An Unearthing of Goddesses

An Unearthing of Goddesses Part 37

This prize is rightfully mine!" Cassie pouted as Gaia held the golden apple aloft. "I touched and held the Hind. I had her in my grasp – I rode her!"

"You were in the water in the form of a fish as you relayed – clearly just taking a swim and not out hunting," Maeve noted.

Gaia shook her head. "Athena directed that the prize would go to the contestant who captured the Hind. None of you accomplished the feat."

The group sat with long faces, looking down at the ground.

"But we never even glimpsed her!" Hume said. "We never had a chance."

"Except for Lhamo," Gaia said. She held up his drawing of the woodland grove, featuring the Hind in her element. "He has captured her image." Lhamo smiled in pride.

"That does not count!" Maeve snorted in contempt. "He too was relaxing, and she just happened by his spot. He did nothing!"

"He has accomplished the quest – to capture the Hind in whatever form," Gaia said. "He wins the prize."

She handed the golden apple to Lhamo, who beamed in pleasure.

At nightfall, they gathered around the fire. Lhamo wore his golden apple on a thick gold chain around his neck.

"What in Hades – are you a gangster now?" Anya commented as he gloated.

"I am merely proud of my win," he said, polishing the apple on his robe.

"You should see this – all of you." Hume entered suddenly, brandishing a newspaper. "Something is afoot on Earth."

"Where did you get a newspaper?" Cassie stared. "Do they still make these antiques?"

"I have one delivered daily." Hume said indignantly. "There is still value in the printed word. And I use the old ones for the chicken coops. I didn't get a chance to see today's headlines until now."

He held up the paper. The bold headline read, "Fire. Water. Earth. Wind – all unite against a beleaguered planet." He continued: "A series of natural disasters have combined to cause a plague across the globe. Wildfires, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, haboobs, even volcanic eruptions have occurred in symphony, with catastrophic results."

"Haboobs?" Cassie tittered.

Hume cleared his throat. "A meteor strike in the Arizona desert seems to put a celestial thumbprint on the bizarre acts of nature. All of the governments across the globe are meeting to take action, against what they take to be a global warming series of crisis."

"It's the next stage of the rift, making the dark Elementals strong," Gaia said. "We don't have much longer."

"It's almost the Equinox," Anya said. "We have no choice but to wait."

"Adam!" Kate stood up suddenly. "He's in danger down there. The dark Elementals will target him, because of me." She looked about wildly.

"You cannot go to him," Nandi said firmly. "You must stay here."

"Then – let him come here." Kate put her hands on her hips defiantly.

"We cannot." Nandi's eyes were soft, yet firm.

"Let him be a wolf, like he was before."

"We cannot protect him. We won't be here to watch him and the woods are not fully safe, even for a wolf. The dark ones are close."

Kate stiffened. Then she reached in her pocket. "Then put him here." She held up her moss world. Nandi nodded and Kate tossed her the world, which she caught neatly. She tied it up in a napkin and with a beckoning call, a snowy owl arrived at the railing. She put the package in his beak and whispered to him and with a whoosh of his white wings he was gone.