She laughs playfully, although it’s anything but light and free. It’s laced with something deadly.“What an accusation?! Why do you think I do? Do you think I steal from gods for fun?”
You do, because in the Grimoire of Hadora, it says you defeated the enemy with a whip of golden light. A casual mention, but it made me wonder if by any chance it was Helios’ Tongue of Dawn,I answer, refusing to entertain her.
I can feel her behind me, and she’s close. I can make out a smile on her face, and for a moment I wish I hadn’t seen it. There’s something eerie and chilling about it.
She then slithers around me, and I hear her laugh before she glides away. I realise the bottom of her form, where there should be feet, is just smoke.
“You’re a smart one, maybe I do have it,”she laughs.
I need the Tongue of Dawn,I say, not wanting to spend a minute more than I have to here.
“And let’s say I do have it, of which you have no proof, why would I give it to you?”
You are right; you did give us so much, and I respect that. In return, what can I do for you if we were to make an agreement? Surely there has to be something I might be able to do in return. So, tell me?I ask.
“You? You, who are just a shadow of what you were supposed to be? I had high hopes for the di Bianco Galdur bloodline. Even when they became tainted with wolf blood, I still gave you the best. That is, until your pathetic mother couldn’t handle it, and that demon trash cut the link to your ancestors for good, destroying centuries upon centuries of my work in seconds,”she hisses, her eyes glowing like live embers of coal.
I clench my jaw, my eyes burning at her insulting Mama and Aunty. Reminding myself she’s a goddess, I remain passive.
Do not let her words get to you, Heaven. I need her help.
And this is exactly why I didn’t contact her. Her ways, her past actions that speak for themselves, and now seeing her before me, the cunning cruelty she holds in her eyes, the sinister shadows that loom behind her smile. It solidifies that I made the right choice.
“There is one thing actually…” she says, her voice softening. “Oh yes, there is…”She swirls around me, her smoky shadow tightening around me for a second, and I feel my breath cut off, and then she laughs again.“Agree to the restoration of the di Bianco Galdur bloodline, skipping your mother and instead tying your ancestors to you.”
There’s contempt in her voice when she talks about Mama, and it makes me angry.
You mean open the spirit pathway to my ancestors of the past?I confirm what I already know she means, but with a god, it’s always good to have them clarify exactly what they mean. They are tricky.
“Yes, a witch is meant to have access to her past ancestors so she can call on them for knowledge, power and assistance.”Hecate’s words are like poisoned honey. Sweet and innocent, but she is anything but.
It requires great strength of mind because where there are extremely strong witches, they will try to gain control of their host. In this case, it would mean the likes of Endora, who once tried to control Mama. There are witches who were driven mad because of this. But there’s no point in arguing with Hecate, she is one who will get offended easily.
Very well, you may restore my link to the spirits of my ancestors in return for the Tongue of Dawn.
She laughs as she circles me, her fingers ghosting my neck, clawing at my hair and scraping my arms. I remain emotionless, waiting. She laughs again, enjoying her fun.“Very well, but there’s one clause.”
What is it?I ask.
“You will not tell Helios that I had this artefact in my possession. He doesn’t forgive easily, and I don’t have time to fight him when there is plenty of drama on Earth that is extremely fun to peek in on, and I don’t want to miss anything.”She laughs.“So, do we have a deal?”
I also have one clause,I state, turning and looking her dead in the eye. She raises an eyebrow before she floatsaway and then spins to face me, her laughter vanishing.
“Do you think you are equal to me to demand something? I am giving you a gift by reinstating your bloodline; you should be grateful.”Her voice slithers through my mind like a slippery snake, masked by smoke.“You forget who you are speaking to. I offer you a gift, and you are trying to bite the hand that blesses you?”
I raise an eyebrow, tossing my hair as I look her square in the eye. Around me, my aura unfurls like a storm. Every thread of energy of my power glows, as the place becomes illuminated with lanterns. Every flicker of light bends to my will. We are in my mind, and here, I control all. I morph and shape what we are, how we talk, and where we stand. In my mind, I am the sovereign.
You speak of a gift?My tone drips with scorn as I now circle her phantom form, her silhouette flickering with black shadows.You speak of my mother failing you? No, you’re the one who failed your daughters. Five years ago, when you forced your children to obey you. When you took away their control and commanded them like dogs, and if they defied you, they paid the price with their life. So do not speak of mercy and gifts when you have given us none.
Her eyes flash, molten orange, yet so cold and full of rage.
You are the reason my father is dead,I continue.So, before you demand gratitude from me, remember this: it is your subjects who give you strength. And if they ever turn on you, if they ever forget you, your name will fade into nothing. You will lose the poweryou so desperately cling to. I know how gods are made, and I know how they fall,I finish in a menacing whisper, although in here no one can hear me.
The silence that follows is heavy, a stillness that hums like live electricity before a strike.
Hecate’s smirk spreads slowly, her gaze sharp enough to cut.“So that is how you play, Aldona, perhaps you will rival her,”she murmurs, her voice curling around my name like silk and poison.“Very well, then. What do you want in return?”
I meet her stare without hesitation.I want the grimoire of the First Blood Trinity.
