Page 59 of The Beyond
Atropos smiled. “When the time is right, you will all be together. If you wish to save him, you must become one, as we are.” She motioned between the three Fates.
“Bring them back.” Mia took a step forward.
“Do not speak to us, djinn. You are not of us,” Atropos hissed. “Go back to where you came from.” Atropos waved her hand as if shooing a fly, and Mia disappeared in a puff of sand and smoke.
“No!” Selene cried out and rushed to where Mia had just been. “What have you done with her?” she demanded.
“I have sent her back from where she came,” Atropos said with a shrug. “She is, well, just not here.” She smiled.
Selene glanced around and shook her head. She was all alone. Everyone she trusted was gone. “What now?” she asked under her breath.
Just then, Clotho stepped forward and laid a hand on Selene’s shoulder. “You know what you need to finish the task. To bind Moros and call upon Pandora.”
“Pandora. Where?” Selene asked.
“She will come to you. Soon. When the time is right,” Clotho answered.
“Will she release Elpis?” Selene asked.
“Yes, but first, you must save your friend. You are but only one part, as I am one.” Clotho looked towards the other Fates and suddenly, Selene understood. She needed Tara. She, Tara, and Lucas had to come together to save Scott. “Now go. The journey forward is long.”
“Remember, child,” Clotho started.
“Moros cannot take what does not belong to him,” the three Fates said together.
Then Clotho raised her hand and, with a flick, Selene felt herself spiraling.
She landed in the field behind Mia’s family house with a thud. Her breath was knocked from her lungs, and she lay in the wet grass, under a full moon, and cried.
It was an hour before she could stand up and walk back into the empty house. She didn’t know just how long she’d been gone until she found her cell phone and noticed all the missed calls.
She was hungry and, after showering and changing, made herself a cold sandwich. She moved as if on autopilot. Every muscle in her body ached for Scott.
Her mind screamed, desperate to know that he was okay. That she and the others hadn’t screwed up. That Lucas would keep Scott safe until she and Tara could get there. Wherever there was.
What was Elysium? While she ate, she used her laptop to search and found a bunch of different myths.
Most said that it was a field or plain where heroes went to die. A place of perfect happiness.
That didn’t sound so bad.
So why did the Fates want Lucas to take Scott there? Had they sent Scott there to die?
Either way, she needed her sister, and she needed her fast. The quickest way to get to Hidden Creek was to fly, but it was still an hour before dark, and she couldn’t risk being seen. She bided her time by doing more research. She found out all she could on Elysium. On Moros. Pandora and Elpis.
Nothing else sprang out at her except that Elysium was said to be at the end of the Earth. Just where that was, eluded her. Still, she figured that with Tara’s help, they could find it.
After sunset, Selene pulled on her backpack, zipped her leather jacket, and shot off into the night sky.
Since it was dark and she couldn’t really make out any roads, she used her phone’s GPS to guide her way.
The town of Hidden Creek was large enough that she could see the lights when she came up to the outskirts of town.
Then she noticed a new light in the middle of town and smiled at the brightly lit sign, Harvest Moon Family Restaurant.
Deciding not to chance anyone seeing her land, she set down in the back alley of a building two blocks down and walked the rest of the way.
She was cold, hungry again, and desperate to get back to Scott.
