The Oracle Series: Vols. 4, 5, & Grave Endowments Read online

  “To beginnings.” She grinned. “As for mine, well. I am the star of a tragedy, dear Sibyl.”

  Her smile faltered. “I was born into Trojan royalty. That much is true. But from the time I could walk, I stayed in the Temple of the Golden One. My nurses all prayed to Apollo, so I did as well. Have you ever seen one of Apollo’s temples? They are beautiful. So full of light that sparkles when you approach it.”

  I wanted to tell her that what she had experienced was probably just dust, but decided against it when she continued.

  “I began to force my nursemaids to take me to the temple daily. Then at the age of sixteen, I swore a vow of celibacy before the Golden One’s altar. That is when he first appeared to me.” She smiled and twirled the stem of the glass between her fingers. “Apollo promised me anything I wished if I gave up my vow of chastity for him. He spoke words of devotion. Of love. He would leave little trinkets of gold on his altar for me to find when I visited. Finally, after months of him pursuing me, he offered me the one gift I could not refuse.”

  “Prophecy.” I broke in. “But why? Why would you want to see the future?”

  “To be considered someone of value.” Kassandra tilted her head to study me. “You modern women do not understand. You can’t understand what it was like for us. We were ornaments. Property meant only to be bought and sold. While yes, I had royal blood, I was still worthless. Apollo’s gift would have granted me entry as one of his Oracles in the temple.”

  I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. So when I remained silent, Kassandra shrugged.

  “At the last moment, I panicked. When Apollo grabbed me, I attacked him with one of the vases someone had left behind in his honor. The Golden One – the very god I had sworn to worship throughout my days – cursed me. He promised me that I would get my gift of prophecy, but that my words would fall on deaf ears. He left me then and has never returned to me.”

  The woman stopped talking and stared at the wall behind me for no less than five minutes. I glanced up to Cyrus after a while to see if I should say anything, but he just shook his head. Just when I was about to tell her it was getting late, she finished her wine and her story.

  “I was murdered by Clytemnestra in my twenty-seventh year. I had been taken by her husband as a spoil of war, but the wife’s jealousy won out. She stabbed me through the heart during an ambush.”

  “I don’t understand.” I leaned forward. “If you died, then how are you here now?”

  “Hera.” Kassandra giggled. “The great mother of us all saved me. She met my soul as I waited on the side of the River Styx. She does that, you know. Seeks out abandoned souls to take home with her as children. She is very kind that way.”

  I felt my blood run cold at the similarity between her story and Elliot’s own tragic history. He had turned to Hera after I refused him. He had a twisted sense of abandonment after his mother had left him with his father. When I found my voice, I asked her the only question I needed the answer to.

  “How?” I clasped her hand. “Tell me how it is done, Sister.”

  “Blood.” The girl tightened her grip on my hand. “Hera slit her wrist and pressed it against my chest in the Underworld. I heard her chant strange words over me. I felt the heat of her blood flow into my punctured heart until it began to beat once more. Then, I simply returned to this life.”

  “Elliot.” I looked up at Cyrus then back to my guest. “Does her blood give you immortality?”

  “No, silly.” Kassandra chuckled. “She blessed me with the gift of eternal life because of my loyalty. She swore I would never be abandoned again as long as I worshiped at her altar instead of in the temple of Apollo.”

  “Kassandra, I believe it is time for you to leave.” Cyrus stepped up to put his hand on the back of my couch. “The Sibyl has grown tired.”

  “Yes. I can see how your eyes have dimmed.” The woman pushed herself to her feet. “May I visit you?”

  I let her hug me one last time before she waved her farewell and disappeared into the shadows that she had come from. I collapsed back down, rubbed my hands over my face, and tried to grasp what she had told me.

  Elliot now had Hera’s blood running through his veins. He was a glorified zombie who had been let loose on Los Angeles. I wanted to laugh at my thoughts, but they were too accurate to be funny.

  "Come here." Cyrus leaned down over me with a smile. I threw my arms around his neck and returned his smile with one of my own before we kissed. When we parted, he nuzzled his nose against my cheek. "By the gods, I missed you, Little One."

  "I missed you, too." I closed my eyes when he kissed me again. When we finally broke apart, Cyrus sat down next to me, pulled out his flask, and pointed to my newest statue with his flask.

  “Shopping online again?”

  “Nope.” I bumped my shoulder against his. “Zeus stopped by for a visit while you were gone.”

  I thought Cyrus was going to choke on his whiskey since he started coughing before pulling the container away from his mouth. He whipped around and stared at me as if I’d grown a second head.

  “Zeus was here.” He clinched his fist around the flask until his knuckles turned white. “With you. Alone.”

  “Oh, calm down. Nothing happened.” I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. “I don’t care for frat boys, Cyrus. And Zeus was better suited for a drunken toga party than me.”

  “Are you alright?” My keeper narrowed his eyes while he studied me over. “Are you sure you remember everything that happened?”

  “Yes and yes.” I patted his arm. “I promise. Nothing happened. He didn’t trick me into bed with him. He didn’t drug me. Everything was fine.”

  Cyrus was still stiff, so I thought it was time to change the subject. "What happened in Olympus?"

  "Apollo and I discussed Hera's bounty." Cyrus frowned. "He believes it isn't valid. After all, you've only met up with two of Hera's creatures. If such an announcement had been made, then many more would have shown up by now. We'd be swimming in monsters."

  "I don't understand." Now, it was my turn to frown. "Why would Ehrik...whatever- her-name was say such a thing? The kid? Elliot?"

  "To frighten you?" Cyrus chuckled as he threw his arm around my shoulders. He pulled me against him and stroked my hair. "If so, then Hera doesn't know you very well. You don't scare easy."

  "No. I think it's a game. I think Elliot is up to something. And I think Hera is behind it all." I sighed. "Why does everything have to be so damned confusing? Why can't I just get a straight answer?"

  "What fun would that be?" My keeper tightened his arm around me. "Besides, if you got the straight answer you were looking for, you would never believe it. I know you, Little One. You'd dig deeper until it became painfully obvious that you were getting nowhere."

  Cyrus relaxed a little so I figured this was the perfect time to pull my new sword out of the closet. I jumped up with a grin. “I have got to show you the present Zeus gave me though.”

  “He gave you a present?” Cyrus called out as I went to the closet in my entryway. “Aside from the statue?”

  “Yeah. Said he liked what I had done for the pantheon and all that.” I put the box down on the coffee table. “Open it.”

  “I’m almost afraid to.”

  “I was too at first. But it’s totally worth it.”

  I couldn’t contain my excitement when Cyrus got his first look at my new sword. “It’s called the Ceremonial Sword of the Sibyl.”

  Cyrus didn’t say anything. He lifted the weapon with as much care as I had when I first held it. He flipped it over and ran his thumb over the base of the hilt.

  “Hephaestus crafted this.” He pointed to a tiny carving at the bottom to make sure I saw it. “The anvil crossed with a hammer. It’s his signature.”

  “I know.” I nodded. “Ok. Not about the signature. But I know that he made it. Zeus told me.”

  “It’s beautiful, Little One. This sword fits you to perfection.”

 
“I know.” I grinned. “I just can't wait to try it out.”

  Cyrus chuckled. “Shall I teach you how to summon it at will?”

  I nodded faster than I thought possible. So my keeper stood up, handed me the sword, and told me to focus all of my energy onto it while imagining where I wanted it to go. It took a few tries before I got it, but I didn’t mind. Cyrus’ arms were around me. Joey was safe with his friends while still keeping tabs on Elliot’s every move. Leyton and Elizabeth were finishing up the Westchester School episode in light of our activities here in L.A. So I allowed myself to relax and enjoy the moment without the worry that had haunted me over the past month.

  I couldn’t have been happier if I tried.

  Chapter Six

  “Evie, you’re killing me.” Joey dropped a box onto his nasty black futon and sat down beside it. “You and the big man show up at the crack of dawn. You force me to start packing before I've even opened my eyes. And now you want me to clean? When’d you become such a slave driver?”

  I swept a pile of Styrofoam trays into an empty trash bag with a shrug. “Hey, you made your decision to move in with me last week. I can’t help it if you waited until the very last minute before you started packing.”

  “That’s because I’ve been busy.” Joey crossed his arms over his chest. “Following after Elliot? Hanging out with the lowest of the low? Remember that?”

  “You’re just mad because you missed the raid in your game last night.” I teased. When Joey didn’t respond, I grew serious. “You really haven’t seen anything this week?”

  Cyrus dropped a box overflowing with wires by the door. He came over to me to take the bag from my hands. He winked at me when he tied the bag closed so I awarded him with a small smile before he disappeared into the back room.

  “No.” Joey shook his head. “Dude spends more time in clubs than I ever thought possible. How he manages to show up at work on time, I’ll never know.”

  “It’s been too quiet.” I finished filling up the trash bag and set it aside. “No murders. No monsters. It’s making me nervous.”

  “Wait. I’m confused.” Joey leaned forward until his elbows rested on his knees. “Isn’t that what we want?”

  “Yeah. But it’s been too easy.” I frowned as I examined the mess in my friend’s studio apartment. “I can’t shake the feeling that there is something horrible just waiting in the wings.”

  “Maybe.” Joey agreed. “Or maybe you’re just paranoid. Relax, Evie. Take a breath will you? I, for one, am glad that Elliot has eased up with his demands. I’m enjoying not having to jump on a plane every few days.”

  “It wasn’t Elliot who made that decision.” I gestured at Joey with one rubber gloved hand. “I called Joseph yesterday. Told him myself about our insane travel schedule. He told me we could take the week off.”

  “It’s just that easy?” Joey pouted when he stood up to resume his packing. I shook my head at his direction as he grumbled words I couldn’t hear under his breath. Two armfuls of clothes later, my friend threw up his arms. “I hate this. Let’s just burn everything.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. I’d been friends with Joey for two years now, but I had no idea he was so lazy. I crossed the room with two steps, took a bundle of t-shirts from his built-in closet, and dumped them in the box.

  “Burn the futon? Absolutely. But you have to save your clothes, Joey. I don’t want you running around naked at the condo.”

  “Or do you?” Joey wiggled his eyebrows at me until I smacked his arm. “Slave driver.”

  “Just pack already. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get out of here. Something smells bad in here.”

  We fell into a comfortable silence as we worked. When everything Joey wanted to keep had been put in the back of my Land Rover, he took one last look at his old home. I stood in the doorway with Cyrus behind me.

  “I have a lot of good memories here. It’s the first place that was ever truly mine.”

  “So let’s go make some new memories.” I glanced over my shoulder to my keeper then turned back to Joey. “Starting tonight. We’ll drink. Order pizza. Crash on my couch for a while. You can start unpacking tomorrow.”

  Joey nodded and when he let me take his arm, I saw his smile return.

  “Yeah. Out with the old, in with the new. Let’s go.”

  ***

  “Do you think Joey’s ok?”

  I was curled up next to Cyrus on the couch after my new roommate had gone to bed. He claimed he was exhausted after the events of the day. Not that I could blame him. I hadn’t moved half the stuff he and Cyrus had and I was ready to pass out. But there was something more. Joey seemed sad. Withdrawn.

  No matter how many jokes he cracked over dinner.

  “I think he will be.” Cyrus threw his arm around my shoulders. “It isn’t easy to give up your independence, Little One.”

  “He isn’t giving up his independence.” I tilted my head up to study my beloved. “Joey is free to come and go as he pleases.”

  “Yet, he is in chains.” Cyrus tapped his fingertip against my nose. “Just as you are. You are tied to Apollo. The television show. Even this condo.”

  “Ok. I’ll give you Apollo and Grave.” I shook my head. “But I can move any time I wish.”

  “But you won’t.” Cyrus shifted until my head rested against his shoulder. “You have a history here. First with Elliot, then with me. Memories are the strongest of chains, Evie.”

  “I have an entire childhood of memories in Charleston.” I pointed out. “And it was easy for me to let them go.”

  “Yes, because you were ready to release yourself from them. Such a feat is not so easy for others who cling onto the past long after it is gone.”

  “If that’s the case, then why aren’t you moping around? You have more memories than anyone.”

  “I found life much easier to live when I focus on each day as it passes.” Cyrus gave me a sad smile. “Yet even I get nostalgic from time to time.”

  I fell silent as I tried to figure out what to say next. Don’t get me wrong. I understood where my keeper was coming from. I won’t say that I didn’t miss the ease of my childhood or the friendship I’d once shared with Elliot. But I didn’t let those memories hold me back. I just didn’t see any sense to it.

  “Tell me about your family. The one back in ancient Greece.”

  Cyrus grew pale and closed his eyes. I started to tell him to forget I asked when he answered.

  “There is nothing to tell, I'm afraid. I had no family during my lifetime aside from my brothers-in-arms, Little One. It wasn’t until Delphine accepted my heart centuries later that I had any hope of being a part of a traditional household.”

  Delphine. The first Sibyl and Cyrus’ first love. He had told me before that she gave up her immortality after she grew tired of living in this world. Just as Kathy Carter had been. I frowned at the connection between them. It was too convenient.

  “Will you tell me about the other Sibyls? How many of them were told to relinquish their positions when Apollo grew tired of them?”

  “Evie,” Cyrus sighed. “You know better than most how important the Sibyl is to draw worshippers to Apollo’s temples. When a Sibyl fails to do so, the Golden One begins to look for her replacement.”

  “So what Kassandra said was true.” I disentangled myself from his arm and stood. “Kathy Carter was told to relinquish her role to me.”

  “Yes, but she had long decided that she was tired of the dangers she faced. You were simply an end to a means, Eva.”

  “I don't know about that.” I frowned when he pulled me forward until I was standing in front of him. “I’m still not happy with Apollo deciding he can just throw me away whenever he wants to.”

  “I doubt he will do that.” Cyrus chuckled. “You have already had more interaction with our patron god than any of your predecessors. Not to mention the other deities who have graced you with their presence.”

  “Yeah.” I
let the sarcasm lace my words. “Hera? Zeus? The Erinyes? They’re great. Really.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest when I brought up another point I'd been meaning to ask my keeper about.

  "Cyrus, where did you find Kassandra?"

  "I'm sorry?" Cyrus looked confused. "Isn't that what you asked me to do?"

  "Yes." I nodded. "But usually, I have to spend a lot of money on plane tickets before we find one of your mythological counterparts. You just appeared with her when you returned from Olympus."

  "It was nothing, really." My beloved shifted until he sat on the edge of the couch. "I had mentioned to Apollo that you wished to speak with her. For obvious reasons, he was reluctant to tell me where I could find the girl. When I told him you were curious about the vision Kassandra had told you, he laughed and sent me on my way with her location. He said that it was high time you found out how mad we immortals can be."

  "Har har." I rolled my eyes at the story he told me. "I wasn't kidding when I said I believe her. I just have to figure out what she meant."

  "Did she write out her prophecy?"

  "Yes." I nodded. "I'm not supposed to wallow in ashes and fall. Though she didn't mention what would happen to me if I did these things."

  "Probably scrape a knee." My beloved stood up. "Yet, I am in agreement with you, Little One. These past few days have been far too quiet."

  I didn't respond. I wasn't sure what to say since I wasn't used to Cyrus agreeing with me. He was the one who broke the silence between us.

  “What would you like to do now?” My keeper tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I can pour you another drink. Turn on another movie.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I think I just want to take a shower and go to bed. It's been a hell of a week. Even if it's been a quiet one.”

  I started to walk away when my beloved caught my arm. "Dance with me, Little One."

  "I'm sorry, what?" I stared at my keeper in horror. "I don't dance. I didn't think you did either."

  "I'm full of surprises." Cyrus smiled as he pulled me against him. "But perhaps, I only wanted to hold you for a little longer."