by Claire Luana
“None. There was no temple in Athens. It was located in Ephesus.”
Sibyll inclines her head. “Which was the most important Ancient Greek festival?”
“Depends on which god you ask,” Ryan says. “But in my opinion, it was the Panathenaia.”
The Panathenaia were week-long festivals that celebrated the birth of the goddess Athena, goddess of wisdom and craft.
“A fair answer,” Sibyll says, tucking her legs up underneath her in her chair. “All right. Let’s say I believe you. What do you want me to do about it?”
“The sibyls are keepers of knowledge and wisdom. We need to find Zeus and convince him to help us. If you could tell us where he is, how to find him, that would be huge.”
“And make an introduction,” Ryan adds. “If you know anyone in his court.”
Sibyll’s face softens. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this. You guys seem like nice kids. But there’s nothing I can do to help you. Zeus is dead.”
Chapter 22
It’s like she’s punched me in the gut. All the wind has gone out of me. The words ring in my ears. In my soul. Zeus is dead. Now we’ll never be free.
“How?” Ryan asks. His voice is faint.
“When is the better question,” Sibyll says. “And the answer is a thousand years ago. When people stopped believing, they began to fade away.”
I shake my head, trying to clear the ringing. “I don’t understand.”
“Gods exist to be worshipped. Their life force is derived from the energy of humanity’s prayers and petitions, their adoration. When people began to turn away to other religions, like Christianity, the Olympian dynasty began to wither.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Ryan frowns. “The gods existed before humanity, together with the Titans. The gods created humans.”
She shakes her head. “That’s the myth, created by humanity to justify their belief in a higher power with control over them.”
“But…the gods were complete dicks to the early humans,” I say. “Prometheus was punished for eternity just for giving them fire so they wouldn’t freeze to death. Why would humans make up the idea of cosmic overlords?”
“The world is a scary, dangerous place, full of unknowns. It was a comfort to humanity to believe that there was something bigger than themselves in control. It’s easier to deceive yourself into beseeching a higher power than to step into your own.”
That makes a sort of twisted sense.
“Why didn’t we disappear then?” Ryan asks. “When the gods faded away. We’re still here.”
“Well, Orion was human,” Sibyll says. “I’m not sure about Merope. Perhaps the curse bound you to the world, so you endured.”
“It doesn’t make sense that the curse could endure when the power behind it vanished.”
Sibyll shrugs. “I don’t have all the answers, guys. I’ve never heard of a situation like yours. But if I were speculating, I would say that the curse didn’t emanate from Zeus. It came from the scythe. And it’s possible that an object of power like the scythe still endures. It was created by the gods—imbued with their magic—but it was a physical object. Many of those still exist even today. That’s part of why the order of the sibyls continues on. To locate and manage such items.”
I seize upon her comment, a spark of hope kindling in the fog of my despair. “So the scythe might still exist.”
She nods. “It probably does.”
I look at Ryan excitedly. “Maybe that’s all we need to break the curse. Maybe we don’t need Zeus at all.”
“Okay. Do you know where it is?” he asks Sibyll.
“I would suspect it’s still on Mount Olympus, though I can’t know for sure.”
“Mount Olympus still exists?” I ask.
“Like I said, much of the physical infrastructure built by the gods still remains. That includes buildings. Though Olympus is hidden well.”
I lean forwards eagerly. “How do we get to Olympus?”
Sibyll looks between us. “No mortal has gone there for a very long time. It’s a dangerous place.”
“No more dangerous than this stupid curse,” Ryan mutters.
“What type of danger?” I ask, more cautious. I’m eager to break the curse, but it won’t do us any good if we get killed. Who knows what Ryan and I will remember in our next lives? It might take us years to remember that we’re not enemies. Not to mention, I’m rather fond of this life and am growing fonder by the day.
“Boobytraps, I’m sure,” Sibyll explains. “When the gods were fading from this world, they gathered their treasures to them and locked themselves inside their fortress at Olympus. They feared that their enemies would want to take advantage of their weakness and attack. So they sealed it off, and then partially phased it out of this reality so no one would stumble upon it.
“This is sounding better and better,” Ryan says wryly.
I study her, cocking my head. “The sibyls were part of it, weren’t they?”
She nods. “We were tasked as the final keepers of the resting place of the gods and their lore. It’s only our order who knows the location of Olympus and how to access it.”
“So I guess we’re pretty lucky we came here to talk to you,” I say.
“Will you help us get into Olympus?” Ryan asks.
She shakes her head. “It’d be irresponsible of me to let you go. You’re just kids. I don’t know what you’d face in there.”
“If we don’t go, more girls will die young,” I say. “In this lifetime and the next. Please.”
Ryan chimes in. “We’re willing to risk our lives if it means ending this. And we’re not helpless. I’m as good an archer in this life as I was as Orion.”
I raise an eyebrow at the boast, but I’ve seen the trophies on his shelf. Besides, Ryan doesn’t really seem like the bragging type.
Sibyll pushes to her feet, walking to her bookshelf. She stands before it, seeming to be thinking. Finally, she retrieves a book, returning to her chair. She sits for a moment, stroking the cover. Finally, she nods to herself and looks up at us. “I believe what you’re saying. I can sense your ancient selves in both of you. The Fates clearly brought you to me. I’m not sure I should stand in your way.”
She offers the book, and Ryan takes it. We both look at the title, our shoulders brushing together. Greek Tragedies. Ryan opens the cover, and my eyes widen. A portion of the interior pages have been cut out to leave a hiding place. An ancient key is nestled inside.
“This key unlocks the gate to Mount Olympus. I’m granting you permission to use it only for the purpose of locating the scythe and breaking the curse. When you complete your task, you must return it to me.” Her words are forceful, and goosebumps rise on my arms. She’s speaking some sort of spell over us. I feel like Aladdin getting instructions before he heads into the tiger’s mouth to retrieve the lamp.
“Your terms are acceptable,” Ryan says, and the authority in his voice startles me. I hear Orion in those words.
“So, where exactly is the door?” I ask. Please don’t be in Athens, please don’t be in Athens, I think.
“In Athens,” Sibyll replies.
Damn.
“But there’s another way to get there. A…place of transit, if you will. We call it the Byway.”
Oh, thank god. I’m pretty good at wrapping Dad around my little finger, but a spontaneous family trip to Greece would be a stretch, even for me. Creepy sounding Byway for the win!
“Olympus sits atop the Mytikas peak in central Greece. But all mountaintops are mythical places, charged with the same energy. You can reach Olympus from any dominant peak. I believe the closest to here would be Mount Shasta.”
Shasta was in Northern California. That could work. “What do we look for? Shasta is a big mountain.”
“The key will show you the way,” Sibyll says. “But once you’re in Olympus, it’ll be up to you to find the scythe and break the curse. I have no wisdom to offer you regarding either of tho
se subjects.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “You’ve been so helpful. I can’t believe how much closer we are. I can’t thank you enough.”
Ryan is silent beside me, and I nudge him to get him to chime in with his thanks as well. I look over and I see that he’s no longer listening. He’s staring out the window, riveted by something outside.
“Ryan?” I put my hand on his knee and give it a little shake. “You okay?”
He surges to his feet. “There’s someone in the river,” he says. “I think she’s drowning.”
Chapter 23
Ryan is out through the glass patio doors and on the deck before my brain catches up.
“Don’t!” I call after him, cursing under my breath.
“What?” Sibyll asks, alarmed.
“We can’t let him near the water,” I say, following him outside. But it’s likely too late. Things are already in motion.
“You had a vision?” Sibyll asks, jogging next to me.
“Yes.” I’m breathless with fear. “Of Alcyone dead, floating in water.”
Sibyll blanches beside me.
Ryan is out on the dock now, and we meet him at the end.
“Hey!” He’s calling at the girl, waving his hands, peering into the sunshine flickering off the river to try to determine if she’s flailing or drowning.
“That’s my neighbor’s daughter,” Sibyll says. “She swims in the river all the time. She’s a strong swimmer.”
The swimmer has caught sight of us and has turned our direction, headed towards us with sure strokes.
I grab Ryan’s elbow and pull him back from the edge as she approaches, clinging to him with fingers as cold as ice, despite the warm day. I don’t want him anywhere near that girl. We shouldn’t even be on this dock.
She reaches the ladder at the end of Sibyll’s dock and pulls herself up. She’s a pretty blonde about our age in a sleek speedo and swim cap. She lifts her goggles, which have left rings around her green eyes. I recognize that face. My stomach heaves and I think I might throw up.
“Hey, Ms. A,” she says brightly.
“Hello, Melanie,” Sibyll replies.
“I saw you waving. Everything okay?” Melanie asks. She’s scrutinizing Ryan with an appreciative eye, and I suddenly understand why she was so eager to come over here and “investigate.” A thread of jealousy snakes through me, low and hot. I adjust my grip on Ryan’s arm so it looks like we’re just out for a stroll, rather than me holding him back from a terrible but certain fate.
Ryan clears his throat. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt your workout. I saw someone in the river and thought something was wrong.”
“Nope, everything’s just fine. I was finishing up.”
“Great,” he replies. “Well, we don’t want to keep you.”
With what I think I recognize as a flash of disappointment, Melanie smiles. “All right then. Have a good one.” She heads back towards the ladder and I turn to Ryan, reluctantly releasing his arm. “Ohmygod,” I whisper to him. “I think we just avoided fate.”
Ryan grins at me, and my heart pools like melted butter in my chest. “See, nothing to worry about.” He threads his arm around me and pulls me to the warm expanse of his body in a side hug. “Maybe we just needed to be a team all along.”
I’m still smiling when I feel him stiffen against me. A croaking sound escapes him, and I don’t understand what’s happening. Until he starts to shake.
His arm slides from me as he falls towards the weathered boards of the dock. I try to catch him, but my body is sluggish to respond, not willing to recognize what’s happening. He’s having a seizure.
I drop to my knees just as one of his feet thrashes out, catching me in the stomach. The air whooshes out of me and I fall back on my ass, temporarily stunned. It’s too late when I realize how close to the edge of the dock he is. How he’s going to tumble over the edge.
“Ryan!” I hear myself scream his name as he goes over the side, my own voice a foreign sound in my ears. I feel like my senses are closing around me, my body a prison of bright sunlight and shaky breath and the sharp taste of my fear. My body is a sluggish foe rebelling against my direction.
Sibyll is faster and is already at the edge of the dock where Ryan fell when I finally find my way to hands and knees and scramble to meet her. A sliver pierces my palm, but I’m barely aware. Ryan is seizing. In the river. There’s no way he won’t take water into his lungs. He could die.
“He’s having a seizure!” Sibyll yells to Melanie, who’s turned around at the commotion. She hasn’t made it far from our dock and is now swimming back towards him as fast as she can.
Thank the gods he’s faceup in the water, but his body keeps dipping down below the lapping waves, his eyes back in his head, his face as pale as a corpse’s. This doesn’t make sense. My vision was of her, not him.
Melanie has reached him now and is making to swim around behind him. But one of his arms flings out like a tree trunk and catches her straight in the face, stunning her. She falls back in the water, and I see the red of blood coming from her nose.
“Oh my god,” I say, pulling off my shoes. Sibyll is doing the same.
“I’ll get him, you get her,” is all she says before she leaps off the dock into the river.
I follow suit, feeling that peculiar lightness of falling before I plunge into the water, the cold of the river like a slap to my face. I kick my feet and surface, seeing my target.
Sibyll has almost reached Ryan already; it looks like his seizure is slowing.
I reach Melanie and see her eyes are closed. I can’t tell if she’s breathing or if she’s inhaled water. I swim around the back of her, threading my arms through her armpits and kicking towards shore. I’m only an average swimmer, but adrenaline surges through me, and my toes touch the pebbles of the river’s bottom in just a few seconds.
Melanie’s weight settles upon me as we emerge from the river, and I overbalance, falling onto my ass with her in my lap. I scramble up and pull her another few feet, the rocks of the shore gouging into the soles of my feet.
I collapse to the ground with her. Sibyll has done the same with Ryan, making it slightly farther up the bank to shore. I can’t concern myself with him right now—I focus on Melanie. Alcyone. Blood trickles from her nose where Ryan hit her, and it doesn’t look like she’s breathing.
Grateful for that PE class where Coach Donaldson brought in a CPR instructor, I position my hands below her diaphragm and begin pumping. Come on, come on.
I pinch her nose and blow air into her mouth, the copper tang of her blood filling my nostrils.
I start pumping again and her eyes flutter open as she coughs, water bubbling out of her mouth. I roll her gently onto her side, letting her cough out the rest of the water from her lungs.
Ryan groans and my eyes snap up, taking in the sight of him pushing gingerly to a seated position, his head cradled in his hands.
Sibyll slumps back onto her hip, brushing her wet hair out of her eyes.
“You’re okay,” I say to Melanie. Relief hits me like a freight train. Everyone is okay. We bested the Fates today. Even as the thought flares in my mind, I try to douse it, to hide it so it will never reach those immortal puppetmasters, so they’re not angered by my defiance. I wouldn’t put it above the petty bitches to strike Melanie with a bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky.
Without a word, Sibyll and I exchange places, she helping Melanie up the bank onto the softer grass, me settling at Ryan’s side.
He’s lying back in the grass, gazing at the sky.
“I almost killed her,” he finally says hoarsely.
“Key word almost,” I reply with mock levity. Somehow I recognize that if he’s going to be the fatalistic one, it’s up to me to be optimistic. He grabs my hand and pulls it against his chest, letting it rest against his wet shirt. I ignore the roaring of my heart.
“She’ll be okay. Don’t feel bad. It was an accident.”
�
��It always is,” he says, still not meeting my eye.
Isn’t that the truth.
Chapter 24
The drive home is subdued.
After helping Melanie back to her parents’ house, where the girl promises she’ll go straight to urgent care to get checked out, Sibyll feeds us sandwiches and gives us something to wear while our clothes tumble in the dryer.
I give her a hug when we leave, the book with its key tucked safely under Ryan’s arm. She’s given us so much. Hospitality, hope. And she helped me save Alcyone. I didn’t know it was possible to owe someone so much after just one day.
I stare out the window on the drive home, thinking about the feel of Ryan’s hand fixed in mine. The terror I felt as I saw him go into the water. It’s not just that I can’t do this without him. It’s that I don’t want to. Something has been growing in me that’s undeniable, and I don’t know what to do. I’ve never had a boyfriend, so there’s the normal teenage paralysis when it comes to the prospect of dating. Sure, I’ve got fuzzy experience from past lives, but those memories are like watching something on TV. Plus, everything is different in this lifetime of social media and texting. My mind drifts, imagining life after all this is over. If we really manage to break the curse. Would I never see Ryan again? Would we go through all this together and then simply part ways? Is that what he would want? I want to ask him, but I’m a coward.
So I simply wave goodbye when he drops me off, promising to text him to plan our trip to Shasta.
I feign perkiness to Mom and Dad, who’ve ordered Thai food. I mow down some chicken pad thai and give them a seriously abridged version of my trip to Corvallis. I told them we were going to do research for a project at the OSU library. I mean, there was a grain of truth in there, right?
They settle in to watch Netflix, and I head to bed. My body is sluggish with shock, and I want nothing more than to take a scalding shower and wash the scent of the river and Melanie’s blood from me.
Sleep seizes me in a powerful grip, dragging me down into blackness.