by Sasha Leigh
“Come along, Brother,” he said. “We are expected.” He turned to the waterfall in the room and said one word, “Lachesis.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but was interrupted as the wall began to shine and swirl with shades of blue. It sparked and then cleared, golden hues spiking out of its edges as a single Sister came into view, her white-blonde hair streaked with red and hanging down freely to her waist.
Lachesis—the only one I had met.
“Oh good,” she said, her voice resonating through loud and clear, like perfect crystal wind chimes celebrating a light breeze. Crystal was a fragile element. If a breeze turned to gusting winds, it could crack, and then shatter to shards as sharp and as uncompromising as Fate’s wrath.
“Lachesis,” the First greeted. He turned to gesture at me, and then looked back to the wall. “I have the Second and he is prepared to hear you out.”
“You have not advised him of the task?” Her eyebrows slanted and her aqua-lined eyes narrowed. “We do not have much time for explanations to be made.”
“Precisely the reason I waited. He will have questions only you are equipped to answer, which I thought prudent to accomplish all at once rather than repeating it,” he said, his voice respectful, yet clipped.
Lachesis said nothing. Her eyes closed, fluttering beneath their lids, and I glanced to the First. He shook his head in silent command for patience. Within seconds her eyes burst back open, clear and resolute in whatever conviction she had come upon, and she smiled wide.
“Your decision was indeed prudent. Come, it is open for passage,” she said with a wave of her hand, and then disappeared. The swirling of blue began once more, a quiet yet insistent hum ringing throughout the room.
“Brother?” I asked when he stepped forward, but didn’t move, unwilling to follow. “What is this? What is open?”
He turned to look back at me over his shoulder, and then nodded to the wall. “The portal.”
As if that should be obvious. “Portal?” Shifting my weight, I crossed my arms. “Since when do we use portals? Was I gone that long? First a new species, then a school, and now . . . a portal? Where does it lead?”
“Through the Void.”
“Through the . . . ?” I shook my head. “There’s no shortcuts through the Void.”
“The Sisters can open a portal leading in and out of the Void, and if we step through there—” he pointed to the swirling blues “—we can be transported directly to their home without having to step foot in the Void.”
So that is why we met here when I was reinstated to duty instead of the Meeting Room. The First hadn’t enjoyed forcing us to sit in one another’s laps, but had expected to leave right after we’d finished. Had he considered that the Sisters, though powerful, were unrivaled in their ability to trick? We already proved to be easy targets for their games. How could I trust this?
“Why have I never heard of this possibility?”
“I have, Brother,” he said. “Who but hose living in the Void could provide safety in and out of their home? If you don’t trust them, trust me. I have been through the portal. Lachesis brought me when she asked for our help with this task.”
“My help.” After the last task, I hoped he didn’t think he could accept on my behalf. I still couldn’t forget his part in allowing the Sisters to manipulate me and Alyssa, and taking his word about anything was a chore, almost impossible.
He nodded. “Yes, the task is for you, but somehow, I doubt you will refuse.”
“What is the task?”
He nodded to the wall. “Follow me and you will see.”
His smile was filled with arrogance as he stepped through the portal, disappearing in a burst of tiny supernovas sparking to ignite in the air. The mini explosions filled the room with static that clung to my skin, and I took a hesitant step forward. It wasn’t unpleasant, really, but not comforting, either. Whether the First had stepped into a trap within the Void or was indeed safe on the other side within the Sisters’ home, I couldn’t allow him to bear the journey alone.
My beliefs lay with the Creator, my faith with the girl. After thousands of years of the Brothers’ kinship and our shared authority, my loyalty remained with the First. The love in my heart for the girl was stronger than everything else combined, but for now, my duty was to follow. I stepped into the portal, jumping onto the roller-coaster into the unknown without a safety measure to keep me from harm.
CHAPTER FIVE
The portal released me with the same lights sparking its entrance, and an additional sucking noise as it closed. As though pushed, I stumbled, rolling a few feet across a lacquered floor, and then stood within the home of the Sisters of Fate. How many had experienced this, I didn’t know. As a privilege, it wasn’t a right to be expected, but appreciated. Nobody, not man nor angel, could deny the beauty inside.
Looking around, I examined every inch within sight. Almost everything was infused with gold—the lacquer-finish walls, the shining furniture, even the faucets attached to the double sink. At the back of the room was a set of double doors intricately weaved to depict symbols and words so ancient I’d forgotten their meaning, but felt their power. The cookware hung over top of a brick island of gold, clear and invisible but for the outline of their edges reflecting from the blue glow emanating from two distinct sources: the crack under the rear door and the bottom of the staircase in the center of the room—golden vines twisting as licorice up and down to rooms unseen.
To the left of the back door was a wooden table with a small, less obvious blue light at its center. A hologram. My heart thumped into my throat as my eyes focused. Alyssa. She was smiling back at me, and it was everything I’d hoped for, only lessoned by the unfortunate fact that she wasn’t real enough for me to reach out and touch as I ached to do.
“You see, Brother?”
Startled, I jumped, turning in mid-air. Lachesis and the First were focused on me from behind, and noticing them, I discovered a sitting area with golden couches, a fireplace, and coffee tables that resembled the pots and pans above the island, only slightly more visible, like thickly-gathered dust shaped to resemble furniture.
“I told you he’ll help,” Lachesis said, smiling.
“Help with what?” I asked, narrowing my gaze.
They both regarded me for a moment, silent, and then nodded in unison to the wooden table with three chairs, one for each of the Sisters. I needed no further encouragement to sit where Alyssa seemed so close. My heart cracked with the temptation. It was difficult to avoid entering a trance-like reality as I focused on Alyssa, but necessary as they began to explain.
“Are you still prepared to listen?” The First asked.
I nodded and turned to Lachesis. “Where are your Sisters? Clotho and Atropos?”
“Do you wish to meet them?” She took a step forward to stand at the Firsts’ side, the gauzy layers of the skirts of her red dress swishing as she moved. It matched the streaks in her hair perfectly, and was the same as she wore when we first met.
“I wish for answers, any way they can be provided,” I said. “As your fame extends to all three of you, I merely find it odd that they aren’t here. Or do you speak for all of you?” It would be easier to focus my anger at a single target.
“They are a nuisance,” she said, and glanced towards the golden door. “Like squabbling teenagers I must keep busy with their responsibility to the mortals just so I can achieve silence. What we need is quiet, so no. They will not be joining us.”
“Okay, so then please, start explaining why I am here.” My gaze flickered to the table. Why was Alyssa in the hologram?
“First, before we begin, I must tell you that this revolves around that girl. If you wish for her safety, you must listen until the explanation is complete,” the First said, ensuring I would not leave prematurely.
“Your first task was successful, though I’m afraid we had a slight case of tunnel vision as to what lay in the girl’s future once she was out of Death’s
grasp,” Lachesis began. “Our short-sightedness left Alyssa unprotected from dangers greater than Death itself, and although she has a clear destiny to fulfill, any number of unforeseen threats can thwart her potential good from coming to pass.”
I looked between them, raising my eyebrow. “So what? She’s back on Death’s list?”
For a moment, the idea made me happy, for if she died she would be coming to me sooner than I could get to her. But then my logic became dominant again. For Alyssa to come here, she would have to die, and she’d suffered enough. Plus, part of what made her so special was the fact that she was human, a supposed “lower creature”, and yet she was better than us all.
“Darkness,” the First said.
“Yes.” Lachesis nodded. “Darkness is more sinister than Death. If it were to get a hold of the girl, she, along with every other living soul, will wish for Death’s silence.”
“The girl has a pure soul,” the First said, and my gaze drifted to his. “Goodness is attracted to that and Darkness covets the gift. If it were to possess her, Darkness wouldn’t need to seek out the light for its destruction. The shadows could hide within her soul and good would flock to its slaughtering hand until nothing of light remained.”
Taking the lead, I sat in the closest chair to where we stood—right in front of the hologram—and then the First and Lachesis took theirs. I leaned forward and watched Alyssa’s picture, but it stood still. Slowly, I rested my elbows on the table, cupped my face in my hands, and raised my gaze.
“Because of her soul?” It didn’t make sense, like they had begun in the middle of their tale and expected me to catch up without the aid of a summary of events. The light in Alyssa had felt muted when I spent time with her as David, but still. It was there, undeniable and bright. But it was hardly enough to gain the full attention of Darkness.
“Partly.” Lachesis nodded. “She is destined to lead the rest of the Pure Souls, those who are training at Glory Academy. Unlike them, as the first of their breed, she needn’t have to die to realize her potential. The family line she descends from will grant her heightened strengths, adding to her proficiency to lead upon her eighteenth birthday.”
“What do you mean?”
“Specifics are not open for discussion. I cannot chance her learning of them or all will be lost. She had to live until her eighteenth birthday in order for these gifts to manifest, and the experiences she’s gained leading up to her birthday determine what gifts she will possess. If she learns any of this, or does not experience things for herself without knowledge of its benefit, the gift attached to the experience will never form.”
I looked back to the hologram. She was so pure it hurt to stare for more than a few moments at a time, but I couldn’t stop. Her so-called gifts made her valuable; the beauty and radiance of her soul made her mine.
“The problem is that we were blind during her cycle with Death,” Lachesis said. “From the moment she first died, a mistake brought on when Atropos snipped the wrong lifeline, until your mortal form’s death, her future was indeterminable.”
My head snapped up and my voice lowered to a growl as I pinned Lachesis with a withering gaze. I dropped my hands and my palms slapped the table. “Your sister’s mistake is what caused all of Alyssa’s pain?”
She waved her hand in the air as if it was nothing to worry over and I contemplated snapping it at the fragile joint of her wrist. Vengeance was a natural reaction, a feeling I hadn’t had since before I’d been tasked to accept Alyssa as my charge, and if either were paying attention, my reaction was a give-away to showcase where my loyalties remained. If it came to choosing Alyssa or the Brothers . . . well, it wasn’t even a question. Alyssa would always rise above.
“It was a mistake, Brother,” the First soothed. “Fortunately, it led to experiences that will allow the girl more gifts to protect herself with. It is also the reason you were permitted your relationship without reprimand. Her love for you provided her experience we could not manufacture. Conversely, your reciprocation provided you with the desire for her to remain protected at all costs.”
“What?” I asked the First, but kept my glare fixated on Lachesis.
She wasn’t fazed. In fact, she smiled with the haughty attitude of someone with superior knowledge we all accepted she had.
“A few days in the Mortal Realm are the equivalent to a few hours in the Celestial Realm. Here in the Void, time stands still,” she said. “It took a little while to picture Alyssa through her grief, but we have foreseen her throughout the anniversary of her conception leading up to her eighteenth birthday. Each day the natural barrier within her grows thinner as her gifts begin to thrive. Her light shines brighter—too bright to remain undetected—and she needs to be protected from the Darkness which has begun to sniff her out.”
“So then send me back to the Mortal Realm,” I said, already starting to rise when Lachesis’s hand fell onto my forearm. I glanced down and she dropped her arm, remaining mute until I met her gaze. Sitting back down, I promised myself ten more minutes. If I hadn’t learnt more by then, they weren’t planning to share what I required, and I would leave to find my own way of keeping Alyssa safe.
“You don’t understand, Brother,” she said. “Your mortal form is exhausted. Without it, you cannot hide who you are. Your physical form may not be recognized, but your authority and the power that comes with it will. You’ll be a beacon to Darkness if you rush to her side without precaution.”
As I was, I couldn’t try to protect her without being a catalyst for harm. It was an impossible situation that sucked the air I didn’t need from lungs that didn’t breathe, and dimmed the light within my soul. It might as well extinguish itself for, without Alyssa, there was no reason for it to exist. She would be in harm’s path if not protected, but I if I guarded her, danger was sure to follow.
What could I do?
“Lachesis,” the First said, interrupting my silent reflection. “I need you to send me back.”
“What?” I looked up. “We’re leaving?”
“I have an idea, but I have to go alone.” He glanced between us, resting on Lachesis. “Can you send me back? I won’t be long.”
She nodded as she stood. “You must hurry.”
She straightened invisible wrinkles from her skirts and I was tempted to spill something on the fabric to see if it would slide off like water dripping from a fish’s scales. It was far less than she deserved, but I held back—it would be stupid to disrespect the one who seemed to be able to bring me back to Alyssa.
“The Second will stay here where he can see the girl and ask me what he wishes to know so we are delayed no further.”
Fine with me.
Their presence escaped my thoughts before they stepped out of view to reopen the portal. My focus shifted back to Alyssa, and to my amazement, the picture in front of me began to move in real time. It made me sad, finding her only half-living. She was no longer bed-ridden, but hardly enjoying life as the seconds ticked down. Minutes, hours . . . it appeared as though every moment was like walking across hot coals, never being able to make it across before your soles begin to melt like plastic fusing to a hot surface.
“Do you want to see the fruits of your labour?”
I looked up, nearly jumping as Lachesis spoke from two feet away. I checked over my shoulder, but the Fist was gone. “Pardon me?”
She chuckled. “Don’t worry, I will not tell your brother about the dreams you shared with the girl. Would you like to see where your advice led her?”
Swallowing, I nodded. When Alyssa kept dying I went against protocol to tell her about making choices. That every decision held a consequence, and the right choice was that which held the least amount of harm with the greatest proportion of good. When I hijacked her dreams, I told her to prepare, though I had no idea what for. In both instances, I felt no remorse for the rules I’d broken, especially not now that she was abandoned with only herself for protection.
“There’s noth
ing I would like more.”
She gestured to the hologram and closed her eyes. As easy as a thought and she gave me my joy back. The image morphed from sadness to content to passion. Alyssa smiling, Alyssa laughing, Alyssa running and fighting and strong. She was living. Thriving.
It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever witnessed, the most precious gift I could be granted to cherish. Lachesis stepped back, but never disappeared, and I continued to watch, determined to memorize every image I saw. After a few minutes, and without shifting my focus, I whispered, “Thank you, Lachesis.”
CHAPTER SIX
“He wasn’t there,” the First said, his voice rising with frustration as we forced him to explain for the third time since his return.
He was only gone for an hour, and I was too immersed within the holographic promise Alyssa’s near future held to notice the passage of time or think of the questions I knew I should ask. Lachesis was smart, luring me from the problems in the present so that explaining things would be limited by time. When the First returned, all of my curiosity was replaced with concern, and a full dose of disbelief.
“He has to be there,” I insisted. “Did you check the gardens? You know He loves it there.”
“Of course I did. I looked everywhere and could not find Him.” He raised his arms and punctuated each syllable he spoke with a downward slash of his hands.
None of what he was saying made sense. The First had gone to speak with the Creator only to find Him gone. Missing? Or unavailable? As much as I questioned now, my faith never wavered, and there was no way He would avoid the First at such an important time, not when Darkness seemed to be getting so close. Plus, He never left the origin of His power.
“Why were you trying to find Him?” Lachesis asked as the voice of logic from her seat across the table from us, the hearth from the sitting room having relocated to crackle softly behind her.
