My Ex From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy) (11 page)

8

It takes two to tangle

η
’

We ran for our lives. Instinct and adrenaline fueled me. Sometimes Theo was in the lead, sometimes I was. But we both seemed to have the same destination.

Many twists and turns down the hallway under the throne room and we burst out through a door onto the grounds of the palace, cutting off Hypnos’ and Thanatos’ pursuit and buying us a few critical seconds.

The earth shook violently under our feet as we fled. Theo grabbed my hand and we continued at breakneck speed. About a hundred feet ahead of us was a large, ornate fountain. “Our way out!” he yelled, as we tried not to be upended by the rolling ground.

Only eighty feet to the fountain when a burst of flame hit my sleeve.

“Theo!”

“Move!” he ordered.

I bashed at my flaming arm as best I could while sprinting. The sky above us had filled with Pyrosim. Fire rained down on us, fast and furious. I could feel it sparking in my hair.

Thirty feet to the fountain. “Dive!” Theo shouted, pulling on my hand. “But don’t look back!” He pulled me down in an action hero roll.

As we hit the ground, I was aware of a giant shadow soaring over me, landing somewhere at my back.

Before I could figure out what it was, the ground in front of me burst into flame from a direct hit from above. With no way to switch direction, momentum carried me right through it. Only the fact that I was still rolling and therefore smothering the fire saved me from becoming a one girl tiki torch.

Theo violently yanked me to my feet milliseconds later. I risked a look over my shoulder and screamed involuntarily.

On our heels was Cerberus, the hound of hell. He had bounded over us and now turned back in our direction for the hunt. As tall as he was wide, he was a canine killing machine.
Hel-lo
, Cujo.

Each of his three heads displayed massive fangs as they snarled and barked at us. His tail was scaly and spiked like that of a dragon and his massive paws ended in sharp claws. Every inch of the beast promised death.

“Told you not to look,” Theo yelled.

For a girl who could barely run around the track, I may have broken some Olympic records. I could feel Cerberus’ hot breath getting closer. I braced myself for the feel of his jaws ripping into me and crunching me to bits. By this point, I’d totally forgotten about the fire.

One of Cerberus’ heads snatched the back of my jacket. I knew this was the end. But by some fluke of luck, the ground quaked so violently that I was flung from his grasp just long enough for Theo to tumble us into the water in the fountain, through the gateway, and back to the school.

We were safe.

We were also filthy, ragged, and scorched. None of which mattered, because when I saw blue sky above my head, I felt reborn.

Also wet, because we were laying in the creek. My jeans had shrunk in the cold water. Which was funny since they should have expanded from the two tons of creek it felt like they’d absorbed. “I know we should get up but—” I was cut off by the creek bed bucking beneath me.

“The Underworld rages,” Theo said as we crawled onto the shore to wait out the earthquake. Normally I would have found this terrifying but after our little adventure, a minor natural disaster was a step in the right direction.

Cerberus’ heads popped through, spraying water as they lashed out at me. Oh. Thing wanting me dead. Go back one step.

His front half emerged from the creek.

Without thinking, a ribbon of light snaked out of my left hand and, with one whipping motion, hefted a boulder from the creek bed at him. It cracked him hard enough to knock him back into Hades.

Cerberus disappeared and the rumbling stopped.

Finally, all was quiet.

I got to my feet. “Nice stealth moves there, buddy. Real safe. Remind me not to travel with you again any time soon.”

“We got the pendant, we’re alive. Pretty successful trip if you ask me.” Theo looked at me hopefully. “Did retrieving it trigger your goddess memories?”

I shook my head. “No. Sorry.”

“I had hoped …” He frowned. “You always wore the sapphire. I thought if you had it back, it would help key you in to your Persephone self.”

“I do feel better for having it,” I assured him. “It just didn’t help me remember anything. Is there anything else it does?”

Theo shrugged. “Only you would know that.”

“Even if the sapphire is just a pendant with no special powers, my mom gave it to me and for me, that makes it priceless. Plus, Hades all busy being poisoned means he forgot to take it away from me. Of course, there is still the major downside that
we’re
the ones framed for it.” I gasped. “Is Hades dead? Are we going to be accused of murdering him?” Oh, that would be bad.

Theo shook his head. “I’ve never heard of anything that could actually kill the old bastard. He’s down, but probably not out.”

And yet, that wasn’t much of a relief. “How could anyone know we’d be there to take the blame? Or was it just an unlucky coincidence?”

“I didn’t tell anyone we were going.” Theo was grim. “But unless we figure out who was behind it, we’ll never be able to clear our names. You asking for the stupid seeds combined with us not eating them after Hades promised us immunity? We look guilty. All of the Underworld will be gunning for us. Worse than before.”

I snapped my fingers. “Cassie! If she foresaw my transformation back to Persephone, what else could she know about? The Oracle had visions, right? What if Cassie saw the deception down in Hades? She might know who poisoned us. And that info might be the difference between life and death. Ours.”

“It makes finding her even more important,” Theo agreed. “So we hit up Keeper’s office. Get something to lead us to either Cassie or Keeper herself.”

“I thought this ground was protected,” I said, as we made our way back across the grass. “How did Cerberus get through?”

“We had the gateway open. Your boulder trick must have shut it down.”

“What’s to prevent our enemies from coming through the gateway again?”

“Still warded. They can’t open it so long as they intend to harm us. Us giving them an opening? Different story.”

“Let’s not do that anymore, then,” I muttered, as we continued on our weary way. I got up the courage to ask what I’d been wondering about for a while now. I turned bleak eyes on him. “What did I look like? When I was … attacked.”

“You don’t want to know.”

“I do.”

Theo sighed. “Whatever they’d used to stab you had been enchanted, because the wounds bled out very slowly. For maximum pain. It was horrible. You couldn’t move. Just stared blankly up at the chandelier as your life force drained out of you. I barely transferred you out of your body in time.”

I shuddered, feeling that lethal limbo all over again. The moment was all too clear. But I wouldn’t let it swallow me. Again. “I’m going to figure out who did it and kill them, Theo.”

We came into view of the school. It appeared fine. No visible damage. Inside, everything was calm. Too calm.

“Where is everyone?” I wondered.

“Yeah. You’d think there’d be a few hissy fits after the quake,” Theo agreed.

“Theo, Sophie,” Principal Doucette loomed up before us as he stepped out from the cafeteria. “Do I even want to know what you’ve been up to?”

“The earthquake,” I said. “Didn’t you feel it?”

He took a good look at us and frowned. “No. Where were you?”

“Out by the creek,” Theo replied.

Principal Doucette shook his head. “We felt nothing here. Get changed and dry, then get yourselves to Nurse Hamata’s office. Then Sophie, Ms. Keeper wants to see you. Something about an assignment you didn’t turn in.” He focused on Theo. “And you have a class to get to.”

“That truth exercise,” I said to Theo as we headed for the nurse’s office after a quick detour to change into dry clothes. I never wanted to see those jeans again.

I threaded the pendant on a silver chain and hung it around my neck, hiding the priceless sapphire under my shirt. I felt more confident with it on and I knew that I’d never remove it while alive again.

“You have to come with me to see Ms. Keeper,” I instructed Theo. “No way am I letting a potential psychopath get me alone.”

The school nurse, a plump Japanese woman with a constantly bright smile, patched us up in no time. “Nurse Hamata,” I asked, “is Cassie all right? Did she go home?”

“Who?”

“Cassandra Jones.”

“The ginger,” Theo added helpfully.

Nurse Hamata was blank. “Is she new?”

Theo and I exchanged worried looks. “No, ma’am.”

Nurse Hamata blinked. “I can’t help you. I don’t know this student.” She patted my arm cheerfully. “Off you two go. All better.”

Theo waited until we were out in the hallway to speak. “That was beyond weird.”

“Definitely,” I agreed. “How could she forget Cassie? Was she hypnotized or something?”

“Pretty powerful something.”

A Hannah squeal pierced my ears. “Ohmigod, what happened to you guys? You look awful!”

“Theo made me do a little tour of Hades. It got bumpy.”

“Whoa. Seriously? Why?”

I showed her the pendant while I filled her in about Theo’s hope that it would retrieve my memories.

Hannah considered this. “Did it help?”

“Nope.” I decided not to mention the whole Hades poisoning incident. It would just freak her out.

“Sorry, kiddo,” she consoled. “You going to be all right? I’ve gotta hit the library.”

“One sec,” Theo said, “you remember Cassandra, right?”

“Sure,” she replied.

We gave a sigh of relief.

“The Greek Oracle.”

“No. The student.”

Hannah crinkled her brow. “Is she new?”

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Hannah! Cassie. Went missing? Maybe Kai stole her? You were really worried about her a couple of hours ago?”

She shrugged, clueless.

“We’re off to find Ms. Keeper,” I said. “Hannah, stay with us.”

“I’ve got this assignment.”

“Humor me. I don’t want you fading from memory while my back is turned.”

“Twenty minutes. Then you follow me into the stacks.”

Along the way, we passed Veronica, all flounced up and striding down the hall like a girl on a mission.

“Guess Bethany resurfaced,” I called out, since she didn’t look like someone who’d literally lost her best friend.

“Who?”

I huffed in frustration. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Whatever,” she smirked, curling the end of her ponytail around her finger. “I’m off to meet Kai.”

“Yeah, and twenty other kids. Class isn’t a date, Veronica,” Hannah pointed out.

“It is if you do it right.” She pushed past us sashaying off down the hallway.

“No Bethany? Ding dong, the witch is gone,” Theo cheered. “Champagne anyone?”

I sighed in disappointment. “I can’t celebrate. We have to find her.”

“‘With great power comes great responsibility, Spiderman,’” Theo replied.

“Yeah. I hate that. Three days ago I’d have been thrilled she was gone. Now, I feel all responsible.”

“That whole taking care of humanity thing,” Hannah pointed out as we made our way to Ms. Keeper’s office. “We’re your duty.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“It’s good for you. Now, who’s Bethany?”

This was insane. How could Hannah not remember? “What happened when we were in Hades?”

Theo shook his head, a worried expression on his face. “The only thing I can think of is that someone put a giant memory spell on everyone.”

“Keeper, maybe? But why?”

“No pesky questions asked if you can’t remember a person is missing?” Theo guessed. “Or two specific ones so far. The Oracle—”

“And Bethany. But she’s nothing special. So why her?” I wondered.

Theo shrugged. “Maybe she was just an expendable bystander? I don’t know.”

“And
we
remember Cassie and Bethany why?”

“My Prometheus knowledge transferred and your Persephone identity has been awakened. Bet Kai remembers, too.”

We reached Ms. Keeper’s office and I knocked. “Stay with me at all times,” I admonished.

“Got it,” Hannah said. “She still after you?”

“Probably just one of those balmy serial killers burying kids under the floorboards,” Theo said.

“So it’s not about Sophie,” she replied. “And yet potentially more dangerous to the rest of us.”

“Yeah. Pretty much,” he agreed.

We entered the counseling room. Other than your run-of-the mill office furniture, affirmative posters, and a couch for students to cry on, it was empty.

“That was anti-climatic,” I said.

“Are you stupid, or just insane?” Kai had arrived to the party and was glaring at me like I’d plummeted to new lows in his estimation.

“I didn’t do it,” I replied, heading toward Theo and Hannah to make my escape.

“No kidding.” Kai blocked me. “I meant going there in the first place.” He glanced at the chain around my neck. Quickly, he tugged the pendant out.

I slapped his hand away and placed the stone back against my chest.

“You couldn’t pull off poisoning a god,” he said.

I batted my eyelashes at him sweetly. “You’re right. Silly little me would have no clue. But you would.”

“Sophie,” Theo hissed in warning. “Shut up.”

I ignored him. “And here’s an interesting fact. Right before Hades choked, I smelled this distinct aroma. Similar to bitter coffee? Funny enough, I smelled the same thing when I was murdered. Who would use an identical poison on both Hades and me? Maybe a guy who hates his dad and flirts with other girls when his girlfriend comes back from the dead?” I shoved Kai out of the way.

“You’re not my girlfriend,” he replied.

“No kidding. Since I’m breaking up with you on behalf of Persephone. There. Now you’re my ex.”

Theo shook his head. “Here we go again,” he muttered.

Kai stepped in close to me. “You think because you have her powers, you’re her?” He laughed, mirthlessly. “You don’t have the faintest clue.”

“Fact. I don’t need my memories back to know how much I dislike you. Some things are just bone deep,” I shot back.

“Fact,” Kai mimicked, “if I’d murdered you, I’d have stuck around to make sure I did the job properly the first time. Although practice makes perfect.”

“You guys are better than cable,” Hannah exclaimed, entranced.

“I’m outta here,” I announced.

“God, no. Me first, please,” Theo begged, trying to get ahead of me in my flight to the door.

Kai got to the door before I could, slammed it shut and leaned against it. “No one is going anywhere until we get a few things straight.”

“That would be ‘straight’ according to your agenda, would it?” asked Theo.

“You really wanna go there, Prometheus, then let’s do this. Why don’t you tell Persephone—”

“Sophie” I interjected.

“Who summoned her to the gold chamber that day?”

I looked at Theo, confused. “What’s he talking about?”

“He’s off his head,” Theo retorted.

“I heard you,” Kai insisted. “You told her to meet you there.”

I turned hurt eyes to Theo. I couldn’t believe it.

“It wasn’t me,” Theo vowed. “Not the attack.”