“Little One, you know that I must follow the orders given to me.” Cyrus stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Hecate made it very clear that I was not to help you in any way. Otherwise, she will ban me from accompanying you at the Academy.”
“When has the threat of being banned from me ever stopped you?”
Cyrus didn’t respond right away. He moved ahead to hold the outside door open. Yet, when I crossed over the threshold, he brushed his nose against my hair and whispered.
“Never. Not even the gods can keep me from you, Little One.”
I tried to hide my grin but really? There was no point. Medusa was so confident that I was following behind her; she didn’t bother to make sure I was still there. I had to pick up my pace when she went outside so that I didn’t lose sight of her.
“Today would be nice, Sibyl.” Medusa called over her shoulder. “We must hurry.”
I rolled my eyes towards Cyrus when she crossed over the massive lawn. I finally caught up to her by the last marble dog statue that lined the walkway. I found myself slowing down when I saw a bear of a man step out of the morning mist falling around us.
“Ambassador.” Medusa nodded to the newcomer. It took a second, but I recognized him as Drew, the doctor she had told me about the day before. “Did you bring the provisions?”
“Yes, mistress.” He bowed his head towards her. “Food and drink, just as you requested.”
“You, sir, are a lifesaver.” I took a step around. “I’m starving. What’d you bring?”
I reached out for the bag slung over his shoulder when Medusa smacked me on the hand.
“A little starvation will not kill you.” She smirked at her little joke. “Food will be your reward if you are able to assist us in this little matter.”
“What little matter?” I balled my hand into a fist by my side. “And I swear, if you hit me again, there will be hell to pay, Gorgon.”
“Ah.” She gave me a hateful grin. “So you are not as ignorant as you appear to be.”
The creature turned on her heel and headed towards the surrounding forest. I waited until I was sure she was out of earshot before I grumbled to Cyrus and the doctor.
“That’s it. I’m convinced. I really don’t like her.”
“Not many do.” Drew spoke up. For the first time, I took a good look at him. I wasn’t kidding when I said he was as big as a bear. But he wasn’t fat. More like, solid. He reminded me of the bouncers who lined the bars on Sunset back in L.A. His grey eyes seemed to sparkle in the early morning light when he passed me a bottled water. “Here.”
“Thank you.” I took a swig of the water before I handed it back to him. “What’s her deal, anyway?”
“A millennia spent being seen as the villain can do wonders, Evie.” Cyrus put his hand on my lower back to nudge me forward. “Athena’s cruelty did much to twist Medusa’s mind. Add her ability to turn men’s hearts into stone…”
“And you have a monster made.” I finished for him. “Is there anything you can tell me about the mission we’re about to depart on?”
I caught the look that Drew threw my beloved just before Cyrus shook his head.
“Just know that I will be there to assist you as needed.”
I let loose another aggravated sigh as we trudged into the woods. It wasn’t long before we fell into a comfortable silence. Which, if I’m honest, wasn’t a good thing. It gave me time to think about everything I was trying to avoid.
Elliot. The murders of my parents. Hell, memories of the death I had experienced firsthand flickered behind my eyes more than once.
“Drew, I owe you a thank you.” I spoke up as we followed a trail covered in pine needles. I had to distract myself somehow. Conversation seemed to be a good way to do just that. “You and Teresa got me back to normal, didn’t you?”
“We tended to your wounds, yes.” The man nodded. “Unfortunately, Hera’s poison remains in your bloodstream.”
“Wait, what?” I whipped around so quick, he almost tripped over me. “Poison?”
“Yes.” He had the decency to look confused. “Athena’s Blade was coated with Aconite as a slowing agent in the event you were saved.”
“And I am still poisoned?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why hasn’t my own healing abilities stamped it out yet?”
“Because Aconite is very potent against the blood of the gods.” He went around me. “But there are more pressing matters awaiting us. The poison will fade within a few weeks.”
I stared at his back as he continued after Medusa, who was so far gone that I could no longer see her through the thick foliage. I felt Cyrus brush his hand against the back of my neck before I responded.
“Is there something I need to know?” I turned to him. “Because if there is, I want to hear it from you. I can handle anything from you.”
I watched as Cyrus’ jaw tightened before he lightly squeezed the back of my neck. Finally, he broke the silence between us.
“Soon, Evie. The Ambassador is right. There are more pressing matters to attend to.”
I let him take my hand to lead me after the others. When the early morning sun was slipping through the trees, Medusa stopped.
“We’ve arrived.” She waited until I was standing next to her. “Welcome to Hallows End, Daughter of Apollo. Where Hell’s own daimons have come to play.”
Chapter Eight
“Talk about your dramatics.”
I snorted. I pushed the brush aside to take a look at the town below us. It appeared to be a standard abandoned town. Buildings broken and gray dotted a street overgrown with weeds.
“I didn’t think you would believe in demons, Mentor.”
I said the last word with more than a little sarcasm. I mean, really? Hallows End was nothing more than a forgotten dot on the map. And despite my research into all things paranormal, I’d never heard of it. I raised a single eyebrow when I saw a thick green staff appear in her hand. Even Drew, the former doctor and current witch, dropped the backpack to crack his knuckles together with a grin.
“Stop talking, child.” Medusa lifted her chin towards the rubble below us. “I want you to listen to me. Do not speak. Do not interrupt me. Listen.”
“Fine.” I sighed . “I’m listening.”
“I want you, and you alone, to walk down to the third house by the storefronts. You will encounter souls here, but do not speak with them. Do not interact with them no matter what they offer. Do you understand me?”
“Alright. Then what?”
“There is an artifact of great importance to me in there. You will retrieve it.” She gave me a small push. “Now go. The sooner you do as you are told, the sooner you will get your reward.”
“Ah, yes.” I rolled my eyes. “My breakfast. How kind of you.”
“Go.”
I turned on my heel and headed towards the town. From above, it had appeared to be deserted. But from here, I could hear noises which filtered out of the broken windows. Or at least, I had thought they were broken. When I approached the first house, I realized the place was coming to life. What had appeared to be nothing shifted into a classic small town that could be found anywhere in the U.S. I saw a man step out of the first building with a broom. He grinned as I walked past.
“Good morning, lass! I’ve a new shipment of the finest coffees offered in Washington state. Won’t you come in?”
Coffee? I slowed down enough to smell the brew waffling out of the shop’s door. I glanced up at the sign to see I was beside a small bistro. The man stepped aside to gesture me inside, and I started to take him up on his offer when Medusa’s warning came back to me. I shook my head and continued onward.
“Third house.” I muttered. “Find the third house. Ignore everything else.”
“Eva McRayne! Oh my god, a superstar! Here!”
I heard a girl shriek behind me. I forced myself to keep going until she grabbed my arm to spin me around. But the thing I faced wasn’t a girl. At least, not anymore. Her h
air was falling out in clumps. Her skin saggy and gray. I willed my sword into my hand as the thing opened its mouth . I moved back as it reached for me again before falling to its knees. I swung my sword into a small circle by my side before I brought it down across the creature’s neck to put it out of its misery.
“That’s it?” I grumbled. “An old man who invited me in for coffee and a zombie reject? I’m not impressed, Medusa.”
I passed more store fronts and ignored the people who came out to watch me. None of them appeared to be demons, but then again, I had to be careful. There was something here which had put Medusa and Drew on notice. And I was sure she hadn’t brought me here just to reenact a video game quest. I didn’t know Medusa well, but even I could tell she didn’t like to have her time wasted.
The before-dawn wakeup call was proof of that.
The third house I came to was a cute blue one story with a white fence around it. Purple and white pansies grew out of the flower beds that lined the front. I raised an eyebrow as my sword disappeared. I didn’t feel threatened here. I felt something different.
The house felt like home.
I pushed the gate open and approached the front porch. I started to knock on the front door, but found myself opening it instead. I stepped into a foyer lined with pictures that were all too familiar. Pictures of me and Elliot in our better days. I reached up to straighten the one closest to me. It showed us together on graduation day at UGA. Elliot’s arm slung around my shoulders as I grinned up at him.
I stumbled back when I heard someone laughing in the kitchen. No, not someone. Me. I slipped down the hall and peered through the door to see myself standing in front of a sink. I was giggling as Elliot wrapped his arms around my waist to whisper something in my ear.
“Stop talking like that, Elliot.” The other me turned to kiss him on the nose. “California has no place for the likes of us.”
“Just imagine it, Evie.” Elliot grinned before pulling the girl to him. “We can travel the world….”
“Visit notorious and nefarious places.” I whispered along with my doppleganger as I repeated the words my friend had told me so long ago. “What is this place?”
The girl must have heard me because she turned to face me. I could see her eyes were the boring green I had been born with instead of the gold that marked me as Apollo’s Sibyl. She grinned as she ran her hand over Elliot’s shoulder.
“This is what could have been, Daughter of Apollo. Your heart’s desires come to life.”
“No. I don’t want this.”
I whispered, but I didn’t move. I watched as Elliot grabbed the girl’s golden hair to pull her head back. When he focused on me, I could see the darkness in his expression. Hera’s green fire enhanced the madness in his eyes. He traced his finger over the other girl’s jawline before he spoke.
“This is what you threw away, Evie. Us. Happiness. Now, your dreams are nothing more than fantasies brought forth by your own twisted mind.”
“I am not interested in fantasies.” I heard my own voice falter as an old pain shot through my heart. “I am here for a relic that belongs to Medusa.”
“This?” Elliot lifted a pendant off the girl’s throat. It was a massive green stone. “I’m afraid you can’t have it. Your replacement looks gorgeous in jewels.”
“My replacement?” I snorted. “Hardly. I actually feel pity for you, Elliot. Now give me the necklace.”
“You’re right, Evie.” He giggled. “She is not a replacement. She is you. The girl you used to be. The girl I fell so hard for. The girl who would have done anything for me. But that’s not you anymore.”
“Shut up, Elliot.” I snapped. “I don’t have the time…”
“Do you know the tale about doppelgängers, Eva?” Elliot leaned in close to the girl who closed her eyes. “They are fascinating creatures. Creatures who become reflections of how we see ourselves.”
I didn’t expect what happened next. Elliot grabbed the girl’s throat and threw her into me. I grabbed the girl’s arms to keep from falling but the second we made contact, she screamed. We landed in a heap against the floor moments before the kitchen shifted into a darkened room of rotten boards.
I heard the girl shriek as she changed along with our environment. Her green eyes became a bright gold so full of hate, I shuddered. Her pale skin became as rotten as the world around us. Soft and mottled. Only the necklace remained the same. I felt my jaw drop just before she clawed at my face.
“Monster.” She hissed. “It’s your fault. All of it.”
I caught her arm before she could get another swipe in, but the girl seemed to know what I was going to do next. She wrapped her legs around my waist when I tried to throw her off. This time, she got a punch in that knocked my head back.
“Elliot’s downfall. You promised to protect him. You promised!” She bared a set of pointed teeth at me. “You left him heartbroken. He had nowhere to turn. You broke your oath!”
“Get off of me!”
I willed my sword into my grasp. I was grateful to see that the creature didn’t have the same power. I brought it up to catch her beneath the chin. The girl’s head snapped back. I grabbed the rags covering her chest to shove her off of me. I scrambled to my feet and held my sword in front of me when she began to cackle.
“Elliot is gone. Gone!” My doppelgänger stood. “And you. So pretty. So whole. But so rotten. Your heart is tainted, Sibyl. Blackened by the decisions you have made in this life.”
“I am not!”
I snapped. I lunged forward and thrust my sword towards her stomach. But the girl was quick. She hissed again when she dodged my attack. My opponent knocked the blade aside with a single swipe of her arm.
“You failed Elliot. You failed your own parents. How can you expect to succeed when all you do it disappoint?”
I swallowed down the knot in my throat. She was right, but there was no way I was going to let her know that. The girl must have noticed my reaction because she threw her head back and laughed.
“I am your true reflection, Eva McRayne.” My opponent’s grin widened. “This is how you see yourself. Rotten. Disturbed. Broken.”
“Stop it.” I whispered. “Just stop.”
“You know the truth. You now live with the consequences of your failures.” The girl twisted the necklace around her bony fingers. “Your parents, well. Eli did them a favor, did he not? Now they don’t have to find out the heinous creature their beloved Evie has become.”
“Stop talking!”
I screamed when I rushed her. I slammed my shoulder into her stomach to knock her on her back. The girl went silent as I stabbed her through the chest. She jerked when I came down again and again. By the time she stopped moving beneath me, I was sobbing.
“This is not what I wanted.” I fell to the side to see that she had remained the monster I had become. I dropped my golden sword to bury my face against my knees. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I didn’t want to become the Sibyl. I didn’t want them to die.”
I cried until my sides hurt. I stayed down on the dirty floor until my sobs became dry heaves. It wasn’t until the sun brightened the entire room that I felt my heart harden against the fears which had consumed me. When I had control of myself, I reached over and jerked the necklace off the girl’s throat as I remembered something Cyrus had told me a few weeks before.
“I won’t apologize for the decisions I make in this life.” I told the corpse. “It is not an easy one to live.”
I stood up and ran my hand along the rough boards to find my way to the door. I stopped only when I heard glass crunch beneath my feet. I picked up the picture and blew the dirt away to see the image that had captivated me when I first came into the house. Me and Elliot. Laughing.
I threw as far away from me as I could manage. The girl in the picture had died the second I took Apollo’s oath. It was time I let her go.
One way or the other.
Chapter Nine
“What the
hell, Medusa?”
I glared at the creature when I approached her. She was standing next to Drew and Cyrus, who was the only one who seemed to be concerned with my wellbeing. My beloved crossed the distance between us with three huge steps to wrap me up in his arms. He buried his face against my shoulder to hold me until Medusa decided to break up our little reunion.
“Were you successful?” She tapped Cyrus on the back with her staff. “I want my necklace.”
I took the pendent out of my pocket and tossed it to her. She caught it with a look of suspicion. Medusa held it up to the sun, examined it from each side, and then grinned.
“Very good, Daughter of Apollo. You live up to your reputation quite well.”
“Was Elliot really there?” I grabbed Cyrus’ hand. I needed to feel him. I needed the security he provided. Hell, I just needed to know he was next to me. “Has he followed me to the Academy?”
“No. The beast is with Hera in California.” Medusa clicked her tongue against her teeth when she noticed my grasp on my keeper, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she gestured to Drew. “Check the girl’s injuries. I need to make sure she is well enough for this afternoon.”
“What is this place, Medusa?” I lifted my chin as I ignored Hecate’s healer. “I know what I saw. And I saw some crazy things.”
“You experienced the fears of your heart.” She shrugged. “I had to make sure you were strong enough to overcome them before we were able to proceed.”
“Why was he here? Why was I playing Suzy Homemaker?” I felt Cyrus tightened his fingers around mine, but I continued. “I thought this was a place that demons came to play.”
“I would say that you encountered your personal daimons, Sibyl.” She watched me with an interest I found quite unwarranted before she continued. “Yet, those demons remain. How you use them will determine your success as the representative of the Council.”
I stood still as Drew began to examine me. I was covered with scratches. Bruises. But that was nothing new. It wasn’t until he asked me to lift my shirt that I began to protest.
The Oracle Series: Vols. 4, 5, & Grave Endowments Page 18