Sang
I jump up as the woman enters the room, her words echoing in my ears. The boys in the room jump to attention, literally, jumping to their feet, their backs straight and their heads facing forward. I get to my feet hesitantly, trying to peer over their shoulders to catch a glimpse of the mystery woman. "Ms. Frost," North rumbles, and I could catch a hint of anger in his voice.
"What is the meaning of this?" the woman asked, her voice as cold as her name. "And why are you all crowding around the girl, I wish to see her," she added, her voice softening a touch.
"We had a bit of a, uh-" North stumbled over his words.
"Situation," Luke supplied, sending me a smile over his shoulder. I blushed, and he winked.
"Well, if that situation is cleared up, let me see her," the woman snapped, and Gabriel stiffened in front of me, while Silas clenched his fists. Behind them, I started to get nervous. If these boys who I began to trust hated this woman so much, how could I be sure she wouldn't hurt me?
Gabriel, as if he could sense my anxiety and trepidation, turned around to give me a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Trouble," he murmured, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Emma isn't that bad as she seems, she's just a little," he paused for a second, searching for the right word. "short with the people who aren't her own kind. Like us."
Her own kind? I thought, frowning up at Gabriel, my mouth poised to ask a question. Before I could say anything, I'm pushed in front of Gabriel and the others, stumbling forward. They mumble apologies, but I don't hear them. My attention is on the woman in front of me.
She's breathtakingly beautiful, with ice blonde hair and eyes that seem to be made out of cold sapphires. Her skin is even paler than mine, almost ice white, and is smooth and without a blemish. She stands regally, dressed in a light blue gown that falls to her feet, slitted up the sides. She wears a crown made out of gold, with three smooth stones set in the middle; one a deep blue, one a bright red, the other a light yellow. A necklace hangs around her neck, and a locket of some kind dangles from it, containing a bright red fire.
I feel something awaken inside of me, rumbling in delight. Sister, that voice whispers, sister of war and fierceness and victory and invincibility. "Durga," I hear myself say, my lips moving on their own accord. "Sister, you are the protector this cycle, then?"
The woman's eyes widen, before the blue turn to a deep red gold. "Maiden," she breaths, her voice deep and crackling with unbridled power. "We have waited for you."
And then I feel like I'm coming up from under water, gasping for air as my whole body shakes. "Wh-wh-" I try to get out, but lips feel like they are numb, and my cells feel like they bouncing around in my body at high speeds, and I collapse onto the ground.
I hear the boys around me calling my name, but I don't respond. I can't respond. "Get out of here, scions," I hear the woman say.
"But she's our center, Emma, you hag-" I hear North protest, but he's quickly cut off by Ms. Frost.
"Watch your tongue, boy," she hisses, and now it sounds like she's right beside me. I turn my head up to see her standing protectively over me. I want to tell her that there's no need, that these boys mean no harm, but I can't seem to make my tongue move. "She needs to be with her own kind, and understand what she is, before she learns who she is to you nine."
I hear a few more mumbled protests before the whole room grows quiet, and all I can hear are my own labored breaths, and Emma's shallow ones. Emma kneels besides me, an apologetic smile on her face. "I'm sorry she came through like that, Sang," she says kindly in a British accent. "It's always hard when they're not fully there."
"What are you talking about?" I finally get out, once I feel almost normal again.
"Ah, yes, I forget you don't know anything yet," she says apologetically, brushing some of her long blonde hair out of her face and getting up. "Would you like to go find out who you are, who you really are, Ms. Sang?" she asks, holding out a hand to me.
I take it.
~~~
Emma leads out of what she tells me is the garage, throughout the winding halls of what she also tells me is a castle. The halls are lit by candlelight, giving it a rather medieval feel. She leads to two huge wooden doors, and, after giving me another reassuring smile, pushes the door open to reveal some of the prettiest women I have ever seen.
There are eight women in total, all with different hair and different dresses. Three identical girls, with red, black, and blonde hair, sit in a corner, their eyes immediately going to me. They wore identical black ball gowns and are crowded around what looks like a tapestry. Crowns made out of what looked like thread and bone sat on their heads, and they all wore the same necklace as Emma. Despite looking to be the same age as me, the aura they give off seems to be ancient. The Fates, the prophetesses, that little voice in my head whispers, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, sisters of time and destiny and life and death.
My attention then went an Asian looking woman who lounged in a love seat, her hair as black as ebony. She wore a purple pantsuit, and what looked like to be katanas were leaned against the side of the couch. She was flipping a dagger in her hand, and a crown that looked like an hourglass perched on her head, wearing the same necklace. Nemesis, the judge, that voice whispered again, sister of justice and revenge and retribution and balance.
Two red haired women sat near Nemesis. The first was taller than the second, her hair cut short and spiked. Her face was angular and heart shaped, and two thin lines on both cheeks of what seemed to be a light red made her face seem even more angular. She wore a gown made out of fiery reds that stopped at mid thigh, and a black crown made out steel adorned her head. Pele, the warrior, sister of lava and fire and family and feminity. The second woman appeared to be my age, her hair long and a deep red. She wore a simple, straight green gown, and seemed to glow with some unknown light. She wore a crown made out of gold, with intricate patterns of leaves and flowers etched into the metal. Aine, the creator, sister of sovereignty and sun and wealth and love.
Then, my attention went to who I assumed were the leaders in the room. The little voice in my head was whispering inside of me excitedly, but I couldn't make out what it was saying. The two remaining woman sat one one what seemed to thrones, with an empty one between them. The first had long red hair, similar to Pele's and Aine's. Her eyes were a dark brown that shone with a power that was tangible. She wore a royal blue dress, similar to Emma's, but poofed out once it got to her waist. Like all the others, she wore the same necklace, but hers was shaped like an ankh and seemed to pulse. She wore a crown made out of silver, with a large disk protruding from it and horns on the side. Isis, the mother, that voice whispered, full of reverence and joy, sister of magic and motherhood and prayer and wisdom.
The other woman held just as much power, potentially more. Her hair was long and dark and wavy, her eyes just as dark that seemed to burn with some unknown light. She wore a dark purple red dress, with a deep v down the front and pooled out in front of her. She wore the same necklace as the others, but it didn't pulse as brightly as Isis', and instead was a blood red. Her crown was a black as Pele's, shaped like a snake eating its tail. Hecate, the crone, the voice whispered, full of familiarity and happiness, sister of witchcraft and ghosts and crossroads and triplicity.
It seemed like hours had passed, but it had only been seconds. I still stood frozen in the doorway, with Emma next to me. "Th-they're, I'm..." I spluttered, trying to put into words what had just transpired.
Emma smiled at me, gently pushing me forwards. "We know, young one," she said quietly, before leading me around the room and giving me everyone's names. The triplets were known as the Stepford Cuckoos and were Emma's daughters. The one with blonde hair was Celeste, red was Phoebe, and the black Irma. Nemesis was named Betty, but she asked me to call her Psy, a shortened version of a codename. The first red haired girl was Rachel, and was Isis' daughter, the other Hope, Rachel's cousin.
Emma finally led me to the two imposing woman who sat on the thrones. Isis was named Jean, and Hecate was Wanda, both giving me kind smiles. "You're probably wondering why you're here, Sang," Jean said gently, and I nodded.
"Yes, I'm very confused, ma'am," I quickly added, wanting to give this woman the respect she deserved.
Jean waved a hand. "None of that, sweetheart. We're all equals here," she said, and I nodded slowly. The thought of me being equal to someone as powerful was a bit mind boggling.
"Sang," the other woman, Wanda, started, her voice tinged with an accent I was unfamiliar with. "You're a mutant, right? A Pusher?"
"Yes," I replied, my heart twinging a bit as I confirmed what I had kept hidden for so long.
Wanda must have picked up on my shame because she frowned at me. "You are to never feel ashamed of your gift, Sang," she said, her voice tinged with harshness. "We are all mutants, Pushers, and because of that, we are so much more."
"So much more?" I echoed, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. My mind went back to what North said, how I was different, and they were different too. "Like North and the others?"
"You are nothing like the scions," Betty replied sharply, her eyes dark and stormy. "They are descendants of the gods, immortals turned mortal, manifestations of some gods."
"And because of that," Rachel piped in. "They are held back by certain limitations, while we aren't."
I nodded slowly, processing that information. That would explain the weird visions I had when I first met them, and why my telepathy and mind-based abilities wouldn't work on them. They were gods and I was just a mere mortal. "What about us?" I questioned. "What are we?"
Jean smiled at my question, absently fingering her necklace. "We are similar to the scions," she said, holding up a hand to stop the protests that rose up from around the room. "But we aren't born as gods. We are born as Pushers, telepaths that are born with extra abilities that set us apart from the other mutants. And because of these extra abilities, certain energies are attracted to us. The Phoenix Force," Jean paused, before looking to Wanda to pick up the story.
"The Phoenix Force is an ancient creative power that's been around for millennia and, every one hundred years, it pushes back what we call the Darkness, and equally ancient power that is destructive in nature and wants to destroy humanity. The Force has always been attracted to Pushers as 'hosts', if you will, because of our telepathic abilities, making it easier to merge with us," Wanda said, before looking at me to make sure I was digesting the information. Once I nodded, she continued on with her explanation. "The Phoenix Force used to attach itself to one host, fully immersing itself, erasing the personality of the host. It would burn through the host too quickly too soon to really do any damage to the Darkness and its host. But then, ancient Pushers had the idea to split the force between ten of them, so they could share the power and push back the Darkness. The only downside to that was the Phoenix's consciousness would be too weak to give direction to its hosts, and individually, the hosts would be too weak. Thus, the idea of channeling the goddesses was born."
Jean picked the story back up. "The gods and goddesses were born of the Phoenix Force, and for the first few millennia, they drew their power exclusively from their mother, before they had their own powers. The tie between them and their creator remained, so it was rather simple for the first Pushers to channel the goddesses and defeat the darkness. An agreement was made between the Pushers and the goddesses- the goddesses would be allowed to control over their hosts for short periods of time, and in return, they would strengthen the Pushers' pre-existing abilities by sharing their powers. But don't worry," she adds quickly, seeing the horrified expression on my face. "We are still our own people, just with a visitor that pops in every once in a while. Thus, the Phoenix Force was split between them, tied to the necklaces they wore."
"The same ones you're wearing?" I guessed, and Jean nodded.
"Any questions?" Jean asked, and I laughed.
"Is that even a question?" I joked, and she chuckled, smiling. "So, let me get this straight. There's this ancient being called the Phoenix Force that's basically the protector of the Earth and fights the Darkness. Pushers channel the Force because they're telepaths and it's easier. The Force kinda sucks to channel alone, so a lot of Pushers do it so they don't burn up and die. And because it's split up, the Force isn't as powerful, so you channel goddesses, who you share a body with, to be more powerful than the Darkness."
The room is quiet for a second. "That's a damn good explanation," Hope finally says, and the room erupts into laughter.
"Simpler as well," the Cuckoos add, talking at once.
I shiver at their freaky ability to talk at once, and Emma laughs at my expression. "So, how do I fit into this?" I said, asking the question that had been on my mind since the beginning of this.
"Well, you're one of us," Betty said, still twirling her knife. "You're a goddess."
I sucked in a breath, not wanting to believe her. But I couldn't deny it. That voice inside of my head that had named each of the women in the room was suddenly very present in my head. You better believe it, darling, cause we're together for the long run.
"You hear her, don't you?" Emma questioned suddenly, the blonde's blue eyes rather piercing.
"How can I hear her if I'm not channeling the Phoenix Force yet?" I asked, directing my attention towards Jean and Wanda.
"You've met us. We're channelers, and even being close to the Force allows for your goddess to peek in," Wanda explains. "Before each of us got our shards, we could hear our goddesses in our heads, just by being close to the other shards."
I nod slowly, still trying to wrap my mind around the whole thing. Who are you? I questioned the presence in my head suddenly. Silence. "Who is she?" I said, voicing my question out loud, my brows furrowing.
Jean and Wanda shared a glance, before beckoning the Cuckoos forward. They moved as one, their black gowns sweeping across the floors as they walked toward the thrones. "The Fates are going to read you. Not only will this tell us who your goddess is, but it will give us the proper incantation to bind her to your soul, allowing you to access her powers."
The Fates moved toward me, their once blue eyes now a gray-ish white. "Will it hurt?" I whispered as they stopped in front of me.
"It shouldn't," Phoebe, the middle sister, Lachesis, answered. Her voice was now growly and deep, and I expected her sisters to be same.
"Let's begin," they said at once. Irma, Atropos, took my left hand, while Celeste, Clotho, took my other. Phoebe, Lachesis, gently took my head in between her hands, and once the other two touched her shoulders, I felt myself go underwater again.
"Sisters," I heard myself say, my voice now having a Southern drawl to it. "I see you are well."
"Persephone," they breathed as one. "Sister of death and spring and queens and pomegranates," I could feel my back stiffen at the last word. "Maiden to the Mother and Crone, completing the triple. You have returned."
"So I have," I heard myself say, a smile stretching across my face. "So, what say you? I can't hold on for much longer- Sang cannot hold on much longer."
The Fates nodded, and it was then I could tell they were the ones holding me up. "You are of the Coven. You will be loved, and you will love. You will be hated, and you will hate. Child of the sky, betrothed to darkness. Daughter of the earth, bride of the nine, reunited, and to never be separate. Forever."
Sweat rolled down my forehead, and I could feel myself shaking with laughter. "Trust you to cryptic, Sisters Three," I heard myself huff. "Until we see each other again, in my full glory. Soon."
And with that, I collapsed onto the cold, tiled ground.
AN:
Woah, that was a doozy! Sorry for that long one, and sorry for the lack of the boys. I wanted to get the introductions of the Coven out of the way, so I could focus on the relationship with the boys in the next couple of chapters. Up next, Sang will meet Kota, Victor, and Nathan. The chapter after that will be training time with all seven, with the introduction of Dr. Green and Mr. Blackbourne! If you have any questions, feel free to ask, because I know it was a little confusing. Any figure out the refrence in the titles of the chapters?
<3 AC