by C M Thorne
The other people at the door stepped inside and came up alongside the hospital bed. Dr. West cleared his throat, “We are going to take your father now. I promise we will keep you updated. Are text messages alright if anything happens and you’re out?”
“Oh, yes,” Thea looked up at him and nodded. “That’s fine.”
“Alright, Miss Matthews,” Dr. West nodded and walked out in front of her father, as the others wheeled him out along with all his machines.
She sighed and looked through the bag again, even though she knew her wallet was not inside. She pulled her father’s worn black leather wallet free and debated with herself for a second before returning the bag to the small grey closet and keeping the wallet. She thumbed through the wallet, noting her father’s cards and the usual amount he kept in cash. He wouldn’t mind her using any of it, especially given the present situation. Thea forced the wallet into her left pocket, but it stuck out a bit. It would have to do. She looked at herself in the mirror before leaving, debating whether it was worth trying to use her power to something about her appearance. She sighed and turned to the door.
She had chosen the little Mexican place across the street out of all the options and had settled on the chicken tortilla soup after several minutes of blankly staring at the menu. It was good and had warmed her up. Thea hadn’t noticed that she was cold, a true cold that emanated from within her until the soup slid down her throat and called attention not only to her very empty stomach, but her coldness. She pulled a ten out of the wallet and left it on the table, walking out of the restaurant quickly. The air outside hit her like a wave as she opened the door, cold and blustery.
She did not mind the cold so much, but she realized that she looked strange in her thin capped sleeved purple shirt, wild hair, and haggard face. These clothes were from London, from lounging around the large house of her sisters before all of this. She scanned the strip mall and its offerings of shops. A small boutique named Rachelle’s looked promising and she started across the parking lot. She stepped out from a line of cars and had to jump back as a black sports car slammed on its brakes to avoid hitting her. “The hell!” Thea swore and glared at the car.
It purred almost menacingly, stopped less than a foot from where Thea had been. Its windows were basically black, impossible to see inside. The lights flashed twice, signaling her to walk. Anger had risen in her gut and she had to swallow a lump in her throat. Was it just anger? Fear? Thea shook her head, crossed her arms, and stalked in front of the car, shooting the driver a look. The sports car roared back into action and shot down the parking lot. “Asshole,” Thea swore and made her way to the boutique.
A bell shined as she walked inside and Thea found herself in a very warm store with a fragrant, flowery candle burning on the counter and soft fold music floating down from the speakers in the ceiling. The displays of the shop were all antique looking, distressed furniture holding flowing dresses, colorful tops, and all manner of jewelry. “Good morning!” a cheery voice called from the back. “How are you this morning? Let me know if you need help with anything!”
Thea peered around the obstacles of displays and clothing, but could not see the owner of the bright voice. “Thanks,” Thea muttered and moved around.
Despite the chill outside, the clothes all looked perfect for spring and summer. She ran her hand over the soft, thin cotton of a rack of maxi dresses in muted green and blues. The shop had nice stuff, but she needed something to cover up with, something to make her look less out of place and more warm. “Excuse me? Do you have any jackets or coats?” Thea raised her voice and asked the back of the store.
“Oh!” the woman’s clear voice rang out and a saffron hued curtains at the back of the store billowed open as a thin, willowy blonde woman breezed out. She was wearing a long, floor-length peasant skirt that was done it long horizontal panels of a brown fabric and a darker brown with a small flower pattern on it. She had a dark green top on that flared out into a scalloped hem about her hips. “Hello!” She met Thea’s gaze and beckoned her to the back of the store. “All of my wintery things are here at the back. I’m afraid I don’t have much since the cold has lasted a little longer than expected and I already had all of my spring orders set!” She shook her head and swept a hand out as Thea walked to the back.
“I have some longer pants over here,” she gestured towards the right, to a rack of wide legged, cotton “hippie pants,” as her mother had called them. Thea smiled a little as the woman continued, “Anything long-sleeved is right here.” She rested her hand on another rack. “There are some hoodies here,” She moved and thumbed over the items hanging in an old-fashioned wardrobe that had the doors removed. “There are two of the witch jackets that were so popular here, as well. And,” she drew out the word as she turned around, “I think there are some sweaters on that table. Is that helpful?”
Thea looked around and nodded, “Yes, thank you.”
“You look cold, honey,” the woman clucked and turned to the wardrobe. “Why don’t you have a jacket?” She glanced back at Thea, looked her over to size her up, and looked back to the jackets. “Are you at the hospital, honey? Not to be rude or anything, you just look tired.”
Thea opened her mouth as the woman pulled a deep violet, lightweight jacket and held it up to her. The woman, who Thea assumed must be Rachelle, continued speaking, “This looks like your size and its warmer than it looks.” Thea took the jacket and Rachelle turned away to move to the long-sleeved shirts. “I think something else would match color-wise better, you know? And, something longer will layer better that your shirt to be warmer, you know?”
Thea nodded, not trying to get a word in as Rachelle was already launching into something else. “I think you can wear any color. Great complexion! I am so jealous, honestly.” She quickly thumbed through the shirts. “And you’re thin, so I bet you can look good in just about anything. I don’t know what’s going on, honey, but always find the bright in things, please. You know? Things might seem dark, but little things, like being able to wear any color or fit anything like a glove, those are important. There’s always a light in the dark, you know?”
She couldn’t help but smile as she nodded. Normally, she probably would have stifled a giggle at the woman’s cheery optimism. She didn’t know Thea. I could’ve just found out I was dying and here she is telling me to find light in the fact that I look good in just about anything, Thea thought. She had to admit that it was making her feel better, or at least, making her feel normal.
“Here, I think this will look gorge’ under that jacket and you will totally rock it with your coloring,” Rachelle held out a sage colored long-sleeved shirt that look slim and made of a soft, but thin material.
“Oh, I like it,” Thea said, taking the shirt.
“Dressing rooms are there,” Rachelle pointed past her to the pale blue curtains. “Go into either one and tell me what you think.”
“Thank you,” Thea nodded and moved to the dressing room on the right. The little stall was painted a deep teal and had golden hooks on the wall around a long, oval-shaped mirror. She tugged her shirt off and pulled on the sage green top first. It was skin tight along the arms and nearly as slim around her middle. Rachelle is right, though, Thea thought, I am thin enough at least. She pulled the jacket off the hook she had put it on and slipped it on. It was soft and slightly larger than she needed, but she liked the way in hung around her in contrast to the tight shirt beneath.
“How’s it workin’ out, honey?” Rachelle called out.
“Oh, um,” Thea opened the curtain and stepped out.
Rachelle clapped her hands together, “That looks so good on you! What do you think? How do you feel? You look comfortable, but so cute. I knew those colors would look good on you! I would love to try to find something that could look bad on you!” She laughed and put her hand on Thea’s shoulder, turning her toward a large tri-fold mirror at the back of the store that she hadn’t noticed before.
It did m
ake her look like she had a bit more color about her face, less drained. She looked down at her arms, noticing the price tag hanging off the cuff of the left arm. She grabbed at it and nearly balked at the seventy dollar price. “Oh,” Thea breathed out, “I like it, but-”
“Say no more!” Rachelle held up a hand before moving forward and ripping the tag free. Her hands moved quickly around her neck, pulling the tag free from the shirt as well. “If you like them, I’ll give you a discount. They are all old anyway! Wrong season!” She laughed loud and quick, breezing up to her counter and register. “Plus!” She called out triumphantly as she looked over a sheet on her counter, “I do give a hospital discount! Trust me! It won’t be bad, honey. Hold on!”
Thea shook her head and walked up to the counter, “I don’t need you to d-”
Rachelle cut her off again, “So!” She turned her sparkling dark eyes up at her, “It’ll be forty-five for both.”
“Oh, wow,” Thea breathed out. “Are you sure? That is way less than even just the j-”
Rachelle laughed, “Honey, it’s my shop! It’s old merch! Don’t even worry!”
Thea nodded and forced a weak smile, “Thank you. You’re very kind.”
“Oh, honey,” Rachelle shook her head, smiling. “I know when someone is in need of some help. I couldn’t rightly charge you full price for last season’s leftovers! Especially with you coming from the hospital and all,” she trailed off for a moment, eyes floating downward. “Anyway!” She cheered up and smiled, meeting Thea’s grey eyes with her own dark ones. “Do you want them?”
Thea nodded and pulled out the wallet. She grabbed a fifty from the back of her dad’s wallet and handed it over. “Keep the change, please. I feel bad.” She put the wallet back in her pocket and stepped back. “Thank you, Rachelle.”
“Receipt, honey?” she asked, putting the money into the drawer of her register.
“Oh, no,” Thea shook her head and continued backing up. She needed to get back to the hospital now. She was worried that she hadn’t heard from her dad’s doctor. “Thank you, again.”
“No problem, honey!” Rachelle called out as Thea reached the door and pulled it open.
She stepped outside and looked across the street to the towering hospital. She folded her fingers over the cuff of the jacket and pulled at the sleeves before crossing her arms and stepping off the curb and cutting across the parking lot. As she walked between two parked cars, she remembered that she left her shirt in the little dressing room. Thea turned on her heel, determined to go get her shirt as the same black car screeched to a halt in front of her.
The window rolled down and a woman with thick, curly black hair and shocking icy grey-blue eyes looked out at her. She had full lips and thin face with high cheekbones. “Get in the car,” she commanded in a light Irish accent.
“Excuse me?” Thea stepped back.
“If you want a chance to see your mother and learn some more of the truth,” the woman stared at her pointedly, “you’ll get in the car and come with me.”
Thea stared at the woman confused and frozen in place. Something pulled up towards her and she couldn’t understand her own thoughts as she took a step forward. She stopped again, blinked once, and shook her head, turning to glance back to the hospital. “I love you, dad,” she said softly, “I need to go see mom, though.” She turned back to the car and walked around to the passenger side, letting herself in the car. She looked back over to the hospital as the car roared and pulled away.
EPILOGUE: BLOOD IN THE SKY
ASUKA HAD BEEN fully immersed in the workings of the business since the death of Tamiko at the ceremony of the cherry blossoms. Ren and Hiroto had not left her side since the ceremony, posting themselves as her own guard. She debated about dismissing them, as she had upped the security at her house and work already, but none of them were gods. They could deal with the mortal, but this threat was not mortal. This threat was divine and known killers of the divine. She had thought days of such worries long past. War amongst immortals rarely benefited the earth and the mortals that crawled over every possible inch.
She rubbed her temples and realized that she had been blankly staring at her computer screen. It went dark from her inactivity and she turned around, looking out across the city. The sun had not yet broken over the horizon, but the sky was a mix of deep pinks and oranges encroaching on the purples and blues of the last shade of night. Asuka had sent a message off to the Greeks, reaching out now that they had both been attacked. She wanted to see if Adella Panagos knew anything about who was stoking the flames of war. No response had come back despite messaging her two days ago.
The other pantheons had never exactly been friends of her family, but alliances and truces had been forged long ago. She had to admit that she had not always led her family in the peace that she did know. She had warred with those to the west for centuries. Her orders and decisions had squashed numerous lives, mortal and immortal alike. That was the past, though. She did not want what she wanted then. Asuka wasn’t sure when she had changed, but she longed for only peace now.
She shook her head and turned to Ren, who stood on the other side of her office, looking over the office. Where Hiroto was, she wasn’t sure. Most like patrolling the floor or even beyond. “Let’s go to the roof,” she told her brother as she crossed the office, “I need some air.”
He nodded and fell in behind her. Hiroto was slowly walking around the open office space, watching Asuka’s employees closely. He looked over to her and Ren, communicating silently with him and then moving to meet them at the elevators. They stepped into one of the elevators and she pressed for roof access. She had left her blazer over her office chair and was wearing the tapered, matching black pants on towering black pumps. She was also wearing a chiffon white blouse, a host of ruffles around the collar and down the middle of the shirt. She eyes herself in the reflection of the shiny steel doors. She had allowed her daughter, Aiko, to convince her to get the top, but she did not feel entirely comfortable.
“I look like I am trying too hard,” she thought, shaking her head. The elevator dinged as it stopped and the doors slid open, taking her mind away from being critical. Asuka stepped out in front of her brothers into the small indoor area before the double doors that led to the roof. She opened the door and breathed in a deep breath before realizing that something was wrong.
The sun had still not fully risen and the sky was trapped in a half light, shadowy, but light. She looked across the roof and saw the figure. Shrouded in swirling darkness, the figure stepped forward and took shape. Dressed all in black, including a head cowl that covered every inch of its face, the figure was unrecognizable. It pulled a long, thin, glowing sword and moved forward slowly. Before her brothers could do anything, she kicked off her heels and grabbed a thin, long silver pin from her hair. She surged her power into the pin and the glamour on it was ripped away. A long tsurugi formed in her hand, a straight, double-edged sword that was once called Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi.
She held the sword defensibly and moved forward, letting the power of the divine sword reach out and turn the sky dark with heavy clouds. A strong wind picked up, moving against the figure as Asuka watched it move. It lurched forward and she moved to the side, sword clashing with sword as she blocked. He saw her brothers pull their own swords, though theirs would not withstand the power contained in either hers or this being’s. Asuka shot them a look and lounged forward as the figure turned. It moved, parrying her attack with ease. They clashed again as it spun back to her.
As they moved around each other, attacking and parrying in an expert dance, Asuka had to admit that this being was skilled. She thought of a way to surprise this thing, which anticipated her moves as easily as she did it’s. She feigned to the right, leaving her left arm exposed. The figure took the opening, its blade slicing through her shirt and driving across her skin. Dark blue blood spilled forth and ran down her arm, as she dropped to the ground and spun, swinging her own sword ac
ross the back of the being’s legs. It roared, screaming guttural and angry as it fell to the ground and skittered around. It held its sword out at her.
Her brothers moved behind it, as if to block it. She knew from the ceremony that the figure could teleport away if desired, which her brothers could not stop. “Attack me, you mongrel,” Asuka spat. The figure or creature growled, launching forward as the growl became a full roar. Just before it crashed into her, Asuka let go of her physical form, letting the sword clatter to the rooftop. As it hit the roof with a crashing thud, she reformed, grabbing her sword and plunging it through the figure’s back.
It howled in pain and black blood poured down the handle over her hands. Shadowy darkness leaked out of the wound and Asuka pulled the sword free. She stepped forward and grabbed the cowl to pull it off. As she pulled it free, the figure dissipated into darkness, blood hitting the roof like an overturned bucket. A force blasted outward and what must have been the figure’s gravelly voice moved outward, “You will meet death.”
Asuka stood there holding the cowl, hands, arms, and legs soaked in a mixture of her own blue blood and the figure’s pitch-like blood. Her chest heaved as she turned to her brothers and allowed the sword return to its unassuming form and slipped it into her pocket. She tossed Hiroto the cowl and tossed her hair out of her face. “Well,” she looked out as the storm she had summoned faded away and a crimson sunrise bled across the sky, “war is upon us all, then.”