by Tigris Eden
Royce had to give it to his brother—since Belinda had come into their lives, he’d been more approachable. The kids in the Enclave had taken an immediate liking to Ronin, and both babies were attached. There were times he was thankful for being blessed with two perfect children and the perfect mate. Right now, he kind of wished he could put that all on hold, deal with the impending threat, and rediscover what it meant to live. Because he knew, somewhere deep down in his bones, they were going to take a serious hit.
Chapter 7
They hadn’t had a real conversation in days. It had been all about work. The both of them reading texts, switching books to ensure they didn’t miss anything, and still, he hadn’t found anything on this Throne of Creation bit. Was he missing something? He’d gone to every place he could think of that would house the oldest of texts. He even visited his father, who wasn’t at all forthcoming. Hades was pissed he was even dwelling in the gardens. But then, he was right to be pissed. Enri had given his stepmother the business end of his dick.
“Enri, I don’t mean to sound doubtful, but we’ve read these books over and over—and I know I’m no expert, but there is nothing here about the Throne of Creation. What are we missing?”
It was the first time he’d heard her speak in a complete sentence in the last few days. He’d been taking notice of her more and more lately. The only time they talked was during research, and it was only a few words here or there. Kind of like an awkward dinner conversation where someone asks the other person to pass the peas, or the salt and pepper shakers.
“You’re right.”
Her eyes got big.
“I am?” She asked bewildered.
He stood from the table he was sitting at in their makeshift library.
“Yeah, you are. Is that so hard to believe?” Enri rubbed his temples. He was tired, and he never got tired.
Yewa shrugged. She stood, stretching her arms above her head, causing her shirt to rise, exposing her navel. She had beautiful skin. Amazing, even with the marks on her body, her color still looked warm and soft.
Damn.
Enri shook the thoughts clouding his brain. He was tired. That was it. Tired. There was no other reason he should be noticing any part of Yewa’s body. Of course, you’re going to notice. She’s a woman, you’re a man, and who doesn’t want to get their stick wet. Nope, he wasn’t going to think like that. They had work to do. Serious work. Work hard, play harder later.
“What if we talked to one of the Fates? They should know about the Throne.”
“Maybe.”
But the Fates were a nasty piece of work. He hadn’t been nice to the sisters. He’d been the one to put them in their predicament. But it was where they were needed. Where they belonged. He’d somehow managed to get the three of them to weave a wonderful web of crazy for him, and they had been doing it ever since. If anyone ever found out just how influential he was in the thick of things, it wouldn’t end well. Not for him of course, but for others.
“They aren’t going to like us intruding on their time. They spin.”
“Yes, they hold the threads of life.”
“Kind of. It’s a long, sordid, and a twisted story that over time got a little out of control.”
“We should still visit them, Enri.”
The way she said his name. It always came out as a whisper. Why?
“You still on board with helping me?”
“I am. I said I would not leave you in your time of need. I meant it.”
“No judging?”
“Not from me.”
Looked like they were going to visit three females that gave hormones of crazy a whole new level of batshit. It wasn’t like they’d be welcomed. On the contrary, they’d try to kill him if they could. Good thing it wasn’t a possibility. He loved himself too much.
Prepping for the journey wouldn’t take too much time at all. Unaffected by the elements, he’d be fine. Yewa, on the other hand, was. He left the garden, not telling her where he was going because there wasn’t that much time. He hit a local camping store right outside of Normandy, grabbed all the necessary gear needed, and made it back to the garden in record time. Yewa still had her head in the same book when he returned.
“You were gone a long time.” She commented not looking up for her book.
“What? You’re worried about me now?”
“Worried is not the right word, more like curious as to what you could be doing.”
Well, weren’t they just becoming the domesticated pair?
“If you must know, dearest, I went to gather supplies for our trip.”
Her head turned up slowly from her book, her gaze direct as she watched him. He’d told her not to look at him but found he liked her eyes on him. When he returned her stare, she quickly looked back at the book she read, quietly clearing her throat.
“Where are the Moirai?”
“You don’t know?”
“No, seeing as in my culture the Fates are not described as three sisters, but a rolling of the die so to speak, or chance. I believe that all life created under the sun and the moon have a hand in their own destiny.”
“And that right there is the problem. For every god or goddess, there is a balance.” Enri walked over and took the book from Yewa’s hand. Their fingers touched briefly, and Enri felt it in the pit of his stomach. Odd feeling, it was. But he ignored it, and quickly went back to explaining to Yewa what most people didn’t grasp. “Every living, breathing, thing is different. But universally, it’s all the same. One heart, or two, depending on species. Blood, veins, all of it equates to one thing. Life. So if we are all in this life then there has to be a constant factor.”
“I’m following you Enri, but everyone has their own creation story.”
“Yet, there is only one true genesis.”
“One?”
“Yes, one.”
Yewa tilted her head to the side, and Enri took that opportunity to move around the desk that stood between them to take a seat next to her. He wasn’t going to analyze or question his out-of-character routine. Explaining things to people usually pissed him off. He could care less if anyone understood the beginning and the end. Or even the middle, for that matter. If they didn’t serve a purpose that would benefit him, then he’d toss them to the side and keep moving. Yewa couldn’t be used as leverage; she couldn’t even be manipulated to do his dirty work. Although, he suspected if he asked her to do something, she’d do it. Not because she did or did not want to, but because she said she would. She was a female of substance. Her word was her bond.
“If there is only one creation, that would mean that all others are lies.”
“Not lies, but fragmented versions of the truth.”
“You can’t have versions of the truth.” She argued.
He laughed at the sour look on her face. She was clearly put out by the idea that she’d been given a half-truth to a tale she believed in.
“I can prove it to you.”
“How?”
Enri stood and reached for her hand, when she took it, he pulled her close, wrapping both arms around her waist.
“Hold on to me. We’re going for a ride.”
Yewa’s arms circled his shoulders, loosely at first, until she understood what he meant to do. Enri allowed his wings to manifest before taking them skyward. Yewa noticed the last time they traveled that his shirts had no holes to allow for his wings. When she’d inquired as to how it happened, Enri explained that his wings are always there. They can appear and disappear at will and not ruin his shirts. He took them straight through the barrier that enclosed the garden, through Tartaros, until there was a vast area of open land. Yewa took it all in and Enri wanted to know what she was thinking. He could have invaded her mind but decided against it. He’d rather hear her voice than sift inside her mind searching for the answer. Her fingers dug into his shoulder as they existed in the space. There was nothing above or below them.
“Where are we?”
Go
od question. He’d asked himself that maybe a million times, but he’d come to call it the in-between. That was the answer he gave her.
“The in-between?” She asked.
“Yes, this is the place that exists between space and time. Now, pay attention. We can’t go back or forward—to do so would break down some barriers I’m not sure I want to be broken. But here we can peek. Take a look at what is real.”
Yewa looked around the area, and Enri pointed in the direction of images starting to form. Like a movie screen, but three dimensional in its makeup. There was a mother and daughter sitting inside a hut made of mud and straw. The little girl played with her doll while the mother shaped clay into a huge bowl.
“Can they see us?” Yewa asked.
“No, they can’t, but you can see them. Now, watch.”
As if appearing from smoke, Enri stood next to the child. Yewa gasped.
“How can you be in two places at once?”
He was in all places at once, something he realized a bit later on in life. He just was. He existed everywhere and nowhere. It was hard to explain.
“Now, you see me as I am in what you believe is my true form. Now pay close attention, I want you to see me as the girl sees me as I interact with her.”
This was a memory from his past and not the future. Why he chose to show her, Enri wasn’t sure. There were many others he could have shown her—there were even other scenarios with different gods he could have let her take a peek. But he stayed his course. The image of Enri bent low, and when the little girl looked up she gasped. The other version of him had a devil of a smile across his lips, and he seemed harmless. Would appear so to anyone first approaching. But as the little girl peered up at him, his smile changed into one of mischief and ill intent.
“That is not you,” Yewa said.
But it was him—it was how the little girl saw him, and any who lived in Ancient Egypt would see him. To the girl, he took on the form of a frog-headed man. Known as Kuk, one of the eight primordial elements in the Ogdoad creation myth. Something familiar about this memory from long ago seeped inside of Enri. There had been someone else there, another of his kind. Enri scanned the memory, going over every detail. The hut, the girl, and her mother, the dry breeze as it swept inside. He was so caught up in trying to pick up on the intruder in his memory, that when Yewa jerked in his arms, he almost dropped her.
“You…you…had the girl kill her mother?” Yewa whispered. Her head planted into his chest as she looked away.
Enri looked over the scene. He had a good memory, and if there were something he couldn’t remember, he’d come back here to be reminded. Yes, he had persuaded the little girl to kill her mother. It had been the easier of the two other scenarios he had in his head. The woman had been plotting the death of a very influential person in the thick of things. If the woman had been allowed to live, there would not have been a Cleopatra.
Everyone knew about the great Queen of Egypt. She was the originating Matria of one of the five surviving sects of House Phoenix. She was also not right in the head. But she served a purpose. Aligning his pawns to ensure his victory. It was as simple as that. And although Cleo was a bit off her rocker, she still served a purpose.
“Yes, I did.” He didn’t tell Yewa why he had the little girl kill her mother. There was no need to explain himself. Either she was with him or against him.
“Was it really necessary?”
“To me, it was.”
“To you, it was,” she whispered.
“Yes, but that is not why we’re here. Do you understand now? There is only one creation, one set of deities, one set of life. Whether it be mortal or eternal. What you see is not what she sees. Which would mean a person like me, or say, Gabriel, for instance, take on different forms, not by choice—as it just happens that way—but because that is the way we are perceived when we are revealed to others that are not of our kind. This is how you perceive me.”
“Then what is your true form?”
“I have many true forms.”
Yewa lifted her head to meet his gaze. She was still wrapped around him, and he tried and failed at ignoring the amount of body heat she threw off. When he’d been focused on the scene in front of him, it was as if he’d all but forgotten her. Until she’d made herself known. Now he was hyper aware of his body’s reaction to her. Why are you so aware? The fuck if he knew. Her skin was soft, and maybe he should have thought better about the clothes he’d gotten for her. She was in some flimsy dress thing. It had a multitude of flowers on it, ranging from small to large. Bright colors that highlighted the tone of her skin. And her smell. Damn, her smell was intoxicating. The scent of the garden was infused into her skin. It was an eclectic floral collection that added to her overall appeal. She’d taken her hair down from the braids, which left her with an abundance of silky waves that fell in ripples down her back.
“Every god or goddess is truly only one being then, with many facets to our reality.”
Couldn’t pull anything over her head. Not that he’d been trying to.
“Exactly.”
“There was another in the memory with you. One like you. I saw her watching you as you spoke with the little girl.”
“What did she look like?”
“She looked like you, but the female version.”
How can someone look like him? He didn’t have any other siblings that he knew of.
“There were slight differences. Her hair was as white as the moon’s light, and her eyes were a milky white, with a hint of black.”
Really. This was a new development. He may not come to the in between often, but he’d never once been aware of anyone else around or with him in his memories. At least none that looked or acted like him. Maybe there is truth to what Darkness said. Which would mean Erebos was his father.
Shit.
Now he really needed to talk to the three sisters.
“Time for us to go. We have places to go, people to see—possibly kill.”
Yewa didn’t respond, but her hands did tighten around his neck. Enri was hyper-aware of her movements. Her breath, the slight movement of her fingers as they held onto his neck, and each pull of air she inhaled, Enri could feel it all. He found he was content with her in his arms. Although their journey back to the garden was quick, he felt as if he’d been holding her for an eternity.
The moment they returned to the gardens, Yewa quietly excused herself. She needed a moment to collect her thoughts. He hadn’t given her a reason as to why he had the child kill her mother. Why is it your concern? Yewa shook the thought from her head; things were twisted in her mind. She knew she was making headway with Enri and her quest to aid him. He did need her; he hadn’t accepted it yet. He will.
She knew the moment Enri decided her alone time was finished. He appeared in front of her. He did that a lot. Would emerge out of thin air, usually at times that were intimate. The other day, he popped in while she’d been bathing in the enclosed room. She’d been shocked. He’d been uncaring. She didn’t want him to view her in the manner everyone else did. They saw her as weak and broken. She knew what he thought. Even if his face did not give him away.
She was scarred. Not just on the inside, but on the outside. She couldn’t hide them if she tried. And, why would she? It was not her fault bad things happened to her. It wasn’t her who’d sold herself into a life of servitude and abuse. If she wanted to lay blame somewhere, she could. She could lay it at Enri’s feet. He’d given her over to the man who’d created most, if not all, of her worst imaginings.
“You’re upset with me?”
“What? No.” Yewa rushed to say. “I was conflicted. I don’t try to pretend I understand half of what you do. No one can.”
“Right, because I’m that awesome.”
“There was nothing…awesome, about what I saw.”
Enri took two steps and violated her personal space.
“What did you see? What did I show you?”
“I saw
death.”
“Is that all you saw?” His anger was rising. She didn’t understand why he’d get upset. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
“What else was I supposed to see?”
“How about the truth? I just gave you something that no one, and I mean no one really understands, and here you stand judging me.”
“I’m not judging you.”
“The hell you’re not!” he roared.
Their breath mingled, he stood so close. They were almost kissing again. Yewa took a step back. Enri stepped forward. She took another step back, and he followed. He just kept coming closer until she could see the black pupils of his eyes. Her chest touched his as her took air in and out of her lungs. He didn’t need to be this close, but she knew if she tried to move him it would only make things worse. He placed both his hands on either side of her head as his body moved forward, crowding hers. Enri’s eyes searched hers, and time stopped with the two of them encapsulated in the moment.
No words were spoken outright, yet conversation was evident. Yewa was sure she imagined the words.
“Why must you tempt me?”
“Tempt you?”
“Yes, make me question my motives. Question my feelings.”
“I have no control over your motives or your feelings.”
“But you do. Don’t you?”
“No. I don’t.”
Her response, although silent was fierce. She meant every unspoken word. She was not in control of his feelings or motives.
A rumble of laughter escaped through Enri’s lips, the sound alive and far-reaching as it caressed her mouth.
“I see now you are going to be a problem for me.”
“A problem for you? How?”
His eyes narrowed with warning. He was daring her to deny his statement.
“It doesn’t matter how. You’re a problem.”
Enri stepped away, releasing Yewa from her haze. He turned, leaving the room, only to return moments later with a bag and some clothing.
“We’re leaving now?”
“Yes, put those on, and be ready to go in ten. Pull your hair up, otherwise, it will end up a tangled mess.”
