"Panacea, I need you to concentrate on me. Close your eyes and imagine yourself standing before me. Next, I want you to think of a question you want to ask me. Think about the question and only the question." She said.
"Now ask the question and project it to me."
"Can you get me back into my body?" I asked. I was concentrating and 'projecting' as she said. I heard a surprised squeak and the clapping of hands. I opened my eyes and decided at this moment that the goddess Hecate was nuts! She was jumping up and down, clapping her hands and giggling. I mean, crazy much?
"I will try and help you solve the mystery of Sparky, when that mystery is solved, the gate back to your own mind should be open." She answered me! She heard me! Now I was the one jumping up and down and clapping my hands. Sparky the boy, looked at me and shook his head smiling. "What? I am just excited." I said.
"So, what do I do next?" I was hoping this would go fast because I was getting thirsty and hungry!
***
While Hecate was distracted and distracting, Hades had appeared behind the temple. With his invisibility helmet on, he could go unnoticed. Although Hecate and he had some history, he was not sure if she could see him through the helmet. He got the helmet from Hephaestus a long time ago, but the magic was wearing off, ever since he had to leave Earth.
I apparently arrived just in time. Hecate was smartly getting the information on the young goddess. Why she was there, I was not sure. I rolled my eyes at Hecate's' antics; always the dramatics, but she was still beautiful as ever.
Goddess Physis? The name rings a bell. Not sure where I know it from. I shake my head and look towards Phatostai, Hephaestus' son. He was a handsome young kid, enamored by Hecate obviously.
I was wondering where the unknown goddess came from, when I heard Hecate replying to an answer to her question about her father.
"He still lives?"
"Of course, Artemis was always one with a golden heart. She managed to hide the lot of you quite well!"
Hell no! I realized that this was Apollo's granddaughter. I wanted to smash my hand into the temple wall, but that would definitely make my presence known.
"Well, now that we have some basic information, let's get Sparky talking about his last memory. Lottie if you would fill us all in on what Sparky is telling?"
The fairy nodded, it was funny really how the boy was enamored, but the others nervous about Hecate. They should be nervous, the woman was a nutcase, but she was harmless in general.
"Panacea, can you concentrate together with Sparky on a door. There should be a door with his first memory. The door could be anything. It could be small, large, in all kinds of colors, but the most important thing is that you can open it easily."
I listened in to a very boring story about an enchanted forest and how lovely it was, and was ready to leave when I heard Hecate asking Phatostai about Cornucopia.
"The horn of plenty is a 5 minutes' walk to the left." He answered.
"Good, the blasted thing moves around all over the island!"
"Sparky can you follow please?" The whole entourage followed close behind the unicorn, I followed as well, curious about the horn of plenty. It has been lost for eons, even before Earth was burned.
The golden color of the Cornucopia was shining straight ahead in a lovely green field.
This is good, very good indeed. I was going to live on this island, and I was going to use the girl and the Cornucopia to get it. I was definitely not above using Apollo's granddaughter.
A plan was slowly forming and I was bored with this memory stuff. I teleported myself back to Zeus' island, ‘cause I needed to think this through very carefully. No holes were allowed in my plan, as Zeus was as devious a God as they get. With an ironclad plan, I was going to make this work for me.
Arriving at the island, I was just about to take my helmet off when Hera arrived in the hall. Hell, the woman was the most stupid goddess out there. It still blows my mind how she managed to get Zeus to marry her.
She seemed to be mumbling to herself. While I normally don't care what the ridiculous woman is up to, I overheard her mutter the name Physis. Curious now, I decided to follow her and see what she was up to. Knowing her, it was something to thwart Zeus which I normally don't get involved in, but I would like to know what she knew about the goddess.
I couldn't hear what she was saying, just something about a potion and a tree. I went closer and didn't see the bowl next to me. When it clattered to the ground, Hera turned around startled.
Deciding that whatever she was muttering about was not worth getting discovered, I teleported myself to my room. I could not show an interest in anything to Hera, she would be suspicious the moment I would ask something.
I pondered on what to do next.
Tapping on the table, a pitcher and a glass of Ambrosia appeared in front of me. Grabbing a book from the shelf in my room, I sat down at the table to write down some notes. Looking around the room, I saw how sparse and bright it was for the first time since coming here.
Soon I would have a whole island to enrich with dark colors. I would shroud the island in shadows, and the plants would only bloom for Hecate. Smiling, I remembered her being so angry when I told her that I was going to take Persephone as a bride. I offered her to be my mistress, and she almost choked on her answer. She had yelled and thrown spell after spell at me.
I had just shrugged it off and went to kidnap Demeter's daughter who was a more powerful ally than Hecate. But now, Persephone had 'divorced' from me. Not having a kingdom and my own island, I wasn't able to do anything about it. Not that I cared anyway, she was a whimpering, simpering, crying bitch of a woman.
I would make the island so beautiful in the dark colors I and Hecate loved so much. I would have to put up the charm, but that would not be a problem. Hecate was going to fall for me the minute I arrived and conquered the training island for us both.
***
20
Sparky had to concentrate very hard and asked the Cornucopia for an access key to unlock his buried memories.
Hecate had discovered a speck of magic when I tried to open the second door.
The first door was easy; it was exciting to see the forest from our island. So many animals, colorful flowers and birds, the trees lush and heavy with fruit; and the grass apparently very tasty. But then again, Sparky ate grass not me, so I wouldn't know.
When Hecate tried to look through my eyes at the second door, the magic, even though it was weak, kept me out. The next option was to get a key. After that, I had to get the enchantment off the door.
Hecate was wondering how I would manage that, but maybe with the key for the door, I could access it. Apparently, if I possessed even a little bit of magic, I could open the door, if not... Hecate had shrugged and said we’d know what to do if that problem arose.
The key goes from the Cornucopia straight into the hands of the little boy, that is Sparky's mind. Hecate warned us that it should be me that unlocked the door, not the boy. Reluctantly the boy gave me the key. I had a feeling that this could go very wrong, as I knew nothing about witches and curses. The door already zapped me with magic, so I was hoping that nothing worse would happen.
"Close your eyes, Panacea and concentrate very hard on unlocking the memory door. Not only with the key, but also with your mind." Nodding I concentrated.
After a while I opened my eyes to put the key into the lock, keeping my mind on only one thing. Please unlock the memory behind this door, was my chant.
When the key turned in the lock, I stood back.
"Should I open it or Sparky?" I yelled.
Hecate grimaced. "You don't need to yell, I am right here. And yes, you should open it and Sparky can follow."
Here goes nothing! I turned the nob on the small red door. I had to bend down to walk through it. When I looked up, I wished I hadn't. The scene was horrific. Next to me, Sparky was screaming and tears were running down his cheeks.
"What is happening?!" L
ottie was covering her ears as well. She could not see the scene unfolding before our eyes, but apparently, she could hear Sparky scream and cry.
"Panacea, what is happening?" For the first time since the arrival of Hecate, Phatostai actually addressed me. "Are you ok? Is she ok?" This last question was directed at Hecate. Her eyes had gone glassy and suddenly she was standing next to me. I jumped, but Sparky did not notice anything. His eyes were shut and his hands were over his ears.
"Hey, little man." Hecate crouched down in front of Sparky the boy and gently took his hands away from his ears. "If you don't want to listen, you just shut out the noise. It is your memory sweety; you do with it as you please. But it is important that you see it again so that all your memories can come back, you can think of it as telling a story. Tell your story to your friend, the fairy."
The young boy looked at Hecate and nodded, the tears still rolling down his cheeks. "You are a very strong boy." With a squeeze in his hands, she turned around and left.
I turned back to the scene only to realize that I was back in my body. I wanted to shout out my joy but realized just in time that Lottie was telling the memory of Sparky to everyone.
I had seen the scene that Sparky was describing, but it was surreal, like a nightmare. Knowing that this little guy had seen his mother being murdered before his eyes, was just not something I could comprehend.
She was protecting him from a witch that wanted a unicorn foal to sell, and her last words to him was, "I love you, now run!"
He had been standing there frozen while watching his mom die. He only noticed the flames and the heat, when he got hit by the spell.
The witch was burning before his eyes, which was why the spell didn't catch him but made him lose his memory. Now he was telling us that he had started to run away from the scorching fire, which was burning everything around him.
All of a sudden, the fire stopped and he was in a cool forest. There some weird old lady told him that she rescued him from Earth to stay in this forest; Earth had apparently burned down completely.
When Lottie stopped speaking, he looked up at us. I looked around and saw that everyone had tears in their eyes. Lottie tried to hug his nose while Charlie petted one of his ears.
Phatostai hugged the unicorn tightly, his tears running down his cheeks uncontrollably. Maria was next and gently stroked his nose. Hecate hiccupped and brushed her tears away with a piece of her skirt, and hugged Sparky as well.
Then it was my turn. He came towards me and pushed his nose into my hands; I stroked it, as well as his ears, and his long blue mane.
A sharp light came off of his horn, and I realized that I was sending him back to the forest. Everyone was blinded for a minute, and when opening their eyes, they looked at me astonished, as my hand hung still outstretched, to where Sparky had been standing.
"Goodbye, Sparky," I said with a sigh.
***
21
Moving on:
"Ok!" Hecate clapped her hands making all her bangles jingle.
"Let us get started."
"I am hungry." I tried to get up, only to fall back down. Pins and needles seemed to be going up and down my legs, they were apparently numb from sitting too long in one position. This was scream-worthy, but I gritted my teeth.
"A little help please?" I needed to pee as well, but was not going to inform Phatostai of that fact.
"Apple needs to eat as well, so I need to go to the temple first."
Phatostai moved closer offering his hand. Grabbing onto his arm, I lifted myself up onto my feet. I clammed my jaw shut to keep the scream in my head. Wobbling, I gripped his whole arm, trying to stay upright using him as a crutch.
"Are you ok?" He asked.
"My legs fell asleep while I was busy inside Sparky's head," I mumbled.
"You know, maybe next time you can like move my arms and legs around a bit."
"Uhm, no, I don't think so." Phatostai shook his head.
"Why?"
"I will not move your body around while your mind is not there!"
"Yes, I guess that would be weird huh." I smiled up at him; he smiled back and walked forward. I could not take a step as my legs felt like they were having a fit, so I pitched forward. Phatostai turned back and grabbed my arms just in time. A flower was tickling my nose, yes; I was that close to kissing the ground. Phatostai grabbed me around the waist and helped me into the temple.
"Hey, you two!" What does that witch want now? I was just going to thank Phatostai so I could go pee. Yes, goddesses need to pee, and right now, I was bursting. We turned around.
"We need to start your training, not because I want to, but because the two of you might hurt one another. That would be pretty bad on my résumé, plus it is the first time I have two apprentices, so I need to make sure I do everything by the book. By the book, yes, where is that blasted book? I will have to look for it after initiation." The last bit she mumbled more to herself than to us, and she was looking very confused right now.
"Yes, we will get started as soon as everyone has had something to eat. Is that ok with you, oh Great Teacher?"
Hecates' eyes narrowed upon hearing my sarcastic tone. Phatostai actually facepalmed himself and Maria was snickering, Cyriel just rolled his eyes.
"What?" I mouthed to Cyriel; he just shook his head.
I turned to Hecate and said: "A girl has got to eat, right? And my little Apple boy needs to eat and to go."
Hecate looked confused and asked, "go where?"
"Go, as in, pee and poo."
Her face cleared up. "Did you potty train him already? That is great!"
"Not exactly. He just wakes me up when he moves around, and if I am fast enough to grab him and go outside, so, we are good. See he can't walk yet."
"But he is so big!"
"Yeah, lying in bed next to me, his tail tickles my toes and his tongues lick my face. But he is still a puppy."
"I bet he will be bigger and better than Cerberus." She took Apple from Maria and almost stumbled to the ground with the weight. Maria, of course, pretended not to notice and didn't help. When Phatostai and I passed her, she winked; Phatostai shook his head, smiling.
"Did you know Cerberus?" Curiosity got the better of me, plus she was walking away with my baby and for some reason, I was annoyed with that. I mean, he is mine. I am the one feeding him, rubbing his gums and waking up at night to go outside with him.
"I did. He was a big sweety. He just couldn't seem to hold his pee. He would pee on everything and everyone, even Hades got peed on once." She smiled wistfully. Shaking her head, she moved on, surprisingly fast with that heavy weight. She was a tiny woman, but strong.
By now, we had arrived at the temple. Even though my legs were feeling normal again, I still held on to Phatostai's arm. It was nice of him to offer, and I enjoyed feeling his muscles. I couldn't hold up the façade when my bladder demanded release, and I ran to the back of the temple and couldn't help but sigh in relief when I was finished.
"You can give Apple to me now." Turning around the front of the temple, I saw Hecate cuddling Apple; I held out my hands and walked closer. The goddess was scary, but I would get my baby and feed him no matter what.
It seemed she was very reluctant to let go, but she nodded. I picked up Apple and walked towards the temple to feed him and have a glass of Ambrosia myself.
"Do you like gain weight every time you eat? You weigh a ton and it seems like you have grown since I held you." Apple was listening to my voice, I was sure he didn't understand a word I said, but he was happy as long as I talked to him. His tail was wagging and when he smelled the Ambrosia, his tail thumped on the bed.
"You are such a good boy, aren't you?" Smiling at him affectionately, I sat down on the bed and proceeded with the feeding. In between the filling of the sponge with Ambrosia, I took a sip. I was surprised at how much he was eating, or rather drinking. Yesterday it was two cups and now it was four.
"You ready for a pee?" He lifted his he
ads and I saw his eyes were open.
"Hey, pretty boy! You can see!" Three pairs of beautiful eyes looked up at me adoring. All pairs had different colors; blue, grey and brown.
Another step for my baby, soon he would outgrow me. I picked him up to go outside.
"You all right?" Phatostai asked.
"Yes, just... getting... Apple... to pee." I was huffing and puffing. Apple was at least five times the size and weight since he was born. Gods, was it really only five days? So much has happened, that it seems like we have been here for ages.
After putting Apple next to me on a log around the fire, I looked up. Everyone was in attendance.
"Now that everyone is fed, can we get started?" Hecate asked with a raised eyebrow.
Phatostai nodded enthusiastically, I shrugged. Apple snuggled up to me lying down on the log. He was struggling to get his three heads on my lap, but as the heads were as big as mine already, it did not work. He settled for one head on my lap and the others on his paw. The log was long, but we barely fit with Apple lying all stretched out and Phatostai at the end. I petted him smiling; it was as if he was growing before our eyes.
Looking around, I saw Cyriel was off doing who knows what, and Maria stood behind Hecate. Hecate was sitting on another log across from us.
"Maria, where did I start with Physis again?"
"Probably with some mumbo-jumbo," Maria mumbled under her breath.
Not bothered in the slightest, Hecate continued.
"So first a little introduction. I am Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, poisonous plants, and some other things. The one that got me this job though is crossroads." She looked at us to make sure we were listening, albeit both of us were confused. How can someone be a goddess of crossroads? Is that even a thing?
"On Earth, humans would ask for my blessing on crossroads and for their entrance. They offered me dogs, mostly puppies because I adore them. Unfortunately, they did not get the memo I like them alive and not dead." Apple whimpered in his sleep as if he understood. I raised an eyebrow, but petted him soothingly, changing heads.
Book of Panacea Page 9