Tentyrian Legacy (40 page)

“Maximos, it’s your call,” responds Aristos
as the room turns their eyes to me.

I nod in agreement but propose we wait until
we hear back from Evander’s contact at the Food and Drug
Administration and Aristos’ at the Department of Defense. Both of
them have been quiet, and we need an update before we engage.

“I should be hearing back from Perry in the
next hour,” says Evander. “He is checking the FDA internal system
to see if Trebuchet is doing anything unusual. Last we heard, they
were the holding company for smaller subsidiary plants, producing a
few harmless generic drugs that have been on the market for
decades.”

“Aristos, any word from David?”

“I just received an e-mail from him. There is
minimal chatter right now at the Department of Defense. No weapons
purchases have been made from Trebuchet in the last year by the US
or any other country for that matter. The status is unchanged from
what it was last week. Still quiet. Maybe too quiet . . .”

“Then we wait until we hear from Perry,” I
say. “In the meantime, Aristos, are the teams in place?”

“Yes. I can get them online by telecon if
you’d like.”

“No, not necessary. We will join them in
person when it comes time to strike. Our shifting abilities may be
needed. I will take the New Jersey facility, Evander will take
Virginia, and Aristos will take Georgia. Dimitri and Estaban, I
want you at the New York one, since you are close by and can get
there by car. Head there now. Hale, you get Texas since it’s your
home state, and I want Philip with you. Ryan, you will stay here
with Ari.”

“Why do I have to stay?” protests a
disgruntled Ryan. All of the Brothers’ heads whip in his
direction.

“Because I said so. Do you have a problem
with that?” I respond with an obvious edge in my voice. The
Brothers know not to question my orders, as their leader.

“No, Maximos,” he replies, mollified.

“Good, we also need you to man the Control
Room while we are gone,” orders Aristos. “You will be playing an
integral role in this mission, Ryan. We need you on board.” As much
as Aristos appears gruff—in fact, we all do—we value each Brother
and his respective skills.

“I understand,” Ryan says solemnly.

“Evander, once you hear from Perry, we need
you to take Hale and Philip to the Texas location since they can’t
shift. Everyone is to keep their earpieces and mics turned on and
follow mission protocol,” I command. The room nods in unison,
except for Ari. “We will meet back here in an hour, after which we
will debrief with our teams in person. Aristos and Evander, stay.
The rest of you are dismissed.”

The Brothers leave swiftly, and Dimitri and
Estaban log off. Ari sits frozen in her seat, barely acknowledging
the hand I place gently on her back. “Ari, I want to introduce you
to Evander and Aristos,” I say. She gives me a questioning look and
stands up.

Evander is first to extend his hand and
address her warmly. “The Turn suits you, Ari. Maximos told me you
made it through without incident.” Even now that she is full
Tentyrian, I can see she hasn’t lost her ability to blush. It looks
beautiful on her. Who am I kidding? Everything looks beautiful on
her. Humans will be unable to resist her—from the sound of her
voice now richer with its lulling melody, to the creamy skin now
absolutely perfect. She has been subtly refined through the Turn. I
suppose it’s a consequence of evolution, a predatory advantage. But
I’m not sure who was whose prey last night. She could have easily
become mine. I came so close to biting her and completing the
sacred Tentyrian blood ritual. A ritual sacred to the marriage bed
and that would link us forever.

There was so much I wanted to say to her this
morning and so little time. So I told her that last night was a
mistake. I played on her insecurity. The pain that registered on
her face wasn’t lost on me. But it’s what she needed to hear. I
couldn’t explain to her that last night was incredible or that I’ve
never felt this way about anyone. And that her willingness to give
herself to me so completely is something that I don’t deserve but
something I covet all the same. If she is the First Luminary, and
there is no doubt in mind that she is, then I am supposed to
protect her as a brother—not a lover. As the human colloquialism
goes, the truth sucks.

“We met briefly yesterday, but you were quite
ill,” says Evander to Ari.

“Yes, I remember,” she says softly, “nice to
meet you.” She manages a hesitant smile.

“I’d love to run some tests on you tomorrow
if you are up to it,” says Evander. Ari’s smile immediately sinks
into one of panic. Damn it, Evander. He is like a dog with a bone
sometimes.

“Not now, Evander. We’ll discuss this some
other time,” I interrupt through gritted teeth. “Maybe you should
go see if you’ve heard anything from Perry?”

“An excellent idea. I’m sorry if I alarmed
you, Ari,” Evander says apologetically. “The tests can wait.” He
nods cordially and shakes her hand good-bye before retreating back
to his lab.

Aristos, who has been hanging back, keeping
his fingers busy on his keyboard, steps forward. I haven’t seen him
this nervous since. . . well, I can’t even remember. Throughout our
meeting with the Brothers, I couldn’t help but notice how he looked
at Ari. It was with a combination of recognition and nervousness.
Seeing a picture is one thing, but seeing Ari in person is another.
She is the spitting image of Daria, even in her modern-day cut-off
shorts and tank top.

“This is Aristos, my longest friend,” I
introduce him.

“Pleased to meet you,” Aristos says formally
as he gives her a small bow, opting for the Tentyrian form of
respect, instead of a handshake.

“And you,” she says, her voice not as timid
as it was with Evander. Her eyes look at him intently, and she
tilts her head. What she says next completely takes me off
guard.

“I can see some of you in me. Are we
related?”

I had purposely not called out her lineage,
as I thought it was a conversation the two of them should have. But
their resemblance is hard to miss with their same chestnut hair and
the shape of their eyes. An obvious difference is in Aristos’
scarred face, riddled with raised white lines—a token from the
Sanctum fire that even Evander couldn’t completely heal. But
Aristos wasn’t the vain type. He told me that every time he looks
in the mirror, the scars remind him of what is important: killing
the Dark Coven.

“Yes,” Aristos says, shifting uncomfortably.
“Daria was the name of my wife,” he continues with his voice tight,
looking down. When he looks up, I see tears in his eyes. “You look
just like her. If we had a daughter, I always imagined she would
look like you.” Ari’s face is equally filled with emotion. There is
a slight tremor in Aristos’ hands, which he clenches by his sides
when he sees me assessing them. Ari steps forward and wraps her
arms around Aristos without hesitation, which isn’t an easy task
based on his size. He looks at me in surprise, and his own arms,
awkwardly but slowly, enclose around her.

To see my friend actually held in the arms of
another is a strange sight. Since the massacre, I’ve never seen
Aristos share an emotional connection with anyone. Not even Evander
or me. Post-battle celebrations don’t count. “Evander has looked at
both of our DNA; you are of my blood,” he chokes out.

“So how many ‘greats’ come before
grandfather?” she asks as she steps back and smiles up at him.

“Very many.” He smiles. He actually
smiles.

“We are still piecing together your family
tree, Ari. There are some significant gaps, so we don’t know
exactly how many generations separate you, but we estimate it to be
around sixty-eight,” I offer. “Unfortunately, the bulk of those
gaps start with Aristos’ and Daria’s son, Darrius. We don’t know
what happened to him after the massacre and how your family’s line
continued. For a while, we thought Darrius must have perished along
with the rest of the children. But your existence proves that
didn’t happen. Which means it’s also possible that there are more
direct Luminary descendants out there . . .”

“How many do you think there could be?” Ari
asks.

“We have no way of knowing. But we suspect
four, including you. What’s interesting, and Evander could go on
about this for hours, is that you are the only one in your family
line that has the markers of a Tentyrian descendent. Somehow, when
you were born you carried the Tentyrian gene and for the first time
it was activated. If any of the other children of the first
generation survived and they managed to procreate, there could be
more like you . . .”

“You told me no one else survived except for
you all and the Dark Coven,” Ari says in confusion.

“That’s what we thought, until you came
along,” Aristos replies. He looks like he is still pulling himself
together.

I interject for him. “There were four
Luminary children, including Aristos’ son, that we managed to
secret out through an escape tunnel. We sent them along with their
Guardians. We intended to find them afterward, but they
disappeared. Eventually, we had to come to terms with the
possibility they had died. However, the Book of Hathor told us that
there would come a time when four would be born to unite and bring
glory to our kind. So we held out hope . . .”

“You mentioned that book earlier. What are
you talking about?” she asks.

“It’s called the Book of Hathor. Aristos, can
you work your magic and show Ari?” Aristos looks relieved to have a
task to snap him out of his uncharacteristic emotional state. He
walks over to his desk and picks up an iPad. He brings it over to
the conference table and puts it in front of Ari. With a few taps,
scanned pages of a book appear on the screen.

“The pages are too fragile for us to work
with, so we’ve had them scanned,” Aristos explains. “The original
book is kept safe in a special vault. If you look here in the notes
sections, the translation can be found in English. It was
originally written in our native Greek, the language of Tentyris.”
Aristos quickly flips through the pages to show Ari the prophecy of
her birth. She reads it aloud:

“Beginning in the year 1985 after the death
of Christ, four stars will be born. They will fall to this Earth
unrecognized at first, waiting to illuminate their brilliance. The
first star, surrounded by her brothers, will lead the way. Without
her, her sister stars will be lost. Her sight and ultimate
sacrifice will mean salvation. The second star’s light will
flicker. The loss of her half, a painful lesson. Yet her energy
must endure to bring light to us all. The third star will burn with
fury, both an asset and a danger. Through temperance and patience,
destruction can be over- come. The fourth star, unknown at first
but still beloved, brings with her the possibility of peace. Yet
olive branches can break and so can hearts. Together, these four
stars will form a new constellation, guiding humanity and our
people home. To guide is a blessing and a curse, the paradox of the
Zodiac’s beginning.”

After a pause, Ari asks, “And you think the
first star is me?”

“Yes,” replies Aristos confidently, as if
seeing her now solidifies our theory into conviction.

“I explained to you before that Hathor was
our queen. She was also our Visionary, meaning she had the gift of
foresight,” I explain, trying to provide more clarity. “Hathor
wrote down all of her premonitions in this book. It was only
shortly before her death that I learned of the book’s existence.
She kept it secret for fear that it would fall into the wrong
hands. Only her daughters and I knew of it. She left us with the
instruction that we not try to change the course of the future,
with the exception of preventing one event, which will ultimately
bring about mass destruction for all mankind if it takes place.
Since her death, we’ve tried to uphold that promise as a
Brotherhood and locate the four she speaks of.”

Aristos swipes to the last page in the book
for Ari to see:

In the year 2012, after the death of Christ,
the world will end. Sickness will sweep the globe and war will be
waged. The siege engine will not stop until decimation covers the
Earth. But even the engine will not anticipate the outcome. There
will be no survivors. No medicine can stop the spread, unless the
four stars and their brothers intervene. Poison must burn;
gatekeepers must drown. And when it becomes dark, we must be the
ones to restore the light. Tentyris can rise again in glory.

“We believe the siege engine is Trebuchet
Global and the poison will come either from their weapons or
pharmaceuticals. That’s why it’s imperative we finish off those
facilities,” I explain. “We have also worked hard to cripple their
financials, which we hope is limiting their funding to terrorists—a
favorite pastime of theirs. We know the Dark Coven’s ‘legal’
supplying of weapons is quiet. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t
using alternate, illegal methods. The root of the problem is that
they have support from inside the US government, the gatekeepers if
you will.”

Just then, Evander appears from the lab. He
looks paler than usual, which isn’t a good sign.

“I’ve heard back from Perry,” he proclaims.
“And?” Aristos’ asks.

“There is a new drug that’s just been
fast-tracked for approval this month. It’s called DTPA12. Perry
hadn’t even heard about it or its clinical trials until today. Its
testing was partially funded by the government, and they mandated
it be kept under wraps for security purposes. It’s used to treat
radiation sickness. And, no surprise, Trebuchet is the main
underwriter. We have a serious problem.”

It’s my call now. “The mission is on,” I say
with a deep breath. “We don’t have much of a choice. It’s 6:00 a.m.
on the East Coast. And while I prefer to do our raids at night, I
don’t think we have time to wait. We risk them moving. Plus, if
these are Trebuchet’s holdings, they won’t be expecting us in the
daytime.”