by Jeny Heckman
“Yes, yes.” Dee sighed in relief. “Except I didn’t know who she was then; it just felt like I should. Later, when I looked her up, I saw the exact same lady in a book. She scared me.”
“You’re fuckin’ scaring me,” Finn retorted.
“She called me the daughter of Demeter.”
“So that’s why…” Raven began, then seemed to realize she spoke out loud and leaned back in her seat.
Dee nodded slightly, knowing Raven now understood all her questions. Finn kept pacing the yard.
“She said something about a prophecy and that the two must unite because they share space together.”
“Grandma, I…”
“The daughter of Apollo and the son of Poseidon.” She yelled out in frustration, pointing to each of them, trying to make them see.
There was silence, except for the sound of birds. Raven’s mouth fell open, as she stared incredulously at Dee. Finn also stared at his grandmother with wide eyes, and he broke the stillness by sliding his hands into his pockets, then removing them again. Taking a deep cleansing breath and darting a look to Raven, he stepped forward and knelt beside Dee, taking her hands.
“Grandma, what’re you saying? Do you honestly think you, me, and Raven are somehow connected to the Greek gods? Stories and people made up by other people? And somehow if Raven and I are together, we what, fulfill some kind of spell? Please, please tell me that you understand how incredibly crazy that sounds?” Dee lowered her head.
“Of course I know how crazy it sounds, Finn.” She yelled at him, voice cracking. She stood, a sheen of sweat on her brow, and jerked her hands from his. “Sit down.”
“Grand—”
“God damn it, I said sit down…now!”
He did, and Dee left the patio to go inside. She saw their reflection in the glass as her grandson mouthed, what the fuck. Raven just shook her head, gave a slight rise of her shoulder, and pressed her lips together in a worried line.
Dee returned holding a box, and the couple stared at it as if a duck had suddenly appeared in her arms. She held it tightly to her, then handed it to Finn upside down. He took it and jerked like he’d been shocked. He stretched his back and rolled his shoulders, sighing deeply.
“Read it,” Dee demanded. Raven stood by Dee but leaned over to look at the intricately carved box, careful not to touch it, as Finn read.
“Those that now rule will rue a day when those they command refuse to pray.”
He looked over at Dee, who vibrated with anticipation. Raven gently rubbed circles on her back.
“An old, most powerful foe will find a way, to escape the bonds of yesterday.
“And with him will turn one once trusted, that gods persecuted and belittled and neglected. Mighty gods shackled and toiled, never to be heard, from Tartarus’s grip deep in the abyss of the Underworld. There they will remain for as long as time rules until the last bead of their blood is collected and cooled. The demonic plagues that have yet to be seen, will devour all time and space, as the dark one will deem. The outcome we fear fate could yet reject if the children of tomorrow’s lives intersect.” Finn paused and looked up. “Grandma I…”
“Just read it,” Dee commanded. So, he turned apprehensively and continued.
“And in their quest, three discoveries must be found, or the deities will face the Moirai and be cut to the underground. First, god and mortal alike a weakness to conquer, and only from that key may the children conjure. Second, something gods have naught to know, selfless-devotion and love-eternal the very hardest to sow. The final discovery for this quest to take place is when all children are in the same time and same space. Five arrows to join at the end of the day, surrounding heart’s blood of great hope, it will lay, perhaps, even more, only Themis can say. Many eras have tried to face success and prevail, only to miss the connections and fail. The brothers may harness drops of their power to advise in this cause because it is written in Themis’ divine law. For only then will the threat be defeated, and to the Isle of Blest, the remaining gods be seated. And though their time of rule may end, full integration of immortal blood, this oracle will send. For even if one pure drop remains, ascending the steps, Olympians may again reign.”
He stopped and set the box down as Dee opened her eyes to look at him, waiting. Raven trembled but remained silent.
“I can see this is very important to you,” Finn began after several tense moments. “Believe me, I get it. Who wouldn’t want to be part of something exciting and foreign and you know, god-like powers and royalty? But Grandma, I truly think this was an intensely realistic dream that lodged into your consciousness. Then when you started doing all this research, it got confused in your mind, you know?”
“Finn, I understand how crazy it sounds, I do. I knew nothing about Greek mythology or who any of these people were until she told them to me.” Dee gestured to the box and took a deep breath. Suddenly she was exhausted.
“And now you think Poseidon… I’m assuming you think I’m some offshoot of Poseidon, right?”
“You have a trident on your back.”
“Because I thought it was cool when I was twenty-years-old.”
“And you’ve never felt anything strange that you can’t explain?”
“And Raven,” he continued, not willing it seemed, to entertain those thoughts. “Who I just met, is Apollo? You realize, Apollo was a dude, the boy half of the twins, right?”
“God of music.”
“Jesus!” Finn barked out his frustration. He stood up so quickly, he knocked his chair over. “This is fucking ridiculous.”
“Look,” Raven said, trying to placate, “it’s late. Everything is just confusing and out there. Maybe, let’s just take a step back and let things calm down.”
“What, are you actually giving credence to this bullshit?” he demanded, wheeling on her. Raven furrowed her brow at him, then looked at Dee.
“What I’m suggesting is we sleep on it, take some time to process what everyone has said, then talk tomorrow, okay?” Dee stood up and kissed the young woman on the cheek. She started back into the house, then turned to look at them.
“I don’t want you to be scared, Finn. I was terrified at first. But now—I’m not scared at all anymore. This was real. As real as you and I are right now. I didn’t dream it. I didn’t want to be a part of it, and I’m not crazy.” She turned and walked into the house.
“Well, that makes one of us,” he muttered, looking over at Raven. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
They arrived at her bungalow, and he switched off the motor. They hadn’t spoken during the ride, and the silence was deafening. He walked her to the door, lacing his fingers with hers but when she opened the door, he remained where he was, causing her to turned around.
“Don’t you want to come in?”
“Ah, no, I’m gonna call it a night. I have no idea what’s going on with her, and I have to figure this out. It could be something serious.”
“I think she’s just confused, Finn. Between reality and some vivid dreams,” she soothed.
“So, you’re okay with this?” He looked at her incredulously. “An old woman just said you are related to a bunch of made up people. And now you have to go on a quest, to make sure they don’t all die.” He dropped her hands and walked to the stairs. “That’s a hundred ways of incredibly fucked up shit.”
“Of course I don’t believe it.” She walked over and stood behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “But she was getting upset, and everything needed to calm down. You know if you’re tired enough or susceptible enough, you can believe just about anything. I can tell you. I’ve been having some crazy realistic dreams lately, where I wake up wondering if they’re real.”
“What kind of dreams?” He turned and looked at her, uneasy.
“Mostly trapped ones, some on the water, some having to do with my music and the concert, that kind of thing.” She tilted her head at him, lost in thought, and placed a hand on his shoulder. �
�Hey, she’s gonna be okay.” Raven leaned in and kissed him. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”
He shook his head, then wrapped both arms around her, kissing the top of her head. She felt so perfect he almost changed his mind. Squeezing her hand, he turned and walked down the sidewalk a little before turning around.
“Hey, Rave,” he called, and she turned around smiling. “What day did you come here on the island?”
“April seventeenth.” He frowned. “Yeah I know, weird, right? Night,” she called and closed the door.
After he got home, Finn walked to the base of his stairs and put one foot on the tread, trying to decide if he should let it go or confront Dee. They’d always been able to talk and disappointing her was the one thing he couldn’t bear. So, he opened the door and walked back to her bedroom. She was reading a book but set it down when she saw him leaning on the doorjamb.
“I know how it sounds, darlin’,” she said before he could speak. “Don’t you think I know how it sounds?”
“It sounds crazy, Grandma—it’s wrong.”
“And you’re scared.”
“Yeah, I’m scared about what it means for you. I think we should see someone.”
“You mean me. I should see someone.”
“Yes, damn it.” Suddenly, he felt like a child. She patted her bed, so he removed his jacket and sat with his forearms on his knees. “Look.” He turned to look at her. “I know you like Raven. I like her too—a lot. But I’m beginning to feel a ton of pressure from everyone right now. That I should be making decisions regarding her when I don’t even know how I feel about it myself.”
“Finn, anyone can see that you love her.” He stood up and paced.
“Yeah, well, ya know what, that’s just it.” he retorted, looking at her. “I don’t know what I feel, and everyone keeps telling me how I feel, and it’s starting to piss me off. She doesn’t stand up for herself, she changes her mind every two God damn seconds, she’s not exactly forthcoming about her past, and I don’t know where all that sits with me, okay?”
“Finn, come here,” she coaxed. He sat back down and drew one leg under him, looking at her.
“Look, I know you want this for her and me. And this little story is, what, somehow going to do that?” he asked.
“I saw the woman standing right there.” She pointed to the closet. “She was as real as you are sitting here. I wasn’t hallucinating, I wasn’t drinking, and no, I didn’t have some kind of spell or attack. Something unmistakably happened.” She looked by the closet then back at him. “You have known me your entire life, son. You are my entire life. Don’t you think that if I thought something was wrong with my health or mental faculties, you’d be the first…the very first person I’d tell? If only for the simple matter of you not having to take on an invalid.”
“Grandma.”
“I just want you to think about this, right now. No more talking, just think. And when you’re thinking, ask yourself, has anything strange been going on? Seeing things, dreams that seem very real? How did it feel when you read the prophecy? Feelings that are out of the ordinary.” She leaned forward and placed both hands on his face. “Don’t tell me anything about it, just answer the questions honestly to yourself. Without judgment and with an open mind. Will you do that for me?”
He closed his eyes, knowing he trusted her more than anyone else in his life, so he nodded. She kissed his forehead, and he stood to go.
“And Finn,” she said, as he turned around, “sometimes not having the answer is also an answer.” He blinked at her. “Good night, dear.”
Lying in bed that night, hands interlaced on his abdomen, he reviewed the direction his life had turned. A few months ago, he was about as free as a person could be. He answered to no one, had reckless sex with different women whenever he wanted, and a career that he loved. All the rules he followed were of his making, and others followed them because he willed it. He slept sound, life made sense, and every day was a new sheet of paper. And he had a grandmother that wasn’t certifiably crazy.
Now, he slept with one woman. An incredible, sexy, mind fuck of a woman, but one. His dreams filled with questions, darkness, and restlessness, which now seemed to have more credence, for some inexplicable reason. Something was happening to Dee that frightened him more than anything else, and his life felt like it was spinning entirely out of control. Now, in his career, he couldn’t influence anyone or anything. They just wouldn’t listen. He could barely hear the animals anymore, even Alaula, she…
He sat up. What in the hell… Hear the animals? What the fuck? He swung his legs out of bed and cradled his head in his hands. Christ, he was cracking up too. An unease came over him, and he found himself leaning over and pulling his phone from the charger. Tapping the screen, he found his photos. When they had left for Raven’s, he walked to the buffet table, where his grandmother had left the box, and turned it over. He wanted to see if it was made in Japan or perhaps there was a reference he could find on some internet browser, to make Dee understand the craziness of it all. For some reason, at the last moment, he’d taken a photo.
However, as he sat up in bed and magnified the screen to read the script, a thick wave of vertigo washed over him. He set the phone down in his lap. His thumb had inadvertently swiped the screen to a photo of Raven and him on the beach. Their heads and bodies were pressed together in a selfie. He swiped again, and it was them at Nate’s party before she got drunk. Swipe; she sat without reservation on his bike. Swipe; eating dinner together. Swipe; on the boat trying to find the seals. His eye caught something, and he rescanned, then magnified the shots. In each photo, she wore a disc on a chain, both of which appeared to be gold, around her neck. Had she always worn that? He hadn’t noticed. He tried to zoom it in more, but the grainy photo wouldn’t reveal what was on it. He set the phone down on his chest. When had she so completely taken over his thoughts, actions, time…just his life. Not only was she entrenched in his but Dee now had her in her sights. His grandmother wanted to settle him down because she read a poem on a box made in Asia. Irritated, he threw his phone back on the nightstand and eventually fell into a fitful sleep.
He was on Honopū Beach, walking through the arch, searching for Alaula and Kaimi, but he couldn’t find them anywhere. She must have finished her nursing time and returned to the sea. He walked for what seemed like hours on the alternating rocky then sandy beach.
Eventually, he found the baby pup that now weighed a hundred and fifty pounds. Finn smiled at the growth, then heard a barking out in the water. Searching, he saw Alaula struggling with something and calling out for help. Strange blue-black bands circled the mother like a shark, then pulled her under the water’s surface. Finn thought it was trash thrown into the ocean. Angry, yet bitterly afraid, he ran out into the water in an effort to save her but knew he’d be too late.
The last band laid itself over the mother’s mouth, and nose then dragged her beneath the cold waves, now turning into ink itself. Finn heard Alaula calling for him to protect Kaimi from the blackness. He felt her panic and fear as she forcibly edged closer to the widening doom within the water’s depths. He turned to sprint back and secure her pup’s safety, as Kaimi called out for his mother. Finn was within ten feet of the animal when he saw the same bands snake across the beach for the pup. He lifted a hand as he ran.
“No!”
He sat bolt upright in the darkness, thinking he may still be in the dream and the dark, dank misery of it. He cursed his grandmother and Raven for putting the thoughts in his mind for dreams to fester.
Chapter 25
Monday morning, Finn woke surprisingly early after getting little sleep. He told Dee he’d probably be late that night and noticed the old wooden box was gone. Raven had already tried to call him, and he’d let it go straight to voicemail. Feeling itchy and restless, he punched the accelerator of his bike after he eased onto the highway. Only then did he start to feel more normal.
Holly was busy unloading her
car when he arrived. She watched him park and dismount then turned back to her task. When she turned back around, he noticed her tank top was considerably lower, exposing more cleavage.
“Need some help?” he called and walked over to her, smiling.
“Yeah, thanks.”
He reached in and grabbed the heavy box. When he turned, she hadn’t stepped back and smiled up at him with that same hungry look she always did. He glanced down at her lips, then cleavage, prominently on display.
“So, where we going today?” she asked, turning and extending her body into the car to retrieve some scuba tanks.
“I’m thinking more along the coastline, here on the south side.” Finn moved aside to let her walk ahead, so that he could admire her ass.
He grinned, feeling a little more like his old self, when Raven's radiant face filled his mind, immediately triggering guilt. Trying to brush it aside, he set down the equipment on the dock, as the group began preparing the boat.
“Hey.” Nate poked his head out the glass door of the building and called, “So, I think I’m going to have you go to…”
“Waimea,” Finn shouted back. “Great choice.”
“Waimea, why there?”
“Because we’ve been off the grid there for a while. I heard there were a few feral cats and a dog out there, so I wanna check it out before they get too near the seals.”
“Okay.” Nate paused, thinking. “Well, come on up to the office, and I can give you some stuff for there then.”
“Finish gearing up,” Finn ordered, looking back at the crew. “I’ll be right back.”
“So what are you going to do over there?” Nate asked when Finn walked into his office.
“I don’t know, check about the animals, see if the nets are hung up there again. The park can get trashed pretty quickly.”
“You okay?”
“Sure, why?”
“I don’t know. Something seems off.”
“Naw, just want to get to it. I gotta weird feeling we need to go over there, and it’s been awhile.”