The Sibyl (11 page)

I pushed the book aside and stood, searching
the room. After all, I had been raised in South Carolina. We had
our fair share of mystics who told fortunes and cast spells for a
living. I remembered something my grandmother had taught me one
summer on Sullivan’s Island. She had used candles to make her
wishes come true.

Here’s hoping I could utilize her tricks now
to contact an ancient god I wasn’t convinced existed.

I found what I was looking for in the back of
the television cabinet. The candle was white and stubby, but it
would have to do. I snagged it along with a hotel matchbook and
returned to the desk. Once I had cleared off enough room, I set the
candle up on top of the golden mirror Cyrus had left behind and lit
it.

“Apollo, keeper of the Sun, creator of the
Sibyls, aid me in my quest.”

I sat down in front of the candle, wondering
if I should fold my hands like I used to do in Sunday School. I
figured it didn’t matter, so I interlocked my fingers together as I
closed my eyes.

“I know nothing about your powers, and only
little more about being your Sibyl. Golden One, grant me the
strength to survive this life as your servant. Allow Elliot’s show
to be a success. In return, I promise you the attention you seek.
Television is a voice heard throughout the world. Its images speak
to millions of people. Let me do this for you. If I am to be your
Sibyl, grant me my wish. Let our project be a success.”

I closed my eyes, focusing on everything
which had led up to that very moment. Elliot’s first proposal of
this ridiculous show, Kathy Carter thrusting the mirror in my
hands; even the horrible spirits I had encountered so far. I saw
myself being able to protect myself from them.

I opened my eyes to see the flames glowing
brighter. The mirror itself shimmered, but no spirits were coming
through. I began to wonder if Apollo had heard me or if I were a
fool asking for help from the shadows surrounding me. If everything
I had experienced had been nothing more than tricks of the light.
Perhaps Elliot was right. Perhaps I did need to see a doctor when
we got home.

I sniffed out the candle as quickly as I
could. There was no doctor who could help me. I wasn’t a fool. I
believed in what could be proven through science. But I also
believed in myself and what I had seen.

I couldn’t afford not to.



I must have fallen asleep over the books on
the desk because the next thing I knew, I felt myself being lifted
up from my chair. Cyrus’ whisper woke me up more than his
disruption of picking me up.

“Spellwork, Little One? I didn’t think you
had it in you. Now hush. Let the dead rest when you do.”

“What?” I muttered, suddenly all too awake.
My keeper was holding me close to his chest with my ear pressed
against his shoulder. “What are you talking about?”

“You are talking to them.” Cyrus laid me down
on the bed and I sunk down with a sigh. “A habit I am sure you will
control in time.”

“I don’t talk in my sleep.” I was going to
say more. Refute him. But he simply smiled as he pulled the
blankets over me. I felt like a kid being put to bed; safe and
warm. Suddenly I was surprised at how much I wanted him to stay. As
he nodded his farewell, I reached out to him.

“Stay. Tell me a story.”

“A story?” Cyrus froze in mid-bow. “Haven’t I
told you enough for one night?”

He was joking with me. I could see his half
smile in the faint light from the hotel’s window. I nodded,
snuggling down further into my pillow with a yawn.

“Yes. Tell me more about you. If you are
going to be by my side indefinitely, I may as well know who you
are.”

“Indeed.” Cyrus pulled up the chair next to
my bed and collapsed his long frame into it. “What would you like
to know?”

“Anything. I don’t care.” I was getting
sleepy again and I was fighting against it. “How did you come into
this life of yours?’

“I was a soldier, Ms. McRayne.” Cyrus leaned
forward, linking his fingers together in front of him. “A man
married to the service of Greece. I lived, no, I breathed the very
battles which killed many of my comrades.”

He paused as if deciding what he should say
next. “I was meant to serve Artemis, goddess of war. I did, for a
time. I wore her charms beneath my breastplate. My men chanted her
name with every victory, and begged to her for forgiveness if we
failed.”

“What changed?” I yawned, harder this time.
“I thought the Sibyls were Apollo’s creation.”

“They are.” Cyrus smiled again. “I see you
took my words to heart. You truly were reading the books I gave
you. Did you learn anything useful?”

“Yeah, and you are changing the subject.” I
opened one eye to examine his shadow as the light from the window
faded. “Go on.”

“I told you of the hunter who doomed the
first Sibyl of Cumae?

I nodded.

“That man wasn’t a hunter. He was me.” Cyrus
shook his head. “I was taking a short cut to the camp we had set up
outside of town when I heard a woman scream. She was begging not to
be harmed. When I came to the tree’s edge, I saw them. Apollo is a
master at taking the human form. This is how he appeared to me. I
unsheathed my sword, yelling for him to release the poor girl at
once or face the wrath of my blade.”

“What happened? Did you have to fight a god?”
I leaned up on a single elbow. “What was it like?”

He shifted in the chair as if uncomfortable,
but he continued. “Short. Apollo released the girl and turned on me
as a lion would his prey. Before I could close half the distance
between us, he fired a single arrow from his bow.”

“Where you hurt?” I forgot all about my
sleepiness as I listened. Cyrus was a master storyteller. “What
happened to the girl?”

“Hurt?” Cyrus gestured to the scar which
crossed over his face “I died, Little One, after taking an arrow
through my eye. My soul had disconnected itself from my body. I was
fading into the Underworld when he brought me back.”

“Why would he kill you only to bring you back
to life?”

“As punishment for interrupting his fun.
Apollo cursed me then to always be by the girl’s side. As I
regained control of myself, he told me quite clearly that since I
was so quick to protect the girl in life, then I would do so for
all eternity.”

“So this is how you became the Keeper to the
Sibyl.”

“Yes, but she wasn’t the Sibyl just yet. When
Apollo became pleased with her work, he changed her from the wild
woman she had become into a figure who could rival the goddesses
themselves.”

“This is what I have become, then. A goddess
on earth?” I tried to make light of my words, but the teasing in my
voice faltered. “I’m going to need a crown or herald of trumpets to
announce my presence whenever I walk into a room now.”

“In a sense, yes. You are a goddess compared
to other humans.” Cyrus leaned closer, studying my face as he
ignored my joke. “One look at your eyes would convince any man
alive of your power.”

“Will they ever change back?” I shifted
beneath the covers. “Cyrus, will I ever change back?”

“No, I am afraid not.” Cyrus shook his head
as he stood. “And you must rest. I am certain you have a full
schedule lined up for tomorrow.”

I remembered my promise to Elliot. If all
went well, we were going to be leaving New York tomorrow night for
parts unknown. Parts filled to the brim with all the spooky ghosts
he could get his hands on. I was not excited, but I knew what Cyrus
was saying was the truth.

“Oh, alright.” I sat up with a sigh. “I’ll go
to sleep. But you have got to stop calling me Ms. McRayne. It’s
going to get annoying in a hundred years or so. Call me Eva.”

I was rewarded with another one of his
crooked smiles as he faded into the shadows. I couldn’t understand
the emotion which came over me when I saw it, or why I felt so
comforted by his presence, but I wanted Cyrus to stay with me.

I snuggled back down into my pillow with
another sigh. How could I explain to Elliot the connection I felt
to Cyrus? As much as I detested the idea of having the strange man
following me everywhere, I was starting to feel as if I needed him
there. It wasn’t because of he was easy on the eyes, either. Cyrus
knew things I did not. If I were to believe in the spirits I’d seen
in the mirror, then I had to believe in what he was trying to teach
me. I considered going over to the desk for only a minute before
dismissing the idea. These stories had been around forever. They
could wait a few more hours.

One thing I did know for certain was Elliot
was not going to be happy about my decision. I could count on his
displeasure. Arguments which would probably never happen filled my
mind. Elliot would tell me I was being effected by how hard I’d hit
my head. Or that he had pushed me into too much too soon. I would
snap back. Then he would disarm me with one touch of his hand.

Cyrus was right. I needed my sleep if I were
going to get through tomorrow.

I was right. Elliot was not happy with me. In
fact, he seemed downright furious as he stomped around my perch on
his bed, throwing his clothes in the open suitcase beside me.

“Eva, you can’t be serious. You can’t keep
Cyrus. He’s not a stray dog who needs a home.” Elliot grumbled just
loud enough for me to hear him. “Though it might be better if he
was.”

“But I’ll feed him and pet him and call him
George.” My fragile attempt at humor was lost as Elliot turned
around to glower at me. “Fine. I won’t pet him. But I need
guidance, Elliot. You have to understand how complicated my life
has become over the past few days. Cyrus is helping me figure out
how to deal with those changes.”

“No I don’t. You didn’t listen to a single
thing I told you yesterday.” Elliot picked up a mass of black
t-shirts and they joined the pile next to me. “He is just trying to
use you. That man is trying…”

“To what?” I returned his sour look with one
of my own. “What exactly is Cyrus trying to do? From what I’ve
seen, he has done nothing but help me since this whole mess
started.”

“That’s my point.” Elliot stopped what he was
doing and put his hands on each one of my arms as if to hold me in
place. “Eva, you don’t need him. You have me. We can figure this
out together.”

“Can we?” I searched his face to find the
answers I wanted to badly. “I want to believe that, Elliot, but I
think that this Sibyl business is too much for us to handle
alone.”

For once, I wasn’t convinced Elliot could
solve my problems. Before this trip, I had been so sure that just
being around him would make me happy. Now? My confidence was
shaken. The visions, the whispers – these things were so much more
than I’d ever imagined. If Cyrus was right, then they could take
over. I could lose myself in the past and never come back.

“Of course we can.” Elliot’s tone of voice
seemed to be laced with honey as he began to rub his hands against
my arms. “Eva, we can do anything together. You know this.”

“That was before I started seeing dead
people.” I relished in the excitement of having Elliot so close. I
couldn’t let it distract me. “Cyrus can help me with controlling
them. Last night, he taught me how to shut the mirrors down.”

“Last night?” Elliot released me. “I thought
you were too exhausted to do anything last night.”

“I was.” I shrugged as I searched for a way
to get out of the lie I’d been caught in. “But Cyrus dropped by.
Since I want to be able to look at myself getting ready in the
morning, I asked him to teach me how to make the visions stop every
time I look into a mirror. And he did.”

“Strange men in your hotel room at night for
a lesson, huh?” Elliot had a snide tone in his voice I didn’t
appreciate. “Is that all he happened to teach you?”

“Is that…” I snapped, unable to finish my
sentence as I realized what Elliot was implying. “Yes, that is all.
How can you even suggest such a thing? By god, how long have you
know me? Do you really think I would sleep with a man I’ve only
known for two days? Give me a little credit, Elliot. I think I’ve
earned it.”

I was about to open the door when he grabbed
me.

“Eva, wait. Look,” Elliot’s shoulders were
slumped in defeat as he turned me to face him. “I’m sorry, ok? I
didn’t mean what I said. You gotta understand, what we have is
important to me. I don’t want to lose it.”

“Then don’t go and make accusations about
things you don’t know the first thing about.” I tried to pull away,
but his grip tightened. “Let me go.”

“No.” Elliot cupped my face in one of his
hands. “I can’t let you do this. I can’t let you lose yourself in
the promises this man is making. It’s not right.”

It was my turn to look defeated. I felt the
anger seep out of me the instant he touched me. I leaned into the
palm of his hand with a sigh. “What are we doing, Eli?”

“We are going to keep on with what we were
doing before the conference.” Elliot brushed my jaw with his thumb.
“We are going to travel the world, making the best damn show on
television.”

“No, I didn’t mean about the show.” I pulled
his hands away from my face. “I meant what are we doing with each
other? The kiss, these caresses. Elliot, what do you mean by
them?”

“I don’t know.” Elliot tightened his grip on
my hands before sitting down on the edge of the bed I had vacated.
“I don’t know what I am feeling right now. But I know I can’t be
without you, Eva. I’ve held back from wanting you for so long. I
can’t do it anymore. Not after sitting by your bedside, wondering
if what I’d done had hurt you.”

“You didn’t hurt me.” I knelt down to get a
better look at his face. “Eli, look at me. You didn’t do anything.
And you can’t stop what has already happened.”

“What now? Where we go from here?” Elliot
seemed to be searching my face for answers I wasn’t sure I had. “Do
we just go back to being friends? Do you want to give us a try? Or
do you think being together will ruin everything between us?”