One of the rejected ones burst into tears. "Why doesn't he ever pick me? I've been serving the gods for months."
"You must be patient," another maiden said. "The gods know when the time is right for each of us."
They crossed the foyer and exited through another pair of double doors. Cool, fresh air swept around Lara, and she breathed deeply. There was a scent of pine in the air. It was too dark to see well, but the sky was so clear, she had to assume they were in the country.
The girls walked toward a smaller, square-shaped building. Behind that, Lara spied a still smaller building. She glanced back at the temple. It was the largest building on the compound. As far as she could tell, it was closed off only by a low stone wall. Easy enough to get over. A few torches illuminated the wall, but there were plenty of dark spaces where she could slip over unnoticed.
She could probably escape, but where to? She had no idea which direction to go, and the compound appeared to be surrounded on all sides by a thick, dark forest. She could end up wandering for days.
The maidens led her into the square building, which reminded her of a Roman villa. Four sides enclosed an inner courtyard. In the courtyard, she spotted a pool.
The girls turned right, and they entered a long dorm room with five beds lined up on each side.
"This is where we sleep," Vanessa told her. "The guards sleep on the other side of the courtyard."
"But stay away from them," Kristy warned her. "We have to stay pure for Apollo."
"Right." Vanessa lowered her voice. "The guards are serving Athena. Shell be furious if you even look at them."
"I understand." Lara took a shower in the large bathroom the maidens all shared, then she put on the plain white nightgown Kristy gave her. She was told which bed to sleep in.
She pretended to sleep while she waited for the other girls to doze off. She hoped to do some late-night snooping around to gather information. Or maybe she should try checking on the Chosen Ones to see if they were all right. Unfortunately, she didn't know exactly where they were, and she couldn't risk walking in on a vampire. She sure couldn't risk letting the vampires see that she wasn't under their control. They might kill her on the spot.
She hated what was happening to these girls, but the best way for her to help them was to stay alive and be very careful. She sighed. One of the rejected girls was still awake, crying softly in her bed. Lara slowly succumbed to sleep.
"Wake up, sleepyhead." Vanessa shook her. "It's daytime."
Lara sat up abruptly, hoping she had dreamed about Elysian Fields and Chosen Ones and vampires masquerading as gods. But no, she was there in the dorm room for maidens.
"Come on," Vanessa urged her. "Get dressed. We have chores to do."
After thirty minutes of helping Vanessa and Kristy clean the bathroom and dorm room, Lara was feeling more like a maid than a maiden.
"Where are the other maidens?" she asked.
"Some are cleaning the temple, and some are guarding Apollo," Kristy explained as she tossed dirty towels and nightgowns into a wicker basket. "We take turns guarding him during the day."
Lara sighed as she made up another bed. "If he's an all-powerful god, why does he need guarding?"
"It's only his body we're guarding," Kristy said. "He leaves his body during the day."
"Right." Because a vampire was dead during the day. Lara wondered if she could get her hands on a knife or stake. She could stake Apollo during the day while he was in his death-sleep. "Do I get to guard him?"
"Of course," Vanessa said as she swept the floor. "We do it two at a time and sit outside his room."
"You don't get to go in?" Lara asked.
"Oh no, the room is locked." Vanessa swept a small pile of dust into a dustbin. "We're just there to honor him. He has to leave his body before dawn, so he can become the sun."
"And when the sun sets, he returns to his body," Kristy continued. "He's very tired and hungry then. The Chosen One helps him to recover his strength."
"I bet she does," Lara said wryly.
"I believe we're done." Kristy looked about the room approvingly. "Let's go eat breakfast."
Lara accompanied them to the smaller building in the back. There, one of the maidens was busy cooking.
Kristy wrinkled her nose at the food on the table. "You burned the toast again."
"So?" The cook glared at her. "You try cooking three meals a day for fifteen people. I'm sick of this job."
Vanessa gasped and glanced toward the open door. "You mustn't complain. One of the guards might hear you."
"And it's a pleasure to serve the gods," Kristy added.
"I hardly ever get to see the gods," the cook grumbled. "I'm always slaving away in here."
Lara grinned. This was the perfect place to not get noticed. "I'll help you."
"Shhh." Vanessa tugged at her gown and whispered, "You don't want to work here."
"But I want to serve the gods," Lara insisted. "And I love to cook."
"Seriously?" the cook stared at her. "You-you would help me?"
"Of course." Lara strode into the kitchen and looked around. Hallelujah, there were knives here! She could serve Apollo stake for supper.
The cook grabbed her hand. "Bless you. I can't tell you how many times I've rushed late into the Selecting Ceremony with food stains on my gown. Apollo never picks me. He says I stink like mortal food, and it offends his immortality." Her eyes filled with tears. "Maybe now I'll have a chance."
"Don't mention it." Lara felt a twinge of guilt. Was she saving herself at this girl's expense? No, she had to save herself in order to save the rest of them.
She opened the pantry and studied the boxes, cans, and bottles. She spotted a bottle of maple syrup from Vermont. It looked like it had been bottled locally. Maybe they were in Vermont. "Where does this food come from?"
The cook shrugged as she scraped a heap of scrambled eggs onto a platter. "It arrives every week. The gods have provided a way for it to come from the mortal plane."
"Right." Lara needed to be on hand when the supplies arrived. If she could get a message to the delivery man, then she might be able to save all them.
She set the bottle of maple syrup on the counter. "Who wants pancakes?"
"I do, I do!" Kristy and Vanessa waved their hands.
Another maiden rushed through the kitchen door with a tray of eggs, bacon, and toast. "Oh my gods." She set the tray down and pressed a shaking hand to her chest. "I think it's happened."
"What?" Vanessa asked.
The maiden motioned to the tray of food. "I was taking Calliope her breakfast in the temple, and her room was empty. She wasn't there."
Kristy, Vanessa, and the cook all gasped.
"Are you sure?" Kristy whispered. "She wasn't with one of the gods?"
"No." The maiden shook her head. "I asked the guards, and they said she ascended last night."
There was another gasp.
Lara walked toward the maiden. "What do you mean by 'ascended'?"
The maiden's eyes filled with tears. "She ascended to a higher plane. Calliope has become a goddess."
"May tine gods be praised," Kristy whispered.
"Really," Vanessa added. "That is so cool. I hope I can be a goddess someday."
Lara shuddered as a chill skittered down her spine. She recalled how weak Brittney Beckford had looked the night before. She covered her mouth as bile rose in her throat. She had an awful feeling that Brittney Beckford was dead.
CHAPTER 23
When the guards arrived for breakfast, the cook informed them that Lara had volunteered to work in the kitchen. The tall guard with the squeaky sandal appeared to be in charge. He carried a clipboard with him and gave out assignments. He told Lara that she would be on guard, duty that afternoon from one to four. After that, she could return to the kitchen to help prepare supper.
"Yes, master." Lara set a plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon in front of him and noticed the puncture wounds on his neck.
As she served the other guards, she noted more wounds. Apparently, Athena didn't like to limit herself to a single Chosen One. She preferred the five-man buffet.
Lara stayed in the kitchen to help prepare and serve lunch, then shortly before one in the afternoon, she accompanied one of the maidens to the temple to do guard duty. It was the maiden who had stayed up late the night before, crying.