Goddess Games Read online

  Goddess Games

  The Demi Chronicles

  A. Lonergan

  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

  Chapter 26

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Jessa

  I pulled a navy sweater over my head and looked in the mirror. I rolled my eyes at my reflection and turned away. I spent too much time in front of the mirror over-analyzing my appearance.

  Over it.

  I grabbed my plain backpack off the bedpost and headed down the stairs. I slammed the front door on my way out. Not like it even mattered because the house was empty. It was always empty. I could have stayed home from school if I wanted to, but I went anyway; I felt like I owed it to myself for some reason.

  My boots crunched on the hard snow that had been soft the night before. My mailbox was leaning over at the end of the driveway. I kicked it for good measure. Maybe it would fall over and my mom would have to fix it or show some type of emotion for once.

  Maybe.

  I walked the few miles to school and enjoyed the fresh, crisp air. I took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of firewood and winter. There was no other way to describe it. I kicked a rock and contemplated why I didn't have a ride to school. It wasn’t like people didn't offer.

  Oh, the boys definitely did. I just didn't have time for them, and the few times I had talked to my mom about it, she refused to even entertain the thought.

  I always wondered if it had to do with the fact that she thought we were better than everyone and didn't need anyone’s charity. I wondered for a second if it had something to do with my absent father. I certainly didn't care either way. I enjoyed having time to myself and how the cool air cleared my head.

  I brushed my long hair over my shoulder as a blacked-out Honda pulled up beside me. I kept walking and stared at the snow-covered ground in front of me as the car slowed to a crawl. I kept myself emotionless but picked up my pace.

  I heard the squeak of the window rolling down and peered out the corner of my eye. Behind the wheel of the dark car was a very attractive man. I wasn’t a stranger to men wanting me, but I had never had them stop on the side of the road to offer me rides... yet there were no warning bells going off in my head like there should have been.

  “Hey!”

  I kept walking. Whatever he had to say wasn’t important enough.

  “Do you go to Oak Ledge High School? I’m new here, and I think I’m lost. Am I going in the right direction?”

  I looked up at him. He was pointing straight ahead.

  I nodded, and he waved at me in a really weird, friendly way that I wasn’t used to; men and boys usually tried a weird flirty or sexy wave that I tried to ignore most of the time.

  “I’m Crawley.” He leaned over and stuck his hand out the passenger window. I ignored it and kept walking.

  “Jessa,” I said in response.

  He nodded and drove away, unfazed by how rude I was being. His southern accent tingled in the air around my head as I walked into the large, brick school.

  I was late for history class, which was not like me at all. I slid into my desk in the middle of the room. Crawley had somehow managed to snag a seat right next to me. He gave me a small grin. I lifted an eyebrow to challenge him. I didn’t want to be messed with, and I hoped he got the message.

  Mr. Greg was going on about goddesses of war like he had been for the past week. He waved his arms passionately in front of the large, ancient projector. He always got into his lectures, especially when they were about gods and goddesses. I pulled out my spiral notebook and my favorite pen and began to scribble some notes down. I squinted at the board, transfixed.

  There was a picture of a tall woman wearing a loincloth and a thin strip of fabric across her chest. The loincloth hardly contained her curves, and her long dark hair flowed around her head. She was holding a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other.

  Something about the painting was familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. I shook my head. I had probably seen it on the Internet before, possibly from the same place Mr. Greg had copy and pasted it.

  I had always been interested in mythology. I imagined myself as an archeologist or a professor teaching the same things as Mr. Greg... but it didn't matter; my dreams meant nothing. It didn't matter how passionate I was about mythology; it wasn't meant to be my future.

  I was going to go to college to be a carbon copy of my mother, work long hours, and never care about my children. I’d never had a parental role in my life, so I didn’t know how the hell I would even survive as a parent, and I couldn't stand blood or needles, so I didn't know how I could possibly be an anesthesiologist like Mother. But that’s what my mother had always dreamed – for me to be just like her.

  Mr. Greg cleared his throat, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Artemis was the Goddess of the Hunt and known for many...”

  My mind was swarmed with thoughts of Artemis; I couldn’t stop the images from entering my mind: I saw the goddess bathing and a man peering at her from the bushes. He had a mischievous grin on his face as he watched her, but the goddess wasn't stupid. She turned to the man and spoke a few words under her breath – the man was now a deer.

  She turned to the large hounds that were resting at his feet and whispered once more. They turned on their master with big eyes and hungry growls. Within seconds they were upon the quivering deer. Blood covered them and spilled to the ground. The monstrous hounds howled to the sky for their master to come and see their magnificent kill.

  Bloodlust consumed me. I felt a malicious grin overcome my lips. I turned my eyes back to the goddess and saw that her expression mirrored my own. She had enjoyed it. I don't know how I felt it, but I was disgusted and excited. Of course she enjoyed the killing; she was, after all, a goddess. She could take life when she pleased. Her thoughts mingled with mine until I began to feel light headed. I blinked several times, hoping it would help with the way I was feeling.

  I shook my head, trying to clear it of the awful vision. I blinked hard one last time, and the room came into focus. The lecture was over and the lights were back on. Had I really been sleeping that long? Had I even been asleep?

  Students were starting to file out, and Crawley was in the seat in front of me like he had moved just to talk to me. He was openly staring at me with wide eyes as if he had also witnessed the vision that had over taken my mind. I raised my eyebrows at him., “Yes?” I was annoyed that someone had caught me off guard. I didn't know whether my eyes had been open or not but I was really embarrassed he had seen me.

  He narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion. I turned back to my notebook and slammed it shut.

  I shoved the practically empty book into my bag and stood up. I was too shaken to sit through any more classes or lectures.

  I slung my bag over my shoulder and started to make my way back to the house. Crawley was soon to follow, which wasn’t much of a surprise. He had witnessed something in the classroom that I wasn’t going to explain or ask questions about. My face was still pink from embarrassment, which didn't happen. Not ever.

/>   “Jessa!” I heard the echo of the southern drawl pulling me in. I tried not to turn around and look at the dark car that had to be following me again. “Tell me what happened back there! Are you okay? You’re eyes... they changed color.”

  I stopped. Changed color?

  That wasn’t possible; he was just some creep trying to scare me so he could give me a ride home and get some.

  Ha, yeah, not today.

  I kept walking – I had to get home. I had to take a Tylenol to get rid of the aching in my head, and then take a nap before Mother’s shift was up at the hospital. “I don’t have time for you, Crawley.” I picked up my pace.

  “Just tell me that that has happened to you before, that you...” he paused. I stopped and turned around to find him not in his car but walking slowly behind me.

  He looked gorgeous with the sunlight streaming behind him like he was some kind of god. I tilted my head to the side and almost smiled. He was extremely handsome.

  I stopped my thoughts in their tracks. No way was I going there, but I couldn’t keep my eyes from scaling his body. I groaned inwardly as I noticed how tight his pants were on his thighs and how his muscles bulged when he crossed his arms. The dark sweater stretching across his chest was doing him all the right favors in all the right ways.

  Not. Okay.

  “Ya know, Crawley, I am not really sure what you’re talking about. Sometimes when I’m really tired, I zone out. No big deal, m‘kay?” Man, I sounded off. Maybe I was judging him too harshly. What if he was just trying to be a nice guy and wanted to help?

  He laughed and turned to walk away like he knew I wasn’t telling the truth. It was none of his business and I could see my driveway coming up. As I marched to the front porch I couldn’t get the sound of his laugh out of my mind.

  Ugh.

  I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I pulled my eyelid back and looked into my eye. I rolled my eye left to right and blinked hard.

  Lack of sleep.

  That had to be it. People didn’t just see stuff unless they were on something pretty hard or they were crazy.

  Or maybe both.

  I looked back in the mirror as my eyes started to flash gold. I backed away from the sink and mirror.

  Just a trick of the light.

  And the scene in the classroom? Just not enough sleep.

  No matter how many times I repeated that to myself, it didn’t make it true. I had felt her for a brief moment in time, and it was seriously screwing with my head. Never mind that the mysterious Crawley kept running through my head – shirtless.

  Gross. Kinda. Maybe. Ugh.

  Hours passed as I tried to catch up on homework and keep thoughts of the goddess from my mind. I checked the clock again. My mother still wasn’t home, which was odd for her. She had a set schedule that she always followed to a T. It was annoying, but I respected how OCD she was.

  I checked my phone: 10:00 p.m. Still nothing; no texts or phone calls. I did the one thing I didn’t ever do. I called her.

  It rang twice then picked up, “Hello? Mother?” The line was silent. “I mean really, are you that mad that I screwed up your schedule and called you?”

  Nothing.

  “Mother, I don’t think this is funny. I know you don’t play jokes very often, well, actually never, but–” The call ended. I looked down at my screen in shock. I tried calling her again and it went straight to voicemail.

  Panic kicked in just as a memory seemed to unlock in my mind.

  “We have a schedule for a reason, Jessa. This isn’t just mommy being OCD; if something out of the ordinary happens, you run. Do you hear me? Don’t wait for me; I won’t be coming back, and if I do, don’t trust me. Jessa, are you listening to me?” I looked at the train about to

  leave the station and take me to Grandma’s house. “There will always be an emergency protocol. You will remember it when the time comes.”

  I looked back at Mommy, “I don’t want to leave you; I don’t know grandma. Please.” She shoved a piece of paper into my

  hands. “This is your schedule, and you have to follow it every day, no matter what. I don’t want anything to happen to you!” The only thing that got me onto the train was the tear streaming down my mother’s face.

  Mother didn’t cry. Not ever.

  All of a sudden I could remember my trip to Grandma’s house like it was yesterday. I had learned to survive on my own and how to get under the radar if something like this happened. I had only been eight years old, but the memory resurfaced like it had happened just yesterday. I had blabbed my mouth too long on the

  phone and had ignored all the warnings. I threw my phone on the ground and smashed it with my heel.

  I went to the bathroom one last time before I made a run to the car in the garage that was only for emergencies. I gazed at myself in the mirror. Normal.

  I looked around and a memory was triggered. I squatted down on the floor and pulled the cabinet open. In the back corner under the sink was a camo backpack. I already knew what was in it. I stood up and pulled on the big jacket that was hanging on the back of the door. I happened to glance at myself in the mirror one more time, but I wasn’t looking at my face anymore.

  My face was gone. My eyes were gold and I had a smile that wasn't mine, an evil smile that sent a shiver creeping through my body. Anger flashed through me. My fist flew out and struck the mirror. Just as my knuckles touched the cold surface, it erupted around my hand. I felt the bite of the glass but no pain.

  As each piece of mirror hit the floor, it burst into flames. I stared in horror at my hand knitting itself back together and the floor melting away at my feet. Heat radiated around me but the fire didn't burn me. Soon the fire was eating the walls and the floor, but I was paralyzed.

  I had to be dreaming. Even though my mind was panicking, my body kicked into action and my legs carried me away from the burning bathroom. Surprisingly, it was the only room on fire.

  As I moved down the hall, the fire followed me. Panic was eating me alive and I knew I had to run. I made it down the stairs as the whole second story was engulfed in flames and smoke. I looked to the garage as I passed it. There was no use getting the emergency car out. This was a different type of emergency.

  I didn't know why I was on the run, but I knew a few things: I didn't want to be tracked, I was a fast runner, I had been trained for this (whatever this was), and a car would bring me unwanted attention. Being on foot would help me stay under the radar better.

  I trudged out into the snow and booted up the small, indestructible dinosaur that my mother called a phone. If she was going to get in contact with me, it would be through this phone. I pulled my jacket tighter around me as I went for the treeline around the property. I could hear the sirens in the distance but it didn't stop me.

  Nothing was going to stop me.

  I vaguely knew about the safe house near my grandmother’s, but I knew a train was out of the equation. It was too dangerous and that was a good way to get myself cornered.

  On foot it was.

  I moved as quietly through the woods as I possibly could with the dry snow crunching under my boots. My breath came out in small puffs in front of my face. My stomach growled and I knew I didn't have long before I would have to stop to eat. The protein bars in the backpack weren’t going to cut it. Not to mention that they were probably expired. I didn’t know where I was. Tired, hungry, and cold wasn't the best combination.

  After about an hour I could see lights shining above the trees. As the hotels and fast food restaurants came into view, I had to fight the urge to run inside and throw myself into the warmth of the lobby. I bit my tongue and slowed my pace, being mindful of my surroundings.

  I chose the hotel nearest to the highway and paid out of the stack of cash at the bottom of my backpack. As I made my way to my room, I glanced over my shoulder every few seconds. I unlocked the door while watching the hallway.

  I threw myself at the lumpy bed and rolled onto my back.
Thoughts swirled around in my head. I knew I would need a car for the rest of the trip but didn’t want to steal one. I hated this part of survival, but I knew it would have to be done eventually. I got up off the bed and pulled all of my soggy, partially frozen clothes off. I had a phobia of being naked when emergencies struck. I pulled the thick blanket around my body and sunk into the bed. I tried to stay awake for as long as possible could, but eventually my eyes drooped closed against my will.

  “Jessa, wake up. WAKE UP. Jessa, no matter what they tell you, do NOT listen to them.... Never believe the gods... you were created for their pleasure only...”

  My mother’s voice haunted my sleep. The crazy rambling didn’t make sense and that’s how I knew it wasn’t real. My mother had never spoken of religion and never taught me to believe in anything. I only knew about different religions through school and the few friends I had growing up. But there had been so much panic in her voice; I wondered how my mind had conjured it up. I had never heard my mother sound hysterical or rambling.

  Not once. Not ever.

  Chapter 2

  Crawley

  I pulled into Jessa’s driveway as I watched smoke drift up into the sky and cursed under my breath. The house wouldn't be salvageable. I knew it by the flames coming out of the second story windows. For a second I wished that I couldn't smell the stench of everything burning within the walls, but knew it was for the best because I knew Jessa wasn’t in there. I couldn't detect the smell of burning flesh.

  At least not yet.

  I pulled a fireman aside and gazed into his eyes. “Can you tell me what happened?”