The Girl Games (Goddess Girls) Read online

  Athena kept her arms circled around the bag protectively. “Oh! He’s shaking. Poor thing.”

  Aphrodite glared at Artemis as they both sat down. “Those brutes of yours could’ve hurt him! You should’ve left them in your room!”

  “Hurt who? And they’re not brutes!” Artemis shot back. Suddenly getting it, she pointed to the bag. “Godzooks!” she hissed at Aphrodite. “You mean you brought him in here? What were you thinking?”

  “That I was starving?” Aphrodite replied. As Artemis calmed her dogs, Aphrodite managed to wolf down some of what was on her tray while Athena continued to hold on to the bag.

  Poking her head inside, she murmured soothingly to the kitten, which seemed to calm him. When she looked up again, Pheme was zooming toward them. “Shh,” she warned Aphrodite and Artemis. She nodded in Pheme’s direction. “Here comes trouble.”

  “Whatcha got there?” the orange-haired girl asked when she reached them. She was eyeing the bag Athena clutched. Cloud letters puffed from her lips to form words that hovered above her head where everyone could read them.

  “You mean the bag?” said Aphrodite. “It’s mine, and . . .” Her words trailed off and she stared at Pheme blankly, as if she didn’t know what else to say to make her go away.

  Pheme licked her orange-glossed lips. “The dogs sure seem interested. What’s in it?”

  “Nothing,” all three goddessgirls said quickly.

  Glancing at Artemis, Pheme said, “I heard you ask Aphrodite what she was thinking bringing that bag here.”

  “You did? Oh, uh . . . ,” Artemis said, looking blank too.

  Athena thought fast. Forcing a laugh, she said, “Oh, yeah, that was funny. See, usually Artemis doesn’t pay much attention to fashion. But she was just now saying that even her dogs had obviously noticed what an ugly bag this is.”

  “You got that right,” said Pheme, considering the floppy poppy. “Ugly isn’t even the word for it. It’s . . . it’s . . .”

  “Hideous?” suggested Athena.

  “Horrifying?” suggested Artemis.

  “Hey—it’s not that bad,” Aphrodite protested. “So I made a teeny fashion error. Everybody’s entitled to one. Do you have to broadcast it to the world?”

  Pheme’s eyes lit up at the very idea of broadcasting the news that MOA’s reigning fashion queen had admitted to making a shopping mistake. “Gotta run,” she said. And she hurried off to spread her gossip.

  “Phew,” said Athena. “That was close.”

  “My reputation is in ruins,” Aphrodite said, only half-teasing. “But thanks for the save, Athena. It was brilliant.” Then she studied her bag critically. “But hideous? Horrifying? You were both exaggerating, right?”

  Athena shrugged but said nothing. She was the goddessgirl of wisdom, after all. She knew when it was best to keep quiet. Apparently the kitten did too. She’d been afraid he might squirm or yowl while Pheme was there. But Adonis had only curled up to nap. Apparently noise didn’t bother him. He might not like dogs, but he didn’t seem to mind being around lots of people. That was lucky!

  Artemis grinned. “I can’t believe Pheme actually bought that story about me having an opinion on fashion. What I know about that topic wouldn’t fill a pitted olive.” She whistled to her dogs. “Come on, boys, let’s go for a walk and calm down. I’ll grab a bite later.”

  Once Artemis and her dogs took off, Aphrodite kept an arm around the bag as she finished off her hambrosia and eggs. Athena stayed to keep her company, even though she’d already finished her own breakfast.

  Later, as the two were leaving the cafeteria, they ran into one of the Norse goddesses. Athena noticed that the pretty blue eyes of the goddess in the feathered cloak were red, as if she’d been crying. Aphrodite must have noticed too, because she said, “You’re Freya, right? Is something wrong?”

  Freya bit her lip like she was trying to keep from crying again. “Brisingamen is missing. I took it off before I went to dinner last night. It was late when I got back to my room, and I didn’t notice it was missing until this morning. I’ve searched and searched, but I can’t find it.”

  “Brisingamen?” Athena echoed in surprise.

  Freya touched her bare throat. “My necklace. That’s its name.”

  “I remember! You had it on at lunch yesterday,” Aphrodite exclaimed. “It’s gorgeous. If I owned a necklace that wonderful, I’d give it a name too!”

  “Do you need help looking for it?” Athena asked, thinking she should’ve asked that right away.

  Freya shook her head no. “Thanks, but my friend Skadi is going to help me look again after breakfast. She thinks I just misplaced it. That’s happened before, so she’s probably right.”

  “Good luck finding it,” said Aphrodite. After saying bye, she and Athena climbed the stairs to the dorm again.

  “You don’t think anyone stole Freya’s necklace, do you?” Athena asked as they reached the door to her room.

  “I was wondering the same thing,” said Aphrodite. “I hope not, but there are a lot of strangers at MOA right now. It’s possible.” Just then Adonis started to mew. “Hold on, little guy,” Aphrodite soothed. “We’re almost home.”

  Athena pursed her lips. “Sorry to bring up an annoying subject, but have you talked to my dad about him yet?”

  “Not yet,” said Aphrodite. “I will, though. As soon as I figure out what to say that’ll convince him to let Adonis stay.”

  That wasn’t exactly the answer Athena was hoping for, but she couldn’t make Aphrodite do the smart thing. She’d have to let her do things her way. As they parted in the dorm hall, Athena vowed to stay out of it and hope for the best.

  First thing after going into her room, she checked to see if a letter had come from Heracles. But there was nothing yet. She knew he was busy. And he’d already told her he might not be back in time to see her compete. Still, she’d been crossing her fingers that he’d make it. The least he could do was send an encouraging message. After all, the elim races were today!

  Well, even if he’d forgotten how to write, she hadn’t. She sat at her desk and wrote him a brief note, telling him about being a tour guide, and about the new girls she’d met. She said that her practices were going fine, which they were. And that she hoped he’d make it back in time for the Olympics tomorrow. She wanted to write about Adonis, but didn’t since they’d all agreed to keep him secret.

  When she got to the end of her note, she hesitated. Then, before she could change her mind, she hastily scribbled Miss you a lot, and underlined a lot, three times.

  Then she rolled up her letterscroll, tied it with a shiny blue ribbon, and took it to her open window. Cradling it in the palm of her outstretched hand, she chanted:

  Come to me, breeze,

  And take my note, please.

  Then deliver it to

  my crush, Heracles.

  Almost instantly, a breeze whooshed up. It tickled her palm as it lifted the little scroll, then whisked it away. Just as she was about to turn from her window, Athena glanced down. Zeus’s golden-winged horse, Pegasus, was standing in the courtyard. She was surprised to see a boy she didn’t know calling to him. The boy’s skin didn’t shimmer, so he must be a mortal. Probably one of the visitors here to watch the Games.

  Though tall and lanky, he looked only ten or eleven years old, she guessed. His wavy black hair hung to his shoulders. For a second he seemed kind of familiar. Had she seen him before?

  No, she decided quickly. It must be that he reminded her of some of the boys at MOA. There were plenty with dark hair, including Heracles, Hades, and Apollo. Well, whoever he was, he should give up trying to befriend Pegasus. Since Zeus and Hera’s wedding, that horse had become so loyal to Zeus that it shied away from everyone else.

  Athena left the window and went to her closet to change clothes. As she slipped into her navy-blue running chiton, she turned her thoughts back to the letter she’d just sent. What would Heracles think when he read her “a lot”? W
as it too much? Would he think she was too stuck on him?

  Maybe she shouldn’t have written those words after all. She worried about it the whole time she was doing her practice run. And she forgot all about the boy she’d just seen from her window who, in the meantime, had disappeared from sight.

  9

  Artemis

  Friday morning.

  BY THE TIME ARTEMIS GOT BACK TO THE cafeteria after walking her dogs, Aphrodite and Athena were gone. Instead of waiting in line for a hot breakfast, she grabbed a plate from the snacks table and loaded it up with cheese, a hunk of bread, and a bunch of grapes.

  The table where she and her friends usually sat was empty now. She checked around for Apollo and Actaeon, or anyone she knew, but the cafeteria was mostly full of MOA visitors. Looked like she’d have to eat alone.

  “Hey, Artemis,” someone called to her. “Come eat with us!”

  It was Satet, the Egyptian goddess who’d rescued her yesterday from those two snotty Amazon archers. She was sitting with Neith. Artemis almost didn’t recognize them because they weren’t wearing their tall crowns.

  She smiled and headed for their table, glad not to have to eat alone. Satet made a big fuss over her dogs, who loved all the attention.

  Pheme had told her that Satet and Neith knew some other Egyptian goddesses that Artemis and her friends had met on a trip to Cairo not long ago. She smiled, thinking of Bastet, the cat goddess she’d met there, and how they’d discussed which were better—dogs or cats. Dogs, of course! In her opinion, anyway.

  “I heard you’re getting new targets for the competition tomorrow?” Neith asked.

  Nodding, Artemis swallowed a bite of cheese. Then she said, “They’ve arrived. Just need to be unpacked.”

  She’d meant to do it yesterday between practices. But when she’d checked on preparations for other events, she’d discovered some problems. Such as a shortage of towels for the swimmers and improperly drawn lanes for the footraces. By the time she took care of the problems, she’d been too tired for unpacking.

  “Want some help?” asked Satet.

  Artemis automatically shook her head. “That’s okay. I can handle it. But thanks.” She didn’t want them to think she wasn’t up to the task of making sure the Games ran smoothly. That’s why she hadn’t even asked her friends for help.

  Not that Aphrodite and Persephone could do much. They had their hands full with that kitten now. She could’ve asked Athena. But coordinating everything herself was the only way to know that it was all being done right. Because if something wasn’t, she’d be the one Zeus would be mad at. And if he got mad enough, that would be the end of the Girl Games!

  Satet’s kohl-lined eyes were bright as she smiled at Artemis. “Well, if you change your mind, come find me.”

  “And me,” added Neith.

  A few hours later Artemis was walking down to the sports fields to get ready for the footrace eliminations when she spotted Athena ahead of her. “Hey, wait up!” Artemis called. Just as she caught up, the girls heard a whinny sound. They glanced back in time to see Pegasus’s hooves leave the ground as he flapped his mighty golden wings.

  An unfamiliar boy was running downhill after the horse, as if trying to catch him. The boy’s black hair was tossed by the wind as he picked up his pace. He leaped in the air making a wild grab.

  “Godsamighty!” Artemis exclaimed. “That loopy boy doesn’t really expect to catch Pegasus, does he?”

  “I saw him trying the same thing last night,” said Athena. “Any idea who he is?”

  Artemis shook her head. “But I bet I know who does.” They were nearing the track now, and she nodded toward Pheme, who was standing on the sidelines. Catching her eye, Artemis waved her over.

  “What’s up?” Pheme asked eagerly. “Any new news?” Having exhausted her tidbit about Aphrodite’s poppy-purse fashion faux pas at breakfast, she was apparently on the hunt for new gossip to spread.

  “Sadly, no,” said Artemis, though she wasn’t really sad about it at all. “We were actually hoping you could tell us something.”

  Pheme’s face lit up. “Sure! What do you want to know?” She liked giving out information as much as she liked taking it in.

  Athena pointed at the unknown boy, who was now staring dejectedly up at Pegasus as the horse flew in sweeping circles overhead. “We’re wondering who that boy is.”

  “His name’s Bellerophon,” Pheme answered promptly. She gestured toward a girl doing hamstring stretches on the track. “That’s his cousin over there.”

  “I wonder why he’s so fascinated with Pegasus?” Athena mused as Pheme ran off to catch up with someone else, who was walking back toward the Academy.

  “Well, if he’s hoping to ride that horse, he can forget it,” Artemis said. “Pegasus is totally devoted to Zeus. And vice versa.” It didn’t take a genius to figure that out. Zeus was always bringing treats like apples and carrots to the winged horse. And he could often be seen in the night sky teaching Pegasus flashy tricks with the thunderbolts the horse carried for him.

  “C’mon,” said Athena. “The elimination races are starting.”

  Many of the girls competing in the Games had chosen the two-hundred-meter footrace as one of their individual events in tomorrow’s Olympics, including Artemis, Athena, and Aphrodite. There would be five heats in their elims this afternoon, each with nine runners. Athena would run in the first group, and Aphrodite was in the second. Artemis wouldn’t run until the fifth heat—which was the last.

  Artemis cheered Athena on as the first heat began. “Go, goddessgirl!” she yelled as Athena dashed the length of the field with eight sets of feet pounding behind her. Artemis grinned at the stunned expression on her friend’s face when she crossed the finish line and realized she’d won her heat.

  “Way to go!” She and Athena smacked a high-five in the bottom row of the stands.

  “Thanks,” Athena said breathlessly. “But I don’t think any of the really fast runners were in my heat.”

  Artemis snorted. “No way. You’re faster than you think!”

  Athena smiled, seeming pleased with the compliment. Then, as the next heat began, they sat to watch Aphrodite race.

  She came in second, which still meant she’d get to race in the Olympics tomorrow, too. Ares was standing near the finish line during her heat. Artemis had seen a frown flicker over his face as Aphrodite crossed second. But she was glad to see him congratulate her afterward.

  “Where’s Adonis?” Artemis whispered to Aphrodite when she joined them in the bottom row to watch the next two heats.

  Aphrodite’s face clouded over. “Persephone’s watching him,” she said.

  “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine. He likes her,” Athena assured her.

  Aphrodite’s frown deepened. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  Artemis and Athena looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Uh-oh, thought Artemis. It sounded like Aphrodite and Persephone were becoming rivals for the kitten’s affection! Speaking of rivals, it had seemed like a good idea at the time when she, Aphrodite, and Athena had all signed up for the two-hundred-meter race together. But now she wondered if that might have been a mistake.

  If she advanced also, they’d all wind up competing against each other in Saturday’s Games. Considering the trouble brewing between Aphrodite and Persephone, it was lucky that Persephone wasn’t competing in the race too!

  When it was finally time for the fifth heat, Artemis took her place, crouching at the starting line. The trumpet sounded. She took off! Her legs pumped hard as she sprinted down the track. But something didn’t feel right. Her rhythm was off. She could tell she was running slower than usual. Probably because she’d been working too hard and worrying too much lately. It was affecting her energy!

  Through sheer determination, she crossed the finish line a fraction ahead of second place. She’d come in first! And that meant that she, Aphrodite, and Athena would all advance to race in the Olympics tomorrow.
<
br />   Woo hoo! After she caught her breath, the three friends hugged in excitement. She was glad they’d all made it this far, even if it did mean they’d be competing for the same championship.

  And though her shoulders sagged under the weighty thought of everything she still had to do before tomorrow’s Games, she told herself that everything would be fine. She’d make sure of it!

  10

  Persephone

  Earlier that same Friday morning,

  before the elimination races.

  YOU TOOK ADONIS TO THE CAFETERIA!” Persephone exclaimed when Aphrodite returned from breakfast. Just minutes ago Persephone had woken up alone. She’d assumed Aphrodite must’ve taken the kitten outside to the bathroom. Turned out that wasn’t the only place they’d gone, though.

  “Uh-huh. So?” Aphrodite replied. As soon as she let Adonis out of his woven carrier, he scampered over to his bowl and began to lap the water thirstily.

  “What were you thinking?” Persephone scolded. “With all those people around, someone could’ve heard him. If anyone found out and told Principal Zeus, he might banish Adonis!”

  “Nobody saw him. I was careful,” Aphrodite said breezily. “Of course, Artemis’s dogs did smell him. They came racing over, and—”

  Before she could finish, Persephone practically exploded! “Dogs? They could’ve eaten Adonis in one gulp!”

  “Don’t go bonkers,” Aphrodite said. “Athena was watching him while I was in the food line, and she—”

  But Persephone tuned out the rest of her explanation. She couldn’t believe that Aphrodite had left Adonis in Athena’s care. Athena was always either daydreaming about some invention, or else she had her nose stuck in a textscroll. How could she be trusted to keep a careful eye on the kitten?

  “So anyway,” Aphrodite finished. “No harm done. My kitten’s fine.” By now Adonis had finished drinking and was batting at the fringe on the bottom of Aphrodite’s bedspread. She scooped him up and covered his little head with kisses till he squirmed to get back down.