Black Feather Falls (COMPLETE)

Spawn of Satan (9)

My eyes tore open like two flashlights and squinted grievously at the light above me. A sudden knock jolts me all the way awake but before I could answer, Thyia came rushing from out the back. As she unlatched the door, my mind returned to the strange dream that I had. What does it mean? Why did I have it? Was it real? I sank deep into thought until the door opened and my eyes took notice of who was on the other side of it.

"James," I said as I walked closer to him with my arms folded. It's cold and stormy outside, but when I came in here an hour or so ago, it was clear; with no signs of imminent change. But now, outside was dark and overcast; so much so that wintry breeze was pulsating inside the room. It howled furiously and broke immediately as he stepped inside and shut the door with great agility. "-what are you doing here?" For someone coming out of the cold, he sure was sweating a lot. He had on his black work vest exposing his extremely muscular abdomen and chest. Sweat dripped from his body like water off a cliff.

His pants is coated in dirt and debris, his midnight black hair tied in a messy bun, pulled together with a black bandanna wrapped around his head. James had the prettiest eyes I had ever seen; deep jade green eyes that sparkled in the sunshine, and even more so in the moonlight. I loved that both him and I had the same eye colour, bone structure and more, yet he was so different from me. We are the only ones in our family that looked even remotely alike. Even still, James was admittedly sexier than I could ever hope to be. He stood there and exhumed a strong manly presence. However, despite his towering presence, something about him was off.

"I have the mask for you and the remaining children." His voice was muffled and somewhat inaudible. I took my mask from him but refrained from putting it on.

"But you're not a delivering angel." Only delivering angels do this job. "Why are you here?" And why does he look like that? Something isn't right.

"I came because of you." My eyebrows raised in confusion.

"How'd you even know I was ..." I stopped myself immediately because I already knew. "Hecate?" If it's Hecate, I swear. "Is it Hecate?"

"The very same." He dug into his bag and pulled out the masks. Thyia took the respective ones for the children and headed to the backroom to place them on the kids. I refocused my eyes on him, yet something about his disposition was throwing me off.

"How does she always know where I am?" Hecate was a lovely Goddess, possibly the nicest in all of Olympus; always encouraging me to train hard and to do my best. In more ways than one, she's a mother to me and that's something I appreciate. Like any mother with magic, Hecate always seemed to know my whereabouts, even when I opt not to disclose them with anyone.

"I mean," He coughed in a series, "-Lady Hecate is a Goddess, and the mother of magic, so that could be a likely reason." He shrugged and slid down to the ground. I have this unshakable feeling that there's something wrong with him and he's not telling me.

"How long." I fixed the mask on my face. "Do they expect us to wear these masks?" My voice was muffled and indistinguishable.

"I don't know." He brought his knees to his face and cradled them. "And frankly, I don't care. I just want this war to be over." He sighed with such heavy breathing.

"Are you okay, James?" I stooped down to his level and felt his neck. "James!" I cried out. "You're burning up!" Now I see why he's sweating fountains now. "Did you inhale the smog?" He shook his head negatively.

"Monkey, I didn't ..." He trailed off, as his head descended trying his best to convince me of his healthiness. But I could see past his facade because what he would not say, his blood-stained eyes told me.