“I just need to understand. I want to be there for you like you have been for me. We’re in this together.” His eyes searched mine and I could see the war playing out in his mind; trying to decide what divulge.
“Charon,” he whispered.
“What?”
“Do you know who Charon is?” he asked quietly. I nodded.
“He’s a god of the Underworld.”
“Right. All the Sons of Daimon are descended from him,” he added.
“Why aren’t you called the Sons of Charon?” I asked curiously.
“He’s been known by many different names, Charon being the most recent, but Daimon was the name he was given at birth.” He took a deep breath and continued, “Every five hundred years the Prime, or the leader of the Sons, steps down. But his successor has to be a direct descendent of Charon; a true Son. That successor becomes the new leader at the age of eighteen; as well as becoming immortal. Until then he’s referred to as…the Scion.” He paused as my eyes got wide, “Charon is my father, Stasia. I was Chosen to be the next Prime.”
A wide smile spread across my face as my heart filled with unabated pride. I leaned forward, smothering him in a hug.
“Oh, Finn! That’s incredible!” I exclaimed, but my excitement wasn’t reciprocated. I sat back and examined his face with consternation.
“It’s an amazing honor, but there are many sacrifices that a Prime must endure. You witnessed the first in your vision.” His features darkened and his eyes filled with sadness. “The Scion isn’t just appointed as Prime; he has to earn his place as leader. So, in order to become the Prime, on my eighteenth birthday I must kill the current Prime.” Understanding crept in to my heart, tearing in two.
“That means….” I couldn’t say the words I was thinking.
“I have to kill my own brother,” he finished for me, his voice oppressed with obligation and defeat.
“But….why?” I furrowed my brow. Would I be strong enough to be able to kill my own sibling in order to fulfill my destiny?
“All true Sons return to the Underworld to serve under Charon once they complete their time as Prime. But it’s also the first test of sacrifice for the new Prime. It’s been that way for thousands of years.”
“That’s what you’ve been practicing for…” the image of Finn on the ground in my vision flashed before my eyes, “but, what if he kills you first?”
“He’ll remain the Prime and my soul will be sent to serve under Charon in his place.” My heart froze in fear. That couldn’t happen. I couldn’t lose him.
“Your soul…” I exalted quietly.
“Since I’m a direct descendent of Charon, my soul already belongs to the Underworld. That’s the ‘darkness’ that you feel.” He held up air quotes and grinned at me with amusement. I couldn’t help but wonder once again what that meant about Nadia considering I could actually see her darkness, but I tried to push that thought out of my head.
“What other sacrifices will you have to make?” I asked; a sense of dread filling every fiber of my being. I couldn’t imagine how lonely it must be for him.
“My own sacrifices, I can handle. I’ve come to terms with my destiny,” he claimed with creed. “It’s the price the people I love would have to pay that I can’t bear.” The muscle in his jaw flexed with anger.
“What price do they have to pay?” I asked hesitantly.
“Stasia-“
“Here they are! I found them!” Phoebe was jogging up the beach towards us, followed by several other shadowy shapes resembling Ian, Willow, and Liam.
“Hey you guys!” she waved at us. Automatically thinking something was wrong, I jumped up and met her near the water’s edge.
“Is everything okay, Phoebs?” I asked her.
“Of course! We were getting worried about you guys. You’ve been gone for a long time.”
She gave me a hug and smiled at Finn, “Plus we got tired of listening to Ricker and Carmen fight. So we left Cage to deal with them and went for a little midnight walk!”
Deciding I’d been through enough for one night, we decided to give it another try tomorrow afternoon. If that went well, we’d try to contact Thetis later that night. I had to admit I was relieved, but I was quickly losing any faith that I would be able to pull this off.
*** Click….creeek….click….creeek… The cloak of night was still heavy on the world when I woke up with a start. Click….creeek….click… Trying not to wake Willow, I slid out of the covers and tiptoed over to the large bay window in our room. The sound was coming from the backyard; the gardens. From my vantage point, they were shaded in a light veil of dew, glistening in the moonlight.
Creeek…click…creeek…click… The sunshine-filled rooms of yesterday had morphed into something more dark and menacing as I made my way out into the hall, down the stairs, and towards the back deck. The hair on my arms lifted and I could feel my heart thumping faster against my chest. The image of the ghost’s blood-matted blonde hair and shredded skin flashed in my mind, and I almost ran back upstairs. I was probably just seeing things. Ghosts aren’t real and they definitely couldn’t hurt me if they were.
I peered out the window into the gardens beyond, when the sound of a door shutting upstairs had me clamping a hand over the scream that was trying to escape my mouth. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. Some Goddess I was - scared of a door shutting. I rolled my eyes at myself and stood up straight. I had nothing to be afraid of. As I reached for the door handle, I realized it was already ajar. I steeled myself and stepped out into the crisp night air. Click….creeek….click….
A rolling mist had set in and it swirled around the garden in a magical cadence. The savory fragrances of the flowers invaded my senses and the sound of the ocean rushed in my ears, submerging me in its fury; strengthening me. Although there were seven other people inside, I felt completely isolated. The world around me had come alive with energy. It pulsed in every flower, every leaf, and every blade of grass as I walked along the stone path. I sensed their acknowledgement of my presence as clearly as if they had spoken it aloud. The cool mist swirled and settled on my bare skin; initiating me into the ethereal world I had entered. Click….creeek…click….
Now I could tell the sound was coming from along the edge of the gardens, near the side of the house. I circled back, inching my way to the corner of the house. Click…creeek….click….
Holding my breath, I leaned forward to get a better view. Click…creeek….click… I leaned a little farther…and lost my balance.
Sprawled out on the grass, spitting dirt out of my mouth, I looked up into the surprised eyes of Carmen and Ricker. They were sitting (extremely close, by the way) in an old wooden swing, rocking back and forth. As it swung backwards again I heard the creeek of the chains and the click of the hook catching a bent chain link at the top. I scrambled back to my feet and a new wave of embarrassment hit me as I realized my thin shorts had moved much higher during my fall from grace; revealing one very bare cheek.
“Stasia? What are you doing?” Carmen asked; guilt and shame written all over her face.
“I, um, heard a noise and was trying to figure out what it was. But I found it. Along with… ya’ll,” I spit out clumsily. “So I’ll just…um…yea. Good night!” I took off back down the stone path, eager to put as much distance between myself and that awkward encounter as possible. I finally made it back to the fountain and perched on the side of it in an effort to collect myself. I could even feel the frenzy I had caused the plants in the garden with my little stunt. Slowly, the world went back to the calm of several minutes ago and so did my heart beat. I hopped off the fountain and started down the path towards the house when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Probably more terrifying shutting doors and swinging swings, I chuckled at myself, as I turned around to see what it was - and then froze mid-step.