today? I think we should go see that new movie. You know, the one with Selena Gomez.”

  I only groaned, thinking, Why stay inside on a beautiful sunny day like this? If it was my choice, the rest of the Monster Watch and I still would have been in the woods, playing reverse hide-and-seek.

  When I didn’t answer her right away, Katie yanked the book out of my hands and teased, “I don’t get it. How can you read so much and still be in tenth grade?”

  I only glared at her. Apparently, she didn’t realize that some of the most valuable lessons are the ones learned on the street (or in the forest), not in classrooms.

  “I’ll have you know that I chose to stay behind in school to be with my friends. And anyway, I’m taking college classes online,” I snapped at her. But even college classes were no match for someone who knew almost everything.

  “Fine. You can work on your stupid homework for physics or art history or whatever the hell you’re taking later, but right now, my mom’s driving us to see that movie.” Katie had to literally drag me out of the room, and I sighed, realizing that I didn’t have much of a choice. I would have to finish that book later.

  Chapter 7:

  THE FOURTH OF JULY

  I woke up the next morning bright and early at six-thirty. Quickly and quietly, I sneaked downstairs, careful not to wake up Katie, who was fast asleep on an air mattress in the corner of my room, by the cluttered bookcases. Not a soul was awake yet in my house, and it was so serene and quiet that I could hear the surprisingly comforting sound of Connor playing his guitar from his house next door. I sighed and wished it were a normal summer day, one filled with rounds of reverse hide-and-seek from dawn until dusk. But it wasn’t, and so I knew that Zach and Luke were probably sleeping in, leaving me to tackle my own problems.

  I was outside in my backyard shooting at an empty Coca-Cola can with my BB gun when my cousin walked out of the house about a half hour later, but I ignored her as I concentrated on my sights. Ping! A BB pellet hit the can and sent it flying a few feet backward in the grass.

  Katie sighed from behind me, smoothing out her blonde hair, and asked, “Why are you up so early?”

  “Did I wake you up? Oh, I’m so sorry,” I replied sarcastically. I fired another shot. Ping! The can flew backward another five feet. The shiny can now lay more than fifty feet away. Ping! Sixty. Ping! Seventy.

  Katie looked impressed. “You’re a good shot,” she stated, and I just shrugged because I’d had lots of practice, and I’d hit targets a lot farther away before. Then, without saying another word, Katie sat down on the back porch steps and watched me shoot for a while. For once, I actually managed to tolerate her presence quite easily, and she didn’t seem too annoyed with me either.

  About an hour later, my mom called from the kitchen, “Breakfast!” And together, Katie and I raced back inside. While we ate, I tried to engage in polite conversation with my aunt and uncle, but my mind was elsewhere. Looking out the window, I watched with jealousy as Connor, Zach, and Luke headed into the forest together, probably on their way to check in with Pan, Alec, and Persephone. Zach saw me looking at them from across the street and waved at me with a smile, which only made me feel even worse.

  Sighing to myself, I looked down at my plate and hoped Alec would forgive me for not training with him for the next few days, because I realized that I had forgotten to tell him about my other plans. Then I tried to tell myself not to feel guilty, that I didn’t care if Alec was mad at me or not, but it didn’t work, which was strange because I hardly knew the boy at all, and I had never felt that way about anyone before. So I simply stabbed my fork into my pancake in anguish, feeling conflicted and itching to get my hands on a monster, just so I could have the satisfaction of sending it down to Hades.

  Of course, no one else in the room noticed my violent assault on the pancake. Instead, they continued to talk about the best tourist attractions in Paris. Suddenly, Katie’s cell phone rang, and she ran upstairs to answer it while I wondered why she would have her phone on during breakfast anyway. It was considered rude in my house. Luckily my mother excused me from the table around the same time, so I went outside to sit in the antique rocking chair on the front porch.

  I sat quietly there on the porch, listening to the birds sing joyfully in the warm summer heat of the Woods. If I listened very closely, I could just barely hear Pan screaming from inside the forest, trying to scare the living daylights out of whatever god, nymph, satyr, or monster was nearby. I smiled. Who knew such a terrible shriek could be so comforting?

  I was just wondering how long Katie was going to talk on the phone when Josh and Cole ran by Zach and Luke’s house next door. They grinned and waved when they saw me, and then they quickly jogged their way up the street to meet me.

  “Where’s the rest of the Monster Watch?” Cole asked, his caramel-colored hair shining in the sunlight. Still angry that I wasn’t allowed to go into the forest, I just pointed across the street toward the edge of the trees, not saying anything, but Cole nodded in understanding.

  Josh ran one hand through his short, curly brown hair and grinned. “So where’s your cousin? I heard she’s hot. But not as hot as you or Alicia or Becca, of course.” I frowned and stuck my leg out, playfully kicking Josh in the shin. “Hey!” he exclaimed, and Cole laughed, his brown eyes twinkling.

  Then I heard the screen door creak open behind me, and I swiveled my head to see Katie walk out confidently, smoothing down her black miniskirt. Intrigued, Cole and Josh raised their eyebrows, but I just rolled my eyes. “Oh, Ashley, are these your friends? I didn’t know you had any,” she joked, but I chose not to answer her, so she introduced herself to the two boys, flipping her hair flirtatiously all the while. I, on the other hand, closed my eyes to block out the rest of the conversation and opened them only when I heard Katie say goodbye. Unfortunately, it was just in time to see Cole wink at me as he and Josh trotted away, and after that, he kept taking glances over his shoulder at me every few strides. I si
ghed, thinking that boys just complicated life.

  “I think that one guy, Cole, likes you,” Katie stated the obvious, leaning up against the front of the house as she watched the two friends disappear down the road again.

  I frowned. “Yeah, so what?”

  When she turned to face me, she looked like I had just slapped her in the face or something. “So what? What do you mean ‘so what’?! You need to go for it, girl!” she exclaimed, playfully punching me in the shoulder, and I rolled my eyes again, knowing that Katie would never understand my reasons against dating and love in general. I was Athena, after all. I was supposed to be a virgin goddess and never marry, just like Artemis and Hestia. Therefore, I saw absolutely no point in dating, especially not Cole. Don’t get me wrong, he was a nice guy, but as the years had passed, I realized he could never know the other half of my life.

  Katie shook her head and tied her silky hair up into a ponytail as she changed the subject and ordered, “Come on, we’re going shopping.” I only groaned, staying in the chair, but Katie took my hand and yanked me out of my seat. “Ugh, you’re just like my friend from school,” she complained, and I bit my lip to keep myself from smirking as we headed for her mother’s car in the driveway.

  Three hours later, we had finished shopping for the day, and Katie’s mother had just dropped us off at the Fire Pit for lunch. I was desperately hoping none of my friends would be there, but when there is only one restaurant in the entire town and it happens to have the best lemonade in the world, it’s a guarantee that you are going to know everyone in there. Sure enough, I glanced over and saw Zach, Luke, and Connor sipping lemonade in our usual booth. Luke saw me too, but he didn’t wave. Not really wanting Katie to embarrass me in front of any other friends, we sat down at a two-person table near the front of the restaurant.

  Meanwhile, Zach and Luke’s mother, Martha, walked up to take our orders, holding a small black notebook and brushing off her left hand on the dark red apron she was wearing. “Hello, Ashley. What can I get you today?” she asked, smiling at me.