by Kristin Cast
Eva felt like her stomach was going to fall out of her butt. They weren’t supposed to go somewhere and talk. They were supposed to scream over the music at each other, maybe have a drink, and then Eva would spend the rest of the weekend on the phone with Bridget analyzing every syllable uttered and deciding whether or not to text him first.
Spencer took her hand and led her up the narrow staircase to the hotel lobby, and Eva couldn’t help but feel a little warmer than she had when she first arrived. She glanced over her shoulder before disappearing from the room. Bridget sat giggling at the cute bartender and hadn’t noticed Eva’s success.
“God, it’s loud in there.” Spencer’s voice interrupted the photomontage of their soon-to-be romance Eva had busily created in her head. He closed the door separating the hotel from the restaurant. The sudden silence made Eva fidget with a stray thread dangling from her clutch.
“You know, I hate that we don’t have any classes together anymore.” Spencer reached over and brushed her hair back and off of her shoulder. He let his hand linger and slowly slide down her arm.
Goose bumps dotted Eva’s skin, and her heart fluttered in her chest. “Really?” She bit her bottom lip, hoping she’d hid the shock from her voice.
“Definitely. You were the only girl who wasn’t glued to her phone, and whenever I walked in, I got to see that amazing smile.”
Happiness warmed her and she let her amazing smile beam.
“Actually, speaking of phones, I need to get your number.” He reached for his back pocket, and his forehead wrinkled with confusion. “Damn, I must have left it in the room,” he said, patting the remaining pockets of his jeans. “A few of us got rooms on the same floor so we won’t have to worry about driving or anything.”
“That totally makes sense.” She tried not to sound too impressed by his small act of responsibility.
“Are you staying with Bridget?”
“I hadn’t planned on it,” Eva said, waiting anxiously for his next question. Is he going to ask me to stay with him?
Instead, Spencer looked around the lobby, as if sizing it up. “Yeah, I think your friend Bridget has one too. She was talking to the check-in lady when I was getting my key.”
“She didn’t say anything about it, but we didn’t really get a chance to talk before—”
“Before I stole you away.” Spencer flashed a perfect grin. “I meant it when I said that we should go out sometime. But I have to go up to the room first to grab my phone. Want to come up with me? It’ll just take a second.” He walked to the elevator and Eva followed, hesitantly.
She twirled the loose thread and weighed her options. Either go back downstairs and get groped by guys I don’t even know, or go upstairs and possibly get groped by Spencer. A smile crept across her face. “Yeah, I’ll go up with you.”
“I won’t keep you away from the party for too long.” He leaned over and pushed the up arrow.
“That’s okay. I’d rather be with you.”
He slid his well-toned arm behind her and pulled her close. “I feel the same way.”
She held her breath and waited for his lips to press against hers.
Ding! The elevator blared, interrupting the moment.
Spencer stepped back and gestured toward the open doors. “After you.”
Eva leaned into him and tried not to stare at his sizeable shoes during the short ride up to the fourth floor. As they approached the door to his hotel room, Spencer pulled the key card from his back pocket. Lint speckled the shiny cream card, and he wiped in on his shirt before sliding it into the lock.
“We should have done this sooner.” The door clicked open and he motioned for her to follow him inside. “You and me together just makes sense.”
“You’re right.” Eva laughed softly. “This is totally embarrassing, but I’ve wanted to talk to you, like really talk to you, for over a year.”
“Well, we’re here now.” He gently took her hand and spun her around like a ballerina before pulling her closer. “What do you want to talk about?”
A girlish smile covered her lips and butterflies sprang to life in her stomach.
Spencer gripped her arms in his strong hands. “I can think of a few things. Like how beautiful you looked every day in class.” He lifted her chin and brought their lips together. The rich, pine scent of his body filled the air, and she inhaled deeply. “Or how sexy you look in that dress.”
She relaxed into his kiss, allowing his tongue to explore hers.
“You look so perfect every time I see you.” He pressed his open palm against her back and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his thick torso, and felt him step forward until the door was firmly behind her. Body heat radiated through her hands as her fingers outlined the taut muscles of his back. The weight of his body pinned her to the door, and she struggled against him to catch her breath.
“Spencer, I—”
“Shhh. You don’t have to talk. I know what you want.” His hand slithered up her thigh, forcing her dress up over her hips.
She pushed against his chest. “It’s not that.”
He pulled back and shot her a confused look that quickly turned irritated. “What’s the problem?”
“Just slow down. Okay?”
He nodded his head. “Yeah, we have all night.” He pressed his mouth against hers, and Eva once again relaxed. His hands moved around her breasts, then lowered and lifted her dress again. Eva broke the kiss and pushed him away.
“I want to go back to the party.”
“It’s a little too late for that.” His fingers dug deeper into her as he groped around for her panties.
Fear fluttered in her chest. “Stop! You’re hurting me!”
She kicked at the empty air behind him and pushed against his chest with all of her strength.
“Quit being such a fucking tease,” he grunted.
She slid her hands to his face and clawed at the stubble on his cheeks. Skin bunched under her fingernails and he shoved her arms away.
“Ouch! Goddammit! You bitch!” He stepped back, covering his face with his hands. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Eva grabbed her clutch from where it rested on the floor and burst from the room out into the carpeted hallway.
Before she got any farther, Spencer grabbed her arm and tugged her backward. “Babe, really? C’mon. I didn’t mean to call you a bitch.”
“Let go of me!” She flicked his hand from her wrist and hurried to the elevators.
“Eva, you’re embarrassing yourself. What’s your deal?” Spencer followed her, his tone growing more hostile.
“I don’t have a deal. I just said no. Repeatedly.” She smashed the down arrow and waited impatiently for the elevator to rescue her.
“Whatever. You came up to my room with me, and you definitely knew what was going to happen, but…”
Eva puffed as a rush of anger distracted her panic, and she wished she had the power to knock him on his ass. “You’re right. It’s my fault for thinking you weren’t going to attack me. So sorry. Won’t happen again.”
She stepped into the open elevator and held her breath until the doors closed on her crush-turned-douchebag’s astonished face.
“Just breathe. Everything is fine now.” She straightened the skirt of her wrinkled dress and wiped away the tears flooding her eyes. “That was way close.”
She took one more deep breath before the elevator door dinged. Eva tiptoed into the lobby, hoping she wouldn’t run into Bridget making a last call dash to the hotel bar. She didn’t have the strength to fake happiness, and she also didn’t want to ruin her best friend’s night. With no squealing friend in sight, she relaxed, pulled her car key from her clutch, and made her way into the quiet Tulsa night.
Eva began to regret “borrowing” her mom’s designer shoes as she walked, with her toes pinched and heels blistered, down Main Street to her car.
“Couldn’t parallel park under a street light. Had to park in a
pull-through space off in the dark. But at least I’m out of there and away from Spencer.” She sniffled back the last of her tears and dug for her phone to text Bridget.
Omw home. Call me later. Lots of Spencer stuff to talk about. He’s such an ass! Be safe. Love you!
Distracted by her phone, she felt less uneasy about the dark trek to her car. “Let’s see who’s posted pictures from the party.” Before she clicked the app’s box, she stopped. A shape teetered on the brink of her peripheral vision. She stood on the sidewalk, frozen by panic.
Clunk, clunk. Clunk, clunk. Then a pause. They had to be footsteps. Maybe it was Spencer, pissed off and coming to get what he thought he was owed.
All the ways she could have avoided the terror building inside of her pummeled her thoughts. I should have just crashed in Bridget’s room. Or never have gone up with him in the first place.
Without looking back, Eva wrangled her fear and sprinted toward the safety of her car. She had only gone a few steps when her pace slowed because of the pain of her shoes. Their rough straps rubbed raw on her toes and heels, and she hopped awkwardly down the street. Luckily, her silver Chevy Spark was only feet in front of her. She threw open the door and yanked it closed. Eva held her breath and looked in the driver’s side mirror.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” An empty water bottle lazily tripped down the street and passed her car, creating the clunk, clunk she escaped. Dread released her stomach and she laughed with relief. “Wow. Now that was totally embarrassing. I’m so glad no one was out here to see me.”
Her hands still shook from the encounter with the killer bottle, and she wrung them out, trying to take in deep mouthfuls of air to calm herself.
“And you didn’t even lock the car doors. So stupid. What if someone was really chasing you? He could’ve just hopped in the passenger seat. And then I’d be trapped in this little box with some lunatic. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I really need to start listening to my mother.” She tossed her clutch on to the passenger seat and began quoting her mother aloud. “Eva, park under streetlamps. It’s safer. Always lock your car doors. It’s safer.”
A slick voice laughed softly from behind her. “Always check the backseat. It’s safer.”
Eva began to scream.
Six
“How do we wake him? Oh, it must have been too much. We should have warned him. Allowed him time to prepare.” Worry fueled Maiden’s tone, and she manically twirled the ends of her long hair.
Mother knelt next to her sisters in a huddle above Alek. “Give him a quick slap. Something real his mind can follow.”
“No! Do not hurt him!” Maiden shouted.
“Do not hurt him?” Crone puffed out a short burst of air in Maiden’s direction. “He is a powerful immortal. He will hardly notice a swift slap from my withered hand.” She coiled back her hand in preparation for a speedy strike.
“I’m fine, Mothers,” Alek grumbled, blinking the blur from his eyes. “There’s no need for concern. Or a smack.”
“As I said, a powerful immortal.” Crone slowly came to her feet. “Now, to more important matters. We must check on the future Oracle.”
Maiden gave Alek her hand, and he pulled himself to his feet. His chest felt tight and tired, but he also sensed a new energy surging through him. “What is this?” He placed a calloused hand over his heart. “I feel, different.”
“Come, my son. You will understand soon enough.” Mother gestured for him to follow.
They disappeared into one of Tartarus’s many caves. The empty black hole had once been a bright and vibrant hall. During childhood, the Furies told him many stories of the Hall of Echoes. The magnificent tales formed vivid images within his mind, and as he walked into the black, his imagination took hold.
A path of worn salt crystals, colored in a rosy pink of human flesh, dissected the hall and sapphire pools lined the cave walls, reflecting massive candlelit chandeliers. Their flickering light illuminated the beige rocks, making them glow a soft gold. Looking in each pool was looking into a moment in time. They acted as the Furies’ direct link to the Mortal Realm, levels of the Underworld, and how they checked on him during his training. Soft popping under his feet jarred him from his daydream.
He shook his head, releasing made-up images of the past. Bioluminescent insects twitched on the ground beneath his shoes. He followed their greenish orbs of light as they led him down the once beautiful path and to the only remaining pure waters of Tartarus.
In the vast black, the Galazoneri stood as a beacon of hope for their dying home. The turquoise pool appeared alive and sentient as it rippled and shone bright in the windless dark. Mother¸ Maiden, and Crone circled the timeless waters and placed their fingertips in its beauty.
Alek stood still and silent behind his mothers. He tensed his broad back against the uncertainty writhing within him. I am the Immortal Warrior of Tartarus. He reminded himself. There is no task at which I will not succeed.
Water spun around the women’s fingers. The mini whirlpools grew wider and wider with every breath they took. Each underwater tornado swallowed its neighbor until only one enormous spinning pool remained. The Furies removed their fingers from the well and waited. Beads of water detached from the spinning pool and floated up. They moved slowly at first, as every drop waited for the previous to reach its destination. Then, more quickly, as hundreds of droplets wiggled up, binding together to form inchoate shapes. The spin of the pool slowed as the shape took form. Arms sprouted from the large ball of pulsing water, then legs, and a head. The water in the basin stilled, but remained bright and illuminated the liquid figure floating above. Details rippled to the surface, and Alek recognized it as Atropos, one of the three Fates, and sister to the Furies.
“Ah, sisters, it has been long since we have spoken.” Atropos’s creaky voice exited her watery silhouette.
Crone spoke first. “You are well, my sister?”
“Always.” A smirk lifted the corners of her mouth. “My work keeps me young.”
“Indeed, it has been too long. I had almost forgotten how you enjoy the task you perform.”
“Yes. Still the only being with the power to cut the thread of life.” Her smiled widened. “A task of which I shall never grow weary.”
“And for that, you will always be my favorite of the Fates,” Alek chuckled.
“Alek? You cannot possibly be the grown man I see. Come closer.”
He moved forward and stood in between Crone and Maiden. “I assure you, I am the same Alek.”
“The same?” she scoffed.
“I have not called on you since I was a boy and many changes have taken hold since then. But my purpose will stay true. In this task, and all others, I will forever protect the Underworld.” Speaking his purpose aloud eliminated all doubt, and he relaxed into his place beside his mothers.
“It is remarkable how far you have come. I have great faith in you, Warrior.”
He nodded respectfully. “Your words are much appreciated, Atropos.”
“You spoke of a task. I assume this call is for more than just reminiscing.”
“You are correct, sister,” Mother said. “We have called upon you for a pressing matter.”
“We must know more about the descendant of Pythia,” Crone added.
“If you wish to dive straight into the muck, I suppose we will do so. I shall return in a moment.” Alek stared into Atropos’s eyes, not wanting to miss what he knew was coming. Her eyelids fluttered rapidly and each iris disappeared as they rolled backward and into her head. Her nostrils flared, and the tendons in her neck flexed tight. Her chest expanded, and when her lungs were full, the watery body relaxed and her eyes continued their circle, rolling back into place.
“It is fortunate you called upon me so soon. The timeline of the Mortal Realm’s new Oracle has skipped ahead.”
Maiden spoke for the first time during the call, “Skipped ahead? What is meant by this?”
“Time is a s
hifty beast. It does not have a set beginning or end, nor does it travel in one simple line as mortals have convinced themselves. Instead, it curves and splits, branching out below the surface like tree roots. A simple glance in the wrong direction, a misstep on the path, an ill choice of companion, and the future is new. Eva’s future is new. Death will reach her soon. I will be left with no choice but to cut her cord and end her life,” Atropos explained.
“Oh, Alek.” Tears flooded Maiden’s eyes. “You must leave now and find her. The Oracle and warrior together is the only hope our home and the Mortal Realm have. You must get to her in time to save her life. Without the two of you united, Tartarus will be lost and all human innocence will be wiped from their realm.”
He wrapped a comforting arm around Maiden. “Atropos, can you lengthen her life? Allow me more time to search for this, Eva.”
Water sloshed back and forth with the shake of her head. “I haven’t the power to influence time. I only react to its commands.”
“How am I to find one person in the billions that reside in the Mortal Realm?”
Mother approached him and placed her palm on the middle of his chest. “Let the new power inside you be your guide. It knows its true place and will search for the new Oracle. You must only trust yourself. You will find her.”
He put his hand over hers and squeezed it gently. “Thank you.”
Mother stepped back to rejoin her sisters. “It is all in you, my son.”
“Now go, Warrior. And remember, I will be looking after you.” Atropos’s smile reappeared before her watery body collapsed into the basin with a splash.
“Gather ’round,” Crone urged the two women. “Alek, where is your talisman? We must recharge it with enough power so you are able to make it to the Mortal Realm and back home.”
He felt around the collar of his shirt before pulling on the thin leather cord around his neck. “Here.” He let go of the leather. The crystal talisman bounced against his chest and glistened in the light from the Galazoneri.
