Arden: The Gift Of Delirium

68. Inspire

Nine sisters, who owned and operated performing arts center. I couldn't take this as a coincidence because nothing ever was.

"It's definitely them." I heard Ali say.

I nodded my head in agreeance. "Let's go talk to them." We all stood and also began exiting the theater.

"Where do we go?" Armani asked. The halls of the building were filled with people loitering and talking and of course taking pictures.

"Maybe we should've gone backstage," Camilla suggested after someone shoved passed her. She muttered a curse under her breath.

"Nope." Hayden gestured to one of the right-hand halls. "I found them." I looked over and it was them alright. Well, some of them.

Four of the nine women we just saw on stage were greeting and talking to others walking pass. Making our way towards them, they smiled at us. "Hello, thanks for coming to Inspire."

I gave them a tight smile in return. "No problem. Interesting play you guys put on." The sisters were fairly young and they were very beautiful. Brown skin that glowed and hair that varied color but looked great nevertheless. They each had hazel or green eyes and some had freckles scattered on their face.

One of the sisters, I think Lia her name was, scanned her eyes at all of us curiously. "Thank you," Era said, I think. "We hoped you guys liked it- it was very fun to put together."

"We can tell." Nikki nodded. Lia continued to stare impassively, a warm expression on her face, but her eyes calculating and slightly squinted. I'm pretty sure it wasn't only our disgusting and torn up appearances-

If these were really the Muses- the actual sisters of the Liberal Arts, they'd recognize the gods of Olympus anywhere. "Would you guys like a picture?" Terra asked.

"Actually," I stated seriously. "We were wondering if we could talk to you guys privately." Their expressions changed.

"May I ask what for?"

"We know who you guys are," Zane spoke lowly. The four sisters looked at him with a knowing yet cautious look.

"And we'd know the gods anywhere," Lia added. There was a tiny smile on her face as the other sister's expressions matched.

"Technically, we're still disparates," Perri claimed.

"Right, the next generation." Era smirked. "Future gods of Olympus-" She looked around at the busy lobby of exiting and lingering guests. "Follow me, children, I have a place we can talk."

***

"Unbelievable." Terra smiled. "The next generation is here."

"Allow us to introduce ourselves properly." Lia sat down on the oak table in the room they brought us in. It was a large room and it was lower than the other rooms. Shelves of books and different scripts were stacked and line together around the walls.

The room had brown walls and low lighting. I assumed this was the room the Muses settled in-where they handled all their work.

The Muses knew who we were. I'm glad that our meeting wasn't complicated. Now, they can help us.

"We are the Muses." Era spoke. "My eight sisters and I are the entities of arts and everything that is related to liberal creations and science. My name is Erato."

"I'm Terpsichore."

"Thalia."

"And I'm Melpomene."

The sisters looked alike but you could still tell them apart. "It's nice to meet you guys," Zane said to them. He stepped forward towards them. "We need your help as we said before."

"It's kind of urgent." Nikki piped up. "We were wondering if you guys had a certain spell."

"We have a lot of spells, sweetie." Thalia shook her head.

"Yes, and we're over three-thousand years old, we might not be able to give you what you want as fast as you all want it," Melpomene added.

I looked to Zane and he had a concentrated expression on his face. "I mean, there are many of us and you combined, surely working together could make the process a little faster." I shrugged.

Erato smiled. "Perhaps."

"Just curious, where are the rest of your sisters?" Camilla asked.

"Oh, they're probably somewhere about, talking to guests," Terpsichore said. "They should be here any moment."

"On an unrelated note, how did you guys enjoy the show?" Erato asked.

"Uh, we didn't get a chance to see all of it," Harper explained quietly.

"No worries."

"Since we're on unrelated notes," Hayden started. "May I say that you ladies are absolutely beautiful. Downright stunning to look at."

I had the urge to roll my eyes. I heard Zane exhale next to me and give Hayden a look.

"It's alright." Thalia touched Zane's arm. "Hades was always somewhat of a charmer- I see his son has inherited the same characteristics."

"We're flattered, thank you, Hayden." Thalia smiled.

"How do you know his name?" Ace asked.

"We know all of your names."

"Nice to know," Ali mumbled quietly.

The large mahogany door that we entered through soon opened and the other four sisters walked in. They seemed taken off guard with all the strangers standing in their study-like office. However, when they took a good look at us, I guess they kind of figured who we were.

"Whoa." Clio's mouth opened. I think it was Clio. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Disparates? It's not every day we cross paths with those." Pia- Euterpe looked to her other sisters for help. "Wow- this is very uncanny." Looking at us with wide eyes.

"What's going on?" Urania asked seriously. "Why are they here, and why...why do you guys look like that?"

Yeah, we did look pretty cruddy.

I turned my head and raised an eyebrow when I saw Polyhymnia and Calliope inspecting Perri. There was a part of me that wanted to laugh but then again I felt bad. I don't know about Perri.

"He looks exactly like Neptune," Callie whispered, holding his jaw tightly.

"I know right," Polly responded. "What if he has that same mark as-" She gasped while she began to lift up his shirt.

Perri jumped and both women stepped back. "They need a spell." Mel explained.

"A spell?" Pia repeated slowly.

"A spell for what?" Clio asked us.

"It's...complicated." Zane's deep voice resounded in the room. "Long story."

"Well," Urania stated hesitantly. "Before we give you the spell you want, why don't you elaborate us?"

*****
Introducing the Muses. They're going to help our friends with their situation. I almost forgot to update today too.

Next chapter, The Muses try and help Ace with his Hallucinations.

2019 is officially tomorrow and I hope everyone has a great start to a great year. 2018 was a rollercoaster- but certainly better than 2017. I started This book in February and I ended it in December. Yay. I hope everyone has a fantastic night! Until next time,

-brittany.