Blood of the Ancient Gods: The Beginning Read online

  After paying the cab driver and removing their suitcases from the trunk and backseat, they spotted the tent they were supposed to stop at as a part of their orientation. They would get their suite number and room key there.

  "Veronica and Lilia stay here with our bags. I'll go check us in, get our packets, and see about finding a cart to help us with our bags," Tala said.

  "Why do we have to stay?" Veronica asked.

  Tala didn't have time for any bullshit right now. She should have known Veronica wouldn't like staying behind. She always wanted to be in charge and her patience was very thin.

  "Fine, then you go and hurry the hell up because I don't want to be out here in the sun all day," Tala snapped.

  "Let's not fight, you guys. This is supposed to be a happy day. Veronica cut the crap and let Tala go. She's less likely to be distracted by shiny objects like you would. And by shiny objects I mean boys," Lilia said.

  Lilia was ever the peacekeeper.

  "Whatever," Veronica huffed. "I'll stay behind this time."

  "I'll be right back. No longer than ten minutes hopefully," Tala said.

  After waiting in line at the orientation tent, signing them all in, getting their information packets, and finding a cart big enough to carry their luggage, close to an hour had passed. Tala knew Veronica would be pissed but she’d have to get over it. Had Veronica been sent instead, three hours would have passed with no sign of her. Tala was the better choice. She saw Veronica and Lilia sitting on the grass with their bags and gave a little wave.

  "Finally! What took you so long?" Veronica demanded, hands placed firmly on her narrow hips.

  "There was a line and I had to find the cart," Tala sighed. "Don't give me any shit, Veronica. I want to get our bags to our room and start unpacking. I'm tired and want to try to get a nap in sometime today."

  Having already memorized how to get to their dorm room, Tala led the way after they piled their bags on the cart. Luckily, they were on the first floor of the big building. Mina Hall was displayed in big letters, so Tala was certain they were in the right place. Now all they had to do was find room thirteen. Lilia went ahead with her key to open the door. The inside was nice and spacious, like a mini apartment. There was a living room, kitchen, a coat closet, linen closet, one huge bathroom, and four bedrooms. Tala was impressed and going by the looks on her sisters' faces so were they.

  "You guys go ahead and pick your rooms, then I'll pick mine," Tala said.

  Tala flinched as Veronica squealed and ran into one of the rooms and Lilia went to the room across from her. Veronica's room was on the right side, while Lilia's room was on the left. So that left Tala and their other suitemate across from each other. After looking in both rooms, Tala took the one on the same side as Lilia's. Hopefully the other girl wouldn't mind the leftover room. Tala started taking her bags off the cart and placing them in her room. Veronica and Lilia did the same with theirs. They started to slowly unpack after Tala had returned from taking the cart back to where she found it. Almost thirty minutes later, Tala remembered to call their foster mother. She took out her prepaid phone and found Ms. Jones in her contacts.

  The phone rang several times before a familiar voice picked up. "Who is this?" Ms. Jones answered in greeting. Tala smiled in spite of herself. Ms. Jones was a riot. She refused to get a newer phone that showed caller ID.

  "It's Tala, Ms. Jones."

  "How is it?" Ms. Jones asked excitedly.

  Tala smiled. She hadn't wanted to like Ms. Jones after the bad homes she'd been in before her but the old woman had grown on her.

  "It's perfect. Sorry it took so long to call. I should have as soon as we landed. We were just so excited," Tala said.

  "Hey Ms. Jones," Veronica and Lilia yelled.

  "Hey, my babies!" Ms. Jones yelled just as loud. The phone was on speaker, saving Tala from losing her hearing.

  "Now make sure y'all get settled in and remember to have fun. Call me when you can and if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. You hear me?"

  "Yes ma'am," the girls said in unison.

  "Good, now get on off this phone and start enjoying yourself. Bye, my little flowers," Ms. Jones said.

  "That woman's crazy," Veronica said around a grin.

  "I'm going to miss her. Maybe we can visit if we have the extra money," Lilia said.

  "Yes, maybe," Tala agreed.

  They continued to unpack as they waited for their other suitemate. Hopefully she wasn't an asshole. Only time would tell.

  Anima Grey could feel the souls of every person within a five miles radius. This was going to be fun. After getting her information packet from the orientation tent, she dragged her bags to Mina Hall in search of room thirteen. The guy at the tent had said her other three suitemates had already checked in. Anima had wanted to arrive first to have the upper hand but her father had delayed her. No matter, she'd win them over with her charming personality. Besides who didn't love her with her dark brown hair, amber eyes, and perfectly tanned skin. She was perfection.

  Anima heard voices coming from the suite as she stood outside the door. She slowly turned the key as to not scare her roommates, at least not yet. There would be plenty of time later to frighten them.

  "Hello," Anima said.

  Three girls stared back at her and Anima almost collapsed under the light of their souls. They shined as bright as the rarest gems. These girls were strong, very strong and if they weren't careful they'd attract all kinds of nasty who'd do anything to claim them as their own. But they were Anima's; she'd seen them first. What was the old saying; finder's keepers?

  "Hi, I'm Tala and these are my sisters, Veronica and Lilia."

  "I'm Anima, it's very nice to meet you."

  "I hope you don't mind, we already picked rooms. This one is yours," Tala said and pointed to the empty room.

  "No problem. They all have the same stuff in them anyway. I'm not picky," Anima said.

  "Do you need help unpacking?" Lilia asked.

  "Oh you don't have to. I'm sure you're all tired," Anima said.

  "It's no bother, really," Lilia said.

  "If you want, you're more than welcome to," Anima said.

  With all of them helping they unpacked Anima's bags in no time. With that settled, they went into the living room to talk and get to know each other.

  "So, Anima, what made you pick Minerva University?" Veronica asked.

  Anima was careful to keep her face neutral and the bitterness out of her voice when she replied.

  "My father made the decision for me. He has my entire life planned out for me," Anima said.

  "Maybe he just wants what's best for you," Lilia said.

  Well wasn't she just the little peacekeeper. Lilia would change her mind if she ever met Anima's father.

  "That's very sweet of you, Lilia, but I know my father. The only thing he wants is to control every aspect of my life. It's been this way since my birth or so I've been told."

  "It could always be worse," Veronica said.

  "Really? What could possibly be worse than a father who wants to control you?" Anima asked.

  "Oh, I don't know but watching your parents die in front of you may be worse. Just saying, but what do I know," Veronica said.

  Anima was rendered speechless for the first time in her life.

  "Um, I don’t know what to say to that…sorry," Anima offered weakly.

  "Ignore her. Veronica that was unnecessary," Tala admonished. "Sorry, Anima, but we're orphans. Our parents died when we were young and we bounced from foster home to foster home until we ended up in the same one with Ms. Jones."

  "That's really shitty. As much as my father annoys me, he's mine. I don't want him dead. He just needs to remove the leash and let me live my life. If it's not too hard to talk about, what was it like living in the system and why did you all move around so much?" Anima asked.

  Anima noticed how tense they'd all become at the thought of telling her their past but as the Goddess of Souls, sh
e just couldn't help herself. She may be known as Anima Grey when in the presence of mortals, but she was still Psyche, daughter of Thanatos the God of Death. She enjoyed watching the pain and suffering of others. And she longed for the day her father died so she would be free of him. Even mortals who hadn't lost their families wouldn't understand her need for her father's death.

  "It's not something we like to dwell on. Most of the families just weren't good fits with us. There was abuse. We were between six and eight when our families died and were tossed in the system. There was no other family to take us in, or if there was, they didn't want us. We finally found a home that was safe and we all stayed there from fourteen to when we graduated high school. Ms. Jones is an amazing foster mother. Any kids placed with her should consider themselves lucky. Other than that, we got jobs and worked hard in school to receive scholarships for college. That’s how we’re able to be here," Tala explained.

  "Wow, I couldn't even imagine. You didn't want to go to different colleges?" Anima asked.

  "No, we stick together no matter what. We're family," Lilia said.

  "I don't understand. You don't look alike," Anima said.

  "We're family because we choose to be. We don't need the blood connection," Veronica explained.

  "Oh, you adopted each other. That's so sweet! Enough of the morbid and sad. What classes are you guys taking and have you decided on a major yet?" Anima asked. "My classes are pretty basic this year. Math, english, science, and history class. I want to get the general classes out of the way first. My major is a toss up between psychology and mythology."

  "Those aren't even closely related," Lilia said. "But either sounds exciting. My classes are general this year as well but I think I want to become a lawyer or a child advocate of some kind. I've not totally decided yet."

  "You're going to be in school forever," Veronica said. "I just want to do something I love. I'm thinking of becoming a writer or journalist. I'm taking two english classes, a math, and a science. I also plan to apply for the yearbook team."

  "What about you, Tala?" Anima asked.

  "I want to be a social worker and I'm also taking general courses this semester. I'll be looking for a job soon and some volunteer work. Not too much to distract from school, but I'll need to do something on my downtime."

  Wow, they were a boring bunch. Anima was going to have to get them to live a little and she knew just the thing.

  "Speaking of downtime, I know of the perfect fraternity party being thrown by Mu Ksi Psi tonight and I'm sure the Psi Zeta Phi girls will be there. It will give us a chance to learn more about the sorority because I don't know about you girls but I have plans on pledging," Anima said.

  "Ohhh, party. I'm definitely there. Count me in," Veronica said.

  "I don't know. It's our first weekend. Maybe we should take it easy," Lilia said.

  "Oh, come on. We have no classes yet so why not have a little fun. It may be the last chance you have before you become busy with classes," Anima coaxed.

  "Tala, are you going to go?" Lilia asked.

  "We could go for a little while. If we don't like it we can come back early," Tala said.

  Anima squealed and clapped her hands together.

  "Perfect! We still have several hours before the party. I say we run to the mall, eat, and do a little shopping. Let's go. Should be easy to catch a cab," Anima said.

  Ten minutes later they were in a cab and heading to the downtown mall.

  "Maybe we can fit in a mani/pedi if the shop isn't busy," Anima suggested.

  "That sounds great!" Veronica said.

  "Sure, we'll see how much everything's going to cost," Tala hedged.

  "No worries. My treat, I insist before you start refusing," Anima said. "This is great, we're going to be the best of friends."

  The cab let them out at the mall and Anima paid the tab. It wasn't the biggest mall she'd ever been to, but it would do. They wasted no time getting down to business with finding outfits, eating, and a little spa treatment. Three hours later they were on their way back to campus to get ready for the party. Anima had even managed to get the girls to agree to a bit of makeup. They were all going to look amazing for their first college party. First impressions were the most important.

  Besides, one never knew what boys they would run into. It wouldn't do to look like an extra from Thriller when out. Maybe if the girls found guys they liked they would loosen up a bit, especially Tala who seemed to be the mother of the bunch. Lilia seemed to take her cues from Tala, while Veronica was all over the place. The girls couldn't be any more different from each other and Anima planned to get to know them as individuals and not as a group. She just had to bide her time.

  "We have roughly five hours to get ready for the party," Anima said.

  "Five hours? Why would we need to take five hours to get ready? I can be ready in thirty minutes or less," Lilia said.

  Anima's jaw dropped at the thought.

  "You can't be serious. Don't you need to shave, moisturize, or do a makeup practice run? Please someone tell me she isn’t serious," Anima said.

  "We've never taken long to get ready for anything. Even Veronica never takes more than an hour," Tala said.

  "You guys are killing me. I'm going to go prepare for what could be one of the biggest parties this year," Anima said.

  Several hours later Anima had dragged Tala, Veronica, and Lilia across campus to the Mu Ksi Psi fraternity house. The party looked to already be in full swing. Tala was starting to get a headache just thinking about it.

  "What's wrong, Tala?" Anima asked.

  "I don't think this is a good idea. Maybe we should just go back to the dorm," Tala said.

  "Oh, no you don't. We've not even stepped foot in the front door yet. You have to give the party at least an hour," Anima pleaded.

  "Yeah, Tala, stop being a party pooper. This could be a new beginning for us. You don't want to be known as the weird, stuck up girl do you?" Veronica asked.

  "I really don’t care what anyone thinks of me," Tala said. "But I'll give you an hour and then I'm leaving. The rest of you can do whatever you want."

  Tala hated parties. She didn't know why she'd let herself be talked into coming out. Parties were always too loud and after the first ten minutes she wanted to go home. Plus, she hated making unnecessary small talk and yelling to be heard over the pounding bass of speakers.

  "Oh look! It's the Psi Zeta Phi girls. Let's go introduce ourselves," Anima said.

  "Let's not," Tala murmured.

  Reluctantly, she followed behind Anima as she led them to a back corner of the house.

  "Hey ladies! I'm Anima and these are my friends Tala, Veronica, and Lilia. We're thinking of pledging your house when the time comes," Anima said.

  Tala frowned at the announcement. She didn't remember agreeing to anything of the sort. She wasn't a sorority kind of girl. Maintaining her scholarship, taking care of Veronica and Lilia, and finding a part-time job were her primary concerns. She didn't have time for much else. Especially not parties and whatever else sororities did throughout the year.

  "Hi! I'm Chrissy, these are my fellow Zetas. I'm the current president of Psi Zeta Phi, and we love new pledges. What year are you girls in?" Chrissy asked.

  "This is our first year but I don't think we can pledge until next semester or next year right?" Anima asked.

  "That's right. First year students can't pledge until next semester. We take grade point average into consideration," Chrissy said.

  "Great, we're really excited," Anima said.

  "I just love your enthusiasm!" Chrissy exclaimed. "Why don't y'all hang out with us tonight? We can show you what it would be like to be a Zeta."

  "What an amazing idea. Lead the way," Anima agreed.

  Yes, the sorority life was definitely not for Tala. She'd only been in their presence for moments and she didn't like any of them. They were too damn upbeat and happy for her taste. Looking down at her watch, she grimaced. She had at least f
ifty more minutes of this torture. From the look on Veronica's face she was considering it and she knew that if Veronica wanted to pledge and she didn't, Lilia would be torn between the two. Tala shook her head in disgust. Although she didn't want to be in a sorority, it looked as if she might end up doing it anyway.

  Lilia freaked out anytime they weren't together for more than a couple of hours at a time. She wouldn't be able to stand it if they all weren't together after class hours. For the first time in her life, Tala regretted their co-dependent relationships. Maybe it was time to find their identities. It didn't mean they loved each other less but they also didn't have to spend every waking moment together. This could be the chance they needed to explore separate hobbies—but now wasn't the time to bring it up. She'd give it a few weeks before she said a word.

  For now, she would endure the torture of being at the party. They’d only been there ten minutes and already it felt like hours. Next time she would be stronger and say no. Parties made her jumpy. She wanted to find a nice corner to hang out in until her hour was up, but she needed to keep an eye on Veronica and Lilia, so she followed them through the crowd to the other Zeta girls Chrissy led them to. They had to shout over the music to hear each other and the conversation was boring and lacked depth. All they wanted to talk about was which fraternity guys were the hottest. Tala would rather stab her eyes out with a rusty nail then join in on the conversation. Only forty more minutes to go. She could do this…she had to do this.

  Chapter 2

  Loki looked up at the building that read Public Library in big, bold letters. He'd had to change out of his godly garments and into something in the current human fashion. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, Loki ascended the steps and made his way inside the building. He went to the front desk and requested access to one of the computers. Luckily he kept up with human technology and knew his way around searching records and newspaper articles.

  Once the nice, older librarian had him set up in a cubicle with relative privacy, Loki reflected on what he should look up to narrow his search for the perfect vessels. This would not be as easy as he'd first believed. Opening up a search engine, Loki typed in people involved in unexplained events. Several thousand results came back. Loki thought for a moment before narrowing the search to incidents that had occurred in the last twelve years. The results became much smaller. Fifty or so links came up. The first article caught his attention: three orphans receive full ride scholarships to minerva university.