Highlander Enchanted(90)
No one answered. They simply followed me.
I swallowed hard, edgy and scared that something had happened to Herakles. For all my complaining about the forest adventures and him not letting me near boys, I loved him. He was the only father I really remembered, and I wasn’t going to handle it well if something happened to him.
Maybe they know that. Maybe that was why four priests were following me, in case I went crazy and they had to tie me up or something. My sense of dread grew as we approached the meadow where Herakles and I trained. My step slowed out of fear of the bad news they’d give me once we reached it.
Setting foot in the meadow, I faced them with my arms crossed. “Is Herakles okay?” I asked and braced myself for bad news.
“He is well,” Father Cristopolos replied.
I sighed. “Omigods. Then why all this?” I demanded and waved at their grave visages.
“We need to talk to you about your future,” Father Ellis replied.
“Now? After our home was just destroyed?”
“Our home was destroyed because you left the boundaries,” another of the priests, Father Renoir, replied coolly. He was probably my least favorite staff member.
“Renny,” Father Ellis said gently. “This is a delicate situation.”
“What’re you talking about?” I asked. “So I left the boundaries for ten minutes. Am I being expelled for it? The nymphs go to town every weekend!”
“My dear,” Father Ellis approached. “This all exists because of you. The school. The orphanage and property.”
I waited, not understanding.
“Once every other generation or so, a very special woman comes along,” Father Cristopolos started. “Someone with great power that rivals the gods’.”
“Yeah. The Oracle of Delphi who becomes the bridge between humans and gods,” I recited from class. “They found the new one. Again.” There had been five new Oracles found the past year alone, though they all turned out to be frauds.
“Focus, Alessandra,” Father Cristopolos said with tried patience. “You are about to learn how different the world is from the sanctuary we created here, from the education we’ve given you. We brought you here to protect you from gods and men, to teach you how to survive in a world that wishes you crippled so they can use you. We wanted you to be the strong woman you are so you can bring back the Old Ways and save our people from wrath of the gods.”
“You aren’t making sense,” I said with a glance at Father Ellis. He as patient with me, the reason I preferred to deal with him.
“The Oracle is captured and held in a state of tortured suspension, Lyssa,” Father Ellis said. “Every second of her life is filled with pain and suffering. She is kept immobilized physically and her powers harnessed for use by gods and politicians, to keep the bridge between the world of the gods and our Earth open, to use her power to suppress the people. The process is one of excruciating pain. But without her, the gods cannot draw off their sources of power and interfere with human affairs.”
I listened, able to follow Father Ellis’ explanation better than Father Cristopolos’.
“Twelve years ago, her successor was accidentally found during a raid and brought to us. We have protected her since then, sheltered her and most importantly, shielded her from discovery. These cords,” he motioned to the rope he wore at his waist, “are infused with the power of invisibility granted to us by our patron Lelantos, the Titan of everything unseen, whose goal has been to protect the next Oracle. Our patron goddess, Artemis, granted us this forest to hide you in. When you are enclosed by the cords, you cannot be seen by men or gods, only by Lelantos.”
“When you stepped outside the boundaries, everyone was able to see you again. The attack on our school was the first step. They cannot see you while you are here, so they destroyed the school to break Lelantos’ magic and will send in a ground force next to find you,” Father Cristopolos added.
They gazed at me.
I stared back.
“For the love of the gods … you’re the Oracle, Lyssa,” Father Renoir snapped. “You revealed our location, and now, there is probably nowhere for us to hide where we won’t be hunted down and slaughtered like you hunt rabbits.”
I don’t slaughter rabbits. The irrational thought gave way to astonishment. I laughed. “No, no! You all have always told me I’m the least special orphan here, that I was graced by Tyche to be around the nymphs, who really are special!” I said with a shake of my head. “This is a well thought out practical joke, though.” My gaze fell to Father Ellis.
He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he appeared dead serious.
I choked on another laugh. There was no way – no way – their claim was real. “I don’t have godly powers! I don’t even get an allowance.”
“The cords shield you from the world and the world from you,” Father Ellis replied. “It prevents your power from awakening. Why else do you think we permitted Herakles to train you as he did? To survive at the hands of humans and gods, you need to be able to adapt to any circumstance if you are to fulfill your destiny.”
None of this made sense to me. Something really weird was going on, and only I seemed to realize it. My chest was being squeezed by an invisible hand. I couldn’t wrap my head around how any of this was possible – but they truly believed it, no matter how insane it sounded. “I’ll play this weird game. My destiny. What is it?”