“I had no doubt. What else have you uncovered in that wickedly clever mind of yours?”
“Well, so this person has super powers, they have ancient knowledge, and they aren’t detectable by the hellhounds when they mess with humans like Mr. Bledsoe. No one seems to think that’s even possible, but we’ve seen it happen more than once. And they seem to have access to other supernaturals because they had no issue getting close to Magdalen.”
She paused again, her eyes going cloudy as she stared out across the expanse of the ocean.
“My daughters are growing uneasy,” she said after another few minutes. “My interference is beginning to draw their attention.”
“I really don’t understand. I mean, you’re the mom. Aren’t you the boss?”
“No, dear boy. I gifted my daughters with their powers. They are the mothers now. I am the crone.”
Sawyer remembered reading about it in his books. When he first heard of the triple goddess, he’d thought it referred to the three daughters. It didn’t. It was more the generation of goddesses, and each level could have multiple goddesses. The crone was the elder, the mother the middle age and in their world, the leaders, and then the maidens were the young goddesses.
“You’re really not supposed to be involved at all, are you?”
She remained silent.
“Shit. Uh, I mean… oh hell, I’m sure you’ve heard worse and honestly I mean no disrespect toward you, but if your daughters can’t get their heads out of their asses long enough to realize we’ve got a major problem here then they deserve to have you yank a knot in their asses! Everyone thinks the goddesses have abandoned them, that something they’ve done is so bad they’re being ignored. But it’s so much worse, isn’t it? They’re oblivious! But you aren’t. You hear their pleas, their cries for help. You created this whole prophecy centuries ago because even then you knew something was wrong.”
“You’ve given me much to think about.”
Sawyer sighed. “I’m sorry I raised my voice. It’s been a rough week.”
She patted his arm gently. “Let’s just sit for a while.”
“Does anyone even know I’m gone? I don’t want them to worry. It’s been hard for them, too.”
“They’re fine. I will have you back before anyone stirs and realizes you were gone.”
“’K,” Sawyer said. They sat down on the sand and listened to the waves crashing over the shore. He glanced over at her once and found her eyes glazed over, glowing in the light of the moon. She was looking inward, he realized, seeing things and putting pieces of the puzzle together that weren’t available to him yet. He still wasn’t sure how it all worked, but if he wasn’t being touched by the daughters at all, if he could somehow reach them and help them see, maybe he could help. He repeated the prophecy in his mind, the words memorized and studied over and over again since he’d first realized his destiny.
When the children cease their cries
And true love’s light goes dark
When the sisters interests divide
and the hidden ones emerge.
Nothing will stand in their way.
The guardians will rise
Two by fire, earth, air, water
The chosen one brings strength and balance
For peace and love to survive.
The sisters interests were indeed divided. Hidden ones had emerged and they were wreaking havoc. The guardians had begun to rise. He had his two fire and one each of the others. He had one job: to bring strength and balance. Sawyer certainly didn’t feel strong and everything around him was out of balance. But that wasn’t entirely true. He wasn’t out of balance, not really, even though his world had been thrown for a loop. He’d found strength he didn’t know he had. He had met the most amazing men and was mated to four of them. He had an opportunity to help Saeward heal, and his heart told him that he could do it. He was drawn to his beautiful hippocamp, wanted to heal his heart and help him find peace.
And that was the key, wasn’t it? Peace and love. He just had to hold on, keep being strong, dig deep, and not give up. He had to help them find balance again, dial the magic back up to where it belonged, and remove whatever was muffling their voices and keeping the daughters from hearing them.
The horizon was beginning to glow, deep reds and oranges peeking above the edge of the water, when she finally took a deep breath and her eyes came back into focus.
“Better?” Sawyer asked quietly.
“Yes. I’m afraid I must go, though. A young hotel clerk is in need of my assistance. I think I know exactly which direction I should point him in.”
