Demigods Academy - Year One Read online

  DEMIGODS ACADEMY

  Year One

  Elisa S. Amore

  Kiera Legend

  Copyright © 2019 by Amore Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To Giuseppe Amore who got the idea to fill the academy with Gods and Demigods.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  Chapter One

  MELANY

  There were more than one hundred people at Callie’s eighteenth birthday party milling about in the northwest great room, drinking from champagne flutes and eating pickled fig and ricotta canapés passed out by uniformed waiters and waitresses. They were friends from her prestigious private prep school, their parents, and members of her big Greek family. I stood among them, although I didn’t belong to any of those groups. To my face, Callie would definitely call me a friend, sister even, as I’d lived in close proximity to her for the past five years, but I knew behind my back she whispered to her parents, her friends, even the staff who worked in the big house about how I didn’t truly belong.

  And the sad thing was she wouldn’t be wrong.

  I took a sip of champagne, as I leaned against the white railing of the veranda, and stared out over the grounds of the Demos Estate. It was lit up by solar garden lamps lining the cobblestone pathways and winding around the various stone statues guarding the back entrance to the house, as well as out front near the drive. It was always beautiful here at night. I’d often go for long, secret walks through the garden after midnight, my adopted mother, Sophia, and the rest of the Demos household none the wiser. Well, the gardener, Bishop, knew of my late night outings, as he’d caught me a time or two sprinting through the grass and leaping over the stone benches peppered throughout—my own private obstacle course. But he’d never rat me out. We had an understanding. He wouldn’t snitch on me about my clandestine nighttime adventures, and I wouldn’t tell anyone he smoked weed behind the garden shed with Rachel, who was one of the cooking staff.

  “What are you doing out here?” Callie joined me at the railing, the sleeves of her elegant blue gown draping over the white wood. She looked like a queen. Her hair was wrapped in a complicated braid around her head, like the Greek Goddesses wore theirs. She even wore a tiny diamond-encrusted tiara for the occasion.

  “You know, the usual. Hiding out. Keeping away from Cousin Leo’s grabby hands.” I made the motion to tweak one of Callie’s boobs.

  She laughed and slapped my hand away. “I know, he’s terrible. He grabbed Kate’s ass earlier.”

  I took another sip of champagne, feeling aware I wasn’t even close to looking as beautiful and elegant as Callie did. I hadn’t worn a fancy gown, instead opting for a classic black long-sleeved cape jumpsuit. It wasn’t mine; Callie loaned it to me. I could never afford something like that. I also suspected it was chosen for me, so it would cover the tattoos on my arms and legs. Her parents were very traditional and uptight. They only put up with me because I was the daughter of their most trusted housekeeper.

  “It’s time to come in now.” Callie turned and gestured to the large room bustling with people in tuxes and gowns beyond the open terrace doors, the din of conversation buzzing annoyingly in my ears. “I’m going to be opening my Shadowbox soon. You want to be there when I do.”

  “Sure. I’ll be right in. Give me a minute.”

  “You better be. You won’t want to miss seeing me get my invitation to the Gods’ Army.”

  I smirked. “You know that’s a million in one shot.”

  Her eyes narrowed into slits. “I didn’t waste my life worshipping at the temples for nothing.”

  Callie walked back into the party. Her feet didn’t appear like they touched the floor; her gown was so long it dragged on the immaculate, white-tiled floor. She seemed to float she was so graceful. Often people compared her to the Goddess Aphrodite—long, golden blonde hair, perfect, symmetrical facial features, glacial blue eyes, and the nose of an aristocrat. I thought she also possessed some of the Goddess’s character traits as well: vain, sly, and just a little bit diabolical.

  Well, maybe not diabolical. People often saved that word to describe me. Not that I blamed them. My midnight blue hair, tattoos, piercings, and snarly attitude were a bit out of place in the upper class neighborhood of Pecunia, where the families were mostly Greek and devout to the Gods. It wasn’t like I didn’t believe in the Gods—I sort of had faith. I just didn’t worship them like everyone else did. They’d done nothing for me in my life. In my opinion, they didn’t deserve my patronage.

  Every Thursday, the Demos family went to the Temple of Zeus with their offerings of wine, which they made here on the estate, and lamb sausage, which a butcher in the neighborhood made especially for religious ceremonies, and laid them at the stone feet of the statue of Zeus. Then they spent the day with the other worshippers, drinking and eating. I’d gone once with them years ago, but found the whole practice ridiculous and uncomfortable.

  To me, the whole thing was just a story passed down from generation to generation, going on more than a hundred years now. A story we all grew up listening to and reading about in our children’s books about the resurgence of the Gods during the New Dawn. I’d read about the 1906 and 1908 earthquakes that killed hundreds of thousands of people, supposedly caused by the escape of a Titan from their prison, and how the Gods fought him and returned him to Tartarus. Worshipping the Gods ensured no other Titan would escape. And the Shadowboxes delivered to every child turning eighteen was a gift from the Gods in return for that servitude. Ninety-nine percent of the boxes contained a simple birthday message, but there was that one percent that held a special invitation to join the demigods academy to train to be a solider of the Gods.

  I thought most of it was just a load of crap. I mean, the Gods’ Army? That couldn’t possibly be true. Where was this army? Who was part of it? No one in more than a hundred years had seen any evidence of it. It was just another way for companies to make a buck. The amount of Blessed Day birthday supplies designed and sold to the devout was ridiculous. Especially since the chances of someone being invited to join the Gods’ Army was miniscule—if it was even real. I’d never known anyone to be chosen. For me, it was just as much a myth as the Gods themselves.

  When I joined the others back in the party, the crowd had formed a semi-circle around Callie, while she stood near the baby grand piano at the front of the spacious room. Her parents stood beside her; her mother beamed with pride. Her father appeared stoic. In fact in all the years I’d lived on the estate, I didn’t think I’d ever seen Mr. Demos smile. Or it could’ve been he never smiled at or around me.

  I spotted a few of Callie’s friends, who I despised, standing near her at the front. Her best friend, Ashley, looked in thrall with the festivities. On the other hand, Ty
ler appeared bored to tears. When our gazes locked, he gave me a giant, fake smile then lifted his hand and flipped me the middle finger.

  I returned the gesture just as the lights flashed off, and a huge birthday cake was wheeled in on a serving table by two of the cooking staff. Someone in the back started singing Happy Birthday, and then it gained momentum through the crowd as the cake, with its eighteen tall, flickering candles, got closer to the birthday girl.

  Callie plastered a fabricated smile on her face, as her guests’ song reached a high-pitched fervor. Then she blew out the candles and everyone clapped. I knew what her wish would be: an invitation to the mystical Gods’ Army. Knowing Callie, she’d probably get it, as she received everything she wanted.

  As the cake was wheeled away to be surgically cut into the perfect triangle-shaped pieces, a triumphant horn blew from outside. A murmur rippled through the crowd. The Shadowbox had arrived.

  As everyone held their breath in anticipation of the presentation of the famed metal box, I swallowed down my resentment. I hated all this pomp and ceremony. It was a bitter reminder that on my eighteenth birthday, I hadn’t received a Shadowbox. Although the magic box was supposed to be delivered to every child across the world on their eighteenth birthday, that momentous, blessed event had missed me entirely. And I wasn’t sure why.

  A hush fell over the congregation, as a dignitary of the Gods dressed in a traditional Greek white robe carried the metal box in on a clay platter. Fig leaves embroidered his grab was embroidered along the edges. I craned my neck and jostled for position with others to get a better view of the box as it made its way to the front of the room.

  Even during my time at the orphanage, I’d heard about the boxes—no kid grew up without hearing about them—but the reality of one paled in comparison to any elaborate story. Maybe they weren’t the myths I’d thought them to be. But just because the Shadowboxes were real, didn’t mean the rest of it was.

  The Shadowbox was breathtaking. Constructed from bronze and inlaid with gold and silver, it seemed to glow with its own radiance. Beside me, someone gasped as the dignitary stopped in front of Callie, presenting her with the gift.

  Now that it was closer, I could see the motifs engraved with painstaking detail into the metal: symbols of the Gods. The lightning bolt of Zeus, the star of Hera, the rose of Aphrodite, the wolf of Ares. I could see those plain as day. I imagined on the other side would be the moon of Artemis and the sun of Apollo, along with another six symbols to round out the pantheon.

  Callie looked at her mother and father to get their permission to open the box. They both nodded. Before she could open it though, she needed to give her thanks to the Gods. It was tradition.

  “I thank Thee, mighty Gods. To those who dwell in Olympos, apart from man yet always a part of our lives. To those who dwell in city, forest, stream, river, sky, and ocean and guard all realms, I thank Thee for your blessings and hope to be worthy of the call.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, and I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

  Slowly, she reached for the box. When she picked it up, many in the audience gasped. I wasn’t sure what they were expecting; maybe for light to shoot out of it, but that wasn’t what happened. It might’ve been Callie had been expecting that as well, because her face fell a little with disappointment.

  Lifting the lid, she peered inside. Her hand gave a slight tremble as she reached inside and drew out the tiny rolled-up scroll fastened with a gold ribbon. I could see her throat working as she swallowed nervously while she untied the ribbon and unfurled the weathered, yellowing parchment.

  As Callie read the message written on the scroll, her cheeks reddened. Obviously, she didn’t receive the message she’d been expecting.

  “What does it say, darling?” Her mother craned her long neck trying to read over her daughter’s arm.

  Callie nudged her mother away as she threw the box to the ground and ran out of the room. Some of the guest murmured at Callie’s shocking behavior. Frankly, it didn’t surprise me in the least. Smiling, Mrs. Demos nodded to the five-piece band set up in the corner, and music filled the room. She gestured to the partygoers.

  “Let’s get on the dance floor everyone. This is a party, for Dionysus’s sake!”

  She grabbed my arm, pulling me close. “Go find Callie and tell her to get her butt back in here and make her apologies. She doesn’t want to offend the Gods.” She gestured to the box on the ground near her feet. “Take that with you.”

  I snatched it up, shocked to feel an instant tingle on my fingers. I thought the metal would feel cool to the touch, but there was a heat radiating from it enveloping my fingers and creeping up my hands to my wrists.

  I found Callie out on the terrace smoking. She didn’t look at me as I stepped up beside her.

  “Are you okay?”

  She kept puffing. “I can’t believe after all the offerings we’ve made to the temples, and all the charity work my parents do…” She shook her head. “And I get a stupid birthday blessing and not an invitation to the academy.”

  “Yeah, that totally sucks.” I wanted to roll my eyes at her entitled behavior, but didn’t want to invoke her rage.

  She whipped around to glare at me. “I’m the perfect candidate. I’m everything they need at the academy. I would have been one of their best soldiers.”

  “Your mother told me to tell you to come back inside and apologize to your guests.” I held the Shadowbox out to her. “Here’s your box back.”

  She slapped it away, and I nearly dropped it. “I don’t want it. You can fucking burn it for all I care. I don’t ever want to see it again!”

  She ground out her cigarette on the railing and then stormed back into the house. I watched her leave, feeling anger welling inside me. Callie acted like a spoiled child, which I supposed she was. And one of the cleaning staff was going to get in trouble over the damage she just did to the wooden railing. If it ended up being Sophia, I was most definitely going to say something.

  Tired of the theatrics of the party, I snuck out of the house with the box and crossed the garden to the small cottage on the edge of the estate where I lived with Sophia. Screw Callie. I wasn’t going to burn the box. If anything, I could hock it and probably get thousands for it.

  Careful not to wake Sophia, who was likely already asleep in bed, as she’d left the party early after working hard for three days to plan the celebration, I crept through the house to my small bedroom.

  “You don’t have to creep, I’m not sleeping.”

  Hiding the Shadowbox behind my back, I turned toward the small living room to see Sophia sitting in her chair near the window with knitting needles in her hands, and a ball of red wool in her lap.

  “Why are you in the dark knitting?” I smiled at her.

  “It relaxes me. There’s too much going on in my head to go to asleep.”

  “Did you hear about Callie?”

  She clucked her tongue. “Yes, I heard. Spoiled girl. Some days I don’t know how Mrs. Demos puts up with her.”

  She gestured to the floor by her feet where I usually liked to sit and listen to her tell stories about her and my parents when they were children. “Come sit with me. Tell me everything you got up to today. Did you get a piece of cake? I heard it was delicious.”

  “No, I didn’t get a piece. Not surprising with all the commotion going on.” I feigned a yawn. “I’m going to go to bed. It’s been a long night.”

  “Okay, my darling. Have sweet dreams.”

  “Sweet dreams.” I took a few steps backward, then whipped around with the box so I could duck into my room without her seeing it.

  I quickly got out of the jumpsuit, careful not to get it dirty, and put on a pair of sweatpants and an old tank top that had several holes in it from wear and tear over the years. Money was tight for us, so I didn’t spend it frivolously on clothing that didn’t matter.

  Once I was dressed comfortably, I sat cross-legged on the bed and held the box. Again, a strange heat ema
nated from it and rushed up my hands. Feeling unsettled, I set the box down in front of me. I’d been right about the symbols etched into the metal. There were definitely twelve of them, representing each powerful being.

  As I studied the craftsmanship, I was in awe. I’d never seen anything as intricate and beautiful before in my life. With careful hands, I lifted the lid on the box, expecting it to be empty, as Callie had already taken out the scroll and her message from the Gods.

  But it wasn’t empty. Another small, rolled-up scroll nestled inside, white against the purple velvet.

  Confusion crinkled my brow. Callie must’ve missed this scroll in her haste. She had been overly anxious, and there were so many people crowded around watching; she must’ve plucked one scroll out and totally missed the other.

  I reached in and took it out. The second I touched the paper my fingers tingled. I knew I should just put the scroll back inside and return the box to Callie, but something told me to open and read it. So, I did.

  I pulled the ribbon off and unrolled the parchment.

  Congratulations, recruit! You’ve been invited to the Gods’ Army.

  My heart picked up, revving like a motorcycle in my chest. An electrical shock went through my fingers, and I dropped the scroll. The paper fluttered in the air for a few seconds then landed gracefully onto my blanket.

  I couldn’t believe it. Callie missed this in her spoiled temper tantrum. The proper and moral thing to do was to roll the message back up, place it in the Shadowbox, and return it to Callie, so she could go to the demigods academy and train to be a righteous soldier for the Gods. But I didn’t want to.