Amaurosis

XVII: Singing In The Rain

Absolute darkness crowded the empty cave. I never knew I could feel so suffocated by endless nothingness. My body felt cold and distant, separated; though, I lived through a blurring pair of determined eyes.

Water dripped and echoed in the farthest pits of the cavern, and moisture licked at my skin, urging sweat to bead like a band on my forehead. Icy rings of thick, rusting metal raked at my wrists, tearing at the itchy red skin. I tried to yank away, but heavy chains drilled deep into the ragged cave walls made the difference of me being a guest or a captive.

Shredded silk tickled the tops of my bare feet, and that to-die-for, satisfying itching was seemingly light years away. Goosebumps erupted on my arms as another cool breeze swept through the holes in my toga. The soft pitter-patter of footsteps mirrored that of rain droplets unfortunate enough to join me in this inescapable mess.

"Who's there?" I croaked, hoping to get some idea on how I got here.

The rain quickened, beating down on the black rocks overhead. I couldn't have been very far down in the earth, and that alone calmed me down slightly. The footsteps drew nearer.

"You can put her down over there." A young girl's shrill voice filled the cave. Though I couldn't see her physically, I knew she was pointing at me. I felt her eyes pierce into mine, filled with blackness and suffering. "It shouldn't be a while until she wakes up anyway. Selene wants her chained up just like him."

She stepped into the moon's spotlight streaming through the only hole above, and again, my eyes met hers, but for such a youthful child, her face held nothing but spite and self-proclaimed wisdom.

My heart began to race as her lips drew into a wicked grin. There was a familiarity about her screaming at me, but I couldn't tell if I was delirious or onto something. She came closer.

"Who are you?" I shouted, my throat hoarse and dry. "Where am I?" She did nothing but smile in return. A silver encrusted bow hung from her shoulder, the name Lilith engraved in black ink. "No," I whispered, pieces clicking in my pounding head. "You were her lead hunter. She trusted you!"

"She shoved me down with the rest of the girls desperate for her attention. She treated me the same as everyone else!" Lilith yelled back, enraged. Her pale face was slowly ripening like a tomato. "She said I was special. That I was one of the best. I served her for millennia! But that wasn't enough, apparently. I was a loyal and driven hunter, and she knew that. But words are very different from actions!"

"So you betrayed her?" I couldn't help but feel pity and sorrow for Artemis. She admired her hunters more than her own brother, treated them with more care and affection.

"Selene promised me something bigger, better. Something that Artemis would never give me." She retreated into the shadows, her footsteps becoming one with the rain once more. "She promised to make me a god, forcing people to pray at my feet. And after stealing your powers and killing both of you, I'll finally get what I deserve."

"You can't..." I froze.

"Unless I bring you to Delos, right? The famous island on which Leto gave birth to twins Artemis and Apollo to hide from Hera. The sun and the moon. This is the place where your power was given, and here it can be taken away. Permanently."

There was one way they could drain our powers, but even Artemis didn't know about it. Since I was the older, more responsible twin, of course, Mother entrusted me with this. How Lilith and Selene found out? I have no idea.

"Move her."

Something began to scrape the soaked floor of the cavern, like sand bags being dragged across concrete. The world seemed to spin as the rain, once again, became the only sound for miles, seemingly.