Chapter 20: Date With Destiny

I was so deep in this new experience, when I flung open the door to Death and entered the Crosspath it took me a moment to realize I wasn't in the quiet, carpeted hub of the realms. Instead, my bare feet sank into warm, gritty sand, the soft and fragrant breeze blowing salty air over my cheek. I turned, confused, the mist gone, emotions settling again and regret flaring.

What was I thinking? I had to go back and apologize to Dad for being so cruel. But instead, when I turned to look for a doorway, there was nothing. Just the beach and the breeze and, to my surprise, three faces I knew.

Waiting for me over a picnic.

I recognized them instantly, the trio from Fate's realm of the Loom, but not those horrible women themselves. Instead, the girl waved to me, her flouncy pink dress pooled around her where she sat on the red check gingham blanket, wicker basket beside her. A wide, satin ribbon pulled back her frothing black curls, eyes so pale, as I approached with trepidation and rising anxiety, they seemed translucently blue in the sunlight overhead.

Her companions didn't acknowledge me. The Goth teen sprawled next to her, black hair shorn short save for a long, greasy lock over one eye, keeping her gaze downcast to where she picked at her red cuticles. Her torn black jeans showed pink knees, though the rest of her exposed skin seemed pale, almost washed out, in the light of the sun.

As for the third, nothing could be seen of her past the heavy black robes she wore, only her eyes visible and those appeared ghostly white, blind and staring while she-and I assumed it was a she under the hood and face scarf-sat as still as a statue on the far side of the blanket.

"You made it!" The little girl's voice eased my tension, despite the fact her greeting did nothing really to ease my mind. If anything I was more curious about this mysterious threesome and paused at the edge of the spread, my bare feet digging into the sand while one hand rose in a weak wave of greeting.

"Hi," I said, not sure what else to say, though a million questions hovered on the tip of my tongue. For some reason I was unable to voice any of them while the beautiful little girl, her round cheeks rosy, perfect bow lips curved up into a smile, gestured for me to join them.

I sank down onto the blanket feeling dazed suddenly, a bit dizzy even. The girl didn't seem to notice when I pressed one shaking hand to my forehead and had a wash of regret grip me so fiercely I didn't know how to deal with it.

What happened to me the last little while? It was as if the emotions I'd always bottled up inside, that had been bottled for me perhaps, had suddenly found their way to freedom. Instead of the feelings of others dominating and controlling me, my own decided to take a massive leap forward and join the party. Not that I was against such an occurrence. But the way I'd been acting, the odd and surreal memories I'd created so far outside my norm, drove a long, shaking breath out of my lungs as if I'd never take another out of sheer surprise.

The little girl, tiny fingernails painted coral pink with sparkles to match mine, handed me a cup. "Lemonade?" I accepted without thinking, taking a sip of the tart yet sweet drink, icy cold and refreshing. It was as if that taste slapped me firmly across the face and I inhaled, again in shock while she laughed a tiny bell laugh of delight.

"Oh, Eve," she said, patting my knee, "it's so lovely to finally meet you."

The Goth girl grunted as if in agreement, though the black robed woman made no motion to indicate she shared their opinion.

"I'm sorry," I said, barely past a whisper. "It's been an odd day and things have been happening I don't understand, rather quickly, too." I stared down into the pale yellow liquid in my plastic cup, ice cubes bobbing. "Am I supposed to know who you are?"

The girl shook her head, curls shimmering in the sunlight as if oiled while she passed out two more cups of lemonade. The Goth girl took hers but didn't taste it, staring off into the distance with a bored and slightly angry expression while the woman in the robe finally moved, long, slim fingers the color of well creamed coffee accepting the glass.

"No, I'm sorry," the girl said, saluting with her own. They all drank, the robed woman's glass slipping beneath her veil so quickly and deftly I almost missed the motion. I followed suit because it seemed the right thing to do. The surreal feeling stretched outward like a rubber band, taut and vibrating, surely to snap at any second and wake me from this strange encounter. "We know you so well," the girl went on. "We've been waiting for you for just ages." Delight sparkled in her pale eyes, along her emotions. "I'm just excited the time has come at last." She sighed happily, hands folded around her glass in her lap, head tilting to one side. Thick, black lashes rimmed her large eyes, brushing her cheeks when she blinked. Her pert, upturned nose was turning slightly pink in the sunlight. I had no idea who she was, but I liked her, liked all three of them despite their oddities and silence on the part of the other two. With no evidence as to why that should be.

"May I ask," I said, "who you are?"

She laughed, peals of tinkling laughter, while Goth girl grunted again, the tiniest of lip raises her version of a smile, I suppose, black eyes expressionless. The woman in the robe shifted forward slightly, eyes tightening a moment around the edges and I guessed she, too, was smiling.

"Dear, dear Eve," the girl said. "Of course you can ask." She winked, paused. Then laughed again. "I'm Destiny."

Not a name, not the way she said it, but actual Destiny itself? Herself? I shook my head. "I had no idea you were a person." That sounded hideously wretched in my ears and I blushed deeply at the rudeness of it. Of course she was a person. My mother was Life and my father was Death. This wasn't exactly a stretch.

But she giggled instead of being offended, sipped her lemonade, eyes twinkling. "No one really talks about us," she said, "not like we're real, not anymore. Not since those Fate sisters decided to commandeer the whole future gig like they created it." She sighed and sagged slightly. "I blame Zeus. He gave them all that press back when the Greek Pantheon was in power. We haven't been able to shake so much influence."

The Goth girl snarled something and looked away. Destiny reached over and patted her bare knee.

"I know, dear," she said. "It's going to be all right though, isn't it? Now that Eve is awake at last." Destiny beamed at me. "This is Karma." She shrugged delicately, lips twisting as she lowered her voice. "Forgive her, she's a bit jaded these days, what with the way the mortal realm is evolving."

Karma shrugged and crossed her thin arms over her chest, heavy silver jewelry sparkling in the sunlight.

"And Kismet." Destiny gestured to the woman in the robe. Those blind eyes seemed to see me, her head bobbing slowly and only once in my direction in acknowledgement. I nodded back despite her blindness.

"I don't understand." I hated to sound so petulant, to turn to Destiny with my forehead creasing in confusion. "You've nothing to do with Fate? I thought you were all connected?"

"Connected, yes," Destiny said, sounding a little testy now, though her irritation didn't seem pointed at me. She lifted a small container out of the basket and opened the top, her glass balanced between her knees and offered me small chocolate squares that smelled like heaven. "Brownies?"

I helped myself to one, bit into the sugary perfection and let it dissolve a second as I processed what she'd said. "But not part of the Loom."

"The Loom," she said, setting aside the dish when the other two declined, her own piece in her small fingers, "is a construct of the Fates. They seem to think the entirety of Creation is in their control and they are the rulers of what comes next." She snorted, a soft and feminine sound, nibbling the corner of her brownie. "They have no idea."

I'd been led to believe the Fates were the be all and end all of the past, present and future. How interesting. Despite the revelation and how oddly I was feeling, I couldn't help but grow excited about what she said. Too much time spent with Tulip in the Repository. Wait until I told my friend what I was hearing. She'd be off on a research hunt in an instant.

"Allow me to explain," Destiny said. "The Fates see the future as something unavoidable, inevitable as created by the Loom. Once it's woven, it's truth." This time Karma snorted. Destiny smiled at the grim Goth before going on. "And when they decide the threads need to be changed, they do so. But they've forgotten there are much older beings who once ruled Time."

I looked around at the three before me. "You?"

Destiny didn't answer, a tiny smile on her lips. "My job," she said instead, "is to provide alternatives depending on the path chosen. Make sense?"

It did. "So the future isn't set in stone," I said. "But the ultimate path is decided depending on which thread you follow."

Destiny clapped her hands together with a squeal of delight, cheek bulging with the bulk of the brownie she'd shoved into her mouth a moment before. Adorable didn't begin to describe her and yet she was a massive, powerful being likely a match to my mother and father.

"Excellent," she said. "You do understand. As I knew you would." She seemed to aim that caveat at her two companions.

I did, to the core of my being, though I had no idea why it made sense to me. Something was coming clear, like the mist I carried around with me washed confusion away, blown free by the breeze on the beach. "And Karma?"

The Goth girl twitched, dropped her arms, finally taking a brownie of her own from the discarded container.

"Karma," Destiny said, "struggles with the fact mortals seem to have no sense of right and wrong. She's been working overtime, poor dear, on payback. But I blame the Pantheons for their slacking guidance and not the mortals themselves."

Common teaching I'd learned as a child said the Pantheons of all beliefs had their own realms, their own doorways in the Crosspath. Some were as bright and shining as Life, others as dark and foreboding as Death. And others had fallen silent, as though the gods and powers within retreated so far from the beliefs of morals they no longer had the ability or the strength to maintain their realms.

"And darling Kismet here," Destiny said, nodding toward the blind woman, "her type of pre-destiny is more spiritual than physical. She sees better within than without, don't you, dear?"

Kismet nodded once more, slow and silent.

Perhaps I should have found her creepy, but instead she felt comforting to me, her calm like the peace of the moment before sleep.

"The Fates think they control us now," Destiny said, "but they forget they came after us, not before. And that there are forces at work beyond their ken." She paused, frowned adorably as if considering her next words carefully. I found myself leaning closer to listen while wondering what all of this had to do with me. "They have become closed minded, set in their ways. Cruel and bitter. There was a time we welcomed them in our realm, that we all worked together. But their greed and need to force time into their image has created difficulty for all of us." She wrinkled her nose. "They're so doom and gloom, the sillies. I'm a bit more... loosey goosey." Destiny giggled then, sat back and sighed happily.

"I don't mean to ask a stupid question," I said, angry with myself for falling back into my old habit of people pleasing but not sure how else to address this remarkable entity.

Destiny leaned ahead and patted my cheek, but her jaw tightened as she spoke, fire burning in the depths of her pale blue eyes. "You," she said, "have been silent too long, Eve. Far longer than you can even imagine." What did she mean by that? "Ask."

"Why am I here?" I blurted the question. "While I find this fascinating and I'm thrilled to meet you... what does this have to do with me?"

She gaped at me in shock before bursting into more laughter. "Oh, Eve," she said like that should answer my question. And then, without saying anything further, she took my cup and dumped the remaining contents into the sand before tucking it away in the basket.

Wait, that was it? Karma stood, brushing imaginary sand from her black jeans while Kismet rose in a smooth, flowing motion, standing above me like a silent statue when upright. Destiny continued packing the basket, not looking at me, shooing me at last to fold up the blanket.

I stood on the sand, gaping at her, waiting for more. When she finally tucked the red gingham into the top and folded down the lid, she turned to me with a smile and arched eyebrows.

"Was there something?" I swear her eyes twinkled.

I shrugged, shook my head. "I'm so confused." Back here again in the realm of the dazed and lost.

She nodded. "Yes, I know," she said. "But we can't influence you past this point, Eve. I would think that much would be obvious." Her blue eyes sparked with magic. "The path you take next is up to you."

"Something's happening to me." I whispered it, hugged myself despite the fact doing so showed weakness.

But Destiny didn't seem to be upset by my worry. If anything her compassion made me feel better, lapping against me like the waves did the nearby shore.

"Things will work out, Eve," she said. "I know it." She was Destiny, so she had to be right, didn't she? "Oh, there is one more thing." She slipped her hand into the pocket of her pretty dress, pulling free something that glittered in the sunlight. I reached for it without thinking, the warm, heavy key landing in my palm, pitted silver catching the rays in the few spots where damage and what looked like some kind of black corrosion didn't blemish it. When I looked up, Karma was gone, Kismet with her and only Destiny remained.

"What is it for?" I clutched it to my chest, the rightness of it calling to me even as the beach vanished between one eye blink and the next, Destiny gone, too.

You'll figure it out, she sent in my mind while I turned slowly, the Crosspath around me, the silent emptiness of it feeling off compared to the warmth of the beach. And we'll be there when you do.

I felt her go from my mind, heart pounding but in an excited and happy way, fear gone even as something whispered behind me. This time the distortion didn't trouble me, the mist door appearing faintly, a mirage yet as it had been the first time it appeared to me, while the walls shifted, calling to me. I strode toward it, the key in my hand, knowing in that moment exactly what it was for.

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