The man pressed his fingertips to his lips. He shifted where he stood. 揥here is my sister??He stretched his arms and looked at them as if they didn抰 belong to him.
揥ho are you??Circe asked. Her voice sounded small and hollow compared to his. How she抎 found the courage to speak was beyond me, but the man turned to her and spoke gently.
揂bsyrtus.?
Circe抯 eyes widened in the dark. We hadn抰 failed after all. We did the thing that had never been done. We had resurrected Medea抯 beloved brother, Absyrtus, and he stood before us.
揗y sister,?he said. Something like fear invaded his voice. He looked around the enclosure as if he expected to see someone there.
It was my turn to find a way to suspend my own disbelief about what was happening. 揗edea,?I said quietly.
The man took two halting steps and then, finding his balance, swept over and crouched in front of me. He rivaled Hecate in height, and his hands seemed massive compared to hers. His eyes were kind as they stared down at me.
揧es,?he said. He reached out and grasped my arm, and it took everything I had not to scream. His hand was big enough for his thumb to loop over my shoulder while his little finger cradled the crook of my elbow. He stared into my face. 揥here is she??
I glanced to the place where we抎 found Medea抯 grave. Absyrtus rose and walked to the spot, where he fell to his knees and held his face in his hands.
揝he抯 been gone a very long time??he asked without turning around.
揧es,?I managed to say.
He heaved a sigh, and his shoulders rolled forward. 揝he has returned to the dirt and I am risen from it.?He looked at the stars twinkling against the midnight sky. 揗other.?
The ground shook with the violence of an earthquake. The stone wall behind me split right up the middle, and pebbles rained down on me as I covered Marie抯 body with my own. A tangle of Devil抯 Pet covered me like a blanket, shielding me from the rain of rocks and debris.
A low hum emanated from the far end of the garden. A great black abyss grew out of the darkness, like the widening of a hideous mouth, and from it stepped a giant black dog. Its yellow eyes glinted in the darkness as it stalked out of the hole that now danced with the light of a roaring fire.
A familiar figure emerged from the void.
Hecate. The mother of us all.
Her gaze swept over me. A small smile danced across her lips but faded as she eyed Marie. She looked to Circe who, despite her grief, seemed to be in a state of utter shock at seeing Hecate in the flesh.
Absyrtus walked toward his mother as if he were wading through water, like he couldn抰 get his body to work in the way he needed it to. She approached him just as slowly, with caution, a look of disbelief stretched over her perfect face. As they met in the middle of the garden she reached out and, cupping the back of his head, brought his face to her chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and they held each other, murmuring private things into the night air. When they broke free from each other, Hecate removed her outer cloak and wrapped it around her son before approaching me.
Her face was damp with tears as she loomed over me. 揧ou抳e come to do this impossible task. Something I myself could not have done, and you have succeeded.?
揌ave I??I asked as I gazed down at Marie.
Absyrtus stood at his mother抯 side. 揧ou have,?he said gently. 揑 dwelled in the nothingness so long I thought I had become a part of it for all time.?He crouched down and touched Marie抯 forehead.
She took a breath.
A ragged cry, made of sorrow and hope, broke from my chest.
揗arie.?I couldn抰 find any more words to say. Her eyes remained closed, but she stirred, and relief flooded through me. 揥ait,?I said. 揥hat about Persephone??
Absyrtus followed my gaze. Hecate put her hand on his arm. They exchanged glances and he nodded. He walked to Persephone and picked her up, cradling her against his chest.
I gently transferred Marie抯 weight to a bed of black ivy that had bloomed around us and stood in front of Hecate. 揧ou can let her come back, too??I looked to Absyrtus. 揧ou can bring Persephone back, can抰 you??
Hecate cupped my face in her hands. 揝he came to this sacrifice willingly.?
Circe stumbled over to me and fell to her knees in front of Hecate.
揚lease,?Circe said. 揚lease don抰 take her.?
揧ou are unaware of the rules,?Hecate said. 揑f there is to be an exchange, it must be a soul for a soul, and Persephone made her choice, in words whispered to me over offerings and black flames梩hings that will remain between her and me for eternity. She would not allow it to be anyone else. Not you, not Briseis. Just her.?
I recalled the tail end of the ritual Circe and I had walked in on Persephone performing, how angry Circe had been.