“We’re surprisingly close to the oceans of Elyria,” Hecate called behind her as she hurried ahead. “It won’t take long.”
She didn’t exaggerate.
Less than an hour later, we faced beautiful fields of purple blossoms. Their scent was sweet and pungent and I inhaled, filling my lungs with the beautiful smell. The problem, however, was that the fields were empty.
This was most certainly where I had seen Empusa and Raquel in my visions, but there was nothing here now but for the flowers themselves.
“Empusa?” Hecate called hopefully. The only thing that moved were the blossoms with the gentle sea breeze. “Empusa?”
Nothing.
I stepped forward.
“Empusa?” I called. “You asked for my help and you told me to hurry. I’m here now. Can you come meet us?”
Nothing.
My shoulders slumped. I hadn’t expected this. I had felt sure that when we arrived, they would be waiting. My heart constricted with an apprehension that I hadn’t even known that I felt. I had thought I would see my daughter today. And I had been wrong.
“Mama?”
A little voice resounded through the air, carried by the wind. I turned in surprise to find Raquel running through the fields, her long dark hair streaming behind her. Empusa walked cautiously behind her, her face an unreadable mask.
“Raquel,” I whispered weakly, before I took off running, plunging through the amethyst colored blooms to reach my daughter.
Chapter Eleven
I clutched her little body close to mine, leaning down to inhale her. Her hair smelled like the outdoors, the ocean and little girl. She was thin enough that I could feel her shoulder blades beneath my fingers.
“I can’t believe we found you,” I cried as tears streaked down my face. “I was so afraid.”
Her skinny little arms were clasped around my waist as she tilted her delicate face up to me, her bright green eyes shining.
“Empusa took care of me, Mama. She said you would be here as soon as you could. And she was right. Here you are.”
Cadmus dropped to one knee next to her, pulling her into his strong arms. She was so small compared to him, so fragile and delicate. As he murmured to her, I turned to Empusa, who was just now approaching.
“Empusa,” I called. “I can never repay you. Thank you so much for taking care of Raquel. Thank you.”
She nodded and I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the girl was. She reminded me of a prima ballerina. She was so delicate. Her skin was clear and she possessed an otherworldly glow. Her hair was long and dark, curling delicately around her shoulders. But her eyes… they were the most unique eyes I had ever seen outside of my own. They were a multi-faceted gray with flecks of darker gray and green in them.
“You’re welcome. I’m glad that you are receptive to visitors in your dreams and that you followed us here.” She walked past me to her mother, into Hecate’s waiting embrace.
“We’ve found you, too,” Hecate said as she buried her face in her daughter’s neck. Her shoulders quaked as she cried. “I can’t believe that you’ve hidden from me for so long.”
“I’ve been afraid,” Empusa answered quietly. “I’m still afraid. So many things bubble just beneath the surface here. You’ve broken everything wide open. It is difficult to say what will happen.”
“I can tell you what will happen,” Hecate declared. “When this is finished with Zeus, you and I will go before Hades and he will uphold his bargain. He will retrieve your father and you will go free.”
Empusa stared at her silently, her gray graze unfazed. “We shall see,” she murmured.
“Yes, we shall,” Hecate agreed determinedly. “And in the meantime, I brought you something.” She reached into her cloak pocket and pulled out a bracelet. A pale moonstone shone mutely in the light. “Put this on. I have enchanted it to alert you when your father is near. Never take it off. It possesses other powers, also, but we can discuss that later.”
“Thank you,” Empusa murmured, stroking the stone lightly.
“Do you have shelter?” Ares asked. “We should get out of the open. Hades is undoubtedly in pursuit of us.”
Empusa nodded. “Yes. There is a cave near the sea. No one has bothered us there for days and days.”
“Then we should go there,” Aphrodite piped up. She hadn’t spoken in awhile- she had patiently walked along like the trooper that she could be. I had to admit, I was very proud of her.
Empusa nodded and led the way through the waving flowers. We followed in a joyful line. Finding Raquel was certainly a pick-me-up. I couldn’t remember when I had been happier, even if I was still wandering through the Underworld.
At the end of the vast fields, the land sharply declined, leading to the sandy shores of the oceans of Elyria. I stood on the shores for a moment, staring at the water. I had always loved the water and standing next to an ocean always put things into perspective. It was so massive and wide that it made me feel insignificant. It reminded me that no matter what happened with me or in my life, the world would continue to turn, the oceans would continue to crash.
I pulled off my boots and stood with my toes buried in the sand, just where the lip of the water met the beach. The foam rolled over my feet and then retracted back into the ocean, a back and forth game of tug of war as the tide rolled in.
Cadmus joined me, with Raquel balanced on his shoulders. I had never seen a more beautiful sight. He looked perfectly at home with the child wrapped around him. If at all possible, it made me love him even more. While Raquel certainly looked more like me, there was a distinct resemblance to her father… something about the way her lips moved, maybe. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it was there. Right now, she leaned down and laughed into his ear and my heart warmed. They acted as though they had never been apart.
“Should we swim, mama?” Raquel asked me hopefully.
“No- don’t!” Empusa interrupted from a few feet away. “There are Hydras swimming in these oceans—meant to guard Elyria and the isles from intruders.”
I looked at Raquel. “Not now, sweet one. But we’ll swim when we get home.” She nodded happily, easily placated. “We need to find your cave, anyway. Can you show me?”
She nodded again and Cadmus set her down. She skipped joyfully away, looking back every once in awhile to make sure we were following. Cadmus grabbed my hand and we trailed behind her to the cave.
As caves went, it was fairly normal and nondescript. It yawned large and wide from the inlet of a cove. Empusa padded through the wet sand next to us, her filmy white skirt dragging in the surf.
“This is a safe place for us,” she mentioned. “It is only accessible during the day. At night, the tide rolls in and blocks its entrance.”
“Of course, that also means that you cannot leave it at night,” Ortrera pointed out. Empusa shrugged delicately.
“I guess. If you want to look at it that way. To us, it meant protection.”
“And I’m sure it will to us, also,” I replied. “Thank you for bringing us here.”
She looked at me for a second before she smiled and it lit up her entire face. She really was beautiful in a very delicate way. “You’re welcome.”
The inside was damp. Condensation formed on the ceiling and dripped into puddles on the ground. It smelled of wet sand, salt and rock, but it was cool enough that I shivered as we entered. Raquel bounced ahead.
“This is my bed, mama!” she cried, eager to show me. I quickly followed her to see and she led me to a small pallet at the back. “I don’t like to sleep here, but Empusa told me that I had to at least rest.”
“We all need to rest from time to time,” I told her with a grin. “We’ll put my blankets next to yours. Is that alright? Do you hog the bed?” She smiled shyly and shook her head.
“Well, that’s good,” Cadmus replied as he set our bags down. “Because your mother does and our bed is only so big. You must take after me.” I slapped him playfully
on the arm before realizing that I had just smacked his injured arm. I clapped my hand over my mouth.
“It’s alright, wife,” he assured me. “I feel much better. The helm has allowed me to heal. I’m sure that Hecate could remove the stitches if she has a free minute.”
“I’ll do it in a bit,” she called from the front of the cave.
“Take your time,” Cadmus called back. “I’m in no rush. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You might want to come up here,” Hecate suggested. “Empusa is sharing interesting things.”
Cadmus and I looked at each other. I knelt next to Raquel. “Can you look through my knapsack and get some soft, dry wraps and arrange a sleeping pallet for me next to yours?”
She nodded. “Because you don’t want me to hear what Empusa says?”
I laughed. “You’re a smart little thing. I don’t want you to be afraid. We’re here now and you don’t have to worry about anything.”
She launched herself into my arms, hugging me tightly before she stepped back.
“I love you, mama.”
My heart melted as I stared at my beautiful child.
“I love you, too,” I whispered, too afraid to trust my voice to speak louder. It was the first time she had said that to me.
Cadmus wiped a tear from my cheek that I hadn’t even known that I had shed before he leaned over and kissed it. And then we hurried to the front of the cave to join the group that had congregated around Hecate’s daughter.
“The gods are definitely still here?” Hecate asked, her gaze frozen on her daughter.
Empusa nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard talks of them. They are on the Isles of the Blessed.”
I looked at Hecate. “You act as though you knew that they were here at one time.” I raised an eyebrow. She looked at me sheepishly.
“I did know that. But I never would have dreamed that Hades would have kept them there. This is very strange. I would have thought he would have hidden them more securely.”
“Perhaps now would be a good time for you to explain exactly what happened… what you did to assist Hades,” Aphrodite suggested gently. “We will not hold it against you, but I think we need to know.”
Hecate looked pained as she stared past us, but she nodded.
“Alright. You already know that they promised me that if I helped them, they would release the curse on Empusa- that they would put it back where it belonged on Mormo. So, I agreed to help with whatever asked me to do. I would have done anything.”
“And what did you end up doing?” I prompted.
“As you know, if you eat in the Underworld, you are constrained here. Hades created a duplicate Mount Olympus on the Isles of the Blessed- Zeus’ palace was replicated to the smallest detail. With my magic, I bewitched the doorways of Zeus’ banquet hall to become a temporary portal to the Underworld and they were transported to the Isles of Blessed, unknowingly of course. They thought they were on Olympus. They ate, drank and were merry… and they didn’t even realize what had happened until late in the night. It was a brilliant plan, I have to admit. Hades thought of every detail.”
“But you carried it out,” I asked sadly. She nodded.
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