28. Cursed
28
Cursed
Calliste
Her breath left her in a shocked exhale as she stared at Hypnos against the shifting, luminous canopy of branches and foliage. “Prince Kalias’ condition is a curse?”
“It certainly doesn’t look like anything you’ve seen before, am I right? Even the best physician in Hesperis was powerless against it.”
A curse. Her head spun. “I don’t know how to break a curse. I’m only a healer.”
“You’re likely the only mortal who can unravel this one,” replied Thanatos. “And I don’t mean that as flattery.”
“He doesn’t,” Hypnos flashed her a flattering smile. “But I do. You’ve outwitted my brother countless times.”
“It’s never been a competition,” Thanatos observed coldly.
Hypnos shrugged. “No, but we have encountered enough mortals to take notice of the exceptional ones. You are uniquely qualified to use your goddess’s power without limits, and that’s why you’re here.”
She looked between Dream’s bewitching eyes and Death’s sensuous mouth. “But you are infinitely more powerful than me. The Underworld is your territory. Why would you need my help?”
Hypnos’ smile faded. “If we were able to solve it ourselves, we would have done so already. Either of us could intervene… everywhere but here .” He glanced at the sand. “The Everlasting Enclave and the domain beneath it, the Roots, are grounds where the immortals are forbidden to use their power. They could affect the Eternal Enclave and disrupt the will of the Fates. Which is a risk we won’t take.”
Calliste glanced at the forest behind him again, her eyes drawn to the light nestled in the crown of each tree. “But what I am using is also divine power,” she said.
“True,” Hypnos agreed with a fond smile. “But you’re mortal, which means your tolerance for using such power is limited and safe for other mortals and the prince. My brother and I cannot reduce our powers, which, by the way, are wildly different from the ones you can channel.”
“How so?”
“They are healing powers.” Hypnos shifted on his feet. “And you can only use so much before exhausting yourself. This is important. Your tolerance to the flow of divine power will allow you to use it in the Eternal Enclave without any unsettling effects.”
For the first time since learning about the prince’s condition, she allowed herself to hope. “So I’m here because this isn’t how the prince should be?”
“He can only continue on the path set out by the Fates while he’s awake. Now that he’s asleep, he cannot,” Hypnos said.
“Once a mortal’s life no longer aligns with the Fates’ plans, it’s like a stone thrown into well-oiled machinery,” Thanatos added grimly. “When this kind of disruption becomes too obvious, and it eventually will, it might earn us unwanted attention from Olympus. We could definitely do without Zeus challenging Hades over the control of his realm.”
A chill ran down her spine. “Does the Unseen One”—like every mortal, she avoided speaking Hades’ name out loud—“also want me here?”
“Nothing happens in the Underworld without his knowledge. You have his permission to proceed,” Thanatos said. “My brother has volunteered to assist you.”
She took a deep breath, trying not to show her fear. “How do you know I can succeed in unraveling it?”
For a long moment Thanatos watched her. “There’s no one else we can think of. This situation cannot remain unresolved, as every day the prince remains asleep puts the kingdom at risk. His fate is tied to that of his people. Him being asleep might seem benign, but it already causes disruption. The sooner he wakes up, the less we’ll have to mitigate. And that’s better for your king. It won’t be long before his son’s condition is seriously questioned and misinterpreted as our doing, which is exactly the first sign of the disruption.”
She rubbed her temples and gazed down at her pendant. “But I don’t know how to fight these… specters. They seem—”
“Specters?” Thanatos interrupted.
She glanced at Hypnos, who seemed perplexed by her words.
“What specters, Calliste?” he asked gently.
“You haven’t seen them?” she asked, confused. “Those scarlet beings around a tree?”
The brothers exchanged glances.
“No.” Hypnos answered. “Can you describe them?”
She did, doing her best from the snatches she remembered.
“Unbelievable,” Hypnos said after she’d finished. “What you describe sounds like…”
“The Condemned.” Thanatos muttered something that sounded like a curse under his breath.
“But how come she can see them?” Hypnos glanced at his brother.
“She’s a healer, so she’s trained to see mortal abnormalities better than we are,” he replied grimly. “What are the Condemned doing in the Roots? Someone must have lured them there, using a power we cannot attribute or track.”
“Even in your realm?” she asked.
Thanatos hesitated for a moment. “The Underworld is unique. Unlike the mortal realm, Mount Olympus, or the realm of Poseidon, it has layers and dimensions. It’s also the last barrier separating other realms from Erebus. Have you heard of Erebus, Calliste?”
“The primordial darkness,” she whispered. “It’s the all-powerful, sleeping entity beneath everything.”
“Our highly unpredictable father, by the way,” Hypnos chuckled.
“Oh,” she exhaled. “Of course.”
“The distance to Erebus is what matters.” Thanatos seemed to be weighing his words with care. “Certain parts of the Underworld, like the Eternal Enclave or the Court of Hades, are closer to the mortal realm, and more stable. But the deeper you go, the more unpredictable it becomes. If you’re telling me about the Condemned trying to affect the prince’s tree in the place where they most certainly shouldn’t be, then I know it can’t be a coincidence. It’s been orchestrated. Someone is taking advantage of Erebus’ volatile nature to sabotage the course of destiny, knowing that we cannot intervene. And it will impact both the Underworld and the mortal realm.”
“Does the Underworld have enemies?” Calliste asked.
“Too many to count,” Hypnos waved his hand. “We’re not exactly well-liked among the Olympians. We don’t share their way of life, yet the Fates reside in the Court of Hades. The Olympians hate the notion of being answerable to the representatives of the court they cannot bribe or threaten.”
“I’d have never thought that the immortals are bound by fate.”
“Of course we are. There are some exceptions, but without the Fates’ guidance, all the domains would fall into chaos and war.”
Calliste digested that in silence. “But someone disagrees.”
“It seems so,” Hypnos said. “But we have our secret weapon—you.”
She squared her shoulders. “What do I do?”
“First, try summoning your power. Don’t hold back.”
She pictured the endless abundance of Epione’s divine powers, exhaling in awe as the light flooded from her pendant in brilliant cascades, seeping into the forest floor. It continued to pour out, forming a radiant pool of light beneath her feet.
But this power felt different: not the usual gentle, focused stream of light. It was brighter, raw, with edges.
“Excellent.” Green reflections danced in Hypnos’ silvery eyes. “Don’t worry. It is a divine power, but channeled through you, it is safe. Now wield it.”
“How?”
“Like us, you can shape it into whatever you like. Pull at it and see what happens.”
Exhaling, she lifted her open palm, attempting to give her power a shape in her mind. The emerald energy rose in thin streaks around her, hovering like translucent, green blades in the air. “Like this?”
Hypnos nodded. “You can fashion your power into a sphere or shield. Anything you can imagine.”
“I see,” she breathed. “Protection sounds good to me.” Eyes closed, she envisioned a protective sphere around her. When she opened them, she was surrounded by emerald-green, curving walls, close enough to touch.
“Finally, we’ll be able to see what’s happening.” Hypnos grinned.
Calliste glanced around to realize that Thanatos had disappeared.
“Forgive him, he’s not the one for social niceties. He’s gone to report to Hades, I imagine.” Hypnos turned to her. “Let’s go to the Roots and investigate.”
“The Roots is… beneath here?”
“Yes. When this curse began, the prince’s tree fell into that dimension. Unfortunately, we didn’t notice it right away. When we did, I volunteered to go there, as my power is gentler than my brother’s. I’ve found the tree, but I couldn’t see the phantoms you mentioned. And I couldn’t do much. The Roots is too close to Erebus, which means—”
“That your power might disturb it.”
“Exactly. So I’ll guide you there as a shadow of myself while my physical body remains beside yours in the mortal realm. That way, I can pull you back if your energy depletes or if there’s danger. Otherwise, I cannot use my power.”
“Better than nothing.” She almost jumped as he took her hand. She shot him a sideways look and blinked as she saw his image thinning into a specter. Even his touch seemed like a breeze against her skin.
“This might feel odd,” he said.