?Yes, you would. In fact, I think that?s what your mother had in
mind for you all along,? Cassandra said in that spooky, faraway
voice she had a tendency to slip into at crucial moments. ?But
naming you is something your mother did in the past, and I can
only see the future.?
?You?re an oracle!? Helen said, astonished. She should have
known all along.
Suddenly, she wasn?t so sure she wanted to be alone with Cassandra.
There was something wrong about her eyes. Helen started
to circle around her, always keeping an equal distance between
them, but subtly closing the gap between herself and the exit.
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?Delphi, Delos. And the Oracle at Delphi was always one of
Apollo?s chosen priests,? Helen said as evenly as she could, trying
to keep Cassandra distracted.
?Close. The Oracle was always one of Apollo?s Scions, and always
a priestess. A girl,? Cassandra said bitterly. ?The Oracle of Delphi is
the female offspring of Apollo and the Three Fates.?
?I?m pretty sure that wasn?t in the book you gave me,? Helen said
uncertainly as Cassandra pulled the sword out of the ground, hefted
it in her hand thoughtfully, and took a few steps toward her.
?It wasn?t made known to any of the ancient historians, but they
did know that Apollo is the son of Zeus, and not one of the original
gods. He was second generation, a kind of glorified Scion, and, like
us, he was going to die eventually.? Cassandra came closer to
Helen, still holding the sword.
?Then why didn?t he?? Helen asked cautiously, trying to stay calm
so as not to provoke her. She circled back the other way, never taking
her eyes off the bright bronze blade that Cassandra alternately
lifted and let fall, as if she couldn?t entirely bring herself to raise it.