Kate slowly made her way through the halls of the large black castle she had found herself in. She had no idea where she was or what was happening but a sense of foreboding dug deep into her gut, where ever she was it didn't feel right. A breeze caused the sheer, black, nightgown she wore to billow about her legs. At the end of the hall stood a large pair of wooden doors, that all but touched the ceiling, she knew she didn't want to know what was on the other side but there was no stopping herself as she reached out and threw them wide. Her heart stopped, and her breath caught as she looked around the room, it was drenched in blood, everywhere she looked she saw someone she loved killed in the most gruesome of ways. Her eyes finally landed on the only living thing in the room but all she could make out were his blazing eyes the rest of him shrouded in shadow.
"Soon you will be mine Hekate," the figure hissed, the smoke rushed towards her and Kate let out an ear-shattering scream.
"Kate! Kate! Wake up, you're having another nightmare!" someone had Kate by the shoulders, shaking her so hard her head was bouncing off the pillow.
"Enough Cassie, enough," Kate said placing her hands on top of her friends showing her she was fully awake.
"Were you having that nightmare again?" Cassandra asked leaning back on the bed but watching Kate to make sure she was okay.
Kate nodded rubbing the sleep from her eyes deliberately avoiding her eyes, "Yeah, it's weird though, I feel like I have been in that castle before but I don't remember it."
"What about Hekate? Does she remember it from somewhere?"
Kate shrugged, honestly Hekate hadn't been very talkative since they had come back from Olympus. It wasn't like she never spoke but it was usually sarcasm from the Maiden, or snark from the Crone, the Mother however had been quiet, only speaking when needed. If Kate were honest she was kind of worried about them.
"Has she spoken about what happened with Phobos yet?" Cassie asked concerned.
"No," Kate said as she sat up swinging her legs off her bed, "I know something happened though, there was a short period when we were on Olympus that everything went silent and dark. I've been trying to give her some time to recover but these nightmares are making me dread sleep."
Cassandra stood and took her hand, "It will be okay Kate, your patience will pay off, I am sure of it." Kate smiled and squeezed her hand before she released it to stretch feeling just about every bone snap or crack. She rubbed her neck, "Let's get some breakfast, I am so hungry. Are any of Ollie's croissants left?" The look on Cassie's face made her laugh, "I'll take that as a no."
Cassie groaned, "It's his fault, I have no idea what the man uses in his recipe but they are addictive."
"It's okay, we should make our way to the cafe anyways, we can eat there."
Cassie nodded and made her way to the door so Kate could get dressed, "I'm already ready so just let me know when you are."
"Give me just a few minutes, I think I'm going to skip the shower for now," she headed to her closet and started rifling through it pulling a pair of denim shorts and a tank top on. Tying her hair up into a knot she made her way out of her room.
As they walked up to the cafe Kate stopped and just stared at her baby. It had been a month since they had fought with Aphrodite here and though they had gotten most of the debris cleaned up there was still a ton of work to do before she could reopen. She sighed and followed Cassie inside, she looked around trying hard not to let herself get overwhelmed, everywhere she looked all she saw were things that needed to be fixed. There were a few tables that were still fairly solid but most of the chairs were in pieces and the main window was shattered. She set her bag down and made her way to the opposite side of the counter making herself a simple cup of coffee. Cassie, who had made her way to the back room, came out and handed her a piping hot croissant.
"Thank you," Kate said taking the offered plate and inhaling deeply as she let the comforting smell flow through her. She knew she was pushing a boulder uphill but with everything magickal and mystical in her life, she needed the mundane of her cafe, the repetitiveness of waking up, seeing her customers and just living a regular life.
"You're awfully deep in thought," Cassie said taking a large bite of her own croissant.
Kate sighed wistfully, "Just ready to open again. I don't mind taking to-go orders but this cafe was supposed to be a place for people to come and relax and be themselves. It's hard to do that when no one is here," she waved her arms at the empty room.
"Is she gripping about not being open again?" Amanda teased.
"It's not gripping if it's true!" Kate stuck her tongue out at her as she made her way back around the counter to stand in front of the large paper-covered hole where her window should have been. Amanda came and wrapped her arms around Kate's shoulders, resting her chin there.
"Don't stress so much, the new window should be here soon," she pecked her on the cheek and went to make herself a cup of coffee.
Scrunching up her face she turned around, "Where did you find this guy again?" she asked.
"I went to one of those street fairs, he had the coolest booth. All kinds of stained glass. Glass sculptures too. I promise it will be amazing or you can use Hekate's magick to break it and we can start over," she winked and laughed.
Kate smiled, "I guess, just make sure it's here soon okay? Ollie and I are supposed to go shopping for new tables and chairs this weekend, I would really like to be able to reopen next weekend." She held up her crossed fingers as she made her way to the storage.
"I wish you would stop pouting so much Kate," the Crone said. She stopped midstep her anger skyrocketing.
"Are you serious right now? I am the one pouting?" She threw her bag onto the counter and crossed her arms.
"Oh don't be such a baby Kate," the Maiden piped in and Kate nearly lost it. She had wanted to give Hekate space, time to recharge and recover before trying to find out what had happened with Phobos but if she was going to be like this.
"I am not the one being a baby, you are the baby! I know something happened with Phobos, and I have tried to give you space but I have had enough!" she stomped her foot knowing it was contradicting her not being a baby statement but she couldn't help it she was frustrated. "The nightmares I have been having mean something and I know you know what, so tell me!" she shouted, thank gods Cassie and Amanda knew about Hekate or they would have been worried she had completely lost it.
But to her dismay no one said a word, she could feel they wanted to but not even the Maiden was talking. She threw her hands up, she was so angry and before she knew what she was doing she had touched Hekate's magick and the faucets began to gush water.
"Son of a" She frantically ran to the sinks trying to turn them off only to realize the knobs hadn't been turned on, she had pulled the water from the pipes on her own.
"Calm down Kate," the Crone said trying her hardest to sound soothing like the Mother, "Just take a few deep breaths and let the magick go."
Kate stepped away from the sinks and did as the Crone said but her anger just kept boiling and she could hear the force of the water speeding up. She shook her head and tried to clear the anger from her mind. She thought about her friends, she thought about her job and slowly it began to work until finally the faucets were only dripping.
She let out a puff of breath and rubbed her eyes, "This isn't going to work if we can't work together Hekate, I am sorry that Phobos hurt you but it can't get better if you just shut yourself away and don't talk about it. We are a family and families talk to each other no matter how bad it is." She knew Hekate had gone through a trauma, but it was starting to affect Kate and that wasn't okay.
"I am sorry Kate," the Mother finally spoke up, "It was a lot to experience, but it isn't our experience to share. The Maiden took the brunt of Phobos' attack, when she is ready to talk about it she will."
"How about it?" Kate asked hopefully. She waited and waited but no one spoke up and she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with Hekate today, she rolled her eyes and grabbed some towels.