Chapter Four
Chapter Four
“How do I look?” Kiho had just opened the door to Lexie’s room, where Lexie’s parents had told her to go on up to. She was dressed in a (blankety blank insert Athena’s color here after you find out what it is) dress, much the same style as Kiho’s. It was “in” at the time.
“You look great!” Kiho’s compliment was from her heart, and without jealousy. Lexie blushed.
“Thanks. My hair isn’t done yet, or anything. Or my nails. I just wanted to wear the dress right now.” She smiled.
“I can see that.” Lexie’s blond hair was up in curlers.
“So, what do you want to start on?” It was two hours before the dance. They were both in Lexie’s room, and the floor was, at the moment, littered with beauty supplies and magazines. Lexie didn’t have any makeup on; in fact, the only thing that was ready about her was that she was wearing her dress. Kiho shoved a plethora of purses and a few issues of Cosmo Girl off Lexie’s pink bedspread. Her foot got caught in the canopy. Kiho thought that the canopy and colors in the room were a little childish, but for Lexie, it was all right. Perfect, actually. Lexie took the hangar with Kiho’s dress from Kiho, and hung it on a hook. “Just for the time being, until we figure out what order we’re going to do things. I have to take this dress off, anyway, so I can do my nails, and stuff like that.”
“Makes sense.” Kiho looked around the room, and felt awkward. She still wasn’t in to fashion, and never knew the difference between what was hot, and what was not. It didn’t bother her. She didn’t want to life an existence where she served only to pursue boys and think about what to wear. Not that Lexie did either of those things, but she was better adjusted to society than Kiho was. She was nervous about the dance, but would have died before admitting it.
“I think we should do our hands, first. Or lotion.”
“Hands,” Lexie said decisively. “The lotion will make our hands too slippery to open the bottles.” Kiho never would have thought of that.
“Okay. So, what color? Black?” Lexie looked disdainful.
“People would think you’re Goth or Punk, or something else just as bad.”
“I am Punk or Goth,” Kiho muttered just for the sake of argument, but just nodded. That’s why she was here. Lexie was going to make her look good, so that someone other than Damon would ask her to dance. Not that she cared, but it was something that made her sound like she wasn’t a total leper to society. It would make her mother feel better. Her dad didn’t mind. He had been a bit anti-social in his younger days, too. Probably where she got it from, come to think of it. He had stayed away from large get-togethers until he’d started going out with Kiho’s mother. Then he was forced into society in general because of his new girlfriend’s social butterflyness. He had decided that it wasn’t so bad, and stayed.
“You are not Punk or Goth. I don’t know what you are, exactly. You just get dressed in what you want to wear, and do whatever you want to do and say whatever you want to say. You’re Kiho.” Kiho shrugged. “You should just French manicure your nails. Solid painted nails are out.” She looked at Kiho’s fingernails. “On second thought, let’s just use fake ones on you. You’re nails are way too short and jagged.”
“What do you expect? I chew on them.” Lexie rolled her eyes.
“Still? I thought you quit!”
“I just told everyone that I quit so they’d stop bugging me about it. I still do.” Lexie sighed, but dropped it. She took out some adhesive, and started to glue the nails on. Kiho looked nervously at the glue. “Will this stuff ever come off?”
“Oh, in a few years, don’t worry.” Lexie was getting impatient. “Let me do my nails, and then we can lotion up our hands.”
“Um, okay.” She wondered, as she always did, what someone would say if she objected to their plans. What if she just said, “No, I don’t want to do that?” She’d never actually felt like saying that, but wondered what would happen if she ever did. If she ever felt like saying it, she would. She was so busy thinking her own thoughts, she was surprised to feel something cold on her hand. She pulled her hand away abruptly. Raspberry scented lotion hit Lexie’s wall with a loud splat. Kiho looked at the pinkish splotch sheepishly. “Sorry. It surprised me.” Lexie was grinning.
“Apparently. Shall we try that again?”
“Okay. I promise I won’t throw it this time.”
“Well, I was thinking of repainting my room. Maybe I should just drip the paint on your hand. You do an excellent job of splattering it.”
“Whatever,” Kiho said, “Just let’s get on with the lotion. Damon won’t want to let go of my hands.” Lexie looked worried for a moment.
“Uh, Kiho, there’s something you need to know about Damon.” Kiho worried for a moment that she was going to say he was sick.
“What about him? Is he okay?” she asked worriedly. The way Lexie was talking made it sound like he was seriously ill.
“He’s fine. Just, well, heavily crushing.”
“Crushing? He’s crushed? How can he be fine?” Kiho was sounding a little less calm, cool, nad collected than usual.
“No, not literally. A crush. You know what that is, right?”
“Oh, someone has a crush on him? I believe it. British accents are in, apparently. Even I know that. Why is that so bad?”
“It’s not someone with a crush on him. He has a crush on someone, and-“ Kiho saw where she was going with it.
“It’s fine. I know he’s only taking me because we’re friends.”
“It isn’t that, either. I know you don’t like him that way. It’s that this girl asked him to go with her.”
“Oh.” Kiho knew that she would be dumped. She couldn’t blame him, really. If he liked this girl, she’d have to be awesome.
“Well, I’ll go anyway. I don’t need an escort. That was just because he wasn’t going with anyone else.” Lexie looked confused.
“He’s still going with you. He would never just drop you for another girl. But he’s going to hang out with her, too. I just thought I’d tell you that after the first few dances, you might not have a partner.”
“That’s fine. The guys will be waiting in a line to dance with me,” Kiho said off-handedly. Lexie laughed.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a megalomaniac.” Kiho feigned surprise.
“You’ve discovered my secret! Now I must kill you!” She bared her teeth, and opened her hands. “With my fingernails of death!” Lexie tried to look scared, but started to giggle.
“Come here, Dracula. I need to get your feet done. They need to look pretty before people can step on them.”
“Not Damon, of course.” They both laughed. If anyone stepped on Kiho’s feet, it would be Damon. He was an insufferable klutz.
“Of course not.” She painted Kiho’s toenails black, at Kiho’s insistence.
“I have to have some shred of the real me still remaining! It would be better if they were camouflaged. But I guess even you have your limits.”
“True. Besides, it would clash with your outfit.”
They finished their feet without much of a problem, and went to put their dresses on. Then it was time for hair. Lexie was curling her golden locks, and straightening Kiho’s black tresses. Kiho had a bob now, and it curved invitingly towards her small face. Her face was plain, though, so boys didn’t usually pay any mind to her. She had a lot of friends that were boys (the local skaters, some of the Jocks, and a few others) but to them, she was a buddy. They talked about the “hotties” in school and around town with her. She was surprised to hear Lexie’s name mentioned often.
It seemed like eternity to Kiho, and a few minutes to Lexie, before Lexie stated, satisfied, “Finished. Go look at yourself in the mirror, and try not to faint.” Lexie couldn’t wait to see Kiho’s face when she saw herself.
Lexie seemed to have transformed Kiho into someone else. All the attention had been drawn to her eyes, and they had always been a secret pleasure to Kiho. Now they made her otherwise, and usually, dull face look exotic enough to fit her complexion and personality. Kiho started to touch her face, but stopped.
“It’ll smear, won’t it?” Lexie nodded.
“If you rub it.” Just then, a car horn could be heard outside. “Oh, it’s Damon! He’s here so soon!” Kiho was thinking Finally, Damon. What took him so long?
They hurried into his car. It was chilly outside, and Damon’s car was nice and warm. Damon looked into the backseat, where Kiho and Lexie had settled, and raised his eyebrows.
“Whoa. You two look… Way different. Lexie, you should be a model. And makeup artist.” Kiho bristled.
“Are you saying that I usually look bad?”
“Ignore her, Damon. She’s nervous and self-conscious. She’s not used to it.” Damon nodded. Kiho looked like she was going to say something sharp in return, but Lexie cut her off before she could start.
“Who’s that lovely lady in the front, Damon? I don’t believe we’ve ever met.” Lexie had a pretty good idea who the girl was, but wanted Damon to introduce her. Damon looked nervous to Lexie, but that was because Lexie knew him well.
“This is Amanda. She needed a ride to the dance, so I said I’d take her. Is that okay?”
“Fine,” Kiho said.
“Fine,” Lexie said. She wondered if Kiho knew that this was the girl that she’d been telling her about. She looked at Kiho. Kiho looked up, feeling Lexie’s eyes on her. Lexie jerked her head towards Amanda.
“What?” Kiho mouthed.
“That’s the girl,” Lexie mouthed back. Kiho looked at her. Did Kiho really mind? Lexie could never tell. Kiho played things close to her chest. You never knew what she was thinking. It worried Lexie, sometimes. Kiho was only ever open with Lexie and Damon, and not always with them, even.
“So?” she mouthed, and turned back to the window.
It was at that moment that Lexie experienced something really weird. She felt her mind drift away from her body, and time in the car seemed to freeze. She drifted away, and felt vaguely worried. That feeling soon faded away. The only feeling left was a feeling of warmth. It started out pleasantly so, but just got hotter and hotter. When she reached the point of scalding, she stopped. She was at the top of a mountain, so it seemed. There was a group of people waiting for her.
“Hello, Alexandria,” a man spoke. He was huge, and very handsome. He looked to be in his mid 40s, but she wasn’t sure. He was in very good shape. His muscles were toned, and his skin was bronze. He was wearing a crown. He had on shorts and a T-shirt. Lexie was wary. She might have been naive, but she did know about friendly men who seemed to be polite, right up until they raped you. She backed away. A woman came up behind him, and laid a hand on the back of his neck gently. She was almost as tall as he was, which was surprising. He had to have been 8 feet tall, at the least. Even if, in this place, that was usual, women weren’t usually as tall as men. More surprising than that, was that she looked a lot like Aunt Zelda.
“Father, she isn’t used to us. Besides, she burning up,” the woman who looked like Aunt Zelda said, chastising. She touched Lexie, and Lexie was instantly cooled. She went back to being pleasantly warm.
“Are you, are you,” she broke off. “Never mind. It was silly.” Everyone looked at her. Their eyes felt as hot as she’d been before the woman’s touch.
“Tell us,” a kindly voice said. The absolutely hottest boy Lexie had ever seen was standing right in front of her. His golden hair wasn’t just blond it was really golden. His eyes were as green as a pasture in Ireland. His muscles were even more toned than the older man’s. He was also wearing even less, only shorts. Lexie just stared, unable to speak.
“Don’t you know that you’re frightening the poor girl?” another woman spoke. “I think we should introduce ourselves, first of all.” She was clad in deerskins, and a bow was slung over one shoulder. The older man stepped up first.
“My name is Zeus.” A beautiful woman with a sour expression looked at Lexie, sizing her up.
“She’s small, isn’t she? I’m Hera.” The woman who looked like Aunt Zelda glared daggers at her.
“She’s not small for a human. I’m Athena.” Before Lexie could react to the name, another woman stepped out from the shadows. Her eyes changed colors constantly, but seemed to have an overall tonality of purple. Her dark hair was thick and lush, and her lips were full, pouting, and very, very red. Her cheekbones were high, her complexion was perfect, and her figure was enough to make an average guy pant. Lexie was disgusted.
“I’m Aphrodite. That is my son, Eros.” She pointed at the boy who was so gorgeous. He flashed a dazzling smile at her. His teeth were straight and white. She felt faint.
“He has that effect on everyone,” a man whispered. He looked like a normal man, in his late 20s. His hair was sandy, and he slightly buck teeth. “I’m Hermes.” He shook her hand. She felt oddly reassured. But that went away with the next introduction. This was a man in his 60s, his hair was white, and he held a pitchfork looking thing in a threatening manner.
“I’m Poseidon,” he said gruffly, and blew part of his moustache out of his mouth. The next man rolled his eyes. He was in his early 30s, and looked a lot like Eros, just older.
“I’m Apollo.” The woman in deerskins spoke again.
“I’m Artemis.” Her voice was wild sounding, like dogs baying, or horns blasting. It’s echo sounded forlorn. Her eyes were large, and seemed filled with sorrow, in some way. She didn’t look directly at Lexie, but out of the corner of her eyes. She seemed to be more of an animal than human. “I’m Apollo’s sister.” A frenzied looking man shouted. His eyes were red, and his fists clenched and unclenched, while veins popped out on his forehead. Had it not been for those things, he might have looked handsome.
“I’m Ares.” He looked at her in a way that suggested a buyer looking at a slave. She didn’t like the way his eyes slowly took her in. She squirmed. A limping man saved her from further scrutiny. He came closer.
“She’s beautiful!” Aphrodite looked angry. Everyone ignored her. “I’m Hephaestus.” Another older and fat woman cried on the verge of things. Everyone looked at her expectantly.
“I’m Demeter,” she managed to sob. “I’m Demeter, and he’s taken Persephone again!” Everyone looked exasperated. A young boy skipped drunkenly up.
“I’m Dionysus,” he hiccupped.
There were others, on the fringe, but they came no closer, and they said nothing. Lexie was still confused.
“Am I on drugs, somehow?” she asked suspiciously. She had never been on drugs, but this sounded like something that you would see if you were. She wasn’t sure how she could possibly be on drugs, but you never knew. The people laughed.
“No, you aren’t.” Athena said. “You’re really here. You do know who we are, right?” She muttered something, and it was then that Lexie knew that Athena and Aunt Zelda were the same person. Right now, because of her greater size and volume of sound, Lexie could hear what Aunt Zelda was saying. “She’d better know who we are, after all those stories I’ve told her.”
“Aunt Zelda?” She felt like crying. “You’re a goddess? Is this real?” She was having a sensory overload. She closed her eyes, and sat down on the ground. She rested her head on her knees, and folded her arms over the top of her head, so her face wasn’t showing.
“I know who you are,” she spoke through her arms. “You’re gods and goddesses of Greece. I’m not stupid, you know. But why am I here?”
“We brought you, of course. Or, rather, Hermes brought you. He’s the one who gets people and things,” Apollo spoke. “Since you aren’t stupid, I suppose you knew that already.”
“I did, as a matter of fact.” Lexie tried to sound brave despite the fact that her face was currently buried between her knees. She found herself thinking, What would Kiho do? How would she act? What would she say? Lexie stood up suddenly, and looked Zeus in the eye. “Why did you bring me here?” Everyone stopped what they were doing. Artemis, who had been fletching arrows, was the only one who didn’t. The sharp rasping of her knife was the sole sound reverberating through the mountains. Even Dionysus was sober, and it took something out of the ordinary for that to happen.
“Athena?” Zeus called, but she stayed right where she was standing.
“You got yourself into this, you can explain.” He started to raise a fist to her, but she just crossed her arms and glared. Lexie had been the focus of such a glare, and felt sympathy for the god. Zeus cleared his throat.
“I called you because we, well. There’s a danger. You were prophesied. You have to protect something very precious. Very precious. There is someone who will try to take it from you. You know the person, but I can’t tell you who it is.”
“Do you know?”
“All of us know, except Athena. She is classified as a mortal for the time being. Until this is over. All I can tell you is to beware of the child from the valley of darkness. This child will betray you.” Everything started to melt.
“Wait!” Lexie shouted, but Hermes was already scooping her up, and flying her to Damon’s car.
At the same time, Kiho was being transported. She was getting colder and colder, and the colors were getting darker and darker. At first it felt fine, then she started to freeze. The air grew still. She stopped. She was in front of a man. He was dark, and tall. He seemed to be a shadow to her, but she could see him clearly. His features were striking, and very handsome. His eyes were grey, and sharp. Beside him sat a woman. She was chained, and her pale skin was mottled with bruises. Kiho looked at her, horrified, but as she looked, the chains were gone, as were the bruises. The same woman sat beside him, on a dark throne. It was an exact copy of the man’s, but smaller. He looked at Kiho in a way that made her feel chastised.
“You don’t know why you’re on earth, do you?” His voice was deep, and scathing. Probing. Kiho made her mind hard as iron. Hot iron. A curling iron. She thought of Lexie. Lexie would use charm. Kiho would try that, too.
“No, sir,” she said, coquettishly. The man looked disdainfully at her.
“You are here to take out the light one! To take the treasure. Kill the light one, and you will have the treasure.”
“Who are you, sir? And who is the lovely lady beside you?”
“I am Hades, you silly girl. The woman beside me is my wife. Her name is unimportant. She matters little to you, or anyone else, for that matter.” He acted as if the woman wasn’t there, and she gasped. For a second she flickered between being the queen and the captive. A voice echoed in her mind. It was female.
“Don’t listen to him. Tell the light one there is a traitor in Olympia. She is one you know well. She is light-“
“Don’t listen to her.” Hades cut in. “She is witless. You will kill the light one. It is a threat to life. You hate it. It has done horrible things.” Images flitted in her mind. Horrible images of death and pain. Suddenly, hatred bloomed in her breast. She narrowed her eyes.
“Yes, sir.”
“If you do kill her, you will get a lot of payment. Precious payment.” More images flashed through her mind. Silver, riches, diamonds, slaves, and pampering. The little voice was drowned out. A three-headed dog carried her back to the car.
They said nothing for the rest of the ride. Damon chatted quietly with Amanda in the front seat. Kiho realized that she couldn’t take the first dance away from them, but she doubted that anyone else would dance with her. She needed to talk to Lexie.
I need to talk to Kiho! Lexie thought urgently. Not in front of Damon, of course. He couldn’t get involved right now. Kiho needed to know. If the dark child attacked Lexie, Kiho needed to know. As soon as they got into the building, Lexie’s date, Mark, made his way towards her.
“May I have this dance?” he asked gallantly. He extended his hand. Lexie placed her hand in his, and he kissed it. Lexie blushed. She looked back. Kiho nodded her assent.
“Yes, you may,” Lexie responded.
Damon approached Kiho. “May I have this dance?” he asked. He didn’t mind dancing with Kiho, she could tell, but he would rather dance with Amanda.
“No, you may not.”
“What?” Damon was taken aback.
“You may not have this dance. Go ask Amanda.” She smiled at him, and his face broke into a wide grin.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Thanks, Kiho. I’ll dance with you later.” He raced off. Kiho sat down. A boy came up to her, and asked if she wanted to dance.
“Sure.” She didn’t really notice anything about the boy. He was just there. After that dance, she just sat in the corner and sipped a pop. She waited for a few dances, and then looked for her friends. Boys continued to ask her to dance as she made her way across the dance floor. Or maybe it was just the same guy over and over again. She turned them (or him) down. She spotted Lexie. She was still dancing with the same guy. Just a few couples away danced Damon and Amanda. A thought struck her. The light one… Someone she knew… Why couldn’t it be Amanda? Amanda might be trying to use Damon to get to Kiho! Kiho’s eyes widened. She looked for Lexie. She had to tell Lexie about this, so that they might be able to stop Amanda. As soon as the dance was over, she dragged Lexie off to the girl’s restroom.
“Listen, I don’t trust Amanda. I think she’s just using Damon for some reason. We need to get her away from Damon, before she hurts him.” Lexie started off grinning, thinking that Kiho was joking, but it was fading by the time she was done.
“Why do you think that?” Kiho stopped. She couldn’t think of a logical explanation other than the truth. Even the truth wasn’t very logical. As Kiho fumbled for and answer, Lexie’s grin changed into a frown.
“She’s, she’s blonde. She’s too happy. She never stops smiling.”
“I’m blonde! And I smile a lot, too! You don’t even know her very well. You just met her. Is this going to be like the time you thought there were aliens invaded?” Lexie was referring to a time long ago, when they were 7 or so, when Kiho had been studying about aliens, and was sure that she’d found an alien ship. No one believed her, of course, and aliens didn’t really invade. Lexie hadn’t ever used that against her. Kiho looked at her, confused.
“Why are you being so snippy all of a sudden?” It wasn’t like Lexie to get upset so quickly.
“You made me come here for this, when I could be dancing with Mark! He might even actually ask me out, and he might have been getting ready to, and you have to drag me in here to tell me something stupid.” Lexie was flushed but, unlike usually, it wasn’t with happiness or embarrassment. It was with anger. A light seemed to dawn in her eyes. “You’re jealous, aren’t you? You feel left out because Damon and I both have dates, and you wouldn’t even try to get one, and now everyone isn’t falling all over themselves for you like they usually are, and you want to be the center of attention. Well, here’s a news flash for you, Kiho, you have to make an effort to get a date. You didn’t.” Lexie stormed out.
I can’t believe I said that to her! Lexie thought. But it’s just so maddening! He’s finally about to ask me out, and she butts in! It’s not my fault she’s being paranoid all of a sudden. She needs to get over her jealousy. She made her way back to Mark.
“Sorry about that. My friend was being weird.” She was slightly breathless.
“It’s okay. I was just going to ask you if you wanted to go see a movie next Saturday, or something. We could walk down to the theatre, and meet there.”
“Sure! Could I check with Amanda and Damon, and make it a double date? That would be fun.”
“Sure. Does your other friend have a guy she could go with? The more the merrier, you know.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Lexie said shortly. “She wouldn’t have fun, anyway. There’s nothing on at the theatres that she’d like.” It was true, but she still felt a twinge of guilt. Kiho might have wanted to go even if there wasn’t anything at the theatres she’d enjoy. She liked hanging out with Damon and Lexie, and had sat through many a film she’d disliked. Still, Lexie wasn’t about to welcome her back with open arms, even if it did mean that she would have to live with a guilty conscience.
“Well, I’ll meet you there at 7:00, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll have to ask my parents, then I’ll call you.”
“Sounds good to me. Do you want to dance?”
“Sure.” Lexie smiled.
Kiho walked home, and thought about the trip she’d taken to the Underworld. If it really had been. She was beginning to have her doubts. What if she’d only been asleep? It was possible, but highly unlikely. She thought back to her time there. It was unlike any dream she’d ever had before, and Kiho didn’t usually get her dreams mixed up with reality. I’m too close to this to understand. I need to do something else, first. The only other thing she could think about was Lexie, and that was too painful. I guess this is what people talk about. Friends getting boyfriends, and forgetting all about you. Well, if she wants to forget about me, fine. Forget her. I have other friends. How could she call me jealous? She’s the one who’s always the center of attention, not me. So why did she say that I felt left out, and wasn’t the center of attention “for once?” I’m unobtrusive. No one ever notices me, anyway. She folded her arms. She’d left without her coat, and now her arms were covered in goose bumps. That’s what you get for leaving in a storm, she thought furiously. She was angry with herself, too. Now Damon was going to get it for sure. Amanda was probably some demon, or something. She would eat Damon’s soul, and then they’d see how Lexie felt. She’d feel awful. It would be all her fault. See how the blameless one likes that. Damon will be wandering around like a zombie, but it’ll be too late. Well, I tried to warn her. I’ll just have to tell Damon. She’d been reluctant to do that before, because she could see that Damon really liked Amanda and she didn’t want to make him feel bad. Everyone knew that demons could be like Sirens, or something. They could attract mortals so easily it was boring for them, probably. Kiho didn’t know for sure. She wasn’t a demon. She had a long way to walk. It started to snow. Kiho shivered. She wished that she were in more practical clothes. It’s Lexie’s fault. I would never have chosen to wear this, or even go to that stupid dance in the first place. When she finally got home, a half an hour later, she changed her clothes, ripped off her nails, and took a hot shower. After that, she laid down in bed to read for a while. She stopped after a few minutes, because she didn’t have any books that she hadn’t read recently. She asked her dad if she could go to the library for a little while. It was right down the street, and if she wore a coat she wouldn’t mind walking. He gave her permission. He didn’t ask about the dance. He could tell that it hadn’t gone well at all. She grabbed her library card, and set out.
She was glad to have gotten into the library, because a minute after she set out, the snowstorm got worse. She was passing by a shelf of ancient mythology books, when a title caught her eye. Hades and His Prophets. Hmm, sounds interesting. Especially with my dreamy thing. I’ll get this. And a guide to basic Greek mythology. She was startled out of her reverie by a female voice.
“Can I help you?” Kiho turned around sharply. It was Aunt Zelda. Even though Kiho was mad at Lexie, she wasn’t upset to see Aunt Zelda, who was like an aunt to Kiho, too. “Oh, it’s you, Kiho. I thought you were supposed to be going to a dance with Lexie.
“I did,” said Kiho. Her voice sounded bitter, even to her own ears.
“You didn’t have a good time?” Aunt Zelda asked innocently.
“It ended with me walking home without my coat. Alone.” Aunt Zelda frowned.
“Why?”
“I felt like it.” Kiho closed up. She didn’t want to talk about it. Aunt Zelda understood. “I didn’t know you worked here.”
“I’ve been working here for a long time. What are you looking for?”
“Nothing really. Just browsing.”
“I didn’t know you were interested in Greek mythology!” Aunt Zelda said with sudden enthusiasm. “I could recommend some good books.” Kiho started to refuse, then changed her mind. If anyone could give her some good books on mythology, it would be Aunt Zelda. She showed Kiho some books that she said were “Really realistic” and “True to history.” Sometimes Kiho didn’t understand Aunt Zelda. Sometimes she thought that she believed in the gods and goddesses. Then again, I’m on the verge of believing in them, too, she thought. Since her shift was over, Aunt Zelda drove Kiho home. It was a good thing she did, because Kiho was loaded with books, both about mythology and not, and it was practically a blizzard outside.
Kiho settled into her bed, in her pajamas and wrapped in quilts. She had a mug of coffee on her nightstand, along with a few cookies and her lamp. Her books were piled on the floor. She lugged one onto her lap, and began to read. The first few sentences drew her in right away.
“Hades was a king of tricks and deceptions. He lured people into his home, and few ever came back out. His queen, Persephone, is a captured bird in a gilded cage for half of the year, and the other half journeys to the above world to visit her mother. He has many prophets and much riches, but he would never let any of it part from his grasp. He has promised much to many, but given any to none. He is often at war with Zeus.” Kiho frowned. “Maybe this guy’s just biased, or something.” She pulled up another book. It said much the same thing. Kiho shook her head. “I would not be taken in to easily. He’s probably just got a bad rap, like sharks or something.” She closed the books. She looked up Zeus.
“A god with a bad case of lust, Zeus has a bad habit of having affairs with every pretty woman in the world. Time after time, his jealous wife Hera does something bad to the poor woman, but Zeus never learns. He has a bad temper, and is often taking rash action. He doesn’t toy with mortals, however. He always seems to mean well. He’s very just.” Kiho snorted.
“He sounds just as bad as Hades. What’s the difference? Hades sounds smarter, anyway.” She folded her arms. “If I have to choose between them, Hades sounds better.” She told herself that, but wasn’t sure she completely believed it. There was something evil about the Underworld, and Hades description. Zeus sounded like the neighborhood drunk in a TV show, but Hades sounded like the evil overlord. She shook her head. “I’ve just got to get Amanda away from Damon, then I’ll leave them alone. After Amanda’s taken care of, I can go back to my regular life. Just without Lexie and Damon.” She nodded sharply. “And since when do I talk to myself, anyway?”
Lexie slumped into Damon’s car. “She just left? Just like that? She didn’t even get her coat!” They’d just taken Amanda to her house. Damon was questioning Lexie about Kiho.
“I got mad at her, and she left.” Lexie rubbed her finger against the leather seats. The car was too dark for comfort. She looked at the red digital clock embedded into the dashboard. 12:00, it’s emotionless face read. She was sitting in the front seat, facing the window.
“Why did you get mad at her?”
“She wasn’t making any sense. She was jealous of us, I think. She went off on a tangent about Amanda and said that we couldn’t trust her. I don’t know what she was talking about. I was just tired of her thinking she is always the center of attention.”
“Lexie, she doesn’t always think she’s the center of attention. She’s always just hanging out with us. Is that all it was?”
“Yes.” Lexie said decisively. She didn’t want to tell Damon about her dream thing until she got figured out, but at the same time, she wanted to tell someone. He looked at her. Darn my expressive face. I can never keep a secret. “No. Actually, I had this dream…” She explained the dream to Damon. His eyes widened.
“But you don’t think it’s a dream, do you?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t know who would betray me. The only people really close enough are my family, you, and Kiho. Since Aunt Zelda is Athena, I doubt she’ll betray me. I don’t think you or Kiho would ever do anything like that to me, and neither would my parents. They always wanted a large family, but it hasn’t worked.” She pulled her ear, a nervous habit she had.
“I don’t know. I can’t help you with that very much, but I’ll keep an eye out for you. Are you going to tell Kiho?”
“No. I don’t want to see her right now. Not until she apologizes for going crazy on me like she did.” Damon’s face showed doubt, but he said nothing. Lexie’s face was set. “Let’s talk about something else.” Damon said nothing.
After Damon dropped Lexie off at her house, Lexie went to her Aunt Zelda’s room. She was asleep. Lexie shook the (blah blah Athena colored) lump under the blanket. There was a unintelligible groan. Lexie knelt on the (Athena colored) carpet, and shook more insistently.
“What do you want?” came her muffled voice from under the pillow.
“I need to talk to you. It’s Lexie.” Aunt Zelda sat up suddenly.
“Okay. Did you get it?” For a second, Lexie thought that her Aunt Zelda was still asleep.
“Get what? What are you talking about?” Aunt Zelda yawned.
“Ah dree,” she said.
“The what?” Lexie was getting irritated. Was she Athena, or not?
“The dream!” Aunt Zelda repeated. “Was that really you there?” Lexie sighed, a mixture of relief and worry. Relieved that she wasn’t crazy, worried about what the dream meant to her life.
“Yes, it was really me.”
“Good. Now, who do you think is the one who will betray you?”
“I haven’t the foggiest. There isn’t anyone close enough to me who would do that. Not you, or mom and dad, or Kiho, or Damon.”
“It isn’t going to be anyone older than you. Not much older, anyway. They have to be around your age. Do you have any other friends?” Aunt Zelda asked as a joke. She knew that friends surrounded Lexie. Lexie laughed grimly.
“Tons. But none of them are close enough.”
“They don’t have to be really close to betray you, just know about you. Where you live, who your friends are, that sort of thing. Even a crush could be the betrayer.” At Aunt Zelda’s casual words, a thought sprang to Lexie’s mind. Mark! He could very likely be the betrayer. He was the one who’d made Lexie mad at Kiho, even if he hadn’t been there when she blew up at her. Hadn’t he said something about Damon being annoying, or had that been her imagination? She remembered thinking that he might annoy Amanda with his constant pampering, but had Mark actually said something? She wasn’t sure.
“I think I have a suspect,” she told Aunt Zelda gravely. “Mark.” Aunt Zelda knew about Mark, of course. She knew all about Lexie’s crushes.
“Ah, yes. Mark. He’s a prime suspect.” She nodded. “He could influence you a lot.” Lexie felt desolate. She really liked Mark. He hadn’t tried anything with her, and had seemed really nice. “That’s not to say he actually is the betrayer, just that he might be,” she hastened to say. “What do Damon and Kiho think?”
“Damon said he’d think about it, and keep an eye out for me. Kiho doesn’t know.” Lexie spat Kiho’s name.
“Don’t be angry with her just because she doesn’t have any ideas, Lexie-“
“That’s not it. She doesn’t even know about the dream. I didn’t tell her. I’m not speaking to her until she apologizes for being such a brat to Damon and me at the dance.” Aunt Zelda raised an eyebrow.
“I saw her at the library. She wouldn’t say anything about it.” Her voice was probing and she sounded like a physiatrist, but Lexie paid no mind.
“She probably didn’t want you to know how crazy she is. She was talking about how bad Amanda is because she wasn’t getting enough attention.” Lexie tossed her head. “So I’ve decided not to speak to her. I’m tired of it.”
“Why so angry at her all of a sudden? I don’t believe that you’re just mad because of that.”
“That is all it is.” Lexie closed her mouth. “I need to go to bed.” She stood up, but Aunt Zelda grabbed her arm.
“She interrupted you and Mark, didn’t she? He was going to ask you out, and she interrupted you, just to say something you think is stupid.”
“Yeah. But that’s not the only reason. I really am mad because she’s jealous. She could have more friends, but she doesn’t try. She thinks she above everyone all the time.” Aunt Zelda was quiet.
“This doesn’t sound like you, Lexie.” Her voice was low, and sad. Lexie blushed. She felt severely chastised. “I think you need to make up with Kiho. Before it’s too late.”
“I don’t want to.” She pulled away gently, and left the room. She sank into her bed, and fell into a deep sleep.
“How do I look?” Kiho had just opened the door to Lexie’s room, where Lexie’s parents had told her to go on up to. She was dressed in a (blankety blank insert Athena’s color here after you find out what it is) dress, much the same style as Kiho’s. It was “in” at the time.
“You look great!” Kiho’s compliment was from her heart, and without jealousy. Lexie blushed.
“Thanks. My hair isn’t done yet, or anything. Or my nails. I just wanted to wear the dress right now.” She smiled.
“I can see that.” Lexie’s blond hair was up in curlers.
“So, what do you want to start on?” It was two hours before the dance. They were both in Lexie’s room, and the floor was, at the moment, littered with beauty supplies and magazines. Lexie didn’t have any makeup on; in fact, the only thing that was ready about her was that she was wearing her dress. Kiho shoved a plethora of purses and a few issues of Cosmo Girl off Lexie’s pink bedspread. Her foot got caught in the canopy. Kiho thought that the canopy and colors in the room were a little childish, but for Lexie, it was all right. Perfect, actually. Lexie took the hangar with Kiho’s dress from Kiho, and hung it on a hook. “Just for the time being, until we figure out what order we’re going to do things. I have to take this dress off, anyway, so I can do my nails, and stuff like that.”
“Makes sense.” Kiho looked around the room, and felt awkward. She still wasn’t in to fashion, and never knew the difference between what was hot, and what was not. It didn’t bother her. She didn’t want to life an existence where she served only to pursue boys and think about what to wear. Not that Lexie did either of those things, but she was better adjusted to society than Kiho was. She was nervous about the dance, but would have died before admitting it.
“I think we should do our hands, first. Or lotion.”
“Hands,” Lexie said decisively. “The lotion will make our hands too slippery to open the bottles.” Kiho never would have thought of that.
“Okay. So, what color? Black?” Lexie looked disdainful.
“People would think you’re Goth or Punk, or something else just as bad.”
“I am Punk or Goth,” Kiho muttered just for the sake of argument, but just nodded. That’s why she was here. Lexie was going to make her look good, so that someone other than Damon would ask her to dance. Not that she cared, but it was something that made her sound like she wasn’t a total leper to society. It would make her mother feel better. Her dad didn’t mind. He had been a bit anti-social in his younger days, too. Probably where she got it from, come to think of it. He had stayed away from large get-togethers until he’d started going out with Kiho’s mother. Then he was forced into society in general because of his new girlfriend’s social butterflyness. He had decided that it wasn’t so bad, and stayed.
“You are not Punk or Goth. I don’t know what you are, exactly. You just get dressed in what you want to wear, and do whatever you want to do and say whatever you want to say. You’re Kiho.” Kiho shrugged. “You should just French manicure your nails. Solid painted nails are out.” She looked at Kiho’s fingernails. “On second thought, let’s just use fake ones on you. You’re nails are way too short and jagged.”
“What do you expect? I chew on them.” Lexie rolled her eyes.
“Still? I thought you quit!”
“I just told everyone that I quit so they’d stop bugging me about it. I still do.” Lexie sighed, but dropped it. She took out some adhesive, and started to glue the nails on. Kiho looked nervously at the glue. “Will this stuff ever come off?”
“Oh, in a few years, don’t worry.” Lexie was getting impatient. “Let me do my nails, and then we can lotion up our hands.”
“Um, okay.” She wondered, as she always did, what someone would say if she objected to their plans. What if she just said, “No, I don’t want to do that?” She’d never actually felt like saying that, but wondered what would happen if she ever did. If she ever felt like saying it, she would. She was so busy thinking her own thoughts, she was surprised to feel something cold on her hand. She pulled her hand away abruptly. Raspberry scented lotion hit Lexie’s wall with a loud splat. Kiho looked at the pinkish splotch sheepishly. “Sorry. It surprised me.” Lexie was grinning.
“Apparently. Shall we try that again?”
“Okay. I promise I won’t throw it this time.”
“Well, I was thinking of repainting my room. Maybe I should just drip the paint on your hand. You do an excellent job of splattering it.”
“Whatever,” Kiho said, “Just let’s get on with the lotion. Damon won’t want to let go of my hands.” Lexie looked worried for a moment.
“Uh, Kiho, there’s something you need to know about Damon.” Kiho worried for a moment that she was going to say he was sick.
“What about him? Is he okay?” she asked worriedly. The way Lexie was talking made it sound like he was seriously ill.
“He’s fine. Just, well, heavily crushing.”
“Crushing? He’s crushed? How can he be fine?” Kiho was sounding a little less calm, cool, nad collected than usual.
“No, not literally. A crush. You know what that is, right?”
“Oh, someone has a crush on him? I believe it. British accents are in, apparently. Even I know that. Why is that so bad?”
“It’s not someone with a crush on him. He has a crush on someone, and-“ Kiho saw where she was going with it.
“It’s fine. I know he’s only taking me because we’re friends.”
“It isn’t that, either. I know you don’t like him that way. It’s that this girl asked him to go with her.”
“Oh.” Kiho knew that she would be dumped. She couldn’t blame him, really. If he liked this girl, she’d have to be awesome.
“Well, I’ll go anyway. I don’t need an escort. That was just because he wasn’t going with anyone else.” Lexie looked confused.
“He’s still going with you. He would never just drop you for another girl. But he’s going to hang out with her, too. I just thought I’d tell you that after the first few dances, you might not have a partner.”
“That’s fine. The guys will be waiting in a line to dance with me,” Kiho said off-handedly. Lexie laughed.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a megalomaniac.” Kiho feigned surprise.
“You’ve discovered my secret! Now I must kill you!” She bared her teeth, and opened her hands. “With my fingernails of death!” Lexie tried to look scared, but started to giggle.
“Come here, Dracula. I need to get your feet done. They need to look pretty before people can step on them.”
“Not Damon, of course.” They both laughed. If anyone stepped on Kiho’s feet, it would be Damon. He was an insufferable klutz.
“Of course not.” She painted Kiho’s toenails black, at Kiho’s insistence.
“I have to have some shred of the real me still remaining! It would be better if they were camouflaged. But I guess even you have your limits.”
“True. Besides, it would clash with your outfit.”
They finished their feet without much of a problem, and went to put their dresses on. Then it was time for hair. Lexie was curling her golden locks, and straightening Kiho’s black tresses. Kiho had a bob now, and it curved invitingly towards her small face. Her face was plain, though, so boys didn’t usually pay any mind to her. She had a lot of friends that were boys (the local skaters, some of the Jocks, and a few others) but to them, she was a buddy. They talked about the “hotties” in school and around town with her. She was surprised to hear Lexie’s name mentioned often.
It seemed like eternity to Kiho, and a few minutes to Lexie, before Lexie stated, satisfied, “Finished. Go look at yourself in the mirror, and try not to faint.” Lexie couldn’t wait to see Kiho’s face when she saw herself.
Lexie seemed to have transformed Kiho into someone else. All the attention had been drawn to her eyes, and they had always been a secret pleasure to Kiho. Now they made her otherwise, and usually, dull face look exotic enough to fit her complexion and personality. Kiho started to touch her face, but stopped.
“It’ll smear, won’t it?” Lexie nodded.
“If you rub it.” Just then, a car horn could be heard outside. “Oh, it’s Damon! He’s here so soon!” Kiho was thinking Finally, Damon. What took him so long?
They hurried into his car. It was chilly outside, and Damon’s car was nice and warm. Damon looked into the backseat, where Kiho and Lexie had settled, and raised his eyebrows.
“Whoa. You two look… Way different. Lexie, you should be a model. And makeup artist.” Kiho bristled.
“Are you saying that I usually look bad?”
“Ignore her, Damon. She’s nervous and self-conscious. She’s not used to it.” Damon nodded. Kiho looked like she was going to say something sharp in return, but Lexie cut her off before she could start.
“Who’s that lovely lady in the front, Damon? I don’t believe we’ve ever met.” Lexie had a pretty good idea who the girl was, but wanted Damon to introduce her. Damon looked nervous to Lexie, but that was because Lexie knew him well.
“This is Amanda. She needed a ride to the dance, so I said I’d take her. Is that okay?”
“Fine,” Kiho said.
“Fine,” Lexie said. She wondered if Kiho knew that this was the girl that she’d been telling her about. She looked at Kiho. Kiho looked up, feeling Lexie’s eyes on her. Lexie jerked her head towards Amanda.
“What?” Kiho mouthed.
“That’s the girl,” Lexie mouthed back. Kiho looked at her. Did Kiho really mind? Lexie could never tell. Kiho played things close to her chest. You never knew what she was thinking. It worried Lexie, sometimes. Kiho was only ever open with Lexie and Damon, and not always with them, even.
“So?” she mouthed, and turned back to the window.
It was at that moment that Lexie experienced something really weird. She felt her mind drift away from her body, and time in the car seemed to freeze. She drifted away, and felt vaguely worried. That feeling soon faded away. The only feeling left was a feeling of warmth. It started out pleasantly so, but just got hotter and hotter. When she reached the point of scalding, she stopped. She was at the top of a mountain, so it seemed. There was a group of people waiting for her.
“Hello, Alexandria,” a man spoke. He was huge, and very handsome. He looked to be in his mid 40s, but she wasn’t sure. He was in very good shape. His muscles were toned, and his skin was bronze. He was wearing a crown. He had on shorts and a T-shirt. Lexie was wary. She might have been naive, but she did know about friendly men who seemed to be polite, right up until they raped you. She backed away. A woman came up behind him, and laid a hand on the back of his neck gently. She was almost as tall as he was, which was surprising. He had to have been 8 feet tall, at the least. Even if, in this place, that was usual, women weren’t usually as tall as men. More surprising than that, was that she looked a lot like Aunt Zelda.
“Father, she isn’t used to us. Besides, she burning up,” the woman who looked like Aunt Zelda said, chastising. She touched Lexie, and Lexie was instantly cooled. She went back to being pleasantly warm.
“Are you, are you,” she broke off. “Never mind. It was silly.” Everyone looked at her. Their eyes felt as hot as she’d been before the woman’s touch.
“Tell us,” a kindly voice said. The absolutely hottest boy Lexie had ever seen was standing right in front of her. His golden hair wasn’t just blond it was really golden. His eyes were as green as a pasture in Ireland. His muscles were even more toned than the older man’s. He was also wearing even less, only shorts. Lexie just stared, unable to speak.
“Don’t you know that you’re frightening the poor girl?” another woman spoke. “I think we should introduce ourselves, first of all.” She was clad in deerskins, and a bow was slung over one shoulder. The older man stepped up first.
“My name is Zeus.” A beautiful woman with a sour expression looked at Lexie, sizing her up.
“She’s small, isn’t she? I’m Hera.” The woman who looked like Aunt Zelda glared daggers at her.
“She’s not small for a human. I’m Athena.” Before Lexie could react to the name, another woman stepped out from the shadows. Her eyes changed colors constantly, but seemed to have an overall tonality of purple. Her dark hair was thick and lush, and her lips were full, pouting, and very, very red. Her cheekbones were high, her complexion was perfect, and her figure was enough to make an average guy pant. Lexie was disgusted.
“I’m Aphrodite. That is my son, Eros.” She pointed at the boy who was so gorgeous. He flashed a dazzling smile at her. His teeth were straight and white. She felt faint.
“He has that effect on everyone,” a man whispered. He looked like a normal man, in his late 20s. His hair was sandy, and he slightly buck teeth. “I’m Hermes.” He shook her hand. She felt oddly reassured. But that went away with the next introduction. This was a man in his 60s, his hair was white, and he held a pitchfork looking thing in a threatening manner.
“I’m Poseidon,” he said gruffly, and blew part of his moustache out of his mouth. The next man rolled his eyes. He was in his early 30s, and looked a lot like Eros, just older.
“I’m Apollo.” The woman in deerskins spoke again.
“I’m Artemis.” Her voice was wild sounding, like dogs baying, or horns blasting. It’s echo sounded forlorn. Her eyes were large, and seemed filled with sorrow, in some way. She didn’t look directly at Lexie, but out of the corner of her eyes. She seemed to be more of an animal than human. “I’m Apollo’s sister.” A frenzied looking man shouted. His eyes were red, and his fists clenched and unclenched, while veins popped out on his forehead. Had it not been for those things, he might have looked handsome.
“I’m Ares.” He looked at her in a way that suggested a buyer looking at a slave. She didn’t like the way his eyes slowly took her in. She squirmed. A limping man saved her from further scrutiny. He came closer.
“She’s beautiful!” Aphrodite looked angry. Everyone ignored her. “I’m Hephaestus.” Another older and fat woman cried on the verge of things. Everyone looked at her expectantly.
“I’m Demeter,” she managed to sob. “I’m Demeter, and he’s taken Persephone again!” Everyone looked exasperated. A young boy skipped drunkenly up.
“I’m Dionysus,” he hiccupped.
There were others, on the fringe, but they came no closer, and they said nothing. Lexie was still confused.
“Am I on drugs, somehow?” she asked suspiciously. She had never been on drugs, but this sounded like something that you would see if you were. She wasn’t sure how she could possibly be on drugs, but you never knew. The people laughed.
“No, you aren’t.” Athena said. “You’re really here. You do know who we are, right?” She muttered something, and it was then that Lexie knew that Athena and Aunt Zelda were the same person. Right now, because of her greater size and volume of sound, Lexie could hear what Aunt Zelda was saying. “She’d better know who we are, after all those stories I’ve told her.”
“Aunt Zelda?” She felt like crying. “You’re a goddess? Is this real?” She was having a sensory overload. She closed her eyes, and sat down on the ground. She rested her head on her knees, and folded her arms over the top of her head, so her face wasn’t showing.
“I know who you are,” she spoke through her arms. “You’re gods and goddesses of Greece. I’m not stupid, you know. But why am I here?”
“We brought you, of course. Or, rather, Hermes brought you. He’s the one who gets people and things,” Apollo spoke. “Since you aren’t stupid, I suppose you knew that already.”
“I did, as a matter of fact.” Lexie tried to sound brave despite the fact that her face was currently buried between her knees. She found herself thinking, What would Kiho do? How would she act? What would she say? Lexie stood up suddenly, and looked Zeus in the eye. “Why did you bring me here?” Everyone stopped what they were doing. Artemis, who had been fletching arrows, was the only one who didn’t. The sharp rasping of her knife was the sole sound reverberating through the mountains. Even Dionysus was sober, and it took something out of the ordinary for that to happen.
“Athena?” Zeus called, but she stayed right where she was standing.
“You got yourself into this, you can explain.” He started to raise a fist to her, but she just crossed her arms and glared. Lexie had been the focus of such a glare, and felt sympathy for the god. Zeus cleared his throat.
“I called you because we, well. There’s a danger. You were prophesied. You have to protect something very precious. Very precious. There is someone who will try to take it from you. You know the person, but I can’t tell you who it is.”
“Do you know?”
“All of us know, except Athena. She is classified as a mortal for the time being. Until this is over. All I can tell you is to beware of the child from the valley of darkness. This child will betray you.” Everything started to melt.
“Wait!” Lexie shouted, but Hermes was already scooping her up, and flying her to Damon’s car.
At the same time, Kiho was being transported. She was getting colder and colder, and the colors were getting darker and darker. At first it felt fine, then she started to freeze. The air grew still. She stopped. She was in front of a man. He was dark, and tall. He seemed to be a shadow to her, but she could see him clearly. His features were striking, and very handsome. His eyes were grey, and sharp. Beside him sat a woman. She was chained, and her pale skin was mottled with bruises. Kiho looked at her, horrified, but as she looked, the chains were gone, as were the bruises. The same woman sat beside him, on a dark throne. It was an exact copy of the man’s, but smaller. He looked at Kiho in a way that made her feel chastised.
“You don’t know why you’re on earth, do you?” His voice was deep, and scathing. Probing. Kiho made her mind hard as iron. Hot iron. A curling iron. She thought of Lexie. Lexie would use charm. Kiho would try that, too.
“No, sir,” she said, coquettishly. The man looked disdainfully at her.
“You are here to take out the light one! To take the treasure. Kill the light one, and you will have the treasure.”
“Who are you, sir? And who is the lovely lady beside you?”
“I am Hades, you silly girl. The woman beside me is my wife. Her name is unimportant. She matters little to you, or anyone else, for that matter.” He acted as if the woman wasn’t there, and she gasped. For a second she flickered between being the queen and the captive. A voice echoed in her mind. It was female.
“Don’t listen to him. Tell the light one there is a traitor in Olympia. She is one you know well. She is light-“
“Don’t listen to her.” Hades cut in. “She is witless. You will kill the light one. It is a threat to life. You hate it. It has done horrible things.” Images flitted in her mind. Horrible images of death and pain. Suddenly, hatred bloomed in her breast. She narrowed her eyes.
“Yes, sir.”
“If you do kill her, you will get a lot of payment. Precious payment.” More images flashed through her mind. Silver, riches, diamonds, slaves, and pampering. The little voice was drowned out. A three-headed dog carried her back to the car.
They said nothing for the rest of the ride. Damon chatted quietly with Amanda in the front seat. Kiho realized that she couldn’t take the first dance away from them, but she doubted that anyone else would dance with her. She needed to talk to Lexie.
I need to talk to Kiho! Lexie thought urgently. Not in front of Damon, of course. He couldn’t get involved right now. Kiho needed to know. If the dark child attacked Lexie, Kiho needed to know. As soon as they got into the building, Lexie’s date, Mark, made his way towards her.
“May I have this dance?” he asked gallantly. He extended his hand. Lexie placed her hand in his, and he kissed it. Lexie blushed. She looked back. Kiho nodded her assent.
“Yes, you may,” Lexie responded.
Damon approached Kiho. “May I have this dance?” he asked. He didn’t mind dancing with Kiho, she could tell, but he would rather dance with Amanda.
“No, you may not.”
“What?” Damon was taken aback.
“You may not have this dance. Go ask Amanda.” She smiled at him, and his face broke into a wide grin.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Thanks, Kiho. I’ll dance with you later.” He raced off. Kiho sat down. A boy came up to her, and asked if she wanted to dance.
“Sure.” She didn’t really notice anything about the boy. He was just there. After that dance, she just sat in the corner and sipped a pop. She waited for a few dances, and then looked for her friends. Boys continued to ask her to dance as she made her way across the dance floor. Or maybe it was just the same guy over and over again. She turned them (or him) down. She spotted Lexie. She was still dancing with the same guy. Just a few couples away danced Damon and Amanda. A thought struck her. The light one… Someone she knew… Why couldn’t it be Amanda? Amanda might be trying to use Damon to get to Kiho! Kiho’s eyes widened. She looked for Lexie. She had to tell Lexie about this, so that they might be able to stop Amanda. As soon as the dance was over, she dragged Lexie off to the girl’s restroom.
“Listen, I don’t trust Amanda. I think she’s just using Damon for some reason. We need to get her away from Damon, before she hurts him.” Lexie started off grinning, thinking that Kiho was joking, but it was fading by the time she was done.
“Why do you think that?” Kiho stopped. She couldn’t think of a logical explanation other than the truth. Even the truth wasn’t very logical. As Kiho fumbled for and answer, Lexie’s grin changed into a frown.
“She’s, she’s blonde. She’s too happy. She never stops smiling.”
“I’m blonde! And I smile a lot, too! You don’t even know her very well. You just met her. Is this going to be like the time you thought there were aliens invaded?” Lexie was referring to a time long ago, when they were 7 or so, when Kiho had been studying about aliens, and was sure that she’d found an alien ship. No one believed her, of course, and aliens didn’t really invade. Lexie hadn’t ever used that against her. Kiho looked at her, confused.
“Why are you being so snippy all of a sudden?” It wasn’t like Lexie to get upset so quickly.
“You made me come here for this, when I could be dancing with Mark! He might even actually ask me out, and he might have been getting ready to, and you have to drag me in here to tell me something stupid.” Lexie was flushed but, unlike usually, it wasn’t with happiness or embarrassment. It was with anger. A light seemed to dawn in her eyes. “You’re jealous, aren’t you? You feel left out because Damon and I both have dates, and you wouldn’t even try to get one, and now everyone isn’t falling all over themselves for you like they usually are, and you want to be the center of attention. Well, here’s a news flash for you, Kiho, you have to make an effort to get a date. You didn’t.” Lexie stormed out.
I can’t believe I said that to her! Lexie thought. But it’s just so maddening! He’s finally about to ask me out, and she butts in! It’s not my fault she’s being paranoid all of a sudden. She needs to get over her jealousy. She made her way back to Mark.
“Sorry about that. My friend was being weird.” She was slightly breathless.
“It’s okay. I was just going to ask you if you wanted to go see a movie next Saturday, or something. We could walk down to the theatre, and meet there.”
“Sure! Could I check with Amanda and Damon, and make it a double date? That would be fun.”
“Sure. Does your other friend have a guy she could go with? The more the merrier, you know.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Lexie said shortly. “She wouldn’t have fun, anyway. There’s nothing on at the theatres that she’d like.” It was true, but she still felt a twinge of guilt. Kiho might have wanted to go even if there wasn’t anything at the theatres she’d enjoy. She liked hanging out with Damon and Lexie, and had sat through many a film she’d disliked. Still, Lexie wasn’t about to welcome her back with open arms, even if it did mean that she would have to live with a guilty conscience.
“Well, I’ll meet you there at 7:00, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll have to ask my parents, then I’ll call you.”
“Sounds good to me. Do you want to dance?”
“Sure.” Lexie smiled.
Kiho walked home, and thought about the trip she’d taken to the Underworld. If it really had been. She was beginning to have her doubts. What if she’d only been asleep? It was possible, but highly unlikely. She thought back to her time there. It was unlike any dream she’d ever had before, and Kiho didn’t usually get her dreams mixed up with reality. I’m too close to this to understand. I need to do something else, first. The only other thing she could think about was Lexie, and that was too painful. I guess this is what people talk about. Friends getting boyfriends, and forgetting all about you. Well, if she wants to forget about me, fine. Forget her. I have other friends. How could she call me jealous? She’s the one who’s always the center of attention, not me. So why did she say that I felt left out, and wasn’t the center of attention “for once?” I’m unobtrusive. No one ever notices me, anyway. She folded her arms. She’d left without her coat, and now her arms were covered in goose bumps. That’s what you get for leaving in a storm, she thought furiously. She was angry with herself, too. Now Damon was going to get it for sure. Amanda was probably some demon, or something. She would eat Damon’s soul, and then they’d see how Lexie felt. She’d feel awful. It would be all her fault. See how the blameless one likes that. Damon will be wandering around like a zombie, but it’ll be too late. Well, I tried to warn her. I’ll just have to tell Damon. She’d been reluctant to do that before, because she could see that Damon really liked Amanda and she didn’t want to make him feel bad. Everyone knew that demons could be like Sirens, or something. They could attract mortals so easily it was boring for them, probably. Kiho didn’t know for sure. She wasn’t a demon. She had a long way to walk. It started to snow. Kiho shivered. She wished that she were in more practical clothes. It’s Lexie’s fault. I would never have chosen to wear this, or even go to that stupid dance in the first place. When she finally got home, a half an hour later, she changed her clothes, ripped off her nails, and took a hot shower. After that, she laid down in bed to read for a while. She stopped after a few minutes, because she didn’t have any books that she hadn’t read recently. She asked her dad if she could go to the library for a little while. It was right down the street, and if she wore a coat she wouldn’t mind walking. He gave her permission. He didn’t ask about the dance. He could tell that it hadn’t gone well at all. She grabbed her library card, and set out.
She was glad to have gotten into the library, because a minute after she set out, the snowstorm got worse. She was passing by a shelf of ancient mythology books, when a title caught her eye. Hades and His Prophets. Hmm, sounds interesting. Especially with my dreamy thing. I’ll get this. And a guide to basic Greek mythology. She was startled out of her reverie by a female voice.
“Can I help you?” Kiho turned around sharply. It was Aunt Zelda. Even though Kiho was mad at Lexie, she wasn’t upset to see Aunt Zelda, who was like an aunt to Kiho, too. “Oh, it’s you, Kiho. I thought you were supposed to be going to a dance with Lexie.
“I did,” said Kiho. Her voice sounded bitter, even to her own ears.
“You didn’t have a good time?” Aunt Zelda asked innocently.
“It ended with me walking home without my coat. Alone.” Aunt Zelda frowned.
“Why?”
“I felt like it.” Kiho closed up. She didn’t want to talk about it. Aunt Zelda understood. “I didn’t know you worked here.”
“I’ve been working here for a long time. What are you looking for?”
“Nothing really. Just browsing.”
“I didn’t know you were interested in Greek mythology!” Aunt Zelda said with sudden enthusiasm. “I could recommend some good books.” Kiho started to refuse, then changed her mind. If anyone could give her some good books on mythology, it would be Aunt Zelda. She showed Kiho some books that she said were “Really realistic” and “True to history.” Sometimes Kiho didn’t understand Aunt Zelda. Sometimes she thought that she believed in the gods and goddesses. Then again, I’m on the verge of believing in them, too, she thought. Since her shift was over, Aunt Zelda drove Kiho home. It was a good thing she did, because Kiho was loaded with books, both about mythology and not, and it was practically a blizzard outside.
Kiho settled into her bed, in her pajamas and wrapped in quilts. She had a mug of coffee on her nightstand, along with a few cookies and her lamp. Her books were piled on the floor. She lugged one onto her lap, and began to read. The first few sentences drew her in right away.
“Hades was a king of tricks and deceptions. He lured people into his home, and few ever came back out. His queen, Persephone, is a captured bird in a gilded cage for half of the year, and the other half journeys to the above world to visit her mother. He has many prophets and much riches, but he would never let any of it part from his grasp. He has promised much to many, but given any to none. He is often at war with Zeus.” Kiho frowned. “Maybe this guy’s just biased, or something.” She pulled up another book. It said much the same thing. Kiho shook her head. “I would not be taken in to easily. He’s probably just got a bad rap, like sharks or something.” She closed the books. She looked up Zeus.
“A god with a bad case of lust, Zeus has a bad habit of having affairs with every pretty woman in the world. Time after time, his jealous wife Hera does something bad to the poor woman, but Zeus never learns. He has a bad temper, and is often taking rash action. He doesn’t toy with mortals, however. He always seems to mean well. He’s very just.” Kiho snorted.
“He sounds just as bad as Hades. What’s the difference? Hades sounds smarter, anyway.” She folded her arms. “If I have to choose between them, Hades sounds better.” She told herself that, but wasn’t sure she completely believed it. There was something evil about the Underworld, and Hades description. Zeus sounded like the neighborhood drunk in a TV show, but Hades sounded like the evil overlord. She shook her head. “I’ve just got to get Amanda away from Damon, then I’ll leave them alone. After Amanda’s taken care of, I can go back to my regular life. Just without Lexie and Damon.” She nodded sharply. “And since when do I talk to myself, anyway?”
Lexie slumped into Damon’s car. “She just left? Just like that? She didn’t even get her coat!” They’d just taken Amanda to her house. Damon was questioning Lexie about Kiho.
“I got mad at her, and she left.” Lexie rubbed her finger against the leather seats. The car was too dark for comfort. She looked at the red digital clock embedded into the dashboard. 12:00, it’s emotionless face read. She was sitting in the front seat, facing the window.
“Why did you get mad at her?”
“She wasn’t making any sense. She was jealous of us, I think. She went off on a tangent about Amanda and said that we couldn’t trust her. I don’t know what she was talking about. I was just tired of her thinking she is always the center of attention.”
“Lexie, she doesn’t always think she’s the center of attention. She’s always just hanging out with us. Is that all it was?”
“Yes.” Lexie said decisively. She didn’t want to tell Damon about her dream thing until she got figured out, but at the same time, she wanted to tell someone. He looked at her. Darn my expressive face. I can never keep a secret. “No. Actually, I had this dream…” She explained the dream to Damon. His eyes widened.
“But you don’t think it’s a dream, do you?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t know who would betray me. The only people really close enough are my family, you, and Kiho. Since Aunt Zelda is Athena, I doubt she’ll betray me. I don’t think you or Kiho would ever do anything like that to me, and neither would my parents. They always wanted a large family, but it hasn’t worked.” She pulled her ear, a nervous habit she had.
“I don’t know. I can’t help you with that very much, but I’ll keep an eye out for you. Are you going to tell Kiho?”
“No. I don’t want to see her right now. Not until she apologizes for going crazy on me like she did.” Damon’s face showed doubt, but he said nothing. Lexie’s face was set. “Let’s talk about something else.” Damon said nothing.
After Damon dropped Lexie off at her house, Lexie went to her Aunt Zelda’s room. She was asleep. Lexie shook the (blah blah Athena colored) lump under the blanket. There was a unintelligible groan. Lexie knelt on the (Athena colored) carpet, and shook more insistently.
“What do you want?” came her muffled voice from under the pillow.
“I need to talk to you. It’s Lexie.” Aunt Zelda sat up suddenly.
“Okay. Did you get it?” For a second, Lexie thought that her Aunt Zelda was still asleep.
“Get what? What are you talking about?” Aunt Zelda yawned.
“Ah dree,” she said.
“The what?” Lexie was getting irritated. Was she Athena, or not?
“The dream!” Aunt Zelda repeated. “Was that really you there?” Lexie sighed, a mixture of relief and worry. Relieved that she wasn’t crazy, worried about what the dream meant to her life.
“Yes, it was really me.”
“Good. Now, who do you think is the one who will betray you?”
“I haven’t the foggiest. There isn’t anyone close enough to me who would do that. Not you, or mom and dad, or Kiho, or Damon.”
“It isn’t going to be anyone older than you. Not much older, anyway. They have to be around your age. Do you have any other friends?” Aunt Zelda asked as a joke. She knew that friends surrounded Lexie. Lexie laughed grimly.
“Tons. But none of them are close enough.”
“They don’t have to be really close to betray you, just know about you. Where you live, who your friends are, that sort of thing. Even a crush could be the betrayer.” At Aunt Zelda’s casual words, a thought sprang to Lexie’s mind. Mark! He could very likely be the betrayer. He was the one who’d made Lexie mad at Kiho, even if he hadn’t been there when she blew up at her. Hadn’t he said something about Damon being annoying, or had that been her imagination? She remembered thinking that he might annoy Amanda with his constant pampering, but had Mark actually said something? She wasn’t sure.
“I think I have a suspect,” she told Aunt Zelda gravely. “Mark.” Aunt Zelda knew about Mark, of course. She knew all about Lexie’s crushes.
“Ah, yes. Mark. He’s a prime suspect.” She nodded. “He could influence you a lot.” Lexie felt desolate. She really liked Mark. He hadn’t tried anything with her, and had seemed really nice. “That’s not to say he actually is the betrayer, just that he might be,” she hastened to say. “What do Damon and Kiho think?”
“Damon said he’d think about it, and keep an eye out for me. Kiho doesn’t know.” Lexie spat Kiho’s name.
“Don’t be angry with her just because she doesn’t have any ideas, Lexie-“
“That’s not it. She doesn’t even know about the dream. I didn’t tell her. I’m not speaking to her until she apologizes for being such a brat to Damon and me at the dance.” Aunt Zelda raised an eyebrow.
“I saw her at the library. She wouldn’t say anything about it.” Her voice was probing and she sounded like a physiatrist, but Lexie paid no mind.
“She probably didn’t want you to know how crazy she is. She was talking about how bad Amanda is because she wasn’t getting enough attention.” Lexie tossed her head. “So I’ve decided not to speak to her. I’m tired of it.”
“Why so angry at her all of a sudden? I don’t believe that you’re just mad because of that.”
“That is all it is.” Lexie closed her mouth. “I need to go to bed.” She stood up, but Aunt Zelda grabbed her arm.
“She interrupted you and Mark, didn’t she? He was going to ask you out, and she interrupted you, just to say something you think is stupid.”
“Yeah. But that’s not the only reason. I really am mad because she’s jealous. She could have more friends, but she doesn’t try. She thinks she above everyone all the time.” Aunt Zelda was quiet.
“This doesn’t sound like you, Lexie.” Her voice was low, and sad. Lexie blushed. She felt severely chastised. “I think you need to make up with Kiho. Before it’s too late.”
“I don’t want to.” She pulled away gently, and left the room. She sank into her bed, and fell into a deep sleep.
© 2004 by Bard
at 5:50 PM
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