Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

T hey rode for an hour through the western part of Messene, eventually coming to a clearing before a tall formation, sheer rock rising to a flat top mostly hidden by clouds. As they neared the base, the acolyte announced they’d take a brief break as the ascent was difficult.

Terena dismounted and stepped back, stretching as David jumped down, rummaging in his saddlebags.

“I have a water skin if you—” he said, but Terena waved him off.

“I’m fine.”

The acolyte nodded and pulled his horse behind him as he walked to a tree a few feet away. He tethered the horse and pulled some food out of the saddlebags, offering some to Terena as he moved to sit on a nearby log.

Terena thanked him for the cheese and small piece of bread he’d torn off and given her. She ate while pacing in front of him, taking in the woods and looking up to see how far up the rock formation she could see.

“I’ve heard of the oracle, of course, but how long has this temple stood here? I feel like I should have known about it being here,” she asked .

David chewed for a few seconds. “The original temple was built right before the Immortals War. One of Zeus’s bolts struck it when he fought Calix. When the Olympians were banished, King Leander had his best craftsmen sent to rebuild it, to honor Leto, Apollo’s mother.”

“And how long has this oracle been…. prophesizing? Is that what you call it?”

The acolyte grinned and shook his head. “No. No, we call it counsel. No one knows how long this oracle has been counseling. No one serving the temple has ever seen her. And anyone who does only sees her once in their lifetime.”

Terena glanced at him, eyes wide. “Truly? You all serve her, but have no idea what she looks like?”

“She is not,” he stopped and looked down, pensive. “She speaks for the gods, and only by invitation. Many have waited years to be granted one, while others have died without. We serve her and the gods. We do not seek her divination. We only serve. It is enough for us.”

Terena arched an eyebrow and folded her arms at her chest. “That sounds,” she shook her head, “that sounds pretty selfless. I can’t wait to meet her.”

He nodded, flashing her a quick smile before he popped a piece of cheese into his mouth.

“I wasn’t even in Messene for an hour before I got an invitation. What’s that about?”

David looked up at her again and tilted his head. “As I said, lady, she knew you would come.”

“I guess so. Being the oracle and all.”

“Aye.”

“But I’m sure she’s seen others who sought her out, as well. Right? I mean, before they came to Messene. She foresaw their journeys out here, too?”

The acolyte shook his head and stood. He brushed some crumbs off his tunic. “No, lady. The others have had to seek one of us out. There are acolytes in the temple who come down every first Monday of the new month to receive requests. They take requests back to the oracle and she decides whom she will invite. That’s when I get sent down to the city,” he gestures at Terena.

Terena shifted her weight to her right and narrowed her eyes at him. “So, what was different this time?”

He looked at her as if she was daft. “She saw you coming. I came down to find you as soon as I received word you were here.”

“I get that. I get she foresaw my coming. I’m confused why my arrival would warrant a break of your standard, you know, invitation protocol.”

He stepped closer, fishing something from the small pouch at his waist. “This is something perhaps the oracle will share with you,” he said as he lifted his eyes to hers. “Rest assured that, for now, you know everything you need to know.”

David opened his palm and blew in her face.

Startled, Terena stumbled back a step. Her vision blurred and her knees went weak. Black edged her vision and she fumbled for her sword, her hands thick and ungainly. She fell to one knee, blinking in vain as her vision faded, the acolyte’s figure a blur as she lost consciousness.

The smell of incense filled her nostrils before the fog from Terena’s brain dissipated. She blinked, her eyes heavy and slow as she tried to focus. A golden blur edged her vision, slowly becoming clearer in the shape of pendant lights suspended from a high, domed ceiling covered in colored tiles. As her vision cleared, the tiles focused into a picture, a mural of people, surrounded and within clouds. Light edged the far left side over a giant of a man, his thunderous face in profile as he held a golden bow aimed at a group of people on the right. There were three bodies in the middle of the mural, dead or sleeping, Terena couldn’t tell.

Gazing at the beautiful rendering, she realized she’d never seen anything so vividly alive captured by any artist. The paintings she’d seen in the castles or palaces she’d been to throughout her travels were all of ordinary life, of ordinary people. Even the temples and monasteries in Heylisia only depicted the mortal heroes; never any of the gods.

Somehow, Terena knew the man was no mortal.

Her eyes narrowed. Was this Apollo, then?

“Yes,” a soft voice sounded from her right. Terena jerked, nausea lancing through her belly up to her chest as bile rose in her throat. She closed her eyes for several seconds before she shifted onto her elbow.

When she could, she opened her eyes and realized she was lying on cushions soft as air, arranged in a semicircle in front of a large altar. What seemed like hundreds of candles burned, and she thought might be where the smell was coming from.

A gorgeous white marble statue of a large man she’d never seen before, heavily muscled and wearing armor and greaves, stood in the center atop a large square plinth. Words below it were in a language she did not know but resembled Ancient Greek.

Terena turned her head slowly to look at the person who’d spoken, stiffening before she could stop herself. The woman sat on the pillows, her legs bent beneath her flowing white and grey dress, a rope of gold around her belly and up over her shoulders to cross at her chest. She had a head of hair so black and shiny it glinted silver in the light from the flames, coiled up in a tight bun atop her head.

What initially caught Terena’s attention were her eyes. They were black, filling in the space where the irises and whites should be. A chill slid slowly down Terena’s spine as she edged further back on the pillows.

The woman seemed familiar, and strangely beautiful, despite the harsh lines and angles of her face. Her thin lips disappeared when she smiled. She looked like she could murder without an ounce of regret.

Terena noticed the woman’s comforting smile and wondered if she could see her.

“I can.”

Terena startled. “You can read my thoughts?”

The woman’s smile deepened. “Some.”

Terena put her hands behind her as she scooted her butt, moving further away from the unnerving woman. The woman did not move or show any signs she was aware of Terena’s discomfort.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, again in that soft voice at odds with her appearance.

“How did I get here?” Terena countered.

The woman moved her hands to her lap. “You were invited.”

Terena snorted. “I was drugged.”

“Yes.”

Terena leaned her head forward. “Not denying it, huh?”

“It is how this is done.”

“How what’s done?”

The woman tilted her head. “Is this the question you came here to ask?”

Terena looked at her as if she’d sprouted a second head. “Of course not!”

“I understand you’re disoriented?—”

“And pissed!”

The woman pursed her lips, her odd eyes looking somewhere near Terena’s forehead. “And angry. But you waste time.”

She rose, her movements fluid and graceful, and Terena wondered again if her eyes worked. They looked like obsidian marbles, unnerving for Terena to look at for long.

“You were sent here,” said the woman, “and so I will do my part.”

“What part is that?”

“Is this the question?—”

“NO!” Terena rubbed a hand over her face.

“Everyone who comes to the oracle has a million questions they want to ask. But there is one question, only one, whose answer they need to know. So Apollo allows one to be answered.”

“Apollo,” Terena said, her voice barely above a whisper as a shiver, something… strange shifted inside her. “You speak of a god long dead.”

The woman smiled. “Apollo is not dead. He and the other Olympians are just… not here.”

Gods, what the hell does that even mean?

Terena’s head pounded, whether from what the woman was saying—and not saying—or from the drug, she wasn’t sure.

“How—”

“Is that the question?—”

“Stop. I get it already,” Terena sighed.

“Good,” the woman said, clasping her hands in front of her.

“You’re very patient with me,” Terena said grudgingly as she tried to stand.

The woman held out her hand to stay her, and Terena stopped, thankful as another wave of nausea hit her.

“You are important,” the woman replied, taking a few steps closer. Terena craned her neck to look up at her, carefully avoiding those weird eyes.

She opened her mouth to ask why, but then remembered. One question only.

“Would you like some water?”

Terena nodded. “Aye, thank you.”

The woman turned and Terena heard steps coming from her left. She looked up and started, grabbing for the sword at her hip that wasn’t there; the dagger on her left was also missing. She got to one knee, every fiber of her body ready to fight the man who approached, a glass of water in his hand.

“Who the fuck are you?” she snarled at him as he handed the glass to the woman. The man wore clothes similar to the Magi who’d attacked her in Agraboda. But his tunic and leggings, the scimitar at his hip and the scarf draped across his neck were all much finer than that of the three Magi they’d bested in the ruins.

Was he the one watching?

“Is that the question?—”

“Let’s assume that, for the time being, I’m not asking the question I came here to ask,” Terena bit out, never taking her eyes off the man. He did not move to leave, his scarred hands settling at his waist as he watched her, his face impassive.

“That works for me,” the woman said pleasantly as she bent down, offering Terena the glass of water .

“I’ll assume it’s not poisoned, since you invited me here, and probably could’ve killed me when David blew the drug in my face.”

“I could’ve had you killed in Agraboda if that was what I had wanted,” the woman replied.

Terena’s eyes shot to her. “You sent the Magi?”

The woman arched an eyebrow.

“Are you staying?” Terena asked the silent man, who continued to watch her.

“He is not.”

Terena looked at the man expectantly. He stared at her a few seconds longer, then exchanged a look with the woman before pivoting, striding off to some exit Terena could not see.

David had told her no one had ever seen the oracle. Was that a lie or did he not know about the Magi?

When they were alone, Terena turned on the woman.

“You sent him and his men to attack me? And before you ask, no, that’s not the fucking question I came here to ask. I’m annoyed I have to keep saying that, too.”

The woman’s mouth pinched and Terena could see from the narrowing of those weird eyes the woman was not happy with her.

“I will make allowances for your behavior because you are confused, and because—as I said—you are important. Never use that language in this room, in the presence of Apollo. You will anger him.”

“How is he going to be angry if he’s not even here?”

“He sees through me.”

Terena opened her mouth to say something, but the woman raised a hand to stop her. “First you will listen. And then once you’ve understood, you will ask your question.”

Terena heaved a sigh and gestured to the woman to continue.

“I am Pytho. I am the last oracle in this realm of the great god Apollo. I am here to guide you, Terena Luca.”

Pytho took a few steps closer and dropped down until she sat next to Terena. “I am telling you this because I want you to know you are not alone. You will be the one to usher in the golden age of mankind. Or you will not. The Morai—the Fates—are watching, but your choices are your own.”

Terena looked as if she might speak, but Pytho reached out and laid her hand on Terena’s forearm. “Before you ask your question, I want you to think about what I tell you.”

She opened her mouth and closed it, then opened it once more before looking Terena in the eye. “It is not the question you think you want answered. Not that which started you on this journey, Terena. You may believe it is, but there is another question that drives the dreams you have at night. The visions you have are not what you think. They’ve led you this far, but they come from within you.

“You already know how to find your parents. The knowledge has always been inside you. I want you to look within yourself now and ask the question you’ve come to me to have answered. The question that sits deep within, creating the reality that seeks treasures and secrets long buried.”

Terena’s mind was a whirl of thoughts overwhelming her for a few minutes. The silence stretched as she thought on Pytho’s words. She sensed the truth of them.

She turned away from Pytho and looked at the marbled Apollo. Realization dawned on her slowly, and when it did, her eyes stung. She did know how to find her parents. That’s why she wasn’t worried about them being dead. She wasn’t even worried about when she’d find them.

And the Shroud of Faybhen was the key. That’s why she’d been drawn to Agraboda and why she’d given Duke Aurora a fake. Her visions?—

Her visions…

What had the Magi at Agraboda said about the shroud?

If you take it, it begins again.

She looked up at Pytho and for the first time in her life, she understood. Her visions were not some external force guiding her to clues.

“The visions are memories,” she whispered.

Pytho smiled. “What is your question, Terena Luca?”

Terena became lightheaded. She’d done all this before. Her visions were breadcrumbs, but ones she’d left for herself. But why? Why was she doing this all again? To what end?

To what end…

Terena’s lips parted, the blood roaring in her ears as she looked at Pytho and asked, “How do I break this cycle?”

Pytho’s shoulders jerked and her eyes widened. She opened her mouth, pausing a second before she composed herself, once more folding her hands together in her lap.

When she spoke, her voice was not her own, but a terrible, powerful voice frightening Terena. The ebony leeched from her eyes like veins, surrounding the skin of her lids to her cheeks in inky black.

“Seven circles complete and the eighth is aligned at last. False death betrays love, forging Athena’s Weapon. From the ashes of gods, the Heir of War rises, leading the gods to glory. The fate of man is for the Weapon.”

Terena’s mouth hung open. She waited for Pytho to say more and when she didn’t, Terena sprang up. “That’s it? Are you fuc—are you kidding me? I came all this way—I have lost?—”

She shook, her hands balled at her sides, and she wanted to scream. “So I ask you a question, and all I get is a riddle?”

Pytho stood up, facing Terena as she watched her, but did not respond.

“How many more times? How many before it ends?”

Pytho did not answer.

Terena wanted to choke the woman. “You are useless to me,” she hissed, springing forward. Pytho started and Terena’s smile turned nasty. “I came here in good faith and this is all I get? Death, betrayal and weapons? That’s your fucking answer?”

Pytho scowled, “Do not use?—”

“Oh, I’ll fucking say whatever the fuck I want!” Terena raged. “Why should I even bother to find my parents now? What’s the point?”

Terena covered her face. She hadn’t felt this kind of despair since she’d lost Lerek. It couldn’t have all been for nothing. Everything she’s gone through. Her mind spiraled, her hands shaking so hard she clutched them together. The ground beneath her trembled.

Terena heard Pytho back up a few steps. Behind her, the sound of someone running. She looked up to see the Magi, hand on the hilt of his scimitar, stop next to Pytho, his eyes wide in horror.

Heat flooded behind her eyes and Terena panicked for a moment, thinking they might turn to ash in her skull. She looked down and saw white light beneath her skin, racing back and forth over her veins.

Pytho lunged for her, grabbing hold of Terena’s arms. Terena shook her off as if shooing away a fly and the woman went flying into the altar at her back. The Magi yelled and turned to attack, but Pytho screamed at him to stop.

She held out a hand, pleading with Terena. “You have lost your beloved and you are being hunted,” she said desperately. “I know, and I am sorry for it! But you have a destiny, Terena, and like all heroes before you, you must earn it. This is your burden. Terena, I want to help you, but I am afraid that if I say too much, they will punish me. I will tell you what I always tell you: go to Sparta and seek King Altos. He has something belonging to you. It is your birthright.”

“Am I a hero then? Is that why I have these powers?”

“You are a god, Terena. You know this,” Pytho hissed at her.

She rose and took a few tentative steps closer. As the heat in her eyes subsided, Terena’s veins continued to pulse with a radiant white light.

Pytho put a hand on Terena’s cheek. “What I’ve not told you before is you have already found your sister.”

“Priestess, no!”

Terena twisted her head, her eyes narrowed on the Magi who’d spoken, his face paling beneath his dark olive skin.

“She travels with you,” Pytho continued, as if the Magi had not spoken. Terena shook, her mind not processing fast enough. “She travels with you and already this time is different because of it. You changed it! That’s why there’s hope; that’s why I’m telling you this. This is the last circle, Terena. The very last. But there is so much more for you to do and you must harden yourself and keep your sister and your friends close. You have the power to save mankind and that is the point, Terena. That is why you must keep going. ”

Cradling Terena’s face softly with her cool palms, Pytho smiled wistfully, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. “How long I’ve waited to see you again.” She shook her head as Terena frowned, confused.

“And do not let his betrayal break you,” Pytho whispered, her face so close to Terena’s she could not look away from the depthless pure black of her eyes. “You will need his love. You will need his strength and his sword for what is coming.”

Pytho brought her lips to Terena’s, softly laying them over her mouth as she whispered something Terena didn’t understand.

She moved away, slowly, and Terena exhaled, her body feeling heavy until she felt nothing.