The horizon was just beginning to turn purple as the sun crept toward it and I knew my time was limited. I turned and walked quickly back toward the palace, back to where Charmian was sleeping.
I made one quick stop, in the bedchambers of Iras, Cleoaptra’s second handmaid. She startled when I approached the bed, but she recognized me quickly enough and sat up in confusion.
“General,” she stuttered. “What are you doing here?”
“Iras, I need your promise,” I said firmly, holding her gaze.
“Anything,” she replied.
“After the battle tomorrow, if you hear news that I have fallen, send Charmian to my mother, outside of the city. Tell her to make haste and not to stop for anyone.”
Iras looked at me in confusion. “Shouldn’t you give her these instructions yourself?” She looked at me for a moment and the sighed. “Ah, I see. You do not wish to trouble her. You don’t think she knows that Egypt will fall. I am certain that she knows, General. All of us know.”
“Be that as it may,” I answered. “I do not wish to speak of it before battle. It will bring bad fortune to my soldiers. Please, just give Charmian those instructions. And tell her that I love her.”
“Of course,” Iras answered. I turned and made my way toward the hall. I was fairly certain that I heard Iras weeping as I closed the door behind me.
I crept back into Charmian’s bedchambers and sat on the side of the bed for the longest time, simply watching her sleep. She was exquisite in her beauty, but she was so much more than that. Her spirit was beautiful and strong. I’d never met another woman like her. I gulped hard and tried to steel my heart against what I knew I had to do. I would have to be satisfied in the knowledge that I would love her for as many hours as I had left. And then I would love her for all of eternity in the afterlife.
I don’t know how long I sat watching her. Minutes, maybe an hour.
Finally, as the orange fingers of the sunrise had barely begun to break apart the horizon, I rose from the bed and began readying myself for battle. Within minutes, Charmian woke and rose to help me.
She walked behind me to fasten my golden chestplate and pull my hair into a band at my neck. She leaned into my neck and kissed it, then curled herself around my body and kissed my lips. I trembled from the need to stay here with her, to hold her and keep her safe. I had never wanted anything more in my life. Leaving her went against everything that I knew to be good and true. But I was obligated to protect Egypt. It was what I had been born to do.
I finally broke away from Charmian.
“Charmian, my love. Do not fear. I will be safe. I love you.”
And I did. More than life itself.
Charmian stood on her tiptoes and kissed me with what I knew would be our last kiss. Her breath was sweet, her lips were warm and I memorized everything about this moment. It would sustain me later, when this day had turned bloody.
Charmian cupped my face with her hands and whispered, “I love you too, Hasani. Be safe today, my warrior.”
I nodded. And before I could change my mind, I turned as quickly as I could and walked for the door. In the doorway, though, I couldn’t help myself. I turned to look at her one last time.
She was so delicate and beautiful, like a flower. So fragile, yet so strong. One tear slipped from her eye and down her cheek and she smiled at me through her pain. Her breath was ragged and so was mine. I had to leave before I could no longer do it.
I smiled at her. And then I walked away.
As I walked the lengths of the opulent palace halls and wound my way to the ground floor, I hardened my heart toward what I would do today. It was the warrior’s way. If we did not harden ourselves, we would go insane. I would kill people today. There would be blood on my hands, the blood of soldiers just like me who simply fought for another cause. It was the way of a warrior.
As I entered the courtyard, I could see the ships congregating in the bay beneath the palace, their sails white in the sky. Rome had descended upon us. Antony waited for me once more, standing still and strong beside the pool. He was dressed in his armor and his expression was deadly.
“Ready?” he asked seriously.
“Ready,” I answered.
And together, we walked to meet our destiny.
Lies That Bind
A short story by Courtney Cole
Based on characters from The Bloodstone Saga
Foreword
In the Bloodstone Saga, Macy has a mentor, a handler of sorts, named Ahmose. As she is re-born time and time again in mortal form, she is always under the belief that she is a Keeper of Fate and Ahmose is her Aegis, an ancient priest who aids her in each task that the Fates dole out to her.
Little by little, as she comes to realize who she really is and she eventually figures out her story. But Ahmose… he knew all along. He just couldn’t tell her.
This short story is set right after the events of Every Last Kiss and just prior to Fated. It is from Ahmose’s POV. I hope you enjoy.
Lies That Bind
Ahmose
As dawn approached, my black cloak dragged on the ground behind me as I walked toward the rear of Macy’s home. Her old white-muzzled dog dutifully stood watch at the door and cowered as I grew near, visibly shaking as I stepped soundlessly through the glass of the sliding doors. I glanced at him and he ran yelping from the room. I smiled. Animals could see things that mortals could not, a fact that was usually vastly entertaining.
The house was utterly devoid of noise as I made my way silently through the quiet rooms and into Macy’s bedroom. Stopping at the foot of her bed, I gazed down at her as she slept. Her soft mortal mouth was curled into a small smile even as she slumbered and I couldn’t help but feel a brief rush of warmth for her.
She and I had been with each other for a long time. Longer than even she knew. I disagreed with the way the Fates were manipulating her memories, but what could I do? I was just an old priest who had been forced into servitude by the Moirae. Not that Macy knew that. She thought that I willingly served them, that they had the best interest of everyone at heart. I almost laughed at the thought, but it wasn’t humorous.
She stirred in her sleep and her smile stretched into a grin. I couldn’t help but smile myself. I couldn’t read her mind while she slept, but I felt certain that she was thinking of her soul mate. She had only just been reunited with him yesterday and I knew that she was relieved. I had watched her stand in the middle of a crowded deli and kiss him squarely on the mouth- completely disregarding the fact that he didn’t remember her. But I had to cut her slack…she had been so traumatized in Alexandria, an occurrence that I had grown used to watching. The Fates did so enjoy toying with her.
She whispered in her sleep and I bent to catch what she said.
“Gavin,” she murmured and reached out her hands toward the empty side of the bed.
I had been correct, but it had not been hard to guess. Her soul mate had been in the forefront of her mind for thousands of years. And sadly, she didn’t even know his true name. In fact, she didn’t know her own. I shook my head. It was cruel.
I closed my eyes and focused on lightening my limbs. I felt the heaviness slip away and I drifted to the corner of the room, hovering near the ceiling as I rested, keeping guard over my young charge as she slept. Things were rapidly becoming more and more dangerous and I would protect her as long as I could.
I didn’t even realize that I had fallen asleep until something woke me. I snapped open my eyes, finding the room flooded with morning light. Macy was still soundly sleeping. But her phone was ringing. I breathed a ragged sigh of relief. It was just a phone.
A few rings later, she grabbed at it groggily and flipped it open, holding it to her ear.
“Hello,” she mumbled, not bothering to open her eyes. One second later though, her eyes popped open and she sat straight up in bed.
“Gavin!” she exclaimed. “No, it’s not too early. I was just… being lazy.”
Pause.
“No, of course not- I’d love that. I love the beach. Yes, 10:00 is fine. I’ll see you then.”
She closed her phone and laid it back on the bed stand, staring dreamily out the window, watching the sunlight shimmer off the top of the backyard pool. Her thoughts were a million miles away. I chose to remain invisible to her, waiting to see what she would do. There was no reason to appear to her yet, at any rate. I had not been given permission to return her bloodstone to her.
I glanced at the clock. It was 9:30. She would need to hurry. She made that realization at the same time as I did and lunged out of bed, hurtling herself toward the bathroom. She emerged, fresh-faced and dressed, twenty minutes later.
It never ceased to amaze me how much she resembled her true self. It seemed like a cruel joke to me that the Fates would allow her to retain her physical appearance in every life, but not ever remember who she really was. She remembered what they wanted her to remember, manipulating her thoughts with the power of her own necklace.
She was exquisitely beautiful this morning with her long dark hair pulled away from her face and her jade green eyes bright and shining. I held her bloodstone close to my breast in a hidden pocket. I would return it to her soon. And her cycle would begin all over again, as it had countless other times. I had begun to lose hope that the end would ever come.
Macy sat downstairs anxiously until the doorbell rang and she rushed to answer it, seemingly afraid that if she waited too long, he would no longer be waiting for her on the other side of the door.
But of course he was. He felt their connection too, even if he didn’t remember her.
My sensitive hearing picked up her tiny sigh as she swung the door open wide and faced him. He stood in the sun, the light cascading over him like a waterfall and he did look so much like the man who lived in my memories. My memories stretched back thousands of years and he was present in so many of them.
“Hey, Gavin,” Macy greeted him, trying hard to be casual. I almost laughed at this after watching her wait for him anxiously for the past half hour. Mortals. It was amusing. She chewed on her lower lip, a tell tale sign of her nervousness.
He smiled his familiar smile, a blend of arrogance and charm. How one man managed to be so cocky and yet likeable was beyond me, but he managed to accomplish it in every life and Macy certainly liked it.
“Hey,” Gavin answered her. “I was thinking… instead of going to lunch, I packed a picnic and thought we could eat on the beach. Would that be okay with you?”
She nodded quickly, her smile lighting her features. “Of course. I love listening to the ocean while I eat.”
I knew that at this point, she would say that she loved anything just to spend more time with him. She needed him like she needed air to breathe.
As I observed them, it was a little more interesting than usual. In other lives, when they encountered each other, they were both in the dark. They felt a strange attraction to each other, a vague familiarity, but neither of them could explain it. This time, however, Macy knew exactly who he was. The catch was that she couldn’t tell him. And knowing her, I was sure that the knowledge was killing her.
I could feel the electricity lingering in the air between them, charged and palpable. So much so that I could practically reach out and touch it. I wondered if they could sense it, as well.
Their eyes were locked on each other as Macy led him inside.
“I’ll just be a minute,” she murmured to him, letting her hand linger on his arm. “I just need to grab my purse.”
He nodded and smiled. “Take your time,” he answered. “The ocean will be there all day.”
She rolled her eyes laughingly as she breezed past him. He reached out and lightly brushed her back as she passed. They were unable to stop touching each other. That much was obvious.
I approached Gavin, stopping when I was eye to eye with him. I was so close that I could feel his breath on my face. He couldn’t see me, of course, but I knew he could feel my presence. He instantly became restless, shifting from one foot to the other as he waited, almost as if he was trying to see around me. But he couldn’t see me at all.
I leaned forward and inhaled. I could smell his goodness of heart as I listened to it beat in his chest. That much had never changed throughout the millennia. He was a kind, decent man and he had always protected Macy with his life. I knew he would not fail to do so now, a fact that I drew some comfort from. I felt certain that we would need his bravery in the fairly near future. The Fates were plotting and that was never a good thing. It put me on my guard.
Macy reappeared and smiled up at him and he led the way out to his car, opening the door for her like the gentleman that he had always been. I briefly pondered not going with them, but it would have been irresponsible of me. Not now. Not with things the way they were.
I quickly flitted to the car and hunched in the back seat. I hated automobiles. They were so cramped and small on the inside. But the mortals didn’t seem to mind. They chatted obliviously in the front, never even feeling my presence. It was curious how easy it was to be completely invisible, as though I didn’t exist at all.
For the next hour, they chatted like they had known each other forever. Because they had. They left their windows open, which caused Macy’s hair to flutter around the car and threw around their distinctly unique mortal scents. I kept out a cautious eye. Any number of immortal beings could smell us coming. But thankfully, this day, no one unexpected appeared.
They laughingly walked down the trail to the beach and as they did, I trailed behind, allowing my mind to wander to days when they walked the beach as Charmian and Hasani. Such sad times that they had lived through. And now we were here today, balancing on the edge of a dangerous precipice that they couldn’t even see coming.
But I saw it. And I was preparing, even if they could not. There was a storm brewing, a massive storm that would claim the lives of everything in its path. And I vowed that nothing would happen to Macy. I fully believed that the fate of everything I knew and loved rested in her hands. Her immortal hands.
The time was coming when she would know exactly who she was. And she would know what she had to do. I only hoped that I was still alive to see it. I felt a heavy presence with me, an ominous foreshadowing and it made me doubt my safety. But Macy. Macy had to survive. She had to save us all. And I would do what it took to make sure that happened.
She looked up at Gavin. “Is this spot okay?”
He nodded. I knew he didn’t care as long as it was with her. He would follow her to the gates of Hell. I briefly wondered if they would care that I could read their minds, but brushed the concern away. It didn’t really matter. I couldn’t change what I was.
She curled onto the blanket with her legs tucked under her and they watched the ocean crash against the beach. The water today was deep blue, almost gray as it churned against the land, raging against the very solidity of it. It was a great metaphor for life. Things always raged against that which they could not change.
But sometimes, change could happen. And I was bound and determined to make it so.
I watched Gavin reach over and softly grasp her hand, wrapping it within his long fingers protectively as they gazed at the horizon. He had always been a warrior, his very nature was protective. I was counting on that now.
Macy smiled gently up into his face and reached up to brush Gavin’s dark hair out of his eyes. He leaned into her hand, innately inhaling her scent. Deep down, he knew who she was. He just didn’t realize it yet. But soon, I reminded myself, soon all would be revealed and nothing would ever be the same.
He slowly lowered his head and kissed her lips softly, each of them closing their eyes and immersing themselves in the sweetness of this moment. I closed my own, allowing myself to become lost in the hope that surrounded them, the tangible hope that hung in the air like the salt from the sea. Their hope would save us all. I had to have faith in that.
Macy opened her eyes and smiled.
Wicked Enchantment
A short story by Courtney Cole
Based on characters from The Bloodstone Saga
Foreword
In my book, Fated, there is a scene where Eris, in the disguise of Tara Wilson, comes to Gavin’s home and tricks him into thinking that she is there to apologize to Macy. While she is there, she returns to her true form of the goddess Eris and kidnaps Gavin, whisking him away to the Spiritlands.
Fated is written in the POV of Macy (Harmonia) and so we never got to see exactly what transpired in Eris’ home before Harmonia arrives to save him.
This is that story.
Wicked Enchantment
Dropping through wispy, diaphanous clouds, I tumbled from the sky in a completely unladylike fashion and landed abruptly on the sidewalk. Straightening from my crouch, I looked around to get my bearings. It was always a little disorienting traveling back and forth between the mortal world and the Spiritlands. And I seriously hated being here. Even the air was miserable, damp and clinging to my skin.
The only thing worse than being here was appearing as a mortal. I sighed. But it had to be done. Looking around to make sure no one was near, I gritted my teeth and shape-shifted. In the blink of an instant, during which I knew I only appeared as a blur, I transformed into my mortal image. Glancing down, I opened my hand to make sure I still had the small brown leaf. It was there, resting safely on my palm. My orangey, mortal palm. Ugh. I could not wait to leave this short, pudgy body behind soon, forever. The Fates had promised. All I needed to do was this one little thing and I would never have to live as a mortal again.
House of Thebes (The Bloodstone Saga) Page 9