I stick my hands in my pockets and just nod. “Yeah, I’m okay. Actually, I just found out they’re gonna give Mavis an official trial. So that’s good news.”
Val frowns. “How is that good news? It’ll be a circus and at the end, the gods will still kill her.”
Yeah, that’s exactly what I was afraid of—count on Val to reinforce my fears. But I refuse to agree with anyone predicting Mavis’s death. “Maybe before then I’ll figure out a way to bust her out.”
Val shakes his head. “No way they’ll let her escape a second time.” Finally, Val seems to notice that his pessimistic attitude isn’t helping. “Sorry, Edie. After everything with Larissa.” His eyes go dark and I can see anger simmering there. “My parents were ready to transfer us, but Tina begged to stay. For her résumé. Everyone knows Underworld Academy is just a party school. She wants to be a vampire ambassador and those positions go to Mount Olympus graduates.”
“Oh,” I say, realizing how close I’d come to possibly never seeing Val again. “And what about you? Did you want to stay?”
His eyes lock with mine. “This place is poison. But I’ve got to watch out for—”
“Tina,” I cut in. Feeling disappointed, although I have no reason to be.
“No.” Val’s hand softly cups my cheek. I gasp from the cold and a puff of smoke escapes my mouth. “Not just Tina,” he says.
“Edie!” From behind me, I hear Fern calling. I turn and the ice of Val’s hand slips away. “Wait,” I look back, but he’s already gone.
Fern is out of breath as she approaches. For my sake—and Mavis’s, too—she’s been running herself ragged lately. Literally.
As one of the top healer students here, and one of the most likeable people on the planet, Fern has access to parts of the school that are closed off to me. Namely, Mavis’s prison cell. Fern had volunteered to be the healer in charge of prisoners, and so for the last two weeks she’s been allowed to go in everyday to assess Mavis’s condition.
Fern tries to spare me the worst of it, but from the pained screams that sometimes escape the walls of the cells, it’s obvious that the gods are doing more than just asking questions. Still, each day Mavis writes me a note telling me she’s okay. And for me to be strong. And she ends it with a joke. Yesterday’s was: “Why did the chewing gum cross the road?” She answers the joke the next day on the back of her newest note. At first I thought she was just trying to keep my spirits up, but then I realized this was a way for me to know the notes were coming in order and that she was the one writing them.
Now Fern gives me a hug and at the same time presses a piece of paper into my skirt pocket. I knew she was a spy for the monsters, but I never knew how good she would be at it.
“I just heard the news about the trial,” Fern says with a hopeful smile.
“And luau,” I add wryly.
Her smile falters slightly. “Yes…but I think we can use that to our advantage as well. Tell Mr. Zee that the luau needs to be top-notch and have Merilee research and Themis order the proper supplies. We can drag it out for quite a while that way.”
This is the dose of optimism I needed.
“Come on,” I say to Fern, my spirits lifting as I hook my arm through hers. “Let’s go tell everyone else the good news.”
4
“Welcome back, students! I’m so happy to see all your smiling faces once more. Now, as you know, we’ve had some difficult times the last few months at Mount Olympus Academy. Let’s not focus on the past, though. Instead, turn your young faces to the future. For many of you this is your last year at Mount Olympus and I can already see so many of those futures will be bright.”
That’s how Themis begins her fall term speech. She’s definitely understating the problems by categorizing them as “difficult.” Several students burned to death. Then there was the Spring Fling dance being invaded by monsters. And finally this summer’s disastrous raid which left even more students dead. If things keep going this way, they’re gonna need new brochures that read, “Mount Olympus Academy: We Sure Hope You Survive Until Graduation.”
There are definitely fewer students at this all-campus speech than last term. Not just because of the deaths. I’ve heard that parents are pulling their kids out left and right. MOA was the premier school for paranormal offspring. Being taught by actual gods is a pretty good selling point. Select students getting chosen for the gods’ official army after graduation was the cherry on top. But a diploma isn’t much good to a dead kid.
As Themis goes on about how things are totally gonna be super great and awesome from here on out, Fern sidles up to me and presses a piece of paper into my hand.
Speaking of Mr. Zee, as Themis wraps things up, he comes to the stage. His gait is a little unsteady, like a drunk wandering home. And he looks…wrong somehow. I squint and get a better look.
“Fern,” I ask. “Is Mr. Zee wearing foundation?”
She takes a hard look herself, then has to cover a smile. “Oh my gods,” she says. “He is crap at blending. His neck doesn’t match his face.”
Three healers accompany Mr. Zee. Metis, a goddess and the head healer, Hepa, and a snooty looking warlock I always try to avoid. Mr. Zee tugs a chain and Mavis stumbles on the dais behind him.
“No,” I breathe.
Fern grabs my arm. “Don’t freak out. You won’t help Mavis or yourself.”
I calm the fire rising in my belly. Mavis looks bruised and battered, but at least she’s alive. She has a gold collar that glows eerily. Zee is using the chain like a leash, pulling her in. She falls to her knees before him. Nico stands behind her, his face stoic.
Apparently he’s making up the credits he missed for the year he was imprisoned by doing an independent study class with Kratos. I’ve heard it’s called, “How to Keep Someone Alive Until You’re Ready to Kill Them.” Tina was actually the one who told me. Although not gleefully, as she once would have. After she was sick over the summer, we sorta bonded. Also, like all the vampires, she hates Nico. So after telling me about the class, she added, “Whenever you decide to kill him, I’m in.”
Themis grimaces as she stares at Mavis. “Honestly, is this necessary?” she asks.
“I’m not letting this traitor out of my sight,” Mr. Zee says. He’s not slurring his words as much, so he must not be sloshed. Maybe he’s taking this seriously at last. “Not until her trial…ridiculous notion that that is. I should just fry her with a lightning bolt and have done with it.” Or not. I gasp.
“He won’t.” Fern assures me. “There’s too much pressure to do this the right way. He’s just making a show of his power.”
I will my thoughts to Mavis, to let her know I’m here and to try and give her strength. For a brief moment her eyes catch mine and I see a look of defiance before she bows her head again. Nico also catches my gaze and gives me a little nod. I force myself to nod back.
Mr. Zee orates loudly about the grand history of Mount Olympus and himself. Mostly himself. He uses the word “pure” so often it starts to lose meaning.
“Oh no, they’re doing it now,” Fern whispers.
“Doing what?”
Her eyes meet mine as she urgently pulls me closer. “All the Moggies are gonna be outed. If you even suspect you might be one, you need to get out of here. Now.”
My heart speeds up. I honestly don’t know if I’m a Moggy or not.
My parentage is a huge mess. I was raised by two Mount Olympus Students who took me and Mavis because our lives were in danger. I still don’t know why. But those students weren’t my birth parents. I still haven’t been able to figure out who my bio-dad is, but my mother’s portrait hangs in the Hall of the Dead. Adrianna Aspostolos died in childbirth. Having me.
Adrianna was a shifter, but not a dragon. There’s never been a dragon before me. So it’s pretty certain that some sort of weird mix created me. Which would, in fact, make me a Moggy. I don’t even understand why the whole Moggy thing even matters, except that Mr. Zee has a bug up
his butt about it. As the head of Mount Olympus Academy, and king of the gods, Mr. Zee lives by his own rules. And then makes the rest of us live by them too.
Frantically, I crane my neck, looking back toward the two exits. Two vampires stand at each door. Almost as if they’re blocking them. Each is shadowed by a healer.
I suck in a breath. This was planned.
I lean toward Fern. “There’s no way out. What’s gonna happen?”
“A magic spell. Only a select few have been working on it. Somehow it will detect and mark all Moggies. I’m not sure how.”
I bite my lip, thinking hard. “Could I shield myself somehow?”
Fern grips my hands. “Yes. That’s it!”
“Why is there so much whispering over here?” Greg asks, sidling up next to me. Cassie is behind him.
“Is it about Mavis?” Greg looks to her on the dais, where she kneels in humility.
“It’s disgraceful,” Cassie says. “She hasn’t even had her trial yet and Zee is parading her around in chains.”
“No, Edie’s in trouble and we need a distraction,” Fern explains. “Now!”
“Oh!” Cassie’s eyes widen. “I volunteer.”
I can’t help but smile despite Mr. Zee’s voice growing louder and angrier as he launches into the evils of Moggies. Cassie was in bad shape after being kidnapped and then witnessing the slaughter of monsters during our mission to retrieve her. But after helping rescue that baby manticore, she seems like her old self. But even more so, because now she’s got this whole social justice warrior attitude.
“And Greg will help too,” she adds.
“Of course, I’ll help, Edie,” he agrees with no hesitation. Cassie grabs his hand and pulls him through the crowd.
“Hurry!” Fern hisses after them.
Nervously, we turn our attention to Mr. Zee.
“There’s been enough student deaths. I guess. That’s what Themis says and honestly, I haven’t had time to personally look at the numbers myself.” He blinks a few times and seems to lose focus, gazing out into the middle distance. Hepa steps forward with a cup of ambrosia. Grabbing it from her, Mr. Zee gulps it down greedily. When he finishes there’s a new light in his eyes. He tosses the goblet over his shoulder and Hepa runs to fetch it, shooting Mr. Zee a nasty glare.
Jordan gives a wolf howl as she bends over to get it, which is really inappropriate since he’s a panther. He’s been trying to get back into her good graces ever since the no-interspecies dating rule last semester made him question whether or not he should be attracted to her. Which in turn, had made her question if she liked him at all. Now that she was most definitely unavailable, Jordan was hopelessly in love.
“We will not kill our own students,” Mr. Zee says, as if that were somehow redeeming. “Even if they’re Moggies and as such a threat to us all. Myself included.”
There’s a gasp from the crowd. The prophecy hasn’t yet become common knowledge. We got the scoop early only because Cassie’s mom, Merilee, is head of Archives and the one who discovered it.
“Yes, an ancient prophecy has come to light that forewarns of my own death at the hands of a Moggy.” There are murmurs and shaking heads. Breathing hard, Mr. Zee grips the sides of the lectern tightly. “It’s alarming, I know. Which is why we need to know who the Moggies are so that they can be watched at all times. I hereby deputize every pure-blooded student to stop a Moggy if they are acting suspiciously. If you see something, kill something.” He clears his throat loudly.
“If you see something, say something,” Themis corrects, her voice easily carrying.
Mr. Zee swivels to glare at her. “You say too much, woman.” He turns back to the crowd and the sudden movement seems to make him dizzy. “There’s too much talk and not enough action. The Moggies in our midst cannot stay hidden. We will have their names. We will know their faces. Starting—”
“I love you, Greg. I love you and I don’t care who says it’s wrong!” Cassie stands on a chair in the middle of the room. Greg in bat form flaps around her. “Kiss me, you batty boy!”
Greg squeaks, shifts into human form, and throws himself at Cassie trying to look passionate. They collide awkwardly.
“My nose!” I hear her yelp in pain. And then they both topple off the chair and disappear into the crowd.
At the podium, Mr. Zee’s chin rests on his fist. Themis is at his side, whispering something in his ear.
“Now,” Fern says to me. Chanting, she circles her arms around me and raises them over my head and then brings them all the way down to the floor at my feet. A feeling of warmth envelops me. Like I’ve been wrapped in a fuzzy blanket.
Meanwhile, Mr. Zee roughly shoves Themis away. “We’re doing it now! It’s my life at stake!” He gestures to the waiting healers behind him. “What are you waiting for? Do the thing!”
I’m safe, but panic fills me regardless. “Fern,” I grip her arm. “What about Tina? And Val?” Fern’s eyes widen a little. She knows that Tina is a Moggy after last semester when Tina caught the shifter plague. And since Val and Tina are twins, I’m sure she did the math and figured Val was a Moggy as well. But we never talked about it.
She gives me hand a quick squeeze. “Stay here. I’ll try to reach them.”
I watch as Fern begins to push through the increasingly agitated crowd, feeling helpless. At least Val and Tina are together; I can see them with a few other vampires at the other end of the room. I try to catch their attention. Tina is standing straight and tall, staring at what’s happening on stage with her chin lifted high. I recognize it as her battle stance. She knows she’s about to be outed.
Val, however, turns. His eyes meet mine.
“Run!” I mouth at him.
In response he shakes his head lightly, while a mocking smile lifts the right corner of his mouth. Then he turns forward again, his back straight as Tina’s.
I can’t see Fern anywhere in the crowd and it’s not looking like she’ll make it in time.
On stage, the healers each uncap a jar. The ones blocking the exits do the same. Almost immediately, a glowing green mist is everywhere. Around me, students breathe it in and then exhale a darker shade of green. Except some exhale red. The color hangs in the air above them, like an arrow pointing at its victim.
Both Tina and Val have red overhead. They lock eyes, and hold hands. Exposed now, for everyone to see. I know Val—he’s never been as absorbed with the (false) tale of how pure their vampire blood is. But Tina was obsessed with proving how pure she was…even though she knew she wasn’t. With shifter and nymph blood in both of them, the twins have been found out.
Beside me a breathless Fern reappears. “I’m sorry, Edie. I couldn’t reach them in time.”
“Thanks for trying,” I say, as we scan the room, seeing who else has the red over their heads.
I count one other vampire. Several shifters. And a handful of healers. Beside me Fern doesn’t look surprised. “Witches have always had more of a free love type of lifestyle,” she says.
The green mist surrounds Zee in a swirl, seems to caress Nico, then wafts over to Mavis, turning red above her head. Shit. I had hoped…but I don’t know if Mavis is my bio sister or not. We know we have different bio moms, but have no clue who either of our dads are…or if they’re the same person.
Zee glances over at her. “Not very surprising. Moggies can’t be trusted.”
The mist is already starting to dissipate—the red and green both.
“That wasn’t so bad. Is that it?” I ask. Sure, those students will probably be treated poorly by the more enthusiastic Zee supporters but…
Even as Fern shakes her head, a new god takes the stage. Artemis. She’s actually one of my favorite teachers. She’s tough, but fair. But right now, she has a flock of ugly birds behind her. They look like mutant vultures, small and twisted and evil. About the size of a large parrot, their beaks are bronze and the feathers have a metallic gleam.
“Oh gods,” Fern says. “Stymphalian
birds.”
“Not a thing I know, Fern.”
Her eyes meet mine. “Man-eating birds. Artemis keeps them as pets, because, well because…Artemis.”
“There she is, my favorite bird lady,” Mr. Zee booms. “Quickly now, before the trails disappear.” He gestures to Artemis.
She strides forward and then with a single uplifted hand, the birds take to the air. Each one finds the lingering remnants of red and hovers over it.
“Moggies,” There is a note of regret in her voice. “These birds will be your constant companions for the rest of your time here. They will do you no harm so long as you obey curfew, stay within your assigned areas, and never display a threatening attitude to any gods or your more pure students.”
Voices of outrage swell, with ones raised in jubilation mixed in as well.
Yep. It’s gonna be another great semester at Mount Olympus Academy.
5
Turns out Stymphalian birds shit. A lot.
I get back to my dorm room to find my roommate, Tina, sitting on her bed, staring down the bird who is perched on the footboard. Just as I walk in the door, the bird lets loose another stream of gluey gray shit.
“Oh my gods,” I say, covering my nose. “That’s awful!”
Tina doesn’t even respond; she’s giving the bird the stink eye. But he’s definitely winning any competition involving stink.
True to its mission, it doesn’t even look at me. He’s honed in on Tina, his eyes locked onto her for the rest of her time at the Academy. The only living thing in the room that even acknowledges my presence is Vee—Tina’s self-aware Venus Fly Trap plant. She turns her head towards me, then back to Tina, clearly alarmed at her owner’s predicament.
“It’ll be okay, Vee,” I say to it, walking over to the window. I crack it to let some of the stench out, and I swear Vee gives me an up-nod of thanks.
“Did you have much trouble getting back to the dorm?” I hazard the question.
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