"Hey, don't get upset." Blice says. "I'm truly sorry. That was out of place and mean."
Did Blice McSage just apologize?
"Speaking of nanobots, Uriel and Gabriel were able to analyze the data from the tests they ran with you yesterday and they found out some very intriguing yet disturbing information." Blice types on the keyboard then turns the monitor around for Troy to see it. "Take a close look at this string of electrical pulses that were emitted from your power armor in the twenty seconds leading up to the point your heart stopped. I lined them up from left to right. Just tell me your initial impressions."
Troy looks over the dots and bars of varying lengths and patterns. At first, it doesn't seem like anything, but then he notices something troubling. "Blice, please tell me that you arranged these like this. This has to be a joke."
"Nope. So you see it?"
"It's Morse Code."
"Precisely." Blice says and leans back in his chair. "I knew you were trained to use it and you'd see it that way. Why don't you go ahead and tell me what it says? I'm a little rusty."
As he reads over it, he can't believe what he sees. "Let's see . . . dear gods, no. This can't be right."
"What does it say?"
"Let us show this Nymph who is really in control."
"No. It doesn't say that." Blice says.
"I swear. So what? The nanobots were actively trying to kill me?"
"It appears that they have developed self-awareness and some sort of a hive mind that communicates to the individual nanobots through electricity. I'm not so sure that the attack on you was necessarily malicious. Maybe they were reaching out, hoping to communicate with us in this way."
"They why would they stop my heart?" Troy asks.
"That's a valid point. I guess only the nanobots know the truth behind their actions. Though, you're right. They don't appear to like you very much."
"If we're correct, then this could be the start of something catastrophic. So much of our daily lives is controlled and facilitated by nanobots. Even the atmosphere generators and space travel are impossible without them. If they wanted to wipe us all out, they could do it with little effort."
Blice shrugs his shoulders. "I know. Then that brings up an even more troubling dilemma. What happens to the people like me who have nanobots in their bloodstream? What happens if these nanobots decide to rebel?"
"What can we do about that?"
"Without more information, there's nothing we can do. So we have to continue with issues we know we can handle like the man you had arrested at the masquerade. I have his name."
"Who was he?" Troy asks.
"None other than Jarred Cunningham."
Troy jumps up and almost runs for the door. "No way! Let's go get him."
"Too late."
"They sent him to the arena already?"
"Oh, no. He walked right out the front door of the dungeon. He talked his way out of it again. How does he do that?"
"He's very intelligent." Troy says. "His son is no different."
"Both of his children are sharp. Speaking of your android, he will make a good royal advisor someday, don't you think?"
He glares at Blice. "You will never own him. He's not for sale."
"I meant as your royal advisor."
"What-"
"Exactly." Blice says. "I told you that I wasn't out for the throne, but I didn't want to give it up, either. I am proposing a diarchy. After we find a way to covertly dispose of Evans, Olympus will be ours as joint heads of state. We'll both be king."
Troy crosses his arms on his chest. "And what of the IGR? I saw their troops already setting up camps in the outlands like they own the place."
"We will seize power and either force them to leave or go to war until they do."
"That's a very tempting offer, McSage."
"So you wouldn't be opposed to sharing the power?" Blice asks with a smile.
"Right now, I'm struggling to get anything I can. If this is the best way to claim what's rightfully mine and the best thing for my people, then who am I to complain? Who knows? Maybe this will be the change Olympus has been needing. Yes, this could work. With my connection to my people and your experience running a country in the past, we could lead Olympus into a new age, a golden age."
"You don't know how happy it makes me to see you embrace this idea. But you can't breathe a word of this to anyone, even Zodiac. Everything is balanced on a very thin wire that could snap at the slightest breeze. You go about your normal daily life and lie low as if nothing has changed. Leave my father to me. Once the job is done and he's out of the picture, we will get this going."
The cell phone in the pocket of Troy's jeans vibrates and he answers it. "Hello?"
"Is this Sir Troy Adonis?" The man on the other side asks.
"Yes. Can I help you?"
"I am Dr. Echo from the hospital. You need to get here as soon as you can. A priestess has already arrived."
What? "Hold on. A priestess? What's going on?"
"Your mother is dying."
* * *
Zodiac watches his sister leave without saying a word to her. If Troy claims he didn't have sex with her, then he'll have to believe him. However, now he's jealous. Zodiac wants that kind of relationship with a woman. The laws are pretty strict about who he can be involved with, but according to his last check of the database, there are four male androids still alive and he's the only one of those four on this planet. That gives him an advantage, right? He might as well try. It's not like the female androids can say no. He's got this.
But how does he go about trying to get one of those women? Does he even know any of them? Then he remembers. There was that one girl he saw at the ball. What was her name? Oh, yes. Nyx. Maybe if he goes to where her owner lives and works, then he'll be able to find her and see if she's interested. Even though he technically has the right to force her, he would never do this. He decides to go walking down to the guild houses and see if he can find her.
* * *
Troy bites his lip to keep from crying as he steps into the hospital room where his mother is still in bed with her straight white hair sticking to her pink face with her sweat. She is shaking and it's all too clear that she is in severe pain. Troy has been present and helped her through the deliveries of six of his siblings and he knows that she has a high tolerance for pain. This is the first time he's ever seen her crying like this and screaming out in sheer agony.
A female nurse is examining Xanthe's lower abdomen with an ultrasound machine and she shakes her head. "The choice is ultimately up to you, Mrs. Adonis. Though, for you safety, I would suggest you make the decision as quickly as possible so we can do what needs to be done."
Xanthe looks over at Troy and reaches for him. "Troy! Hold my hand."
He obeys and feels the light and fluttering pulse through the veins in her wrist. "Mom, what's going on?"
The nurse pushes the machine out of the way. "She is going into labor, but something's not right with the baby. It's breach. Not only that, but your mother just had a seizure about twenty minutes ago. I fear that if we don't abort the pregnancy and stop labor as soon as possible, that she could suffer another seizure and die. Her blood pressure is fluctuating all over the place."
"I have to know the truth." Troy says. "Is that injury to her head causing this?"
"Almost certainly. We've run some more intensive tests and found that some parts of her brain were damaged from the impact. There was some internal bleeding and we had to operate to remove a blood clot. It's not looking good."
"Can I speak to the doctor?" Troy asks.
"I'm afraid not. He's busy with other patients."
"I have to know what is going on."
"Sir, please calm down." The nurse says. "I've told you everything he would be able to tell you."
"Then what was that about my mom having to make a choice? What was all that?"
Xanthe weakly squeezes her son's hand. "I have to decide to save myself
or the baby."
"You will do no such thing." The man's harsh voice makes Troy's hair stand on end. His father in his power armor enters the room and pushes past him before taking Xanthe's arm in his gauntlet. "You have to live and give birth to my daughter."
"I can't, Apollo. I can't do both." Xanthe says.
Apollo turns to Troy and glares daggers at him. "Who are you?"
He's joking, right? "I'm your son. I'm Troy. Can you really not recognize me?"
"How dare you show up here looking like that?"
He's doing this now? In here? "Me? How dare you come traipsing in here, ordering her around, after you're the one who did this to her?"
"Get out of my sight, trash. You are no longer my son."
Troy's not going to put up with this. "Really? Oh, perfect. My mother is dying because of you and you think now's the time to disown me? You really are messed up in the head."
"Troy, darling, come here." Xanthe calls to him.
Troy pushes his father out of the way and leans down to listen to what his mother has to tell him. "What is it, Mom?"
"Six windows let in sunlight. In the eternal shadows, you will find a secret only royal blood can unlock."
"I don't know what that means." Troy says. "Queen Helen told me the same thing before she died. You can't die. Do whatever you have to do to survive. I'll protect you from Apollo. He won't hurt you again. Don't leave me, Mom. I need you."
"You've become a brave and honorable man, Troy. You don't need me anymore."
"That's not true!"
Xanthe gently pushes him away from the bed. "Go now and let me speak alone with your father. We will do the best possible thing. I love you."
* * *
Zodiac can't believe his luck. He came down here to the rows of merchant houses and guild halls simply on a whim and he's already found the woman he's been thinking about this entire time. There she is, planting white tulips in a small garden in front of the craft guild house. Her curly hair is up in a bun on top of her head and he can almost make out its color. It is a brighter shade of the constant dull grey that almost looks like purple. The medicine he's been taking must be helping. Color or not, she is gorgeous.
It's now or never so he gathers the scraps of courage he can find before walking up to her. "Hi. I'm Zodiac."
She looks up from her flowers and wipes the soil from her hand on her apron. "Mr. Thanatos is inside if you're here to conduct business with him."
"Actually . . . I'm here to conduct business with you."
"Excuse me? That's a really bad pickup line." Nyx says, obviously unimpressed.
So he results to blatant flattery. "You're very attractive."
"Uh . . . you're that half android boy, right?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Help me! Master, help me! Thanatos!" Nyx starts screaming as her owner runs out with a pistol in his hand.
"Get out of here. I don't care what the laws say. I won't have you hormone-crazed androids harm her."
"I was just talking to her." Zodiac says.
"You don't get to talk to her."
"It's my right."
"He hurt me." Nyx says. "He hit me in the face."
"What? No, I didn't!" Why is she lying?
"That's enough." The man says.
Before Zodiac has a chance to react, Thanatos grabs his arm and slams him against the brick side of the building. "Let me go! I didn't do anything wrong. She's lying."
The man secures handcuffs around Zodiac's wrists and forces him to walk in front of him down the street. "You are too violent to be in public on your own. I know who you are. You're that violent future serial killer. I won't risk her safety just because you want to use her body for your own twisted perversions. I will see to it that Troy gives you the worst whipping of your miserable life.
When they reach Zodiac's house, Sparta opens the door. "Yes?"
"Where is Sir Troy?" Thanatos asks.
"He's working. I'm his brother who he placed in charge while he's out. If you need to speak with him, then you will speak with me."
"This slave assaulted my android. I demand that he be punished. His genetics have made him bloodthirsty. The only way to stop it is to beat him senseless. Let Sir Troy know that if he will not train this monster, then I will gladly do it."
Sparta shakes his head as he takes the key from the man and unlocks the handcuffs around Zodiac's wrists and pulls him inside the house. He hands them back to Thanatos. "I will let my brother know and I will punish him as well."
"Don't let it happen again. Farewell."
Zodiac looks around for Troy's whip, but can't find it. Is Sparta actually going to beat him? "Sparta, I didn't do anything to her."
He locks the door and laughs as he pats Zodiac on the back. "I know. Mr. Thanatos is a senile old man. Come eat with us. Atlas, Ajax, Hyperion, and Midas have been making something weird they discovered at school called Wasteland Pizza while the younger ones are out back playing. If we're lucky, Troy will get back with news for us soon and we can all watch a movie."
"I'd like that. But I have to speak with Troy first."
7
When Zodiac answers Troy's phone call, he can immediately tell by the sound of his voice that something has happened. "Troy, what's wrong? What happened?"
"Meet me at the palace in ten minutes. You can steal my father's car. I don't give a damn about that bastard anymore. He showed back up and claimed that he's disowning me. He has completely lost his mind. Have I not been the model son? I've done everything he wanted me to do growing up. I tried to be perfect for him and he told me I was his favorite son so many times. Now he acts like none of that matters. My mom may be dying and all he does is yell at me when I try to help."
"Xanthe is dying?"
"It's all Apollo's fault." Troy says. "I'll kill him, Zodiac. If she dies, I'll kill my father. I don't even care about getting arrested. Let them. I'll welcome a fight in the arena just for the chance to make this right. I can't let him get away with this."
"Where are you right now?"
"On my way to the palace. I need your help."
"With what?" Zodiac asks.
"Breaking into my dead aunt's bedroom."
* * *
Zodiac stands guard as Troy picks the lock to the bedroom. "Why are we doing this? If Evans's guards catch us, we'll be in big trouble that even the Royal Knights might not be able to get us out of."
"I know, but that's a risk I have to take. There's something in here that my aunt and mother want me to find. I have no idea what it is, but it must be truly important."
"And why do you drag me into these things?"
Troy pushes the door open. "Because you're good with puzzles and riddles."
The bedroom is unexpectedly simple in decoration and could easily be mistaken for any common pure Nymph's bedroom. Nothing stands out at first glance.
"How did it go?" Troy asks as he flips through a stack of books on a side table. "Six windows let in the light and where shadows are eternal, only royal blood can unlock our secrets."
Zodiac looks around the room at the colorful stained glass windows. Sure enough, there are six of them. A large tapestry hangs on the wall over the head of the large four poster bed. No, it can't be that simple. Embroidered on the tapestry is an exact replica of the other windows. A window in eternal shadow must be one that can't let light in. He crawls onto the bed and examines the tapestry more closely. It looks ordinary enough until he lifts it up and spots a tiny metallic sensor attached to the wall. "Hey Troy, look what I found."
Troy puts the books down and joins him on the bed. "What is that?"
"I don't know. It looks to be computerized. What was the second part of that riddle?"
"Only pure blood can unlock the secret." Troy says. "Give me your pocket knife."
Zodiac digs in his pocket and retrieves the small knife he uses for opening boxes of cargo and hands it to him. "Did you figure it out?"
"I think so." Troy pulls out th
e blade and pricks the end of his finger. As the blood pools up on the tip of his finger, he presses it against the sensor. After a couple of seconds, there is an audible click and a panel of the wall pops out of place. Checking to make sure they don't have any unwanted company, Troy slides the panel out and reaches inside. He slips out a dusty piece of parchment and spreads it out on the bed.
Zodiac knows what this is. It's a family tree. This is the recorded lineage of the royal family dating back what looks to be about one thousand years.
Moving his hand over the markings on the page, Troy suddenly stops and covers his mouth as he makes a shocked gasping sound.
"What is it?"
Troy turns the parchment and points to the newest additions in darker ink. "Find my name."
"Okay. Troy Onyx Adonis. What's wrong?"
"My siblings don't show up next to me. They should be right there. Instead, they are over here."
"But Xanthe and Apollo show as being their parents." Zodiac says.
"That's the problem. Look who my parents are."
"Apollo Plato Adonis and Helen Priam Lexius. Oh my gods. What does this mean?"
"I'm a prince." Troy says. "Queen Helen wasn't my aunt. She was my mother."
"But why? Why would Xanthe raise you as if you were her own child?"
"Maybe she agreed to it so I could be with Apollo. No. That doesn't make sense."
Zodiac's theory makes perfect sense to him. "To protect you from Evans. Queen Helen must have given birth without anyone knowing so she could have her secret heir to the throne in case this very situation arose. If she knew Evans was going to kill her, I bet she knew who he really was even back then. So she selected one of the country's top military generals with favorable traits to father her heir. That was Apollo. Then after you were born, she sent you to live with your father and her sister."
"You may be right. That would explain why I have so many memories of Queen Helen playing with me when I was little. She came to the house to spend time with me. I always had a special bond with her. Now I know why."
"You should be king right now, not Evans. When the bloodline monarch dies, the crown is passed to their child, not their spouse."
Paradise Forgotten Trilogy Page 8