The Moirai

by Ali Winters

  “Gaia, help me.” The words escaped her lips in a breathless plea.

  The beast took one step forward. Then another. Then let out a roar unlike anything she’d ever heard, deep and screeching as if the monsters of nightmares had been made into a single, horrid creature.

  As slowly as she could, Nivian backed away, but with each movement, the creature came closer.

  Run, run! Her mind screamed.

  Forgetting caution, she forced herself to move through the fear and spun on her heel, running for the end of the valley. It was still so far. Too far. And the Cherufe was too fast. She would never make it out of the valley alive if she tried to outrun it.

  The ash from the eruptions made the sky dark, as if the false day of the Underworld was fading into night. Her only light was the constant pits of fire pocking the floor of the vale.

  The Cherufe pounded behind her, each beat of its thunderous hooves hammering like the beat of a heart, fast and faster as it gained on her.

  Nivian looked around desperately for a place it couldn’t go. She could feel its heat getting closer.

  It let out a roar so powerful it nearly knocked her off her feet.

  Nivian zagged sharply to the left. A body as large and heavy as the beast's couldn’t change its momentum as quickly as she could.

  It slammed face first into the ground where she had been seconds ago, skidding to a stop and creating trenches with its massive hooves. It bellowed and aimed for her, turning in a large, rounded curve.

  She ran for the nearest peak and clawed her way up the side. Nivian was thankful for the rough hewn rocks as she used them to pull herself up. The Cherufe, with its cloven hooves, would have a hard time climbing something so steep.

  Or so she hoped.

  Nivian climbed and climbed. The beast was running again, sights set on her. It reached the base of the peak as she hit the halfway point.

  She reached up but couldn’t quite get to the next handhold. Lifting herself up on her toes, she pressed her belly flush against the rock. Almost. But still inches away.

  Nivian leaped for the overhanging platform and missed, sliding back down, the rock scraping her flesh through her clothes. She tried again and whimpered when she missed.

  She took one steading breath and tried a third time, barely catching the lip of the rock. It dug into her palms, but the hand of fear steeled her resolve and she pulled herself up and scurried along her makeshift path as the mountain leveled enough for her to stand and walk. Nivian continued to grab onto the rocks for leverage and to keep from sliding on the loose gravel she hadn’t counted on, which slowed her pace further.

  She damned Hades for his cursed realm.

  The billowing monster below waited with an open maw, as though expecting her to slip and fall into certain death.

  She kept pushing forward. It grew harder to climb as she progressed in the sweltering heat. Her fingers became slick with sweat.

  The beast bashed against the stone, rocking the earth and creating an avalanche of gravel to move under her feet. She fell, sliding down the side. Nivian clawed for something to stop her decent into the waiting jaws of the Cherufe below.

  It pounded with both of its front hooves over and over.

  Her boot hit the ledge of a rock, stopping her descent, and she held herself against the mountain’s side. The Cherufe let out a furious roar, slamming into the rock again.

  She clung to the mountain then watched as two razor like talons extended from its cloven hooves and it started to climb.

  Nivian flipped back around and started scrambling with everything she had, ignoring the pain in her burned and torn hands, ignoring the waning energy of her muscles.

  She collapsed at the top, the heat and exertion taking its toll on her mortal body. Nivian retched violently over the edge then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

  The Cherufe still gained. Its claws allowed it to follow her where it never should have been able to traverse. Sparks flew from the talons as they hit and buried themselves into the stone.

  Cornered.

  Behind her, only a drop off into the volcano itself, in front of her, a beast wanting nothing more than to crush her bones between its serrated teeth.

  There was no where else for her to go.

  Nivian narrowed her eyes and stared the Cherufe down.

  “Come and get me,” she snarled through clenched teeth. She wouldn’t lose her soul to Hades, not without a fight.

  Her fists tightened painfully at her sides.

  The beast seemed to understand her challenge and charged, closing the distance with an impossible speed.

  She crouched low.

  Two hundred feet away. One hundred. Seventy. Forty. Fifteen…

  Nivian threw herself to the side, preparing to roll down the mountain, but as she sailed through the air, time seemed to slow.

  The Cherufe lunged for her, but it was too late to change direction as it started to skid, its massive body flailing as it slid over the edge.

  The long trunk like tail of the creature whipped wildly in the air, striking her and sending her body into a mad spin, then throwing her to the ground as it smashed the lip of the cliff.

  The wind was ripped from her lungs, leaving her gasping as the ground beneath her crumbled from under the weight of the tail and disappeared.

  Nivian only had time to pull in a single breath before she found herself falling.

  TWENTY-THREE

  NIVIAN

  NIVIAN FELL OVER the edge, her body weightless in the air for a brief moment before gravity took hold of her again. The Cherufe tumbled head over feet as it plunged into the fire below.

  She hit the wall of the volcano and dug in. Her fall stopped by an abrupt jerk as she caught, and held onto, a fragile ledge by the tips of her fingers. The rest of her body dangled over the massive pool of molten rock, popping and splashing, below.

  Sweat formed on the skin of her palms, making her precarious grip slick. Nivian didn’t know how much longer she could hold on.

  A roar bellowed from below and she chanced a look. The Cherufe breached the surface of the lava as if it were nothing more than water and to her horror, began to swim toward a landing. Her hands almost slipped from the shock of it surviving the fall and the pool of fire. She’d been a fool to think it wouldn’t escape, the beast was made of this hellish landscape.

  It pounded its way up a slope that wound from the base of the inner volcano all the way to the top. The Cherufe would escape and come for her again.

  Nivian dug her toes into the rock and used what little she found to lift herself so her hands could hold on better. She pulled herself up and reached for the next handhold, but the brittle rock just crumbled beneath her hand.

  The Cherufe pounded along its path, the force of each blow creating a hairline fracture along the edge of the chunk of stone she held onto.

  Soon, it would break and she would fall. Only for her, there would be no escape from the pit below.

  With a cry, Nivian wrenched her body and jammed her hand into a crevice several feet above. Her weight pulled down, pinching her fingers painfully between the rock. She twisted her body until she could swing her leg over the lip of the volcano.

  She only allowed herself a few seconds to breathe, then tugged on her fingers. Tears welled up from the pain. The rock sliced at her hand, tearing the skin. She could feel the warm trickle of blood dampen the cleft and she managed to free herself with a painful popping of her joints then climbed out over the top.

  Her hand was a swollen and mangled mess, but there was nothing she could do about it until she was out of the valley.

  Nivian angled her body and slid down the volcano’s side, aiming for a large rock. As soon as her boots hit she pushed off, moving to the next and the next in a clumsy attempt to control her descent and avoid tumbling to the bottom.

  She couldn’t risk wasting any more time. The Cherufe would soon find its way out and come for her again, and she needed to get to Kain.<
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  As soon as she hit the flat ground, she ran on tired legs, tripping and stumbling as she pushed herself with everything she had left.

  The roar of the beast sounded, echoing through the valley.

  She stumbled as she looked behind her to see it storming down after her. It was clumsy but still managed to gain ground. The pounding footfalls were an ominous heartbeat moving in on her, threatening to crush her.

  The hot decaying wind of its breath hit her back as she reached the end of the valley and entered a thick forest, but she kept running as hard as she could. Then the sound of the hoofbeats stilled and it let out screeching roar after screeching roar.

  Nivian slowed and turned to face it. It pounded once in protest, but did not leave the valley’s boundaries.

  Relief flooded her and she wanted nothing more than to collapse and sleep and cry and laugh. Nivian leaned her back against the rough bark of a tree.

  She had made it. Her eyes drifted skyward. Thank Gaia. She watched the Cherufe for a moment as she gathered her strength, unsure if she had enough left to keep going. But now all that remained between her and Kain was a single river.

  Nivian pushed away from the tree, away from the beast and its bone crushing jaws, and walked up a hill moving faster until she was jogging as she followed the sound of flowing water somewhere up ahead. When she neared the top, a smoky haze engulfed her.

  She slowed to a walk to avoid falling, each footstep echoed like she was in a long, empty hallway. Nivian pushed herself to go faster, afraid of what ill side effects the fog might have.

  Then, the haze broke and she stood on the shore of a river that looked like liquid silver. It flowed into a lake, which, any larger, could probably have been classified as an ocean.

  Nivian stared in awe.

  Beyond, the river curved around the lake, just as four others did at equal distances.

  The sky ended, becoming the walls and ceiling of a massive cave. Stalagmites and stalactites reached for one another, their true sizes impossible to guess. A light waited on the opposite end of the lake, surrounded by green fields.

  She didn’t want to guess what that place was. For as welcoming and beautiful as it was from her vantage point, something in her bones told her it was not a place she could go.

  A large boulder protruded from the lake several yards in, and atop it, a shape that didn’t belong.

  “Kain.” Nivian pressed the pads of her fingers to her lips, holding in a sob of joy.

  She could see no way around the river, just as Prometheus had warned. It poured directly into the lake. To get there, she had to cross through the Lethe.

  Nivian lurched forward, energy renewed, and collided into someone. She straightened, stumbling back and saw shades. They passed her and fell at the rivers edge, hunched over like dozens upon dozens of men dying of thirst.

  Who are these people?

  They were different from the ones she’d met when first entering the Underworld.

  She stepped up alongside one. It paused, just for a moment, then resumed drinking. Nivian reached out and touched its shoulder. Its head snapped in her direction and stared at her with a featureless face.

  Nivian backed away, gravel crunching under her boots.

  The shade had no eyes, no nose, no features other than slight dips and bumps that hinted where they should go. Except, it had a mouth, thin and lipless, barely more than a slit. And yet, somehow, she could feel it watching her, examining her with a sense of confusion and interest.

  “You don’t belong here,” it rasped. The shade hissed then turned away and continued to scoop up more water with its hands, gulping it down as if it would never get enough.

  “Who are you?” she asked, but the soul didn’t respond. She tried again. “Is there a way across the river?”

  Still, the shade ignored her.

  One got to its feet, and several more followed, their heads tilted, listening. Then they walked out into the silvery river and vanished. More shades came to take their place.

  She tried again and again to get one to talk to her. But other than the first one, none seemed to notice her. She felt like a ghost in their presence, felt like she was the one who wasn’t real. Eventually, she gave up and walked to the water’s edge. It lapped the shore, just shy of touching her.

  Nivian pulled in a slow, deep breath and let it out. Her next few steps would ensure that the memories of her past life, would be lost. Forever. And though they remained shrouded in shadow somewhere deep inside her mind, she knew they existed. And giving them up felt like giving up a part of herself.

  Hades had offered them up to her. It was tempting to her curiosity. Who wouldn’t want to remember their past?

  But they were just memories of a life she couldn’t remember and, despite everything that had happened because of who she used to be, they wouldn’t change the past, and losing them wouldn’t change who she was now.

  What good were forgotten memories? They wouldn’t keep her warm when the cold of the world surrounded her. Having them wouldn’t make her life full.

  Kain was her future, and she was so close to him.

  She thought about the soothing timbre of Kain’s voice, the feel of his hand on hers, his smile… she would have those things again. Everything about him filled her with a warmth that nothing else she’d ever experienced could ever compare with.

  Yes, giving them up would be worth it.

  Nivian inhaled and exhaled then said goodbye to a life she would never remember to embrace a brighter future. She took her first step into the river.

  She waded in until she stood waist deep and headed toward the estuary. A low buzzing filled her mind, making it hard for her to think and coating her thoughts in clouds of cotton, fuzzy and impossible to focus on anything. Every time she came close to holding on to a memory it was ripped away.

  She shook it off. Exhaustion. She’d been going for… Nivian frowned. There was no way to tell time in the Underworld. But her mortal body was wearing down. Heavy. Battered and bloody and bruised.

  There was a finality to this place, peaceful yet unwelcoming. Large evergreens lined the river on either side. Pale light as if the sun were just about to rise. Familiar, but she couldn’t place why.

  Her memories danced as if deciding which would be the first to enter the forefront of her thoughts. The loss of something deep inside filled her with a sorrow she was unfamiliar with. She searched her mind and found it riddled with dark spots as if essential parts were just gone.

  She thought of Caspian and smiled. She remembered seeing him, his face filled with surprise, with curiosity and fear mixed with something completely predatory.

  Nivian rubbed her forehead. Caspian smiling…

  Then, like trying to grab hold of the wind, the thought faded into darkness.

  A tree. Sitting with Caspian in the shade. Talking about everything and nothing. She was fascinated by him. She strained to remember the words, but it was silent. Only the sound of his laugh and being happy.

  She laughed… but why?

  The memories flitted faster and faster, coming in a whirl of colors and blurry shapes and shadow. Each faded as the darkness of her mind spread like an oil spill. Family. A summer’s morning. A crowded market place. A kiss. Stars in the night sky, fading, blinking out one at a time.

  And then… dark water. Cold. Fear strangling her.

  The void inside her mind grew, swallowing up every last detail of a life she’d once had. Nivian blinked furiously, trying to shake the feeling away, to keep some part of her, to know her life, if only for a short moment.

  Fear choked her as one by one, her memories, her life were stolen and ripped away. But some things were worth fighting for through every obstacle the world threw out. Nivian pressed on.

  Sitting in a diner with Kain. His smile.

  The brightness and detail dimmed, fading to black.

  “No,” she whispered. She would not give those memories up. She had not bargained those away. The river
tried to steal them from her but she fought against its pull.

  A man sat on a large rock, looking out to the distant shore.

  Waiting. He looked as if he were waiting.

  She racked her brain trying to remember. She knew why… but the words wouldn’t come to her. Nivian kept walking toward him, as if driven by an invisible hand. Then slowly, he turned to her with questioning green eyes.

  Green eyes that she knew.

  A barrage of images flooded back and she gasped.

  A walk through a park at night.

  Holding his hand.

  Him saving her from a rogue washing machine.

  Four simple, but heartbreakingly beautiful words.

  “I love you, Nivian.”

  “Kain…” His name fell from her lips in a whisper.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  CASPIAN

  CASPIAN CLENCHED HIS fists tightly behind his back as he paced methodically across his office. His eyes flicked to the cover of the Tome of Fate and its missing eye. A detail that had stuck out to him immediately. He’d sat frozen, staring at the leather cover and the empty space where the gem had been. His emotions flashed between shock and anger.

  He sighed, something that sounded like more of a growl than anything else as he turned to look out the large window behind his desk.

  “Where are you, Nivian?” he asked the empty room.

  She had been gone for seven months past the three she’d originally asked for. Where had she gone?

  He supposed it was fortunate that Nivian had a habit of spending most of her time in her human dwelling rather than within the halls of G.R.I.M. as most Reapers did. He didn’t need to field any questions because no one had noticed. No one but him knew.

  Caspian closed his eyes and sent his power out, reaching, searching. He scoured the realm of Edrathli, snaking through G.R.I.M., the trees, the endless desert, and fields of rock. When he found no trace of her anywhere, he reached out farther, to the human realm.

  Nivian was nowhere to be found. It was as if she ceased to exist. He would have thought a rogue Hunter had destroyed her, if it was even possible, but he would have felt the loss of her power. No, she’d not been destroyed, but the second she’d disappeared, he had known.