Reluctant Gods (The Awakening Book 2)

by Keri Armstrong

  He grinned that mad-but-beautiful grin at both of us, clearly expecting us to be as delighted as he was.

  We didn’t dare show otherwise. I gave what I hoped passed as a smile. “Of course,” I said weakly, trying to convince myself somehow that it would be a good thing, in order to pass his internal lie detector.

  Apparently, it didn’t work.

  “You don’t seem happy,” he accused.

  I ducked my head and thought frantically, praying at the same time that Sara kept quiet and didn’t look at him. Quickly, I said, “Forgive me. It’s just that…that you had originally picked me, and…” I trailed off so that he could fill in the blanks with any ‘truth’ he chose to believe.

  Fortunately, his ego was as big as I’d hoped. From my lowered gaze, I could see him give Sara’s hand a quick squeeze before he approached me.

  He gently laid a hand on my head. “Of course, my dear, you are disappointed. But I promise you, you will be well-taken care of and neither of you will want for anything. If you wish, I will arrange a suitable marriage for you.”

  My head popped up. “That won’t be necessary.”

  Beyond him, Sara’s face looked as horrified as I felt.

  Ammon clucked my chin. “We shall see.”

  Oh, God. Shoot me now.

  I flexed my fingers, wondering if I could somehow summon power to shoot Ammon instead. For a moment, there was even a detectable bit of extra warmth but it quickly fled when I remembered we needed him to get out of here.

  Once more, Sara surprised me by keeping her cool. While I was freaking out over technology and possibly becoming the unwilling wife to one of his attendants, she went back to her original question.

  “I still don’t understand why no one knows about this.”

  “Some do,” he said. “While I haven’t as yet Awakened this group,” he gestured toward the pods, “many others through time have come out. With them, great advances were made in the human world throughout history. Architecture, medicine, and more recently, technology as more and more are Awakening.”

  Too many questions. Where to begin?

  Sara spoke again. “But what about the archeological evidence? I mean, we saw some cave drawings, but with tech this advanced…” she also pointed at the Sleepers.

  She had a good point. I’d seen the crazy monitors, the underground courtyard and lights with no detectable electricity.

  “That’s right,” I said. “Some evidence should have been found somewhere along the line. The most people seem to find are just earthenware jars and stone weapons.”

  He sighed. “Yes, much was lost in flood. Many of our ancient texts, all what you now call digital, were wiped away with the flood. Only the more natural materials—pottery and stone, as you said—remained to tell a limited tale of the past.

  “And the few of the unevolved that remained, as well as their sleepers’ natural and unnatural offspring, either never had the ability to recreate it, or they chose not to. After millennia, all memory and evidence of those earlier times was lost.”

  I nodded slowly, considering. How many times had I freaked out when I thought I might have lost my homework files. Even with ‘cloud’ backup, nothing would remain if some global catastrophe hit. And after tens of thousands of years under water or exposed to the elements? What would remain?

  “So, what about these guys,” Sara asked, once again pointing out our silent companions.

  “I was chosen to watch over them until the appointed time,” he said.

  Hence, ‘the I am Ammon, the Watcher’ speech. My mind reeled with how old he might actually be. He’d said over 70K but I’d thought he was just cracked. Now I knew he was cracked, but might also be telling the truth.

  “It is my job they stay hidden and shielded from harm,” he continued, “And to awaken them in appropriate intervals. But sometimes they do awaken on their own, and usually, choose to roam the world to see how the survivors have fared. As I mentioned, those were usually the times with sudden spikes of progress. The Renaissance was supported by one of the Awakened. Sudden medical breakthroughs like X-rays and penicillin were helped by another.”

  And here I’d been so focused on the bad that I overlooked all the good they did, or could, do.

  “But, many more awakened in the past hundred years, so this became a golden era for technology,” he said.

  And it was true. There was new technology on the market every day. And apparently, it was all thanks to these guys.

  He looked at Sara’s stunned expression. “I am, as are you, the descendants of these miraculous people. As a result, you are god-like in your own right, as opposed to the rest of the world who descended from the less evolved.”

  I frowned. This was sounding distinctly like eugenics to me. I looked over at Sara but she was still just staring at him with that confused look on her face. I knew she wasn’t always as quick to catch things so I waited for her to get there.

  “How do you figure that?” I asked.

  He seemed surprised by the question. “If these sleeping beside us were considered gods, then we, who are descended from them, are looked upon as demigods. Even the ancient people saw that.” His tone indicated it should have been obvious.

  I finally dared the question that had been plaguing me. “So…what are you? You say descendants, and experiments…”

  His back straightened. “I am not an experiment. I am the son of one of the scientists who built these labs,” he spoke proudly. “Though it is true that my mother was the half-breed result of a mating between an evolved and one of the lesser, my lineage is still greater than those who serve me.”

  My chest tightened and it was harder to breathe. “And the wires?” I whispered, wondering if I was going too far. Had his own father done that to him.

  “Wires?” Sara asked.

  Ammon narrowed his eyes at me. “It was my honor and privilege to further my father’s work. I volunteered to be a Watcher when we knew the flood was coming. With his work in what you call genetics, I have remained as I am down to this day. With my enhanced abilities, I can know more than you could imagine, control more of this entire underground structure with just a thought.”

  Sara’s worried eyes glanced between Ammon and me. I could see she was frightened and he was clearly agitated.

  “Yes, yes, of course. I understand,” I said, lowering my gaze. “It is truly amazing.”

  And it was.

  He let out a sigh and I dared a glance up. His expression was clearing, and soon, he smiled. Sara’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

  “Naturally, there is much neither of you yet know. I must remember that,” he said.

  “So, you have been keeping watch over them for how long?” Sara asked. I had told her what he’d said when we were supposed to have been resting, but I guessed she wanted to hear it from his own lips.

  “Many, many millennia,” he said. “So many years… far too long…” his voice lowered to a whisper as he looked at her.

  “And in all that time, no one found you?” I asked the question with dread. I was afraid I already knew the answer but, was hoping I was wrong.

  Ammon sobered. “Over time, many have made their way further into the caves than one might expect. Many long years ago, one of the native tribes that made their home close by, stumbled about this caves and set to explore them. This country’s sun can become harsh and they pondered using them for habitation in those summer heats. Unfortunately, they came across this place, before I put protections around some of the surviving demi-gods.

  “The natives met with some of our kind who are not very hospitable to humans, even though genetically, they are part human themselves.”

  Sara looked ill.

  “Like the Naga?” I ventured.

  He nodded. “And some you would call giants, who had a taste for human flesh.”

  There was nothing left in my stomach but acid at this point, and it burned.

  Ammon’s head lowered. “Before I moved the sle
epers here, they were in other parts of the caves, places they had chosen for themselves. They were at that time in similar stasis to Izzara. When the natives saw them, they smashed the crystal and set fire to the bodies. A legend of screaming corpses was born.

  “The giants went into their villages to extract revenge and killed many, but the natives regrouped and came back with others, and set more fires within the caves, hoping to destroy the monsters within.”

  His eyes glistened with sorrow. “We suffered great casualties until I managed to get it under control. You see, I neglected my duties. I didn’t awaken my charges because I wanted to first ensure that my Izzara was safe.”

  It was obvious it pained him to choose between the two. Duty toward his superiors and his love for Izzara.

  I wondered what would in a similar situation. Save Sara or save many others. I knew what she would want, but didn’t know whether I could do it.

  Sara suddenly put her hand on his arm, her face soft and concerned. “Was your father one who was lost?” she whispered.

  He hung his head.

  She put her arms around him and he suddenly broke down, sobbing on her shoulder.

  Everything inside me sank. This was so not good.

  Sixteen

  In the ensuing awkwardness, I wanted to intervene but wasn’t quite sure what to do. I was afraid Sara’s kind heart would be the end of her—literally—if she allowed herself to get to too close to Ammon.

  She continued to let him cry on her shoulder and patted his back. He pulled her tightly and leaned in more toward her neck.

  I squirmed a bit, looking at the floor, the walls, even the floating people, just to keep from staring at the scene before me.

  As my gaze danced about the room, I noticed him kiss her firmly on the neck; in fact, it looked like he bit her.

  “Hey!” I called out as Sara stiffened, her eyes going completely wide.

  Then she relaxed.

  I came at her side as Ammon pulled back, his face now radiant.

  “Sara, are you all right?” I turned to Ammon and frowned. “What did he do to you?” I asked her, trying to get a look at her neck.

  She swatted me away. “What is wrong with you? I am perfectly fine.” She smiled up at Ammon then back at me. “Don’t worry.”

  But I did worry and a lot.

  Ammon leaned down and kissed her forehead. To my dismay, she just smiled.

  “I need to check some measurements. I will return momentarily,” he said then walked toward one of the pods. He lifted a little metal flap on the side and placed his hand over the inside of it, closing his eyes.

  Sara watched him, a soft smile on her lips. “Isn’t this amazing?”

  “No,” I whispered, taking advantage of our semi-privacy. “We need to hurry back to see if Caleb or Nathan have returned.”

  She frowned at me. “I think you worry too much. I don’t know Nathan, but you know how Caleb can be. He’s way too overprotective.”

  “Sara—” I hissed, but couldn’t say more because Ammon returned.

  “My work here is done,” he said, “So we can all retire to get ready for the celebration.”

  Sara nodded happily and I prayed she was only pretending to keep him happy.

  When we made our way back, he took us to the new chamber he’d promised earlier. I tried to protest that the former was still fine, but Sara said she wanted to see what he’d picked out for us.

  I kept looking over at her, trying to catch her gaze to ask, ‘wtf’, but she just went off hand in hand with him. And when we finally arrived, she didn’t back away when he leaned in for a kiss. She actually rose on her toes to meet him halfway.

  I wanted to kick them both.

  When they parted, Sara all shy smiles and a bit flushed, Ammon bowed to me and kissed my hand.

  “I am looking forward in seeing you later, my ladies,” he said in the doorway before turning to lock us in.

  As that click sounded, I was grateful to have won at least one battle on our trip back: I was staying with Sara to help her get ready for the evening’s feast, rather than returning alone to the new room Ammon had arranged for me.

  I lingered at the door, listening. There had been no guards in the hall. If I could just figure out how to open the door, maybe we could sneak out.

  “Hey, I think the coast is clear. Come help me figure out how to open the door and we can try to find Caleb and Nathan.”

  Sara shrugged and walked toward a huge wardrobe. “They’ll find us if they want to,” she said, opening the door to reveal a range of gowns inside. Her face lit in delight as she pulled out a regal-looking dress that was too close to Izzara’s burial gown for my taste. She held it against her body, twirling.

  “What do you think, Phoebes? Is it me?” She laughed, tossing the gown onto the nearby bed, then ran back to see what other treasures the wardrobe held.

  Chills rippled my skin. “What has gotten into you?”

  “Ooh, look, Phoebe,” Sara squealed in delight, completely ignoring my outburst. “This one would be perfect for you.” She pulled out a red dress and hurried to hold it in front of me, assessing the fit.

  I jerked away, but she just tossed me the dress and said, “We should get ready. I don’t want to be late.”

  She danced across the room back the wardrobe.

  I threw down the dress and followed her. “Sara, we need to talk, now” I said, growing more frightened by the minute.

  What happened back there? Did he inject her with something while he was holding her? When he bit her?

  I needed to figure out what was wrong with her and then get us the hell out of there.

  “Later, Phoebe,” Sara said, tossing more things onto the bed. Next to the dress were now shoes and accessories.

  She turned with a big smile, and a small clap of her hands. “Now, let’s find the bath.”

  She opened a door by the wardrobe and it was practically an oasis rather than a bath in there. I started behind her, determined to have our little chat immediately, but she closed the door in my face and then locked it.

  I kicked it in frustration, then moved my focus to something else.

  I inspected every inch of the room, looking for the way out even though I was aware there might be cameras. I glanced at the bathroom and shuddered. Who knew how far the lack of privacy extended here?

  I found squat. Whatever Caleb did to get in or out of our previous room, was beyond my abilities.

  By the time Sara stepped out of the bathroom, I had pretty much demolished the whole room.

  She had stepped into the room with a smile but frowned when she took in the new surroundings.

  “What happened here?” she snapped.

  I wanted to snap back something like ‘redecorating’, but all the snark died on my lips. I now understood why it took her forever in there.

  She looked like a completely different person.

  “Look at you,” I gasped.

  Her expression softened, and she smiled. “I know, right,” she twirled for me.

  The dress looked tailor-made for her. It hugged her upper body perfectly without being vulgar, and cascaded to the floor. It was elegant and old-fashioned. She’d combed her hair into waves that framed her face and she clasped it with a golden comb. Bracelets like gold manacles circled both wrists and ankles. A wide, golden mesh necklace covered her chest all to her waist. She looked like an ancient queen.

  As she stood in front of me, it was like seeing a ghost. A ghost that had emerged from the glittering water.

  Because she was a dead ringer for Izzara. She looked exactly as I had seen her in the Well of Truth.

  “Is it okay?” she prompted when I didn’t speak.

  She turned toward the mirror again, fingertips barely brushing the outer tips of her now kohl-lined eyes. “It took me forever to paint them just right.”

  “Do you think he would like it?” she chatted. “Oh, I hope he likes it.”

  My mind had gone completely bl
ank, my mouth numb.

  “Phoebe!” She looked at me from the mirror. “Why aren’t you getting ready?”

  She seemed annoyed by my lack of excitement. I didn’t gasp or sigh at the sight of the gowns and jewels. I hated everything that was happening to us.

  She swept out her arm. “And what’s with all the mess?”

  “I was trying to find a way out of here.” I found my voice again.

  “Out of here?” That little confusion crease was back.

  “Yeah, out of here,” I snapped. “To find Caleb. Remember him?” Your not-so-secret crush, I wanted to add.

  She rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror to smooth her already perfect hair.

  “Honestly, Phoebe.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “You worry too much.”

  That flippant comment only ticked me off further. “And you seem not to worry at all. What is wrong with you?” I gestured toward her outfit and the rest of her. “Why are you doing all this?”

  “I am just trying to show our appreciation to our host.” She started to smile again, a dreamy look entering her eyes.

  “Host?” I wanted to laugh. “And you’re not worried at all?”

  “About what?”

  “That our ‘host’,” I air quoted the word, “Is a mentally and emotionally unstable ancient Watcher for a bunch of very dangerous people?”

  “Don’t talk about him that way,” she said quickly. “And those people will do a lot of good in the world. You heard what he said.”

  “Yes, I did hear what he said. Did you? Didn’t it cross your mind that when Ammon decides to awaken the rest of them, we would be all in danger? Stop and think what that would mean when they are set loose. Not just for us but for the rest of the world. That was some evil eugenics talk in there, Sara.”

  Her lips tightened for a moment as she frowned at me. Then she shrugged. “Ammon would do the right thing,” she said with conviction I didn’t understand. “Besides, he said the Awakened did so much good throughout history, helping with civilization and progress. It will all be all right.”