Goddess Awakened (On Hold)

Goddess Awakened - Chapter 6

"We see you." They finished the words together, a discordant melody that rang uncomfortably in her ear. Still, the taste of their terrifying gifts was so familiar it was like coming home. Coming home to find out your three equally terrifying aunts were visiting for the summer.

Antheia blinked, her hands uncurling as she shook her head. "Moirai."

The elder voice cackled before descending into a deep rasping cough. "Took you long enough, little goddess."

The gloom seeped away to reveal acres of earth around them, the ground and skies barren but the three of them.  Dressed head to toe in embroidered robes, they cut an unforgettable sight. Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos were unchanged despite the years that had passed. They were just as eerie as they had been during her childhood. Their iris glowed a bright purple, lit from within with an otherworldly light.

Jutting up her chin, Antheia muttered, "Are the dramatics truly necessary?"

The younger of the three sniffed, tilting her head so that her long dark hair swayed down her back. "You should have some respect for your elders. Besides, what's a little game between friends?"

Antheia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She could only imagine what games they would play with her lifeline if she did. The Moirai, or the three fates as they were named by the mortals, had been frequent visitors to Olympus in her youth. Zeus consulted them like the mortals consulted oracles, desperate for guidance in a strange world. Yet, even familiarity did not make their presence any easier to bear. Under the focus of all three, it was like she had been cleaved down to her immortal soul and left open to their unnerving stare.

Perhaps they had? After all, they spun the threads of life and determined its end. Were they looking at her own thread and watching it fray as her life meandered towards its end?

Antheia swallowed and turned her head only to come face to face with Clotho, her dainty feet dancing over the dirt and her face untouched by the ravages of time. She would have been just another extraordinarily beautiful woman if not for her eyes. Her eyes always gave it away. They spoke of something ancient. They allowed just a glimpse of the incredible power contained within the innocuous packaging. 

"I thought you were all gone." Antheia said finally, her eyes flitting from Clotho, to Lachesis, before finally settling on Atropos as they circled her. It was like being surrounded by vultures waiting for their next meal. "I thought I was alone."

"It is true, life moves in cycles."

"Things come."

"Things live."

"Things go."

"But we stand outside the cycle. Walking alongside but never a part of."

Antheia frowned, her arms wrapping around her waist at the thought. Was their fate worse than hers? To always watch but never be a part of anything.

"- you are not the last."

"Wait." Antheias's breath hitched in her chest. "I'm not alone? Who else lives? Where can I find them?"

"So many questions."

"But not the time for answers."

"Answers will come soon enough."

Antheia stomped her foot. "What use are you then?"

"Patience, daughter of Zeus." The trio replied, their voices overlapping so that they were almost one. "We come with a warning."

Antheia's breath stuttered in her chest. "Warning?"

"Their voice whispers in the ear of mortals." One began only for another of the fates to continue. "You must be ready or another priestess will fall."