The Inevitability of Destiny

I narrowed my eyes at my office’s window. Is that a blizzard outside or have I finally lost it? I crossed to the window and sure enough, it was a snowstorm raging outside. A storm that, to my knowledge, had started suddenly and was not in the forecast. 

Is this Chione’s handiwork? I chuckled wryly and then laughed out loud. 

When I was little, my dad would say that anytime a storm came out of nowhere, a god or goddess was pissed about something. With a sudden storm like this, it could only be because of Chione, the goddess of snow. It was hilarious to blame her as if she didn’t have any better use of her time than to inconvenience humans. 

This was my fault, really. I was the one who had the brilliant idea to come to the University on the weekend to catch up on some research and finish grading papers. Now, I was going to be stranded here. 

That is, unless I could find a way to get home. I ventured another glance out the window to look at the state of the ground and the snow that was quickly accumulating there. It would be a pain to try to walk in that, let alone drive. The heels I decided to wear into work today were now laughing at me. I always kept a pair of sneakers at my desk, but who knows if they would hold up to the cold. I changed into them anyway. Maybe there was a lost and found I could sift through and some unfortunate soul had lost a pair of snow boots in my size. While I’m at it, I should see if I can find some gravel or salt for the road. Now that I think about it, there’s probably not much good that would do with the snow already on the ground. There had to be a shovel somewhere, right? Maybe snow chains for my tires? And since I’m wishing for the impossible, might as well throw in a flamethrower for good measure. 

I walked out of my office and took a left. I already knew this search was pointless and I wouldn’t find anything that I’d need to get out of here. I’d most likely be stuck here until the storm ended or someone figured out I was here, whichever came first. I should’ve probably been more freaked out by that prospect, but this was my first chance to explore the English building since being hired as a Teacher’s Assistant almost two months ago. In these moments, I was so much my father’s daughter. It was going to take more than being stranded to rattle me. 

Walking the empty hallways alone was calming. I have never been in a building so quiet before. I opened doors at random. Unsurprisingly, all there was to find were empty classrooms. I liked to imagine that the empty classrooms weren’t empty at all, but were inhabited by ghost students pursuing their degree. I don’t know why, but the thought was both amusing and comforting. Like I wasn’t actually alone. 

I was now on the first floor where I vaguely remembered there being a storage closet. It might have some supplies or at the very least something more interesting to look at than empty classrooms. The supply closet was at the end of a hall with a classroom on either side of it. As I walked down the hall to the closet, it occurred to me that it might be locked and I was not in possession of any keys that might open it. I laughed. As if a locked door has ever stopped me. It was yet another plus of being my father’s daughter. 

I placed my hand on the doorknob and with a smile, turned it. It was unlocked. I opened the door and was more than a little surprised to come face to face with a Chimera. Chimera, for those who have had the fortune to not have come face to face with one, have the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent. Oh, and they breathe fire! Luckily, this one was muzzled and looked to be sedated.  

This couldn’t be my father’s work. Sure, he was a skilled Hunter, but between you and me, he wasn’t good enough to catch a Chimera nor crazy enough to hide it at my place of business. That could only mean I had another Hunter in my midst. I groaned to the sky, “Heaven help me.” 

“Nope,” I said shaking my head feverishly. “This is so not my problem.” And I closed the door back. It was only then that I saw that the door had been locked with a Hunter’s mark and I had broken it without even realizing it. I reattached it as best, shaking my head all the while. I didn’t see anything. I don’t know anything. 

I turned around, back the way I came. This time, I wasn’t surprised to find someone walking towards me. He was as tall as I was, with brown skin and a muscular frame. He wore a leather jacket, jeans and a smile that said he was up to no good. I could spot a Hunter a mile away and he oozed that Hunter swagger.

I’ve been privy to the Hunter world for as long as I could remember because of my dad. It was probably because of him that I wanted no part of their world. Honestly, calling them Hunters was a bit of a misnomer. They tracked and studied mythical creatures in order to protect them. No one that I know had ever killed one, but many have died in their pursuit of a catch. It’s dangerous work. It consumes you and for some, it destroys you. My dad has been a hunter for longer than I have been alive. He’s on marriage number 5, has been cursed 3 times and I can’t say for sure if he has all his original body parts. Call me crazy, but I don’t want that for my life.

Before the Hunter in front of me could say anything, I put my hand up to stop him. “Nope,” I said, shaking my head. “I didn’t see you. You didn’t see me.” I sidestepped around him and started making my way down the hall. But a nagging thought stopped me. I turned back to him, “Oh and Slick? That muzzle you got isn’t flame resistant. You might want to replace it before she wakes up and flambés it.” As much as I don’t want in on that world, I do know enough to be dangerous. Father’s daughter and all that. 

I made it maybe a handful of steps before he called out. “Hey, wait up!”

I kicked myself. Why couldn’t I have kept my big mouth shut? But to be fair, we would’ve all been screwed if I hadn’t said anything. 

“I’ll have you know,” he said, once he’d made it to me. “That’s a high quality muzzle. It’s everything proof.”

Oh, he was one of those Hunters. The ‘look at me and all the expensive equipment I can purchase’ Hunter. There was no reasoning with those guys. For them, only money talked. 

“Oh really,” I said, feigning surprise. “My mistake, then.” I made a mental note to keep an eye out for any ‘mysterious’ fires over the next week. “Well, you have fun with that.”

I turned to leave and he stepped in my path. He narrowed his eyes, suspicious of me. “Who are you?” He asked. “Most girls would be freaked out right now.” 

Most girls weren’t raised around phoenixes, manticores and all manner of mythical creature, but I wasn’t about to make that public knowledge. “Me?” I shrugged. “I’m no one.”

He didn’t seem convinced. He stared me down intensely, like he could intimidate me into spilling my secrets. Silly boy. I stared at him right back, my posture confident, with a sure smile on my face.

After a standoff of sorts, he blinked first. He took a step back, recognition dawning on his face. “You’re Gabe’s kid, aren’t you?”

I cursed the Hunter world for being much too small. 

Could I still play dumb? “Gabe?” I asked. “Never heard of him.”

But, Mr. Hunter was unperturbed. “It’s Minerva, isn’t it? Or do you still go by Minnie. You probably don’t remember me, but I’m Zeke. Ezekiel Young.”

The name sounded familiar. I took a good look at him and omg, I do remember him. He was a runt last time I saw him, but time has been kind. Now, he could probably benchpress a Pegasus without breaking a sweat. I shook my head and looked away. “Stay away from the light, Min,” I reminded myself. “Don’t get sucked into the vortex.” 

I took a steadying breath before looking back at him. When I did, I saw his lips were tipped up into a knowing smile, like he could hear exactly what I was thinking. Dear God, I hope he couldn’t. 

“Zeke, you seem like a cool enough guy, but I’m not trying to get mixed in whatever you’ve got going on here.”

His eyebrow perked up. “What is it do you think is going on here?”

I pointed back down the hall at the storage closet’s door. “There’s a Chimera in there. Last time I checked, you couldn’t pick one up at a shelter and they’re not indigenous to this area which can only mean you stole it and I don’t want to be here when the owner finds you.”

He jerked his head toward the window paned door where we could see that the storm had not let up, not even an inch. “So, you’ve got a plan to get out in this storm”

I could barely see the ground at this point. Even if I could walk out of here without my feet freezing off, my car would be no match to anything over a few inches. Dang it. Not only was a stranded during a blizzard, I now would possibly have to deal with an irate Chimera owner, too. 

“Who’d you steal her from?”

He crossed his arms. “Why are you so convinced I stole her?” I gave him a look and he immediately laughed. “Fine, you got me. I may have borrowed her from Chione.” 

At that, I turned on my heel and walked away. Over my shoulder I yelled, “Chimeras I could deal with. Snowstorms, sure. Pissed off Snow goddesses? Not on your life. You’re on your own, Slick.” If I headed up to my office now, I would hopefully have enough time to barricade myself in there before Chione made her way here. 

“What’s the big deal?” He asked, falling in step with me. “What can a minor goddess do to Gabriel Ryland’s daughter?” 

Invoking my father’s name did not make me more comfortable about our current situation. I did not have my father’s recklessness and was more in tune with my mortality than he was.

“Goddesses are a vengeful bunch and you stole from the one that can send us into a new ice age,” I said, my voice getting frantic. “We are so screwed thanks to you.” I stopped walking and tried to wrack my brain for what we could do. Anything that would give us a chance.

He stood beside me and I don’t know why, but I found his presence comforting. He said, “You’re not even going to ask me why?” 

Did it matter? But now I was genuinely curious. “Why?” I asked. “What could have possessed you to do that?” 

He opened up his jacket’s breast pocket and pulled out a Polaroid. He passed the picture to me. It was of a precious, little black girl with an enormous smile and her hair in puff balls. 

“Her name’s Mia,” he said. “She’s 5 years old and she loves unicorns. She’s dying. Heart failure. Chione has the only crystal heart this side of the Styx. It’s the only thing that will save Mia. I’m hoping to make a trade.”

I passed the picture back to him. It was a noble cause, but what did goddesses care about nobility? “Chione’s not going to care about any of that,” I told him. “She’ll kill you on the spot.” 

“I’ll be fine,” he said. He pulled his t-shirt down from his neck and showed the bright red fabric underneath. I instantly recognized it. He had on a breastplate of phoenix feathers. It was impossible to freeze and it would regulate his internal temperature, so he wouldn’t die of hypothermia or frost bite should Chione try to blast him. Afterward, the breastplate would spontaneously combust, freeing him from his icy bounds. Out of the ashes, a new breastplate would be ready to use against the next pissed off snow goddess that crossed his path.

As far as contingency plans, it was a pretty ingenious one. It would still be useless against Chione, though. “Are you really planning on risking your life?” I asked. “There’s got to be another way.” 

He shook his head. “Mia doesn’t have time. She needs a miracle. She needs someone crazy enough to risk it all because if not me, there’s no one else who will.”

I could still walk away. This was not my life. It was not my problem. I always swore I would never get sucked into this. 

But, if I was honest with myself, it wasn’t because I didn’t love it or that I was scared of getting hurt. It was because I knew that with anything that I wanted, there was nothing I wouldn’t do, nothing I wouldn’t sacrifice or risk to achieve it. Those type of people are dangerous. Those type of people don’t live long. I am my father’s daughter after all.

I liked to pretend I wasn’t that person, that I could somehow escape my fate, but a man inevitably meets his destiny on the road he takes to run from it. 

This moment here. The one where I didn’t walk away. It was always bound to happen, wasn’t it?

“I’ve got an idea,” I told him. “It might not work. We’ll probably die, but if we don’t, Mia lives and we’ll have a heck of a story to tell.”

He looked at me. He seemed to see the resolve in my eyes, an all-consuming hunger to do whatever it took. It matched his own. 

He smiled, and said, “I’m listening.”