In her heart, she wished to rule as Queen of the Underworld, but she could not. She could not usurp the beautiful daughter of Jupiter. Proserpina was her rival, though she showed her every respect, but deep down, she wished Proserpina would go back to the Sky where she belonged so that she, herself, could walk the palace floors, trailed by ghosts, and be the devoted queen of her beloved king. Perhaps this coup would help to make her wishes come true.
Chapter Fifty-Six
The next morning, Minerva and her two young companions awoke in the cave and packed up their things. They would set out for safety, away from the village. Minerva planned to take Jane to the sea and have Neptune’s men meet her there. The boy, she would take with her to the Sky where he would be reunited with Venus. The pair did not wish to be separated, but Minerva explained, in her calm and logical way, that is was only temporary until the Cupid’s spell could be removed, and that Jane would be safer under the water.
Jane had asked her how she could ever go back below the surface of the Emerald Sea. Her eyes had filled with tears as she remembered the storm Neptune had caused and the way she had floated for such a long time, lost and alone. Minerva frowned at the girl’s anxious face and took her in her arms, hugging her close. “I swear to you, he is sorry, Jane,” she said softly. “He loves you dearly, and wishes only to be with you. He has changed...” Minerva felt a little ripple of love as she spoke of Neptune, and she smiled, thinking of seeing him again.
* * * *
The Cupid felt sad about leaving Jane. All his coolness with her has disappeared, and he loved her well. He wanted to see his mother, and he wished above all things to have the terrible curse he lived with removed from him, but he was not sure what it would be like in the Sky. Minerva told him his mother was the most beautiful and charming of women, and that she would cry tears of joy when they met.
“My mother,” he whispered trudging forward over hard, icy pathways. He thought of the evil spell that had left him alone on the island, unable to remember anything about Venus or who he really was. It made him angry, and he thought of the other arrow in a quiver on his back. He longed to use it on the person who had ruined his life and interfered with his destiny.
* * * *
Minerva glanced over at him, noticing the set jaw and angry blue eyes of the tiny boy, who insisted on walking on his own, though Minerva would have carried him. She saw some darkness in the boy that Jane did not possess. She supposed his childhood, if you could call it that, had been lonely and strange.
She hoped that the damage done to him could be undone beyond the spells of Pluto, but she felt some unease for he had long been alone, and he was not so simple a creature as the young girl. For now, though, she must put such doubts out of her mind.
Venus, too, could be unpredictable. That she knew well, and she bore that in mind as they all moved forward through secret paths that Minerva had devised. They moved through the endless forest toward the shores of the sparkling Emerald Sea.
* * * *
Jane thought of Blake as she walked through the forest. The Cupid was just a little boy now, and she could not see him the same way when he was...little. She missed the young Lord Blake like she had never missed anyone except her own grandmother, but she knew there was death and black magic in the village, and she felt she might be killed if she went back there.
The feeling of doom that filled her heart when she thought of the village was like a cold hand clutching her arm and squeezing it too tight. Never before, even in the sea when she had been lost and alone, had she felt such dread. It hurt her to think of Blake surrounded by evil magic, and still so wounded by the strange demise of his own father. I’ve failed him like Neptune failed me, she thought in despair.
She might go back to Neptune, for now, but she would never forget his anger and cruelty, and how those things had set all of these events in motion. And yet...had she not gone to the island, she would never have met Blake, or found the Cupid, her dearest friend. She thought of her mother and her hatred of the Sea, and she felt a storm of conflicting emotions.
Would her mother want her safe with her father, or should she continue trying to live her life on the land? With the grandmother she loved? The sea was so warm and comforting, so right...and yet it could change in an instant into a place of terror or violence Just like the village, she thought, sad and depressed. It had been so sweet, and then, bad things had come and it had, so suddenly, no longer been safe or happy.
Nothing lasts, Jane lamented, her eyes focused on the distance. She walked and walked, feeling her body longing for the sea as a cold winter rain fell on her frail shoulders. She pulled her cloak tighter around her and tried not to think, or feel, anything else at all.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Up in the Sky, Jupiter listened as the gods and goddesses sat and argued and debated the best way to handle the serious problems they were facing. Jupiter was still enraged at his brother, still filled with the desire for revenge. He also knew, in the more logical part of his mind, that Pluto presented a threat to humanity as well. He was a dangerous god, and the keeper of souls should not be so devoid of compassion or respect for the souls he held in his hands. By placing the souls of humanity in the care of Pluto, the gods were doing the human world a real disservice.
Jupiter had no doubt that he, himself, was the most powerful of all of the gods, but he knew that Pluto had the same parentage, and that he was strong...terribly strong. Feeding off of the souls of the dead had indeed increased his own power. It was a difficult problem to solve for the gods could not be killed in the standard manner. They were immortal. And Proserpina should never have been married to Pluto at all. It was an abomination.
* * * *
Neptune has waited a few days for Jupiter to cool off, and then he had taken his best trident and gone up for a private meeting with him, a meeting Neptune dreaded. He had sat and told Jupiter everything so that he could protect Minerva. Lately, Neptune had realized something odd. He seemed to care more about the Goddess of Wisdom than he did about anything else except his daughter. Indeed, he seemed to care more about the goddess than he did about his own self.
His eyes had filled with tears down in the Sea as he thought of all the sacrifices the goddess had made for the sake of him and his Jane. Minerva had done everything in her power to help him, and now, she was in the human world, surrounded by dangers. Pluto was an enemy of all of those up in the Sky and beneath the Sea. He would harm Minerva if he could, and so Neptune decided he would tell Jupiter everything. They all loved Minerva, none more than Jupiter, and they must all work together to ensure that everyone was safe.
The Sunlit Cloud turned charcoal gray and icy cold as Neptune told his story. Jupiter glared at the Sea God with piercing blue eyes as Neptune shivered against the cold. The sky started roiling with storm clouds and strong winds, and Neptune had to hold tight onto his trident else it blow away from him. Jupiter closed his eyes for a moment, perhaps imagining the terrible danger his daughter was in.
“What have you done?” he yelled in Neptune’s face. “Don’t you know Pluto has many emissaries on the Earth?”
“Before Pluto threatened you, all was peaceful, and this had already begun,” Neptune said quietly. Tiny sparks were coming out of the end of Jupiter’ fingertips, a harbinger of bad things.
“You should have gotten your girl back yourself!” Jupiter barked. “And left Minerva out of it!”
Neptune hung his head. He knew this was true, but the goddess had been so helpful and so persuasive. “She said it would be easier for her to...pass...as a human...” he told Jupiter, who only stared coldly at him. Jupiter sighed, some of his anger receding. Minerva was a good, helpful goddess, and he knew she would not be pushed into anything that did not seem right and just to her. He pushed away his rage and shook his head. “It’s not a good time for her to be away from us down in the world,” he said wearily.
Neptune was startled at the sudden change in the god, for he had never b
efore seen him display any weakness or any emotion beyond basic good humor or anger.
“I love Minerva,” Neptune said shyly. “I love her well, and would have her for a wife if she’d take me, Jupiter.” Neptune waited nervously for Jupiter’s response, his eyes downcast.
“Perhaps she loves you, too, if she would do this for you. I have never known her to be in love...but there is always a first time, I suppose.” He told Neptune he had noticed that Minerva no longer mocked Neptune and his showy trident, and his large entourage of mermaids.
Before she disappeared, he said, he had wondered at the change, but had not commented on it. In fact, he had also noticed the way Minerva’s eyes grew soft and caring when she spoke of the Sea God, and found it puzzling indeed. Now the pieces were falling into place, and he did not know what to think, or how to feel.
“If she will have you, I give it my blessing, Neptune, for she is a good girl, and I think, despite your many weaknesses, that you would care for her. It matters not that she is my daughter and you are my brother. None of that matters here. She was not born conventionally, after all, and we are the gods.”
* * * *
Neptune relaxed as the cloud grew brighter, and warmer. These changes were easier to understand and measure than the mercurial nature of Jupiter himself. He felt blessed by his brother, who had just assuaged his deepest fears and worries.
“She is bringing my daughter to me, and we will perhaps be a family, of sorts. But there are many dangers now that Pluto is bent on our destruction. It worries me that she walks the earth alone, and I have made a fine army and trained them to come to her aid when she needs them.” He explained to Jupiter about the pearl ring, and how Minerva was meant to use it.
“I shall be there for you, as well, at the first sign of trouble, and I will go to her by myself, if necessary. For now, I must stay here and plan my own magic, my own defense against my...brother. He caused me to neglect my own daughter in her time of need—and he has stolen my other girl, too.” Jupiter stood up quickly, signaling an end to the meeting.
Neptune rose as well. “I am sorry for involving your daughter in this, but I know there is no one in all the worlds who could be wiser or better for this task.”
“Yes, you are right. Minerva has never given in to temper or flightiness like most of us have. She is balanced and fair in all things.” Jupiter’s eyes grew cloudy as he imagined the pleasure Pluto would take in harming his daughter or stealing her, just as he had stolen Proserpina. While Proserpina learned to adapt to her circumstances by turning to darkness and power like her cruel husband, Minerva would never resign herself to the Underworld. Never. She would die inside.
“When your armies are called, I will know,” Jupiter told him quietly. “I will be watching everything and I will be guarding Minerva from the Sky. You should have told me of this before, Neptune. That was poor judgment from you, and from Minerva. Did you think I would be angry?”
Neptune picked up his trident and faced Jupiter. They were both giants of men, both rulers. “Yes,” Neptune answered quietly, staring at Minerva’s father. “And so did she.” He turned and walked away, leaving Jupiter to his own thoughts.
It’s done, Neptune thought. He knows now, and there are no more secrets. He hoped Minerva would not feel betrayed, but her safety, and the safety of his child, took priority. Anything that could be done to help them make their way back to him must be done.
No longer would he protect himself at the expense of another. He would try to be a better god from hereon in, and his only regret was that he had waited so long to see the truth in himself, and to change from what he was.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Blake woke up, clear headed for once, and began putting some of his things in a little case. He no longer felt the need to dull his senses. He knew who had harmed his father. He knew it as he had never known anything else. It was the not knowing that had driven him to seek out oblivion in sleep...in dreams. He loved his father well, though they had never been on the same page at all, and now, he channeled all his anger toward the witch who was destroyed his father.
Blake would go to the forest and he would find the witch. He knew she was not in the village any more, and he could not think where else to search. The ball had shown him where Jane was, his Jane, but he felt cold toward her now. Somehow, she was a part of all that had happened, just as the villagers had thought. Why else should he see her, and that other young man, inside of the glass?
He felt that all the images he had seen in the ball were connected, and the forest was the clue he needed. He would take no horse, for the forest was dense with trees. He would go on foot, and he would not return until he had killed the witch who was so merciless and deceitful. Now, when he thought of her skin touching his, he felt ill. She was not what she had pretended to be, and he chided himself for being so naïve, and so trusting. He was a fool for taking her potions.
I was foolish, it’s true, he thought, but no more. I will kill her, and I will kill Jane if she played a role in all of this. If she is innocent, though, I will bring her home and marry her, as soon as I am old enough to do it.
Blake had mixed emotions. He was jealous of the beautiful young man who’d sat so close to his Jane near that roaring fire. He wavered between rage at the young girl he had loved, and hope that she was merely an innocent, as he was.
The two figures huddled by the fire had seemed so close, as though they finished one another’s thoughts. He felt some bond between them...it was like steel. And where was the little boy? His head ached with the strain and anger that tore at his nerves. But he packed, as calmly and quickly as he could, and he left a letter for his mother and for his chief servant letting them know that Lady Stirling should leave this place at once. Blake would come to her when he could.
He told his servant to avoid the forests and the main roads at all costs, and to travel in a group with the other workers of the estate. He wanted his mother in a large city where she could not be found. He prayed the Liesel was far away from the village now, but not too far...not so far that she couldn’t be caught.
How does one kill a witch? Blake wondered as he slung his pack over his heavy coat. He pulled on his gloves and tucked a compass into his pocket. He picked up his rifle and headed out into the morning, feeling the sun on his face. It was chilly, but the sun was bright, and the day would be just right for traveling. He would make good time. He tried not to see the handsome face of Jane’s companion in his mind, but the image kept returning and jealousy burned in his body.
Jane, who are you? he asked himself, torn between rage and despair. Is no one who they say they are? How could the girl who kissed him so tenderly already have found another, and where had this young man come from? For certain, he would have noticed him in the village for he wasn’t the sort that one forgot. He was angry with Jane, and he couldn’t say for sure just what he would do when he saw her again. He was stiff from tension, but tried to relax for he had a long day ahead.
The forest was almost free of snow now, but some still clung to the heavy branches just as it had in the crystal ball. He walked away from his old life without looking back. The servants watched him go, and they hurried into the house to chatter amongst themselves about where he might be going.
* * * *
Lady Stirling woke up around eight and read the letter her son had left for her. She was not sure how much more she could face. She got up quickly, ignoring the tea the servants had brought for her, and she hastily threw some of her plainest gowns in a trunk.
Calling to her maid, she asked that one of the servant’s dresses, simple shifts of black muslin, be brought up to her. She felt faint for a moment, just a quick moment, as she sat on her bed and waited for the dress. Blake was all alone in that great forest, and the girl, Liesel, was not what she seemed to be. Liesel was a witch, Blake had said, and he had proof that she had turned his father to stone.
He suspected that the girl had needed his father’s money, he wrote
in the letter, for it had been taken, and Liesel seemed wealthy indeed for a girl staying over a simple pub in a simple room. She had poisoned him with her potions, night after night, but he’d found out the truth, and he would make sure she got what she deserved. He had not said what the proof was, but it all seemed to make sense, and she couldn’t imagine that Blake had gone mad overnight.
The girl brought the dress, and Lady Stirling sat, sick with misery, and decided that she would not leave. She would stay close to the forest, and perhaps send her servants to find her son and help him. No good can come of his desire for vengeance, she thought worriedly, and why would a young woman, or even a witch, do such a thing to my husband? Just for money?
It made little sense to her, and she sat and thought about going to the petty constable, but he’d made no progress in his other investigation, even with the help of the city’s detectives, so what good could it possibly do? She wondered if there was some way she could find some magic of her own to use against Liesel, but where would she go?
She sat and thought of her beautiful son, and she was sadder than she had ever been in her life before, sadder even than when she found out her husband had died. I love him the most of anything, and more than anyone, she thought, frantic with worry. And she beckoned her servants, the strongest of the men she employed, to come to her chambers for a meeting.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Blake walked through the forest, scanning the many pathways that wove through the trees. He headed out toward the water, away from the city and from Lynnshire. He did not know why he chose this direction, but he walked on regardless, knowing somehow that it was right.
The Secret of the Emerald Sea Page 21
