Page 1 of Validus Vale Academy 1
PROLOGUE
Mount Olympus
“They havenothingleft from the gifts we gave them?” Zeus’ voice rises in disbelief.
“I wouldn’t say ‘nothing’, exactly. Some mortals have a magical spark,” I reply. “Though it’s not exactly…”
“Impressive?” he huffs. “That’s a fucking bore. Why bother giving them actual Godly gifts in the first place if they can’t hold onto them? Ingrates.”
“Right?” I agree, bowing low. “Can you believe there hasn’t been a mortal earth-whisperer or telepath for centuries, let alone a bone-weaver or transmogrifier? All that’s left on Earth are low-powered,” I do air quotes, “witches.”
Hera strokes the arm of her lover-brother. “What does any of this matter? Just leave them be, my love.”
Zeus turns away to grab another pomegranate, and I give Hera an obsequious smile. She narrows her terrifying eyes at me.Le sigh. I’m never going to win her over.
“Ganymede?” Zeus flicks a seed in my direction.
“Yes, sire?”
“Tell me about the mortal’s magical spark. Is it as dull as it sounds?”
“Pretty much. I mean, it allows them to cast witchy spells, but only simple ones. Parlor tricks, really; they have nothing approaching a Gods-gift level of power.”
“So, it’s official,” the King of Olympus groans. “The Earth-Realm is now duller than Prometheus’ liver. Hmm, maybe I’ll see ifLoki wants avacatio; he could go down and stir things up, whatcha think? Haven’t seen him for ever.”
I want to fall to my knees screaming, ‘For the love of all things Olympian, do not invite Loki back into the mix,’ but instead, I keep a stoic expression on my face. “Eh,” I shrug, super casually, “Loki might be a little heavy-handed. Could I suggest we do some more ‘watch and wait’? A few anomalies are going on between the Human Realm and Avalon at the moment that might turn into something interesting.”
“Really?” Zeus perks up. “Are Amirene and Obex fucking up?”
“Er, fucking up is one way to put it, both the Guardians of Avalon seem a little unstable. I heard that a portion of the Divine Essence is missing, and that’s messing up the balance.”
Zeus rubs his hands together. “Worth a wager?”
I nod, because in truth, I do think shit is going to go down. “You’ll probably get great odds on some kind of realm-ending catastrophe. Want me to send Hermes a message?”
“Do it,” Zeus declares.
“But tell him to leave those Gods-awful Pan Pipes at home,” Hera drawls. “I’ll go mad if I have to hear him play Stairway to Hades one more time.”
“So what are we going to do in the meantime?” Zeus asks, waving his mug around and sloshing ambrosia everywhere. “I’m still bored.” After a beat, he lets out a loud belch, then fixes his gaze on me. “Wait, I’ve got it! We’ll spend some time looking at another very special planet.”
“Great idea, sire. Which one are you interested in?”
“Glad you asked; I’m going to examine Uranus, Ganymede. Uranus—get it? Ha-ha, I’m hilarious.”
I bow, scraping my forehead against the marble floor tile. “Indeed, you are, sire. Indeed, you are.”
Fucking Gods.
1
United Kingdom
“Theo, it’s September 9th; I don’t want you to think I’m pushing, but can we discuss your move out?”
My aunt stands, hands on hips, frowning at the mess in my bedroom.
I paste on a smile and give her a reply in the perkiest of tones. “Yep, how about after work, Nancy? But don’t worry, plans are in the works.”
