by Brea Essex
Their argument got so heated that they stood one by one and began to move around the chamber. They paced back and forth, each arguing with one god first, and then another. For some reason, the gods seemed against us, while the goddesses were more willing to help.
The goddess, who had been called Athena, came close to me while her fellow gods were distracted. “Seek out Hecate. You will find her in the forest,” she whispered in my ear.
“What?” I asked softly. “Who, or what, is a Hecate?”
She looked at Zac, who nodded. Seemingly satisfied, she went to join Aphrodite in her heated discussion with Ares. Zac and I just stood and stared at them, waiting for a decision.
Finally, Zac leaned close and whispered in my ear. “Let’s go.”
I shot him a panicked look. “What?”
He didn’t say anything more, just tugged on my arm and jerked his head toward the stairs.
As the gods continued to argue, we began to sneak away. I glanced back once we reached the staircase. Only Hera seemed to be aware of the fact that we were leaving. She met my eyes and offered me a small smile, nodding her head. I returned her smile and began to follow Zac.
We headed back toward the huge double doors. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if someone would stop us, but they were all still too involved with each other to notice. The doors closed soundlessly behind us as we exited. Strange, I thought to myself. Hadn’t they creaked when we first entered the hall?
Zac and I walked through the corridors in silence. I didn’t want to risk making anyone madder than we already had. When we were outside at last, I turned to him. “So, what exactly is a Hecate?”
He laughed. “Hecate isn’t a ‘what.’ She’s a ‘who.’ A goddess, to be more precise.”
I groaned loudly. “Another goddess? I think I’ve had my fill of goddesses, thank you very much.”
“Don’t worry; she’s not much like the others.”
“No? How so?”
He motioned for me to continue walking. We threaded through the city and past the lakes. “Well, for starters, she’s not an Olympian. She’s the goddess of witches, among other things. I’m guessing Athena was suggesting you go to her for training.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about being trained by a goddess.
The other goddesses that I had encountered that day had been nice enough, but the idea of spending a large chunk of time with one, being told what to do and possibly criticized when I messed up, didn’t exactly sound like my idea of a good time.
“Oh? Is that all you have to say?” Zac asked incredulously. “We’re talking about the witch training you. I’m pretty sure she was the original witch, as well as the original necromancer. Who better to teach you how to use your powers? You can’t pass up an opportunity like this, Rhiannon. We can’t afford for you to. I’m sorry, but I don’t really want to take no for an answer.”
I didn’t say anything as we passed through the main gate of Olympus, where the marble statues of Zeus and Hera stood. As we watched, the gate and statues shimmered and disappeared, leaving us alone on the top of the mountain. A wind whipped up where it had been calm before, blowing my hair into my face.
“All right,” I finally consented.
Zac's face relaxed into a relieved expression. “Thank you. I can’t imagine that you would regret this.”
“Are you sure we have time for this?” I asked doubtfully.
He laced his hands together, and put them behind his head. “Let me put it this way: I don’t think we have the time for you to not do this. We can’t have you bumbling along, hoping that we’re lucky enough to stumble across the right spell at the right time.”
His words stung me. “Ouch. Way to cut to the chase, Zachary.”
He started toward me, laying a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Rhi. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m just trying to impress the importance of this situation.”
“I know the importance of this situation! Didn’t you just hear the speech I gave to those gods about the importance?” I asked indignantly.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” He pulled away from me and started to pace in the opposite direction. He couldn’t go far, since we were still on the peak of Mount Olympus. “This isn’t coming out right.” He stopped mid-step and whirled to face me. “You know that I love you, right, Rhiannon?”
“Yes, I know that.” Now he was really confusing me.
“If we don’t succeed in stopping this Necrovorst guy, who knows how long we’ll get to be together? If he overruns the world, if he destroys it… one or both of us might die,” he said matter-of-factly.
I ran my fingers through my hair, twisting the ends around my fingers in an unsuccessful attempt at taming the strands that were made wild by the wind. “How can you discuss my death so callously—or your death, for that matter?”
“I’m not trying to be callous. I’m trying to be realistic. If we don’t win, you, me, your parents, your sister, my people—all of us could be dead. Or worse, we could all be trapped in nightmares forever while the demons take over our bodies and use them to wreak chaos and destruction. This is the sort of thing my people train for. This is what we fight against. I’ve trained my entire life to prevent something like this from happening—it’s like the ultimate showdown for me. I should be using my training. I should be stopping this!” He kicked fiercely at the ground with his boot. Nothing happened. “Instead, I’m stuck in an in-between state in the spirit realm, useless. I can’t do anyone any good without my body.”
“Hey!” I interrupted his tirade. “You’re not useless. Not to me, not to anyone. You can still fight without your body. You’ve proved that. You’ve saved me several times. You don’t need to be alive; you don’t need to be in your body to be effective. Besides, don’t you have to be in the spirit realm in order to fight the wraiths anyway?”
“Yeah,” he admitted. “But I feel the pull of my body constantly. It calls to me, and me to it. It weakens me, being so far away and disconnected from the flesh that anchors me to this earth. Besides that, how are we going to hunt for the Relics if I can’t even touch them? Yeah, I can fight the wraiths, but I can’t fight The Necrovorst himself. He’s human. He’s a Zayin. He used to be just like me. The only way I could actually fight him is if he came into the spirit realm, but who knows if he’ll do that or not? And if he doesn’t, I definitely need to be in my body to fight him. I want so badly to be the one to fight him! I need to defeat him.”
“Why does it have to be you?” I asked, raising my voice in an attempt to be heard over the wind that had picked up in tempo and was now howling around us. “Why do you have to be the one to put yourself in danger? Has it occurred to you that I might need you to stay safe?”
“I hadn’t thought about it that way,” he replied quietly. I barely heard him over the tempestuous wind. He came close to me, gathering my hair in one hand and twisting it behind my head. “I’m sorry, Rhiannon. I just haven’t had to really think about anyone other than myself for so long. In Zayin society, we’re taught to put others’ needs before our own, yes. Entirely too many of us die young, and in horrible ways.”
His voice took on a bitter tone. “You can’t imagine how many friends I’ve lost to the demons, and to those who summon them. Even my own parents died before I got a chance to know them. I don’t even remember them. I just have vague memories of a tall, fierce man and a willowy, strong woman. I can’t see their faces; I can’t remember the color of their hair, the color of their eyes. I didn’t have any siblings—I was enough for my parents, or else they left this world before they had a chance to add to our family. I never knew which it was—never had the opportunity to ask.”
He had grown quiet, introspective. I wasn’t even sure if he was still talking to me, or to himself. He was lost in painful memories… and there was nothing I could do for him except listen.
“All the tragedy, all the loss, practically makes us suicidal,” he continued. As if realizing
what he said and the implications, he finally focused back on me and said, “Not actually suicidal, don’t worry. I mean that we don’t necessarily concentrate on preserving our own lives. The lives of others are more important—we’re practically taught that from day one. Our entire existence is spent defending strangers. That’s why I’m not used to considering the feelings of someone I’m close with. I’ve never been particularly close with anyone… at least, not close enough to care what they thought. And definitely not close enough to temper my words or actions for them.” He smiled a small, tight smile. His eyes reflected bottomless pain, and his eyebrows drew together as if in worry. “I guess that’s a roundabout way of me trying to tell you that I’ll try to be more considerate in the future. Forgive me.”
I sucked in a lungful of air, blowing it out sharply before responding. His speech was a little overwhelming. It was a lot of information about his past, and it explained a lot about his personality. No way could I let him know that I was feeling sorry for him, though. He wouldn’t want that.
“There’s nothing to forgive,” I told him.
“So, are you wondering yet what you’ve gotten yourself into?” he asked with a scornful laugh.
I raised one eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”
“Didn’t realize you’d agreed to marry someone so damaged, did you?”
“Damaged? Zac, you’re not damaged. You’ve had a hard life, harder than most. I can hardly hold that against you.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Do you understand now why I have to do this? My people need me—the world needs me. I very well might be the only one who truly understands what The Necrovorst is actually up to. And with you helping me, we stand a real chance against him.”
“But we’re just guessing at what he’s trying to do.”
Shaking his head, he said, “No. I’m positive he’s trying to locate the Seven Relics. Every Zayin is taught about them and their power.”
“You’re right,” I said slowly. “We need to work together. Between the two of us, we can stop him.”
“So, you’ll do it, then? The training?” For the first time since we’d walked out of the gods’ throne room, he sounded almost hopeful.
I nodded. “Yes. I’ll do the training. I still don’t think we have time for this, but you’re right: it’s our best chance. I don’t really know what I’m doing, and Athena seemed to think that training with Hecate is my best chance to figure it out. At least, I’m assuming that’s why she’s sending us to her.”
“Athena is the goddess of wisdom. I’m sure she knew what she was saying when she told you to go to Hecate.”
“All right. I don’t like it, and the thought of undergoing training with a goddess intimidates me, but let’s do it. Let’s go find her.”
Zac grinned widely. “This is one of the reasons why I fell in love with you so quickly. You say you’re intimidated, but you’re not going to let it stop you.” He tugged gently on the rope of my hair that he still held out of my face.
My head tipped back as he pressed closer to me. He lowered his mouth to mine as the wind kicked up dirt and sent it swirling about us. I rose up on my toes so I could better reach him. All too soon, he pulled back. He cleared his throat. “We should go. We’re not going to get anything done standing around here, making out all day.” He winked at me. “There’s plenty of time for that later.”
Laughing, I took his hand and we began to descend the mountain.
Eleven
I wasn’t sure where we were. A dense forest surrounded us on all sides. Everywhere I turned, there was another tree. I felt as though we’d been walking for hours.
“Where are we?” I asked Zac. “Are we even still in Greece?”
He stopped and looked around. Slinging his bag off his shoulder, he pulled out the compass we had gotten from the camping supply store. After consulting it for a moment, he shrugged. “I think so. Truth be told, I’m not really sure. I didn’t think there were any forests left in Greece.”
I gave him a blank look. “Sorry, I’m no help there. Geography is not my forte.”
After shoving the compass back into his canvas bag, he pulled it onto his back once more. “I guess we just wander aimlessly, hoping we find her… or more likely, she will find us.”
“That sounds like a terrible plan,” I groused.
“Do you have a better idea?”
“Uh… no. I don’t.”
“I guess this is what that crazy witch back at the library meant when she said to seek out the Lady of the Forest,” Zac said suddenly.
“What are you talking about?” I vaguely remembered the creepy old witch’s words.
“She said to look for the Lady of the Forest, not the Queen of the Underworld, right? If Hecate is really here in this forest, I guess that makes her the Lady of the Forest. Maybe she can lead us to the Underworld, rather than Persephone.”
“Who’s Persephone and what does she have to do with all this?”
He sighed. “Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld: Hades’ wife. And apparently, she has absolutely nothing to do with this, if that old witch is to be believed.”
We walked for a while longer in silence. “You’d think Athena could have given us directions. You’d think her wisdom would have told her that we didn’t know what the hell we were doing, or where we were going,” Zac complained loudly. “Hey, I have an idea. Maybe we should just yell for her.” Cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled, “Hey, Hecate! Where are you?”
“Shush! What if she actually hears us? Do you really want to piss off a goddess?”
“I’ve done worse. I’ve made plenty of important people mad. Why not add one more?”
“Yeah, but she’s not really a person,” I reminded him. “The gods on Olympus were pretty intimidating.”
“I have a problem with authority,” he said with a smirk. “But I think I could handle whatever she threw at me. I don’t care if she gets mad that we’re yelling for her. If it helps us find her, then it’s worth it. We’re kinda short on time.”
I rolled my eyes at him. I knew we were short on time, but I didn’t want to anger the goddess who would hopefully train me. No need to start off on the wrong foot.
Abruptly, the forest parted to form a clearing. Tall, bushy trees with gnarled trunks ringed the empty field. The branches bore bright red berries.
A young woman with shining hair the color of the darkest night sky stood near one of the trees. She turned and offered us a beatific smile. “Yew,” she said, as if in answer to an unasked question.
“I’m sorry?” I asked.
“These are yew trees.” She gestured at the one she stood in front of.
I nodded. “I see.”
“They can be quite poisonous.”
Was that a threat? “Seems like an odd thing to tell someone you just met,” Zac muttered to me.
“Not odd, young Zayin. Odd to most, perhaps, but not for a necromancer who has come to me for training.” She inclined her head toward me, a ghost of a smile still on her face.
“You can see him?” I asked.
At the same time, Zac asked, “You know us?”
“Yes, to both of your questions.” She moved away from the tree, holding a long twig. It had many leaves, and a few of the bright berries.
“You’re Hecate,” Zac said. It wasn’t a question.
“Of course. Who else did you expect to find here?”
“Aren’t you usually portrayed as a crone, goddess?”
“Yes, but I am a goddess. I can take any form I like.” Her features morphed as she spoke. She aged right before our eyes. Her face became wrinkled. Her eyes turned cloudy. Her fingers became gnarled, and she hunched over. “Is this more what you were expecting?”
Zac nodded. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume.”
“Yes you did. It’s all right.”
“So, how are you able to see him?” I interrupted.
She changed back to the appearance she had origin
ally shown us. Her wrinkles filled in, and her eyes cleared. Fingers and spine straightened. “I am the witch goddess, Rhiannon. Not only that, I hold a special connection to the Underworld. As such, I am more in tune with death than most. You might consider me the original necromancer.”
I took in every thing that she said, and then asked the stupidest question out of the million racing through my mind: “How do you know my name?”
She threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, working with you is going to be a delight! I’d nearly forgotten how naïve the young could be. Rhiannon, I’m a goddess. I know a lot more than you might think. Yes, yes, I’m sure you’ve heard that the gods are not omniscient. It’s all very true. However, my powers give me a special advantage, you might say.”
“What kind of advantage?” Zac asked, sounding suspicious.
“I know things that others might not. I’ve studied the powers of divination—fortune telling, you might say. In fact, I helped to discover them. This is how I might know certain things, like your names. I knew you were coming. I had a dream about the two of you.”
“Gods sleep?” I asked.
“When we wish. Although, you might call it more of a trance, or meditation.” She broke off and studied me. I tried not to squirm uncomfortably at her minute inspection. I did feel awkward, though. “All right, let’s begin,” she said at last.
“Seriously? Now?”
She sighed, sounding slightly agitated. “It’s not as though you have time to waste, right? I was led to believe that you came to me for training. Your powers awakened early, after all… didn’t they?” She cocked her head to one side. “I’m actually quite surprised that you didn’t know what you were already. Necromancer powers are generally hereditary. Isn’t one of your parents a necromancer?”