TWENTY-ONE
I never found myself being shaken by another female until I met Astraea. Now as I stand across from Samr, I couldn’t stop my mouth from opening and closing. She was extremely beautiful, and had an aura about her that seemed to bring a sense of calm. Butterflies that I hadn’t noticed when we first arrived, floated around her, one even landed on her shoulder. Her black hair fell straight down her back as it blew softly. There wasn’t any wind blowing, and yet her hair was moving. She had an oval shaped face and cat shaped eyes with pupils the color of forest green. Around her neck she wore a necklace that was the shape of a sun but the color was white. It was the same whiteness that I’d often seen in my moonstone ring. On the sides of it were two blue crescent moons. My eyes left her neck and traveled to her outstretched hand. I was afraid to touch her. Not because I thought she would harm me, but that I would taint her skin.
She seemed to hear my thoughts as she laughed. Birds nearby chirped at the sound. “You do not have to touch my hand if you do not wish to.”
I gave a crooked smile as I moved around. I darted a glance back at the cabin, but the stone was back in place leaving the two of us alone in silence. I glanced back at Samr. “I’ve been waiting to meet with you.”
“I know. I’ve been waiting to meet you as well. I would have shown myself to you earlier, but you were not ready.”
“And I am now?”
“Yes, I think you are.”
Samr turned and headed towards a boulder sitting on the side of the cabin. She climbed upon it and sat down. Her head leaned back as she stared at the sky. “I’ve always loved the color that was chosen for your world. It’s an interesting color. Do you know what it means?” I shook my head no. “The color purple is of good judgment. It’s supposed to give you a peace of mind. It symbolizes royalty, magic, power, and mystery.”
“The Creator should have just painted our sky black. It seems more fitting than purple.”
“I think it fits.”
“You do.” I asked. I moved closer to her taking slow precaution steps. “You don’t think that black would be a good color for Creatures of the Damned.”
“If you were judging from a mortal perspective than yes. Mortals believe your world to be filled with demons that do nothing but torture souls every day without stopping. They do not know that you have minds and ambitions of your own. Your world lives by that of the King, who despite his reactions, has good judgment when it comes to his world and creating a flowing civilization. Your world possesses magic and power that may be dark but sometimes can also be beautiful. Because the mortals do not know this, your world remains a mystery. It is why the Creator chose this color for your world. Black would have been too harsh and untrue.”
“I guess I never seen it that way.”
“Creatures of their world never seem to do. Do you think the mortals see anything beyond their blue sky? They just see it as pretty.” Samr laughed. “I find them to be a cute kind. They are lost, but they are still cute, and they are special to me.”
I had a feeling that she was quizzing me on my feelings for mortals to see if I was up for the role of being the leader. If I said the wrong thing, she would probably turn me into dust and choose someone else to take my place.
“I would not do that to you Aristaeus. For one, your soul is the only soul of a Sacrilege. We do not have the time to wait for another one to be created and thrust into another infant child. Second, I do not expect you to have the same feelings that I do for the mortals. Your soul is mixed with your demon side, so there will always be a conflict of emotions to you when it comes to mortals.”
I picked up a rock and played with it in my hand. “Grethen told me that you created me to help stop the plague Eris plans to have her followers release in Pearu. I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I am happy you chose me. I just don’t understand what I am to do.”
“I want nothing more than for you to lead your people Aristaeus. When the plague reaches your world, there will be bloodshed and betrayal. Your people will become lost. You must not give up on them, even if they turn their backs against you.”
“Will many die?”
Samr answered with hesitation. “Yes. There are always casualties in war.”
I nodded and tossed the rock towards the woods. In four days my world will become a battle ground. I had no idea what this plague would bring, but I know it would cause casualties. It was up to me to stop them before they completely destroyed Pearu. I just hope I could convince my father of this much. He was a man that needed evidence before he acted. He didn’t get to where he was by trusting heresy.
“Grethen said that Eris was stronger than Zeus which was why he couldn’t kill her. Is she stronger than you as well?”
“She once was, but not anymore.” Samr said.
“So why can’t you take care of things? Why can’t you stop her from destroying our world completely?”
“It is not my mission Aristaeus. Every creature in this universe has a purpose. We lived to serve our creator and protect the gift that he has bestowed upon us. No matter what you’ve come to believe, this is not a free life. We all have our duties in keeping the universe safe from danger.”
“Will the other two leaders have to face a mission like mine?”
Samr stared off into the trees as a sad smile came to her lips. “Yes, and they will be far worse than yours. They will have to go through their own changes to reach a level where they can be confident in saving their people and their world. You will reach that level soon.”
“Will we ever meet? The other leaders and I?”
“That for now is uncertain. I can only see your future at the moment. Since they have not been created yet, I cannot see them.”
I walked over to the boulder to stand beside her. I wasn’t afraid to be near her anymore. The aura that she carried around with her had done its job in calming me fully. I pulled up on the boulder beside her. Together we both stared up at the purple sky. A flock of white birds flew overhead. From my seat I could see the broken leg of one of the birds as it wobbled in the air. Samr raised a finger towards the sky. The top of her finger began to shine as she pointed it at the wobbling bird. The bird dropped down as it broken leg began to stretch out. Completely fixed, the bird gave a cheerful chirp and flew happily to catch up with his flock. He was no longer flying behind them, but with them.
“How did you do that?” I asked in awe.
“Just one of my many gifts.”
Remembering the story Grethen told about her, I felt myself filling with questions I wanted to ask her. She seemed to sense this because she said. “You may ask me anything Aristaeus.”
“I don’t want to pry into your life.”
“I do not have secrets. I will tell you what you need to know.”
“Grethen said that Apollo cursed you. Were you angry with him?” I asked.
Samr raised a hand to catch a fallen leaf. Grasping it in her hand, she said. “No, I wasn’t angry. I was more so hurt. I guess I should have figured that he wouldn’t act rashly. Artemis was the one known for her temper, but Apollo could have a mean one too. I knew how he felt about me, and yet I could not return those feelings to him. I never meant to embarrass him. I never wanted to leave their world. I loved it.”
“But now you have your own world. I saw it in my dream, it’s beautiful.”
“Thank you Aristaeus, that really mean a lot to me.
The sky was beginning to take on a tint of darkness and I knew my father would be calling it night soon. Samr didn’t seem to mind this as she stretched out along the boulder. I tried to stretch my ears to hear inside of the cabin. I needed to make sure Dyos was okay alone with Grethen.
“Do not worry about Grethen.” Samr laughed. “He won’t harm your friend. Although I’m not sure if he’ll stay true to his calm if your friend continues to go through his things.”
I
frowned at that. Dyos didn’t go through someone’s things unless he was comfortable with them. I wondered what the demon had said to gain Dyos trust so soon. “Grethen seems to know a lot about you.”
“He is a good friend. I’ve known him since his days as a Reaper. Like you, he gained feelings towards the mortals. His feelings became so strong, that he begged for the Creator not to return him to the world of Pearu. He could not tolerate working for Eris any longer and knew she would not show mercy towards his sudden compassion. Grethen wanted to live in a world of peace. The Creator sent him to me, and I blessed him with that life. He has been with me since then.”
“Did Kithara want peace like Grethen too?” I asked. “Is that how you saved her?”
“Kithara wanted revenge instead of peace. It was because her feeling of sadness was so strong, that I was pulled towards her. I saved her and showed her that she could live with me in peace, but Kithara still hung on to that revenge. It was the true reason why she decided to help me in my mission. She had loyalty and she cared for me, but her thirst for revenge overrode that. But, on the last night of her life, she decided not to act on that revenge, and instead greeted death with a smile on her face. I felt a happiness that she’d found peace and knew that the Creator would have plans for her in whatever plain she ended up in.”
A tear rolled from Samr’s eye as I raised a hand to catch it. The crystal dropped landed on finger as it melted into my skin. Feeling as if I just betrayed Astraea, I moved my hand away and tucked it under me. I hoped that these were one of the times that Zeus kept her locked away. I couldn’t imagine how she would feel if she’d saw me comforting Samr, no matter how innocent it was.
“You love her.”
“Huh.” I said turning to Samr.
“Astraea. You love her. It’s okay to love her Samr.”
“I want to think that. But when I think of my world and the responsibilities I have, the love I have for her doesn’t seem to be worth it. I don’t want to betray my world and lead them to extinction because of my emotions.”
“Emotions are what have driven some of the greatest leaders Aristaeus. Do not give up on your love for her just because you are afraid of what your father thinks.”
I sighed. Samr was right. She’d seen right through me. I knew that the only person opinion that mattered to me when it came to Astraea was my father. For my whole life I’d been living to please him. Everything I did, it never seemed to please him. There were times I felt that I should give up and just be happy, but I knew I wouldn’t be happy until I could have my father’s approval.”
Samr jumped down from the boulder and turned to face me. “I should be going. I can’t be away from my world for too long. I don’t want to worry the ones I left behind.”
“You have creatures in your world.”
Samr laughed. “Of course I do. You honestly didn’t think that was alone in my world.”
I laughed and scratched my head. Staring at her, I realized that I wasn’t ready for her to leave. I still had so many questions that I wanted to ask her. We’d just met and the time had already gone by.
“This will not be the last time that we meet. Just keep in mind that I will always be with you. All you have to do is think of me, and I will show myself to you.”
“Okay.”
Samr walked off towards the direction she’d been standing in earlier. She came to a stop as she turned around to face me. “Aristaeus, I must ask that you not let anyone know that I was here. It could cause complications.”
“I won’t tell anyone.” I assured her. I didn’t think that anyone would believe me anyhow. No one in Pearu knew of Samr besides my father, Eris, and now Dyos. I knew Dyos wouldn’t let anything about her slip. She would have to remain a secret. “Samr, why does Eris want to kill you? How does she know you exist?”
Samr gave a sad smiled. “Because…I am her sister.”
I stared in shock as I tried to make sense of what she said. My father was right. “Her sister? I thought…I thought Artemis created you.”
“She did. The Creator accepted my plea for forgiveness and I was given a chance to be reborn as a God.”
“How did Eris find this out?”
“I made the fatal mistake of entering Pearu. I wanted to see her for myself. I guess it was my way of checking up on her. At that time, I had not been given any mission. She was in a carriage arriving in the countryside. As if a light had been turned on, she glanced through the window of the carriage and saw me hiding behind a tree. Shock went through her and then hatred. It was clear the Creator had forgiven me for my sins. It was then she decided she would kill me again. Only I disappeared before she could. She hasn’t seen me since, but she knows that I’m still out there. You’re proof of that.”
“Samr, are we going to win.”
Samr glanced down at the ground and back at me. Turning around she walked off into the forest and disappeared. The calmness that had accompanied her was now gone as I was left alone with the chill and silence.
“I still can’t believe you left me behind like that. Did you not forget you were in foreign land and we have a bunch of angry barters after us?” Dyos fussed. Grethen had decided to allow us to stay the night at his cabin. He would go to the marketplace in the morning in hopes to smooth things over for us with the barters. His cabin was a small place, but it would do. It was no bigger than my room at Belham. The thought of Belham made me think of Os’ mar. I still had no clue what the Gods had done with him.
“Aristaeus, are you even listening to me?”
I glanced up from the book I was reading. Grethen had a ton of good novels in his collection. I was surprised to find novels of the supernatural genre that I’d often see mortals reading. “I heard you Dyos so please stop complaining. I told you that I was sorry, but I had to meet with her alone.”
“And yet, she did not tell you how to stop the plague. What’s with Gods and their half missions?”
“Do not worry about my mission. What did you and Grethen talk about while I was gone? I heard you raffled through his things.”
“Who told you that? Did he tell you that?” Dyos said pointing towards the kitchen area where Grethen was making us dinner. I didn’t know what he was cooking, but it smelled delicious. I hadn’t eaten since earlier during my ride here to Arwid.
“I heard it from Samr.”
“Well isn’t she a nosey one.”
I sighed and gave a roll of my eyes. “Just tell me what the two of you were talking about.”
“The cure. I told him about your mother and the venom that was keeping her bedridden. He hadn’t heard of any such venom so he promised he would help us find it. I also hate to tell you this Aristaeus, but I think he was a bit sweet on your mother. When I told him that she was sick, he looked bizarre.”
“Maybe you saw wrong.”
“I saw right!” Dyos said pointing at himself. He placed the blanket Grethen had given him by the door. He would be sleeping by the door in case a situation arose. He tossed a pillow down on the homemade bed and made his way over to me. “The guy’s a bit strange, but he seems okay to trust. I don’t think we will have to worry much about him betraying us. I’m usually a good character of something like that.”
“Don’t I know it.” I turned my attention back to my book and became intrigue about a section in the book about a world called Gaia. The story was completely fiction, but it had hints of reality to it that seemed to intrigue me.
“Dinner is ready!” Grethen called from the kitchen.
Dyos hopped up from beside me and headed over toward the kitchen. I placed a piece of scrap parchment between the pages and carried the book with me over towards the kitchen. The table was covered in a red saucy meat that seemed to smell quite delicious. There were cut slices of bread on the table and a jar filled with berry sauce. Grethen placed two mugs on the table and filled them with the same seawee
d tea we’d been drinking earlier. Dyos shot me a look as to say he did not want any more of the demon’s black tea.
I hid a smile as I sat down in the chair beside Dyos. “Grethen, these are some interesting books that you have. They remind me of the ones I’d often seen in the mortal world.”
“Ha! The mortals wish they had novels as good as those. I got them from my time in Samr’s world. She has collections of books. She loves to read.”
“Seems like you have the burning love for her.”
Grethen shot Dyos a look that said he did not appreciate the comment. “My feelings are not like that for Samr, so please do not confuse yourself.”
“Whatever. What is this that you’ve prepared?” Dyos poked his meat with his utensil. “I smell a lot of spices.”
“You’ve never had nymph before? What are they feeding you guys in the City these days? Every demon has eaten nymph before.”
I scooped some of the nymph meat onto my utensil. There were pieces of chopped vegetables mixed within the sauce. As the spoon neared my mouth, the smell of spices became even more potent. I took a bite of the meat and immediately felt as if my mouth had been set on fire. If I was a mortal, I wouldn’t have been able to handle it. As it were, the taste was amazing. It made me feel warm.
“Good isn’t it.” Grethen said smiling. “It should be a law that all demons should eat this at least one day out of the week. You should take that into consideration when you become King.”
Dyos scoffed. “Aristaeus have better laws to enforce then spicy nymph. Lions meat.” He said pointing at me. “That should be a law. Prime meats are the best.”
I shook my head and laughed at them. The three of us conversed over dinner and for once I did not worry about the upcoming dangers or anything else. Dyos was right about Grethen’s character. The demon seemed to be someone we could trust and hopefully he would stay here as we go to battle. He seemed to enjoy Samr’s world, so he might decide to go back when the time comes. I wouldn’t blame him.
Grethen cleared up the dishes as Dyos headed off to use the bathroom. I walked over to the sink to help Grethen with the dishes.
“Dyos told me about your mother.” He placed a cup in the cabinet and grabbed another to wash. “We’re going to find a cure. It’s not like Kiowa to let something like this get her down.”
“Did you know my mother well?”
Grethen turned off the water and placed the last cup away. He wiped his hands off on a cloth and turned to me. “Let’s just say, your father did not deserve her.”
Giving me a smile he left me alone into the kitchen and left the room. Dyos appeared in the kitchen. “We better get some sleep. We got to head back tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
The two of us got comfortable in our homemade beds. As soon as Dyos head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. I moved around on the sofa trying to get comfortable.
Aristaeus.
I sat up on the sofa and stared around the room. This voice was not Samr, but it was familiar. Sliding on my boots, I made my way over towards the door. Making sure not to wake Dyos, I stepped over him and removed the stone. Closing the stone behind me, I turned to see someone I did not expect to see too soon. Zeus stood in the same spot Samr had occupied earlier, with Astraea at his side.