Theta (8 page)

Between managing an army, visiting grieving
families, and hunting for deities, I barely slept. When I did doze,
I had nightmares.

I understood too well how useful a healing
deity could be.

But I much preferred a dead deity.

We passed through the main shopping mall,
whose stores had been converted into barracks where the soldiers
lived with the other members of their units. Of the three anchor
stores, only one had survived the gods’ wrath. It was transformed
into our headquarters, which contained barracks for all the command
personnel and common areas consisting of public baths, showers and
restrooms, a dining hall, and a massive refrigerated storage area
where we kept every last tiny piece of food that was brought in by
hunting parties or left over from the nightly wakes. Soldiers slept
in other abandoned stores throughout the mall. Outdoor kitchens
prevented the buildings from becoming too hot and freed up living
space. Most of the design aspects of our compound had been based
off of Herakles’ ideas. He had a knack for the basic building
blocks of surviving anywhere, with any kind of resources.

We exited the headquarters. Many members of
the army had brought families or close friends with them from DC.
Those who were not official soldiers or support staff lived in the
adjacent buildings of a strip mall across the street but still well
within our protected compound. The lights were out in the other
buildings, and it was quiet this time of night.

I had no place designated for prisoners of
war, since I never planned to take any, and was curious to see
where the soldiers kept the imprisoned deity. I sensed the god
before I saw where we were headed.

Fitting,
I thought, amused for the first time in
weeks.

They’d placed him in the livestock barn,
which was constructed out of material left over from one of the
destroyed anchor stores. Safe inside the defenses, we didn’t guard
the livestock except to place young men and women in charge of
making sure the animals were well. Four guards stood in front of
the barn doors, confirming my suspicion the god was inside.

The guards opened the doors when we reached
them, and all four of us entered.

The barn smelled of horses, cows, pigs,
sheep and hay, and light glowed from the lamps ensconced along one
wall.

In front of the bales of hay and straw, a
man in his twenties sat bound to a chair. He appeared the worse for
wear, as if my men had beaten him before he managed to talk his way
out of the fate I declared for every deity. His clothing was ripped
and bloody and his dark hair mussed – but he bore no bruises or
signs of injury. He was relaxed and dozing.

“
Is it one of them?”
Herakles asked me quietly.

I nodded.

“
Give her room,” he
instructed the others and waved them back, towards the
door.

Ever my protector, he stayed close to me
when I stepped forward.

Who are you?
I demanded of the god.

He jerked awake and lifted his face to see
me. His skin was dark caramel – but his eyes were brilliant
blue.

“
Your Majesty,” he said and
dipped his head. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

I repeated my question.

“
Paeon.”

My eyebrows lifted.

“
Who?” Herakles
asked.

The god appeared surprised
briefly before he responded. “I am … I
was
the personal physician to the gods
and goddesses,” he replied.

“
A god doctor. I didn’t
know they needed such a thing.”

Paeon didn’t seem to know how to respond. I
waved Herakles back a step, impatient to interrogate the prisoner
before I put him to death for stealing a human body.

“
But I didn’t steal
it.”

I blinked. For several weeks, no one around
me had been able to hear my thoughts. I was becoming lazy in
guarding them.

“
He was dying. I offered to
heal him, if he volunteered to host me,” Paeon
explained.

Volunteered?
I repeated skeptically.
Your kind has been usurping the rightful spirits and forms
that belong to the humans!

Paeon blinked – and his eyes turned from
brilliant blue to dark brown.

“
He’s telling the truth.”
His voice became deeper, softer, and the sense of being near a god
… changed. Became fainter. “My name is Kyros. I was beaten and left
for dead by thieves after my food.”

Was it possible for someone to be
half-possessed?

Has he hurt you? Tried to
eject you from your body?
I asked
warily.

“
No. Never. We take turns,
and he keeps my body healed and healthy, no matter
what.”

I studied him critically. The sickly sweet
scent of rotting flesh was not present, and there was a healthy
glow to this man’s features. I had never heard of a god possessing
a body and allowing the human soul to remain.

So you share?
I asked.

“
Yes. We both needed
help.”

I perked in
interest.
Why would a god need
help?

Kyros shook his head. “He says I shouldn’t
have said that.” He smiled, a strangely unguarded display. “We
don’t always agree. It’s been a learning experience, having someone
else in my head.” He blinked – and his eyes turned blue. His
expression became more guarded, and he sat up straighter.

I had never considered the possibility that
a god could co-exist with a human soul inside one body. It left me
even angrier with those deities I’d murdered. They didn’t give the
humans a chance to share but stole the bodies.

Why is your kind doing
this?
I demanded.

“
I’m not here to discuss
this,” Paeon said firmly. “That is not for you to know.”

Startled by his words, I stared at him. If
my men doubted me, they at least kept their feelings quiet and
obeyed my orders. Not even Herakles would challenge me. How had I
forgotten the natural arrogance of a god? Perhaps because those I
crossed paths with now were desperate and more likely to beg than
allow their substantial egos to speak on their behalves.

“
I have a message for you
from someone you seek,” Paeon said.

I waited.

“
He says to stop seeking
him. He says, you must focus on what is happening inside the city,
because we are all in danger. He sent me as an olive branch. I am
to serve you and help your soldiers heal from battle and sickness
and any other malady that might befall them. When you are ready, I
am authorized to broker a peace with you and work with you to
defeat our common enemy.”

I ignored his nonsense about a common enemy.
I had one real enemy: the gods. Cleon was a very annoying obstacle
standing between me and the military forces I needed to defeat the
gods.

Zeus sent you?
I asked.

“
Yes. I’m here to help
you.”

“
Or to spy on us,” Herakles
said. “There will be no truce after all your kind has done. Not
ever.”

“
I see neither of you trust
deities. It does not surprise me that you do not, strong one, but I
am surprised by you, Your Majesty.” Paeon studied me. “Have you
forgotten your special bond with us? Have you forgotten how blessed
your family is? Have you forgotten Zeus, the king over all the
gods,
chose
to
become your patron?”

His self-assurance, along
with the light accusation I heard in his questions, blinded me with
fury as few things in this world were capable of. I crossed to him
and slapped him hard, hating the words flowing out of his mouth. He
was so confident, so certain what his people did to my family was
a
blessing
when we
lived under a curse that enslaved us for all time in stone – an
inescapable, living death meant to last for eternity! My soul, and
the souls of everyone who came before me in the Bloodline, would
never go to Hades, never find peace, because of this
blessing
!

Too angry to deal with this creature
anymore, I whirled and left the barn. Herakles followed me. I
walked blindly for several minutes before realizing where I was, at
the edge of the forest.

Releasing a breath, I shook out my upper
body without freeing up my chest, which felt like it was being
squeezed by an angry god. My breathing was ragged and shallow.
Tears of anger stung my eyes. My emotions had been bubbling just
beneath the surface since we left DC.

Herakles was a silent presence behind me. He
said nothing as I struggled to regain my composure. Gradually, as
the humid night breeze swept by me, I was able to pull away from
the hate and rage that filled me whenever I thought about my
destiny and the fates of everyone in my Bloodline.

I had long ago decided the curse of the
Bloodline would end with me. I would not perpetuate the curse the
gods had placed upon my family, and I didn’t intend to allow it to
befall me, either.

I had to find Zeus. I didn’t care what
message Paeon carried from my patron god. I owed neither of them
any loyalty.

Facing Herakles, I was about to motion to
the notebook he kept at his waist when he held it out to me. I gave
him a tight smile and wrote my latest orders in as few words as
possible, aware of his literacy challenge.

Find Zeus. Do whatever it takes.

Handing it back, I watched him read it
slowly. He nodded.

“
If I may ask …” His gaze
dropped to the envelope sticking out of my waistband.

My anger softened. I missed my mother
figure, Theodocia, and Herakles ached for the girl he had adopted,
the next Oracle of Delphi, Alessandra. She had been taken prisoner
by the Supreme Magistrate before he attempted to destroy my army
and drove me out of the city. Theodocia stayed behind, coining the
moniker DC Mama, as she led the insurgencies inside the city. My
code name was NOVA Mama, referring to the local parlance for
Northern Virginia.

Herakles and I were both suffering from not
knowing the fates of our loved ones trapped in the city. Tugging
the letter free, I scanned through it briefly. Theodocia rarely
said much, in case the letters were intercepted before they reached
me.

Our insurgency was not going well. She gave
no specifics. At least, not to the naked eye. Because we both
possessed the ability to speak to the gods, and were touched by the
magic of more than one deity, we were able to communicate in code
only a god could understand.

The message I alone was able to see was
encoded in a drop of blood at the bottom of the letter. I touched
it, and Theodocia’s recorded message whispered into my mind.

I hope you are well,
Phoibe. Know that I am safe, and so is Tommy,
she said, referring to her son, the little boy who had become
like a brother to me.
SISA is getting close
to our location, and the military closing in on yours. Cleon’s
control of the Oracle grows. Artemis believes Alessandra is in
great danger. Keep Herakles focused out there. I think it’s time we
start discussing a coordinated attack. If we wait until winter,
we’re going to face the additional challenge of snow and ice. If
you can meet, when and where?

The blood message ended. I shivered
involuntarily. The eerie sound of her voice in my head, when she
was so far away, left me momentarily distracted by my feelings. I
missed her more than I ever thought I would. We’d been together for
twelve years.

Shaking my head, I handed the bland letter
to Herakles.

“
She says Lyssa is doing
good,” Herakles said, relief crossing his features.

Theodocia’s lie was safe with me. Herakles
was unable to read the encoded message. I needed him here, as my
trusted advisor, or I would reveal Alessandra’s difficulties to
him. Theodocia had been reporting that there was something wrong
with the Oracle for the past few weeks without specifying what
exactly the problem was. Either she didn’t fully know, or it was of
a nature she did not feel comfortable sharing, even through our
encoded messages.

I wrote another short message for Herakles
and handed the notebook to him.

“
Safe place to meet near
DC?” he asked. “Your Majesty, I don’t think there is such a thing
right now.”

I lifted my chin.

He smiled. “But I’ll find one. You want to
meet with DC Mama?”

I nodded.

“
Then I will make it
happen.” He returned the letter to me. “I know and agree with your
position on deities stealing human bodies. But I feel we can use
Paeon, and I grow weary of the nightly wakes. If you will agree to
let him care for our sick and injured, I will ensure he stays bound
and guarded at all times.”

I studied Herakles. He was never arrogant or
forceful. He was always honest, another trait we did not share. At
times, I needed his perspective, when my own was frustrated. My
instinct was to murder Paeon this night, but Herakles’ gentle
argument held a ring of truth I wasn’t able to ignore. If we
continued to lose soldiers to bad water and on missions to find
food, we would have no one left to attack the protected zone and
take the city.

I nodded once to give my permission, in
spite of my reservations. I would keep an eye on Paeon, too, and
ensure he wasn’t masking his real intention in being here.

“
You need rest,” Herakles
advised.

I raised both eyebrows, unaccustomed to
being told what to do, even if he often said those very words.