Amortal Song

15.Lies

Calypso

"How?" I asked, "It's not like I know how to get back there."

"The young are so easily defeated," she scoffed, "and always doubting the gifts of the gods."

I sighed, "It would be so much easier to trust them if one didn't make me mortal and send me to my death with only his son, who he also made mortal, as my guide. And if I didn't have a power-hungry minor deity also trying to kill me. And now that I think about it, you as well, have done some pretty significant stuff, and not all of it was good."

"Speak for yourself. I've seen the things you've done and the things you said to Arden in Vespera's-"

"It's always about Arden with you, isn't it? Arden this and Arden that. Do I have to be the one to tell you that your son ignored me for about 4 days when I first arrived and then didn't want to speak in his father's presence, nor did he help me when we first arrived in Vespera's realm- the only thing he did was glare at me and grit his teeth till one of them chipped. And now hear I am, listening to you trying to make me save him."

I sucked in a sharp breath, "And while I would do anything to still live, this is one I would have a hard time doing or wouldn't want to do. Because I don't know if he deserves it."

She scoffed, "I'm not asking you to save him for your reasons. I'm asking on my behalf, and I don't want to hear it," she added as I opened my mouth to argue. "And you're going to do it or I will kill you or send you back to Vespera, and let her do the job herself. Or maybe Neortis would have some fun deciding your punishment. Whatever the case, you will do what I say. And I have a straight path for you to take back there."

Solekki began to do some elf-god power things, making some gasps chorus from the nymphs who had drawn a bit closer when Solekki and I had exchanged words. I rolled my eyes, they were, after all, as drawn to drama as a fly was to honey. But I did have to admit that what she was doing right in front of us was impressive, seemingly molding the light into a crystal clear orb- except for the rainbow that seemed to glint in it. The spectrum was bent unnaturally, bending downwards and looping.

She held it up, the light glinting off of it as if it had the facets of a diamond. "This will be your portal, of sorts, back to Vespera's realm. It can only be used once and will disintegrate when you land." Handing it to me, she also added, "I would keep my focus on the spectrum inside. Any other path is a straying one, and will surely lead to your death. And I won't help you then."

I held it, surprised by how light it felt. Narrowing my gaze, I got a good look at the rainbow, seeing thin lines of silver straying away from it, and figured those were the other paths she was talking about. "How those it work?"

"Honestly," she took the orb from me and held it up to the bright beams of light being cast around us thanks to the windows installed on the ceiling of the temple, crystal clear panes. "Hold it up to the light. And it will create your...path." Solekki had to adjust it several times before a rainbow-colored path was set on the marble floors. She handed it back to me and several titters from the nymphs followed as I tried several times, and failed, to get the path to appear. Finally, seven tries later, it appeared, like a watercolor painting appearing on the white tiles.

I looked back at her and she said, "Step into the light, close your eyes, and pray to the gods that will listen. I won't be one of them now."

Stopping myself from rolling my eyes, I tentatively put one foot into the light- and holding back a strangled yelp as my foot seemed to sink into the floor. I looked at Solekki, her eyes keen and watching mine as I choked out, "Thank you, Goddess Solekki, your kindness is much-"

"Oh, be quiet." She narrowed her eyes, "Lies spill a many from your lips, and we both know it. So do this- don't utter another word, leave, and keep my son from getting killed." The light around her seemed to pulse, growing stronger with each word until it wrapped around her in an almost pure white light. But I could still see her. Her eyes had an ancient look to them, holding power and wisdom. Deadly. I had a feeling I was seeing Solekki in her purest form, a form that could kill mortals- as the tales in greek mythology had said- if the light became bright enough, more powerful than right now.

Not wanting to find out, I willed myself to close my eyes and step blindly into the rainbow, holding the orb as tight as I could.

And with that, I felt my body slip away, dissolving into the light.

*

*

*

I opened my eyes, or what seemed to be them. I couldn't feel my body like it was split into multiple parts and pieces, particles of light almost. But I could see, somehow, the rainbow that I was following, vivid like an oil painting and not like the watercolor before. And the silver paths...

The silver paths were very definite, gleaming ribbons of silver that were tempting to take, almost like they were calling me.

I thought like the flowers in Vespera's realm, which was enough to convince myself not to take those paths. After what had happened to Odysseus, I didn't want to know what other tricks the gods, even the ones claiming to be good, could do. Then again, none of them were "good". They were too powerful to indeed be able to relate to what mortals, amortals, and immortals all felt- too distant and untouchable, raised above the platform of any other being.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't feel the drop, or couldn't feel it because of my split body, I didn't know. But I became aware of the rainbow falling, swooping into a place that made my heart stop and my breath freeze.

And I could see them. Frozen. But still them. The dagger poised. The expression.

It made my insides twist so bad that I had to squeeze my eyes shut once again. Slowly, the rainbow set me down, a few meters away from the two frozen figures. The world seemed to be frozen, with no sign of danger near. Carefully, I inched toward Vespera, scrambling back when I saw her slowly blink her eyes as if someone had hit the unpause button on this place. Arden's chest began to rise and fall again, Vespera's realm returning to life quicker and quicker. Panicking, I swiveled around the field.

I didn't have a plan and already I could hear Arden's raspy breaths coming out. Time was slowly draining. Turning back to the two, I watched as Vespera's hand moved down, clutching the dagger, her lips pulling into a hideous smile. I nearly dropped the orb...and that's when I remembered what Solekki had said.

"No!" I screamed, running toward them. They both looked up, shocked, right as I took aim and threw the crystal orb at Vespera. Not much of a plan but it seemed to slow time again as it hurtled through the air, shattering bit by bit like Solekki had said it would until it came full force, crashing into Vespera's face and breaking into jagged pieces of glass.

They cut into Vespera's face, agonizing screams echoing but muffled by the pounding sound of my heart ringing in my ears. The glass dug into her skin, hard enough to release streams of bronze blood that ran down her skin, dripping into the white flowers she sat in and staining them the same color. The dagger fell from her hand, immediately snatched up by Arden who was already running toward me, the last of the daze he had been in when the orb shattered, falling away from his eyes. As he drew nearer, I winced at the sight of the blood splattered on his skin.

We couldn't risk time lingering here, though."How do we get out of here?" I asked frantically, grabbing the dagger and shoving it into the pocket of my dress.

"There's no way out..." His voice trailed off, and then the answer seemed to strike both of us. "The gazebo."

We set off into a run, the voices of the flowers seemed to have gone silent. Or it may have been the pounding in my ears that overwhelmed them, I couldn't tell. At least...I wasn't dead yet.