Incident 27 (23 page)

Thanks
go out to my editor Heather for bearing with me on this.

First Look

Until We Break

Maya and
Jaysin arrived at Freya’s office that evening. “Thank you for coming,” she said
from behind her desk.

Maya’s
face was still marred by fresh tears. “Have you heard from Ev?”

Freya
leaned forward, hands folded. “I’m afraid not. Please, sit down.” They did so.
“I’m sure you’ve heard by now, but earlier today his hometown was attacked by
Zero Grade. We believe he went there to fight them off.”

“We
already figured that out,” Maya snapped. “Where is he now?”

Freya
replied, “Maya, I’m not going to insult you by pretending everything’s OK. It’s
not. Right now, we fear the worst. We have reason to believe Ev may have had a
run-in with a member of the Flawless Few. We haven’t heard from him at all
since the attack, so…”

Maya found
her self-control disintegrating. “No! He’s not dead! He can’t be! Why aren’t we
out looking for him?”

Freya
explained, “Bethos has decided to wait until we have reinforcements before
going to Upton.”

“That’s
easy for him to say!” she said, hot tears rolling down her face. “There isn’t
anyone he cares about in Upton, no one who saved his life and means everything
to him.”

Jaysin
tried to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be OK, Maya.”

She
swatted him away. “No, it won’t! Didn’t you hear her? Ev could be dying in Upton right now, and these professors don’t give a damn about him!” With Ev missing and
CiCi facing her own crisis, Maya firmly believed she was at her emotional
limit. She saw her life crumbling before her eyes, and no one was doing
anything about it.

“How can
you say that?” Freya said. Maya looked up and was astonished to see tears in
her
eyes. “Have you forgotten? I’m a goddess of love; I feel the pain known only by
lovers. I know exactly what you’re going through, so please don’t say I don’t
care. It’s just that…sometimes we have to make choices that could kill us
because any other choice will kill
many more
people.”

Maya
stared at her. “I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I was only thinking of myself.”

Smiling,
Freya said, “You weren’t just thinking of yourself; you were thinking of the
bond you share with Ev. Love is selfish, Maya, and that’s OK. We do what we do
because we want to be happy with someone else, and I don’t see anything wrong
with that.”

She
nodded. “Thank you, Professor. But I can’t just stand by while Ev faces his
execution. I’m going to save him.”

* * *

He was in
darkness. Absolute darkness. He didn’t know how much time had passed since
getting absorbed into Hades (or whatever had happened), but he did know he was
in a world without light, sound or hope. The darkness wasn’t just everywhere;
it was every
thing
. He could feel it all around him like thick sludge. It
made him claustrophobic as it pinned him down, yet it felt as if he were moving
freely through this terrifying world.

He cried
out for someone to hear him, to find him, to
help
him. He was ashamed of
his weakness, but he couldn’t help it; he desperately wanted to be anywhere but
here.

Maya. He
wanted to see her again. He didn’t deserve it, though; he had failed, and he
knew he should die here as penance. He believed this with every fiber of his
being.

Nevertheless,
selfishness won out, and he found himself wishing he could be with Maya one
last time.
If only I could hear her voice…

Suddenly,
he heard something in this desolate void:
“Thank you, Professor. But I can’t just stand by while Ev
faces his execution. I’m going to save him.”
It was far off, yet distinct. Someone was speaking.

He moved
his arms and legs to swim through the gulf that separated them. Further and
further he went—as least, he
thought
he was moving—until he spotted a
light up ahead. He reached out. He could almost touch it…

* * *

“Please
don’t do this, Maya,” Freya said as Maya got up to leave.

“I won’t
change my mind,” she said.

“Ev
wouldn’t want you getting yourself killed.”

“It
doesn’t matter what he wants,” Maya insisted. “You said it yourself: Love is
selfish. We both know you’d do the same thing for Professor Strong. We’ve all
seen how you look at him.”

“That has
nothing to do with—”

Maya held up
a hand to silence her. “You know it doesn’t matter what you say to me. I’m
going.”

Sighing,
Freya said, “Jaysin, please talk some sense into her.”

He
shrugged. “That would make me quite the hypocrite, dontcha think? Me, who
risked my life to save
her
, telling her not to do the same for someone
else? I’m afraid I can’t do that. In fact, I’m inclined to go with her.”

“This
isn’t a game!” Freya said, her emotional control almost gone. “You can’t just
go running off to die! If you die, how will that make Ev feel?” He hands were
shaking.

After an
awkward silence, Maya said, “This has happened to you before, hasn’t it?
Someone you loved went on some mission and died, didn’t they?”

Freya
explained, “I have loved many people during my life. Mortals, they think they
have to do something grand to impress a goddess. In those days, they would go
off on epic adventures, risking their lives to win my favor. It’s not like the
old tales; instead of succeeding and living happily ever after, they inevitably
got themselves killed. I didn’t want to burden you with my problems, Maya, but
you’ve left me no choice. I know I said love is selfish, but there is such a
thing as being
too
selfish. Think about what it would do to Ev if you
got butchered by Zero Grade. Think of what it would do to your friends. What
about CiCi? She’s counting on you being there for her during her recovery.”

There was
another uncomfortable pause. Maya balled her fist, doubt wracking her soul.
What should she do? It was an impossible choice.

Finally
she said, “I—”

Her words
were cut off by a figure falling from the ceiling. Her eyes went wide as she
saw who it was. “Ev!”

Catch
all the action in
Until We Break
, coming next year.

About
the author

Scott Kinkade lives in Oklahoma where he
struggles to put words to paper. He graduated from Oklahoma Christian University with a BA in Arts. His major was English/Writing. He enjoys reading,
writing, TV, anime, videogames and comic books/manga. He has an unhealthy
interest in history which is sure to get him in trouble one day.

Scott
runs a science fiction-themed blog at
www.thegamecalledrevolution.blogspot.com
.
You can follow him on Twitter @SK_Author, and friend him on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/otakuscott.

Please
take time to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.