Theta (22 page)

The first Oracle of Pythia laughed again.
“Ignore the gods. They cannot harm our kind. They complain much but
it is all wind. Hades cast me out recently, when I told him even he
could not survive what was coming, if he did not free me. He cares
nothing for our problems, but he will not let his wife risk harm
when she visits our world for several months a year.”

I smiled despite my growing sense of
urgency. I could easily believe the elegant, graceful woman before
me could handle anything – even the ill-tempered god of the
underworld.

“
I can guide you, but you
do not need my
help
, Alessandra,” she continued. “Artemis has always looked out
for us on behalf of her brother Apollo.”

I glanced back and shivered, a little scared
about leaving my body exposed when Cleon’s men were using a
bulldozer.

“
You should be concerned,”
the first Oracle said.

“
I am. Those idiots will
probably run me over.”

“
No. Because of him.” She
elegantly extended her arm to point.

I followed the line of her finger.

“
This parasite can never
control your full power, unless he is in your body,” she continued.
“When you are here, or in any other plane of existence, he – or
another spirit – can replace you. You must take care not to stay
too long or go too far from your body.”

Coldness streaked through me. Cleon’s
spirit, yanked out of his body when I left mine, was hovering
around me. He appeared as concerned as I was about the bulldozer
and less interested in possessing my body. If he knew he could
possess me and have all my powers, he would have done it long
ago.

“
Is this what you saw, when
you envisioned me ten thousand years ago?” I asked.

“
I saw much
worse.”

At the hushed note in her voice, I met her
gaze. “The end of the world?”

“
Among other
things.”

My heart began to race. “Did you see how I
can prevent it?”

“
I foresaw it is possible
to prevent it. I foresaw those working to help you who may lead you
to corruption instead and I foresaw the impossible.”

More riddles. “What’s the impossible?” I
asked.

“
I cannot say.”

“
Because you don’t know, or
you
do
know and
won’t tell me?”

“
Because this battle is one
you must fight, and the choices you make will determine the
outcome. I foresaw many choices and many potential outcomes. Only
you will decide which one comes to fruition.”

My chest was tight, and my heart pounded so
hard, the sound filled my ears. “I don’t understand.”

“
You will.” Sadness was in
the first Oracle’s gaze. “I can give you two pieces of advice. The
first, you possess everything you need to overcome and to win. The
second, what is part of you, you cannot harm. The answers you seek,
and the danger, will not be outside you, anymore than your power
is.”

Mnemosyne
had told me the same about not being able to hurt
Adonis, the day I faced off with him during the first of my trials.
He and I were connected, because I brought him to life when he was
a statue.

But the
danger
? She made it sound as if I were
the real threat to the world, not Cleon or the gods or anyone else.
Or did she mean Cleon would possess me and turn me into a
weapon?

I had more questions to ask her, but my
worried eyes returned to my body. Cleon was bending over me, and I
started forward, alarmed by the first Oracle’s warning.

“
I’ll come back. Don’t go
back to Hades!” I shouted over my shoulder. Without waiting for her
response, I vaulted back towards my body with the ground eating
strides that allowed me to pass distances ten time faster in this
plane than in my own.

Reaching Cleon, I glanced in the direction
of the bulldozer ripping down the trees.

“
I would appreciate these
odd excursions more, if they didn’t occur during meetings,” Cleon
said, facing me.

I searched his features. If he heard or saw
or otherwise knew the content of the discussion I’d had with the
first Oracle, he showed no sign of it. I didn’t let myself relax,
not when he was standing between my body and me. Could two spirits
fight in this plane? Or would it be like walking through walls and
trees, and our blows would pass through one another?

“
Send us back, Alessandra.
I have business to conduct.”

“
Okay. Get away from my
body,” I said as calmly as I could.

A flicker of something went through his gaze
and vanished just as quickly. Cleon stepped aside, and I closed the
distance to stand beside my body. As I stood, looking down at my
physical self, I began to wish I had asked the first Oracle how to
return to my world. Leandra had been the one to pull me back
before, and I had no idea how she did it.

Aware of Cleon’s intent gaze, I waded into
the middle of my body and stood there stupidly.

One of the trees – as ghostly as the other
physical entities in my world – crashed down beside my body.

“
Holy Zeus!” I exclaimed.
“They’re going to kill us both!”

“
This is why Niko handles
you, not the rest of these fools,” Cleon growled.

“
Where is he?” I demanded.
“Tell him to stop this!”

“
He’s on an important
mission.”

The bulldozer rammed another tree. It began
to fall. If the first one was close, this one was going to be dead
on.

“
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” I
shouted and stretched out to try to force my spirit back into my
physical body. “Let me in, gods dammit!”

The sense of the earth shifting was followed
by the very physical sense of air reaching my lungs. I opened my
eyes as the tree began to fall.

I was stuck between worlds, able to view
what was happening from the outside while also living through it.
My surroundings seemed more faded than usual, and I could also feel
the solid ground beneath me and the scrape down one arm caused by
the first tree that grazed me as it toppled to the ground.

I gasped. Hearing my breath catch grounded
me fully into my world, and I lifted my hands to snatch the tree’s
ribbons.

Green ribbons swarmed and engulfed the tree,
responding to my panic. The tree paused mid-fall. I pushed it over
with one hand, and the tree settled gently to the ground beside me.
The ribbons snaked back to my body.

I didn’t have time to be relieved or to
release the tension causing me to grind my teeth hard. The
oblivious soldiers on the other side were busy ramming the next
tree. I guided it out of the way with a single thought then bounced
to my feet. Creating a secondary exit with magic by moving two
trees beside me, I left the safety of the fortress and stood
outside, trembling from effort and the nearly being being crushed
to death.

As much as I despised Niko, I had a feeling
Cleon was right. The mercenary-turned-army-commander was never this
clumsy. He might tranq me first and ask questions later – or never
– but he would never risk dropping a tree on me.

Because he’s disciplined and loyal.

I straightened. The thought wasn’t mine – of
this I was certain. But if Cleon had responded, he was reading my
mind now, and no longer limited to the images I saw.

Another tree smashed to the ground, no
farther than twenty centimeters from my leg.

“
Holy … just stop!” I cried
at the men and women about to bring the forest down in their
ill-planned attempt to reach me.

Abruptly the bulldozing ceased, along with
the movement of Cleon’s soldiers. No sound but the summer breeze
and rustling trees remained. Oh – and my heavy breathing. I didn’t
know which part of my evening was the worst, but nearly being
crushed by a tree ranked pretty high.

When the bulldozer didn’t start up again,
and no soldiers rushed me with tranq guns, I cautiously emerged
from around the fortress.

“
I’m cooperating!” I called
and raised my hands.

No one shouted for me to drop to my belly
with my hands above my head. No one spoke at all. I eased around
the final trees standing between Cleon’s men and myself, and my
arms lowered of their own accord.

The bulldozer and soldiers were frozen in
place. Humans normally had three ribbons above their heads. These
still did – but the ribbons were wrapped in green sheaths. I had
never lashed out at anyone before. I was careful not to, because I
didn’t want anyone hurt. These people were alive still, but
completely immobilized. I approached the nearest one.

He was frozen mid-shout, a radio in one hand
and his eyes on the driver of the bulldozer, as if he had been
trying to flag down the driver. I reached out to touch his skin and
withdrew with a scowl.

His skin was cool and malleable, like
rubber. Definitely not human. I had somehow de-animated all of
these people with a simple command.

Incredible.

“
A little freaky, I think,”
I said and stepped away.

We can use this.

“
Not if I don’t know how I
did it in the first place.”

Realizing I was talking to Cleon – whose
words had seemed like my own thoughts – I clamped my mouth closed.
I purposely did not think about the first Oracle, afraid of
revealing what she had shared with the one person capable of using
it against me. Instead, I crossed my arms and turned all the way
around to observe the statue farm I’d created.

The Silent Queen will soon
be captured.
Cleon said.

“
What?”

That’s where Niko is tonight. Leading the
attack. We were tipped off about her location.

I tried not to think about Theodocia,
Leandra and the Silent Queen, who I’d met only once.

It’s only a matter of time
before we finish off the rebellion,
Cleon
added. He was pleased.
And then she’ll be
more willing to negotiate.

I didn’t know what to think. To say I didn’t
believe most of what that man told me was an understatement. The
amount of misinformation circulated within this compound alone kept
me from putting my faith in anyone but Leandra. Without her
present, I wouldn’t be able to confirm or refute the information,
either. Would Niko tell me the truth, if I confronted him during
our next sparring session?

No.

Was that Cleon or my mind that answered my
question? I was having a harder time distinguishing his voice from
mine.

I began walking back towards my villa. “I’ll
release your soldiers when I’m home,” I told Cleon. “I don’t feel
like being tranq’d tonight.”

I blinked. When I opened my eyes, I was back
in my room. Disoriented, I bent to touch the floor and ensure I
hadn’t been yanked into some other dimension. The marble was cool
beneath my fingertips. The servants had left the door to the
balcony open, as I requested. Even knowing my Mismatch was gone, I
couldn’t help hoping he would magically appear on my balcony.

“
Release the soldiers from
whatever I did to them,” I directed my magic aloud. “I’m sure
you’ll tell me if it worked.” This sentence was directed at the
ever-present Cleon. He didn’t respond, but he seemed unusually
cheerful this evening, even for him.

The more I dealt with him, the more
desperate I was to dislodge him from my mind.

I placed the newest Mismatch statues with
the others on the mantle above my hearth. My collection was over
two-dozen strong. Each time I used my power, I inadvertently
created a new grotesque statue.

I rearranged them restlessly, my mind on
Theodocia. I had admired her since the first time our paths
crossed. She was strong, an incredible warrior and sure of herself,
and I wanted to be like her. I tried hard not to think about what
happened if Cleon were telling the truth, and the Silent Queen was
dead with her rebellion soon to follow. They controlled the only
entity capable of standing up to Cleon’s army and, down the road,
the gods when Cleon was handled.

Movement came from the corner of my eye, and
I twisted away from the mantle. A sense of not being connected to
my world crossed through me as I studied the form lingering in the
shadows of one wall.

“
Lights,” I said and moved
towards it.

The chandelier overhead burst into brilliant
light, and the image across the room remained.

I walked towards the mirror that hadn’t been
present at any other point in my life. At least, not while I was in
my world. The black and white reflection was a remnant of the other
world, not mine, and yet, I saw my reflection in the gray world,
along with the reflections of everything else in my room.

My image faded suddenly, replaced by a
gaping hole leading deeper into Hades’ domain. Cerberus emerged,
towering high enough for his heads to reach the top of the
cathedral ceilings of my bedroom.

I stopped in place, waiting to see what he
did. The beast sat on its haunches, remaining on his side of the
curtain, protecting the gateway to Hades. He wasn’t looking at me,
and I followed his gaze with my own.

My heart sank. All six of Cerberus eyes were
staring at the memorial wall of my room.

“
No offense, but if you’re
going to be there all night, its going to be harder for me to
sleep,” I said.

The creature ignored me.

Crossing my arms, I reassured myself with
the ability to feel my body as normal. I was in my world, and I
could now see into another world. I wished with all my heart it
wasn’t Hades. As if my memorial wall, and the heavy weight of those
I’d murdered, didn’t already haunt me.