When next she awoke, the muttering was absent and the pain in her head had lessened. Laying prone on a very hard surface, she opened her eyes. She didn’t move as she tried to sense any other presence in the area. When she didn’t detect any other beings, god, mortal, or animal, she lifted her head to look around the dimly lit space.
Oh, goddess! They’d put her in an oversized, gilded cage. On her right, there was a crusty perch suspended from the bars overhead. It smelled worse than the chicken coop at the French farm where they’d lived during the persecution of the Huguenots. In one corner stood a plain metal bucket.
Clio strained to see into the gloom beyond the pen. She could barely make out the craggy ceiling of some kind of cavern. The dull charcoal-colored stone that formed the roof reminded her of the granite mined in Corfu for many years. The air was damp against her skin and a muted roar, like the steady assault of waves, made her wonder if she was near an ocean.
Rolling to her side, she swept her gaze around the grotto seeking any signs of life. In one corner a dead tree with twisted, barren branches stood in a patch of sandy soil. She counted nine limbs climbing upward. She pushed upright and clasped her arms around her legs.
She was in Pierus’s lair, wherever that might be. She had heard rumors that when his daughters had been changed to magpies, he’d retreated to a remote island and hollowed out part of a mountainside to protect his girls from their natural predators. No one had ever found his hideaway.
Which meant it would be nearly impossible for anyone to find her. She rested her forehead on her knees and willed her racing heart to slow and the tears gathering behind her eyes to evaporate. She couldn’t stop the thought tumbling through her mind that maybe turning into a bird wouldn’t be so horrible. At least she’d be able to fly. And Zeus was a far better father than she imagined Pierus to be. Living through eternity as a bird wouldn’t completely suck if she could live in Zeus’s palace on Olympus.
Who the fuck did she think she was kidding? The idea of being a bird, even in paradise, made her want to punch someone in the throat. She’d start with that son of a bitch, Pierus.
Footsteps approached from a tunnel she hadn’t noticed during her perusal. Someone was coming.
“Ah, our guest is awake, Tyranny.” Pierus’s sandals scuffed annoyingly on the uneven stone beneath his feet.
Tyranny was perched on his shoulder. Her tiny head had almost completely transformed back to human form, except she still had a beak. Her fingers had completed their evolution back. Bitch still had feathers along her sides that rustled when she flapped her arms.
Pierus stopped in front of the door to the cage and sneered. “You were less of an opponent in this challenge than I thought you’d be, Clio. You made the game too easy.”
Glaring at him, she didn’t bother to get to her feet. “It’s not over yet.”
“You’re wrong. Your partner has failed his task. The Five Nations Block is advancing on Sofia even now. They can’t be stopped.”
Resisting the urge to flip a bird of her own in the man’s general direction, Clio stood. Before speaking, she smoothed her pants, brushing dust and grit from her behind. When she finished, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Tyranny. “If I’d lost, she’d already be real again. But look, she’s still locked in the body of a bird.”
Pierus narrowed his eyes and blew a breath her direction. Crushing pain gripped her shoulders, trying to push her to her knees on the ground. Clio summoned the most primal of her strengths, her willpower, and remained standing. She turned the power outward and shoved against the force of Pierus’s nudge. The demi-god stumbled and tripped on the hem of his toga. Tyranny screeched as she flew from her perch and darted around the room. She finally lit on one of the tree branches. She continued her caterwauling until Clio blasted her with a shut-the-fuck-up command. Her beaky mouth opened and closed several times before she tucked her human head under a wing.
Clio turned her gaze back onto Pierus. The man had tumbled to his ass and was scooting away from her cage. His toga had risen to his thighs as he scuttled along the floor, nearly exposing his junk. She hurled a nudge filled with heat his direction, commanding it to lick along his exposed legs. He jumped to his feet with a girly scream. Which would have made her laugh, but she was too busy being relieved she hadn’t caught a glimpse of his shriveled ass.
“You haven’t won yet, Pierus. You have some nerve kidnapping and imprisoning me here.” Clio lunged forward, reaching for the bars containing her. A fiery burst of pain blazed through her hands when they came in contact with the golden bars. She jerked them back and shook the sting away. “You charmed the cage? You asshole!”
“I needed something to keep you in place while the world plunges into war. The time of man is past. Zeus’s reign as a benevolent king and protector of mortals is at an end. My daughters and I will ascend his throne and his office chair over his broken body.”
“We’ll see.” Clio spun around until her back was to him. She didn’t want him to see the fear his words had managed to instill.
The cage was charmed, which meant any attempt to communicate with Zeus along their mental link would be futile. She patted the front pocket of her slacks, pleased to feel the firm outline of her cellphone. Once Pierus left the cavern with his shitty daughter, she was going to try to get a more real-world message to Zeus and Jax. She hoped she’d get a signal through all this granite.
Chapter 18
“Found it!” Jax hollered from his position at a laptop. The file the gods had planted on the server took next to no time to locate. Distracting her from Zeke’s attentive flirting, he’d pointed out the geological survey from Gaia Engineering to Beryl.
But that one report hadn’t been enough to convince the man-eater. She wanted additional proof. Jax argued with her regarding the study’s validity. Truly, the report was flawless. No one would ever know it had been manufactured by mythological beings no one believed in. The report contained appropriate longitude and latitude coordinates, as well as core sample reports that exactly matched the make-up of Bulgarian soil in the range where the crystals were located.
While Jax argued his point, over Beryl’s shoulder he saw Zeke drop his head back. The man scrubbed a hand over his face, masking the movement of his lips as he communed with the gods. It had been an excellent strategy to have him present.
“What the hell else will it take to convince you, Beryl?” Jax demanded.
“We need more than a simple geological survey. We need a composition report on the crystals,” Beryl bitched. “And Burton will never consider it not knowing if these lantern rocks you’re all fired up about are, in fact, what The Five Nations is truly after.”
Clio had been gone too long. Jax’s imagination burned with thoughts of what that shitstain, Pierus, was doing to her. Barely containing his animosity and fear he asked, “What do you think would convince him?”
“A nice tidy paper trail about the role the crystals play in the Block’s aggression would be just lovely.” The tight smile Beryl sent him was a clear indication of her disbelief he’d be able to produce such a report.
Behind Beryl, Zeke huffed out a breath, shot the bitch a venomous look, and rolled his head in a circle on his neck, once again masking his silent communication.
“I’ll find it. You’ve got some of the best hackers in the business here.” Jax pitched his voice toward Zeke. “Tell them to hack into the Kristall Web database in Ukraine. I’m sure we’ll find what we need in their secure servers. But we have to act fast.”
Zeke opened one eye and nodded at Jax. At least he’d gotten the message.
“Fine.” Beryl snapped her fingers. When no one reacted instantly, she slapped her hands together, finally gaining the attention of three techs sitting behind oversize monitors. They stopped pounding the keyboards and paid attention to her. She barked out her orders. “New assignment, boys. We’re going fishing in the Kristall Web.” She strode away from Jax to give further instruction
s to the techs.
Jax shoveled agitated fingers through his hair and moved to the window on the opposite end of the room. He battled his growing panic over where Clio might be and what might be happening to her. If he lost her now, it would be worse than when he’d failed at saving the innocents in Sierra Leone. That had been a professional issue. This time it was personal.
He braced his hands on the windowsill and rested his forehead on the glass. Outside rain sluiced from the sky and gale-force winds bent the trees and bushes erratically. The weather had gotten steadily worse in the past few hours. Was it tied to Clio’s disappearance? Was this the end Pierus had promised? A week ago, he was worried about baseball scores and what he should eat for breakfast. Now, he believed in gods and goddesses, and the fate of the world weighed heavily on his shoulders.
Zeke joined him at the window. “Hermes has his people on it. They’ll put the report somewhere they’ll have to dig a little to find, so it doesn’t seem like a set-up. Nia’s on her way here so she can nudge the tech from close range.”
“How long?” Jax asked, pitching his voice low.
“Since Clio vanished? About an hour.”
“I know that. How long until Nia gets here?”
“She’ll come through the Hollow. Any minute now.”
He’d have to remember to ask what the hell the Hollow was when this was all over. “Any progress on finding where they’ve taken Clio?”
“Not yet.” Zeke rested his hand on Jax’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Jax. It’s a big, wide world out there. They could be anywhere. Nataero is on it, but it may take a while.”
“Who’s that?”
“He’s in charge of the Lost Things department. Dude can find Waldo anywhere in the world. He’ll find Clio.”
“Sounds like Olympus is run like a corporation.”
Zeke laughed. “Kind of. There are eleven major gods with solid lines directly to Zeus. He’s like the CEO. And a slew of dotted lines from the lesser gods. A bunch of broken lines as well. Pierus is on that part of the chart. The ultimate organization chart.”
“Will I find an ambrosia station in the employee break room?” Christ, the most inane things went through his mind when he was stressed.
“Nah, man.” Zeke thumped his hard abdomen. “That shit will pack on the pounds. We stick to coffee and tea. Zeus even installed Keurig machines in the kitchens. Personally, I think it’s a devious ploy to get everyone back to their desks faster.”
Jax started to answer, but his phone vibrated. He consulted the display. “Holy shit!” He shot Zeke a look as he dragged his finger across the screen. “Clio? Where are you? Are you okay?”
“Jax? Thank the goddess.” Clio’s voice came across as a whisper.
“Are you all right?” Jax angled the phone so Zeke could hear. The man crowded against Jax’s shoulder.
“I haven’t been turned into a bird yet, but I’d really like to come home.” Heavy static garbled her words.
“I want that as well. Zeke’s here with me. We don’t know where to look for you.”
“Zeke? Why is he involved?”
“Long story, Clio. No time to discuss now,” Zeke responded. “Do you know where you are?”
“Not really. Pierus threw me into the Hollow, and next thing I knew I was in a cage in a cave. Dipshit Pierus didn’t think to take my cell phone. Can you ping it to find me?”
He’d put her in a goddamn cage? Jax was going to kill the fucker when he got his hands on him.
Zeke patted Jax on the back. “Keep her talking.” He took a step away from Jax and concentrated on the storm happening outside the window. His lips moved, so Jax was certain he was talking to whatever tech person was on duty on Olympus.
Jax focused back on Clio. “Is there a gate or door to escape through?”
“Yes, but Pierus charmed it. I can’t get it open. Jax, the roof of the cavern looks like the kind of granite they mine on Corfu. And I hear waves in the background. There’s a good chance I’m on an island somewhere in the Ionian or Adriatic seas.”
“Okay, that’s good information.” Jax twisted until he spied a globe in the corner. As he moved toward it, Beryl glanced at him, as though curious. One of the tech slobs in front of a laptop spoke to her. With a scowl, she dragged her attention back to him.
“Jax, have you made any progress? Have you stopped the Five Nations?”
“Not yet. But with a little help from your dad, we’re closer.” Jax spun the globe and located the islands off the coast of Greece Clio had mentioned.
“You’ve met my dad? Damn, I wanted to be there for that meeting.”
A brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the room, casting odd shadows everywhere. Thunder boomed immediately after, and the lights dimmed.
“Was that thunder?” Clio asked urgently.
“Yeah. The storm is bad and getting worse. I hope we don’t lose power.” That would be bad. If they didn’t have an Internet connection to get the information they needed, they might not be able to stop the Block’s army from marching into Sofia. The death toll could reach over one hundred thousand. And he’d lose Clio. Unacceptable.
“Listen, the library’s general system goes down frequently in storms. But the secured mainframe should be okay. Are you plugged into that?”
“I don’t know. Dammit, Clio. I’m worried as hell for you. I’m coming to get you as soon as we figure out where you are.”
“No! Jax, they need you. You’re the only thing standing between me and an eternity as a shitty bird. I’m fine. You stay there and do what’s necessary to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Clio—”
“Listen to me, Jax. I’m not cut out to be a bird, so fix this with the Five Nations. But…just in case it can’t be fixed, I want you to know I love you.”
“I love you, too, Clio. I will fix this, and we will find you.” He stared helplessly at the map of the world. They’d better find her. He didn’t want to face a future without Clio in it.
Zeke tapped him on the shoulder. “Gotta talk to her.” He took the phone from Jax’s numb fingers. Zeke whispered. “Clio, Mars is working on getting a location on you. Is your GPS on?”
“Dammit, I forgot to turn it on after the last time I went through the Hollow.”
“Get it on! If possible, leave the phone on. Be careful. I’m handing you back to Jax.”
Jax stopped scrubbing his hand over his face and took the phone back. “Clio, I’ll end this. I’ll find a way.”
“You better, Jax. I want to look into your eyes when you tell me you love me.”
“Same goes, sweetheart.”
“Someone’s coming. I need to hide the phone. Hurry, Jax.”
“Clio!” He shouted into the speaker. The workers popped their heads up and looked his way in a perfect imitation of a prairie dog. They stared for a moment then resumed their work. He cast a frantic glance around the room looking for Zeke.
He located the man talking to a woman with coppery-colored hair and bright blue eyes. Had to be Nia. The family resemblance was unmistakable.
As he stalked across the room to join them, Nia directed her gaze at the drones on the laptops and squinted, an expression Jax knew meant she was nudging them. Her lips moved as she inspired them to find the files that someone on Olympus had planted. When he reached their side, Nia had relaxed against the doorjamb, arms crossed over her chest, a smile tugging the corners of her lips.
Zeke introduced them. “Jax, this is Clio’s younger sister, Nia, Muse of Astronomy.”
He nodded. “Good to meet you. Did you poke them?”
“Wait for it.” Her voice was low with a smoky quality. She tipped her chin toward the workers. “Should be any second now.”
An eternity passed in the five seconds that it took for one of the techs to holler, “I’m in!” The dude’s fingers flew over the keyboard as he hacked the Kristall Web mainframe.
Beryl jogged to his side and rested her hand on the back of his chair a
s she leaned over his shoulder.
The tech leaned forward and slapped his thumb on the space bar. He stared intently at the data flashing on his screen. “Got it!”
“That’s it?” Beryl pointed at the monitor. “You’re sure?”
The tech nodded and typed a few more keystrokes then clicked his mouse. The printer in the center of the table whirred to life and paper began to spit out. “There’s the report.”
Beryl seized the pages as they landed in the paper tray. A smile grew on her face. “Somebody get Admiral Burton on the phone.”
“And you’re welcome,” Nia whispered beside Jax. She looked at Zeke speculatively. “So, you’re one of us?”
Zeke kept his eye on Beryl and jerked one corner of his mouth up into a crooked half smile. “Long story. But yeah. I work for Zeus as a sort of protective detail.”
“Do I have one of you?” she asked.
“Maybe.” Zeke redirected their conversation with a nod toward Beryl. “Would you look at the size of her grin? Looks like your plan worked, Jax.”
He should have found great satisfaction in saving the world. But his mind was on saving his world. “Let’s find Clio.”
His phone buzzed with a text message. Congratulations. Meet me in Clio’s office. Bring Zeke. Jax tipped the device so Zeke could read.
“Nia, can you nudge them to not notice I’m gone?” Jax asked.
“Sure thing.”
“Where do you think you’re going, Jax?” Beryl’s voice followed them down the hall.
Jax spun around, torn between telling Beryl she was on her own and just leaving without a word.
Nia shooed him away. “I’ve got this. Go save my sister.” She turned and squinted at Beryl, stopping the woman in her tracks.
Tyranny: Goddesses of Delphi Page 16