Page 17 of Zeus' Spark
A theory is forming in my mind. The Hermes descendants are the best magic users and tend to the wards. We had a breach in the wards today. Could the two things be related?
“Jayden, we have a serious fucking problem. The Hermes kids tend to the wards,” I say.
Jayden curses loudly. His hand freezes with his fork halfway to his mouth, then it clatters to his plate.
Yeah, exactly my point.
If kids keep going missing, then the school will be unprotected.
We can’t let that happen.
4
“Why are we out here at the ass crack of dawn?” Raven asks, yawning and stretching.
I roll my eyes, quickening my pace. “We’re patrolling the wards.”
I pick my way through the underbrush of the forest. The tall pines sway in the breeze. The moon shines like a beacon overhead even as the pinks and purples of sunrise break over the mountains.
I don’t particularly want to be out before the sun rises either, but last night after dinner, I wasn’t able to find the headmistress to tell her my theory about the Hermes kids.
Someone should be watching the wards at all times, just in case.
“But why?” Raven whines, crossing her arms over her chest.
“We’re the only ones who know what’s happening here.” The cool breeze blows my hair in my face and brings the scent of smoke to my nose. “Do you smell that?”
I stop short, and Raven almost runs into me. I spin in a circle, my nose wrinkled at the acrid scent that doesn’t belong in a forest full of trees.
“What?” Raven turns around, taking a big breath through her nose. “Why does it smell like smoke?”
“It’s coming from that way.” I point in the direction of the trees before jogging over to the tree line.
The acrid stench of smoke and sulfur grows stronger the closer I get to the wards.
I scan the forest again for any indication of what could be here when Raven gasps.
“What the fuck is that?” Raven jogs up next to me, pointing at a huge, terrifying beast.
This beast has three heads. One head of a lion and the body of one too, but the tail ends in a snake’s head, and a goat’s head sticks out of the thing’s back.
It’s disgusting.
I throw my hands up in the air. “What is it with lions lately? You don’t think that’s responsible for the smell, do you?”
Shit, this is bad.
Flickering embers trail across the ground. What the hell? It doesn’t appear to be on fire.
The lion’s body is a silky golden color but not on fire, so where the hell is the smell coming from?
“Yeah, I think it is,” Raven replies.
Fire shoots from the lion’s mouth, making us both jump.
The heat of the flames warms my skin as the creature roars out the flickering flames.
I guess that answers that question.
