Fruit of Misfortune (32 page)

I
squinted at the intense light shining down on me. It took a moment
for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. I looked around. I was at
the steps of a large white building with columns that seemed to
touch the sky. Vines and flowers curled around the walls and
pillars. The wooden doors were wide open. I took each step up with
hesitance. What was this place? I stood at the doorway, and looked
in.

A fire pit was burning in the center of the
enormous room. Two chairs were placed at the far end: one was a
pale gold color, the other looked like it was made of sticks and
clay.

“Hello?” I said.

“Hello,” a deep voice came from behind me,
and I jumped.

I turned and looked back. No one was
there.

“Hello?” I said a second time.

A man appeared from behind one of the
columns. The frock he wore looked like an old burlap sack of
potatoes fastened at the waist with a leather belt.

“Where am I?” I asked.

“You’re lost. You’ve been lost for some
time.” He stepped toward me, and I took a step back. “You don’t
have to be frightened.”

“Who are you?”

“A friend.”

“I’ve never seen you before.”

“You don’t remember me, but I remember you.
You were,” he held up his thumb and forefinger, “a tiny little
thing when I met you.” He lowered himself to the first step and sat
down. “The instant I saw you, I knew who you were. I knew
what
you were.”

“A monster?”

“A magnificent catalyst.” He raised his blue
eyes to look at me. “And a marker of hope.”

“Right. I’m neither of those.”

“For someone that’s searching for answers, I
thought you’d be more willing to listen. After all, that’s what
you’ve been seeking, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” I stepped closer to him. “I need to
know how to stop the monster inside me from taking over. Do you
know how to do that?”

“Don’t fight it. Embrace it. You weren’t born
a monster. The human side of you is far stronger than the beast.
What you deem your flaw is essentially your strength. You must
learn to control it—tame it.”

I sat down next to him.

“But I don’t know how to do that.”

“Then you’ll have to learn.”

“What if I can’t do it? What if I can’t
control the monster?”

“You have to believe that you can. Or else,
many will die.”

“People have already died because of me. I
don’t want any of this. I don’t want the monster.”

“If you don’t accept your purpose, they’ll
all perish.”

“Who will?”

“Mankind.”

“I’m not cut out to handle something like
this. I’m no one.”

“Everyone is someone. And you’re the one that
triggers man’s next step in evolution,” he said. “No. They’re not
turning into beasts.”

“Then what?”

“They will evolve into a humankind more
capable of loving and caring. They’ll become more advanced
intellectually and physically. It’ll take many years, but the world
as you know it will change. Wars will end. Violence will be no
more. The starved will eat. The homeless will have shelter.”

“So the world becomes an ideal place because
of me? I don’t understand. What exactly am I supposed to do to make
this happen?”

“A battle will rage for the seed that’s been
planted. Fight for faith, and hope will be born. That’s how the
evolution of man begins.”

“Could you simplify that for me?”

“You’ll understand soon enough.” He stood,
and I did the same. “You have to go now.”

“Where?”

“Back.” He picked a flower from a vine and
handed it to me. “Life is a gift. Remember that.” He walked toward
the open doors of the building and paused. “Tell Erosmus that his
father sends his regards.”

“Who?” I blinked, and he was gone.

***

Indistinct whispers danced on my ears. My
eyelids were heavy, my vision blurred. Two silhouettes stood in the
distance. I made an attempt to sit up, but something was weighing
me down.

“She’s awake,” I heard Galilea say. “Enoch,
she’s awake.”

Galilea’s head hovered over mine.

“Where are we?” I sounded hoarse.

“I brought you to get your answers, like I
promised.”

“How did we get here? What happened?”

“You don’t remember?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be asking.”

“We went to Carboné’s house. Do you remember
that?”

Pictures of stairs and doors flashed in my
head.

“There was a cellar,” I said. “Nyx was crying
and—” I gasped. “Where’s David? Did we get him out of there? Did we
get the file?”

Galilea took a deep ragged breath. “We didn’t
get the file back from Carboné.”

“Galilea, tell me what happened to David.
Tell me
.”

“Before I say anything, I have to show you
something.” She turned around. “Enoch, will you bring them?”

I heard footsteps walking to the bed I was
lying on. I saw the man that Galilea had called Enoch pulling a
large bulk behind him. He had white hair and wrinkled skin.

“Set them over there.” Galilea jerked her
chin, then looked back at me. “Let me help you out of this
restraint. We only put you in it as a precaution.”

“Is he dead?” I asked as she fiddled with the
straps. “Galilea, I have to know.”

“I’ll answer you in a second.” She threw the
white jacket aside. “Ready?” she asked, and I nodded. “Don’t freak
out.” She moved aside. “This is what happened.”

Two people were lying on the floor, side by
side, covered with a blanket from the shoulders down.

“Did I kill them?” I asked in alarm.

“No,” Galilea said. “It’s not what you think.
Take a closer look.”

I set one foot on the floor, and Enoch took
my arm. I looked down at myself and discovered I was dressed in
what resembled a white hospital gown.

“Go ahead,” Enoch said. “Look.”

I took two steps and stopped to glance back
at Galilea. She nodded once as a signal to keep going. I took a few
more steps and stopped. I stared at the floor in horror. My face
was on one of the bodies. The face next to mine was David’s.

“It’s just skin,” Enoch said, before I could
voice my question.

“But how—”

“After you drank the narcotic and blacked
out, Nyx and I needed to get you and David out of Carboné’s house
fast, before my block depleted.” Galilea sat on the bed. “When Nyx
lifted David’s head, she realized that something was wrong—it was
too light. It was hollow. We didn’t know what to make of it. We
hauled your bodies to the car.

After we arrived here, you began writhing.
Then we saw your back tear open and you slid out covered in a
sticky film—nude and bald.”

I touched my head. In place of my long hair
was a layer of fuzz. I stood mute, trying to grasp what Galilea had
just told me.

“Is this it?” I said at last. “Is my
transformation complete?”

Galilea shrugged. “Beats me.”

I looked down at the human pupa at my
feet.

“What happened to David?” I asked. “Is he
alright?”

“He’s fine. He had escaped before we even got
there. He shed his skin, took out the guards, and sneaked out.
Somehow, he managed to get home. He called Nyx as we were headed
out of Athens. She wouldn’t let me drive her—insisted I should get
you out of there since my shield was already down. She jacked
someone’s car at a stop light and headed back to David.”

“Where is he now? I want to see him.”

“In Bucharest at the asylum. We’re going
back, but first, Enoch and Uno need to speak to you. They’re Runes
like me. They’re the ones that have your answers.”

“Who’s Uno?”

“My uncle,” Enoch said. “He’s in the next
room, waiting to see you.”

I nodded, and walked around the human casings
on the floor and into the other room. Sitting at the table was a
man that looked like Enoch’s twin. The only difference was that
Uno’s eyes were white.

“Is she awake?” Uno asked, eyes fixed on the
ceiling.

“Yes. She’s here,” Enoch said.

“Hello,” I said.

“Sit—sit, girl.” Uno felt for the chair next
to his. “We’ve been waiting far too long for the marker of
hope.”

“It’s strange that you used those words.”

“Why so?”

“I had a dream where a man called me the
marker of hope.”

“Sometimes dreams are messages from beyond,
windows into other worlds.” Uno balanced his chin on his cane. “I’m
curious about your dream. Would you tell me more?”

“The man in my dream said I needed to control
the beast, and that I had to do something—that I had to—to fight. I
had to start some new evolution for the sake of humankind.” I
looked at Galilea and Enoch. “Does that make any sense?”

Galilea shook her head, and Enoch stood
silent next to her.

“What else?” Uno asked.

“Something about a new world.” I thought
back. “And he said to tell Erosmus that his father sent
regards.”

“Erosmus?” Galilea gaped. “Are you sure
that’s the name he used?”

I nodded. “Does that mean something?”

“It means that was no ordinary dream,” Enoch
told me. “Erosmus is the first conceived son of Deus.”

“Am I supposed to meet Erosmus?”

“Isis.” Galilea took a seat next to me.
“Erosmus is the god of affection and desire,” she said. “Also known
as Eros.”

“That means the man I was speaking to
was—”

“Deus, his father,” Uno said. “And He’s
spoken your truth.”

“Think back.” Galilea put her hand on my
shoulder. “What else did Deus say?”

“He said there was a war coming—for the seed
that’s been planted.”

“There is,” Uno said. “One that you must
survive.”

“Like the Great Wars between Creatura,
mankind, and gods?” Galilea asked.

“Worse.” Uno reached out to me, and I took
his hand. “Girl, if you die, so does everyone and everything else.
You must fulfill your purpose.”

“Tell me what my purpose is.”

“You are the bearer of hope—what the world
needs. Keep hope alive, and you will save us all.”

“How—how do I do that?”

“The answers will be given to you in due
time.”

***

The girl that looked back at me from the
visor mirror was different. She had thicker lashes. Her eyes were a
more vivid shade of green than I remembered. Her irises seemed too
large for her face.

“At least your pupils are back to normal,”
Galilea said. “I can’t explain it, but you look prettier
somehow.”

I wrapped the black silk scarf around my head
and neck, covering my hair-stripped scalp.

“I don’t understand how I’m still alive. I
thought that if I drank the serum…”

“Neither do I, and that was a stupid thing to
do.” Galilea frowned at me. “The stupidest thing you’ve ever done,
as a matter of fact. If I wasn’t so happy that you’re alive, I’d be
really pissed at you right now.”

“I thought I was making the right
choice.”

“Well, you couldn’t have been more wrong.”
Galilea turned off the ignition. “Are you ready to go in there and
face them?”

“Them?”

“They’re all here. The entire Chios
clan.”

“But I thought they were going to trial in
Caelum?”

“So did I.” Galilea raised her brows. “But
there was an interesting turn of events.”

I gave her an inquisitive look.

“Starr appeared at the hearing,” she
said.

“Deus’ wife?”

Galilea nodded. “Starr ordered the Council to
let the family go. Some of the Council Members and Clergy
protested. She dared them to go against her ruling, but they know
better than to upset the goddess. They stood down as soon as they
saw her anger.”

“How do you know this happened?”

“I was there.” She knit her brows. “Isis, I’m
worried. Starr hasn’t appeared before the Council since the days of
the Great Wars.” She glanced toward the front door. “Also, Samuel
was at the trial. I found him hiding in the back of the crowd. He
was upset that we left Kyparissia and pissed that I messed with his
memory. He asked for you—wanted to know where you were.”

“And?”

“I didn’t tell him anything. I don’t trust
him.”

“Was Eros with him?”

“No. Eros never goes to Caelum. The Council
kicked him out a long time ago. He only ever travels to Caelum when
the Council summons him. The last time he went was…” Galilea
paused. “Actually, I don’t remember. That’s how long it’s
been.”

I tugged on the Star Crest hanging from my
neck.

“Does David know that I left with Eros?” I
asked, and Galilea shrugged. “I made a mess out of everything.” I
closed my eyes. “Uno was wrong. How am I supposed to be the bearer
of hope if I don’t have any hope left in me?”

“Isis.” She shook her head. “If there’s one
thing I’ve learned about you in this short time I’ve known you,
it’s that you’re always hanging on to the tiniest drop of
hope.”