"So, uhh... There's nothing in this thing.." Alex said, throwing away the brochure in a trash can. "Maybe we can ask for help??" Magnus suggested. "Of course. We can go and say, 'Hey, we're searching for a viking dagger. Without it, the world will end!!' As if anyone's gonna believe us." Alex managed in one breath.
"That's not what I meant. Maybe we could contact ghosts??" Magnus turned to his companions. Adri looked thoughtful. "Not ghosts, no. But I can speak to butterflies as they're my father's sacred animals."
"Let's find you a garden or a place with lots of butterflies then." Nico said, looking at a display board with the top tourist attractions in Seville. "Look!! There's one. Alameda de Hercules. One of the oldest publicly open garden in all of Europe." Alex said after a minute of scanning the board.
"That's good. But how do we get there. I don't think Adri will be able to do a shadow-travel so soon." Magnus stated, throwing a concerned glance at Adrienne. Sure enough, her bronze skin was palloring. She was slightly swaying, her eyes fighting to stay open.
"Well, let's find a hotel room or something." Alex said, showing the euros in her hand. The guys nodded as Magnus slightly held Adri's arm. "'M fine... I can walk!!" Adri protested, pushing away Magnus' hand. Nico sighed, shaking his head. "You aren't going to let us help you, are you??" "That's because I don't need help." Adri said.
"Well, then let's get going. We need to find a cheap hotel room." Alex said, leading the others to a good hotel. It took them an hour to find a hotel with decent prices. "Dos habitaciones por favor. (Two rooms, please.)" Alex handed the receptionist the cash and took the room keys.
"How we gonna divide? The guys in one and the girls in the other or the Greeks in one and the Vikings in the other??" Magnus asked as they stood in the elevator, waiting for it to reach the 5th floor. "Let's do alive and dead." Nico recommended, shifting his shoulder so Adri's head wouldn't roll off of it.
"Fine by me." Alex said as they walked into their rooms. "Get some rest. I'll take a shower and we'll wake you for lunch." Nico told Adrienne as she flopped on the bed, not bothering to remove her shoes. "O'phay" came her reply, muffled by the mattress.
Within seconds, Adri fell asleep, her dreams full of butterflies swarming a garden. She stood at the entrance where a magnificent and grand arch stood, welcoming the visitor. She followed the cobble path into the garden. She wanted to stop and look at the fish pond with its crystal-blue water, but her legs moved of their own accord.
She moved to the centre of the garden where there was a marble fountain. It had the statue of a traditional Ancient Greek maiden, a pithos in her hand, spilling water in the fountain. At the ledge of the fountain sat a woman, her back turned to Adri. From what she could see, this lady had voluminous black hair, cascading down her shoulders till her waist. Her head was covered by a black hair fascinator hat. She seemed to be wearing a black dress that reached her ankles.
Slowly, she realized the woman looked as if she was going to a funeral. She didn't want to think whose it would be. "Adri, darling... How nice of you to join me here." The lady said, turning, so for the first time, Adri got to look at her face. It was unnervingly beautiful but also disorienting. One moment, it was a black woman with gorgeous eyes the colour of ice shards, next it was a white girl with flowing red hair and freckles.
Stunned into silence, Adri couldn't speak. Out of nowhere, it hit her. This was Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, love and war. "Oh child, you've got no idea what your future holds for you.." the goddess said with sympathy. Adri wanted to interject. 'I don't know, yes. But I do know it has lots of death and misery. And it would be well appreciated if you don't mess it up further!! ' she wanted to say, but her mouth was glued shut.
Aphrodite cocked her head to the side. "I don't have much time left, but remember this one thing, 'Voice your thoughts. If you're wrong, you're wrong. If you're right, you will be rewarded.' Remember child, farewell. Someone has an appointment with you."
Adri wanted to ask what she meant, but before she could even get her voice to work, Aphrodite and the garden disappeared in a swirl and she found herself in a heartbreakingly familiar place. Her home, that no longer existed.
"No gods... Not this again!! Morpheus, cousin, no!!" Adri wailed. In front of her, her home went ablaze and in a few seconds was reduced to nothing but ashes and charred walls. Where there used to be a couch was a pile of ashes and a skeleton. Her mother's remains. A lump formed in her throat and her eyes burned. Before she knew it, she was on her knees, tears running down her cheeks.
She closed her eyes, willing the landscape to change. She felt a 'whoosh', so she figured she could open her eyes. But how wrong she was. Before her was the charred skeleton of her mother, her- no, its hand on Adrienne's cheek. It opened its mouth and out came a sound that stopped Adri's scream in her throat.
"Trust your instincts child~ Your instincts are true. Remember, when in doubt, follow your guts. It will lead you to victory~" said a raspy sing-song voice. And just like that, the moment it was done, the bones crumbled along with the rest of the room, leading Adri to sit up with a start, her mind reeling with the images in her dreams and the ominous messages.