I forgot about the fireplaces as I followed Narcissus' trail. Hestia's had instantly melded with the remnants of her scent that lingered everywhere but a distinct path rose stronger than the others. Despite this, I focused on Narcissus; he was the one we really needed to find. Trevor and I moved up a central staircase after Narcissus' silver scent but then—in the middle of the stairs—it disappeared.
“Where is it?” Trevor growled. “Do you smell it, Minn Elska?”
“No; it's gone,” I said. “It's almost as if Hestia's scent overpowered it.”
“Not possible,” Trevor said.
“And yet, it's completely disappeared.” I glanced up and caught my reflection in a mirror at the top of the landing. My eyes were too wide, like those of a startled horse, and my cheeks were pale. I straightened my shoulders and turned to face the crowd of Greeks behind me. “The trail ends here.”
“What the fuck are all of you doing in here!” A male voice snarled as a man pushed his way to the front of the group.
The man wore jeans and a T-shirt that read; Ask me if I care. He was blond, slim, and fair-skinned with eyes as dark as my hair and an expression that rarely wavered from disdain. Today, though, Momus looked scared.
“I've had to ask several people where to find you,” he went on. “At least you made enough of a spectacle of yourselves that I was able to follow the gossiping gods here.”
“Momus?” Athena approached him. “What's happened?”
“It's the Fates,” Momus whispered. “They're gone.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The Fates—also known as the Moirai—are three sisters who control aspects of fate. I say “aspects” because they're still just Atlanteans and no one controls everyone's fate. That being said, the sisters are powerful; at least where the future is concerned. No one messed with them, even Zeus had left them alone. But more than that, I liked them. Well, at least two of them; Atropos is kind of bitchy.
The Moirai live together with Momus in a territory that they routinely changed. And I mean utterly changed, not just a revamp with a few new features. They would alter the landscape and their palace into entirely new versions. It was their way to compromise; they'd each get a turn at designing their home. The Fates tended to be influenced by movies and literature, which I wholeheartedly approved of. This latest theme was Avatar.
Our growing group had traced over into Moirai territory, and we came out of the Aether on the bank of a gleaming river. Strange trees grew everywhere, even out of the water; their trunks dipped and lifted in graceful U-shapes with roots draping from them in undulating lines. Night reigned with a full Moon overhead, even though it had been midday on Olympus. But that wasn't the strangest part; oceanic plant life sprouted among the shadowy undergrowth, glowing neon pink, lavender, and turquoise. Their surreal colors softly highlighted the forest.
“If anemones start floating down like dandelion puffs, I may squeal in happiness,” I warned everyone as I started searching for the Tree of Souls.
“Why is it dark?” Donnie asked. “It should be daytime over here; the Fates are in the same territory as us.”
Okay, so here's the thing; the Greek Gods have an odd territory. It's shared with all of them but also broken down into smaller sections. Sort of how Cephissus did with his portion except on a larger scale. Several places were public out of necessity; to allow for human souls to travel through them. Then there was Olympus that was public because of the community of gods who lived there. But there were also pockets of sub-territories owned by individual Greeks. Those pockets sheltered under the umbrella of the main territory but had the ability to ward themselves off. The Fates owned one such place.
“Clotho likes the colors at night,” Momus explained with a huff. “She keeps blocking out the damn Sun. It was like this when they disappeared, and I haven't been able to figure out how to get the lights back on.”
Momus is the Spirit of Mockery, Blame, and Censure. He can't help the way he is. And yes; a spirit is another type of Greek god. The Greek Pantheon is so immense that the Greeks ended up creating new titles.
“Come on.” Momus moved his arm reluctantly in a wave and indicated a bridge that spanned the lake in front of us.
The bridge ended up being an enormous root, flattened for sure-footing. We followed him over it and down a path lit only by those glowing plants. It led to an enormous tree, just as I'd expected, but it wasn't the Tree of Souls, this was a Hometree. It looked a lot like the one in the movie, but I was betting that Clotho had added a few upgrades. I couldn't see her living without her creature comforts.
The trunk of the Hometree was formed of several smaller trunks that wound together into a single column until spraying out into a bouquet of branches that created a flat canopy far above. Momus strode into the shadows between the exposed, sinuous roots.
“Are you guys coming, or what?” He called back to us.
We glanced at each other, shrugged, and went into the dark after him. Past the monstrous roots, the twisting trunks parted like curtains to reveal an elevator. I peered upward; the trunks must wind around the elevator shaft. How ingenious.
“Well that ruins it a
