Omega (40 page)

“
Aww. You’ll miss
her.”

He muttered a curse and turned away,
striding towards the front door.

“
Wait, Adonis!” I called
after him.

He stopped without turning. I had no reason
to ask him to wait, and I wracked my brain for something that
wouldn’t leave me yet again humiliated in front of him.

“
Thanks,” I managed
finally. “And safe travels.”

“
Read the
card.”

I almost laughed. A card and stuffed animal
from the butcher? Mrs. Nettles handed it to me. I opened it, read
the names present, and gasped.

“
It was all I could take
before they locked up the file,” he said.

“
These are … my
parents.”

“
Yes.”

Emotion jammed my ability to speak. I stared
at him in surprise for a long moment then at the names on the
card.

“
You’re coming back,
aren’t you?” I asked at last.

“
Your name is seared into
my soul. I will always return to you.”

My breath caught. “That’s
…” …
the most incredible thing I’ve ever
heard.
“… uh … good.” I became the
stupidest person on the planet when he looked at me like that.
Warmth bloomed within me beneath his intensity, leaving me fevered
and speechless and oh-so-aware of the significance of this meeting.
I no longer had to doubt his intentions, his loyalty.
Him.

He tilted his head, his
lips turning up in a half smile. He was feeling what I did, the
fire in my blood, the furnace at my lower belly.
Humiliated
did not begin
to describe what it was like knowing he was so intimately connected
to me.

“
Survive,” he said softly
one last time. He walked out, and the front door closed behind
him.

Mismatch,
Mrs. Nettles said, watching him
retreat.

I bit back tears. Why did
it feel like he was never coming back? “It’s … okay. He’ll be
back.”
Or … something.
I didn’t know why I wanted it to be true. “Let’s show you
your new home.” With a deep breath, I tucked the card inside my bra
for safekeeping, repeating their names over and over as I walked
with her towards the bedroom.

Leandra was waiting inside and stopped in
her pacing to stare. “What …”

I smiled and introduced them, explaining how
I’d brought Mrs. Nettles to life when I was little. Leandra picked
her up and studied her before placing her on the bed. “Did that
asshole make you cry?” she asked, returning to me.

“
No.”

She waited for more.

I didn’t know what to say about Adonis, but
it wasn’t anything bad. His thoughtfulness was beyond that of
anyone I’d ever known.

“
You’re almost late.”
Leandra snatched a handbag from the table near the door.

I did my best to stop thinking of Adonis and
focus on what happened today. “Ugh.” I waved at Mrs. Nettles, who
waved back.

“
Your escort is waiting.
The Magistrate said only you are to come because of the level of
those attending.” Leandra handed me my knife and said again, “I
don’t like it.”

I strapped it on my good thigh as we walked
towards the foyer. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Too many people are
watching me for him to act. Right?”

“
You are way too
trusting.”

“
I just mean I don’t think
the Triumvirate members are on the same page, and like you said, I
don’t have my full powers yet.”

“
I’ll take care of Mrs.
Nettles if you wind up dead.”

“
Oh, my gods, Leandra!
Doom and gloom everywhere.” I smiled at her despite the outburst,
warmth blooming inside me from Adonis’ gifts and touch. “You do
love me!” I wrapped her in a tight hug.

“
Stop it!” she hissed and
pushed me away. “You’ll ruin your dress!”

Grinning, I left her in the foyer and went
outside, where the two guards had doubled. My instincts tickled the
back of my neck. My happiness faded at the idea I’d be going to an
event without Leandra or Adonis.

One of the guards led me down the opposite
way I’d gone every other time I left the villa. The compound was
large enough for the change in direction not to be suspicious, so I
went, limping after him. I didn’t start to worry until I recognized
the closet-sized entrance to the underground cave where the Oracle
lived.

Leandra’s warning made me slow. When I saw
the first guard enter, I stopped completely.

“
Ma’am,” said one of them
behind me.

I stretched for the knife.

“
It’s okay, guys. Back up
a bit.” I turned at Lantos’ voice. He wore his mask and was dressed
in a tuxedo. My hand hovered over the weapon as he approached. “I
reconsidered the request you made of me,” he said for my ears only.
“We have ten minutes before the luncheon. If you can promise to
keep this quick, we’ll go down and see her. You can ask her how to
use your powers. But – you cannot kill her. That’s the
deal.”

I gazed up at him. “What made you change
your mind?”

“
A common
friend.”

Touched by Adonis bringing Mrs. Nettle by, I
felt my guard lower knowing he’d set this up. Gods help me, I
trusted him.

“
You’ll need this.” Lantos
handed me a familiar red cord bracelet. “My magic protected you
from the fumes last time. This will help you stay focused this
time.”

“
The Magistrate is letting
us visit her?”

“
I paid off some of his
guards.” He winked. “Shift change is at one, though, so we need to
go quickly.”

I gazed at him for another long moment
before nodding and stepping forward. I slid the bracelet in place.
Immediately, the ribbons around me disappeared. We walked into the
facility without any challenge from the guard. Lantos and I went to
the elevator, and I sneaked a look at him.

Something felt off. He was open and friendly
as always, but …

“
Adonis is going on
vacation for a few days,” he said. “Lucky bastard.”

I smiled. “He’s a different kind of
guy.”

“
You figure out what makes
him tick?”

I shook my head.

“
Me neither. Makes me
think I don’t really want to know.”

We agree there.
I wiped sweaty palms on my dress. My stomach was
turning over at the thought of the tormented woman mere steps
away.

“
You okay with seeing her
again?” he asked as the elevator ceased moving.

“
Yeah. A little
nervous.”

The doors opened, and the heady scent of
amber, sulfur and other exotic spices filled my senses. The band at
my wrist wasn’t really helping it. I was cartwheeling mentally from
the Oracle catnip before we left the elevator.

I exited and closed my eyes, breathing the
intoxicating scent deeply. It calmed me, and a faint tingling at
the base of my skull reminded me of how I felt around Adonis. With
my senses dulled, I didn’t feel the strange coolness at my neck
until a sharp sting penetrated my addled brain.

My eyes flew open, and I slapped at it. It
wasn’t a bug bite. Niko stood beside me, a medical gun in hand.
Struggling to focus, I brought my hand away from my neck to see a
dab of blood.

“
What did you do?” I
demanded.

“
Injected the red magic
into you. A safety measure,” Lantos responded.

I faced him, suddenly aware of the people
present on the far side of the room, opposite the direction of the
Oracle where I faced. “What is this?”

Two guards – one SISA and one military –
slid between me and the elevator door.

“
This is your one
o’clock.” Cleon emerged from an office area near the other
well-dressed men and women I didn’t recognize.

I looked from Lantos to him and back again.
“You set me up.”

“
For which I’m not too
proud.” Lantos lifted his mask. “But my end goals depend upon your
cooperation. I need that portal open, and Cecilia refuses me every
time I ask. Cleon and I agree for once the gate has to be opened,
which leaves … you.”

Coldness slid through me. I stretched for
the knife, focusing hard on him to keep the catnip from stealing my
attention once more. Niko snatched my wrist and wrenched it behind
me.

“
I figured you’d be
armed,” he said.

I shook my head, too affected by the scents
to fight him when he lifted my dress to tear off the knife. It was
all I could do not to float away.

Niko steered me towards the others. The
moment I saw the surgery table, I dug in my heels.

“
Tough luck, you little
shit,” he said and shoved me forward.

I caught myself on the cold stainless steel
and backed away. Niko pushed me forward again. This time, I stayed.
My injured thigh was hurting, the pain battling the effects of the
catnip.

“
For your third trial, you
will fulfill your fate, Alessandra.” Cleon said. “It’s traditional
for this to be the third trial of the Oracle, to submit to her
place here, above the caverns.”

Never, since learning of the trials, did I
suspect this was one of them. It was perfectly evil. In order to
access my powers, I had to complete the trials. No god or man was
going to risk me developing full powers and challenging them, but
they needed them for the portal. The solution: to make the third
trial enslave my power for them to use.

“
Oh, gods,” I whispered,
no longer wondering why Cleon waited to tell me his
trial.

“
But you do have a
choice.” He motioned a team of surgeons forward. They wore masks
over half their faces and surgical gowns.

I reached for the gem at my neck. Adonis
couldn’t sense me with the shit Niko put in me, but I could still
reach him.

“
Niko,” Lantos moved
forward quickly. “The necklace.”

Niko caught my wrist. He planted an elbow in
my bruised ribs, and I gasped. Before I could gather myself, he had
yanked the necklace over my head and handed it to Lantos.

“
As I was saying, you have
one choice,” Cleon continued. “You can go the way of the Oracle” he
pointed to the opposite wall.

I was afraid to look.

“
Or you can try this new
method I had developed that allows me access to your magic without
you ending up in pieces.”

This didn’t feel real. I knew it was. But
the smells were confusing me, making me feel like I was trapped in
a dream.

“
Neither,” I
said.

“
We thought you might say
this,” Cleon glanced at Lantos.

“
I don’t want to take this
step, but I will,” Lantos said almost gently. “I know how to use
this.” He held up the gem. “I can call him back here. I won’t harm
him, but Niko and Cleon don’t share my respect for the friendship I
have with him.”

Coldness streaked through me at the veiled
threat. “You would have your own friend killed?”

“
I threw him in with a
Typhon. What do you think?” Lantos returned. “It’s for the greater
cause. Adonis would understand.”

I searched his gaze, stated to drift away,
then shook my head and concentrate on his sparkling eyes. Images of
Mismatch or Adonis being murdered by Niko played through my
thoughts. I didn’t want to care. I shouldn’t have cared. I didn’t
owe Adonis anything.

But the idea made me sick to my stomach. My
Mismatch being hurt made my chest ache. He was a murderer, a man of
untold depth and emotion, one I hardly knew.

He’s mine.
It was as the little-me of my dream had warned
me. I couldn’t hurt my own creation. I couldn’t stand by and let
him die either, not when my emotions were entangled with
his.

“
What is the alternate
method?” I asked hoarsely.

“
It’s simple and fairly
painless compared to our traditional methods.” Cleon held up a
microchip the size of his thumbnail. “We insert this into your
brain. It has been blessed by Dolos and enabled by his magic to
undermine your ability to control your magic. The chip sends
signals to me that a chip in my brain interprets and helps
control.” He tapped the back of his skull. “This is a perfect
marrying of technology and magic requiring sums of money that would
leave you staggering.”

“
We’d be connected,” I
said.

“
Yes. I’d be in control of
your magic. Capable of opening the portal.”

“
In theory,” Lantos
added.

Cleon ignored him. “Your trial is to submit
to your fate. Either the microchip or by taking Cecilia’s
place.”

My eyes went to the table. I already knew I
wasn’t going to choose Cecelia’s path. I didn’t exactly love the
idea of brain surgery or having a man like Cleon in my head with
access to my magic.

“
He’ll have the power of a
god,” I said to Lantos. “You’re okay with that?”

“
It’s a means to an end.”
Lantos winked.

At least I don’t have full
access to it yet.
I had yet to kill the
Oracle, the trial tasked to me by the Silent Queen. I doubted Cleon
knew of it, and I wasn’t going to volunteer the
information.

“
I’ll do it. The
microchip,” I said.

This time, I didn’t resist when Niko and his
goons grabbed me and strapped me face down on the table. I began
praying to Artemis and squeezed my eyes closed. Doctors with gloved
hands moved my hair and shot me up with some medicine.