As we exited the bedroom I fixed the deplorable mess of hair on top of my head, pulling all of the loose bits together. It would definitely need washing. There was nothing to be done about it but I was prepared to be less than presentable, even in clean clothes.
What I was not prepared for was to see three women on my couch. In the time it took me to change three times, the Fates had arrived. The women in front of me spanned a wide array of ages, from young and vital to decaying and old. On the left of the sofa sat the youngest, with white skin and soft hair the trailed so long she was probably sitting on it. If she was a day over twenty-five, I would be surprised. Her grandmotherly companion on the opposite side of the sofa looked so old and frail I would not have touched her for fear of her whole body disintegrating into a pile of ash on my couch. At least she was nearer what I had imagined the Fates to be than the young one.
"You know, I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but you three are less green-and-wrinkles than I was picturing." I didn't move to sit across from them. Jasper and Gregory were off in the back of the room. Alex stayed behind me; I could practically feel her rolling her eyes. So much for not speaking until spoken to.
"Lindsay said the same thing. Sit, girl, and be less disrespectful." The woman in the middle spoke. Her face looked about forty but her voice was deep and rocky. Definitely not what I had been expecting.
The two silent companions looked bored on either side of the middle-aged Fate. Sitting between her twoâwhat, friends, sisters, coworkers?âshe seemed to run the show. She also seemed to be the only one with any interest in her audience.
"I am Lachesis, spinner of the thread. Before you were born I spun your father and mother's threads together and before them their parents' lines and so on. As Fates we have manipulated your entire life and those of your ancestors to bring you to one defining moment. The moment you march to war. You will fight for Hades. You will win."
"This has been your destiny since before your parents' parents were born." The youngest Fate spoke in a high, lilting voice that didn't try too hard not to pout. "I am Clotho, spinner of the thread of life. I spun your thread into existence. A century ago we spun the threads of your ancestors to bring about your creation, to allow for this very moment. Do not let the work of our hands be for naught."
Honestly she sounded like a child who had proudly dressed herself only to be told that she had to change her whole outfit because it didn't match. And she was probably thousands of years old. Her indignant attitude was unnecessary and unimpressive.
The third sister spoke next without introducing herself. One two three, like they had practiced this conversation. "The severing of your life thread is an easy process," she threatened. "Because of your destiny to lead the army of Hades, we have graciously given you freedoms to learn on your own, to gain the necessary skills in your own time. "
Two voices joined her tired tone. "But your freedom has run out. You will not forfeit the battle. Your life is in our hands."
There's nothing creepier as three seemingly innocent women speaking in tandem. But no matter the chill in my spine, despite my arm hairs standing at attention, I was not frightened enough to overlook their threat.
Besides, I made a dealâHector would take me home if I helped him. I would live up to my end of the bargain before I gave up. I wouldn't let him turn me into a quitter.
The oldest one, weak with wrinkles, weighed down by sagging, pasty skin, had threatened to cut my life thread. They claimed to have given me freedom to learn and to gain skills. They all expected me to immediately be ready for war.
Even Jasper and Alex and Gregory expected so much from me.
Even Hector, who had barely spoken to me since that first night, was expecting me to become this Fury that I had no idea how to control. In a week.
One week in the Underworld does not a Fury make.
But it was something the first one said that seemed most worthy of comment. I barked a harsh laugh. "What you're saying is, and correct me if I'm wrong, that you've been cooking up the right ancestry for your perfect little Fury for a hundred years." My voice escalated and suddenly I was on my feet. "Which means you three have known about the Nectar and Hades and war for twice as long as everyone else. You must be very bored to play so carelessly with the lives of gods."
"Do not presume to understand the workings of Fate, Fury. You are the seventh child of the seventh generation since the Fury Sisters retreated into hibernation, making you very powerful indeedâthanks to Fate. All that you need to know is this: you will fight and Hades will win with you by his side. Or you will die."
Seventh child? "So much for freedom, right?"
Nobody acknowledged my question. The Fates were eerily silent; they looked at me unblinkingly and without emotion. Where was my backup? I spun to face Jasper, who emerged from the kitchen on the other side of the room. He leaned against the doorframe, staring at us. When I looked behind me Alex and Gregory were watching as well.
They were all watching me. Waiting.
Waiting for something I couldn't do, couldn't become. I had been able to draw out the Fury only when blinded by rage and only for a short time. And control was far from what I could manage.
Realization kicked in: they baited me because they wanted me to show off what I had learned, to impress them with my furiousity.
Just like that I wasn't angry anymore. It should have sent me into a destructive frenzy. They were hoping I would perform like a trained lion in their circus tentâwhat they got was an oversized, immovable cat, content to bask in the limelight for nothing more than a little attention.
I sat back down on the sofa, legs crossed, arms spread wide on the back of it, the picture of relaxation.
"What do you really want from me?" They had to know that I wasn't cut out for this. "Why me? If you put in all of this work to make sure that I was here, right now, why me? Lindsay would be more than happy to take over for the position and give the orders in this impending war. She's stronger than I am, able to better control the Fury than I am."
Lachesis, the middle Fate, smiled. "The three of you may leave us," she waved her hand at Alex, Gregory, and Jasper. "Inform Hades that we have visited his Fury and remind him of the prophecy's end; let him know we are watching. Someone is always watching." I clenched my muscles against the Fate-inspired shiver that threatened to trickle down my spine. The comment directed at Alex, Gregory and Jasper cleared the room; they disappeared before I could ask the obvious question.
Abandoned once again to the hands of Fate.
"Tell me how the prophecy ends. And what it has to do with me. Please," I added as an afterthought.
"Fate is not such the fickle bitch humans oft bemoan. We have a purpose; for centuries that purpose has been woven with Zeus' whims. Today, tomorrow, and the next day we spin for humanity's sake. When this is over, you would do well to remind the humans of what we have done for them." Clotho stood as she spoke. Her delicate hand extended towards me in offering, a small silver charm resting in her palm. When I didn't take it, the oldest of the Fates clicked her tongue at me.
Her gravelly voice whispered across the table to me. "My youngest sister gifts you the mantle of Hades, the symbol of his godhood. We charge you with the task of keeping it safe until Hades is ready to assume his rightful place among the Olympians." She sucked in air for a long while as if speaking in full sentences had suddenly become too much. "I am Atropos, the unturnable, and I am dying."
Lachesis placed a hand on the crone's shoulder. "Our sister will be reborn from the folds of her old body, the cycle never-ending. We have done all we can to prepare you and Hades for the upcoming battle for Fate will not join you in war. Atropos will need time to acclimate to her new body and we three will be unavailable to you. But we have set certain events in motion."
"You myths really enjoy reincarnation," I muttered, digesting this information. But what did the mantle of Hades have to do with it?
Atropos wheezed a few parting words. "Take the mantle, Fury. Resist donning the helmet of invisibility yourself as the mantle would surely obliterate you from existence."
First I had to know one thing. "What makes me so special that the other Furies couldn't do this job?"
"Three Furies born into your generation, only one the seventh-seventh child. Three Furies raised to competent human beings, only one strong enough to entice the sister-Fury to emerge. Three Furies taken to the Underworld to assume her fate, only one with the strength to host a legend," their voices in rhythmic tandem echoed around the room.
Atropos leaned her gnarled body towards me, conspiracy in her eyes. "She didn't manifest in the other two. It has been our honor to create the vessel in which Alecto will re-enter the world after her hundred-year sleep but Furies have a terrible habit of not listening to Fate." She cupped one hand around her mouth, letting me in on the secret. "Your current state of human-majority is what makes you special, girl."
Then Fate winked at me. Lachesis glared at her sister but chose to ignore her words. Instead, she commanded my attention with her volume. "You are specifically predestined to be strong enough to resist the call of the mantle. Lindsay, who you say would happily assume the role, would be unable to control herself around the mantle," Lachesis insisted. "Take it!"
I didn't have time to ask more questions. Clotho's smooth pale hand brushed against mine as she placed a small bobble in my palm and my body shivered uncontrollably. Her touch brought vast and terrible sorrow to the surface, despair like I had never known, thousands of years of pain and isolation. I closed my hand around the charm and withdrew.
Note to self, don't let the Fates touch you.
"Guard it," Lachesis' voice broke through the chill, "and bestow the mantle upon Hades only after the Nectar has been consumed. Tell no one you have it. Do not try to use it yourself." She stood shoulder to shoulder with Atropos and Clotho, who looked at the floor. "Perhaps we will call on you and Alecto again when this is all over."
"Wait, you never told me the end of the prophecy. You've been more forthcoming with answers than anyone; please, I need to know."
Clotho answered softly, "All of the gods must die and be reborn, as we continuously die and are reborn. It is time that we usher in a new regime for a new world, thus the old ways must die. If we hope to have a chance at succeeding, rebirth is an unavoidable necessity."
I hadn't had even enough time to open my mouth when the three women in front of me disappeared.