Chapter Flrty-five

**OLIVER**
My eyes shot wide open and I sat up on the couch as I felt the air shift. I held my chest in my hand trying to get my erratic breathing under control. Outside the window, even though the skies were clear, I could sense the chaos that was happening.
Suddenly, I could feel the familiar pull of the water, the voice of the goddess calling me to the water. Her voice was familiar and yet strange. I swore under my breath jumped to my feet, and followed the familiar path through the woods, my bare feet deftly navigating the moist ground. The river came into view, and in the middle of it stood Sasha.
I swore under my breath as I moved closer. Dressed in all white, holding up two frantic, squawking chickens in the air and chanting loudly, she danced and swayed in the water, her voice carrying over the sound of the rushing water.
“Sasha!!”
If she heard me, she gave no indication. She simply continued chanting, I stood in shock and watched as she withdrew a knife from the bowl that floated next to her, and deftly slit the throats of the birds. She began to chant even louder, the blood staining her white gown as she danced around with the dead chickens. I swore loudly as I realized what she was doing. She was trying to summon the goddess…again.
“Sasha!” I called again. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”
She stopped her chanting and she turned to me, her eyes bloodshot and reeling with anger. She scowled and turned to face me, pointing the bloodied knife at me.
She smiled sinisterly and spread her hands out. “What does it look like I’m doing, you thief?!”
My eyes opened wide in confusion. “Me? Thief?”
I felt my brain jam as I tried to reconcile the sweet Sasha who sat next to me on the couch and told me about her childhood, about her family, about the pain of growing up without a mother, the one who wanted a fresh start and wanted to know her family, the one who went shopping with my mother and fetched herbs from the forest with her. That same one now looked at me with a hatred that was almost putrid, eyes blazing with an anger that was almost otherworldly, pointing a knife at me.
“Yes!!” She yelled. “But today…today, I take back what rightfully belongs to me!!”
I sighed and ran my hand over my face. “The river goddess isn’t a tool or accessory, Sasha. She…”
“She wants me!!” She yelled, the veins in her neck and forehead building with the effort it took to yell at the top of her voice. “She doesn’t want you! You’re nothing but a placeholder!! You’re nothing!!!”
“Sasha,” I called again, slowly moving into the water, my eyes glued to the knife in her hand. “We’ve talked about this before, Sasha. It would never have been you.”
“You’re a liar!!” She yelled as brandished the knife at me. “You…your family…all you do is lie!!!”
Her voice held a type of pain that felt familiar. Her eyes widened even further as I moved closer to her. I stopped short of her, keeping an arms-length distance between us.
“Sasha…the goddess would kill you…you’re not her vessel…”
Sasha shook her head vehemently, her blonde hair swaying mightily in the cool midnight breeze. “No. You don’t seem to get it!!!”
“No, Sasha. You’re the one refusing…”
“Your mother didn’t tell you, did she?” She asked, her eyes glinting with mischief.
My brows furrowed in confusion. “Tell me what?”
She threw back her head and laughed again, her sugary sweet voice carrying in the wind. “Your mother…our mother…she told me the truth, Oliver.”
I sighed heavily, growing weary of this conversation. “And what is this mysterious truth?”
“Your mother lied to you, Oliver. She never wanted to tell you the truth about your place in all of this. But she told me… She said the goddess never intended for you to be her vessel forever.”
I froze, the blood in my veins going cold. “What are you talking about?”
Sasha smiled that cruel, twisted grin that I barely recognized anymore. “You’re just a stand-in. A temporary priestess until the goddess finds the one she truly wants. Me.”
I clenched my fists, trying to keep my composure. “You’re delusional, Sasha. The goddess doesn’t work like that. She’s not going to just hand you the power because you’re throwing a tantrum.”
Sasha shook her head, her laughter cold and sharp. “Oh, but she will. You’re weak, Oliver. You’re not worthy of her power. You’ve always been a placeholder. She’s just waiting for you to break.”
I stepped closer, my heart pounding as I felt the presence of the goddess swirling around us. “The goddess chose me, Sasha. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. This isn’t a game.”
Her eyes narrowed, her grip tightening on the bloodied knife. “I know exactly what I’m doing. She’s been whispering to me, Oliver. I’ve heard her voice. She wants me. She needs me.”
“You’re lying,” I said, my voice faltering as doubt crept into my mind. Was she lying? Could the goddess be speaking to her? “The goddess wouldn’t choose someone like you.”
Sasha’s smile grew wider. “That’s what you think. But maybe you’re not as special as you believe. Maybe she’s already looking for someone else, someone stronger. Someone who won’t hesitate.”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight with fear. The goddess had never given me any reason to doubt my place, but now… What if Sasha was right? What if I was just a temporary vessel, a means to an end?
“She’ll abandon you, Oliver,” Sasha hissed. “Just like our mother abandoned me. She doesn’t need you anymore.”
“Stop it,” I said, my voice shaking. “You don’t know anything about the goddess. You’re going to get yourself killed.”
Sasha’s eyes gleamed with triumph. “Maybe that’s what needs to happen. Maybe I need to die so I can take my rightful place.”
“Enough!” I shouted, stepping forward. “This ends now, Sasha! The goddess will destroy you if you continue.”
Just as the words left my mouth, a sharp, commanding voice echoed through the air, sending a chill down my spine. “Enough, Oliver.”
I froze, feeling the weight of her presence settle over us. The river stilled, and the wind died down as if the entire world was holding its breath.
The goddess’s voice, powerful and ancient, resonated in my mind. “You doubt me.”
“I…I don’t,” I stammered, my heart racing. “But Sasha…”
“Sasha is nothing to me. She will never be what I need.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived.
“However,” the goddess continued, her voice cold and unforgiving, “you are weak, Oliver. You have not fully committed to me. You have not given me everything.”
My stomach churned. “What are you saying?”
“Your time as my priest is limited unless you make a full commitment to me. You must surrender entirely, or I will find another vessel.”
Fear gripped me. “No… no, I’ve done everything you’ve asked.”
“Not everything,” she said, her voice laced with warning. “You still hold back. You still resist. I need your complete submission, Oliver. Or your world will crumble.”
I staggered back, my mind reeling. Was this real? Was the goddess threatening me, after everything I’d sacrificed? I had given up my life for her. My family. Gabriel. And now, she wanted more? I glanced at Sasha, her face twisted with hatred and desperation, but her eyes gleamed with hope as if she sensed my hesitation.
I swallowed hard. “What do you want from me?”
“Everything,” the goddess whispered. “Give me your heart. Your soul. Your body. Only then will you be truly mine.”
My pulse thundered in my ears, the weight of her demand crushing me. I had no choice. If I refused, she would abandon me. And without her… I was nothing. Without her, I wouldn’t be able to protect Gabriel from whatever dark force that hunts us.
But could I give her everything? Could I let her consume me completely, knowing that I might lose myself in the process? Could I let myself become a pawn? A puppet?
“I…”My voice cracked, and I fell to my knees, the cold water lapping at my skin as the goddess’s ultimatum hung heavy in the air.
Sasha watched me, her smile fading as she realized the gravity of the situation. “She’s going to leave you, Oliver,” she whispered. “And when she does, I’ll be ready.”
The goddess’s voice echoed in my mind, her presence growing darker, more insistent. “Choose, Oliver. Submit to me, or watch your world fall apart.”
I clenched my fists, trembling as the weight of her words pressed down on me. There was no way out. No escape. And in that moment, I realized something that shook me to my core. The goddess didn’t care about me. She never had. I was just a tool. A vessel. And now, she wanted more than I was willing to give.
But if I refused her… what would become of me? Of Gabriel? Of everything I’d fought to protect?
“Decide,” the goddess hissed, her voice low and menacing.
Tears filled my eyes as I struggled to breathe, my chest tight with fear and uncertainty.
I had to choose.
Submit to her.
Or lose everything.
Sasha’s laughter rang in my ears, cruel and mocking, as I knelt in the river, the water rising around me.
“Tick-tock, Oliver,” she whispered, her voice a taunt. “Your time is running out.”