Promise of Shadows

by Ireland, Justina

  To be honest, nothing in my life has changed. I’m still training for a role I’m not sure I want.

  We’ve been at Nanda’s house for a week when Cass disappears for a whole day. I have no idea where she went, and Nanda wastes no time drilling me on her whereabouts. “Where’s the Pellacis? Shouldn’t she be teaching you magical theory?”

  I shrug. “She said I could take today off to rest. Don’t worry, she’ll be back.” I’m only half paying attention to her. I’m mostly watching the couple on-screen argue.

  “They’re totally going to end up doing it,” Blue says next to me, shaking his head. “This has been going on ever since she came out of her coma.”

  I blink, confused. “But what about Caitlin? I thought Allie was staying away from Grayson because it would dishonor her memory.”

  “Caitlin’s not dead anymore. They found out she’s being held in a secret government facility. So all bets are off.”

  Nanda sighs. “You need to keep an eye on her, Zephyr. It’s just a matter of time before she betrays you.”

  I nod as Nanda stalks off, but the truth is I’m listening more than I want to. Even though Cass has spent the past few days helping me understand my powers, there’s still a tiny tendril of distrust in the back of my mind. It’s like a splinter under my skin. Every time I think I’ve forgotten about it, something nudges against it and I remember all over again.

  I like to think that if Cass were hiding anything, I would’ve known about it by now. Besides, why would she work so hard to get me to control my abilities if she was a traitor? It just doesn’t make sense.

  The next day Cass is back to hounding me about learning every small detail about my powers. We sit at the kitchen table where she quizzes me on the things that we’ve learned over the past few days. “What are the principles of erebos?”

  “Darkness, rage, and . . . um . . . death.” She gives me a look and I shrug. “Dying?”

  “Destruction. Death is destruction of the form. Erebos thrives on destroying. Remember that.”

  “Why? Why do I need to know any of this, Cass?”

  She stares at me until I squirm. Cass is really good at this teacher thing. “You know all of the weird norm trivia, but you don’t know the basic tenets of magic.” I’d tried teaching Cass about all the different shows on TV. That was a disaster. She couldn’t tell the difference between eighties sitcoms and reality TV.

  “TV and movies are fun, Cass. This is boring.”

  “Maybe. But knowledge is power, Zeph. Remember that.”

  I do feel smarter about magic after working with Cass. I still can’t summon the æther at all, and that seems to worry her as much as anything does. Every single time I call the power it’s like trying to hold on to a fish with my bare hands. And that’s when it comes at all. Most of the time it’s nonexistent.

  As much as I see Cass and Nanda and Blue, I rarely see Tallon. He makes a brief appearance at mealtimes, but that’s it. He arrives after we’ve all sat down and then eats his food leaning against the counter, quietly and quickly. He doesn’t even look at the rest of us. And before anyone can even ask him what he’s been up to, he’s gone. I don’t think he even tastes the delicious meals that Nanda makes for us.

  And I feel like his behavior is all my fault.

  I hate to admit it, but his constant absence just makes me think about him even more. I replay the moment when I woke to find him in my bed, only in my daydreams I kiss him instead of freaking out. My overactive imagination creates battle plans, until I know that if I get the chance to kiss him again, I won’t waste it.

  After a week and a half of safety and security in Nanda’s kitchen I almost forget what it’s like to be afraid. It’s amazing how quickly I’ve forgotten the fear and uncertainty of Tartarus.

  The day of the full moon arrives almost without notice. Cass and I sit at the kitchen table. She’s trying to show me how to summon the mortal elements of fire, air, water, and wind. As usual, I suck.

  Cass watches me try to call fire for a moment before she shakes her head. “Summoning is easy. You need to use æther to call the element into being, and then use it to fuel the element. For example, fire.” Flames appear on Cass’s hands. “If you look closely you can see the æther under the flames. That’s what’s fueling the fire. Æther isn’t just a magical element. It can also work as a power source. The same is true for the erebos.”

  I try to summon æther and flames. If Cass’s hands look like torches, mine look like a match. I can only summon enough energy to make a single flame dance on my fingertip. And that feels like trying to push a car by myself.

  Cass releases her magic. “Maybe you should try it with the erebos.”

  “I can’t, remember? Acolytes.”

  Cass’s golden brows knit together. “Okay. Maybe you could try it with the æther one more time.”

  “It’s going to have to wait,” Nanda says, walking into the kitchen with a girl who looks like she just stepped off the cover of a magazine. Her long dark hair hangs down her back in carefully crafted waves, and her violet eyes don’t have the shine of Æthereal blood, but they’re strange nonetheless. She wears a dress that hugs her curves and makes me feel incredibly dumpy in the hand-me-down jeans and T-shirt I wear. I’m lucky that Nanda keeps a stash of clothing on hand for the refugees that she takes in, but I still feel like a charity case next to Miss September. She’s polished and sophisticated in a high-priced-hooker kind of way.

  Gods, I hate her just as much now as I did when we were younger.

  I have a memory, a crystal clear shining moment that became the defining point for my and Alora’s relationship. We were outside, Whisper off studying for some test or another, so that it was just me, Alora, and Tallon. We were playing some pretend game where Tallon was an evil wizard and she and I were princesses. Only once Tallon was out of earshot, she turned to me and said, “You can’t be a princess; you’re going to have to be a servant. Princesses can’t have Harpy hair. They have to have pretty hair.” I’d wanted to hit her, but like always I just nodded and went along with what I was told.

  “Zephyr, you remember Alora, right?” Nanda’s face shines with her love for Alora. Tallon and Blue may be Nanda’s nephews, but Alora is her one and only child. Jealousy curls through my middle. I wish my mother had looked at me the way Nanda gazes at Alora.

  Cass and I stand as Nanda continues talking. “Alora was sent down by the Oracle to meet with you.” Nanda’s excitement floods the kitchen with scents of waffles and maple syrup. I sniff again. No, not excitement. Anticipation. Nanda expects something good to come out of this meeting.

  Maybe she’s forgotten the time Alora took a pair of scissors and tried to clip my wings because she needed feathers for a picture she was making. Because I haven’t.

  Alora smiles at me, and for a moment I think maybe she’s changed. It has been a while since I saw her. She has to be nineteen now, just a year or so younger than Tallon. I smell nothing from her, which I take to mean she’s trained herself to lock down her emotions. “Zephyr! It’s been too long,” she says. She holds her arms open for a hug, and without thinking I do the same.

  But as soon as she touches me, I can tell that something’s wrong. I hiss and shove her away. A bit of darkness wisps off my fingers and snaps at her as I step back, the way a mother would slap a child’s hand to keep her away from a hot stove. Alora hugs her hand to her chest with wide eyes, and I smell the citrusy tang of her fear.

  “Don’t ever do that again,” I say. I don’t even know what it is she did. I just know I didn’t like it.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just habit. . . .” She trails off and stares at Cass for a long moment before she clears her throat and smoothes her hands down her sides. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have snooped.” She inclines her head in a sign of respect, and Cass comes from around the table to stand by my side. Alora is very careful not to look at Cass. I wonder why she’s suddenly acting so cagey. Did Nanda already give her the rundown?<
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  “What was that?” I can’t forget the sensation, like someone sifting through my most intimate thoughts and fears with grimy hands. I feel dirty. I already didn’t like Alora. This isn’t helping.

  Alora doesn’t answer, and she looks uncomfortable for the first time that I can remember. Even as a kid she was confident and self-assured. Now she looks like she wants to ask for a do-over.

  Next to her, Nanda’s smile is starting to look brittle. Did she forget how Alora and I didn’t get along? Did she think that would change just because a few years have gone by? Knowing Nanda, she’s wondering what food she can make to save the situation. I bet she’s rearranging the lunch menu as we speak.

  Alora looks at me, still ignoring Cass. There’s a flash of irritation in her eyes before she regains control of her emotions. “I’m a Fate. We work with the Oracles to help navigate the Paths and guide events. It’s only natural that we would examine the Strands of Time and how they relate to the people around us.” And there it is, the same haughty tone I remember from so long ago.

  “You tried to see my future?” I say, a little in disbelief. Part of me wants to hit her for prying, but the other part of me wants to know what she saw.

  Behind me, Cass snorts. “They’re busybodies,” she mutters. “They try to piece together the information they steal from people to form predictions.”

  “We do not make predictions; we see the possibilities. There’s a difference,” Alora snaps, still not making eye contact with Cass. It’s almost distracting how carefully she’s avoiding her gaze. Is she afraid of Cass? I kind of like the idea that someone can intimidate Alora.

  “I know what they do,” I murmur back to Cass, crossing my arms. Like many vættir, I don’t really like seers. I like to think that maybe some things aren’t destined. My mother hated them. Although she was never rude to Alora, she always looked at her the way someone would a strange dog, like she was just waiting for her to crap on the rug.

  It always seemed odd to me that Alora wasn’t a Harpy, since usually the line breeds true. But the one time I asked about it, Mom had shaken her head. “Some lines are stronger than ours. It’s a disgrace, really, that Nanda would’ve bred with someone who couldn’t give her a strong daughter. But that’s where love will get you.” She’d seemed more sad than angry when she told me that, and it was such an odd response that I dropped the matter entirely.

  We had a few Fates and our own Oracle back at the Aerie. Most of the larger Aeries did. The Fates would predict which jobs would end up most profitable and help the Matriarch negotiate terms. Since Harpies are basically hired killers, they like to know where the chips will fall before they sign on to a cause. There’s no harm in fighting for a lost cause, just as long as you get out before too many of your people get killed.

  I take a deep breath and try to put on my best manners. “Look, what do you want? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to figure out how to fulfill some Promise here.”

  Alora sighs. “That’s why I’m here, Peep. I’m going to guide you to the Oracle. She’ll help you understand what your next steps should be.”

  I blink. “Oh? And what if I decide I don’t want to go see this Oracle?”

  Tallon walks into the kitchen, halting a few feet inside the door. My eyes flicker over to him, and Alora turns around to see who I’m looking at. I give Cass a sideways glance. If Alora was so able to predict the future, shouldn’t she have known it was Tallon without looking?

  Before I can make a snarky comment about her lack of future-seeing skills, Alora lets out an earsplitting scream and launches herself into Tallon’s arms. He catches her with a grin, and my talons actually slide out of their nail beds. I want to claw Alora’s eyes out.

  It’s just like old times. The biggest obstacle between me and Tallon when we were kids was Alora. While playing pretend, she always had to make Tallon her pet dragon, or her prince, or something that would pit him against me. From the way he glares at me over her shoulder, some things never change.

  I shake my head and take a deep breath. My talons slide back under my fingernails. I’m being silly. Alora isn’t out to get me. I may not like her, but her Oracle is going to be my best bet for figuring out how to get this prophecy thing over with and getting on with my life. Because that’s what I need to do, just save the world and get on with my life.

  The thought of me saving anything is so funny that I laugh at myself.

  Cass lays a hand on my arm and gives me a questioning look. “Are you okay?” she asks, and I nod. I don’t bother looking at her. Instead I’m watching Alora and Tallon talk like old friends. He’s even smiling. Why can’t I make him smile?

  Ugh. Why do I care?

  I feel reckless and out of control and maybe more than a little crazy. I’m half-tempted to insert myself between the two of them, although it would probably just earn me a glare from Tallon. We haven’t spoken in more than a week. I want to know what I did to piss him off. It had to be something.

  Why won’t he just talk to me?

  And why is he smiling so much at Alora? She doesn’t deserve his smiles.

  Nanda moves over to talk to Alora and Tallon. While they’re occupied, Cass pulls me toward the back door. Once we’re outside, she sighs. “Emotions are a difficult thing. Especially where love is involved.”

  I blink. “What? What are you talking about? I don’t love Tallon. I barely know him.”

  “Uh-huh. I may no longer have my own feelings, but I know a smitten Harpy when I see one.” Cass puts her hand on my shoulder. “Sometimes the suddenness of our feelings can make them seem even more wrong.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Cass. I’m wasting my time mooning over him. Did you see him? He was actually laughing and joking with her. All he does when he sees me is scowl like he’s afraid I’m going to steal the good silver.” I cross my arms, because it pisses me off. Why can’t he be like that with me? Why does he always have to be all frowny faced? I know Alora’s his cousin, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying.

  “Well, you did punch him in the face. I don’t think that is an endearing trait.” Leave it to Cass to break it down like that.

  I sigh and collapse on a decorative bench. Nanda has one of the nicest backyards I’ve ever seen. It looks like a park, and I realize I should spend more time out here enjoying it. I pick a daisy and tuck it behind my ear. “Do you think he’s still mad about that?”

  Cass shrugs. “Probably not. But you don’t have time for romance anyway. We need to talk about tonight,” Cass says. I straighten, because in my irritation over Alora I’d completely forgotten that tonight was the big night.

  Tonight I would find out what happened to Whisper’s shade.

  I lean back and take a deep, steadying breath. I can’t believe I let myself get distracted from finding Whisper. What kind of sister am I? “Okay. What do we need to do?”

  Cass quickly outlines the plan, which involves a lock of my hair, some of my blood, and fire. Easy enough. Most summoning spells involve something personal. Since it’s my sister, I should contribute the necessary ingredients.

  But something about her expression makes me think she’s holding something back, and I’m pretty sure it’s not just my paranoia this time. “Okay, so what’s the big deal?”

  Cass sits next to me on the bench. Instead of answering right away, she fiddles with the knots at her shoulders. Even after more than a week in the Mortal Realm she still wears a bedsheet toga. She can’t get over the idea of pants. I think they kind of gross her out.

  Personally, I’m glad to have jeans, even if they’re too-big hand-me-downs Nanda got at the local thrift store.

  “Cass,” I say, drawing the word out.

  “There’s something you need to know about the spell.”

  “Is it going to kill me?”

  “Not directly, no.”

  I sigh. “Please, no guessing games. I’m getting a little fed up with piecing out information.”

  Cass nods and
clears her throat. “There’s a chance that the spell could pull in anyone looking for you.”

  That doesn’t sound good. “Explain.”

  “When you do a summoning spell, it’s kind of like sending out a message of where you are, like that thing Nanda showed me on the glowing box.”

  I frown until I put her words together. “You mean the map? On the computer?” Nanda had been trying to explain to Cass exactly where Virginia and Ulysses’s Glen were in relation to the tiny Greek island where Cass had lived. The entire exercise was a failure as a whole, since Cass couldn’t comprehend a whole other country, much less continent. Cass had been pleased to know that Greece was still a country, though she was dismayed when Nanda had gleefully shown her the ruins of the temples.

  After that Cass quit asking about the outside world, and we quit telling her. She didn’t need any additional complications. There was plenty of time for her to get used to the new world.

  Cass’s expression twists in confusion again, and she nods. “Yes. Like how the little flag told Nanda where we were? You’re going to be the flag for anyone looking for you.”

  I take a deep breath. “So anyone looking for me will be able to find me.” I take a quick inventory of the people looking for me. The cerberus. Maybe Hermes and the Æthereal High Council. Probably Ramun Sol. After all I’m sure he’s heard by now that I’ve escaped from Tartarus. Also, there’s the small problem of the Acolytes I killed a few days ago. My stomach clenches with guilt when I remember how easy it was to break the one Acolyte’s neck.

  Number forty-three, I think. It’s easier than thinking of it as murder. Just an act attached to a number. It’s a nice way to distance myself from the way his vertebrae ground together. Because if I think about the killings too hard, I start to wonder what kind of people they were. What made them join the Acolytes? Maybe that guy had a wife and kids. What about the other five? What happened to them? There wasn’t even dust left behind after the darkness was finished with them.