Aphrodite the Beauty (Goddess Girls) (9 page)

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"Sorry, I forgot," Aphrodite said. As the scroll slowly raised itself up, she opened the window. With what seemed like a show of dignity, the papyrus uncrumpled itself, then hopped onto the windowsill. From there, it dove into the wind and was swiftly swept away.

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11 Red Roses

WHEN SCHOOL LET OUT THE FOLLOWING afternoon, Aphrodite and her friends lingered in the main hall near the marble staircase that led up to the dorms until Ares appeared. As usual, beefy Kydoimos and squinty-eyed Makhai stuck to him like bodyguards. Ares glowered at the goddessgirls as he came near, but Aphrodite smiled at him sweetly. "Hi, Ares." She turned toward Athena.

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"Ask him about those flowers you got," she said. "Those red roses he sent."

Kydoimos stared at Ares with a look of surprise, and Makhai raised a scornful eyebrow. "What roses?" Ares spluttered, embarrassed. "I never sent anyone roses."

"Really? They were gorgeous!" Persephone exclaimed. "And they smelled as sweet as ambrosia."

Around them, curious students paused to listen to this interesting conversation. As more and more gathered at the foot of the stairs, Aphrodite was pleased to glimpse Medusa and Pheme among them. They must have overheard because their heads were together and Pheme was whispering excitedly. It didn't seem to bother her when Medusa's snakes slithered and wound through her spiky hair. Or maybe she was just too busy gossiping to notice.

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Aphrodite gazed soulfully at Ares. "A godboy could win any girl's heart with flowers like that. Right, Athena?"

Batting her eyelashes, Athena sighed theatrically. "So true."

"Well ... ," he said slowly. His eyes shifted between the two girls, and Aphrodite could tell he was trying to figure out how to turn things to his advantage. He was so
calculating
. Why hadn't she seen that before? "I guess maybe I
did
send those flowers," he said finally. "Glad you liked them." He gave them his most charming smile, and she felt certain he was betting that an Athena in love would change her mind about speaking to her dear old dad on his behalf.

"Oh, I did," Athena assured him. "But of course I can't keep them."

"Huh?" said Ares.

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Medusa inched closer and the few mortals in the crowd shrank away or covered their eyes so as not to accidentally look at her. Cupping a hand around her ear, Pheme leaned forward too, like she didn't want to miss a single word.

"Yeah. Too bad they were delivered to you by mistake, right Athena?" Artemis said.

"Huh?" Ares said again, looking totally confused.

"I finally checked the note you sent with them," Athena explained. Then she looked straight at Medusa. "You're one lucky girl!"

Medusa's eyes widened in surprise, but then a smile spread over her glossy green lips, and she gave Ares a dreamy look. "They were for
me
?"

"What?" Red roses bloomed in Ares' cheeks and he backed up a step. "Wait a second, I never--"

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"I'm sure you'll enjoy them," Aphrodite interrupted, smiling at Medusa. "What girl wouldn't!"

For a second Medusa's smile wavered. She glanced suspiciously at the four goddessgirls. So did her snakes. Frowning, she reached up to stroke one of them and it wound around her wrist, hissing affectionately. "You're not putting us on, are you?" she asked.

Us?
Was Medusa referring to herself and Pheme ... or to herself and the
snakes
? Maybe both, thought Aphrodite. "Why would we do that?" she asked innocently.

Artemis shrugged. "If you don't want the flowers, I'm sure Athena would be happy to keep them."

Athena nodded vigorously, but Medusa still looked uncertain.

"We set the vase outside your room," Persephone said.

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"Go take a look if you don't believe us," added Athena.

Before Medusa could respond, Pheme pushed through the crowd and started upstairs. Aphrodite could bet she was making a beeline for Medusa's room. Hurrying after her, Medusa called out, "Hey, wait for me. The flowers are mine!"

The goddessgirls grinned at one another. Once Pheme saw the roses and the card they'd asked Hermes Floral Delivery to send on Ares's behalf, it wouldn't be long before Ares and Medusa's names would be paired together on everyone's lips. Ares must have realized that too, because he raced upstairs after Medusa, a worried look on his face.

Some of the students in the crowd dashed after them, wanting to see what else would happen. The rest left

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in groups, busily discussing the merits and drawbacks of this surprising new romance. Aphrodite sighed with pleasure. "I don't think I've ever made a more deserving match." Feeling more lighthearted than she had in days, she bent to pet Artemis's dogs and didn't even mind when Suez slobbered on her hand.

Later, the four friends walked past the sports fields at the edge of campus, down to the Supernatural Market, where they bought some snacks to share. On the way back they wove silly spells together and made candies and chips dance in the air. The hounds were delighted, especially Amby. Ears flapping, he leaped to snatch the treats and quickly gobbled them down.

"Anyone want to race?" Artemis asked as they came even with the track field.

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Persephone giggled. "Not without my winged sandals."

"Have you ever seen anyone who could run as fast as Atalanta?" Athena asked.

"Well, Ares is pretty fast," said Aphrodite.

The other girls looked at her, as if surprised she could still say something nice about him. She shrugged. "It doesn't mean I'm still crushing on him. But you know he's won the footraces in every Olympic games since first grade."

Artemis nodded. "True. But do you think
he
could beat Atalanta?"

"Maybe," Aphrodite said. Then she grinned. "Especially if Medusa was chasing him."

Laughing, the goddessgirls reached the courtyard. As

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they passed a group of godboys at the base of the granite stairs, all heads turned to look at Aphrodite. "Hey!" yelled the centaur from Mr. Cyclops's class, the godboy she'd made blush only a few days ago. "Will you dance with me at the school party this weekend?"

"Hold on! I was going to ask her!" Poseidon chimed in. "Me too," said another godboy.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Looks like things are pretty much back to normal," she whispered.

"One of these days you'll find out what it's like to crush on someone," Persephone teased.

Athena nodded, grinning. "I'd like to see that!"

"Hey!" said Artemis, looking a little worried. "Aphrodite doesn't
need
any more matchmaking ideas."

Aphrodite cocked her head. "Sure I do." Then she smiled over at the hopeful centaur. Yes, boys could be

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annoying, but some of them were also sweet. "I'll dance with you," she said. "Are you any good?"

The godboy grinned. "I think so." He stamped his hooves.

"Don't believe him!" Poseidon yelled. "Can't you see he's got two left feet?" The boys started laughing and began good-naturedly tussling on the ground.

Athena shook her head at their silliness. "Godboys will be godboys," she said dryly.

"You can say that again," Artemis agreed.

Persephone grinned. "You can't take the boy out of the godboy that's for sure."

"And would we really want to if we could?" asked Aphrodite. Then she called out, "See you at the dance, guys!" Her smile dazzled the entire group, leaving them all rooted to the spot with their mouths hanging open.

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"Like I said, looks like things are back to normal," Artemis teased. Persephone and Athena grinned.

Aphrodite laughed. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." Linking arms with her friends, the four of them climbed the steps to the academy's front doors.

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ON SILVER-WINGED MAGIC SANDALS, ARTEMIS zoomed through the Forest of the Beasts, her feet gliding just inches above the mossy forest floor. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," she singsonged under her breath.

Dodging tree trunks and ducking under low-hanging vines, she listened carefully for any unusual sounds. Her keen dark eyes searched the dense woods. Her favorite bow--its limbs made of curved, polished olive wood--was at the ready. A tooled leather quiver of arrows was

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slung across her back. She could pull one out and have it nocked and aimed in a split second, as soon as it was needed. Behind her, Artemis heard Athena whizzing along in winged sandals as well. And following her were Aphrodite and Persephone. All four goddessgirls wore ankle-length flowing gowns called chitons, and their skirts whipped in the breeze as they zipped through the forest of olive, fig, and pomegranate trees, their feet never quite touching the earth.

They had come here this afternoon for one purpose: to duel with some of the slimiest, smelliest beasts ever to roam the Earth. Armed with magic-tipped arrows, the goddessgirls had already defeated a she-dragon called Echidna and bested a goat-headed Chimera. Now they had only ten minutes left to find the third beast they were tracking.

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Winning this one final battle of good versus evil was critical. Something very important hung in the balance.

Their grades.

The first Friday of every month, all the goddessgirls and godboys in their Beast-ology class left Mount Olympus Academy and came down to Earth. Here in this forest, for an entire hour, they played games of skill that Professor Ladon had created to test them. How lucky that she and her best friends were in the same class and that they'd all been assigned to this section of the woods!

Defeating three beasts today would mean an A for each of the four girls. Getting only two was a B, one a C, and coming up empty meant having to repeat the test until they got it right. Artemis had never ever gotten less than an A in the Beast-ology games, and she didn't want this to be an exception. Today was her birthday, after all.

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Another A would be the perfect gift to herself.

As she entered the clearing, Artemis heard a snuffling sound. The gray-green leaves of a nearby grove of olive trees rustled, disturbing finches and warblers, which flew away in a great flutter of wings. She slowed, motioning silently to her friends to alert them that something was up.

"It's lurking. Over there!" Artemis called softly as the others drew up beside her. Just then the wind changed direction, and she got a whiff of the creature.
Ugh.
It smelled like swamp gas, wet dog, and cow patties all rolled into one.

Persephone groaned and fanned her hand in front of her naturally pale face, causing the bangs of her curly red hair to flutter. "Doesn't exactly smell like flowers, does it?" A skilled gardener, she could make anything

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bloom at the touch of a finger.

Athena wrinkled her nose. "Maybe like skunkweed."

"I hope it doesn't turn out to be something that slings slime this time," whispered Aphrodite. Flipping her long, shiny blond hair over one shoulder, she touched the gold braid edging the neckline of her chiton. "This outfit is new and I don't want it ruined." The goddessgirl of beauty, she had an outfit for every occasion. This one was a bright robin's egg blue that matched her eyes. Circling her slender waist was a belt made of woven grapevines. Since Aphrodite set most fashion trends at Mount Olympus Academy, every goddessgirl at school would probably be wearing a belt just like it before the week was out.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
The ground shook as the beast lumbered closer. Goose bumps rose on Artemis's arms.
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She'd rather eat a scarab beetle than admit it aloud, but she was scared. Because she was goddess of the hunt and was skilled at archery, everyone at school assumed she was brave. Her friends depended on her to lead them in these hunts. Even now the others were waiting for her to tell them what kind of beast they'd found. And she had a hunch she knew what it was!

Raising her left hand overhead, she held up one finger. Then, after a moment's pause, two fingers. Another pause. Three fingers. And finally, four. Then, holding up her other hand she showed two more fingers to make six in all. This signaled to the others that they'd probably found a one-headed, two-armed, three-bodied, four-winged, six-legged beast. Just in case they hadn't gotten the message, she silently mouthed the beast's name:
Geryon.

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At the news, Athena got the determined look on her face that she always got just before taking a test she wanted to ace. Persephone pinched her nose closed, as if preparing for the worst smell ever to get even worse as their opponent came closer. And Aphrodite glanced down at her stylish blue chiton, looking more than a trifle concerned.

Seconds later a giant creature jumped out of the woods into the clearing. At the sight of it, goose bumps rose on top of the goose bumps Artemis already had. The Geryon was big. It was bad. It was beastly. It looked just like the one in her Beast-ology textscroll that the Greek hero Heracles had fought in a famous battle known as the Tenth Labor.

Although she loved to hunt, she wished they'd shoot at regular targets. Sometimes the beasts Professor Ladon