“I’ll need your eye,” Alice said.
A laugh like grinding bones. “Goddesses? We are the Graiae. Born old. Daughters of the sea. We share one eye and one tooth because we trust no one enough to have our own.”
Then the middle sister plucked the eye from her socket and placed it in Alice’s hand. The eldest dropped the tooth into Alice’s other palm. It felt warm, like a sleeping coal.
The three sisters stopped.
She walked anyway.
At the lake’s bottom was a door no larger than a rabbit hole. Alice knelt.
“I’ll need your eye,” Alice said.
A laugh like grinding bones. “Goddesses? We are the Graiae. Born old. Daughters of the sea. We share one eye and one tooth because we trust no one enough to have our own.”
Then the middle sister plucked the eye from her socket and placed it in Alice’s hand. The eldest dropped the tooth into Alice’s other palm. It felt warm, like a sleeping coal.
The three sisters stopped.
She walked anyway.
At the lake’s bottom was a door no larger than a rabbit hole. Alice knelt.