38. Thirty Five
Thirty Five
Cecil
The tension in my shoulders spreads pain up my neck and into the base of my skull. I want to keep my shit together, I really do, but I have a feeling that the more Veda talks, the more irate I’m going to get.
It’s not that I don’t think she’s being honest. I believe that she’s telling me what she believes. But just because she has her heart set on some truth, doesn’t mean I have to as well. Especially if said truth is batshit crazy.
Eden is alarmingly still, which isn’t a good sign.
Veda scours the book in her hands, and I take the moment to slide my palm up the back of Eden’s shoulder, closing my fingers over the curve and giving it a squeeze.
Those silver eyes peer back at me, and I offer a nod.
I’m right here, it says. Her left hand raises and closes around mine.
For a moment, we sit that way, emotionally leaning on one another.
As soon as Veda begins speaking, I remove my hand and tuck it into my front pocket. I miss the contact as soon as it’s gone. My fingers pulse, concealed by the denim of my jeans.
“What do you know of the Fates?” Veda asks, looking between the two of us like an expectant teacher.
Eden shakes her head, I shrug.
Veda doesn’t look surprised, but she does look exasperated.
“Okay. Think of them like… the universe, or divine intervention, or destiny.”
“Them?” I ask. “Is this like God or something?”
Veda barks out a laugh that lacks humor. “The Fates are as similar to a God as they are to a Golden Retriever.”
My hackles rise, but this will go nowhere if I pick a fight. Instead, I hum in the back of my throat and motion for her to continue.
“They’re not one single being. They’re infinite; written in the Stars. There was never a beginning, just as there will never be an end. The Fates simply are. ‘Week after week, day after day. The Fates know the why, The Fates know the way.’”
Eden leans in close, hanging on to Veda’s every word.
It is a compelling tale, but it also sounds like someone took one too many psychedelics and wrote down their theories on life.
“Okay. Maybe fast forward to the part where this involves Eden.” I say, annoyance sharpening my words.
Veda shoots me a disapproving look, but continues her search.
“Balance,” she says, pointing to a page that is flooded with a language I don’t recognize.. “The Fates are all about Balance. Light and dark, good and evil. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
No.
“Sure.”
Veda doesn’t look convinced, and by the crease forming in between Eden’s brows, I’d say she’s as lost as I am.
Laying her palms flat on the table, Veda tries a different approach.
“Okay. You’re familiar with karma, yes?”
I nod. Eden doesn’t respond.
“It’s like that, but it goes both ways. There can never be too much of one or the other.
Good and Evil.” Her eyes dart between us.
“Those who put their faith into the Fates have been wondering for decades when restitution would come for the Brothers.
Many even speculated that the Fates had abandoned us. That Darkness had won.
But now… well, it seems Fate was simply waiting for the right time.”
My eyes scan the room as I attempt to make sense of the nonsense Veda spouts. What kind of weird ass cult have I been roped into?
Still, if she has any information that might help Eden, then I can handle some kismet mumbo jumbo.
“Again, where does Eden fall into all of this?”
Veda looks almost nervous now, and she brings the book to sit on her lap. She leans back into her seat, putting more distance between us.
“Eden is the Balance.”
My eye twitches. Beside me, the girl in question looks at me like I might be able to explain what the fuck is going on. I really wish I could.
“Which means..?” I push, exhausted by vague responses and half answers. There’s something she isn’t saying, something major, and it’s all I can do not to grab Eden by the hand and take her out of here.
Veda sighs, fidgeting with the watch on her wrist.
“Reapers were thought to have been a thing of the past. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been one for—shoot, I don’t know—fifty years? Because the Brothers made sure of it. Their power was too much of a threat, too intense. So, over time, they were wiped out.”
“And what kind of power is that?”
“The power that we fear most of all. Death.”
The heat of anger rises from my feet, spreading throughout my body. Wherever she’s going with this, I can tell I’m not going to like it.
“So when you say she is the Balance in all this…” I trail off, lowering my eyes to the book in her lap. Things begin to click into place.
“That is her Gift,” she begins, looking to Eden now. “Your purpose—”
My hand juts out, halting Veda mid sentence. I’m damn near vibrating with outrage.
“Wait a minute. Do you think Eden was born as some sacrificial lamb? She’s meant to kill the Brothers, consequences be damned? That’s fucking insane!” It isn’t until Eden whimpers beside me that I realize I’m bordering on screaming. Palming the back of my neck, I pace around the tiny kitchen.
The mark at my nape burns.
When Veda speaks again, her tone is cajoling, but it does nothing to calm me. “There are some things that cannot be undone. Her mother brought her into this world knowing—” Catching herself, she shakes her head and clamps her mouth shut.
In two steps, I’m towering over Veda, finger poised in accusation.
“How the fuck would you know anything about her mother?” I snarl through grit teeth.
Sharp inhales come from behind me, and I twist my neck to glance at Eden. Her nostrils are flared and her chest stutters. Without a thought, I go to her and drop to my knees beside the chair. My palms find her cheeks, and I stroke my thumbs over her flesh. She stares past me.
“Look at me,” I murmur, dipping my head in an attempt to meet her gaze. Comfort isn’t my thing, and affection even less so.
Since I’ve met her, I’ve tried to keep her at arms length, convincing myself and others that my feelings for her are absent. But the panic she exudes does something to me. The same something that I felt when I found her by the pond, covered in blood.
It’s become startlingly clear that I care for her very much. What the fuck am I meant to do with that?
Her fingers wrap around my wrists. Her vision is still elsewhere, but at least she’s aware of my presence.
“I’ve got you.” At the sound of my voice, her breathing begins to even out.
I give Veda my deadliest glare. “Explain. Now.”