Paradise Forgotten Trilogy
Mackenzie Morris
Zodiac
Copyright © 2014 by Mackenzie Morris
Nova
Copyright © 2014 by Mackenzie Morris
Troy
Copyright © 2014 by Mackenzie Morris
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Other Works by Mackenzie Morris
Paradise of Lead Trilogy
M.A.G.E.
T.I.M.E.
W.A.N.D.
Paradise Awakened Trilogy
Android 43
Archon
Heaven's Chains
Paradise Forgotten Trilogy
Zodiac
Nova (Forthcoming)
Troy (Forthcoming)
The Lights of Agramont Trilogy
The Lullaby Blade
Tide of Treason, Storm of Slaughter
Song of Ocean's Peace
Wings of Onyx Shadow
Dr. Calafey
Widow's Kiss (Forthcoming)
Zodiac
Paradise Forgotten: Book One
Prologue
The crack of thunder directly overhead makes Jarred Cunningham's two young children jump and cling tighter to his side. As they duck under his tattered and dust-coated trench coat to hide from the torrential rain, Jarred hurries through the flooded streets of Olympus. He hopes the rain will wash away the blood that has soaked into his combat boots and was splattered all over his face, chest, and arms. If any of the Nymph guards were to see him in the state he was in a few minutes ago, they would arrest him on the spot, no questions asked.
Killing people has always been a messy business. Children should never be exposed to that. Just don't let them start asking questions. However, it is past midnight and the children had been asleep when he disposed of the bodies behind their house a few blocks over. Now, he's playing a very dangerous game, one that could get them all killed.
Throwing the two filled duffle bags down on the doorstep of the familiar house, Jarred pounds on the wooden door. "Apollo! Let me in. Hurry."
After a minute, a tall thin Nymph man with pale skin and long braided white hair opens the door and pulls them into the warm living room where a fire is crackling in the fireplace. "Jarred? Do you have any idea what time it is? My wife and children are asleep upstairs."
Jarred wipes the water from his face. "Forgive me, but I have to ask you for one more favor."
Apollo looks him over then drags him into the corner of the room, away from the children. "Why are you covered in blood?"
Damn. So the rain didn't do a good enough job. What can he tell his friend who has given him so much already? "I don't have much time. They're after me."
"Who is after you, Jarred?"
"I can't tell you. Please take care of Zodiac and Nova. I will be back in one week. One week. That's it, I swear."
"Xanthe just had another baby two days ago." Apollo says. "I can barely support my four children."
"I will make it up to you. Please. They have nowhere else to go."
"I can't-"
Jarred doesn't wait to hear Apollo's excuses. He goes to his children and kneels in front of them. He slides one of the necklaces with a bullet hanging from it off from around his neck and slips it over Zodiac's long black hair. "This was your other father's. Be a good son for Apollo and take care of your sister."
"You can't leave." Zodiac says as he holds into the bullet.
"I have to, but I'll be back soon." Jarred turns to his daughter. "I have something for you too, sweetheart." He pulls a pink glowing lotus blossom from his pocket. "This flower will never die, just like my love for you. I love both of you so much. I have to go."
Zodiac grabs onto his arm as he starts to cry. "Daddy, no! I need you."
He pulls away from his son and opens the door as the wind whips around him. Then he hears the words that will haunt him from this moment on.
Zodiac's hazel eyes darken as his sobbing abruptly stops and his tiny hands tighten into fists. "If you leave, I will hate you forever."
Jarred's heart breaks with his son's warning, but he can't stay. "I'm so sorry." He steps out into the storm and closes the door behind him.
1
After landing the cargo ship on the pavement of the airfield, Zodiac turns off the engines and leans back in his chair with his black combat boots up on the dusty consoles. Another shipment down. Now he can relax for a few hours until his boss sends him off to another planet with more boxes and crates. Zodiac watches the white doves darting around in the pale blue sky and wanders if this is all he'll ever know. Eighteen years old now, he's been doing this job for four years, but not just to pay for the small house he has shared with his half sister since they left Apollo's home when they were fourteen. No, he enjoys the freedom it gives him to explore the galaxy and all six Imperial Galactic Reich planets.
He sees his boss lumbering across the black concrete, his white choppy hair plastered to his sweaty face that is red with what could be either exertion or intense anger. Zodiac hopes it not the latter. Putting his long black hair up in a ponytail and trying the laces on the chest of his purple tunic, Zodiac goes to the door and jumps down to the warm pavement. "Good afternoon, sir."
The man's black eyes pierce into his soul. "Save the politeness for someone who cares."
Did he do something wrong? "I . . . I'm sorry. Is something wrong?"
"Is something wrong? Yes, something is very wrong."
Zodiac watches him pace back and forth in front of him. What now? He could have sworn he did everything right.
The pudgy man throws down the clipboard and pushes Zodiac up against the side of the ship and shakes him violently. "What the hell is wrong with you? I told you to deliver the red boxes to Himmel and the green ones to Vergessen. I just got a call from the supplier that you mixed up the shipment for the third time this month."
"Oh, no. I'm really sorry about that."
He slaps Zodiac hard across the face with the back of his hand. "Are you stupid or just lazy? How many times do I have to yell at you? You know what? That's it. I'm done with you. Get out of here and never come back."
Holding onto his stinging face where he's sure it is going to bruise from his boss's ring, Zodiac tries to not show any weakness. "But I-"
"Go! Don't make me get the whip again."
Just as the man draws the leather whip from his belt and raises his arm to strike, a thin Nymph man with glistening silver armor steps between them with his arms spread out. "There's no need for violence, Mr. Helios."
Helios is obviously surprised and takes a step back as he attempts to hide the whip from him. "Troy! I wasn't aware you were back from training already. How is Apollo?"
Troy crosses his arms and glares at the man. "My father is fine. And it's Sir Troy to you now, peasant. But don't change the subject."
"Forgive me for addressing you incorrectly. I wasn't aware you were knighted since the last time we spoke."
"Stop trying to play the ignorant card. Everyone in Athens was there, including you. Anyway, the reason Zodiac is having issues with the deliveries is because he's colorblind."
"I don't give a damn what he is." Helios says. "It's no excuse for costing me and my customers money."
"What i
s your problem?" Troy asks. "Is colorblindness really that hard to understand? It's not his fault that he can't tell the difference. Maybe if you marked the boxes in a different way, he wouldn't be struggling like this. Do I need to bring Apollo up here to discuss this with you? I'm sure he would love to have you reprimanded for violation of the Human Cruelty Laws."
"You're bluffing. That's not a real law."
"Oh? But it is and you know it." Troy says. "It's nothing new. Take a look at Zodiac. He has pale skin, but not as pale as a Nymph. Does he have our black eyes? No. His are clearly hazel. It shouldn't be overly difficult for you to determine that he is human. Not only that, but he is half android as well." Troy slips off his messenger bag and fetches a leather book. He flips through it until he finds the page he is looking for and reads from it. "Android Protection and Genetic Preservation Law One, Section Two: All androids and half androids are guaranteed political immunity from all forms of discrimination, corporal punishment, and fighting in the arena. Android citizens on Olympus are to be given honorary status as pure Nymphs and the rights given to even the highest noble Nymph houses. Half androids are to be regarded as fully human and fully android for all intents and purposes."
"So?" Helios asks.
"So, Zodiac is an android and if you lay a hand on him, I can and will arrest you for violating both the Human Cruelty Laws and the Android Protection and Genetic Preservation Laws. First offense carries a penalty of thirty public lashes in the coliseum and a fine of one hundred gold coins to be paid to the victim. That's a year's pay for him. Now, put the whip down and tell Zodiac that he can keep his job."
Helios scoffs. "You can't bully me into keeping him as an employee."
"Actually, I can." Troy's smug smile vanishes as he turns to his friend. "Zodiac, take your shirt off and tell me where those bruises came from."
"Fine. He can keep his job."
Troy lunges forward and drops his book to the pavement as he takes Helios's shirt in his hand. "If I find one more bruise on him, you will be arrested."
He pulls away from Troy and fixes his shirt. "Those laws are pointless."
"No. They have their purpose." Troy says as he bends over to pick up his book. "There are less than five million humans left in the galaxy as we know it. Their race must be protected or it will soon be extinct. As for the androids, their situation is extremely dire. There are exactly seventeen androids left in existence as of eight this morning when two more died. They are essentially an endangered species and Zodiac is one of four males. You do the math. This is for the promotion of unity in the Milky Way between all kinds of people. If you must know, Zodiac Cunningham is under my protection now and has been for a year since I turned eighteen."
"So you're his owner?"
Troy looks at Zodiac for a long silent minute. This has always been a point of contention and arguments between them. Zodiac only shakes his head and stares down at the ground. What can he say? Nothing. He can't say anything against the truth of it. Being owned by his best friend is one of most bizarre things he's had to come to terms with in the past two years, but that's life. It's not that Troy abuses him or anything. They're just like they used to be . . . except when they are together in public or at some of Troy's fancy dances that he goes to and carries Zodiac on his arm like some kind of trophy to show off to the other knights.
Troy sighs and replaces his book back in his bag. "Yes."
"Fine. I won't whip your property anymore, but you should do it or he will only try to take your power away from you." Helios turns to Zodiac and points his finger in his face. "As for you, your pay is cut in half from now on. Good day, Troy."
"Let's get out of here." Troy grabs Zodiac's arm and leads him off towards the city.
Well, that was too close for comfort. At least this mistake wasn't followed by another beating. He looks over at his friend. "Gods, am I glad to see you."
"How many more beatings were you going to take before you stood up for yourself or told the guards? It's absolutely abhorrent the kind of abuse he puts you through. You don't get paid enough for that."
Zodiac tries to not think about it. "I get paid even less now, I guess."
"Don't worry about that. I make enough to help you and Nova out for a while."
"Does being a knight really pay that much?"
"I make five times your yearly income in half the time." Troy says.
"Damn. Maybe I could join."
"Nope. Only pure Nymphs allowed."
"Thanks for standing up for me back there." Zodiac says.
Troy runs his hand through his spiky white hair and pats Zodiac on the back. "It's what friends do. Let me get one thing straight, though. So you've been working this job for years and you never told Mr. Helios that you're colorblind?"
"I really wanted the job and I was afraid he'd not let me continue if he knew."
"I thought the nanotherapy had been helping you."
"It was." Zodiac says. "I can see some shades of purple and blue now, but that's it."
"Well, a little is better than nothing. So is that why you wear that purple shirt every day?"
"It's my favorite."
"You're ridiculous." Troy says. "Come on. We don't have much time."
"What's going on?"
"Your sister is playing psychic again in one of the taverns in the impure district." Troy says as he walks faster.
"Let's go get her."
"Those guys down there aren't the most respectable of people." Troy says. "I don't want anything to happen to Nova. You should talk to her about this."
Zodiac laughs. "I've tried. You think she listens to me? Funny, Troy. You know just as well as I do that she's stubborn."
* * *
The silver coins on Nova's headdress jingle and sparkle in the dim lights of the tavern as she shuffles a deck of playing cards and smiles at the worried-looking man across the table from her. She pushes her black curly bangs back behind her ears before setting the deck down and scooping up her assorted crystals which she drops into the silk pouch.
"Did the crystals speak to you?" The nearly panicked man asks. "Did they tell you where my wife is?"
"Quiet, sir. The spirits whisper and only those who give them their full attention will hear them." She reaches out across the table as the incense wisps in the air and holds out her hand. "Give me your right hand."
The man places his large calloused hand into hers and he's visibly shaken up.
Nova traces her purple polished fingernail over the lines on the man's palm. She looks up at him and shakes her head. "Well, well . . . this certainly is interesting. You must be a Gemini."
"I am. You know me well."
"I know every soul well, sir. It's part of my job. So that explains that."
"What? What is it? Oh, gods. Please tell me my wife is alive."
"Your wife . . . is alive." Nova says.
"Thank the gods."
"But-"
He looks like he's about to have a heart attack. "But what? Is she hurt?"
Nova dances her fingertips over the edges of the cards then stops on one in the middle and turns it over. A king of hearts. She hands it to the man. "Your wife has a new lover."
The man slams his fist on the table. "No! I don't believe you. She would never cheat on me."
"The gods never lie to me. Are you questioning my prophecies? Should I tell Aphrodite that you don't deserve love ever again?"
"No, please don't. I just don't know what to do."
"Here's what you need to do." Nova says. "Before you go off to win the love of your life back, I'm gonna need that ten silver."
A large shadow passes over the light that had been coming through the open door. "Don't pay her. Just get out of here before I have the guards arrest you for consulting mystics."
"Troy Adonis!" The man bows. "I was just . . . uh, she tricked me. She's a witch."
"Go." Troy orders.
"Yes, sir." The man runs out of the building without paying her.
&nb
sp; Nova stands up and spins around to hit Troy on his cuirass. "Hey! I earned that money."
"With flashy lies. Not to mention that fortune telling is illegal."
"Shh. They'll hear you." She pushes Troy back outside and scoops up her things in her skirt and joins him out on the street. "Don't tell Apollo what I was doing."
"He already knows. He's the one who told me to come get you."
Nova follows close behind him and tries to formulate a plan to get out of this. Maybe she could run? "Is he mad?"
"What do you think?" Troy asks. "You got off easy the last time. He has every right to punish you for this."
"You don't think he'll hurt me, do you?"
"Don't know. We'll have to wait and see. For your own good, I suggest that you go in there with him and remain silent as he talks to you. Don't try to fight him. It will never work."
* * *
Nova sits on the rug on the floor of the house by the fireplace as Troy's eight younger brothers and younger sister run down the stairs and wave at her before going out to play in the fields behind the house with wooden practice swords. She doesn't smile back at them, though. Apollo's gaze is weighing heavy on her now from where he is removing his polished silver power armor across the room from her. As Troy suggested to her, she has remained silent and stayed where Apollo told her to sit. She knows what's coming. She only hopes that he doesn't do more because they just had this discussion two nights ago and he threatened to whip her if she did it again.
Apollo pulls off his cuirass and his greaves and sets the pieces on the long table by the door where yellow narcissus flowers are blooming in small clay pots. He removes his feathered helmet and smoothes his long white hair as it spills out around his shoulders.
There are more footsteps on the wooden stairs, this time they are soft and delicate as a Nymph woman with her white hair pinned up on top of her head with golden pins enters the room and goes to Apollo's side. She is obviously pregnant under her flowing white dress. "I sent the children out to play. When would you like dinner?"
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