From Gods (Descendant Prophecies Book 1)(37)

The drive back home was lonely and long since Skylar's mind was occupied  with thoughts of Nick and Mason. If they had gone back to the Oracle,  wouldn't they have been back by now? What if the Oracle had harmed them?

Being that it was Saturday, Skylar's mom was home waiting for her  arrival. After the hugs and kisses, they chatted about what Skylar did  at Kayla's house. Of course, Skylar left out a lot of the details. She  told her mom that it was just as much fun as the other times. Skylar  also asked tons of questions regarding her mom and dad's family tree and  their ancestors. Disappointingly, she didn't find the answers she was  looking for. Either all was hopeless or her mom was not telling her the  truth.

The next day, Skylar went to orientation. A week later, she was living  at the dorm. Missing her cousin and worried about how she was doing  without a word from Nick, she texted her as soon as she got the chance.



How's college?

Fine. How about yours?

Good. You doin' ok?

Trying to get over Nick. Where could he be?

Maybe on a business trip.

Sure. I'll keep thinking that.

Some guys are not good at calling or texting when they're away.

Don't be nice. He dumped me just like you said he would.

He didn't dump you. Just give him a chance.



Skylar couldn't believe what she was saying. She didn't even know what  was really going on. This conversation got her thinking. Maybe Mason had  left her too. He knew her blood was evil. What if he had stopped caring  and just taken off?         

     



 



Have you heard from Mason? You can tell me the truth.

No.

I guess we were just a summer fling for them. Heavy sigh. He told me he was bad. I should have heeded his warning.

Me too.

Talk to you soon. Gotta go.

Okay. Miss you.

Miss you too! Hugs!

Hugs back!



The university housing looked more like apartments. Skylar shared a  two-bedroom residence with a roommate. It had the necessary amenities-a  kitchen and dining area and a living room. It was small but just roomy  enough for two people. Since almost everything was paid for through her  scholarship, there was no reason to complain. She was grateful.

Skylar's roommate Emily was a biology major. She was tall, blonde, and  had the fairest complexion. It had already been a week but Emily was  hardly around, and when she was, her boyfriend was always with her.

Seeing them together all cozy reminded her of Mason and her heart stung.  Though she had tried to move on and forget about him, it was difficult.  Skylar couldn't believe how much he affected her emotionally. They  hadn't even kissed, and yet he'd stolen her heart in ways she'd never  thought possible. They hadn't really been seeing each other. They'd only  had one date.

On her way to literature class, the hairs on her arms pricked up.  Sensing someone following her, she looked around carefully, but there  were so many students on campus. Who would she be looking for? Surely no  vultures would appear in the daylight, smack in the middle of a crowd.  If they did appear in human form, she guessed they wouldn't attack in  front of all these people, at least she hoped not.

Opening the double glass doors, she entered the classroom with  hesitation. Besides her roommate, she didn't know anyone else on campus,  and she wasn't even in any classes with her. Since almost all the seats  were taken, she headed toward the back.

After settling in she took out her pen and a notebook. As the professor  spoke, she became heavily engrossed in the lecture, taking notes as fast  as her fingers allowed. Busy looking at the whiteboard, she was unaware  that the guy sitting next to her had placed an envelope with her name  on it on her desk. Looking down to write again, she was surprised to see  it.

Skylar questioned the guy sitting next to her about it. He answered by  pointing to the person next to him, who in turn pointed to the person  next to her. Since there was no end to who had originally passed the  note, she quickly looked around, hoping someone would wave to let her  know who it was from, but nothing.

Debating whether to open it now or after class, she decided she couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer, so she opened it.



I know what you are. Meet me at the mountains. The directions are on the  back of this note. Be there at 10 p.m. If you don't come, you'll never  see Mason again.



At first she was shaken beyond words, trying to process what she'd read.  Was someone playing a prank on her? With Mason being gone so long and  not a phone call or text from him, it didn't seem like a joke. Who would  present such a threat? A vulture? They couldn't speak, at least not the  ones that had attacked her. Surprisingly, she stayed calm enough to  maintain her composure in the classroom. However, she felt as though  she'd just swallowed acid and her heart rate shot up so fast that it  made her hot all over. Whether this was a trick or not, she had to go.  There was no choice in the matter.





As much as Skylar didn't want to go, she needed to be sure Mason was  safe. She didn't want him to be in any danger, yet a small part of her  hoped that the reason he hadn't contacted her was because he couldn't.  When the lecture was over, she didn't bother to attend her other  classes. She left early to give herself a head start so as not to be  late, especially since she didn't know how to get there besides the  directions on the note.

Skylar couldn't drive fast enough. Driving on the highway wasn't so bad  when there were other cars around, but the road was utterly dark when  she got closer to the mountains. She hated driving when she couldn't see  where she was going and the winding roads weren't helping the  situation. Feeling carsick, she rolled the window down just enough to  allow the cool breeze to soothe her.

The directions she had been given were confusing. She'd had to read them  several times and even then she wasn't sure she was going the right  way. The closer she got to her destination, the faster her pulse raced,  and the anticipation of what waited for her was driving her insane.

Normally, looking at the stars and the moon brought her comfort, but  tonight they had an eerie glow. As darkness engulfed her entirely, she  realized hers was the only car on the road. That alone frightened the  living daylights out of her, making her feel like she was the only  living soul in the world. As she crept along, all she could see in front  of her was the dirt road, and the only light was the high beams from  her car.         

     



 

Her mind was reeling with horrible images. Any minute now something  ghastly would pop out and scare her. Someone that looked like a zombie  would bang on the car window. That would happen in scary movies, and  that was what this situation felt like. Skylar's muscles were so tense  she didn't realize how tightly she was gripping the steering wheel and  her knuckles were white as her hands cramped up.

Desperately wanting to turn back and go home, she thought about Mason.  How did she know the person who wrote the note wasn't a serial killer,  luring her to the mountains where no one could come to her rescue? Even  knowing the danger, she had no choice if it meant getting answers to  where Mason and Nick had been all this time. Perhaps Everett and Amanda  were with them, since she hadn't heard a peep from them either. But then  again, would Amanda contact her just to tell her Mason was safe? She  didn't know.

What if they were really in danger and they needed her? What could she  do? They were the ones with powers. Now this pathetic rescue mission  seemed hopeless. Hoping she had followed the directions correctly, she  slowed the car, turned left, and found that she was still driving on an  unpaved road. Soon after she saw a dim light, but that was all. Unable  to tell if it was a house or a cabin due to extreme darkness, she parked  as close to the light as possible.

The light came from a cave entrance, but not the same place she had gone  before with Mason. After scanning the perimeter, knowing there wasn't  much to see, she got out quickly and ran to the light. Surprisingly,  there was a lantern hanging on a branch of the tree adjacent to the  entrance. Skylar took it down and hesitantly walked forward. The cool  draft that suddenly greeted her gave her the shivers. Even wearing long  sleeves didn't protect her from the sharp coldness that brushed against  the fabric of her clothes. Mist floated in the air and spotted her with  damp droplets.

The farther she walked, the brighter the cave became, and the stench of  rotten soil disappeared. In moving from one world to the next, she saw  she was standing on Olympus, where she had been before. Thinking the  Oracle must have had her hand in this, Skylar raced to the tree. Just  before she reached it, a body flashed before her, forcing her to jump  back and causing her to drop the lantern which shattered. Thank goodness  she had already turned the lamp off or it would have caused a fire.

"You've come as instructed, but I didn't tell you to come here," she hissed. "Oh dear, sorry about the lantern."

Shocked to see someone new, Skylar stood there unable to look away,  mesmerized by the woman's beauty. Her wavy red hair flowed to her waist,  accentuating her porcelain skin. She wore all black clothes with black  boots. On her belt was a small dagger. With legs spread apart, hands on  her hips, she was guarding the tree with her life. Why?