The Colossus Collection : A Space Opera Adventure (Books 1-7 + Bonus Material)

by Nicole Grotepas

  “You know what I mean, Holly. Not physically. Emotionally. I’m worried about you.”

  He was laying on the bed, his hands crossed over his chest, staring up at her. The room was washed in a yellow glow from the wall sconce. Holly lay on the bunk, on her elbows, and looked down over the edge at him.

  “Thank you.” Coming from anyone else, Holly would immediately be annoyed, or feel defensive. But Odeon was someone she expected to be honest with her. Just not in the middle of a job. That still bothered her, how he’d done that during the painting job. She continued, “What are you worried about?”

  “Only that in your fear that you’re like your father, you’ll bring his energy toward you, and become like him.”

  “So you mean, if I worry too much, I make that happen?”

  “Yes,” Odeon said. “You are energy. We’re energy. What we concentrate our hearts on, our thoughts, we bring into our lives. That’s one thing Yasoan believe—that thoughts are outside our bodies. They exist on matrices that are integrated and invisible to the naked eye. Everything is connected. The energy of thoughts and feelings travels along this conductive matrix, and pulls like to like. If you focus on all that George was that you don’t want to be, your fears bring that into you.”

  She’d never heard this before. She listened in stunned silence. Could what he said be true?

  “What proof do you have of this matrix? That thoughts are outside our bodies?”

  “None. There’s probably something like that, somewhere. But I don’t have it. I just know that’s how it is. It’s why balance is so important, and why many Yasoan emanate a calm. We strive to keep that balance so that we don’t bring disaster into our lives.”

  “But bad things happen to Yasoan. Remember Charm?” Holly asked, bringing up the Yasoan child that had been kidnapped.

  Charm’s kidnapping had been a move against Holly—calculated to scare her off. They’d also used Charm for her calm song, to soothe the other children they’d taken. Charm was best friends with Holly’s niece, Lucy, which had meant that someone was also trying to hurt Meg and Gabe.

  “We can’t stop the actions of others.”

  “But then, what’s the point of that metaphysical crap?”

  “Holly, this is missing the point. Don’t get caught up in this minor detail. What you must do is protect yourself. You’re not your father. The choices he made aren’t built into a pattern that you have to follow.”

  “But I have to make a force, a fleet, that can fight him and the Shadow Coalition and The Cocks.”

  “No one is stopping you.”

  “It’s not an empire.” Holly clamped her mouth shut, too late realizing that Odeon hadn’t even said anything about it being an empire.

  Something Meg had said weeks ago haunted her—that Holly was acting like their father, or sounding like him. She’d been more rattled than she could even admit by the revelation that the man she had looked up to had been the leader of the Shadow Coalition.

  “You’re battling a ghost, my friend. I said nothing of an empire. And I don’t understand why you’re concerned with the terminology. They’re just words.”

  “Words have power. Especially if what you say is true about these invisible connections. An empire is what George built. It’s what Voss is building. Empires crush other people, other civilizations, the people that get in their way. They don’t care about the cost of life and they roll out, destroying what good there is within individuals. I don’t know. Maybe I’m overthinking it.”

  “That isn’t a bad thing, but you must eventually settle on something. I believe what I’m saying is that emotions and feelings have more power than words.”

  “But words express feelings and emotions. They can arouse them as well.”

  Odeon let out a deep breath. “As your friend, I’m only asking you to remember yourself. Don’t lose yourself in your quest to become powerful or in your fears that you have no choice but to be like George.”

  Who was she fighting with? Odeon or herself?

  It kept coming back to this—to the tug of war between what she needed to do to save herself and defeat her enemies, and not becoming a heartless mastermind at the center of some web of power.

  Who were her enemies? The Shadow Coalition. The Cocks. Whoever George had gone to retrieve, perhaps.

  Maybe that was the issue—believing someone was an enemy. Labeling them something in that way took away their humanity.

  She didn’t want more advice from Odeon, though she appreciated his insights. No one could see into the depths of her soul, though if there was someone who could, it would be Odeon. The problem right then was that she didn’t want anyone looking in there. She wasn’t sure they’d be seeing something she was proud of. At the moment, it was a morass of conflicting feelings and thoughts. Especially now—now that she was so out of balance with the people who mattered to her.

  A pang entered her heart. Was it over with Iain?

  A new worry that shook her up and destabilized her confidence and trust in herself. So much was spiraling out of her control, she wasn’t sure what to do—hold on tighter or let go and watch what happened?

  * * *

  Evening in the northern reaches rolled in early. The train had outpaced the snowstorms and as they trundled into the station in Rochers Deshiketes, the night was clear and sharp as crystal.

  Holly and Odeon carefully left the train, wary of every stranger they saw—which was everyone—and which meant they kept their distance, their guard up.

  They made their way through the streets of the small village, heading to Elan’s A-frame home on the hill. He wouldn’t be expecting them. Holly didn’t want to give anything away to her enemies by alerting Elan to her intent to visit. And so she was going on assumptions that he’d be there. She doubted that he stayed at the school, wherever it was.

  Snow banks lined the narrow streets. Large cornices of the recent snow hung heavy on the roofs. Holly and Odeon’s light source as they strolled through the village from the train station was the faint glow of the recently set Ixion and the yellow illumination that crept around the curtains covering the windows of the houses dotting the hill.

  Starlight reflected off the lake to the west that gave the village its primary economy. Cold made every sound travel with surprising clarity, and they heard laughter and the stutter of autos as the two of them moved along the plowed streets.

  Holly remained on high alert as they neared Elan’s house. But nothing happened, thankfully, and soon they were on his porch. The place gave off an inviting glow. Holly tapped on the door.

  “He doesn’t know you’re coming?”

  Holly hook her head. “Didn’t want to alert anyone—the SC has the children on their radar. I’m almost sure they have agents at the school. Who knows what else they’ve got going on.”

  “But if they have an agent at the school, wouldn’t the agent know that Elan is here?”

  “Good question. We’ll have to find out.”

  The door swung open, sending a shower of light onto them. Elan’s form was a silhouette.

  “Holly,” he said, surprised. “And Odeon. Come in. I was just about to eat. Join me.”

  After thirty minutes of removing winter gear, stowing their overnight packs, and working through small talk, they indulged in a hot soup made from the contents of Elan’s root cellar.

  “You want me to bring all the students here?” He repeated after Holly explained her idea. His eyes widened at the news. “Do you know how many students that is?”

  “I don’t. But the school in the city is bleeding students like an opened artery. If you don’t do something soon, there won’t be any students left. Or at least you’ll have a more manageable number. But that wouldn’t be a good thing.”

  “Dark, Holly,” Odeon observed.

  “It is, but we have to admit the facts. And work with them. Who have you brought in here to help with the school?”

  “A few humans and Yasoans,” he said, ca
utiously.

  “And no students from here have disappeared?”

  His bright eyes regarded her steadily, so when he said no, she believed him.

  “I think someone in the city location is not to be trusted.”

  “We have done background checks.” Elan’s voice wasn’t defensive, just matter-of-fact.

  “That seems to have not been enough. Someone slipped through and has exposed some flaws.”

  “We can go to the school tomorrow. I’ll show you around. You can see what I have to work with—a very small space. That will give you an idea of what’s possible and what isn’t.”

  She had an idea brewing in the back of her mind, but it would take seeing the place to determine if it could even work.

  14

  The school was near the lake. It was, surprisingly, in an old house with a barn next to it that had been renovated to be a school.

  Holly’s breath clung to her scarf. The day was clear once the fog from the lake lifted, and it carried that clarity only seen in a frozen world.

  Children started to pour out of the house and head into the barn as Holly, Elan, and Odeon stood outside.

  “It’s beautiful,” Holly said.

  “Thank you,” Elan bowed his head slightly. “These kids seem to be thriving here. Holly, it would be, in a way, a dream to have all the children come north. I think the country would reach them in ways the city never could. The logistics, however.”

  He ran a gloved hand through his silver hair and looked up at the top of the three story house. It stood out in the town as being different. But that was perhaps what was so attractive and charming about it.

  “Logistics simply require a plan. That’s their point.” She shrugged.

  “You’re right. But this is a lot of kids.”

  “If we wait much longer, it won’t be.”

  “We simply can’t house them,” Elan said. “As much as I want to bring them. Where would they live?”

  “The teachers would need to come as well. Val and Este. Is there room in the house here?”

  “No,” he admitted. “We already have a chaperone and house mother living inside with them, plus her two helpers.”

  It was time to bring out her plan, in all its glory. “We’ll need to build something, then. In every way this is a better location for the kids than the City. The City will always have the potential for what’s currently happening—being preyed upon by incorrigible people.”

  “I agree. But building takes time,” Elan pointed out.

  “What about asking the town residents to house them while we have the campus expanded? There’s enough land here to build several more houses. Each house could have room for a house parent.”

  “The town residents?” Elan stared at her, his mouth agape.

  She exchanged a look with Odeon, who flashed her a soft smile. He liked the idea.

  But what was Elan about to say? She felt like she was already attempting to convince him of ideas he was against.

  “That would be a lot to ask. This is a very insular community. They pride themselves on their friendliness, as long as you don’t infringe on their space.”

  “We’ll pay them. The school has a full coffer, but it will get fatter when we sell the spire in the City.”

  “Is that possible? I thought it was a gift from the City?”

  “I’ll need to check. But we don’t need it anyway—we have the other money.”

  “It’s a good idea, Holly. Elan, you see obstacles where you need to see possibility.”

  Elan’s vibrant gaze flicked to Odeon. If they’d been in a loud tavern, everything would have gotten silent as soon as their gazes collided.

  “Odeon, my friend, you’re unaware of the complexity of this issue. I’ve lived here several years. I’m familiar with the nuance. Are you?”

  “Not specifically. But Holly is giving you answers. Every answer you meet with another obstacle.”

  “That’s how we’re working out the details. We need to think this way so that we can solve the problem.”

  Odeon twirled his Ousaba, which he’d been using to lean against. “I think you don’t want this to be hard. I think you want it to be easy, and that is why you left the school in the City. You missed the north and it’s easier ways. You found a way to leave, and leave the hard part back in the City with the other two leaders, and you’re enjoying this like it’s a vacation.”

  Holly bit her lip. She studied Elan to see if there was a hint that Odeon had touched a nerve.

  If it was true, her opinion of Elan would take a hit. She couldn’t help it. How could he run away just because it got hard? She’d always known that he wanted her to come live with him in Rochers Deshiketes, and he knew that her obligation made that impossible, for her.

  And she knew that she’d asked a big thing of him when she appointed him the leader of the school in the City. Was retreating to the north with the higher risk kids just an excuse to get what he wanted? The return to the north?

  “A Yasoan that believes he knows the heart of all Yasoan. Why am I not surprised?” Elan said.

  The words were heavy with disdain, especially for a Yasoan. Holly’s heart went cold.

  “This doesn’t matter. We do need to work out the issues, Odeon, Elan. Before we can move ahead—the line of questioning my answers was fine-tuning the plan.”

  They ignored her.

  Odeon suddenly dropped the Ousaba, which he carried everywhere with him, and took a hand-to-hand stance.

  Elan fell into a stance from a form that Holly had watched him do many times.

  “What are you guys doing?”

  No answer.

  “This is ridiculous. Right here? In front of the school? What will the children think?”

  “It’s OK, Holly,” Odeon said. “Sometimes adults need to work out problems with a battle.”

  “Less of a battle, more of a dance,” Elan agreed.

  “Ah, look, you agree. That means the fight is over.” She tried to sound cheery, saying it.

  They didn’t answer, but began sidestepping around each other as though they were actually dancing.

  “So, look,” Holly said, backing away from them. She didn’t want them to fight, but she sure as hell didn’t want them to fight with her in the middle. “What I’m thinking is that we kind of know this is the route we want to go—asking the town residents to house the kids. We’ll pay them. Handsomely, I’m sure. So, what we need to figure out is how many families could do that, and how much we need to pay. Is someone taking notes? I’m on fire, guys. I need a scribe. Odeon, be my scribe.”

  But Odeon was locked on Elan. Elan was locked on Odeon.

  Holly sighed.

  Odeon stepped toward Elan and threw a fist. Elan dodged and swung at Odeon’s exposed stomach. Odeon was too fast and rolled away.

  Holly shook her head. Was the fighting hot? Yes, it was. Did she want to watch and enjoy the spectacle? Yes, she did. Would it have been better if they’d been stripped down to their waists, instead of fully covered in several layers of fur-lined parkas and gloves? Most definitely.

  But she had work to do. And they seemed determined to see the dick-measuring contest to the end.

  And yes, they had dicks. She’d seen, at least, Elan’s. And Odeon would need to be incredibly large to win in a contest of that sort. Hmm. She thought. She’d never actually even considered Odeon in that way.

  She shook her head. Not the time to start.

  Holly left to find out the population of Rochers Deshiketes and to get a read on how receptive the residents would be to boarding orphans for a few months.

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, Holly returned to Elan’s house to see if Odeon had turned up.

  She hadn’t heard from him since leaving their little fight. Her comm had been turned off, and she’d only remembered to turn it on as she strolled through the chilly city to return to Elan’s.

  Odeon didn’t answer.

  The thought cros
sed her mind that Elan had finished him off. But she knew that was outrageous. Though they had fought, the two Yasoan respected each other and would never actually intentionally do real damage.

  Elan was home when she knocked on his door and then let herself in.

  “Holly,” he greeted her, striding up and giving her a long embrace. “I was getting concerned. Have you seen Odeon?”

  “No, I thought he’d be here.”

  “After our duel—which I won; he will say he won, but I won—we separated. I thought he would find his way back here, while avoiding me, since he felt so much shame.”

  “How do you determine who won?” Holly began removing her layers of winter gear.

  The house was warm. A fire crackled in the fire pit at the center of the living room arrangement. The smell of a stew emanated from the kitchen.

  “He surrendered,” Elan said.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. I think if you asked him, he would say because he knew I’d win.”

  “How would you win?”

  “Knock him out.”

  “You didn’t do that?”

  Elan paused in helping her remove her layers.

  “No, Holly. Odeon is my brother. This was just an honor code thing. I’d never hurt him. He’s beautiful. A worthy opponent.”

  This was starting to sound like more than she wanted to know. She blushed. “He’s not answering me on the comms.”

  “He’s probably just at the tavern.”

  “Maybe.” Still, she tapped her mic to turn it on. “Darius. You there?”

  It took a few minutes. While she waited, she followed Elan into his kitchen. He poured her a glass of water and handed it to her across the bar of his counter.

  “Here, Drake. Sorry, turning it on.”

  “Can you locate Odeon? Using the comms?”

  “Sure thing. Everything alright?”

  “Yes, it’s fine. Just haven’t seen him or heard from him for a few hours. And… that’s not like Odeon.” Holly took a sip of water. “Elan, I brought you a comm—for encrypted conversations. Also, I need to tell you, before I forget, that I think those new hires at the school in the city need to be looked into deeper. Whatever you do, just don’t bring them north. While I was out, while you two were having your dick-measuring contest, I found out enough information for us to start making plans to move the kids here.”