14. Tempation
Chapter 14
Tempation
“ I can’t let you do this,” I said, shaking my head knowing now the risks were too great.
“I don’t see another way,” she told me, making me wince because I knew deep down, she was right, yet it still didn’t prevent me from arguing.
“Look, it was my actions that started this, and I was the reason you were taken the first time, so I am not going to make the same mistake twice by getting you taken a second,” I said firmly, making her step up to me and place her hand at my belly.
“And I will not be the cause of you losing a child… of losing my chance to be an aunt,” she replied with tears in her eyes and when I opened my mouth to argue some more, she told me,
“For so long it was only ever just you and I, especially when our mother died. You have known what it was like to have a family, but for so long I was left without experiencing that gift, knowing only of the pain of losing all I had ever known… you, my sister. But now I have the opportunity to gain even more than what I lost that day, and I am not going to risk that through fear.”
I felt the fresh tears build hearing this, so I took her hand and squeezed it in my own.
“But what if you get hurt or he manages to get to you again?” I asked, expressing my own fears.
“Getting me doesn’t risk the end of the world, not like it does if he managed to get his hands on you,” she argued in return.
“But…”
“No, you allowed Garmr to use you once before through fear of what he would do to me, and I won’t allow that love to overthrow your love for another. This baby is more important, Ella,” she told me, adding this last part looking down as if she could feel the life through her own hand. At this I closed my eyes and nodded, letting those suspended tears fall, failing at holding them back anymore.
“Now come on, let me show you around so as you know where everything is and can get comfortable. I no doubt will be some time, even if I am successful.”
I agreed with a slight nod of my head, knowing I couldn’t speak right in that moment through fear of breaking down completely. I felt mentally exhausted in the aftermath of information whiplash, and now I knew I would have to say goodbye to the one person who I had left.
A sister I had only just been reunited with and now, I was at risk of losing her all over again.
It was too much to bear.
For both of us.
What was most likely a few hours later, Lerna was ready to leave. She had shown me the rest of ‘our home’ as she had put it and it was a good job too, as I would need to know my way around the place if I were to survive here. It was also comforting to see that it was a lot bigger than I first believed, as the statue room was just one small section of it.
I even found myself gasping at what she told me was my bedchamber, because it was the one that I had seen in the vision. The one where Lerna had tried to convince the old me not to leave. In fact, it felt as if we had come full circle, seeing as I was now the one trying to do the same thing to her.
But all it took was a reminder of what was at stake should she not, and I fell silent. Or should I say who was at stake, because this baby had certainly complicated things in the place that had become known as our sanctuary throughout the many years we had spent together.
Of course, it was still only snippets that had come back to me, but it was enough to know that we had been happy in our lives together… well, that was until I hadn’t been. Until Cerberus had called out to me in my dreams and given me a thirst for more.
I also knew that there was still so much that we needed to talk about. However, since learning of the baby, Lerna and I also knew that time was of the essence here. Because Jared and the others would need as much time as possible if they had any hopes of finding Garmr and putting an end to his plans. And the sooner that happened, the sooner I could finally go home. Which meant that Lerna would also be free of this sheltered life.
But even I knew that hope could be a dangerous thing, yet right now, it was literally the only thing keeping me going. The knowledge and hope that this could be our way out. That Garmr could finally get what was coming to him and the threat would finally be over. That I could go home, be with Jared, and we could start a family together as man and wife.
That was the dream.
That was the hope.
That would become my prayer.
None of which would happen if we didn’t somehow get word to Jared about this plan. Because I knew if he thought of me being in harm’s way, then he would be spending all his time trying to get me back, instead of trying to find our enemy. Which meant that I had to let Lerna go.
It was the only way.
So, I remained silent as she walked back toward the water’s edge in the part of the temple I had found myself in when I first arrived.
Lerna had changed out of her wet clothes, just like I had once she showed me to my old room. Although even in this, we were like chalk and cheese, because you couldn’t have found two sisters any more different if you tried.
Lerna was wearing a long tunic-style dress in an ash-grey color. It was sleeveless with a high neck and long panels at the front and back, hanging down the center of her legs. At the waist was a thick belt in a darker shade of grey that was embossed with what looked like Greek symbols. Beneath the thigh-high slitted dress, were skintight pants that were made from a scaled leathery material I didn’t recognize. Boots that matched all the grey shades covered her feet and calves, stopping just below the knee, and they were laced with strips of fabric wrapped around her legs. She finished this look with a long, wide length of light-grey fabric that she wrapped loosely around her neck to create a hood.
I was wearing something similar, however, she was the light to my dark, because everything I wore was a very dark green color. A tone that managed to bring out the flaming red in my hair all the more. My tunic was more in the style of a jacket, with its wide neck, full length sleeves that flared at my wrists, and long lengths of the leathery fabric that crossed over my chest. These pieces then wrapped around my back before finally knotting at the side of my right hip, leaving strips of excess fabric to hang down to my ankles.
Tight trousers in the same style to Lerna’s covered my legs, with boots to match, only mine reached up over my knees. There had also been a hooded cape folded up in the trunk to pair with this outfit that I didn’t bother to put on because there was no need. After all, it wasn’t like I was going anywhere.
“You know you don’t have to do this,” I said, despite us both knowing what would happen if she didn’t. Her face said it all before her words soon followed.
“Yes, I do,” she told me after taking both my hands in hers and looking down at my belly.
“Now you must promise not to come looking for me, even if I don’t return…”
“But…” I started to say but was quickly interrupted.
“Promise me, Ella… please.”
I swallowed hard before nodding, telling her without words that I promised. Thankfully, one look at the tears in my eyes and it was enough for her to know that saying the actual words would most likely break me. Because I may not have remembered all of our time together as sisters, but one thing that had come back to me was the love I had always felt between us.
After this she nodded the once before turning to face the water. Then before I could ask how she would even get there, she pulled a dagger she had hidden under the material of her dress from the sheath by her hip. A blade she used on herself, making me cry out when I saw her slicing a line down her hand. But instead of explaining, she simply held out her bleeding hand so her blood could drip upon the still water. I couldn’t help but hold up my own hand to see the same scar there, one I had received by spilling my own blood for Jared to be free.
Okay, so it had been done under false pretenses at the time but still, the symbolic nature of it wasn’t lost on me. A thought that was stolen by the rumbling sound now echoing against the temple walls. Something that caused me to step closer to the water’s edge to find it bubbling.
“What’s happening?” I asked, making her hold her other hand out so I wouldn’t get any closer, telling me at the same time,
“Wait for it.”
The ‘it’ she spoke of didn’t take long because before I knew it, a ghostly black boat rose up out of the water. It looked like some demonic entity had taken over a small Viking fishing boat big enough for two, maybe three people. It was pointed at each end and was wider in the middle, with a hull made from curved strips of black wood. These looked to be set inside a monster’s ribcage, as if the bones of some dead carcass had been used as a frame to make the boat. The spine curved up the center keel with the narrow-tipped bones doing the same either side. Long ribs protruded past the edge of the boat, making it look as if you were stepping into some demonic sea creature’s mouth. One that was rising up from the water, trying to swallow sailor’s whole.
So, in other words, it wasn’t exactly a love boat cruise or a giant swan on a lake.
“What is that thing?!” I cried in horror.
“A boat of Charon.”
I frowned having never heard the name before.
“Charon?”
“He is the Ferryman King and charged with ruling over all others whose job it is to ferry souls into the different realms in Hell. Being the first of his kind, he also provides boats that are protected within these different realms for the souls to travel between. Hades is his master and therefore had this boat created, one that can only be called forth by anyone who carried his bloodline.”
Wow, he could have made it a little less boney, a lot less creepy, and a whole load less murderous. I naturally kept that thought to myself after quickly deciding that now was not the time to share. No, instead, another thought hit me, making me ask,
“This is how I used to cross the barrier isn’t it…? The way I used to get to Cerberus?”
She nodded just as the boat finished pushing out all of the water its hull had collected as it overflowed between the rib bones. Then once this was finished, three of the ribs bent back on themselves to create a floating door. But before she could step onto the crude looking gangway, I quickly pulled her into me for a hug and told her,
“Please return safely.”
She laughed the once without humor and told me,
“I believe that is the very same thing I said to you whenever you would leave.”
I hugged her tighter as way of goodbye and then let her go, knowing it was now or never. Meaning I was left to watch as she got into the boat and sailed away, an ominous mist surrounding her until it became too thick to see past.
I then slumped down and finally let all my emotions wash over me as I cried for all I had lost and all I hoped and prayed to one day soon…
Find again.
After my hour-long pity party on the floor, I finally picked myself up and went exploring because well, if this was going to be my new home for the foreseeable future, then I might as well get accustomed to it. Of course, Lerna had shown me the various rooms, and one included a dining room that had a table filled with food. So naturally, I went there first. Because well, I was starving.
The room was like most of the others, with its walls framed by pillars holding up a domed roof of glass. In the center was a long marble table that dominated the space, one that had seating enough for twenty people. Something that seemed pointless to me because there had only ever been a grand total of three people here to sit around this table.
It saddened me to think about our mother, considering I had little memory of her. But like I said, there was still so much that I didn’t know and it felt like I had too many questions to ask. Like how Lerna came to meet Jared and why did she pose as being his wife? What did she really have to do with his death and was this something she was forced to do by another? Also, speaking of bad guys, how did I escape Garmr the first time and what happened to me when I did?
It was still mind blowing to realize that not only was Jared’s former wife my sister, but that I had a whole other life before my mortal one. I knew that at some point I would get my answers, no doubt when she returned because well, we would certainly have the time for it.
It was a depressing thought if I were honest, because now that I was left here alone, all I could think about was Jared. How worried he must be and how frantic he must feel in trying to find me. I also knew how mad at me he would be at trying to sacrifice myself to save him. Because neither of us had any idea where I would end up by jumping into that portal or what could have potentially happened to me.
I slumped down on to one of the marble seats that matched the ornate table and despite the feast that was laid out in front of me, I was already missing my little trailer back in Nelson BC.
Of course, the first question out of my mouth when being shown this room had been, where the Hell had all the food come from? Lerna told me that it was always here and that she didn’t know how or where, only that it never spoiled, nor did it ever run out.
I suppose it made sense, seeing as this place was magical and built by one of the Gods. And well, I didn’t see Hades going to all the effort of making this temple only to let his secret family starve. Which was why I started to dig in, reaching out for the roasted chicken, the cubes of cheese, the crusty bread, the grapes, nuts, and olives. All of which never really disappeared no matter how much I ate.
Now there was one part of the table that I really wanted to dig into, and that was the large golden bowl overflowing with pomegranates, displayed as a large centerpiece. Perfectly round crimson fruit was cracked open to show its treasure of ruby jewels all glistening under the flaming torch light. Each one looking near bursting with sweet juice, and I felt my mouth watering at just the sight of them.
It also made me question why Lerna had warned me to stay away from eating them, because she hadn’t exactly explained why. And I didn’t know whether it was from cravings or what, but now all I could think about was eating one. I tried to resist, doing a pretty good job at first and I even managed to walk toward the arched doorway that led into the living space… Even going so far as to tell myself,
“I think I will read one of the books Lerna was telling me about or what was that poem called…? Theogony, I think she said.” I continued to mutter to myself until I paused at the doorway, now looking back at the table over my shoulder… Or should I say, the center of it. It was as if something was calling out to me, begging me to take just one taste.
“Maybe just a lick… surely that wouldn’t do any harm?” I questioned aloud before closing my eyes and tearing my face away.
“No!” I chastised, gripping on to the pillared door frame. I then took a single step through the archway before doing a complete one-eighty and found myself running back to the table. The result of which ended with me reaching for a segment of the cut pomegranates and bringing it to my lips. I then bit into it, taking a mouthful of jeweled seeds into my mouth and moaning the moment the juice burst across my tongue.
And with it, the realization as to why Lerna had warned me not to… because it brought me nothing but pain and…
Death.