The Unclaimed (University of the Gods Trilogy Book 1) (5 page)

With that she walked out of the room. Ben watched her leave on unsteady feet, somehow making it to the door and from there undoubtedly back home. He had never seen anyone like her. She was reckless, stubborn to the point of almost being stupid, strong and very fast.

That she had been able to slow Bear down had been impressive. That she had outwitted Wolf bordered on a small miracle. But what had been truly astonishing was that she had been able to withstand Alexander’s authority. He had seen her hesitate for a fraction, like she had felt the power of his voice but had then decided to act against it. He had only ever seen one person able to do that. And that was him.

He gingerly touched her blood that had turned from bright red to a soft, golden color. She obviously had no idea what that meant. He took out a sharp little knife, cut himself and watched the color turn from red to gold within seconds. That girl Cassandra bled Ichor, the blood of the gods. It was a gift that only a divine father or mother could give their child; it disappeared in the next generation.

Ben stroked the spot where he had cut himself and where already nothing more than a thin line was left to be seen. The knowledge that she was one of them was a valuable piece of information that he would keep to himself for the moment though. He was pretty sure that Alexander had seen it too. Almost nothing ever escaped his friend’s notice Ben thought with a grim smile and then went to find Arissa. He had a word or two to say about what she had done today.

That conversation wouldn’t be half as pleasant as the one he had just had with the Unclaimed girl. Arissa could be…
difficult
sometimes. And that was to put it nicely. With a sigh he left the bathroom and carefully closed the door behind him.

Cassandra didn’t know how she found the strength to get back to the house. She must have done it somehow though because when she woke up next, she found Pandora hovering over her and Summer taking care of her hand with surprising efficiency.

“You are lucky you don’t need stitches”, Summer said.

Cassandra wanted to reply that she had never had stitches before but her voice wouldn’t obey.

“Shsh”, Pandora said and Cassandra saw tears in her eyes. Then she passed out again.

When she came to herself again, it was dark outside and Pandora was curled up on the floor beside her. Summer was sitting in a corner and got up when she saw that Cassandra was awake.

“You should drink something”, she said gently and gave Cassandra a glass of something bitter to drink. “This will help with the pain.”

Cassandra did as she was told and fell asleep again. The next morning, she felt much better. Her head was still aching, but it was a dull ache and she could move her hand without trouble. She sat up and Pandora turned around in her sleep muttering and making strange little shrieking noises. Summer was gone and Cassandra gingerly tried to get up. She found that she could walk without feeling dizzy and quietly slipped past her sister and downstairs into the kitchen.

Charlie was nursing his flask again, looking somewhere between groggy and halfway normal and the little one was disassembling something that looked like a radio of some sort. Summer looked up when Cassandra came in and smiled but continued making scrambled eggs.

“I bet you like yours sunny-side up”, Charlie said hoarsely and toasted Cassandra.

Cassandra ignored him and sat down beside Jim who looked up at her with big, somewhat frightened eyes. Then he moved a little to the side and continued with his work.

Summer held up a wooden spoon and pointed it at Cassandra.

“You should eat something”, she said and it sounded more like an order than a suggestion. “Your sister got us leftovers from the big party and we were just about to eat them when you came in here and passed out on the kitchen floor. And we have eggs, lots of them. And bread and butter. It has been ages since I have eaten scrambled eggs.”

At first Cassandra was unsure whether she would be able to handle solid food but when Summer handed her a plate, she dug in and found she couldn’t stop.

“Thank you for taking care of me last night”, Cassandra said once she was finished wiping the last bits of egg from her plate. “That drink you gave me really helped with the pain. What was it?”

Cassandra had never gotten any medicine before. Their father always said that things either got better by themselves. Or not.

“It’s a brew made from willow tree leaves and some other things”, Summer said and smiled her sad smile again. “It helps the pain, is easy to get and doesn’t cost a thing.”

Just then Pandora came in, took a good look at her sister and then complained that no one had left her any food. Jim offered her his leftovers and Pandora sat down to eat.

“You sure that is safe?” Cassandra asked and Jim shot her an angry look. “You didn’t poison that again, did you?”

Pandora told her to shut up and gave Jim a bright smile. She clearly liked the boy although why escaped Cassandra entirely.

“At least he didn’t risk the wrath of the demigods like you did”, Pandora said with a full mouth and then clapped her hands on it when she realized that it had been her fault that Cassandra had gotten into trouble.

Cassandra bared her teeth in a smile that was anything but friendly.

“You, my dear sister, are going to give me whatever it was that you took from them and anything else you might have happened to pick up that day”, she said. “And then we will talk about what happens if you do something stupid like that again. Because next time it won’t be the demigods coming after you but me. And believe me, that won’t go in your favor.”

Pandora managed to look ashamed and rebellious at the same time.

“She doesn’t need the necklace”, she pouted. “It was just a small one and she has hundreds of them anyway.”

Cassandra shook her head and pointed a threatening fork at Pandora.

“I wasn’t talking about the necklace”, she said. “I was talking about the other thing you took which you are going to show me now.”

She stood up and motioned Pandora to follow her.

“Can we come, too?” Charlie asked but closed his mouth when he saw the look on Cassandra’s face. “Just thought we could maybe help…”

Cassandra stomped out of the kitchen, an almost subdued Pandora following her. Cassandra went into the room and sat down to wait. It would be no use to rummage through Pandora’s things. Cassandra knew she wouldn’t find anything Pandora didn’t want to be found. When her sister finally came in, she immediately dove under the bed and started to make some really strange sounds. Then, all of a sudden, a small part of the window pane sprang open, revealing a small compartment that held several pieces of jewelry and some coins.

“So which one is it?” Cassandra said and Pandora reluctantly handed her the necklace.

Its chain was made of tiny golden rings and the pendant was something that reminded Cassandra of a flower but she wasn’t quite sure. It seemed to keep shifting shape while she was looking at it. She tossed it on the bed.

“Not this one”, Cassandra said in exasperation. “I want what you stole from Arissa’s room.”

“But this is what I got from Arissa’s room”, Pandora answered angrily. “I told you it was just a necklace and she has hundreds that are more beautiful and expensive and bigger…”

Cassandra reconsidered.

“Show me the other thing you got in the house”, she said so Pandora could no longer evade her.

Pandora drew out another necklace, much bigger and impressive and this time Cassandra immediately saw the glow of magic.

“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you”, Charlie said from the doorway.

“I didn’t think you were invited”, Cassandra said but immediately knew it was hopeless.

She hadn’t closed the door and there was no way she could make him not see what he had seen anyway.

“So what is it?” Cassandra asked and motioned Charlie in with Summer and Jim following suit.

Charlie took a closer look but didn’t seem to second-guess his judgment.

“It is the infamous Necklace of Harmonia, otherwise known as the Cursed Necklace”, he said and stroked his beard which didn’t look too bad that day. “Where did you say you found it?”

Pandora thought about that for a moment.

“In the room of Aphrodite’s daughter”, she said. “It wasn’t hard to miss who lived there because the room basically consisted of mirrors and statues of Aphrodite. Most of them naked. Very yummy, if I might add.”

Jim’s eyes got huge as saucers when he heard that. Charlie carefully approached the necklace.

“It’s deceptively pretty”, Charlie murmured more to himself than to the others, then he looked up again. “Like I said: don’t touch it. It’s bad news. Fortunately, your sister seems to literally have a thick skin. Otherwise she’d probably already be dead.”

Cassandra threw an angry look at Pandora who shrugged.

“Told you I am immune to such things.”

“Are you also immune against angry demigods coming against you with spears, knives or whips?”

She involuntarily touched the spot where Arissa’s whip had slashed her cheek open. The wound had healed but her pride still stung.

“So what is the story behind the necklace? Why would anyone have it in the first place?”

Charlie, who seemed to have learned his history lessons, explained it to them.

“Some myths state that the necklace was given to a woman named Harmonia by Aphrodite, some say it was Hephaestus who gave it to Aphrodite. Anyway, whoever wore it had a hell of a lot of bad luck coming their way, so you’d best leave it alone.”

Cassandra nodded and finally put the necklace in a towel so that she could safely transport it back. Her eyes fell on the little necklace, the one from Arissa’s room.

“Why did you take this one?” Cassandra asked and indicated the necklace.

Pandora shrugged.

“I don’t know”, she said. “Maybe because it was not with the rest of her jewelry but hidden somewhere else. I thought she had simply forgotten about it and wouldn’t miss it.”

Cassandra frowned. Why would Arissa care so much about that little thing that she would set Wolf and Bear on her?

“Charlie, what about this one here?” she said and held the small necklace out to Charlie. Now it looked like some sort of apple but again Cassandra wasn’t sure.

Charlie dismissed it.

“Just a piece of ju…”, he said and turned away. Then he swiveled back. “Hold it up again.”

He looked at it curiously from all sides, muttering and shaking his head. Then he suddenly turned his face away and let out a cry of frustration.

“I can’t see it”, he said apologetically. “It is heavily disguised to hide its true nature. Interesting though that you were able to see that.”

Cassandra didn’t say that she had just been curious because Arissa had wanted that thing back so badly it must have meant something to her.

“I will get it back to Arissa”, she said and put it with the other necklace.

“I think that Arissa-girl doesn’t like her father much”, Pandora said suddenly and both Charlie and Cassandra stopped in their tracks.

“What do you mean?” Cassandra asked.

“I don’t know”, Pandora said lightly. “It’s just that almost all statues of him were covered with clothes or towels. And I am pretty sure she – or someone else before her – has scratched his eyes out in one of the statues. That doesn’t really say I love you, Daddy does it?”

Cassandra and Charlie exchanged a look. Clearly he thought that was weird as well. When Cassandra suggested to take a walk to the palace together, he had no objections. Pandora excused herself and disappeared somewhere.

On their way to the palace, Cassandra’s head was bursting with questions but the most important one was why Arissa had made such a fuss about it. The necklace seemed insignificant in comparison to the Cursed Necklace. The nearer they got to the living quarters of the demigods, the more insecure she felt. She hadn’t had much to bargain with from the start and suddenly she didn’t feel like she had anything at all. Charlie, on the other hand, seemed quite relaxed given the circumstances and swung the towel that held the two necklaces with something close to enthusiasm.

“Aren’t you afraid that the bad luck is rubbing off on you?” Cassandra asked.

Her sudden words caused Charlie to lose his stride and stumble and he caught himself at the last moment. He winced when he hit his big toe against a stone and almost let go of his precious parcel.

“Have you met me?” Charlie asked with a grim smile. “The gods have screwed me for” – he hesitated as if just remembering something, like he didn’t want to give away too much – “well, never mind. Let’s just say a day where I am having simple bad luck is a good day.”

And with that he entered through the servant’s doors and waited to be searched by three huge guards who looked like they were Bear’s older brothers. Cassandra didn’t like being touched by someone she didn’t know and when the guards insisted that she lose the knives, it could easily have turned ugly. Then a familiar dark voice intervened.

“Let them go, Ben said. “I´ll take them.”

Cassandra briefly wondered whether Ben would get in trouble for letting her in with weapons at hand. Then she remembered how easily he had overwhelmed her. He nodded a brief hello to them and then silently guided them through the palace.

“Is he always so dark and gloomy?” Charlie whispered so loud it barely counted as whispering.

“How should I know”, Cassandra answered in her normal voice. “I only met him yesterday and the first thing he did was give me a major concussion.”

Cassandra involuntarily reached for the back of her head where she could still feel a pretty big bump where she had hit the wall. Ben pretended he wasn’t listening but she could see the tension in his shoulders. Cassandra contemplated the narrow, dimly lit staircase they were taking and decided that now was not the time. Unfortunately Charlie didn’t seem to follow her sentiment.

“Whatever you will say about him”, Charlie said, tilting his head and clicking his tongue. “That bad boy thing really suits him, don’t you think?”

Ben turned around with such a menacing look on his face that Charlie almost fell down the stairs. Cassandra waited for Ben to turn around again, then indicated to Charlie to cut it out. They were in enough trouble already. Ben opened the door to the demigods’ quarters for them and they followed him down a broad, luxuriously decorated corridor. It was mainly deserted except for the odd guard who was stationed at each corner they turned. They always snapped to attention when they saw Ben and he curtly nodded back at them.

There were symbols associated with the gods on each of the huge wooden doors that must have led into the individual rooms of the demigods staying there. There was one with a lightning bolt on it, Zeus’s symbol, but Ben kept walking. He led them to a balcony at the end of the long corridor.