“Yes. His plan was successful because of me.”
“But since they have eaten here, they will be imprisoned here,” Aphrodite said, her lovely voice shaking. “How can we un-do that?”
“I do not know,” Hecate said miserably. “There must be a way, however.”
“Well, we shall all think on it,” Ares instructed. “But for now, we must rest for a while. We are all weary and we know what we must do next.”
“We do?” I asked warily. The expression on Ares’ face was too joyful to bode well for the rest of us.
“Of course we do,” he replied. “We must cross the oceans of Elyria.”
“Of course we must,” I sighed. “You do realize that it contains Hydras?”
“Yep,” he answered happily. I sighed again.
But I was distracted by shadows in the mouth of the cave. I looked up to find Annen, Ahmose, Alexi, Eris and the four Amazon warriors who had accompanied Annen to the Spiritlands.
“That was quick,” Ares commended them. “Welcome.”
I took one look at Ahmose’s grim face and knew something was wrong.
“What is it?” I asked quickly. He wearily studied me for a moment, probably assessing my state of mind.
“I’m fine,” I snapped. “What is wrong?”
“It’s your mother,” he answered simply. “Your mortal mother. She has been taken from Calypso’s island.”
I gasped and I felt my knees go weak.
“I should have known,” I muttered. “I should have known that he would do something like this.”
“There’s no way you could have,” Cadmus soothed me. “Ogygia was the safest place for her.”
“Apparently it wasn’t,” I replied.
“This does not change anything,” Ares said. “Our course of action must remain the same. We will travel to the isles to see Zeus. Hades will show himself at some point and reveal what he wants.”
“He wants me,” I answered limply. “He wants to keep me here.”
“Well, he can’t have you,” Cadmus growled. “He’ll have to learn that the hard way.”
I smiled what I knew was a weak smile. They hadn’t seen how determined Hades was.
“I can’t wait,” I told everyone. “I would never be able to sleep anyway, knowing that he has my mother. I’m sure she’s terrified. Can we leave now, please?”
“There is a boat,” Empusa offered. “It’s very old, but it is large. It’s moored down the coast a ways away. I do not know whose it is.”
“I think it is meant for those who are granted access to Elysia,” Aphrodite said. “That is how I remember it anyway. I think that all who earn the privilege of spending eternity in paradise must pass that one final test. Anyone who is good and true and possesses the purest of hearts can pass the oceans safely. The Hydras will not harm them. When it dispatches its passengers in the isles, the boat will sail itself back to the coast, to await the next passenger.”
“That is correct,” Hecate confirmed. “That is the way it has always been.”
“Well, then,” Ares proclaimed. “Let us go. I am an amazing sailor.”
I rolled my eyes at Raquel, who had edged up to my side. “Your grandfather thinks that he is amazing at everything,” I told her. She eyed him. His bulging muscles glistened in the light from the mouth of the cave. He was large, strong, handsome and assured. She looked back to me.
“Is he not?” she asked innocently.
I sighed. “I suppose he is. But it would be nice if he wasn’t quite so aware of it.” She giggled, then grasped my hand.
“Is everything going to be alright?” she asked nervously. I dropped to one knee and stared into her eyes.
“Everything will be fine,” I assured her. “I promise.”
My words echoed throughout the cave, reiterating my assurance.
“Let us go!” Ares called impatiently. I held Raquel’s hand and dutifully followed everyone to the beach.
When Empusa said ‘boat’, she probably should have said ‘ship’. It was enormous. Large and wooden, it creaked in the shallow water by the shore, its hull covered in barnacles and moss. White sails were rolled in the masts and lines whipped in the wind. Strangely, it didn’t appear to be anchored, it simply stayed where it was.
“Are you sure you can sail that?” I asked Ares uncertainly. He glowered at me.
“You doubt your father?” he asked indignantly. “Of course I can sail it.” He stomped ahead and as he plunged through the shallow water, a rope ladder dropped over the side of the ship.
I raised an eyebrow and turned to my husband.
“Fun, right?” he grinned.
“Yeah, fun,” I sighed. “Not exactly what I was thinking… but what can you do?”
“Carry on, I suppose,” he replied, unbothered. “On that note…” he reached for Raquel and he helped her climb onto the ladder.
While everyone was preoccupied, Empusa crept up behind me. “It’s starting,” she whispered. “I cannot stay here. I am too afraid of my father. No matter what happens, he will not stop hunting me until he kills me. Please tell my mother that I love her.”
Before I had a chance to even respond, she was running down the coast, splashing through the water. I inhaled sharply. Hecate wasn’t going to take this well. I sighed and grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder and pulled myself up the side.
Hecate looked behind me, then back to me, puzzled. “Where is Empusa?”
“She ran away,” I answered softly. “She was afraid and said to tell you that she loved you. Hecate, once this is done, we can find her. We’ll set things right.”
Hecate’s face drained of color, but she simply nodded, sinking into a nearby bench seat. She pulled her knees up to her chin and sat silently watching the water. I turned from her, unable to stand the pain on her face, and looked around.
It was sparse on board. Bench seating lined the sides and the hull was open. Ares unfurled the sails and shortly thereafter, we were gaining speed as we sailed into the vast oceans. Before we knew it, there was nothing around for miles except for the sparkling water. Ares learned shortly after we set sail that he didn’t need to do anything at all… the ship sailed itself. He and my mother sat curled up on a bench, talking quietly amongst themselves.
Cadmus was engaged in a conversation with Ahmose, so I settled onto the very tip of the bow with Raquel situated on my lap. The wind whipped our hair away from our faces as our boat plunged ahead, riding the waves with abandon. My daughter’s slight body sagged against me and I smiled into her hair.
“You can sleep, little one,” I told her. “It will take awhile to get there.”
“I’m not sleepy, mama,” she insisted. I smiled again.
Cadmus and Ahmose moved closer to me.
“Wife, Ahmose shared some interesting information with me,” Cadmus said quietly.
“I don’t know how much more ‘interesting’ information I want to hear,” I replied wryly.
“This is truly interesting,” he answered, his face slightly bothered. My curiosity was piqued in spite of myself.
“What is it?”
“Well, as you know, Annen and I are brothers,” Ahmose began, his ancient voice tired and hoarse. “We have been the advisors to Zeus for a very long time.”
“I did learn that, yes,” I answered. “And?”
“And when Zeus rendered you mortal, he sent Annen and I with you, to protect you and to protect the bloodstone.”
“Yes, we knew that also,” I replied. “What is the interesting part?”
“If you stop interrupting, I’ll get to it,” Ahmose reprimanded lightly. I smiled. This was the Ahmose that I knew. Crotchety and no-nonsense.
“The Fates and the Keres each had their own agendas, and they each sought to use Annen and I to further their causes. Between the two sets of sisters, we were threatened many times and ultimately, it came down to us having to outwit them all by playing their own game. We were under orders by Zeus to guide and prote
ct you.
“You, however, were so completely manipulated by the Fates, that we had to divide in order to conquer. We were not meant to share the truth with you. So, for every time the Fates used you to make horrible decisions for their entertainment, Annen used Cadmus to try and un-do those decisions.”
I was still for a moment, trying to process that. I turned to Cadmus.
“Annen came to you, as Ahmose came to me?”
He nodded. “But I only vaguely remember it.”
“You pitted us against each other?” I was aghast.
“But not for our entertainment,” he hastened to add. “Only because you were being manipulated. Your decisions were not the wise choices that you thought them to be. We did our best, but usually, you were so determined to carry through with your missions, you did everything you could to make sure that the Fates’ wishes were kept. You are a very loyal person, Harmonia.”
“Cadmus and I were working against each other and didn’t even know it?” I was floored.
“Neither of you knew it,” Ahmose confirmed. “Zeus knew that when the time was right, you would come to realize who you were… and when that happened, the prophecy would be upheld.”
“My love, you’ve always been so good and true,” I murmured, twisting around to cup my husband’s face with one hand. “I’m sorry that I was stubborn.”
“You stubbornly upheld your ideals,” he corrected me. “You thought you were doing the right thing. If the Fates are never released from Tartara, that will be fine with me.”
“Mama, look!” Raquel interrupted, pointing into the water. I peered over the side and instantly recoiled.
Enormous black sea monsters were swimming in circles around our boat. The hair stood up on my neck and goosebumps formed everywhere on my body.
“Hydras,” I whispered.
“There is no need to fear,” Hecate soothed us. “While it is true that we were not granted permission to enter Elyria, our hearts are true. The Hydras will not bother us if that is the case.”
“How do we know that everyone is true?” Ares demanded, his face dark. “Betrayal is an epidemic, I am afraid.”
“Let’s not do this again,” I replied in frustration. “Ares, every one of us here has made decisions that we regret, including you.”
“Does anyone have anything to hide?” Hecate asked the group. “Share it now, if you do.”
My Tattered Bonds Page 24
