Omega (6 page)

“
I found the mercenary you
hired,” I told Father Ellis. “What made you all want to hire
someone like that anyway? Don’t you hate them?”

Father Ellis climbed to his feet, facing the
gladiator striding across the field towards us. “We needed
discretion and loyalty. Money buys both,” Father Ellis said.
“Though we paid for a gladiator of some honor, not a
mercenary.”

“
Yeah, well, he has the
tattoo of a merc.” I observed the approaching gladiator. He was
grinning, as if pleased by the exercise, his sharp gaze on the
priest beside me. “Herakles said you should never pay someone like
that. Besides, I can take care of myself.”

“
Not against what comes.”
Ignoring my look, Father Ellis stepped away to greet the gladiator.
“I am Father Ellis. You must be Niko.”

“
I am.” The gladiator
shook his hand.

“
You’re late. We expected
you hours ago.”

“
The airport is locked
down. I had to find a creative route here,” came the easy
response.

I kind of liked that Niko wasn’t fazed by
the priest’s chiding. Niko wasn’t really what I expected of a
mercenary. I had the vision of a gold-obsessed pirate in my head
for some reason, and the clean-shaven, practically attired Niko was
nothing like that. The edge of wary arrogance definitely fit the
image I’d created.

“
You’ve met your charge, I
see,” Father Ellis said.

“
What? This little girl?”
Niko motioned to me. He looked me over critically.

I crossed my arms, irked that even the guy
they were paying to take Herakles’ place was judging me. Before I
could say anything, Father Ellis rested his hand on my forearm.

“
Lyssa is humanity’s most
precious member.” Father Ellis had stiffened.

“
Coming from a priest who
doesn’t believe in violence, that doesn’t mean much.” Niko flashed
a quick smile, though his cold eyes were never still. “At least
she’s tough and can run. I had expected someone more …
delicate.”

What was worse? Being
called a
kid
who
couldn’t run or fight or being considered unladylike? Niko wasn’t
winning any points with me. I wasn’t a nymph, but I had outraced
him.

“
Can you really fight?”
Niko asked me.

“
I can,” I proclaimed. “I
can climb, camp, hunt, run, fight … I can do
everything.”

“
She had a very motivated
guardian,” Father Ellis said with some disapproval. “Neglected her
studies. But, she can run.”

What was wrong with these people? Judging me
for being prepared for the situation they knew was coming?
“Whatever. Let’s go.” I shifted my pack.

“
Go where?” Niko asked,
gaze once more on Father Ellis.

“
To wherever you’re taking
us,” I replied.

“
My contract was for
stationary service in a place with three squares and a real
bed.”

I pointed towards the school. “That place
was blown up.”

“
We have a situation,”
Father Ellis said simultaneously.

Niko planted his hands on his hips.

Seeing the priest squirm under his glare
made me very happy after my day. “Are you going to tell him about
the ground forces coming?” I prompted innocently.

“
Quiet, Lyssa.” Father
Ellis turned towards the school and began walking. “Come with me.
Both of you.”

I went, mainly because I had nowhere else to
go and a little because I wanted to see Niko and Father Cristopolos
in an argument.

“
I’m not going anywhere
until the contract is defined,” Niko stated.

“
If you wish to be paid,
you will come with me,” Father Ellis replied.

I looked over my shoulder as I walked,
waiting to see what the mercenary would end up doing. He was
watching us unhappily. Finally, he started forward, tense and
bristling, eyeing the forest with wariness I didn’t share. His long
strides closed the distance to Father Ellis and me, and he stepped
onto the deer path we walked on.

“
Can you really hunt?” he
asked me.

“
I can.”

“
Good. At least you’ll be
useful if your priests try to pull one over on me.”

I glanced at him, not liking the sound of
that.

“
I will take you whether
they pay me or not. There’s an underground market for someone like
you.”

“
Niko, do not scare her,”
Father Ellis said. “You will be paid above and beyond what we
promised.”

“
What do you mean, someone
like me?” I asked in confusion. “If I am what they think I am,
there’s only one of someone like me … of me … of whatever you think
I am.”

“
You’re an initiate,
aren’t you?” Niko asked.

“
Do I look like an
initiate?” I retorted.

“
Lyssa, hush!” Father
Ellis shot me a look. “Let us deal with him.” He stepped from the
forest onto the greens. “Father Cristopolos!” he cried. The head
priest and Father Renoir stood with a pile of items that had been
salvaged from the building.

I started to follow, but all four turned to
yell, “Stay in the forest!”

“
Oh, my gods!” I groaned
and jerked back to make sure I remained where they told
me.

Niko appeared amused then hardened as he
stepped past the red rope onto the greens. He paused several steps
away and turned to face me.

“
Who or what do they think
you are?” he asked, leveling dark eyes on me.

I fell speechless, uncertain what to do. It
kind of felt like everyone was lying to everyone else. Niko claimed
to be a gladiator but was really a mercenary, and the priests told
him I was an initiate.

“
Hmmm.” Niko studied me.
He seemed to find answers where I didn’t mean to give them. “I’m
guessing you’re worth much more than they offered. Better hope
they’re willing to pay to keep me from kidnapping and selling
you.”

I almost laughed but realized he was
serious.

He winked and walked away.

I began to regret not sending him off in
some random direction when we met. The fact he was doing this for
money made me feel a little dirty. Or tainted. Or at least, capable
of understanding why the priests looked down upon shady men like
him.

Watching them speak, I waited for someone to
yell or give some sign it wasn’t going well. The distant sound of
thunder reached me. The sky was clear, aside from puffs of smoke
left over from the school burning.

Weird.
Thunder and no clouds. The earth trembled. I waited for it to
pass like it might in an earthquake, but it didn’t. The tremor
remained constant and the thunder loudened.

With the four of them busy talking, I
dropped my pack and scaled a tree quickly. I reached the top and
poked my head up above the canopy, expecting to see what I normally
did: kilometers of woods followed by a break where the road was and
more forestry on the other side of the break.

Trees were being knocked to the ground and
flattened by machines I wasn’t able to see from this vantage point.
It had started near the road and was moving towards us, downing
whole swaths of trees for a kilometer stretch.

What could do this to a dense forest of
mature trees? Was it the work of the ground forces the priests
spoke of? I was embarrassed to admit I had no idea whose ground
forces they were referring to or even what ground forces really
were.. Did the military intend to run over the forest to grab me?
Or was it the SISA, the international secret police force tasked
with internal security of the human race by the gods?

Was it even legal for someone to mow down an
entire forest?

I shimmied down the tree and replaced my
pack. The four priests were huddled together a short distance from
Niko, whose gaze was on the forest in the direction of the thunder.
He alone seemed aware of something being wrong.

Catching my gaze, he
lifted his chin back towards the direction we had come and mouthed
two words.
Run. Now.

Fear lit in my blood, followed by concern
for the priests. I stood frozen for a moment, debating what
Herakles would have me do.

Survive. And if I was what the priests said
I was, I was probably putting them in danger by being with
them.

I took one step back then another. Not at
all certain I was about to do the right thing, I turned and began
to make my way quickly through the forest, to the east. The
crashing of trees soon became more audible, and I did as Niko said
and sprinted.

I ran until I no longer heard the sounds of
something crunching and grinding the trees of my forest beneath it
and slowed only when the peaceful sounds of nature were present
around me. Without stopping, I snacked on a protein bar and
continued walking for another hour and a half, covering the
distance between the school and the lake in record time.

And then I stopped at the boundary, as I had
been trained.

Gazing at it, I couldn’t help the guilt that
floated through me. I was afraid to leave the forest this time,
because I knew what would happen if I did. A part of me remained in
denial about all that had happened in so short a time, that the
destruction of everything I had ever known was connected to the
simple act of me going one step too far.

I sat on my tree stump, staring at the lake.
It was midafternoon, and I hadn’t forgotten the creature I saw
either. No, I wasn’t going to cause more trouble.

My determination lasted until I heard the
birds begin to vacate the forest around me. The sound of machines
wasn’t present, but the animals were fleeing something. I had no
idea where to go once I left the forest and remained where I was,
on the verge of panicking yet knowing that was the worst thing to
do in a crisis.

I miss Herakles.
He would know what to do and where to
go.

Twenty minutes later, the unmistakable sound
of someone running through the forest reached me. I rose and
hurried to a hiding spot close by, anxious to see who followed.

“
Lyssa!” Niko’s quiet cry
reached me before he did. “Or … Alice. Whatever your name is. We
need to go. Now.”

I peeked at him through the brush. He
reached the tree stump, his gaze sweeping expertly around the area.
He was sweating – and bloody. One hand was caked in it and there
was also blood on his shirt.

“
C’mon, you little
shit!”

With some hesitation, I stood. “Are you
hurt?”

He whirled to face me. “No.”

“
Is someone else hurt?” I
asked.

“
You could say that.” He
strode over the cord towards the lake, oblivious to the importance
of the red boundary marking the edge of my world.

I walked until my toes reached the rope,
torn about leaving. “Shouldn’t we wait for Father Ellis?”

Niko didn’t stop. “No.”

“
He can’t move as fast as
us.”

“
What is your
name?”

“
Alessandra.”

He spun to face me, backpedaling as he
spoke. “They’re gone, Alessandra. They took a different route out
of here.”

My jaw dropped open. “They left me?”

“
These people pursuing you
– pursuing
us
–
aren’t the kind of people I’m used to dealing with. This is SISA.
They have the gods’ blessings to kill fast and without mercy.
Running was the smartest thing for them to do.” He wiped his
bloodied hand on his pants. “You can come with me now, and we’ll
make it out of here by the skin of our teeth, or you can stay right
there and wait for SISA to get you.”

Gone. In all my preparations for the
apocalypse, or perhaps this incident, I understood being alone to
be a part of the scenario but wasn’t quite able to wrap my head
around it any more than I could the fact I was allegedly important.
How could I go from being constantly surrounded by forty people to
… alone?

Why didn’t they take me
with them?
This hurt more than
anything.

“
Fine. Good luck.” He
turned away.

“
Wait!” I cried and
started forward.

Realizing what I had done, I twisted to look
at the red cord boundary I had spent most of my life avoiding. I
was leaving it, the safety of the forest, my past, my home …
basically everything behind me.

It was scary and exhilarating all at
once.

Niko wasn’t waiting.

Unable to stop and contemplate the world
behind me, I charged ahead and ran to his side. My eyes went to the
sky automatically, and I sought whatever creature had tracked me
last night. Reminded of the rope around my wrist, I wished I’d
thought to ask more questions about its power, about what I
supposedly was, about what in the name of Holy Olympus was going
on.

And … how could the priests just leave me
with a mercenary they didn’t trust? How was I so important – yet
not worthy of a farewell?

The idea they were watching over me out of
obligation and had never wanted anything to do with me stung hard.
I kind of considered them to be my extended family, however
dysfunctional that was. I never suspected they didn’t feel the
same.

“
Where are we going?” I
asked Niko to take my mind off the pain.

“
You tell me. Where did
your priests want you to go?”

I was quiet.

Niko glanced at me. “They didn’t tell you,
either, huh? Great. Well, you’re not coming home with me. I don’t
even think I can go home if you’re important enough for teams of
SISA special forces to smash through the forest.”