Omega (43 page)

“
You’ve had a trying few
days,” he agreed. “I promise you time to rest, after a simple
demonstration of your power.”

“
Demonstration. You want
me to destroy something.”

“
I do. No one has to know
your powers are limited. This will convince them
otherwise.”

I tensed, unable to imagine what his target
was. He admitted to wanting to rule the world. It wasn’t like he’d
hold back, now that he had the shot to do it.

We were silent the rest of the trip. He was
taking us toward the wall, but to an area unreachable by Mama’s
people. We entered a secure military base and traveled through
soldier-packed streets to the foot of the wall. Rather than carve
out stairs inside the wall, as Theodocia’s people had done, the
military had created an elevator running to the top of the wall
protected by no less than a dozen heavily armed soldiers.

We got out of the car. The guards gave away
once they spotted Cleon and saluted Niko. Niko strode through them
and the barriers between us and the wall. I trailed him, limping,
eyeing the heavily armed men uneasily. There was pretty much no
chance of me escaping the demonstration, unless I let Cleon kill me
through the control mechanism he’d implanted in my brain.

I didn’t see him letting me die when he
wanted to control me.

Cleon and a man with stars on his collar
spoke quietly and followed. They grew quiet as we all climbed into
the elevator. The ride was too fast for me – my stomach turned, and
I steadied myself against the cool metal wall.

The voices were louder, though still hard to
understand. One voice, a male one, seemed to be the only one whose
words I could make out.

You must stop him. Let us help you.

I didn’t know how to respond or even if I
should. The gods were supposed to be my enemies. The priests at my
orphanage believed so. The Silent Queen swore as much, and even
Leandra still believed the gods to be against everything the Old
Ways stood for.

The more I learned and experienced of the
outside world, the less I truly understood it. A man like Cleon had
to be stopped. But so did Lantos, who was willing to sacrifice me
and everyone else to exact the revenge of the Titans. And the Holy
Wars, the condition the world outside this wall lived in …

Who exactly was an ally to me? Because I
wasn’t seeing how any of these people were remotely near my side of
the fence.

This time, when my head ached, it wasn’t
from the surgery. It was because I was once more feeling like a
victim of my circumstances rather than the powerful Oracle I was
supposed to be.

We reached the top of the wall and stepped
off the elevator. Soldiers lined the city and open sides as far as
I could see in both directions. DC and the surrounding areas glowed
to my right while the darkness, all I ever saw of the rest of the
world, was to my left.

Niko led us to a point on the wall and waved
away the soldiers standing guard. I joined him, admiring the lights
of the city beneath Nyx’s sky and how the ribbons seemed to dance
among them. What we were doing here? Why did I have the feeling I
never should’ve left my forest?

“
Shut up and do what
you’re told, kid,” Niko said quietly, for my ears only, before he
stepped back for Cleon to replace his presence at my
side.

“
Beautiful, is it not?”
Cleon asked, a smile on his features as he viewed the city and
surrounding areas. “The most powerful city in the world, perhaps
the most powerful the world has ever known, right at your
feet.”

The lump forming in my throat was too large
for me to swallow.

“
Reports indicate the
Silent Queen has focused her underground army there.” He pointed
towards an area that included the central temple of
Artemis.

I studied it. I had no idea if he were right
or not. I had seen a small part of the underground city but didn’t
know DC enough to understand where it was in correlation to the
above ground world. The area he indicated, though, was also
residential. I counted at least four apartment buildings, a
neighborhood of townhouses, police station and a park among several
quiet streets lined with businesses surrounding the temple.

“
That’s where we’ll start.
Destroy it all.”

My eyes flew up to him. “You can’t be
serious!”

Cleon met my gaze. I saw no emotion or
compassion in his features and recoiled. How I was ever convinced
he was kind or worthy or anything good was beyond me. None of these
people could be trusted.

“
Won’t … won’t that anger
Artemis?” I managed.

“
Artemis favored the Queen
and her High Priestess. Which is why this will be a demonstration
to both sides.” He motioned towards it, supreme satisfaction on his
face. “Destroy everything for a five block radius from the central
temple.”

I couldn’t believe I’d heard the words. This
had to be a nightmare, another alternate reality like the one
Mnemosyne created. For an agonizing moment, I stood shocked, too
surprised and horrified to move.

“
No,” I said finally. “I’m
not a monster like you. I won’t let you turn me into
one!”

Agony pierced my brain, and I staggered,
dropping to my knees as the pain spread rapidly, crippling me. I
could barely breathe and wasn’t able to move or see, not with the
paralyzing pain stabbing me in the brain.

“
I gave you an order,
Oracle,” Cleon said softly.

“
There … are … people!” I
gasped out.

“
If we are to be taken
seriously, this needs to be done.”

I barely registered the words.

The pain stopped as suddenly as it started.
I shook from head to toe. “I don’t care. I won’t do it!”

“
If you refuse me, I’ll
put you on the wall next to Cecelia.”

Survive,
Adonis had told me. But if faced with knowing it
meant hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent people died, would he
tell me to do whatever it took? Because I didn’t think I could live
with hurting someone innocent. He killed without restraint, but I
wasn’t him. I wasn’t like any of these people!

“
What’s your answer?”
Cleon demanded.

“
Never,” I whispered. I
was better off diving off the wall to my death than doing what he
said.

“
Let me try,” Niko’s
said.

Nothing the asshole could say was going to
change my mind. With what strength I could muster, I managed to
peel myself off the ground and sit. Even this movement left me
dizzy.

Niko crouched beside me, close enough for
his body heat to warm me and for our discussion to be private. Not
that I was going to listen to a word the asshole said. He titled my
chin up to meet his dark gaze. My original captor, my first
betrayer, the man who showed me how different the real world was,
appeared grim.

“
My son’s name is Tommy.
He has a brilliant, strong, idealistic mother who will stop at
nothing to serve the greater good. She’s a true visionary, one who
would sacrifice anything – and anyone, including you, me and her
own son – to see her goals realized,” he began. “I’m a pragmatist.
I don’t care about the world she wants to create for our son
tomorrow. I care about him surviving the one we live in today. It’s
why I serve the Magistrate. There’s no second guessing who’s had
the upper hand here for quite some time. I’m always going to be on
the winning team, because I’m not willing to sacrifice my son. I do
whatever it takes to win, and he stays alive.”

Startled by his honesty, I found myself
listening mere minutes after swearing I wouldn’t.

“
She and I are alike in
that way,” he continued. “I will do anything, kill anyone, for my
greater purpose, for my Tommy. What you need to figure out real
quick: what’s your greater calling, and what will you sacrifice to
ensure you’re able to see the day when it becomes reality? When
what and who you love are no longer in danger?”

I knew the answer the moment he asked the
question. It was instinctual, a whisper, perhaps from the depths of
me that were tied to Adonis. Niko’s damning pep talk left me
quaking.

“
But … those people are
innocent,” I whispered, tears pricking my eyes. “How do you live
with knowing what you’ve done?”

“
It’s easy. I take one
look at my son and realize there is no cost I’m not willing to pay
to ensure he lives.” He touched the exposed double omega birthmark
visible on my arm. “I have a feeling this mark means you’re not
just another Oracle, and Cleon seems to think you’re the strongest
Oracle since the first who opened the portal between worlds. You
aren’t destined for the same fate as Cecilia. You’re destined for
the end of days, whatever form that takes, whoever’s days those
are.”

Survive.
My purpose, to restore the Old Ways, to end the
tyranny of gods and men alike, made sense for the first time since
leaving the forest. Without me, the world was stuck with Cleon.
Without me, the people would continue to suffer through the Holy
Wars. Without me, the future of everyone I loved was so very, very
dark.

“
I also know that today
I’m on the winning team. But tomorrow, this might change. Nothing
you do tonight will stop Theodocia or the Queen from whatever their
plans are. By now they’re safely out of the city or so deeply
hidden, no one can touch them,” he added. “No one you kill tonight
will have a better life living under Cleon’s rule than dying
quietly in their sleep. If anything, you’re doing them the same
favor I did your priests.”

I flinched at the reminder of him
mercy-killing the people who helped raise me.

Niko’s gaze was steady, and I began to
understand who he was better than I did before. “So I ask again.
What’s your greater purpose, kid? What would you do to see it
happen?”

Tears rolled down my face. A week ago, I’d
been desperate to leave the forest and eager to do what I thought I
was supposed to: help humanity return to a time where people were
happy and free. I had no idea what price would be exacted to do
what was right.

Several days later, I was contemplating the
mass murder of thousands just so I’d one day have the chance to
change the world for the better for anyone who survived the gods,
Cleon and me.

Niko drew a breath. “I also know there’s
something going on between you and Adonis. I hate the man, but I
know he’d tell you this, just as Dosy would. There is no tomorrow
without you, kid. There’s no future where gods and men are not at
war, where the human race has a remote chance in Hades of
surviving. If you care about anyone – Adonis or otherwise – you’ll
do whatever you have to today so you can save their lives
tomorrow.”

Wrong person. Right
message.
I wanted to weep. My resistance
yielded the moment he put it into perspective. The thought of
Adonis in danger was as crippling as the pain. The bond between us
ran deeper than even I suspected. How had I missed what he was to
me? How had I not seen it from the first meeting?

Your name is seared into my
soul
. His claim had stunned me, and it was
only now sinking into me how deeply he felt. He would do anything
for me without hesitation and had told me to do the same – survive.
At all costs.

“
I’ll do you the favor of
clearing out any other area Cleon wants destroyed, if you have time
to give me a head’s up. That’s all I can offer,” Niko said. “You
need to decide if those you love are worth you choosing to be on
the winning team.”

If I followed in Cecelia’s footsteps, I’d
never be able to do what I had to. But choosing this path meant I,
too, would bear the taint of this war. I, too, was destined to
become a different kind of monster. The worst kind, if I had to
guess, with the power of a god and controlled by a maniac with
delusions of ruling over gods and men.

Niko rose. “You have two minutes before we
drag you back down to the caverns to join Cecelia.”

My gaze went to the city. I ached for Adonis
to be here or for Herakles to guide me. I ached knowing I’d judged
both of them for what they’d done to others when they didn’t have
the luxury of a choice.

Mostly, I hurt knowing Niko was right, as
had Adonis been, when he claimed I’d have to risk unleashing the
apocalypse in order to become who everyone thought I was.

I was made to believe an Oracle with
incredible power could face a god, but only just learning that it
took a monster to face another monster. I had to survive, because
someone had to defend my world, no matter what that made me.

“
Forgive me, Artemis,” I
murmured and climbed to my feet. With a deep breath, I looked back
at Niko, whose expression was emotionless, then faced the city
again.

I spread out both hands and gathered the
ribbons, herding them together so I could grip them better.

Choking back a sob, with tears blurring my
vision, I crushed them between my hands.

The ground beneath the wall shook, and the
area I’d targeted began collapsing in upon itself. Artemis’
pristine white temple went dark and then crumbled. It was followed
by the apartment buildings full of people I’d never meet, the
school and police station, the businesses and townhomes. Everything
and everyone was turned to rubble instantly and toppled into the
sinkhole forming beneath them.

“
Incredible,” the
Magistrate whispered, awed by the sight of destruction.

You are forgiven,
came the soft, sad whisper of Artemis from the
depths of my mind.