by A Lonergan
“You probably shouldn’t tell me what to do.” The sass from the little child I had been came back with a vengeance.
Shaskia laughed. “You probably shouldn’t bring that attitude around here, especially when you’re the one that brought an unsolicited guest into our valley.”
“Don't look at me. Apparently, he gave Crawley his word.” I crossed my arms over my chest and watched the children run around the square until all of a sudden they stopped. They looked over to the mountain we had climbed down. A dark-skinned man was making his way through the footholds like it was child’s play. I was pretty sure Crawley didn’t have that much grace descending the side, and he had done it countless times.
Shaskia had a strange look on her face as she watched the man move and Crawley and his mother were lost in their own talk, almost as if they were in another world. Tears were flowing down her face, and Crawley slipped her the envelope. They were oblivious to everything else going on around us.
I looked back to the man and Cristoff came to join me though, if he had started talking, I couldn’t hear a word he was staying. I was staring at Keenan. I took a step forward, as if I were going to take off at him when I realized it wasn’t Keenan, the worn jeans, and the long hair. Keenan had cut off all his hair. This man was also a few shades darker than Keenan was. Cristoff must have thought it was him too because his eyes were full and happy. He walked past me, we were strangers. That's when it clicked.
“Mira,” Crawley’s mother whipped around quickly, her hair making a fiery wave. The man’s hands shook as he brushed her hair from her face. “How is it possible? How is it possible that you look just as radiant as you did all those summers ago?”
“Alma, what are you doing here?” Her tears had dried up and were replaced with anger. If I had known better, I would have guessed hate, but it seemed like a much too harsh word.
Crawley stepped in front of his mother then. “Yes, what are you doing here and why do you resemble my brother?”
Mira’s eyes fell closed as she touched her son’s arm. “I thought we spoke of this. You and your brother don’t share the same father. This is Alma, Keenan’s father.”
Shaskia stood off to the side with an amused look on her face. I wondered what she knew. Shaskia seemed to know everything, lately. Who was this woman that I had called my grandmother for so many years?
Mira moved Crawley out of the way and folded her arms over her chest. Her bright green eyes shone in the sunlight. “Can you explain to me what you are doing here? You left, remember?” She jabbed her finger into his chest. “You left! You left with promises of returning, and you never did! Did you know that I returned to Lover’s Point? Did you know that I returned every day for years? In the hope that you had just been hurt or something! Anything besides abandoning us.”
Alma closed his eyes. “Least you forget that I didn’t meet my son until he was a toddler, who’s fault was that?”
It was Shaskia’s turn to step in. “Me. I didn't let her see you anymore. Do you know what postpartum does to a woman? Do you know how fertile a woman is after she has a baby? Do you know anything about the way mortals work?”
I felt my eyes get big as Cristoff took a big gulp of air and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to breathe with all the new information that was about to drop. The tension in the air was too thick for me to remove myself from the drama so I looked to anywhere but them. Cristoff rocked back and forth on his feet and gave me a nervous smile.
“Mortal?” Mira’s voice dropped and then so did everything else about her. Where she had been angry before, she was distraught now. Her whole face crumbled. “Who are you really?”
“I’m the same man I always was. I never lied to you, Mira.” He pushed his hair back, away from his face.
“Don’t lie to me. Tell me who you are.” Mira crossed her arms over her chest and leaned into Crawley. He was growling low in his chest, and Shaskia looked amused again. It was always the grandmas that stirred the pot.
He pushed his sleeves up and revealed the scarring on his wrists. They looked like the skin had been burned off and healed back over rocks. It was bumpy and charred. “I’m Prometheus.”
The breath was stolen from all of us. Mira didn’t believe it. “Show me proof.” She waved to his stomach.
He pulled his shirt up and over his head. Sure enough, there were claw marks all over his chest and stomach. Crawley then took a moment to inappropriately laugh. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was in shock or because he found something amusing. Knowing him, it was probably both.
Crawley scrubbed his hand down his face. “You have got to be kidding me,” Mira scowled at him as if she knew his thoughts. “You had a baby with this man, and we all know how that is done, and you never saw or felt the scarring!” He laughed again and decided it was his time to leave. I considered following him but Shaskia shook her head at me, and for whatever reason, I was needed to stay.
“Yes, I felt the scarring. I always wondered about it, but when it came down to it, I didn’t need to know your past, I just wanted to know you in all the small moments we had together. I knew they were stolen times and I knew I didn’t have promises from you. When you finally get me promises, I expected you to keep them.” She wiped the tears from her face. “I’m upset that I never knew, that you never shared that with me, even after I had our child but, Zeus wanted you punished. There is a part of me that is understanding and a part of me that is sad.”
Prometheus pulled his shirt back down and looked like he was ready to leave before Mira started to speak again, “I always thought you had another family, that I was just your occasional lover. Sure, this is a lot to take in, but its better than what I have imagined all these years.”
I figured it was time to make my leave. I had heard as much as I needed to. Shaskia gave me a wink, and I took off. I flew through the houses and the shops straight to the little cottage I knew would be Crawley’s. I didn’t know how I knew, but it had his name written all over it, on the outskirts of everyone and everything else. The lights were off, but I knew he was there. I pushed the door open and found him sitting on the edge of his rather large bed with his head in his hands.
“Welcome to my humble abode.” He grumbled.
“It’s very spacious.” And it was. It was all an open floor plan with huge cathedral ceilings and everything open but the bathroom which had a huge opening and an even bigger tub inside. I couldn’t see the shower, but I could image it was just as big as everything else.
“My beast requires the space. There have been times I haven’t been able to come back to my normal self. I still have to bathe and sleep.” He chuckled. “My beast would rather do it in the river, but I fight him to be more civil sometimes.”
I giggled at the thought of the monstrous bear taking up the white bathtub with a shower cap on and bubbles all over himself.
He fell backward and looked at the ceiling. “My brother was always more powerful than me. I didn’t understand it, I thought I was just weaker in magic and all that voodoo because of my bear taking so much energy. But this,” He scratched his head. “Makes it all make sense. We are descendants from Zeus, but he was more god than I was. I wonder if Apollo knew.”
“I doubt it, Apollo only cares about himself. He saw an opening into our world and lives, and he took it. He took the opportunity without asking questions. He probably wouldn’t have liked the answer if he had known.”
He grumbled under his breath before saying something I could understand. “I wonder why he’s here.”
I sunk down beside him on his overly soft bed. “What do you mean? Like his end game?”
“Yes, he’s been gone this entire time, and now he shows up after his son is dead?” Crawley threw himself backward, and because of how soft the bed was, I didn’t even feel the impact. He waggled his eyebrows at me, suggestively.
“Quit giving me that look, you know after they have talked that they’ll come looking for us. Don’t get any ideas.�
�� He tried to pull me down, but I hopped up and evaded his arms.
“Just a little cuddle time before we have to get back to business.” He gave me a good puppy dog pout, but I was standing by my decision.
I shook my head and made my way to his kitchen. I was just about to pull the door open to the fridge when someone knocked on the front door. Crawley opened the door to a scowling Shaskia. My face dropped. For the most part, Shaskia was either amused or trying to stir the pot. She never looked pissed like she did now.
Her face fell when she saw me standing at the fridge, waiting for her to say something. I raised my eyebrows at her.
“I’m glad you both kept your clothes on. Had me worried for a second.” Crawley burst out laughing, and I just looked at her horrified. I couldn’t believe what she was saying.
“What?” I leaned against the fridge in shock.
“Cristoff told me that if we left you both alone for too long, we wouldn’t see you two for a while.” Shaskia scowled again. Leave it to Cristoff.
It was my turn to laugh and then I couldn’t stop. I was beyond horrified but not surprised one bit. “Cristoff has a thing for theatrics. He’s such a tool.”
“I thought he was kind of nice besides the comment about you two. Talk about giving a woman a heart attack.” She leaned against the doorframe, and I realized the similarities between us. Though we weren’t blood, I had picked up on so much from her; especially my current stance.
“Cristoff is a lot of things. We still haven’t exactly gotten the feel for him yet.” I scratched my head and looked at Crawley for help.
“Cristoff is like that annoying, overly loyal puppy that just won’t leave you alone.” He hit it right on the head. He was certainly annoying.
“Anyhow, I’m not here to talk about the merman.” She waved her hand around like she was trying to get rid of a bad smell.
“Former merman.” Crawley interrupted.
Shaskia rolled her eyes and Crawley looked back and forth between us, as if he were looking for a resemblance. “Tonight you need to wear your best.”
Crawley looked at me and wrinkled his nose. I could have thrown a spatula at him. “What is she going to wear?”
Shaskia smirked. “I have her covered. Though we may not be blood. I remember being in my prime and my figure was very similar to Jessa’s.”
She acted like she was such an old woman. I waved my hands in front of her body dramatically. “You look hot and barely a day over 30.”
She blushed at my words. “I’m a lot older than 30. Maybe multiply that by 4.”
Crawley’s jaw dropped. “I have so many questions.”
“Yes, I use a moisturizer. Though, I don’t like night creams.” She leaned against the door frame and brushed her long hair from her shoulder.
Crawley groaned.
“But seriously, The Elders will be there.” Shaskia turned on her heel and was out the door.
The walk to Shaskia’s home was in silence, but it wasn’t awkward, just comfortable. I was pretty sure I had all of my memories back of her, and I remembered the deep love I had for her that grew stronger each year I spent with her, until duty called and she had to return here.
Just as she was opening the front door, I found myself speaking, “You aren’t worried about having me back?”
She considered my words. “No. Because of you, we have many new allies now. They will protect us.”
“How? Aren’t they hundreds of miles away?” I asked, confused.
“Yes.” Then she pulled something out of the front of her shirt. It was the same pendant I had around my neck. The same pendant that had transformed for battle. “A call for help is right here. Prim had them made for all of us. The Leaders of our people, in case we need each other. That’s what portals are for.” She winked at me, and I felt myself feeling overwhelmed but relieved that there was a backup plan.
I followed her to her bedroom which had a tapestry hung on the back wall behind the large bed in the center of the room. The fabric showed a woman leading a hoard of men to battle. The woman was mounting a glorious Clydesdale with her sword pointing to the heavens. I wasn’t surprised it called to me, it was beautiful.
“That’s my mother.” Shaskia sat on the edge of her bed. She smoothed out invisible wrinkles on the tan duvet underneath her.
“She’s magnificent.” My tone was in awe, but Shaskia’s brow was furrowed. “What’s the matter?”
“She abandoned me.” Shaskia didn’t look up, like she was the one guilty, instead of the victim.
“Then why do you have her behind your bed?” I sat beside her and picked her hand up in mine, like I had done so many times as a child.
“To remind myself of the one thing I never want to be.” She swiped at her cheeks and ducked her head to hide the evidence of tears, but I had seen them. Just barely. “This isn’t about me though. I have waited so long to see this dress on anyone, anyone but me at least.”
Shaskia hurried to her closet and whipped the doors open. It seemed to go on for miles from where I was standing, and I knew there had to have been magic involved. How a woman could have so many clothes, I had no idea. I did remember at one point in my life I would have been envious.
Before the war, before the gods, before Crawley.
She returned a few minutes later holding a dress, a dress way too good for me. I could see the top of it peeking out from the garment bag. It looked like it was a forest green but I couldn’t tell till she pulled it free. It was a mermaid style gown. The front of it dipped down low, and the back came up high. I wondered if I could wear it backward for a moment.
I was then handed the dress that seemed way too much and shoved into the closet. The doors squeaked as they closed and I was left alone. I looked around myself in wonder. Everything was white. I didn’t know how anyone managed to keep anything this clean, but it was breathtaking.
After looking at the dress for a few seconds too long, I decided that it couldn’t hurt to see if it fit. I stripped my clothes off quickly and pulled the dress on. Sure enough, the neck dipped down low between my breasts, almost to my belly button and the back hugged my curves like a second skin. Around my knees and ankles, the material flowed freely and swished around my feet as I turned to look in the mirror.
I blinked.
I didn’t recognize the girl staring back at me. She was beautiful. Her hourglass figure filled out the mermaid style dress beautifully while her tan skin glowed softly in the light.
A knock to the door pulled me from my musings. Shaskia wasted no time and yanked the double doors open. She paused then closed her eyes before blinking a few times. “When I bought this dress, it was a long time ago. This would have been very obscene, but Artemis drew it out and had it made for me. She said weddings were supposed to be fun, not boring and prudish. She said we are from scandalous times. Don’t let humans pull you down.” She cleared her throat. “When the wedding didn’t happen, I saved the dress, hoping that one day my daughter would get to wear it.”
I looked at our reflection in the mirror and smiled sadly. “I’m not worthy of this.”
“But you are, my Jessa.” She pulled my hair back from my face and started to pin it half way up. “You and your mother were the best gifts Artemis could have ever given me. When Artemis placed your mother in my arms, I knew you two would be destined for greatness. I’m proud to say I raised you both. My daughters.” Tears streamed down her face in swift currents as she continued to fix my hair.
Chapter 5
Crawley
Keenan had always hated suits. He had hated to dress up when he sat in with the Elders, when I had never minded it. I loved getting cleaned up every once in awhile, it made me feel good. Beast didn’t care for it much, but I knew he would appreciate it when we got a look at Jessa.
Shaskia would dress her in something dazzling. Knowing her she’d put Jessa in something that would make it hard for me to keep my hands off of her. I brushed my hair from my forehead and gell
ed up, nice and slick. It fell back in a perfect pompadour. I lathered up some shaving cream and coated my jaw. The scruff growing there was starting to work my nerves. I shaved it clean in a few seconds and wiped my face clean.
I pulled the suit from the bed and slid it on effortlessly. I felt human again. I felt important. I slipped my dress shoes on next. My feet preferred to be barefoot over the stuffy shoes but they completed the look, and the last thing I wanted to do was make Shaskia or the elders angry. I was exactly sure who I was more afraid of. It was a close tie.
The front door opened behind me, and my mother’s face appeared in the mirror. I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it.
“You look very handsome.” I closed my eyes, and she turned me around and helped me with my tie. I wasn’t ready to see what she was wearing because I knew she’d go over the top for the prick that was probably waiting outside my house, listening to every word.
“Why are the Elders making us do this?” Mother sighed as I spoke.
“This is a tradition.” She touched my hair.
I turned away from her, “We have never done this before.”
She grabbed my shoulders and rested her forehead on my back. “Our elders have never died. It would have probably been another hundred years before Keenan would have taken a spot or maybe they would have opened their arms and let him join anyway. A battle isn’t as common these days, we don’t lose our elders like in the past.” She had a point, and I finally dared to turn around and look at my mother.
If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought she was a goddess. Her hair spilled around her bare shoulders in soft curls while her dress was fit for a queen. It looked like something from a fairytale. It was a lavender ombré ball gown. She didn’t even look old enough to be my mother. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
Her green eyes shone brightly, and she was smiling, which wasn’t appropriate, but then knew the man was hanging outside. I could smell his god stank. I clenched my teeth. Mother cupped my jaw and forced me to look into her eyes. “I’m saddened about what tonight brings for our family, I am distraught that this is the path The Fates aligned for us, but I am hopeful too. Tonight isn’t about mourning, it is about celebrating his life. It’s about coming together and not being alone. Keenan was loved by many, he had a perfect life, and this is what he wanted. He wanted to be with Chloe again, baby.” I knew that if she kept talking, she would cry and I didn’t know how women reacted to their makeup being messed up so I shushed her while I could.
