grinned at me like she was two personalities away from a straight jacket and a padded room. “Enjoying the view?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Oh come on Finn,” she purred. “You know you want
“I’m crushed.”
She looked me up and down, tapped her chin, and smiled, “Not yet.” With a flick of her finger the white vines pinned me against the wall; slicing new wounds on my arms and legs. “I’ll save that for later. Right now, we have other things to take care of. And I must say, I’m so glad you came to your senses and chose me. I was beginning to lose hope,” she joked. She twitched over to where I was shackled to the wall and let out what sounded like something close to a cackle.
“Yea, I’ve really been looking forward to having my soul wrenched out of my body and starving to death in this god forsaken hole in the ground,” I spit at her with venom.
“I might not be as transparent as that little tramp of yours, Stasia, but-“
“Leave her out of this! You don’t even deserve to speak her name,” I growled. The familiar rush of power and adrenaline that usually accompanied my anger didn’t come, and I started to realize the gravity of the situation I was in. Not that I was going to let Princess Psycho know that.
“Oh, please…she’s nothing but an Achilles heel.” She collapsed into a fit of giggles, “Get it - cause her brother was Achilles..?” I ignored her failed attempt at irony.
“She possesses every quality required of a leader in our world and more. Qualities you have never, and will never, possess - purity, strength, grace and most importantly, humility.”
“Humility, weakness - same thing.” She dismissed my words with a flip of her hand.
“The prophecy speaks for itself. Even you can’t argue with that,” I retorted. “She is my destiny. And I, hers.”
“All I hear is blah, blah, blah-I want to have sex with her-blah, blah, blah.
“Essence becomes useless without love.
Her grin dropped and she stomped over to me with vapor rolling off of her skin. She stood in front of me, silent for a moment, then grinned wickedly and unrolled the leather case she had been clutching in her hand. She slid something silver out and held it up so I could see it. A syringe.
“I think I’m in the mood to play nurse.” Her eyes sparkled as she moved towards me. I tried to fight the vines, but the excruciating pain that shot through me sucked what little energy I did have completely dry. “Now don’t tire yourself out, Love. I need to get a good strong sample.”
At her words, another pair of vines shot out from the stone wall and slithered around my left arm; securing it tightly. My trace had become dull in the last few days under whatever vacuum she had placed on my prison.
She slowly ran a finger down my cheek and smiled sympathetically. “Your sacrifices will not be in vain. I can promise you that.” She dropped her hand and her golden eyes hardened, “But the slow, painful deterioration of your soul will be. I’ve decided you owe me that. It’s the least you can do.”
“So, are you looking forward to spending eternity on Tartarus, or will an exception be made to send you straight to the pits of fire?” I asked in the same tone I’d use to ask about the weather.
“You really think my own mother would sentence me to an eternity of hell?” she chuckled.
“Please tell me you aren’t that simpleminded.”
“You know as well as I do that a certain level of evil is not tolerated. Your mother’s decision will be overridden by the-“
“Shut up!” she yelled and slapped me across the face. It stung, but I hid it beneath a purposefully smug smile -- which only made her vexation spill over. “Enough of this! You are no more than a means to an end. You will never be Prime. You will never see your tramp or your family again. You are
The next time I awoke, it was to hushed voices and the clicking of heels on the stone floor. It was much darker, but I could still make out two figures standing on the other side of the cavern.
Reaching out with what essence I had left, I knew that one of the figures was Nadia. The refreshing smell of sea oats told me she was of the sea, but the cold, slimy fingers of her essence proved that it had been tainted by corruption long ago.
“We only have a matter of days,” the unknown woman said. “The moon must be at its highest when the transfer takes place. We have no room for mistakes.”
“I’ll hold up my end of the bargain, but how do I know you’ll do the same?” countered Nadia’s self-righteous voice.
“Whether you hold up your end of the bargain has yet to be seen,” the other woman countered. The velvety tone of her voice was hauntingly familiar. “Although you repeatedly fail to remember what’s at stake, I do realize you have your own agenda, of which I can respect. However, the binding agreement you stepped into will be complete on my word. No sooner and no later.”
I slowly attempted to pull myself up into more of a sitting position. Unfortunately the slight movement reverberated off of the cavern walls, and both women spun in my direction. I saw Nadia cross her arms as a hint of a smug smile lit up her face. The other woman walked towards me and the stifling chill that surrounded her hit me with immense force. She wore a long dress that trailed behind her and shifted as she moved. Her face was cast into shadow by the waning light above the river. As she came closer, I was just able to make out long black hair amidst more strands of green. The glittering scales that framed her face sharpened in my line of sight as she kneeled down. Her feline emerald eyes sparkled; reflecting the darkness within. I gave her my best smirk.
“We meet again, Keto.”
Chapter 6
“I really feel like we’re trespassing,” Phoebe wiped at the foggy window with her hand and peered outside. “Everything’s so dark and quiet.” The city of Paphos lay completely silent on either side of the road as we cruised down one of the main thoroughfares on our way to Eventide. The numerous shops and restaurants that lined the street had long been closed, and the cloak of night had successfully draped its influence across the landscape.
“I guess three AM isn’t exactly rush hour,” I yawned. After safely landing at Paphos International Airport, we had climbed into the back of a black Escalade driven by a tall, nameless, and seemingly mute young man. He didn’t so much as utter a word as he loaded our luggage, but offered the slightest of smiles to each of us. He let out a surprised gasp when Carmen wrapped a hand around his arm without provocation, but appeared to collect himself rather easily. She sent him a tilted smile lined with madness and thankfully let go voluntarily. Phoebe had apologized while Willow yanked Carmen inside the Escalade; both receiving menacing looks from her.
“The House of Eventide is about the same size as Lorelei, but we will be staying in the visitor’s quarters. I’d like for you girls,” I noticed she focused her intense gaze mostly on me, “to get as much rest as time will allow. Breakfast will be at 9:00am.”
If I actually slept for the duration of those six hours, I’d be more successful than I had been all week. Somehow I didn’t think that being on the other side of the Earth would help ease my anxiety about Finn, or my impending meeting with the Nereids. A painful twist in the bottom of my stomach churned up an urgency that was getting harder to ignore. I had the disturbing feeling that we were running out of time.
The Escalade shifted as we all leaned to the left in an effort to see the passing marina bulging with sailboats, fishing charters, and personal craft. Other than its impressive size, it looked very similar to Bald Head
