Fates' Folly (29 page)

He chuckled. "Even in my weakened state you'd
never make it to the door before I broke your neck- if I was so
inclined."

There was a click, and white light glowed
from a battery powered camping lantern. I stopped moving.

I could see his entire face as his mouth
spread into slow smile, and he continued as if he hadn't just
threatened me. "Hades gives gifts to his Assassins."

"The power of persuasion and the power of
misdirection," I said.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Yes, both of
which he bestowed upon me, along with the power of possession."

“Power of possession? Power to possess
what?”

“Souls.” he said with obvious annoyance.

"Why would Hades need the power of that? I
thought after a mortal died, the soul went on to whatever afterlife
the mortal believed in. I thought it was a done deal."

"So did I. However, I'm not stupid enough to
question Hades about it, and luckily it was easy to use-like his
other gifts, all it took was my desire." He grinned. "My desire for
your pretty soul."

Geez. "So, what exactly is a soul?" I asked
again, hoping to distract him from the pretty soul bit.

"Would you believe that I do not know? I have
suspicions- thoroughly logical and thought out guesses- but no true
knowledge. At one point, early on in my immortality, I had the idea
to keep a log book of my encounters as I led a soul to Hades'
gates. I questioned and documented and theorized. It was quite
scientifically done, I assure you, so it didn't take me long to
realize that the souls themselves had no answers to their existence
either. They don't even wonder about their existence. They are like
lost puppies, whining as if they have just been separated from
their master, and waiting dutifully for the next command."

"You make a soul sound pitiful and sad."

He shook his head. "Is it not sad and pitiful
to not know of your own existence, to not even have a desire for
that knowledge?"

I didn't answer. His tone of voice had
changed to one with a cruel, patronizing edge that I did not want
to test, so I kept what I hoped was a blank expression, waiting for
him to continue. It didn't take long. Sebastian liked to hear
himself speak.

"I do know this much however, souls are
power. Souls fuel the mind to believe and create, and because of
that belief, we are still in existence." He gave me a sideways
glance as he folded the cuffs back on his sleeves. "I've often
wondered if the collected souls act like a bank of power for the
deity that presides over their care. What if the judgment of hell,
the reward of heaven, the Elysian Fields, the black depths of
Tartarus etc… what if they were only a farce? A masterfully created
prop? All just one big fancy bit of a magician's trick of
misdirection, hiding that the actual dwelling for mortals' souls is
nothing more than a corral for the holding of the power the souls
possess."

He waited for me to reply, but again, I
stayed quiet, mainly because I wasn't quite sure what he was
saying, and I was a little scared of what I did understand.

"I know you think me insane, and maybe at
this point I am, but my theory is sound. I’ve felt the power a soul
can give, especially a healthy one- enormous power."

"And you know this how?" I couldn't stop
myself from asking.

He laughed. "From you of course. For eight
glorious minutes, I held the power of your soul within me."

He licked his lips, his smile spreading wide,
tightening the thin skin across his sharp cheek bones and angular
chin, making him look even more demonic in the limited light.

He raised his hand, as if capturing something
precious within. "It was glorious, beyond my imagining, and it
felt…" he smacked his lips as if tasting the word, "… right. Like
taking destiny in hand and seducing her into submission." His smile
changed to a grimace, and his upheld hand clenched into a fist.
"Until you were taken from me."

I could feel his anger. It made my stomach
twist and the muscles in my legs tighten as my body instinctively
prepared to flee. But I couldn't run, as Sebastian had already
pointed out. I'd never make it through the boarded up door, and I
had no doubt that he would break me if I tried.

So my only option was to keep him talking.
Who knew that my years of manipulating lecherous drunks would come
in handy once again? I wondered if I should I thank my mother for
the preparation.

“Why didn't you just steal another soul?" I
asked, proud that my voice didn't sound as shaky as I felt.

"You make it sound as if all I had to do was
walk into a store, choose one off a shelf and pocket it. I was
already weak when I went in search of Mr. Pittard and found you
instead. Once your soul was ripped from my body, I hadn't the
strength to move, much less locate another Greek believer. You were
here within my grasp, and besides, I had a…" he smiled, "taste of
you, and I wanted more of the same."

"And now that I’m immortal, my soul is no
longer tasty?"

"You have a dullard peasant's mind," he
snapped, before sighing with exasperation and asking, "How did it
happen? You becoming immortal?"

"The Fates," I answered, trying not to show
my irritation at being called dumb.

Sebastian smirked. "Those little brats, they
love to just pick and prod at our lives until we're like little
stringed puppets." He mimed holding marionette strings. "I wonder
if they'll feel anything over my death."

I imagined Candy's grim face as she snapped
her shears. "Probably not."

Sebastian frowned but finally answered my
question. "Your soul has been claimed by Hades, and as one of his
Assassins, I cannot also claim it. Basically, you've been collared
and leashed with Hades holding the reins."

I didn't feel like my soul had been claimed.
Wouldn't it have involved some agreement with Hades, like the one
Riley had made. I hadn't even shaken Hades’ hand. In fact, no one
had actually said I was one of his Assassins. Riley had hinted at
it a few times, but shouldn't I have been given a uniform or
training manual, something official?

Sebastian cleared his throat, distracting
me.

"Watching you think is devastatingly boring,"
he said.

At least when he’s insulting me he seems less
psychotic.

So I ignored the gibe and worked on getting
my questions answered. "So, if you had been able to take my soul,
gone on your killing spree for more souls and defeated the gods,
what would you have done next?"

He gave me a look of pity. "I would think it
obvious. I would admonish mankind for its weaknesses, destroying a
few cities to make my point, and then relax as the only god left to
be worshiped- spending the rest of my days basking in the love and
devotion of my subjects."

I had to bite hard on the inside of my cheek
to keep a sudden laugh from escaping. How much more absurd could my
life become? Gods, goddesses, immortality, stealing souls,
subliminal exercise videos and now, conquering antiquities
professors… half the time my brain was still telling me to wake up.
Yet he was serious, and from what he had said, he had the means to
do it.

"What are thinking?" Sebastian snapped.

"I'm wondering if you were insane before you
became immortal, or after," I answered, feeling a little hysterical
which was why, once again, my brain and mouth were working
simultaneously.

"You don't believe me," he accused.

"No, I absolutely believe you, and,
considering you just murdered me less than a week ago, I know for a
fact that you're at least capable of killing a bunch of people.
But, if I were being honest, I'd tell you that your overall plan is
flawed."

He folded his arms across his chest. "Flawed
how?"

He was giving me the same mulish look my mama
had worn when I'd come home early from work and caught her with a
half empty bottle of whiskey. This was probably why, without
thought to the consequences, I again answered him honestly, and in
the same exasperated tone I had used with her. "Where are all these
Greek believers whose souls you would have stolen for power? From
the way Hades acts, they don't exist. So your plan was already a
failure because you would never have had enough power to defeat all
the deities. Even if you did, and mortals were so fearful of you
that they did worship you as you predicted, it wouldn't last- they
would rebel."

Sebastian shook his head and laughed. "They
would love me. I would have made them love me, just like I would
have made them believe in me and had thousands of souls at my
disposal."

The knowing look he gave me and the
confidence in his voice sent an uncomfortable chill down my
spine.

"How Sebastian? How would you have made
them?"

"It's a secret," he said, suddenly sounding
like a precocious child.

The man was nutty, his moods and mannerisms
changing quicker than I could keep up with. I tried to think of
something else to say anyway, something clever to get him to spill,
but- other than screaming at him- nothing came to mind. Luckily, my
silence turned out to be the thing to do.

"I just might tell you. After all, I no
longer owe any loyalty to the dark god."

"You mean Hades."

Sebastian nodded. "If I tell you…everything,
answer all your questions, will you swear to tell others my story?
Will you explain things from my point of view?" he pleaded.

"I promise," I said, sticking out my hand
only to jerk it away the moment his fingers touched mine, feeling a
sizzle up my spine as my intent solidified in my mind.

Sebastian frowned. "I felt it binding, your
promise. I wasn't paying attention before when you committed to go
with me. If I had been, I would have noticed the binding and known
before Riley gloatingly informed me that you were no longer mortal.
Though it hardly mattered, once you agreed to go with me, you had
no choice."

I nodded. I hadn't felt the binding of my
promise either, but as he said, it wouldn't have mattered.

A few minutes of silence passed. He still had
his arms crossed, looking petulant with his bottom lip pushed out
and his eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't say anything. I wondered
if I should say something, but what the hell was I supposed to say?
I still felt shaky, I think from anticipation or maybe irritation,
but not fear. Gods, I was as bad as Sebastian with the mood swings.
Maybe he was rubbing off on me. What an unpleasant thought.

I pinched the inside of my arm to help me
focus and then tried to get Sebastian back on track. "Maybe it
would be easier if you started at the beginning."

He rolled his eyes. "I have a well ordered
mind. I can recall each of your questions and am fully capable of
answering them in the order they were asked."

He unfolded his arms. After giving me an
assessing look and smiling a fairly normal smile, he began, one by
one, to answer my questions. "You're here because I want you here.
As we have previously discussed, originally it was to take your
soul. However, after receiving the revelation that you were no
longer mortal, and therefore no longer of use to me, I decided you
would come with me because Riley desperately did not want you
to."

That surprised me. "Why?"

"Because he's unaffected by life, and I hate
him for it."

"He isn't unaffected-"

"Yes, exactly. He is no longer untouched, is
he? He is worried and angry and desperate and helpless, all the
things we feel when something has happened to someone we love. It's
good for him. I'm actually doing him a favor."

"You're an ass. A childish, jealous ass."

He shrugged. "Maybe. Let's go on to question
two-"

I held up my hand. "Wait a minute, how long
do you plan to keep me here? What are you going to do with me?"

"I haven't decided yet. I believe the next
answer is pretty self-explanatory. Hades changed the formula for
Goddess Greek Yogurt and altered the video in hopes that those
watching would subconsciously begin to believe in Greek mythology
and increase our number of believers which would increase Hades'
power, and so on."

"What did he put in the yogurt?"

Sebastian laughed. "Lethe."

"What?"

He continued laughing. "Waters of the River
Lethe."

I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my
mouth. "The forget everything river?"

Sebastian's laughter grew in mirth. Slapping
his leg and giggling, he wiped tears off his cheeks, smearing dirt
in the process. "You had almost the exact reaction I had when Hades
confessed the contents of the serum he gave me. I couldn't believe
it- it seemed so diabolical, yet so simple."

"How will you control how many memories are
lost? Doesn't one drink from the River Lethe leave a person with
the absence of all of their memories?"

"Yes. This is why Hades diluted the waters of
Lethe and assigned me the task of experimenting. I have always had
a scientific mind, and it was exciting to see what would
happen."

First, I thought of his students at Morgan
Hill, then the plaque from the old folk’s home came to mind. "You
experimented on the old folks at the nursing home."

Sebastian fluttered the fingers of one hand
into the other in a mock clap. "I applaud your quick thinking, very
surprising by the look of you."

I showed him my middle finger, pleased that
my snarkiness had at last returned.

"Yes, much more like what I would have
expected. As you correctly guessed, several of the elderly in
residence at Sugar Tree Convalescence became my test subjects.

“It actually took no effort. I found five
subjects at death's door and with all of their intellectual
abilities still intact. After making myself known to the staff and
most of the conscious patrons of the facility, it was fairly simple
to administer the serum through an injection, and then use the
power of suggestion and possession to replace their previously held
beliefs with those of Greek mythology."