The Oracle Series: Volumes 1-3

by Cynthia D. Witherspoon

  "I think I'm going to pass." I shifted in place. Cyrus was staring me down as if I were a puzzle he couldn't figure out. Maybe I was, but I knew I would be explaining myself to him later. "I still need that aspirin topped off with a nap."

  We crowded into the elevator as Joey and Elliot began running through the list of locations we were supposed to start filming over the next few weeks. I wanted to participate in their little pow-wow, but I decided against it. There would be plenty of time to discuss the show before we started flying all over the country.

  When the elevator came to a stop, we stepped out into the parking garage and were saying our goodbyes when I caught sight of a shadow by Elliot's car.

  No. Not a shadow. Allison was leaning against the little convertible as if she had been there all morning. Elliot squeezed my hand before letting me go.

  "Guys? I think I'm going to pass too. I have something I need to take care of."

  "Fine. I have officially been abandoned." Joey shrugged as he headed to his own car. "See you on Friday, Elliot."

  "Same." I called out as Cyrus placed his hand on my back. "Call me later, alright?"

  Elliot waved his response as he jogged over to his car. I watched as the two of them climbed inside.

  "Elliot may not have listened to us about her being trouble, but I think he is going to break it off with her."

  I spoke low enough for only Cyrus to hear me as he guided me to the car. He nodded He didn't say another word until we were in the safety of my vehicle.

  "I didn't go down to the Underworld last night for fun. There have been whispers about a threat against you. We have much to discuss, Little One."

  "Don't we always?" I groaned as I gave him my most pitiful look. "For now, I just want to go home. Let's go crash on the couch. You can watch all the sitcom reruns you want if you let me get some sleep. Then you can tell me all about the dangers and threats you learned about during your little trip to Hell."

  Cyrus snorted as he pulled us out of the parking lot, but he did as I asked. He didn't say another word to me as we reached the condo. I thanked my lucky stars when my keeper brought me an aspirin along with a glass of water to my room. Cyrus may have been as stubborn as a mule, but he was good to me. He closed the blinds and shut off the lights before leaving me in blessed silence.

  It was exactly what I needed.

  Chapter Four

  I was not happy. In fact, I was downright irritated as I finished my first cup of coffee the next morning. After my first blissful night of uninterrupted sleep in weeks, Cyrus had charged into my room at dawn to wake me up in the rudest way possible.

  He reopened my blinds while whistling to himself as I tried to hide deeper under the covers. Cyrus must have moved to the side of my bed because I could hear him despite my thick comforter.

  "Time to wake up, Eva. We have a full day ahead of us."

  "Go away." I groaned. I had a fierce determination to keep my eyes closed. "It's too early, Cyrus."

  "Early?" Cyrus began to tug on my blankets. "The sun is up. It is not early."

  "You are wasting your time." I clenched my hands into fists around my covers to keep them in place. "I'm not moving."

  "I have your coffee ready. I thought you might need it if we are going to talk about what happened at Fallen the other night."

  Cyrus released the blankets. I thought he had disappeared, so I snuggled back down. But instead of falling asleep, I started seeing the red eyes peering at me from the darkness. I heard the song chanting in my head mixed with my keeper's resumed whistling. Finally, I gave up. I threw my blankets aside with a sigh.

  As it were, Cyrus was sitting at the kitchen table with the newspaper as I tried to clear away the fog in my head with caffeine. I will freely admit I don't understand how he works. My keeper had tried to explain his existence to me when we were first attached to each other in New York. He had been cursed by Apollo for trying to protect girl who became the first Sibyl. As a result, he had been granted immortality to act as both guide and protector to those of us who followed her. I found his presence comforting most of the time. But as I finished my first cup of coffee, I wondered if I could call him a brat without a lecture on the importance of rising with the sun.

  I was reaching for the makings of a second cup when I noticed something strange on the counter. Two small whiskey glasses had been tucked into my drying rack. I felt a pang of jealousy that was unexpected as I realized this could only mean one thing.

  "You had company over last night." I grabbed my k-cup from the cabinet in an attempt to keep the accusation out of my words. It was harder than I could imagine. "Did you two have fun?"

  "Absolute blast."

  I could hear the sarcasm in his voice but I refused to look at him. Not that I had the right to tell him he couldn't date. It's just that he had been a constant by my side for almost a year. I couldn't imagine my keeper being with someone else. When I didn't respond, Cyrus did.

  "Chiron got bored. He came over for poker and gossip." My companion chuckled. "You know, jealousy doesn't suit you, Little One."

  "Did you braid each other's hair and giggle about boys too?" I busied myself pouring water without making a mess. "I'm not jealous. I'm glad one of us has a social life. But surely you don't mean the Chiron. Shouldn't he be busy on the River Styx or something?"

  "The very same. We get together whenever he feels the need to lighten my pockets and I am in need of information."

  "I want to play poker. Can I lighten your pockets one day, too?" I closed the top of my coffee maker as my joke fell flat. I started over. "What sort of information?"

  "Information about the threats you seem determined to ignore. Hurry up, will you?"

  "I'm almost done, I swear."

  I wiped my hands on a dish rag to hide the relief flooding through me as I hurried to change the subject. Maybe I wasn't awake enough yet. There was no way I would be getting jealous over Cyrus.

  "You know I need my caffeine before I can handle discussions about monsters and mayhem."

  "Drink as much coffee as you want." Cyrus snapped his paper as he glanced over at me. "I need you awake this morning."

  "Almost there." I pressed the button on my coffee machine. When it was done and I had mixed in enough sugar to ensure a diabetic coma, I joined him at the table. "Alright, Stick. What gives?"

  "Tell me what really happened at Fallen." Cyrus set the paper aside, shaking his head as I started to protest. "Look, Eva. I know what you told your companions. I want to know the full story."

  "I told them everything." I frowned. "Allison came up to the table, I heard giggling, saw red eyes, passed out. Simple."

  "What sort of giggling?" Cyrus folded his hands together as he studied me. "What did the spirit say?"

  "She sounded like a little kid. It was super creepy."

  I fell silent, hoping that Cyrus would drop this whole thing. I didn't like to talk about my conversations with the dead and my encounter at the Fallen was still very prevalent in the back of my mind. I should have known better though. Cyrus was just as stubborn as I was. He wouldn't let it go.

  "Did they sound like little girls?"

  "Well, just one girl. There was also one set of red eyes." I tapped my fingers against the sides of my mug. "She sang a song I used to love when I was a kid. Said I was going to fall. No big surprise there given my tendency to trip over my own shadow."

  "So this is the threat Persephone warned me about." Cyrus was talking more to himself than me. "She said there was a conspiracy brewing in her realm that had focused its attentions on you."

  "On me? You have got to be kidding. I'm really not that important, am I?" I shook my head. "Whoever sang to me last night must have known you weren't with me. They didn't show up until I was alone."

  "You are more important than you believe. And you're right. I shouldn't have left your side." Cyrus stood to pace around the kitchen before he spoke again. "Eva, do you have any enemies?"

  "If you read what
the critics say about Grave Messages, then I have a ton of them."

  "Eva."

  "Fine." I rolled my eyes at his exasperated tone. "No. How can I make enemies, Cyrus? I'm a glorified shut-in, remember?"

  "Because the Erinyes generally don't go after the living unless they are asked to do so." Cyrus pulled out his cell phone then pushed it across the table. "What do you know about them?"

  I looked at the screen he was showing me. It was a black and white ink drawing of three girls in ancient Greek garb surrounding a man who appeared to be pleading with them. After a moment, I pushed the phone back across the table.

  "Who - or what - are the Erinyes?" I took the opportunity to sip on my coffee before I spoke again. "I've never heard of them."

  "Not many have." Cyrus pressed a button on the phone. He started to say more but a shrill ring filled the condo.

  "What in the world?" I looked over my shoulder then to my keeper. "Fire alarm?"

  "Doubtful."

  Cyrus stood then headed out of the kitchen. I gave my coffee a long look before sitting it down on the table to follow him. The ringing was coming from my room. To be precise, it was coming from underneath the pile of papers on my desk. I slipped past Cyrus, dug beneath the papers, and pulled out the shiny phone Apollo had given me.

  "Um," I turned towards Cyrus. "I thought this was just for you and Papa Apollo."

  "It is." Cyrus gestured for me to give him the phone but I held it out of his reach. "No one else should be able to contact you through this connection."

  "It's probably a wrong number." I pressed the sun symbol at the bottom and lifted it up to my ear. "Hello?"

  The line was filled with static mixed with the same giggles I had heard at Fallen.

  "You know, this is cute and all, but...."

  I started until I heard a scream filter through the static. The next voice I heard made my heart stop in my chest.

  "Evie...don't." More static. "Stay...away from...Chicago."

  "Elliot?" I clutched the phone against the side of my head so hard it hurt. "Elliot, where are you?"

  "Blessed be the innocent, Sibyl." A young girl's voice replaced Elliot. "But you and yours are damned. Meant to be tormented."

  "Who are you? Where's Elliot?"

  I snapped as the static ceased. Cyrus had been by my side, but I didn't know it until he took the phone out of my hands before I could drop it.

  "Eva," Cyrus put the phone back on my desk before taking hold of my shoulders. "Little One, sit down. You look like you're about to pass out."

  "It was Elliot." I was trying to breathe. I was trying to stop shaking. I was failing miserably at both. "Cyrus, he's in trouble."

  Cyrus helped me sit down on my desk chair before he knelt down in front of me. "Ok. First off, tell me what he said."

  "He told me to stay away. Then I heard the kid again." I pressed the buttons on the phone in an attempt to find the redial button. It was no use. There was no number pad or icon to make outgoing phone calls. "I have to find him."

  "Eva," Cyrus was cut off when I shoved past him to grab my regular cell phone. I scrolled through my address book and started making calls.

  "Joey? Yeah, I know it's really early. No, I didn't realize you were playing video games until 3 a.m. Listen, have you heard from Elliot?"

  When my friend mumbled something about having the good sense to sleep past seven, I hung up on him. I tried every contact I could think of who may have heard from Elliot and got voicemails with each phone call. Cyrus broke through my panic when he placed his hand on my shoulder.

  "Eva, instead of waking up the whole city, why don't you try calling Elliot directly?" Cyrus took my phone, found the number in my directory, and handed the device back to me. "Here."

  I pressed the phone against my ear when it started ringing. I was just about to give up when my call was connected.

  "Good morning, Eva."

  Joseph Lancaster, Elliot's father and the man responsible for setting me up to become the Sibyl answered. He sounded as tired as I felt.

  "Joseph?" I frowned. "Why are you answering Elliot's phone?"

  "Eva..."

  "Look, it doesn't matter." I interrupted him as I stood to pace my room. "Where is Elliot? Is he alright? I just had the strangest call from him."

  "There is no possible way Elliot could have contacted you this morning. He was brought to UCLA Medical Center about three hours ago." Joseph got quiet for a minute before he continued. "The police found him unconscious in an alley. He was the victim of a robbery."

  "I'm on my way."

  Joseph gave me Elliot's room number and I disconnected my call. Cyrus had disappeared from my room only to come back with my purse and the car keys.

  "Let's go."

  ***

  "Hello." I leaned against the glass counter dominating the wall beside the front doors of the hospital. "I am looking for room 2543."

  The woman on the other side stared at my hands and then looked up at me. I'm sure that was her cue for me to stop touching the pristine surface in front of her.

  I couldn't let go. I'd spent the entire drive shaking with anxiety despite Cyrus telling me everything was going to be fine. So when I managed to get inside, I grabbed onto the first solid surface to keep me from falling over.

  "Take the elevator." She handed me two visitor badges. "And wear these at all times."

  The woman barely finished her sentence before I took off with Cyrus trailing behind me. I had to see Elliot. I had to make sure he was ok.

  As if he could be alright in a place like this.

  We found Elliot's room two flights and three hallways later. I didn't bother to knock. Joseph knew I was coming. I pulled the door open and stepped inside.

  I was greeted by the sight of Elliot in a large white bed. At first, I thought he was asleep and a foolish relief flooded through me. It wasn't until I reached the side of his bed that I could see the large bruise on the side of his head along with the red gash running down his right cheek. I took his hand from where it rested before I spoke.

  "What happened to him?"

  "He was robbed." Joseph stood and moved to my side. "The police said they found him out by a nightclub called Fallen."

  "Fallen?" I frowned as I glanced over at him. "We were just there a few nights ago. I didn't think he would go back."

  "Well, he did." Joseph answered as he crossed his arms. "I tried to warn him. I've been telling him for weeks to stop going to those places. Elliot wouldn't listen to me."

  "What did the doctors say?" I tried to think back to our conversation from the previous day. Elliot hadn't said he was going to go to Fallen. "Will he be alright?"

  "The doctors don't know, Eva. Elliot has suffered a severe head wound."

  Joseph Lancaster was a man of power. He was the sole owner and force behind the great Theia Productions. But here, in this hospital room, he looked lost. Damaged. I let his words sink in as I remembered the phone call I had received from Elliot that started all this.

  "Joseph," I swallowed. "I heard from Elliot this morning. I don't know how he got hurt, but I don't think this was just an everyday mugging."

  Joseph turned to me, his blue eyes flashing as his mouth set in a hard line. "What are you talking about?"

  I glanced over to the shadows where Cyrus was waiting then released Elliot's hand. "I told you. I got a phone call from him just before I talked to you. Elliot told me to stay away from Chicago. I don't know why. We didn't get a chance to talk."

  A knock on the door broke through the tense silence which had settled around us. A nurse and a police officer stepped inside.

  "Mr. Lancaster," The officer nodded at me before turning back to Joseph. "Can you step outside please? I need to have you sign some paperwork"

  Joseph nodded before turning on his heel to follow the man outside. The nurse clicked her tongue against her teeth as she nudged me out of the way. I fell into the chair closest to Elliot's bed and watched as the woman checked the mac
hines surrounding my friend's bed. When she finished, she slipped out of the room as quickly as she had entered.

  "Cyrus," I groaned as I buried my head in my hands. "Is this actually happening right now? Tell me I'm still asleep. Tell me that Elliot is fine and this is all just a really, really bad dream."

  "I am sorry, Little One." Cyrus placed his hand on my head. "But if we are going to help your Elliot, we need to understand what is going on."

  "You want me to tell you what happened this morning."

  "I do." Cyrus knelt down to pry my hands away from my face. "Talk to me, Eva. I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

  "You do know." I searched his face as if I could find the answers in it. Instead, I found nothing but concern. "Start with the Erinyes. What are they? Why would they be after Elliot?"

  "They aren't after Elliot." Cyrus shook his head. "They are after you."

  He paused just long enough for me to start getting impatient. Finally, he continued with the conversation we were supposed to have had earlier that morning.

  "The Erinyes are better known throughout our history has the Fates. They are a trio of goddesses who answer to Athena."

  Cyrus stood, moving over to the large window on the far wall across the room from me. "They are called Alekto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. Are you familiar with the trial of Orestes?"

  "Who?" I glanced over at Elliot. "Cyrus, these lessons are fun and all, but you aren't being very clear. What does that have to do with us?"

  "I'll take that as a 'no'." Cyrus offered me a small smile. "Orestes was put on trial in Athens for murdering his mother. The Erinyes spoke against him, Apollo defended him, and ultimately, Athena acquitted him. When the Erinyes heard the goddess's verdict, they swore vengeance for Orestes' mother. They threatened to torment the citizens of Athens and burn the city to the ground. It wasn't until Athena promised to name them as protectors of justice that the Erinyes calmed down. Athena's namesake city was spared."

  Cyrus passed me his phone with the same picture he showed me this morning.

  "This is where the story ended in the history books, but there was more. Athena called the Erinyes to her forests outside the city for a ceremony where they pledged themselves to her service. The goddess of war was true to her word, yet she is not known for her kindness. As each woman swore her allegiance to Athena's court, the goddess wounded them. Alekto was blinded. Tisiphone was deafened. Megaera was spared these deformities only so that she could serve as the mouthpiece for her sisters. Her eyes were changed to red so that she would hold the attention of her listeners."