Touch of Sibyl

Chapter Five

Myth-history was my last class of the day. As soon as the bell rang, I stuffed my textbook into my bag.

"See ya, Ava."

Carlos Callahan called out a cheery good-bye and slid the plastic bag with the charm bracelet into one of the pockets on his designer khaki cargo pants. I nodded at him, shouldered my bag, and left.

I walked down the crowded hallway, pushed through the first door I came to, and stepped outside. Five main buildings made up the heart of Mythical Academy-math-science, English-history, the gym, the dining hall, and the library-all grouped together in a loose cluster, like the five points of a star. Even though I'd been going here for two months now, the buildings all looked the same to me-dark gray stone covered with thick, heavy vines of glossy ivy. Large, creepy Gothic structures, with towers and parapets and balconies. Statues of various mythological monsters like gryphons and Gorgons perched on all the buildings, their mouths open in silent, angry snarls.

An enormous open quad and a series of curving walkways connected the five buildings to each other before the ash gray cobblestones snaked down a hill and farther out to the student dorms and the other structures that made up the rest of the lush academy grounds. Green grass still rolled over the smooth lawns, despite the October chill. Here and there, tall maples and oaks spread their limbs wide, their leaves holding on to the last bright blazes of bloody crimson and pumpkin orange.

I zipped up my hoodie, stuck my hands in my pockets, and headed across the quad, skirting around the groups of students who'd stopped to talk, pull out their cell phones, and check their messages. I'd made it about halfway when high, trilling laughter caught my ear.

I turned my head and saw Jessy Ashton holding court underneath the towering maple tree that stood in the center of the quad.

Jessy Ashton was the most popular girl in my class, which was made up of the seventeen-year-old, second-year students. Jessy was also a Valkyrie with a mane of strawberry-blond hair, bright blue eyes, and the most expensive designer clothes that money could buy. She was the kind of girl who made everyone else look plain-even her thin, gorgeous, similarly dressed friends. Jessy sat on an iron bench underneath the maple tree, looking at something on her laptop and giggling, along with Morgan Houston, her best friend.

With her black hair, hazel eyes, curvy body, and supershort skirts, Morgan was only slightly less beautiful and popular than Jessy, which made her the number-two diva in our class. Morgan's reputation for being a raging slut who'd sleep with almost anyone made her number one with the guys, though. Naturally.

Two more girls sat on either side of Jessy and Morgan, while Danica Cruz perched on a fleece blanket on the grass in front of the bench. All the popular Valkyrie princesses tended to stick together.

The girls weren't alone. Samson Siren stood behind Jessy, rubbing her shoulders with the rapt devotion of a slave. No wonder, since the Viking was Jessy's boyfriend and one of the cutest guys in school. Sandy brown hair, hazel eyes, dimples. Samson could have easily passed for a Calvin Klein model. He also happened to be the captain of the swim team. No football here. All the kids at Mythic did fancy, froufrou sports like swimming, tennis, archery, and fencing. Seriously, fencing. What was the point of that?

Seeing Jessy and Samson together was like staring at a life-size version of Ken and Barbie. They just looked that perfect together, like they'd been made for each other.

The other students at Mythics might not pay much attention to me, but I was still able to hear plenty of juicy gossip on my own. Rumor had it that there was Big Trouble in paradise between the happy couple. Evidently, Samson was ready to go All the Way, since he and Jessy had been dating since last year, but she wasn't ready to cash in her V Card just yet--