The Unclaimed (University of the Gods Trilogy Book 1) (29 page)

Jim’s chin started to quiver dangerously at that.

“I’ll go get something for your skin”, Summer said and disappeared.

Jim looked up at Hector for guidance on what do to now and Cassandra, who had originally wanted to tell him how he had come into existence, now wondered how he could have changed so much in such a short time. Then she remembered that he had mentioned a while ago how his clothes didn’t fit anymore and realized that the process had probably been going on for much longer than just a few weeks.

“Does that mean the curse is lifted?” Jim asked, breathlessly. “How else could I be growing?”

Then he frowned and shook his head.

“But the curse can only be lifted by true love”, he said, confused. “I don’t know of anyone who truly loves me. Or did I miss something?”

He looked questioningly at Cassandra who only rolled her eyes.

“My feelings for you are sisterly at best”, Cassandra said. “If I remember correctly, Charlie” –Cassandra tried to ignore the ugly feeling in her stomach when she said his name – “said that your father gave you the kiss of love and promised that the curse would be lifted if you were truly loved one day. So the kiss has already been given and you are truly loved, just not by one person only.”

Confused, Jim looked up at Summer who had come in during the last part of Cassandra’s speech.

“Yes, darling”, she said and sat down next to Jim. “We all love you very much. And I am sorry we left you all alone the past months. That won’t happen again. Promise.”

“Yes, we all love you”, Cassandra said and was surprised by how true this rang in her ears. She loved them like family, all of them. Maybe even Charlie, despite what he had done. And still she knew that going to River’s good-bye ceremony would be the last thing they would ever do together.

“We need to get going”, Cassandra said softly and they all went downstairs.

With a sigh, Cassandra shouldered her sword and started what would turn out to be the longest day of her life.

River’s body, turned to stone by Medusa’s gaze, had been kept in a burial chamber below the palace. Cassandra followed the solemn procession that made its silent way towards the beach and watched how Wolf, Sol and several Claimed carried his body towards the boat in which he would be returned to his father. The procession was followed by about fifty descendants of Poseidon, each clad in fish-scale armor and carrying a spear, fishnet or in some cases a trident , the symbol of Poseidon’s power. Hundreds of students, staff and servants were waiting for them to accompany River on his last journey while Alexander, the other demigods and the teachers would say good-bye to him from a place a little more elevated.

Cassandra was waiting for them at the foot of a hill. She had been asked to join them because she had almost died that day, too.

It was a dry, hot day and Cassandra felt sweat trickling down her back when the others arrived. Cassandra nodded at Hector, who accompanied Summer and Jim to the beach. Jane Austen and William Shakespeare were the first to arrive. Jane Austen was sobbing heavily into a tissue and held on tightly to William Shakespeare who did his best to soothe her. Icarus, sweating profusely and looking like he was about to faint, tried to keep up with Ariadne and Ms. Nightingale, who, despite the heat of the day, were walking at a brisk pace. They all passed Cassandra without greeting, their heads bent low both from exertion and grief.

Hippolyta arrived a moment later together with the demigods. Bear growled when he saw Cassandra but Alexander, who had been strapped on to Bear’s back with a rope, told him to stop. Then Alexander turned his head away from her. Hippolyta, seeing how much that hurt Cassandra, gave her a hug. They waited until Ben Sam, who were carrying Alexander’s wheelchair, had passed them, too. Cassandra again felt a stab when Ben didn’t even look up and still, she couldn’t help but stare at him. It was the last time she would see him and he was dark and beautiful and sad and she wished she could talk to him one last time.

She rubbed her eyes and felt someone bump into her. It was Arissa, who threw her an icy look. Jack, the little weasel who accompanied her, pushed Cassandra to the side and Cassandra bit her lip. This wasn’t the time to start a quarrel but she was on edge anyway and she knew it wouldn’t take much to push her over it.

Again, Cassandra and Hippolyta were overtaken by Mia, whose hair was hanging unwashed down in strands. When the daughter of Zeus saw Mia approaching, she took up her pace and Mia had trouble catching up with Arissa.

Mia looked terrible, like she hadn’t slept in weeks. She kept murmuring to herself and gripping on tightly to something she was hiding in a pocket in her much too big dress that was dragging along the floor and kept getting stuck on the sharp rocks. Instead of lifting the hem, Mia simply went on, tearing the fabric until it looked like she had snakes slithering behind her.

Cassandra, hearing someone else approach from behind, was surprised to see that it was the Minotaur, accompanied by Heracles who was talking to the beast in low tones. They seemed to be quite familiar with each other and Heracles didn’t seem to mind the close proximity to the huge creature at all. Cassandra remembered the panic in the beast’s eyes and how he had attacked them with no regard to the damage he might do and felt herself involuntarily reach for her sword.

“Don’t worry”, Hippolyta said when she felt Cassandra tense beside her. “He was beside himself with fear that day. He would never harm you under normal circumstances.”

Cassandra warily watched the beast approach. The Minotaur slightly raised his hand and then bent his bovine head in greeting. Cassandra, confused by this gesture, felt herself mirror his gesture and the beast smiled. It was a warm smile and Cassandra realized that it was easy to see just the animal in him, but there was intelligence in his eyes and compassion.  Maybe it was true what Hippolyta had said and it had just been fear that had made him so dangerous that day.

Heracles, unaware of their little exchange, had sweat running down in streams from under his ornamental battle gear. His head was glowing red and he already looked beaten even though they weren’t even half-way up yet. When he saw Cassandra standing in his way, he nodded to her and Cassandra complied, murmured  greeting. With her head bent low, she watched the man who was her father struggle uphill and wondered if she would ever see him again. She guessed not.

The way up seemed endless and Cassandra couldn’t avoid thinking about the future that was all a big blank to her. For once she wished she could have some kind of vision that might tell her what was going to happen tomorrow, the day after or in one year but nothing came.

The path was so uneven that Cassandra lost her footing on some gravel at one point and was caught by the Minotaur. She accidently brushed up against him and felt the softness of the black leather cloth that covered parts of his huge frame and felt a familiar tingle in her hands. But before she could make sure, he had detached himself from her and walked on.

Before them, Mia stumbled and grazed her elbow on the sharp edges of the rocks but the girl didn’t even seem to notice. The blood dripping from her elbow left a trail and just when Cassandra started to wonder why it took Mia’s blood so long to turn to Ichor, it congealed and Mia seemed to walk a little straighter.

When they finally made it to the mountain ridge, the view was breathtaking. The cliffs on that side of the island overlooked the whole university and offered a beautiful view of the sea at the same time. Cassandra saw Hector’s big bulk at the back of the crowd with Summer and Jim standing beside him with their heads bent.

Before them, the little boat that held River’s body lay bobbing softly up and down in a calm, deep blue sea. His body had been covered by a black velvet cloth with a silver trident on it and he had been joined by Sol with his flaming red hair gleaming in the sun, Wolf with his long thin frame bent low and Beatrix, whose hair shimmered golden and whose shoulders were shaking with sobs.

The people at the beach had formed concentric half-circles with the fifty descendants of Poseidon forming the inner ring. There was a single figure standing between the water and the first half-circle. It was Tiresia, who was standing barefoot in the sand with her blind, unseeing eyes turned towards the water. She was wearing a long, white dress and her dreads had been put up in an intricate bun. She didn’t move and it seemed like she was waiting for something. Then there was a low humming sound coming from deep within the sea. As if on cue, Wolf and Sol sat down and put the paddles into the water. Beatrix, turning around towards the rows of onlookers, touched her lips and then her heart and then she started singing. It was a strange melody, soothing and heart-breaking at the same time, and Beatrix’ voice, which was so high and bordered on unpleasant when she was speaking, was strong and pure when she was singing and carried all the way up to the cliffs on which they were standing.

As one, the descendants of Poseidon touched their hearts and kneeled and so did everyone else.

When she heard the sound of the paddles going into the water, Tiresia gave a high, unnatural cry and started following the little boat. The water had almost reached her chest when five Nereids appeared at a little distance from her. When they saw her, four of them turned to follow the boat while the fifth swam towards Tiresia, taking her into her arms and kissing her. It seemed like the Nereid said something to Tiresia that made the girl hesitate. When the Nereid followed her sisters, Tiresia sunk her head and then turned around to leave the water. Back onshore, Tiresia didn’t stop but continued walking until she disappeared from sight, just like she probably would have done in the water.

Wolf and Sol stopped rowing and looked up to the sky and so did everyone else. There was a strange vibration in the air, something that felt familiar and utterly alien at the same time. Cassandra saw Mia clutching at Arissa who was looking down on the strange girl with a look of pure disgust until Mia reluctantly let go, whispering something to Arissa who only shook her head and seemed to tell Mia again to leave her alone but the girl wouldn’t budge. Then Cassandra saw everyone close their eyes and bow their heads in unison. She wondered why and then there was a light so extreme that she thought she might go blind and then there came the loudest noise she had ever heard. A strong wind almost blew them to the ground and then there was nothing but silence.

When Cassandra’s eyes had readjusted, she gasped. Standing, or rather floating, before them on thin air were two beings that were so
different
that it was hard to look at them. Heracles coughed and the two beings transformed into something more recognizably human.

“Zeus, almighty father, and beautiful Hera, be welcome”, Heracles said and managed to sound both devote and self-assured at the same time. “It is a sad reason to gather but we are glad to have your Presence here.”

The way he said
presence
made Cassandra think that they weren’t really there, that it was just a reflection of their true selves. Still, their aura of power was strong and Cassandra wondered what it would be like if they had really come down from Mount Olympus.

“My dear father, Hera”, Alexander said and slightly inclined his head once more. “What an
unusual
way to present yourselves on such a day.”

Zeus’s face, stern and fear-inspiring, softened a little when he looked at his son. He was clad in a toga that showed the body of a warrior, but his curly hair and beard were long and white and his face lined with grief and sorrow. His face grew stern again when he looked at Arissa who had her chin stuck out in defiance and refused to look her father in the eye.

“Son”, Zeus said and his voice sounded like thunder growling in the distance.“It is good to see that you are doing well. Arissa, it has been a long time.”

There was no doubt which of the two children was Zeus’s favorite. Arissa, pressing her lips together, bowed and murmured that she wished him well. Zeus raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

Hera watched the little interplay between her husband and his children with reserved calm. There was nothing motherly or loving about her. Whenever she looked at Alexander and Arissa there was a cold distance bordering on hatred.

“Of course we would have wanted to be with you on this saddest of days”, Zeus continued, raising his voice so that everybody could hear him. “Unfortunately, we are needed elsewhere at the moment. Still, we decided to appear to you in our transcendent form, to accompany my brother’s son’s last journey.”

He looked down at the little boat that was holding River’s body.

“We never want to say good-bye to the ones we love”, Zeus said quietly. “Sometimes the choice is taken from us.”

There was a tear glistening in his eye and he took a moment before he continued speaking.

“River was a beautiful boy, always happy, never speaking a harsh word to anyone”, he said, his voice breaking a little when he said the words. “He could be wild and untamed like the sea during a storm at times but he was always the calm center, too, the friend you went to when you were in trouble, that helped you no matter what.”

He looked at Alexander and Ben who were gripping at each other’s hands, grief for their friend once more crushing all over them, and nodded.

“We will miss him so much”, the mightiest of the gods said and suddenly looked almost human. “Remember him well.”

Hippolyta beside her reached for a tissue. Cassandra saw Alexander and Ben openly crying with Ben’s hand still resting on his friend’s shoulder and wished she could shed a few tears as well but there seemed to be no tears left in her. Her stomach was one big knot and she was afraid that this feeling of utter despair would never leave her again.

She saw Zeus raise his in hand in farewell while Hera stood as if carved in stone, no emotion discernible in her face. But then Hera turned her head and gave Cassandra a look of such cold hatred that Cassandra involuntarily took a step back. Heracles, who stood on Cassandra’s other side, threw her an inquiring look but Cassandra was still reeling from the realization that Hera knew exactly who she was.

Cassandra had a fleeting feeling of doom. She wasn’t sure whether this counted as a vision but suddenly she knew that this day wouldn’t end well. She reached for the knife at her side to assure herself that it was there but what good it would do against the wrath of a goddess, she thought and sighed. She held Hera’s stare until the goddess finally gave a small shrug and turned away just in time to see Wolf and Sol stand up in the boat and walk over to River’s body.

“Poseidon, my brother, your son’s soul has long gone on to the Underworld”, Zeus boomed and the sea began to froth and foam and stir around the boat then.

The water reached greater width and height until it had finally risen almost as high as the cliffs they were standing upon. For a short moment, a face was visible in the column of water. It was Poseidon’s, roaring in grief, but when the water came crashing down beside the boat again, the little boat and the people in it were unharmed. Only River’s body was gone.

Sol held a sobbing Beatrix and left it to Wolf to row them back to shore. The people down on the shore started to disperse while Heracles and the teachers talked to Alexander and Ben, shaking hands and embracing each other. Cassandra stood a little to the side, feeling forlorn and sad and hopeless. She was just about to turn around to start the long descent to the foot of the cliffs when again there was a loud noise coming from below.