Chapter Ten

   Kate woke a clatter of pots, she shot out of bed and without thinking pulled on Hekate's magick-summoning wind. It whipped her hair out of its braid as she made her way to the front of the cave.

   "Impressive," the Maiden whispered as though the intruder could hear her, "But do you think it's wise to investigate when you are in a gods realm?"

   Kate paused and thought about it, she had a point, she had no idea who was there and she was barely holding the magick as it was. What if it was something she couldn't handle? She shook her head, this was her friend's home and if what Hekate had said was true then she assumed who or whatever was here was harmless to her.

   "You assume a lot of things you know."

   "I do know, but when you only provide me with so much information I have to guess, or assume," she gave that last word just a little sarcasm, she kept walking. As she entered the front of the cave she cautiously looked around, nothing seemed out of place but this wasn't her home and she didn't know where everything was supposed to be.

   "Anything out of the ordinary?" she asked under her breath.

   Silence answered her and she could feel all three faces looking through her eyes, studying every nook and cranny.

   "Under the workbench," the Maiden said loudly.

   "Which one there a ton, and ow, not so loud."

   "The one by the hearth," she answered annoyed. Kate looked where she had said, at first she saw nothing but cauldrons, ladles, and firewood, but as she studied the pile of wood a little closer she saw the shadowy outline of...something, someone? She wasn't sure, but she didn't think they were here to hurt her.

   "And you know this how?" the Crone asked skeptically.

   "I don't know how it works here but usually people don't cower in a dark corner if they want to attack someone," she relaxed and let the wind go as she slowly approached.

   The closer she got she realized she was looking at a tall gangly girl with light brown hair and brown eyes. She was so skinny she looked like she hadn't been fed in weeks. Her white dress was so thin Kate could count the girl's ribs through it. She cowered deeper into the corner with each step Kate took so she stopped and put her hands out to show she wasn't going to hurt her.

   "Hello," she said softly, "Can you tell me who you are?" The girl just stared at her, she was terrified. Kate slowly ladled some water into a small clay cup and handed it to the girl. She took it and gulped it down. When she finished she stared into the empty cup sadly.

   "You can have more if you want," Kate said softly holding the water out to her. The girl smiled and took a tentative step towards it. She dipped her cup inside and gulped down the second cup as fast as the first.

   "Are you hungry? All I have are granola bars but they should fill your stomach," she grabbed her bag and dug a couple out handing them to her.

   She took them and looked at the wrapping confused, she went to take a bite but Kate stopped her and gently took it from her showing her how to open it. The girl swallowed them up so quickly Kate was sure she had hardly chewed.

   "Would you please tell me your name?" Kate tried again, she had sat across from the girl watching her eat. Someone had clearly been starving this girl, she felt her anger flare.

   "Keep calm Kate, she is skittish enough and we need to know who she is and how she came to be here, no mortals should be able to enter without my knowing," the Mother trailed off thinking to herself.

   The girl looked at Kate's bag hopefully, smiling Kate pulled out another bar and handed it to her.

   She took a bite, "My name was," she stopped and thought for a few moments, "Is Cassandra."

   "Cassandra, as in Apollo's Cassandra?" the Maiden said shocked.

   "Are you by any chance a friend of Apollo's?" At the god's name, Cassandra jumped to her feet and looked around frantically.

   "Is he here?"

   Kate held her hands out to her pulling her back down, "No he is not here, is he who you are running from?"

   "How do you know I am running?" the girl studied her closely.

   "You look like you haven't had a decent meal in weeks, you drank the water so quickly I thought you were going to be sick, oh and there is the tiny reaction you had when I even mentioned him. You were ready to bolt."

   "Yes, I am running, from Apollo, from all the gods. Apollo gave me the gift of sight, but when I spurned his advances he cursed me, so now no one believes me when I try to warn them, the gods have had enough, or so Apollo says and they want to send me to Hades so I am not a bother to them anymore," her eyes grew wide, she had clearly not meant to reveal so much to her.

   "You're that Cassandra, the one from the Trojan War?" Kate was so shocked, that would make the girl in front of her a few thousand years old at least. She was having a hard time wrapping her mind around that one, she looked as though she was sixteen at the oldest, and she was a mortal as far as Kate knew so how had she lived so long?

   Cassandra's face scrunched up but she nodded, "That stupid war, over Helen? Have you met Helen she is the dullest person I have ever talked to, who cares how pretty she is?" she rolled her eyes.

   Kate took that to mean yes, "So how old are yo-"

   "Don't Kate, I don't think she realizes how long she has been here, she probably only sees it as a few years," the Mother said.

   "But if I don't tell her how will she react to the world when we take her back up with us?"

   "Back up with us? You can't be serious," the Maiden said.

   "I am dead serious no one should live like this."

   "Did you miss the part where we said a mortal shouldn't be able to get in here? How do you suppose she got in then?"

   Kate thought about that, at first it was confusing but the longer she thought about it the more she realized, "When Apollo gifted her he must have left just enough of his god juice to cancel out her mortal side just enough to let her through your wards."

   "And what do you think happens if we take her with us? If she leaves this place?" the Maiden asked pointedly.

   Kate wasn't sure but she had a feeling, "I would think taking that chance would be better than wasting away here waiting for the gods to send her to Hades."

   Kate watched the girl as she continued to nibble on her granola bar, she was clearly unhappy here and everyone deserved a say in their own lives.

   "Do you want to come with me?" she blurted it out so fast she was sure it was too jumbled for the girl to understand her.

   Cassandra blinked at her, "Come with you where, is this not your..." she looked around searching for an appropriate word, "home?" she finished hesitantly.

   Kate sighed, she had not wanted to tell her about Hekate, she was terrified of gods but lying to her wouldn't work either, especially if she had to let the goddess take over quickly.

   "No, this is Hekate's home, my name is Kate and I am a mortal just like you."

   Cassandra jumped to her feet again and surged for the entranceway.

   "Wait!" Kate held out her hand to stop her but instead wound up knocking her over with a slight push of air. Cassandra toppled over like a leaf and looked up at her frightened to death.

   "I am not going to hurt you, I promise, and I swear I didn't mean to do that," she gestured with her hands, "Hekate won't either, I swear."

   Cassandra stood slowly and studied Kate, "Where is Hekate?" she asked looking around as though expecting her to appear in a flash of smoke. Kate smiled softly and tapped her head.

   "She's up here, I am her vessel."

   "Vessel, more like a slave. You can not trust the gods Kate, not ever they only want what they want and nothing more."

   "I understand why you feel that way, heck other than Hekate I haven't seen any proof otherwise, but I promise you Hekate has no intentions of sending you to Hades, and we can get you out of here if that is what you want."

   Cassandra said nothing and Kate was sure she was going to bolt again, but instead, she stepped closer and looked into her eyes.

   "Show me."

   Kate did as she asked and allowed Hekate to peer out through her eyes, Cassandra gasped and stepped back but she didn't run this time.

   "She is there," Cassandra said in awe. She looked around the cave, "So this is her home?"

   Kate nodded, "Yep, but we can't stay, we need to get back up there," she pointed up.

   Cassandra looked up her face full of longing, "When will you be leaving?"

   Kate looked around the cave, "I was hoping to leave after I woke up," she continued to search, "But so far I haven't seen a portal."

   "It is here, we just have to undo the magick that keeps it concealed," the Crone matter-of-factly.

   "Oh that makes sense, you did have an evil, war-hungry god running around here, no need to make his escape easier." Kate pulled her boots on and fixed her braid, "So where is it then?"

   A clatter brought her attention back to Cassandra who was standing next to a workbench, she must have been looking through the tools and dropped something.

   "Why is she looking through anything?" the Maiden asked suspiciously, "She is a seer, not a witch."

   Kate pulled her extra pants and a shirt from her bag and stood offering them to Cassandra, "I know it's not what you are used to, I don't have anything from the Trojan War, but they're warm."

   Cassandra tentatively reached out and took the clothes from her, she studied them for a minute and then reached to take off her dress.

   "Whoa, whoa, whoa, take them back there and get yourself cleaned up." She turned her around and gave her a light push towards the back room.

   While she waited she asked Hekate, "So where is the portal?"

   "In our hearth," the Maiden said giggling. Kate looked at the hearth which had a weird blue, purple flame blazing in it.

   "Okay, so how do I put the flame out?" she had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.

   "You can't, the flame is eternal, it won't go out," the Maiden was getting too much joy from this.

   "I can't walk into a fire and come out alive, you obviously know that, and I don't think it's so funny," she rolled her eyes looking for water, there had to be a way to put it out.

   "You really can't put it out Kate," the Mother said trying to keep her calm, "The flames themselves are the portal, without the flames, there is no way back up."

   "Seriously, but I can't walk into flames," Kate approached the fireplace, she hadn't even gotten very close and she could already feel the heat emitting from it.

   "You can, we just have to use our magick to help you."

   "I don't think so, how do I know it will work, have you done this with another vessel before?" The flames danced wildly and she inched away.

   "Well obviously not child," the Crone snarked, "But we have been around for eons so if we say we can keep you safe then we will keep you safe." A warm feeling enveloped her as though she was being held in the warmest hug. Suddenly she felt safer than she had in a long time, she still wasn't sure about walking through actual fire but she needed to trust Hekate.

   "You are right," Cassandra's voice had Kate spinning around to look at her. She had used the water basin to wash her face and hands and pulled her hair up in a simple updo. The clothes Kate had given her fit loosely but they were much thicker than her flimsy dress.

   "These clothes are much warmer than anything I have worn before."

   "I am so glad, I wish I had extra shoes, but once we get back to my place I will grab a pair for you."

   Cassandra's eyes lit up, "You are taking me with you?"

   "Are you sure that is a wise idea?" the Mother asked, "We don't know exactly why she is here, and she doesn't trust gods."

   "And in case you have forgotten," the Maiden piped in, "You have a goddess living inside you!"

   Kate ignored them and smiled back at the girl, "Of course, it wouldn't be right to leave you here alone," she added that last part for Hekate. Sometimes she thought even though she carried the goddess around in her mortal body she forgot that what being a human meant.

   She turned back to the hearth eyeing the flames again, she knew the goddess was certain about her not getting hurt, but could her magick protect the other girl?

   "If you insist on bringing her with then of course we will ensure her safety as well," Kate could practically hear the Crone's eyes rolling.

   Kate grabbed her bag and held her hand out to Cassandra, " Come on, we have to make a stop first but then I promise I will take you home and we can get you into some clothes," she looked down at her bare feet, "And shoes too."

   Cassandra eyed her hand and looked behind her, "Is that how we are leaving?"

   "Yes," she gripped her hand and pulled her in front of the hearth next to her. Closing her eyes she allowed her water magick to rise up and out of her.

   "What do I do now?" she silently asked Hekate.

   "Just relax, imagine you are rubbing lotion on your body, start from your head and let it flow down until it covers both of you from top to toe," the Mother guided softly.

   Kate allowed her magick to flow out of her and down her body, she could feel the cool touch as it lapped at her skin, the heat from the fire barely registering.

   "Okay, now what?"

   "Envision a dense forest, the greens, browns, greys. The cool stones glinting in the light that seeps through the branches, then step through as though stepping through a door."

   Kate took a deep breath and without hesitation, she and Cassandra walked through the flames.