My Ex From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #1)

You can lead a nymph to water but you cannot make her think (Part 1)

I had pretty much slept for three days straight and to my surprise, Kai was right. I was healed. This was good news for me but bad for Cassie and Bethany. It meant I'd lost precious time in the quest to save them and had to step things up.

Much as I chafed at any delay, I had my own immediate problem to deal with. My little heal-a-thon meant that I was now way behind on my schoolwork, with exams and essay deadlines looming. To blow them off would be at my peril, a decree handed down to me by Principal Doucette my first morning up and around.

"Given your probationary status," he began in a low rumbling drone, "it is imperative that you honor your commitments if you wish to remain a student here at Hope Park."

I won't bore you with the rest of that speech, which invoked school pride, calling Felicia, and a glimpse of a life that involved me waiting tables. Poor guy was trying to scare me into pulling up those university-bound bootstraps, and all he succeeded in doing was painting a rosy picture of a future where my biggest concern was that no one stiffed me on the bill.

If only it was as simple as popping a wad of gum in my mouth, teasing my hair, and hitting the nearest truck stop café. That combustible experience back at the ravine had cemented the fact that I was not yet ready to take on all the forces of Zeus and Hades singlehandedly. I was definitely stronger and more capable, but for now, staying in the Hope Park bubble was a no-brainer.

The one-on-one time between me and the principal did enable me to discover that he had no memory of Ms. Keeper, either. I pressed him on it, even going so far as to take him to her office, but he couldn't even acknowledge its existence. His eyes just slid off it and he went blank.

"She's our guidance counselor. Took over from Mrs. Rivers?"

"Mrs. who?"

He didn't remember Mrs. Rivers. That was a blow.

I knew that the family emergency that she'd been called away on was a sham, but the fact that Keeper had bothered to make people forget her very existence did not bode well. Just one more person to add to my guilty conscience.

However, since I couldn't save anyone if I got myself expelled and killed without my safe zone, honor my commitments I did. As fast as possible. However, I had not forgotten my responsibilities.

As with any good leader, I delegated. In part, to Mr. Smarty Pants "never study, get all A's" Theo Rockman. His secret, I now knew, was longevity. Stick around for millennia and high school curricula became blindingly easy.

I demanded continual updates on how his ward-cracking attempts were going.

I had Hannah confirm that neither the Rivers nor Jones family had any idea they were missing loved ones, or even that they had loved ones to miss.

Yeah, shoot me. I didn't bother checking in with Bethany's family. I may have felt it my duty to get Bethany back, but that didn't mean I missed her.

Bad as it was that Hannah didn't remember Bethany or Cassie, it was heartbreaking that she'd forgotten the existence of one of her favorite staff.

Meantime, I also had to keep the remaining students safe from Ms. Keeper, in case she decided to take anyone else out.

Since I couldn't patrol the grounds 24/7, I came up with a plan to let my schoolmates do it for me.

I photocopied flyers of my "Keeper—Keep Out" symbol and circulated them around the school. It described her human form and warned students that if they saw her, to stay far away but tell me immediately. I conned everyone into thinking it was part of an interactive drama project. The flyers promised candy to whoever found her first. Hopefully, my student alarm force would work.

I spent the next several days glued to a cubicle seat in the library. I even stayed focused, only taking the occasional thousand glances or so out the window. First up? A ten page paper on Shakespeare's ill-fated love between Romeo and Juliet.

Talk about timing. Or was it irony? The jury was still out on Kai and me, but the way things were going, Romeo and Juliet had a Disney ending compared to us. While our history didn't involve a well-meaning priest, I wasn't ruling out some goat-horned shaman dropping in at any time. Feuding families, star-crossed lovers, and death and deception. There were enough similarities in our stories to put me off old Billy S. for good.

Somewhere between writer's cramp and cramming, I slept. Not a restful snuggle-into-the-covers refresher, but a lay-face-down-on-my-study-table-and-drool, glorified nap.

Bless Hannah. She pimped me food and made sure I maintained a socially acceptable level of hygiene.

Wednesday afternoon, all papers in and exams taken, I got changed for what had previously been my biggest nightmare—gym class. Now it was my last chance to touch base with Theo and Hannah before going to find Keeper. To once and for all put everything into place.

Our teacher, Mr. Naiman, was one of those disgustingly robust types that never got sick, and proclaimed fresh air to be good for every ailment under the sun. The fact that the sun would be hard-pressed to fight its way through the gloomy November cloud cover mattered not.

Shivering in our sweats and hoodies, most of the class grumbled their way outside, following him as he took loud, deep breaths and led us in an energetic sprint to warm us up.

Last week, I would have been the grumpiest. Today, I burst through the door in a gleeful bound.

"What's wrong with you?" Hannah's confusion was understandable.

The look on her face as I picked up a pine cone and tossed it at her was priceless. "Nature, baby. Race you to the track."

"Oddess-gay o-fay ing-spray," Theo clarified as they caught up.

"She's manic and sunny," Hannah muttered. "It's scaring me."

"Roll out, kitten." I slapped Hannah's butt and broke into a brisk jog.