Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 161535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
She nods.
It sounds like something I can do—she referred to it as babysitting. I can keep a god company. “All right. And it’s just until all the aspects defeat each other? What happens to me then?”
“Oh, if he dies, the god’s Aspect is defeated. The Anchor is more or less the target.”
I freeze in place.
“I didn’t say there wasn’t a catch to this,” Lachesis reminds me, smoking her cigarette. “But your situation’s going to be a little different than most. We’ve picked out the Aspect you’re going to be serving, and we want you to stay alive. We’re juicing the system, so to speak.”
I swallow hard. “Well, can I say that I’m glad to hear that?”
“Don’t get too excited,” Lachesis says with a chuckle. “You’re going to be saddled with Apathy.”
“Apathy,” I echo. “That’s the Aspect?”
She nods. “An apathetic god of disease serves humanity best at this current time. In the past, Kalos has been a very naughty boy, and the Fates have decided that out of all the possible aspects, they want Apathy in charge for a while. From what I’m told, the last one was Arrogance and he was a goddamn mess. Picked a fight with a goddess, plagues everywhere, tried to conquer the world…just the worst.” Lachesis shakes her head. “So… Apathy.”
“Okay…so I just…stay alive?”
“More or less. But because he’s Apathy, he’s not going to help things along.” She grimaces. “He might work against you. He might want to get done with his stint in the human world as quickly as possible. It’s up to you to keep him safe and yourself alive until he’s clear to ascend again.”
I nod, my head reeling. Well, she did say I would be babysitting. And she said I wouldn’t like it. But David gets his life back, the life he always wanted. He’ll be free from the cancer. He’ll be free from financial stress.
And I’m apparently just a blip on the radar that can be easily removed.
“Any more questions?”
I keep thinking. I’m all for this strange stroke of luck, but I know I should be thinking through the ramifications, or I’ll regret it later. “What happens to me when I die?”
She takes a drag from her cigarette. “Whatever happens in their world. You’re attached to their tapestry of fate at that point and out of my hands.”
“I don’t want that. I want to come back here after I die,” I say. “So I can see my brother and my family again.”
Lachesis rolls her eyes. “You sure?” I nod. “Fine. I’ll pull a few more strings, though it’s not normally done like that.”
“I appreciate you making the exception for me,” I say politely.
The goddess shrugs. “What else?”
I rub my brow. “I honestly can’t think of anything else. But I’m also still trying to absorb everything.”
“Changing your mind?”
“No, I’m going to do it.”
“Great. That makes things easier for me.” She stubs her cigarette in the puddle of now-cold coffee and gets to her feet. “You ready to go?”
“What, now?” I clutch the edge of the table as if it can somehow stop things from moving forward. “Don’t I get to say goodbye?”
One unplucked brown brow goes up. “What, and tell him that you’re about to head off to Narnia on some sort of grand adventure? No, sweetie, no one gets to know about our bargain. Your coworkers are going to wonder where you disappeared off to, and you’re never going to come home. You’re going to be just another young woman that disappeared from the city, and no one will ever find another trace of you.”
Oh.
A hard knot rises in my throat. It’s not that I wanted to say goodbye to my coworkers. I can live without telling them farewell. It’s leaving David that I’m struggling with. I’ve been close to my brother ever since our parents died. I talk to him every day. We share everything. To think that I have to turn around and just…disappear without a word of explanation to him hurts.
It feels like I’m abandoning him.
But…how can I not? How can I be selfish when Lachesis is really going to give him everything he needs? I lick my lips, aching deep inside. “Can’t I leave him a note to let him know I love him?”
Her expression grows sympathetic. “Oh, sweetie. Don’t you think he already knows?”
A tear spills out of my eye, and I wipe it away. My hands smell like spilled coffee. “Right. Of course. I just…but…okay.” I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment. “I think I’m ready.”
Lachesis holds out her hand, palm up. I put mine in hers, and the world tilts around me.
When my eyes refocus, I’m no longer in the coffee shop.
Chapter
Three
It’s like coming out of a dream.
One moment I’m in the coffee shop downtown, and the next, I’m…elsewhere.
The air feels heavier, the scent of decay all around me. As my eyes focus, I notice sunlight, and trees…and mud. Lots of muddy water, actually.