She turns to Blice, her fear still well alive in her eyes. "And you, Prince, what is your father planning to do with Olympus? He has deceived us all."
"Ma'am, I am not my father. And frankly, the only reason I haven't gone through with my original plans of killing myself is because I want to see him die before me. I had no part in any of this. Let's just say that I was essentially in a type of coma for fifteen years and I've only been awake enough to fully function for about a year now."
"If what you say is true, then do something to stop this." She says. "We can't join the IGR. They will take over and destroy our culture that we have been attempting to preserve for centuries."
"Listen to me." Blice says. "I was the president of a country down on Earth called the Unified State. I was powerless to do anything to truly save that country for so long. I messed up so many things and I swore that I would make things right. Do you know what I did? I gave my own life to save all the people I could."
"Wait. So you were the living computer who gave his life for his slave and helped create the underground city of Paradise? Then they put your microchip with your thoughts, memories, and simulated consciousness into a robotic butterfly?"
"Yes, ma'am. That's me."
The governor slaps him across the face.
Blice rubs his cheek. "I deserved that."
"But you also deserve something else. I'll be right back. I hope my slave didn't get rid of it." She goes into a back room and shortly returns with a tiny black silk bag which she hands to Blice. "Here it is. My human slave brought this with her all the way from Earth. It's her most prized possession, but I think she'll be happy that it found its rightful owner."
"Rightful owner?" Blice opens the bag and gasps. "No way. How? How is this possible? What is your slave's name?"
"I don't believe you will remember her. She is getting older now, but her memory serves her well enough. She has spoken about you many times."
"Please, just give me her name. I have to know."
"Clara Lifestone."
* * *
"I'm going to kill him!" Zodiac shouts as he sends a chair flying across the control room of the cargo ship. "Who does he think he is?"
"Troy didn't mean to upset you, I'm sure." Nova says.
Zodiac screams again and punches the steel wall. His fist comes back bloody. "Damn it. Every time we go out in public together since he became a knight, Troy thinks it's his duty to make me suffer and feel like I'm worthless. He never plays around with me anymore. It's either all seriousness or he ignores me. I didn't think that he would take this owner thing so far."
"Well, what do you want out of all this?"
He wipes the blood from his bruised knuckles on his black jeans. "I want the old Troy. I want my friend back. We used to do everything together. Now he has his Royal Knight buddies who think I'm just his slave."
"Jealousy and passive aggressiveness are faults common with Scorpio men, Zodiac. Odds are, Troy thinks that things are fine because you haven't sat down and told him directly. Scorpio and Taurus are compatible signs, but Taurus men typically get comfortable with their daily lives and they become almost blind to problems around them. It's no fault of Troy's. It's just the way things are."
"I shouldn't have to tell him, though."
"Not everyone is as observant as you are." Nova says. "Believe me, I'm only two days younger than you so I'm a Scorpio too. I know how it is. It feels like everyone else does these things on purpose to make us angry, but I assure you it's nothing malicious. Troy is a good guy who cares about you very much. Once this conflict calms down a bit, you need to have some private time to discuss how you feel with Troy. He will listen and be glad that you came to him to talk. Trust me. I know what I'm doing. Giving advice is how I make my money."
"So what can I do right now? Because right now, all I want to do is kill someone."
"The psychologists told you not to let your anger take over. You know you're more susceptible to rage and losing your temper than normal men. That's what having an extra y chromosome does for you."
Now his anger is redirected at her. A cold shiver runs up his spine as he hears those words again. "They have no idea what they're talking about. They've always made those claims."
"But yours is a special case because yours all came from two men. They've never seen that before. That's why your colorblindness is so bad."
"I'm not a serial killer, Nova. I'm not some psychopath who wants to rape and murder everyone around me. You can't actually believe all of that."
"I believe in spiritual things as well as science." Nova says as she leans against the wall and plays with the ends of her hair.
"Really? Well, according to science, I shouldn't be alive right now."
"Don't get so angry."
"Damn it, Nova!" Zodiac yells. "I got enough of this in elementary school. Why do you think my teachers made me go see a counselor every single day after class was over? Once they found out about my genetics, they had me pinned as some mass murderer. Did you ever wonder why I never went to the academy with you and Troy after eighth grade?"
"Apollo told us that you wanted to work instead."
"No. I wanted to be a scientist and work on genetic research. I had passed my biology classes with perfect scores on my exams. After middle school graduation, I was arrested for getting into a fight with that creepy stalker who wouldn't leave you alone when he threatened to hurt you. He told the guards that I was going to kill him."
"The charges were dropped and he admitted he was lying."
"That didn't matter." Zodiac says. "The guards brought my genetic profile into it all and no matter how much Apollo protested and told them otherwise, they claimed that I was a threat to the safety of the other students. So they ripped up my application to the academy right there in front of me. In that moment, everything I had been working and studying so hard for was destroyed."
"But you seemed so happy to start that shipping job." Nova says.
"Did I really have a choice? I had to do something to get my mind off of everything. I didn't tell you or Troy the truth because I didn't want you to be scared of me."
"I knew something changed in you back then. That's when you stopped playing your guitar."
He shrugs and examines his bloody hand. "I felt worthless, like I couldn't do anything right. I had never harmed anyone or gotten in trouble, but they singled me out. The way I viewed it, if I was going to get in trouble for being the model student, then why would I continue doing things I was good at? In the end, it wouldn't matter how much I loved something. The universe would take it away from me."
"Zodiac . . . I'm so sorry. I had no idea they did that to you. I understand why you didn't, but you should have told us so we could help you."
Now he wishes she would drop it. "I don't need any help, Nova. I just need everyone to leave me alone. I have you, Troy, and his family. I don't need anything else."
"Don't you ever want a family of your own? I'm sure Troy would let you get married."
"I really don't want to talk about this." Zodiac says. Nova smiles at him. "But you've never even kissed a girl. Don't you want to fall in love?"
"Like you and Troy?"
"We're not together. It's nothing. He told me about having to father a child with a pure Nymph. He knows that he can never be with me."
"And you're okay with that?" Zodiac asks as he pulls up the ship's data and scans over it to see how much fuel they have left.
"The spirits have told me that if I am involved with Troy in any romantic way, it will result in some very bad things for him."
They have enough to get back to Athens without stopping. Wait. Did she say spirits? "Gods help me. Are you still really doing that stuff?"
"It's none of your business what I do. It helps me deal with things. I can't be strong all the time like you."
"You think I'm strong?"
Nova leans back in her chair and holds her lotus flower in her hand as she looks out the window at th
e sparkling lights of Pax. "You don't cry every night and pray to every god you can think of for answers you know you'll never receive. I can't keep holding onto empty hope."
"Hope for what?"
"Jarred."
The devil himself. "Oh."
"I had a vision about a week ago." Nova says. "In that vision, I saw our dad. He finally came back for us. I was also given an exact date that he would be here, but that was yesterday at this point. Did you speak with anyone at the masquerade who could have been our dad?"
"No. If Jarred was there, I would have recognized him. You know how precise my memory is."
"That's true."
Zodiac goes over to his sister and wraps his arms around her shoulders. "Hey now, no crying. It's okay."
"What should I do? I can't just give up."
"I know it hurts, but we have to face the truth. Jarred abandoned us because he didn't want us anymore. We were too much of a burden for him to deal with. Here's what I think happened. After I was born, Jarred was so angry about my existence that he killed Jayce. He killed my other father because he was scared. Then he tried to cover up that fact. So he came up here to Olympus to be with your mother who was secretly Jarred's lover. Then once your mother was arrested, Jarred was stuck with two babies he never wanted." Zodiac holds up his wrists to reveal the thin scars. "He tried to kill me by slitting my wrists, but Apollo saved me. Then Jarred went on a killing spree that night he dropped us off at Apollo's house. He sold us, Nova. Jarred killed some people then had to leave the planet and he needed the money so he sold us. He never loved us. He's not coming back."
"None of that is true and you shouldn't go around spreading shit like that." Blice says as he joins them in the ship, followed by an abnormally silent and still dethatched Troy.
Zodiac massages Nova's shoulders. "I don't care what you think, Blice."
"You should. Your father loved you more than life itself."
"So what's wrong with you, Troy?" Zodiac asks as he watches his friend rip off pieces of his power armor and toss them around the floor of the ship with reckless abandon.
"Nothing. Let's get back to Athens."
"Why are you in such a bad mood?"
"Get this fucking ship off the ground now! That's an order, Zodiac!"
4
"I will meet up with you happy people later." Blice says as he heads off into the city. "Right now, I have a special woman to meet."
Zodiac opens the door to Troy's house, but he's immediately pushed out of the way by Troy. "What the hell, man?"
"I go first." Troy says. He goes inside and calls out to see if anyone is there. When no one responds, he pulls Zodiac and Nova inside then slams the door. "Nova, go upstairs and don't come down here no matter what you hear."
"Troy, don't hurt him." Nova begs.
"Oh, I'm not going to hurt him. We're just going to have a little chat. Isn't that right, Zodiac?"
So he wants to fight it out? Good. Zodiac slips his shirt off and locks the door. "Shall we go outside?"
"To the backyard."
"Guys? Don't kill each other."
"Go upstairs, Nova." Troy says as he ties his gladius to his hip and slides open the glass door to the grassy backyard.
Zodiac follows him and stretches his arms in preparation for what's coming. Last time they did this, Troy won and he doesn't plan on letting him dominate him again. Though, physically, Zodiac doesn't really stand a chance against him. While Zodiac is taller, he's also thinner and weaker. Troy has stamina from working out every morning and all his training with the knights. The extra forty pounds of pure muscle don't help either.
Troy's abs show through his tight fitting t-shirt as he circles around Zodiac like a shark preparing to attack. "You ready?"
"If I have to be."
"Your safeword is blue."
"Blue? Okay. Let's do this."
Troy lunges at him, but Zodiac rolls out of the way and scoops up a handful of sand that he throws in Troy's face. Coughing and spitting out sand, Troy punches blindly at Zodiac who grabs his arm and throws him down on the ground. He drops down on him and tightens his hands around his neck. With one kick, Troy sends him flying backwards against the fence.
"You like that?" Troy mocks him as he chunks a rock at him from across the yard. It bounces off of the fence next to his head.
Zodiac dusts himself off and holds up his fists. He's not going down without a fight. "Shut up."
"I thought you with your extra y chromosome were supposed to be some kind of super-male. You look really puny to me."
"How do you know about that?"
"It was on your paperwork that I signed to make you mine. Now show me why you're such a threat to people."
Zodiac instantly loses all will to fight. "I'm done with this."
"Oh come on, Zodiac. If you have the genetics to be a warrior, then fight like one. Use that extra testosterone of yours and grow some balls so you can stand a chance against me."
Fine. If he wants a fight, then he'll get a fight. Zodiac gathers up some rocks and throws them at Troy who dodges expertly out the way, inching closer as he does. Zodiac lands a couple of hits to Troy's chest, but his reflexes have never been the best and he falls to the ground where he hits hard and screams as Troy jumps on him.
With Troy pinning him down and sitting on his chest, Zodiac can barely breathe and only squirm in an attempt to get away from the flurry of punches. When he tastes blood and Troy draws his gladius, all fun is drained from this experience. Troy is obviously not playing around anymore. The blade scrapes across Zodiac's shoulder and he cries out with the pain. "Stop! Troy, stop!"
"You know what you have to say!" Troy slams the flat side of the blade against Zodiac's face. "But it doesn't matter. I'm going to kill you."
"No! I can't breathe."
The razor edge slices through the leg of Zodiac's jeans and into his thigh. Troy stops punching him and places the tip of his blade against Zodiac's throat. "Now I end you."
"Blue! Blue! Troy stop! I said Blue!"
Troy acts like he doesn't hear him and raises the gladius to strike.
There is a sudden gust of wind and two sets of hands pull Troy off of Zodiac and pry the gladius from his hand.
"What are you doing?" Troy shouts. "Gabriel?"
Zodiac rolls over and coughs as his breath returns to him and the blood from the shallow cut on his thigh drips into the freshly cut grass. He stands as he gains his bearings again and is surprised to see the two angel type people they were talking to at the masquerade.
"Uriel, call the guards."
Troy struggles to get out of Gabriel's grasp. "Why?"
"You were going to kill him."
"No!" Zodiac shouts as he pulls Troy away from him. "We were playing. It wasn't real."
"Is that why you're bleeding?" Uriel asks.
"For real. It just got out of hand." Zodiac says as he wipes the dirt from his face. "We had a safeword and everything. I swear. It's how we relieve stress. We've done this since we were kids. I'm fine."
"Uh huh. So when you two get angry, you beat the hell out of each other for fun?" Gabriel asks with a grin.
Troy puts his arm around Zodiac's back and smiles. "Yep."
"Hold on." Zodiac says as he crosses his arms across his bare chest. "You are those guys from the masquerade."
"Indeed." The dark skinned one kneels down at Zodiac's feet and spreads his wings. "Zodiac Cunningham, my name is Gabriel and I'm your guardian archon. Those scars on your wrists are from when we bonded by blood. You were only about a week old so I doubt you remember." He holds up his wrists to reveal his scars as well. "See?"
"What does that mean?"
"Archons are robotic defenders made to protect humans. We developed our own self-awareness after years of being stationed above Earth and observing humans. Uriel and I are the only ones left. I chose to watch over you and ensure your safety."
"So those wings . . ."
"Yes, we can fly." Gabriel say
s. "We came here as soon as I sensed that you were in trouble, Zodiac. Well, it looks like our work here is done. If you need us, we'll be in the science laboratory across town."
"You show up then leave again? You haven't told us anything." Troy says.
Uriel pulls up a hologram on his watch and flips through some data. "We've told you all you need to know. Just rest assured that someone is watching over you, Zodiac. That should be good enough. Farewell. Oh, and Troy? Be careful with your power armor."
Troy looks confused. "What? Why?"
"I can't tell you that either. Just know that we are looking into some possible malfunctions."
A man's shouting and the sound of the front door opening breaks off their conversation. "Children, go upstairs to your rooms and don't come out. You better get dinner started, Xanthe."
Uriel shakes his head and spreads his wings. "Sounds like it might be starting already. Good luck, you two. Bye." He and Gabriel take off and vanish into the sky.
"What's wrong with your dad?" Zodiac asks as he picks up Troy's gladius and hands it to him.
"I don't know. Let's lie low and find out. Something must have happened at work." He pulls Zodiac up against the house so they can watch through the open glass door.
"Now, Xanthe. I'm tired of waiting. Why are you so slow?" Apollo asks as he presses some buttons on the control panel for his power armor.
"Give me a minute, dear." Xanthe says as she holds her stomach.
"No. You'll do it now, bitch."
She slips off her shoes and shakes her head. "Apollo, stop. The children will hear you. What did I do to anger you?"
"You're alive. That's enough."
"Don't be like this. I'm sorry for whatever I did."
"It's not just you." Apollo says. "It's every person in this hell hole. I should just kill Troy now and get this over with."
"Don't say things like that. You love your son."
His face turns red with rage. "Troy can go to hell. I'm done with him, I'm done with you, and I'm done with this family."
Paradise Forgotten Trilogy Page 5