The Trouble with Hades

Chapter 10

The teacher called an end to the test. There was a collective sigh that whipped around the room. As for me, I was fine. I learned. Sometimes, I studied, but I always soaked in the information. James was right when he said that I could get this done in a short amount of time.

It's why I'd spent the past ten minutes drawing doodles on the back of the test. The teacher was walking through the aisles and saw that I was drawing pictures. She turned the test over, checked it, and begrudgingly turned it back over to let me continue. I guess that meant that I'd passed the exam.

Glancing around, I searched for Anzide. I couldn't see him, but I knew he was in the room. Anzide had warned me that to crack into Kannon's mind, he'd need to concentrate, and that meant that he would have to divert all of his attention and power to what he was doing. Ensuring that I could see him while no one else could was a drain. Besides, I didn't really need to see him. I knew that he was always around, no matter what the situation was. In a classroom or out on the street, nowhere was safe in his mind. Nowhere except the coven property, and that was only as long as James kept the protection over it. We needed to learn how to do that so that when he removed it, we could apply our own.

As Kannon collected his things, he looked at me. A vague smile was offered. I really wanted this nonsense to be over with. Then, I wouldn't have to put up with his ridiculous attempts to be my friend.

The teacher collected my test, moving through the rows. When she reached Kannon, he offered his test and returned his attention to me. I expected him to ask if I'd attacked his house and car with a lot of birdseed. There was no proof and no witnesses. We made sure of that before starting our craziness.

"Hey, I wanted to apologize for the cafeteria thing. It was rude to talk like that."

I guess it was a no to the questions about the birdseed.

"I get it," I said with a shrug. "You're worried. You know what Drakkus is capable of, but you've never seen me in action. We're both powerful, but I'm untrained. I'm young, he's old. It's okay to be concerned, and I appreciate that you care."

Karina raised an eyebrow at me, saying nothing. She merely collected her things and waited by the door. I could understand her questioning the statement. I often questioned what came out of my mouth, too.

"Sure. Anyway, I thought that maybe you and the new girl might want to hang out at practice this afternoon."

"The new girl has a name, and it's Karina. I can't stay here any longer because I have to get home. Brad's picking me up. That aside, I wouldn't voluntarily go to a practice session anyway, but given that the cheerleaders are always there, I'm going to decline on that alone. I know you're trying to be nice to me, and I appreciate that, but I'm sorry because I am not going to be anywhere near the person who constantly belittles and bullies me. Her father is the reason Niko is dead. You know that, right?"

Kannon nodded grimly.

"Good."

Lifting my bag over my shoulder, I quickly walked to the door where Karina was waiting for me. She smiled at me, almost as if she knew the truth, which she didn't, but it was there. It was a little freaky, if I was honest.

"He's such an ass," she whispered as we walked to the stairs.

"Yeah, but what's worse is that I actually liked him. I was considering doing the nasty with him. I kissed him."

"Eww."

Karina screwed up her face and then giggled.

"That's just nasty."

I shrugged.

"For a while, he was the only one that was on my side. I wasn't looking for someone to hang out with or make friends, but he made life around here easier."