Zeus watched his son fill with despair and came to him. He told his son how he had seduced his mother in the form of a swan, and that he was his father, not the Spartan king.
Zeus felt sympathy for his son, and offered the grieving man a choice: He could live on Mount Olympus as an immortal, or he could save his brother by giving him half of his immortality. The two would alternate between Mount Olympus and Hades for half a year at a time. The man did not hesitate in his reply, wishing only to save his brother, Castor, and Zeus granted his wish.
What the man did not realize is that Castor, saved from death, did not wish for this new life. He resented every minute spent at Mount Olympus, despite the benefits one gets consorting with gods. In the underworld he became even more spiteful, fuelled by the anger and emotion of living in hell.
His brother was aware of the mistake he had made, despite making the decision out of love. After several centuries of living in guilt, the man, Pollux, pleaded with Zeus to help him gain back the trust of his brother. Zeus offered him a new choice, which Pollux brought to his brother. Castor agreed to Zeus’ terms.
Zeus offered the two men a place among the stars. They would no longer exist in either of the worlds; rather, they would exist outside both of them. Castor and Pollux were sent to the night sky.”
“The Gemini twins,” I murmured, remembering the story from my Greek Mythology class.
“Oh, so you are familiar with it?” Paul mused. “Tell me, have you connected the dots yet?”
I looked at him, or at least I looked in the general direction of the fuzzy mass, and was completely confused. Had I missed something?
“Castor and Pollux,” he repeated, emphasizing the names.
It took me another few seconds to make the connection. “Casper and Paul?” I replied slowly, with skepticism in my rasping voice. “You were named after the Gemini twins?”
He sighed and took my hand. “Alex,” he whispered, “we ARE the Gemini twins.”
Chapter Twelve
Paul was silent while I laughed in spurts, holding my ribs in between snickers and trying not to cry from the pain of the laughs passing my burnt lungs. When there was finally a long enough break between chuckles, he calmly asked, “Are you through?”
“I’m just-” I whispered through giggles, “I’m just waiting for the camera crew to come out.” I waved my good hand around in the fog. “Okay, joke’s over… you got me.”
“This is no joke, Alexis.” Nic’s voice startled me and brought my laughter to an abrupt halt. I hadn’t realized he was there. “Do you honestly think you would be lying here if this was merely a prank?” There was a slight accusatory tone in his voice, and I was immediately reminded of the seriousness of my current state. “The story Paul has told you is true, as is the story you read about Nicolas Flamel, who as you should know, is me.”
I paused for a long moment. “How is that possible?” I said, more to myself than to anyone else.
Nic answered anyway. “Alex, there are many things existing today that are thought to be lost to modern times. Many mythologies are no longer believed as truth. The ignorance of society keeps our secrets, and for the most part, we keep out of their lives. Every once in a while, someone removed from the myths becomes inextricably linked to the story, someone with no reason to interact with gods or stars, someone like you.”
“Why me? What could I possibly have to do with any of this?”
He sighed. “No one ever knows the why. Why did a stranger sell me a book which changed the course of my life? Why did Zeus choose Leda to mother Paul? Why can you see the force lines which remain invisible even to the gods? But you can see them, and that is why I hired you to work at Mobius. I saw the talent in you.”
“Could.”
“Sorry?”
It was my turn to take an abrupt tone. “You said, ‘You CAN see the force lines. Well, I could see them. I can’t now.” I felt a tear trickle coldly down my cheek as I heard my words, as though hearing myself say it made it more real.
Paul spoke with an air of confidence I hadn’t expected. “Alex, your sight will return. Andrea had a similar experience about a century ago. You just need rest. Maybe you should keep your eyes closed while you’re awake, if you can.”
I closed my eyes and could feel how strained they felt, most likely from trying to focus in the dark fog. I still was stuck on something he had said. “Andrea?”
“Oh, that’s right. I forget how little you know.”
“That’s entirely my fault,” Nic interjected. “I haven’t been able to explain any of this. I should have talked to you on day one; I just never expected things to get so out of hand. And the timing is just so…” he trailed off.
“Next time I’ll go blind when it’s more convenient. Sorry, boss,” I said sarcastically, and they both laughed. “So… Andrea?”
“Andromeda,” Paul answered. “She returned to her earthly form at the turn of the last century. She befriended a man named Nikola Tesla. Are you familiar with Tesla?”
I searched my brain. “He invented something electrical?”
“He invented many things electrical; he was a rival of Edison, but due to his eccentricities he was not very well respected in his day. Nonetheless, much of his work paved the way for many modern technologies. But, Tesla was more than eccentric, and worked on many futile projects which scientists today wouldn’t even attempt.”
“Such as?”
“Well, when Andrea met him, he was working on machine which would keep the body from aging. He was close too; he could keep the heart of a mouse beating indefinitely, but he could not stop the aging process. The heart basically tortured the rest of the body into working, and eventually, the brain stopped responding. The mouse would continue to live, but unable to comprehend anything, not realizing the need to eat, or sometimes even to breathe. Unfortunately, Andrea had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nikola had made what he thought was a breakthrough, and Andrea had happened to knock on his door at that moment. She had only been in her human form for a few days, and she was weak. She had stopped at his house hoping to find some form of sustenance. When he answered the door, he seized at the opportunity she presented: a human test subject with no memory or known family. No one would miss her. He grabbed her and connected her to the machine. Once the machine was turned on, it only took seconds for her body to go nova, blinding Tesla in the process. Unfortunately, she was still strapped down. It was four days before he regained his vision, but he was so fearful of her that he let her go. He went a bit insane after that.”
Paul must have caught my shocked look because he added, “Don’t worry, he was already on his way to crazy before all this happened. Anyway, it was another four months until Andrea found me and my brother; to this day I can’t imagine how she survived on her own for so long. Casper and I were lucky: we fell at the same time. It’s a very hard adjustment to make.”
“You fell?” I asked.
He sighed, and was silent for a moment before replying. “We are all falling, Alex. Those of us that were placed up there, I mean. The stars will always be there, in the scientific sense. But those of us that are a part of history, or as you would know us, as a part of myth, we fall as we become forgotten.”
“Forgotten?”
“Please, Alex,” he sounded slightly exasperated at my question. “No one knows why we are up there anymore. There comes a time when there isn’t enough power to keep us up there. Casper and I have been back on earth for over two hundred years.” His sadness rang in his voice.
“I’m so sorry,” I choked.
There was silence then. I waited, expecting more to be said. Neither of them said a word, though I knew they were both still there. The silence continued. In my head, replayed the conversation that had just transpired, wondering how much morphine was in my system, and if I had just imagined this all. I decided that even if I was imaging, there was one thing I had to ask.
“Nic?” My whisper seemed to echo throu
gh the silence.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Right here,” he answered quietly.
“How did you know I could see the force lines? I didn’t even start seeing them until after I started working for you.” Inside of me, a small voice started to laugh at the fact this question indicated my acceptance of the whole situation.
“Do you remember the day we met?”
I nodded.
“Tell me what you remember.”
“Um, I was walking along the harbour, and you asked me if I was okay.” I scrunched my face, searching for any other details. I heard Nic chuckle. “What?”
“You were also making the face you are making right now, though it’s a little less intense now. You had told me you had received some bad news that day, no?
“Yeah,” I replied, not sure what he was getting at. “I was getting a pay cut, and there was no way I could afford to pay my bills.”
“Yes. What you don’t realize is that you were so focused mentally that you sucked the energy off that force line. I was walking along the harbour myself, and sensed that something was amiss. It was easy to see that it was you draining away the power, and even easier to see that you had no idea what you were doing.”
“Can you see the lines too?” I asked, desperately hoping he said yes, so that I would stop feeling like such a freak.
“No, though I have studied their mystery for hundreds of years. I am quite aware of where they exist, and how much power each line holds. I can feel them; they are denser than the rest of the air. When I saw you, I knew that you would be a valuable asset to my team.”
“I still don’t see how seeing “force lines”,” I used my good hand to make an air quote, “has anything to do with consulting.”
Nic laughed. “Oh Alex, consultant is just the term you can use to tell people what you do. It’s a broad enough job title that no one ever asks questions. In reality, I hired you to help me protect the stone.”
The stone. I had forgotten all about the stone. “Why does it need protecting?” I asked.
“Can you not see how valuable it would be to possess such an object?” Paul asked.
I could. “So why do you leave it out in the open then?”
Nic involuntarily squeezed my shoulder. There was a moment of silence, and then, very slowly, Nic asked, “What do you mean, out in the open?”
“It’s just that, now that you’ve started explaining everything to me, I guess I just thought that the stone was that thing suspended inside the dinosaur skeleton.”
The silence was deafening.
“I guess I’m wrong,” I added sheepishly.
“No,” Nic said carefully. “You are right. You can see it?”
“Yeah… I guess. It’s surrounded by a force… er, ball. I think. Why?”
“The stone shouldn’t be visible to anyone.” I could sense a touch of fear in Nic’s voice.
“Casper didn’t seem to know about it, so I think it’s just me,” I added, trying to be helpful.
“WHAT?” His volume startled me. “You told Casper?”
“Calm down, Nic,” I heard Paul interject. “She didn’t know what she was saying. She was under the influence of stardust, remember? Anything he wanted to know would have come out, whether she wanted to tell him or not. I should have stopped him, but I truly had no idea that was what he was after.”
Nic took several sharp, deep breaths before forcing a response. “It was no one’s fault. You’re right. She didn’t know.” He paused, and then sounded driven. “Go. Call Morgan and tell her that Casper knows where the stone is hidden. Ask her to look into the situation. Get Connor too. We’ll need to assemble the powers. This may all be connected with what happened last week.”
“Got it.” I felt Paul’s hand squeeze mine. “Feel better, Alex.”
When the door clicked shut, Nic spoke. “Alex, I’m going to give you something to sleep. If you wake up, and no one is here, I want you to push this.” I felt him put something in my good hand, and I could tell it was a button of some sort.
“Do the nurses know why I’m in here?” I asked, wondering what sort of story they had concocted to convince the doctors of how I received my injuries.
“You’re not at the hospital,” Nic replied. “You’re at Mobius. And don’t worry, someone will always be near. We just have to deal with this new setback. I have to go now, Alex. You’ll be drifting off shortly.” He sighed, his breath ringing with sadness.
“Nic?” I called drowsily, not sure if he was still there.
“Yes?” His voice was far away.
“I’m sorry.”
There was a pause, and I pictured him nodding in response. I heard the door click shut gently, and soon after I was lost in sleep.
Chapter Thirteen
When I next awoke, it was very dark. I couldn’t be sure if my eyes were open; I figured if they were wouldn’t really matter because I wouldn’t be able to see anything anyway.
Thinking about the blindness upset me. I felt my heart race, and my breathing felt shallow. It was terrifying to remember all that had happened, and even more frightening to think about the darkness that consumed me. The tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t brush them away; I knew I needed to cry. I had been told so much in such a short time and never had time to think about the whole situation. Was this even real? Something was definitely happening to me, but the story was outrageous. Myths were real; my boss was… what was he? An alchemist? An immortal? Slightly insane? Casper and Paul were fallen stars? My mind raced, and I could feel my eyes darting around, searching for answers.
I realized that my eyes were in fact open. I saw something move in the darkness. It was blurred, but there was a movement. My tears stopped at once as the fear kicked in.
“Alexis?” a thickly accented voice whispered through the darkness. I presumed the person was sitting next to the bed. I was too scared to reply. I didn’t recognize the voice; the accent was too thick to be Connor, and I couldn’t think of anyone else I knew with an Irish brogue.
“Alexis,” the voice whispered again. “I know yer awake; I can see yer eyes be open. Please, don’t be afraid. Me name’s Dermot. Connor asked me to be keepin’ watch on you.” Dermot? I could vaguely remember seeing the absurdly tall man on my tour with Casper.
Casper. I tried to force the name out of my head as it brought on too many questions. “Watch over me?” My voice felt less raspy than before, but it was still shaky.
“Case you woke up. He wanted someone to be ‘ere. I’ve got the night shift.”
So it was night. It wasn’t just my blindness. Well, it probably was my blindness but for now I was going to pretend it was the darkness keeping me from seeing.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“T’ree in the mornin’. You’ve been asleep fer two days.”
Two days? I’d been in and out of consciousness for almost a week now? My body felt stiff with the lack of movement.
“Dermot? I need to get up. I need to walk somewhere.”
“Um…” he thought about this for a moment. “Right.” I could hear the hesitation in his voice. I’m sure he hadn’t signed on to do anything but watch me sleep, and I sensed he wasn’t sure how to proceed.
I didn’t care. I felt trapped, physically and mentally, and the physical part I could control so I had to do something. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, expecting my ribs to hurt. I was glad when they didn’t.
“Oh. Gee… Uh… right. ‘Ere, take me arm.” Dermot was flustered, which I found amusing. His arm found mine, and I took it. He guided me a few steps before I heard a door open, and I shrank back, hurting from the light that shot through my vision.
Light. Glorious light. I lost my balance with the shock of it, but Dermot kept holding me up.
“You be feelin’ alight?” he asked.
I nodded. “I need a second.” I struggled to focus. “Please focus” was all I could think. It took longer than normal, but eventually I could make ou
t shapes. The doorway opened onto a familiar, doughnut shaped wall. The lights were dim, most likely due to the time of the night.
“Dermot,” I whispered excitedly, “I think I can see.” I turned to look at him, and then laughed.
Dermot was exactly as I remembered. He was wearing the same ridiculous green outfit he had been the first time I saw him, complete with the stovepipe hat. Despite the dim light, the green was brighter than I remembered, richer. His features were more defined too, his skin glowing youthfully, and the red of his hair blazed. I felt like I was viewing him in HD. Looking around again, gaining focus, I realized everything was more defined. I saw the grains of wood in a coffee table off to my right, and veins of the marble fireplace twenty feet in front of me.
I made a mental note that this must be the thirteenth floor, where the company breakfast had been held. I just couldn’t remember the room where I had spent the last five days recovering. I looked back into it, and it looked exactly like a hospital room. There were monitors everywhere, and a chart hanging off my bed. A few bouquets of flowers were on the only table in the room, and I could make out the tiniest bits of pollen flecking the petals, despite the low light spilling back into the room. There were a few unopened cards lying next to the largest arrangement. I looked back at Dermot, who seemed amused by my reactions.
“What?” I asked.
“You look like a bairn,” he said, and I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “A baby,” he explained, enunciating as best he could. I scowled at this comparison. “Nay,” he continued, “not like that. You look like some’ne who be seein’ the world fer the first time is all.”
I thought about that, and then replied, “In all truth, that’s exactly what this feels like.” I could feel tears streaming down my face as I reacted to my sight, and I heard myself laugh as I wiped them away. “I cannot express how unbelievable this feels, Dermot. I thought I was going to be blind forever. I’m not sure I could have lived like that. I need to see.”
“I understand.” His reply was simple, but I knew he meant it.
We walked the loop of the thirteenth floor in a comfortable silence. It took longer than it should have, partly due to my stiffness, and partly due to my curiosity. I could see so much definition in my surroundings I felt a desire to touch everything. I wanted the tactile experience. The feeling wasn’t any different than how things felt before, but I just needed to make sure.
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