揥hy not??I asked, anger still burrowing its way through my chest.
Dr. Kent returned to her chair. 揑 don抰 have an answer that you can understand. It抯 just the way things are. Some ancient covenant梩he specifics of which have been long forgotten. What I know now is that interfering in the lives of mortals creates chaos each and every time. The potential for disaster is never greater than when a god intercedes in mortal affairs.?
I didn抰 like her answer, and I was so tired of everything being a riddle. 揝o why are you interfering in my life? Why were you talking to Mo? Why were you giving me the information about Medea??
Dr. Kent抯 expression darkened. 揑抦 not interfering. I抦 assisting. There抯 a difference.?
I crossed my arms hard over my chest. 揝o you can step in but only when it works for you??
She smiled politely but not genuinely. 揂s it turns out, I owe a debt to Hecate. I抳e always taken up my loom for her and showed her the threads of her mortal family.?
Marie stepped forward. 揧ou say gods are forbidden to step in, so why would she bother keeping tabs on anyone??
揟o bear witness,?Dr. Kent said matter-of-factly. 揑 cannot interfere and neither can Hecate. She cannot persuade you to move away from something that is fated for you. Imagine what it must be like to watch your family over thousands of years, hundreds of generations, and be able to do nothing in the face of their suffering.?She sighed heavily. 揝he did turn away for a long time, but she made her way back. She watches because that抯 all she can do.?
Marie turned back to Circe. 揥hy are we here??
Circe took a deep breath and chewed at her bottom lip before speaking. 揑 need to know if we can get Thandie back. If it抯 even possible to reunite the pieces of the Absyrtus Heart. I need to know if we can survive it.?
揑 thought we came here to find out more about Medea,?I said.
Circe nodded. 揑 did, but?we抮e here and Clotho桪r. Kent梜nows so much more than that. I need to know how this is going to go because I can抰 lead us into this and lose everything all over again.?Her eyes filled with tears, and her breath caught in her throat. 揑抳e lost almost everything and everyone who has ever meant anything to me. All for the sake of the Heart. I don抰 know if I can do that again.?
I didn抰 know what to say. I understood. Maybe just as much as she did. The Heart had taken from me, too.
Circe clasped my hand between hers and pushed her glasses up. 揑 won抰 put you in harm抯 way. Especially if it leads to nothing.?
Dr. Kent suddenly cleared her throat, and we all turned to look at her.
揧ou want a glimpse into the future??she asked. She stood and marched up to Circe. By the time they were face-to-face, Dr. Kent loomed over Circe, glaring down at her. 揗aybe I give you exactly what you抮e asking for, but then what? What happens when you see something you wish you hadn抰？ Something you can抰 unsee or undo??
Marie moved to my side, and I took her hand in mine.
Circe stood tall, her chest poked out, her chin up, defiant. 揗aybe I could do something about it since you won抰梠r can抰。？
The silence that followed was awkward and uncomfortable as the two women stared at each other. Then, in one quick motion Dr. Kent swept over to the spinning wheel and grabbed it by the spoke, yanking it down. It spun so fast the shape of it was lost in a blur and the gold thread began to shimmer, making long shadows in the dim light.
揚lease have a seat,?Dr. Kent said.
Marie moved to one of the chairs and pulled me down next to her. Circe balanced herself on the chair抯 armrest and watched as Dr. Kent walked to the shimmering pool in the middle of the floor. She crouched and stirred the strangely luminescent water with her fingers. When she pulled her hand back the skin hung from her exposed bones, ragged and wet.
I stifled a scream as the skin quickly re-formed around her hand. She opened and closed her fist.
揅ome forth, sisters,?Dr. Kent said. 揥e have company.?
A rumble from somewhere deep under my feet shook the ground. Little bits of loose rock bounced across the tops of my sneakers. The legs of the tables and chairs rattled against the stone floor.
Dr. Kent backed away from the pool as the water inside it sloshed against the sides, spilling out across the floor. As the rumbling settled, I took a deep breath, but the relief was short lived as a skeletal hand reached up from the water and clamped down on the pool抯 rim.
I was on my feet without thinking. I grabbed Marie by the arm and yanked her back. She clutched Circe by the collar of her shirt, and the three of us stood frozen in absolute shock as a figure clawed its way up and over the edge of the shallow pool.
A strangled cry escaped its throat, which began to re-form from bits of naked bone and flesh.