The Goddess Test (5 page)

My stomach dropped to my knees, and the fog that clouded my head evaporated.

“Hello, Kate.” His voice was like honey, and I was suddenly acutely aware of how awful I looked. “Do you remember me?”

How could I possibly forget? “Yeah,” I said hoarsely. “You’re Henry.”

“I am.” There was something sad behind his smile, something I related to all too well. “This is my valet, Walter.”

I eyed the second man, my hand still gripping the doorknob. He was older, his hair gray and skin wrinkled, and his pale face was drawn. “Hi,” I said uncertainly.

“Hello, Miss Winters.” He smiled warmly. “May we come in?”

There was no point in worrying about whether or not they were here to kidnap me. Ava was right; if that was Henry’s plan, I would have been in the back of a van with my hands duct taped together by now. Besides, it didn’t matter anymore. With a nod, I opened the door wide enough for them to enter.

I nervously led them into the living room. After flipping on the lights, I sat down in the armchair, giving them both no choice but to sit on the couch. Henry took a seat as if he’d been here a thousand times before, and in the light, it was easier to see his face. He looked as young and gorgeous as before. “Do you know what day it is?”

I wasn’t even sure what month it was anymore, but there was only one reason Henry would show up on my front porch. “It’s the—the autumn equinox, right?”

“Very good,” said Henry. “Did you read up on Perseph one?”

My mouth went dry, and I nodded.

“And are you prepared to uphold your end of our bargain?”

I looked back and forth between them uncertainly. Maybe they were here to kidnap me after all. “I’m not really sure what our bargain is.”

Walter was the one who spoke. “In exchange for the life of your friend, you have agreed to spend the autumn and winter at Eden Manor. Every autumn and winter, if things go as planned.”

I stared at him. “Excuse me?”

“As our honored guest, of course,” he added. “You will be treated with the utmost care and respect, and you will have everything you could ever ask for.”

“Wait.” I stood too quickly, and the blood rushed to my head. I fought off the dizziness, refusing to stumble in front of them. “You mean for the rest of my
life,
I have to spend six months with you? That was our deal?”

“Yes,” said Henry. He raised a hand to silence Walter, and he, too, stood. “I am aware it will not be easy, and you will face certain—challenges. But I assure you that I will do everything I can to ensure you are safe and happy. For the other six months a year, you may do whatever you wish. You may have an entirely separate life, if you would like—you will have complete freedom. And while you are with me, you will be treated like a queen. I will do everything in my power to make you happy.”

He was dead serious, I realized. Latching onto one word in particular, I remembered the myth and my blood ran cold.

“Queen,” I said, spitting the word out bitterly. “You mean you want me to be your
wife?
”

Henry frowned. “I am not proposing marriage to you, Kate. With your mother’s death, you will soon have nothing holding you here, and I am offering you a chance at a life you cannot possibly imagine.”

I bristled. How did he know about my mother? “What do you get in return? I’m not going to sleep with you if that’s where you’re going with this. I’m not that kind of person.”

He and Walter exchanged amused glances. “I assure you that all I want is the pleasure of your company. The platonic sort.”

Somehow I didn’t think that was all he was getting, but there was no point in even pretending it was an option. I wasn’t about to spend six months of the rest of my life with a stranger no matter what he offered me.

“No,” I said. “Thank you for your offer, but you’re crazy, and no. Now if you don’t mind, I have to sleep.”

They didn’t argue. Walter stood to join Henry and me, and I led them both to the front door, holding it open so they had no excuse to linger. As Henry exited, he stopped, his body less than a foot away from mine. He really was beautiful, and with him so close, it was hard to remember exactly why spending six months with him would be such a bad thing.

“Do you understand what will happen if you do not uphold your end of our deal?”

Ah, right. Because no matter how gorgeous he was, he was still crazy. “I don’t know, and I don’t care,” I said firmly. “Now please leave.”

“I will give you until midnight,” he said, joining Walter on the front path. “But I am afraid I cannot wait any longer. Don’t
be so quick to dismiss my offer, Kate. This is the only time I will make it.”

Instead of answering, I slammed the door shut, trying to ignore how violently my hands were shaking.

James came by the next morning, and he was nice enough to bring me a bagel. I picked at it as we drove to the hospital, my appetite nonexistent. Luckily he didn’t make me talk.

As I sat by my mother’s bedside, holding her hand, a traitorous thought crept into my mind. If Henry had saved Ava—if it really hadn’t been my imagination or some horrible prank—could he save my mother, too?

I pushed the idea away. I couldn’t afford to think like that, not when I had to prepare myself for the end that was coming. Besides, what Henry had done was impossible. A fluke, or a trick of the light, or some horrible joke that Ava still hadn’t confessed to—whatever it was, my mother was on death’s door, and no magic trick was going to save her. She’d held on years longer than she should have, and I knew I should’ve been grateful for the time I’d had with her, but watching her slip away as the hours passed made it impossible.

It wasn’t until that evening as we walked slowly through the hospital parking lot that I finally told James what had happened that morning. He was silent as I finished the story, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black jacket.

“You mean they just showed up like that, no warning or anything?”

I nodded, too empty to think much about it anymore. “They weren’t rude about it, I guess, but it was just—weird.”

He opened the car door for me, and I lowered myself into
the passenger seat. It wasn’t until he sat down in the driver’s seat that he spoke. “You can’t go, Kate.”

“I wasn’t planning on it. She’d never leave me if I were like this.”

“Good,” he said.

We drove through the parking lot, and in front of us, the sun was setting. I blocked my eyes as I tried to find the courage to voice what I’d wanted to say all day. “What if he can save my mother?”

He scowled. “What else would he demand from you in order to do it?”

“Whatever it was, it’d be worth it,” I said quietly. “If it meant she’d be alive.”

James reached across the seat to set his hand over mine. “I know it would be, but sometimes all we can do is say goodbye.”

My face grew hot and my vision blurry, and I turned away from him to stare blankly out the window. “What do you think will happen when I don’t show up? Do you think he’ll hurt Ava? That was our deal—I did what he wanted, and he’d save her.”

“He won’t hurt her,” said James, though out of the corner of my eye I saw his grip on the steering wheel tighten. “Not if he’s any kind of human being.”

I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my sweater. “I’m not so sure he is.”

When I got home, there were six messages on my machine. The first was from the school, calling to find out where I was, and the next five were all from Ava, her tone growing more and more worried with each message.

Even though I was exhausted, I called Ava back. It was good to hear her voice, despite her being as annoyingly cheerful and talkative as ever. She blabbered on enough for the both of us, and she didn’t seem to mind that I barely said a word. Even though James seemed sure nothing would happen to her, I couldn’t shake the worry that something might. Even though I’d only known her for a few weeks, after the incident by the river, I felt responsible for her. I couldn’t do anything to help my mother, but if something happened to Ava because of me—I couldn’t bear it.

“Ava?” I said as we were about to hang up.

“Yeah?” She sounded distracted.

“Do me a favor and take care of yourself tonight, okay? Don’t do anything stupid like climb a ladder or pet a lion.”

She laughed. “Yeah, whatever. I’ll call you in the morning. Say hi to your mom for me.”

After hanging up, I couldn’t sleep. Instead I watched my clock tick over from 11:59 to 12:00, and a sick sense of dread filled me. What if something happened to Ava? What was I supposed to do then? It’d be my fault. Against all odds, she had become my friend, and I was supposed to protect her from that sort of stuff, not deliberately antagonize the man who apparently thought she owed him her life. Or thought I owed him mine.

I didn’t want to think about Henry. I didn’t want to think about how he’d brought her back that night at the river, and I didn’t want to think about his offer. I tried to picture my mother’s face, but the only image I could come up with was the one of her lying in the hospital bed and dying.

I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow. There wasn’t anything I could do now, and feeling this helpless was gut
wrenching. But I’d already made my decision, and I was going to stick to it. If I had it my way, I would never see Henry again.

Half past seven I awoke to loud banging on the door. I groaned, having only fallen asleep shortly after four, but I couldn’t ignore it. Throwing open the door, the string of curses on the tip of my tongue disappeared. It was James, looking like he hadn’t slept since the day before. I opened the door, running my fingers through my mess of mousy brown hair.

“James? What’s going on?”

“It’s Ava.”

I froze.

“She’s dead.”

The rumor around town was that she’d had a brain aneurysm, but I knew better. As James drove past the school on our way to the hospital, I saw the entire student body huddled together in the parking lot, hugging each other and sobbing. I couldn’t look away. “Turn around.”

“What?”

“I said turn around, James. Please.”

“And go where?”

I stared out the window, unable to tear my eyes from their faces. Even the kids who’d hated Ava were crying. I breathed in shallowly, struggling not to do the same.

It was my fault. Ava was seventeen years old. She’d had her whole life ahead of her, and now she was dead because of me. If he was going to take somebody, why hadn’t he taken me? I was the one who’d stupidly brushed his warning aside, not her.

I squeezed my eyes shut once we passed the school, the image of the crowd mourning together burned into the back of my eyelids. Was this how it was going to be my whole life?
Everyone I knew dying? Would James be next, or would it mercifully be me?

Anger swelled up inside of me, engulfing my guilt until I was clutching the armrest so tightly that my nails created permanent half-moon indents in the worn leather. Ava didn’t deserve this, and no matter how much Henry had disliked her for the prank she’d pulled, that didn’t give him any right to do this to her, to her family, or to this town. And for what? Because I didn’t believe him? Because I didn’t want to waste half of the rest of my life catering to the desires of a lunatic? Is that what he did when he didn’t get his way—throw a tantrum and kill someone?

I ignored the little voice in the back of my mind that reminded me Henry was the only reason she’d survived that night by the river in the first place.

I couldn’t do anything to help my mother, but I could help Ava. And I would fix this.

“Kate,” said James softly, reaching across the seat to set his hand over mine. “It’s not your fault.”

“The hell it isn’t,” I snapped, yanking my hand away. “She wouldn’t be dead right now if it wasn’t for me.”

“She would’ve died weeks ago if it hadn’t been for you.”

“No, she wouldn’t have,” I said. “She’d have never tried to pull that stupid prank if I hadn’t agreed to go with her. She wouldn’t have hit her head if I hadn’t moved to Eden. None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t come here.”

“So because you moved here, it’s all your fault.” His grip on the wheel tightened in irritation. “Ava was the one who dove headfirst into that river. You were the one who agreed to give up half of the rest of your life to keep her alive. You gave her more time, Kate, don’t you get that?”

“What good are a few more weeks?” I spat, wiping my cheeks angrily. “It’s pointless. None of this should’ve ever happened.”

“Kate…” James started, but I turned away again. We were past the school now.

“Just drive, James. Please.”

“Where are we going?”

“If he brought her back to life once, he can do it again.”

James sighed and said in a voice so soft I wasn’t positive I’d heard him right, “I’m not sure it works that way.”

I swallowed thickly. “If you ever want to see Ava again, you’d better hope it does.”

We arrived at the gate ten minutes later. By that time I was shaking, caught between despair and fury. How dare Henry do this? He had to have known that I hadn’t understood or believed in the sorts of things he was talking about, and he’d done it anyway.

He had to bring her back. No matter what it took, I would make him do that much.

Instead of the gates being locked, as they had been when my mother and I had driven past, they were cracked open wide enough for me to slip through on foot. I glanced at James, not knowing what to say.

“You shouldn’t do this,” he said. “There’s no guarantee he can bring Ava back, and once you go in there, you might not come back out.”

“I don’t care. I’ll make him fix her.”

“Kate, you know that’s impossible.”

I gritted my teeth. “I have to try. I can’t let her die, James. I can’t.”

“She isn’t your mother,” said James gently. “No matter how hard you fight for Ava’s life, it won’t change what’s already happened. It won’t save her, and it won’t save your mother, either.”

“I know that,” I choked, though a small part of me wondered if I really did. But I’d already seen Henry perform the impossible once. He could do it again, I was sure of it—and maybe if I did what he wanted, he could save more than Ava this time. “This is my choice, and if there’s even a chance this can be changed, I’m going to figure out how. Please,” I said, my voice faltering. “Please let me do this.”

James was quiet for a moment, but at last he nodded, no longer looking at me. “Do whatever you have to do.”

My hands shook as I tried to unfasten my seat belt. James reached over and did it for me. “But what if he’s serious?” he said. “What if he wants you to stay for six months?”

“Then I’ll do it,” I said, staring up at the giant gates as a sense of foreboding filled me. I would stay all year if it meant he would save her. Save them. “Six months isn’t the end of the world. I’ll do what I have to do.”

He nodded once, a distant look in his eyes. “I’ll be here waiting then. But Kate…” He hesitated. “Do you really think he’s what he says he is?”

My heart pounded. “I don’t think he’s said what he is.”

James sighed. I was hurting him by doing this, but I had no choice. “What do you think he is?”

I frowned, remembering Ava’s words. “A very lonely guy.” Chances were if Henry was going to kill me, he’d have already done it. I knew a way out if he really did try to keep me hostage, but if he was going to force me into it, he’d have done that the day before. He really had given me a choice, and so far all
I’d done was make the wrong one. I could either accept Ava’s death or do something about it—and frankly, I’d had enough of people dying. I wasn’t going to let it happen again.

Remembering all of the promises I’d made to my mother, I sucked in a deep breath, wishing I could talk to her. She’d know what to do. “You’ll take care of my mom, won’t you?”

He apparently knew better than to insist she’d still be there when I returned, whenever that might’ve been. “I promise. I’ll let school know you won’t be coming back, too.”

“Thanks,” I said. One less thing to worry about.

The steps from the car to the gate were the hardest ones I’d ever taken, but if it meant bringing Ava back, I would surrender my freedom to Henry. He’d been right; I had nothing else in my life except my mother. Once she was gone, I would be empty. But now I had a chance to trade what was left of my shell of a life for someone who would make the most of it. Ava’s life had barely begun. All the best parts of mine were already behind me. My mother wanted me to go out and find happiness, but I couldn’t, not without her. At least this way what was left of me wouldn’t go to waste.

I walked through the gate and on to the grounds, and immediately the atmosphere changed. It was warmer here, and there was a sort of electricity in the air that I couldn’t identify. As I took another few steps, I heard the gate clang shut behind me, and I jumped. Turning around, I saw James standing next to the car, his eyes on me. I waved, and he flashed a pained smile.

The road was lined with trees that were evenly spaced, and it sloped upward. It took me a few minutes to walk over the hill, but when I did, I stopped, my mouth agape. Whatever I’d expected, it wasn’t this.

A huge manor sat sprawled across the grounds, so large that I couldn’t see what lay behind it even from the top of the hill. The road I was on became paved, and it circled around to the front of the manor, forming a perfect oval.

I’d only seen buildings like these in pictures of European palaces, and I was sure that nowhere else in the Upper Peninsula—maybe even the entire state—did a place like this exist. It gleamed white and gold, and everything about it looked majestic.

As I stood there, it took me a moment to notice that I wasn’t alone. A dozen gardeners and workers stared at me, and I suddenly grew self-conscious. I was inside the gate; now what?

In the distance I saw a woman bustling toward me, holding up the hem of her skirt as she climbed the hill. Rather than taking a step back, I stood my ground, caught between awe, fear and determination. No matter how beautiful his home was, I still needed to see Henry—and soon.

“Welcome, Kate!” said the woman, and upon hearing her voice, I did a double take.

“Sofia?”

Sure enough, as she drew closer, I recognized her as the day nurse who’d helped me take care of my mother for the past few weeks. I stared at her, shocked, but Sofia acted as if none of this was a big deal. When she reached me, her cheeks were pink and she smiled ear to ear. She took my arm. “We were wondering if you’d ever show, dear. How’s your mother?”

It took me a second to find my voice. “Dying,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here.” She started to lead me toward the house, and I let her, trying hard not to stare.

“You know Henry?”

“Of course I do,” she said. “Everyone knows Henry.”

“Can you raise the dead, too?” I muttered, and Sofia clucked her tongue.

“Can you?”

I clenched my fists. “I need to see him.”

“I know, dear. That’s where we’re headed.”

I glanced at her, uncertain if she was being patronizing or evasive or both. She ignored my look and led me down the oval drive until we reached the large French double doors, which opened without any prompting from Sofia. Instead of following her inside, I stopped and stared.

The outside was nothing compared to the magnificent entrance hall. It was simple and tasteful, not at all gaudy, but it was far from ordinary.

The floor was mostly white marble, and I could see a hint of plush carpet on the other end of the hall. The walls and ceiling were made of mirrors, and they made the massive hall look larger than it already was.

But it was the floor in the center of the room that caught my attention. There was a perfect circle made of crystal, and it was by far the most incredible thing about the hall. It shimmered, colors seeming to swim together, blending and dividing as I stared. My mouth hung open, but I didn’t care—everything about it was surreal, and I could hardly believe that I was still standing in Michigan.

“Kate?”

I tore myself away and finally paid attention to Sofia. She stood a few feet ahead of me and gave me a hesitant smile.

“Sorry,” I said. I walked toward her, stepping around the crystal circle as if it were really water. For all I knew, it was. “It’s just—”

“Beautiful,” she said cheerfully, taking my arm once more and steering me past a grand spiraling staircase that led up to a part of the manor I couldn’t see. I didn’t dare try to look, not wanting to waste another minute.

“Yeah.” It was the best I could come up with, but I was otherwise speechless. Whatever I’d been expecting, it hadn’t been this.

She led me through a series of rooms, each uniquely decorated and exquisite. One room was red and gold; another was sky-blue, with murals painted on the walls. There were sitting rooms, game rooms, studies and even two libraries. It seemed impossible that these were all in the same house—and apparently only belonged to one boy who wasn’t much older than me, unless his parents lived here, too—but it never seemed to end.

Finally we turned down another hall and entered a room that had dark green walls and gold trim. The furniture seemed more worn and comfortable here than in the other rooms, and Sofia directed me toward a black leather couch.

“Sit, dear, and I’ll have someone bring you refreshments. Henry should be with you shortly.”

I sat, not wanting her to leave me alone, but I could do this. I had to. Ava’s life was at stake, and this was the only chance I’d have to make this argument. If Henry wanted to keep me here, then fine. As long as he brought Ava back, I would do anything he wanted me to do, even if it meant spending the rest of my life behind the hedges. I pushed away what James had said in the car about Ava not being my mother. That wasn’t why I was here.

But even as I thought it, I knew I was lying to myself. Wasn’t the mere possibility of Henry being able to save my mother—or
somehow save me from the pain of losing her—exactly why I was here? I would do everything I could to save Ava, but she’d been dead for hours, and the entire town knew. Henry would undoubtedly want a steeper price for bringing her back a second time, and no matter what brave face I put on, the thought of staying behind these hedges for the rest of my life terrified me. I’d meant what I’d said about doing everything I could to try to bring her back, but even if that was impossible like James had said, my mother wasn’t dead yet. There was still a chance Henry could do something to save her.

I don’t know how long I sat there in silence, staring blankly at a bookcase full of leather-bound books. I went over my speech in my head, making sure everything I wanted to say was there. He had to listen to me, didn’t he? Even if he didn’t want to do it, if I talked long enough, he had to at least hear me. I had to try.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Henry standing in the doorway, holding a tray laden with food. My fingers dug into the sofa, and all of the words I’d practiced flew out of my head.

“Kate,” he said in a low, pleasant voice. Stepping inside, he set the tray on the coffee table in front of me and sat on the sofa across from me.

“H-Henry,” I said, hating myself for stuttering. “We need to talk.”

He inclined his head, as if silently giving me permission to speak. I opened and shut my mouth, not knowing what to say. While he waited, he poured us both a cup of tea. I’d never had tea in a china cup before.

“I’m sorry,” I said. My throat was dry. “For not listening to you yesterday, I mean. I wasn’t thinking, and I didn’t think you
were serious. My mom’s really sick, and I just—please. I’m here. I’ll stay. I’ll do whatever you want. Just bring Ava back.”

He sipped his tea and motioned for me to take mine. I did so with shaking hands.

“She’s seventeen,” I said, my voice growing more desperate by the word. “She shouldn’t have to miss out on her whole life just because of my stupid mistake.”