Muse Unexpected (28 page)

Much to Sophie’s relief, she had made it through the curtsy marathon without a single Vasilikós leaving her for dead in that low, miserable position. With her final curtsy done, Bennett helped her kneel and she took her oath.

She watched Georgia making her way towards her and her heart leapt into her throat.

There’s no turning back
.
Oh, God, what am I doing? Do I really want to do this?

Georgia took her place and began. “Sophia, Muse to the Vasilikós of Greece and Italy, do you pledge to serve this Vasilikós and its leader?”

It’s your fate
.
Accept it.
Sophie replied, “I do.”

“Sophia, Muse to the Vasilikós of Greece and Italy, do you pledge to protect the Olympic Portal, thereby preserving the safety of Demigods and Humankind?”

“I do.”

Georgia asked the final question. “Sophia, Muse to the Vasilikós of Greece and Italy, do you pledge to protect the mortals of this world without whom we would have no purpose, and do you also pledge to guide those mortals onto the right path, giving them free will to do what they will do?”

Sophie replied, “I do.”

The crowd froze as it waited for Bennett to help Sophie to her feet and Angela to straighten Sophie’s train.

“Everyone, I am blessed and proud to present my granddaughter, Sophia. May Zeus continue to smile upon us.” Georgia shouted the words for all to hear.

Angela raised her arms, “Let the heavens rain down on us.” Glitter and confetti fell from the ceiling onto the crowd. The entire room erupted into a roar as everyone rushed forward to congratulate Sophie, Callie and Georgia.

Thirty minutes of well wishes had passed when Georgia signaled the orchestra. Sophie, with the help of Bennett and Angela, took her place on the dance floor. Her train had been removed to allow her to dance.

“I could get used to this,” Bennett said smiling, taking Sophie’s hand and placing his as close to her waist as his height would allow.

In-between her second and third waltz, Sophie saw Georgia signal for the Fates’ wine to be brought forward and placed into Georgia’s hands.

After the third waltz, Sophie knew it was tradition for the newly inducted Muse to select another partner to dance with for at least one waltz. She scanned the crowd and decided now was the time. She could see her father and walked to him. He stepped forward, bowed and while smiling, extended his hand for her to accept. Without hesitation, Sophie took it. They faced each other and before they began to dance, he bestowed a single kiss unto Sophie’s forehead. His lips were ice cold and left a painful burning sensation on her skin.

That’s strange. My father never kissed me on my forehead
.
He always kissed me on my cheek.

Sophie didn’t feel well. Her skin was on fire and the burning sensation was at its worst where her father had kissed her. She tried to walk away, tried to signal someone to help her, but before she could, he pulled her closer and whispered in her ear.

“We’re in grave danger. Don’t let anyone know you know. Unless you listen to me, we will all die.”

“What are you talking about? Daddy, I’m not feeling so well. I need to stop.”

“Listen to me,” he said, beginning to waltz. “This ball isn’t what you think it is. Persephone has tricked you. She’s tricked us all. We aren’t at the ball. We aren’t even in the Vasilikós. Persephone has dragged you down into the Underworld. All of this is an illusion. We’ve got to get out of here.”

He pulled her closer and Sophie was sure she was going to vomit. A wave of sickness fell over her and with feverous eyes she looked up at her father.

What is that awful stench? Is it coming from my father?

“Look around,” he said. “This isn’t a ballroom. It’s the clearing in front of the River Styx. These aren’t your friends. They aren’t even Muses. They’re demons. Hades has sent his demons to kill us.”

She couldn’t move her head. The pain shooting through her body was unbearable. She didn’t know why she felt so awful. The ballroom was hazy, like asphalt on a hot Ohio highway. Things began to change around her. The polished wooden floors seeped with a foul-smelling muck and piles of the dead, their white bodies glowing, were scattered throughout the room.

Daddy’s right
,
but I’m not in the Underworld. I’m in Hell.

To her right was a couple dancing beside them who smiled and nodded. The woman’s face melted away, her skin bubbling and dripping, exposing a blistering, horrific face with burning red eyes. She laughed at Sophie. Her partner leered at her, causing his face to slice open in various spots, leaving the man’s once handsome face into bloody shreds. They twirled around Sophie and her father, before disappearing. Every couple around her was changing into hideous creatures. A couple with reptilian skin and intertwined horns danced by them, while two half-decomposed corpses seemed to float by, their lifeless feet a few inches above the ground. Sophie stifled a scream as her father yanked her face back, forcing her to look up at him.

“Don’t scream,” he whispered. “Stay calm and we’ll get out of this."

“Daddy, you’re hurting me.” She said, pushing his hand away from her chin. His nail scratched her chin and chills began to wrack her body.

She took her eyes away from him and looked to her right and then to her left. Every person around her was more horrific than the person next to them. A tall, monstrous creature dressed in what she knew was Bennett’s kilt, swooshed by her, with a horrific Gorgon in his arms. The Gorgon had two heads fused into one. It screeched at her as its long, eel-like snakes whipped around, trying to bite anyone who was close. Several of the snakes ripped off pieces of flesh from several couples and they swallowed the chucks whole. Sophie covered her mouth and retched into her glove.

“You have to do it. You have to attack them. Focus. They’re trying to stop me from helping you and I fear—I can’t hold on much longer.”

“I don’t know how.” Sophie began to weep. “Get me out of here, Daddy. I want to go home.”

“Concentrate. Close your eyes and focus on my voice.”

Sophie did as she was told. The sounds of the creatures around here began to die away. She heard her heart and her breaths calming as her father soothed her with his words. Suddenly his words changed and she was frightened.

“They killed me, Sophie. They murdered me as I drove home to be with you and Mommy. They took me away. How does that make you feel?”

The burning sensation associated with her powers began to build in Sophie’s core and she fought the instinct to cry out in pain. Her blood was boiling and it scalded her veins as it coursed toward her heart and out toward her hands.

“Sad, angry…. furious,” Sophie said, lost in her father’s voice.

“What do they deserve for killing me, Sophie? What do they deserve for taking me away from you and ruining your life?

“I don’t…”

“They ruined any chance for you to be happy.”

“I used to be happy, back in Ohio.”

“And now, where are you? You’re surrounded by all of these freaks. These mutts with their filthy, Demigod ways are beneath you. You’re pure, a true Olympian. That’s why you feel so sick. That’s why you have pain.”

“Daddy, I feel so bad. I want it all to stop.” Sophie whimpered.

“You have to wipe them off the face of the Earth. You have to do what is right. They killed me, Sophie. They, the Demigods killed me. They tortured me for hours, threw my body into our car and smashed it against a tree. They killed me. They’re filthy mutts, aren’t they?”

“They’re all filthy mutts.”

“What do they deserve?”

“They deserve pain.”

“But why stop at that? What do they truly deserve?”

“They deserve to die. They all deserve to die.”

“Then kill them. Kill them all, baby.”

Callie stood next to Bennett and listened to the mindless chatter around her.

She was frustrated. The ballroom was hot and sticky, packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people. Even if she could ignore the deafening noise from all the conversations taking place, her gut told her something wasn’t right.

Dread. Something is about to break and it isn’t good. My gut is never wrong.

She couldn’t concentrate with all of the distractions. She turned and watched Sophie dance with a man she didn’t recognize.

No, that’s not correct. He does look familiar. Who the hell is he?

The man’s mask hid his face, expect for his jaw line and lips. He was whispering something in Sophie’s ear. Her thoughts were interrupted.

“May I be so bold as to say you look beautiful tonight?” Bennett said to Angela.

“You may,” Angela said. “Not that my many admirers haven’t already told me many times over.”

“I see,” he said. “Would that include my Honor Guard who you keep undressing with your eyes?”

“I have not.” Angela said and Bennett snorted.

Callie dug her fingernails into her palm, as she tried to focus.
Dear lord, give me the strength not to tell these two to shut up.

“Okay, listen. He was asking me about you and I
was
going to tell him you were interested, but if you would rather me tell him otherwise.” Bennett said

“Bennett, I would not be opposed to you mentioning I admire his swimming abilities.”

“You admire his six-pack abs,” Bennett muttered.

“Yours didn’t hurt your case for winning Sophie,” Angela commented.

“Well, it took me a while, but she came around.” Bennett said.

I think I’m going to be sick. Was I this vapid when I was their age? Probably.

“You almost lost her with your Miranda crap.” Angela said.

“Miranda crap? What are you talking about?” Bennett asked.

“It’s not my place.”

“Oh, no you don’t. You opened it up; now spit it out, Pandora.”

“She knows you kissed Miranda.”

“Yeah, over a year ago.” Bennett glanced at Callie and shook his head no.

“You kissed someone else, other than my daughter?” Callie said, reluctantly turning her attention away from Sophie. When Bennett didn’t have a quick answer for her, she went back to watching her daughter.

Sophie looks ill. Maybe I should go to her. No, I’ll wait for her to signal. If she’s sick, she’ll signal for me to help her.

“I haven’t seen Miranda for a long time. I haven’t kissed anyone but your daughter,” Bennett said to Callie. “What have I got to be forgiven for?”

“For kissing Miranda,” Angela said. “You have to have known for the past several weeks Miranda has been serving as Sophie’s personal assistant.”

“Are you joking?” Bennett said. “Miranda isn’t here. There is no way she could be.”

“Isn’t that her, over there?” Angela pointed across the dance floor and Bennett shook his head no.

“Angela, who is that?” Bennett asked.

“Who the hell is Miranda?” Callie asked, wanting to bring the conversation to an end.

“I have no idea who that is, but I can say it isn’t Miranda. Even without the mask, Miranda was a redhead and several inches taller than that woman. I’ve seen her in the Vasilikós, but I have not kissed her. I don’t know what bloody game she’s playing, but it isn’t funny.”

Georgia walked up and grabbed Callie’s arm.

“What is wrong with you? Pay attention to the cues I’m giving you. We need to start the wine ceremony.”

“Before you go, can we have a second?” Angela asked Callie.

“Not a good time. We’re about to start the wine ceremony for the Fates.” Callie said.

“Did you and Georgia assign a girl by the name of Miranda to serve as Sophie’s personal assistant?”

“What are you two talking about?” Georgia said, overhearing part of the conversation. “Angela is Sophia’s Lady in Waiting for this event and serves as her assistant. The only Miranda I know of was a young Muse who transferred to the Italy Vasilikós, but she’s not here. She’s on a special assignment in Milan.”

“Out of all of the Muses to select from, why would we choose a girl who dated my daughter’s boyfriend?” Callie said, but as the words left her mouth, they all turned towards Georgia.

“Do not even think it, Callista. If that girl is here, it has nothing to do with me,” Georgia said.

“Georgia, look at me.”

Georgia looked directly into Callie’s eyes. “By all I hold dear, my position in our society, by my family, which you seem to believe I don’t care about, I swear the only girl I assigned to Sophia was Angela. If you can’t trust a
Gorgon
to keep your granddaughter safe, who else can you trust?”

Angela winced.

“Which girl are you talking about?” Callie asked. Angela scanned the ballroom and spotted her.

“There.” Angela pointed.

Callie focused on the girl. “Well, she kind of looks familiar. Wait, very familiar, but I can’t make her out because her mask is hiding her face.”

Miranda waved to Callie. Digging her fingers into her face, she tore it off and threw it to the ground. The clay mask shattered when it hit the floor.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. No, no
, no.
” Callie said in a loud whisper and pulled Georgia closer. “It’s Penny.”

“What are you talking about?” Georgia said.

“Georgia, listen to me carefully,” Callie said. “It’s Penny. She’s older, but it’s Penny.”

Georgia looked confused.

“Penny? Pandora? Made of clay, Pandora?”

“It can’t be. She was banished to the wastelands of the Underworld. There’s no way she could have gotten free.”

Callie was panicking. “I don’t care where they put her. I’m telling you right now she is here.”

“Dear lord. All the Vasilikós. This will not do.”

“You listen to me,” Callie said. “I don’t care about any of that. My daughter is out there unprotected.
That
is what will not do.”

A growl escaped Bennett’s lips as his body strained against his clothing. “I remember the stories you told me about her. I’ll kill her if she lays a hand on Sophie.”

Georgia reached over and shot a burst of energy from her hand and shocked Bennett. “You will do no such thing. We will do this without making a scene. Everyone break up and search for her. I have the wine ceremony to perform.”

Callie protested, but Georgia held out her hand. “We will not have an international incident to clean up. Do you hear me, Callista?”

Callie had tears in her eyes. “Okay.”

Georgia gestured for everyone to get closer. “Now, the two of you spread out. Angela, you might want to let your hair down in case your talents are needed. Callista, you stay here. We can’t let on something is wrong and too many people are watching you.”

Angela reached over and pulled out the pins holding her hair in place. Her eyes flashed green and a single snake snuck its head out for a second and retreated.

“Okay, let’s go,” Angela said to Bennett, leaving Callie behind.

The music stopped and Stavros, the male Siren banged his staff three times.

“Attention! Attention!” the Siren shouted.

Georgia stepped forward, carrying the ancient decanter full of the harvested wine. The decanter was a gift to the Muses, from Dionysus and Amphityonis, god and goddess of wine. The decanter was compact but could hold a whole harvest’s wine. This served the Fates perfectly, since their villa had limited storage space.

Georgia began her introduction, and Rose grimaced. “She’s such a blowhard,” Callie overheard Rose comment to Agatha and Callie agreed. Agatha shushed Rose and told her to pay attention.

“As we have done so, for thousands of years, and as we will continue to do for thousands more, we bless our relationship with the Fates through the gift of wine. I remember my first wine harvest and ceremony…”

Callie watched Bennett working his way through the crowd.

Damn it, Penny. Where the hell did you go?

Bennett caught Callie’s eye and pointed in the direction of the balcony. She saw Penny signal to a group of several men a few yards away from Bennett. They were looking directly at the goddess and gathered in a semi-circle. At the center of the semi-circle was Sophie, standing with her dance partner.

“It’s a trap,” Callie said, frantically signaling to Georgia. Not knowing what to do, Callie watched as a woman approached Georgia from behind.

Dear God
,
it’s Persephone. But how is she out of the Underworld?

“Without further words, I present this year’s harvest to” Georgia said and turned to find Persephone smiling at her.

Georgia raised her hand to send an energy burst towards her, but Persephone was too quick and punched Georgia so hard the sickening crunch told everyone in close proximity Georgia’s jaw was broken. The blow threw Georgia through the air and she landed in front of the wheelchair-bound Fates. The decanter had fallen out of Georgia’s hands and Persephone grabbed it before it struck the ground.

“That’s one way to shut the woman up,” Rose shouted as she lifted her foot and gave Georgia as much of a kick as the elderly Fate could manage. “You should have held onto the decanter, idiot.”

A huge burst of energy erupted in the center of the crowd and several people were thrown in all directions. Chaos broke out as several people screamed; trying to escape, but all the doors slammed shut. Some of them caught guests who thought they had escaped, their bodies shaking in pain as their bones splintered and broke.

In the center of the fallen guests stood Sophie and the stranger she had been dancing with.

“They all deserve to die,” Sophie said. “I want you all to die!” Sophie shouted, sending another burst of energy at a group of guests who attempted to defend themselves but were too weak against Sophie’s power. She was drawing the energy from the room. She was drawing her energy from the guests she was murdering.

Oh, lord. The binding spell didn’t hold. How could it not have held?

“Sophie!” Callie yelled. “Stop, Sophie!”

She saw her daughter turn her head and look at her.

She’s seeing something, but it isn’t me. He’s controlling her.

Callie jumped out of the way before a burst of energy hit her. It struck Rhonda, the United States’ Representative, in the center of her chest and the woman slumped over, lifeless. Callie cried out but knew she was too late to help her.

“Sophie…look at me. It’s Mommy. You have to stop. I don’t know what it is you are seeing, but you have to stop.”

Another burst erupted from her daughter, except this time it struck the guest trying to escape through the jammed French doors. The explosion sent wood and glass shattering throughout the room.

Callie struggled to reach Sophie. She saw Bennett and Angela working their way through the panicking crowd, also trying to get to her. Callie was a few yards away, but the crowd trying to escape was pushing her in the opposite direction. She looked at the man standing next to Sophie and knew she had to break his hold on her. She watched as the man threw off his mask.

Angelo
?

The air around the man shimmered and Callie knew right away it wasn’t her husband.

My husband is dead.
Who the hell is that?

Sophie shot several more energy bursts into the room and grazed Callie in the arm, making her bleed. Elena, the Russian leader, wasn’t as lucky. She screamed, clutching her face, and fell onto the ground writhing in pain. Standing close to her was Helena, who was missing part of her right leg, from the knee down. Blood gushed from her wound, as one of her aides tore off a piece of her dress to tie a tourniquet around her leg and stop the bleeding.