Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

  “I have resources, as a cop. Once I had your alias, you were much easier to track.”

  “You really don't remember anything?”

  “No, I don't recall my whereabouts after becoming an Olympian.”

  “This doesn't make any sense.”

  “Ares, you wouldn't hurt a fly and yet you demanded worship in your name and punished those who opposed you. Does that sound like you? Like any of us?”

  Ares plopped down in the booth with his father. “You think this was done to us?”

  “It’s coincidental if you and I had amnesia, but if others cannot account for the same span of time, then my answer is most certainly yes. Ask around. I'm sure the response will be a consensus from the others.” He removed a business card from his breast pocket. “You can reach me at any of these numbers. Once you're satisfied with the answers you're bound to receive, call me.”

  Placing a few bills on the table to settle his check, Zeus stood up to leave.

  “Where are you going?”

  “My son's waiting for me.”

  That smarted like an underhanded punch to the gut while his eyes were averted. Realizing his mistake, Zeus set his hand on Ares shoulder, and said, “Everything will be fine.”

  Somehow that didn't bring Ares comfort. He wasn’t sure he could count on his father.

  36

  May 26, 2008

  It was becoming a routine, having a few drinks before going home. Just something to take the edge off.

  “Marcus?”

  Ares looked up from his whiskey. “Sorry, you're mistaken.”

  “Marcus, it seems I may owe you an apology or, at the very least, an explanation. If I could have a moment of your time.”

  “What part of you've got the wrong guy did you not understand?” Ares said pugnaciously as he shoved the man. He lost traction, stumbling off of his stool once he realized the man was non-corporeal.

  The man smiled apologetically. “Perhaps, there's somewhere more private in which we can speak freely. I'd offer a hand but—”

  Ares gave him a look that could melt flesh. Leveraging the stool, he stood up. “I got it.”

  Ares led the way out to the parking lot. He leaned up against a lamppost and waved his hand as if to say get on with it.

  “You don't know me, but I know you very well, Ares.”

  Ares adjusted his posture. It was the first time anyone had addressed Ares by his real name besides his family and Amber. The man was just keeping up appearances, addressing Ares by his alias inside of the bar.

  “I've been watching you your whole life. My name is Finneus and I hold a seat on the Quorum.”

  The man spoke to Ares as if he knew him, but Ares couldn’t place his face. The name, Finneus, didn't register with him, but the Quorum rang some bells. Alarm bells, in fact.

  “It's okay. I mean you no harm. I've tried to help you, but I think I might have overstepped some boundaries. My interloping may have done more harm than good.”

  Ares proceeded with less bluster and more reverence. It was stupid to make an enemy out of a member of the Quorum. If he played this right, he might even gain an ally from this unexpected meeting. “Why have you been watching me?”

  “Your planet falls under the sector to which I've been assigned. I was supposed to objectively observe. The problem arose after some years when I became aware of my emotional attachment. I've watched you since you were a boy. I've seen every blunder and every accomplishment. I watched you defy the odds and ascend all on your own and I was so proud of you.”

  Ares remained speechless, taking it all in.

  “My judgment was clouded and my actions were unsanctioned, but I couldn't let you be harmed.”

  Ares eyes grew large. “It was you; you teleported us back to Wyoming.”

  “Sorry for the rough landing, but I had to make haste as I only had a brief window of time to do so. In regards to the fall, I wanted to speak with you, in person, because your people are still under investigation for all your crimes, but something is amiss. There are records that have gone missing. I’ve watched your people from the beginning, even before my time, and you’ve always been a peacekeeping civilization. Something must have happened to cause the shift and I think it has something to do with the missing recordings.”

  “Are you saying our charges will be dropped and we’ll be free?”

  “No, I’m saying I need proof to exonerate you. Here.” Finneus handed Ares a small, sleek black device. “Take this and show it to the others. See if you recognize anyone. I will keep investigating the members of the Quorum to gather the evidence I need to clear your name.”

  “Okay, how can I get in touch with you?”

  “Call my name, I’ll be watching.”

  “Thank you.”

  When Finneus disconnected his astral projection transmission, he came to in the conference room.

  “I hope it was worth it,” Miccah commented, catching him off guard because he had locked the doors.

  “How did you get in here?”

  She jingled a set of keys in front of him. “Communal property, remember?”

  He stood, fixing his clothes. “I had to see someone.”

  “Well, you’re lucky it was only me catching you in here without permission.”

  “Indeed, I am.”

  “I have some information for you. Do you want to hear the good news or bad news, first?”

  “Bad.”

  “I’ve tried my best, but no matter what I do I can’t seem to get a read off of Corbin. Which is unusual because I can usually pick up a fragmented thought, at the very least, but his mind is blank every time I peer inside.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I’m not sure, but some are better at concealing their thoughts than others. It doesn’t happen often, but every now and then I stumble across one.”

  “Okay and the good news?”

  “Yes, the good news. Adelynn was very difficult to read as well, but I figured out the mystery involving the pails. She was actually thinking about Palingenesis, not pails. You may want to start there.”

  “What’s Palingenesis?”

  Miccah shrugged. “You’ll have to ask her.”

  Finneus decided to do just that. He tracked Adelynn down, which was easy to do since he would see her once his shift started. “What’s Palingenesis?”

  “No concern of yours,” Adelynn replied.

  “It is my concern; it's all of ours as we're sworn to protect the integrity of the system, together.”

  “It's a project—a prototype. It's in the testing phase.”

  “Could you be more specific?”

  “If you insist; It's a fail-safe. As much as we'd like to think we're omniscient, we require sleep. It's inevitable that we'd miss things from time to time. Palingenesis will not. It sees all infractions, even when we don't, and implements a resolution. If a cardinal rule is broken, a sentence is handed out instantaneously to the offender.”

  “You execute him without a trial?”

  “Of course not, his memories are reset so he can't do any more harm until we're able to detain him.”

  “Which sectors are being tested?”

  “All of them.”

  “On whose authority are you conducting this experiment?”

  “Our Creator, of course.”

  “So if I were to bring this up during our next forum, there would be no disagreement?”

  “You could but then I'd also have to divulge the records you've purged.”

  A response so defensive clearly conveyed that maybe Project Palingenesis wasn’t as legitimate as Adelynn had claimed. Even so, Adelynn did have a point—one that would keep him quiet. No one could know what he did.

  They had reached an impasse.

  “That’s what I thought,” Adelynn said, leaving him to consider the repercussions of bringing this information up at their meeting.

  37

  May 27, 2008

  Amber entered the Pilates S
tudio and walked straight back to Aphrodite’s office.

  “What are you doing here?” Amber asked more sourly than she’d intended.

  “Hello to you, too,” Ares said, his feet resting comfortably on Aphrodite’s desk calendar, dregs of dirt dusting the desk.

  “I’m sorry; I just thought the two of you hated each other.”

  “We’re working on our relationship.”

  “Okay, if you see Aphrodite, tell her I was looking for her.”

  Ares looked at the wall mounted clock and said, “She’ll be back in ten minutes. You’re welcome to wait if you’d like. Besides, you’ve been on the move so much I haven’t had a chance to talk to you. Have you received any of my calls?”

  “Have you received mine?”

  “Okay, you are mad. I was in jail, that’s why I missed your calls.” He wanted to tell Amber about Finneus and the new developments, but he didn’t anticipate this hostile reception.

  “You weren’t in jail when you went to see your father.”

  “I know, you’re right. I should have called you back sooner, but I was so close.”

  “It's not just that…you’re lying to me.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You told me you didn't know how to project. That was a lie.”

  “It's dangerous, you've experienced it. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

  “Touching. What about Evie? Tell me about her.”

  “You know I can't. I promised to protect her. It wouldn't be fair to her.

  “Fair?”

  “What?”

  “I'm risking my life for you? The Quorum is after me, because of you. Is that fair to me?”

  “No, it's not fair.”

  “Then, tell me this and don't lie to me. Are you my father?”

  Amber was reeling upon discovering Kelly’s true origins—that she had siblings and she was channeling their Olympian essence to triple her own power. Everything was finally starting to make sense. She had to tell Ares, but there was something about him that was bugging her. She teetered on the edge, trying to grasp the impalpable thought before it disappeared altogether. It didn’t seem like much when her dad told her he blocked out the night of her conception. All that had been relegated to the back corners of her mind when Ares told her the origin of her abilities, which made her Dad’s lapse in memory seem insignificant.

  Now, it was creeping back to the surface, all but waving like a lunatic to get her to take a second look. It was quite the nag; her mind was trying to tell her something and she wished it would spit it out.

  Okay, think. If she laid out all the facts, maybe it would elicit a memory or something. She didn’t have all the details, but there were some truths she couldn’t negate, like Kelly’s mind was deteriorating because her body was rejecting the powers. She wasn’t an Elysian descendant and, therefore, her body could not withstand the change. Amber, however, was functioning just fine with the exception of her learning curve. Some symptoms had presented similar to Kelly’s, but there was one difference. Kelly had gone mad. Amber, on the other hand, wasn’t ill, her body was in peak condition, and her mind was sound.

  I know I’m on to something. It was on the tip of her tongue.

  How am I still functioning? Am I immune? No, only an Elysian could become an Olympian. But she wasn’t an Elysian. Ares must have found a loophole. But there were rules. It couldn’t be that easy to circumvent the rules. Of course to hear him tell it, he wandered the Earth two times before he concocted the right mixture to create his serum.

  You’re getting warmer, her inner voice encouraged. It’s not that easy. You’re burning up.

  “I’m not sick, because I’m an Elysian descendant.”

  38

  May 27, 2008

  It was dusk when Ares had arrived at Lexington Beach. A few bums stood around a fire lit trash can, their threadbare fingerless gloved hands hovered over the fire. The air was nippy feeling more like autumn than spring. Ares rubbed his arms, too, wishing he'd worn a light jacket.

  Headlights shone, first on the bums, and then on Ares as a car pulled into the parking lot and settled at the far end. Zeus strolled across the sand towards Ares.

  “We could have met at the diner, again,” Ares suggested.

  “And risk one of my officers seeing you? I don't think so.”

  Ares wanted to respond, but decided to stick to the issue at hand. It would have been foolish to be seen near the police station, but Ares was sure Zeus didn't want him blabbing about his relation to Zeus, either. Think of the water cooler drama it would spark: the disgraced captain, the secret horde of children he'd abandoned, the illegitimate child and his second wife. Scuttlebutt would spread to the office gossips, soiling his reputation and jeopardizing the status that Zeus had worked so hard to acquire. But that was a conversation to be saved for a different day.

  “I think you were right, Father. Our collective memory loss wasn't an accident. I think it was done on purpose.”

  “The question is why was this done to us?”

  “With no memory, none of us would fear breaking the laws, which would inevitably happen without fear of persecution.”

  “That's quite the stretch, son.”

  “I have it on good authority.”

  “Who's authority?”

  Ares remained tight-lipped.

  “Oh, I see. You still don't trust me.”

  “And why should he trust you?" Prometheus asked. As he walked towards them, he summoned the fire from the trash can and held the flame in the palms of his hands. The bums scattered in opposite directions. “You're a liar. You were a liar, then, and, well, you haven't changed.”

  Prometheus lobbed the fire ball at Zeus who dodged it, diving into the sand. Zeus pushed himself up and tried to make a run for it, but the wind picked up and dragged him back. “Please, I have a son.”

  “You mean sons, right?” Prometheus casted a gander at Ares. “What did I tell you? He doesn't care about you and can't be trusted.” Prometheus jerked Zeus up by his shirt collar and flung him across the sand, the asphalt breaking the momentum.

  “Prometheus, stop,” Ares begged.

  “Don't you see? He deserves this, Ares.”

  “No, we're being manipulated. The gaps in our memories, it's all a part of some elaborate subterfuge.”

  “Manipulation, huh?” Prometheus twirled his index finger and a small cyclone encircled Zeus, suspending him in the air. “He's responsible for the genocide of my people.”

  “What's he talking about, Father?”

  “Oh, you didn't know? Your father murdered the Titans. I only survived because I was late, but I had gotten there just in time to see him throwing bolts of lightning at them.”

  “Wait, there's something going on here. I know it looks bad, but just give me some more time to figure out what's going on,” Ares implored. “Please, don't do this.”

  “Think about it, Ares. The amnesia started shortly after he killed the Titans. The timeline matches; it’s him.”

  Ares looked up at his father. “Is it true?”

  “Son, they left me no choice. They threatened the peace on Cronus.”

  “More lies," Prometheus spouted. “We just wanted to have a place on the council so that we could be included with the decisions being made about our home.”

  Ares was aghast to discover what his father had done, but something wasn't adding up. “Prometheus, how are you doing this—the fire, the wind?”

  “This isn’t about me.”

  “The hell it isn’t. How are you doing this?” Ares demanded.

  39

  May 27, 2008

  Prometheus smiled to himself, remembering the mysterious woman who’d given him just what he needed to avenge the loss of his people.

  “Level with me. All powers, Olympian and Titan, were extracted and sent into the ether. So how are you doing this?”

  “It's natural.”

  “Bullshit, its magic
and you're not human. So I'll ask, again. How are you doing this?”

  “I don't want to get into semantics with you, but Amber's not Elysian and yet she wields the power of our people.” He paused, letting that sink in. “That's what I thought.”

  “Look, whoever is helping you is probably at the root of this. Just give me a name. Let me look into it.”

  “I don't know her name. She offered retribution, and delivered, I might add, and I took it.”

  “You didn't find that suspicious—a perfect stranger making such an offer?”

  “Of course, I did, but I wanted revenge and with my people dead, I had nothing else to lose. So the risk was well worth it.”

  “But for all we know she might be behind the genocide of the Titans. Please just give me some time to investigate.”

  “Catch,” Prometheus commanded, tossing Ares something.

  Ares caught the object; it was his onyx stone. He didn't even know it was ever missing. Prometheus must've swiped it back at the cabin. It's how he found both father and son.

  Prometheus dropped Zeus. “You've got one week.” He walked away, transforming into sand and let the ocean breeze carry him away.

  Zeus rolled onto his side, coughing up the sand he’d swallowed when Prometheus held him in the midst of his man-made cyclone. Gradually, Zeus worked his way onto all fours. Finally, he was bipedal again albeit hunched over with his hands clasping his kneecaps, head hanging low, taking in the clean air.

  For a moment, Ares felt pity for his father. The rage Prometheus was carrying was deep but insidious. He had fooled them all. He had machinated all this just to get to Zeus. Although Zeus was by no stretch of the imagination a saint, no one deserved to be targeted this way.

  It took a millisecond to change Ares’s mind.

  Zeus looked up at Ares and smirked, like No biggie, wasn’t that fun?