Page 23 of On a Pale Horse
It took seconds to arrive on her doorstep and another few seconds to realize how late it was. She couldn’t leave them outside and to be honest, she wanted them out of her responsibility. She materialized in the entryway; it was usually safe and found the place empty and dark. Of course, they’d be in bed at this hour.
“Katherine,” she called. The lights were out but Arwan and Katherine were upstairs, she could feel them there.
“Katherine,” she yelled again. Hoping she didn’t have to walk into the pair’s bedroom to get their attention.
The light switched on at the top of the stairs and Katherine bounded down, hair in disarray, wearing a thin night shirt that barely covered her thighs. “What is it? Did someone die?”
Cloris laughed and then shook her head somberly. “Sorry, it’s been a weird night. No, not yet at least. I brought this, I figured you, or Arwan might have a feeling about what to do with it.”
Cloris lifted the scales as high as she could. They were heavy bastards and brandished them in the light. Katherine rushed down the last few steps and reached out to take them.
Cloris wasn’t fast enough to retreat, and Katherine grabbed them before Cloris had a chance to move them out of the way. The house shook, the lights flickered, and both Katherine and the scales began to glow.
There were very few things Cloris feared. Her friends dying basically topped the list. It lasted a few seconds and Katherine crashed to the floor, taking the scales with her.
“What the hell was that?” Arwan asked a few steps up. He hadn’t bothered to put on clothes standing there in black boxer briefs and a concerned expression.
Cloris answered since Katherine didn’t appear to be able to. “I have no idea. Although I feel like if what I think just happened actually happened it was too easy.”
Arwan reached out for Katherine and then fell over into a seizure just like he had with the scale's vision. He slid down the remaining stairs to land in a heap next to Katherine. When his hand brushed Katherine’s she could only crawl toward him on the hardwood.
Something was up because Cloris usually had a better reaction time than all of this. She crouched down to try and help Katherine get to Arwan when he stopped convulsing and lay still. Another few seconds passed before he could sit up.
“It’s the sword,” he said. “Excalibur is the next object you need to find.”
Cloris stood as Katherine grabbed at Arwan’s waist. She stared down at the scales, considering their options. “Like Arthur’s Excalibur?”
Arwan nodded, clutching his forehead. “Yes, the big sword. I’m pretty sure Gwyn and Arthur are friends. Maybe he could take this one.”
Katherine latched onto him and Arwan sat with her laying in his lap, her arms wrapped around his torso.
“Now what happened to her?” Arwan asked, gently gathering Katherine’s hair out of her face. “Are those the Scales of Maat? You just brought them here and handed them to Katherine?”
Okay, considering it now, probably not her best move. Cloris shrugged. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what is wrong with me tonight.”
It was part truth and part lie. Most of her focus was back on her bed. The way Hades looked terrified of Persephone revealing some kind of shared secret between them. It had stuck in her mind, and now she couldn’t shake it enough to focus on her work. Not a good prospect.
Cloris focused back on the pair. They both looked exhausted but otherwise appeared okay. The gold scales sat in the middle of the floor where Katherine had released them. Cloris reached out and ran her finger across the top. She could see the Black Horse in her mind when she touched it. They’d done it.
She pulled her hand away and stared at the scales in awe. “We did it.”
Katherine finally sat up, her voice raw and scratchy. Her hair stood out from her head every which way and made her look younger. “But now what do we do? I feel like stripping my power and putting in the scales may have made the power easier to obtain, as I was the one protecting it before.”
Cloris hadn’t thought about that. And from the looks on their faces, neither had Katherine nor Arwan.
A snap and flash of light burst through the room. Cloris’ heart rocketed to her chest, and she had to shield her eyes. One of theEinherjarappeared, grabbed the set of scales, and disappeared.
“Fuck!” Cloris didn’t curse often, but this situation deserved an expletive or two.
Katherine hugged her legs and Arwan wrapped her in his arms. “This isn’t good,” she whispered. “I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.”
Cloris shook her head. “This is my fault. I should have known Hel wouldn’t have just given them to us.”
She wanted to punch something. To take her anger out and shove it at the nearest object that could take the greatest amount of damage. It would seem Hel had played them. This woman was dumb as a rock, but apparently made up for it with cunning and manipulation.
“No.” Cloris whispered. “Hel isn’t smart enough for this. She wouldn’t care about what we wanted enough to make a plan that accounted for our deepest desires.”
Katherine finally stood up, wobbling on shaking legs. “Then who could have done this?”
