Besphinxed

  “My sister said you would not have to live as a cat anymore, and now you don’t.” Miss Sunshine shrugged. “And now that I have the feather, I no longer require your services. Goodbye, Mister Liddell. And thank you.”

  Owen plopped onto the cold floor of the vault. The soft light still emanating from Ace’s stone body illuminated the ceiling. Someone, at some point during this vault’s creation, had thought to etch a moon and stars into the stone up there. Owen wondered if the artistic mason who did that knew that one day, some dying teenager would be all too appreciative of that work.

  He heard Miss Sunshine shatter the lucite box into the floor. She lifted the feather high into the air, laughing maniacally.

  “Finally!” she cried. “Vengeance will be mine!”

  Owen blinked a few times while he still could. Tears rolled down either side of his face. Heather came into view, with those beautiful blue eyes. Her hair fell down and created a golden curtain all around them. “Stay with me, Owen,” she whispered. “Please don’t leave me.”

  Owen wanted to answer. He wanted to tell Heather how much he cared about her, and that he would stay beside her always. But he couldn’t. He was supposed to be the one to save her, and he had failed.

  “I’m so sorry,” he tried to say, but his paralyzed tongue wouldn’t let him.

  “Stay with me,” she said again. This time, the tear that slid down the side of his face came from her eyes. Those gorgeous sky blue eyes he wanted to stare into until the day he died.

  He just never imagined that day would be today.

  10

  Heather watched her tear fall onto Owen’s face. Hands balled up tight and teeth clenched, she could feel the rage in her cheeks. She was ready to turn and beat Miss Sunshine to death with her fists if she had to.

  And then something happened. An eerie calmness washed over her. With a last caress of Owen’s cheek, she slowly stood. When she reached her full height she was no longer a distraught cheerleader who had just witnessed the fall of a friend…and the boy she liked.

  She was Miss Heather Hayden.

  And she did not suffer fools.

  “You are an idiot,” Heather said to Miss Sunshine. Her voice was icier than the stale vault air.

  Miss Sunshine—Arachne Whatever—tilted her head. “I’m sorry?”

  “Yes,” said Heather. “You are. Allow me to outline for you just how much of an idiot you are. And I’ll try to put it in simple terms you can understand.”

  Miss Sunshine’s cheeks flushed. Good. Heather’s condescension was having the desired effect.

  “You have just attacked—and possibly killed—two innocent young men under the protection of Harmswood. And, like an idiot, you’re still on school grounds. Do you honestly think the administration is going to just let you walk out of here?”

  Miss Sunshine feigned as much bravado as she could. “My sisters and I are legion,” she said. “At least one of us will get out alive. That Arachne will still have this feather. And our revenge!”

  “Is that so?” Heather put a hand on her hip. “Why wait? Do it now.”

  “I…what?”

  “Why would you even bother trying to escape? Go on and take your revenge right here, right now. What are you waiting for? Athena’s a god, isn’t she? Well, give her a ring!”

  “One d-doesn’t just…call…a goddess…”

  Heather’s feeling of triumph swelled.

  Miss Sunshine was stalling.

  Heather was beginning to see why Finn had given her the Fury’s feather as a punishment for her crime. It was one thing to have such a dangerous item in one’s possession—whether you wanted it or not—but it was another thing entirely when you were forced to actually do something with it.

  Miss Sunshine looked at the bright feather in her hand. Heather would have bet her Book of Shadows that the Arachne was currently wondering how far she wanted to take this fight that was started by someone else, ages ago.

  Heather crossed her arms over her chest. “Time’s a-wasting, sweetie.” She nodded to the traveling mirror. “You know what that is, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” said the far more timid Miss Sunshine.

  “Then let’s do this thing already.”

  Miss Sunshine narrowed her eyes at Heather. “You are little more than a child,” she said. “You haven’t the first clue how to call an ancient goddess.”

  Heather might have been a child, but the angel inside her certainly wasn’t. In the waning ghost light emanating from Ace’s stone form, Effie’s image sprang forth.

  “She might not, but I do.” Effie turned to the mirror. “Pallas Athena, hero of heroes—”

  “No!” cried Miss Sunshine. “Not yet!”

  “—warrior of wisdom and gray-eyed daughter of no one, we seek an audience.”

  The mirror blazed to life, this time with a golden light. The smell that accompanied it was a combination of honey, fire, and steel. A sandal-clad foot emerged from the mirror, and the rest of the woman attached to it stepped through.

  Athena, ancient warrior goddess of Olympus, was nothing like Heather had expected. There was no helmet, no shield, no spear. There was no toga. There was no accompanying owl or procession of gorgons. The woman that stood before them now was short and curvy, with chestnut hair that fell to her hips in waves. She wore loose white drawstring pants that might have been linen, and a matching tank top.

  She looked like she’d come fresh from yoga…not a battlefield.

  Effie got on her knees and bowed low before Athena. Heather bent her head politely, not wanting to let the horrible Miss Sunshine out of her sight.

  “Efthimia.” Athena helped the angel to her feet. “It is good to see you.”

  “Always a pleasure, my goddess.”

  “What have you been up to these days?” Athena looked over to Heather. There was lightning in her bright eyes. “Haunting this girl, I see?”

  “With respect, my goddess, I would first direct your attention to a more urgent matter.”

  Effie motioned to the rest of the room. Ace lay on the floor, stone and still, softly glowing with his ghost’s blue light. Owen’s body remained stiff as a board, but his eye were fixed on the goddess, which meant he was still only paralyzed.

  Miss Sunshine stood as far back away from the mirror as the small vault would allow, clinging to the feather for dear life, and looking for all the world like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

  “Oh, Arachne.” Athena shook her head. With a wave of her hand, every other spider in the room was gone. “Have the sisters learned nothing in all these years?”

  “A-apparently not,” stammered Miss Sunshine.

  Athena’s gaze fell to the feather clasped in Miss Sunshine’s hand. “And what are your intentions with that?”

  “The plan was to seek vengeance upon the goddess Athena for turning us all into spiders.” Miss Sunshine blurted out the words as if she’d just taken some sort of truth serum.

  “And do what?” Athena asked. “Turn me into a spider instead?”

  “To kill you,” Miss Sunshine said reluctantly.

  Athena laughed, and it felt like sunshine bubbled up from inside the pit of Heather’s stomach. It spread out to her limbs and made her happy too. “Silly Arachne. Didn’t anyone tell you? You can’t kill a god. Especially not with a feather from one of her own Furies.”

  Athena plucked the feather from Miss Sunshine’s fingers and dropped it. By the time it hit the ground, it was nothing but dust. Heather would have let out a great sigh of relief if her friends still hadn’t been in mortal danger. But it was difficult not to feel some giddiness at the fact that her time with the feather was now officially over.

  But wait…what did this mean for Effie?

  Heather wasn’t ready to lose her guardian angel just yet.

  Athena held up a finger in front of Miss Sunshine’s face. “You will release that poor teacher from your web and then you will leave this town, never to return. Und
erstand?”

  “Y-yes, goddess.”

  “And if you or your sisters ever threaten me again, I will turn you all into dust mites!”

  Athena waved her hand again and Miss Sunshine was gone from the vault before another “Yes, goddess” could escape her lips.

  “Now, about my fallen warrior.”

  Heather thought that Athena was talking about Owen, but she walked right past his body and knelt beside Ace.

  “I am all too familiar with stonebeasts, and men who have been petrified by other means.” She put a hand on his chest, now barely glowing blue. “Your ghost friend has kept you with us, I see. You will, perhaps owe her more than simple thanks.”

  Heather wasn’t sure Ace could hear what the goddess was saying, but his form shifted back to that of a very large teenage boy, though his clothes looked as if they’d been worn by the Incredible Hulk. He sat up and gaped at the goddess. She removed her hand from his chest and cupped his cheek.

  “Well fought, my warrior,” she said, and then kissed him on the forehead. Like Miss Sunshine, Ace disappeared before he could say a word.

  Athena turned back to Owen, and then looked up at Heather. “You want to get that one, or should I?”

  Heather didn’t have the first clue what the goddess was talking about…and then a second later her mind filled with the answer. She knelt beside Owen, bent down, and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

  At first, it was like kissing a statue. But after a moment his lips warmed, and he began kissing her back. When his arms unfroze, he put a hand in her hair and deepened the kiss. When the rest of his body thawed, he sat up and held her tightly.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Heather grinned. “Thank the goddess.”

  They both turned to Athena, whose beatific smile fell upon them both. “Fate can be a pain in my tuchis, but she does do some great work. Now, young man. I believe we need to discuss the lifting of this spell Arachne tricked you into.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Goddess. Athena. Your Grace.” Owen wobbled as he got to his knees.

  Heather helped him to stand. She wasn’t sure how well his legs would hold, so she encouraged him to lean into her. Not that she minded. She seemed to fit into Owen’s shoulder as if they’d been made for each other. And maybe they had.

  “Hmm.” Athena examined Owen from head to toe, cocking her head this way, and then that. “Silly Egyptians, putting a king’s head on a cat. What were they thinking? Now, if you’d been cursed by one of the Greek sphinxes, her spell would still be strong as iron. This one, though…well, it seems it’s run its course.”

  “Does that mean I won’t be a cat anymore?” Owen asked.

  “Don’t you want to be?” said Athena.

  “With respect, goddess, I’d like to stay a cat-shifter. But a mortal one.”

  “Done,” said Athena. “Since that’s what you pretty much are now, anyway. Trying to extract the cat from you would have been a lot harder, considering how much more time you’ve spent as a cat than a human.”

  “Good,” said Owen. “I’d like to keep the cat.”

  “Me too,” Heather whispered to him.

  The arm he had around her for support squeezed her extra tight in happy response to that.

  “Wonderful!” said Athena. “Everything’s all squared away. Come on, Efthimia. Let’s leave these kids to it, shall we?”

  “About that, mistress…” Effie started.

  “Seriously?” Athena asked.

  Heather and Owen both bit back a laugh. In that moment, Athena sounded just like a certain head cheerleader.

  “She still needs so much guidance,” said Effie.

  “She’s right,” said Heather. “I do. I’ve gotten so lost, and I’d really love some help getting back on the right track. And my mom…well…she’s not really a mom in the traditional sense. If that makes any sense.”

  “It makes a great deal of sense,” said Athena. “I don’t really have a mom either.”

  After a moment of what seemed like deep consideration, Athena turned and nodded to Effie.

  Effie walked right up to Owen and Heather and took them both in her large, warm embrace. Heather hiccuped a sob, tears immediately springing to her eyes. She was overjoyed that Effie would be staying with her, but she never for a moment thought that she’d actually be able to hug the woman. And now that she was, she couldn’t seem to stop crying.

  Effie released them and wiped Heather’s tears away. “It’s all right, Koukla. I’m not really going anywhere.” She touched Heather’s forehead. “I’ll always be in here.” She placed a palm on Heather’s heart. “And here.”

  “I know,” Heather managed to say between sniffles. And then, in a flash, Effie was gone, too. But she wasn’t really gone. Heather felt a wave of tears overcome her again, but she fought it back.

  “Thank you,” she said to the goddess. Because every time she prayed to a goddess in the future, she knew which one it would be.

  It was Athena’s turn to step forward and touch them both on the forehead. She spotted the charm on Heather’s necklace, and she touched that too. “Be good,” she said with a smile, and then disappeared.

  The shimmering golden mirror instantly went black, and the rest of the vault plunged into darkness right along with it.

  “The door’s still closed, isn’t it?” Owen asked.

  “Yup,” said Heather.

  “Do you think Ace will come back down to fetch us?”

  “Probably,” said Heather.

  She felt him turn his face—his mouth was so close to her ear that she could feel his warm breath. “What do you suggest we do now?” he asked softly.

  Heather smiled, even though he couldn’t see it. “Enjoy our bubble.”

  Ace didn’t waste much time getting back down to the vault, and he brought Professor Blake with him. He pretended to get the key stuck in the lock, though, which was very kind. Heather and Owen had enough time to disengage and straighten themselves out before the door opened.

  As soon as Heather saw Ace—who had also taken the time to change into clothes that weren’t ripped at the seams—she threw herself at him and gave him a huge bear hug. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”

  He hugged her back so tightly she almost lost her breath, but she didn’t mind. “Cheer extra hard for me at the next game, willya?”

  “Deal,” she said.

  “You poor dears,” clucked Professor Blake. “Is what Ace told me true? Miss Sunshine was a trickster in disguise?”

  “She was,” said Owen. “It’s all my fault. She was after me.”

  “She was the one who got you spellbound?” asked the Head Witch.

  Owen nodded.

  “Let’s just thank the goddess it’s all over. And I hear we know which one to thank.” Professor Blake’s eyes fell to Heather’s necklace. “I guess that trinket became a true talisman in the end, didn’t it?”

  “I guess so,” Heather said proudly.

  Professor Blake patted Heather’s shoulder. “I’ve already dispatched someone to Professor Mayfield’s house, and in a moment I’m going to take over his class for the day. But I wanted to check on you children first and make sure you were all right.”

  “We’re fine, Professor Blake,” said Heather.

  “Fine and relieved,” said Owen. “So very, very relieved.”

  “Well goodness knows you dears have had a time of it this morning. I hereby dismiss all three of you from classes today so that you can rest up from this taxing ordeal. I have a car waiting for you whenever you are ready to go home, Mister Liddell. In fact, why don’t you take Miss Hayden with you? I’m sure she could benefit from some fresh air and a change of scenery.”

  “That would be nice,” said Owen. “Cheers, Professor Blake.”

  “Yes, thank you,” added Heather.

  They slowly walked back through the lower library. The world seemed strange now that it wasn’t lit by blue ghost light or golden goddess light. As they made their wa
y up the stairs, Owen turned to her.

  “You know I live with Kai and her parents,” he said. “I’ll understand if you’d rather go back to your room instead.”

  Heather shook her head. “Professor Blake is right,” she said. “I need to get away from this school for a bit. And I’m going to have to apologize to Kai sooner or later; it may as well be sooner. Plus, I don’t particularly want to leave your side just yet.” She slipped her hand into Owen’s. “If that’s okay.”

  He squeezed her fingers. “That is extremely okay.”

  They didn’t say anything on the ride to the Xanthopoulouses’ house, just held hands in silence. They had left all the kissing and the discovering back in the dark of the vault, but somehow, the bubble was still with them.

  Mr. and Mrs. Xanthopoulos welcomed them both with open arms. Heather tried to imagine herself in a family like this, but she couldn’t manage it. She was glad Owen had it, anyway. After a hundred years of nothing at all, he deserved it. Heather had only been through seventeen. And now she had Effie, so life was looking up.

  “Owen, introduce us to your friend,” said Mr. Xanthopoulos.

  “This is Heather,” Owen said obligingly. “Heather, this is Mr. and Mrs. X.”

  “Welcome, Heather,” said Mrs. X. “Are you a friend of Kai’s too?”

  Heather shot a glance at Owen before deciding to answer honestly. “Not really,” she said. “But I look forward to getting to know her better.”

  “Bravo,” said Mr. X. But Owen’s smile was the best reward.

  “Come in, already,” said Mrs. X. “I need to get to the diner, but Professor Blake told us you would be coming back home so I made sure to fix you a little something to eat first.”

  As they turned into the kitchen, Heather’s mouth fell open. Every flat surface was covered with trays of food, as if they were about to host a party. Like any warm-blooded teen shifter boy, Owen loaded a plate full of food and started tucking in. Heather was a bit more hesitant. Mostly, she had no idea what half the things were, or where to start.

  Mr. X laughed at her expression. “You’re in a Greek house now, Koukla,” he said. “You will never be hungry again.”