Heart

by Higginson, Rachel

  His low chuckle vibrated through me as he put my hands into small crevices in the rock I hadn’t noticed until now. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option, Red. So let’s get up there before they decide to come down for us.”

  I thought about my options. I thought about my mother who had made difficult decisions for me since the moment I was born. I thought about what could be happening to her up there, things I couldn’t imagine.

  I had lots of choices, but I only had one worthy choice.

  I dug my sandaled foot into a small space and grabbed hold of the rock with the tips of my fingers. I had just watched Ryder finish the god of the Underworld; why not take on the Fates?

  Chapter Twenty

  The wind pummeled my body, pushing and pulling me in every direction. I had never felt it so strong before, so vicious.

  It felt like the hand of a god playing with my frail body as it tried to knock me from the cliffs. And maybe it was.

  Ryder hung on just a few feet below me. He let me take the lead and I had the suspicious feeling it was because he thought, at some point, I would fall and he would have to catch me. I appreciated his care, but I didn’t know how much good it would do if I really slipped.

  The ground was a terrifying distance beneath us. We had been climbing for what felt like hours. My muscles shook and trembled; my stomach ached with nausea and muscle pain. My fingers were numb from their effort to hold on. I had scrapes and bruises all over my skin from the unforgiving rock. If we made it to the top, I had decided that I would need to move in with the Fates. I sure as hell wasn’t going to try to climb down after all of this.

  “We’re almost there,” Ryder grunted. “Let’s go, Red.”

  I looked up. The distance seemed impossible. I was so tired.

  I reached up, stretching on my tiptoes to find the next handhold. The rock I stood on gave way, crumbling to dust and disappearing beneath me. A scream of terror ripped from my throat. I clawed at the rock façade, but I couldn’t find a hold. My body slammed against the sharp edges of the cliff, my dress tore and my skin scraped painfully as I started to fall.

  I had a moment of sheer panic, where my heart leapt to my throat and my mind blanked from all conscious thought. Then Ryder’s impossibly capable arm slammed against my back, pushing me into the cliff first, then his body next. He held me against him, his entire body shaking with the effort to keep us both from falling.

  I moved quickly, burying my brand new, debilitating fear of heights and my rush of adrenaline. I shifted carefully in his arms and dug my fingers back into the rock wall, then found a place for my toes.

  When I was as secure as could be, I turned to share a wide-eyed look with him.

  “Thank you,” I shouted over the gush of air in my ears.

  He jerked his head, dismissing me. “Let’s just get to the top, okay?”

  I started climbing right away. “Okay.”

  I hugged the wall as tightly as I could and tried not to slow down or stop. I moved from crevice to crevice, slowly gaining ground. I forced my brain to stop thinking about what could happen if I slipped again or what was likely to happen when I reached the top. I just needed to get there. I just needed to get off this wall and then I would face the consequences.

  My entire life had been a reflection of my movement now. One small step at a time. One frame of consciousness to the next. I moved carefully and with intent, but I moved in a way that would protect me.

  And now my calculated steps and drive to stay alive included Ryder. From this day on, they would always include Ryder.

  Finally, finally, we reached the top. I clawed at the smooth dirt ground until my fingertips were bloodied and my fingernails broken and jagged. Slowly, with every ounce of remaining strength and all of the determination I could grasp, I pulled myself over the edge.

  Ryder joined me a second later and we lay together on the hard ground, with the fierce wind whipping all around us. Ryder’s hand landed heavily on mine and squeezed. We just lay there for a few minutes, catching our breath and staring at each other.

  My stomach flipped with panic. I knew we needed to move, that we were completely vulnerable like this. But I had nothing left. My muscles ached and my bones hurt. What a stupid place to live.

  “We should move,” Ryder suggested.

  “I can’t,” I whimpered.

  His lips twitched and under different circumstances he might have smiled. “We need to-”

  “You need to stand up and address us properly,” the cold voice of the eldest Fate addressed us.

  A chill snaked down my spine. So much for the element of surprise.

  I lifted my head, ignoring the heaviness of it and stared into the milky white eyes of Isadora. Her ankle-length white hair tossed wildly in the ferocious wind but always stayed out of her face. She looked down at us with one eyebrow raised and full lips turned down into a haughty frown.

  “Isadora,” I greeted casually.

  Surprise lit her face and I wondered for a moment if she planned to kill me right this second. Finally, after long moments of weighted silence, she returned, “Ivy.” She turned to Ryder and said, “Orpheus.”

  He jumped to his feet and shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. “I don’t actually go by that.”

  Isadora rocked back on her heels and held his attention. “Does it matter what you go by? Do your feelings and opinions make truth any less true?”

  I pushed to my feet and tried not to sway. I felt like paper in the intensity of the breeze. I waited for the wind to pick me up and toss me off the side of this mountain.

  “We need to talk to you.” I pushed my hair out of my face and tried to sound firm.

  Isadora turned back to me. “I can see that.”

  “Please,” I gritted out.

  “Please what?” she challenged.

  “Please may we speak with you, and the other… two?”

  I felt her impatience as she pursed her lips. “I expected more from you, Siren. Your lack of respect is troubling.”

  I bristled at her condescension, but she had something I wanted and picking a fight with her from the start would obviously not work in my favor.

  “I apologize,” I said through gritted teeth. “Allow me to begin again. My associate and I request an audience with you, oh, great and powerful Fate.”

  Her clouded eyes flashed with lightning, but a small smile played at her lips. “Better,” she allowed graciously. She spun around and began walking toward the mouth of a large cave. Her gray robes billowed out behind her and danced in the wind, tangling with her massive length of hair.

  “This is your last chance to back out,” I whispered to Ryder.

  His tongue slid over his bottom lip as he considered me. “And miss this? I have a feeling the fun is just beginning.”

  “Just don’t leave my side,” I warned him. “I wouldn’t put it past them to turn you into a slave or something. You’d be destined to feed them grapes and fan them with peacock feathers for the rest of eternity.”

  He raised an eyebrow, “Peacock feathers?”

  “Let’s just get this over with.”

  We hurried after her. The wind hit so violently, I expected it to eventually push me over. I kept my head down and fought it with my remaining strength. The lip of the cave blotted out the sun when we stepped beneath it, but it wasn’t until we were completely in the mouth that the wind finally stopped beating my bare skin.

  It was shockingly quiet inside the dark space. My ears still rushed from the blender of sound outside, but there was nothing but silence in here.

  A torch flared to life along the wall and as we moved deeper into the cave, more of them came to life. Soon the dirt floor and smooth, domed roof were lit with bright, warm light.

  Isadora led the way down a long tunnel. We followed in silence, fear mounting with each step.

  I didn’t know anything about the Fates to have an idea of what would happen in their lair. I half expected them to cut me to pieces and
use my virginal blood to tell the future. I tried to picture what it had been like for my mother over the last few months, the kinds of nightmares she had to suffer through, but I couldn’t even imagine what life had been like for her.

  The bitterness I still felt for her, the residual trauma from her neglect and mistreatment began to fade in light of witnessing her real sacrifice for me. I didn’t know if we would survive Olympus or even the next hour, but I started to think about a future with her if we did. If we could shake Nix and escape the Fates, then maybe there was a relationship to be salvaged between us. Maybe we wouldn’t always have to hate each other.

  Only time would tell.

  The tunnel widened into a large cavern covered in thick, patterned rugs and decorated with luxurious, yet gaudy taste. I felt like we’d stepped into the inside of a genie’s lamp. Furniture in pink, neon green and yellow littered the space, covered in purple, red and royal blue pillows. Sheer fabric hung from the ceiling and draped over rock walls. More torches burned in the open spaces and caused shadows to shade the corners and stretch along the faces of the other two Fates. They sat on the center couch, waiting for us.

  Veda lifted her childlike face and stuck her tongue out at me. The forked, lizard-like thing flicked over her upper lip and then disappeared back into her unholy mouth. I shivered before I could check my reaction. She grinned with pleasure, happy to freak me out.

  Enid wrapped her slender arm around Veda’s shoulder and met my wide gaze with shrewd eyes. Her lips turned with a slyness that warned me something terrible was coming my way.

  “Sit,” Isadora ordered. Her hand swept toward a mustard-colored couch opposite theirs. She perched on the edge of her seat, next to Veda. Seeing them lined up together was something else.

  Ryder pressed his hand to my lower back and urged me to sit down. If it hadn’t been for him I might have stood there staring at them for the rest of the day. I was half-disgusted, half-terrified.

  “Your audience,” Isadora smiled politely. “We’re listening.”

  I swallowed around a lump of nerves and got to business. “You have my mother,” I told them. They didn’t respond. They simply stared at me. “I would like her back.”

  Enid’s face lit with amusement. “Back?” she snickered. “Was she yours to begin with?”

  Veda laughed a tinkling sound that grated on my nerves. “I thought it was she that had you.”

  “And haven’t we had you both all along?” Enid finished.

  “I would like my mother out of your possession and into mine,” I clarified. My anger rose like a storm inside me, it gained ground and power and threatened to end this discussion before it really began.

  “She is not yours to reclaim,” Isadora said sternly. “Her life is already ours. It’s a pity you came all of this way. It appears that you risked your lives for nothing.”

  I pressed my lips together and tried not to explode. “She’s not yours to claim either,” I gritted out. My hand landed on my ribs where a tattoo was etched into my skin. My soul is free. “She is a person. No one can own her. No one can possess her. She should be free to leave.”

  “Your ideals are simply adorable,” Enid laughed. “Look at your moral high ground! It’s simply glowing with purity.” She whipped her head to the side and met Isadora’s calculated glare. “She won’t be able to get the job done, Sister. She’s too clean. She doesn’t have what it takes.”

  “She’s the only one that has what it takes,” Isadora answered. “Besides, we win no matter what.”

  “Win what?” My chest tightened with warning.

  “You’ll understand,” Veda grinned. “In approximately three more minutes.”

  Isadora leaned forward, ignoring her younger sister. “We made a deal with Nix to watch over you while you aged. Eighteen is an important time for you, Child. Your powers expand every day, your crown settles more firmly on your head with each passing minute. When you were but an hour old, new to this world and yet more dangerous than every other baby born on that day, Nix offered something we wanted in exchange for our sight. We gave him everything he asked for. We watched over you while you aged. We protected you from needless harm. And we focused on the things that were to come in your lifetime. Yet we allowed everything.”

  “You allowed everything?” I didn’t understand where this was going. Veda was wrong. Three minutes wasn’t nearly enough time.

  “He asked us to watch, not intervene. Do you see the difference?” Isadora asked.

  Warning bells blared in my head. Okay… now I was starting to understand. “What does that have to do with my mother?”

  “Let’s start with the fact that she is your mother,” Enid sneered. “She gave birth to you. Her womb created you. Along with the help of your father, she conceived you. She also created your sister. Your mother has a greatness inside of her that is dormant until it touches a god. And then it’s as if she comes to life. Her powers burst into fullness and the offspring she spins are magnificent.”

  “And powerful,” Veda added.

  Ryder’s fingers dug into my back. I felt him begin to understand too.

  “We could use Ava,” Isadora explained. “We could find a god that was capable of greatness and see what else your mother is capable of. We could gamble on another exceptional child and then we could wait… for years.”

  “And it’s so hard to find good gods these days. The last one we picked… well… he wasn’t exactly a gentleman.” Enid’s longer fingernails pinched the silk of her gray, Grecian gown.

  “And they didn’t exactly have a connection,” Veda snickered.

  Enid grinned wickedly, “And who has all of that time?” The three Fates shared a snide look and laughed at her joke.

  If anyone had time, it was these three.

  Enid met my gaze and held it with hers. “It would be so much simpler if we already had access to one of her children.”

  “A powerful one,” Veda grinned.

  “One that was already close to coming of age,” Enid finished.

  “Me?” I finally understood.

  “You,” Isadora declared.

  “No,” Ryder said immediately. “No. Never.”

  “Orpheus,” Veda sneered. Her tilted eyes flashed with lightning and danger. “He wasn’t supposed to be here,” she complained to her eldest sister.

  “There is always a chance,” Isadora said quietly. “He might work in our favor.”

  “Your favor?” I hated not knowing all of the sick twists and turns to their malicious scheming.

  “We have a common enemy,” Isadora explained. “There is someone we both wish to end. We are willing to bargain with you, if you agree to certain terms.”

  “Just say it,” I growled. I was tired of these games. I needed answers.

  Isadora lifted her chin and said with both finality and simplicity, “We want Nix dead.”

  My mouth went dry and more puzzle pieces clicked together. “And you want me to kill him.”

  She canted her head to the side and launched into the explanation I had been waiting for. “Do you know that we don’t need patrons? We’re not even looking for a cult. We don’t have to. Every person on this planet believes in fate. Even the religious ones. Our powers have been bound to this earth for as long as it has existed and we have no intention of letting that go. Nix on the other hand… rather all of you that congest the Pantheon… you need patrons. You need prayers and thoughts and worshipping masses. And you have none of that. Time and progress have stripped you of your godhoods. Sure, your powers have remained, but your omniscience has disappeared. And that kills you. Or at least some of you.”

  “But now Nix has figured out a way to make people worship again,” I concluded.

  “And we don’t like it,” Enid hissed. “Imagine a world in which that sea serpent was in charge. Imagine the destruction and chaos. It sickens me.”

  I saw through her. “You don’t want him to have more power than you.”

  She sat back
with a surprised smile, all pretense of her disgust gone. “Obviously. He doesn’t deserve power, not the kind we have. He wouldn’t know what to do with it anymore. Right now he’s a fly buzzing around my head, but given something greater… I don’t have the patience to deal with that.”

  “So kill him,” I suggested. “Solve all of our problems.”

  Veda made a choking sound in the back of her throat, “If it were that simple, we would have done it ages ago.”

  “There is a contract,” Isadora explained. “We are not allowed to kill the gods. A long time ago, their threads were stolen from us in an effort to protect their immortality. We’ve searched for ages, but for now it is out of our sight and the gods are out of our reach.”

  “So you need me to kill him for you,” I concluded. “If I kill him, you’ll give me my mother back.”

  Isadora’s lips turned up again. I’d amused her. Awesome. “We are hoping you planned to kill him anyway. That is your objective for coming to the mountain, is it not?”

  I stayed silent. I had stopped being able to guess where this was going.

  “Our bargain is this. We have a common enemy and therefore we are temporarily on the same side of this battle. We both want Poseidon dead. You would kill him whether we interfered or not. That is your path. However, you would also like your mother in your possession, so we will give you this. If you kill Nix, your mother will be given to you.”

  “And if I fail?”

  “You will become ours. We will own you.” Isadora’s eyes flashed with lightning again and I knew without a doubt that if we were outside right now, lightning would light up the sky.

  My heart raced in my chest and my fingers dug into the soft flesh of my palms. The Fates would own me. That’s what I was bargaining for.

  “No,” I whispered, but it was firm. It was final.

  They shared another look and Veda declared, “In four minutes you’ll change your mind.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I hated that child-thing. I hated her more than I hated the other two and that was saying something.