Chosen (3 page)

             
Just as I was about to ask if that was really possible, the seat belt lights blinked on and we buckled ourselves, as well as the still-sleeping Carmen, in safely to prepare for our descent into Paphos.

             
I peered out the window at the mysterious sea below.  The nearly full moon above lit a watery runway of glitter as the far the eye could see.  If only my own path were that clear. 

Finn

              “I still don’t get why I had to come,” I complained, shuffling my feet as loudly as possible. “Liam’s mom even said he could go surfing on the Isle, but now we’ll have to wait until next week.”

             
“The Queen of the Underworld doesn’t care about your surfing schedule,” Mom replied with a frown and walked ahead of me on the stone path.  I’d been helping Dad out for years, but I’d never been required to go with Mom to her meetings.  Usually they contained information I wasn’t allowed to hear.  Plus, no twelve year guy wants to go to meetings with his mom.  So, when she told me I had to go with her today, I wasn’t too happy about it.  That feeling was amplified after Liam had called to go surfing. 

             
“Maybe she’d be a better queen if she did,” I muttered under my breath.

             
“It’s not every day we’re summoned to see Persephone.  I need you to behave.  We won’t be here long.  Just long enough-“ She stopped abruptly when she peered over her shoulder at me.  I held my breath and suppressed a snicker.  She put her hands on her hips and glared in my general vicinity. “Finn Morrison, if you don’t uncloak yourself right now, I’m going to change you into a piece of lint and stick you in my pocket for all of eternity.”

             
The laugh I had been holding in fought its way out, sounding more like a snort. This time she crossed her arms, smirked, and lifted an eyebrow. “Suit yourself.  But it’s going to be hard to surf next week without a surfboard.”

             
“Aw, Mom!  Come on!” I uncloaked myself and pleaded one last time.  “Persephone won’t know I’m there and I’ll still listen to whatever you guys talk about.  The only difference is I won’t have to talk to her.  Everybody wins.” I gave her my best puppy dog eyes.

             
“Except when she catches me talking to thin air and assumes I’ve lost my mind,” she countered.

             
“Everybody assumes that already,” I joked, and jumped out of the way as she swatted at me playfully.  We walked the rest of the way down the path and soon approached the front entrance. The Queen wasn’t known for being very welcoming, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  Mom gave me a weary look and knocked on the heavy wooden door.  The house itself was covered on all sides with thick, golden vines.  It was as if the forest floor was slowly devouring the entire structure. 

             
After two more attempts, the door finally swung open and a stunning woman stepped out into the light.  Or maybe she
was
the light.  It was hard to tell since she looked like she was glowing.  She reminded me of a roman candle me and my friends had lit last year at the Summer Solstice event on the Isle.  Except she didn’t have sparks flying out of her head.  That would have been much cooler. 

             
I experienced something like a red hot whip slam into my heart as her golden eyes met mine.  I jumped in front of mom; immediately on the defensive.  I could feel the darkness that everyone from down there had, but the sense of powerful rage simmering below her surface was overwhelming. If Mom felt it, she gave nothing away.

             
“It’s alright, Finn,” she reassured me and touched my arm gently.  Not taking my glare off of Persephone, I backed away only slightly.

             
“And you must be Finn.” Persephone’s blazing golden eyes dissected me in mere seconds as her mouth curled up into a smirk.  My entire body tensed as I sensed the full force of her hidden anger when she spoke.  I narrowed my eyes at her in an effort to let her know that whatever dealings she had with my mom, she would have to get through me first.  I felt my own darkness flare and spread as Persephone chuckled.

             
“I mean no harm to your mother, son.” I bristled at her use of the word ‘son’ and then realized she had known what I was thinking. Could she read minds?

             
“Then what do you want?” I growled at her, moving in front of Mom once again.

             
“Finn, honey, Persephone only wants to discuss certain…administrative issues.  You have no reason to fear for my safety.” I could tell she was trying to be reassuring but she still wasn’t convincing me.  No one with that kind of resentment and anger could do anything out of the goodness of her heart.  My father once told me that hate binds the heart.  People like her always had hidden agendas.

             
Persephone ushered us into a large foyer and then up a flight of stairs into a solarium.  It was filled to the brim with flowering plants and bushes.  Lush fruit hung from trees, and vines clung to the glass walls. The entire ceiling was also glass, which created a tropical forest feel.

             
Mom took a seat near one of the many waterfalls, but I remained standing.  There was no way I was letting my guard down.  As Persephone strolled past and sat down across from Mom, I heard the sound of feet running.  Two seconds later, the owner of those feet pranced into the solarium and scowled at Persephone.

             
“Mother!”she barked and then rested her hands on her hips. “You were supposed to tell me when they arrived!”

             
“Nadia, dear.  Won’t you make our guest feel welcome?” Persephone swept an arm in my direction and then addressed me with regal undertones. “I believe you know my daughter, Nadia.”

             
I cringed as Nadia’s pout lifted into a cunning grin, and she swept into the room like Cinderella on ‘Dancing with the Stars’.  I got the feeling the world was supposed to stop spinning in acknowledgement of her entrance.  I was waiting for a hidden orchestra to begin blaring Beethoven’s Symphony #5. I let out a
snicker, which was quickly muted by a look from Mom.  Nadia ignored my outburst and continued to move in my direction. 

             
The last time I had seen her would have been at least four years ago.  By the spoiled smirk she was wearing, it appeared humility and kindness were still foreign concepts to her.  I had to admit, she was stunning.  Her golden hair tumbled over her neck and shoulders, accentuating the golden color of her skin, and the black sundress she was wearing didn’t leave much to the imagination.  Every guy I knew would jump at the chance just to be near her. I begged to differ.  She couldn’t hold a candle to
her
.  No one did.  No one ever would.

             
“Hey there,” she purred and wrapped a snake-like arm around my waist.  I abruptly stepped out of her greedy embrace.  The golden eyes she had inherited from her mother boasted a different type of hardness behind them.  She was used to getting her way, and the lingering path her eyes created as they slid down my body told me she had expected nothing less from me.  She was about to get a very rude awakening.

             
“Come with me,” she demanded.  Last I checked, I wasn’t a pet Chihuahua who would follow her around begging for her affection, so I stood my ground and raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

             
“Finn, give us a few minutes to talk.  Why don’t you let Nadia show you around?” Mom smiled and nodded her head, insinuating it was safe to leave her alone with Persephone.  I refused to budge.

             
“Finn,” Mom urged again with apologetic eyes.  I shot one last threatening glare at Persephone as a warning and ignoring every instinct I possessed, painstakingly forced my feet to follow Nadia.  Instead of showing me around their home, Nadia made a beeline for the back door.  I continued to follow her as we walked down a dirt path, while she rambled on about a girl at school whom she didn’t like.  I stopped listening after less than a minute, and tried to figure out when the next ideal time to go surfing would be.  The tide would be up by the time we got back, but a storm was blowing in tomorrow, so it might be better to wait until then.  I could ride my short board instead-

             
“Were you even listening to me?” I ran right into a fuming Nadia, whose carnal eyes were now boring a hole into mine.

             
“No,” I shrugged my shoulders and let out an exaggerated sigh of boredom. Surprise flitted across her features before they darkened considerably. She pointed a bony finger in my face.

             
“When I talk, you listen. Got it?”

             
I tapped my chin as if thinking. “What am I supposed to say? Oh that’s it - Yes, your highness.” I bowed to her and then flipped her off with a gallant smile.  Light swirls of gray smoke lifted from her skin, reminding me of a smoking fog rolling off the ocean.  I didn’t need the vapor pouring out of her skin to tell me that she was evil.  I could sense it a mile away.  She stiffened but remained silent, as she attempted to reign in her wrath.  The vapor disappeared and her eyes returned to their normal honey color.

             
“We’re almost there.” She twirled around in a show of indifference and continued to walk until we reached a tall stone staircase that led underground. 

             
“And just where is ‘
there’
?” I questioned her with heavy skepticism. 

             
“You’ll see.  I made it myself.” She skipped down several more stairs and pivoted to glare up at me. “Well?” Wanting to get this little journey over with, I rolled my eyes and followed her down the stairs.  We continued to walk through a dark, dank tunnel for what seemed like hours, until we reached a dead end.  I could hear water rushing above us which was slightly unnerving, but I ignored my urge to leave.

             
“Congratulations. You made a dead end.” I raised an eyebrow but she simply reached out and touched my shoulder.  I swatted her arm away, but we had already been conveyed to what I assumed was the other side of the dead end.  She was lucky I was used to my mom using conveyance to travel.  Unfortunately, I hadn’t inherited that particular ability.  But I had some other cool ones that more than made up for it. 

             
I inspected my new surroundings and couldn’t help being awestruck.  Somehow she had created a completely enclosed square room underground.  But that wasn’t the cool part.  It was the ceiling - or the lack there of.  Instead of solid stone, above our heads were clear rocks that displayed the full fury of the rushing river above. 

             
“I enchanted the rocks above this part of the river to be transparent so I could see through them,”  she bragged with a smug smile.  “It’s my hiding place.  Only one way in and only one way out.” She wiggled her eyebrows for effect, “ Me.”

             
“Of course.  It’s your world.  We’re just living in it.” I responded with cynicism.  My eyes ran along the pristine stone walls once again.  I had a feeling I could bust out of there if I had to.  If she was trying to intimidate me, she’d have to do a lot better than that. 

             
“So…” She sauntered over to me slyly and ran a finger down my chest. “What do you want to do?” Punch that smug look off your face.

             
“Leave,” I growled and moved away from her.  She was beginning to push her luck. “Now.”

             
The angry vapor rose from her skin again as she approached, armed with a cocky grin and an arrogant swagger. “You better get used to this now because we’re going to be spending a lot of time together.”

             
“I doubt that,” I threw back at her and laughed.  She smirked and moved to stand within inches of me, rage flashing in her eyes.

             
“My mother has spoken.  You’re mine.”

Finn

              You know that glorious sliver of time between the moment you wake up and the moment where reality hits? Unfortunately for me, it slipped through my fingers so quick, I nearly missed it.  Not to mention my dream hadn’t been too different from my current reality.  That day six years ago, I had no idea how true her selfish words were.  I was young and clueless.  Even when Mom explained it to me with devastated tears in her eyes, I didn’t give it another thought.  It was no big deal.  I’d find a way around it by the time I was eighteen. When you’re twelve, eighteen is a lifetime away.  I told myself it didn’t matter.  And I was right, it didn’t.  Until
she
came back.  Until I looked into those unsettling blue eyes and glimpsed her soul. The day on the beach when she became real, was the day that everything changed. 

             
The roar of the water rushing above me soothed my anxiety, while my inner clock fought to calculate what day of the week it was.  If my math was right, I’d been down here for five days.  I’d spent almost a week in the bowels of the Underworld, as the world above continued to move forward as if I’d never existed.  At the onset of each darkness, I would willingly slip away into catatonic episodes of extreme isolation and pain.  My mind would do its best to convince me that no one would be searching for me.  I told myself everyone had given up, moved on with their lives, and my body had been disposed of in the vast meadows of the sea floor.  Or maybe they would bury it on the Isle with a nice headstone that read: 
Here lies Finn Morrison. The worst Prime who ever lived.
  My mother would weep with shame, and Stasia would turn her back; unable to bear the evidence of my obvious failure.  She had risked everything for me, only to be repaid with utter defeat. 

             
I had been a fool to think I would protect her by keeping her in the dark; sacrificing my own destiny.  The only thing I had sacrificed was my relationship with the one person that ever mattered to me; my reason for breathing.  I should have known it was never me who was meant to be the hero.  The sand and the sea bowed to her glory; reveling in her presence and soaking up her beauty.  She was destined to surpass all who came before her and touch all those who came after.  I could only hope to stand by and watch as she changed the world.  I would never again underestimate her again.  I would spend the rest of my life proving my love to her.  She was my anything.  She was my everything.  And I’d almost thrown it all away. 

             
When the soft light of each new morning once again filtered through the raging river and down into my cave, my head would clear and I was able to think rationally again.  But the constant back and forth was driving me mad.  I knew my father would not give up until I was found.  The Sons Order would comb the edges of the Earth to find me.  Unfortunately, only a select few could search the Underworld;  and even fewer still would know where to look.  Nadia’s handmade cavern wasn’t represented on any maps, and there were no doors or windows to announce its presence.  I was a dull needle in an underground haystack.

             
A sharp pain ran down my arm and I looked down at the gashes in my skin. Wrapping around my wrists and ankles, I could do nothing against the power of the white vines that were standing in as my chains.  My body wasn’t healing at its normal rapid pace, which meant Nadia had somehow created a vacuum where none of my abilities worked.  I was nothing more than a sitting duck waiting for someone to find me.  Fury shot through my veins and I fought against the vines; twisting and yelling out.  I was angry at myself for getting into this situation.  I was angry at myself for letting Stasia down.  I was angry at the suffocating hollow feeling that my helplessness elicited.

             
With my insufficient reserve of energy depleted, I collapsed back onto the floor in exhaustion. I lay there wallowing in my own despair, and allowed the new and re-opened cuts on my arms and legs to bleed out.  Pain had become a welcome companion.  It was the only thing that reminded me I was still alive.  It was simply an extension of the overwhelming agony I harbored within -- an agony I deserved to feel again and again.

             
The dampness of the underground room chilled me to the bone, but Nadia had ensured there were no comforts of home inside her ‘hiding place’.  That only left me with the vines, the river, and a curious wooden trunk on the other side of the room.  I was considering whether or not the vines that bound me were edible when I heard the sound of footsteps on the other side of the wall. 

             
“Rise and shine, Love!”  Nadia appeared before me and my blood instantly bubbled with overwhelming hatred.  “We have much to do!”

             
“I’m not playing your bullshit games, Nadia,” I growled.

             
“Games?” She snorted, cracking a dry smile and coming to a stop in front of me.  Her features hardened and her golden eyes flashed, “This is no game, Love.  But believe me - I’ll be enjoying every minute.”  She noticed the small puddle of blood collecting below my right knee and smirked.

             
“Why Finn, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you look so dreadful.  It’s a shame your essence and abilities have no effect down here.  That looks horrific.”

             
“You’re playing with fire, Nadia,” I accused her in a low voice.  She should know the consequences of her actions.

             
“I happen to like fire.  It’s powerful and tantalizing.  Just like me.”  She twisted on her heel, kicked off her shoes and made her way to the trunk.  She visibly shivered in her thin tank top and jeans.  With a snap of her fingers, the room warmed to a comfortable temperature.

             
“I don’t know how you stand it down here!  It’s absolutely frigid!”  She chuckled to herself when I cursed her through gritted teeth.  She whistled happily as she opened the trunk and began rifling through it; searching for something in particular.

             
“Now where did I put it…Aha! Found it!” she squealed with delight.  Then she snapped her head around and grinned at me like she was two personalities away from a straight jacket and a padded room. “Enjoying the view?”

             
“Don’t flatter yourself.”

             
“Oh come on Finn,” she purred. “You know you want
this
.” She spun around in a circle and raised a golden, sly eyebrow at me. “But unfortunately for you, I don’t screw pieces of shit.”

             
“I’m crushed.”

             
She looked me up and down, tapped her chin, and smiled, “Not yet.” With a flick of her finger the white vines pinned me against the wall; slicing new wounds on my arms and legs. “I’ll save that for later.  Right now, we have other things to take care of.  And I must say, I’m so glad you came to your senses and chose me.  I was beginning to lose hope,” she joked.  She twitched over to where I was shackled to the wall and let out what sounded like something close to a cackle. 

             
“Yea, I’ve really been looking forward to having my soul wrenched out of my body and starving to death in this god forsaken hole in the ground,” I spit at her with venom. 

             
“I might not be as transparent as that little tramp of yours, Stasia, but-“

             
“Leave her out of this! You don’t even deserve to speak her name,” I growled.  The familiar rush of power and adrenaline that usually accompanied my anger didn’t come, and I started to realize the gravity of the situation I was in.  Not that I was going to let Princess Psycho know that. 

             
“Oh, please…she’s nothing but an Achilles heel.” She collapsed into a fit of giggles, “Get it - cause her brother was Achilles..?” I ignored her failed attempt at irony.

             
“She possesses every quality required of a leader in our world and more.  Qualities you have never, and will never, possess - purity, strength, grace and most importantly, humility.”

             
“Humility, weakness - same thing.” She dismissed my words with a flip of her hand.

             
“The prophecy speaks for itself.  Even you can’t argue with that,” I retorted. “She is my destiny.  And I, hers.”

             
“All I hear is blah, blah, blah-I want to have sex with her-blah, blah, blah. 
Lust
turns the strongest of men into invalids and I simply couldn’t let that happen.  Your essence is far too important for what is ahead of me.”

             
“Essence becomes useless without love. 
Love
turns the strongest of men into warriors.  When a man has someone to fight for, he’s capable of moving mountains.”

             
Her grin dropped and she stomped over to me with vapor rolling off of her skin.  She stood in front of me, silent for a moment, then grinned wickedly and unrolled the leather case she had been clutching in her hand.  She slid something silver out and held it up so I could see it.  A syringe.

             
“I think I’m in the mood to play nurse.” Her eyes sparkled as she moved towards me.  I tried to fight the vines, but the excruciating pain that shot through me sucked what little energy I did have completely dry. “Now don’t tire yourself out, Love.  I need to get a good strong sample.”

             
At her words, another pair of vines shot out from the stone wall and slithered around my left arm; securing it tightly.  My trace had become dull in the last few days under whatever vacuum she had placed on my prison. 

             
She slowly ran a finger down my cheek and smiled sympathetically. “Your sacrifices will not be in vain.  I can promise you that.” She dropped her hand and her golden eyes hardened, “But the slow, painful deterioration of your soul will be.  I’ve decided you owe me that.  It’s the least you can do.”

             
“So, are you looking forward to spending eternity on Tartarus, or will an exception be made to send you straight to the pits of fire?” I asked in the same tone I’d use to ask about the weather.

             
“You really think my own mother would sentence me to an eternity of hell?” she chuckled.    “Please tell me you aren’t that simpleminded.”

             
“You know as well as I do that a certain level of evil is not tolerated.  Your mother’s decision will be overridden by the-“

             
“Shut up!” she yelled and slapped me across the face.  It stung, but I hid it beneath a purposefully smug smile -- which only made her vexation spill over. “Enough of this!  You are no more than a means to an end.  You will never be Prime.  You will never see your tramp or your family again.  You are
nothing
.” With that, she uncapped the syringe and drove it into my forearm; right through the eye of the skull.  My thoughts turned to Stasia as my world filled with pain and faded into darkness.

             
The next time I awoke, it was to hushed voices and the clicking of heels on the stone floor.  It was much darker, but I could still make out two figures standing on the other side of the cavern.  Reaching out with what essence I had left, I knew that one of the figures was Nadia.  The refreshing smell of sea oats told me she was of the sea, but the cold, slimy fingers of her essence proved that it had been tainted by corruption long ago.

             
“We only have a matter of days,” the unknown woman said. “The moon must be at its highest when the transfer takes place.  We have no room for mistakes.”

             
“I’ll hold up my end of the bargain, but how do I know you’ll do the same?” countered Nadia’s self-righteous voice. 

             
“Whether you hold up your end of the bargain has yet to be seen,” the other woman countered. The velvety tone of her voice was hauntingly familiar.  “Although you repeatedly fail to remember what’s at stake, I do realize you have your own agenda, of which I can respect.  However, the binding agreement you stepped into will be complete on my word.  No sooner and no later.”

             
I slowly attempted to pull myself up into more of a sitting position.  Unfortunately the slight movement reverberated off of the cavern walls, and both women spun in my direction.  I saw Nadia cross her arms as a hint of a smug smile lit up her face.  The other woman walked towards me and the stifling chill that surrounded her hit me with immense force.  She wore a long dress that trailed behind her and shifted as she moved.  Her face was cast into shadow by the waning light above the river.  As she came closer, I was just able to make out long black hair amidst more strands of green.  The glittering scales that framed her face sharpened in my line of sight as she kneeled down.  Her feline emerald eyes sparkled; reflecting the darkness within.  I gave her my best smirk.

             
“We meet again, Keto.”