Chapter 15

House of Favors

Nina

As shooting pain rose within my leg as somehow, the bone shattered. Unable to keep the cry of pain in Patricia, who'd been scowering the walls looking for a way out, ran over to me (or more waddled. She was very pregnant mind you.) "Nina? What's wrong."

"My leg," I grimaced afraid that if I opened my mouth too wide another cry of agonizing pain would be released. "I think it's broken!"

"But how?" Patria asked sitting beside me. "Actually that doesn't matter. What can I do?"

As the original pain began to die down, I knew the next step would be worse. "See if you can find anything long and hard. I need two of them so we can set my leg."

"I still don't understand how this happened," Patricia growled as she gently went to look for something to help me. "And I don't just mean your leg. How did we get down here? Where is here?"

Cringing in pain I made my best guess (which probably wasn't very comforting), "I think we're underneath the city… and something tells me there is a spiteful god involved."

"You know I always did like you. Smartest Chosen One there is." Surprised, I turned to see Raet standing there. Really? I mean I'd known Raet wasn't one of the good guys but why had she done this? What was there to gain?

"Raet, did you do this? Why? What did I ever do to you?" my voice would have been stronger if I wasn't 100% aware of the fact that I couldn't take on a goddess without a broken leg, never mind with one.

You know evil people, those I can deal with, but uncaring people, self serving people, they're the most dangerous. That's the kind of person Rate was and that made her trouble."You honey? Nothing. You and Mrs. Miller here are what I call collateral. Oh and the little one two of course." At the nonchalant mention of her daughter, I saw Patricia wrap a protective arm around her protruding stomach.

"You leave them alone," I growled even though I knew it would do no good. I'm not intimidating on a good day and lying prostrate on the ground unable to move was definitely a sign of my inability to do anything.

"Relax. So long as your Osirian does what I ask no harm will come to you," I saw her eyes flicker down to my leg, "Well no lasting harm anyway. Sorry about that hon, I had to prove a point."

"What do you want from Eddie?" The old Patricia would have probably added a snide comment, but she was too worried about the life of her daughter to do anything rash.

"Oh you know there's this box and inside the box is some new leverage that makes you two useless… nothing to worry about dears. I just thought I'd come and mention that if you two try to do anything stupid, like attempting an escape for instance, you will die. I don't really need you alive. All I need is for Eddie to think you're alive. Capish?" (Oh how I wish Alfie was here. He would have had a fit over a goddess saying capish.)

"Don't do anything stupid, got it," Patricia told her a bit of the old snark back in her voice.

Rate flashed me a 'well then' smile before turning to Patricia, "Oh and congratulations. It looks like you're a mother."

"Agh!" I heard Patricia cry and she slumped against the wall. I turned to Raet ready to attack, but the goddess was gone. Crawling over to Patricia I ignored the splitting pain in my leg. Whatever Raet had done to her… "Oh my God I think I'm having a baby," Patricia finally huffed. Relief coursed through me as all the worse scenarios left my mind. Still, this was a disaster. Alice wasn't due for another two months! If Patricia was in labor now and we didn't get out in time… no. I couldn't even think of the consequences.

"Don't worry. I won't let the child die," the voice was new, but I had the uncanny notion that I'd met her before. "I'm Isis and I vow on my life I will not hurt you." The goddess had stepped toward Patricia who'd shied away in fear.

"It's okay," I told my friend with a reassuring hand. "She won't hurt us." I don't know why I intrinsically knew that, but I did. Isis was one of the good guys. She'd never, ever, do something to hurt us.

Patricia was still weary, but she allowed the goddess to touch her baby bump. In the dark lighting, I noticed the goddess' lips curl up in a smile. "I just saw your husband and he is fine so don't worry. I promised him I'd protect you and the child. Alice, right?" Patricia nodded, clearly surprised the goddess knew her daughter's name, but at the same time, she just took it in stride. "I've placed a curse on you, not a bad one, a good one. It will guarantee that neither you nor Alice can die by godly hands. You'll both be safe from the Osirian's world. It's the best I can do." I knew what the goddess meant by that, even if Patricia was too preoccupied to. Isis could do nothing to keep me safe.

"Thank you," I heard Patricia answer sincerely. "Thank you so much."

The goddess nodded, "It's the least I can do. I convinced my husband to begin the Osirian line, and I'm responsible for all the families driven apart by it."

A chill crept down my spine at the goddess' words… something about the way she looked at me was unnerving. I knew I was really in trouble when her eyes flashed over to the edge of the room and she began moving away. Promising Patricia I'd only be a second, I followed reluctantly. "I know you, but I don't remember you," I told her honestly once Patricia was out of range. Some instinct promised that this wasn't the type of conversation that should be overheard.

"We've met on a few occasions, but you were probably too young to really remember. Your mother, the previous Chosen One as I'm sure you know, helped me recover a stolen diadem. It was on that case that she met your father; he had been tricked into keeping the crown in his house. I repaid her then by erasing the memories of our world from your father's mind-it kept him sane. Still I developed a great fondness for Suzan, so, when she went into labor, I helped her. Because of the very specific timing that comes with the Chosen One, you were born premature. It was my intervention that kept you alive as it will keep Alice." The women smiled fondly at the memory of my birth, "You were the most beautiful child and from time to time I'd come and check up on you under the pretense that I was your aunt." Sadness had begun to creep into the goddess' voice as she concluded her tale. "Your Gran and mother had a row a few years before you were born, about none other than Eric Sweet mind you, so she didn't know until you were three that you even existed. I happened to be visiting when she showed up at the door begging to meet you… when she asked who I was your father knew that me being her sister was a lie… Your mother suggested they go out to dinner, she planned on explaining everything, but on the way there they began fighting and…" I didn't need the goddess to finish. The memory, though distant, was returning to me. My gran had been the one to tell me my parents were dead, but there had been someone else there… and that person was Isis. "My presence at your house that night is the reason you don't have any blood, so I will do anything in my power to help the family you've created from being destroyed."