Fate of the Blessed
Chapter 10

Tae-Seong

Shanti told me everything that had happened so far from the Mágissa, Phobos grabbing a hold of her, Connor getting hit with the arrow shot by Nemesis and Amara being taken away by them. It saddened me slightly that she had to witness these events, but there was nothing I could do about that now. 

No use crying about that now. I’m not here to comfort her.

We broke through the trees to the Mágissa’s sanctuary but then stopped dead in our tracks because everything had gone. No little cottage, no porch, no flowers, and no Mágissa.  There was just a massive open space of nothingness. I raised my eyebrow at Shanti. She stood with her mouth agape. Her dainty hands clutched her mint green nightdress so tightly I thought she might rip the fabric, but I didn’t bother to offer any words of comfort. It wouldn’t help the situation.

I looked in the middle of the clearing, my face scrunched in thought, and noticed a flaming torch stuck in the ground. I strolled over to it, scanning the tree line as I did so. It was hard to tell if danger was lurking within the shadowy depths of the ominous forest. I had the absurd thought that they were laughing at us.  

“Honestly, I’m not lying.” She began, but I ignored her as she continued to talk at a million miles per hour. Goodness me, I’m not sure I have the patience for this.

Our only option was to go back from where we came, so I tried running through different scenarios in my head and scanned the nondescript area, looking for anything of note. The clearing had more mud than grass. Oak trees lined the edges when I heard a little squeal beside me. I looked down at Shanti. She was bouncing up and down. She gripped a small, tattered card in her hand. She looked up at me expectantly before she thrusted a card into my hand.

What the hell?

“I forgot Papa Legba gave me this, it’s a library card. He said I could call him when I needed him.”

We both stared at the unassuming piece of thin card in my hand. “How does it work?” I asked, but she shrugged. I flipped it over and read it aloud.

“Stand on one foot, hop twice, then spin around. Oh, for the love of, are you kidding me?” I said I needed to focus and took in another deep breath. I supposed we had no other option. I had a feeling that this wasn’t the weirdest thing I would be doing tonight. The trees glittered in shades of an unnatural green I had ever seen, swaying slightly as if they were silently daring me to do it.

What the hell is wrong with this place?

I shrugged at Shanti as I carried out the instructions on the card; she followed suit, giggling as she did so. I guess it was quite funny, but I was in no mood to laugh, so I kept my face neutral. We stood for a couple of minutes and nothing happened. Is this some sort of joke? I was about to turn around when a door popped out of the ground and swung open. I could pick up a raucous laughter coming from within. Before I could grab Shanti, she continued running through the door. I had no choice but to follow.

As soon as I entered, the door slammed shut behind me. I spun around, jiggling the handle to replace it locked. This just keeps getting better and better. I put my head on the cool glass panel, shutting my eyes as I needed to stay focused if I wanted to get the hell out of here. The walls were closing in on me, and the world spun. I took deep breaths, like they had taught me to calm my nerves. I open my eyes, pulling together a look of indifference across my face.

Keep going, I can do this, one step at a time.

“I cannot believe you actually did that.” A deep voice chuckled behind me. I bristled at the fact I had likely just made a fool of myself.

After another moment, I turned around to replace myself in an old dusty bookshop. Tomes were piled as high as the eye could see, shelves were so full they were practically bursting at the seams. It would be easy to get lost within the myriad of books surrounding us. My eyes wandered to the old man sitting in an overstuffed, high-backed armchair.

On top of a mass of straggly white hair, a straw hat perched his beard was so long it curled around his feet. Resting in-between his legs was an ornate cane. His eyes twinkled as he gazed at me, as if he was looking straight into my soul. I shifted uncomfortably at the intrusive nature of his gaze. I looked past him to replace Shanti sitting quietly within a pile of books, reading.

This place is crazy. Who are these people?

As if he were reading my mind, the old man replied that his name was Papa Legba, and he was the keeper of all knowledge. Whatever that meant. He didn’t elude any further what we were doing here; he said that was knowledge that we had to discover for ourselves. I sighed with frustration. All these half-answers and cryptic clues were giving me a headache. Papa Legba turned towards Shanti.

“Now, little sparrow, you called upon me for your one question, make it a good one.”

I went to speak, but he put his hand up to silence me. I clenched my fists with fury and swallowed down my anger. If this was what had to be done to move forward, then so be it. I prayed Shanti would ask the right question. I saw her put her finger to her lips, tilting her head as if she was thinking deeply before speaking.

“How can we help Amara?” she said without hesitation. I closed my eyes that wasn’t the question I had wanted her to ask. Papa Legba gave her a big smile in response.

“So selfless, Shanti, I will grant your answer. You must travel to Aeron’s palace under the tree of Yggdrasil, to get there you must cross the Acheron river. To do that, seek a passage from Charon and pay him with this obol.” he pulled out a dull gold coin from his pocket and handed it to Shanti who stared at it like it was a precious gem. He turned towards me. I looked him straight in the eye. He didn’t flinch or look away.

“I presume you know of the Jeoseung Saja? This hwando sword is silver, as you well know, it wards off evil. Keep it close, they roam the Acheron looking to pull souls into the water.” he said as he handed me a sword and scabbard that seemed to materialise out of thin air. I knew of the Jeoseung Saja, they were the messengers of death. They collect souls to bring them to the underworld.

Shanti came to stand by me as it was clear he would not answer anymore questions, not like he’d given us much to go on, anyway. I had to replace Charon to save Amara, a girl I didn’t know or even met. It was unbelievable.

This just keeps getting better and better. 

“Come on, let’s go.” I said in a clipped tone as I slung the sword over my back and walked forward.

She didn’t move, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest. I was losing my patience, but I took a step back, closed my eyes, inhaling deeply. I was always told my patience levels were thin. Under normal circumstances, I was pretty good at masking my annoyance, but these weren’t normal circumstances. I stopped anyway, extending my hand for her to take. She smiled at me, took it gratefully. Papa Legba chuckled again as I threw open the door and stalked back into the darkness.

I’m never having any kids.