Forge of the Gods 2 Read online

  It hurt my heart to think about the fact that we only had one more week left before I had to head back. I wanted to spend as much time with Mom as possible before I left again. This was my last Farmer’s Market that I planned to work so we could hang out during the week. Mom had a couple of planning days where she had to go into the classrooms, but I decided that I would come with her to help set everything up. Being a teacher, her summer ended earlier than her students so she could prepare for their arrival.

  “Slow day?” said an all too familiar voice.

  As if I had conjured her up, my mom leaned against my front table with her chin in her hand. She wore a comically large sun hat with oversized square sunglasses. A wicker basket swung from her elbow, and a patterned dress hung over her body, looking like she’d cut a hole in the middle of a bedsheet and threw it over herself.

  “Mom!” I got up from my chair, surprised and delighted to see her. “What are you doing here? And more importantly, what the hell are you wearing?”

  “Oh, this old thing?” Mom stepped back and pulled at the seams of her outfit, stretching it out and making it more unflattering, if that were possible. “It’s a mumu.”

  “Did it come from a cow?” I asked with wide eyes, playing off the weird title of the garment.

  “No,” Mom said as she whacked at me playfully. “It’s fashionable. I think I blend right in with his hipster crowd.”

  Mom spread out her arms and twirled. She nearly smacked a couple in the face with her gestures, causing her to teeter uneasily on her feet as she missed them. I chuckled warmly at the absurd sight of my mother in the middle of the Farmer’s Market, with all of her unfashionably mumu glory.

  “As for what I’m doing here,” Mom said, completing her turn and landing back against my table, “I wanted to treat you to lunch. What do you say?”

  “Absolutely,” I agreed without hesitation.

  With one fluid motion, I untied my apron and pulled it over my head. I hung it on a hook that rested on one of the tent legs. The last step was putting out the “Be Back Later” sign. I adjusted the movable hands of the clock to give myself a comfortable hour with my mom. It was my booth so I could set my own hours.

  I whistled, and both dogs got to their feet, snapping to attention. “Come on, boys.” I beckoned to them, and they dutifully followed.

  Mom looped her arm through mine and guided the way to the food courts as if she had been the one working here all summer and not me. We weaved through the throngs of people. Children whined about the heat, while mothers consoled them with ice cream made from bananas, completely dairy-free. A couple considered a bench and fed each other fresh grapes they just purchased from one of the largest fruit stands. A woman poured her water into a metal bowl for her golden retriever.

  It was pleasant and comforting to be in such a nice community space. The summer had been relaxing and worry-free, but now with the vacation coming to an end, I couldn’t help but think about the stress of classes, tests, and training that would come with going back to the Academy. I let out a big sigh, and Mom instantly caught on to my distress.

  “I don’t want you to go back either,” she said as she leaned into my shoulder, the edges of her big hat flicking against my nose. “But it’s good for you. You’re learning so much.”

  “I know,” I admitted, with another sigh. “I just don’t want another year like last year.”

  “You mean you don’t want another fall semester,” Mom corrected as she steered us in line for the food truck with the best tacos. “Your spring one was nice and quiet.”

  She had a point. The fall semester, which I had started late, had been filled with prophecies, betrayals, and battling monsters. I learned about the Ultimate Weapon that I was supposedly destined to build to help the demigods beat the monsters once and for all. Beasts from all of the Greek myths continued to plague Earth, and it was the duty of the demigods to keep them from disrupting the mortals and their everyday lives. This Ultimate Weapon was supposed to stop the beasts for good.

  Unfortunately, the prophecy was rather vague on what the weapon was or how it was supposed to be made. So there had been a dispute between me and another soldier, Kari, about who and what was being made. She ended up leaving the Academy and escaped trial for treason. The daughter of Prometheus was still out there, determined to find the Ultimate Weapon before the Academy did, before I did.

  I also learned I could control the Eternal Flame, which was apparently another rare ability. Oh, and that I was the only child of Hephaestus in decades. Along with being a rare male demigod. It had been a heavy several weeks.

  I didn’t respond to Mom right away because we reached the front of the taco truck. After ordering and getting our food, we commandeered a nearby bench. Mom reached into the top of her mumu and pulled out a fan, seemingly out of nowhere. With one hand, she held her plate of tacos while she fanned herself with the other.

  I stared at her incredulously.

  “What?” she said with a smile. “I know you can’t feel it, but it’s hot as hell out here.”

  I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my taco. The flavors melted together beautifully, the kick of the homemade hot sauce not coming until later in the bite. I wave my hands around my mouth, smacking my lips, while my mom laughed at my reaction. After I recovered, I peeled off a couple of pieces of steak… I’d ordered extra… and dropped it on the ground for Khryseos and Argyreos. They gobbled it up gratefully and then patiently waited for another helping.

  “As much as I hate to say it,” Mom said through a mouthful of taco. She swallowed before continuing. “I think that adventure is just a part of your life now.”

  “Crap,” I muttered, sensing that she was right.

  “Cameron,” my mom said, her tone dropping into something serious. “You’ve got this. You’re great.”

  “You’re my mom,” I said with a scoff, “you have to say that.”

  “No, I don’t,” Mom protested. “I say it because it’s true. Look at me.” Mom tucked her finger on my chin and turned me to face her. She removed her sunglasses and placed them atop her hat. “You are amazing. You’re so talented, and I’m not just talking about the magical stuff.”

  “Mom,” I said urgently, trying to get her to lower her voice.

  “No one’s listening,” she said with the brush of her hand in mid-air. “You might be able to stick your hand in a fire and not get burned, or sense the types of metal in a blade from a mile away--”

  “I can’t sense it that far,” I corrected her.

  “Not my point,” Mom said, annoyed. “My point is that in spite of all of that supernatural ability, you still are a talented blacksmith, a kind and compassionate human being, and resilient and brave and--”

  “Okay, I get it,” I said with a chuckle, cutting her off before she recited the whole dictionary to me. I leaned my head on her shoulder, holding my taco plate in my lap. Khryseos and Argyreos sat up and licked at it. I tilted it down so I could give them better access, which both dogs appreciated.

  “I’m going to miss you, Mom,” I said softly, but she still heard me.

  “I’ll miss you too, kiddo.” She kissed the top of my head. “Try to come home for Christmas this time, okay?”

  “I’ll do my best,” I said with a hesitant chuckle at the back of my throat. Last Christmas, the Academy forced me to stay and work on the Ultimate Weapon. That was when the campus was attacked by a bunch of harpies, and I got arrested. Yeah, it wasn’t my favorite holiday that year.

  “Good,” Mom said definitively, as if it was already decided.

  We sat there for a moment, my head tucked into her shoulder and her arm around me. We watched the assortment of people walk around, enjoying the day. I was still stuck in my head when a familiar tune broke me out of my reverie.

  “Oh la de dah de dah de dah, la de dah de dah,” Mom hummed.

  I giggled. “Really? Now?”

  “Now’s the best time!” Mom said enthusiastically. Sh
e forced me off her shoulder and held out her hands. “You go first,” she prompted and began the tune again.

  “Oh la de dah de dah de dah, la de dah de dah,”

  I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Mom and I had been making up silly rhyming songs like this since I was a little kid. We did it for nearly everything, but especially when we needed to talk about our feelings and really weren’t sure how to. We did it as a camping song, a vacation song, a laundry song. It was really easy, and something Mom used to do with her Renaissance faire act back when she was in college.

  So in the midst of my worry about starting school again, Mom pushed me to make up a tune about how I was feeling. I obliged her with only a playful amount of resistance.

  “Oh la de dah de dah de dah, la de dah de dah

  I’ve been recruited

  Gonna start my second year

  To the Academy, I go

  Even though I have some fear.

  I have my dogs

  And my magic powers

  Though all that really means

  Is more study hours.

  Oh la de dah de dah de dah, la de dah de dah

  I hope I get rest

  And maybe some learning too.

  No harpies or chimeras

  Or fighting something new.

  I only want a calm year

  Something easy to pass.

  No sword-swinging involved

  Nor a pottery class.

  Oh la de dah de dah de dah, la de dah de dah

  Mom laughed at my song and took up the mantle. But her laughter was cut off abruptly, like she’d been zapped by something. While she followed the tune, her head bobbing back and forth, her eyes glazed over, and she looked strange as she sang.

  “Oh la de dah de dah de dah, la de dah de dah

  Many adventures to come

  For you, my son dear.

  Like a gross infection

  On campus will appear

  A distraction it will be.

  Do not fret at all.

  Though solve it you must

  Or a friend will fall.

  Oh la de dah de dah de dah, la de dah de dah

  Focus will be taken

  By a flash of silk and red.

  Follow the steps learned

  To stop the violent spread.

  Love will stay true

  Through the thick and thin.

  An old trick gone rusty

  Will be needed to win.

  Oh la de dah de dah de dah, la de dah de dah”

  Mom blinked, and a wide smile spread on her face as some color came back into her eyes. She patted me on the shoulder. “See? I told you a silly song would make you feel better.”

  I didn’t reply to her right away. In fact, after the supposed ‘silly song,’ I didn’t feel remotely better. An ominous feeling slithered its way through my stomach and settled there, like a snake claiming its territory. Which, in my opinion, made me feel incredibly worse.

  2

  “Hey, Mom.” My voice rose in pitch as I said her name. “What just happened?”

  Mom’s face fell as she leaned back, confused and a little offended. “What do you mean? We were just singing our song like we always do.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said, still slowly and cautiously, like I was speaking to a child on the verge of a tantrum. “But do you know what you said?”

  “Oh honey,” Mom said with a wave of her hand, “I never remember what I sing during those things. I just make them up on the spot and then whoosh! They fly right out of my head.”

  Mom leaned forward and offered Khryseos and Argyreos her leftovers. Their long tongues lapped up the remaining salsa, guac, and shell crumbs with haste. I stayed silent as I watched the scene before me, my mom’s words rolling around in my head like a load of laundry in the washer.

  Normally, the songs were supposed to be funny or heartfelt, not ominous and creepy like hers had been. Not only that, but she had been completely weird during the whole process. Sure, she bobbed along and clapped her hands in rhythm, but something about the whole thing was off. I couldn’t put it into words, but I knew my mom. She was my best friend, my confidant, and my anchor. But whatever had just happened wasn’t my mom.

  “Mom,” I tried again, wanting to turn her attention away from the dogs, but I was cut off by a loud squeal aimed in our direction.

  “Cameron!” a small Panasian woman called from across the street.

  She was petite even with her elevated flip flops and short skirt, which appeared to make her legs longer. The girl wore her black hair in a messy bun atop her head and had thick purple glasses on her face. She flounced over to us with two wicker baskets, identical to my mom’s, flapping from her elbows. Except, unlike my mom’s, hers were filled to the brim with assorted fruits and vegetables.

  The whole experience was like seeing a penguin in the middle of the desert. Jade was my dorm mate at the Academy, a daughter of Hebe, and a fantastic chef. We’d been in contact over the summer, mainly with sexy Snapchats or funny memes, but we hadn’t seen each other. Come to think of it, I had no idea she lived this close to go to this Farmer’s Market.

  “Jade,” I cried, but with much less enthusiasm and much more confusion.

  Khryseos and Argyreos recognized my dorm mate and greeted her warmly. She bent down to their level and let them lick her face while she did what she could to pet them, considering the weight and awkwardness of her baskets. Jade stood upright and then transferred her affection to me with a big hug.

  Being as she was shorter than me, her arms wrapped right around my middle as her head banged against my chest. Our contact was short-lived, though, as something shocked between the two of us, causing us to jump back. It was small, like a shock of static from a doorknob, but enough of a surprise to cause Jade to squeal in surprise.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said meekly. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said with a small smile.

  I looked my friend over and found myself happy to see her. Sure, it was out of context and completely unexpected, but Jade was one of the few things I was looking forward to seeing again when I went back to the Academy. She, Beth, Daniella, and I had become fast friends during our first year, and we definitely knew we needed one another to survive the next three years. Not to mention that Jade, Daniella, Hailey and I were in a relationship together, though undefined as it was at the moment.

  “How are you?” she asked, excitement coating her voice.

  “I’m good,” I answered, playing the game of small talk.

  From beside me, there was a not so conspicuous cough. I looked over and saw my mom looking off to the sky with a falsely innocent expression.

  “How rude of me,” I said as I reached down to grab my mom’s elbow. I pulled her up to her feet and brought her beside me. “Jade, this is my mom. Mom, this is my dorm mate at the Academy, Jade.” I wasn’t about to introduce her to my mother as the girl I was having sex with, since we hadn’t labeled the relationship that we had along with Daniella and Hailey.

  “Hello, sweetheart,” Mom said joyfully as she reached out her hand.

  Jade completely bypassed my mom’s hand and went in fully for the hug. Mom accepted it, though a little surprised at first.

  “Cameron’s said nothing but good things about you,” Mom said as Jade pulled away. “It’s great to get a face to a name.”

  “Same, though I hope he’s only said good things about us together,” Jade said brightly, with a hint of a devious smirk before going back to playfully happy. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Alpin.”

  “Oh dear, please don’t call me that,” Mom said with a hand to her chest like a southern woman who’d just heard someone take the lord’s name in vain. “Andrea will do.”

  “Sure thing,” Jade agreed. “I can’t believe I ran into you here.”

  “I can’t either,” I admitted. “I didn’t know you came to this Farmer’s Market.”

  “I normally don�
��t,” Jade admitted. She moved to set her baskets down on our bench, giving her arms a rest. “But I read online that there was this great sale on seeds, and I wanted to pick some up for campus.”

  “Seeds?” I asked as if the word was foreign. “You have to go shopping for campus? Even over the summer?”

  “Well, no,” Jade said with a slight eye roll as if that were obvious. “But I have Gardening next semester, and we’re supposed to bring some seeds. We’re going to be adding to the campus garden, taking care of our own little section of it. I wanted to have a wide selection because I didn’t know what I wanted to grow yet.”

  “Well, did the market have some good choices?” Mom asked, obviously intrigued by Jade’s seed hunt.

  “Absolutely!” Jade said. She clapped her hands together once and then dug in her back to show off her purchases.

  I had to bite my tongue to not scold my mom on asking my friend that question. When Jade got talking about food and ingredients, it was hard to get her to stop. Much like me and historical weapons or myths. She was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge when it came to spices, recipes, or all things delicious. Being a daughter of Hebe, the goddess of youth and cupbearer for the gods, it wasn’t a natural jump for Jade to have such a gift for cooking.

  “I like to think of it as a service,” Jade explained to me once last semester. “Like how she would serve the gods by being their cupbearer, I serve people by cooking.”

  It was a stretch, but not all of the demigod magical gifts were so obvious as mine. Daniella had another obvious one as a healer which made sense as she was the daughter of Asclepius, the literal god of medicine. Bethany’s mom was Demeter, and she didn’t have an obvious gift, since she could make duplicates, which she constantly complained didn’t have anything to do with gardening but the higher officials only saw her as another Persephone and put her as the lead gardener of the Academy, despite her saying she wanted to be in the kitchen or weapons production and not gardening.