All three priests nodded in unison as the Pegasus’ moved forward. I felt the horse beneath me quiver as she lifted into the air, her strong wings pulsing as she carried us higher. We sailed upward until we were several hundred feet in the air, flying among the clouds.
I titled my face back and allowed the wind to rush over me.
"What a delicious feeling, Ortrera!" I shouted above the noise. "You’re so fortunate to fly!"
She twisted around to give me an incredulous look.
"Harmonia, you are able to do whatever you wish. You don’t require a Pegasus."
I thought on that as we continued through the night. We were seemingly so close to the stars that I could touch them with cold, shaking hands. The altitude made me chilly and I shivered as I gazed at the stars. I leaned closer to Ortrera to share her body heat. I felt her smirk, but ignored it. The Amazon never showed weakness of any sort. Ortrera wouldn’t admit she was cold if her life depended on it.
We had flown for an hour before my fascination with flying dimmed and I began to chat about other things with my half-sister.
"What do you think will happen, Ortrera?" I asked hesitantly.
She shook her head.
"I have no way of knowing, sister. I wanted to take a trip to the old witches before I came to you to get their prophecy, but there was no time. We should stop on our way through. It could be helpful."
I thought on that for a second, of the old witches that lived in the cave on the edge of the Spiritlands. Their cloudy blue eyes were ageless and had always unnerved me with their sightless wisdom. It was said that they could see the future, that they breathed fear and ate pain. I had never doubted it.
"Perhaps, but I don’t wish to delay reaching Cadmus. Every moment he is with Eris is dangerous."
Ortrera nodded in agreement and we fell back into comfortable silence for awhile. It amazed me how I had been apart from her for so long, yet we were instantly comfortable with each other upon reuniting. Others were intimidated by her, but I had always stood in awe of her independence and strength. She was an incredible woman.
"What do you think of our father?" I murmured against her neck so that she could hear me.
There was a pause.
"I think that all hell will break loose when we release him from bond," she nodded in affirmation. "He will possess a fury unlike that ever seen. The Fates will tremble and then eventually they will fall. But we must focus on one step at a time, sister. We must recover Ares and Cadmus before we think ahead."
"They have used me as their plaything, Ortrera," I muttered angrily. "I have unwittingly kept my own mother imprisoned for centuries. Do you know the things I have encouraged her to do the pain that has been inflicted upon her at my counsel? It is atrocious. And they must pay."
That realization, the need for revenge, grew in my chest like a building wave. It was suddenly all I could think of as my thoughts were consumed by it. They had taken the last two thousand years from me. Over and over, I had lived lives of great sadness all at their whim, for their entertainment. Once I managed to free my father and Cadmus, then locate the other Olympic gods, they would most certainly pay.
Calm yourself, Harmonia.
Aphrodite’s voice resounded in my head as though she had murmured into my ear. I turned to find her staring at me pointedly, her silvery gaze tied to mine.
Put aside your thoughts for vengeance…for now. You cannot become consumed by it. It will accomplish nothing. Trust me, daughter, they will pay. None of this was your fault. You have nothing but love for me. I know that.
I nodded mutely, fascinated by the knowledge that like the priests, we could also communicate without speaking. Was there anything that we couldn’t do? Was it truly as easy as simply believing something was possible and then it simply was?
As the Pegasus descended in the sky, I stared below us at the vegetation beneath us. We were rapidly flying toward a bubbling spring leading up to a crashing waterfall. It was surrounded by beautiful, lush greenery. I concentrated and within a few seconds, the vivid green vines and leaves had all shriveled and died. I gasped. With my mind, I had killed it all. I quickly concentrated again, flexing the muscle of my mind, willing life to return. And suddenly, it was so. The greenery sprang back to life, the rich green hues spreading quickly throughout the vines until it was once again fresh and new.
I was astounded. The priests were right. Nothing was the same as it was for mortals. The trick was simply in opening my mind and using it. It was almost unfathomable.
The horses all landed lightly on their feet and stood still, barely even breathing hard as we dismounted. They were certainly as tough as their owners. As I approached the waterfall, I innately knew what we needed to do to enter the Spiritlands. Water was the key. You could only enter through water. I could feel the others falling into step behind me as I waded through the water of the spring and approached the waterfall. The water was crisp and clean and splattered onto my face as I stood still on the slippery, mossy rocks.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the waterfall. Instead of stepping straight into a wall of stone as one might have expected, the stone faded away and I emerged on the other side in the Spiritlands. I stood in a stream with the waterfall at my back now, splattering against my shoulder blades in fat droplets. But on this side, instead of water it was made from nectar. I bent slightly and scooped my cupped hand in the icy sweetness, bringing it to my mouth to drink.
The nectar of the gods. The lifeforce that kept us immortal. I felt it running down my chin, dripping onto my body but I didn’t care. I simply drank more of the wonderfully delicious liquid. There had never been anything like it in the history of the world. I glanced down and saw the blood stains running down my shirt and grimaced.
As the others appeared behind me, I concentrated on my clothing. I pictured myself standing in Harmonia’s traditional Greek clothing, a short, airy white shift that floated around my thighs like gossamer. It was corded around my ribcage in the empirical fashion. And of course, my bloodstone lay in its normal place against my chest. My jeans and bloody shirt were gone. One more step into the transformation of Harmonia.
I turned and found Jade similarly attired as Aphrodite. The Amazons looked on in approval as Jade knelt at the edge of the stream and drank from the nectar, as well.
"It is good to have you back," Ortrera observed. "I take comfort in it, sister. We will set things right. Come now, though. As I mentioned, we do not want to be out here once night falls."
I nodded and we once again mounted the horses. I shoved my long shift up around my thighs so that I could ride astride. Not ladylike, but it would have to do. The Pegasus’ once again fell into formation and we began our trek through the dangerous outer rim of the Spiritlands.
Before we had even traveled five minutes, a raven with sparkling ruby eyes landed on my shoulder. I should have been startled, but my tolerance for all things strange had been appropriately raised once we had crossed the boundaries of my home. Instead of shirking away, I stared into its scary eyes without flinching.
"Dear Harmonia, your return is greatly anticipated," it croaked with its sharp beak. "It is time to fulfill the prophecy to restore harmony and peace to Olympus."
I stared at the bird.
"What do you mean ‘the prophecy’?" I asked curiously. "I have not heard of such a thing."
"Of course you have not," it sounded slightly indignant. "The prophecy came to be after you left. But you are the one. The one who will save us all."
I felt my heart flutter a little. I was the one to save them all? Nothing like a little pressure. I grimaced and turned to Jade.
"Did you know of this?"
She shook her head. "No. But I am not surprised. It is in your very nature to bring peace.
Why wouldn’t it be you? Besides, it was your necklace they took in the first place. It is only right that you will right it."
For the first time since recovering my memories as a goddess, I felt apprehensive. I was a minor goddess. How in the world was I going to save all of the Olympic gods? I wasn’t sure I was capable. In fact, with the magnitude of that challenge staring me in the face, I felt pretty insignificant.
The raven fluttered off of my shoulder and flew away with a shriek. I watched it fly into the distance and disappear before I returned my gaze to the horizon.
The air here smelled like a heavily scented night garden. Freesia, moonflowers and primrose hung in the night like a curtain. I inhaled it, drawing in the fragrance and enjoying the taste in my mouth. I could taste the peace around me and I wondered how long that would last.
The night was so dark, so velvety that I felt as if it was tangible, as if I could breathe it in, as well. I felt it clinging to my skin and caressing my body like unseen hands.
The landscape around me was beautiful. Night-blooming flowers were everywhere as the moon hung brightly above us. It was larger than I had ever seen it in the mortal world, huge and yellowy-red. Sailors in the mortal world called it a blood moon. Much like everything else around me, it was beautiful and larger than life.
The horses nickered softly to each other as they walked through the knee-high waving wild-grass. They were nervous. I could feel it suddenly, a palpable force in the air around us.
Something was with us. The horses knew it too. I scanned the darkness, but even with my enhanced vision, I could see nothing. My gaze flew to Aphrodite’s face.
"No," she sighed. "I see nothing."
Goosebumps formed on my arms and the hair on the nape of my neck raised in anticipation. Something was wrong. We were not alone.
Suddenly, a blackness so absolute that it almost blocked the light of the moon, appeared in front of us. Ortrera’s horse reared up on its hind legs and I clung to Ortrera’s back as she soothed her terrified mare. The horse quickly regained composure and stood at attention, the occasional flick of her ear the only sign of her distress. She was well trained.
The darkness became more and more visible, until it formed into the shape of a large black dog, then split into three then morphed into three women. The witches. Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, plus Circes and Medea. They lived in a cave on the outskirts of the Spiritlands, a cave which contained a direct connection to the Underworld.
They stood in front of us now, two of them dressed in long sweeping gowns of gray and black and straggly hair. They appeared as old, stooped women, their faces etched with wrinkles, their eyes cloudy and sightless. Yet they still followed our movement with uncanny precision. As always, they unnerved me. Hecate, however, appeared as a beautiful young woman. Her crimson gown was tight in the bodice and her full br**sts spilled over the top. Her plump red lips parted, then spoke.
"Harmonia Aphrodite," she murmured. "You did not trouble yourselves to stop as you passed. That was a mistake. We know what you need."
I hesitated.
"What do we need, witch?" I asked.
She tossed a tiny bundle to me, a little bag tied with string. I caught it easily and examined it. It had a putrid odor rising from it and I didn’t even want to think about what it might be.
"What is this?" I questioned. "And why do we need it?"