Theta

by Lizzy Ford

  “Cleon was right.”

  Artemis laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far. Selling life and survival to those elite able to pay for it?” She shook her head. “He wants to rule over select chosen individuals and cares nothing for the rest of the world.”

  “You will need the help of the Silent Queen,” Pythia said.

  I blinked out of my heavy thoughts. “Lantos said Cecelia’s launching an attack this evening on her base of operations. How do I warn her?”

  Pythia and Artemis exchanged a look.

  Artemis fidgeted in her bear form. “I have warned my brother. He will tell her.” Her voice sounded fainter, as if she were under some kind of strain I was unable to see. “We need to focus on you and finding your body.”

  “Lantos hid it,” I said.

  “Did he say where?”

  I shook my head. Adonis was gone, too. For a few minutes today, I hadn’t felt like I was overwhelmed and sinking beneath the weight of my world.

  “We must find it soon. None of us survive long in spirit form only,” Pythia said, concerned gaze on Artemis.

  “You’re dying,” I said, recalling what Adonis had told me.

  “I am. We all are. Zeus is the strongest, and his energy is directed solely at protecting those humans and members of the pantheon he can,” Artemis said. “I cannot stay long. I must be careful where I exert myself.”

  “Thank you,” I said with difficulty.

  “Thank you. You will be the one to send us all home.”

  I didn’t share her faith in my abilities. I blinked – and Artemis disappeared. “Are you leaving me, too?” I asked Pythia.

  “I can’t stay with you for long, but I’m not leaving quite yet.”

  I sank into silence, thinking hard. Cleon was calming, assured his body wasn’t being abused, though he was weak. I didn’t know Lantos well enough to guess where he’d hid my body. I couldn’t search everywhere on the planet. I didn’t have that much time. I needed someone I could trust to help me navigate the physical world. Adonis was out of the question.

  Leandra. Could she talk to me? Sense me with her nymph abilities? She and the other nymphs were groomed to help me bring back the Old Ways. Thirty women with supernatural abilities, loyal only to me. What better way to find my body, so I could face Cecelia?

  “Take me to Leandra,” I said to my power.

  “It works differently here. You can travel quickly, but not teleport, as you can with your physical form,” Pythia said.

  “I’ll be back.” I turned away from her and raced across the compound and to my villa.

  Dr. Khan had covered Lantos’ body with a sheet. I looked away quickly and went to the jewelry box in my closet. Leandra said she’d left a clue how to find her beneath the city streets. I used my magic to lift the lid and saw a leaf resting on top of several priceless pendants. I picked it up with magic and rotated it in the air.

  “What is this, Leandra?” I whispered.

  The sound of soldiers entering my bedroom disrupted my focus. Releasing my hold on the leaf, I expected it to sink to the ground. Instead, it remained in the air. A second later, it floated upward, towards the ceiling and lazily whirled its way out of the closet, out of my bedroom, and into the early evening sky. Intrigued, I trailed it across the compound and to the southeastern, staff exit. The leaf diverged from the road and floated through the forest. It came to rest on the grass at the center of the woods. As if feeling its weight, the grass rolled away to reveal a door.

  “Perfect,” I whispered. I lifted the leaf with my power, and the grass rolled back into place.

  Standing in the quiet forest, I tried not to think about the possibility something horrific happened to m physical body or that it was lost in the shadow world. I didn’t let myself dwell on how I’d been misled by everyone or how my visions foretold the end of the world, and I had no way of protecting Adonis when I didn’t know where he was. Already, the future was changing, because Lantos was gone. If Cecelia knew Adonis was the key – which I had to assume she did – I needed to find him first. Or I had to disable and kill Cecelia to unleash my powers. With Leandra’s help, maybe I could do both, and if the Silent Queen wasn’t derailed by the attack, I could go to her and Herakles, too. We would hit Cecelia from inside and outside the walls in a way she didn’t expect, thanks to my power.

  Sending the leaf to rest in the brush nearby, I left the spot. I was starting to form a plan or … we were. My mind struggled to differentiate between my thoughts and Cleon’s. Cleon’s knowledge of the military and operations was going to come in handy, and I would use every ounce of power available to me to disrupt Cecelia’s plans.

  Chapter Eighteen: Mercenary

  At long last, we turned down a tunnel with a light glowing at the other end. Leandra’s pace quickened, and we reached a door flanked by two bright lights and four guards.

  Their weapons went up when they spotted me.

  “No!” Leandra cried. “He’s with me.”

  No one spoke. I was pretty certain by now everyone in Mama’s insurgency knew who I was. If my picture weren’t plastered all over the walls after how many of their troops I’d arrested or flat out murdered …

  “He has DC Mama,” she added.

  “DC Mama. Cute,” I said. “What do you call the real Mama?”

  “NOVA Mama,” she snapped.

  The insurgents lowered their weapons. One of them reached over to open a door.

  Leandra darted through, while I moved more slowly, glaring at the four insurgents. The door closed behind me, and I paused on the other side. I was expecting more tunnels or perhaps, compartmentalized pockets of underground rooms and chambers, which the army had discovered before.

  The underground city, however, resembled a small town complete with roads, buildings, and electricity powering massive lights lining the walls to create a sense of daylight.

  My first thought – none of my intelligence indicated the underground city was this huge and well equipped – was quickly replaced by the hair on the back of my neck rising. My visual examination could wait. I had to deal with the ten insurgents whose weapons were trained on me.

  “We need a medic,” Leandra said to one of them. “Mama’s hurt.”

  Without waiting for a secondary command, a soldier darted off, into the city.

  She faced me and planted her hands on her hips. Her expression was one I recognized from Theodocia, right before she drew her weapons.

  “I brought you your leader. That should grant me some preferential treatment,” I said.

  “I don’t think she’ll exactly be overjoyed you’re here, no matter what you did.”

  Sensing the hostility in those around me, and gauging my chances of surviving a fight were decent but not guaranteed, I carefully lowered Theodocia to the ground at my feet then stood and began removing my weapons with deliberate movement to keep the insurgents from opening fire.

  I pinned Leandra with a look. “Do what you want with me,” I said and dropped two knives into the growing pile. “But I’m the only person who knows where Mama’s son is. I don’t have to tell you how unhappy she’ll be, if something happens to him.”

  I smiled, confident of my chances. It was a solid bluff, because Theodocia and Tommy were both favored by the same god. Dosy would have no trouble finding Tommy wherever he was, with Thanatos’ help. But the woman standing in front of me, and those with her, didn’t know any of this, which I was counting on to provide me the leverage I needed to survive this encounter.

  “We can’t let you walk free,” Leandra said after a tense silence. “You’ll be imprisoned until Mama is awake. I’m pretty sure her plans for you will wipe that smile off your face.”

  “Sounds good.” I had endured worse than prison in my life. In the meantime, while I waited for Dosy to wake up, I’d plan my next move.

  “Take him,” she directed one of the insurgents.

  “On your knees!” the stocky man belted.

  I obeyed and plac
ed my hands on my head. The ring around me closed in. One of them slung his weapon over his shoulder and handcuffed me with my hands behind my back. I sensed the blow seconds before it landed. Another insurgent smashed the butt of his rifle against the back of my head, and I dropped into the state between awake and unconsciousness. I was aware of being jostled, moved, and kicked but not able to pull myself out of the state.

  I didn’t fully regain my senses until the movement stopped, and the coldness of a cement floor pressed against my cheek. From the warm pain radiating through my body, Dosy’s men hadn’t been content with simply jailing me. They’d taken my earpiece, too. But I was confident I had all the information I’d need to buy my way out of this situation.

  My six-by-six cell was lit by a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling and reeked of raw sewage. The door was closed, though I heard the brush of a rubber sole against cement from someone outside. I sat up and rested my head back against the wall.

  “Hey!” I called. “Get Theodocia!”

  No one answered. I was pretty certain my ex would want to talk to me in any case and closed my eyes. From somewhere, water dripped. The circulation in the cell was poor, the air stuffy and old. I was in one piece, my hands bound and connected by a chain to the wall behind me.

  Not long after I yelled, the door cracked open, and my ex appeared.

  “You’re a real piece of shit, Niko,” Theodocia said icily.

  “You’re welcome for the rescue,” I replied with a smile.

  She sighed, fed up with me already.

  “You find Tommy?”

  “Of course I did,” she snapped. “What were you thinking? Dropping him off in a cemetery all alone?”

  I relaxed, relieved. “He likes dead people, and Thanatos likes him. I figured he was safer there than anywhere.”

  She opened her mouth, closed it, and then shook her head. “Either that’s the most thoughtful, sweetest thing you’ve ever done, or it was the stupidest.”

  “Funny how you can’t tell with me, isn’t it?” I replied, unable to stop my smile.

  “What are you planning?” she demanded. “Are your troops getting ready to attack us?”

  “No. And yes.” My goal had been to drop off Theodocia to her people in exchange for safe passage out of the city, then to leave this forsaken area with Tommy and live in a mountain somewhere, safe and away from everyone. Now that I was a prisoner, I was working on a new plan.

  “Was this part of some elaborate scheme to find out where the bulk of the insurgency was?” She was pacing, features creased in concern.

  I snorted. “Nope.”

  “Then what?”

  “I’m a survivor, Dosy. You know that.”

  She stopped and faced me, frowning fiercely. She was cleaned up and armed. Bruising marred her features from the rough treatment she’d experienced at the hands of my boss. The woman before me was tough enough to take a few punches.

  “Something happened,” she assessed. “That’s why you moved Tommy last week.”

  I wasn’t surprised he told her, though I didn’t like the reminder I couldn’t do much of anything without Theodocia eventually finding out. “I want to take him to safety outside the walls.”

  “Outside?” she repeated. “How is it safer out there?”

  “I’d love to tell you all of Cleon’s secrets and the inner workings of his plans, but I need some assurances.”

  “I knew you wanted something!”

  “The same thing I always want. To make sure my son survives this disaster.”

  She chewed her lower lip, pensive. “Letting you go would be a mistake.”

  “Letting me go, knowing I’d protect our son, sounds smart to me.”

  “Out of the question. He’s safe here.”

  “Sure. Until a certain Oracle implodes and takes out DC,” I countered. “Or Cleon claims her power and does the same. The safe zone is dying, and I don’t plan on being here when it’s gone.”

  She was silent.

  “I don’t give a shit about your insurgency, your cause or your boss,” I added. “I’ve only ever done what I do for Tommy.”

  “I know that, but I’ve never – and will never – trust you, Niko. You’d turn on me for enough money.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  She drew a deep breath. “You’re going nowhere, and you will reveal what I need to know about Cleon’s operations, no matter what my people have to do to you to get the truth.”

  “I can handle the fire, Dosy. You know that better than anyone.” I rested my head back against the wall again. “When shit hits the fan, you’ll know where to find me, and you know my price.”

  “You’re not the only one who can take care of our son,” she told me firmly.

  “But I am the only one who will abandon every other cause, moral, and principal in existence to protect him. I don’t give a shit about gods, politicians or oracles or whatever it is you’re fighting for.”

  “I’m fighting for a better world for everyone, including Tommy!”

  “Yeah, I don’t care,” I said.

  For the first time in twelve years, since we first split up, I had the distinct sense she was hearing me, if not considering my offer to leave and protect Tommy outside the walls. Normally, we fought much harder, to the point we were close to blows. I wasn’t feeling my normal animosity towards her. Not because she didn’t deserve it, but because I was relatively certain we both wanted the same thing for once, and she’d see that soon enough.

  “We’re evacuating the city. I might leave you here for your boss to find,” she said.

  “You want a piece of information to prove I’m not here to do Cleon’s bidding? Fine. Here’s a freebie,” I said, unruffled. “The military is launching a missile attack on the Queen’s compound at dusk tonight.”

  Her breath caught. “That’s in half an hour!”

  “Then you probably want to hurry,” I advised. “I might be willing to tell you one of Alessandra’s visions in exchange for a decent meal and water.”

  “Alessandra’s visions have started?”

  “And they’re not good.” I’d overheard Alessandra discuss them with Cleon. The whole compound was bugged, and I personally oversaw the Oracle’s security. I knew about Leandra long before they suspected I did.

  Theodocia lingered for another moment before striding out of the cell. As soon as the door closed, she shouted for a messenger.

  I had high hopes of being out of this cell, and on my way with Tommy, within a few days. Once I told Theodocia what was going on, I’d be resentful if she didn’t see the need to move our son to safety. We both knew I was the best person to take care of him in a world where survival depended on who was stronger. As unusually calm as I’d been with this interaction, I was starting to ratchet up again, to feel the urgency and need to act now to ensure the safety of my son’s life. I could do nothing while trapped here underground, and I fared a better chance of making it out of the DC area if Cleon and Dosy weren’t both hunting me.

  While I never dreamed of Dosy accompanying Tommy and me, I was counting on Dosy’s insurgency to provide cover for our escape, until we was several hundred kilometers beyond the furthest military outpost. Only then would I feel completely at ease being far enough that even Cleon couldn’t get to me. By that point, he’d be fighting wars on two fronts: one with the gods to secure the protected zone and one with the insurgency. I’d be of no interest to him.

  I shifted to my feet and stretched my sore body the best I could. I wanted to be prepared for whatever decision Dosy made: torture or a deal. Either way, I’d get what I wanted. My greatest concern was leaving the walls before everything here went to shit.

  Several minutes later, the door opened again.

  “Start talking,” Theodocia ordered. “What has Alessandra foreseen?”

  “Only the end of the world.”

  She paused studied me briefly before she entered. “You son of a bitch, Niko. You won’t just tell me what
I need to know to stop this, will you?”

  “It’s called negotiation, sweetheart. The rest of the world isn’t as black and white as you like to paint it,” I replied.

  Theodocia punched me in the jaw. Ignoring the flare of pain, I caught myself against the wall behind me and pushed back to my feet. She straightened a strand of hair that had fallen into her pretty features and then looked me in the eye.

  “What are your demands, and what is the nature of the knowledge you possess about Cleon, Alessandra, and the military?” she asked.

  “You might want a piece of paper to write all this down.”

  She pulled a notebook from a cargo pocket. “I’m listening.”

  For once, she really was.

  I told her everything, and no part of me regretted betraying Cleon, now that he couldn’t do a gods-damned thing to help me protect my son.

  Chapter Nineteen: Silent Queen

  Any word from Adonis? I wrote in Herakles’ notebook, puzzled as to how the other living Bloodline member had disappeared after going to meet Niko at the gate.

  We walked through the motor pool for a random inspection, checking to ensure the vehicles were being maintained, lined up and in their assigned spots. It was close to sundown, and I was growing antsy about hunting on my own tonight. I’d yet to kill my own dinner. As instinctive as it was to fly and twirl and soar in the sky, maneuvering through thick forests and reacting to the sudden movement of prey was going to take me longer to master. Adonis had been guiding me the past few days.

  Herakles read the words slowly. “None,” my trusted advisor said. “But the commanders have signed off on his plan. We’re calling it Operation Troy.”

  I wasn’t surprised. The plan was well thought out and solid, and it would give us a distinct advantage we wouldn’t have otherwise with our numbers.

  Send word to Theodocia. If Niko imprisoned Adonis, I want him returned. I scribbled. My reasoning had as much to do with Adonis’ unique talent as it did my general distrust of Lantos’ lackey. I wasn’t yet convinced Adonis didn’t have a secondary motive for showing up at my camp when Lantos had spent weeks searching for me.