She found her way back to Leo’s library and knocked softly on the door. This time, instead of a loud, bolstering welcome, the door crept open by the weight of her fist. The library looked empty, and Leo was nowhere to be found. She was oddly relieved, because she did not want to explain herself, and she knew that he would not take the news in stride. Especially not now.
She laid the bow gently upon the only clear part of a table amassed in books, turned on her heel, and walked away. She walked right out of the castle and aimed herself directly for the city gates.
She was only feet from walking away from it all when a strong hand grabbed her upper arm and stopped her in her tracks. “What are you doing? You can’t leave now.” She didn’t turn to face him—she could not bear to see the look of disappointment on Bellamy’s face. He was her friend, and from his perspective, she was refusing to help him and his people in a time of war.
“I can’t do this. I don’t know what you expect from me. I can’t help you.” She said it with disdain in her voice, but inside she felt guilty. She didn’t want to hurt him, or anyone. But what could she do? It was time.
“You’re turning your back on us? We need you!”
She finally turned to see his face. He looked wild—the attack had created chaos in an otherwise calm and peaceful mind. But he also looked different, felt different. Stronger, maybe, and more self-assured. He continued, “Did you know that Stella was killed in the attack? Do you even care?”
Shiloh flinched, briefly unable to control her emotions when her memory flashed back to Stella’s gruesome death. Stella, of all people, did not deserve to die that way. She wished she could have done something. Anything. “I can’t stop any of this,” she growled. “All of you need to stop with this prophecy garbage. I can not help you.” She ripped her arm out of his grip, stole one last glance at his tired face, and hurried away.
Her eyes welled up as she walked. She did not want to hurt her friend—or anyone. But it would be better for everyone if he hated her for abandoning them. It was true—what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t make peace with pure evil, she couldn’t wage war in a world that she didn’t even know existed. What did they expect, a warrior? In fact, it made her angry that these people expected so much of a stranger.
She made an effort to clear her mind of it. Thinking more about this prophecy, her father, all of it—would only serve to cause her pain. There was nothing left to do but go home.
Chapter Ten
Leo hesitated at the door, his arm poised to knock but still stuck in limbo. He gazed at the golden etched scales on the door for an inordinate amount of time, and he somehow knew that those scales were the answer he’d come to seek. Balance. One side must weigh out the other.
“Leo. Please, come in,” she whispered into his ear still from inside.
He walked in with his head held high and gave Libra a small bow of respect. When he straightened, she gestured for him to sit next to her, and he obliged.
“I can feel your grief from here, dear Leo. And I know why you’ve come,” she sighed delicately, lacing her fingers together. “But I do believe you already know your answer.”
Leo nodded silently, appearing to find great interest in staring at the tiled floor. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke, “I know you can’t tell me what I should do. But I’ve made my decision already. I just need you to tell me how I need to do it.”
Libra nodded solemnly. “You will need to travel into the mountains to the East. Find the gate keeper to the other side. It will not be easy. If you manage, he will take you there,” she paused, “You must appeal to Death. She will need good reason why you’d like to give your life for his. I will warn you, she does not make these trades easily.”
“So, all I need is a good enough reason?”
“I am afraid that it is much more difficult than it sounds. She will consider your reasoning, yes. But she will also consider if it is a fair trade. If the death was premature or unwarranted. If your reasons for coming to her are selfish in nature. The cause of death itself, even. She is very volatile. You may not get what you wish—or you may—but you probably will never understand why.”
“And if she says no?”
“Then Death will have her eye on you. You will no longer have the convenience of going unnoticed, nor will those close to you. This—this is a risk that you must be absolutely willing to take. Do not take this lightly.”
Leo nodded, his jaw clenched. “Thank you.”
“Leo?”
“Yes?”
“Why did you come all the way here to ask? You could have gotten this information from many sources. I suspect that is how you knew about the process in the first place.”
“I knew that you wouldn’t try to change my mind.”
“You are very noble. Whatever the outcome, Sagittarius knows your loyalty. I wish you the best, whatever that may be.”
Leo wished her farewell, exited the room, and shut the door behind him quietly, giving one last glance to the scales before turning away.
His mind was a flutter of thoughts, each one pulling him in a different direction before he could refocus. But Libra had given him the instructions he needed. Now he knew what he had to do. For Sagittarius, for Shiloh—and possibly, for the fate of the worlds.
***
As Shiloh reached the bridge that started her journey to her new life, she felt nothing but immense loss. She stood in the middle of the bridge—the crossing between a new home and old—and wished, ever so slightly, that she had never left her room that Saturday morning. How was she meant to go back to a normal life after all of that?
The bridge itself looked so normal—exactly like how she had found it before everything. She peered at it, looking for something out of the ordinary. On the wall of the bridge, placed atop just center, she saw a stone fitted in perfectly with the rest of the cobblestones. It was white and marble-like, smooth to the touch but still, grossly out of place, now that she was staring directly at it. There it was. That was the magic. The stone that allowed her to mistakenly pass between two worlds. The stone that Bellamy had gone to ends of the world to help her father find, just so he could watch over her like some kind of guardian angel.
She was sickened by the audacity of that black-eyed soldier, of Scorpio. They thought they could take whatever they wanted, and no one could stop them. She felt even more sick by her helplessness. She hadn’t been able to help anyone—her father, Stella, Aeôs.
An enraged and sad scream burst out of her throat, and she slammed her fist down onto the stone in defiance of everything she’d learned, everything she’d been through.
Instantaneously, a force knocked her back, and she almost fell off of her feet. After gathering herself, she saw a large crack in the wall of the bridge. Somehow, with no intention to do so, she had managed to make the top of that wall crumble as if it were hit with a sledgehammer.
Looking closer, though, Shiloh saw that the stone within was miraculously unscathed. She wondered if it might have some sort of protection spell on it, but she felt oddly relieved. Even though she had no plans of crossing that bridge again, she had been terrified of the thought that she might’ve killed any chance of it entirely.
Shiloh frowned at the cracked wall, wondering if she was just meant to cause damage wherever she went. It was her last chance to use magic, and she’d only brought more destruction. Dismissing the thought, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and placed her hands above the wall. She imagined it as it was before she got to it—in tact and free of the damage she had caused. She imagined the flow of magic that she felt in Capricorn’s classroom coursing through her body one more time, powerful and electric.
When she opened her eyes, the bridge was perfect once again. She allowed the feeling of accomplishment to take over for just a moment, until she remembered that there was no more magic in the human world.
But still, how could she stay in Aeôs without the only anchor she knew—her father? Hot tears w
elled up in her eyes, and she leaned her weight on the side of the bridge. All she had known had been a lie. Now, she had to carry on with the knowledge that she had a mother and father that had died protecting her. For the first time, she wished she’d never been born.
She sat on that bridge until she saw the sun wavering from the sky. When she finally stood to face her home—her first home, at least—her feet felt as heavy as her heart. Still, she trudged slowly and painstakingly towards her house.
When it came into view, it looked so ordinary. It was a simple craftsman style home, nothing unusual for a suburb. Two floors. A garage for one car—something one would never see in a world where there were dragons and nymphs. An unused tire swing in the backyard. It was a long way away—worlds away—from a certain stone castle she had come to know.
When she entered through the front door, she was immediately enveloped in the smell of home cooked food. Her stomach rumbled, and she realized she had no idea how long she’d been starving for.
“Mom?”
She lingered in the doorway of the kitchen, feeling severely out of place. “Honey! There you are—did you lose track of time by the river again?” She gave her daughter a quick peck on the cheek whilst moving around the kitchen almost frantically. She didn’t wait for an answer. “You need to wash up! You’re covered in dirt!” she giggled. “Can you get your father from his office? Tell him family dinner is mandatory tonight!” Her voice was musical and comforting, exactly what she needed to hear. It felt like a safe haven.
Her mother turned back to the oven, opening it quickly and fanning away the heat with a dish towel. It was all exactly the same as how she’d left it, and it felt so good to be home. Even though inside she knew she wasn’t the same person—she let herself bathe in the warmth of it. Upstairs, when she walked into her father’s home office, she heard a familiar “hey bug,” as her father gleaned at her through his reading glasses.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Dinner time?”
“Mandatory.”
They exchanged knowing smiles, and he kissed the top of her head as he made his way downstairs. Such little interactions had never made her feel so whole before now. High on this feeling, she pushed out any thoughts of Aeôs and of Scorpio and sought to settle back into her home. The whole thing was so surreal, that she had a much easier time doing so than she thought she would. At least for now.
“Oh, what a treat!” her mother giggled, after dinner. “My daughter, doing the dishes without being asked? Are you feeling okay, honey?” She dramatically put the back of her hand up to her daughter’s forehead, laughing.
“I just missed—I mean, I appreciate you, Mom.”
Jeannie looked suddenly serious for a moment. “There really is something wrong, isn’t there? Sit down, talk to me.”
“What? I can’t appreciate my own mother?”
“Honey, you’re my daughter. I know when there’s something wrong,” she patted the stool next to her, “so—come, talk to me.”
She sat nervously next to her mother, not sure what she was going to say. I met my real father? By the way, he’s a centaur from another world? A world I’m supposed to save from a pure evil?
She took a deep breath. “Well—have you ever, I guess, been in a situation where someone needs your help, like, really badly? And you’d have to sacrifice a lot to help them?”
Her mother raised a single eyebrow. “Not going to be more specific than that, huh?”
Shiloh shook her head carefully, trying to gauge her mother’s reaction. “Alright, well. I can work with that.” Jeannie smiled and brushed her daughter’s hair behind her ear. “You have to know that the most important thing is you. If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anybody else,” she paused, thinking. “But in that, too—you have to think, are you going to be able to live with yourself if you don’t try to help this person?”
“What if you don’t even know how to help them?”
She looked at her daughter, and for a moment Shiloh thought that she might know everything. She looked as if she had it all figured out. But that seemed impossible on so many levels.
“I suppose you just try your best anyway.” She smiled kindly. “I know you’ll do the right thing, honey. You have a great head on those shoulders.”
Jeannie squeezed Shiloh’s shoulder and smiled,before flitting away back to the sink to finish cleaning up.
Shortly after, Shiloh slid into bed—her own bed—and it felt like a cloud. She had missed her room, her blankets, and even the tacky pink color of her walls that hadn’t changed since middle school. Staring around the room, she couldn’t fathom how she’d taken every little thing in this room—in this house, even—for granted. It was all so safe, so cozy. But in seconds, sleep was whisking her away from it all entirely.
Chapter Eleven
When Shiloh opened her eyes, she was in a cave. It was dark and damp, lit only by a small fire. Outside of the mouth of the cave, there was only darkness. This place was for someone who didn’t want to be found. Stars dotted the night sky over the horizon but were quickly blocked by a massive, dark being. Large claws scratched at the rock outside and then found their perch at the edge of the cliff just before entrance. A head tucked carefully inside the hideout.
A dragon.
Its scales were black and glassy, like onyx—but they glinted violet in the light of the fire. Yellow, cat-like eyes bore down on her, but there was no fear. Not here.
Before her eyes, the dragon wrapped its large wings around itself. Seconds later, the wings unfurled around a woman—her mother, standing before her. As the woman walked towards her, the dragon wings were shrinking away into her back. If she hadn’t been in such shock, she might have thought about how graceful all of it was.
Leo’s words, ‘the spitting image of your mother,’ echoed inside her brain. And it was true—the woman in front of her looked startlingly similar to what she saw the in the mirror. She swore that they even had the same smile.
“My darling.” The woman reached out and stroked her cheek with the back of her hand.
“We don’t have much time.”
“But—“
“Shhh…” Rowena placed a finger gently on her daughter’s lips. “I want you to see something. Come.” She guided her to the edge of the cave, looking out over the distance. Now, it was apparent that they were on a mountain—high up and hidden. But below, a fire raged. An entire city and all of the surrounding lands—going up in smoke.
“Is that— ?”
“Yes.”
Her mother’s face took on a pained look, and her mouth formed into a tight line. She looked away from the fire quickly—no longer wanting to watch her city burn.
Shiloh thought of the people of Aeôs. Of Leo, Bellamy and of Capricorn. Her mind even flashed back to the joy of Vera, knowing she was going to be getting married. They would all be killed, or worse. Anger flooded through her veins. What was the point of all this death and destruction?
“This is Scorpio at work. But there is something else.” Her mother took her hand, she blinked, and suddenly they were transported to the human world.
They were standing on a city street, the people still busy and rushing to get on with their days. But something was different here. The world looked like it had been washed of all color. No one smiled. No one looked happy or angry or sad—Shiloh imagined that if anyone spoke, it would only be in monotone. Everything was grey and silent. All the color, the sound, the excitement of the city—it was all gone.
“What is this?” Shiloh, incredulous and shocked, stalked up to the window of a nearby restaurant. She noticed that everyone inside was seated at a table, alone. The world had lost something, or many things, it seemed. Its color, its vibrancy—even its companionship.
“When our world fell, the human world lost something, too. These people didn’t know it, but our worlds were connected in many ways. This is just a small sliver of what happens to your world if Scorpio gets his
way.”
She thought of her human mother without her musical voice, singing around the house. Her father, devoid of the compassion that made him who he is. She couldn’t even begin to imagine her childhood home quiet and devoid of love.
Her mother turned to her, placing her hands on both of her shoulders. “I don’t mean to push you or scare you. But I need you to know what will happen if you turn your back on our people. I know your heart, my dear daughter, and I know it will destroy you.”
Rowena hesitated and looked as if she were about to say more, then stopped.
“I love you, my baby girl. Never forget that.” She placed a kiss on her daughter’s forehead and stopped briefly. She gently touched the blue-green stone around her neck. For a moment, it seemed to glow once again. And then she turned away.
“Wait! Please!” Shiloh shouted, but her mother had already faded away.
And then she woke with a start.
In the darkness of her room, Shiloh could remember her mother’s face vividly. She knew, without the shadow of a doubt in her mind, that it was no ordinary dream. And it made her furious.
Her mother was a strong, intelligent woman. Loyal to her friends and her home. A woman who did not deserve to be killed in service of some maniac’s ego. Just like the people of Aeôs didn’t deserve to burn because he felt entitled to all the power. The human world didn’t deserve to suffer just because he wanted them to.
In a blind fury, she jumped out of the blankets she had missed so much, and back onto her feet. She pulled her boots on and practically jumped down the stairs in one go. As she went to open the front door and venture into the darkness outside, she took pause and looked over the house she called home. She wondered if she’d ever be back here—to appreciate the home cooking, the warm laughter and the amazing people who raised her.
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