The Toll (38 page)

It went on and on, the lady herself
uncontrollable, long after her lover was dead and gone, until no
one in the small village nearby was left.

On the eve her child was to be born,
the lady was granted what she’d wished for that first fateful day,
her calls for the Fates to intervene soon answered, but not how she
might have envisioned.

As the lady labored hard, the sisters
Fate appeared, three identical looking females of eternal beauty.
Deathly pale skin, long white hair, and identical frosty white
irises, absent of pupils, over jet black orbs, materialized in a
cloud of mist and smoke, calling as one upon the will of the other
Elements to bear witness for Lady Niniane’s atrocities.

“
You have broken the first
Elemental rule,” Lachesis whispered softly, small, thin hands
clasped tightly in front of her. The deep golden cape over her
pearl white linen shift swished quietly as she watched the woman
before her emotionlessly, swaying gently from side to side in a
sort of odd trance.

“
You must answer for your
crimes against that of man,” Clothos rasped, her voice scratchy and
catching, as if from disuse. Long white hair shadowing her face,
trailing along her back to cascade over her rich purple, floor
length cape, she stuffed her hands into the deep pockets lining the
sides, pulling out a long spool of thread and twirling it ‘round
and ‘round in her fingers as she eyed Niniane’s contracting stomach
avidly.

“
We call you be judged,
Niniane, Lady of the Lake, what say you?” Atropos demanded, her
curt, hard voice ringing across the open clearing. The cowl over
her blood red cape was pulled up and over her head, masking her
expression.

“
So must it be,” Niniane
panted through gritted teeth, tears slowly streaming down her
cheeks, “but I ask only one thing.”

The Fates, as one, all cocked their
heads to the side, nodding that she may speak. “I ask- No, I beg,
that I’m given a chance to bear my child first, that he may have a
chance.” Her voice was quavering, fear slipping through.

“
Elementals decide. It’s
out of Fates’ hands,” Lachesis sang quietly.

“
You will have your say,”
Clothos put in.

“
I summon the others,”
Atropos declared, glancing up towards the full moon starting to
loom high overhead.

“
Fire,” Lachesis giggled in
a small, child-like voice, flames tipping her finger tips as she
held them out, blowing them out as she smiled prettily.

“
Earth,” Clothos snapped,
lifting the hem of her cape, exposing her small bare feet, digging
her naked toes into the moist earth beneath as she muttered
something under her breath, flicking up dirt and gravel in her
wake.

“
Wind,” Atropos grumbled,
blowing out a long breath, not bothering to look up, pulling out a
long pair of shiny black scissors and a small soapstone.

“
Hephaestus. No, wait.
It’s... Oh, uhm, it’s Phaestus!” Lachesis cried, quieting at the
identical looks of censure her sisters shot her. Shoulders
slumping, the golden caped sister clammed up. “I remembered,” she
grumbled petulantly, teasing the end of her cloak as she twirled it
around in her fingers.

Phaestus, fire embodied, burst in on a
ball of roiling, riotous orange and red flames, scorching a long
strip of earth, steaming and crackling heatedly in his wake,
melting everything in his path as he rolled to a sudden, jarring
stop, several feet of distance separating them.

As his large frame unfurled from its
curled up position, an imposing man with unimaginably thick, wide
shoulders, tree trunk legs, freckled from head to toe, and sporting
a long, thick, blood red beard, was revealed. Caste iron leg
clinking heavily in his wake, Phaestus dipped his head respectfully
in acknowledgement as he silently paid homage to the sisters
three.

A wide thick nose, as if busted a time
or too, graced his long face and squared—maybe too squared—jaw.
Small but well-shaped eyes were shadowed by the full, deep red
brows hovering over his prominent brow, a harshness mixed with
soft. Dark and brooding, his brutally masculine face was not what
one would call traditionally handsome, but, nonetheless, eye
catching in his own right—simply arresting. Bare chested, a thick
mat of curls dusting his thick, barreled chest, a pair of form
fitting black breeches, and a thick, fur lined brown boot on his
good leg were his only concessions towards being clothed. A thick
strip of leather with a wide plate in the middle, secured his pants
around his thick waist. The plate, reflective and shiny, shimmering
like polished bronze, caught the moonlight, glinting off of
it.

“
Gaia. Earth.”

“
Zeme,” Clothos corrected
the bouncy Lachesis gently, staring over at a small patch of dried
earth expectantly.

Lachesis immediately stopped hopping
around from foot to foot like an over exuberant child—it was as if
she possessed an odd nervousness around others—a bit more than
jittery—and nodded.

Gaia, or Zeme, as she preferred, was
next, the ground shaking and shuddering beneath everyone’s feet as
a large fissure opened up, tumbling mud, grass, and heavy stones
clumped with dirt to reveal a tall, full figured woman with skin as
dark as night. Shaped like an overblown hourglass, and all the
regal baring fit for a queen, head held high, gaze steady and
unflinching, she oozed confidence.

Smoothing her hands lovingly down a
figure hugging ecru wrap—soft looking as silk, but breathier than
cotton—it molded to her luminous body lovingly, as if a second
skin.

Secured at the shoulder and hip with
small, hooked clips shimmering with onyx and bits of tiger’s eye,
I’d never seen anything like the voluminous gown, its folds gently
swaying around that of the wearer.

Eyes as deep and brilliant as
malachite, finished off a face too becoming and natural for words.
Beyond lovely. Long black lashes framed her large, glowing eyes,
and her beautifully flowing thick hair, laden with gold, bright
orange, and deep crimson leaves strewn throughout, complemented the
warm, rich brown, earthy tresses surrounding her sultry lipped,
heart-shaped face. Dangling from each ear lovingly was a set of
large, crudely cut agate stones, glittering prettily in her wake
with every step she took as her lightly gold dusted skin sparkled
in her wake.

Once she reached the sisters, she
curtseyed, giving each one a low toned, quiet greeting in
kind.

“
Feng Bo...?” Lachesis bit
her lip and her face screwed up in concentration.

“
Bo,” Atropos grumbled, the
steady ‘shlick-shlick’ of her soapstone gently running over her
scissors’ blades grating, even to my dream observing
ears.

Wind was last, whipping in like a
tornado on a fierce rush of warm, swirling air, rustling in
violently as he kicked up a gust of dirt and ashen earth behind
him. Garbed in soft leather breeches, knee high thick boots, and a
long, flowing white shirt with ties at the neck, his long, silky
black, straight hair was pulled back away from his angular, lightly
tanned face, secured at the nape of his neck with what looked like
a worn bit of cloth. Of average height, Bo was long and lean,
agile, nimbly picking his way past Zeme’s crater in the ground, and
the smooth but smoking lip Phaestus’ scorched entrance had created.
Almond shaped eyes, grey with a smattering of blue and yellow,
slanting exotically as they tipped at the corners, met everyone’s
as he solemnly took in their little impromptu gathering. Adjusting
the bag across his shoulders, secured at his side, he smiled slowly
in greeting.

“
Now,” Atropos chuffed, “we
may begin.”

“
Sisters,” Bo fairly
purred, winking playfully when Lachesis glanced up at him and
giggled.

Atropos’ lips thinned and
her eyes narrowed to little black slits. “You wish to court
Death
,
windbag?”

“
No,” he said easily,
ignoring her blackened scowl, “I only see the
future,”
he gave the gold caped
sister a lecherous once over,
“
laid
out
before me, in my mind’s
eye.”

Grinning giddily, Lachesis beamed at
the compliment.

She must be
‘future’
, I surmised,
watching as Clothos spun the thread of life.

A little shell shocked once that sunk
in, I blanched and flushed at the innuendo.

Phaestus glowered over at the
flirtation, his expression matching Atropos’ perfectly, but neither
one spoke.

Clothos just snorted and rolled her
eyes, still steadily unravelling a long, shimmering spool of
thread. “Lachesis may seem the easiest to convince, sweet little
Elemental, but she’s a force when cross.”

Glancing towards the subdued sister in
deep plum, Bo’s smile fell and he dropped his act. “Apologies,
sisters.”

“
Now!” Atropos clapped her
hands with a hearty slap. “We begin!”

“
She broke a sacred rule.
Her interference with mortals has gone on long enough. I say
banishment.” Arms crossed over her chest, lips pursed, there was no
sympathy in Earth’s eyes for Niniane.

Lips trembling, the Lady of the Lake
glanced away, silent tears still slipping down slowly as she tried
to breathe in and out steadily.

“
Meddling in the affairs of
mortals is hardly a crime, Ze.” Turning his eyes towards the sky in
a half roll, Bo hummed a little in the back of his throat. “Is that
not what we do?”

“
I am not speaking of
meddling! She is playing god! Famine, disease, and death, all lay
at her feet. And for what? Her attachment to one, puny,
insignificant human?! She’s killed ten times that! Does that seem
fair to you,
Feng Bo?”
she gritted out, something molten, like melted, boiling rock,
blazing in her enraged gaze.

“
Her bonded,” Phaestus’
deep voice rumbled out from just behind them.

Zeme marched right up to Bo, advancing
on the impudent, slender male, poking the Wind Elemental right in
the middle of his chest.

Clearing his throat gruffly as he
scratched absently at his beard, shifting away from the arguing
pair, I caught the Fire Elemental peeking over at Lachesis when he
thought no one was looking.

“
Bonded? Pfft. More fool
her for tying herself to such a greedy pig.”

“
You are bitter,
Gaia
, sweet,” Bo
muttered quietly, grimacing in distaste as he flicked a bit of dirt
off his pristine white shirt, lips tightening as a small speck of
gold dust was left behind. “Jealous?”

“
Jealous?” The beautiful
woman spluttered, incredulous. “Hardly. And that’s beside the
point.” Tapping her hand along her folded arms, she harrumphed. “We
are getting off topic.”

“
Yes, we are,” Atropos
scolded, only to be hushed by Clothos and Lachesis, who seemed to
be studying the exchange interestedly, sharing a meaningful
glance.

“
You do not know how it is
with a bonded. Can you, then, not knowing, really say?” Smooth
black brows shooting up, Bo waited.

“
No. But... So... you are
saying it is alright for her to wipe out an entire village,
vegetation, people, animals, all, because she loved him?! An
arrogant slip of a man? No, a boy, playing at a man!” Tossing her
arms out incredulously, she stomped her foot, a small tremor of her
power causing a small quake. “She may punish others for her
foolishness, as well as his?
Hah!”

“
I say don’t banish.”
Smirking, Bo inconspicuously sent her flying with a flick of his
fingertips, unobtrusively studying his nails as another brain
rattling tremor jarred the earth, followed by an enraged shriek.
“Phaestus?” Bo murmured lazily, ignoring her tirade. “Looks like it
falls on you, brother. What say you?”

Gaze going from one to the other, a
long moment passed before the large giant grunted, “Neither.”
Shocked, all eyes fell on him, usually the surliest, most
uncooperative one of the group, but this went further than
that.

“
You cannot do nothing,”
Atropos cut in, “unless you wish to see her end.” A slow menacing
smile spread across her face as her hood tipped back, enhancing her
otherworldly beauty as her coal black encased, soulless white eyes
flashed. Coupled with her tone, it was rather unsettling. “Then, of
course, I shall take over from here.” The sister in red made to
step forward, scissors already in hand.

“
No!” Zeme gasped as
Niniane sobbed harder, taking a few quick steps towards
her.

“
Oh?” Atropos took a step
back. Studying Gaia, her voice hardened, expression blanking. “Then
decide.”

“
I wish to see her
reprimanded, learn a lesson, not dead! She is my sister in the
elements!” Earth’s head swiveled to Fire. “Phaestus?!” She was
pleading with him to help her.

“
I never said to end her,”
Phaestus muttered warily, wincing as Zeme’s eyes flashed, boiling
like lava, and she began to rail at him.

“
No one is killing anyone,”
Bo whispered softly, the sharp edge to his voice, a hard note one
couldn’t miss, as he eyed Atropos warily, fingering a large
goatskin bag carelessly held over one shoulder, catching everyone’s
attention. The promise in his eyes, should anyone be foolish enough
to try such a thing, gave me a deep set of the chills.