The Cost of Betrayal

Chapter Nineteen

The history teacher reread the transcription from Maura and shook his head. He was curious as to why she didn't have more questions. It was after all, about her. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and that boy. He seemed to have grown in his confidence as well. He wondered if Birsha knew yet. They knew they would have trouble when he finally did. He just hoped he could help Maura before then.

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Hecate walked into the Fates' room and sighed heavily as she threw herself into a chair. Lachesis looked at her with a side-eye.

"What is it now?" she asked, her patience was running thin with Hecate.

Hecate ran a frustrated hand through her long, dark tresses, "Birsha's father."

Clotho shrugged, "What about him? He was a warrior for Atlantis, wasn't he?" She didn't see the connection Hecate was getting to.

Hecate nodded and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, he was a warrior alright."

Lachesis's gaze continued to be suspicious, she didn't like the tone of Hecate's words. "What are you implying?" She sounded a bit too sarcastic for her liking.

Hecate looked at Lachesis and gave her a sardonic smirk, "I thought you ladies were all-knowing, and he got over on you too?" Hecate crossed her arms, and let her words sink in.

The Fates exchanged a confused look between them, "What are you talking about? He was nothing more than a warrior for Atlantis." Atropos put her shears down carefully as she questioned Hecate.

Hecate knew that when Atropos did this, she was very angry. Hecate's mouth twisted in contemplation while she chose her next words carefully. She stood up from her seat and walked over to the Fate's watching pool. She waved her hand over it and images flashed quickly before the women's eyes. Clotho watched as the mage's past played before them, she looked so in love, happy, and innocent. They watched as she fell in love with the warrior, questions still in their eyes.

Clotho lifted her head as she noticed changes in the warrior over time. They were subtle things that were barely noticeable until you saw the whole story. "But how?"

Hecate half-smiled and shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."

Lachesis scowled, "Where is he?"

"Locked up," she replied simply.

Atropos's lips twisted in anger, "Again if you would have let me snip their threads then, we wouldn't be dealing with this now!" She lifted her shears and snipped the air furiously, "I want to speak with him. Now." She turned to her sisters, "Wait for me." She disappeared from her spot.

Lachesis and Clotho exchanged nervous looks, this is something that rarely happens. Hecate's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in surprise. "Can she do that?"

Clotho smirked herself, "We can leave, we just choose not to."

Chronos walked in as Atropos vanished, "This is going to be interesting, isn't it?" The weathered old man smiled with mischievous glee. He looked to Hecate, he pointed an accusatory finger at her, "This is very much your fault, young lady."

Hecate looked down, "I know. I came to ask for help."

Chronos shook his head and spoke with certainty, "There is no help for this. The plans were made and must be played out."

Clotho smiled, "I have a plan in place."

"Now, let's just hope that Atropos behaves herself down there."

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"You son of a b***h!" Atropos snapped.

"Nice to see you too," Mavaka grinned. He knew why she was here, and there was nothing she could do.

"Of all the things you could possibly do, you did this?" She jabbed her shears angrily at the captive sorcerer. She could barely contain her own heartache.

Mavaka's smirk was enough to make Atropos even angrier. "You were not for me." He shrugged and walked away from his first love. He knew that if he looked into her eyes he would feel that familiar stir reappear and that is not what he wanted. He had to hold fast to his feelings if he wanted to succeed in his plan. He couldn't fall back into his feelings for her.

Atropos swallowed her feelings, she knew that he was right. They were never supposed to meet, let alone fall in love. "But you tricked her! How? Why?"

Mavaka shrugged, "Because I needed something from her."

Atropos's face twisted in silent frustration, she needed the answers and she knew him well enough that all she would have to do is wait.

He paced his cell as he spoke, "I needed her to give it to me willingly. So, I taught her powerful magic in exchange for what I wanted." The more he paced, the more frustrated he got. His body language was screaming at Atropos, telling her that he would spill his secrets soon enough.

Atropos remained silent and allowed him to continue to speak.

"Then when I finally get what I wanted from her, I'm killed off!" He slammed his hands into his chest angrily. "Me! A powerful sorcerer! Killed off by something as simple as that damn arrow!" His eyes flashed angrily at Atropos, he pointed a finger at her as he realized what she was doing. He quickly silenced himself. "You won't get the answers from me that easily, my love." He blew her a kiss and turned his back to her, telling her that she had gotten all she would from him.

Atropos vanished from the cells and appeared back in her room. Clotho could see the plays of emotion running across her sister's face. She wanted to comfort her, but she didn't know how, or why she was this upset.

Mavaka sat on his cot in his cell, he shook his head. "How does she get into my head like that? After all these years?" He stood and walked to the spot Atropos was standing, hoping he could still catch her sweet, sweet scent. He pushed himself away, if he was going to succeed he needed to get his head out of the past and back to where it needed to be. He summoned his last connection down here. He would have to be careful, the others were getting careless. But this one, he wanted the same thing Mavaka did so he was much savvier than the others. Mavaka quickly whispered what he needed into the guard's ear.

The guard smiled, "Of course, sir."

Mavaka's expression was stern, "And be careful! If you're caught, it's over."

The guard had his own intentions, "Not to worry, we're on the same team."

Mavaka nodded, "Good."

The guard walked away as his relief appeared, "Watch this one," he said. "He's been agitated all night."

"Why?" the relief asked.

Mavaka's cohort shrugged, "Who knows with these ones down here? Maybe the queen was too rough on him. But he deserves it."

The two chuckled, they had worked hard to be trusted enough to be guards for Hecate and Hadee. One wrong move, and they would be strung up as punishment and serve as a warning for anyone in the afterlife.

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Maura tossed and turned all night, she hated dream-filled nights like this. It meant major changes coming, and she wasn't so sure that all these changes would be so good. Her final dream jerked her awake before dawn. She rubbed her hands over her face, "Oh, Gamma, what I wouldn't give to hear your voice again. I need your help."