Chaos (Tessa Avery Book 1) Read online

  “A hot guy from Olympus,” Mary replied.

  “How do you know he’s from Olympus?” Josh asked, brushing his dark blond hair out of his eyes as he looked in the new guy’s direction.

  “Because he’s completely out of place,” Mary replied. “Look at him. He looks about as comfortable here as I would at an Elders Council meeting.”

  Leila grinned and tucked her dark, curly hair behind her ears as she checked him out. “So does that mean he’s here for one of you guys?”

  Mary shrugged. “Probably. Come on, let’s get inside.”

  Leila linked her arm through mine, keeping her other hand in Josh’s as we started slowly making our way toward the entrance.

  “So speaking of hot guys,” she said, sliding me a look, “are you two even going to have time for boys once you’re out protecting us from the evils of the world?”

  “Mary always has time for boys, Lei, you know that,” I said, laughing as I ducked to avoid Mary’s smack to the back of my head.

  Josh snorted.

  “Okay, ladies, as fascinating as this conversation is, I’m going to head inside,” he said dryly, dropping Leila’s hand.

  Mary waved absently. “Yeah, yeah. Just because we found someone hotter than you to ogle.”

  “Ha!” He reached over and ruffled her hair, causing her bun to fall to the side. “Totally not possible.”

  “Jerk!” She swatted his hand away as Leila ducked to avoid the crossfire. “Now my hair’s a mess!”

  Josh’s brown eyes crinkled in a grin. “It was already a mess, loser.”

  “That wasn’t nice,” Leila said, nudging his muscular chest. “Mary’s going to be gone in a couple of days. You should be nicer to her.”

  Mary sent him a scathing glare and stuck her tongue out at him as she adjusted her bun.

  “Uh huh. On that note…” Josh leaned down and pressed a kiss to Leila’s temple. “…I’ll see you at lunch.”

  “Love you!” Leila called as he jogged toward the building, leaving us to slowly follow.

  Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Oh, here he comes!"

  As I watched the tall mystery guy approach, I tried to get a feel for him. Considering our transformation was just a few days off, it was kind of unnerving to know he was here to talk to one of us.

  As he came closer, I took in more of his appearance. His skin was tan, his lips full, and he had a strong, sculpted jaw that gave him a bit of a don’t-mess-with-me vibe. His eyes were dark, but it was hard to tell what color. Fitted dark jeans and a blue t-shirt hugged a frame that was both slim and muscular, and on his feet were a pair of beat up gray Vans.

  "Ladies," he said with a nod as he approached, then turned his gaze on me. "Ms. Avery?”

  I heard Leila suck in a breath.

  I tried to hide my surprise at the mention of my name, and instead, met his gaze as steadily as I could.

  “That’s me,” I replied, squaring my shoulders as I sized him up.

  He flashed me a quick smile, then gave me the same once-over I’d given him. “My name is Nathaniel. I’m a liaison from Olympus. Do you have a moment?"

  His voice was refined; a little formal, even, which completely contradicted his appearance. With his looks, I would’ve expected to see him on a poster promoting a college, not on an errand from Olympus.

  "Sure. What do you need?"

  I cast a quick glance at my friends and forced back a sigh when I saw their expressions. Mary was trying not to laugh, and Leila was gaping like a fish.

  He looked at them warily, then cleared his throat. "Could we speak privately, please?"

  "Sure, of course,” I said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “Let’s walk.”

  I started walking toward the main entrance. With a farewell nod in the girls’ direction, Nathaniel fell into step beside me.

  3

  Nathaniel

  No matter how many centuries went by, it never ceased to amaze me just how odd human girls could be.

  And while I knew the incoming Ischyra weren't technically human, they maintained friendships with many of their mortal classmates, so they still had a peculiar, human way about them. When congregated in groups, it seemed like all they did was laugh and whisper to each other.

  Shaking my head, I turned to the pretty young woman walking beside me. I was surprised that, after years of training to become an immortal soldier, she maintained a softness to her looks, not the harsh, angular lines one would expect from the strength she obviously possessed.

  “Thank you for speaking with me. I know this is probably a bit odd,” I admitted.

  Tessa smiled, revealing a small dimple in her left cheek. "Yeah, maybe a little. So why are you here?" Despite her confident outward appearance, I heard trepidation in her voice.

  “Nothing to worry about,” I said, trying to make my tone reassuring. “Every so often, the Elders, usually Zeus or Hestia, get curious about the emerging Ischyra. They pick one from an incoming generation and send a liaison down to get a feel for what the newest group might be like."

  Her eyes widened. “Oh. Wow. Okay... Not that I’m not flattered or whatever, but aren’t there like, fifty other incoming recruits this year? Why me?"

  I did a brief perusal of her thoughts and found her mind teeming with curiosity.

  I shrugged. "Why not?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “And if I said I didn't want to talk with you?"

  "That would...not be a good thing?" Now it was my turn to be confused. This was not starting out well. Before I could attempt to read her mind again, she laughed.

  “I didn't say I wasn't going to! I'm just curious to know what would happen if I just decided I didn’t want to have a chat with some random stranger first thing in the morning. I mean, if they just pulled my name from a hat or something, can't they just pick someone else? And how do I know you are who you say you are, anyway?"

  She was three steps ahead of me before I picked up my feet from the pavement and caught up to her.

  "I know that they wouldn't take kindly to being refused. And why would I lie?"

  “Who knows?” She shrugged. “You are a random stranger, after all.” She flashed me a bright smile. "And don’t worry, I'm not going to kick off my immortality by pissing off the Elders, trust me. Ask away. And please, call me Tessa.”

  “Okay, Tessa,” I said, sliding my hands in my pockets. “What’s been your favorite aspect of growing up as an Ischyra?”

  She was quiet for a moment before responding.

  “Well, I like how strong I am, and I love working with weapons.”

  I heard pride in her voice as images of her practicing with a staff flashed though her mind.

  “And I’m really excited to find out what my powers will be,” she continued. “Oh, and John and Analise—those are my guardians—they’re really great.”

  “Do you have any thoughts on what your affinity might be?”

  “Not a clue, but I think I’d prefer something Elemental than Mentalist.”

  “Oh? Why is that?”

  She shrugged. “I just like having a physical weapon to fight with, that’s all.”

  I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling as visions of Tessa wielding fire appeared in her thoughts. New recruits always thought fire was the most interesting of all the elemental affinities.

  “What about your purpose?” I asked. “You’ll be training to protect Earth from being corrupted by malevolent creatures. How do you feel about that?”

  She fiddled with the strap on her backpack for a moment before responding. “I mean, I’m definitely proud of the fact that I’ll be helping protect humanity. I didn’t choose to become an Ischyra, though, so sometimes I feel a little annoyed that my entire future has already been chosen for me.”

  I considered her response as I reached out and opened the door to let her pass into the building. “Do you think that annoyance will prevent you from successfully performing whatever duties the Elders assign you?”


  She stopped and gaped at me. “Absolutely not. I’m totally on board, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be annoyed about why I’m on board.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well… it’s not exactly the Ischyra’s fault that there are all these evil freaks roaming the planet. The only reason we exist is to fight the evil creatures the gods let escape into the world when Pandora died.”

  I frowned. “I don’t think that’s entirely fair. Pandora was—"

  “Created by the Elders and given to the Titan Epimetheus to punish the humans.”

  “Well yes, but Epimetheus was warned not to marry her. He chose not to listen to Prometheus when he told him she was a trick."

  “It doesn’t change the facts, though, does it?” She smiled. “You don’t need to argue their side, Nathaniel. I’ve heard it all my life. I’m just saying, I’m more than happy to do my part, but I can’t help but be a little irritated about the circumstances that got me here, you know? Zeus and the other Olympians tricked Epimetheus, and Epimetheus was stupid enough to trust them. It’s a bit irksome that my future has been decided because one god was pissed off and another had terrible decision-making skills.”

  “That’s an interesting take,” I said after a moment. “Wouldn’t you agree, though, that the release of those creatures in such a way may have been a bit beneficial?”

  She arched a brow. “Seriously?”

  “The gods used their powers to create the original Ischyra because they acknowledged their fault in Earth becoming overrun with monsters.” I shrugged. “If Epimetheus hadn’t accepted Pandora as his wife, the Elders would have had no reason to take responsibility for what her death released. She would’ve lived out her life unnoticed, the malevolent creatures on Earth would have multiplied on their own over time instead of all at once, and Earth would be left with less protection. Her death on her wedding night merely accelerated the process.”

  She cast a sideways glance at me. “I suppose that’s a somewhat valid point,” she conceded.

  I bit back a smile, and we continued to walk in silence for another moment. The halls were congested with students, so I was forced to fall behind her while she navigated the crowds.

  “So, do you have any questions for me?” I asked once we’d made it through a particularly large group of students and were able to walk side by side again.

  “Actually, I do.” She pressed her lips together, as though working out how to best phrase her question. "Before your transition, did you have...dreams? Or nightmares? Or just trouble sleeping in general?"

  "What kind of dreams?" I asked, dodging a large student in a letterman jacket. The press of students around us made it hard for me to get a handle on her thoughts, but I was able to make out a few bright flashes.

  "Bad dreams. Nightmares.”

  “About?”

  She began to look a bit uncomfortable. “I don’t really remember seeing much, but it’s kind of loud, and there’s this weird burning feeling. I feel like I should know what I’m seeing, but it’s just out of reach, you know?"

  Puzzled, I gently pressed into her mind to see if I could see any of her memories, but there were only brief flashes of light and a roaring sound.

  I leaned against the wall next to her locker while she spun the lock.

  "No, that doesn’t sound typical. Do you think this has to do with your transition?"

  She shrugged and pulled up on the latch before yanking the door open.

  "I've had this same nightmare almost nightly for the last two months." She began pulling textbooks from her locker and stuffing them in her backpack. "I've never in my life had recurring dreams until now. I'm graduating tomorrow, and I’ll be in Olympia training by next week; it would only make sense that they'd be related."

  She huffed out a breath and slammed the door shut, then started walking down the hall.

  I hurried to catch up with her.

  “Well I suppose that makes sense, but I don't know what the purpose would be. The Elders typically aren't the type to send nightmares to transitioning Ischyra for kicks. It would be, well, beneath them would be the best way of phrasing it."

  "Obviously." Her tone implied she thought I might be dim. "I didn't say I thought it was because of the Elders." She wrinkled her nose and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Are you sure you never had any?"

  "I've never heard of pre-transition dreams. Jitters and nerves, certainly, but not dreams." We came to a stop in front of a classroom a few doors down from her locker. “Are you sure it’s not—"

  "It's not jitters,” she snapped. “Or nerves."

  I didn't need to read her thoughts to know the irritated look on her face meant she'd heard this before.

  "I'm sorry,” I offered. “I'm not sure what else to tell you. I’d say talk with your mentors after your transition ceremony, but at that point, I guess it might not make much of a difference."

  She smiled wryly. "They teach you those words of wisdom in training?"

  "If only they did." I sighed and stuffed my hands in my pockets. The bell overhead blared shrilly, followed by a beat of silence.

  "So, did you get what you needed out of this three-minute conversation?" She hovered in the doorway, eyebrows raised in question.

  I shrugged and smiled down at her. “I guess we’ll see.”

  “Okay." She turned to walk inside, then paused. "Hey, Nathaniel?"

  “Yes?”

  "What’s your affinity, anyway?”

  I hesitated before responding.

  “I’m a Coercer.”

  Her eyes widened, and a small smirk formed on her lips. “A mindreading thought manipulator? I guess they keep you pretty close to Olympus, huh?”

  “That they do,” I responded, relieved by her response. The typical reaction when my power was revealed was apprehension, but I didn’t get that from her.

  “So if you can read minds, wouldn’t you have heard my thoughts before you’d walked up to us? Why bother even stopping for a chat?"

  I laughed. “The options would’ve been to approach you for a discussion or hover around until you gave me some thoughts that were worth noting. I don’t like to leave my mind open in a place with so many voices, so I went with the former and only focused on you."

  She nodded, brow furrowed. "You can close off your mind? How?"

  A second bell rang.

  "We can discuss that another day. You should get to class.” I smiled. “We'll talk soon."

  “Ugh, fine,” she said with a grin. Then she turned and disappeared into the classroom.

  4

  Tessa

  By the time lunch rolled around, Nathaniel was all the girls wanted to talk about. I'd met up with Leila in second period and had given her a quick play by play; by fourth, she'd notified Mary and Josh.

  "So let me get this straight," Mary said as she plopped into a seat at our normal corner table. "The Elders—Zeus, Athena, Apollo, the whole lot—actually send liaisons to meet with Ischyra beforehand? Why?"

  “Yep,” I said, unwrapping my PB&J. "To see what the newest generation will be like. Whatever that means."

  "So, Tessa," Leila said, her eyes wide with excitement. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and rested her elbow on the table, propping her chin in her hand. Josh sat next to her, absently tracing circles on her back. “I meant to ask you. What color were his eyes? Were they even more dreamy up close?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Dark blue, and no one says dreamy, Lei.”

  She arched a brow. “And if they did?”

  I felt my face flush a little. “His eyes were…very nice.”

  “Who’s got nice eyes?"

  I glanced up when I heard Eric's voice.

  "The Ischyra that met with Tessa this morning. The Elder council sent a liaison from Olympus and I think he likes her," Mary said with a laugh as she dug into a massive bowl of salad, the green leaves crunching as she stabbed them with her fork.

  “She’s not the only one,” Leila tease
d as Eric took a seat next to me. “You should’ve seen the way he eyed her up.”

  "Wait, what?" Eric faced me, brushing his light blond hair out of his eyes, and scooted closer.

  Eric was the stereotypical high school hottie. Tan skin, bright blue eyes, tall, athletic build. A smattering of freckles across his nose were accented by high cheekbones and a killer smile. He never let his looks go to his head, though, despite the attention he got from girls.

  He’d also had a less-than-subtle crush on me for the last two years, which I tried very hard not to acknowledge.

  I sent Mary a withering look and tossed my napkin at her.

  She stuck her tongue out at me before shoving a piece of cucumber in her mouth.

  “So hold on, some dude from Olympus came down to talk to you?” Eric asked as he unwrapped his own sandwich. “About what?"

  “The Elders are checking up on you guys,” Josh said with a smirk.

  Eric paled. “Are you serious? Why?”

  I rolled my eyes at Josh. “They’re not ‘checking up on us.’ He said sometimes the Elders like to get a feel for the new generation. I guess I drew the short straw. It’s really no big deal.”

  Liar, I thought.

  "Oh.” He frowned, then looked at Mary. “Then why do you think he’s got a crush?"

  “Eric, did you really just miss the part where she said he was here to meet her so he could report back to the Elders?” Mary snapped her fingers. “Focus!”

  “He’s like a spy or something,” Leila said, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “I don’t think a spy would actually say he was spying, babe,” Josh said with a sigh. He frowned at me. “Honestly, though, do you really think what he says will affect anything? I mean, right now you’re still just a human girl.”

  “Yeah,” Leila said. “Once you get some training under your belt, you’ll probably be a completely different person.”

  I shrugged as I slowly peeled the crust off my sandwich. “I don’t know. A lot of factors go into where the Elders place us after our training year. I guess at the very least, it could affect where I end up.”