From Gods (21 page)

Chapter 27

Amanda had come to the diner for four days making sure Skylar was safe. Their conversation was minimal and so was their eye contact. Amanda came, ate, hung around, went out for a bit, came back, and left when Skylar went home.

There were no visits or texts from Mason, or even from Nick. Thinking Nick had broken up with her, Kayla moped around at the diner and at home. Skylar wanted to tell her that wasn’t the case, but she had no explanation for how she knew that. Besides, she couldn’t help sulking too. With restless nights and worrying about Nick and Mason, she hardly slept at all. It was the first time Skylar and Kayla stayed home.

Everett and Amanda went back to the Oracle, searching for Nick and Mason since there was no word from them. Though they weren’t sure, they guessed the guys went there to ask more questions. Amanda promised to keep Skylar informed, but there was no word from her either.

Skylar had already said her goodbyes to Mona, Jack, and Auntie Kelly on her last day of work. She promised to visit when she had the chance. Thrilled by her first paycheck, Skylar wanted to come back and work again during her summers. It was definitely more than enough to pay for gas.

Saying goodbye to Kayla was difficult this time around. Leaving her cousin was bad enough, but leaving her broken hearted was tormenting. She had no choice, since she would start the local university soon and needed to attend the orientation.

Though she was frightfully worried for Mason and Nick, she couldn’t wait to see her mom. Calling and texting to let her know she was fine was one thing, but being apart from her mom for the past three weeks was long enough, though she had been gone this long every summer. Knowing her mom was home alone, guilt always consumed her, but the guilt wasn’t as bad knowing she had her fiancé to keep her company now.

The drive back home was lonely and long, since Skylar’s mind was occupied with thoughts of Nick and Mason. If they did go back to the Oracle, wouldn’t they have been back by now? What if the Oracle had harmed them?

Being that it was Saturday, Skylar’s mom was home waiting upon her arrival. After the hugs and kisses, they chatted about what Skylar did at Kayla’s house. Of course, Skylar left out a lot of details. She told her mom that it was just as much fun as the other times. Skylar also asked tons of questions regarding her mom’s and dad’s family tree and their ancestors. Disappointed, she didn’t find the answer she was looking for. Either all was hopeless, or her mom was not telling her the truth.

The next day, Skylar went to the orientation. A week later, she was living at the dorm. Missing her cousin and worried about how she was doing without a word from Nick, she texted her as soon as she got the chance.

How’s college?

Fine. How about yours?

Good. You doin’ ok?

Trying to get over Nick. Where could he be?

Maybe on a business trip.

Sure. I’ll keep thinking that.

Some guys are not good at calling or texting when they’re away.

Don’t be nice. He dumped me just like you said he would.

He didn’t dump you! Just give him a chance.

Skylar couldn’t believe what she was saying. She didn’t even know what was really going on. This conversation got her thinking. Maybe Mason had left her too. He knew her blood was evil. What if he stopped caring and just took off?

Have you heard from Mason? You can tell me the truth
.

No.

I guess we were just summer flings. Heavy sigh. He told me he was bad. I should have heeded his warning.

Me, too.

Talk to you soon. Gotta go.

Okay. Miss you.

Miss you, too! Hugs!

Hugs back!

The university housing looked more like apartments. Skylar shared a two-bedroom residence with a roommate. It had the necessary amenities—a kitchen, dining area, and a living room. It was small, but just enough for two people. Being that almost everything was paid for through her scholarship, there was no reason to complain. She was grateful.

Skylar’s roommate was named Emily. A biology major, she was tall, blonde, and had the fairest complexion. It had already been a week, but Emily was hardly around and when she was, her boyfriend was always with her.

Seeing them together all cozy reminded her of Mason, and her heart stung. Though she tried to move on and forget about him, it was difficult. Skylar couldn’t believe how much he affected her emotionally. They didn’t even kiss, and yet he’d stolen her heart in ways she’d never thought possible. They weren’t even really dating…they’d had one date.

On her way to literature class, the hairs on her skin pricked up. Sensing someone following her, she looked around carefully, but there were many students on campus. Who would she be looking for? Surely no vultures would appear in the daylight, smack in the middle of a crowd. And if they did appear in human form, she guessed they wouldn’t attack in front of all these people…at least she hoped not.

Opening the glass double doors, she entered the classroom with hesitation. Besides her roommate, she didn’t know anyone else on campus, and she wasn’t even in any classes with her. Since almost all the seats were taken, she headed toward the back.

After settling in, she took out her pen and a notebook. As the professor spoke, she was heavily engrossed in the lecture, taking notes as fast as her fingers allowed. Busy looking at the chalkboard, she was unaware the guy sitting next to her had placed an envelope with her name on it on her desk. Looking down to write again, she was surprised to see it.

Skylar questioned the guy sitting next to her about it. He answered by pointing to the person next to him, who in turn pointed to the person next to her. Since there was no end to who had originally passed the note, she quickly looked around, hoping someone would wave to let her know who it was from, but nothing.

Debating whether to open it now or after class, she couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer, so she opened it.

I know what you are. Meet me at the mountains. The directions are on the back of this note. Be there at 10 p.m. If you don’t come, you’ll never see Mason again.

At first, she was shaken beyond words, trying to process what she’d read. Was someone playing a prank on her? But with Mason being gone so long and not a phone call or text from him, it didn’t seem like a cruel joke. Who would present such a threat? A vulture? But they couldn’t speak, at least not the ones that had attacked her. Surprisingly, she was calm, except she felt like she’d swallowed acid, and her blood pressure shot up so fast, she felt hot all over. Whether this was a trick or not, she had to go. There was no choice.

Chapter 28

As much as Skylar didn’t want to go, she needed to be sure Mason was safe. Though she didn’t want it to be true that he was in danger, a small part of her hoped that the reason he hadn’t contacted her was because he couldn’t. When the lecture was over, she didn’t bother to attend her other classes. Giving herself a head start, not wanting to be late—especially since she didn’t know how to get there besides the directions that she’d been given—she left early.

Skylar couldn’t drive fast enough. Driving on the highway wasn’t so bad when there were other cars on the roads, but the road got utterly dark when she got closer to the mountains. She hated driving when she couldn’t see where she was going, and the winding roads weren’t helping the situation either. Feeling carsick, she rolled the window down just enough to allow the cool breeze to soothe her. 

The directions to the location were confusing. She had to read them several times, and even then she wasn’t sure. The closer she got to her destination the faster her pulse raced, and the anticipation of what waited for her was driving her insane.

Normally, looking at the stars and the moon brought her comfort, but tonight they had an eerie glow. As darkness engulfed her entirely, hers was the only car on the road, and that alone frightened the living day lights out of her, making her feel she was the only living soul in the world. Creeping along, the only thing she saw in front of her was the dirt road that was illuminated by the high beams from her car.

Her mind was reeling with horrible imaginings. Any minute now, something ghastly would pop out and scare her. Or someone that looked like a zombie would bang on the car window. That was what would happen in scary movies, and that was what this situation felt like. Skylar’s muscles were so tense, she didn’t realize she was gripping tightly to the steering wheel and her knuckles were white as her hands cramped up.

Desperately wanting to turn back and go home, she thought about Mason. How did she know the person who wrote this note wasn’t a serial killer, luring her to the mountains where no one could rescue her? But even knowing the danger, she had no choice if it meant getting answers to where Mason and Nick had been all this time. Perhaps Everett and Amanda were with them, since she hadn’t heard a peep from them; but then again, would Amanda contact her just to tell her Mason was safe? She didn’t know.

What if they were really in danger and they needed her…what could she do? They were the ones with powers. Now this pathetic rescue mission seemed hopeless. Hoping she’d followed the directions correctly, she slowed the car and turned left, and found that she was still driving on an unpaved road. Soon after, she saw a dim light, but that was all. Unable to tell if it was a house or a cabin due to extreme darkness, she parked as close to the light as possible.

The light came from a cave entrance, but not the same place she had gone before with Mason. After scanning the perimeter, which wasn’t much to see, she got out quickly and ran to the light. Surprisingly, there was a lantern hung on a branch of the tree adjacent to the entrance. Skylar detached it and hesitantly walked forward. The cool, soft draft that suddenly greeted her gave her the shivers. Even wearing long sleeves didn’t protect her from the sharp coldness that brushed against the fabric of her clothes. Mist floated in the air and spotted her with damp droplets.

The further she walked, the brighter the cave became, and the stench of rotten soil disappeared. Moving from one world to the next, she noted she was standing on Olympus, where she had been before. Thinking the Oracle had her hand in this, Skylar raced to the tree. Just before she reached it, a body flashed before her, forcing her to jump back, causing her to drop the lantern, which shattered. Thank goodness she had already turned the lamp off, or it would have caused a small fire.

“You’ve come as instructed, but I didn’t tell you to come here,” she hissed. “Oh, dear…sorry about the lantern.”

Shocked to see someone new, Skylar stood there unable to look away, mesmerized by the woman’s beauty. Her red, wavy hair flowed to her waist, accentuating her porcelain skin. She wore all black with black boots. On her waist hook was a small dagger. With legs spread apart, hands on her hips, she guarded the tree with her life. Why?

“Who are you and what do you want?” Skylar huffed. While her fist tightly pressed into a ball, anger and fear boiled inside her.

“You really don’t know, do you?” The stranger circled Skylar, examining her from head to toe. “You can call me Alena. You don’t look like how I’ve imagined you would look at all. Do you know how difficult it was to track you down?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about and I don’t care. Where are Mason and Nick? What have you done with them?” Skylar’s tone was sassy and demanding. Hiding her trepidation, she spoke loudly and forcibly.

Alena laughed, sinisterly. “You thought it was going to be that easy…just show up and take them home with you? It’s been several weeks since you’ve heard from Mason…right? That’s how long it took me to find you, especially since they wouldn’t cooperate. After I found his cell phone, which he tried to break without me knowing, well…the rest is history. And now you’re here. It’s a good thing you care about him, or else this plan wouldn’t have worked.”

“You’ve held them prisoner that long?” Skylar glared at Alena.

“Relax…I gave them some food…enough.”

“What do you want from me? I have nothing to give you.”

“Oh…but that is where you are wrong. Don’t you want to see your friends, or shall we talk all day?” she asked with an evil smirk, and turned her back on Skylar.

Alena waved her hand in a circular motion and mumbled a few words. Mason, Nick, Everett, and Amanda suddenly appeared in front of her, as if a layer of clouds evaporated, allowing a clear view. She had held them prisoners behind some kind of shield, and whatever it was, it was still there. They were all sitting closely together on one huge boulder. When they saw Skylar, their eyes lit up with hope, except for Mason’s.

“Mason,” Skylar called hesitantly and headed toward them cautiously. She kept one eye on Alena and the other eye on her friends, wondering why Mason didn’t look happy to see her. Surprisingly, the Oracle stepped in front of her, making her halt. She had been hiding behind the tree so Skylar hadn’t noticed her until now. Now she knew the reason why Alena was protecting the tree when she first got there.

“I told you to kill her,” the Oracle said with anger in her tone, pointing her cane at Skylar. “Now she will doom us all.”

Clenching his jaws, Mason’s fists were tightly gripped as he shivered in anger. Unexpectedly, he pounded the shield with his fist. “Don’t touch her or I’ll kill you myself!” The palm of his hand fizzled with electrical silver light, sparkling like lightning, but it was dim. It crackled for a few seconds, then the sparks went dead.

Recalling Mason’s words, Skylar remembered that their powers were limited there. It was no wonder he couldn’t use them to escape. Stuck there, feeling helpless, he never gave Alena the information she wanted, just so he could keep Skylar safe. She was grateful and touched that he thought of her over his family’s safety.

The Oracle set her eyes on Mason, then to Skylar, and wobbled backward in a cowardly manner.

“Now, now,” Alena mocked. “You already know your powers are limited here. It’s one of the reasons why I tricked you to come. At Olympus, we are on equal ground. You can thank Zeus. He was always afraid someone would try to overthrow him. How smart he was. But too bad for his descendants.”

“What do you mean ‘she will doom us all’?” Everett demanded to know, now standing beside Mason.

“So…it really wasn’t that you were all just protecting her out of some sick obligations,” Alena said. “You really didn’t know. Mason kept this secret from all of you. He has chosen her over his own kind. Pity, pity, pity. Doesn’t matter, you’re all dead after I’m done with you.”

Everett gripped Mason by his shirt. “I knew it. What are you hiding? We’ve been locked up here because of her? You’ve chosen a stranger over your own family?”

Mason didn’t even fight back. He just let Everett vent his feelings.

“Stop it!” Amanda yelled. “Can’t you see what she’s doing? She’s making us go against each other. Let Mason go.”

Nick looked like he was ready to take action if Everett’s anger grew, but he back down when Everett released Mason with a shove.

“What do you want?” Mason asked Alena. “Why go all this trouble to bring Skylar here? We at least deserve an answer if you’re going to kill us.”

“Oh, I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to enjoy watching Skylar kill you.”

Skylar flashed her eyes on Alena, then to her friends. She backed away, shaking her head. Never would she ever hurt them. She had to run, but where?

“Face your destiny, my cousin. We’ve been waiting for you to take revenge upon the gods’ children,” Alena said, smiling cunningly.

“I don’t know who you are, and I’m not your cousin. I’ll never do it!” Skylar ran. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Mason slam into the invisible shield, trying to break through, and fall flat on his bottom. He was cursing, trying to shoot lighting from his hands, but to no avail, and those beautiful eyes sparked silver, but that too quickly faded. Hopelessly, he leaned against the shield along with the rest of his family, watching Skylar run for her life.

Breathing heavily, Skylar hid behind the statue of Poseidon, contemplating her next move.

“Skylar, I just need a little bit of your blood, then you’ll be free to go.”

“Why do you need my blood?” Skylar yelled, running next to the statue of Hera, trying to keep track of Alena by the sound of her voice.

“Oh, don’t play dumb.”

Skylar turned to her right, but before she could go to the next statue, Alena was right in front of her.

“I know how to play dumb, too.”

Stunned by her presence, Skylar screamed and ran. She was almost positive she knew where Alena was positioned when she heard her voice, but she guessed she’d underestimated her speed.

“I’m tired of playing games.” Alena yanked Skylar’s hair and dragged her in front of her friends. “Let me tell you a story about how this war began. Hades had predicted his brothers would massively reproduce to preserve their kind, while he remained in Hell to rot. Intelligent and cunning as he was, he jumped at the game. He knew one day they would die as religion progressed, so Medusa and Hades created their own blood line, just before…you know…she got her head chopped off. I’m one of their descendants, and so is Skylar.” 

Glancing at their shocked expressions, she continued with a smirk. “That’s right. Medusa and Hades produced offspring, creating evil blood, long before Zeus and Poseidon started theirs. And you know what’s special about Skylar? Why she should be feared? When she kills a being, its special power transfers to her. Can you imagine if she was vengeful and decided to kill just to suck up your powers? There are others like her out there…somewhere. They may not even know what they are, just like Skylar. She just happened to be the first one I found.”

Blood drained out of Skylar. Her pale face expressed no emotions. Having some kind of evil blood was bad enough, but knowing she was one of the descendants of Hades and Medusa was unbearable. Those two were the most hated of their kind. And now she understood how she was able to heal so fast. Mason had told her Remus was a fast healer. When she killed him, unknowingly, she swallowed his blood and took his power of healing. Remus even told her that when he attacked her.

“That’s right,” she continued. “Skylar has their blood. You know what that means, don’t

ya? One droplet of her blood on your skin, or the skin of any of the gods’ children, will turn them into stone.”

“I told you to kill her,” the Oracle shouted again. “Just kill her.”

“Shut up, you old hag,” Everett yelled. “I’m getting really tired of you. You’re supposed to be all knowing…why didn’t you know all this?”

“It doesn’t work that way. There is only one of me. My other two sisters are dead. We were all knowing and stronger once, when we worked together as a team.” The Oracle sheepishly, sadly backed away.