by Tigris Eden
Enri slammed the door on his way out.
How am I the problem?
He was going to become Yewa’s personal shopper, Enri decided a handful of minutes later when she stepped out of the room. He’d picked out clothing conducive to the weather and the dangers he knew existed. She was the perfect combination of deadly and sweet. Yeah, fuck sexy. Anyone could be sexy, but deadly and sweet? Try and pull that shit off and come at him with something that could only be Yewa. Leather pants, tight tank, and leather jacket opened to expose a bountiful amount of breast and cleavage begging for his tongue. Yeah, she was nothing but trouble. Her hair was in a tight ponytail braided down her back, and as always, she was free of make-up. Flawless.
“You look…” Enri cleared his throat. Shit. He was not going to get choked up over an outfit. At the end of the day, she was still Yewa. A pawn. Someone he would use until her usefulness ran out.
“I look ridiculous,” she huffed out.
No. No, she didn’t.
“You look ready to take on the perils of Skye.”
And there would be perils. Tons of them. The Isle of Skye, or Cloud Island. Which is where the three fates resided—or more aptly, were imprisoned. They were in the one place he couldn’t use any of his powers of persuasion. It never got dark on the Isle. To mortals, they saw what the Moirai wanted them to see. A beautiful place steeped in history and myths. Cunts.
“What type of peril?”
“The type where you can die.”
“What about you?”
He chuckled.
“Nah, not me. Again, I’m too awesome to die. But I could become very badly injured. There is that.”
“How will we get there?”
“I’ll get us there using the fastest mode of transportation there is. Then from there, we’ll take the river, and make the journey. Should take us all of two days, tops. No more than that.”
“Shouldn’t I have more...” She looked around as if items would appear out of thin air. “Weapons?”
“What? You don’t trust me to protect you?”
He was joking, but deep down, he appreciated she settled on items that might actually mean something to him.
Strike that.
It was weird. It was also very uncomfortable.
“I would have thought you’d see me as a weakness.”
“You are. And since you’re traveling with me, and insist on following me around like a lost puppy, I have no choice but to take you under my wing and deal. You know, call it my one good deed. Giving back to those in need.”
She snorted.
It was the first time she’d outright disagreed with him to his face in a sarcastic manner. He was too stunned to have a proper comeback. Instead, he tossed a backpack her way and grunted.
“Put that on. We’re leaving now.”
Chapter 8
They left the garden the same way they always had. She found herself once again in Enri’s arms. His hand tightened around her waist as they traveled to the edge of Tartaros. It wasn’t as hot as some said it to be. Quite the opposite. There were varying degrees of climate. Some places were hot, others cold. Then there was the place they were now, balmy—not too hot or cold—but the right temperature. They were atop a hill that overlooked a black ocean. The sea itself, the only thing not calm. It crashed in huge swells against craggy rock made of large geodes in their natural state. As the water met the stone, a cacophony of sound echoed in the wide-open space. It made Yewa very uneasy.
“I don’t like this place.” She found herself saying as Enri stood a few feet from her. He watched her over his shoulder. He didn’t seem to care if she liked their surroundings or not. He turned back toward the water and stared at it for a moment. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought he was either praying or perhaps talking to someone. But she couldn’t hear for all the noise the black water made as it crashed against the stone.
Her gut was telling her to run. The hairs on the back of her neck and arms rose in protest as the swells of the water grew in height and sound. Yewa’s heart began a tumultuous thump inside her chest, and for the first time in a very long time, she was scared. Fear clouded her vision and rose up like an inky, black mass of dread. Images appeared in her mind and seized control of her body. It was like she relived everything ugly from her past.
Yewa doubled over as pain crippled her. It almost brought her to her knees. Ahead of her, Enri continued his conversation. He didn’t turn around, didn’t inquire as to how she was holding up in this place of horror he’d brought her to. Image after image bombarded her mind. The air in her lungs froze and her knees buckled, bringing her to the unforgiving ground. There was no relief. Only pain. Her eyesight was leaving. Her vision replaced with total darkness.
Yewa knelt on all fours now. Like a dying animal vying for its last breath, she labored in her pain. She tried to breathe past it but found she couldn’t. What was happening to her, and why hadn’t Enri done anything about it?
“Why have you come here?” A voice asked off in the distance.
“You know why I’m here, dipshit. Don’t act surprised,” Enri said to the newcomer.
Yewa couldn’t see who Enri spoke to, she could only hear. Her eyes were wide open but sightless.
“What you come for requires payment.”
“Yeah, I figured as much, but you owe me much more than any payment. Let’s not beat around the bush. Just give me what I came here for.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I asked nicely that’s why,” Enri proclaimed calmly.
What was going on? What did he need?
“Why is the woman with you? You know I do not like women here.”
“Well, she’s here. What are you going to do about it?”
“I will make her pain even greater. Right now, I’m being nice.”
The male attached to the voice was the reason for her pain?
“Well, stop. I can’t have you killing the help, Hephaestos.”
“I can kill whomever I want. You came to me. It wasn’t me who came calling.”
“Really? Do we really have to go through this? All it takes is one flick of my finger and I’ll see to it that everything you love perishes.”
“I don’t want her here. She reeks of all that I hate.”
“What? Because her light is brighter than your darkness?” Enri chuckled.
“You are my darkness, Enri. It is because of you I dwell here. You. Not me!” The male roared.
“Yeah, well you did help my enemy try to best me. What else did you expect? Did you think I’d still want to be BFFs with you? Come on, you’re not that stupid, are you?”
Yewa began gasping, and this time, Enri paid her attention. She couldn’t see him, but she could feel it. A harsh, crippling feeling sliced through her. Her body caved in on itself, and Yewa cried out.
“Heph, stop it now.”
The pain left so suddenly, it robbed Yewa of breath. She coughed until her throat burned. Her fingers dug into the ground. Warm earth and something she was pretty sure was blood gave way to her fingers. She hadn’t noticed the metallic tang in the air. But this close to the ground, she could smell it now. She could also see.
“It’s done,” was all the other man said.
Yewa tried to stand, but it took too much effort. She remained on her knees. She’d get up just as soon as she was able.
“Great, now hand over the key.”
The other male who Yewa could see clearly was black—like the water—with hair of white smoke that danced in long waves down his shoulders and chest. His skin was free of any identifying marks. If not for the white wisps of hair, he’d have been invisible. There was a gold torque around his neck and two thick gold bands covering him from his forearm to his wrist. His eyes, a molten yellow, and as they zeroed in on Yewa, he grinned.
“I will turn over the key if I can spend an hour with her.” Hephaestos nodded his head in the Yewa’s direction.
Enri looked between her an
d the male but said nothing. He stood there, rigid and unmoving. He will not give me to this man. Yewa thought.
“Sure, why not? Produce the key first and then she’s yours for an hour.”
“Two hours,” the male countered.
“One hour and you do this right where I can see you.”
“Ludicrous,” Hephaestos said, laughing.
Stunned silent, Yewa could do nothing but stare. Had Enri really bargained her for an hour? For a key? Hephaestos pulled out a large bronze object and dangled it in front of Enri. A million thoughts went through her mind as she watched Enri take the key and gesture for her to go to the male. She was there to help him, but she’d never thought this was a way he’d expect her to assist.
You underestimated him. Her voice whispered in her head.
A coldness swept through Yewa, along with emptiness. She’d failed. Where she thought she’d been making headway by offering her friendship and loyalty, he’d turned that all back around and tossed it in her face. She was naïve. Too trusting. Giving people the benefit of the doubt. He already thought her to be broken and now he aimed to break her more.
“Come to me, female.” Hephaestos said, unwrapping the belt from his trousers.
She could see his manhood swelling visibly right before her eyes. He had to know she didn’t want him, but he didn’t seem to care. Her fear and loathing of the situation were only fuel to his lengthening appendage. On stiff legs, she walked toward her oppressor. She couldn’t look at Enri as she passed him, and a small part of her wished he’d just leave her here in this place of darkness. Why stand and watch? It’s because he’s sadistic. Soulless. He has no use for you unless there is a gain for him. She wasn’t strong like her brother, Dietrich, or brave like his mate, Jorunn. No, she wasn’t any of those things. What she was, was a survivor. She knew that. It was the reason she didn’t put up a fight. She could have protested, but what good would that have done her? She’d disconnect, and watch as if from afar or above. That Enri was okay with re-introducing her into a situation such as this was abhorrent.
She stood in front of Hephaestos. His eyes roamed over her form with lascivious thoughts shining in his gaze. Trying to run would be pointless. There was nowhere for her to go. She could feel the rush of hot air from his breath as it fanned over her skin. Hephaestos stepped closer, his hands rising slowly to touch her. It was like he was seeing a woman for the first time, or it had been a very long time because his hands trembled slightly.
But before contact, his gaze widened as a quick puff of air dispelled from his chest. Glassy with disbelief, his eyes glazed over in death. He was standing. But he wasn’t breathing.
“Step back.” Came Enri’s tense voice.
“Wh—What?”
“Step the fuck back, Yewa. Now.”
Moving quickly, she retreated. Hephaestos no longer moved. Enri had punched a hole through his chest with the end of his clawed-tipped wings. There was no blood—none that she could see—but there was a opening in Hephaestos.
“Is he dead?”
“No.” Clipped Enri. “Let’s go. We’re leaving before the fucker wakes up.”
She’s a weakness.
Drop her like the dead weight she is.
He’d killed for her. Okay, he didn’t kill—but had Hephaestos been human, he’d be dead. As it stood, the other male would probably never help him again. Some friend you are. Ha. That was funny. He didn’t have friends.
He’d watched, conflicted, as Yewa walked away on unsteady legs to the male who wanted to take her against her will. Enri had been all too eager at first when he consented. Not because he wanted to watch, but because he wanted to test himself. These feelings he was having toward her were foreign. If he didn’t care, then he could let another have her. But dammit, he did care! Too fucking much. As she stood in front of him, he watched the light in her eyes die. Enri knew he was fucked up. Knew he shouldn’t care that he was that fucked up. It shouldn’t matter what she thought about him, but for some reason it did.
FUCK!
Angry, he dragged Yewa by the wrist as they made their trek over to the gate. This would take them to Cloud Island. Mortals called this place the Isle of Skye, but Cloud Island was another realm altogether—one overlapping the mortal realm like a silk blanket. Undetectable by mortals and most immortals. The key he’d retrieved would only work on a specific door. A door currently being a pain in his ass, because it wasn’t revealing itself to him.
“Show yourself,” Enri demanded.
“Go fuck yourself,” came a voice.
Oh, the gate had jokes.
“I would, I’m just that pretty, but I’m no contortionist so my dick can’t reach my other hole.”
“I could help with that, seeing as you’re the reason for the season of doom.”
“Hardy har har. Show yourself, or I will end your miserable existence.”
“Don’t do me any favors, boy.”
Boy?
Who the fuck was she calling a boy?
“Mnemosyne, show yourself now.”
The woman appeared so suddenly, in a bright flash of light, Enri was temporarily blinded.
Yewa had been quiet during the journey and did not say anything after the shit show with Hephaestos. She stood next to him, head bowed and her forehead scrunched in anger. She was mad. Or worse, her feelings were hurt.
“You know, I can’t stand you. But you don’t care, do you Enri?” Mnemosyne sang sweetly.
“You love me. Get over yourself. If you’re still bitter about our last encounter, don’t be.”
“We didn’t have a last encounter because you skipped out on me.”
“Details. I had shit to do, and so did you. If I recall, you had another gentlemen caller, and you were hell bent on the two of us not meeting. Why is that?”
The woman sighed heavily and looked to the sky. “I don’t have time for this, what do you want?”
“I have the key, I’m here to gain entrance to Skye.”
Mnemosyne gasped. “No Enri, you can’t. Bad things will happen if you go there.”
Duh.
But the sisters had answers.
“Don’t care. I can’t die, so what does it matter?”
“You can’t, but others can and will as a direct result of what you’re trying to do.”
“Just what is it you think I’m trying to do?”
Mnemosyne rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid. You think me to be, but I’m not. You’re going to inquire about the Throne of Creation. My advice is, don’t. Go back, and deal with the Defiant Ones. That’s who you should be concerned about.”
“Um, nope. Not gonna happen. I will deal with them in due course. They’re still asleep. Won’t wake up for a while, yet.”
“The tide is turning Enri. Things are not what they seem.”
He would have laughed, but Yewa chose that moment to tug on his arm. His head snapped in her direction.
“What?”
“Maybe we should listen to her. You did have the brothers killed. The Defiant Ones could wake at any time.”
“I don’t need you telling me what you think I should do or not do. You said you were here to help.”
“I don’t see how I can be of help in this situation.”
“Trust me, just standing here is making a difference.”
It was too, because if she wasn’t, he might have skinned Mnemosyne alive and hand-fed her to one of his Death Walkers.
“Enri–,”
“No,” he cut her off. “We are going through the gate. Even if I tear the very fabric of existence, we will get through, and I will see the Fates.”
The woman Enri called Mnemosyne, although reluctant, gave in. She did issue Enri a final warning, her tone ominous. “Understand, if you do this, you will kick-start Recommence. It will tear the very existence of life itself.”
“You sound like Eremiel. Now, be the good little gate that you are and spread wide.”
Mnemosyne hissed. One second she
was a woman, and the next, Yewa was staring at a stone wall covered in black moss. The wall itself could barely be seen due to the overgrowth. As they approached the wall, she could see the beginnings of what looked to be an entryway. Intricate designs in a circular pattern that looked very familiar to her.
“I recognize these.”
“You should.”
Yewa stepped closer and noticed Enri was right. She did know these signs. Each one of them. They were astrological and bore the signs of the children of the ancients. The circular object with the dot in the middle was the Sun, and each sign from beginning to end going all the way to Pluto. Everything aligned per their birth order.
“These are the children of the ancients.”
“Right, so everyone says. Again, remember what I showed you.”
She did remember. These symbols, although they represented the ancients, would have been from one single god-like entity. It was starting to get very confusing.
“Eledumare, what your people call the Supreme Creator, would be the Sun. To the little girl back in Egypt, it would be Ra.”
Right. She got that.
“This gate takes us where, exactly?”
“This is the thirteenth gate. It goes to other worlds, different planes of existence, and realms. Just to name a few. It’s infinite in its capacity, but it’s also deadly. The thirteenth gate, or hour as the Egyptians called it, is the darkest time. A time so dark, it was removed. Placed here. Mnemosyne, goddess, and keeper of memory, stays here to guard it. This door holds so many things that to leave it open would be cataclysmic in nature. Even I know that.”
“But you’d risk everything to reach the Fates?” Yewa asked, confused. To be that willing to destroy the very fabric of life seemed a bit extreme.
“I’m not risking shit. Things aren’t going to fall apart. Have you ever noticed the closer you get to the truth; the more people are there to stop you? They try and warn you, or scare you away. It’s a tactic I’ve used many times.”
That only explained a little.
“But there are times when those warnings as you call them are true. Real things happen.”
