“Except for one.” Zara’s tone darkened.
“Sacrifices are the decision of the willing,” Keto’s gaze turned piercing as she met Zara’s eyes. “There is no blood on my hands or Nadia’s.”
“I have a feeling the Furies will not see it that way,” Zara warned resolutely.
“No, I imagine not.” Keto shrugged. “That is not my concern, however. None of this is.
Especially not her.”
“Anastasia is young in years, but will be a great leader,” Zara countered. She was taking up for me?
“The Sirens are my only concern.” Keto crossed her arms in defiance and gazed out the window with a scowl.
“Come,” I heard shuffling as Zara spoke, “Allow me to show you something out in the garden.” Uh oh. In a flash I twisted the door knob and slipped back outside, already considering which tree I could hide behind. Before I could even make it to the grass, I fell down the two stone steps that led up to the door. Warm blood trickled down my arm and I reached up, just as pain pulsed up my shoulder. I crawled partly behind a bush, just as the two women walked outside. Something hard pressed against my butt and I wrenched the compass out of my back pocket. In the light I could see the face clearly. I laid down on my back and held it up to my eyes, just as I realized that one of the needles was pointing to what was clearly marked as ‘Up’.
I was suddenly back inside the cottage, presumably in the Present, lying on the couch. In an effort not to come unglued in front of everyone, I remained silent. I carefully and deliberately scanned the living room. A concerned Willow was sitting beside me, along with Finn.
“Where’s Zara?” I asked, not making any sudden movements in case my self-control up and ran away.
“She got called out for a disturbance on campus…something about two Tritons fighting over a Siren. Go figure,” Carmen rolled her eyes.
“Convenient,” I muttered. I spotted Dad sitting on the other couch, as I strained to pull myself upright and readjust the shirt that I had gotten twisted. That’s when I noticed the blood. I touched my arm gently to investigate how tender the cut still was. Yep, still tender.
“We’ve been trying to wake you up,” Willow explained as she began to clean the wound. “We didn’t think blood was a good sign at all.”
“I just…fell down some steps.” I shrugged and forced a smile to show them I was fine. “I’m such a klutz sometimes.” Finn grinned as Willow set to healing my cut with her hands. The tingling felt amazing, as it crawled up my arm and relieved the pain.
“You did great,” Finn grinned at me proudly. “Did you see what you were expecting?”
“Yes and no.” I smiled back at him and my heart warmed with love. I could tell that he knew something was off, but was refraining until I didn’t have an audience to analyze my every move. I was hoping that he couldn’t tell that I’d completely failed at directing my vision. I also needed time to digest what I had seen. I rubbed my temples as a headache started to come on. “I think I need to rest.”
“But I made dinner up at Zara’s house! Aren’t you hungry?” Willow frowned.
“Not really,” I answered, and my stomach promptly betrayed me by growling. Willow put her hands on her hips.
“You need food, whether you want it or not,” she scolded me.
“How about someone brings you a plate down?” Finn suggested, and I sent happy vibes toward him; wishing that I could just spend time with only him for a couple of days and forget about everything else that was happening. Unfortunately, avoiding death threats wasn’t an option.
“That would be wonderful,” I grinned at her sheepishly. At that, everyone began to gather their things and stood up to leave for Zara’s. I gave Dad a long hug and realized that I didn’t want to let him go - but I knew that I wasn’t the only one who needed rest. His eyes had sunken in and he’d become pale since I’d been in my vision. The last to leave were Carmen and Willow, who let it be known how worried they were about me. Finn put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head.
“The Sons will be right outside all night, so you’re completely safe here,” Finn reassured me.
“I was hoping you’d stay with me.” My request came out more desperate than I had intended, but I’d been hoping to tell him about my vision. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“I’ll be back first thing tomorrow morning,” he explained. The hesitancy and compassion in his deep blue eyes told me that he didn’t want to leave, anymore than I wanted him to. “My father has requested my presence for a meeting tonight. I can’t miss it.”
“It’s alright, I’ll probably just sleep all night anyway.” I tried to hide my disappointment, but I’m not sure I fooled anyone. At least this would give me some time to think and collect my thoughts.
“I’ll be back before the sun comes up, I promise,” he assured me with another kiss before reluctantly leaving the cottage.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Willow asked me, unconvinced.
“You know we can tell when that head of yours is about to pop off,” Carmen pressed with presumption.
I sighed and gave in easily to their interrogation, “My vision wasn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be. I’m just not sure Zara is who she claims to be, but I don’t know how to find out or if it even matters at this point.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I feel like I’ve got a million problems piling up and I’m being forced to pick and choose which ones to worry about.”
“Well, the most important problem right now is how to keep you alive,” Willow told me sternly. “Everything else can wait.”
“She’s right,” Carmen said. “You need to concentrate on your training, and figure out how to keep from getting whacked when Keto and Nadia come a-knocking.”
“You are not helping.” Willow cut her eyes at Carmen and then regarded me once again, “You do have one advantage, however.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Kick ass friends.” She smiled widely before continuing, “We’re about to eat up there, and Zara isn’t home yet. We’ll perform some reconnaissance work and report back.”
“Just be careful,” I warned them. “If she’s talking to Keto, we’re really playing with fire.”
“Keto?”
“In my vision, Keto had gone to Zara’s house to meet up and talk,” I explained, and their eyes grew wide. “So just be careful.”
“We will,” Carmen hugged me. “Now, you get some sleep. Doctor’s orders.”
Finally alone, I collapsed onto the couch and massaged my temples. I wondered if a person’s head really could pop off. It seemed feasible. I closed my eyes and laid back, hoping all the answers would magically appear in my thoughts. Instead, the world faded away as sleep took me hostage.
Chapter 36
The next time my eyes opened I had no idea how long I’d been sleeping on the couch, but there was a full plate of cold food on the coffee table in front of me. Either Willow couldn’t wake me up, or she had left me sleeping. I thought about re-heating the food, but decided against it; slinking back to the bedroom and climbing into bed. I rolled over onto my back and stared up at the ceiling.
Surprisingly, it stared back.
A solid line of at least fifty glow-in-the-dark stars of all sizes ran the length of the ceiling from window to wall. From there, it trailed down and disappeared into the closet. I switched on the small lamp on the bedside table and hopped out of bed; curiosity getting the best of me. I crossed the room and opened the door to a large walk-in closet that seemed to go on for miles. Blouses, pants, and dresses were stuffed on either side; not allowing room for much else.