by Eva Brandt
* * *
Selene
“Where are we going today, Mother? To another terra-forming location?”
“Not exactly. Today, I have a surprise for you. It’s further away than usual, but I think you’ll find it educational.”
We were once again in one of the shuttles owned by the temple of Gaia, heading to an undisclosed destination where I’d learn more about my gift. It was the seventh time I’d come to Terra since the beginning of the term, and I’d grown a little more accustomed to the rituals my mother used while terra-forming. I was no longer so unsettled by the difference between my power and hers. I was unique, and there was no point in using anyone else as a standard.
That didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate all her help. Without my mother, I wouldn’t have been able to get a good feel of my Gaia-oriented powers at all.
In fact, it was because I appreciated this help so much that I felt very excited about this surprise of hers. “Don’t tease me like this, Mother. I should know these things if I’m going to help.”
My mother chuckled but didn’t offer me a satisfactory reply. “I’ll tell you everything soon.”
As it turned out, the settlement my mother took me to was located somewhere in The Ural Mountains, in Russia. The area had been badly affected by The Apsid Wars, and not just because of the aliens. In the wake of all the nuclear explosions and the fighting, the polar ice caps had once melted and many icy areas had suffered from heavy flooding.
We’d had similar problems in my country, but after all this time and with the effort of the priestesses of Gaia, the continent had finally started to heal and stabilize. The situation was similar here.
My mother only gave me the real details on it when we entered Russian territory. “This settlement isn’t on the list of cities approved by The Grand Judiciary,” she explained. “People usually come here when they don’t approve of the more severe dictates of the government. They want to start families, and they can do so here without risking attacks from The Grand Judiciary. We help them, insofar as we can, in exchange for keeping the settlement under control and not allowing the situation to escalate.”
I could understand and approve of that. Not every woman was like me, and some would doubtlessly feel resentment for being refused the chance of becoming mothers. It was a testament to their kindness that they hadn’t picked up arms against the people who’d taken such a fundamental right from them.
Either way, it made sense now that my mother had been secretive at first. As far as we knew, The Grand Judiciary didn’t have spies in New Washington, but it was better to not talk about the topic until we left the zones where they were most active. They didn’t supervise this region as closely as they did my home continent or Western Europe.
The settlement itself was small, if beautiful. From up above, I got a good look at the whole village, and the first thing that struck me was that most of the houses seemed to be made out of wood. The lights were discreet, provided by torches lit with Gaia’s light, instead of the power of Tartarus.
It was nothing like New Washington and it couldn’t have been more different from Tartarus Base if it had tried. I liked it and I hoped we’d be able to help the people here with their problem, whatever it was.
The shuttle landed in a clearing in front of the village. When we made our way outside, we were greeted by a woman dressed in a robe very similar to my mother’s. Hers was lined with fur, however, a testament to the colder weather here. I was immediately grateful my mother had provided me with a change of clothes. I’d have stood out like a sore thumb dressed in my Chimera Academy uniform. With my hood on, I was just another servant of Gaia, and the people in The Ural Mountains were unlikely to recognize me anyway. The tournament hadn’t been transmitted here, so to them, I’d just be the High Priestess’s aid, and not Acting Pilot Renard, the tamer of the Sphinx. I wasn’t ashamed of my accomplishments, but I could acknowledge that my connection to The Grand Judiciary was problematic. So even if it was dishonest, it was better to hide my true identity. I didn’t think the inhabitants of the village would happily welcome me here when I’d become so deeply entrenched in the system that had oppressed them.
“Welcome, High Priestess,” the woman said in heavily accented English. “You have our deepest thanks for coming. We hope you can assist us with the issue we discussed during our last conversation.”
“It would be my honor,” my mother replied. Turning toward me, she made the quick introductions. “This is my aide and daughter, Selene. Selene, this is Sister Anya Brevokic, the leader of the coven here in Gaia’s Haven.”
I bowed at her, acknowledging her superior position. “Greetings, Sister Anya. Thank you for the wonderful work you do in Gaia’s name and for receiving my mother and I in your settlement.”
“I am the one who is grateful. Without assistance from your mother and other High Priestesses, we would not be able to keep the haven afloat.”
“I take it High Priestess Elena was here as well?” my mother asked as she started walking away from the shuttle.
Sister Anya nodded. “With her help, we’ve managed to stabilize the situation a little, but I’m still very concerned. I fear for the future of the settlement.”
“What exactly is the issue?” I asked, unable to control myself.
Sister Anya didn’t mind my nosiness. “Over the past decades, we’ve been working heavily on solidifying the ground around the settlement and returning the mountains to their former glory. We’ve had excellent results, which was why our little home was able to grow. But as of late, we’ve had several alarming incidents. There’ve been a lot of avalanches, and we came close to losing some of our most talented magic users. One week ago, our crops burst into flames for no apparent reason. Our animals fled. It’s inexplicable, since as far as we can tell, there haven’t been any real disturbances in the energies of Gaia.”
That did sound pretty terrifying. I wondered if I should really be here. It was a delicate situation and I didn’t have enough control over my powers. But I was just here as an observer, so maybe it didn’t matter that much.
I’d have to follow my mother’s lead on this one.
Sister Anya guided us toward the very edge of the settlement. Several people bowed in front of us as we passed, and I noted they were both male and female. It was a little surreal to see such a community. Women were holding hands with men, and fathers lifted their children over their shoulders so they could see us better.
My mother and I were just people, and yet, our arrival was obviously important for this community. My heart clenched in my chest as I watched them all together, family units that weren’t separated by arbitrary standards.
It had never occurred to me to question The Grand Judiciary’s rules on something so basic, but now that I’d seen this, how could I not? Nobody should have ever been deprived of the right to choose their own destiny. It was so unfair that these people had to hide like this, that their love for their partners was considered a crime.
I shook myself and focused on the matter at hand. I wasn’t here to mourn one of the many injustices created by The Grand Judiciary. I was supposed to learn from my mother, so that I could protect my own family, my lovers, Sphinx, and the other chimeras.
Sphinx didn’t speak to me, sticking to her decision to not contact me a lot when I was on Earth. Even so, her presence still lingered at the back of my mind and it helped. I wished my lovers could’ve been here too, that we could have held hands and shared the same open affection these people displayed. But until then, my connection with my friend would anchor me and guide me in my lessons.
An explosion of bright teal snapped me out of my thoughts, freezing me in my tracks and echoing through my body like a tachyon blast. If I didn’t fall to my knees, it was only because of the amount of training I’d done with my lovers and my teachers. It was coming from somewhere to our right, almost blinding in its intensity.
The irony was that my mother and Sister Anya didn’t seem t
o notice at all. It was unbelievable, since my mother was so much more powerful than me. But the truth couldn’t be denied. For a few seconds, my mother and Sister Anya just continued their conversation, as if nothing was going on, as if the sky wasn’t suddenly ablaze with an anomalous light.
They only stopped when my mother noticed I wasn’t following them anymore. My mother turned toward me, frowning. “Selene? What’s wrong?”
“Mother, can’t you see it?” I asked, staring at the horizon like a woman in a dream. “The blue-green.”
“Blue-green?” Sister Anya repeated, sounding alarmed. “Where? Can you show us?”
I pointed in the right direction, but neither of them was able to see what I did. “Impossible,” my mother murmured. “There’s nothing there.”
Despite her words, she and Sister Anya took my claims seriously. Sister Anya summoned five other priestesses to join our small team, as well as a few men to boost our forces. I wondered why she hadn’t done that before our arrival. Had she deemed the location she’d planned to show my mother safe? I wasn’t sure, but one thing was certain. What I’d seen did not belong to that category.
Once she ascertained that the group was prepared, my mother guided us forward. “Keep an eye out, Selene,” she told me. “Let us know if you see any change.”
“I could take the lead,” I offered. “It would be simpler.”
My mother shook her head. “If there’s indeed something dangerous here, you’re not equipped to protect yourself.”
I disagreed, but decided to obey her anyway. Maybe it would be better to not use my tachyon manipulation here. My mother was the expert on Terra and I wasn’t arrogant enough to believe I had more experience than her.
The whole group left the settlement behind and advanced through the wilderness. None of them could see the light, even if it was growing brighter and brighter. At one point, it became necessary to stop and shield my face, because my eyes were starting to hurt.
“Selene?” my mother asked, noticing my discomfort. “Are you well?”
“Fine,” I said, although that couldn’t have been further from the truth. “Come on. I have a feeling we need to hurry.”
As it turned out, the spot I’d identified as the source of the problem was within a deep crag. For me, the precipice looked like a pool of overwhelming light, but for everyone else, everything was just darkness.
“In there,” I said, pointing at the crag and clutching my chest. I felt like I was suffocating. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t tell what it was.
“Selene!” Sphinx suddenly roared. “You need to leave. Get out of there! It’s dangerous.”
I shook my head, unable to answer, but knowing I absolutely needed to see this through. “These people need me as much as the women on Tartarus Base do.”
“Selene, you don’t understand. The whole place is going to—”
Sphinx never got the chance to finish the phrase. The sky lit up, but this time, the light I saw wasn’t the cool blue-green. It was crimson, like spilled blood. It was a flare of tachyons and it was coming from the direction of Gaia’s Haven.
“Oh, no!” Sister Anya cried, having obviously noticed it as well. “It’s The Grand Judiciary. They’ve found us.”
In the light coming from the crag, my mother’s face looked ominously greenish, like a corpse. “Impossible.”
She stole a glimpse at me, shock and betrayal flashing through her eyes. It didn’t take a genius to realize what she thought. But the mere idea was repugnant to me. I would’ve never sicced the forces of The Grand Judiciary on these innocent people.
“We need to go back to help them,” one of the men shouted, keeping me from making the slightest attempt to defend myself.
I agreed with him. Words were cheap. This wasn’t about me and my mother at all. Right now, my desire to prove my worth didn’t matter. We had to fight off The Grand Judiciary, long enough, at least, to allow the innocents in Gaia’s Haven to evacuate.
Who had those monsters sent? If it was the Harpy Squad, we’d be in trouble. That must’ve been what Sphinx had tried to warn me about earlier. I couldn’t hear her anymore, and I couldn’t risk reaching out. I was already in pain because of looking into the source of the light. Trying to communicate with her when she was still on Tartarus might very well cripple me.
The moment I reached the settlement, I almost wished I’d followed that first urge. I wished my strained connection with Sphinx had knocked me out or even killed me. It would have been less painful than the sight that greeted my eyes.
The Grand Judiciary hadn’t sent the Harpy Squad here. It was much worse. He’d sent my own unit, the Grand Chimeras.
The first mecha I saw was the Typhon. He was so massive he towered over every single building. I would’ve likely seen him much sooner had my eyes not still been sore because of our ill-fated investigation.
But bad vision or not, I had no trouble recognizing Brendan’s chimera. One of the snake heads had followed me around for the better part of my last semester, in an attempt to protect me. I’d seen the massive mecha play chess with Sphinx and we’d raced in the training areas of Chimera Academy. I’d spoken to him many times and he’d told me that he liked me. He’d struck me as cold, but kind, much like Brendan.
I could see no sign of that kindness now. Typhon was only a massive, rampaging beast. He demolished three houses with his tail, and I just stood there, frozen, unable to move a muscle. An aura of poisonous fumes surrounded him, and people were running and screaming, covering their faces and trying to avoid it.
I hadn’t known Typhon had that kind of skill. What a way to find out.
As a woman collapsed in front of me, still clutching her ten-year old in her arms, a loud, animalistic snarl echoed to my right. Dazed, I turned, only to see the Cerberus land on one of the buildings. It was Gaia’s temple and it crumbled beneath his paws. The gigantic mecha opened his four snouts and a stream of fire erupted from inside him, obliterating everything it touched.
“Selene!” I heard my mother scream. I couldn’t see her anymore, and I didn’t have the strength to go find her.
Beyond Cerberus’s shoulder, through the thick clouds of smoke, I spotted Scylla. My stomach turned as she grabbed a man with one of her tentacles, snapping his spine and instantly killing him. Once the stranger had stopped struggling, the tentacle dropped the man in the mouth of one of the wolf heads. At least she hadn’t eaten him alive, but that was a small mercy.
If I hadn’t known any better, I’d have thought this was all a horrible nightmare. But it was true. It had to be true, because my imagination could have never spawned something so horrific. The sharp scent of blood tinged the air, metallic and nauseating, mingling with the smoke and the fumes coming from Typhon. Screams echoed around me in a cacophonous symphony of grief and terror. At that moment, as I took in the horror of it all, I wanted to die.
The Grand Chimeras were killing people. This wasn’t a battle of any kind. It was a massacre, brutal and senseless violence, innocent families being trampled and destroyed by the overwhelming might of the monsters I loved.
I couldn’t see anymore. My vision was blurred with tears. How had I misjudged my lovers so badly? I’d been convinced that, despite their flaws, they had good intentions at heart. They’d been put in bad positions before, but they’d tried their best. Or so I’d thought.
I wanted to believe there was some kind of explanation, that some other force had taken over the Grand Chimeras. But in my heart, I knew it wasn’t true.
“Sphinx?” I tried anyway. “Tell me they’re not here, that the men I love aren’t the ones doing this.”
Trying to speak to her like this hurt, but it was worth it, because it got me my answer. “I wish I could say that, young Selene, but your males are inside the chimeras. They’re the ones piloting. But they have a good reason…”
I intended to hear her out, but that was when I saw her. That was when I saw Sphinx coming.
She was a li
ttle further away than the others, but she’d undoubtedly been present for the massacre too. She must have been in charge of a different part of the settlement.
A wave of clarity swept over me. She’d joined them because August wouldn’t have been able to come otherwise. He was the one piloting her right now.
The idea of August acting as her temporary tamer didn’t bother me. I wouldn’t have minded sharing Sphinx’s time with him, just like Pollux didn’t mind sharing Charybdis. But this wasn’t about me and Sphinx.
The blood of these people was on the hands—and claws—of my friends and lovers.
I had to stop it. There had already been a lot of deaths, but maybe, just maybe, if my lovers saw me, they’d still listen. Maybe I could still save at least a few of these innocents.
“No, Selene!” Sphinx shouted in my head. “Stop!”
I ignored her. It hurt to push her away, but I had to do it. I’d trusted her. I’d believed she was on my side, that I could rely on her to support me in my fight to change the world. I’d been a fool.
And maybe I still was, a little, because I couldn’t believe everything I’d shared with my lovers had been a lie. I’d touched their souls with mine. Our minds and bodies had been one. We’d made love so many times, and I’d sensed their honesty and dedication in every second we’d spent together.
“Was it really love?” a voice whispered at the back of my mind. “Half the time, when you’re together, they treat you like trash. You’re their slut. You might as well be selling your body in Tartarus City.”
I furiously shoved aside the thought. They hadn’t forced me into anything I hadn’t wanted or enjoyed. I couldn’t think that way. Even if they’d come here and killed all these people, that didn’t have to mean our connection was false.
My heart hammering, I rushed straight toward Typhon, dodging the people who were still trying to escape. “Stop!” I begged them. “Stop it now! Please!”