I went to follow him, but Jasmine grabbed my arm and jerked me back. She shook her head. I knew she was right. Lucian had provided us with a distraction that we couldn’t squander.
“What are you doing here, boy?” Hephaistos’s voice boomed.
“I have a question about blast cleaning and whether we’re going to do that with our shields.”
“It’s midnight. Why are you asking me this now?”
I peered around the rock again to see Lucian guiding Hephaistos away from the bridge, getting his back turned to us. I gestured to the others to follow me on three. I put up my fingers… one, two three…
We dashed out from the rock, up the steps in two strides, and ran to the dragon forge. The heat from it seared my face. I suspected some of my eyelashes had burned away already. The acrid odor of burning hair filled my nose.
We didn’t have much time. A few minutes at most. Taking in a deep breath, I put my hands out over the fire, having faith they wouldn’t burn to a crisp. Fire and I had a deep understanding. I concentrated on lowering the flames. Slowly, the fire started to recede until there were only hot red glowing coals. Grabbing an iron rod hanging from the side of the force, I pushed the coals to the side to give us a clear path. We were going to have to crawl into the dragon’s mouth. It was the only way.
I set the rod aside and clambered up into the iron forge. The heat was nearly unbearable, but I braced against it, and inched my way deep into the channel. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Jasmine and Ren were behind me. They were, both their faces masks of discomfort. Ren looked pained, and I wondered if it was because he had an affinity to water and the heat and fire were contradicting that.
I kept moving, praying that Dionysus had given me good information. Another few feet and I saw an opening into the surrounding rock. That had to be the entrance to the tunnel. I crawled through the opening, and relief surged over me. It was a tunnel, tall enough that we could stand. For a few minutes, I’d feared we’d be crawling through the rock.
“Now what?” Jasmine asked.
“We walk through the tunnel, and then we should come to a V. We’re supposed to go to the right.”
“I hope Dionysus wasn’t drunk when he gave you these directions.”
I made of face. “Of course not.” But he was. Disgustingly so. By the time he’d finished giving me instructions, he could barely stand up. Lucian and I had to help him back to his room. He sang some bawdy bar song the entire time.
We jogged through the tunnel; time was our enemy. We needed to get there and return in less than six hours. When we reached the V, we went to the right. The tunnel got narrower as we went. I wasn’t claustrophobic, but my heart still picked up a few beats. After another fifteen minutes, I noticed my shoes sloshing in water, and I wondered if we were under the ocean. The thought made my heart race a bit faster.
Another fifty feet and the water rose to our ankles. Another fifty and it was to our knees.
“I don’t like this, Mel.” A tremor ran through Jasmine’s voice.
“We’ll be okay. We got Ren with us. He can make the water go away.” I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Right?”
His eyes were wide, and he didn’t look confident when he said, “Right.”
Finally, the tunnel widened, and as we came out into a cave, the water receded. Now according to Dionysus, we had to climb some rocks to get to a door. To the right was a steep incline. I pointed to it.
“There. We have to climb.”
I started up the slope thinking it was going to be easy, but it wasn’t. There were a lot of loose rocks, and I slipped a few times. Jasmine almost slid all the way back down, but Ren grabbed her arm and hauled her back up. I scrambled the rest of the way up, relieved to see a small wooden door in the rock wall.
I turned the knob and opened the door. We all had to crouch down to go through it. Then we were inside a fairly narrow wooden structure. Tilting my head up, I saw there wasn’t a ceiling, just a column of wood that went up one hundred feet. I reached out and touched the sides; they were rough against my fingers.
“We’re in a tree.”
“Are you sure?” Jasmine looked around.
Then the surface in front of us moved. A diminutive form emerged from the wood, its skin as rough and dark as tree bark, eyes the color of leaves. Tiny branches protruded from its head, almost like a set of deer antlers. It was a Dryad.
It blinked angrily at us and then spoke, its voice as crackly as dried leaves. “Who are you, and what do you want?”
“I’m Melany, this is Jasmine and Ren. We’re from the academy. We need to get to New Athens and Pecunia.”
“No.”
I frowned. “What do you mean, no? We’ve come a long way to get here.”
“No. Go back. I won’t let you pass. It’s too dangerous.”
Frustrated, I smacked my hands down on my jacket. Something hard jabbed into my palm. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small glass vial. I held it up toward the Dryad.
“This is from Dionysus.”
It plucked the bottle from my fingers, its eyes wide and hungry. “Ah, bless Dionysus. You may pass. But be careful, malevolent forces are at work.” It stepped to one side to reveal another door.
I pushed it open and crawled out of the tree on my hands and knees into what was once a park. When I stood, I could see, even in the dark, the destruction the earthquake had caused. The grand oak was the only tree left standing whole and untouched. The rest had either been completely pushed out of the ground, roots splayed in every direction, or broken in half, branches lying haphazardly all over the place.
“Oh, my Gods.” Jasmine swung around, taking in all the damage.
“Do either of you know where we are? I don’t recognize it.” I gazed toward the street running along the park to see if there was a street sign anywhere.
“I’m pretty sure it’s Pan Park.” Ren pointed to the left. “If we go that way, we’ll run into Hegemone Lane, which will take us into the center of New Athens.”
“Yes, I see it now.” Jasmine moved that way, and Ren and I followed.
As we made our way through town, destruction surrounded us. It looked like a war zone. Buildings and houses were in shambles. Power lines hung from poles. Nothing sparked though, as the whole town had been shut down. There was no electricity. And as we moved quickly through the empty streets, we realized we were alone.
When we reached a gated neighborhood, the placard still stood, called Vista Heights, and Ren took off at a run. Jasmine and I ran after him. He stopped in front of a two-story house, or what should’ve been a two-story’ there was only one level left. It was really dark and hard to see anything.
Jasmine found a discarded flashlight, but the batteries were dead. She held it tight, and I could tell she was doing something to it. A few minutes later, the light flashed on. She went up to Ren’s side and held it up for him. He aimed the beam at the front door. Painted in red on the wooden door was a giant X. In the right quadrant, EVAC 5 was painted.
Ren let out a long breath of air. “They got out.”
Jasmine put her around him, and they leaned into each other.
I was happy for Ren, but we needed to keep going. We only have maybe five hours, and Pecunia was at least an hour away. “Jasmine, how far to your house?”
She shook her head. “Not sure. By car Vista Heights would’ve been maybe fifteen minutes from me. Walking? It will take over an hour.”
“Okay, let’s get going then.”
As we headed out of the neighborhood, we came across a car that still looked in shape. It had a few dings, but all the tires were good. I checked inside and saw the key was still in the ignition. We piled in and I wrapped my hands around the steering wheel holding my breath that it started. It whirred a few times, my knuckles turning white from the tight grip I had, but then it kicked over. My sigh of relief was instant. I checked the gas gauge; it was near empty, but at least it would get us closer to Jasmine’s.<
br />
Twenty minutes later, I pulled the car to a stop in front of a condominium complex that was partially intact. Jasmine sprang out of the car and ran around to the back of the building. The damage in the back was worse. Half of some of the condos were completely in rubble.
Jasmine dropped to her knees, her face in her hands. I could hear her sobs. I crouched beside her and wrapped my arms around her, my heart aching for her. “Don’t give up, Jas. I bet your family got out. I saw red X’s on a couple of the doors at the front.”
“Jasmine?”
We looked up to see an elderly black woman with grey curls picking her way over the debris on the ground. Jasmine jumped to her feet and approached her.
“Lolly?” Jasmine hugged the woman. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing. I thought you were at some fancy school.”
“I was. I am. But when I heard about the earthquake, I—”
Lolly rubbed Jasmine’s back. “Your momma and daddy got out. Don’t you worry about that.”
Jasmine sagged in the older woman’s arms, and my heart ached for her.
“What are you still doing here?”
“I’m on my way out. There’s a van just up the street taking the last of us. I wasn’t leaving without my Denzel.”
I could see now the small dog squirming in her arms.
“What happened?” I asked her.
She looked over at me. Her face was haunted. “Still not too sure. I was in bed, when the whole building just shook. I got out, turned on the TV, and saw in some areas that the ground just cracked open. It almost looked like something big pushed out of the earth itself. It was the craziest thing I’d ever seen.” She shook her head. “Then the building shook again. I guess it was aftershocks, at least that’s what they said on the news. Then we were told to evacuate the building. I got out of my apartment just in time before it all come crashing down.”
Jasmine hugged her again, little Denzel yapping from between them. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
“The van’s just up the street. They’ll take us all out of here.”
Jasmine shook her head. “We can’t come with you. We have to go to Pecunia then back to the academy. No one can know we were here, Lolly.”
She patted Jasmine’s face. “All right. I won’t say I saw you, but I may just whisper in your momma’s ear that you’re okay.”
We wished Lolly well, and then we got back in the car and drove out of the neighborhood and on to Pecunia. It was almost an hour drive between towns, and I wasn’t sure we were going to make it ten miles with an empty gas tank. My gut clenched with worry.
I was right; soon, the car puttered then rolled to a stop on the side of the dark, empty highway. I slammed my fist against the steering wheel. “Shit.”
“I guess we’re walking.” Ren got out of the back of the car.
I stayed put as despair took its hold on me. We weren’t going to make it. There was no way we could get to Pecunia and then back to a portal in three hours. I questioned if I wanted to bother going back. They couldn’t expel me if I wasn’t there, could they? I mean, what would be the worst thing that could happen?
But I wanted to go back. I wanted to complete my training and become a demigod. I wanted to see Georgina. And I desperately wanted to see Lucian again. I rubbed my fingers over my lips, thinking about when he’d kissed me.
Frustrated, I leaned against the steering wheel. There had to be a way to get to Pecunia faster. As I leaned forward, the scent of old cheese wafted to my nose. The super energy ball in my pocket.
I reached in and pulled out the bundle. Georgina said it was like drinking ten Red Bulls. It was a pick-me-up. It had to be a worth a try. I unwrapped it and pinched it into three globs. I handed one to Jasmine.
She wrinkled her nose. “What is it?”
“Georgina made it. Supposed to give us a lot of energy and strength. Maybe we can run to Pecunia.”
“Too bad we haven’t had flying class yet. We could’ve flown there.” She opened her mouth and plopped the wad of green dough inside. “Here goes nothing.”
I got out of the car and walked over to Ren and gave him his piece. He put it in his mouth and chewed. He grimaced. “It’s really gross.”
I ate the last piece. It was gross. Tasted like dirt mixed with some dried grass. It was also gritty, as if it actually had some tiny bits of gravel in it. But almost instantaneously after swallowing it, I felt something inside my body. Spreading out from my stomach was a soothing heat. It soaked into every single muscle.
Ren grinned at me. “I feel pretty good.”
Jasmine got out of the car. “Do you guys feel like you could bench press an elephant right about now?”
I nodded. I moved my legs up and down; they felt really strong. Energized. “I think we could run to Pecunia.”
And we did. What would’ve taken us forty minutes to drive and hours to walk, we made it to my town in twenty-five minutes. Every muscle in my body tingled when we came to a stop in my neighborhood. It was amazing what Georgina had concocted. A superpower pellet.
As we approached the Demos estate, my guts churned. The front cast iron gate was still standing, but it hung open, holding on by one fastener. The beautiful trees lining the driveway were all broken and lying on their sides. I had faith the house would be somewhat intact. It was solidly built. But when we crested the hill, I saw I was wrong.
It was in shambles. Not one wall stood erect. It looked like a giant had taken his fist and smashed it. My heart leapt into my throat as I crossed the grounds toward the cottage. I’m sure she got out with the rest of the family. That thought spun around and around in my head like a carousel.
I was so anxious to get there I almost started to run, but I froze when I heard voices coming from the garden. I also heard the squawk of a police radio.
Ren and Jasmine came up beside me, and we all crept over to the hedge that was still in one piece, so we could see what was going on. There were three men dressed in black, and they had flashlights sweeping over the area. They were looking for survivors.
One of them walked over to the pile of stone and wood that would’ve been the cottage, casting his light over the debris. Then his light stilled as did my heart.
“I’ve found someone. I’ve found a body.”
Chapter Fifteen
MELANY
My knees buckled, and I would’ve fallen if Jasmine and Ren hadn’t grabbed onto my arms and held me upright. Before I could form a coherent thought, a loud moan erupted from my throat.
“Noooo!”
Several flashlights swung toward the hedge we hid behind.
“Who’s there?” one of the officers demanded as he walked toward us.
“We need to go.” Jasmine pulled on my arm, but my legs weren’t working. I wanted to beg her to just drop me and leave me here. She wasn’t going to do that. Instead, she grabbed my hand and yanked me with her as she and Ren ran for the road.
The officers were in pursuit.
“Grab them!”
With a renewed energy, I made my legs obey me. We sprinted toward the main gate and the road.
Misjudging the debris on the ground, I tripped over a piece of one of the stone statues and fell hard to my knees. Scrambling up, I spied something shiny near my hand. I reached for it. It was a piece of a rope, a golden rope. I shoved it into my pocket as I clambered to my feet and continued to run.
Georgina’s energy ball still lingered in my system, and I felt it powering up my muscles. I assumed it was the same for Jasmine and Ren, as it didn’t take all of us long to dash through the iron gate and sprint down the road, the officers struggling behind us. They wouldn’t be able to catch up on foot.
After we’d ran for twenty minutes, we stopped and took a breather near the destroyed strip mall I’d seen on the news report.
“Are you okay?” Jasmine put her hand on my shoulder.
I didn’t know how to answer that. I wasn’t okay, but I
knew they both needed me to be if we were going to make it back to the academy. For now, while I didn’t have time to process what had happened, I nodded. When I was alone, I knew I was going to fall apart.
Ren kept watch on the road. “Do you think they’ll follow us?”
We got our answer when two armored cars came roaring down the road with a huge floodlight sweeping the area. We ducked into one of the shops that still had one wall standing.
“Damn it. What are we going to do? They’re the blocking the road to New Athens.”
I gestured to another road, the one leading out of Pecunia. “We could go to Cala. It’s closer. Maybe the portal’s still open.”
“Why would it be?” Jasmine asked.
“I don’t know, but we have to do something.”
Ren’s brow furrowed ,as if he were deep in thought. “If it’s not open, I might be able to create one. Poseidon’s been teaching me.”
We all agreed that was the best course of action, considering we didn’t have many options and were running out of time. Although I was past believing we were going to get back to the academy undetected.
While the two vehicles drove slowly around, we kept to the dark shadows and were able to get out of the area and onto the road. Once on the open highway, we ran as fast as we could, still powered by Georgina’s superpower concoction. She’d make mad money if she ever decided to mass produce and sell it in the health food industry.
We made it to Cala as the sun stained the horizon pink. Dawn was fast approaching, and we didn’t have much time. The first thing I noticed as we made our way to the pier was the town had been seemingly untouched by the earthquake. They still had electricity and all the houses and buildings were undamaged. Considering that Cala was only one hundred miles away from Pecunia and New Athens, it didn’t seem possible they wouldn’t feel the effects in some way.
The dock was eerily quiet when we arrived, not even the waves from the ocean seemed to be making noise. In fact when I stood at the end of pier nine and looked out over the water, it seemed unnaturally calm.
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