Chapter 14
The drive to Mount Olympus was less than enjoyable. Sandwiched between Orano and a very sullen Greco in the back seat of their rental car, Mirissa made idle conversation to pass the time. Greco simply stared out the window. It would most likely end up being a wasted trip, but on the off chance there was something there—a flashing sign pointing the way to a secret entrance to the land of the gods, perhaps—they had to go.
When they arrived in the small town of Litochoro at the base of the mountain, Mirissa was more than ready to escape the confines of the car. Warm air filled her lungs as she stretched out her cramped limbs and took in the beautiful scenery around her.
The town felt as though it belonged in a Thomas Kincaid painting. The old ceramic tile-roofed buildings surrounded flat stone streets, with the incredible twin peaks of the mountain framing the entire area. If she were to look up the word “quaint” in a dictionary, Mirissa felt pretty sure a picture of that town would be there. Even the electrical storm, still raging from the night before, added to the picturesque quality.
“All right guys, grab your backpacks and let’s go,” her father said. He was definitely in his element on this excursion. Being a former Navy SEAL, he had plenty of experience traversing difficult terrain and, as such, Myrine chose him to lead their expedition.
The sheer number of tourists joining them on the trail surprised Mirissa. The weather had gotten worse overnight, with harsh winds blowing dust and debris everywhere. She’d assumed most of the people still looking to commune with the gods on their home turf, even with the looming apocalypse, would take the easy way. After all, the trail they were on ended halfway up the mountain in Prionia—a destination easily reachable by car—and it wasn’t an easy hike.
Fortunately, they were able to escape the masses about an hour in, when they diverted south toward Daedric’s last known whereabouts. That was where things got tricky. While the busy trail was steep with several switchbacks, the rest of their trek would be through the natural rocks and vegetation.
“According to the GPS, Daedric dropped off the map about a half mile south of here. Watch your footing,” Steve said as he pulled back a tree branch to allow the others to pass.
“Do we have any idea what we’re supposed to be looking for?” Orano’s enormous build was not conducive to that kind of hiking, and his mood soured with every passing minute.
“Nope,” Myrine said. “Hopefully, we’ll know it when we see it.”
“If there’s even anything there,” Orano grumbled.
When they reached the location, Myrine’s optimism seemed to wane. The area looked no different than any other on the mountain. “Split up and search every inch. There must be something here, or else why would Daedric have chosen this place to cross out of our dimension?”
Mirissa knew her mother was right, considering Daedric could teleport anywhere he wanted, but she still felt hesitant. An uneasy feeling plagued her, as though someone was watching her. It was similar to the feeling she got every time she visited Tritonia, but with more of a sinister edge. My imagination is getting the better of me.
They each focused on a different area and began their search. Orano took the group of trees to the south, while Myrine and Greco went to the east and west. They were inspecting trunks and branches and brushing away fallen leaves and debris to better see the ground. Mirissa and her father decided to scour the gigantic monolith. They’d passed similar rock formations on their way, and each reminded Mirissa of a compound fracture—as though the mountain’s bones were breaking, and the jagged ends were pushing through its surface.
Starting on opposite sides, Mirissa and her father began the arduous task of scrutinizing the rock’s surface. Small bushes and weeds sprouted from the stone in several places, making the job even more difficult. How do they grow in rock, anyway? There were so many crevices and protrusions that the twenty-foot-long area she needed to search felt like a mile. She’d barely covered a quarter of it when her mother and Orano finished their sections and joined in. Greco, who completed his area a short time later, chose to help Steve.
The closer they got to completion without finding anything even remotely close to a clue, the stronger Mirissa’s uneasiness became. Jumping at the occasional clap of thunder, she darted her eyes back and forth as though the source of the lightning could be an unseen enemy.
“Nothing,” her mother said, as they finished their inspection.
Greco spoke for the first time since leaving the hotel. “What if we’re looking in the wrong spot?”
Steve pulled out his GPS and double-checked their coordinates. “No, we’re definitely in the right place.”
“But GPS only tells us latitude and longitude. It doesn’t tell us elevation.” Greco raised his gaze to the upper portion of the monolith.
“Of course! That actually makes more sense.” Myrine looked seriously excited.
“Um, why exactly?” Mirissa asked.
“These rock formations are intrusions. Basically, they formed out of molten lava under the surface of the earth, but didn’t erode the same way the other rock and soil did. Even though they look like they grew out of the ground, it’s really that the ground around them eroded away.” Myrine eyed each of them as though expecting someone to understand her words. “Ah, you guys aren’t up on your geology. In a nutshell, this thing has gotten taller over the years as the ground got lower. What used to be at eye level in ancient times, could be way up there now.”
Mirissa’s father sprouted a goofy grin. “Have you been reading the encyclopedia again, honey?”
“Very funny,” Myrine quipped. “How are we going to get up there to look?”
Mirissa raised her hand. “We don’t need to. I can magnify my vision and see it all from down here.” Expanding her senses gave Mirissa the ability to hear and see things no human could. She’d spent much of the last few months training herself to be able to focus whatever sense she was expanding without being overwhelmed. Vision was the easiest one for her to control, and hearing the most difficult. She had a hard time blocking out the ambient noises around her and narrowing the auditory capabilities to a single target. She’d also worked on expanding her sense of smell but quickly put that training on the back burner after being inundated with odors she never wanted to experience again.
She focused on the rock at a spot just above their heads, slowly bringing forth her ability. The area grew in size and detail until a space measuring a few inches square filled her field of view. She backed the expansion off a little to allow her to study a sample as large as she would have if it had been located at ground level.
“I’ve got it. Make yourselves comfortable. This is gonna take a while.” Mirissa worked in a pattern—up three squares, over one, down three, repeat. Without the benefit of being able to see the entire rock formation, she needed to proceed that way to ensure she didn’t miss anything and to keep track of where she was looking.
When she finished her first pass, she moved her gaze up and started over again. The work was tedious, evidenced by the headache threatening to split her skull, but she pushed herself to continue with only a few short breaks.
One block of space on her third pass gave her pause. A small crevice with an unusual shape bisected the area. Following the jagged line, its likeness became clear. “I might have something. There’s a lightning bolt carved into the stone. It’s too perfect to be natural—
Mirissa’s headache exploded as a blinding flash of light erupted above her. Her eyes felt like they’d been dropped into a deep fryer and, even with her eyelids squeezed shut, the pain wouldn’t subside. Her knees gave out, and the only thing that stopped her from slamming to the ground was a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around her. Her mother let out a scream filled with terror, but Mirissa couldn’t push through the agony enough to form words that would placate her.
Just give me a minute, Mom, she thought.
After what felt like an eternity, the pain lessened to a p
oint where Mirissa felt she could risk opening her eyes. What she saw through the glowing orbs still obscuring her vision, stopped her heart.
“Dad!” She tore free of Greco’s grasp and scrambled to her mother’s side. The lightning, all but blinding her when it struck, had broken a large piece of the rock formation away.
That chunk now crushed her bloodied, unconscious father.
Chapter 15
The surgeon from the small hospital in Litochoro entered the cramped waiting area with a concerned look on his face. It was an expression Mirissa had seen on every television doctor who approached a soon-to-be grieving family.
“Your husband is out of surgery, and we’re moving him to ICU now.” The surgeon’s thick Greek accent made it difficult to understand his words, but his meaning remained clear. “He suffered severe crush injuries to his chest, abdomen, and left arm—in addition to head trauma.”
“But he’s going to recover,” Mirissa’s mother said as more of a statement than a question.
“His injuries are quite severe, Mrs. Colson. We’ve done everything we can, but I’m afraid it’s up to him now. We’ll monitor him closely and keep you informed of any changes.”
A deafening silence filled the room after the doctor’s departure. Mirissa collapsed into a chair, her head in her hands, and wept. “This is my fault. I didn’t see it. I could have blasted that rock if I’d been paying attention.”
“It’s no one’s fault, sweetheart,” her mother said, taking the seat next to her. “It was a freak accident that none of us could have prevented.”
Mirissa shot out of her chair. “We can give him our blood! It’ll heal him.” Artemis had imbued Amazon blood with many special abilities, not the least of which was incredible healing power. But the goddess had also put a safeguard in place to ensure their abilities couldn’t be spread throughout mankind, changing the natural course of the human race. If an Amazon lost more than a small amount of blood, their bodies decayed, one organ at a time, until they were dead.
Myrine took a deep breath and held her daughter’s gaze. “Even if we had the same blood type, which we don’t, your father would never allow one of us to sacrifice our life to save his, no matter how much we might want to. As the doctor said, it’s up to him now. To me, that’s good news. He’s the strongest man I’ve ever known.”
A nurse popped her head through the open door. “You can see him now.”
As they filed into the small hospital room, Mirissa’s breath hitched at the sight of her battered father. Fresh bandages wrapped his head and torso, the cast on his arm reached from his shoulder to his fingers, and tubes and wires flowed off of him to the multitude of machines lining the wall behind his bed. What struck her most, though, wasn’t the evidence of medical intervention. It was the man underneath it all.
Her father looked weak for the first time she could remember. None of the vitality or energy that normally radiated from him seemed to be present. He was there, but at the same time, he wasn’t.
She hadn’t realized she’d been shaking until Greco wrapped his arms around her. His warm embrace—usually such a source of strength for her—did little more than remind her that she might never again feel her dad do the same.
Orano’s phone rang, and he stepped from the room to answer it. Greco led Mirissa to a chair he’d moved to the side of the bed opposite her mother.
“I’ll wait outside,” Greco said before lightly kissing her cheek and moving into the hallway.
“Dad?” she said, grasping his limp hand in hers. “Can you hear me?” Mirissa didn’t expect him to answer but still felt disappointment at his silence.
The possibility of losing her father had never even occurred to her. Since she was a child, he’d been her entire world. No matter what happened, he was there. Even after her mother disappeared—a time when most men would have spiraled into a cesspool of despair—her father put his feelings of loss aside to ensure Mirissa survived hers.
She laid her head gently on the bed, careful to not disturb his injuries, and whispered, “I’m here, Dad. I won’t leave you.”
“Sweetheart?” her mother said. “Look at me.”
Mirissa raised her gaze to meet her mother’s. The anguish she saw there mirrored her own.
“There’s nothing you can do here. But out there, there is.”
“No!” Mirissa sat up straight. “Don’t even say it.”
Her mother reached out and gingerly pushed a lock of hair from Mirissa’s face. “In less than three days, the entire human race will be destroyed, unless you stop it. If you don’t, there won’t be anything left for your father to wake up to.”
Mirissa allowed her gaze to follow her mother’s to the muted television set bolted to the far wall. News footage from several large cities spanning the globe showed riots breaking out. People had just gotten over the fear created when Daedric destroyed the world’s oil production abilities, and now they were faced with yet another impending catastrophe.
Knowing her mother was right didn’t make the thought of leaving her father any easier. “I can’t, Mom. I can’t leave him alone.”
“I’ll be here for him, sweetheart. You need to fulfill your destiny.” She squeezed Mirissa’s hand and held her gaze. “That’s what your father would want.”
Of course he would. If he could, he’d have been yelling at her right then for wasting time with him instead of kicking some goddess ass. The thought put a faint smile on her face.
From the doorway behind her, Orano cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt. That was Beck. Daedric’s tracker is live again.”
Chapter 16
Daedric sipped his wine on the waterfront patio of the Thessaloniki restaurant. It appeared that even bad weather couldn’t keep the Greek people from enjoying a night out, as more than half of the other tables were occupied. The brisk winds held a chill, or perhaps that originated with his unexpected companion. “Why are we here?” he asked.
Eris had toned down her goddess appearance, wearing an understated black dress with matching shoes. Nevertheless, her powerful essence radiated from her, attracting the attention of every man—and most of the women—in her vicinity. Daedric couldn’t help but wonder what those passersby would think if they knew who it was they were admiring.
“I need your help,” she said with a coy grin. “I need you to find something for me.”
Suspicion mounted as Daedric took in the devilish sparkle in her eyes. “You haven’t answered my question. We could have had this conversation on Mount Olympus, so I’ll ask again. Why are we here?”
The goddess’s grin grew into a smile. “You are far more intelligent than Ares has led me to believe. This conversation must remain private. My brother can’t know what you are doing for me.”
“Why, exactly, would I go behind his back? He is my father, after all.” Although Ares had shown little interest in him as anything other than a means to an end, Daedric owed his life to him. Not only was he his father, but he’d also saved him from imprisonment after the stunning loss on Ortega. If it weren’t for the god’s intervention, Daedric would be spending the rest of his days in a supernaturally powered cell in Finley’s Basement, the prison built to house the threats taken down by the Omega Group.
“Tell me, nephew. What has Ares promised you in return for your loyalty?” When he didn’t immediately answer, she continued. “That’s what I thought. You are helping him under the assumption it will earn you a place of honor. Am I correct?”
Daedric was unaccustomed to being made to feel foolish, yet he couldn’t disagree with her. He had been doing all of this for that exact reason. “You are correct,” he said flatly.
Eris placed her elbows on the small table, resting her chin on her clasped hands. “When this is all over, and I have eradicated the humans, where will your place be? With no one but the gods left, a half-human will be ranked as low as an insect.”
With incredible speed, Eris reached out and grasped a black fly that had be
en hovering around their table. She held it gently between her thumb and forefinger as it struggled to escape. When it finally calmed, she slowly crushed it, driving her point home.
For the first seventeen years of his life, Daedric had felt much like that fly. He’d been below average in every way. Physically weak and uncoordinated, while intellectually inferior, as well. When his god-half manifested, all of that began to change, until he became the most powerful man on Earth. He couldn’t imagine once again being the low man on the totem pole.
Eris raised one eyebrow as though challenging him to argue. “Would it surprise you to know that Ares has promised to make Flip a higher god in return for his loyalty?”
Daedric’s jaw clenched in anger at the thought of that little troll being considered his superior.
“I thought so,” Eris continued. “Say what you will about the horse companion, but at least he had the foresight to negotiate his payment.”
Every muscle in Daedric’s body went rigid as the realization of his blind obedience sunk in. He’d been such a fool to trust his father. Even Flip was probably laughing at his expense.
Eris grasped his hand. “Don’t worry, nephew. I have other plans for you. Unlike my brother, I see your potential. Align with me and we will rule both the heavens and Earth. Together.”
His choice became obvious. “What do you need me to do?” Daedric asked.
Eris leaned back and took a long sip of her wine before answering. “There is a weapon hidden here long ago by Zeus. I need you to retrieve it for me.”
Not wanting to agree too quickly, making the same mistake he’d already made with Ares, Daedric pressed for more information. “What is this weapon, and why do you need it?”
Eris smiled proudly at his question. “It is the scythe Zeus used to kill the Titan, Kronos. His father. It is the only weapon still in existence that can defeat him.”
Daedric’s eyes widened. “You want to kill Zeus?” He couldn’t believe her audacity but at the same time was thoroughly impressed by it.
Pandora (Book 3) (The Omega Group) Page 8