Huntress (A Grace Murphy Novel)

by Nicole Hamlett

  "You assume that you will ever leave this room."

  "Of course I do. I shall fight with every breath until I am with my son again. You don’t realize this, but as soon as I can move, I’m kicking your ass."

  This got a chuckle. "You certainly are your mother’s daughter."

  "I assume that there has been no new news regarding her whereabouts?"

  "Nay. I suppose I could open the door but then I’d have to deal with my angry Spawn and I’d rather not at the moment."

  "Why?"

  "He’s always been so damned disapproving. It’s disconcerting when your child grows up to be so stick up the arse."

  This surprised me. I guess I could see Drew as a little uptight but for his father to notice it was something.

  "Have you been a roaring disappointment then, Zachary?"

  "I’ve done great things in my life. I am the king of us all after all."

  This last part spoke volumes. This was a man who pandered to his own vanity and self-importance.

  "Like the sinking of Atlantis?"

  "Simply a misunderstanding," he hedged.

  "I see. I suppose it’s just as well. I mean really, imagine how advanced and difficult the Human Race would be with that sort of technology. Painful, I tell you - and probably uppity."

  "Are you using sarcasm on me? Is this something that is a regular in your repertoire?"

  "I’m nothing if not sardonic most days, sir."

  "It’s annoying."

  "I live to serve."

  "Now you’re just being a jackass, Grace."

  I gasped. "Did you just call me by my given name?"

  "Perhaps," he groused.

  "I believe, Sir, that we are making progress."

  "It’s Sire, not Sir."

  "I’ll try to remember that. You should open the door. The last I checked, I needed food to survive."

  "Obviously not. You have neither dined nor died since I brought you here."

  "Good point, I suppose."

  "Tell me more about your son."

  "Why, do you plan on kidnapping him and using his power to fuel your mad scientific discoveries? Or will you just torture him as you have me?"

  Something was different. His anger was tempered and we were having a conversation. The madness that had gripped him before my death was not quite gone, but I could see the man in there.

  The problem with realization is that you suddenly have something to fear. What if he started hurting me again? What if this was just a ruse to get more information out of me about Dylan? I had to tamp down the anxiety and breathe. The most pressing question right now was, "Why didn’t I die?"

  "Well I hadn’t thought to, but now that you mention it…"

  "Did you just make a joke? My God! We’re elevating to an entirely new level here. Torture to joviality in a matter of days. Be careful sir, I’m a newly divorced woman and I may just make a play."

  He snorted at me and I smiled in response.

  "How long have you been married to my mother?"

  "What year is it?"

  "Really, you don’t know?"

  "It’s best to not remind me why I have you locked in this room with me, dear."

  "Right. Let’s change the subject."

  He sighed and I could hear him working at fastenings but I couldn’t feel them. I supposed this was a good thing.

  "I still can’t feel my extremities. How long do you suppose that will go on for?"

  "I can’t say since I’ve never been dead."

  "I was DEAD??"

  "Well technically, I suppose you were. Your heart stopped beating and you weren’t breathing."

  "How long?"

  "Minutes. I electrocuted you."

  I sighed. "I suppose if I’m going to die, you’re a useful person to die around. You’re like a walking jumper cable."

  "What is this jumper cable you speak of?"

  "Uh," I kept forgetting that he wasn’t exactly up to date. "Something you use to jumpstart your car. Never mind. It’s not important. Do you think I’ll suffer any lasting damage?"

  "It’s hard to tell. Do you feel different?"

  "Other than the fact that I can’t move?"

  "Well, there is that."

  "Zachary, can I be honest with you?"

  "I’d like to say yes, but I can’t say I’ll appreciate your honesty."

  "Fair enough. I’m going to be honest anyway. I miss my child. I want to get the hell out of this room and I’d really like something to drink. I think you should take a personal inventory and then just let me out. What’s the worst that could happen?"

  "My son could burst in here and try to kill me?"

  "Good point," I swore under my breath and made my mind work faster. How could I get out of here and keep Zachary alive?

  "Zachary, why did Diana lock you in this lab?"

  "I killed Helena. Er, Hera."

  "Listen, from what I hear in the mythology stories, the bitch deserved to die." What in the world had come over me? My mouth was running on its own power, completely disconnected from my brain.

  "She was indeed a bitch." He said and the table beneath me shifted as he leaned against it. "It is incredibly difficult to kill one of us, you know. There has to be a tremendous amount of power and magic at the root of the strike. It wasn’t my killing of her that caused this imprisonment, though."

  He paused and I started counting to one hundred so I’d keep my mouth shut.

  "Are you counting under your breath?"

  "Yes," I groaned.

  "Why?"

  "I wanted you to continue and I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. Why did you kill Hera?"

  "She tried to have Adonis executed."

  I gasped. I couldn’t help myself.

  "She was a jealous woman and I am a man of strong...appetites, I guess you could say. Her way to resolve the pain I'd caused her was to cause pain for me. Many of my children were in danger. I could not allow her to continue."

  "So you couldn’t keep it in your pants and she went psycho?"

  "Yes, if you’re going to be coarse about it," he grumbled.

  "So if killing her didn’t do this to you, what did?"

  "I didn’t just kill Hera," he replied softly.

  The anticipation in my gut was killing me, but I stayed silent. Remembering my mythology and recalling the family tree was difficult. Everything was getting twisted up in which Gods they were supposed to be representing.

  The feeling in my hands came back. Zeus was holding it gently and I had to force myself to stay still, to not jerk my hand out of his. Instead, I squeezed his fingers gently, encouraging him to continue.

  "The magic that back-lashed – it washed over the land causing a disease that killed more people than I could count. They were calling it the Black Plague."

  My jaw dropped open and I gasped in horror. This man was responsible for one of the most devastating diseases known to mankind.

  "Yes, horrifying. The guilt drove me mad. For the personal satisfaction of seeing that evil bitch die, I had to watch thousands upon thousands suffer."

  "I’m so sorry."

  "It's a lesson learned, Grace Murphy. You will find that you are forced to make decisions that affect more than just those within your sights."

  Part of me wished that I could take the question back. It changed the way I perceived Zachary. His madness was no longer a mystery. Anyone would have lost their sanity after unintentionally causing such destruction.

  Pity welled up from my core and I squeezed his hand harder as tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.

  "I’m so sorry," I whispered again. I just couldn't think of anything else to say? What did you say to the man who accidently caused the Black Plague, of all things?

  "Power is what you make of it. If you learn nothing else in the years to come, learn this - you have the capability for great evil. You must always weigh your choices and determine which direction you will lean."

  What could I say to t
hat? Agreeing sounded trite. The weight of it all pressed down on me, crushing my ribs, making it hard to breathe.

  Training is physically hard, but you know that in the end you will have the ability to survive against whatever is thrown at you. Nobody had said, "Oh, by the way, Grace - you have the potential to kill millions with your power."

  It made sense now why Drew went into full on panic mode when I got angry and things started rocking and rolling. "Your son is teaching me to control my anger so that I don’t hurt people."

  "He is wise like his mother."

  "Who is his mother?"

  "Beyond your mother, quite possibly the love of my life," he answered. His voice was filled with longing. "She was human, a lowly farmer’s daughter. I couldn’t believe that something so beautiful could exist within the fragile shell of humanity. She didn’t want to live forever. She only wanted a husband and a comfortable life surrounded by her family and her olive groves."

  "Adonis is half human?"

  "He was the first of my Hunter children. When his mother discovered her pregnancy, she went mad and tried to cut him from her stomach. It broke my heart to see her so distraught. I kept her contained until his birth and then left with him."

  "Wow, no wonder he’s got so much angst toward you."

  He grunted and stood from his perch at my side. "I kept him alive. He’s the strongest and most capable of my children. He should be grateful that I didn’t allow her to kill them both."

  "Really? Because if you’d refrained from seducing his mother in the first place…" I let the words trail off.

  "If I’d refrained from seducing her in the first place, you’d be dead. I allow you to live because he obviously feels some sort of obligation toward you."

  Oh, we were back to high and mighty Zeus again. Disappointment flared. While he’d been talking to me, I could see the shining beacon of light that had caused millions to worship his very presence. It’s difficult to realize that sometimes, your gods are simply men with the same defects of character that you see in everyone. Despite his lack of human blood, he was just as human as anyone.

  "What if you shoved me through the proverbial door and let me explain things. Then maybe you could come out and join the world?"

  "I shall think on it."

  "Think fast. I think I’m starting to feel my bladder."

  He gave me an arch look and I could feel myself blushing. My survival skills had taken a turn for the worse. Just because we’d gotten chummy and he’d told me his deepest darkest secrets, didn’t mean that I could get lippy. Although, I suppose that the worst that could happen at this point was he could kill me again. At best, I figured I was going to be trapped in this lab with him forever.

  "Do you have a bathroom in here?"

  He waved me off and scoffed. "Of course I do!"

  "Cause, you know…I haven’t seen it."

  "You haven’t been looking around much as far as I’ve noticed. You can’t stop your tongue from wagging long enough to actually use your skills of perception."

  "Well maybe if someone hadn’t been trying to kill me, I would have been comfortable enough to observe the damned room. Are you going to let me go or not?"

  "Does your mind whirl like this often? Jumping from one topic to the other?" He started looking dangerously angry.

  "That’s not an answer," I pushed.

  "I suppose I have been slightly erratic lately…"

  "Slightly?"

  "Can you move your legs yet?"

  "Evasive much?"

  He sputtered at my response and turned his back to me so he could go back to fidgeting with his different instruments. I admit to a certain morbid curiosity as to what they were all for, but I'd have to save those questions for another time. There would be another time.

  "Why are you afraid to face Drew? What else did you do, Zachary?"

  "It’s not your business." He ground out defensively.

  I cocked an eyebrow and stared him down. I was a mother. I was in my element right now. Guilt and manipulation were my weapons of choice when it came to ferreting out information. Well, so was diversion.

  "Do you think that we’ll find her?" I abruptly changed the subject, throwing him off balance.

  His shoulders slumped from their previous tense hold.

  "I hope so. I’m angry with her, but I’m more afraid. I should have married her first. I should have done so many things differently. But she was like a younger sister. Always tagging along, always joking around. I didn’t want to change that dynamic." He trailed off into his own thoughts.

  I felt a pang of camaraderie with him. I could understand that fully. Oh the regrets that we field in this life. I imagine that at his age, he held a lot of regrets.

  "How old were you when you came over?”

  He laughed. "I was so young! Only a hundred and fifty-two years old. I thought I knew everything. I knew nothing. Your mother was only seventy five. She was nothing more than a teenager in my eyes."

  I lifted my head to look at his face. It had softened with a look of fond love and remembrance.

  "We need to find her Grace."

  "How?"

  "You," he responded.

  "Yes, because I’m absolutely prepared for that. I probably just left her in my cupboard. I leave everything there."

  He grunted.

  "I’m afraid that I’m not going to be enough. I’m afraid that this faith that she’s placed in me will be all for nothing…"

  "She is a woman of great faith," he agreed.

  "I’m a woman who tends to royally screw things up."

  "She never misplaces her faith, Grace. It just sometimes takes a while for the person to fill their piece in her puzzle."

  I suppose as far as words of encouragement went, that wasn’t so bad.

  "I think that I just moved my foot," I began as another crash sounded from behind me.

  "Damn, he’s going to break my door down." He made his way past me grumbling about impetuous children.

  Another crash.

  "I believe that yes, he’s going to break your door down. You should just open it."

  "Yes. Yes," came the distracted reply.

  I tried craning my neck to see what he was doing. I didn’t get far. His hand clamped on my forehead and I was suddenly staring into his startlingly beautiful eyes.

  "This is only going to hurt a bit, but we need to do this before Adonis barges in and spirits you away."

  "Do what?" My alarm grew to a frantic level. I thought we’d gotten past the Torture Grace portion of this exercise.

  I felt the needle push against my skin and I didn’t whimper. No, instead I screamed in rage. "What the fuck?!"

  "Stop struggling. This will hurt more if you don’t relax." His grip against my forehead tightened like a vise.

  Adrenaline was pumping through my bloodstream in a Fight-or-Flight response that I couldn't control. My limbs were convulsing - banging against the table with meaty, slapping sounds that reminded me I was lying naked on a metal slab.

  That increased my panic and I started screaming frantically. Flight had obviously taken control of my body and it was doing everything it could to get loose.

  "Grace," the voice commanded forcefully. "You need to calm down or this is going to be a thousand times worse for you. I’m not hurting you. I’m helping you. Calm. Shhh."

  The words penetrated my fear fogged mind. He wasn’t hurting me? Then why was he sticking a needle in my neck? Why was he holding me down?

  I was unable to control my shaking. Every single bit of flesh was consumed by one giant spasm. I did manage to stop screaming - point for Grace - but it was mostly due to Zachary's intense focus on my face. I could feel him pushing his will into mine, begging me to calm down with those damned eyes of his.

  "I’m injecting you with the original serum that Diana’s father gave us. It will make you stronger. Your nanites were activated when I electrocuted you but they are weak from whatever she did to make you seem human."r />
  "What?" My heart was racing with panic. I could barely breathe, much less understand what he was telling me.

  "You’re going to suffer some side effects. You have to keep control over your emotions. Whatever power you had before is going to be amplified. You need to find your mother as quickly as possible. I have a bad feeling about her disappearance."

  "H-how?"

  "Be easy. If you struggle while they are new to your system, they won’t adapt as they are supposed to and you will find yourself in an incredible amount of pain,” he continued matter-of-factly. "I think you’ve suffered enough. The nano agents will also help you in finding your mother. Your shared DNA will help them guide you if you let them."

  Great, he was injecting me with the Force. I was suddenly playing out the scene between Luke and his father in my brain. I felt like giggling but was afraid that if I did, it would send me over the edge.

  How long ago was it that I wished my life was normal? I couldn’t remember. I wish I'd known then that it was as normal as it was ever going to get. Now it was just bizarre.

  "I’ll relax," I replied.

  "Good girl. I’m going to drop the field on the door and then I’m going to disappear. I won’t be gone, but Adonis won’t see me. He will take you to safety. He will finish training you. But keep this in your mind, Grace. I have a feeling that you don’t have a lot of time. Diana has gone off on her jaunts before, but she’s never been gone this long. I fear for her safety."

  He patted my forehead and disappeared. I blinked in surprise and started to say something, but my body chose that moment to set itself ablaze. Well, it felt like it anyway. A sound halfway between a groan and a wail escaped my lips. God, it seemed like I was doing an awful lot of crying, screaming and wailing.

  Self-loathing isn't a pretty thing. I hated this weakness in myself, so I clamped my mouth shut and tried to breathe through my nose. I'd been through labor, I could do body on fire. From my inner core and spreading outward, it felt like someone had covered my body with a heavy, wet woolen blanket...that happened to also be on fire. Tears leaked down the side of my face, but I managed to keep the scream trapped in my throat (also on fire, by the way).

  The door crashed open and I heard shouts. My rescuer picked me up like I weighed nothing and cradled me against his chest, whispering nonsense to me.