Curse of the Sphinx (15 page)

IT WAS NOT
that she was depressed, although maybe there was some of that. It was more than that. All her life, she’d listened to her mother and done what she was told. And her mother was probably right. Wasn’t what happened in Bellevue the perfect example of why forming attachments was destructive? And yet, part of her refused to believe it. Part of her wanted, so badly, to believe it could be different. It would be different here.

When her stomach finally protested against spending any more time in bed, Hope meandered to the kitchen in her pajamas. She scrambled eggs with cheese and fried bacon. She rinsed the strawberries, snacking on their juicy sweetness even after her hearty breakfast.

As she walked back to her room to change, her eyes drifted to the spare bedroom. She’d walked past the door countless times, avoiding the memories stored there. The door was ajar, and inside the room were the stacks of boxes that would never unpack themselves. With a deep breath, she affirmed the truth: If she didn’t go through them, no one would. It was time to move forward, even if it was only by inches.

Trepidation fluttered in her chest as she pushed open the door. The darkness smelled stale and faintly of ash. She flipped the light switch, and artificial light flooded the room. Brown moving boxes covered the beige carpet, some stacked two or three high. Except for the one that had contained the knives and book, they were all still sealed with packing tape.

She cleared some space in the center and grabbed the nearest box. She ripped the tape off and opened the flaps to find stacks of clothes, the pungent smell of smoke clinging to the fabric. Her fingers sank into a thick sweater, her mother’s sweater, though it no longer carried her scent. She set the garment to the side and pulled out a pair of jeans. She patted the pockets and folded the pants. Shoving her emotions aside, she grabbed an entire stack of clothes from the box.

After unpacking and then repacking several boxes, she got a marker and tape, resealed them, and wrote
For Donation
on the side. Someone would appreciate all this stuff. As the number of boxes in the bedroom dwindled, the ones marked
For Donation
in the hallway grew. When she came across something significant, like the photo album of her mom and dad, she set it aside. That would require more . . . emotional space.

In the end, there was only one box that held things she wasn’t willing to part with; the rest she moved to the living room.

She stood at the doorway, appraising the products of her labor. The second bedroom was almost completely empty, the box in the corner looking forlorn and lonely. With a sigh, she closed the door behind her.

Her stomach gave a rumble of neglect, and she glanced at the clock. Just after ten! Almost eleven hours—whoa! No wonder she was hungry. She crossed into the kitchen and grabbed a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread. The rich smell of ground peanuts made her mouth water, and she licked a spoonful of the sticky spread and sucked it from the roof of her mouth. The salty sweetness tasted like nirvana.

After finishing her makeshift meal, she stepped back into the living room. Accomplishment and pride thrummed in her veins.

Baby steps indeed.

Ten days before the change

“WHERE WERE YOU
last night?” Haley asked. “I thought you said you would come.”

“I never said that.” Hope lay on her bed, her feet up on the wall. “You said you wanted me to come, but I never agreed.”

It was Sunday afternoon. Hope had spent the day cleaning house, grocery shopping, and washing her car. All the boxes from yesterday were still stacked in the living room. She’d need to take them into Yakima or the Dalles next week, but she was done being responsible.

“Fine. But you missed out. Krista—”

“Want to go see a movie? Or go shopping?” She didn’t really care what happened with Krista. And right now, she just wanted to get out.

“Oh, did you see the new
Pirates
is out? I love David Arturo.” Haley sighed. “He is so hot.”

“Okay. Do you want me to come get you?”

“No, I’ll come get you. Give me a few minutes to tell my dad, then I’ll head over.”

Hope changed into a hoodie and jeans and grabbed her debit card. The phone rang.

“Hey, what’s up?” Hope answered.

“Who is this?” A male voice asked.

“Ex . . . excuse me?” Her grip tightened on the phone. “Who is this?”

“I found this phone, and was wondering if you could help me locate the owner. What’s your name?” The voice rushed through the words.

Alarms went off. Hope looked at the screen. It was Priska’s number. Her pulse thrummed.

“Hello? Hello?” He sounded impatient.

Panic coursed through her. “You… must have the wrong number.” She hit
End
. Someone had Priska’s phone! And her phone number! Oh…oh gods!

“Hope?” Haley pounded on the door.

Hope pulled the door open and tried to force a smile. “Hey . . .”

Haley face furrowed. “What took you so long?”

“Uhh, I was . . . on the phone.” Her voice went up as if asking a question.

“Oh.” Haley frowned. “You okay? You look . . . stressed.” She stepped in and looked around the room. “What’s up with the boxes?”

Hope took a deep breath. “Just cleaning out some stuff.” She shook her head. “I’m fine. Let’s go.” Because what could she say?

“SO, YOU CUT
me off, earlier…” Haley said with raised brows. “But I’m going to make you hear this.”

Hope braced herself. What more could go wrong?

“Yesterday at the river . . . Athan was talking about you.”

Hope sat up. “What?”

“I knew it.” Haley smiled. “You’re all, ‘whatever, I hate him’ but really . . .” She nodded. “Yeah. I knew it.”

“No. Friday he gave me a ride home from the grocery store. He asked if we could be friends, I said yes. That’s it.”

“Mm-hmm. Well, maybe that’s it on your side. But I don’t think that’s all he wants.”

Hope shook her head. “No, he just asked about being friends. Besides, I saw him with Krista Friday. They were practically kissing.”

“Oh, Krista wants him all right. She was all over him, but I think he’s into you.”

Great. That was all she needed. More wrath from the she-demon. “Maybe I should just tell him I changed my mind. Maybe I don’t want to be friends.”

They pulled into the parking lot of the theater.

“No. Don’t do that. Tristan was saying that we could go do something together. The four of us. It would be so cool. Please?” Haley batted her lashes.

Hope laughed. “Fine. But if Athan hits on me, you totally owe me.”

Haley snorted. “You mean if he doesn’t hit on you . . .”

They bought their tickets and went in.

“I DON’T THINK
I’ll ever look at pirates the same after those movies. Gods, I would love to be kidnapped by David Arturo. Wouldn’t you?”

Hope frowned. “That’s sick.”

“What?” Haley turned to look at her. “Really?”

“There is nothing sexy about being kidnapped. There’s like a whole syndrome about people that fall in love with their captors.” She thought of Priska being tortured somewhere by demigods. “Seriously, that’s messed up.”

Haley rolled her eyes. “I’m not serious. Well, I am about the David Arturo part, but not pirates. I mean . . . No one really wants to get kidnapped.”

Hope fiddled with her phone, turning it over and over in her hands. Five missed calls. All from Priska’s number. Five.

“Can I ask you something?” Hope didn’t know what to do. And she didn’t have anyone else to turn to . . .

“Sure. As long as you aren’t going to bash on David Arturo.”

Hope smiled. “No. It’s just . . . My aunt . . . disappeared a month ago.”

“What?” Haley gasped. “Was she kidnapped!?”

Hope’s eyes welled, and she wiped away the tears before they could fall. “I think so. Can . . . can you keep a secret?”

“I’m such an idiot.” Haley face-palmed. “Of course. You can tell me anything.”

Hope gave an edited history of her mother dying in a fire, her aunt’s recent disappearance, and the strange phone call. “I don’t know that they’re all related, but . . . What if they are?”

Haley blew out a breath. “Well, maybe someone was just trying to be nice. I mean, he didn’t threaten you or anything, right?”

“No. But he’s called like another five times.”

“Well, I’d let it go. Unless you keep getting calls, or if the guy threatens you, or something.”

It was sound advice. No need to freak out about one more thing.

Nine days until the change

“HOW WAS YOUR
weekend?” Athan asked.

He stood at her locker staring at her. It was the oddest sensation. A mixture of pride and anxiety coursed through her, and she wanted to giggle and run away. “Fine. I hung out with—”

“Hey Hope.” Haley bounced up. “How are you?” She smiled at Athan as if just noticing him.
As if
. She turned back to Hope. “Oh, I was going to ask you, have you had any more phone calls?”

And so much for secrets.

“Phone calls?” Athan frowned.

Hope rolled her eyes. “No.” She turned to Athan. “It was nothing. Just a wrong number, but they kept calling back. Kinda freaked me out.” She snapped her locker shut.

“You two hung out?” Athan asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“Well, yeah,” Haley said. “That’s what friends do, you know.”

“Yes, so I’ve heard.” He gave Hope a hard look.

“What?” She asked him. “We hung out on Friday.” Why was he acting all weird?

“I bet she didn’t have to coerce you to hang out,” he grumbled.

The three of them walked down the hall drawing several stares.

“Of course not,” Haley responded. “My motives aren’t questionable.”

Hope laughed and walked into mythology, but she still heard him . . .

“There is nothing questionable about my motives, either.”

“ARE WE EATING
lunch or what?” Athan asked. He’d met her at her locker right after chemistry, before she had a chance to disappear into the Library.

Hope pushed down anticipation—if that’s what it was—and took a deep breath. It was raining, so the commons was out. “How about the cafeteria?”

He nodded. “You got it.”

He held the door open for her, and then led them to the table where Tristan, Lee, Scott, Haley—and Krista—were sitting.

“Hey guys,” Athan said, setting his stuff down. “Can we join you?”

Haley smiled at Hope from the other end of the table, and Tristan scooted his tray over. “Yeah, of course,” he said.

Athan sat.

This was not quite what she’d been thinking, but not knowing what else to do, Hope slid into a chair.

As soon as she was seated, he stood up and leaned to whisper into her ear, “I’ll be right back, I need to get some food. Stay put.”

He pushed her hair back exposing her ear, and his hand rested on her neck. Leaning closer, his lips brushed her ear as he spoke. “They’re more scared of you than you are of them.”

Her head and heart swirled as he walked away. Scared of
her
?

“So, Hope, what did you do this weekend?”

Startled, she glanced up to Tristan studying her expectantly.

“Uh, homework. Went and saw a movie.”

“Lame,” Krista muttered.

“With me!” Haley stared at Krista until she looked away.

Hope’s distress drove her to say something. “I heard you guys had a great time down at the river.”

Conversation erupted all around her. She tried to stay involved in it, and by the time Athan returned, she no longer felt the need to run. She was listening to Tristan talk about the observatory when she heard a high-pitched whizzing sound. Instinctively, she glanced at the sound, and caught a roll of bread midair just before it hit Athan. Someone hooted their approval, and someone else cheered.

She felt her stomach churn. She dropped the roll like it was on fire.

“Nice catch.” Tristan leaned over and bumped her shoulder.

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

“Impressive skills.” Athan picked up the roll as if weighing it.

“Freak,” Krista spat.

“Twelve years of tae kwon do.” And supernatural hearing and reflexes.

“Tae kwon do teaches you how to catch?” Tristan asked.

“No, but it improves hand-eye coordination and reflex time.”

“
Twelve
years?” Athan asked.

She shrugged. “My mom wanted to make sure I could defend myself.”

When the bell finally rang, Hope threw her barely eaten sandwich away. Without saying anything, she started to her locker. Athan kept pace next to her.

“Tae kwon do, huh?”

She nodded.

“Well, they loved you,” he teased. “You just got twenty new BFFs, and a starting position on the football team if you want it.”

She exhaled. “Yeah, sure. Did you not notice the shade Krista was throwing?”

He shrugged. “She’s just jealous.”

She scratched at her palms. When she parted with Athan in algebra, she slumped into her seat with relief. But he was persistent, and caught up with her after Spanish.

“I’m meeting Tristan in a few minutes, but what are you doing later?” His stride matched hers as they walked toward the lockers.

She shrugged. “Same old.” Haley stood at her locker waiting.

“Same old is so boring. Let’s hang out.” He bumped her arm.

Tingles shot up from the contact. She shook her head. “It’s too much.”

“What?” He tilted her chin so she was forced to meet his eyes.

“I . . . I don’t know if I can do this. It’s too much.” She was exhausted.

“You’re too much,” he teased. “See you soon.” He turned and jogged down the hall.

“So, you gonna hang out with him?” Haley asked as they walked out to the parking lot.

“I don’t know.” She sounded like a broken record. “All of this . . . activity . . .”

Haley laughed. “Hope, this is normal.”

“Not for me,” Hope muttered.

“Where did you live before here? A cave?” Haley twisted her light-brown hair into a bun. “Seriously, you should hang out with him, or we could do something together.”

“Tomorrow. I have homework tonight. We can do something tomorrow.”

Because she could not handle one more thing today.

Eight days until the change

IT WAS EARLY
afternoon, and they were in her Civic heading south on I-82 to the fish hatchery. Tristan and Haley sat in the back seat, their constant conversation lulling Hope’s nerves. Athan chimed in occasionally, mostly to give her directions.

Today had been different. She sat with Haley, Athan, and their friends at lunch and found herself laughing at Tristan’s jokes. Haley invited her to come to the river Thursday night for a bonfire, and she contemplated going. Krista had left her alone. There’d been no further phone calls from Priska’s number. And no Skia. If Priska would just come back, life would be perfect.

“You look awfully pleased.”

Athan’s comment pulled Hope from her reverie. “Oh, just thinking. Are you going to the river Thursday?” Part of her wanted to hang out with her new friends.

“Do you want to go?” He asked.

She shrugged, unwilling to commit.

“I think you’ll have a great time if we go, but I’ll leave it up to you.”

She caught his wording, and her heart fluttered.

They pulled off the freeway and she followed signs to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery.

Hope looked out the window, trying to assess the surroundings. She could see picnic tables, benches, and a water fountain from the car. Trees and shrubs lined the concrete landscape; small pink petals floated in the breeze.

“How did you know about this?” She asked, as they walked past a couple of industrial pools and started down a path that wound alongside a natural-looking creek and several smaller ponds. The flowers were blooming white, pink, and lavender. The smell from the blossoms mixed with the scents of the nearby river and the large pine trees. Overhead, she could hear the chirping of small birds.

Haley laughed. “Seriously, this isn’t really a dude kinda place.”

“Oh, I asked Scott what there is to do around Goldendale.”

“Scott?” Surprise was written all over Haley’s face.

Tristan chuckled. “Scott loves to fish. They have monster sturgeon here.”

“Come on.” Athan gave Hope’s arm a little tug.

She could only stare when she first saw them. She had no idea that fish in a river could be so big and so
ugly
. They reminded her of the picture of catfish that she’d found in an encyclopedia when she was younger.

“Can you believe that Poseidon created
that
?” Athan leaned against the glass tank, looking at Hope.

“It’s disgusting.” Haley wrinkled her nose. She turned to Tristan. “Let’s go feed the fish. I saw fish food thingies . . .”

Poseidon?
Since starting public school, Hope had rarely heard anyone mention the gods outside of a curse or a plea for a blessing. Athan seemed well versed in their mythological history.

“It’s like a giant albino catfish.” She stepped up to the glass and watched as the large fish circled aimlessly in the tank.

The same despondency she felt when visiting a zoo gripped her heart, a pity for the wild creatures held within strict confines, their freedom limited by someone more powerful.

She felt a soft pressure at the small of her back and turned to see Athan beside her, staring into the tank. “It’s sad, don’t you think?”

“Do you ever feel like that?” Her thoughts slipped out.

“Trapped?” He turned to face her, his eyebrows furrowed then released. “Do
you
feel trapped?”

She swallowed and bit her lip. “Doesn’t everybody sometimes?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I asked first.” Her chin jutted out.

“Fair enough.” He laughed. “Yes. Sometimes.”

She exhaled, releasing the tension. “Me, too.”

He took a deep breath. “I didn’t want this to be such a downer. Come on, let’s go feed the trout.” He took her hand and led her from the sturgeon tank. He stopped to put quarters into a vending machine for fish food, and they filled their hands with little brown pellets.

Her mood lifted as she tossed the stinky bits into the ponds and streams. The silver sides of the fish slid over each other as they came to the surface, their mouths opening wide as they gulped the small particles of food.

It was peaceful, with just the occasional splash from the fish, and the sun warmed her through her dark sweater.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“You’ll feel ripped off,” she warned him. “It’s peaceful here.” She brushed her palms off over the water. They watched as the trout slid back into the darkness and the water calmed. They walked through the park, and when they didn’t see their friends they went back to the entrance.

“Hey guys!” Tristan yelled. “Are you almost done? We’re starving.” He stood by the storage ponds in front of the gift shop.

Haley sat on a picnic table out by the parking lot. She held her hands out as if begging. “Please . . . I’m dying . . . I . . . must . . . have . . . food.”

The sun disappeared behind a cloud, and a chill blew in on the breeze.

“
Skata!
” Athan breathed the curse under his breath, startling Hope. “What would you say to some seafood?” He tugged on her hand, not waiting for a response.

Instinctively, she pulled back, causing him to drop her hand. She saw a flicker of movement by the flower beds.

Her eyes widened.

The Skia stepped from behind the budded trees. He stared at her, but made no move to come closer.

“What is with you, Hope?” Haley asked. “Don’t you see I’m withering away?”

This was a dangerous place to be. Could she reveal what she saw? Should she? She swallowed the truth. “I . . .”

She turned to Athan, but he’d bent down and was fiddling with his shoe and pant leg.

She glanced once more at the Skia, but he was gone. Again.

Athan dropped his pant leg and stood up. “I’m starved. Let’s go eat.”

“Finally!” Tristan said.

Haley grabbed his hand and turned toward the car.

Hope wouldn’t ask Athan what made him curse. Maybe if she didn’t ask him, he wouldn’t question her.