Sweet Venom

should have been knocked to the ground, but she held him off like he was nothing. That was an amazing display of strength.

“Lulu, I have to run,” I blurt as I take off after Ms. West.

“Bye,” Lulu calls after me. “See you at lunch tomorrow.”

I rush around the corner and find myself staring down an empty hall. Ms. West is nowhere in sight. I check every classroom, every door, but she’s vanished. Standing in the middle of the empty hall, I can’t help the massive grin that spreads across my face.

Ms. West is Sthenno.

Gretchen is going to be so excited.

Since it’s such a lovely day, I decide to walk to Gretchen’s loft. It’s only a few blocks away, and after standing up to Miranda and uncovering Sthenno’s secret identity, I feel like bouncing the whole way there.

I’m just walking down the front steps at Alpha when my phone rings.

“Hi Thane,” I say as I head down onto the sidewalk. “What’s up?”

“I have to go away.”

“What?” I pull to a stop. That sounded very ominous. “What do you mean you have to go away?”

“Not for long,” he says. “Maybe two or three days.”

“But why? Where are you going?”

“I—” He hesitates and I get nervous. Thane doesn’t normally hesitate. He either answers a question or he doesn’t, no indecision involved. Finally he says, “I told Mom I’m staying with Milo. Because of our soccer training schedule.”

He told Mom that, which means that’s not where he’s really going. “Thane, I don’t like this.”

“I know,” he says, his voice gruff and unhappy. “I don’t either.”

“Why are you telling me?” I ask. “You lied to Mom, you could just as easily lie to me.”

“Because you should know the truth,” he answers. “Or at least part of it.”

“Thane, just tell me—”

“And because you might talk to Milo in the meantime and then you’d find out anyway.”

“This is ridiculous,” I say, getting a very bad feeling about this. “Just tell me where you’re going. I won’t tell Mom, I swear.”

“I know you wouldn’t.”

“But you’re still not going to tell me.”

“I can’t,” he insists. “Not now. I just . . . have to figure a few things out.”

I’ve always known Thane had things going on he didn’t talk to me about. There’s a look he gets that makes it seem like he’s thousands of miles away in his mind, and that look has a touch of pain. He won’t tell me what’s wrong, but I know it’s something big. And if wherever he’s going will help him fix the thing that haunts him . . . well, then I can’t exactly begrudge him the chance to try.

“Okay,” I finally say. “I understand.”

“Thank you, Grace-face,” he says, using the nickname he hasn’t used since we were kids.

“Call me?” I start walking again. “To let me know you’re okay.”

“I’ll—” He huffs out an unhappy breath. “I’ll try.”

“Hey, I love—”

He’s gone before I can finish. For the next few blocks, my mind wanders, trying to guess where Thane might be going and why. But since he’s never let me into that part of his life, I have less than no clue.

I’ve found the missing part of me—my sisters and my legacy—and I can only hope that he finds the same kind of fulfillment on his quest as I’m finding on mine. He’s my brother and he deserves at least that.

Chapter 21

Greer

After my unwelcome dip in the Bay, I’m ready to forget about recent events, forget about my sisters and mythological monsters, and just focus on the life I’ve worked so hard to create. That’s really hard when monsters keep showing up everywhere I go.

It’s as if, when my sisters showed up on my doorstep and resurrected that memory of the centaur in my room, a switch flipped in my brain. All those costly hypnosis sessions—and that final one with a different therapist —unraveled, and now my mind is trying to make up for years of not seeing any monsters.

I see the first one Saturday morning on my jog through Golden Gate Park. On my second loop around Stow Lake, I move aside for someone I sense running up behind me, and as they pass, realize it isn’t a person but a gigantic, slobbering boar. And it’s wearing running shorts and a headband.

Without finishing my run, I turn off at the Japanese Tea Garden and head inside for some head-clearing ginseng.

Later that afternoon, Kyle invites me to visit the Explor-atorium at the Palace of Fine Arts. I’m not a huge fan of the science museum, but I adore the neoclassical grace of the building and the peaceful pond out front. I agree to go and—after walking through the special exhibit about soap bubbles—convince him to sit on a bench with me and feed the birds. Splashing around among the gulls, ducks, and swans is a bizarre creature with the upper body of a horse and the tail of a fish.

I close my eyes and count to ten. When I open them, the creature is still there, frolicking. Just playing in the water. I close my eyes and count to one hundred, alternating each number with a mantra.

One. There is no monster. Two. There is no monster.

By the time I reach a hundred and force my eyes back open, the beast is gone.

See, I am still in control of my life and my mind.

Mother wakes me up Sunday morning to remind me that I promised to play hostess for her event at the de Young that afternoon. As much as I want to stay in bed with the covers over my head all day, I know can’t back out on that commitment. Besides, it’s the de Young. There is a special exhibit of Picasso from Paris that I’ve been dying to see. My primary job is to hand out name tags, making sure I give special attention to Mother’s most generous and prestigious donors. I fail to recognize the ex-mayor’s ex-wife because, it turns out, she is actually a woman with the body of a lioness.

This cannot be happening! I mentally scream. Why are there suddenly monsters everywhere? And from what I can tell, none of them are trying to attack or eat anyone, least of all me. The ex- mayor’s ex-wife is on numerous committees with mother; I’ve known her for years. Has she been a sphinx all this time?

I feel a complete mental breakdown coming on.

I’m sure Mother will be furious, but I hand over my name tag duties to the nearest server and leave without ever having the chance to see any of the exhibit.

By the time I get to the end of the school day on Monday, I feel like every nerve in my body is stretched tight and I’m just one monster away from snapping.

“If no one has any other new business,” I announce to the assembled Alumnae Tea Committee, “then I’ll declare this meeting over.”

A quick scan of the ten girls—the socioeconomic elite of Immaculate Heart—seated around the antique mahogany conference table reveals not a monster in sight and one predictably raised hand. Veronica. She’s been ignoring my order to forget the ice sculpture idea and has been petitioning the other committee members to support the proposal.

I inhale and immerse myself in the leadership role, to the exclusion of all other distractions.

“Very well,” I say, ignoring her. “Let’s adjourn and—”