Nothing bad had ever happened in five minutes, right?
Just as the sun sank below the horizon, I reached the red cord marking the boundaries of the priests’ forest refuge. This end of the woods stopped before a natural lake surrounded by hills. I perched on a tree stump inside the boundaries, gazing at the serene lake with a combination of longing and frustration.
A hundred meters. I ran twenty times that distance five times a week. It would take me under five minutes to run to the lake, strip off my shoes and socks to dip my toes in the water and run back.
I chafed every once in a while at the restrictions Herakles put me under. I cared for him too much to want to disappoint him. But tonight, knowing he was gone, and I’d be leaving here soon, too, I just wanted to throw aside everything and be in control of my life for five minutes to see what it was like. With Leandra’s laughter still in my thoughts, and my frustration with this place at a pitch, I was tired of being excluded and ridiculed for being different.
No one would see me if I just stepped past the boundaries for a split second. Herakles had left, and the nymphs were in town by now, so they couldn’t report me.
I approached the red rope and nudged my toes up against it then looked around. I half expected there to be a siren or electrical shock or something after the constant reminders from Herakles and the priests never to leave the woods.
Nothing happened.
I stepped on the red cord.
Still nothing.
I stepped over the physical boundary of my world, and a thrill went through me. Not only was there no alarm but I didn’t feel guilty or bad for doing it, emotions that might derail me from continuing. I stayed where I was, my heels butting up against the cord, and lifted my gaze to the lake.
The possibilities were endless. My whole life started right here and now.
I laughed at my overdramatic thoughts, realizing nothing was about to change except that I might upset Herakles. That alone made me hesitate. I loved my crazy mountainman guardian, and it bothered me to think I was going to make him mad by doing this.
Assuming he finds out. The mischievous side of me he spent hours trying to exhaust with physical activity knew there was only one way he could find out, and I wasn’t about to tell him. At least, not for three weeks. Maybe after graduation, when we were on our way to the Burger God I was going to spend my life working at, I’d tell him of the one time in twelve years where I defied him to dip my toes in the lake.
Crouching like it was a race, I breathed deeply then bolted. There was no real reason to run, not when I was completely alone, and I laughed as I did so, tickled beyond anything to be completely free, if only for mere minutes.
Sprinting to the lake, I kept to my internal promise of not spending more than a few minutes off the property and threw myself to the ground. Wrenching off my shoes and socks, I scooted to the edge of the lake and dangled my legs over the rock on which I sat.
The moment my feet dipped beneath the cool surface, my world seemed to slow to a stop. I leaned over, marveling at the sensations. It shouldn’t have been, but this was somehow different than a pool. This felt … alive.
“Holy Poseidon,” I murmured.
The sensation of being united with something living moved through my system, a wave that ran from my toes to the tip of my head, in rhythm with the water, then outward, rippling the grass around the lake. I shivered. Fascinated, I peered into the dark depths of the lake. My feet caused small waves that were pushed back by the natural tides of the lake. Deep within the depths, I caught a glimmer of something odd.
I squinted in the fading light. They weren’t fish or rocks or anything. The lake was too deep to see its bottom, but I swore I saw ribbons of soft colors twisting like smoke through the waters. Their movements were too precise to be dictated by the tides. I blinked – and they were gone.
Realizing my five minutes were up, I lifted my feet and dried them on my pants legs then replaced my shoes and socks. I didn’t feel nearly as urgent about returning to the forest where I’d spent most of my life and ambled back. It was strange, but I could almost feel the tide of the lake still moving through me, rocking from toes to head and back again before rustling the grass around me. It was gentle, soothing and peaceful. I was an extension of the water, and it felt natural, nice.
I had nothing to compare the experience to and couldn’t help wondering if I’d spent my entire life cut off from such small pleasures. It made me despise the nymphs even more, since they probably spent every weekend feeling whatever this was out in the real world.
Stepping over the red rope, the internal rocking stopped, and I realized it hadn’t only been the lake I felt. The breeze that stirred the surface of the lake stopped at the barrier, too, and its gentle touch on my skin fell away.
I missed them almost as soon as I left them. Facing the lake once more, I smiled. If nothing else, I now knew one of the secrets of the world outside my boundaries, and it was beautiful.
Beyond happy with my secret adventure, I moved five meters from the cord to an area big enough for a fire. My assigned kit contained a canteen of water and the ingredients for s’mores. Herakles thoughtfulness only added to my happiness. I went through my task of finding shelter, starting a fire and stretching out on the ground to watch the stars with a smile plastered on my face. After my treats, I let the fire die out and retreated to a small shelter I’d created from a poncho and tree branches. I had brought a sleeping bag and crawled into it.
My mind was on the lake, on my future and how incredible it was going to be to leave the compound once and for all and join the rest of the world. I slid into deep, contented sleep.
Something awoke me shortly before dawn. I opened my eyes, senses trained on the world outside my makeshift tent. Animals used their instincts and intuition better than humans, and Herakles had emphasized being more like the locals when camping out. So I listened in silence and stillness.
An animal was rustling quietly, but it wasn’t close, and it wasn’t in the forest, which meant it was large if I could hear it this far off. The sounds came from the direction of the lake. I crept out of my sleeping bag and covered the distance quickly between me and the boundary. Reaching the stump where I often perched to gaze at the lake, I squatted on top of it and stared.
It was an animal, but nothing like I’d seen before. Monster was probably a better description. The creature had a wingspan of ten meters and was the size of a linebacker with the long, lean musculature and grace of a feline. It stood on two legs and had two arms that looked pretty human. The sound I heard was of its long tail tapping the brush lining the bank of the lake. Its skin was an unnatural shade of stone grey. One of its ears stuck out at an odd angle and its eyes glowed like blue jewels in the night. It had fangs, talons, and a barbed tail, and its eyes were positioned facing forward, all of which were characteristics of a predator of some sort and not something I cared to confront.
It stood where I had sat earlier, peering at the lake, at the surrounding area, at the sky. It crouched beside the lake, tail tapping against the dirt.
It was horrifying – and magnificent. I couldn’t have imagined a more incredible combination of man and beast. The raw power it exuded in each tiny, controlled movement exceeded anything a human or traditional predator possessed.
This is a dream. It had to be. No such creature existed, unless it was some sort of undiscovered animal or leftover dinosaur. And if that were the case, I didn’t think this would be the first time I’d had seen it. I spent too many days and nights in the forest for it to belong here. Where it had originated, and why it chose here to stop, I couldn’t begin to guess.
There was intelligence in its movement and visual exploration of the environment. The man-beast hybrid wasn’t something I was able to explain away. I pinched my arm to ensure I was awake. The light sting wasn’t much of a reassurance when faced with a monster from a nightmare.
It stood and unfurled its wings. They were charcoal in color, lined with black fur, beautiful and wide, shaped neither like a bat’s nor a bird’s but something in between. With ease that left me astonished, one flap of the mighty wings propelled the creature into the sky effortlessly. Within seconds, it had disappeared into the clouds above.
For once, I was grateful for the red cords marking the boundaries of the property. The priests claimed they would protect us from unwanted attention. The creature hadn’t glanced once in my direction, which made me think the ropes were working. Or maybe I was lucky for once.
I stood on the tree stump, trying to get another glimpse of the beast in the clouds. I saw nothing.
My gaze returned to the lake. What other surprises awaited me in the outside world? Was this creature the reason why the priests insisted I never cross the boundaries and if so, had I risked being eaten or killed when I left the forest earlier for the lake?
I shuddered, this time out of dread. If the priests knew, the creature would be on the list of animals to avoid they kept posted in the main schoolhouse as a warning of what wildlife not to engage.
No one, except maybe Herakles, was going to believe me if I told them about the creature. Easing back from the edge of the property, I returned to my shelter but wasn’t able to sleep again, not with the knowledge something like that was hovering in the clouds above the forest. I silently thanked Herakles’ for his survival training and insistence I carry a knife with me wherever I went. I clutched it in my hand and remained still until dawn swept across the sky. Only then did I start to relax again and packed up my tent.
Bad things didn’t happen during daylight, I told myself. I clung to the childish notion and decided to disobey Herakles for a second time.
I was going back to the school today without completing my assigned treasure hunt. There was no way I was spending another night in the forest while some creature big enough to eat me was on the loose. Bears were one thing, but this … this was something even I knew better than to mess with.
It was a four hour trek back to the center of the property. I hiked through the forest, always sensitive to the fact there were creatures that lived here. While I’d catch and eat them if I had to, I also wasn’t going to disturb their daily lives by leaving messes or destroying their homes. Herakles was strict about appreciating and respecting nature and all its children.
My mind kept returning to the creature. I wasn’t able to flush the image of the terrifying creature standing beside the lake from my thoughts. It didn’t seem to be a part of nature, yet it had to be. Everything was, except for the gods and goddesses, who were still part of nature, just a different nature from ours.
Lost in thought, I didn’t notice the drone of an airplane until it roared overhead. I looked up, unaccustomed to hearing them quite so low, but not alarmed to see the plane. A municipal airport was nearby. It was how the priests brought in guest speakers and other visitors from outside the area.
Unconcerned, I continued on my hike, unable to prevent the occasional look over my shoulder. I’d hear the creature if it was following me, but similarly to my hope that bad things didn’t happen during the day, I wasn’t fully convinced.
The tip of the roof of the manor house was soon visible through the trees. Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet quaked. I caught myself against a tree and was about to curse under my breath when an explosion ripped through the air. Fire belched into the sky from the direction of the compound. I stared at it and the black smoke chasing it before bolting towards home.
My heart filled my ears, and I mentally went through one of the checklists Herakles forced me to recite during exercises. I was assessing what the sound was and how many priests were present during the weekend when I reached the edge of the greens and stopped.
The mansion was in flames. The small plane had smashed straight into it before exploding. Smoke billowed off the building into the sky while two priests in brown robes stood, stunned, in the greens. I hesitated only a moment before racing to them.
“Father Cristopolos!” I cried.
Both faced me. “Thank the gods,” Father Cristopolos breathed. The eldest of the priests, he was around fifty, bald and beefy.
“Are you hurt? Herakles and I have a stash of medical –”
“Come with me.” Rather than race towards the fire and those who might need help, Father Cristopolos snatched my arm and hurried towards the forest, back from the direction I just came.
“But – ” I twisted, worried about those who might be trapped in the wreckage or fire.
“You are not to leave the forest!”
“Father, I can –”
“You are not to leave the forest!” This time he squeezed my arm tightly enough that my attention went from what was happening behind us to his face. His features were blanched, his eyes bulging and jaw clenched so hard, the muscles of his cheeks ticked.
We reached the forest, and he pushed me behind the tree line. Whipping off the red cord belt he wore, he tossed it at the edge of the greens.
“Do not cross the boundary,” he ordered.
“What? But –”
“Alessandra!” He snatched both my arms and shook me until I met his gaze. “Do not step past the boundary or all we have done here for the past twelve years is destroyed.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but his face and unusual intensity scared me. The normally calm priest was freaking out. “Okay,” I said, concerned. “Do you want to know where our medical stash is?”
“We have our own.” Without another word, he whirled and hurried back to join the other priest, who had moved to help a third stumble out of the collapsing building.
I watched helplessly, hating to be excluded like usual. The red belt near my feet was expanding and stretching the way the boundaries did whenever the priests adjusted them. There was some sort of magic in the cords, and the red rope snaked quickly away to outline the perimeter of the greens. I didn’t understand the importance of a barrier that didn’t actually prevent people from coming and going and paced, aching to help.
It wasn’t the apocalypse, but I was trained for emergency response and dressing wounds caused by pretty much anything.
Instead, I was sidelined again by the priests, left out when I should have been helping.
All of the nymphs and most of the staff were in town for the day. The five priests who stayed back were soon all accounted for with only one injured. I watched them huddle and speak, guessing they needed to figure out how to house thirty nymphs now that a plane had gone done in the middle of the compound. The building imploded completely into piles of rubble while everything that could burn continued to do so.
I stressed about wanting to help until the fire department came and put out the blaze. One priest was taken away in an ambulance while the others were checked out by paramedics and released.
I stayed in the forest, saddened to see my home of twelve years destroyed while also hoping this was the impetus to enter the real world and go to a hotel for the rest of the weekend.
I nibbled on food I’d taken for my camping trip. The firemen left the smoldering ruins of our home around one, and I stared glumly at the scene before me. I began to think the priests had forgotten about me until Father Cristopolos pointed in my direction.
Perking up, I stood as my favorite priest, Father Ellis, headed towards me.
“Is Father Thiebauld okay?” I asked immediately.
“His arm was broken and he had some burns,” Father Ellis replied. “But he will be fine. The EMTs said he’d be released tonight.”
“And the rest of you?”
“We are well, Lyssa,” he assured me.
“Why wouldn’t Father Cristopolos let me help?” I demanded. “I know how to handle this situation.” Well, I thought I did at least. Herakles always said I was too eager to want to try my hand at disaster, that there were things I would never understand until I went through them.
Father Ellis smiled. “I know,” he said kindly.
Mollified, I drew a deep breath. “No survivors from the plane?”
“There was no one to survive.”
I arched an eyebrow at him.
“Lyssa, I need to ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth,” he said quietly.
“I always do.”
“Did you leave the boundaries at any point recently? Or ever?”
My flushing face answered his question.
“I need to know when and where,” he said.
“Does it matter right now? I mean, shouldn’t we figure out where we’re going to put all the nymphs? I doubt they can survive in the forest,” I pointed out.
“We have it all figured out. The girls will stay in town. You will remain in the forest for now.”
I frowned, dismayed. “That’s not fair!”
“Now, where did you step outside the boundaries?” Father Ellis was always good at deflating my anger and tantrums. It was hard to oppose him when he was quiet, gentle and genuinely the nicest priest on staff.
“By the lake,” I sighed and pointed in the general direction.
“When?”
“Sundown last night.”
He appeared thoughtful, gaze on the charred ruins of our home.
“It was only for, like, ten minutes,” I added quickly. “I wanted to dip my toes in the water.”
“Did you?”
I nodded.
“How was it?” he asked almost absently.
“Amazing. So much better than the pool.”
“Did anything happen at the lake?”
My mouth dropped open. It wasn’t possible for him to know about the creature, yet he was asking the question like he did. At my silence, he met my gaze with another of his calm smiles.
“Whatever you did, it’s okay, Lyssa. I just need to know,” he said.
“I didn’t do anything,” I replied archly. “I dipped my feet then went back to the forest. Then …” I drifted off and shifted feet, not sure how to tell him about the creature without sounding crazy. “Well … I saw something at the lake early this morning.”
He waited, brows furrowing.
“It was a creature of some sort. Wings, tail, standing on two feet.” I cleared my throat.
“This … creature. Did you speak to it?”
“Oh, no. I stayed in the forest. It was kind of freaky.”
By his expression, this wasn’t the news he was expecting, though he wasn’t surprised either. “Grotesque.”
“It wasn’t gross. I’d probably say terrifying.”
“No, Lyssa,” he said with another patient smile. “It’s called a grotesque. It’s like a gargoyle only different.”
“A gargoyle,” I repeated. “It was ugly enough. Never heard of gargoyles flying around, though.”
“The grotesque has been rumored to exist. Glimpses are seen every once in a while but have never been confirmed.”
“Um, okay.” The old man’s lost it. Then again, I was the one who witnessed said creature.
An awkward silence fell between us. My gaze drifted once more to the school.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked. “Have classes in a tent or something?”
“The plan is to move the girls out to their assignments immediately instead of waiting for graduation and for you to go to a similar site.”
“But I’m supposed to graduate and move on, too. Why do I need to go to another stupid school?”
“Father Cristopolos will tell you.” He glanced at me. For the first time since arriving, I sensed he was hiding something. I had always found the monks and their dedication to the Old Ways mysterious, but I never felt like their secrets pertained to me. Whatever he wasn’t saying about me, however, snagged my attention.
The remaining three priests approached. I bowed my head to each of them as was appropriate. They exchanged looks I wasn’t able to decipher but which made me uneasy.
Father Cristopolos addressed me. “Alessandra, why don’t you take us to your and Herakles’ favorite spot in the forest. I think it’s a meadow?”
I nodded. My pulse was starting to race at the calm request. I’d wanted the attention of the priests my whole life and watched them dote over the nymphs instead. Now that the four of them were focused on me, I suddenly wanted them to leave me alone. “This way,” I said quietly and spun on my heel, leading them deeper into the forest. “Was Herakles in the house or something?” I asked uneasily, unable to identify why they wanted to go to my favorite place.
No one answered. They simply followed me.
I swallowed hard, edgy and scared that something had happened to Herakles. For all my complaining about the forest adventures and him not letting me near boys, I loved him. He was the only father I really remembered, and I wasn’t going to handle it well if something happened to him.
Maybe they know that. Maybe that was why four priests were following me, in case I went crazy and they had to tie me up or something. My sense of dread grew as we approached the meadow where Herakles and I trained. My step slowed out of fear of the bad news they’d give me once we reached it.
Setting foot in the meadow, I faced them with my arms crossed. “Is Herakles okay?” I asked and braced myself for bad news.
“He is well,” Father Cristopolos replied.
I sighed. “Omigods. Then why all this?” I demanded and waved at their grave visages.
“We need to talk to you about your future,” Father Ellis replied.
“Now? After our home was just destroyed?”
“Our home was destroyed because you left the boundaries,” another of the priests, Father Renoir, replied coolly. He was probably my least favorite staff member.
“Renny,” Father Ellis said gently. “This is a delicate situation.”
“What’re you talking about?” I asked. “So I left the boundaries for ten minutes. Am I being expelled for it? The nymphs go to town every weekend!”
“My dear,” Father Ellis approached. “This all exists because of you. The school. The orphanage and property.”
I waited, not understanding.
“Once every great while, a very special woman comes along,” Father Cristopolos started. “Someone with great power that rivals the gods’.”
“Yeah. The Oracle of Delphi who becomes the bridge between humans and gods,” I recited from class. “They found the new one. Again.” There had been five new Oracles found the past year alone, though they all turned out to be frauds.
“Focus, Alessandra,” Father Cristopolos said with tried patience. “You are about to learn how different the world is from the sanctuary we created here, from the education we’ve given you. We brought you here to protect you from gods and men, to teach you how to survive in a world that wishes you crippled so they can use you. We wanted you to be the strong woman you are.”
“You aren’t making sense,” I said with a glance at Father Ellis. There was a reason he was usually the priest dealing with me, and it was because I didn’t really care for the flowery diplomacy of the others.
“The Oracle is captured and held in a state of tortured suspension, Lyssa,” Father Ellis said. “Every second of her life is filled with pain and suffering. She is kept immobilized physically and her powers harnessed for use by gods and politicians, to keep the bridge between the world of the gods and our Earth open, to use her power to suppress the people. The process is one of excruciating pain. But without her, the gods cannot draw off their sources of power and interfere with human affairs.”
I listened, able to follow Father Ellis’ explanation better than Father Cristopolos’.
“Twelve years ago, her successor was accidentally found during a raid and brought to us. We have protected her since then, sheltered her and most importantly, shielded her from discovery. These cords” he motioned to the rope he wore at his waist “are infused with the power of invisibility granted to us by our patron Lelantos, the Titan of everything unseen, whose goal has been to protect the next Oracle. Our patron goddess, Artemis, granted us this forest to hide you in. When you are enclosed by the cords, you cannot be seen by men or gods, only by Lelantos.”
“When you stepped outside the boundaries, everyone was able to see you again. The attack on our school was the first step. They cannot see you while you are here, so they destroyed the school and will send in a ground force next to find you,” Father Cristopolos added.
They gazed at me.
I stared back.
“For the love of the gods … you’re the Oracle, Lyssa,” Father Renoir snapped. “You revealed our location, and now, there is probably nowhere for us to hide where we won’t be hunted down and slaughtered like you hunt rabbits.”
I don’t slaughter rabbits. The irrational thought gave way to astonishment. I laughed. “No, no! You all have always told me I’m the least special orphan here, that I was graced by good fortune to be around the nymphs!” I said with a shake of my head. “This is a well thought out practical joke, though.” My gaze fell to Father Ellis.
He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he appeared dead serious.
I choked on another laugh. There was no way – no way – their claim was real. “I don’t have godly powers! I don’t even get an allowance.”
“The cords shield you from the world and the world from you,” Father Ellis replied. “It prevents your power from awakening. Why else do you think we permitted Herakles to train you as he did? To survive at the hands of humans and gods, you need to be able to adapt to any circumstance if you are to fulfill your destiny.”
None of this made sense to me. Something really weird was going on, and only I seemed to realize that. My chest was being squeezed by an invisible hand. I couldn’t wrap my head around how any of this was possible – but they truly believed it, no matter how insane it sounded. “I’ll play this weird game. My destiny. What is it?”
“To break the bridge and send the gods back where they belong. To return humanity to the Old Ways, to freedom,” Father Renoir said quietly. “You need only outlive the current Oracle. We hoped to hide you until that day when she passed, after which, you could live a normal life once the gods were gone. It is the deal we struck with Lelantos, the reason he wanted you hidden, and the promise we made to Artemis, whose heart has been weighed down with the treatment of each Oracle. When she discovered you were only a child, she offered us her help. We must in turn deliver on our promise.”
I wanted to laugh, but something about the severity of their features stopped me. Everyone knew Artemis had a soft spot for little girls in trouble and the brittle nature of the relationship between the Olympic gods and Titans after the war that saw the Titans exiled to another dimension. The Titans swore vengeance. The idea I was in any way involved in the doings of gods, when I’d barely been allowed to participate in sports on campus, was absolutely crazy. “You guys can’t be serious!”
“We are, Alessandra. And now that they know where you are, they’ll be hunting you.”
“They … who?”
“Everyone.” Father Ellis said with a shrug. “The Supreme Magistrate will hire, coerce or order all of those beneath him to locate you, and the Head Priest will enlist SISA to do the same. You are worth more material wealth than anything that exists today. The gods will reward whoever finds you with … I can’t imagine. A priest knows nothing of wealth except the reward is beyond the most ambitious dream of anyone alive.”
“You’re starting to scare me,” I said. “If this is a joke, it needs to end now.” I searched the face of each. “If this is not a joke, then …” It was the craziest thing I’d ever heard. I had spent my life being treated like a burden by the priests and ugly little stepsister by the nymphs only to find out this? That I was the reason we were all in the forest? That everyone on the planet was searching for me?
That the Supreme Magistrate, the most powerful man in the world, and the person the priests despised most, knew who I was?
“We will have to go to the alternate plan,” Father Renoir said. “We need to reach the existing Oracle.”
Father Cristopolos responded, but my thoughts were in splinters after the bombshell they dropped on me. I struggled to swallow it all and do what Herakles trained me: focus on what had to be done next.
“Anyone have a cell phone?” I asked. “I need to talk to Herakles.”
They fell silent and exchanged another look. “That won’t be possible,” Father Cristopolos replied.
“Because …” I prodded.
“Because your disobedience not only cost us the school, but tipped off someone who knew to look for him,” Father Renoir replied. “He was captured.”
“No. He’s too strong.” Even as I said the words, I had the urge to run, to find him and demand he refute the story the priests were telling me.
“He’s distracting them to give us time to evacuate you,” Father Ellis said.
“Then we have to go get him!”
“Think about this, Alessandra. Assume everything we’re telling you is the truth, if you can’t believe it outright. People will give anything, do anything, to find you. The best thing you can do to help Herakles is to not be where he thinks you are. He loses his value to his captors at that point.”
“And they’ll free him?” I asked.
“Possibly.”
It wasn’t a ringing reassurance. If action movies were remotely based on reality, Herakles was probably in danger of being killed if he wasn’t useful to his captors. I was starting to worry this all was real. “All this just because I stepped outside the boundaries.” It seemed too crazy to be true.
“It was inevitable,” Father Ellis replied. “It was foolish of us to think we could cage you forever. What’s important is we find a safe place for you now.”
“And rescue Herakles,” I pressed.
“Herakles is the strongest man in the world. Chances are he will buy us time and won’t need our help to escape,” Father Cristopolos said.
For once, he made sense. I didn’t see Herakles staying anywhere involuntarily. “Can I ask where he went at least?”
“Washington DC,” Father Ellis answered.
I was born and lived just out side of DC until I turned six. If everyone in the world was looking for me, I doubted I could walk into the nation’s capitol and find Herakles unnoticed. Not that I was buying this nonsense …
Except that I kind of was. I was scared enough to believe what they said without understanding exactly what it meant to be someone of importance. To be hunted.
To be an Oracle, the most cherished and highly regarded human in existence. It made little sense after my humble upbringing here.
“Where do I go?” I asked quietly, unable to dispel the urge to find Herakles, no matter what the priests said.
“We have a backup plan. We’re waiting for someone who will take you elsewhere.”
“Who?”
Fathers Cristopolos and Ellis looked at one another briefly in silent communication I didn’t particularly care for. “You needn’t worry,” Father Ellis said. “I’ll be going with you. In the meantime, I need you to keep this on no matter what.” He stepped forward and took my arm, wrapping a piece of red cord around my wrist.
I felt no different but assumed it was like the boundaries of my home, capable of blocking me and the world from one another.
“Do you have any belongings you need to collect?” Father Cristopolos asked.
I shook my head. I owned nothing of value.
“Very well. Remain here with Father Ellis.”
The three of them turned and left. I watched them. This didn’t feel any more real than watching the strange grotesque-creature at the lake. It had to be a dream. A joke. An epic mistake.
“Things are about to change,” Father Ellis said. “It’s only right I give you this.” He held out a small pouch. “Herakles left it with me for safekeeping in case something happened. I think this qualifies. It belongs to you.”
I accepted the small velvet pouch and opened it. Something glimmered inside. I dumped it into my hand and stared at it. The teal gem set in a plain chain with a bronze finish nestled into my palm. It was huge, clear and so bright, it almost seemed to glow. Its multifaceted faces reflected sunlight and caused faint rainbows to appear in the air around it.
“This is … wow,” I breathed. “It’s mine?” Even as I asked the question, I knew the answer. It felt like it belonged to me. The strange sense wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before.
“Yes. It was all you brought with you when you arrived. You don’t remember how you came to have such an incredible piece of jewelry?”
I shook my head. “I don’t remember anything from before the day we arrived here,” I murmured. I closed my hand around the gem and considered replacing it in the pouch. It didn’t seem natural or right for me not to wear what was mine. I tugged it over my head and tucked it into my t-shirt. The gem settled against my chest.
“It’s special, whatever it is,” he said.
I know. Uncertain how it was possible for me to understand a gem I’d only now laid eyes on, I stepped away, too wired to be still.
Father Ellis sat down and closed his eyes to meditate.
“How can you pray at a time like this?” I asked in agitation.
“What better time is there to pray than when you’re in trouble?”
To each his own. I rolled my eyes.