Chapter Twelve
Two days without Adin. He’d been such a regular presence in Legacy’s life that she felt a little lost. At least she had to work this morning. It’d make day number one go by faster. She had no idea what she would do on Friday. Adin would be back that night, but he expected to be in really late, too late to come over.
Last night, she’d dreamed her familiar dreams of storms, snakes, tornados, but Adin was in this dream again. He’d told her to be careful like last time. She assumed his appearance was due to her spending all day with him the day before. Plus, he was gone to his dad’s. The girl wasn’t in her dream, so she couldn’t ask any questions about what everything meant.
She’d woken up to rain—but not storms. The day felt dreary. She guessed Ms. Gorgos wasn’t looking forward to her working today. That was fine with her. She didn’t feel like being in a good mood anyway.
While she got ready for work, she thought about Adin and his dad. She wondered if his dad would accept Adin’s reasons for staying here, or if he’d keep trying to persuade him to transfer to the university out there. Thinking about that only made her more miserable, so she tried not to think about it…much.
At work, the dreariness continued. Everyone was in a somber mood, and the rain drizzled all day. She and Yale took turns working the cash register while they both worked on inventory. River was there, but he wasn’t really working. He’d been running errands for his mom. Legacy figured Ms. Gorgos intentionally kept him out of the store as much as she could since she was scheduled to work today.
Whenever River was in the store, he smiled at her, but it felt forced. His mood was also sad, but it was as if he were only smiling at her in an effort to lift her out of her bad mood. She knew he wondered why she was feeling down, and she was so wrapped up in her own sad feelings that she didn’t really think about why he was moping.
While River was out on one of his errands, Ms. Gorgos came out into the lobby.
“Ladies, I need to run to the bank. I was trying to wait for the rain to stop, but I can’t wait any more. I should be back in about an hour.”
She seemed pleasant. If Legacy hadn’t known any better, she wouldn’t think there was anything wrong with the woman. She was sure that Yale thought Ms. Gorgos was the nicest woman in the world.
About ten minutes after Ms. Gorgos left, River came back. “Where’s my mom?” he asked Yale since she was at the register. “Her car is gone.”
“She went to the bank. Said she’d be back in about an hour.”
Legacy heard their conversation, but she wasn’t really paying attention. She had her back to them as she organized the magazines on the display rack for the hundredth time today. Even though she was doing the task, her mind was on Adin. She was trying to think of good feelings—his touch, their dates, the flowers… anything but why he was gone. She was so absorbed that she hadn’t heard River walk up behind her.
“Legacy, can I talk to you?” he asked, startling her.
She turned around to face him. “Sure,” she said, and followed him into the break room.
Once they were alone, River turned to face her. “What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?” she stalled. She knew she looked sad, but she really didn’t want to tell him why. He was sad already and hearing her talk about Adin would probably make that worse.
“I can tell something’s bothering you.”
“Well, you don’t look very enthused today either.”
“I’m not, but we’re not talking about me.”
“I’ll tell you why I’m sad if you tell me what’s wrong with you first.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised to keep this on a friendship level.”
“What does that mean?” she asked as she folded her arms.
“It means that I’m sad for reasons you don’t want to hear about.”
That response only irritated her. Now, she really didn’t care if he knew the reason why she was sad.
“Fine,” she snapped. “I’m sad because Adin is out of town, and I miss him.”
River flinched like her words physically slapped him. He grabbed the back of the chair he was standing behind to brace himself. He then took a deep breath and looked her calmly in the eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?” He was serious, though she could tell he didn’t want to know. He only asked because he wanted her to feel better, so she started to feel guilty for hurting his feelings.
“Not really,” she answered politely, sitting down in the chair beside her. She really didn’t want to talk about it. It wouldn’t make her feel better, and she knew it wouldn’t make River feel better either.
“Are you sure? You know you can talk to me about anything,” he said as he sat down.
“And you said you couldn’t deny me anything, yet you won’t tell me what’s bothering you.”
“That’s because I know you don’t want to hear about it,” he said, shutting his eyes and shaking his head.
“But if we’re friends, we should be able to speak freely about things,” she said, leaning toward him.
“Okay, if I tell you what’s bothering me, will you promise to talk to me about your feelings? I know I’m the reason why you don’t want to talk about it, and I don’t want you to worry about that.”
“Fine.”
“I-I’m…” River paused and looked down at the table. “I’m sad because you’re sad.”
“You were already down when I saw you.”
“I heard you come in, and I could tell from your tone that you were upset. I knew my mom planned on keeping me out of the store, so I wouldn’t get a chance to talk to you. Not being able to console you made me feel even worse.”
At least he was honest. Now, it was her turn. “Adin’s dad is moving to Texas, and he wants Adin to go to school out there. Adin’s visiting him now.”
“Oh.” She was sure River liked this news, but he didn’t show any happiness. “When will he be back?”
“Tomorrow night.”
She could see the curiosity building in his eyes. “Is he…um…where is Adin going to school?”
“He’s going to school here,” she said, looking River straight in the eyes. “But his dad registered him out there too.” She shrugged.
“Do you think his dad will persuade him?”
“No.” But for some reason, her voice didn’t sound as sure as she was.
“I see.”
“I just miss him, that’s all.” She tried to sound nonchalant.
“I understand. It’s hard going a couple of days without seeing that special someone,” he murmured, and she knew he wasn’t talking about her not seeing Adin.
She stood up. “I should get back to work.”
“No. Wait,” River said as he got out of his chair and grabbed her arm.
She turned around to face him. “What?”
He stared at her without saying anything, and she heard his breathing accelerate.
“I can’t do this right now,” she whispered to him.
He dropped her arm. “I’m sorry. I’m trying. It may not seem like it to you, but really, I am. I’ll get better at this. I promise.”
“I’m sorry this is so difficult for you. I really do like you being my friend.”
“You don’t know how much that means to me,” River whispered.
“I need to get back in the lobby before your mom gets here.”
He let her escape to the lobby, though a haven it was not. She worked the rest of her shift in the same mood she’d started it in and went straight home after she got off of work. She went to bed as soon as she could without it being too obvious she was a little depressed.
That night, she had another dream. It had some of the same characteristics as previous ones, but instead of actual snakes, she saw the three snake holes again, which she was standing in the middle of. It still had a storm brewing, and she knew a tornado was inevitable. But other than the similar
things she dreamed about before, this dream was different. She wasn’t running from the tornado. She was standing under the storm clouds waiting for the tornado to form. She wasn’t scared of it. She wanted it to come. She needed it to come.
She saw the same girl as before, but she was across the field. She watched her in horror as she stood under the storm clouds. She started to run toward Legacy, and she turned to face the girl. She extended her arm in her direction with her palm out.
“No.” Legacy didn’t yell. She said it calmly, but with finality.
The girl rocked back on her heels. She wanted to come to Legacy, but her order stopped her in her tracks.
Legacy knew she was dreaming, and she knew she wanted to ask her questions the next time she dreamed about her. But in this moment, it didn’t matter. She didn’t need her answers because she was aware of all the answers. Her conscious self didn’t know, but her mind knew.
She looked back at the clouds, waiting for the tornado to form, and the girl screamed.
Legacy looked at her, and she was crying. “You have to run!” she screamed. “It’s coming for you!”
“No!” Legacy yelled to her so forcefully that the ground shook below her feet. Her eyes shot up to the sky, and she yelled, “No!” again.
The black storm clouds faded to a light gray color and parted, forming a circle of beautiful blue sky. A voice, a female voice, spoke.
“You have no choice.” It was so soothing that it felt like a trap.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“I’m everything. I’m everywhere. You can’t stop me. You have no choice.”
Then the storm clouds went furiously black again, and she woke up.
It was early in the morning, and she knew Lissa would still be here. She decided it was time to come clean with her. She wanted to tell her about the dreams she was having and maybe even tell her about everything else. If Lissa knew what Legacy knew, maybe she’d tell her more about what was going on.
She ran downstairs and to the kitchen where her guardian was eating breakfast.
“Legacy? What are you doing up already?”
“I had a dream. I’ve been having weird dreams ever since you told me about my mom.”
Lissa looked away.
“You said my mom would be contacting me, but you didn’t know when or how.” She paused. “I think she’s contacting me through my dreams.”
“Legacy, that’s absurd,” she said, shaking her head, but she sounded panicked.
“I don’t think it is.” Legacy ground her teeth, unable to hold back her hurt. “You’re a priestess, aren’t you? All the priestesses have the title of Melissae, which has to be where your name came from. I can’t believe you never told me you were on the family payroll.”
She shook her head, but not as an answer, as in disbelief. “It’s not like that—”
“My heritage is linked to Zeus. That’s why you’re here—why I was left with you. Why focus on telling me about my mother and not my father?”
Lissa gaped at her. “How do you know all this?”
“I figured it out,” she lied.
“How? Your dreams?”
“Yes.” River had helped more, but the dreams had been helpful too. “I feel like I’m on the verge of learning something, like I know all the answers in my dreams, but they don’t stay with me while I’m awake.”
“Look, I am not on the payroll as you say. But I cannot discuss Zeus with you. Don’t look at me like that. He is the ruler of all the gods. Let’s just say any discussion about him is above my pay grade. Regardless of what you’re thinking right now, I do love you, and I’ll help you in any way I can, but he is off limits.” When Legacy gave her a dubious look, Lissa went on. “All I can say is I’m sorry. Nothing I do or don’t tell you isn’t out of malice.”
Legacy sighed. Lissa looked sincere and she couldn’t help but believe her.
“How have you been feeling?” Lissa asked when the tension eased. “Anything strange going on?”
“Er.” Sad that Adin was gone and hopeful he’d give her a big kiss when he returned. But Legacy was certain Lissa was being more specific about feelings. “I don’t really feel any different. There’ve been a couple of times I’d gotten an eerie feeling, like being watched or something.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?” Any expression Lissa had quickly morphed into concern.
Uh-oh. She’d have to confess about her little snooping expedition. “Well, okay, don’t get mad.” Legacy lifted her hands in surrender. She was totally toast after this. Could a pre-goddess be grounded? “After you told me about Mom, I did some snooping around. In your room. I’m sorry. I know it was wrong, but I found a box under your bed. I had trouble opening it.” Oh gods, was she blushing? “But when it popped open, I felt a strange breeze and had a sense of…I don’t know…foreboding? I guess.”
Lissa jumped up from the table and ran into her room. Legacy was right on her heels. She looked under the bed and then looked back at her.
“There’s nothing here,” she said.
Legacy dropped to her knees, looked. And saw nothing. Lissa was right.
“Where did you put it?” Legacy demanded.
“Legacy, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I did not have a box under my bed. What did it look like?”
“It was a wooden box. It had some word carved at the bottom of it on the inside. Elpis, I think.”
Lissa gasped. “Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no.” She started pacing and chewing on her fingernails.
“I take it that means something.”
Lissa glanced at her quickly as she continued to create tracks in the rug.
“Do you think my mom had something to do with it?”
“I-I don’t know.”
Legacy wasn’t sure she believed her. Maybe she should tell Lissa more. Like about the prophecy, but she felt as if she needed to protect River for some reason.
“Hmm…It could have just as easily been a trick. You have to tell me everything you’ve experienced. I need to make sure someone isn’t interfering with your change.”
“What do you know?” Legacy asked, using this new leverage to gain more information.
“This isn’t a game, Legacy.”
“Then quit toying with me. I get the feeling you’re purposely keeping things from me. For all I know you could’ve been the one who set this whole mess into motion by telling me.”
“I know you’re confused.” Lissa sighed. “I’m sorry. I need to discuss this new development with, er, some people.” And then Lissa left with Legacy staring after her.
What the hell did her change have to do with a wooden box?
Well, if Lissa was off to get answers, Legacy was going to run to her source.
She didn’t want to call him from the house phone, so she grabbed her cell phone and ran outside before calling River, not sure if the mysterious box or whatever force had shown it to her had some kind of listening powers.
“Hello?” River asked on the other end.
“Hey, it’s Legacy.”
“Um, hi.” He sounded distracted. “What’s up?”
“Can you talk right now?”
“No,” he said casually. She assumed he was in earshot of his nosey mother.
“Is your mom around?”
“Yes,” he said just as indifferently.
Crap. That meant he definitely couldn’t talk. She wondered if he could get away from the apparent wretched hag.
“Can we meet later?”
“Sure. I’m getting ready to leave now to go play football at the park.”
“Can we meet there?”
“Yes.”
Sweet. “I’ll see you at the field.”
“No. I can’t do that.”
What was he trying to say? “Do you want to meet somewhere else?”
“That’s it,” he agreed.
“How about behind the rocket slide?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“I’m heading that way now,” she said.
“Okay, bye.”
She jumped in her car and went straight to the rendezvous point. River was already there, dressed for playing football.
“Hi,” she said to him as she walked up.
“Hey, sorry about that. I didn’t want Mom to think I was talking to you.”
“That’s fine.”
“I saved your number under an assumed name, so I’ll know it’s you when you call again and can make sure I’m away from my mom next time.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you came.”
“Of course,” he said softly.
“So are you really here to play football?”
“Not anymore.” He smiled. “I was supposed to, but I sent texts to the other guys and cancelled after you called. I didn’t want to meet you at the field since they’re still playing.”
“Oh.” She felt bad for taking him away from his plans. “We could have met later.”
“Don’t be silly. You need to talk, and I want to be here for you.” He was sincere, but he was keeping it friendly.
They walked behind the slide to a picnic table away from where the neighborhood kids were playing.
“So what do you want to talk about?” he asked after they both sat down.
“I was talking to Lissa earlier and she asked me if I’ve experienced anything out of the ordinary. I told her about sneaking around in her room and opening a box under her bed.”
River chuckled. “If there was some kind of personal toy in it, I don’t want to know about it.” Then he paused and smiled crookedly at her. “Unless you are curious as to why a woman would have—”
“Ew. Gross. No.” She shook her head. “That’s just it, though. There was nothing in it. I told her I got a weird sensation when I opened it. It had a bunch of carvings on the outside, but on the inside there was just Elpis carved at the bottom. She freaked and left.
The smirk on River’s face slowly fell, and his expressions turned blank. “I’m sorry. Did you say Elpis?
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, why? What does it mean?”
River cursed under his breath and shut his eyes. “Literally,” he started, “it means hope.”
“Um, okay. So what’s the big deal? Hope is a good thing, right?”
“Technically, yes.”
“Okay, stop with the literally and technically crap and spit it out!”
River’s fists slammed onto the table, making her jump. “Give me a minute,” he gritted through his teeth. He rubbed his forehead for several seconds while she waited, not-so-patiently, but quietly. “Sorry,” he sighed, then opened his eyes. “I’ve still been researching about your family, and this kinda confirms one of my theories. According to one of the myths, Zeus created a woman named Anesidora and he’d given her a beautiful container she was never to open. Her curiosity got the best of her. When she opened it, the evil contained within spread across the earth. She quickly closed it, but the only thing left in the box was the spirit of hope.
“And you think this container was the one I found under Lissa’s bed?”
River nodded slowly.
“Um, okay, but what does Anesidora have to do with my family?”
“There are some versions of myths that connect Gaia by way of Demeter to Anesidora. Some say they are the same person, just different interpretations.”
“Hmm…and my mother’s name is Dora. That’s a very good guess.”
River looked grim. “That’s not all. Anesidora has another name she is sometimes referred to.” He looked directly into her eyes. “Some call her Pandora.”
“Pandora?” She gasped. “Pandora’s Box?” As in the Pandora’s Box? The symbol of actions that may seem minor but end up having major consequences. No way. “Are you telling me I opened Pandora’s Box?”
“Yes.”
“It actually exists? I just thought that was—”
“A myth?” River smirked. “Isn’t that what we’ve been dealing with, darlin’?”
He had a point. Then she frowned. “What does it mean?”
River’s jaw ticked. “That we’re in some serious trouble.”
Why couldn’t changing into a goddess be easy?