Secret Life of a Vampire(46)

The four guards lowered the litter to the floor, then two of them helped Calliope stand. Was she that weak? Lara watched with increasing alarm as the guards assisted her up the stairs to the dais. Calliope sat on the smaller throne on the left.
Lara could see her face now, and she recognized her from the case file. The Chosen One Calliope was Brittney Beckford, the girl who had disappeared from Columbia University last July.
The four guards carried the litter away, taking it somewhere behind the thrones. Lara suspected there must be rooms back there.
The gong sounded again. "Behold, the gods are among us," the guard announced. "All Wise Athena, daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom."
"All Wise Athena," the maidens repeated in unison, then knelt on their red cushions.
Lara followed suit, grateful there was a cushion this time. She peeked up as Athena marched in. The vampire had traded in her jeans and T-shirt for a long toga of purple silk. A wreath of golden leaves adorned her head. She ascended to the dais and sat on the throne on the right.
"My lord Apollo, son of Zeus and god of the Sun," the guard announced.
Apollo strode into view, wearing a long toga of shimmering gold. He was followed by the four guards, each carrying a sword. That made a total of five guards, Lara figured. They all appeared completely under control.
The maidens all sighed as Apollo passed by. Lara supposed he was a good-looking man, but with all the cold air swirling about them, she knew he was exuding vampire power to make himself irresistible.
Apollo stepped onto the dais and turned to face with them with an imperial sneer.
"My Lord Apollo." The maidens leaned forward in a deep bow.
Lara copied their movements.
"It is time once again for me to select a new Chosen One," Apollo announced. "It is the greatest honor a mortal can ever hope to achieve. If you serve me well, I will make you a goddess."
Lara heard several maidens whispering, "Please, pick me," under their breaths. She hated the thought of one of them getting bitten, but it was for the best if it gave Brittney the night off. That poor girl needed to regain her strength.
Apollo motioned to the guard by the gong. "Bring the red robe."
"Yes, My Lord Apollo." The guard picked it up and moved toward the nine maidens.
Apollo stepped down from the dais and walked slowly around the maidens. "Sit up, so I may see your faces."
They straightened, still kneeling on the cushions. Lara tried to hunch over and look unattractive, while the others were thrusting their chests out and flipping their hair behind their shoulders.
"First row, stand up," Apollo ordered.
The first three girls rose to their feet.
Apollo eyed them carefully, then stopped in front of the middle girl. "Bare yourself."
"Yes, My Lord Apollo," the girl whispered, and unhooked the bronze pin on her shoulder. Her white shift fell down to where the linen straps circled her rib cage, leaving her breasts exposed.
Lara fought to keep her disgust from showing on her face. Pervert. Lying bastard. Promising to turn these girls into goddesses when he only intended to bite them.
Or maybe he did give them eternal life. Her gaze wandered to Athena. She looked like a redheaded college student. Could she have been one before she became a vampire?
Apollo stepped back, his blue eyes starting to gleam. "Behold, the new Chosen One. She will be known as Aquila."
The guard marched forward with the robe in his arms. The two maidens in her row helped Aquila put it on. They looked bummed out, but Aquila was beaming with happiness.
Lara swallowed hard. The poor girl had been chosen for dinner. Apollo took her hand and led her around the thrones to the rooms in back. Damn. There was nothing Lara could do about it.
Athena followed with two guards. Lara wondered if they were her supper. Two more guards assisted the Chosen One Calliope from the dais and led her around the thrones.
The gong sounded.
"That's it." Vanessa stood. "We go to our room now."
As Lara rose to her feet, she eyed the nine red cushions. Only eight maidens now. She followed them toward the double door.
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."