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."

"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.

as they crossed the compound, lara surveyed the surroundings, now more visible in daylight. there was the temple, the villa-style dormitory, and the kitchen, all enclosed by a stone wall. a thick forest loomed on the other side of the stone wall.

"what a pretty forest," lara said. "maybe i'll take a walk there later."

the maiden halted with a gasp. "you can't leave the elysian fields! it is forbidden."

somehow that wasn't too surprising. "there might be some berries i could pick to make us all a nice cobbler."

the maiden shook her head. "you can't go into the forest. apollo says there are ferocious beasts there with great gnashing teeth!"

lara stifled a snort. she was a lot more worried about apollo's gnashing teeth.

the maiden shuddered. "apollo says that if one of those beasts captures you, it will drag you to hades."

"well, we wouldn't want that to happen." lara sighed. these girls were so brainwashed, they couldn't even detect sarcasm. she followed the maiden into the temple.

the maiden led lara around the thrones to a hallway in the back. there were three doors on each side of the hallway. two doors were painted red. rooms for the chosen ones, the maiden explained.

lara noticed one of the male guards standing in front of a purple door. that had to be athena's room. kristy and vanessa were sitting on red cushions in front of a golden door. they stood when lara and the maiden approached.

"i hope you left us some lunch," vanessa said. "we're starving." she and kristy headed off to the kitchen.

lara sat beside the other maiden. she pushed her cushion against the wall so she could lean back and stretch her legs in front. her new position earned her a frown from the other maiden.

she tried not to think about apollo's dead carcass on the other side of the door. at least they were safe from him during the day.

where was jack? in his death-sleep at the townhouse on the upper east side? she recalled how he'd told latoya there were usually dead bodies in the basement, and she'd thought he was kidding. that rascal. he was so different from the vampires here.

athena and apollo considered humans nothing more than walking meals, foolish and easily controlled. jack had always treated her with respect and kindness. he truly cared about her feelings and her safety. had he spent the night desperately searching for her?

she thought back to how he'd been with mario and gianetta in venice. they were mortals, but he considered them family. he'd showed respect and affection for father giuseppe. and he'd tried so hard to please her that night with the ice cream, the gondola ride, and the serenade.

he was such a good man. and she missed him so. he could make her laugh. he could make her hot. he made her feel beautiful and smart and cherished. he was the perfect man, except for the little undead problem.

was it crazy to fall in love with a vampire? or was it even crazier to refuse him because he was a vampire? it wasn't jack's fault that he'd been transformed. he had been attacked. hadn't he suffered enough? it would be too cruel to reject him and make him suffer more.

apollo rejected girls simply based on their hair color. but wouldn't the real god judge people according to their hearts find not their looks? would love reject anyone for being different?

a sensation of peace settled on lara like a warm blanket. she knew what she had to do. she couldn't reject jack. she couldn't bear to hurt him. even if it meant the total upheaval of her own life, she would rather take the pain upon herself than cause him to suffer anymore.

it was the way of love. and she loved him with all her heart.

she closed her eyes and remembered how he'd made love to her in the bell tower. what a sexy man he was, her vampire casanova. she couldn't wait to see him again, to let him know that her mind was made up. she belonged with him forever. please, jack, find me soon. she imagined how happy he would be, how he would make mad, passionate love to her.

the other maiden poked her in the shoulder. "don't fall asleep. it is forbidden."

"all right," lara grumbled as her romantic dream fizzled away. "do we really have to sit here for three hours? this is so boring."

"shh!" the maiden glanced at the guard down the hall. "don't speak like that. he'll hear you."

"okay. my name is lara. what's yours?"

the maiden gasped. "stop that!" she glanced again at the guard. "we cannot use names."

"let me guess. it's forbidden?"

"yes," the maiden hissed. "behave yourself."

"okeydokey." lara decided to call this girl no name. no, miss forbidden was better. she couldn't recall seeing her photo in the case file. "what college did you go to?"

miss forbidden shot her an angry look. "that life is over. we do not speak of it. i realize you are new, so i won't report you, but you had better learn to curb your tongue, or you'll end up in hades."