CHAPTER 22
Jack slammed a fist through the back wall of Room 102. The college girls screamed and huddled together.
Robby grabbed his arm. "Go back to Romatech. Now. I'll clean up here."
Jack pulled away. "I failed her! How could I fail her?"
"Get a grip, Jack." Robby glanced at the doorway as Phineas dashed in. "Phineas, take him back to Romatech."
"I'm not leaving," Jack growled.
Robby seized him by the shoulder. "She's no' here." His face softened. "We'll find her, Jack."
"Oh, shit." Phineas approached them. "Apollo's got-"
"Yes, he does," Robby interrupted. "Now get Jack out of here. I'll be along shortly."
"I don't need a babysitter." Jack teleported away. He arrived on the grounds at Romatech and ripped a branch off an unsuspecting tree.
Phineas ducked as the branch flew over his head. "Dude, I'm sorry. We're gonna find her, you know."
Jack stalked toward the Romatech entrance. "I'm going to rip Apollo apart." He fumbled in his pockets for his ID card. Merda. His hands were shaking.
"I got it, man." Phineas swiped his ID and activated the hand sensor.
Jack turned and gazed at the woods surrounding Romatech. Lara could be anywhere. Lara! Lara, can you hear me?
"Whoa! That was loud." Phineas held open the door. "How far can a psychic message go?"
"No more than a hundred miles or so." Jack closed his eyes and concentrated. Nothing. She couldn't hear him.
How could he fail her? After all his promises to keep her safe, he'd failed her. His heart twisted with fear. Stay alive, Lara. Stay alive till I can find you.
It was happening all over again. He'd failed his first love, Beatrice. He hadn't been there for her, and she'd died, thinking he'd abandoned her. And now he wasn't there for Lara.
Robby appeared. "I altered the lassies' memories, but there wasn't much I could do about the hole in the wall." He strode toward them. "We'll find her, Jack."
"Yeah, we will," Phineas agreed. "She's gonna be all right, dude."
Jack wondered if prayers could be heard from the ninth circle of hell.
Lara was still kneeling on the hard marble floor. She tried to take her mind off her fear and aching knees by remembering her lessons on escape. First, she needed to gather information. She couldn't decide where to escape to until she knew where she was.
She would have to stay out of trouble, and hopefully, remain unbitten so she could keep her strength up. She needed to look for anything that could be used as a weapon. She needed a means of communicating with the outside world. And she needed to assess the other prisoners here to see if any of them could become allies. The guards were out of the question. They looked completely brainwashed, and they were armed.
"Guards," Athena spoke. "You will fetch two maidens."
"Yes, All Wise Athena," they answered in unison.
Lara tilted her head a little so she could see. The guards opened the door and left. The sandals on the taller one made a high-pitched squeaky noise with every other step.
She heard different footsteps approaching.
"Athena." It was Apollo.
Lara swallowed hard. She hoped he wasn't hungry.
Athena glanced back at her. "Stay."
"Yes, All Wise Athena." You're so wise and awesome.
Athena walked outside the room. "Yes, My Lord Apollo?"
Lara strained to hear their conversation. They didn't bother to lower their voices very much. She guessed they didn't consider her much of a threat.
"Those two vampires nearly caught me," Apollo grumbled. "They looked really angry."
"They're probably some of those stupid, bottle-drinking Vamps," Athena hissed. "I swear I hate them and their self-righteous attitude, like they're so much better than us. We have every right to a fresh meal."
Lara grimaced. They made her feel like a whole meat patty minus the sesame-seed bun.
"I think they were expecting me," Apollo said. "We're going to have to find new hunting grounds."
"No problem," Athena answered. "There are colleges all over the Northeast."
Now that was interesting. They must be somewhere in the Northeast.
"At least this location is still secret," Apollo said. "They didn't follow us here, so they obviously don't know where we are. What about the new girl? Do you think she could be working with them?"
Athena laughed. "No way. She's even more foolish than the usual ones."
Lara rolled her eyes. Great. Well, she would continue to act clueless until she was ready to escape.
"Good," Apollo said. "Get her ready. I'm going to do the Selecting Ceremony in five minutes." He strode away.
Lara heard two female voices in the distance. "Greetings, My Lord Apollo."
"Come, maidens," Athena called to them. She returned to the room. "Rise, maiden."
Lara figured that was her. She rose stiffly to her feet and looked around. There was an electric light overhead. Fancy that. The Elysian Fields had electricity. These other girls were totally messed up with vampire control if they didn't realize they were still on Earth.
The room was bare except for a large wooden trunk and a bookcase filled with folded gowns. No books. Well, who needed books with All Wise Athena around?
Two redheaded young women rushed into the room. They bowed. "Greetings, All Wise Athena."
"We have returned early tonight with a new maiden," Athena said. "You will prepare her for the Selecting Ceremony, which will begin in five minutes." She strode from the room.
Lara recognized the two girls from the case photos. One was Vanessa Carlton, who had disappeared from Columbia University in May. The other was Kristy Robinson, who had vanished from NYU in April. What a relief to see them both alive. "Hi, I'm Lara."
They winced and glanced toward the open door.
Vanessa quickly closed it. "You'll get in trouble if you use a name," she whispered. "We're maidens. We only get a name when we become a Chosen One."
Kristy clasped her hands together, grinning. "And one of us will be chosen tonight!"
"Oh boy." Lara attempted a smile.
"Hurry." Kristy dashed to the bookcase. "Take off everything but your underwear. We have to get you dressed." She plucked a folded white gown off the shelf and shook it out.
Lara inspected the two girls as she kicked off her shoes. They were both dressed in long white tunics that were clasped on the left shoulder, leaving the right shoulder bare. Two long strips of white linen were attached to the tunics beneath the arms. These strips were wrapped around, crossing the midriff in front and back, then tied off in front at the waist.
Lara pulled her T-shirt off, then removed her jeans. "Do you guys know where we are?"
"We're maidens," Kristy repeated. "Didn't All Wise Athena explain it to you?"
"She said something about the Elysian Fields." Lara pulled off her socks. "I don't suppose she means the Champs Elysées in Paris?"
The girls gave her blank looks.
"You know. France? You don't want to die without seeing Paris."
Vanessa's shoulders slumped. "It's too late for us. We can never go back." Her eyes filled with tears. "I miss my family and my friends."
"Don't cry," Kristy hissed at her. "If you look bad, you'll never be chosen. Besides, you'll get to see your family again someday."
"Yeah." Vanessa frowned. "After they die."
"Why would you have to wait?" Lara asked. "We could just leave here and go home."
"We can't go home," Vanessa wailed. "We're dead!"
"Shhh." Kristy poked her. "They'll hear you. You know the gods have super hearing." She looked at Lara. "Whatever you do, don't make the gods angry."
"Why?" Lara asked. "What can they do to us?"
"They're gods," Vanessa whispered. "They can vanish and reappear. And they have super strength. I've seen them rip trees from the ground find throw boulders like they were pebbles. They can take over our minds and make us do whatever they want."
"That's true." Kristy nodded. "One time, a guard made Athena angry, and she made him slice himself with his own sword. And then, Apollo used his holy blood to heal him."
Vanessa shuddered. "If you make them really angry, they could send you to Hades forever."
"But we don't mean to frighten you," Kristy said. "You must be really nice, since they brought you here."
Vanessa smiled. "Only special people like us get to live here and serve the gods."
"And if you please them, you can become a Chosen One, and they'll make you a goddess," Kristy added with a grin. "Hurry up! The Selecting Ceremony will begin soon."
Lara slipped off her bra, and Vanessa tossed the white tunic over her head. As Lara smoothed it down, Kristy used the bronze pin to fasten it on her left shoulder. Vanessa grabbed the linen strips, and with Kristy's help, they wrapped them around Lara and tied them at her waist.
A loud gong sounded in the distance.
"Oh no! They're starting." Vanessa ran to the bookcase and grabbed some white leather sandals. "Here. Put these on."
Lara slid her feet inside while Vanessa helped to fasten the sandals. Kristy gathered up all of Lara's discarded clothes and tossed them into the wooden trunk.
"What's going to happen at this ceremony?" Lara asked.
"Apollo will select a new Chosen One," Vanessa explained. "It's usually a maiden who's been here for a while, so we're not likely to be picked."
Kristy fluffed up her long auburn hair. "I can't wait until it's my turn."
Lara winced. The Chosen One was probably dinner.
The gong sounded again.
"Let's go." Kristy grabbed a red gown from the bookcase and opened the door.
"Are you sure we're dead?" Lara whispered. "I feel awfully excited for a dead person."
Kristy grinned. "It is exciting, isn't it? We're on a whole different plane of existence. And we get to live among the gods. How cool is that? We are truly blessed."
Truly brainwashed was more like it. They walked across a foyer to some ornate double doors. Kristy and Vanessa each opened a door, and Lara gasped.
It was like the Parthenon, but all shiny and new.
Vanessa smiled. "I gasped, too, the first time I saw it. It's really awesome, isn't it?"
"Hurry." Kristy shooed them in. "The other maidens are already in place."
Lara gaped at her surroundings as she walked into the temple. On each side of the rectangular room, a series of six marble columns soared to the high ceiling. In between the Corinthian-style columns, bronze braziers rested on tripods. A fire blazed in each brazier, tinting the white marble in shades of gold.
At the end of the temple, three golden thrones sat on a dais. Above them, hanging from the ceiling and surrounded by torches, a large bronze sun glimmered in the firelight. To the side, a guard in a short white toga struck the gong once more. The deep, metallic sound echoed across the large room.
In the center of the temple, nine red cushions lay on the floor in three rows of three. Six maidens dressed in white stood behind the first six cushions.
Vanessa came to a stop behind a cushion in the last row and motioned for Lara to stand next to her. Kristy dashed over to the gong and laid the red gown on the floor next to the guard. Then she hurried back to the last row of cushions.
"Behold, the Chosen One Calliope." The guard struck the gong again.
From behind the thrones, four guards marched forward, carrying a golden litter on their shoulders. As they circled to the front of the thrones, Lara could see the young woman who lounged on the golden pillows. She was dressed all in red. Her gown was similar to the white ones of the maidens, except for the red scarf around her neck. Lara winced. That had to be hiding bite marks.
The four guards lowered the litter to the floor, then two of them helped Calliope stand. Was she that weak? Lara watched with increasing alarm as the guards assisted her up the stairs to the dais. Calliope sat on the smaller throne on the left.
Lara could see her face now, and she recognized her from the case file. The Chosen One Calliope was Brittney Beckford, the girl who had disappeared from Columbia University last July.
The four guards carried the litter away, taking it somewhere behind the thrones. Lara suspected there must be rooms back there.
The gong sounded again. "Behold, the gods are among us," the guard announced. "All Wise Athena, daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom."
"All Wise Athena," the maidens repeated in unison, then knelt on their red cushions.
Lara followed suit, grateful there was a cushion this time. She peeked up as Athena marched in. The vampire had traded in her jeans and T-shirt for a long toga of purple silk. A wreath of golden leaves adorned her head. She ascended to the dais and sat on the throne on the right.
"My lord Apollo, son of Zeus and god of the Sun," the guard announced.
Apollo strode into view, wearing a long toga of shimmering gold. He was followed by the four guards, each carrying a sword. That made a total of five guards, Lara figured. They all appeared completely under control.
The maidens all sighed as Apollo passed by. Lara supposed he was a good-looking man, but with all the cold air swirling about them, she knew he was exuding vampire power to make himself irresistible.
Apollo stepped onto the dais and turned to face with them with an imperial sneer.
"My Lord Apollo." The maidens leaned forward in a deep bow.
Lara copied their movements.
"It is time once again for me to select a new Chosen One," Apollo announced. "It is the greatest honor a mortal can ever hope to achieve. If you serve me well, I will make you a goddess."
Lara heard several maidens whispering, "Please, pick me," under their breaths. She hated the thought of one of them getting bitten, but it was for the best if it gave Brittney the night off. That poor girl needed to regain her strength.
Apollo motioned to the guard by the gong. "Bring the red robe."
"Yes, My Lord Apollo." The guard picked it up and moved toward the nine maidens.
Apollo stepped down from the dais and walked slowly around the maidens. "Sit up, so I may see your faces."
They straightened, still kneeling on the cushions. Lara tried to hunch over and look unattractive, while the others were thrusting their chests out and flipping their hair behind their shoulders.
"First row, stand up," Apollo ordered.
The first three girls rose to their feet.
Apollo eyed them carefully, then stopped in front of the middle girl. "Bare yourself."
"Yes, My Lord Apollo," the girl whispered, and unhooked the bronze pin on her shoulder. Her white shift fell down to where the linen straps circled her rib cage, leaving her breasts exposed.
Lara fought to keep her disgust from showing on her face. Pervert. Lying bastard. Promising to turn these girls into goddesses when he only intended to bite them.
Or maybe he did give them eternal life. Her gaze wandered to Athena. She looked like a redheaded college student. Could she have been one before she became a vampire?
Apollo stepped back, his blue eyes starting to gleam. "Behold, the new Chosen One. She will be known as Aquila."
The guard marched forward with the robe in his arms. The two maidens in her row helped Aquila put it on. They looked bummed out, but Aquila was beaming with happiness.
Lara swallowed hard. The poor girl had been chosen for dinner. Apollo took her hand and led her around the thrones to the rooms in back. Damn. There was nothing Lara could do about it.
Athena followed with two guards. Lara wondered if they were her supper. Two more guards assisted the Chosen One Calliope from the dais and led her around the thrones.
The gong sounded.
"That's it." Vanessa stood. "We go to our room now."
As Lara rose to her feet, she eyed the nine red cushions. Only eight maidens now. She followed them toward the double door.
One of the rejected ones burst into tears. "Why doesn't he ever pick me? I've been serving the gods for months."
"You must be patient," another maiden said. "The gods know when the time is right for each of us."
They crossed the foyer and exited through another pair of double doors. Cool, fresh air swept around Lara, and she breathed deeply. There was a scent of pine in the air. It was too dark to see well, but the sky was so clear, she had to assume they were in the country.
The girls walked toward a smaller, square-shaped building. Behind that, Lara spied a still smaller building. She glanced back at the temple. It was the largest building on the compound. As far as she could tell, it was closed off only by a low stone wall. Easy enough to get over. A few torches illuminated the wall, but there were plenty of dark spaces where she could slip over unnoticed.
She could probably escape, but where to? She had no idea which direction to go, and the compound appeared to be surrounded on all sides by a thick, dark forest. She could end up wandering for days.
The maidens led her into the square building, which reminded her of a Roman villa. Four sides enclosed an inner courtyard. In the courtyard, she spotted a pool.
The girls turned right, and they entered a long dorm room with five beds lined up on each side.
"This is where we sleep," Vanessa told her. "The guards sleep on the other side of the courtyard."
"But stay away from them," Kristy warned her. "We have to stay pure for Apollo."
"Right." Vanessa lowered her voice. "The guards are serving Athena. Shell be furious if you even look at them."
"I understand." Lara took a shower in the large bathroom the maidens all shared, then she put on the plain white nightgown Kristy gave her. She was told which bed to sleep in.
She pretended to sleep while she waited for the other girls to doze off. She hoped to do some late-night snooping around to gather information. Or maybe she should try checking on the Chosen Ones to see if they were all right. Unfortunately, she didn't know exactly where they were, and she couldn't risk walking in on a vampire. She sure couldn't risk letting the vampires see that she wasn't under their control. They might kill her on the spot.
She hated what was happening to these girls, but the best way for her to help them was to stay alive and be very careful. She sighed. One of the rejected girls was still awake, crying softly in her bed. Lara slowly succumbed to sleep.
"Wake up, sleepyhead." Vanessa shook her. "It's daytime."
Lara sat up abruptly, hoping she had dreamed about Elysian Fields and Chosen Ones and vampires masquerading as gods. But no, she was there in the dorm room for maidens.
"Come on," Vanessa urged her. "Get dressed. We have chores to do."
After thirty minutes of helping Vanessa and Kristy clean the bathroom and dorm room, Lara was feeling more like a maid than a maiden.
"Where are the other maidens?" she asked.
"Some are cleaning the temple, and some are guarding Apollo," Kristy explained as she tossed dirty towels and nightgowns into a wicker basket. "We take turns guarding him during the day."
Lara sighed as she made up another bed. "If he's an all-powerful god, why does he need guarding?"
"It's only his body we're guarding," Kristy said. "He leaves his body during the day."
"Right." Because a vampire was dead during the day. Lara wondered if she could get her hands on a knife or stake. She could stake Apollo during the day while he was in his death-sleep. "Do I get to guard him?"
"Of course," Vanessa said as she swept the floor. "We do it two at a time and sit outside his room."
"You don't get to go in?" Lara asked.
"Oh no, the room is locked." Vanessa swept a small pile of dust into a dustbin. "We're just there to honor him. He has to leave his body before dawn, so he can become the sun."
"And when the sun sets, he returns to his body," Kristy continued. "He's very tired and hungry then. The Chosen One helps him to recover his strength."
"I bet she does," Lara said wryly.
"I believe we're done." Kristy looked about the room approvingly. "Let's go eat breakfast."
Lara accompanied them to the smaller building in the back. There, one of the maidens was busy cooking.
Kristy wrinkled her nose at the food on the table. "You burned the toast again."
"So?" The cook glared at her. "You try cooking three meals a day for fifteen people. I'm sick of this job."
Vanessa gasped and glanced toward the open door. "You mustn't complain. One of the guards might hear you."
"And it's a pleasure to serve the gods," Kristy added.
"I hardly ever get to see the gods," the cook grumbled. "I'm always slaving away in here."
Lara grinned. This was the perfect place to not get noticed. "I'll help you."
"Shhh." Vanessa tugged at her gown and whispered, "You don't want to work here."
"But I want to serve the gods," Lara insisted. "And I love to cook."
"Seriously?" the cook stared at her. "You-you would help me?"
"Of course." Lara strode into the kitchen and looked around. Hallelujah, there were knives here! She could serve Apollo stake for supper.
The cook grabbed her hand. "Bless you. I can't tell you how many times I've rushed late into the Selecting Ceremony with food stains on my gown. Apollo never picks me. He says I stink like mortal food, and it offends his immortality." Her eyes filled with tears. "Maybe now I'll have a chance."
"Don't mention it." Lara felt a twinge of guilt. Was she saving herself at this girl's expense? No, she had to save herself in order to save the rest of them.
She opened the pantry and studied the boxes, cans, and bottles. She spotted a bottle of maple syrup from Vermont. It looked like it had been bottled locally. Maybe they were in Vermont. "Where does this food come from?"
The cook shrugged as she scraped a heap of scrambled eggs onto a platter. "It arrives every week. The gods have provided a way for it to come from the mortal plane."
"Right." Lara needed to be on hand when the supplies arrived. If she could get a message to the delivery man, then she might be able to save all them.
She set the bottle of maple syrup on the counter. "Who wants pancakes?"
"I do, I do!" Kristy and Vanessa waved their hands.
Another maiden rushed through the kitchen door with a tray of eggs, bacon, and toast. "Oh my gods." She set the tray down and pressed a shaking hand to her chest. "I think it's happened."
"What?" Vanessa asked.
The maiden motioned to the tray of food. "I was taking Calliope her breakfast in the temple, and her room was empty. She wasn't there."
Kristy, Vanessa, and the cook all gasped.
"Are you sure?" Kristy whispered. "She wasn't with one of the gods?"
"No." The maiden shook her head. "I asked the guards, and they said she ascended last night."
There was another gasp.
Lara walked toward the maiden. "What do you mean by 'ascended'?"
The maiden's eyes filled with tears. "She ascended to a higher plane. Calliope has become a goddess."
"May tine gods be praised," Kristy whispered.
"Really," Vanessa added. "That is so cool. I hope I can be a goddess someday."
Lara shuddered as a chill skittered down her spine. She recalled how weak Brittney Beckford had looked the night before. She covered her mouth as bile rose in her throat. She had an awful feeling that Brittney Beckford was dead.