Miranda waved to Callie. Digging her fingers into her face, she tore it off and threw it to the ground. The clay mask shattered when it hit the floor.
“Oh my God. Oh my God. No, no, no. ” Callie said in a loud whisper and pulled Georgia closer. “It’s Penny.”
“What are you talking about?” Georgia said.
“Georgia, listen to me carefully,” Callie said. “It’s Penny. She’s older, but it’s Penny.”
Georgia looked confused.
“Penny? Pandora? Made of clay, Pandora?”
“It can’t be. She was banished to the wastelands of the Underworld. There’s no way she could have gotten free.”
Callie was panicking. “I don’t care where they put her. I’m telling you right now she is here.”
“Dear lord. All the Vasilikós. This will not do.”
“You listen to me,” Callie said. “I don’t care about any of that. My daughter is out there unprotected. That is what will not do.”
A growl escaped Bennett’s lips as his body strained against his clothing. “I remember the stories you told me about her. I’ll kill her if she lays a hand on Sophie.”
Georgia reached over and shot a burst of energy from her hand and shocked Bennett. “You will do no such thing. We will do this without making a scene. Everyone break up and search for her. I have the wine ceremony to perform.”
Callie protested, but Georgia held out her hand. “We will not have an international incident to clean up. Do you hear me, Callista?”
Callie had tears in her eyes. “Okay.”
Georgia gestured for everyone to get closer. “Now, the two of you spread out. Angela, you might want to let your hair down in case your talents are needed. Callista, you stay here. We can’t let on something is wrong and too many people are watching you.”
Angela reached over and pulled out the pins holding her hair in place. Her eyes flashed green and a single snake snuck its head out for a second and retreated.
“Okay, let’s go,” Angela said to Bennett, leaving Callie behind.
The music stopped and Stavros, the male Siren banged his staff three times.
“Attention! Attention!” the Siren shouted.
Georgia stepped forward, carrying the ancient decanter full of the harvested wine. The decanter was a gift to the Muses, from Dionysus and Amphityonis, god and goddess of wine. The decanter was compact but could hold a whole harvest’s wine. This served the Fates perfectly, since their villa had limited storage space.
Georgia began her introduction, and Rose grimaced. “She’s such a blowhard,” Callie overheard Rose comment to Agatha and Callie agreed. Agatha shushed Rose and told her to pay attention.
“As we have done so, for thousands of years, and as we will continue to do for thousands more, we bless our relationship with the Fates through the gift of wine. I remember my first wine harvest and ceremony…”
Callie watched Bennett working his way through the crowd.
Damn it, Penny. Where the hell did you go?
Bennett caught Callie’s eye and pointed in the direction of the balcony. She saw Penny signal to a group of several men a few yards away from Bennett. They were looking directly at the goddess and gathered in a semi-circle. At the center of the semi-circle was Sophie, standing with her dance partner.
“It’s a trap,” Callie said, frantically signaling to Georgia. Not knowing what to do, Callie watched as a woman approached Georgia from behind.
Dear God, it’s Persephone. But how is she out of the Underworld?
“Without further words, I present this year’s harvest to” Georgia said and turned to find Persephone smiling at her.
Georgia raised her hand to send an energy burst towards her, but Persephone was too quick and punched Georgia so hard the sickening crunch told everyone in close proximity Georgia’s jaw was broken. The blow threw Georgia through the air and she landed in front of the wheelchair-bound Fates. The decanter had fallen out of Georgia’s hands and Persephone grabbed it before it struck the ground.
“That’s one way to shut the woman up,” Rose shouted as she lifted her foot and gave Georgia as much of a kick as the elderly Fate could manage. “You should have held onto the decanter, idiot.”
A huge burst of energy erupted in the center of the crowd and several people were thrown in all directions. Chaos broke out as several people screamed; trying to escape, but all the doors slammed shut. Some of them caught guests who thought they had escaped, their bodies shaking in pain as their bones splintered and broke.
In the center of the fallen guests stood Sophie and the stranger she had been dancing with.
“They all deserve to die,” Sophie said. “I want you all to die!” Sophie shouted, sending another burst of energy at a group of guests who attempted to defend themselves but were too weak against Sophie’s power. She was drawing the energy from the room. She was drawing her energy from the guests she was murdering.
Oh, lord. The binding spell didn’t hold. How could it not have held?
“Sophie!” Callie yelled. “Stop, Sophie!”
She saw her daughter turn her head and look at her.
She’s seeing something, but it isn’t me. He’s controlling her.
Callie jumped out of the way before a burst of energy hit her. It struck Rhonda, the United States’ Representative, in the center of her chest and the woman slumped over, lifeless. Callie cried out but knew she was too late to help her.
“Sophie…look at me. It’s Mommy. You have to stop. I don’t know what it is you are seeing, but you have to stop.”
Another burst erupted from her daughter, except this time it struck the guest trying to escape through the jammed French doors. The explosion sent wood and glass shattering throughout the room.
Callie struggled to reach Sophie. She saw Bennett and Angela working their way through the panicking crowd, also trying to get to her. Callie was a few yards away, but the crowd trying to escape was pushing her in the opposite direction. She looked at the man standing next to Sophie and knew she had to break his hold on her. She watched as the man threw off his mask.
Angelo?
The air around the man shimmered and Callie knew right away it wasn’t her husband.
My husband is dead. Who the hell is that?
Sophie shot several more energy bursts into the room and grazed Callie in the arm, making her bleed. Elena, the Russian leader, wasn’t as lucky. She screamed, clutching her face, and fell onto the ground writhing in pain. Standing close to her was Helena, who was missing part of her right leg, from the knee down. Blood gushed from her wound, as one of her aides tore off a piece of her dress to tie a tourniquet around her leg and stop the bleeding.
Sophie’s attacks were coming quicker and quicker, and no one seemed to have a chance to mount a counterattack. Callie saw Qiaohui crouching low and as Sophie had turned her attention to another group, the leader threw a burst of energy at the man standing next to Sophie. It struck him in the head and his head cracked open, exposing a hideous face.
It’s clay. Callie realized.
Qiaohui threw another energy burst, but a burst from Sophie collided with it, and the Asian leader was thrown into several guests and knocked unconscious.
Sophie raised her hands to her head and held it. Callie was sure Sophie was going to pass out.
“Mom?” Sophie said before collapsing.
Callie was within a few feet from reaching Sophie when the twelve men, who had received the signal from Pandora, stretched out their arms and promptly exploded into shards of pottery, the blast and debris knocking a larger portion of the ballroom guests unconscious. The guests who managed to avoid the blast fled in terror through the broken French doors, as the creatures that were hidden in the clay shells took flight and began attacking them.
Callie tried to stand again, but threw herself to the ground, nearly colliding with one of the flying demons. The sound of tearing flesh and screams made Callie terrified for the wounded and dying around h
er. She could see some had already begun to heal, while others were too far gone to be helped. Right now, she had to stop Pandora and Persephone. She had to make sure Bennett and Angela were okay. She had to save Sophie.
Callie stood up and saw Sophie unconscious at the feet of her dance partner. Before Callie could react, the man picked up Sophie.
Pandora raised her hand toward the man and with a flick of her wrist liquefied his exterior shell, exposing yet another one of the hideous creatures.
Pestilence. My daughter is being held by one of the evils Pandora let out of her damn box. Callie didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t risk attacking the creature holding her daughter for fear of hurting Sophie, so she focused on Persephone as the electricity crackled around her.
Chapter 39
Out of the corner of her eye, Pandora saw Sophie’s tall mutt regain consciousness. She could smell the rage and fear building inside the boy, knowing full well it wouldn’t be too long before he wouldn’t be able to control himself.
“Finally, it’s going to get interesting,” she said.
She watched as the boy’s muscles underneath his skin grow, expand and stretch. A low, guttural sound of pain came from his throat. She enjoyed the sounds of his pain, as he stretched and grew, and even winced as the sickening sound of bones breaking, growing, and fusing together filled her ears. Blood seeped out of his mouth as his jaw expanded and teeth pushed out of his gums to form fangs.
“Now that has got to hurt,” she said, taking in the energy caused by his pain. It had been so long since she had experienced such horrific agony. It was delicious to her.
She was surprised how the extensive transformation only took a few seconds. Transformed, the boy was a ten-foot-tall Minotaur. Pandora knew now was the time to take care of the girl and she turned as the Minotaur roared at her and charged.
She laughed at him and raised both of her arms, levitating the shards of Persephone’s former escorts off the floor. She knew the creature was going too fast to stop and she smacked her hands together, sending the jagged-pieces of pottery shooting towards him. They struck him in the head, pierced his limbs and torso, and with each impact he roared in pain, but he didn’t stop.
She closed her eyes for a second and called her legacy to her defense. She didn’t have to open her eyes to know they were there, her demons in all of their hellish glory, with their gnashing jaws and their leathery wings flapping with excitement. She reached over to the demon closest to her and her hand gently caressed its black flesh, which was covered in oozing sulfuric slime. Its yellow eyes glowed in ecstasy.
With her mind she commanded them to concentrate their powers on the Minotaur, bringing him to his knees.
“It’s amazing how far concentrated evil can go,” Pandora said, walking down the staircase, towards Bennett. “These creatures, the evils of the world, are my legacy. I carry them with me always. The gods thought they were cursing me for opening up the box, but little did they know they were giving me ultimate power.”
Pandora raised her hand and used her will to pull Bennett toward her. She licked her lips as she watched pieces of debris slice into his flesh.
“I can only imagine the horrific visions you are seeing, paralyzing you with all of the human suffering and agony my evils cause in the world,” Pandora said. She knelt to look him in the face. “For all of your strength and ability, you still aren’t anything more than a disgusting Demigod born of inferior stock. You’re nothing but a mutt.” She kicked Bennett, sending him skidding several yards away from her. “Let me give you the honor of being the first I kill tonight. But first, I need to leave my mark on you.”
She wondered if she’d made a mistake and walked towards the boy. He was too far away from her demons and she needed to make sure he continued to remain frozen so he could watch her kill his love. She reached him and noticed his eyes were shut and chuckled.
I’m being foolish. He’s not going anywhere.
She began to gather her energy to brand the Minotaur mutt with the word Nothos. She saw him turn over and heard his roar before she sensed she was flying through the air.
That little bastard punched me. How dare—
She grunted as part of her torso caught the balcony railing and her exterior clay shell cracked. A piece of the wooden orchestra screen smashed against her face and she was sure her flight took her through the middle of the piano, cutting it in half. She blacked out, as she tasted the back balcony wall and saw a huge chunk of her face break away and crash to the floor.
Chapter 40
Callie was attacking Persephone. She glanced over and saw Bennett’s attack on Pandora. He clearly had used the last of his strength and lay unconscious as his body changed back into his human form, leaving the boy naked and bleeding. She thrust her hands forward and walked towards the goddess, hurling one energy burst after another, hoping she would catch the goddess off guard. But Persephone managed to deflect each of the bursts, sending them careening around the room.
Callie was exhausted. One energy burst struck a chandelier that crashed to the ground near Sophie. Not thinking clearly, Callie allowed her attention to be drawn away from Persephone as she made sure the chandelier hadn't hurt her daughter. Callie’s pause allowed Persephone to send a powerful burst of energy that struck Callie with such force she was slammed into the wood floors, shattering them and breaking her ankle.
I can’t fail. I have to keep them talking, delay them until I can heal, come up with another plan, do something. It can’t end like this. I refuse to let Sophie die like this. Please God, take me, not my daughter.
“Why?” Callie demanded in anguish, somehow managing to get back to her feet. She limped towards Persephone. She wiped away the blood dripping from her mouth and nose with the back of her hand.
“Do you really need to know why?” Persephone said. “How about you start, Penny?”
“With pleasure,” Pandora said as she made her way from the balcony. Bennett had hit the goddess so hard Pandora’s exterior casing cracked in several places. She now had large chunks missing from her face and other parts of her body. With each step she took, large chunks of her shell fell off, exposing a wet, bubbling center of hot molten clay.
“Excuse my appearance, but in a few short moments the damage the mutt caused will be fixed. The molten clay you see allows me to regenerate body parts. It has also allowed me to take on the painful process of slicing off portions of myself to create the living clay figures that were part of Persephone’s entourage. Thanks to Persephone’s painting talents, my evils were able to pass for mortal.”
Pandora smoothed out her hair. “Callie, for me, it’s all about who I am. Don’t get me wrong, revenge is part of it and I know that sounds so unoriginal, but it’s all about what I was born to do. I was placed on this Earth by the gods to inflict pain into this world. I was the punishment of Mankind. But allow me to correct one historic mistake about myself. I wasn’t torn up about whether or not to open the box. I wanted to open it because the sounds of sorrow and grief are music to my ears.”
Callie saw a brief flash of Angela’s dress and tried to get Persephone’s attention.
Oh, thank God. I have to give Angela a chance.
“I’m sorry, Pandora. I don’t mean to interrupt, but your babbling was boring me,” Callie said. “Where exactly do you fit in this, Persephone? Is this really your style?” Callie asked.
“I have an adaptable nature, but I’m always up for a good time. Take this wine for example. No wine, no Fates. No Fates, no mortal future. No mortal future, no souls for Hades. And if there is one thing Hades still takes pride in it’s his work. I know it’s dysfunctional, but I’m not the one who cursed me to an eternity in the Underworld. My mother still weeps at my loss.”
“Your mother has long since forgotten about you. In case you don't remember, she’s locked away in Olympus and has other things to worry about.”
“How dare you! Shut your filthy Nothos mouth. ” Persephone shouted, shoot
ing another energy burst at Callie. It struck her in the legs and her knees slammed onto wood floors again. But the pain didn’t deter Callie from struggling back to her feet.
“You’ve lost your sense of style, Persephone. I’m sure you can do better than that,” Callie said, throwing a burst back at the goddess, which almost brought Persephone to her knees. Persephone pointed to the decanter and gave a look to Callie, warning her if she tried that again, she would smash it.
Callie saw Angela had removed her shoes and was a few steps away from Pandora. Pandora faced the Gorgon, with Angela’s snakes hissing and her green eyes burning with intensity.
“Now that is hysterical? A Gorgon? You disgusting, ignorant, filthy Nothos, I’m made of clay,” Pandora said. She grabbed Angela by the throat, burning the Nothos brand on her neck. Angela screamed in pain and the goddess laughed as she threw her against the wall, instantly knocking the Gorgon out, the snakes in her hair retreating.
Callie’s heart sank. She raised her hand, hoping she would be able to stage an attack. Persephone shot a bolt of energy that struck a few inches from Callie’s feet. Callie put her hand down and stifled the energy building inside of her.
“Be a smart Muse and behave,” Persephone warned.
“Persephone, can we cut to the chase?” Without waiting for an answer, Pandora walked towards the unconscious Sophie.
“What we have here is a choice?” Pandora said. “Your Sophia or your harvest?”
“Well, that’s an easy answer,” Rose said, “Muses are a dime a dozen. Screw the girl. Give us the wine.”
Pandora leaned over and touched Sophie’s face. “Pick, Callie. If it’s the wine, then all we need to do is decide how Sophie dies. Pestilence could give her the plague or we can watch her suffer from an awful skin-rotting disease. With her being so close to him, I promise you it will be a quick death.”
“So pick, Callie,” Persephone said. ”Your daughter or the lives of millions of unborn mortals and the destruction of the Fates?”
Muse Unexpected Page 27