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24: Well So Much For Going To Goode

"They're horrible!" Rachel gasped.

Tammi and Kelli were still wearing their purple-and-white cheerleader costumes, holding pom-poms from the rally.

"What do they really look like?" I asked, but Rachel seemed too stunned to answer.

"Oh, forget her." Tammi gave me a brilliant smile and started walking toward us. Kelli stayed by the doors, blocking our exit. I pulled out my pen and uncapped Hurricane.

They'd trapped us. I knew we'd have to fight our way out, but Percy began to seem out of it.

"Percy," Rachel warned.

He said something really intelligent like, "Uhhh?"

Tammi was getting closer. She held out her pom-poms.

"Percy!" I shouted. "Snap out of it!" I hated to do so but I slapped Percy, and he snapped out of it and got his pen out of his pocket and uncapped it. Riptide grew into a three-foot-long bronze sword, its blade glowing with a faint golden light just like mine was. Tammi's smile turned to a sneer.

"Oh, come on," she protested. "You don't need that. How about a kiss instead?"

She smelled like roses and clean animal fur-a weird but somehow intoxicating smell. No wonder Percy is in a trance. They're empousai.

Rachel pinched his arm, hard. "Percy, she wants to bite you! Look at her!"

"She's just jealous," Tammi looked back at Kelli. "May I, mistress?"

Kelli was still blocking the door, licking her lips hungrily. "Go ahead, Tammi. You're doing fine."

Tammi took another step forward, but I leveled the tip of my sword at her chest. "Get back."

She snarled. "Freshmen," she said with disgust. "This is our school, half- blood. We feed on whom we choose!"

Then she began to change. The color drained out of her face and arms. Her skin turned as white as chalk, her eyes completely red. Her teeth grew into fangs.

"A vampire!" Percy stammered. Then he noticed her legs. Below the cheerleader skirt, her left leg was brown and shaggy with a donkey's hoof. Her right leg was shaped like a human leg, but it was made of bronze. "Uhh, a vampire with-"

"Don't mention the legs!" Tammi snapped. "It's rude to make fun!" She advanced on her weird, mismatched legs. She looked totally bizarre, especially with the pom-poms, but I couldn't laugh-not facing those red eyes and sharp fangs.

"A vampire, you say?" Kelli laughed. "That silly legend was based on us, you fool. We are empousai, servants of Hecate."

"Mmmm." Tammi edged closer to me. "Dark magic formed us from animal, bronze, and ghost! We exist to feed on the blood of young men. Now come, give me that kiss!"

She bared her fangs. Percy was so paralyzed he couldn't move, but I stepped in front of him.

"I'm sorry. But my brother is not going to be kissing any monster on my watch." I growled. not using my sword yet, I grabbed a snare drum and threw it at the empousa's head.

The demon hissed and batted the drum away. It went rolling along the aisles between music stands, its springs rattling against the drum head. Rachel threw a xylophone, but the demon just swatted that away, too.

"I don't usually kill girls," Tammi growled. "But for you two, freshmen, I'll make an exception. The mortal's eyesight is a little too good!"

She lunged at Rachel.

"No!"both Percy and I slashed with our swords. Tammi  dodged my blade, but Percy sliced straight through her cheerleader uniform, and with a horrible wail she exploded into dust all over Rachel.
Rachel coughed. She looked like she'd just had a sack of flour dumped on her head. "Gross!"