The Allotter:The Threads of Destiny (8 page)

Chapter 10

  His calm voice broke the silence,
“Are you ready?”  Kratos carefully took her cool hand in his and pulled her up with care. Her hands in his, she realized then that she could not visualize anything about his life. She only felt peace and…safe. She walked with him to the elevator and as he pushed the button up he gave her a reassuring, but tight smile while he squeezed her hand.

  As they waited for the elevator, the silence was unnerving.
“Why do I feel safe with you, as if I know you, when I know that I have never met you before?” When he looked into her eyes she thought she saw pain and anguish, and somehow knew that she was connected to it in some way. He didn’t answer her. He just looked into her eyes for a moment until the elevator reached them.

  As the elevator doors opened on a ding, they stepped in together. He pushed the one hundredth floor and stepped back as the doors of the elevator closed. Evie blew out a breath, the air pushing the stray tendrils of hair from her forehead. He looked over at her and raised an eyebrow in question.

  “I’ve never been this high up before.” she answered his silent question while he smiled at her.

  She had to ask him what was burning in her mind. Clearing her throat, she blurted out,
“I experienced a strange dream like episode in the shower. We had sex. I thought you were responsible for it and I lost my temper.” The admission was a relief, but embarrassing. Unable to look at him as the elevator continued its ascent; she held her breath waiting for his response as their blurry reflections appeared restless in the partially reflective elevator doors.

 
“Really.” A statement rather than a question, his response caused her heart to flutter.  He gazed at her, his eyes burning with unnatural light as they heatedly traveled the length of her. On a tremulous sigh, she clenched her thighs together in response to his carnal perusal.

 
“It was really good.” She softly answered, her face reddened. Why was she telling him? She opened her mouth to admonish herself, when suddenly; he was before her, his warm finger pressing against her full lips, her silence immediate.

 
“Don‘t say anymore. I can only handle so much before I give in to my baser instincts and seduce you for real.” his response was savage. As he swallowed, his neck muscles strained.  “There is a fine thread of moral conscience that is keeping me from taking you right here, right now. If that thread breaks…may the gods help us both.” the last said in a savage whisper as his thumb caressed her bottom lip.

His body consumed the elevator as the distant ding of each floor registered in her head. Her nipples hardened, as if they were straining against the fabric to press against his chest. Whenever she was around him, she felt an urgency she couldn
’t explain. Shoving at his granite hard chest, she needed some space for her mind to clear. An unyielding mass of muscles confined into a small space, he barely moved. She broke their sexual tension by side-stepping away from him. The movement made her feel bereft for some reason.

  As the elevator slowed to a stop, butterflies began to flutter nervously in her stomach. This was it. She was about to get answers to questions she had rhetorically asked of herself at various times in her life. The doors opened on a ding, and Kratos guided her out into a long and generic looking hallway. The carpeting was beige and the walls were a pale blue. At the very end of the hallway stood a single, beautifully carved brass door that was completely out of place compared to the sterile and generic appearance of the hallway. Like a beacon, she felt drawn to it and could not stop herself from walking towards it and turning the ornate door knob. Once she pushed it open, she hesitantly glanced in Kratos
’ direction. He placed his hand on her lower back and gently guided her into the room.

  Evie was amazed at the size and beauty of the white marble room.  Her feet froze in wary suspicion as she glanced at the floor to find that the marble of the floor swirled and churned like the eye of a perfect storm. Looking, again to Kratos for reassurance, he nodded his head for her to continue. She stepped with hesitance onto the floor as he leaned into her and supported her elbow.

  “It’s safe to walk upon. It won’t swallow you up.” She looked up at him to see a faint twinkle in his eyes and realized he was comforting her as well as making fun of her fear. She rolled her eyes at him, feeling a modicum of relief.

 
“So you say.” she mumbled, as they continued into the storm-like structure.

  It was enormous, bigger than Kratos
’s apartment and impossible to be accurate in size in comparison to the building. The improbability of it was not lost on her as she shook her head in absent-minded amazement. The lines of endless windows on one side were covered by flowing, gauzy white curtains that were billowing gracefully and silently as a result of a crisp but light breeze. Trying to keep pace with him, she hurried along, as his hand gripped hers. She was in awe at the purity and brightness of the place. Veering to his left, Kratos’s silent steps stopped a few paces from a woman sitting in a lone chair in the illogical and open expanse of the apartment. The woman turned her head towards Evie and smiled at her.

“Hello sweetheart. How are you feeling? I hope you have not experienced anymore seizures.” Thelma stood, holding her hand out to her.

  Evie was surprised, her mouth dropping open.
“Mom?” running toward her and grasping her shoulders, Evie hugged her mother tight and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She was real. Her mother was here. Evie laughed and hugged her again.

 
“Oh mom, thank God. I thought I was losing my mind.” She felt a moment of relief, before it turned to confusion.

 
“Wait. Why are you in this apartment building and why do you not seem overly surprised about this whole bizarre situation?” Evie stepped back, eyes wide as she looked from Kratos to her mother and back again.

 
“Did you tell her anything?” Thelma’s voice sounded…different, as if a soft tinkle followed each syllable she uttered.

 
“I thought that you and he should talk to her.” Kratos nodded in the direction of the ceiling. Evie glanced up to find an enormous Eagle staring down upon her as its feathers ruffled in the light breeze, its head cocked to the side in rapt curiosity. A soft chirp sounded from the majestic bird as it adjusted its grip on the snowy white rafters, its talons side-stepping back and forth in a restless dance.

  Evie breathed in through her nose and then out through her mouth, a common practice over the past few days. There was a large bird of prey, easily the same size as her if not bigger, sitting above her and staring at her. She turned her owl-wide eyes to her mother and simply stated,
“I think I need to sit down.”  Kratos gently shoved a chair behind her and pressed her shoulders into it. Where he had gotten it she did not know or care at the moment, as she flopped ungracefully into it.   

She gestured to the seat her mother stood by,
“Have a seat, mom. We should talk, don’t you think?” weak irritation laced her voice.

 
“She seems to be able to control her anxiety. This is good, Kratos.” Thelma sat on the edge of the chair, her body language that of a queen on her throne as she waited for the inevitable questions.

 
“What’s going on and…who are you?”  Evie looked away from her mother as she said the last, the idea that her mother was someone other than who she seemed to have been throughout her life made eye contact difficult.

 
“I’m your mother for one thing, that you can be sure of, Evie. I‘m just not…mortal. My given name is Themis.” Her mothers answer given in a fleeting moment of anger was immediately replaced with concern as she watched Evie‘s shoulders sag in exhaustion and confusion.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to believe or think anymore.” Sighing in frustration, she continued, “I feel like I’m losing my mind, but yet…” Her voice trailed off as she looked again at the large predatory bird as it paced back and forth on its perch. Evie heard her mother murmur ‘not yet’ as the bird chirped again. Louder this time, more insistent.

 
“But yet what, sweetheart?” Thelma looked expectantly at her, than to Kratos and back again.

  Leaning back in her chair, Evie scrubbed her palms over her face and rested them on her nape. She winced when she realized she had been holding her shoulders up in ridged anxiety for what seemed like hours. Rolling her shoulders, she stretched and stared into the depths of the swirling miasma of mist that consumed the floor. Her mother was not mortal?

  “Other than my mother, who are you, Themis?” the unfamiliar name foreign on her tongue as she continued to focus on the  peculiar calm that the otherworldly floor provided for her, as if it called to her.

  Themis folded her hands in her lap. Chin notched up she studied her daughter
’s features, willing for her to look at her. When she didn’t comply, Thelma sighed. “Themis is the name of the Greek Titan of divine law and order which decides humanity’s rules of conduct.” Waiting for the information to sink in, Thelma gave her a moment to acknowledge the bomb of truth she just dropped on her.

Evie
‘s stomach felt hollow as mild nausea crept up her throat. “Titan?“ she croaked out.

  Shifting in her seat, Thelma looked around clearly avoiding Evie
’s shocked expression. “A Titan is a Greek God. “The quiet explanation caused the air in Evie’s lungs to whoosh out of her, leaning her forward with elbows braced on her knees.

   Glancing up, she squinted at her mother and searched her familiar face for the stranger that spoke to her.
“You’re saying you are a Greek Goddess.” The single nod caused goose bumps to erupt all over Evie’s already stressed body.

Evie
‘s mind raced with memories of her eccentric life and disturbing ability to read an individuals life span in an instant. Steeling herself for answers she knew may be difficult to hear, she closed her eyes and asked the question burning her tongue, “I’m not an ordinary human being then, am I?” She warily eyed the large bird as it spread and fluttered its feathers with restless energy.

  She cleared her throat,
“I’m thinking that I’m not, especially after what has transpired over the past week.” Evie’s inquiry was more statement than question, her face heating with the barely controlled panic thrumming through her veins.

 
“You’re not an ordinary human being, no.” Thelma’s relieved admission was surprisingly comforting to Evie, spurring her along.

 
“Then please explain things to me. I can handle whatever you have to tell me, I mean, if you’re worried that I may have a seizure or something.” Evie looked from her mother to Kratos again, gauging their reaction. They looked up. Why did they keep eyeing the bird?

  Evie watched in awe and fascination as the eagle flew around the perimeter of the room once, wings flapping as the majestic bird
’s direction honed in on Evie. Flying directly towards her the predatory bird enlarged, its wings skimming the floor as it smoothly began morphing into something human-like as it neared her. Evie jumped up in fear of being attacked by the bird causing the chair to fall back onto the tempestuous floor. Slamming his talons into the floor caused a loud boom to reverberate throughout the room causing the tumultuous storm under her feet to brighten a brilliant blue as if illuminated from within. The bird’s feathered body rippled and transformed with fluid grace into a man about six and a half feet tall. Shrugging and shaking his head while he walked towards her, the feathers scattered and fell away, disintegrating before hitting the floor. As the last of the feathers melted into the air, a white-haired, well-dressed, and bearded older gentleman was revealed. 

  Evie
’s mouth slackened and dropped open, her head shaking with denial as she turned and ran to where she thought she came in. Only cool, white marble remained as her palms pressed with frantic urgency. Pushing her shoulder against it, she searched for the door. It had to be there. She just came in this way, didn’t she? Her head suddenly ached as her ears itched and eyes blurred. A voice echoed with soft intent inside her head causing her ears to burn and itch, “
father
.”

  Shoving her fingers into her ears, she backed up, mumbling,
“No, no…who is that?” the tinkling voice was faint but vaguely familiar as her ears buzzed.

 
“Evie dear, stop and turn around, I’m not going to hurt you. “ His gentle but commanding voice was close and oddly familiar. The buzzing sound increased it’s intensity as she shook her head from side to side, as if she could stop the sound.

 
“Please, Evie. “ Kratos’s soft plea stopped the buzz, like a balm to her chaotic thoughts. She closed her eyes, lips parted on a soft breath, a moan of anguish whispered through her mind before silence relieved her.

  Once she felt in control again, she opened her eyes to find a man standing before her with bright searching green eyes. He gripped her shoulders with gentle care and then engulfed her in a crushing hug. As he let her go and stepped back from her, she saw that he was wearing a beautifully tailored azure suit, his white shoes gleaming as he tapped his foot.

  Evie was dumbstruck as she stumbled back once to find the chair, her butt landing into it without grace. Maybe Kratos had pushed it under her. She wasn’t sure, she was just glad she didn’t fall on her ass.