Goddess Unravelled

Empty Spaces

Alice tried to keep her face straight, but it was hard not to smile. In fact, it was hard not to do a dance right there in the middle of the shop out of pure happiness.

                “Yes, just a second ago. She went that way, down the sidewalk in a hurry.”

                Dione sprang to her feet, her face flushed with triumph. “She thinks she can outrun me. Hah.”

The goddess ran for the door without a backwards glance at Alice, slamming the door open, making the bell ring furiously. Seconds later she was running down the sidewalk and then out of sight, and Alice held her breath for a few seconds longer, almost expecting the woman to realize her mistake.

                But nothing happened. No one came flying back down the sidewalk, and the shop was empty and silent.

                It was empty. No, that wasn’t right.

                Alice scrambled to her feet, heart beating wildly again. Where were the others? Gaia had made her first wish come true, Dione had forgotten who she was immediately, but the second one…it had to have happened. The others had to be here somewhere.

                “Azura?” Alice walked into the back of the shop. All the lights were on, in fact…it looked like they had left only seconds before, just popped out to get lunch or something. There was a cup of tea on the back desk, still steaming, and the chair was pulled out where Azura had been sitting.

                “Altair?” Alice’s voice was shaking as she made her way up the stairs to the apartments. She entered hers first, breath catching in her throat when she saw the lights were on. Hurrying inside, her heart sank as soon as she looked around. It was silent and empty, there was no Emmy curled up on the couch, in fact, she thought she’d probably never see the little cat again. Aunt Ruby was gone for good this time.

                There was nobody else there either, the place was silent. Wandering into her bedroom she found herself frowning, staring around at the mess. She hadn’t left it like that, even in the chaos of what had happened. The red lipstick message was still blazed across the wall, and the window was still open, the breeze from outside stirring the curtains, but she’d expected all of that. The strange thing was that her dresser drawers were all open, as if someone had rummaged through them. Alice stepped forward, pulling in a sharp breath when she realized the photograph of the Halfmoon Society was gone.

                Natasha. Somehow she knew it had to be her. She hadn’t come with the others when they’d charged in to rescue her, she’d been left at the shop. No doubt the halfmoon order photo would show up on the girl’s blog. Alice ground her teeth together and slammed the drawer shut. Well, it hardly mattered now, did it? Half the order had likely died in the building collapse. She hadn’t even thought about them when she’d made her wish. It was incredibly selfish of her.

                But would Gaia have honoured her wish if she’d asked to bring all those people back? She wasn’t sure. Still, she felt the guilt begin to bloom in her stomach and knew it would be something she’d have to deal with for a long time.

                But now wasn’t the time for regrets. She still had to find the others. Dread was making her stomach turn and her hands shake. Maybe Gaia hadn’t brought them back. What would she do if she’d been brought back by herself?

                She stomped back out into the living room, past the kitchen, which was also empty, and slammed the door open. The last place to look was Azura’s suite. If they weren’t in there, then they hadn’t been brought back with her. If they weren’t there, it meant they were dead.