Goddess Sacrifice

by M. W. Muse

  When she turned off the water, she heard the television on in his room. She guessed he’d woken up and didn’t want to disturb her shower. She dried off and wrapped the towel around her. Then she peeked out the door, and Adin’s eyes flashed in her direction.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Lonely.”

  She smiled at him, and he smiled back. She pushed the door open wider, and his jaw dropped when he saw her in nothing but a towel.

  She continued to smile as she walked out of the bathroom and toward him. When she reached him, he sat up and slowly grabbed the bottom edge of her towel, pulling it slightly to the side.

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk…you shouldn’t do that,” she teased.

  Adin looked up at her as he bit his bottom lip, but then he sighed with a smile on his face and let go. “I should probably take a shower too.”

  “You should take a bath. You’re doped up, and if you fall, I’ll have a hard time helping you. Besides, you don’t need to get your stitches wet.”

  Adin nodded as he slid out of the bed. She helped him steady himself, and he kissed the top of her head as she guided him to the bathroom. Once inside, she grabbed her clothes so she could get dressed.

  “Leave the door open so I can hear you, okay?” She went back into his room and changed while he got in the bathtub. After about ten minutes, she heard him shut off the water.

  “Can you come in here, sweetheart?”

  Her heart took off. She didn’t know why he’d called for her, but she knew he was still sitting in the bathtub. She walked to the door and pushed it open, but stayed in the doorway. “Yes?”

  “Can you get me a sponge out of the top drawer? I think it’d help me with this dried blood.”

  “Sure,” she said, and her dang voice cracked! She stepped into the bathroom, walked over to the drawer, and pulled out the sponge. She started to make her way over to Adin and gasped at the sight of his bruised chest. “Oh gods, does it hurt?”

  “Only if I move around too much.” He shrugged.

  She stepped over to the bathtub and dropped to her knees, staring at his face. She started to hand him the sponge, but dunked it in the water instead. He looked like he was in pain, so she wanted to help him. She grabbed the soap and lathered the sponge while Adin watched quietly. Then she gently wiped his chest and arms, staying away from his stitches.

  Adin leaned back and shut his eyes at her soft touch. His lips parted, and he took shallow breaths while she cleaned off the dried blood from his chest and worked her way up his neck. When she finished with his neck, she picked up the washcloth and gently cleaned his face and ears. Now, she was finished with his front side.

  “Can you lean forward, so I can check your back?” she whispered.

  He opened his eyes and grabbed the side of the bathtub, pulling himself up, water sluicing off his hard but battered and bruised body. He turned his head so that his face was at hers, but she looked at his back as she washed it. She was holding onto the side of the bathtub with one hand while she cleaned him with the other, so Adin slid his hand on top of hers, keeping his eyes trained on her. She glanced at him and smiled, but when she did, he leaned toward her. He took his other hand out of the water, and the sound of the ripples he caused when he moved filled the stillness of the room. He slowly slid his wet hand onto her cheek.

  She breathed heavily in reaction as she gazed into his eyes, but continued to gently wipe his back. Adin leaned in closer, wetting his lips before pressing them against hers. They kissed briefly before she broke away, chuckling.

  “You’re not behaving yourself,” she chided playfully.

  “I know, but I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I am.”

  She smiled at him and cleared her throat. She needed a distraction now. He was injured, for crying out loud! She looked around the tub and grabbed a cup. “Lean your head back.”

  Adin did as requested, and she washed and rinsed his hair. When she got finished with that, he watched her as she stood up, grabbed an extra towel, and stepped back toward the bathtub.

  “Do you want to stay in a little while longer, or are you finished?”

  “I’m done.”

  She bent over and unplugged the bathtub. Then she stood back up and dried off her hands before handing him the towel. She turned around and grabbed the other towel while he got out of the tub and wrapped the towel that she’d handed him around his waist. Then she faced him as he eased down and sat on the edge of the tub.

  She gently dried his chest, back, and arms, staying away from his stitches. While she dried his hair, Adin clutched her waist and pulled her closer, but she stayed focused on the task at hand. When she finished, she squatted down and dried his legs, then stood back up.

  Adin grasped her waist again, pulling her toward him. She loved it when he touched her, but he was being a little naughty when he shouldn’t have been. When she stepped up against him, he wrapped his arms around her and leaned his head against her tummy. She stroked the top of his head while he held her.

  “I think you can handle it from here,” she said, stepping away from him.

  “Thanks,” he whispered sincerely.

  “My pleasure.”

  “Mine too,” he said with a crooked smile.

  She raised her eyebrows and smiled back before stepping out of the bathroom.

  When Adin came back into the bedroom, he had his pajama pants on. He climbed into the bed and gently wrapped his arm around her. He buried his head into her wet hair, and when she felt his hot breath against her ear, she shivered.

  “You know, if it didn’t hurt to move around and breathe right now, I’d be tempted to ignore our conversation we had the other night about waiting,” he whispered into her ear.

  She giggled as she reached back and stroked his face. “That was your bright idea.”

  “You know, I remember making a point, but I can’t really remember what it was,” he whispered as he caressed her side.

  “Oh, well, let me remind you since you’re all doped up.” She chuckled. “You thought we should wait until we were sure our unwanted bonds wouldn’t factor in their decision to, umm…” She moved her hand from his face to his hip as she scooted back against him. “To have our way with each other,” she whispered.

  Adin gasped in her ear. “What was I thinking?” he asked playfully as he started kissing her ear.

  “Mmmmmm.” She reached up and slipped her fingers into his hair while he kissed her. “You were trying to be logical.”

  Adin didn’t answer right away. He continued kissing her ear slowly, and it felt really, really good. After several seconds, he stopped kissing her, but kept his lips on her.

  “I changed my mind,” he panted right into her ear.

  She knew it was the drugs talking, but she figured she could keep being a little playful. “It doesn’t matter right now. You’re injured,” she said, pretending like she was pouting. “When you do have your way with me, you’ll need all your strength.”

  Adin groaned in her ear. “I need to get well very soon.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Thanksgiving was a week away. Adin’s bruises were almost completely gone, and his stitches had started to dissolve. It was hard for anyone to tell just by looking at him that he’d even been in a car accident.

  But Legacy knew. She’d never forget. Medusa was already living on borrowed time before she’d hurt Adin, but now, that was going to change. She needed to figure out a way to make that monster pay for what she’d done to him and what she’d almost done to Legacy. She just wasn’t having much luck coming up with a plan to end the evil nuisance.

  As the time passed, she continued to have the same dream. It was coming to her every night. But her mother was present longer in each dream she had. Legacy still wasn’t able to understand what her mother tried to communicate with her, but she knew it was important.

  And then she finally made progress during her dream on Thursday night,
her mother’s message coming in loud and clear.

  “Your previous life was not yours to make. If you ever want to be free, you must knowingly choose the path to take. Not choosing will hurt the ones you love, and everyone will be alone. The answer you seek is not above. Look within your heart, Persephone. There is no other road for you to take, no other path that will suffice. It is your legacy you must make, once you accept your sacrifice.”

  At the end of the dream, her mother screamed at her again to wake up, but now she realized that maybe she was telling Legacy to wake up mentally and not physically. If the answer she sought was within herself, she needed to awaken her understanding. But how? Ah, now that was what she needed to focus on. How could she tap into her subconscious to understand what was happening to herself?

  As Legacy sat in her bed, she thought over all the dreams she’d had since she found out about her change. Her life had forever been altered on her seventeenth birthday, and she needed to understand it. She was almost halfway to her eighteenth birthday, and she didn’t fully understand what was going to happen. Sure, she knew what was supposed to happen, but she didn’t comprehend what that really meant for her and her life.

  She got ready for school while thinking about her dreams. When she went downstairs, she felt a draft. She followed the air into the kitchen and discovered the back door was open.

  She walked outside and saw Lissa sitting on the grass in the cold air. It looked as if she were meditating, but as Legacy drew closer to her, she realized Lissa was chanting. Legacy felt a chill crawl down her spine as she listened.

  “Your previous life was not yours to make. If you ever want to be free, you must knowingly choose the path to take.”

  Lissa said this phrase over and over again. This was part of what Legacy’s mother had told her in her dream. She wanted to understand what was going on, but she felt it was best not to disturb Lissa in case she was getting more information than what Legacy had gotten. She went back inside and ate breakfast. When Lissa came back in, she didn’t look at Legacy. Her eyes were glazed over, staring at nothing, while she walked past her and out of the kitchen.

  Legacy watched as she left the room and felt uneasy by the look on her face. She had hoped she would be able to make sense of the message, but after looking at Lissa’s expression, part of her hoped she was just as puzzled as Legacy. Lissa’s face was not conducive of happy news.

  As the morning progressed, Lissa didn’t come back down, and Legacy didn’t bother her. She went to school and continued on with her day as if nothing had happened.

  The Oak Grove football team had lost the playoff game, so the season was over. This meant Calli had some free time before basketball season started and could visit during seventh period. Since this was the Friday before they were all out of school for Thanksgiving week and this was the last class of the day, their coaches gave them the period off. She and Calli were already sitting together when River came over.

  “Hi, girls,” River said as he sat down.

  They both smiled at him, and all chatted for a few minutes while Legacy gathered her bravery to ask her two best friends about her dream.

  “So my mom was in my dream last night, and she said something I don’t understand.”

  “What?” they both asked simultaneously. Calli looked intrigued while River looked concerned.

  She told them about her dream in detail, but neither said anything. Calli seemed confused, River shocked. His expression sent a shiver down her spine. Two shudders in one day over the same thing. Not a good sign.

  “What is it, River?”

  “Um, I don’t know.” He shrugged and looked away.

  “River! If you know what it means, then you need to tell me.”

  “Legacy, I-I’m not sure.”

  She moved over by River and put her hand on his face to force him to look at her. His breath caught, and eyes shut when she touched him. “River,” she whispered, “tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “Baby, I don’t know what to make of it.”

  “You’re lying to me.”

  River sighed, shaking his head. “Please, Legacy. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  She reached up and stroked his arm, and he was trembling. “You’re shaking, River. What’s wrong?”

  He took a deep breath. “Fine. She said that your previous life was not yours to make, so I think that part is obvious. Persephone was abducted.” She nodded for him to continue, but he looked very sad. “She then said that if you want to be free, you must choose the path to take. Not choosing will hurt the ones you love, and everyone will be alone. What if she means that in order for you to be free, you must choose who you want to be with.” River hesitated, looking at her with wide eyes. “You know I want you, Legacy,” he said frantically. “If you can only be free by proclaiming your love for someone, I know who you’d choose. She said that the answer you seek is not above, it’s within your heart…I know who’s in your heart,” he muttered, looking down.

  She sighed. She was hoping he’d be able to give her some real insight into the message, but he was just looking at how it might relate to him. “That doesn’t make any sense, River.”

  He looked up at her. “Yes, it does. You want Adin. If the oracle told your mother, or if she found out some other way that you need to choose your path to be free from Hades, then I know who you’re going to choose.”

  There was no easy way to say this. “River, I’ve always wanted Adin. That hasn’t changed, so I don’t understand why this is being said now. Lissa told me in the summer that I may know what I want, but that other factors haven’t presented themselves. She said that those factors needed to come into play for me to be able to choose. I know that Venus was one of those factors. Adin and I still want to be together.”

  “You may not have a choice!” River snapped.

  She looked at him through narrowed eyes. “What does that mean?”

  “It means you may be meant for me, and Venus may be meant for Adin. It’s the only way that makes sense!”

  “Ugh! Why do you have to be so stubborn sometimes? I come to you for help, and you immediately dwell on what it means for you. If you were a true friend, you’d be trying to look at everything through my eyes!”

  River stood up and looked down at her. “Legacy, I have been looking at this through your eyes for the last six months! You’re the one who doesn’t want to look at this through anyone else’s perspective!”

  “River, your perspective isn’t really objective,” she snapped.

  “And yours is?” He laughed sarcastically. “Legacy, you know exactly what I want. I don’t have some woman trying to charm her way into my life, and if I did, I’d put her in her place. If I had you, there’d be no doubt in your mind where my heart, mind, soul were because all those things…everything would be with you.”

  While River was in the middle of his tantrum, the bell rang. “I’m going home,” she said as she got up and walked away. She didn’t have time to listen to his heartfelt crap again! He could save it for another day—she knew he’d find a way to bring it back up eventually. He always did.

  When they left the gym, she headed straight for her car. She heard him behind her, but she didn’t look. She got in her car and peeled away, not looking back.

  When she got home, Lissa was sitting on the couch, staring out the window. Legacy felt that same uneasiness she’d felt this morning, and she didn’t get any real insight from her friends to help prepare her for what this could be about. She’d just have to face it head on. There was no point in stalling.

  “What’s going on? I dreamed about Mom and heard you this morning,” she said as she sat beside Lissa.

  “I told you that you needed to learn to deal with your change or the people you love would suffer.”

  Legacy shook her head. “What do you mean? I’m dealing with my change.”

  “Your mom sent a message.”

  “I know. I told you I dreamed about her.”

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nbsp; Lissa stood up and started pacing. Legacy stood up and waited for her to stop. When she did, she stared at Legacy. “What did she tell you in your dream?”

  Legacy told her. She repeated the message from her dream exactly like her mother had said.

  “Then you understand.” Lissa nodded.

  Legacy frowned. “No. I mean, I know what path I want to take. I want to be with Adin, but I’ve always wanted that. That hasn’t changed.”

  “But the circumstances have changed, Legacy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We started getting mixed signals after Venus showed up.”

  “Adin doesn’t want to be with her. He wants to be with me.” Legacy suppressed a growl at the mention of that name.

  “This isn’t about what Adin wants. It’s about what you want. Legacy, if you choose Adin, then you can’t have him.”

  “What?” she gasped, walking toward Lissa.

  “If you choose to be with Adin, then he will die.”

  “How? Why?” She started to cry.

  “You must think, Legacy.”

  “Lissa, I’ve thought about Adin. I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

  “He will die,” she said softly.

  Legacy shook her head quickly. “I know he’s mortal, but we don’t have to worry about his death until he grows old.”

  Lissa looked at her with wary eyes. “Adin won’t die when he’s old.”

  Where was the air in the room? She couldn’t breathe. “His dad was right.” Legacy covered her face and cried. “Adin will die protecting me.” This couldn’t be right. She loved Adin. She didn’t want anything to happen to him. He was strong and fast. Surely, he could protect her and keep himself alive.

  “No, his dad wasn’t right.”

  “What?” Her head popped up, and she stared at Lissa. “You just said Adin wouldn’t die when he’s old.”

  “He won’t, but that doesn’t mean he’ll die protecting you either.”

  Now, she was really confused. “Then how? How is he going to die?”

  Lissa took a deep breath and stared at her. “You are going to kill him, Legacy.”