Meter went next. Then Shade. Lastly, Hera climbed with the fluid movement of a cat.
I stared up the curved face of the column. A cloud passed overhead, obscuring the column’s summit. Hera disappeared into the cloud when I grasped the rope. Hand over hand, I climbed. One knot at a time. Hera leapt to the next column just as I reached the top. I scrambled atop the platform. And then I looked down.
Huge mistake.
Looking past the platform of the column, the cloud dissipated and the ground melted away from my vision. Certain details became blurry while others sharpened. My stomach cramped and then flipped. I tried looking away from the ground, but it held my gaze. My head refused to turn, eyes refused to close.
“Jump, Zeus. You can do it!” A muffled voice rose from the ground.
The column shook. My entire body tensed and I grasped at the air reflexively. I stumbled, waving my arms wildly.
“Zeus!”
I finally caught my balance.
“Zeus. Kneel down and close your eyes!” someone said.
Yeah, like closing my eyes would’ve helped me at all. I figured out who was talking. Hera. I forced my gaze upward. She leapt back from the third column to the second.
“Close your eyes, Zeus. Do it now!” Hera demanded.
I crouched in my stance and found enough inner strength to close my eyes. My fingers, however, still gripped the edges of the platform like a vise.
“All right,” Hera said, sounding closer than before. Even at that distance, her voice whispered in my ear, to my soul. “Don’t open your eyes yet. Picture something important to you, something that makes you feel good.”
I paused for a few moments. Deep inhales. Slow exhales.
“Do you have your warm and fuzzy picture yet?”
I pried my fingers away from the edge of the platform and rested my hands on my knees as an image of Amalthea appeared in my mind. She stood amidst our beloved herd of goats. A gentle breeze rustled her wild, dark curls. Her broad smile warmed me.
“Ahh, your body language says you’ve found your picture. Better not be some girl from back home.” She chuckled as she said it.
I had to smile at that. Perhaps that’s what she wanted. To relax me. It worked.
“Now,” she said in a commanding tone. “Stand up, open your eyes, and project your picture onto the next platform.”
I tried to stand, but my limbs locked up.
“Easy does it.” Hera’s encouragement floated to me in soft whispers across the expanse. “Stand. Slowly.”
I rose to my feet. My final posture felt crooked. I opened my eyes one eyelash at a time. The yellowish, sparkly stars in my vision dissolved and I saw Amalthea standing on the other platform.
“When you’re ready,” Amalthea said. “Jump to the picture you’ve projected. Do not look down. Jump to me. You have no greater desire than to jump to me.”
Amalthea held her arms outstretched on the next platform. With my chin up, I edged to the back of the platform. An odd combination of fear and exhilaration surged through me. I rocked backward, took two steps, and launched myself over to her. Arms flailing, running on air, I sailed across the space and landed in her arms. Safe.
“Good boy,” she whispered. Her grip tightened. “Who knew you’d be afraid of heights?”
My ears registered the voice as raspy. Amalthea’s had not been. “I’ve got you.” Hera held me, her warmth transferring to me, threading through me. “Now we need to get through the rest of the jumps. Just don’t look down.”
She turned and leapt to the next column like it was nothing. Every nerve ending in my body craved Hera’s support. Following her advice, I projected Amalthea to the next column, and jumped, successful again.
I no longer needed to project Amalthea. I leapt to the next column. And then the next. Until I found myself repelling down the final column. My legs failed to hold my weight once I reached the ground. I crumpled in a heap.
Applause greeted my descent, including Ouranos. I hadn’t even noticed him arrive.
Ouranos strode up to me. “You have more power and ability inside of you than you know. It’s our job to bring it to the surface and then to push you to the edge. And past it. Good job up there.”
“Thank you, Headmaster.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder. “Fear is an illusion, an empty emotion. It’s simply a reflection of an event that has not come to pass, and may never do so. Just focus on the task at hand, what is directly in front of you. And sometimes, the thing you fear the most, is the very thing you must do. Do you understand?”
I nodded, and then drew in a deep breath.
“All right, class dismissed,” Pontus said. “Rest up for tonight’s festivities. Poseidon, come back later for pre-game.”
“Yes, Coach,” Don said. He turned to me. “I don’t know what Hera said to you up there, but that was the gutsiest thing I’ve seen in a while between the two of you. We’ve never seen someone who’s afraid of heights before. I like that you pushed through it, though. It tells me a lot about you. And I’m glad Hera helped you.”
Hera rifled her hands through my hair. “You can thank me later.” She winked as she turned to leave the gymnasium.
New admiration for her welled up within me. An unfortunate whiff of my own body odor wafted past my nose. I wrinkled my face, smelling worse than a wet goat. I strode out of the gym and around back to the boy’s bathhouse. Funky aroma is no way to win friends and influence people.
After entering the large, rectangular vestibule, I removed my sandals. Two sets of sandals lined the wall already. Then I pulled aside the curtain and entered the inner sanctum between two columns into the hexagonal hygiene area. A circular cold water pool rippled in the center of the room. I peeled out of my tunic, and then spread pumice and ashes over my body. I doused myself with olive oil and began to brush off my body with the strigil, a curved metal scraper. Once clean of all the muck, I walked to the back of the bathhouse where there were a collection of twenty individual heated baths, and then lowered myself into the warm water.
I looked my body over, holding my still trembling arms outstretched. Peaks and valleys existed where flat plains had once stood. My veins stretched out like rivers through rolling hills, dark like the Erebus ink from the Agora. Tremors quaked through my limbs as I submerged more into the water up to my neck.
Don and Shade both relaxed in their own baths already. Neither talked, which was fine by me. I still hadn’t the energy for conversation.
The warm water triggered thoughts of Hera’s embrace. Up on the columns, she’d melted away my every apprehension. The fierce look in her eyes filled my mind. Even sweaty and muddy, she still surpassed Tia and Meter in beauty. But she was also still very off limits.
Maybe Hera was just being nice. Every girl here had been incredibly helpful. Tia showed me around campus and assisted with Astro class. Meter guided me through Shapeshifting. Hera took me to the Agora and helped me conquer my fears.
But something else about Hera stirred me. It wasn’t her simple beauty, although she had more than her fair share. It was her substance, her depth. Her dizzying intellect. I loved the way she pushed me to be more than I thought I was. I relaxed and allowed the memories of the Agora and Calisthenics class to embrace me as the water did.
After bathing, I put on a fresh tunic. Shade and Don waited for me in the vestibule. The sun shone bright overhead when we finally stepped out, so it took several moments for my eyes to adjust. But what I saw when my eyes cleared caused my muscles to tense. I inhaled sharply.
“Here comes trouble,” Don said.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Headmistress approached and cast a solemn gaze toward us. Her blue eyes were colder than usual. Metis walked at her side. Her tight, blonde ringlets bounced with each step. But something was off about her. Her downcast eyes spoke volumes.
Her hair parted over her right eye and flopped over to the other side of he
r head, falling over her face the way it had at the wrestling match. Her hand caressed dark marks on her left arm and when she looked up, one of her eyes had significant bruising around it. She turned away and her hair hid it again.
A spark of anger shot through me as I remembered Atlas’ grip on her arm at the wrestling match. I took half a step toward her, but was arrested by her glassy-eyed gaze.
“Boys, I assume you remember Metis,” Headmistress said.
Don and Shade nodded. I managed to not react. At least not visibly. Internally, I ached. Chills crawled up my arms.
Headmistress looked directly at me and continued. “Metis is rejoining our school, and will begin classes anew next term. She remembers where everything is, so an exhaustive tour isn’t necessary, but I at least wanted her to meet Zeus, given that he is new here.”
Shade and Don both turned toward me. I drew a deep breath. Headmistress gazed upon me with a piercing, icy stare.
“But it seems you two are already familiar.” Headmistress looked from me to Metis.
I inwardly cringed. I’d totally forgotten she could read minds.
Metis extended her hand. “Nice to meet you again. Zeus, right?”
“Yes.” I managed a weak smile.
“Let’s welcome her back into the fold, shall we?” Headmistress glared at both Shade and Don. She turned back to Metis. “I’ll show you to your new cabin and then you’re on your own. Oh, and you know we have the wrestling finals tonight, right?”
Metis nodded. The corners of her mouth threatened to turn upward, but never did.
I studied her movements. My heart squeezed and my stomach knotted in frustration as I considered what could have happened to her. I had a hunch, though.
Headmistress glowered at me, and then turned to lead Metis toward the girls’ cabins. Don, Shade, and I walked around the corner of the gym. Once we were out of earshot and mind reading-range, Don turned to me.
“Look, I’m not telling you what to do,” he said. “But if I were you, I’d stay twenty-four-and-a-half paces away from her and whatever her problems are. She is a total drama magnet. Incredibly smart girl, but she likes trouble. And you remember who her boyfriend is?”
Shade laughed. “Yeah. It’s all fun and games till someone gets a dagger stuck in their back, eh, Zeus?”
I cut my eyes at Shade, and then spoke to Don, “Why twenty-four-and-a-half?”
“That just seems like a nice safe distance.”
“Although, if she’s over here,” Shade said, “maybe she’s finally moved on.”
“Let’s hope so. If you talk to her even while she’s over here, he’ll find out and go volcanic. Are you looking for trouble or what?” Don chuckled.
“So the fact that she’s clearly bruised up means nothing to you guys?” I asked.
“Sure, it means she needs to leave Atlas, like yesterday.” Shade said. “But she is kinda cute. I’ll give you that.”
Don clapped Shade on the back. “My boy here doesn’t have to worry, because none of the girls like him anyway.”
“No. That’s where you’re wrong.” Shade rubbed his hands together. “Meter is warming up to me. You’ll see.”
My eyes widened and I laughed internally. From what I’d seen between them, Meter was far from warming.
“In any case,” Don said. “I need some extra helpings of stag meat and nectar today, boys. Got the fight of my life tonight.”
That evening after dinner, I returned to my bungalow to consider tunics for the night’s festivities. I settled on black for no other reason than it looked badass and made my arms look even bigger. I liked my new physique. That nectar must be some wicked drink.
I walked down to the gym as dusk settled. Large urns above the gym sent gaudy flames skyward. Orange and yellow light licked the gathering indigo of nightfall.
A crowd milled outside the gym doors. Some had painted their faces with school colors. Others feigned some of the wrestling moves that were sure to be on display later. I recognized the Muses, but no one else. More people arrived from the Cloudwell area, including visitors from other Pantheon League schools wearing strange clothing. I ambled down to the Cloudwell to watch them all arrive by Hurler or other means.
A massive cloud slowly approached from the west, gliding over the Thessalian valley. It docked right next to the Cloudwell. Diffused green light emanated from the core of the mist. Seven fairly odd looking people disembarked from it, four guys and three girls. Two hulking guys with strange markings and piercings effortlessly hauled a cauldron that was larger than the two of them put together. One of the girls carried a large harp.
They all ascended the Cloudwell. The guy who walked in front almost doubled Poseidon in size. Anger flashed in his eyes as he neared. He rolled his neck and head at random intervals and face-palmed himself repeatedly. I guessed by his swollen appearance and chaotic disposition that he was Don’s opponent, Dagda, from the Celtic Academy on the Emerald Isle.
I followed the odd entourage to the doors of the gym. The crowd parted easily for the mountain of a young man and his fellow travelers. They slipped into the gym and disappeared. Pontus closed the doors behind them. No spectators were allowed in yet.
I stood in the middle of the quad as the throng of spectators grew. A tall man and two young guys I didn’t recognize walked down the path from the Observatory. At that distance I couldn’t make out any details in the dusky light.
Then, Metis rounded another corner. Alone. Ambling. Aimless.
The conversation with Don and Shade replayed in my head, so I remained rooted to my spot. She walked in measured, uneasy steps, rubbing her hands over her arms. The firelight from the flaming urns danced on her golden hair and semi-bare shoulders. Her white chiton looked similar to the one she’d worn when I’d seen her at Othrys Hall. Absolutely alluring, and not even close to dress code.
Wearing a bright yellow tunic, Tia strode up with Meter from the right side of the gymnasium. “Hey, you,” Tia said in her normal chipper manner. She handed me a reed flute.
“Hey, yourself. I’ve seen flutes before, but what’s this one for?”
“To cheer, silly. While they’re wrestling you just blow into it and make noise to support Don. You know, like this.” She wrapped her bejeweled fingers around the flute and blew into the instrument. My ears cried mercy.
“Phew. I swore these things were made specifically to make music,” I said.
“Uhh, yeah.” Tia wiggled her head side to side. “If you pay attention in music class. Music is my hardest subject. So I just play it during wrestling matches. It works.”
“I bet it does.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Meter asked. The gold flecks in her irises twinkled. “You don’t exactly sound like you’re ready to watch Don whoop some rear flank!”
Tia looked around. “Where’s Shade?”
I shrugged.
“What’s the matter?” Tia shook my shoulders and jumped around in front of me. I let out a half laugh.
“Ohhh, I think I know.” Meter extended her leather-clad arm and pointed across the quad. Metis stood at the far end of the thin, imaginary rope her finger cast. “I wonder what she’s doing here. She never struck me as the sports loving type.”
I tried to act like I wasn’t looking at Metis. But, I was truly concerned, and I’m certain my eyes betrayed me.
“Oh wait,” Tia added. “Is she over here now? I hope she’s finally left Atlas.”
“She is going to MO Prep again,” I said. “I saw her earlier with Headmistress.”
Tia raised their brows.
“That’s straight up poisonous,” Meter said. “And possibly dangerous. Though, maybe she’s turned over a new leaf.”
“I have a really good imagination,” Tia said. “But I can’t imagine that.”
“I also saw some bruising on her that I want to ask her about—”
Meter gasped. “Bruising?”
Ti
a spoke with a sharp tone. “Atlas is such a mule’s ass. Maybe you can get her to finally break ties with that boar. Let’s hope.”
“Tough language, girl.” Meter laughed.
“I never liked Atlas.” Tia folded her arms. “Metis can do much better.” Tia winked at me.
The doors to the gym opened with a clang and Professor Phoebe waved everyone in.
“Come on, Tia,” Meter said. “Let’s leave Zeus to his mission.”
As Tia and Meter walked away, a crisp gust swept across the quad, causing Metis to hold down the sides of her chiton against the wind. Great Gaia. I loved the way it clung to her curves.
Metis walked toward the entrance to the arena. I imagined she was lonely and thought about walking up to her. This was my chance to find out the specifics of what had happened. But, then a dark-haired girl approached. They kissed one another’s cheeks and entered the gym together. The other girl looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d seen her. Othrys was my best bet.
I tried not to be Admiral Obvious, following them in and clearly trying to get a closer look. But as I took a step toward their departing figures, noises to my left distracted me. Students from Othrys Hall. In what felt like a blink of an eye, the quad was overrun in blood-red tunics. As boisterous voices howled, I steeled myself for showdown number two with Atlas. There was no doubt he was here amongst the crowd.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The crowd inside the gym pulsed with energy. I snaked my way to the back corner, where Shade and I had arranged to meet, and caught up with him. We ducked inside a stone-framed doorway and descended two flights of torch-lit stairs. At the bottom, we stepped through a huge doorway, over which was carved, The Forge.
Tables of food stretched beneath an array of weapons that hung from the walls. Axes. Swords. Two crossed spears. A few people in red tunics strolled by. For the first time, I noticed that on the chests of their red tunics were two crossed sickles. My pulse quickened for a moment, and then subsided. The red tunics up close made me think of Atlas and his crew. I saw no one we knew, or at least no one I recognized like Money, Epic, and Promo.
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