Omega (21 page)

“
Docia!” someone called as
I entered the warehouse district where the supplies were kept. “You
heard?” Gus, the man in charge of this district, was red-faced and
fidgeting. He had a tick in one eye that was twitching faster than
usual as a result of his agitation.

“
Yeah,” I said and
approached him. My gaze was caught by a shock of red hair and the
towering frame of Herakles. He’d found a small gang of Mama’s men
doing reconnaissance and beat them all until one finally agreed to
take him to the leader of the underground world. The Queen and I
alone knew his importance and instantly welcomed him. “What’s he
doing here?”

Herakles was walking with someone else among
the weapons. Not touching, just looking.

“
He knows his guns. He’s
helping with this week’s inventory,” said Gus.

“
Hmmm.” Someone so close
to Alessandra didn’t need to be in the middle of my weapons depot
even if he didn’t know yet what our plan with her was.

“
The men love him. He’s
been sparring with them. Tough.”

“
Herakles!”

I watched my son race out of the neighboring
building towards the red-haired giant with the scarred features.
Herakles whirled and pretended to fight with him before feigning
injury and dropping to the ground. Tomas laughed.

“
Tommy loves him too,” Gus
added. “Here’s a list of what was seized.”

My gaze lingered on Tommy, who lived below
ground with the armies of Mama. I pursed my lips and took the iPad,
skimming through the missing supplies. “Figures it was the shipment
with the missiles we need to penetrate the wall.”

“
Those cost a fortune to
pilfer from the military.”

I studied the numbers. “They’re in their
supply depo or seized assets warehouses?”

“
Seized
assets.”

“
Damn. We haven’t cracked
entering that area yet.” I handed back the report, gaze falling to
Tommy again. Gripping my phone tightly, I debated not going down
the road I was about to before I punched the number for
Niko.

“
Whatever it is, no,” he
said bluntly when he answered.

“
All right. Then I won’t
bring Tommy by,” I snapped.

Silence and then, “You
always demand something in return for me seeing
my
son. What is it?” he snapped
tersely.

“
Ten minutes alone with
your computer.”

I knew he was cursing the day he met me. I
was, too. We’d had something once, long ago, when I was too naïve
to see Niko for the selfish person he was. I rarely thought of
those days anymore, but I did wish he was a better person for my
son’s sake.

“
Okay. After
hours.”

I checked the time. It’d be a squeeze to
attend the dinner with the queen.

“
And I get him for the
weekend,” Niko added.

“
One day.”

Niko grumbled. “Fine. Friday.” He hung
up.

I lowered the phone, feeling dirty for being
willing to use my son to manipulate someone else. But only one
place in North America manufactured the wall-buster missiles, and
it had recently been smashed to pieces by angry gods. Even without
this complication, the Silent Queen was running close to broke. She
had spent the fortune her family built up over millennia to create
the underground world and the armies it contained. The weapons were
irreplaceable – and a vital part of our plan.

“
I’ll get them back,” I
said to Gus. “Keep an extraction team ready.”

“
Will do.”

I moved away from him to Tommy. Herakles was
back on his feet, talking Tommy through the parts of a machine gun
he held.

“
Hey, kid,” I said and
ruffled Tommy’s hair. “Give your mama a minute with the greatest
Olympian alive.”

Tommy smiled and raced away.

“
Good kid,” Herakles said.
His scarred face held me in quiet curiosity for a moment before I
realized I was staring. It wasn’t like me to be distracted by a
man.

“
You have time to talk?” I
asked.

He nodded. “Any word on Alessandra?”

“
I saw her today. She’s
doing great.”

We began walking, leaving the warehouse area
for the streets of the underground city.

“
All this … you control
the criminal underworld, too?” Herakles asked.

“
Most of it. There are
parts we haven’t been able to wrangle into order or we’ve purposely
not touched. The arena is one. Too popular. It’s sudden
disappearance or change of leadership would draw the attention of
too many high level politicians who like to gamble.”

“
Would be a good place for
money laundering.”

“
That’s what we use it
for.”

“
Lyssa would like you.
Smart and strong.”

I felt his gaze on me and wasn’t certain
what to say in response. “About Lyssa,” I started. “What do you
think she’ll think when she sees what we’ve built? What we
plan?”

“
I’m not really sure what
you plan, except a rebellion against the gods.”

“
Good place to
start.”

Herakles was quiet briefly. “She was raised
to fight and to believe in the Old Ways. Assuming the Old Ways are
part of what you’re doing here, I imagine she’d be eager to join
you once she discovers what her fate will be otherwise.”

There were moments when I recalled the
scarred man was more than he seemed. He’d been chosen by someone to
take care of the next Oracle. All I knew about him was that he
vanished twelve years ago after winning three annual Olympic games.
To participate, he had to have had an incredibly wealthy
benefactor, possibly a politician or god whose honor and pride
depended upon Herakles winning.

How much he knew, his connections with the
elite and who he might be working for, were not mysteries I could
guess. They also weren’t questions one simply asked. I didn’t want
him offended or driven off or otherwise outside our reach and
control. Adonis had the right idea to trap him as a way of assuring
the Oracle cooperated. I wasn’t going to cage the man, but I was
going to give him as many reasons as possible to stay under our
influence.

“
You designed all this?”
He swept a hand out towards the city.

“
A good chunk.”

“
It’s
impressive.”

From him, the compliment was unexpected.
“It’s a privilege to know you think so.”

The silence between us was charged. We
continued walking, each in thought, and at least me overly aware of
the two inches between our forearms. He was close to my age with
the body of someone who hadn’t lost any part of the edge he held in
the Olympics. The only thing I didn’t understand about him: the
scarring covering his face and neck. A combination of fire and
knife, if I had to guess, and he’d never bothered to obtain surgery
to fix it.

“
Docia, I want to see
Lyssa, ” he said quietly.

“
I understand.” And I did.
For all intents and purposes, she was his daughter. “Adonis has
started the trial the Supreme Priest dictated.”

“
Which is …”

“
Gods know,” I replied.
“None of the Triumvirate members are willing to share.”

Herakles stopped and faced me. “She’s not
prepared.”

“
She’s very well
prepared,” I countered. “I’ve seen her fight and spoken to her. She
can take care of herself.”

His jaw ticked, his dark eyes on mine. “I
would’ve liked to have spoken to her first. To warn her not to
trust anyone.”

“
I think she’s figured
that out.”

Herakles expression didn’t change. Whatever
was on his mind, his gaze was troubled.

“
I’m sure she’ll do well,”
I said.

“
Yes. She will,” he
agreed. “I fear more for the things she will learn that she might
not be prepared for.”

“
Such as …”

“
The truth.”

Concern fluttered through me. Was it the
kind of truth that would drive her away from our cause? Sensing he
wasn’t about to discuss it, and not knowing him well enough, I
didn’t ask. I had two people digging into his past for more
information about him. Whatever they turned up would give me more
insight. Until then, I wanted to keep him content here in the
underground city.

“
Are you comfortable here?
Have everything you need?” I asked.

“
Very. Thank you. I only
worry for her. Her fate is out of my hands, and I can’t yet fully
accept that.”

I didn’t want to imagine what I’d feel if
Tommy were at the mercy of the Triumvirate. But Alessandra was
tough. She didn’t strike me as someone to wallow if she was knocked
on her ass. “Let me know if you need anything,” I said and started
away.

“
I would ask one favor,”
Herakles said.

“
Sure.”

“
I’d like to be involved
on some level with the operation you’re planning.”

I considered him. “It’s a very delicate
political situation, Herakles. I don’t have to tell you this.”

“
You fear giving me too
much knowledge or power.”

“
We’ve built this
underground city in the shadows. Should Alessandra not choose to
support our cause, I risk much by granting you access now only to
have you side with someone else later.”

“
Fair enough. Training?
You have a lot of green troops. I can help. It’ll do me well to
stay busy, too.”

“
I think that’ll work,” I
said with a nod. “Report to Commander Zeuson. He’ll know where to
put you.”

“
And could I trouble you
for information on Alessandra, whenever you have it.”

“
I’d be happy to
share.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Docia.”

Sadness was in his eyes despite his calm
manner and acceptance of his adopted daughter’s absence. I started
away, thoughts on how we were going to steal the missiles once I
used Niko’s computer to unlock the facility, and then
paused. 

Herakles’ suffering bothered me. Perhaps it
was because I, too, had a child I’d never want to see go through
Alessandra’s fate.

“
Artemis has kept watch
over her this long,” I told him, turning. “I don’t think she’ll
forsake Alessandra anytime soon, but I’ll say an extra prayer for
her this evening at the temple.”

Herakles’ crooked smile was warm. “Thank
you.”

Without responding, I strode off once more.
I had enough to think about without allowing the sorrow of one man
to weigh me down. Yet something about Herakles, and his love for
Alessandra, made me want to pray harder than usual this all worked
out the way we planned.

Be still my heart; thou
hast known worse than this.

–
Homer

My hand shook as I gripped the doorknob to
the pseudo-garage. With one last look at the man in agony behind
me, I stepped through the door.

I was ready for the worst, for an abrupt, if
not violent, re-acquaintance to whom I was.

Instead, I was in little Alessandra’s
bedroom once more. It was light outside, and a warm summer breeze
swept through the bedroom and past the little girl seated in the
center of her floor. The spectral figure was playing with Mrs.
Nettles and several other dolls and toys she’d brought to life.
Those that were alive had three ribbons while those that were
inanimate had two. Alessandra had a thick rainbow of greens, from
the most brilliant yellow-green to teal to the darkest green moss.
The room swirled with ribbons whose purpose and power I didn’t
understand.

“
Do you want to play?” she
asked and looked up at me.

I shook my head. I wanted to leave.

“
Well, you
should!”

I’ve always been
saucy.
A smile slid free. Sensing no
danger, I sat down near her. “What’s going on?” I asked. “Why am I
here?”

“
You’re
remembering.”

“
I was afraid of that. Is
everything true?” I looked around the room. It was feeling more
like mine this time around to the point I knew she kept the
scrapbook about the oracle in the bottom drawer of her
dresser.

“
Yes.”

“
Even the part about
Herakles and … my … parents?”

“
Yes.” Her eyes were sad.
“He loves you still.” The wisdom in her eyes was out of place for a
six year old, and I gradually began to suspect she was … an image.
Like the rest of this place. A surreal delivery system to provide
me with the truth I needed.

“
I love him.” The words
were a tight whisper. I swallowed the knot in my throat. Thinking
of him made me ache. “And Adonis … how can he hate me
now?”

“
He doesn’t remember who
he is, but I’ve begun to remind him.”

“
You … you’re
Mnemosyne?”

She nodded. “Too weak to appear to you in
person. The Holy Wars tax us all. I was forced to use your mind,
and your magic, to create all this.” She waved around her before
returning to the toys. She picked up Mrs. Nettles then deftly
grasped the green ribbon. “This is yours. Only you have it. Not
even the gods can use it.”

I accepted it. It had no weight whatsoever
and yet stuck in my hand. “What does it … oh.” Mrs. Nettles went
still, became inanimate once more, as I leaned back. When I leaned
forward, she returned to life. “So that’s what I do? Bring toys to
life?”