by T. L. Clarke
"Shall I wait, or serve Ms. Priscilla’s tea right now?"
Her stomach was suddenly queasy, with dots of sweat dotting her forehead. She pushed her waist-length curly gray hair away and quickly wiped her forehead. "You can place her tea on her table. I’ll wake her up in a minute."
"Certainly." She placed a steaming cup of tea on Priscilla’s walnut table and silently walked away.
Celeste took a slow sip of tea, trying to relax as she inhaled the sweet aroma of Earl Grey. But it was useless. Her mind involuntarily roamed back to the complete mayhem of today’s council meeting.
"This is not good. This is definitely not good," she muttered gloomily.
"What in the world are you yapping about now?" Priscilla asked loudly with a Southern drawl.
She looked over at Priscilla, who was now alert and looking at her curiously. "I can see that you had an absolute wonderful nap. Grumpy much?" she asked laughingly.
Priscilla brushed her shoulder-length, recently colored blonde hair away from her pale face before picking up her cup greedily. She sipped the tea slowly, looking at her suspiciously. "You know how I love teatime. Were you just going to sit there and let it go cold?"
Celeste chuckled loudly. "Why don’t you just go back to sleep? We have a while before we get to the Isles." She smirked as Priscilla’s cup slowly transformed from a delicate white color to a red-hot color as she enclosed her palms around it, causing the tea to gurgle as it boiled gently in her hands.
Celeste quickly looked down the aisle to see if the attendant saw what Priscilla was doing. "Hey, stop that, fire girl. You know there is no using of gifts while a Normal is present," she chided playfully.
"Whatever, I’ll use my gifts where I darn well please." She raised a blonde eyebrow questioningly. "Don’t avoid my question, Celeste. What is not good?"
Celeste exhaled noisily; there was no dodging the question. She knew that Priscilla was stubborn, like a dog with a bone. "Were you not at the same meeting with me?" Her tone was incredulous.
"Don’t get snippy with me, Celeste." She reached over, grabbed a blueberry scone from her plate, and nibbled it nonchalantly. "I don’t see why you’re panicking. And don’t tell me that you’re not because I’ve known you for far too many centuries not to feel the panic lurking under the surface."
"I don’t see what—" Celeste sputtered.
Priscilla smiled warmly, her blue eyes softening. "I was not finished, Celeste. Now here’s how I see it. This fight has been brewing for centuries within the council. Now some members have the ammunition to push their radical agenda because now the Underworld has brought the war to our backyard."
She sipped her tea casually, looking into space as she continued. "You and I have fought the Banished and Daemons for many years. Steeling our hearts and cutting down the lives of our own to protect our way of life. I’m simply exhausted with this old argument. Should we use what’s left of our Warriors and declare an all-out brawl with the Banished and the Daemons? Should the Royal Elementi Conclaves ante up Warriors to join the fight? These questions are doggone exhausting."
She looked over at Celeste tiredly. "On the other hand, if we don’t hold true to our blood oath, our numbers will dwindle, bringing us to the brink of extinction. Then who will protect the earth and guard the Gates? Dang it, this cowgirl is just plum tired. I say we just sit this rodeo out and let the council fight this one and hope for the best. It’s really that simple." She nestled down into her seat, taking another sip of her tea leisurely.
Celeste was dumbstruck. Only Priscilla could take such an apocalyptic situation and turn it into a trivial matter.
"What?"
Priscilla looked over at her innocently, in fact, way too innocently.
"What don’t you understand, wise one?"
Celeste jabbed a finger at her. "Sit this rodeo out? In all my years on the council, and yours too, by the way, we have never put such a thing to a vote. It was not even a thought."
Priscilla snorted loudly. "That’s hogwash. It was always a thought, but no one had the horse sense to put the issue to a vote except for Queen Harmonia."
Celeste looked at her with shock. "I just don’t understand how you can be so calm and collected right now. We are talking about the serious matter of the balance of the planet. The council is divided; therefore the members of the Eternals are divided, and let’s throw in the tiny matter of trying not to piss off the Royal Elementi Conclave."
Priscilla looked at her serenely. "Do you know why I’m so calm?"
Celeste looked at her with wide eyes. "Please do tell?"
"Because as it has always been throughout the centuries, the gods will make the final decision about this whole brouhaha and put an end to all this squabbling." Priscilla took another sip of her tea with finality.
Celeste looked at her gravely. "And what if they decide not to intervene? What then?"
Priscilla choked on her tea, spitting droplets through the air. "What?"
Celeste looked at her smugly because now she finally had her attention to the seriousness of it all. "You heard me correctly. What if the gods decide not to intervene?"
Priscilla’s blue eyes popped open with shock as she flicked her blonde hair anxiously. "Why would they choose not to intervene? Did you have a vision?" Her voice raised at least five octaves.
Celeste avoided her eyes as she took another sip of tea. "Umm, well, not exactly."
"What in tarnation do you mean by not exactly?" Priscilla’s voice squeaked with panic as she pressed forward, the tip of her nose practically grazing Celeste’s.
She looked at her worriedly. "I just mean that I’ve been having dark visions lately—"
"What? Don’t be coy, Celeste, dark visions of what? The gods leaving it up to the Eternals to sort this mess out? Hogwash! There is no way that we can sort out this mess by ourselves. Not with Queen Harmonia, Queen Nemesis, and King Helios squabbling like kids in a candy store. There is just no leadership. And without leadership, there will be total anarchy."
Celeste looked at her anxiously. "That’s exactly my point. We no longer have leadership in the council with the queens and the king at odds."
"And what of your dark visions?" she asked uneasily.
Celeste looked at her silently.
Priscilla dabbed the perspiration on her brow with agitation. "Come on, Celeste. You have me sweating like a sinner in church."
"Honestly, my visions are not clear, and you know that has never happened to me. Clear visions, clear path, always. But I can say this; I can sense that they are very dark in nature. The remnant of the darkness still lingers from them."
But what she deliberately withheld was the fact that she could only remember bits and pieces of her visions when she awoke, her mind becoming totally numb and foggy as if someone was deliberately lifting bits and pieces of information from it.
"Oh boy, this is not good. This is definitely not good," Priscilla whispered apprehensively as she leaned back in her seat, staring anxiously through the jet’s window.
"I think that’s putting it mildly," Celeste responded tiredly.
She knew that there was so much work left to do, like teaching Gabrielle, Rosalinda, Zora, and Jessica what they needed to know to protect them against the impending onslaught of Hannah. But now, with the upsetting dilemma of the Underworld sending their top soldier to capture the Akasha, she was even more troubled.
She wiped her damp forehead. She was also worried about the gigantic cloud of trouble hovering above her. She could feel its oppressive embrace squeezing the energy from her body, and there was nothing she could do to break free of its deathlike grip.
chapter
SEVEN
I could hear the heels of her shoes tapping angrily on the marble floors as Nemesis furiously stormed down the dark, cool hallway.
When she reached the massive white oak Dutch door, she blew out calmingly, smoothing down the heavy waves of fiery red hair that now cascaded untidily down to her waist.
She opened the door, instantly spotting me sitting quite doll like, staring at her defiantly.
"Oh, my childish sister, what shall I do with you?" Nemesis whispered under her breath with annoyance.
She walked slowly into the room; her ornate floor-length red silk dress rustling across the floor as the scent of hibiscus gently followed her, lingering in the air. Nemesis softly touched my thick raven-black hair that cascaded effortlessly around my waist like a cloak.
"Oh, my beautiful sister, what worries you so?" Nemesis asked softly.
With a look of worry marring my cappuccino-colored face, I stared at her silently before looking over at the pristine White Mountains. I was so tired, weary of the infighting that now engulfed the council and the Eternals.
As the queen of the Circles, and the holder of one of the most powerful positions on the council, which I shared with my twin sister Nemesis, I was so frustrated by the fighting that I had asked for a council vote on the future direction of the Eternals, a request that I regretted as soon as it left my lips.
They all understood their mission, their blood oath, which at the most fundamental level was to keep the Banished and Daemons from wreaking havoc on the planet. It was the absolute oath to the Elementi, and it was an oath that some members of the council were choosing to ignore.
I looked at her serenely. "Nemesis, you know exactly what worries me. After all, there is nothing that I think or feel that you do not know, unless I choose not to reveal it to you."
Nemesis’s eyes narrowed with irritation before slipping back into her mask of love and warmth.
I knew that Nemesis had been trying every trick in the book, including using her gifts, to probe my mind. In typical fashion, Nemesis always had to be in control, and she desperately wanted to know in advance which way I would vote. But, as usual, I shielded my mind from Nemesis’s powers determinedly.
Nemesis’s eyes flashed angrily. "I don’t understand you, sister. Why can’t you let this issue go?" She paused, huffing with frustration. "After all, it has been decided."
My violet-colored eyes narrowed coldly. "Decided by whom?"
Nemesis threw her hands in the air with irritation. "Harmonia, you know full well that the council has all but decided, and very soon we will no longer be beholden to this ridiculous blood oath to the Elementi." Her eyes pleaded with me. "Don’t you see the futility of it all? We’ve wasted centuries on them, and what have we gotten in return but total disrespect? Why can’t you just let this go and join me as a united front?"
My mind flashed back to the total chaos that took place at the council meeting just mere hours ago, all brought on by the recent attack on Vineswell. All twelve members were considered powerful and mature leaders of the Eternals, but at the meeting, the members fought bitterly like spoiled children, some members siding with Nemesis, some with Helios, and some with me, and everyone agreeing to disagree.
I looked at her with painful disappointment written all over my face. "You are my twin, but yet I still don’t understand you. This is our blood oath, yet you speak of it with total recklessness." With determination in my eyes, I continued. "I cannot turn my back on my blood oath, and nor should you."
Nemesis’s violet eyes turned icy. "You just can’t let them go, nor can you let go of that—Elementi." She spat out every word with venom dripping from each syllable.
My eyes hardened. "I let that go a long time ago. But I do care about our duty as queens. And as queens, we must rule fairly, and most importantly, we must sway the council to do what is right. Anything else would be a viewed as an act of war against the Elementi."
Nemesis’s eyes filled with fury as her red hair whipped through the air like she was caught in a windstorm. "Well, let them bring the war. And let us do what is right for the Eternals and fight."
My eyes narrowed icily. "What would you have me do, Nemesis?"
"Act like a queen. Rule the Circles as it was done by the Queen Elder."
My body stiffened angrily. Just the thought of the bloodshed that took place during the Queen Elder’s reign was frightening. She was an ugly part of their history that I would like to erase. Many died under her tyrannical reign, all because she declared war on everyone, including her own Circles and the Ares. By the end of her reign, she went so raving mad with her lust for power and blood that she was assassinated by her own people.
I gathered my calm before speaking carefully. "That I will not do. The Queen Elder was a raving lunatic, as are many who are now in our world." I looked at her pointedly. I knew that Nemesis wanted to push me to fight her. But any fight between us would be the catalyst that Nemesis craved to break ties with me. And ultimately start a war with me. This turmoil had been brewing from the time we were born.
Nemesis was the war, and I was the peace. Where Nemesis ruled with an iron hand, laying waste to everything and everyone around her, I was the underlining stability.
I gracefully rose from my plush chair, the window turning an icy white hue as I pressed my delicate fingers against it. "We are mere vessels of leadership. Our members determine our path. Not you, me, or the council has the authority to decide what is right for all of us." I looked over at her sadly. "Dear sister, what has become of you?"
Nemesis’s violet-colored eyes stared at me back blankly. "What do you mean? I work only for the Eternals. I do what is right—for them, for us. Do you not see that your uncertainty is tearing us apart? Is that what you think is right as sister? Well, I do not. And if you cannot, or will not, make a decision, then I will do it for us. Do you understand, sweet Harmonia?" she demanded coldly.
I was startled by the dark, shimmering aura that now surrounded Nemesis’s body. I knew that she was seduced by dark magic and the immense power that could be wielded by the user, but the practice of it was strictly forbidden, and from the black threads that now clawed Nemesis’s body, I now knew that she was secretly dabbling with it, and for the Eternals, this was cause for execution.
I shook my head sadly. "Lately, visions have appeared to me. These visions are very dark in nature, and every one of them surrounds nothing but you. I have denied them for far too long, turning a blind eye to the truth of the spirits because it hurts my heart to believe that you, my sister, would bring about the destruction of something that I thought you loved dearly. But the more I tried to banish and admonish the spirits and visions, the more determined they were to nag and tear at my soul until there was nowhere to run to avoid the hard truth."
I paused, turning to look at her. "You want power; you want to rule. Why can’t you just be happy with your position as queen? Why must you aspire for more?"
The visible shimmering black threads clung to Nemesis’s body greedily, quivering with anticipation. "You must watch your tongue, dear sister. You speak to me as if I am your servant, or worse, a Normal." Her delicate porcelain fingers trembled with rage as her face became thunderous. "Remember, I am a queen, and I will be treated with respect." She fought hard to compose herself by taking a deep breath. "And what of these dark visions that you speak of?"
"You know full well what I speak of." I touched her arm softly. "Nemesis, it is never too late to stop all that is in motion. We can go back to the path that we were destined to take, if you just stop what you are planning." I narrowed my eyes coldly. "But if you do not, oh dear sister, though I love you and you hold part of my heart, I will be forced to stop you."
Nemesis sneered at me mockingly. "Oh, beautiful but so naive Harmonia, do you really think you can? Do you really think that you can stop what the Eternals want? We are all divided, and if you force me"—she grabbed the back of my head, clutching my raven hair roughly—"I will rain fire down on you. Do not underestimate the span of my power or the will of my destiny." She gave me a frosty glare. "By the way, I also had a vision, a beautiful vision that my destiny is finally at arm’s reach. Now, I am more than willing to forget this little spat between us if you just join me and do as the council desires, and then we shall be truly one again."
>
I quickly flicked my wrist, sending a powerful spark of white light from my fingertips. The light gleefully blasted Nemesis in the face, knocking her backward like a backhanded slap and forcing her release. I smiled sweetly. "You know how I distaste your flair for the dramatic. So please, don’t touch me like that ever again, for next time—I will not be so nice."
Nemesis blew a fire-red strand of hair from her flushed face impatiently as she scrutinized me. "I will give you some time to think this over, dear sister, but not too long. After all, the clock is ticking. Tick-tock…tick-tock." She kissed me on the forehead, smiling good naturedly. But what I did not like was that the smile never reached eyes.
Nemesis’s face was now a cold mask of something dark and ugly just shimmering beneath the surface. She spun on her heels and briskly walked out of the room.
I sighed softly. "Oh, by the gods, I do not like this at all. All of my visions are coming to life, and the Eternals will be eternally at war! This is as it has been written, and no matter how many times that I try to rewrite the future, it still turns out the same," I whispered with frustration, turning slowly to look at the snow-capped mountain peaks. "The darkness has finally achieved its most prized goal of seeping into our world, and just as the visions promised, a war will begin, pitting the Eternals against the Elementi. And this is a war that I am not sure even we are strong enough to survive."
For the first time in my life, I felt utterly powerless, "Blessed be," I whispered sadly as violet-tinted tears slowly rolled down my cheeks.
chapter
EIGHT
I was so totally hungry. My pace quickened as I walked down the stairs and through the now-deserted lounge, well, deserted except for some guy sleeping on the couch wearing all black, with white headphones dangling from his ears.
The television was blaring as I tried to walk past him quietly. But my stomach growled in protest. Where was the kitchen? I looked at the guy again. Now that I was close, he looked so familiar. The last thing I wanted to do was disturb him, but there was no one else around.