Goddess Sacrifice (9 page)

Legacy snapped her mouth shut so fast the sound of her teeth coming together echoed in the night. Her hands fisted at her side. To hell with witnesses!

“You need to leave.
Now
.” Adin stared at Venus as he gave her the demand.

Legacy reluctantly—very freakin’ reluctantly—realized she needed to give Adin the same courtesy he’d given her time and time again when dealing with River. She stepped away from Adin, but he turned to the side, grabbing her hand.

“Where are you going?” he asked her softly.

“I’m going to give you a minute to deal with
that
,” she said, glancing at Venus. He sighed, and she stepped up to him. “Don’t be long,” she whispered as she stretched up on her toes and kissed the side of his neck. He leaned his head down and kissed her forehead as she stepped away.

Legacy walked to the other side of the fire, and Jonah and Lizzy followed. They wanted to find out what all the hostility was about, but she tried to blow off the encounter. She really wanted to watch Adin and Venus interact—well,
until
she watched them interact. Adin was standing close to her, and his posture was tense. She could see Venus looking up at him with pleading eyes. A couple of times, the fat cow stroked his arm, and both times, he rebuffed her touch. Even though she was happy with how he was handling himself, she still didn’t like the intense nature of their interaction.

When they finished talking, she saw Venus walk to the side, and Adin walked over to Legacy. He put his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

“I’m sorry about that,” he whispered into her ear, and leaned back to look into her eyes.

“It’s not your fault.”

After that little set back, they continued visiting with Adin’s fraternity brothers, but she felt a little standoffish, and it was obvious Adin had sensed that by the frequent glances and comforting caresses he’d given her. Legacy engaged in all the conversations and was her polite self, but seeing Adin interact with Venus definitely had an effect on her.

She was relieved when he started saying his goodbyes to his buddies, and they left.

On the ride home, he didn’t say much. They talked a little, but mostly, he held her hand and kissed the back of it a few times.

When Adin pulled into his grandma’s driveway instead of hers, she looked over at him questioningly, but he didn’t give her a chance to ask him what he was doing.

“I’m going to walk you over and come back and change before coming in.”

“Okay.” It made sense to get out of their costumes.

After he walked her home, she went upstairs and put on some pajamas. Then she came back downstairs and waited for him. When he came in, they both sat on the couch. He put his arm around her shoulder, and she laid her head on him. She rubbed her hand on his chest in front of her face while he stroked her hair. The actions seemed automatic, and not very comforting.

“I’m sorry you had to see me with her,” Adin whispered.

She shrugged. She didn’t trust her voice to speak. She felt pissed and sad and irritated. She could be both pissed and irritated if she wanted to be.

“I know how much I hate seeing you with River, so I know how you felt tonight.”

She nodded against him. “Um, do you think she said those things because she knows something I don’t, or do you think she was just trying to make me mad?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart. I don’t want her to know anything about you, so I don’t talk about you with her.” Adin sighed. “I think that’s why she showed up tonight. She’s so curious about my relationship with you because it’s such a mystery to her. I guess she wanted to see for herself since I don’t talk about it.”

“But you asked her not to come?”

“Yeah,” he breathed.

“Do you think it’s a coincidence that she wore that costume?” She sure as hell did not.

“No. I figured she conned one of my fraternity brothers into telling her what I was wearing.”

She sighed, and Adin squeezed her tighter.

“You were the most beautiful woman there tonight. You’re always the most beautiful woman to me, and I’m not just talking about your outer beauty.”

“Yeah, but I was kind of ugly tonight.” She knew she’d smarted off to the heifer. Yep, still pissed.

“You were provoked, sweetheart.”

She shrugged. She really wasn’t provoked. Venus had just stared at her before she’d mouthed off. “I should have continued to ignore her.”

Adin pulled away from Legacy and put both of his hands on her cheeks. “You didn’t do anything wrong tonight. Do you understand me?”

She half-smiled at him. She didn’t really believe that, but at least Adin believed in her. Knowing that made the bitter pill of Venus easier to swallow…and not vomit it right back up. She gritted her teeth as she thought about that wretched creature. Sensing her unease, Adin wrapped his arms around her again and held her while she stewed silently. He continued to hold her against him until she fell asleep on the couch, the knowledge of Adin’s unwavering belief in her the last lingering thought before darkness claimed her.

Chapter Seven

Sacrifice.

Legacy shot out of bed, looking around her room, confused. Adin must have carried her to bed after she’d fell asleep last night. Her hands tingled, growing hotter as an image lingered in her mind. She shot up, clenching the covers against her chest and breathing heavily. She’d had a dream. She hadn’t woken up like this before, so she quickly thought back over her dream to figure out what element was new or different.

Sacrifice.

The only new image she had was of the image of her mother, but Legacy only remembered seeing her in her dream for a split second. She couldn’t recall anything that was said except for the word sacrifice. That had been the same word Lissa had told her about before, so she wondered if her mother was trying to communicate with her.

Legacy got dressed and headed downstairs. She needed to talk to Lissa and see if there was a connection to this word and her change. If so, what was she supposed to sacrifice? Of course, that was assuming the word was something literal and with her dreams, there was no telling if it was that or some kind of metaphor for something else. Lissa was sitting quietly on the couch, staring outside the window, but turned to face Legacy when she walked in.

“Did you get a message too?” Lissa asked as Legacy sat down beside her.

“Too? What did you hear this time? Yes, I got a message. My mother was in my dream last night, but I woke up remembering the word sacrifice. You mentioned this word before. What’s going on?” Legacy fired off the questions one after another, faster than her brain could process. If Lissa had also gotten a message at the same time, then whatever the sacrifice was, it was relevant to her change of somehow.

“It appears your mother is trying to communicate with us. I’m not getting too much out of her, but I heard her say something about the oracle. Other than that, I can’t a read on her.”

“Oracle? What do you mean? Do you know what this sacrifice is?”

Lissa shook her head. Gods, Legacy wanted answers. This was too eerie to just let go. But beyond the weird vibe she got, there was a feeling that was much stronger.

“Could this be bad?” she whispered.

“Yes.”

“How bad?” she asked as her body started to tremble. Oracles and sacrifices didn’t sound like child’s play here. Not that changing into a goddess was either, but that was something she was adjusting to.

“Legacy, don’t worry about that now. You mother will do whatever she can to keep you safe. When you need to know something…when
we
need to know something, she won’t stop until her message comes through loud and clear.”

Legacy nodded at Lissa, but no way was she ready to drop this topic. She immediately knew who she needed to talk to about this. The only one person who seemed to have all the answers—River. She’d been avoiding in depth talks about her change with him lately because she didn’t want to risk him finding out too much, but now she’d have to chance him finding out about the truth. If she was careful, though, maybe she would be able to get the answers she needed without divulging too much information about herself.

Since Adin was busy helping with the party cleanup today, she had plenty of free time to seek out some answers. She called River and asked him to meet her at the park where they’d met over the summer. He agreed, and she immediately left, not wanting to waste one second. When she got there, he was already waiting at the picnic table.

“Thanks for coming,” she said as she sat down across from him.

“Why wouldn’t you explain what this is about on the phone? You sounded upset and it’s freaking me out. What’s wrong?”

She sighed. “Sorry. My mind is totally preoccupied. I need some answers, but first there are some things I haven’t told you.” Things she was sure he wasn’t going to like hearing. She took a deep breath and forged ahead. “Er, at the beginning of school, Lissa said she was getting mixed signals about my change and—”

“What?” River’s eyes got big. “Why didn’t you tell me this before? What’s wrong with your change?”

“I don’t know.” She huffed at him. “And because it was around the time I initiated the no physical contract boundary, I didn’t want to risk pushing your limit.” Not entirely a lie.

“Baby, you can come to me about anything.” River reached across the table and brushed her arm once before continuing. “Your safety, comfort, understanding…everything about you comes before my feelings for you. I would never let my love for you interfere with what you need.”

She nodded and looked down at the table. She wasn’t venturing too far into
that
territory. “Anyway, I, er, had a dream last night, and I heard my mother say ‘sacrifice’ as I woke up. Lissa told me she’d heard this same word from my mother when she’d told me about the mixed signal thing. Then today, she said she heard my mother say something about an oracle. It’s obvious my mother is trying to contact us. I asked Lissa if she could be bringing bad news, and Lissa thinks that’s likely. I need your opinion on this. Oracles and sacrifices is a little too doomsday for my liking.”

“I see.”

She slumped a little, feeling some of the weight of the stress leave her as relief took its place. She knew River would make sense of this. “Then I need you to explain it all to me because I don’t.”

River sighed. “Do you know what Laurel leaves are?”

Legacy shook her head, but then frowned. “Actually, I heard Lissa talking about them once. In fact, I saw her crushing some.” And thought it was freaking weird.

“Hmmm…interesting. They’re leaves from a bay laurel that were prominent in the original Greek mythological times. Gods wore them in wreaths around their heads. Some other ancients used them, too, like the Romans to signify victory. And you’ve probably heard the phrase ‘resting on your laurels’…well, it comes from laurel wreaths being given to victors in competition. The phrase means relying on your past successes. Anyway, when someone wanted information from the oracle, he or she would offer laurel leaves from a bay laurel for the information. It was customary to do so to get the information being sought. If Lissa was crushing some, it must mean she intended on approaching the oracle to get information about you or your change since she’d told you she was getting mixed signals about that.”

“What about this oracle? How does he know what’s going on? If he knows the future, then how could my destiny not be clear already?”

“He is a she, and she was created in the likeness of the original Oracle at Delphi, Pythia. The oracle has a divinity connection and can provide guidance for only nine months out of the year. She doesn’t practice during the winter, so I can only assume that’s why Lissa was preparing to approach her.”

“But how does the oracle know the future?”

“She doesn’t. She’s provides guidance in the form of prophecies.”

She gasped, and River looked down.

“Yes,” River murmured. “The oracle prophesied about our, umm, future.”

“Who approached her about it?”

River looked into her eyes. “My father. He was concerned about Medusa’s intentions for me and for your mother. The prophecy about us was completely unexpected. She cannot help what she sees. She saw it and told Poseidon.”

Legacy nodded, looking away from River. “Thanks,” she muttered. The information was helpful, but she still didn’t know what her mother was trying to tell her and Lissa. She figured she would have to pay close attention to her dreams to see if she tried to contact her again. Not that she wouldn’t be doing that anyway, but that was the best she could do for now. Still.

“Um, how did the Halloween party go?” River asked timidly.

She looked back at him and shrugged. “It was fine, I guess.” But her answer apparently didn’t fool him. He looked at her with concern etched in his face.

“Legacy?”

“It’s nothing, River.” It was too raw to deal with right now. The short amount of time that had passed had made her feel a little better, but she didn’t need any salt in that wound just yet.

“Baby, if something’s bothering you, I want you to talk to me about it. Please don’t worry about how I’ll handle it. If you’re upset, I want to help you. Your feelings matter much more than mine.”

She looked at him and knew he would not let this go. She sighed, defeated. “I saw Venus.”

“Oh.” River nodded slowly, but kept his eyes on her.

She folded her arms across her chest and looked up at the sky. “I just didn’t expect to see her. After she came over by us, she wouldn’t stop staring at me, so I snapped at her. Then we both mouthed off. She said some hateful things to me. I reciprocated. Adin stepped in and made her leave, but it was weird seeing them interact with each other.”

“How so?”

She leaned her elbows to the table and dropped her head into her hand, looking down. “Um, he handled himself okay, but she kept whispering and trying to touch him.” Legacy glanced up at River for a fraction of a second and looked back down.

“What did she say to you that was hateful? Maybe just her being there made you uncomfortable and you mistook what she said as being mean.”