by G. E. White
She hesitantly moved to take the tray but skittered back as Brontes suddenly shoved the tray, bowls and all through the slot with tremendous force. A move that might have cleaved the guard in two had she been any slower.
The three giants burst into laughter at her fear as she scurried about gathering the now scattered bowls and utensils. With the tray back in order the petite guard stood, her face still tilted down, through the line of her spine and shoulders spoke more of anger than of fear at her humiliation.
“You expecting an apology?” Arges said as he watched the guard still standing outside of their cell.
She shook her head, “No… I just wanted to see your faces once it happened.”
“Once what happened?” he asked, suspicion starting to colour his words.
A tight-lipped smile spread across the exposed half of her face, filling Arges with a feeling of unease.
A choked sound came from behind him causing Arges to turn to his brothers. Both Steropes and Brontes were hacking and coughing, their large faces becoming swollen and purple as they struggled to draw air.
Arges felt a growing tightness in his throat as his airways constricted with the swelling. Poison. He lunged thrusting his arm through the slot in their cell in an attempt to grab the guard.
She easily stepped out of reach as Arges slumped to the ground still barely drawing breath.
From his new position on the floor he could finally see their poisoners full face. Dark purple eyes with an almost web-like pattern, gazed down at him from the smug face of one who should have been his sister.
“Arachne…”
He fought for each breath but knew this was a losing battle. He had to give her credit - the scared little mouse bit – she truly had them fooled.
“Scarlet promised she would take of you and your brothers. And us Daimons never forget a promise,” Arachne said.
Arges eyes grew heavy as he took in his final breath, Arachne fading from view. Stheno was never one to leave something unfinished.
~ Epilogue ~
Mishap or Murder? Death in the Labyrinth
By Lana Eris Singh
A quarantine and investigation is well underway in the Labyrinth, where three days ago the Cyclops brothers: Brontës, Stereops and Arges were pronounced dead after an unknown illness wracked their bodies.
The three daimons, who were apprehended earlier this month on theft and conspiracy charges, were under heavy interrogation and had yet to name their accomplices when the illness took them.
There has been some speculation that the brothers may have been murdered, but so far there are no leads in the investigation. Harmon Alecto, one of this generation’s Erinyes and Warden of the Labyrinth has given reassurances that so far, no other inmates have shown signs of infection.
In related news, another daimon has been reported dead. This morning the remains of the Siren Thelxiepeia were found off the coast of Ireland. With no signs of foul play her sisters have been sad to admit her death was likely a suicide. Cremation has already been performed and a memorial service will be held this Saturday…
Victor turned away from the screen to face his companion, who sat hunched over her desk. Scarlet rested her head on one of her arms while her free hand spun one of the Cyclopes’ cuffs on the table top, her brows furrowed in thought.
“I’m assuming you had something to do with your daimon brothers’ untimely deaths?” he asked.
The woman shrugged. “I said I’d take care of them, and I always keep my promises. Besides, having failed to use the Star they may prove to be more use to me dead than alive.”
“Of course,” her partner dead-panned. “Though I’ve gotta ask, how did you manage it?”
Scarlet pushed herself up to sit upright to answer him. “You might consider yourself skilled in such crafts, but I’ve found that Arachne is a true master of poisons… and needle-work of course,” she commented as she fiddled with the fine scarf draped about her shoulders.
Victor nodded his head. “I’m surprised that you’re taking this defeat with such grace.”
“It’s not a defeat,” she said. “It’s a setback. The North Star wasn’t the only way to get what we want, it was just the easiest… Tell me Victor, how do you feel about resurrection rites?”
The Asian man stiffened; the veins along his neck visible to anyone as he clenched his jaw for a moment. “Generally I find them repugnant, not to mention illegal, though the law hasn’t really stopped me from pursuing what I need.”
“You said generally,” Scarlet pointed out. “So I’m assuming that there is an exception to your remaining morals.”
Victor hung his head; there were only two things that he really wanted and at the moment both were out of his reach. “How many would you need? Bringing back all three Cyclopes would be difficult, but possible… though I don’t know if they’re the best candidates considering that you did have a hand in their death.”
“I don’t need a team of bruisers right now. I need knowledge.”
The man’s brow furrowed as he stepped closer. “I don’t understand, I was under the impression that you already had some well-learned beings in your corner.”
“I do,” she agreed. “But the kind of knowledge I need only the dead might know.”
“I see, so who did you have in mind?”
“I’m assuming you read about poor Thelx?”
He grunted. “They believe it was a suicide, so I don’t think she’d appreciate being dragged back to land of the living. Besides, her body has already been cremated.”
Scarlet pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing in irritation. “True, but her and her sisters would be a great help to me… so I guess we’ll just have to improvise.” She stood and stretched, the bones in her eternally young body emitting the occasional crack or pop. “This is going to take a while to organize, so I suggest that you get to work on figuring out what we’ll need,” she said as she turned to move to the bathroom.
“You’ll need more than one, I assume,” Victor called after her.
The daimon looked at him from over her shoulder. “Most likely… Why, did you have someone in mind?”
His lips curled up in a half-hearted smile, he eyes unfocused with a long-buried memory. “I do.”
About the Author
Having grown up playing epic sessions of make-believe with neighbourhood kids, and later performing live theatre throughout her teens, G.E. White (the ‘G’ standing for Gillian) lives to tell stories. She received a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Professional Writing, with Minors in English and Religion from the University of Toronto, and later a Graduate Certificate in Television Writing and Producing from Humber College, where she was one of the top ten in her class to receive honours. Since then Gillian has penned several film scripts and TV pilots – her first entitled R.E.M, placing as a semi-finalist in the 2012 Emerging Screenwriters Contest. Obsessed with all things Greek Myth, she travelled to many of the ancient sites mentioned in her book Eyes of the Eternal, including Delos, Ephesus and Mykonos. When not working on her next book or script, Gillian can be found showering her cat Harvey with unwanted affection or performing on the Youtube channel for New World Slackers, giving history lessons on comic books, movie reviews and talking about anything sci-fi, fantasy or geek.
Acknowledgements
Like with most authors, this book has been a labour of love and turmoil. I started writing this book back in 2010, but the idea had been buzzing about my head since high school. Needless to say, getting this book out has been a lengthy process – granted I didn’t work on the book the entirety of these past six years – but as much as I’ve loved this story I’ve also struggled with it.
So I wanted to take this space to give thanks to the people who have seen me through this struggle. First off, I want to give thanks to my friends Corrie and Elisha along with my sister Joanna, who were the first of my editors and pushed me to raise the bar on my writing.
To my lovely cover artist Yue Wang; I know I s
at on this beautiful piece of art you created for me for many years. I just hope that I wrote something that did your art justice.
To my business partner in crime Kiran, who has been my personal cheerleader, editor, sounding-board and on occasion therapist – thank you for giving me the final shove needed to make this happen.
To my wonderful cat, Harvey and dog, Cleo, thanks for putting up with the relentless cuddles when I needed a pick-me-up during my many disappointments, despite the fact that I know you would’ve rather been playing outside at the time.
And finally, last but certainly not least, I wish to thank the rest of my family for their patience, enthusiasm and loving support. My parents especially have been saints; encouraging me to continue to follow my dreams even when things don’t pan out or when I don’t have a steady income. This might all sound like some hippie-dippy cheese, but honestly Mom and Dad you guys are the greatest. I can only hope that the reception of this book is worth all the hours you put in Mom, reading a genre you had no interest in, to help me find typos; or for all the time you spent Dad, cutting out any article on writing for me, to show your support and help me better myself as a writer.
Thank you all once again, honestly, I couldn’t have done this without you.