Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

  He punched in his destination and secured himself inside of the pod. Concentrating on Ares, he closed his eyes, appearing moments later in front of him.

  “Finneus, I'm glad you heard me.” Ares opened the device and sifted through the images until he came across the picture of Athena. “Amber, saw her in a projection. Athena served on the council with my father, but Amber saw her convincing my father to target the Titans.”

  Finneus pointed at the image to confirm this was the woman to whom Ares was referring. “You know this woman as Athena?”

  “Yes, that's her. I don't know her well, but I know she had just ascended.”

  “She's not an Olympian,” Finneus said, “her name is Adelynn and she's a member of the Quorum.”

  “I'm guessing you were selected to join the Quorum. Could she have been selected from Cronus?” Ares hypothesized.

  “We are chosen, but she has served on the Quorum since its infancy and she's from Zorkolom, not Cronus.”

  “So what was she doing on Cronus?”

  “I think she wanted to sway your people into breaking a cardinal law so that you would be executed. And I think she managed to do that by triggering a project called Palingenesis. When a cardinal law is broken, it precipitates the initiation of Palingenesis, resetting the offender's memories to prevent any more harm prior to being detained. I saw your quarrel on the beach with Prometheus. I heard Zeus’s admission. He killed the Titans.”

  “Yes, but we never knew about it. And now I'm not so sure because of what Amber saw in her projection.”

  “That's what activated Palingenesis.”

  “Only it didn't just reset the Olympians’ memories,” Amber added, “I think she planted a suggestion: conquer. That way, the case against the Olympians would speak for itself.”

  “What makes you think that?” Ares asked.

  “Because as soon as you all rose as Olympians, it's all you could think about. Ares, you demanded prayer and worship. It also explains Kelly's amnesia and conquering Carrington has been Kelly's agenda this whole time. It's why she kept challenging me, to eliminate any competition.”

  It was all starting to make sense. Ares explained that every Olympian he had been in touch with all cannot account for the same amount of time. It took him a long time to feel guilt, because even though he was mortal, he was still coming down from the high of Palingenesis. It had systematically taken away every emotion and admirable trait that made him a good man. Once mortal, it took decades for him to find himself in all the fog. And when he did begin to feel again, he felt overwhelmed with guilt. The others had experienced similar symptoms.

  Amber conceded it was possible. There had to be a plausible reason and he certainly seemed to lament everything, now. He looked terrible.

  “But Amber didn't lose her memories,” Ares said, looking at Finneus for an explanation.

  “Actually, I have been losing memories of my mom,” Amber interjected, “and there's also the episode I experienced when I might have demanded a meathead to refer to me as Goddess.”

  “What? Why didn't you tell me?”

  “I didn't think I could trust you.”

  “Right," Ares swallowed, visibly wounded by her response. “What do you think, Finneus?”

  “It makes sense. The suggestion cycled through Kelly faster, because she's channeling the essence of her siblings. The process was slower for Amber, of course, but eventually it would've wiped all of her memories, too.”

  “There’s one thing that doesn’t make sense. If Palingenesis was meant to catch the individual and reset that individual’s memories, why did if effect every Olympian?” Ares inquired.

  “And Titan,” Amber chimed in. “Don’t forget about Prometheus.”

  “An excellent question that Adelynn will have to explain,” Finneus replied. “I’ll have to see how the criterion is set up in the programming. It certainly doesn’t look good for her.”

  “We got her.” Ares reveled. “You can arrest Adelynn, right?”

  “I'll see what I can do, but I have to go now. It would be ideal if Amber comes with me.”

  “What? No, I can’t allow it,” Ares stated.

  “Ares, trust me. I won’t let anything happen to her. The first sign of danger, I will zap her back to Earth. You have my word.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Amber said, joining Finneus.

  Finneus presented his dossier of evidence to the Quorum, implicating Adelynn as the mastermind behind the insurgency in Cronus. Amber provided testimony, recounting the vision she had witnessing Adelynn colluding with Zeus. Zeus turned himself in after liberating the Titans, but not until Finneus demanded the pardon of the Olympians since their actions were not of their own doing. The fact that Finneus had also taken part in the deletion of records didn’t go unnoticed, but he explained if he hadn’t intervened, an innocent man would have been executed. This also supported his motion to revisit the cardinal laws and consider amending them to incorporate lesser punitive measures for lesser crimes.

  The Quorum had rectified their wrongs, but Diem was still at large. Finneus asked that they let Amber handle the situation since the real criminal had already been brought to justice. His request was granted.

  Epilogue

  May 28, 2008

  When Amber was returned to Ares, unharmed, and they went to Evie’s apartment to try to get a location spell to find Kelly. They had one shot to prove they could handle this and bring Kelly home safely now aware of what they were facing. But always a few steps ahead of them, Diem snatched them up and dropped them in their favorite, not so clandestine cliff.

  “So here’s the thing. I hate waiting. Let’s finish this, shall we?” Diem glared at Ares. “Ares did you know that it was you who woke me up?”

  Ares stared at her, baffled.

  “I was confined,” Diem said, tapping her temple with her index finger, “until I heard something that freed me from the shackles of my mind. It was your voice…colluding to use me as a pawn.”

  Ares swallowed hard, registering what Diem was inferring.

  Then, Diem suddenly turned her attention to Amber. “I’m sorry, Amber. You probably have no idea what this is all about. Allow me to enlighten you,” she said, roughly grabbing Amber’s arm to transmit the vision that released her from her dormant prison.

  When she let go of Amber, Amber’s breathing had accelerated, her heart pumped rapidly, and her pores were drowning in sweat. “How could you?”

  “Yes, Ares, how could you?” Diem repeated contemptuously. “You thought you were so clever, covering up your tracks by telling Melinda to warn me not to eat the custard. So if it ever came back to you, you could say you told her not to give it to me. You didn’t count on being caught, which was really quite dense. I mean, hello, I have visions.”

  “Amber, I wasn’t in my right mind,” Ares said.

  Unable to listen to his lies, Amber cut him off. “Just stop.”

  “Although, I loathe you,” Diem stated, “I just wanted to point out you’re surrounded by traitors. I’m the only one who hasn’t lied to you.”

  Amber’s quivering posture shifted to a more level, confident stance. “Thank you for your honesty,” she said, landing an uppercut, “but I already knew about this.”

  Diem lost her balance and rolled over on her side to avoid Amber’s heavy foot, crashing down, splintering the pavement.

  “You knew and you’re still loyal to him,” Diem shrieked. “You deserve a long, agonizing death. I’m going to enjoy seeing your lifeless corpse bludgeoned beyond recognition.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard all of this before.” Amber remarked. “You may be using Kelly’s body as a vessel, but you’re not her. Nothing you say will change how I feel about her. Your words mean absolutely nothing to me.”

  Amber smacked Diem, but Diem was ready for it this time, throwing up her forearms to block.

  “So you know everything, right? Then you know I’m channeling my sibs, which makes me three times stronge
r than you. You can’t win this,” Diem said, choking Amber.

  “I don’t have to,” Amber wheezed. “I just need to reach Kelly; she’d never let you kill me.”

  “Are you hard of hearing?” Diem asked and, then, proceeded to enunciate, “Kelly.is.not.home.”

  Amber’s eyes expanded as she watched Eric closing in on Diem, but Diem had a precognitive advantage over him. She yoked him up, and asked, “Amber, aren’t you lucky to be surrounded by all of these people who love you?”

  “Diem, don’t. Let him go. This is between you and me.”

  “No, no, I think you should know what it feels like to be alone,” she said moments before snapping his neck.

  “No,” Amber screamed.

  Amber raced over to Diem, knocking her over, and caught Eric just before hitting the ground. But she was too late; he was already dead. She felt rage boiling inside her and charged after Diem like a bulldozer, leaving a track of mangled asphalt in her wake. She pummeled Diem until her knuckles were raw and bloody. Diem’s laughter continued, stopping only to spit out blood. Amber hurled a fireball at Diem, but Diem had full command of her abilities and deflected Amber’s assault with a force field. The fireball bounced back and scorched Amber, throwing her off balance long enough for Diem to get the drop on her. Diem, channeling the Olympian essence of her siblings, pounded on Amber mercilessly.

  As Ares watched Diem wail on Amber, he felt useless standing on the sidelines. His own father had disappointed him by tucking tail, and he had done his own share of abandoning people he cared about. It was time to break the cycle and do right by his child.

  He took the vile from his jacket pocket, the new one that Evie had synthesized. It was a dark, murky purple, not enticing like the orange glow of the ambrosial serum he’d created.

  Amber stilled finding strength from within; she created her own force field, which knocked Diem flat on her ass. Amber’s eyes glazed over a florescent green. A long golden line appeared and extended steadily at the pace of a conveyor belt. Amber's eyes followed the length of it as it moved. As the line progressed, its golden color grew dull, changing from gold to bronze and then to brown.

  When it came to a stop, just a good yard beyond where Ares stood, it snapped where it had grown brittle. Her eyes returned to normal while Ares stood poised with the elixir to his lips. Amber swung her arm forward releasing a lightning bolt. “Ares, don’t.”

  It struck the bottled elixir, shattering it into pieces. The contents of the potion spilled to the ground, instantly corroding the soil it touched.

  “What the hell?” Ares looked at Evie, flummoxed, who had just materialized. “Did you know it would kill me?”

  “Yes,” she growled.

  “Why?”

  “You really don't remember me, do you?”

  “You saved me from the Quorum.” Ares shuddered, feeling betrayed.

  “Think back, lover. That wasn't our first meeting.”

  He divided a look between Amber and Evie.

  “Nothing, huh?” Okay, I'll give you a hint…Lincoln.”

  Ares’s face was delineated with deep furrows, showing his stress and age for the first time. How could he have missed it? In his defense, most of her face had been covered with long bangs and she had severe psoriasis. That girl was timid; seeking to fade into the background. The woman who stood before him had flawless skin from head to toe and her hair was pulled up in a sleek ponytail, showcasing her gorgeous face. It was hard to believe that this was the same girl. But it was her...Lena and she was pissed.

  “You do remember.” Evie gathered by his expression.

  “You changed your name,” Ares assumed.

  “No, my Grams and Linc were the only ones who referred to me by my middle name, Lena—short for Milena. My first name is Yvonne, actually.”

  The label on the magazine, which held his rapt interest, read Yvonne Mitchell. He'd assumed it was the first name of Lincoln’s mother. “So you've been playing me this entire time. Why?”

  “My cousin, of course.”

  “Lincoln was like a brother to me, Evie.”

  “He's dead because of you.”

  “No....How did it happen?”

  “In combat.”

  “I'm sorry, I didn't know.”

  “He would still be alive if you kept your word and fought by his side.”

  “How did you know?”

  “Lincoln thought the world of you. He raved about you to Grams and me all the time. He told us you had enlisted, too.”

  It was true; Ares had enlisted at Lincoln's request. Lincoln had plans of pursuing a career in law enforcement, but he lacked discipline and structure. he knew if he had any chance of becoming a detective that he'd have to work on building those skills. So he decided to join the army. When Lincoln told Ares about it he'd also mentioned in passing how it would be great to have his best friend watching his back. With that added pressure how could Ares decline? One thing led to another, ending with Ares foolishly agreeing to enlist, figuring enough time had passed where he could start anew.

  However, Ares couldn't outrun his unresolved issues with his past and the thought of fighting in a war brought back flashes of his battle. When it came time to report for basic training, it brought back his feelings of failure to his own people and he couldn't do that to Lincoln. He thought Lincoln would be better off—safer—without him. So he was a no show and never looked back.

  “I've waited a long time to kill you, but your half breed bitch of a daughter spoiled that for me. That's okay; I've been dying to use magic on you.” Electrical energy pulsed from her fingertips, changing from fuchsia to violet and cobalt blue.

  Amber shot a lightning bolt at her that went straight through her shoulder, leaving an aperture in her shoulder.

  “Is that all you got, sugar?” Diem croaked from behind Amber, still laughing. “I did kill your boyfriend after all.”

  Outraged, Amber drew back her foot to kick Diem, but felt someone grab her from behind. She looked back to find it was Eric. She inhaled sharply. “My God, you’re alive.”

  Diem tried with a tenacity to subdue Eric, but it was moot. He stopped her with ease.

  “That power belongs to me and no one will stop me from having it. I killed you once, this time I’ll make sure it sticks.”

  “I’m so sorry, Diem. This was done to you against your will. It’s not your fault. Although Elysian blood runs through your veins, ascension was never meant for you.”

  Diem struggled to free herself from his hold, but it was no use, he had neutralized her. As her cobalt aura waned, so did her powers.

  “Oh my God,” Amber said. “It’s been him this whole time.”

  “No, I have worked too long and hard to be thwarted by you.” Evie shrieked. She raised her hands and spoke an incantation, but her magic didn’t faze him. Upon ascending, his agility and dexterity had increased exponentially.

  “It’s a shame that you’ve wasted your time,” Eric said as he adeptly sidestepped her and slipped a hand around her wrist. She stood helplessly confounded by the ease he moved to stop her.

  Evie felt her magic disappearing and continued to sob.

  “He’s neutralizing her, too. He can negate abilities,” Ares said equally surprised that the prophecy was about a human. “I don’t understand. How could it have been him this whole time?”

  “Don’t you get it?” Corday asked. “We had to ascend to gain access to our abilities. Doesn’t it make sense that he, too, had to ascend prior to receiving his ability?”

  “Yeah, but, he’s human.”

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s worthy; the corporeal embodiment of harmony. It was always his destiny.”

  Amber was stunned and reality began to set in once she realized she was next. As soon as she discovered her capacity to harm others, she wanted to get rid of the powers. Now that she was finally learning how to control them, she wasn’t ready to part with them.

  As if reading her thoughts, Eric said, “Don�
��t worry. I am only meant to neutralize those who abuse their power. I can’t quite explain it, but it’s like I’ve been bathed in clarity. I’m aware for the first time. It’s like our paths were meant to cross.”

  “So it’s been you this entire time? Why am I not surprised? I’ve always derived strength from you.”

  “Please stop. I feel like I’m going to vomit if I have to endure one more obnoxious cliché out of the two of you,” Kelly said, sounding more like her old self. She picked herself up and made her way out of the rubble and debris.

  “Kelly, I thought I’d lost you,” Amber exclaimed as she grabbed hold of her friend.

  Amber felt Kelly’s resistance as her body grew limp in her embrace.

  “What’s wrong, Kelly?” Amber asked as she looked to Eric for answers.

  Eric looked perplexed, too. He was positive he had extracted her abilities. By his estimation, she should have been healed.

  Kelly raised her hand up to release Amber’s clutch on her shoulders and turned away. “Amber, I remember everything I did to you. I don’t expect you to forgive me.”

  “It’s okay, Kelly. You obviously had no control over what happened to you. No more than I did,” Amber said, giving Ares a sidewise glance. “Let’s put this behind us. Besides, you have a sister and brother to meet. Let’s not make them wait any longer.”

  Amber hugged Kelly again. Then enveloped her in a bright pink light to teleport her to her siblings.

  Kelly materialized in the familiar hallway outside room 937. She turned the doorknob to enter. Ignoring her angst, she cleared her throat. “You must be Julian. Is it okay if I come in?”

  Her brother sat up straight in his bed. With color in his cheeks and bright gray eyes staring back at Kelly, she could see the resemblance better than ever. He nodded and Kelly entered, closing the door behind her.

  The End

  Continue the series with book two, Into the Ether: Subversion.