I blast out of school like a bat out of hell, headed for the park. I have no doubt that Kary will be there waiting for me, but she's not going to be happy to see me. Halfway to the river, though, my feet slow to a walk before coming to a stop altogether, and I struggle to think straight.
She's a goddess; it's not like I can do anything about my anger without getting in serious trouble. But she's also my friend; maybe she doesn't realize how badly she screwed everything up. If I can reason with her, maybe she'll fix everyone's memories so I don't lose the friendships I've built here...or whatever it was that was starting to grow between me and Rakesh.
Slowly, I nod. It'll be better if I try to talk to her, rather than yelling at her and pitching a fit like I really want to. Besides, a shiver of fear runs down my back, who knows what she'd do to me if I piss her off?
Even though I'm gritting my teeth, I'm outwardly composed by the time I spot Kary leaning against the low wall on the corner of the park where we usually start our runs. She's got her earbuds in and she's rocking out, looking for all the world like a normal teenager, but I know better. The funky blue shimmer I saw for the first time yesterday is still hovering around her, and if I squint into the sun, I can almost make out the quiver of arrows strapped to her back.
She looks up as I approach and takes her ear buds out. Her eyes sweep over me, taking in my sweaty face and the fact that I'm still in jeans, not running clothes, and her lips press into a thin line.
"I thought we were running," she says, her voice tight.
I force a smile. "I need to talk to you first."
"We can talk and run, you know, Lana."
I nod, trying not to clench my fists. "I know. But we can talk first, too, right?"
She studies me for a moment, but finally she gives me a curt nod. "What's on your mind?"
I know she's a goddess, not a girl my own age, but she sounds so ridiculously old fashioned when she says it that I have to fight back the urge to roll my eyes. "What you did—" I clear my throat, trying to get a grip on my anger. Finally, I start again. "Thank you for fixing my foot," I say, hoping she doesn't hear the edge to my voice.
She nods, but she still doesn't smile. "I said I would. I'm not one to break a promise."
A chill sweeps over me, and I wonder if she's implying that I've somehow broken a promise I made to her, but I push that thought aside. "I was thinking," I say, choosing my words with care, "that maybe you didn't have to change everything else, too."
She cocks her head to one side and blinks her eyes innocently. "What do you mean?"
My fingers flex, and it's everything I can do to keep from grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "The cheer team," I say tightly, "and Rakesh. Did they all have to forget the last month?"
She shrugs nonchalantly. "You broke your foot at cheer tryouts. It made the most sense to fix it by changing things so that never happened, don't you agree?" Her tone is light, but her eyes hold a challenge, and I remind myself again that I'm not dealing with my best friend anymore; I'm dealing with a goddess.
"I didn't know I'd lose all my friends," I say, and I regret the words as soon as their out. "I mean, everybody but you."
Her face is dark. "Wasn't I good enough for you this summer? Or were you just using me until you found people you'd rather hang out with?"
I hold up my hands quickly. "No! I loved running with you." I pause, swallowing. "I'm lucky I met you when I did; I was pretty miserable when my dad brought me here."
She smiles again, but her eyes are still stormy. "Well, then, I don't see what the problem is."
I stare at her for a moment, not understanding. "You can't seriously expect me to give everyone else up, can you? I mean," I say quickly, cutting her off before she can blast me with a moonbeam or something, "I mean, people have more than one friend. It's totally normal."
She stands up, and for a minute, she seems taller than me, even though I know she's a good six inches shorter. I try not to shrink back, but she advances on me with a face that looks like it's carved from marble, and I feel my body clench in fear. "You're touched by the gods, Atalanta Emerson. Normal was never in the cards for you."
I take a step back. "If you mean Cypri, I didn't know who she was. Or you, for that matter."
She laughs, but it's not a pleasant sound, and I try to take another unobtrusive step away from her. "If that's what you think, than you're even dumber than most mortals, and that's saying something." She studies my face, and then she shakes her head. "You will never be normal, so you might as well forget about the Barbies and the boy."
"I don't want to."
She sighs. "If you stick with me, I'll let you become one of my attendants, and then you'll never have to worry about anyone forcing you to do anything again, not even your father."
I look at her, surprised. "You seriously think I want to hang out with you after all this? You've ruined everything!"
She narrows her eyes. "I did as you asked, girl. And you promised me we'd run together. Are you going to break that promise now?"
Suddenly beyond caring what she'll do to me, I turn around. "I'll run," I say over my shoulder, "but it won't be with you."
Even though I'm wearing jeans, I take off like a shot, running blindly through the streets. I can't hear the sound of footsteps behind me, but then again, since I just pissed off the moon goddess, maybe she'll just fly after me and swoop down out of the sky. Still, I keep running, relishing the way it feels to move my body again after months of pseudo-immobility, and my feet carry me through the streets, stepping lightly over sidewalk grates and picking the path of least resistance through the handful of pedestrians who are out and about. Without conscious thought, I turn down a familiar alley, and I come to a stop, breathing heavily, in front of the strange shop where I first met Aphrodite.
Rationally, I know she's still at the school, since there's no way cheer practice is over yet, but now that I'm here, I don't question whatever instinct led me back to this place. Before I can make up my mind to go inside or not, though, the door opens and a bulky, body-builder-looking guy steps into the street. He glances around, then looks straight at me. His eyes flick over my frame, not like he's some creepy pervert, but more like he's assessing my strength, and then he nods once, crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest.
"Your grandad wants you to call."
I glance around for a moment, but there's no one else on the street, and it's clear he's talking to me. Still I point to myself in confusion. "Me?"
He rolls his eyes. "Who do you think, runner girl?"
I'm startled. "How do you know about me?"
He chuckles, the sound like the engine revving on a classic car. "We all know about you."
The words make my skin crawl, but I shake my head. "I don't think I'm the person you're thinking of. I don't have any grandparents."
"You're Atalanta, aren't you?"
"Lana," I correct automatically, still staring at him. "And who are you?"
He narrows his eyes. "No need to get cocky, girl. Even with your blood, you should still learn some manners." My blood? He cracks his knuckles, and I swallow, suddenly aware that the shop entrance is far enough down the alley that no one on the street is likely to notice whatever is about to go down. He's either crazy...or he's another god, I realize, staring at the bulky man with a mixture of terror and wonder. Because sure, why not? He's Aphrodite's boyfriend, after all.
I gasp as the pieces click together. "Are you--?"
His glare cuts me off. "You need to call him. Now. And the next time we meet, runner girl, I expect you to remember your place."
"But I don't know who you're talking about!"
He rolls his eyes. "Just check your phone and call him back. And when you do," he says, his voice suddenly tinged with warning, "remind him that he's the messenger, not me. I don't appreciate distractions when I'm working."
Leaving me completely confused in the street, he turns and lumbers back inside the shop, closing the door definitively behind him. I blink in confusion, trying to figure out if I really just met Ares alone in an alley, and then I shake myself, remembering what he said about my phone. I keep it on silent during the school day, and I must have forgotten to turn the ringer back on with the whole mess with the cheer team and Kary. Cautiously, I slide the phone out of my pocket and stare at the screen.
There are four missed calls, all from Coach Merk.