the effects of an actual dragon’s blood,” she explained.
“I didn’t even know that there were such things,” I admitted, watching as she quickly sewed the wound together over the herbal compress.
She glanced up at me for a moment before continuing. “They only grow in a few secluded areas of the pacific rim in the mortal world. They are worth their weight in gold when someone has a dragon injury. Thank the heavens I thought to bring a few.”
She gently finished wiping at Cadmus’ shoulder. “That should do it. The herbs will be absorbed into Cadmus’ bloodstream and then they’ll dissipate on their own. I’ll remove his stitches in a couple of weeks. I think he’ll be fine.”
“Thank you so much,” I told her quietly as I stroked the side of his bronzed face. Leaning in, I kissed him again. “You’ll be fine now,” I murmured against his lips. He smiled without opening his eyes.
Straightening, I focused on Hecate again. “Go on,” I prompted gently. “Tell me more about your daughter.”
She sat back with her fingers to her lips, staring past me into the night.
“Empusa,” she mused with an unreadable expression. Her face contained love, regret, sadness, despair and a haunting fragility. It was clear that whatever else, her daughter made this strong goddess vulnerable.
“It was her,” I whispered. “They threatened her, didn’t they?”
She looked away, blinking hard, before she continued.
“They made the offer, but it was her own father who accepted it. I’ll never forgive him for that. I’ve loved him for thousands of years, overlooking his faults, but this…this I will never forget. Mormo was cursed by Zeus long ago. In order to stay immortal, he had to drink from the blood of children. He hated it at first, but then, I think that he actually began to like it. His soul began to turn ugly. He hated that his immortality was contingent on something. He hated that he had to do anything. So, when Hades made him the offer… that he could exchange his daughter for true immortality, Mormo accepted.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was beyond devastated, but there wasn’t anything I could do. The deal was made and no matter how powerful my magic was, it was useless against Hades. Empusa was sent to the Underworld and not only was she imprisoned here, but she was cursed to be as Mormo was. My sweet, innocent child has been forced to drink blood to remain alive. She will be forever frozen at just seventeen and if she stops drinking mortal blood, she will die.”
Hecate’s voice was almost a whisper at this point, painful and thin.
“That isn’t the worst of it.”
My head snapped up as I waited for her to explain what could possibly be worse.
“I found out later that everything was because of me. Hades didn’t make the deal with Mormo because he liked Mormo or even because he truly wanted Empusa as one of his subjects. He made the deal because he needed leverage to use over me. He needed me to help overthrow the Olympians. He knew that Empusa was, and still is, the only thing that I would sacrifice anything for.
“He offered to reverse the bargain. He would send Mormo back to the Underworld and release my daughter if I helped him.”
I watched her helplessly as tears streaked down her face and she dropped her slender hands limply into her lap.
“So I did.”
She cried silently with her head bowed and I couldn’t restrain myself anymore. Yes, she had betrayed us all. But she had been placed in the most unimaginable of positions and I found that I could not hate her for that. Not only that, but I was fairly certain that I would have done the same thing.
I unfolded myself from Cadmus’ side and rushed to Hecate, wrapping my arms around her shoulders.
“Shhh, Hecate. It’s alright. You have done what any mother would do. I would have done the same.”
She stopped and looked up at me with watery, reddened eyes.
“Truly? I think not, Harmonia. You always have done the right thing. You would not have made such a mess.”
“I make messes all of the time,” I answered. “Look around you.”
“This is not of your making, Harmonia,” she sniffed. “We’re here because of my magic. I enabled the Fates and Hades to trick Zeus. Everything is my fault. And I have not told you the last thing. I do not deserve your sympathy, I assure you. After you found Zeus’ sword and I sheathed it for you, I offered incantations to try and roll back the Fates’ manipulations… to try and undo their effects on my daughter. That very thing caused your daughter to be taken away. It’s my fault.”
I stilled for a moment. I wanted to scream and rail, but it wouldn’t do any good. She hadn’t meant any harm. She had only been trying to save her daughter- something that I should understand very well. After a few minutes of deep breathing, I was able to speak.
“It is alright, Hecate. I do understand. I do not hold it against you.”
Confusion clouded my thoughts though, as I recalled my visions of Empusa.
“Hecate, I don’t understand one thing. If you upheld the bargain, why is Empusa here? I’ve seen her in visions- she asks for my help. And I know that she is with Raquel.”
Hecate froze, her gaze locked with mine. “Is she well?” she asked haltingly. “She has not appeared to me in quite some time. She doesn’t trust me anymore.”
“Why would she not trust you?” I asked uncertainly. “You have sacrificed everything for her.”
“She doesn’t trust anyone anymore,” she replied sadly. “That is why she is still here. Once she heard what I had done, she went into hiding here. Hades decreed that she must appear in front of him so that he could lift the curse, but she is too afraid, so the bargain that I made was nullified. She has heard of your prophecy and because of it, she is terrified. She is afraid that Hades will kill her as a pawn. And she feels certain that once Zeus is restored, he will condemn me… and her, as well. So, she is afraid that either way, she will be killed.
“She hides in the bowels of the Underworld, afraid to come out.”
A lump formed in my throat and I found it difficult to swallow.
“And what of Mormo?” I murmured hesitantly. “If Empusa is here, then is he still free?”
Hecate nodded slowly. “Since Em chose to stay here, Mormo is free to wander the mortal world at his will.”
The breath expelled from my lungs with a rush. How utterly unfair.
“Hecate, we will fix this,” I assured her. “Look!” I opened my hand, the purple flower shriveled on my palm.
“With a dead flower?” she asked dubiously.
“You doubt?” I asked. “Dead flowers healed Cadmus.”
She shrugged. “I’ll give you that, Chosen One. Tell me of this flower.”
“Yes, tell us of this flower,” Aphrodite interjected as she and Ares approached us from the shadows. “The story thus far has been fascinating, I will admit.” Her tone didn’t match her words. She was furious. I could tell from the tight way she was pressing her lips together.
I put out a hand.
“Mother, surely you can see how Hecate was coerced. She is a mother trying to protect her child. You of all people can understand that.”
“Of course I can!” Aphrodite exclaimed indignantly. “If it is the truth. But Hecate has already betrayed us once. Why would she tell us the truth about it now? Anyone who can back up her story is imprisoned somewhere. She wants us on her side, daughter. She will tell us anything. And you are too trusting.”
“I’ve spoken the truth,” Hecate insisted. “I have nothing to gain from lying now.”
“Nothing but gaining my sister’s cooperation,” Ortrera interrupted as she joined the group. “Aphrodite is right. Harmonia is too trusting by half.”
“Thanks,” I replied grumpily. “I am not too trusting. I choose to see good in people, as you should, too. I believe Hecate. I do. And I know that at least one thing is true. Empusa is definitely here in the Underworld. I’ve seen her in my visions. She has Raquel.”
At our daughter’s name,
Cadmus opened his weary eyes.
“Where are they, wife? And is she safe with Empusa?”
“Of course she is safe!” Hecate replied quickly. “Empusa would never hurt her. She is probably trying to help.”
“I do think that is correct,” I answered calmly. “Empusa seems to be helping Raquel. She wants us to hurry and find them. She left this with me today.” I showed them the flower. “They are somewhere surrounded by fields of purple flowers. And I could smell the sea in the air.”
“I know of the place,” Hecate broke in excitedly. “There are vast fields of flowers just like these near the oceans of Elyria.”
Cadmus instantly opened his eyes and carefully sat up. Pulling off the wraps that had been placed around him, he stood. “Then we should go.”
He was determined, even though I knew he was still in pain. He was a warrior. He had always been a warrior. And I should have expected no less from him. A near-death experience would never slow him down- especially when his daughter was on the line. He held out his hand, large and strong, and I took it, turning to my parents.
“I know that you might not trust Hecate right now. And that’s understandable. But the fact is that her daughter is with mine—which means that we are traveling to the same place. Mother, can you put your reservations aside for now… for Raquel’s sake?”
Aphrodite sighed. “You know that I will do anything to help you.”
I stared at her for a moment. “And that is exactly my point. You would. And Hecate feels the same for Empusa. You should think on that.”
I turned to Cadmus. “Are you sure that you are up to it? You’re not completely healed. You still have stitches---“
He interrupted me firmly. “I’m ready.” He looked around us curiously, examining our surroundings. I saw his gaze pass over the crumbling building that we were in, the partially decomposed walls and watched as he registered the horrid wailing that came from outside.
“Where are we?” he asked, his forehead wrinkled. “And what is that infernal racket?”
“You don’t want to know,” I muttered, rubbing his arm. “The important thing is that we’re leaving here. And let us hope to never come back.”
“I hate to bring up an unpopular idea,” Ares mentioned, although his face didn’t reflect any hesitation at all. “But since we are already here, I think we should pay a visit to the Dungeon of the Damned on our way out.”
“And why would we do that?” Hecate demanded, her eyes snapping impatiently. “Empusa and Raquel are waiting. We must hurry.”
I quickly filled her in on what Ahmose had told me about Alexi and Eris… and how we thought that we could somehow use Alecto to our advantage. She nodded thoughtfully as I finished.
“That is a very good point. And don’t forget, we have allies here. Uther Pendragon is in Elysia, along with the other ancient chieftains. I’m sure they haven’t forgotten that we helped Arthur put Camelot to rights. And we also have a few heroes scattered about. Achilles comes to mind. I’m sure he would help us and there are more.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “We certainly are not alone. On our way out, let’s speak with Alecto and see where we stand with her. It is possible that once she finds out that Alexi’s soul is in the Keres’ box, she will work with us to bargain with the Keres. They have gotten what they wanted by imprisoning their sisters, the Fates, here. But perhaps they would further help us now.”
“It can’t hurt to talk with Alecto,” Hecate replied. “And we won’t lose much time. It is on our way.”
We separated to pack up and within minutes, we were traveling once again.
Ares tossed the helm of darkness to Cadmus.
“You should wear that- it will heal up your wound. Glad to have you back.”