Prey and Mercy

XVI. Some Things Come in Threes While Others go Forgotten

They don't believe me at first.

It's not like I expected them to jump up with big blooming smiles, rejoicing at what I had to say.

But I can certainly say I didn't foresee Idris falling into a heap of laughter on the floor, his drunk laughter enveloping the room, or Milena half naked with her upper body hanging from my bedroom window.

I knew that they had too much to drink; gods are terrible drunks.

That's why I packed for them, grabbing whatever I could; flashlights, rope, pen and paper, and my dagger.

I shoved ice cold water bottles in their hands and propped them in the backseat, making sure to strap them in tight. I could only wish that Thesis was here to bring back their sanity and then, just as quickly, unwish it at the memory of our kiss.

Normally I'd wait but there isn't much time.

The drive to the opposite side of town, where the redwoods grow as tall as towers and the briny smell of the ocean rakes it's long fingers through, air is a good hour and half. My inebriated friends sleep the whole way, only waking up momentarily to comment on the color of the sky or threaten to puke along Milena's polyester seats.

Its the hike through the forest not laden with satin coral cloaks and blue-fire torches that becomes difficult in the stalking twilight.

"I don't understand, Mercy." Idris groans. He wears his sleeves like paws, eyes on the ground in order to keep himself upright. I feel terrible for dragging him through the forest in the dead of the night because he's adorable when he sleeps, I must admit.

Milena on the other hand, is not at any point of the day. There's a kindling spark in her eyes, burning away any intoxication that stood in her way before. It's like the plants part for her, her heat weilded like a blade against the foilage. She clears the way for Idris who tugs on the bag of her shirt like lost child.

"Explain." Mercy grumbles. Even half sober she's as persistent as the goddess has built her.

It's hard to focus on the darkness that pervades us when my mind is going a thousand miles per hour. All at once I'm stumbling, leaves snapping against my skin, branches cracking with every step.

I follow the crescent pink moon between the blurring canopies because it knows the way.

"I already told you." I yell back.

The crashing of the falls tells me that we're close. Close enough to hear the gurgling stream as it runs beside us and the symphony of crickets in the underbrush. When the fireflies emerge in their glowing forms we'll be standing at the mouth of the cave.

"You said that Thesis kissed you and that she was escaping to the other side if the veil tonight. But that does not explain why we're trampling through the redwoods toward the catacombs." Milena huffs.

I feel her curl her fingers around my jacket, pulling me to a stop. "Tell me," she says.

"Okay, okay." My feet skid right before the dirt turns into stone. A warm wind wraps itself around my torso at the onset of torch flames. "I just...figured it out."

"Figured what out?" Idris slurs. He stops to squat at a patch of bright red mushrooms, cheeks aflame. "I'm so thirsty."

"I've been thinking, about the old gods. How they used to do sacrifices." My hands move with a mind of their own as I attempt to explain. "And...and I remember Mrs. Delacroix said something once about how the old gods would mark their victims months--even days--before the sacrifice. But then they stopped because the humans found it barbaric like...branding cattle. Only, they never really stopped. It just became forgotten, cliche. Then there's something about the threefold death. The mortician said something about how Harper's death was unique. Not only was his heart ripped out, but his head was bashed in, strangled. It makes me think... if things come in threes...then why was Thesis wearing a Valknut around her neck?"