Iridescence

Chapter Forty-Four (Eliza)

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

ELIZA

I once again found myself falling through a portal. Thankfully, this one didn't send me down a deep hole. Instead, I landed almost immediately on solid ground. I stumbled, but didn't fall as someone steadied me.

His touch was extremely familiar, and I was almost relieved, but then I realized who I was looking at.

"Easy now, Eliza," my father said. "You're going to hurt yourself. You always were a clumsy little thing."

"Dad..." I whispered.

"It's alright, sweetheart. I'm not going to hurt you," he reassured me. I almost wanted to believe him, but he'd murdered my mom in front of my eyes. I knew what he really was now.

"What is it you want from me?" I asked cautiously.

"Just cooperate, Eliza," he said in a soothing tone. "Everything will be fine as long as you do what I say. Come with me now... Altheos wants to see you."

I was terrified by that idea. "Daddy, please, don't do this," I begged him softly. "I'm your daughter."

"Your incarnation is, yes," he agreed. "Don't worry, Eliza. He won't hurt you. He just wants to talk. Altheos was rather fond of Kleia. That hasn't changed."

I felt sick at his words. I knew just how close Kleia had been to Altheos. I also knew how evil he truly was. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in a room with him.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much choice. My father led me through another portal. I found myself in a room with no obvious exits. A couch sat in the center of the room. There was a bed in one corner. On the other end of the room was a desk that had several journals and pens on top of it. The only door led to a bathroom. There were no windows. I was trapped.

"Just relax, Eliza. Altheos will be right with you," my father said.

I was trembling as the portal opened just enough to let someone into the room. My eyes widened in shock as I recognized Altheos or, more accurately, his reincarnation.

"Leo?" I asked in horror.

I tried to understand what was happening. Leo Lukas, the popular boy who had tried so hard to be my friend because of my archery skills, stood in front of me. Leo, who had comforted me at my mother's memorial service when no one else could... Leo, who had systematically worked his way into nearly every aspect of my life... Leo, who I had defended to Apollo repeatedly.

I felt incredibly stupid as I realized the truth. "Apollo was right," I said softly.

"Yes, that does occasionally happen," Leo, or Altheos, replied.

"I should have seen it..." I shook my head. "That story you told me about your mother... Was it even true?" I didn't bother trying to keep the hurt out of my voice.

"Most of it," he replied. "My incarnated mother was terrible, Kleia. She was incredibly abusive. She hated me because she believed that I was evil. She tried to drown me in the bathtub when I was five. She blinded me in one eye when I was a toddler, just as Nemesis did to my original soul. The physical damage healed, but I lost my sight for good in that eye. I had to learn to get around that obstacle as an athlete. She tried to destroy me every chance she got. There are so many stories I could tell you about that woman."

"Did she really kill herself?" I asked.

He laughed. "I never said she killed herself. I said her wrists were slit."

I stared at him in horror. "You slit her wrists?"

"I slipped a couple of her sleeping pills into her drink at dinner. Once she went to bed, it was very easy to finish the job." He paused and added, "I was being abused. I had no choice."