Huntress (16 page)

I sighed. "How long have I been lying here?"

"It’s hard to tell. I had to barricade the doors. Adonis has been trying to break in for what seems like hours. So," he paused as if thinking hard about it. "I’m going to estimate days that you have been unconscious. I’m surprised, really. I expected you to kick up your toes long ago. It didn’t occur to me that there was a dampening field around my lab that would prevent your powers from working correctly. It almost makes my experiments on you seem like bad form. I believe I may feel slightly chagrined even."

I gritted my teeth. I was not going to respond to that. I could only hope that Drew broke through the barrier soon.

All right, I was going to respond. I just couldn’t help myself. "Are you going to cease your torture of me then?"

"Hmm, I haven’t decided yet. I’m quite angry with your Mother at the moment and since she’s not here to discipline, I imagine that you are a perfectly good stand-in."

"Bullshit. I have no bearing on her sins or lack thereof. I didn’t ask her to stray from your obviously oh-so-loving arms. Nor did I ask to be born into this life. Therefore, you have no standing."

Wow, that sounded impressive even to me. I should have gone to Law School. I guess I had time to do so now that it didn’t look like I was going to die any time soon.

"Fair enough. I shall not torture you any further."

"I can get behind that decision."

I lay there, quiet, trying to still my mind. It concerned me that he had no idea how long we’d been here. Depending on what Diana did to create the original spell on the room, it could have been hours, days or even years and I wouldn’t know until I stepped foot outside.

I tried not to think about Dylan, but it was impossible. I started talking about him instead.

"When I got pregnant, I was so happy. I didn’t think that I’d ever have something so precious in my life. Dylan is a wonderful little boy." I smiled. "Even if he doesn’t think that he’s little anymore.”

I received a gruff acknowledgement of my words by way of a huff. I continued.

"He was in such a hurry to be born and then when the time came, he stopped and it took all day for him to finally come out. When he was born he squalled with such rage that I joked that he was just trying to get back in. He was so beautiful. I was amazed that something so incredibly beautiful had come out of something as plain as myself."

"You
are
plain," he interjected.

"Yes, I know this," I replied.  Damn, he was annoying! "Anyway, he’s the only one I got to have. I’m grateful for him every day. I also miss him. I’d like to see him, Zachary."

"If wishes were fishes…"

"Stubborn ass."

"So I’ve been told. Continue your story. Has your son exhibited any powers similar to yours?"

Aha! I had him. "No. Although I could have sworn that he was talking to ghosts as a young child. I never had proof –he’s very imaginative. His description of his birth story is quite different than what you just heard. In his, he bursts from my womb with a bow and arrow and the rage of a thousand warriors."

I felt a tear slip down the side of my face. I hadn’t realized that I was crying. His chuckle surprised me but not nearly as much as the cloth that gently wiped the side of my face.

"Thank you," I said softly.

"You will rust my table," he replied gruffly. "More. Couldn’t come up with a more majestic name for your only son than
Dylan
? What sort of name is that? It sounds like those barbarian Celts."

"Well it’s not like I knew that I was anything but a humdrum human. I named him after Dylan Thomas. You know, Do not go Gentle into that Good Night?"

"I’m not familiar. I’ve been cooped in this lab for who knows how long," was the wry reply.

Way to remind him of his entrapment, Grace. "I will lend you a copy of his poems."

"You assume that you will ever leave this room."

"Of course I do. I shall fight with every breath until I am with my son again. You don’t realize this, but as soon as I can move, I’m kicking your ass."

This got a chuckle. "You certainly are your mother’s daughter."

"I assume that there has been no new news regarding her whereabouts?"

"Nay. I suppose I could open the door but then I’d have to deal with my angry Spawn and I’d rather not at the moment."

"Why?"

"He’s always been so damned disapproving. It’s disconcerting when your child grows up to be so stick up the arse."

This surprised me. I guess I could see Drew as a little uptight but for his father to notice it was something.

"Have you been a roaring disappointment then, Zachary?"

"I’ve done great things in my life. I am the king of us all after all."

This last part spoke volumes. This was a man who pandered to his own vanity and self-importance.

"Like the sinking of Atlantis?"

"Simply a misunderstanding," he hedged.

"I see. I suppose it’s just as well. I mean really, imagine how advanced and difficult the Human Race would be with that sort of technology. Painful, I tell you - and probably uppity."

"Are you using sarcasm on me? Is this something that is a regular in your repertoire?"

"I’m nothing if not sardonic most days, sir."

"It’s annoying."

"I live to serve."

"Now you’re just being a jackass, Grace."

I gasped. "Did you just call me by my given name?"

"Perhaps," he groused.

"I believe, Sir, that we are making progress."

"It’s Sire, not Sir."

"I’ll try to remember that. You should open the door. The last I checked, I needed food to survive."

"Obviously not. You have neither dined nor died since I brought you here."

"Good point, I suppose."

"Tell me more about your son."

"Why, do you plan on kidnapping him and using his power to fuel your mad scientific discoveries? Or will you just torture him as you have me?"

Something was different. His anger was tempered and we were having a conversation. The madness that had gripped him before my death was not quite gone, but I could see the man in there.

The problem with realization is that you suddenly have something to fear. What if he started hurting me again? What if this was just a ruse to get more information out of me about Dylan? I had to tamp down the anxiety and breathe. The most pressing question right now was, "Why didn’t I die?"

"Well I hadn’t thought to, but now that you mention it…"

"Did you just make a joke? My God! We’re elevating to an entirely new level here. Torture to joviality in a matter of days. Be careful sir, I’m a newly divorced woman and I may just make a play."

He snorted at me and I smiled in response.

"How long have you been married to my mother?"

"What year is it?"

"Really, you don’t know?"

"It’s best to not remind me why I have you locked in this room with me, dear."

"Right. Let’s change the subject."

He sighed and I could hear him working at fastenings but I couldn’t feel them. I supposed this was a good thing.

"I still can’t feel my extremities. How long do you suppose that will go on for?"

"I can’t say since I’ve never been dead."

"I was DEAD??"

"Well technically, I suppose you were. Your heart stopped beating and you weren’t breathing."

"How long?"

"Minutes. I electrocuted you."

I sighed. "I suppose if I’m going to die, you’re a useful person to die around. You’re like a walking jumper cable."

"What is this jumper cable you speak of?"

"Uh," I kept forgetting that he wasn’t exactly up to date. "Something you use to jumpstart your car. Never mind. It’s not important. Do you think I’ll suffer any lasting damage?"

"It’s hard to tell. Do you feel different?"

"Other than the fact that I can’t move?"

"Well, there
is
that."

"Zachary, can I be honest with you?"

"I’d like to say yes, but I can’t say I’ll appreciate your honesty."

"Fair enough. I’m going to be honest anyway. I miss my child. I want to get the hell out of this room and I’d really like something to drink. I think you should take a personal inventory and then just let me out. What’s the worst that could happen?"

"My son could burst in here and try to kill me?"

"Good point," I swore under my breath and made my mind work faster. How could I get out of here and keep Zachary alive?

"Zachary, why did Diana lock you in this lab?"

"I killed Helena.  Er, Hera."

"Listen, from what I hear in the mythology stories, the bitch deserved to die." What in the world had come over me? My mouth was running on its own power, completely disconnected from my brain.

"She was indeed a bitch." He said and the table beneath me shifted as he leaned against it. "It is incredibly difficult to kill one of us, you know. There has to be a tremendous amount of power and magic at the root of the strike. It wasn’t my killing of her that caused this imprisonment, though."

He paused and I started counting to one hundred so I’d keep my mouth shut.

"Are you counting under your breath?"

"Yes," I groaned.

"Why?"

"I wanted you to continue and I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. Why did you kill Hera?"

"She tried to have Adonis executed."

I gasped. I couldn’t help myself.

"She was a jealous woman and I am a man of strong...appetites, I guess you could say.  Her way to resolve the pain I'd caused her was to cause pain for me.  Many of my children were in danger.  I could not allow her to continue."

"So you couldn’t keep it in your pants and she went psycho?"

"Yes, if you’re going to be coarse about it," he grumbled.

"So if killing her didn’t do this to you, what did?"

"I didn’t just kill Hera," he replied softly.

The anticipation in my gut was killing me, but I stayed silent. Remembering my mythology and recalling the family tree was difficult. Everything was getting twisted up in which Gods they were supposed to be representing.

The feeling in my hands came back. Zeus was holding it gently and I had to force myself to stay still, to not jerk my hand out of his. Instead, I squeezed his fingers gently, encouraging him to continue.

"The magic that back-lashed – it washed over the land causing a disease that killed more people than I could count. They were calling it the Black Plague."

My jaw dropped open and I gasped in horror. This man was responsible for one of the most devastating diseases known to mankind.

"Yes, horrifying. The guilt drove me mad. For the personal satisfaction of seeing that evil bitch die, I had to watch thousands upon thousands suffer."

"I’m so sorry."

"It's a lesson learned, Grace Murphy.  You will find that you are forced to make decisions that affect more than just those within your sights."

Part of me wished that I could take the question back. It changed the way I perceived Zachary.  His madness was no longer a mystery. Anyone would have lost their sanity after unintentionally causing such destruction.

Pity welled up from my core and I squeezed his hand harder as tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.

"I’m so sorry," I whispered again. I just couldn't think of anything else to say? What did you say to the man who accidently caused the Black Plague, of all things?

"Power is what you make of it. If you learn nothing else in the years to come, learn this - you have the capability for great evil. You must always weigh your choices and determine which direction you will lean."

What could I say to that? Agreeing sounded trite. The weight of it all pressed down on me, crushing my ribs, making it hard to breathe.

Training is physically hard, but you know that in the end you will have the ability to survive against whatever is thrown at you.  Nobody had said, "Oh, by the way, Grace - you have the potential to kill millions with your power."

It made sense now why Drew went into full on panic mode when I got angry and things started rocking and rolling. "Your son is teaching me to control my anger so that I don’t hurt people."

"He is wise like his mother."

"Who is his mother?"

"Beyond your mother, quite possibly the love of my life," he answered. His voice was filled with longing. "She was human, a lowly farmer’s daughter. I couldn’t believe that something so beautiful could exist within the fragile shell of humanity. She didn’t want to live forever. She only wanted a husband and a comfortable life surrounded by her family and her olive groves."

"Adonis is half human?"

"He was the first of my Hunter children. When his mother discovered her pregnancy, she went mad and tried to cut him from her stomach. It broke my heart to see her so distraught. I kept her contained until his birth and then left with him."