"Yes. I'm aiming right at him. I'm ready to do this."
"Put the gun down." Mistress orders.
"No. I'm ending this monster."
"You will do no such thing. If you harm one hair on his royal head, I will personally kill you myself for committing treason."
Orion's mouth falls open. "Treason?"
"Troy is Queen Helen's son." Mistress says. "You are aiming a gun at your king."
"What? Queen Helen didn't have an heir."
"Not true. She gave birth to Troy in secret. We are working to get him crowned as soon as things are worked out in Athens. According to all of our rebel allies, Troy is unquestionably our king. So choose your next moves carefully. Now, you two need to share some wine and make up. We don't have time for you to be fighting. Do you need anything else, Orion?"
Orion's normally tanned skin has gone pale. His eyes are wide in shock. "N-no, Mistress."
"Good. Sleep well, you two." She ends the call, leaving the room in awkward and tense silence.
Orion's pistol falls to the floor as he kneels down in front of Troy. "Your Majesty . . . forgive me. I had no idea. I knew the throne was contested, but no one knew you were royalty by direct blood. You are my king, crowned or not. Please forgive me. All the things I said, all the things I did to you . . . I'm worthless."
Troy sighs and joins him on the floor. "No, Orion. You didn't know."
"Why didn't you tell me? You could have said something and we would have done this differently. If I knew you were the prince, I would never have chained you up."
"It doesn't matter. I can never be king. Look at me. I'm branded. I'm pierced. I'm a slave. You just saw with those IGR soldiers earlier how you have full ownership of me. No one wants a slave-king."
"Your Majesty, allow me-"
Troy holds out his hand to his owner. "Stop. My name is Troy Lifestone. Who my mother was doesn't matter. I left that life behind when they branded me. I am a Forgotten. Let me stay that way."
17
Troy gets up just as the sun is rising and dresses in his black and white slave uniform. He spikes his white hair before gathering up their few belongings in their backpacks and carrying them down the steps. He waves goodbye to the innkeeper then heads across the dirt road to the stables. He retrieves their horses and straps the bags down. If Orion wants Troy to take initiative, then he'll do it. He wants to make his owner proud. This is his one and only life now. He knows he will never be king or even a member of that society again. That part of his life is gone and he . . . he's fine with that. Silver was right. Troy doesn't need the flashy luxuries of noble life, expensive trips through the galaxy on space cruisers, or elaborate dinners where everyone judges each other on the cost of their gemstones on their clothing. There is no substance there. Even with the anger Orion exhibited towards him last night, Troy has found more genuine emotion and personality in him than most of the Nymphs in Athens.
Troy leads the horses out into the early yellow sunlight that glitters on the waves of rolling sand. Another day of riding. Maybe things between him and Orion haven't been permanently scarred. That is the last thing he wants. What does Troy want now? To have Orion as a friend. He gives a small smile when Orion steps out of the inn, looking a bit panicked as he slips his brown leather vest on.
"There you are." Orion takes the reins of his black horse. "Thank you for getting the horses."
"No problem." Troy mounts his horse and wraps his keffiyeh around his head. "Shouldn't we get going if we want to reach the next village by nightfall?"
"Uh, yeah. You're right."
Troy heads out into the desert as he retrieves a green apple from his bag and starts eating it.
Orion rides up beside him. "I'm sorry about last night."
He shrugs his shoulders. "Things happen."
"No. This shouldn't have happened. So tell me, Troy. Do you not want to be king?"
"I want to be who the gods have made me to be. If Athena wishes for me to live as a slave, then I will strive to be the best slave I can be. I trust her wisdom. You know of Fortuna, right?"
"And her wheel?" Orion asks.
"Yes. Those at the top eventually fall to be the lowest while the ones at the bottom with nothing will rise to take the place of the ones who fall. I've already had my time at the top. Fortuna's wheel never stops turning."
"Ah. So about what you said. You're a follower of Athena?"
Troy tosses the apple core out into the sand. "Absolutely. I used to carve an owl on all of my weapons so she could help guide me in battle."
"Oh. That reminds me. I almost forgot." Orion reaches into one of his saddle bags and draws a short sword. "This belongs to you, doesn't it? It has a red ribbon tied around it and an engraved owl on the hilt." "Where did you get that? That's my gladius."
"I have sticky fingers. I found it in Athens before we left. Take it. You never know when you'll need a weapon out here. I have my pistol and scimitar."
Troy takes his silver gladius that he's had since he was ten years old. It's been everywhere with him. Holding it again makes him smile. Maybe some parts of his past are still worth saving. He runs the thin ribbon through his fingers. Nova had given it to him years ago. She said his gladius needed a feminine touch if Athena was going to bless it.
Oh, Nova. How is she doing now? Is she thinking of him?
"You okay?" Orion asks.
Troy ties the gladius to his saddle. "Just missing Nova."
"You really love her, don't you?"
"Yeah. I want to marry her." Troy says. He means it.
"You can't. She's impure."
"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't want her."
Orion gives him a sly grin. "You know, if you were king, you could work with the council to change those laws."
"Drop it already. I'm not going to be king."
"Then forget about the girl. It's not worth it. Waiting for some girl your entire life isn't worth it. Trust me."
"Oh?" Troy asks. There has to be a story there.
"Nothing. Forget I said anything."
"So, tell me how fair this is. You have a database and paperwork telling you all sorts of things about who I am and where I'm from, but I know almost nothing about you. What could possibly be so bad that you feel the need to hide it? Aren't we supposed to have a close relationship?"
Orion wraps the white and black keffiyeh around his head, hiding his face. "I used to be in love with a pure Nymph girl. She was only thirteen when I was nineteen. You can see two problems right there. It's not like I was obeying other laws at that time, but I didn't do much with her because I wanted our relationship to be pure just like her. She was beautiful. Her hair was the same shade of white as yours is. You actually resemble her quite a bit. And no, not all pure Nymphs look alike. I can tell the difference. Anyway, I was completely head over heels infatuated with that girl. I would go over to her house in the mornings before my classes at the academy started so I could drive her to school. We would put the radio on and sing to her favorite pop songs from Earth and Himmel. It was great."
Um, this isn't good. "So you were nineteen and she was thirteen? That's illegal."
"Uh . . . she was almost thirteen." Orion says. "I'm not proud of that, okay? Do you want me to finish the story or not?"
"Go ahead."
"One day, her father found one of the love letters I had written to her in her backpack. It was a bit explicit. He was understandably furious. He showed up at my owner's house demanding answers. I told him the truth, that I was in love with her and would wait for her to be legal age before I took our relationship further physically. I told him that we had been holding hands and making out in my car before and after school. I wasn't going to lie to the head of the Royal Knights."
What? No way. "She was Knight Commander Pathos's daughter?"
"Yep. So not only was it a serious crime for me to be involved in any way with a minor, but it was a crime for me to be with a pure Nymph. He tried to arrest me, but I fought
back. The last thing I did before stabbing him with a clothes hanger and stealing his car was to kiss that girl right there in front of him. That's when I came out here and nearly died. Silver and some other agents happened to be on a dig in the area and found me. I joined the guild and now here I am. For close to two years, I kept trying to sneak into Athens to find that girl, but I eventually gave up. Love just isn't worth it anymore, Troy. It's not worth it."
"I can't willingly be around someone who sexualizes innocent girls." Troy says.
"I didn't. We were friends. I never slept with her."
Troy looks over at him and their eyes meet. Orion's black eyes show nothing but sincerity. For some reason, Troy believes him. "Fine. I believe you, but if I ever find out otherwise, I will have you drawn and quartered."
"That's quite a threat."
Troy holds up his fist. "It's a promise."
"You won't have to do that to me."
"Good. So, have you been with anyone else?"
"A few times with the slave girls, but they're sold so fast that trying to have any meaningful relationship with them is pointless beyond a quick roll in the hay." Orion says.
"What does that mean?"
"Uh . . . a pounding party? A slippery slide inside? Bending and blending? A dance with no pants?"
Troy feels his face blush. Dear gods. "Oh. That."
"Indeed. If you want, I'll get you the security code for the female slave quarters when we get back. I'm sure they'd be crawling all over you. You'd have to fight them off of you. My record is three."
"One after another?" Troy asks.
"No. Three at one time. Those women will do anything you ask them to."
"That's . . ."
"What?" Orion asks. "Like you don't like women."
"It's not that. It's just that I can't think of them like that."
"Like what? I enjoy them, they enjoy me, we enjoy everything. It's all consensual. You'll understand more when you're my age."
He highly doubts that. "So in four years, I will go from defending the rights of women and valuing them as delicate treasures to having indiscriminate sex with as many as I can at one time?"
"Well, now that you say it that way, it makes me sound like a pig."
"I didn't mean to. It's nothing against you. That's just not something I think I'll ever be able to do. Royal Knights are trained to be chivalric and honorable. We just come from two different worlds, I guess."
"You and your noble buddies must think rogues like me are the scum of the galaxy, huh?" Orion asks.
Troy smiles as he watches him. "You and your rogue buddies must think nobles like me are self-righteous idiots who can't see past the jewels around our necks."
Orion laughs. "You know, you're not like the other noble Nymphs I've been around."
"Maybe that's why I never got along well with most of them. They were all fake and valued appearances over everything else. I never fit in with them."
"And that's why you don't want to be king?" Orion asks.
"I don't know, Orion. Honestly? I'm enjoying this time away from everything. Though, I miss my family. I miss Nova. Most of all, I miss Zodiac."
"Who were you trying to call last night on my sensor?"
"Zodiac." Troy says. "I had to hear his voice and know that he was okay. I don't know who owns him now."
Orion rips off his sensor and hands it to Troy. "Call him. Go ahead."
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Yeah. You deserve it."
Troy takes the sensor and places it on his arm. He dials Zodiac's cell phone number again.
* * *
Gabriel finishes stitching up Zodiac's side. "There. This time, don't jump into coffee tables."
Zodiac shakes his head and pulls his t-shirt down. "Then I need backup in case things go poorly again. I can't take Apollo by myself, especially not when he's wearing his power armor."
Uriel pours his martinis into glasses at the bar in the living room. "Then we wait for him to leave."
"Tell him about your research findings, Uriel." Gabriel says.
"I found out that Apollo isn't the only person, human or Nymph, who has been controlled by nanobots in power armor. Apparently, the nomadic Nymphs who live on Barren Void and even right here on Olympus in the Eremos Desert, have been gathering people they find trapped in armor. They cut them free and keep them as slaves or sell them. The nanobots corrupt those poor souls' minds and distort their views of reality. They become intensely violent and sexually voracious. Apparently, some of the nomadic Nymphs have come to call them Big Meanies."
"So Apollo is being controlled by the nanobots?" Zodiac asks.
"Yes. We have to kill him or he can unleash untold havoc on the planet. The longer he goes uninhibited, the more his power grows."
"But he used to be so nice. We can't simply kill him."
"Zodiac, there's nothing we can do for him." Uriel says. "He's beyond saving. This is irreversible."
Then the thought hits him. Irreversible? What about Nova? "Um, what about my sister?"
Uriel drinks three martinis in a row then slams the glass on the counter and leans close to Gabriel. "What do we tell him?"
"He's not an idiot." Gabriel says.
"Of course not." Uriel says. "One of his fathers was a genius assassin and the other is a conniving con artist."
Hold on. "Is?"
"Jarred Cunningham is alive." Uriel says.
Zodiac shrugs his shoulders and steals one of Uriel's martinis. "I don't care. Good for him. I'm sure he has a new family who he loves more than me. Now to the only person I still care about. Uriel, what about my sister?"
"The oracle guards can do a lot to slow her decline, but the damage that has already been done is irreversible."
A heavy metal song fills the room then Zodiac goes to the table and picks up his cell phone. "Hello?"
"Zodiac?"
"Who is this?"
"Oh, come on." The man says. "It hasn't been that long. It's me, Troy."
"Troy? Where are you? Are you okay?"
"I can't give you specific details, but know that I am safe and being cared for."
"Are you a slave?" Zodiac asks.
"I . . . um, yeah. Yeah. I'm a slave. But it's okay. Don't worry about me. I need to know that you're okay."
"Blice is my owner now, your father is batshit insane, your family is missing, and Nova lost her mind and was taken up to the oracle."
"My family is missing?" Troy asks.
"Yes. We-"
Troy screams as something crashes and another man calls his name. There's more crashing and static then silence. The call ends.
Zodiac sets the cell phone down. What just happened? Everyone in the room heard the conversation because his speaker was turned on. They look concerned as well. Hopefully everything is fine. If anyone can handle himself, it is Troy. So Troy is a slave. That is more upsetting to Zodiac then he thought it would be. The idea of Troy being whipped mercilessly and forced to do unspeakable things for his owner while he's starved and neglected terrifies him. That's how slaves are treated outside the cities, right?
"Zodiac, we can't dwell on that right now." Uriel says. "We have to watch for Apollo to leave his house so you can get in there and scout it out."
"You want me to go back in there?"
Gabriel cracks his knuckles. "He won't be home so you'll be safe. Us three will be stationed around the area to keep watch in case he does come back."
Zodiac drinks another martini and pats Uriel's wings. "All right, then. I'm ready. Let's do this."
Blice scoffs. "Oh, perfect. So you don't talk back when the robot angels tell you to do something."
Zodiac doesn't wait for Uriel to finish the next martini. He just takes the bottle of gin and drinks straight from it. He wipes his mouth on the back of his arm. "No, Blice. I don't talk back when I get something to drink. Now, my archon friends, let us spy."
18
"Who is this?"
Troy smiles as h
e hears his best friend's voice again. "Oh, come on. It hasn't been that long. It's me, Troy."
"Troy? Where are you? Are you okay?"
Orion shakes his head and leans close to whisper to him. "Don't say anything."
Troy holds the sensor close to his mouth. "I can't give you specific details, but know that I am safe and being cared for."
Orion stops his horse. "Go on ahead. I'm gonna get some water."
"Are you a slave?" Zodiac asks.
Troy keeps riding forward into some large sand dunes. What can he tell him? The truth. "I . . . um, yeah. Yeah, I'm a slave. But it's okay. Don't worry about me. I need to know that you're okay."
"Blice is my owner now, your father is batshit insane, your family is missing, and Nova lost her mind and was taken up to the oracle."
What? "My family is missing?" Troy's horse rears back as the ground below him crumbles and sinks. Troy screams as he's thrown from the back of his horse.
"Troy!" Orion calls to him.
Before Troy knows what is happening, he's falling. The sand spills down around him as he screams and tries to grab onto anything. He keeps falling into the dark pit below until he slams into something that cracks and breaks free. Crashing through two more wooden platforms, he spots a light quickly approaching many feet below him. He sees the stone floor in front of his face then everything goes black.
* * *
Zodiac slowly pushes the back door to Apollo's house open and steps inside. He is immediately hit with the overpowering stench of gasoline. His combat boots squeak on the floor and he looks down to see that some sort of liquid has been poured around the edge of the walls and drips down from the ceiling. This isn't good. A woman's muffled scream comes from behind the door leading down into the basement. Zodiac has never liked basements. Now there's screaming coming from the basement? No thank you. But he can't leave anyone in there if they're in trouble.
He opens the door and follows the pained screams and moaning down the staircase. When he steps into the basement, the lights reveal the worst scene he has ever seen. Seven of Troy's siblings are lined up against the wall with their arms and legs bound by ropes and zip ties. Two of the youngest boys are crying, leaning against their older brothers. Little Io is motionless and silent on the floor.
Paradise Forgotten Trilogy Page 19
