Chapter One

Zoey

Until a massive werewolf tore apart the mall and tried to bite her head off, Zoey had liked dogs.

She'd been watching one –– a fat golden retriever puppy –– for about an hour, listening to strangers coo as it waddled, sneezed, and barked on a looping video in the back of the Apple store. It played over and over on a giant screen, framed by an iPhone made of cardboard and plastic. This set-up had been cool at first, but after fifty-seven minutes in line, the "crystal-clear picture" seemed a little less appealing and the yapping fluff-ball was a little more annoying.

All Zoey really wanted was to reach the front of the line, hand a blue-shirted Genius her Macbook, and hear the words, "Come back in seven days." She had resigned herself to a week without Netflix and could survive the temper tantrums of her dad's old Gateway. It was the crowd that bothered her. Did all of these people really need the new iPad right now?

As if reading Zoey's mind, one if the women in line began talking in a loud, irritating voice. "Excuse me," she called, addressing any employee who would listen. "My son and I have been waiting for nearly one hour. The service here is outrageous. As paying customers, we're entitled to ––" Before she could finish, a Genius appeared at her elbow, interrupting her with a pleasant smile.

The employee was a girl, a few years older than Zoey –– probably around eighteen or nineteen. She had a lanyard dangling from her neck and there was a pair of headphones, wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet. She was quite pretty, despite the unpleasant shade of her T-shirt, and had long, auburn curls hanging down her back.

"I'm terribly sorry for the wait, ma'am," she said in an accent that didn't sound American. "We have just a few more customers to help and then we'll be right with you. Are you looking for anything special today?"

The woman nodded, though she seemed a little confused. "We need the new iPad," she announced.

Zoey rolled her eyes.

The girl, however, didn't seem annoyed or even phased. "How lucky!" she exclaimed. "We got a shipment of iPads in, just yesterday."

"How lucky," the woman echoed, her eyes becoming slightly unfocused.

"You'll be at the front of the line before you know it," the Genius added, cheerfully. "Until then, we have a lovely new display at the back of the store. You can see it from here –– isn't the puppy adorable?"

"Yes," the woman mumbled. "Adorable." She turned toward the screen, staring at the retriever like it was the most interesting thing in the world. She seemed almost to forget the girl in front of her, which Zoey thought was incredibly rude. The Genius, though, didn't seem to mind.

She still had that blinding smile on her face, but it faded quickly. Her eyes darkened, turning from the color of grass to a hard, intelligent peridot. She kept them fixed on the woman for another second, then she blinked and refocused on Zoey.

Embarrassed to be caught staring, Zoey dropped her gaze to the floor. She watched her suede boots until she thought she was safe, then she let her eyes drift toward the girl. Surprisingly, she didn't have the industrial sneakers that the rest of the Geniuses wore; nor, Zoey realized, was she wearing the usual khaki pants uniform. Beneath her overlong, periwinkle T-shirt, the girl wore a pair of skinny jeans and long, riding boots.

Strange, Zoey thought. I didn't know they let Geniuses wear skinny jeans.

She glanced up again, hoping she'd gotten away with eavesdropping, but the girl was still watching her. Her eye color had changed again, this time, to a buttery shade of hazel. Suddenly, she nodded.

"Have you seen the new Macbooks?" she asked, her accent even more evident. "They're mi daza."

"Sorry?" Zoey blinked. "Me what?"

The girl shrugged, then turned on her heel, heading for the back of the store. As she walked, she pulled an iPhone out of her back pocket and began tapping furiously against its screen. She was still typing as she pushed through a back door marked "Employee's Only" and disappeared.

What was that all about? Zoey wondered.

She shook her head, turning away from the door in confusion, and took a quick look at the woman who'd complained. She wasn't complaining anymore, that was for sure: she was still so intent on the tumbling puppy, that she didn't seem to notice her son tugging on her sleeve. Okay, Zoey thought. Something weird is happening here. She glanced behind her to see if anyone else had noticed, and her eyes landed on the Macbooks that the girl had mentioned. Me daa-zuh? Had that been another language? What did it mean? Before Zoey could even begin to puzzle it out, she realized that yet another person was staring at her.

It wasn't a Genius this time, but a middle-aged man. He looked like someone's dad, only with huge biceps. Seriously, the guy could've been the frontman for Weight Lifting Today or one of those TV wrestling tournaments she never watched. He would probably need to shave, though, she thought. Another thing about the guy: he was hairy. He had grizzled, wavy hair, hanging to his shoulders in a thick, salt-and-pepper curtain. His face and neck were covered in wiry, black hair and –– Zoey's nose wrinkled –– a clump of the stuff was peeking out from beneath his muscle shirt.

That V-neck was probably a bad choice, she thought.

For a second, she almost thought the man had heard her because his eyes narrowed and his lips curled back to reveal grimy, yellow teeth. She grimaced, wondering if he'd ever seen a dentist. He must've seen someone to get his teeth that pointy. Maybe he was one of those Gothic dudes who got their teeth filed down to look like a snake's. Or a wolf's.

Zoey wasn't sure if it was her imagination but, as soon as that thought crossed her mind, she started to notice other features, things that made the man look positively doglike. Was it just her or did his nose look a bit like a snout? And had his eyes always been that shade of greenish-yellow? Either way, she didn't like the way he was staring at her. He looked almost...hungry.

She saw movement just beyond her vision and turned in time to see the line moving forward. A young couple hurried by with matching iPods and Zoey realized, to her relief, that she was only five people from the front. She hugged her broken computer to her chest and stepped forward, trying to ignore the prickly feeling on the back of her neck. She could feel the hairy guy watching her. Ugh, she thought, I can't wait to get out of here.

The crowd behind her was starting to grumble and, glancing over her shoulder, Zoey realized that the complainer was still staring at the iPhone display. She hadn't moved a muscle in five minutes and her immobility had cut a large gap in the line.

"Hey!" Someone yelled. "You, in the green. The line's moving forward!"

Normally, Zoey wouldn't have gotten involved. The anxious voices and shuffling feet annoyed her –– the woman was in front of them and she had the right to take her time, if she wanted. But something about her slack face and blank gaze, something about the way she was ignoring her son, made Zoey nervous.

"Excuse me?" she asked, turning around fully. "Ma'am, are you alright?"

Two things happened at once.

The woman blinked twice, finally tearing her eyes from the screen, and refocused on the store around her. Her lips were pursed, like she'd tasted something unpleasant, but before she could say anything, her haughty gaze turned terrified. Zoey had just enough time to notice that the hairy dude has disappeared before the woman let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"What is that?" she shrieked.

Zoey whirled and came face to face with the snarling mouth of a huge, black wolf. Even on all four legs, it was almost six feet tall, complete with jagged fangs, a curved snout, and six-inch, black claws. A rope of saliva hung from its lolling tongue and its yellow eyes were fixed on Zoey.

It lifted a massive paw towards her and she couldn't move. She couldn't even scream. She felt her feet knocked from under her, felt herself hit the ground, felt the air leave her lungs as she slid across the wooden floor. She heard her laptop skitter in another direction and felt bruises forming as she bumped elbows and wrists on the legs of display tables. She didn't have a coherent thought until she slammed into the far wall, colorful, rubber iPhone cases tumbling down around her. And then, the only thing she could think was, Pink camouflage is really stupid, isn't it?

By then, the wolf was running towards her, crossing the store in three easy bounds. Its paw hit her in the shoulder and she went sliding again, skidding to a halt in the center of the store, directly above a large Apple logo. She gasped for air, noticing for the first time that her elbow was burning and there was a red-stained gash in her pant leg. What is going on? she thought. Why is it attacking me? Why is it in the mall, in the first place? Maybe it had escaped from a wildlife display. She tried to think, searching through her memories for one of a zoo exhibit or some sort of exotic pet shop opening at Pheasant Lane Mall.

But the next second, as the creature stalked towards her, she realized that it was much too big to be part of some mall-related showcase: it was ten times bigger –– and more violent –– than any wolf she'd ever seen. Besides, it was pointless to wonder where it came from. All that mattered now was getting away from it.

Unfortunately for Zoey, by the time this thought crossed her mind, the thing was on her. It slowly, deliberately, stepped over her body, pinning her legs to the ground with one giant foot, holding her arms above her head with two others. Her elbow screamed in protest as the beast unsheathed long claws from its last, free paw. It lifted them high into the air, preparing to scratch her face, and Zoey felt her pounding heart stop.

This is it, she thought. I don't even know what's happening and I'm going to die. And I didn't even get my laptop fixed...

"Demigod scum," a male voice growled. "It thinks it can defeat me?"

Zoey was breathing hard, desperately struggling against the creature's heavy feet, but she froze when she realized where the voice had come from. It was the wolf. It was talking to her.

"Puny little halfbreed," the beast continued, "Against the might of the great Fenrir? Ha! Ha! Ha!" Its laughter sounded like barking. "Well, the joke is on it, now. I could smell it from miles away. Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"What are you talking about?" Zoey asked. She was about to die but, even so, she felt very silly addressing a giant wolf.

"The Great War is coming," the creature said, lifting its deadly paw still higher. "Ragnarök. And, when it does, no more demigod scum. And..." Its lips curled back into a terrifying smile. "Definitely no more Greeks."

The knife-like claws dropped towards her but, just before they reached her face, Zoey heard a strange noise. It sounded almost like a cat's mewling.

"Meow!"

The sound came again and the wolf's claws retracted. Its yellow eyes moved away from Zoey, focusing towards the back of the store. "What's this?" it snarled, angrily. Almost unaware of its motions, it took a step forward.

Free from the weight of its claws, Zoey scrambled into a crouched position, sliding as far from the wolf as she could get. Her back hit one of the display tables and she pulled herself beneath it, grateful for whatever it was that had just happened. She leaned slightly to her left, peering out to find the source of her salvation.

To her surprise, there was a cat in the Apple store. Ten feet from the spot she'd been pinned, beside the now-deserted Genius Bar, there was a small, red kitten, looking piteously up at the wolf with tiny, amber eyes.

"Meow!" it cried as the wolf took another step.

Zoey felt her heart sink, realizing that the kitten was about to become wolf food. The beast was stalking towards it with the same murderous expression it had turned on her. Those hungry, yellow eyes that looked almost exactly like...

Zoey gasped.

It couldn't be, but, now that she'd had the thought, she couldn't dismiss it as anything but truth. The wolf, with its shaggy, black fur and ten-inch fangs, was the hairy guy who'd been staring at her. She didn't know how she knew it, but she did. As impossible as it sounded, it was true.

And now the weird hairy guy was about to eat a poor, defenseless kitten.

"Meow!" the cat squeaked one more time, just as the wolf reached it, jaws open wide.

Zoey wanted to cry out, wanted to help, but, before she could do anything, a jet of scarlet flame poured from the kitten's mouth and set the wolf's coat ablaze. The beast reared, growling, snapping, screaming; every time one of its paws tried to bat at the fire, the blaze picked itself up and moved somewhere else, growing larger and brighter.

The kitten began to lick its paws, obviously satisfied with itself, while Zoey watched in stupefied horror.

What is this? she thought to herself. Bring your demonic pet to work day?

The thought had barely crossed her mind when the cat turned its head, as if called, towards the "Employee's Only" door. It swung open to reveal the girl Genius from before, her blue T-shirt replaced with a white button-down and brown leather jacket. She was carrying the same bronze-colored iPhone, still typing furiously. She looked up for just a moment, finding Zoey with no effort at all, and offering her a nod. Then she turned her attention back to the iPhone, tapped it one last time, and turned its headphone jack in the direction of the burning monster.

A tiny knife burst from the hole, growing in midair until it was the size of a spear, glowing the same yellowish color as the iPhone. It sped towards the wolf and, in seconds, collided with the largest spot of flame, which burned on the rearing beast's chest.

The wolf let out a horrific scream. It fell to the ground, eyes rolling into its skull, shrinking rapidly, until it was a normal-sized black dog, twitching on the ground. The girl stepped towards it, joined by the tiny kitten, and crouched down to meet its yellow gaze.

"You haven't seen the last of me," the creature hissed. "This is only the beginning. The Great War is coming. It..."

The girl put her foot on the wolf's windpipe, cutting off its words into a gush of air. "Yeah, yeah, the Great War," she said in that same, lilting accent. "The funny thing about wars is that there's always a winner and a loser." She pushed her boot down harder. "And I guess you just lost."

The wolf exploded into a puff of glittering dust, coating the floor, the displays, and the crowd of people, trembling on the other side of the store. Zoey could do nothing but gape as the girl stepped away from the wolf, moving calmly towards her hiding spot until all she could see was a pair of riding boots.

"Well?" The boots' owner bent into a crouch, peering under the table to look at her. "We best get out of here before the police come along. It'll be tough to explain this one."

Zoey blinked, but the rest of her body felt paralyzed. She stared blankly at the girl.

"Come on, girl. I don't think there are any others, but my Monster App isn't working properly." The girl glanced over her shoulder, impatiently. "If we stay here, more of them will come."

"More what?" Zoey breathed.

"More monsters, of course." The girl stuck her hand towards Zoey's. "Now, come on. Get out of there before they arrive."

Zoey took the hand, but made no move to stand up. "Who are you?" she asked.

"M'name's Saoirse," the girl replied. "This is my chimera cub, Pangerbon."

"Your...what?"

"Look, girl," Saiorse said, tugging Zoey up, herself. "We've got to go. All you need to know is that I," she used her free hand to point to herself, "Am a demigod."

"A what?" Zoey asked.

"A demigod," Saiorse repeated. "And so, mo chuisle, are you."