Chapter Thirty-Nine: Juniper's Visit

Give in? Holly shook her head. There was no way she'd ever do that. It didn't matter if Quix had a checkered past, or had another lover. Though, that one hurt more than she'd expected. For now, though, she needed time. Time to plan, and time to breathe.

Luci was staring into her eyes and her heart skipped a beat. She closed her eyes tight to escape the heat from his gaze. "I need to rest, can I please think about it?"

"As you wish," he agreed. "But, when morning comes and you wake, I will have your answer, Holly. And I hope for your sake that you decide to do the right thing."

Holly cracked an eye open. "Will you spare Death as well?" Not that he deserved it, but maybe having him owe her a favor could help in the future.

"If you wish it, it is so," Luci replied. He gestured for Death to follow him and another black void opened up where a wall should have been. "We will speak again soon, Holly. Good night and pleasant dreams."

Holly waited until they shuffled out and her prison was restored before she flopped back onto the softness of the bed. What was she going to do? She'd bought herself some time, but not nearly enough. Could the others really find her in time? Dagon might know where to find her, but he would be outnumbered if he came here.

She screwed her eyes shut as she burrowed under the covers and pulled them up. The last thing she needed was Lucifer thinking that she was lying and deciding to make her make the choice now instead of giving her time to figure it out.

Just as Holly was thinking she'd never ever get to sleep, she drifted off into slumber as her muscles went slack and she was tugged into sleep's depths.

"Hello, Holly." The woman that stood in front of her tossed a long brown ponytail behind her tanned shoulder as she sat with her feet inside a small pond. "I've been waiting for you."

"Who?"

The woman gave her a soft sad smile. "I visit you tonight to try to help you. My name is Juniper, and I'm afraid that everything you have to put up with, is because of me."

"Juniper?" Holly whispered. "You're-"

Juniper nodded and gave her that same sad smile again. "I didn't realize that it would take such a long time. I'd hoped that just a singular incident would have taken care of all of the Sins. I never expected it to carry on. I can tell from your soul that you're not the first fighter."

"No," Holly answered. "Not from what I've heard anyway. Angel insists that he's been there for me from the start, but I'm going to be honest, I don't trust him. Not completely."

Juniper wiggled her toes in the water as she stared down at the ripples of the water. "I only trusted the Fates myself." She glanced up at Holly through her thick lashes. "My life has probably been far different than yours. They are all I've known."

"How did you end up like that? My life is apparently fake, but yours was real, wasn't it?"

Juniper tilted her head to the side. "I'm not sure you could call my life that. I lived, but for what purpose? I woke in the mornings to purify myself and try to obtain the energy needed for the ritual. I thought my sacrifice would be enough. I never had a life beyond that. From the time I was a child, until the day I died."

Holly frowned. "This is going to be rude."

Juniper chuckled, a soft tinkly sound. "Tell me."

"How did you die? The Sins weren't around, so you couldn't have died from them. Then how did it happen? Did you die of old age? Did you just run out of energy?"

She rotated her foot in the water as she watched the ripples again. "Such small things happen in one place, and cause such interesting changes in others. Holly, you ask how I died, but what's more important is that I didn't really get to live. If I could just do it all again."

"Tydeus and Angel would have liked that," Holly pointed out.

"Those names again. I repeat for you, in my lifetime I knew of the Fates, and only them. My mother gave birth to me and then chose to abandon me to save herself. I carried the burdens of her sin, and she lived her life however she wished. I don't blame her. Why give up your entire life for the life of another?"

"This feels way too real to be a dream," Holly mumbled as she reached down and touched the water herself. The icy cold drops clung to her fingers. "If this is real, is there a way you can come back? Maybe one of the souls can give you a second chance? Or you yourself could be reborn again even?"

Juniper smiled that same sad smile. "Your words sound nice, but why should I be allowed to take the place of another? And in the case of being reborn, what good could I do? I did my part while I lived. I did everything I could to try to guarantee success for those that came next. I will admit I never thought that it would resolve in," she paused and sighed, "any of this."

"What happens if one of the Sins isn't killed?" Holly asked as her mind turned to Eros. There was no way she could ever allow him to be hurt.

"You wouldn't kill a sin?" Juniper frowned now and the ripples in the water turned into angry waves as she kicked her feet. "They have to be stopped. They are the problem. The enemy. If you don't do that, how will the world ever be saved?"

"Eros isn't like that." Holly was already shaking her head at the other woman's words. "He's sweet and dedicated, and he'll always be there for me, always. I could never seek to abandon him. I would never want to abandon him. I can't kill him."

"If you can't, then you can't save the world," Juniper replied. "You want to save the world and make the future one where everyone can live, you must get rid of the Sins when they arise. Do you know which Sin is responsible for this life's dismay?"

"Sloth." Holly spat the word. "She's ready to kill me over Eros."

"Over Lust? How interesting." Juniper thought about her words for a moment and her feet stilled in the water. The little pond calmed down as she did so. "If that's the case, then it's not you that has to kill Lust. As long as the main offender is handled, that is when our mission is complete. You can leave the death of Lust to one of our future selves." She shrugged her slim shoulders. "It's not the best solution, but the only one."

Holly looked away from the other woman and turned her back on her. She couldn't bear to look into her eyes right now. Ghost or whatever she was, Holly was ready to strangle her. It didn't matter if it was her soul or not. Eros was Eros, and if he were reborn he would be exactly as he was now. She couldn't imagine anyone harming him.

"You're not happy," Juniper pointed out with a soft laugh. "I understand. When I learned that I had to do this? I wasn't happy either. But I sacrificed for the future, so please, at least do the same for me. Besides, maybe a future us will figure out the solution that will let him live, while those that try to destroy the world are stopped."

"You don't believe that," Holly snorted. "If you did you'd look me in the eye."

Juniper got up from her pool and walked to Holly before grabbing the other woman's hands and giving her a wane smile. "I don't believe it, but maybe the path forward will be opened in the future. Stranger things have happened." She looked around and squeezed Holly's hands. "I believe my time has come to an end if you are to talk to everyone tonight."

"Everyone?" Holly repeated as her eyes widened.

Juniper nodded. "Yes, all of the others want to talk to you. It's the first time we've been able to communicate quite like this. They're all eager to offer their own advice on this unusual situation."

Holly wanted to point out that it was unlikely any of their advice would truly be useful to her, but it was already too late. Juniper had vanished.

"Guess that means it's my turn," mused a woman sitting on a high-backed velvet chair. She uncrossed her long legs and smiled at Holly revealing a small set of fangs. "My name is Willow, and we have quite a bit to talk about."
Fate's Pawn: Four Horsemen
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