Omega (34 page)

“
I’m ready to go home,” I
told Leandra as we rejoined the party area.

“
Should you turn off the
monsters first?”

Glancing around, I saw
guests gathered around the creatures. “Nah. They seem
happy.”
And I hope they eat some of these
people.

Leandra trailed me as I left the gardens and
walked around the villa to the covered sidewalks.

“
I want to run away,” I
told her.

“
I don’t blame
you.”

“
No. I’m
serious.”

Leandra drew abreast of me and met my gaze.
“To where?”

“
That’s what we need to
figure out. Somewhere they won’t look.”

“
Outside the walls,
then.”

“
Yeah.”

“
That’s risky. If they
found you in the forest, they’ll find you wherever you
go.”

“
But I have my magic. I’ll
keep learning to use it. Even if they do, I can make them disappear
like I did the Typhon.”

“
True.” She was frowning.
“Didn’t you talk to the Silent Queen about her plan?”

“
Yeah. But, Leandra, every
one of these people wants me for their purpose. To play a role in
their plan. No one is looking out for
me
.” The image of the Oracle was in
my head once more. “Just like no one is looking out for her. They
only want what she can do for them.”

“
Who?”

“
The Oracle.”

Leandra was quiet for a long moment before
speaking again. “I understand, Lyssa. I don’t disagree. But you
need to consider the idea the Silent Queen might be a better
option. One that helps us bring back the Old Ways.”

The wisdom in her words held me in silence
as I reconsidered. She was right. But so was I, to want my freedom.
On the surface, the Silent Queen appeared to be the best option I
had.

“
And … you need to
complete your trials before you can access all your magic. Think
about it. Do you want to be caught outside the walls by a desperate
god?” Leandra advised as we entered my villa.

“
No,” I
answered.

“
You’ve had a rough go of
it lately. Try to see your situation with less emotion.”

“
You always make sense,” I
said moodily. The buzz of alcohol had faded, and I was starting to
feel heavy. “I’m gonna take a nap.”

Leandra left me at the doorway of my
bedroom. I changed quickly and dropped into bed, troubled and
needing some alone time to think.

Love is composed of a
single soul inhabiting two bodies.

–
Aristotle

Later on, I was on a journey to explore the
villa – to find some shred of insight into Cecelia’s life – when
Leandra found me.

“
You have a guest,” she
said.

“
Ugh. Who?” I leaned back
from searching beneath the bed in one of the guest
bedrooms.

“
And you’re in jeans.
Great.” She eyed the designer jeans I’d uncovered in the massive
closet. I was barefoot and wearing the most dressed down blouse I
could find. “Probably someone you don’t want to see.”

“
There’s a million people
on that list!”

“
Adonis.”

And he’s number one.
“Can you tell him I’m … I don’t know.
Dead.”

“
He’s the SISA chief,
Lyssa. Whatever is going on between you two, you need to keep in
mind he’s in a powerful position. We might be able to use
that.”

Over my dead body.
But I rose. “Fine.”

I trailed her out of the bedroom. I steeled
myself to tell Adonis to leave and walk away.

Entering the foyer area, my tongue stilled
when I saw him in his black uniform once more, the one that clung
to his muscular thighs, displayed his flat abs and outlined the
shapes of his shoulders and biceps. In the end, I stopped and
stared at him, speechless long enough for him to beat me to it. Not
that it mattered. Nothing he could say would sway me from my
intention.

“
Care to spar?”

Except that.
I crossed my arms. “You have an entire
organization of people to spar with.”

“
None of them are as fast
as you.”

A trickle of pride slid through me. “Okay.
Meet me in the garden.” I spun on my heels and returned to my room
to seek out clothing for the event.

And then I sprinted from my room to the door
leading to the garden. Not because I wanted to see him, but because
…

Well, I did. It was impossible to deny it.
No matter what I knew about him, I didn’t want him completely gone
yet. Slowing, I exited into the garden and finished tying my hair
into a ponytail. He stood ready in the stone courtyard at the
center of the garden.

Adonis said nothing but lowered into a
fighting stance. With a deep breath, I did the same.

We began to warm up with slow movements,
lazy strikes and soft blocks. I half expected him to speak, but he
didn’t, except to offer advice as we sparred.

Warm ups transitioned into bouts of heated
combat that galvanized me. I was angry with him, at my world, at
everything. I fought him harder than I had in the SISA
building.

I was soon sweating in the late afternoon
sun, focused on obliterating his guard or at least, beating myself
against it until I could no longer think or feel. His technique was
flawless, his reflexes otherworldly. It was easy to let go, to
unleash every last ounce of conflicted emotion, and channel
everything into physical struggle once again.

In the end, he’d win. I knew this. But I
didn’t care. We went on for an intense hour or two. My breathing
grew ragged, my movements lethargic and tired. At long last, he put
me out of my misery and pinned me. An arm bar around my neck, his
thighs locked around mine, I was immobilized on top of him, facing
the sky with him between me and the ground.

I went limp and tapped out.

Adonis released me, and I rolled off him
onto my belly. He remained on his back, breathing hard. Sweat
dripped down my neck and soaked the roots of my hair.

“
It won’t work … next
time,” I said between breaths.

He didn’t ask what I was talking about. He
already, and always, knew.

“
Why are you here,
Adonis?” I asked and pushed myself to my knees.
“Really.”

“
To spar.”

“
No. I felt a ping. That’s
not true. To spy on me for Lantos?”

“
He told me what you
wanted him to help you do.” He rose and held out his
hand.

I accepted and let him pull me up. “And he
told me if I end up crucified so he can get whatever it is he wants
from the other side of the portal, he’ll have me torn limb from
body.”

“
He has his
reasons.”

New anger tore through me at the calm claim.
“His reasons,” I repeated. “Because that’s all that matters.”

“
There’s a lot at
stake.”

I started away, furious I’d been drawn in
again. After the arena, I wanted to believe there was a part of him
capable of being good.

“
Alessandra.” He caught my
arm.

“
I’m not going to let
anyone do that to me!” I snapped and pulled free.

“
Neither will
I.”

“
You’d disobey your
boss?”

“
Lantos wouldn’t take it
that far.”

“
You doubt the man who
threw you into the arena out of a hissy fit?” Adonis was too smart
for this! “Your loyalty blinds you, Adonis! He claimed he would.
Whatever game you’re playing, stop!”

“
No game. He sent me to
tell you his intentions to protect you.”

“
Ah. Another deception
from Adonis. You didn’t come to spar of your own free
will.”

“
If I recall correctly,
you told me to stay away.”

“
And yet you’re
here.”

“
I was left … dissatisfied
with your command.”

No ping this time. The tension between us
was of a nature I didn’t understand. Thick and energized, ripe with
promise, despite our sparring. The urge to put something between us
was back.

“
I meant it,” I
managed.

“
I don’t think you
do.”

“
I don’t care what you
think!” Adonis twisted me into knots. The words were difficult to
say. “Don’t come back, Adonis.”

“
Alessandra.”

I waited, arms crossed, forcing myself to
recall all the bad news I’d heard of him to keep from remembering
the human parts that left me raw, vulnerable to him.

“
I don’t want this,” he
said finally.

“
Then stop being you.” The
moment the words left my mouth, I heard how cruel they were. “I’m
sorry. I mean … I know who you were once. The creature who saved a
child because you knew she was in danger. I don’t know who you are
now, Adonis, and that terrifies me. I can’t … I can’t let you in my
life.” My voice quivered. “Do you understand why?”

“
Because you’re afraid of
me.”

I nodded.

“
You have been hurt by too
many people and you think I will hurt you, too.”

Gods when he wanted to be,
he was so … sweet. Lethal yet sweet. The combination was perfectly
him – and so complicated and confusing, I was starting to panic. I
waited for him –
willed
him – to say more. But he didn’t.

This time when I walked away, he didn’t try
to stop me. My victory was bitter. Even I had to acknowledge I
didn’t really want him gone. Part of me hoped Mismatch didn’t
listen even if Adonis did.

But he did.

That night, after I pulled on a t-shirt for
bed, I turned off the lights and waited for him to appear.

Mismatch didn’t come. I stayed up as late as
I could and fell asleep feeling sad – and angry with myself for it.
No grotesque perched on my balcony.

I was alone, and it hurt more than sending
him away.

A man's character is his
fate.

–
Heraclitus

The second the last golden ray of
Hersperides left the sky, I began to hear them. Thousands of
voices. They filled my head. Subtle whispers, and sometimes louder
yells, turned into a form of soothing music. As I flew into the air
to hunt my dinner, they were joined by memories. The voices felt
like they belonged, old friends returned, even if I didn’t
understand who or what they were yet.

But the memories were strangers to me, from
a different time and world, of a man who had been buried deep
inside me for too long. A man I didn’t know anymore.

The voices drowned out the memories as I
flew over the central Temple of Artemis. I was drawn to her temples
without understanding why and this night, many of the voices seemed
to originate from there. Hovering over it, I decided to stop and
walk among the grotesques and gargoyles, as I often did.

I dropped to the ground and folded my wings,
tilting my head to listen.

Welcome back, brother!

Where have you been?

Did you not hear us asking you to visit?

The stone statues were speaking. Each had a
voice. I walked from one to another to yet another, listening to
his or her distinct voice before stepping back into the center.

Spotty before this, the memories began to
flow more rapidly, of the day Alessandra visited this very temple
as a child and awoke me from the stone. Twisting, I spotted the
platform where I used to stand and crossed to it. No other creature
had taken its place.

“
I’m from here.” The words
were a growl when I was in my monster form but I needed to hear a
sound from outside my head to help me focus. The stone creatures
around me were excited and drowning out my ability to think. “How
is this possible?”

The voices fell silent, and I closed my
eyes, sensing the answers in my own head.

This time the memories hit me with such
force, I was driven to my knees. Gasping, I  rested my clawed
hands on the roof of the temple. These weren’t recent memories but
those of a life long passed.

“
Don’t fight them. They’re
a part of you. Let them flow.” The soft female voice came from
behind me.

Too overwhelmed, I hadn’t noticed the
priestess approach. She wore the glassy-eyed look of a woman in a
trance. Her body was stiff, and she didn’t even seem to breathe.
Only her mouth moved.

I had seen this before. Gods and Goddesses
spoke through their respective priests and priestesses, possessing
the bodies of the willing to send messages.

“
Ar … artemis?” I
growled.

“
Yes. It is time for you
to recall who you are. What you are.”

With some apprehension, I did as she said
and allowed the memories to flow.

Mycenaean Greece. Four thousand years ago. I
rode my warhorse along a beach whose white sands were soaked with
red from my latest battle. Victorious, I’d once more defended my
kingdom from the sea raiders from the south. The last rays of
sunlight reflected off the armor of the army at the other end of
the beach.

I rode away from the army for the sole
purpose of relishing my victory. Rejoicing in the bloodshed of the
enemy and the crushed hulls of their ships listing in the bay.