by Eva Brandt
I knew what could help, though. As soon as I was inside the Charybdis and launched my chimera into space, I contacted Pollux. I suspected he wasn’t doing much better than I was, since he had to go see his family on top of everything else.
The call connected and Pollux’s face appeared on the displays. “You’d never believe what I just found,” he said without preamble.
“What? Were there any attackers at the houses you checked?”
“Not at all, although maybe that would’ve been preferable.” He let out a low, bitter laugh. “My mother is screwing King Philip.”
Wait, what? Since when? As far as I knew, Pollux’s parents had their faults, but they’d never cheated on one another. “Are you sure? Your mother doesn’t strike me as the type to do that.”
“That’s what I thought too, but apparently, my father is aware of the affair and agrees.”
I didn’t know if that made it better or worse. The problem wasn’t Odette Donadieu’s love life. It was the fact that she was sleeping with the man who was responsible for Stella’s loss.
Pollux let out a slow breath, as if he was forcing himself to calm down. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about this any longer. They’re not worth the time or the heartache. Did you find anything?”
“No. I just went to the garrison, but it was a waste of time. General Rhodes mentioned some abnormalities, but nothing of real concern.”
Pollux grimaced. “I don’t know about you, August, but I find this utter absence of any side-effects suspicious. Was it really an accident? A localized attack? What?”
“Maybe the others will have more information.”
It was a little difficult to get into contact with Brendan and Knox, but the coms responded when the two of them got close enough to me and Pollux. They did have some news, although it wasn’t what I’d wanted or expected. “The Grand Judiciary had called a meeting about the possibility of staging another assault on the Apsid Quasar,” Brendan explained. “It appears our small trip left traces. I managed to dissuade them, for now, but I’m still concerned about what this whole thing might mean for Selene.”
“I know she said Jared Glass is on our side, but we can’t trust him,” Knox added.
No, we couldn’t, and that thought had been bugging me since we’d left Tartarus. “I take it we’re going after her, then.”
“Yes. We can’t risk him taking advantage of her situation to maybe kidnap her again.”
Together, our whole unit headed toward Terra. Our chimeras zeroed in on Sphinx’s location and established that the mecha was still somewhere near New Washington. That didn’t necessarily mean Selene was there too, but it was our best bet.
The mission should have been straightforward. Go to Terra, find Selene, and return to Tartarus. There weren’t black holes and crystallized apsid units here and the hostile forces that did exist wouldn’t dare to attack us.
But as we were entering the planet’s atmosphere, something went wrong. The world started to swirl, my vision going dark around the edges. Stars flashed through my consciousness, moving at dazzling speed. At first, I flailed, struggling to breathe, instinctively trying to fight off the unexpected attack. But then, I realized this was actually a little familiar. I’d gone through something very similar when we’d traveled into the Apsid Quasar.
As I embraced that and accepted the force that was dragging me forward, the chaotic power settled into something calmer. I blinked, and just like that, I wasn’t in the Charybdis anymore. I was back on Eos, standing in the same singularity where I’d watched Brendan fight for Selene. The Great Mother was still there, sitting on her throne and glowing so brightly I was forced to squint.
“Ah,” she said. “There you are. I was wondering when you’d come back.”
I wanted to point out I’d just left Nexus less than a week ago, but time was relative for the Great Mother. “I didn’t intend to,” I admitted. “I mean no disrespect, Great Mother, but why did you summon me here?”
The Great Mother laughed and the light around her dimmed slightly. She looked a little more like a person now, but I didn’t find that as reassuring as it should have been. “As striking as you might find this news, I’m not the one to bring you here. You came of your own accord.”
I hadn’t. I knew where I wanted to be, and it wasn’t on Nexus. It was with Selene.
“The two things aren’t mutually exclusive,” she told me, having obviously caught a glimpse of my mind. She got up and made her way down the dais, walking toward me. “You know in your heart that in Nexus, Selene would have been much safer than she is on Terra. And unlike the others, I think you understand a little why Jar’yd and I acted the way we did.”
I swallowed around the knot in my throat. I didn’t want to agree with her, but could I afford to deny it? The truth was that what we’d felt for Selene had been wild and all-consuming from the very beginning. She’d agreed to be ours, but if she hadn’t, would it have made a difference?
I thought about the incident in the bathroom. I’d guessed back then that she wasn’t completely well, that her faculties might have abandoned her. I should have stopped her, snapped her out of it somehow. But I hadn’t. Instead, I had fucked her in the ass. We’d all used her, although maybe not as badly as the Heliads.
“You should be aware, August Cavallero, that you’re about to set foot in a minefield,” the Great Mother said. “I didn’t share this with your friends and not even with Jar’yd, because he’s already carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders. But your Selene is both very vulnerable and very dangerous right now.
“I’ve warned her about it and I told her what she needs to do to stay anchored. But unfortunately, a lot of that involves her relationship with you and she’s just not in the right place to accept it.”
“This can’t be a surprise for you,” I hissed between gritted teeth. “What did you think was going to happen if you encouraged your underling to rape her?”
“I knew that would cause strife between them, but it was necessary. The baby she carries is important, August Cavallero, and not just because it’s a new life. It is a tool, something you can use to save yourselves and others.”
The idea felt repugnant to me. I’d killed countless people, some of them innocents. There had been children in Gaia’s Haven and I’d followed orders and ended their lives regardless. But this wasn’t just any child we were talking about. It was Selene’s child and a part of her. I couldn’t just use it or consider it a tool.
“Selene wants that baby,” I whispered. “We have to respect her wishes. We’ve already hurt her enough without taking the child too.”
“Your scruples are admirable, but they won’t help you when the time comes. Remember what I told you and don’t hide behind self-deceit. At the end of the day, you are willing to do whatever it takes to save her, even if it ultimately ends with her hating you forever.”
I glared at her, tachyons flaring at my fingertips. My power couldn’t harm her and violence wouldn’t change the fact that she was right. Still, I would have very much liked to teach her a lesson, something she’d never forget.
In my zeal to let out my anger, I almost ended up destroying the Charybdis. It all happened so fast. One moment, I was standing in front of the Great Mother, and the next, she extended her hands toward me and pushed.
I didn’t fall and didn’t land. I didn’t journey through time and space like before. Instead, I just woke up in my chimera, with hostile energy still coursing through my veins.
Judging by the signals on the displays, not a lot of time had passed since my unexpected trip. We were making progress, heading toward Selene. The others didn’t seem to have realized anything had happened to me, but Charybdis had naturally noticed. She had kept going in the same direction, even if I’d been unable to guide her forward.
“Did you see all that?” I asked her.
“I caught most of it, yes,” she agreed. “I don’t know what she means, August, but we can’t exclude the possibi
lity that she may be right. You’re being watched because you’re part-apsid. We already know that. Selene’s baby is part-apsid too, but it will also inherit her gifts. If anyone finds out about the true parentage of that child, it could be very useful as a weapon.”
A weapon. A tool. Should I really be thinking of Selene’s baby in these terms? Did I have a choice? Selene’s life and well-being took priority—over me, over everything and everyone else.
I shelved the thought for later when Brendan’s voice sounded over the coms yet again. “We’re approaching the coordinates. Brace yourselves. We might find unpleasant things down there.”
We all agreed and together, landed our chimeras. And as we headed underground, toward the shelter that was presumably keeping Selene from us, I made a decision.
I’d speak with Selene and the others first. I’d tell them about the Great Mother’s warning. I’d even tell Selene what the apsid leader had said about her baby. We’d already kept enough secrets and that had blown up in our faces.
But no matter what she and anyone else said, I’d still protect her with everything I had. And if that meant sacrificing another innocent life, so be it.
Medusa
Selene
“Is there really no other way? Do we really want to become slaves to the humans?”
“It wouldn’t be slavery, just cooperation. And no one is forcing you to do anything, Hydra. If you don’t want to join this project, you don’t have to. There are plenty of us already involved and we’re more than enough to make it work.”
I stood in the cavernous hall and watched my fellow creatures bicker back and forth. So far, we’d yet to reach a conclusion that was satisfying for everyone. Most of us were understandably wary, but some were willing to take a leap of faith anyway. Others disagreed.
Hydra, for example, believed that it wasn’t worth it to compromise our integrity, even for something like this. Minotaur, on the other hand, admitted that taking the humans up on their foolish offer was a risk, but it was a necessary one.
I agreed with him. Our physical bodies had died long ago, and our existences would ultimately wither away altogether into oblivion if we didn’t take steps. Our souls had endured by the grace of the gods, but how much longer could we continue existing in this strange state of limbo?
“Let’s not rush to make a decision,” Sphinx said. “We need more information before we settle on our final course of action. What would we have to do if we agreed to the humans’ offer? And could we go against their commands, or would we be stuck obeying them?”
Minotaur snorted, a bovine sound that still managed to convey a very dismissive attitude. “The humans are idiots. As metallic constructs, we would depend on our pilots, yes. But we’d also have a direct neural link to the brain of our respective human. In other words, they might intend to force us to obey them, but the current designs mean things will be the other way around.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that,” Charybdis said. “Basically, we could take over the minds of the humans at any time.”
“Yes. Human psyches aren’t built to withstand the amount of pressure we create, and they can easily break if we so desire.”
I wasn’t as enthusiastic about that idea as the others. “Do we really want to go into this with a specific plan to attack the people who are supposed to be helping us?” I asked. I kept my words deceptively soft, but clopped my hoof to emphasize my point. The reverberations of the sound echoed through the marble tiling, into every creature that had come to our meeting.
All eyes turned to me. “I know you don’t like the idea of harming humans, Pegasus, but sometimes, you have to start thinking about yourself,” my mother said with a sigh. The snakes in her hair hissed, but the sound soothed me instead of scaring me.
“Yes, I’m aware of that,” I told her. “But still, if we start from the premise that we’ll automatically be turning on these people, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
“I agree with Pegasus,” Cerberus offered after a small pause. “If we go into this, we have to consider the possibility that the humans will become our pack, in which case, we’ll be duty bound to protect them.”
I was happy that at least one of my fellow creatures agreed with me and not surprised Cerberus had offered me his support. He might officially be a hell-hound, but he still had a fundamental canine nature that made him prone to loyalty and togetherness. Typhon, Medusa, and the others didn’t like that.
I turned toward the Centaurs and the Harpies, who had been quiet until now. “What do you think?” I asked. “Are you interested in getting involved?”
Zephyrus shared a look with the other Harpies and nodded. “We are,” he replied, “although we’d prefer for our bonds with our humans to stay a little less strong.”
“I agree,” Cheiron offered. “Collaboration with humans is something we’ve accomplished in the past with great success, but it can also lead to tragedies.”
And he would know best, since he had died in horrible pain because of a half-human’s reckless actions. As far as I knew, Cheiron no longer blamed Herakles for that unfortunate incident, but others of our kind weren’t so inclined to forgive.
“You’re at liberty to take whatever approach you wish,” Typhon finally declared. “Either way, I will be joining this project and I’ll do my utmost to supervise all our activities.”
Since Typhon was the one with most authority here, the others soon fell in line with him. Hydra still wasn’t one hundred percent sold on the idea, but decided to give it a chance. She also made us promise that if something happened that bound her to her new metallic form against her will, we would destroy the shell in question and free her from her trap.
“I’ll take responsibility for that,” Medusa promised. “You need not be concerned. I won’t allow anyone to enslave us.”
I believed her, since she understood traps and slavery better than anyone here. Like Cheiron, she too had died at the hands of a demigod. What still made her angry was not the death itself, but the fact that she’d been denied the chance of raising me and my brother.
Since I hadn’t known any better at the time, I’d ended up as a mount for my mother’s killer. That didn’t fill me with too much pride. Maybe in this quest, I’d learn some new things about humans and make my peace with what had happened and some of my past choices.
That brought us back to the Sphinx’s earlier inquiry. “All right. What are we supposed to do then? What exactly are they planning?”
“Another war. The humans always fight for resources, but this time, they think we could be the key to breaking the stalemate between the world powers. And if the gods allow it, we might be.”
An eerie laugh echoed through the dark chamber. “We will allow it. Maybe it’s time to see the humans for what they really are. What will they do with the power of the ancients at their disposal?”
I didn’t recoil, but came awfully close. As a creature of sunlight and life, I didn’t have a close bond to Tartarus, but I understood and respected his power anyway.
“Perhaps you’re correct,” another voice, this time female, said. “The humans have run amok on our world for long enough. It is time for them to pay the price for their recklessness.”
“They will destroy themselves, won’t they?” I asked with sudden dread.
“They might,” Tartarus agreed. “Or maybe they’ll use their new power to build something different, something better. That’s the charming thing about humans. You can never be sure what they’ll…”
I didn’t hear the end of Tartarus’s sentence. My vision began to blur and the room slowly dissipated, my family and friends vanishing into the ether. “Pegasus!” my mother screamed, her eyes very wide.
I let out a startled equine snort and extended my wings, fully intending to try to make my way to her. But she vanished just like the others, and I could do nothing.
My anguish came roaring out of me in a blast of power I couldn’t control. Tartarus and Gaia were in
side me, their power feeding my rage and grief.
A ray of light reached out to me through the darkness. “Don’t be scared little one. I’m here. Now, open your eyes.”
I did, although I wasn’t sure when I’d closed them. And just like that, reality hit me once again.
The room was completely gone, but so was the terrifying all-consuming darkness. I was lying on a nondescript cot and Jared was by my side, holding my hand. “Back with me?” he asked softly.
I nodded, his mere presence reminding me of who and what I truly was. “Yes, thank you. I’m okay now.”
“Forgive me if I have my doubts about that. I was considering going to get your mother, but Sphinx insisted it was too dangerous to expose you like that.”
“I don’t know about dangerous, but it’s definitely unnecessary. I don’t want to worry my mother with something that might not be important.”
“If it knocked you out while you were in the cockpit of the Sphinx with me, Selene, it’s important,” he protested.
He wasn’t wrong. I’d had visions before, but I’d never been catapulted into the skin of a mythological creature. They’d also only ever come to me as dreams, when I slept. I’d never blanked out like this. Was it another side-effect of the pregnancy? It seemed likely. Everything that was going wrong with me as of late appeared to be related to the baby.
“I’ve been experiencing this kind of thing for a while, although only as dreams,” I told Jared. “I think it’s the pregnancy that’s making it worse.”
“That makes sense. Your hormonal imbalance would make your brain far more vulnerable to fluctuations of power. Is someone sending you these dreams?”
“I have no idea.” I shrugged. “The last couple of times, I dreamed about being a Heliad involved in a battle against the Grand Chimera Unit. At the time, I didn’t dwell on it. In hindsight, that might have been a mistake.”