Divine Destiny

by Hayley Todd

  They were flanked by Poseidon over Ares' shoulder, his chest puffed out, a long sash draped over it. He held a long golden trident, letting its tips drag along the ground, leaving scarred patches in its wake.

  On their other side was the lithe, lean beauty, Eris, my counter, my opposite. She had long blonde-white hair and deep violet eyes. She stared up at the entrance for a long moment, contemplative.

  Then her eyes darted to me. She watched me carefully, not drawing attention to my presence. She smiled up at me, toying with the clutch of her long dark cloak. She lifted the hood from her head, letting it fall back onto her shoulder. The cape billowed behind her, snapping in the wind.

  Behind the quartet, dark creatures emerged. They were split by a nearly invisible division, some of the creatures walking on all fours, fur rippling down their spines, raised behind their necks. They had long white fangs dripping with saliva over their lips, pulled back from their origin.

  The others stood on two legs, also covered in fur but in a variety of colors. Gleaming yellow eyes stared up the steps at the building resting atop the mountain.

  On both of their sides walked individuals, hands held to the side as though restraining them. They were tall and heavily muscled, both men and women. Sharp, cunning eyes darted around the area curiously.

  They had brought company and I was more than curious to find out who they were. Ares mounted the steps first, followed by the others, one thunderous stomp after the other.

  I fled.

  I lurched from my perch peering over the mountain below and scrambled down the hall, my feet sliding along the marble floors. I sped down the halls, back the way I had come to the heavy banquet hall doors. They were closed now but it bore no mind to me.

  I slammed into them, hurling them open. All eyes within shot to me. Other individuals had joined Zeus, Hera, Athena, Artemis, and Hermes who now lounged across the ark of Hera’s throne.

  “Is something the matter, Harmonia?” Hera asked, leaning forward in her seat. Her lips were stained red, a crimson filled goblet clutched in her fist.

  “They are here,” I explained, breathing hard. “They’ve brought company.”

  Zeus’ eyes hardened and he stood, dragging a scepter from beside his chair. The rod was silver, maybe three feet long and topped with an electric blue gem shaped like a lightning bolt. It rested in a silver claw-like setting. It’s gem gleamed with a fury of its own.

  “What do you mean?” He growled, squeezing the scepter so hard that his knuckles turned white. He had removed most of his clothing, only a long white sheet of fabric stretched across his hips.

  I took a deep breath, gathering myself. “Ares, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Eris. They are not alone. The lycans have joined us. And they look hungry,” I gasped.

  I woke slowly, hanging from my seatbelt. It carved a painful indent along my chest. My arms reached to a crumpled metallic ceiling. I could barely move, stiff, but found that when I did, my body ached, painful wounds etched into my skin.

  I blinked hard, trying to see through a haze of liquid and darkness across my face. I lifted a hand, rubbing at my eyes. My fingers came away sticky with blood.

  “Carson?” I gasped, a rolling groan emitting from my lips.

  The distorted window beside me suddenly ripped open, exposing moonlight into the broken vehicle and across me. Carson stood outside of the vehicle, yanking at the contorted metal, curving it into a circular shape. He held a finger to his lips, begging silence, as he reached into the vehicle. He clutched the seatbelt fused to my skin and ripped, shredding the fabric beneath his fingertips.

  As I started to fall, he swept an arm beneath my shoulders, catching me and carefully lifting me from the vehicle. My body erupted in aches and groans of agony as I moved but I remained quiet, not liking the fear I could see in his eyes and feel in his touch.

  He righted me, helping me to my feet in silence. The air around us stood still. The cold night air pressed in on me, brushing my skin and raising gooseflesh there. My jacket had been ripped to tatters, gaping holes appearing along my sleeves.

  When I had undergone the change, my body temperature had altered, running several degrees colder than most humans. The cold night air affected me a bit more, making my jaw tighten and my fingers go numb. I forced my mouth shut, not allowing my teeth to chatter against one another.

  I pulled my phone from my pocket, dismayed to see that it had been bent harshly, the screen shattered. I looked up at Carson who held his phone aloft for me to see. It was, unfortunately, in much the same condition. Both of them were unusable.

  I looked up into the trees about us, looming high over our heads like disapproving sentries. Something shifted high above us. I glanced in that direction, peering through the darkness. Thought my drop in body temperature had been an unfortunate result of the change, my night vision had dramatically improved, making darkness like this nearly the same as daytime before the change.

  I could just see the edge of the cement barrier running along the highway high above. As I watched, several figures moved along the road, glaring down at the crumpled Evora far below. They spoke but the words were lost on me at this distance.

  Carson grabbed my hand, easing me farther back into the trees, where I lost sight of the silhouettes above. The Evora was a gruesome twist of metal, its carcass exposed to the moonlight seeping down from above.

  His brilliant green eyes gazed upwards as we retreated. He was tense, the muscles along his jaw clenched tightly. I stepped closer, into his arms which he curled around me protectively. If nothing else, he was searing warmth in the autumn air. I didn’t much worry about overexposure with him near.

  Unlike myself, Carson’s hybrid blood kept him a few degrees warmer than a normal human, making him feverish at all times. It didn’t seem to bother him much but it was a balm to my chilled skin.

  He peered down at me, tugging at his coat’s collar, then gesturing to my own wrecked attire. He reached over, pulling the coat over my shoulders. I helped him, shimmying the jacket off and tossing it aside. He pulled his coat from himself and slipped it over my cold arms.

  I responded with a tight smile. Even in dire circumstances, he was concerned about my comfort.

  We left the visible area of the clearing, leaving the Evora a wrecked mass in its center. Carson pulled me by my hand through the trees until I could barely see my new favorite toy in its eviscerated mound.

  There was a thud as half a dozen figures lurched from the highway above to the ground. They leaned, hunched oddly, perusing the inside of the vehicle.

  Carson pulled harder on my hand. I glanced over to him. He was gesturing wildly into the woods beyond. “We need to run,” he whispered, picking up pace. I surged beside him, shaking the stiffness from my muscles. We ran, far faster than any human could keep up with, our bodies a blur through the night air.

  I don’t know precisely how long we ran. My heart hammered in my chest. It felt equally like it was one extended instant and as though we had run for hours. The forest, this far in, was simply darkness. It would have been a cloying, choking, endless pit if I didn’t have enhanced vision for exactly this type of locale.

  We saw no one as we sped through the underbrush, the area engulfed in total silence. It took me until that point to realize that it shouldn’t have been that quiet. Even the forest’s animals had been shocked into silence.

  We rounded a corner and I had to wonder if or how Carson knew where we were going. He seemed driven, aimed this way and that through the trees. I wasn’t sure how I knew exactly, maybe just another sense instilled in me due to my vampiric nature, but I knew that we were being pursued and far too quickly being caught up to.

  We came across a downed log, stretching between two strained stumps. It didn’t appear natural. Something about its precision was just...off.

  Carson leapt over the log, not even breaking stride. I followed suit but my foot caught the edge of the bark, sending me into a tumble of sorts, instead of landing as grac
efully as he had. I rolled, coming back to my feet near him and continued forward.

  Slamming into someone’s chest and knocking us both to the ground.

  The person--the man--I had collided with grunted as he was thrown backwards. He obviously hadn’t expected me right then, in that location and he struggled to regain his feet, his eyes wide and staring into the darkness.

  I lurched to my feet, staying low, crouched in shadows that were nearly imperceptible in the darkness and watched the tangle of human limbs as he rose. He was staring at me but I had the feeling that he couldn’t see me, not completely.

  He had auburn hair, more red tinted than brown and vivacious blue eyes that darted left and right, struggling to make out what had slammed into him. He stumbled forward, stepping within feet of me and my gaze shot to Carson who had also crouched near a tree, watching with wide eyes.

  The man stepped forward, looking over the log with confused eyes. He pulled back a carefully placed tangle of growth that I hadn’t noticed, inspecting it. Then he turned sharply, his eyes dashing around the undergrowth again.

  “I know you’re there,” he hissed, looking for signs of movement.

  I didn’t even dare breathe.

  He stepped forward, pacing the area in front of the log, carefully looking across the ground. He seemed to find something of interest, stooping low and picking it up. He held the square aloft, gazing at it from all directions as though completely baffled at its origins. In his hand he held a broken cell phone.

  My hand surged into Carson’s pocket, digging eagerly and finding nothing. I had to press a hand to my lips to silence the hiss of frustration that was fighting to emerge.

  “I’m not going to hurt you if you come out now,” he said, looking back to where I remained. I still didn’t think he could see me but it was evident that he found the otherwise unassuming spot interesting.

  He padded over to me when we didn’t respond and suddenly stopped, inches from my feet. He knelt, peering at me through the blackness and I knew he finally saw me.

  “And what have we here?” he asked, leaning nearer.

  I froze as though ice had been injected into my veins. I didn’t know what he had in mind but his nearness had my heart strumming an uncertain rhythm.

  Instead of making a move to attack or lurching toward me, he held a hand out.

  I stared at the proferred limb for a long moment, unsure of exactly what was happening. If he had wanted to attack, he could have already. What was he doing? He said nothing, waiting for me to take his hand.

  I lifted my own hand slowly, placing it carefully in his, seeing Carson where he had moved over the man’s shoulder. He hoisted me to my feet, taking a step back to help me. Carson mirrored him, taking a backwards step of his own. He was evidently seeing how this would play out.

  The man and I faced each other, both silent, waiting for the other to say something. He had a goofy grin on his face that reminded me of Anton.

  “What on earth are you doing all the way out here?” he asked, looking over my form. I wasn’t sure that he could see the cuts and bruises in the darkness but I felt awkward under his gaze anyway. Was he with those following us?

  A branch snapped on the side of trees we had just exited and his eyes shot in that direction, then back at me. “Let’s go,” he commanded. “Now.” His tone was insistent and he held his hand out again.

  I nodded my head toward Carson and the man whirled, his body rigid. It was obvious he couldn’t see well enough to make Carson out entirely but he nodded and stabbed his extended palm toward me again.

  I took it and let him guide me through the forest, Carson quick on our heels.

  Chapter Twelve

  We followed the man silently through the woods. He seemed to know where he was going and led the way without much in the way of words. We stepped over brush, trying to remain silent. The man knew his way so well that he even avoided areas with noisy dry twigs, guiding us past difficult spots with gestures.

  We didn’t hear any more evidence of our pursuers, fortunately and traveled with the man for miles within the forest’s boundaries. He wasn’t as fast as us and I nearly felt uncomfortable traveling at a human pace again. It seemed like such a hinderance. I had this boundless speed in my body but I had to fight it down to stay with him. Carson’s face showed the same almost annoyance that I felt.

  After what felt like hours, the man gestured us through a line of trees that broke onto a clearing that was buzzing with activity. There were dozens of shelters built in the clearing, primitive at first appearance. They were almost like tents, building made with skeletal structures with hide and canvas stretched over them to create walls and ceilings.

  Probably close to one hundred or more people zoomed about. Two women left the forest near us, carrying two baskets between them. One was filled with ripe red apples, spilling over its brim. The other held various weeds, heaped into generous piles atop it. The baskets even seemed like something from another world. I was willing to bet that they had been handmade though I wasn’t sure how.

  “Oi, Eolis!” one of the women shouted, throwing her hand up in greeting. She had an accent that I couldn’t place. Russian maybe? But that wasn’t quite right. She caught sight of us and went still, her hand still hanging in the air.

  The auburn haired man--Eolis--surged nearer to her, gesturing us to follow. We did. The closer we got to the two women, the more guarded they seemed, watching us carefully. The woman who had spoken was thickly built, not at all chubby but lined with athletic muscle. She had short red hair and brilliant green eyes, reminding me of Carson’s. She had a splash of freckles across her nose and cheeks and her lips were twisted into a tight scowl.

  The other woman was a little taller. She was shorter than myself and thin. She looked frail but her expression warned me otherwise. I got the impression that these women would be dangerous if we weren’t considered friends.

  “Mailene, Akalya, I found these two in the woods. They were being chased,” Eolis said. I noticed that the more he spoke, he exposed a faint accent that wasn’t quite the same as the woman’s but wasn’t far off. Maybe from the same country but not the same region?

  The thickly built woman stepped forward with her basket of apples. “Chased?” she asked, her teeth clenched. “By what?” I noticed her inflection on “what” and wondered about the fact that she didn’t say “who”.

  “Wolves,” Eolis replied, his eyes wide and serious.

  Shock crossed both women’s features. “We must speak with Babui,” the thin woman said. She pushed back a long sheet of dark hair, a few shades lighter than my own. Her eyes were bright, almost but not quite reminding me of a Magick. What was odder was that they were two different colors, one a sky blue, the other emerald green. She was peachy in color, her skin laced with lines of red welts.

  She noticed me watching her and pulled at her sleeves which had been hiked up to her elbows, covering the marks down her arms. She shifted with her basket, balancing it on her hip.

  Eolis nodded. “Where is she?” he asked, looking back to the assortment of buildings.

  The freckled woman pointed at a building surrounded by people. Her eyes were tight and I tried to pretend I didn’t notice her perusing me, sizing me up.

  “Thanks, Mai,” Eolis replied, gesturing for Carson and I to follow him.

  We traded an uncomfortable glance and I turned, my eyes searching the line of trees for movement. When none came, I turned back, following Eolis as he pushed through throngs of people and led us past a dozen doors.

  “Babui Aka lives here,” Eolis explained, walking past individuals who stared at us curiously. Mailene and Akalya had remained where we’d encountered them at the forest’s edge, speaking in hushed whispers.

  “Who is Babui Aka?” I asked, feeling as though I hadn’t quite pronounced the words correctly. “And who are you?”

  Eolis stopped, turning to us. “My name is Eolis. These are my people. We live in small communities li
ke this and I believe that the people who were chasing you, were the same ones who have been hounding the woods around our village for weeks. Babui Aka is our leader. She will know what to do.”

  “Your leader?” I asked, confused. We couldn’t be that far from Stratsburg. What did he mean, leaders and villages?

  Eolis looked us over carefully and lifted the broken phone. “This is yours?” he asked. I glanced at Carson’s guarded expression before slowly nodding.

  “You are from out there then?” he asked, gesturing through the trees. I could only assume that he meant from the city.

  “More or less,” Carson said, his voice low in his chest. He didn’t hide his discomfort and it put my nerves on edge. “What is this place?” he asked, looking around.

  There were dozens of people in the center of this place. Some watched us anxiously, others ignored us all together. Each of the buildings held a patio like area before it, cleared of obstructions and each hosted a different activity. One housed three women, seated cross-legged and twisting together long pieces of what appeared to be reeds or bark. They were contorting the items into different shapes, one forming a basket, another what looked to be some sort of armor, the last was dipping hers in some kind of liquid before lacing it together in the appearance of a hilt.

  Eolis took a long moment to respond, as though trying to puzzle the words over in his mind. “This is a place of refuge,” he replied at long last, watching the people move about around us. “You know of witches?” he asked.

  I glanced at Carson as we both nodded.

  Eolis nodded his head in response. “I thought as much. Witches have not been seen as...kind in many moons,” he said, “But, not all witches are bad. This is a place that protects those who refuse to be a part of the others.”

  Bad witches? Good witches? I was beyond confused. Like all other types of people, I had always assumed witches to be individuals. Some more...villainous than others. If vampires could contain all walks of life, why couldn’t witches?