Mon petite chou, I have only been able to hold you in my arms like I am now for a day, but now I fear I must send you somewhere safe. There are many people who will try to take you away from me and do terrible experiments on you. I can't let them hurt you so you will be leaving soon to go to Himmel where your other father, mon amour, will raise you. Ma vie n'a pas d'importance. As long as you are safe and provided for, I can die happy. Yes, you are genuinely my son, even though you may not believe that two men can make a child. I didn't believe it either, but here you are. You are so small and your voice makes me smile when I hear your cry and soft cooing. It breaks my heart to let you go. Je ne vous oublierai jamais.
I regret that I am in no shape to raise you or protect you myself. I have been subjected to some very painful and draining torture down here. I am trapped here in Paradise with no way out. The best I can do is let Gabriel take you. What will become of me? Only God knows. I place my faith in him. I have been praying for days, ever since I found out that I was pregnant a little over a week ago. Because I am an android, you developed much faster than a typical human child. I could have ended it right then, but God told me to keep you. Now I know he was right. I have done many terrible things in my life, I've sinned against my religion, and I've shunned God in my darkest hours, but now I've seen the light of our savior's love. If I don't get to see you or Jarred again in this life, I pray that we will all be together as the family we should be in heaven. Jarred and I discussed adopting a child before we got married, but we lived on the streets in a shipping crate. That's no place for a child. We could barely keep ourselves alive at that point. Jarred would steal what he could and we would take the dangerous, dirty, and illegal jobs from shady clients just to scrape by. Anyway, I digress. Jarred doesn't know you exist yet and I bet he will be thrilled. He will be an amazing father. Je sais que si. I don't know what else I can tell you in this limited amount of time.
Je t'aime pour l'éternité. Tu es mon soleil et mon avenir. Je vais vous voir dans le ciel.
With love,
Jayce Pierre Cunningham
Zodiac throws the pages down on the table then runs out of the restaurant as he chokes back tears and clutches Jayce's bullet necklace in his hand.
* * *
Nova waits until her client is far out of sight before pulling on a fur coat and walking outside into the falling snow. She has to talk to her brother on his nineteenth birthday and the technology center in the small hut is the only way for her to do that. Going this long without hearing his voice makes her nervous. What if something happened to him? From her clients, she has been able to find out that Evans rounded up all the impure Nymphs and androids in Athens then sent them away on space transports. Out of those ships, only one did not explode. It was diverted and landed on Himmel. That's the last anyone has heard from it.
She pushes opens the door, checking behind her to make sure no one is watching her. The buzzing of computers and radio static greets her as she steps inside and closes the door behind her. Picking up the telephone on the desk, she dials Zodiac's cell phone number, but the only thing that answers her is a disconnected tone. She'll have to come back and try again later. As Nova turns to leave, she notices something playing on one of the many monitors. It's Blice McSage. She turns the volume up so she can hear what is going on.
Blice is strapped to a chair in the middle of a brown stone-walled room, much like the one she saw Troy in when he was fighting in the arena. He looks even worse than Troy did. Blice's slick black hair is filthy and plastered with sweat to his dirt-streaked face. Bruises and open wounds spot his bare body. His breathing is raspy and shaky as he tightly grasps the arms of the chair. His knuckles turn white and he screams when Evans injects a black liquid into his arm. The screaming is quickly silenced as Blice vomits blood over himself.
"Feels bad, doesn't it, son?" Evans grins darkly. He picks up a bottle of pills from the table and shakes it. Blice immediately looks up with wide, begging violet eyes. Evans only laughs at him. "You only get these if you win your fight tomorrow."
"I will win!" Blice shouts then chokes on more blood and breaks down in a fit of violent coughing.
"Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. Are you this addicted that you will endure this to get your fix? I guess I'm not helping, am I?"
"You're . . . you're making me this way. It was never this bad." Blice weakly says.
"You're right. However, I had to have an easy way to control you."
Blice draws in a raspy breath. "I hate you. Won't you die already?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
"I didn't . . . ask for this. I told them to let me die, but people keep bringing me back. I just want to go to heaven to be with Isidore."
"Heaven?" Evans scoffs. "A demon like you will never get into heaven. Besides, if there are such things as souls, you lost yours a long time ago. You are a simulated amalgamation of artificial emotions and what memories scientists could extract from that microchip. I'm the same way. So as long as you are still inhabiting a physical body, I will watch you suffer for double crossing me." Evans slaps a cat o' nine tails against the wall. "I'm done hearing you talk. I want to hear you scream."
Nova turns it off. She can't watch this torture.
"Sickening, isn't it?"
She gasps and spins around to see a brown-haired man in jeans and a blue t-shirt. Large pearlescent white wings spread out from his shoulder blades. "Who are you?"
He bows. "I am the archon Uriel. That's right. We haven't actually met, have we? Don't be alarmed. I know your brother."
"Do you know where he is?"
"It's not my place to say. That's not why I hunted you down. I have something for you." He holds out his hand to reveal a small silver capsule.
Nova picks it up and examines it. "What is this?"
"Inside is a strip of very important microfilm with a certain code on it. Keep it safe. It's the last copy we have."
"Why me?"
Uriel smiles and spreads his wings. "Let's just say I am in need of a nanobot regulator to be paired with my nanobot storage . . . device."
"I don't know what that means."
"You can talk to them, can't you?"
"I talk to the gods." Nova says.
"Those gods you talk to are the nanobots mimicking gods. If you can communicate with them, then you will be a valuable asset to my plans."
"And what is your nanobot storage device?"
"Not what. Who." Uriel runs his finger across his wrists. "I have my eyes on a certain young boy who should have received my gift by now. He meets the emotional trauma he needs to be completely manipulated. But that is a conversation for another day."
"What do you want with us?"
"My dear Nova, everything will be revealed in the future. I believe you have a fitting for your wedding dress now. Am I right? You'd better hurry back before your betrothed misses you. Oh, and one more thing. If you mention any part of this conversation we had here to anyone, I will find you and I will make you pay. Remember this. Angels with ambition can harbor more darkness than demons."
6
Standing outside the red and gold door at the end of the hall, Uriel watches Orion and Silver help Troy walk through the door and vanish into the darkness on the other side. When the door locks, he removes his disguise and spreads his wings he has been hiding. There. That's better. He checks the time on his gold communication sensor. Ten at night. Good. His target should be alone and in bed . . . just how he likes it.
He moves silently down the hallway until he reaches Silver's room. When he turns the doorknob and finds it unlocked, Uriel chuckles. They should really learn to keep their valuables locked up tighter. There's no turning back now. If they're going to let him waltz past security in a flimsy disguise and leave his prey unguarded, then he can't resist.
The room is dark except for a dim lamp on the bedside table. Uriel's eyes land on the lump under the blankets. Perfect. He locks the door and moves to the bed then crawls next to
the unmoving form. "Paris, wake up."
The boy moans slightly and peers out from the blankets, his eyes still half closed with sleep. "Master?"
"No." Uriel holds his wings high in the air. "Get up. If you scream, I will do this the hard way."
Paris slides out of bed and turns on another lamp. "Who are you?"
"My name is Uriel."
"Are you an angel?"
Humans and Nymphs always throw that term around far too easily. Why does everyone want an angel? Uriel kneels at the boy's feet. "Yes. I am an angel, sent by the gods to protect you."
"But Master Silver protects me."
"You think Silver wants to protect you?"
"He loves me."
Uriel's smile vanishes as he stands and takes Paris's hand. "Have a seat on the bed and we'll discuss this. I know some secrets about your beloved owner that will make you change your mind."
Paris joins him on the bed and looks up at him with his large black eyes. "What is it?"
"Has Silver told you he has a son?"
"What? No."
"Do you know why he never told you? Because he didn't want you to know what he did to his son. I know what happened to you down in Kyro. That's what Silver did to his son. Now he wants to do it to you."
Paris's tiny hands tighten into fists. "I don't believe you!"
"You should. I'm here to protect you from all of that. Bond with me so I can keep you safe. No one should have to suffer like you have. Silver wants to hurt you like those slavers did. Why do you think he bought you in the first place? He could have had any slave he wanted, but he chose a little boy so he could manipulate you and make you do what he wants. Face the facts. It's not normal, the way he acts around you. He gives you gifts, he sleeps next to you, he dresses you, he even bathes you. He bathes you, Paris."
"He has always done that."
"That's my point. I've been watching every night. Silver takes off your clothes for you. He stays in the bathroom and watches you. He bathes you with his bare hands then holds you as he dries you off. He then has you lie down on the bed as he dresses you."
Paris's eyes brim with tears. "You're wrong. You have to be wrong. He does those things because he loves me and likes to take care of me. It's not like the other times."
"But when will it become that? Can you take that risk?"
"Go away!" Paris screams. "I don't need an angel. Just because he likes men doesn't mean he likes me. You're a liar."
"Fine." Uriel stands up and draws a pocket knife from his belt. "I tried to do this the easy way, but brats like you never listen."
"Stay away from me! Master Silv-"
Uriel slaps Paris across the face and pushes him down on the bed. The boy's muffled screams fill the room as he writhes under him. Uriel pries the blanket out of Paris's hands and seizes his arms. "You will learn to obey your elders." In one agonizingly slow movement, he drags the razor edge of the blade across the tiny wrists then across his own. He presses the wounds together. "There." He leans over, placing all of his weight on the boy, eliciting more desperate cries. Uriel wraps his hand in the boy's long black wavy locks of hair. Breathing in the sweet delicate fragrance, he moves down to Paris's ear and locks his teeth around one of the ruby earrings and rips it free. He waits for the scream that doesn't come. What now? He stands up to look at the blood-smeared boy lying motionless on the bed. Blood has soaked the white down comforter. Uriel's fingers on the boy's neck tell him that there's still a pulse. But there's no point in torturing someone who can't feel it.
Paris gasps for air as he whimpers and twists the blanket in his hands. "Master!"
"So you are awake." Uriel grabs Paris's neck and slams him against the headboard. "You tell anyone about tonight and I will kill Silver, Orion, and Troy. I am always watching you, boy. Is that understood?"
"Master, help me!" Paris attempts to loosen the archon's grip around his throat to no avail.
"Shut up!" He throws the boy across room where he hits the wall and collapses on the floor. Now to get out of here. Uriel rips a pillowcase in half and ties the fabric around his bleeding wrists before going to the door. "I'll be back for you later. If you betray me, I will send you back to Kyro. I'm sure those men would love to see you again. Take care of the regeneration ring for me. Next time, follow orders like the worthless slave you are."
* * *
Zodiac pulls down another quiver full of black arrows from the low hanging branch of a dogwood tree and rapidly fires them at the new target pinned to the side of the training facility on the outskirts of the city. He's been at this for hours, ever since he left the restaurant with Samuels. When he's down to one arrow left, he pulls out a lighter and sets this one on fire. He can't leave any part of this target. It all has to go away, far away where no one can ever find it again. Drawing back the final arrow, he watches the wisps of smoke in the cold twilight air. He doesn't need this to make him strong. He has become strong enough on his own. Why bring this influence into his life now? He lets the arrow fly.
As he watches the letter turn to a mass of smoldering coals, Zodiac says a silent farewell to the life he could have had and the people he could have loved. He is no longer searching for every scrap of his past that he can uncover. In the end, none of that matters. He has a new purpose and a new future that can't be dragged down by the traps and dangers of the past. He is no longer some half android cargo delivery boy slave. No. Now he is an agent with a computer in his brain who serves the chancellor to bring about peace for humans, Nymphs, and androids. If he can leave behind the person he used to be in order to prevent more innocents from being hurt or killed in this pointless conflict, then he will do it in a heartbeat. Hell, he will even stop his heart for that cause. Maybe he can make both of his fathers proud.
Samuels comes out of the building wearing a long black wool coat and carrying an identical one that he hands to Zodiac. "Don't want you to catch a cold. Looks like we might get the first snow of the season down here in the valley tonight."
"Thanks." Zodiac takes the coat and slips it on. "So, back to the townhouse for the night?"
"After we go get something to eat. I'm sure you're starving by now."
He shrugs his shoulders and locks away his bow and equipment in the locker. "Not really. I just have a lot on my mind."
"What's that smell? Were you burning something?" Samuels looks around until he spots the ashes. "What was that?"
"The letter Jayce wrote me."
"Why? Don't you know how precious that was? It was irreplaceable."
"I don't need it anymore. I read what he had to say and I'll never forget it. I can't be anchored down by it. Now, let's get out of the cold. I'm done training for today."
"You're done training altogether." Samuels says.
"What do you mean?"
Samuels leads him out front to where a limousine is waiting on them. He slides into the back first. "I have your first mission all drawn up and prepared for you."
Zodiac joins him and takes a glass of sparkling wine. "And that is?"
"You will be going undercover to infiltrate Pharaoh Hector's country of Kyro. We have to know the internal workings of that place. They're really big into slavery, so you will be disguised as a slaver. The first thing you will do is head to the slave market with a good amount of gold. You'll bid high and flaunt your money to draw as much attention to yourself as you can. Get in good with the high class slavers and purchase a good slave to help you out with the everyday things. If you play your bids right, you should get invited to Hector's palace for the nightly banquet. It's a distasteful and revolting display of power and wealth. It's a fancy dinner served by slaves in flashy costumes who dance and take certain guests into back rooms for a private . . . let's call it a dance. I've managed to get an agent in that far, but not the even more select meeting in the library after dinner. That's your goal."
Zodiac watches the city lights pass by outside the window as snow begins to slowly fall. "What happened to the agent who made it
to the dinner?"
"He let his emotions take priority over his common sense and his mission."
"Meaning?"
"He stepped in to save a slave that was being tortured as part of the entertainment for the evening. Hector didn't appreciate his twisted fun being interrupted so he had the slave and the agent both literally skinned alive in front of his guests."
Zodiac sighs and runs his finger around the rim of his glass. "And you're sure I'm ready for this kind of a mission? Its sounds pretty dangerous."
"You'll do fine. I have high hopes for you, Agent Z. And I'll be able to keep in touch with you as long as you have your sensor somewhere on your body. The computer in your brain isn't as advanced as the other living computers used to be so we can't communicate that way, but it works well enough to help enhance your abilities."
"Ah." Zodiac finishes his wine and sets the glass down. "When do we start all of this?"
"You leave for Kyro in one week. While you are there, you will go by the name Dax Nero. You will say you are from a small town called Bucharest on the IGR planet of Friedhof. I will give you a complete summary and plan for this mission in a couple of days. Right now, Let's go celebrate the last few hours of your birthday."
* * *
The fine porcelain teacup shatters against the metal wall of the science laboratory. Hot Earl Grey tea drips down to the floor in a steaming puddle where the teapot now lies in ruins as well. A bowl of sugar cubes is the next one to fly across the room and meet a quick yet violent death. Three silver spoons, a saucer, and a crystal vase of daffodils face a similar fate as Atlas screams and overturns the kitchen table. He holds up the steak knife in front of him, fully prepared to strike if he has to. He has never cut anything in his life, but he can figure out how to do it.
Paradise Forgotten Trilogy Page 25