I opened my eyes as I felt his grasp begin to release. I watched in horror as he slowly seemed to be pulled away. “My lady,” he called in an almost inaudible tone. I reached for him, but to no avail. “My lady,” he murmured once again before disappearing into a white mist.
I slipped by him and entered first, going preternaturally still as I stepped into the entryway. Where golden light usually filled the castle, today there was a putrid green cast to the air. Dust motes swirled past, seeming to glow in the murky light.
“It wouldn’t have been a violation of my oath to lie with no man, but be with a woman,” I mumbled to myself as I narrowed my eyes at the flames in my hearth. My three-headed fire feline lept out and started to rub its heads across my calves. I petted him as I watched the logs burn.
The answers I seek cannot be found anywhere else. Going home means making amends, and I am prepared to do that. Whether it be by humiliating means or good deeds, I know it must be done. I am hoping to avoid the former, though.
The sun was warm, and the air smelled of the sea. I knew this place. It was the hill above my childhood home. The grasses were green, and the bougainvillea was in full bloom. The air was crisp and a mist of sea salt was on the breeze.
How do you explain color to the blind? How do you tell a fish how it is to walk? If you were not there, if you did not experience the love they had for one another, then I could never explain it to you. It was an energy that filled the room. It was something that comforted and devoured you. And many times, I fell to tears after they left because I could no longer remember if I had ever felt that love for myself.
You did not mess with family. Period. That’s something so many forgot about me. They saw my nature of peace and interpreted that to mean I was cold, a pushover, not caring. But the moment you tried to break a family up, well, there was a reason the saying was hell has no fury like a woman scorned.
I held my arms out wide and yelled toward the sky, “I am Demeter, Goddess of Sacred Law! My family needs me, and I will be there to protect them. I AM GOING HOME!”
Maybe I could just stay. My life wasn’t terrible. I had money, a successful career…a kind of husband. A hot, younger man as my paramour. What did I have in my other life? Immortality? Power?
“Look, I’ve been your doctor for a good number of years, and I know it wasn’t easy finding your twin brother’s body. The way that Henry took his own life was such a shame. I am really sorry, Tom, but you have got to stay on your meds. Any problems you call me day or night, understand?”
The beast inside me came to life. I roared as I tore the house apart in a rampage. My shadows swirled in black streaks across each room, blowing out every window. Glass scattered everywhere. Behind me, I left a path of destruction so big it looked like a small bomb had gone off. When I was finished, I went to her room and lay down on her bed, which was devoid of any bedding.
“I did have a feeling you were not paying attention to my daily floor updates all this time. I swear, master. Sometimes you have the attention span of a toddler.”
“Well, feed me mushy peas and grape juice then, Luis. Do toddlers sleep out in the forest? I’m not Tarzan, you know.”
Now, as I walked through the heavy wood doors, I took a deep breath, feeling a weight lift from my shoulders. The mortals got one thing right. It is Home Sweet Home.
Okay, I forgot my own strength and shoved the door off its hinges, knocking the man over. Feeling my wings push against my tattoo, I concentrated to hold them back.
My eyebrow arched as I took in her visage. Like most goddesses, she was stunningly beautiful. In fact, she was so beautiful it made most people underestimate her danger.
