Shadow Titan (2 page)

“
You foresaw me. I want to
think that’s a good thing.”

“
It’s not.”

My breath caught. “Care to elaborate?” I
prodded.

“
You’re a key part of a
prophecy I’ve heard referred to as the double omega prophecy by
gods and men alike.”

“
Omega, as in the
end?”

“
Yes.”

“
I take it if it’s the
double end, not many people survive.”

“
I can see no survivors in
the original vision, which is why I interfered. Now, the world will
end twice instead of once, but at least there will be survivors,”
she said, sorrow in her voice.

“
That makes no sense to
me,” I replied. “How does the world end twice?”

“
It ended once last night.
What comes later will be much worse.”

This time, when I shivered, it wasn’t from
the wind or the pain. It was a twisting of dread and fear. “You saw
me in the end of days.” Among other things, that meant the end of
days would occur soon enough for me to live through them. “If there
were other survivors, why did you choose to approach me?”

“
Among other reasons, you
happen to be the enemy of my enemy.”

I opened my mouth to ask more when her
previous statement clicked.

“
You said
you
interfered?” I
echoed. “By creating a safe zone or by destroying everything
else?”

“
That is not for you to
know, shadow titan.”

I wasn’t easily scared, but she had
succeeded in frightening me. “I’ll definitely be dropping by to see
you. I think we need to talk some things through,” I said with what
calmness I could muster.

My mind was racing with conjectures and
possibilities, half of which involved trying to figure out if this
was the kind of woman I wanted to be associated with. If she had
the power to destroy most of the world, then I absolutely wanted to
be in her good favor. But there was also something to be said for
keeping one’s distance from then kind of power likely to consume
anyone in its path.

Eager to be out of the forest, I put
pressure on my hurt leg and braced myself for more agony. Pain spun
through me – but it wasn’t as bad as it had been. My meager power
was focused on healing my leg. Using the stick as a cane, I began
hobbling with more conviction in the direction I’d chosen, hoping
Adonis was able to sense me when he was near enough.

The Oracle fell silent, for which I was
unusually grateful. A social person, I always chose company over
solitude, but her tale of doom was not one I felt prepared to hear.
My entire life, I’d been trying to survive a world hostile to
demigods and win over my father. I was never compelled towards any
greater cause, never considered I might be part of something so
much larger than myself. My ambition had always been to help my
father seek his revenge against the Olympic gods in what ways I
could. The one time I fell off this course, to save the life of
Adonis, I managed to piss my father off, which made it imperative
now for me to find the right way of winning back his favor.

In truth, I didn’t want to be part of
anything as large as the end of the world, unless my position as
one of the survivors was assured – and I received the respect of my
father, as I’ve always wanted. Even then, I didn’t want to have to
abandon my sole purpose in life. I was in this life for me. I
wasn’t interested in helping anyone else.

Well, except for Adonis, who had been my
friend and companion for several years, and maybe … Phoibe.
Something about the kid had always struck me like the beam of a
flashlight in a dark room.

I walked with what speed I could bear
through the early morning forest, headed in a direction I hoped
would take me somewhere where Adonis could find me.

“
Are you there?” I asked to
distract my mind from the pain.

“
For now.” The Oracle
sounded even weaker this time.

“
What’s wrong? Are you
ill?” I asked. “You couldn’t have possibly gotten hurt in the
attacks, since you see the future.”

“
You’ll see when you
arrive.”

“
I survive the double end
of the world, don’t I?” I asked cautiously.

“
Ask me again when we
meet.”

It wasn’t exactly an
encouraging response. My jaw clenched, as much from the misstep her
answer caused, as from the shock of emotions I experienced thinking
about how I might not only die soon, but she had the ability to
tell me how I
would
die. Now this was true power, the ability to foresee events
and use them against those she wanted to manipulate!

Did I want to know about my own death? Did
anyone? Was it possible to prepare for such a revelation? Thinking
about it made my mouth dry and my heart race. All I could think
about was all the activities I hoped to do that I hadn’t yet.

Talking to the Oracle was starting to
unnerve me too much to want to continue. I shifted my focus on
placing my feet, so I didn’t extend my stint in the forest by
making my physical condition worse.

Some thirty minutes later, I reached a
narrow road in need of repairs cutting through the forest. I paused
to rest my leg and glanced both ways before deciding to head
towards the southeast. I didn’t know where I was, but I assumed
Adonis would be coming from the south, and I needed to return that
direction anyway.

The asphalt was easier to navigate than the
forest. I used my cane to brace my healing leg and listened for the
sounds of a vehicle approaching. I had no way of knowing how long
Adonis would take to reach me, or even if he’d find me in the
middle of nowhere, but I kept on limping down the road.

The questions I’d entertained all night, as
I lay helpless on the ground, began to circulate in my mind once
more. What had happened to the rest of the world? Was there
anything left outside of the safe zone? Had Phoibe made it to
safety?

Most importantly,
why
had this happened?
The Oracle had seen it coming. Was I the only person she warned?
Had the gods gone completely mad and begun attacking those who
worshipped them, or were the events of last night something
different?

The newest question only confused me more:
Who was the enemy of the Oracle? Was she talking of someone I
currently considered an enemy or one I’d gain somewhere in the
future only she could see?

It didn’t seem possible she considered the
very gods and goddesses she devoutly served to be her enemies. The
Oracle of Delphi was the most revered of all humans, and she sat
beside the Olympic deities in a place of honor. I couldn’t imagine
her having any motivation to frame them for annihilating most of
humanity. If not them, then, who? I had no real enemies, except
those of my father and his people.

At long last, when I felt like I’d been
walking forever, I heard the sound of a car approaching. I shifted
to the side of the road and waited, leaning on the cane and anxious
to be out of the forest and back to the world, where all my
questions would be put to rest.

A black van with tinted windows came into
view around a curve. I watched it, puzzled as to what anyone was
doing in such an isolated location. If it were Adonis, he would
have driven our car, unless circumstances forced him to steal a
van. Shifting to the side of the road, in case it wasn’t Adonis, I
grew wary when it slowed and then stopped.

The window rolled down to reveal a familiar
face, and I laughed, startled.

“
You need a ride?”
Theodocia, the High Priestess of Artemis and foster mother to
Phoibe – and also the very woman who had flung me out of a
helicopter – asked with such reluctance, I laughed
harder.

When I’d recovered, I shook my head. “You’ve
thrown me out of one vehicle. I’ll take my chances on my own.”

She sighed and looked away. “It wasn’t
entirely me who did it.”

I grinned, always entertained by how the
Fates unfurled the future. Theodocia had dark circles beneath her
eyes, and her hair was mussed. Her air was strangely charged, an
energy I innately recognized, because it was similar to mine.

“
Does Artemis or Thanatos
have you on a leash?” I asked cautiously.

“
I’m honestly not sure
anymore.” She slumped against the steering wheel. “Artemis helped
me find you but Thanatos …” She shuddered.

Studying her, I glanced around and made a
decision. “Get out. I’m driving,” I said.

Her gaze went to my leg.
“
Can
you
drive?”

“
I don’t trust you not to
throw me out, so if you want something from me, then I’m
driving.”

Theodocia placed the van in park and shifted
over into the passenger seat. I climbed in, relieved to sit on
something that wasn’t the ground, and closed my door.

It took some jarring adjustment, but I
figured out quickly how much pressure I could use with my hurt leg
as I turned the van around. Feeling Theodocia’s eyes on me, I
ignored her, more concerned with getting away from the damn
forest.

“
Are you upset at me?” she
asked finally, as we drove deliberately down the pothole filled
road.

“
You threw me out of a
helicopter. What do you think?” I asked with a faint
smile.

She was quiet.

“
I survived,” I informed
her and then chuckled. “I’m actually not mad, now that you returned
for me. I’ve been dealing with your temper for a few years. We’re
like an old married couple. I may have been angry while lying
helplessly on the forest floor, but I’m over it.”

“
I have the urge to kill
you again.”

“
Thanatos’ gift will
probably make you more homicidal than you’ve ever been.” It took
effort not to smile at her misery. “You’re going to need to learn
to control those urges and either avoid or master yourself in
situations where his influence over you becomes powerful enough to
take over.”

“
Because I’m his tool
now.”

“
Exactly. Except, I think
he’s given you some autonomy to use his gift for your own purposes
as well. I could be wrong, but I don’t think the God of Death had a
vendetta against me, which means you’ve been harboring a great deal
of resentment towards me if you came to the conclusion I needed to
be expelled from the helicopter.”

“
I have been resentful, but
probably not for the reasons you think. I am grateful for your
assistance since you helped me find Phoibe,” she said. Theodocia
gripped her head in her hands and squeezed. “Artemis’ touch is so
gentle. Thanatos feels like he’s constantly smashing a bat against
my brain.”

“
I might be able to ease
the side effects of his gift,” I said slowly. “But it’ll cost you.
I may not be angry about the helicopter incident, but I’m done
helping you for free.”

She said nothing.

“
Did the Queen and your son
make it to safety?” I asked. Despite the often rocky relationship
I’d shared with Theodocia as I mentored her, I liked her. She was
fiercely protective of Phoibe, intelligent and powerful in the way
of a High Priestess who held the ardent favor of a
goddess.

“
They did, thanks,” she
replied. “They’re at her secondary palace in DC.”

“
On the compound of the
Sacred Triumvirate?”

“
Yes.”

I smiled. “Assuming you can get us onto the
compound, I’ll help you. Now, tell me everything you’ve seen and
heard about what’s happened.”

Resting her head back against the seat and
closing her eyes, Theodocia obeyed and filled me in on what they
knew of the state of the world. She calmed as she spoke. I didn’t
know if Thanatos’ influence over her was relenting, or if the
exhaustion displayed in her features was taking a toll.

She had nothing remotely positive to impart
about last night and the state of Washington DC. If not for the
Oracle’s assurances that the compound would remain secure, I would
have been worried for Phoibe’s sake. But it made sense the Oracle
with the foreknowledge had arranged for more defenses around the
compound. After all, she was located there as well.

When Theodocia finished, I was both relieved
to know the entire world was not doomed and apprehensive about the
timing of the second apocalyptic event of which the Oracle spoke.
The need to meet with her was abruptly forefront in my thoughts,
ahead of seeing Phoibe again, and ahead of pursuing my own agenda
to cash in a favor from a queen.

“
Do you have a cell?” I
asked Theodocia.

“
I don’t but I saw one in
the glove compartment. It belonged to the thugs who tried to murder
us,” she replied archly and opened the glove box. She pulled it out
and handed it to me.

With my attention split between the holey
road and the cell, I managed to dial Adonis’ phone with only two
mistypes. As if knowing it was me, despite the unknown number, he
answered on the first ring.

“
Hey,” I greeted him with a
smile. “I’m safe and headed towards the Sacred Triumvirate’s
central compound in DC. I need you to meet me there.”

“
Will do,” he
replied.

“
Are you well? Any problems
last night? I understand there’s a great deal of unrest in the
city.”

“
Nothing I couldn’t
handle.”

From another man, I wouldn’t wonder what
that meant. But coming from Adonis, the calm statement could
indicate anything from he sat at home bored all night to he set
fire to the entire block and massacred several dozen people. Adonis
was the kind of friend everyone needed, whose loyalty was assured
and whose methods knew neither conscience nor limits.