A whoop of excitement escaped me as the end of the path came in sight.
I was almost there. I was gonna win.
Twenty feet.
Ten.
Five.
Two figures darted into my way and I crashed into them at full force. The scent of something sharp and deadly hit my senses as Caleb's arms wrapped around me, steadying me.
“Woah there horsey.” He pushed my hair back from my neck and his eyes sparkled with hunger.
Oh no.
I backed up and bumped into Max with a sickening lurch of my stomach. I had to crane my neck to look up at him, his height immense and his mohawk adding an extra couple of inches.
“Out for a moonlit stroll?” he asked, his voice deep and probing like it was trying to draw something intimate out of me.
Darius and Seth came to a halt before us and I was suddenly surrounded. A deer at the end of four hunters' guns.
My hands curled into fists as I tried to keep control of the breeze around me, praying it would be enough to keep them back. But deep down, I knew I was royally screwed.
“Let me past,” I demanded in my strongest voice, stepping toward Caleb who was firmly in my way. He pushed me back and another set of hands steadied me from behind. Seth's arms curled around my shoulders like he was hugging me. His mouth ran over my ear and a deep heat mixed with the fear in my belly to create a deadly cocktail.
He rubbed his rough chin against my temple and I tilted my head sideways to try and avoid his overt touches.
“I need to go,” I growled. “I have a meeting with Professor Orion.”
“Orion?” Caleb snarled, snatching my arm and tugging me out of Seth's arms into his again. “Is he getting blood from you already? Private meetings just for you and his teeth, huh?” He opened his mouth, baring his fangs and a gasp escaped me as I shoved him back, trying to will air into my palms. A sharp gust slammed into his chest and he released me with a grunt.
I glanced over his shoulder, ready to try and escape this circle of hell.
Caleb scowled. “Lucky for you I filled up on your sister earlier.”
I made my move, darting for the gap that had opened up between Caleb and Max. As one, they closed in, surrounding me in a tight circle of muscle and heated man bodies.
“Power of four?” Max suggested with a grin, leaning toward me and making my heart stutter.
“Brilliant idea. That'll stop Orion feeding from her tonight,” Caleb said eagerly.
“What the hell are you-” Before I could finish that sentence Max raised his hands and water fell down on me in a torrential rain shower, soaking me from head to foot.
My white t-shirt turned transparent and I raised my hands to cover myself, my breath halting in shock. Caleb wielded the ground beneath my feet and mud splashed up around me in a ring. I was suddenly caked in freezing cold sludge and my heart was screaming with rage and embarrassment.
I wiped the back of my hand over my eyes to try and remove the filth, my pulse hammering in my ears.
As I regained my sight, I found Darius and Seth side by side before me. Seth blew a harsh wind over the top of a fire burning in Darius's palms. The combined effect was like being blasted in an oven and I gasped in horror as the sticky substance coating me dried to a hard, impenetrable second skin.
No no no!
I clawed at it, but it wouldn't budge. My hair hung in thick chunks and my face felt like it had been pasted with the biggest mud pack ever.
“Argh!” I shouted in fury, a fire in my veins. “Get this off of me!”
A flash of light told me a photo was being taken then they all fell about laughing. After a few more seconds they tore away from me into the woodland, their hysterics carrying back to me.
I trembled as I stood there, so angry I didn't know what to do with myself.
I picked at the compacted mud on my arms but it wouldn't budge. Tears of embarrassment stung my eyes as I realised what I had to do.
I stomped toward the edge of the woodland like a swamp monster, emerging onto the pathway that led up to the ring of buildings surrounding The Orb.
A group of girls were heading my way, their conversation falling dead on their lips as they spotted me walking toward them. The word embarrassment was not even close to what I felt right then.
“Is that an Order?” one of them murmured.
“No I think it's a Vega,” another said in glee, snatching her Atlas out to take a picture.
“Make a sound like a donkey,” a girl commanded, her eyes alight with mischief. The Coercion washed over me and I slapped a hand to my mouth to try and stop the noise escaping. It tore free of my throat and a shameful and horrifyingly loud, “EEH-OOHR!” burst from my lips.
I ran past them as their laughter poured over me. Embarrassment stabbed at my cheeks as I desperately tried to avoid more photo ops, making a beeline for Jupiter Hall as I cupped my hands over my head.
Just keep running. Don't stop.
“Mud monster!” a boy shouted at me as he exited The Orb and the girls around him ran about screaming and giggling.
Tears burned my eyes as I was consumed by the utter shame of this situation. And the worst was yet to come. Because I had to ask goddamn Professor Hot-As-Shit Orion to help me while looking like the beast from the bog.
Inside Jupiter Hall, I found my way to his office by following a long corridor. I clutched the door handle and hesitated for several long seconds.
Please swallow me up, ground. That would be really great right now.
I turned the handle, but found the door locked. I frowned, pulling my Atlas out to check the time. I was five minutes late so where the hell was he? Had he given up waiting already?
“I hope that's not a fashion choice, Miss Vega.” Professor Orion appeared in jeans and a white shirt, his hair damp as if he'd just showered – it's alright for some.
His obsidian eyes dragged down me from head to toe and his mouth pulled up at one side, revealing the dimple in his right cheek.
“Oh yes, I just love rolling in mud in the evenings,” I deadpanned, trying my best to front this out. But it was pretty hard when all I could see in my periphery was clumps of mud.
He stepped right into my breathing space, pushing his key into the door. He headed inside, leaving the door open for me to follow and I trailed in after him, feeling like an ogre in a ballroom as I took in his lavish office.
A crescent-moon desk built from cherry wood sat at the heart of it, behind which was an archway of shelves filled with leather-bound books. A closed door in the arch stopped me from nosing any further in that direction so I stared around at the rest of the room. The tall window to my left looked over The Orb and the sound of laughter and conversation carried through the cracked-open window. I was almost certain I heard someone mentioned my name and pig-shit in the same sentence. A ping from my Atlas told me all I needed to know. My photo was now live and waiting for me on FaeBook for the entire school to see.
My insides withered and died.
I stood awkwardly on a deep crimson rug as Orion dropped into his large Ottoman chair, pulling something from a cupboard in his desk. He placed a crystal glass on the surface followed by a large bottle of bourbon. I guess Falling Star’s assessment about him was true.
He continued to ignore me as he poured himself a measure than sat back in his chair, tipping the contents down his throat. He smacked his lips, placing the glass down and moving to refill it.