Shield of the Gods (Aigis Trilogy, Book 1)

by S. M. Welles

  Those words prompted Nexus to sit up, eyes open and alert. “What have you found?”

  “Aerigo,” he began, his voice fading more with every word, “got me.” He paused to keep himself whole and catch his breath. “They are headed—” He took another deep breath, “to Phaedra—” He sucked in more air, “to Phailon—” The strain was too much. His spirit sighed and evaporated, leaving the two gods guessing at the rest of the message.

  Nexus smiled, closed his eyes and lay back down. Now he knew what his father was up to. There was some cause for worry, but he believed he had the upper hand. He could finish his nap. Daio’s death wasn’t a setback anyway...

  “The child lives,” his mother said as she resumed stroking his hair.

  Nexus opened his eyes and tilted his head back. “Yes,” he said, “of course. Why do you say that?” The memory of his orb being deflected from Baku’s flashed across his mind.

  “Does she not worry you?” Kara’s voice caused the grass and flowers surrounding them to shiver. “Do not both Aerigo and the girl give you reason for concern?”

  “I will not be brought down by a child,” Nexus said, shutting his eyes again. “Nothing can stop me or my war. You’ll see.”

  “In time,” she agreed. “I wish you didn’t hate your father so much.”

  “He won’t grant me the ability to create my own worlds. There’s no reason for it, and that’s plenty reason enough to hate him. And—” his face hardened “—I especially hate him because he saw us that one time over three thousand years ago, when I was expressing my love for you. My father doesn’t know how to mind his own business.”

  Kara’s hair-stroking paused. After a couple of seconds she continued and said, “Phaedra’s one of Leviathan’s worlds.”

  “Is it? Daio’s been there before.” Nexus bolted upright. “That gives me an idea!”

  “What kind of idea?”

  “More mischief, of course.” He lay back down. “But I need some time to properly think this through.”

  It seemed like only five minutes later when Roxie felt someone tap on her shoulder. Can’t the chat wait a little? They tapped again. Guess not. She yawned, which hurt, and opened her eyes. A ceramic mug rested in front of her face. She sat up when she smelled a flowery herbal scent. “Oh, thanks!” she said in a hoarse voice. She accepted the mug from Aerigo and took a sip.

  “That’ll make your throat better.” He moved to sit next to her. “Your body will take care of your other injuries just fine on its own.”

  She looked into her mug and frowned. “Will adding sugar ruin it?” She glanced at him and he straightened up as he considered this option. He took the mug and walked off. Roxie examined the broken patio doorway as Aerigo went to administer to her tea. Luis must have persuaded the crew to lend him a broom while she was recuperating. Her host started sweeping up the glass and splinters.

  Aerigo reappeared and handed Roxie her mug. He watched while she took a sip, and once she gave him the nod of approval, sat down next to Roxie on the love seat. He took a sip of tea himself. “Where do you want me to start?”

  She stared into her toasty mug. There was Daio to understand, things that Baku had said to clarify, the Aigis side of herself to learn more about, the dangers that surrounded her, and this mission or task, or whatever they were on. So many mysteries and blank spots. “What the heck did I get pulled into?” Her voice already sounded improved. “Wow, this stuff works quickly.”

  “And we heal quickly, too.” Aerigo took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I don’t have all the answers.” He sipped at his tea and stared at the wall ahead of them. “And what answers I do have, I’m reluctant to tell you just yet.”

  “To be honest, I’d rather you just tell me. I’d like to understand why people like Daio would want me dead.”

  At that, Aerigo gazed at her with sympathetic eyes. “It’s not an encouraging answer.”

  “Just go ahead. Be blunt.”

  He lowered his mug into his lap. “Once I’ve trained you—properly—together you and I will pose quite a threat to someone else’s plans, or rather a prophecy.” He took a noisy sip and Luis ambled by with a loaded dustpan full of dirt, glass and splinters.

  “Don’t mind me,” Luis said, popping a smile. “The patio’s all clear if you want to sit out there and talk more privately. We have two new patio chairs the staff kindly provided for us, but we’re still missing the railing until further notice. So tread carefully out there. You can grab any of the bed blankets as well. It’s still a bit nippy with the breeze.”

  “Thank you,” Aerigo said, but made no move to stand.

  Roxie forced herself to smile, even though she felt sore, tired and depressed. “Are you training me to help you fight someone?” she asked Aerigo as Luis walked off. “I know what you said about what Daio said about you teaching me stuff, but I don’t think you told me everything that day.”

  “I didn’t. I’ll be training you to harness the powers you were supposed to be born with. The powers only an Aigis can wield—powers that will help you walk away from a fight, and whole more often than not.”

  “Sounds like I’m going to have to help you kill people,” Roxie said unhappily. Eye for an eye and the whole world will be blind. She didn’t know who originally said those words, nor who taught her the meaning of the phrase. War begat war; not peace. If she killed the people who were killing the people she was defending, then someone would try to kill her out of revenge. She didn’t want to live her life with her back to a wall. Come to think of it, my life already feels like that.

  “I know you’re not a soldier, nor do I wish to turn you into one. I want to train you to be able to defend those who can’t defend themselves against the will of a god.”

  “The will of a god?” she said, taken aback. The sight of the sodden carpet brought up Roxie’s memory of her being almost strangled to death, along with what Daio had said to her. “Is Daio right about me being some feeble attempt to...” She searched for the right words. “Stop Nexus?” She couldn’t deny the sincerity in Daio’s tone, and started feeling sick again. When Aerigo said nothing, Roxie looked up to see him giving her a raised eyebrow. “I couldn’t even beat him!”

  “You just need time,” he said. “Time to learn, time to get stronger, time to prepare yourself to face challenges like today. Don’t defeat yourself before you even try.”

  “It’s hard not to.”

  “Look,” Aerigo said firmly. “You are a last resort. I won’t deny it. However, since Nexus decided to throw Daio at us from the moment I started searching for you, this tells me that he’s afraid of you.”

  “I think I’m more afraid of him than he is of me.”

  “That’s okay. While you were sleeping, Luis told me that you tried to hold your ground against Daio after he threw me off the ship.”

  “I didn’t last very long.”

  “That’s beside the point,” Aerigo said. “Why did you do that?”

  “I didn’t want Daio to go after Luis and his family. I figured they’d die too if I didn’t do something about it. I felt obligated to protect them. They were never supposed to be a part of this.”

  “And that decision right there shows you have all the courage you need. Rox, you have what it takes to embrace your role as an Aigis. Don’t let the fight between me and Daio discourage you.”

  “But what about the ‘desperate’ part he mentioned?”

  “He was just trying to intimidate you.”

  And did a good job of it. But Aerigo had made a good point about her reflex to protect Luis and his family, so maybe she had more to her than she realized. “So I’m not part of this prophecy, right?”

  “Our purpose is to see that this prophecy is never fulfilled.”

  Well that’s a little different. After all the books Roxie had read, the protagonists were usually included in one prophecy or another. “And who has prophesied what?”

  “Baku’s son Nexus has prophesied a war, ‘a war
between all creation that will bring Baku’s side down once and for all.’” Aerigo shook his head. “This isn’t good.”

  “What does Nexus mean by ‘Baku’s side’?”

  “Not every deity acts kindly toward the mortal realm.”

  “How many gods are there?”

  “To my knowledge, about two hundred.”

  “Holy crap!”

  Aerigo shrugged. “Considering the universe is endless, it’s not that daunting a number.”

  “Yeah, but you also have to consider I was told to believe in one god. I figured two would make a logical answer as well, but not two hundred!”

  “There’s only Baku for your world. He simply isn’t god of every world out there.”

  “How many worlds are there?”

  “Well over two hundred. And from the sound of it, Nexus’ prophecy has managed to pull everyone into his personal agenda, and Baku suspects his son anticipates gaining something big from this madness.”

  “Gain what?”

  Aerigo raised a hand, palm-up, and shrugged.

  Roxie felt helpless, in addition to queasy. “Isn’t there anyone out there who can help us?” How could just the two of them be enough?

  Aerigo’s face hardened and his eyes began glowing a smoldering red. “Daio played a part in making sure there wouldn’t be anyone to go to for help. We’re the last two living Aigis.”

  The last... two? Even though she knew little about her non-human lineage, she couldn’t help but feel sad. She put down her mug by the chair, stood up and draped the blanket over her shoulders like a cape. She walked stiffly to where the railing was supposed to be, sat with her feet dangling over the edge and stared out at the sparkling ocean. Her head and neck still ached with a dull throbbing.

  Gods were supposed to be invincible. If they couldn’t take care of their own problems, then how could anyone expect her to do something an immortal couldn’t? She pulled the blanket tightly around her shoulders and tried to get lost in the ocean’s beauty, instead of the despair rising within her.

  Aerigo stood nearby a moment before sitting beside her. His eyes glowed a pale blue to match her sadness. He hadn’t meant to force her on such a difficult path. She knew and understood that. She leaned into his side for comfort, then felt his muscles tense upon contact. Aerigo relaxed a heartbeat later and began rubbing her back. Roxie rested her cheek on his solid chest as she found comfort in the much-appreciated back rub.

  Chapter 13

  The City of Phailon

  After the Herschel family finished transferring to another suite and the two Aigis to their own, the rest of the cruise passed in relative peace. The ship took a few hours to right itself. Once it did, the passengers’ general panic subsided, leaving the crew with hundreds of PFDs to pick up and stow away. The crew who’d encountered Aerigo wanted to meet him again, but Aerigo asked Luis to tell them he was already gone. The last two Aigis didn’t need extra attention that would just make it easier for Nexus’ spies to keep track of them.

  Roxie and Aerigo spent mornings drinking tea together on their new suite’s balcony. After they were both ready to start the day, Aerigo would give her a lesson in basic self defense (knocking someone off their feet, how to get out of a strangle hold, and how to free herself when someone had her by the wrist). He offered to teach her where to hit someone in the head in case running wasn’t enough, and how to break someone’s knee. Roxie didn’t like the idea of ripping all those tendons just like someone would tear a cooked chicken leg from the rest of the bird. Running would have to suffice for now.

  Once Roxie decided she’d learned and practiced enough, they’d go their separate ways. She often took refuge in a swimming pool on one of the upper decks and even made friends with other people. At night, she walked around the exercise deck on the built-in track, thinking about the last two days, or attended theatrical events with the Herschel family. Aerigo kept to himself, yet Roxie noticed that he seemed to always be watching over her from just far enough away without it feeling intrusive or uncomfortable. She had a flesh-and-blood wall guarding her back.

  Two days into their new routine, Roxie awoke to Aerigo’s gentle shaking.

  “We’re almost there,” he said once Roxie managed to pry her eyelids open.

  “Okay.” She stretched the stiffness out of her limbs, sat up with a yawn, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and looked across the room at the digital clock. 6:00 A.M. Early. She stood, stretched again, went to the bathroom and took a shower, doing her best to be quick. She came out feeling clean and ready to start the day, until Aerigo told her to change out of her skirt and flip-flops and into sneakers and shorts. Roxie stepped back into the bathroom, revised her attire, then walked out and over to the wood table, where Aerigo was waiting. He picked up his pack and slung it over a shoulder. Roxie shouldered her own, but didn’t follow when Aerigo headed for the door.

  “Wait,” Roxie said. “Aren’t we going to say goodbye to Luis and his family? They were such nice people.”

  Aerigo paused. “I wrote them a letter.” He held up a folded piece of paper. “You can add to it if you want. I was just going to slip it under their door and let them sleep.”

  Roxie held out a hand and Aerigo passed the letter on to her. She sat at the table and picked up the mechanical pencil as she read Aerigo’s message:

  Dear Luis, Anna and Jake-

  Thank you for your hospitality, and for taking everything that has happened with empathy and patience. I apologize for the frightening event the other day, and I also apologize for refraining from explaining why that happened. Rox and I are pressed to keep moving for reasons beyond our volition.

  Luis: from what I’ve learned from other half-seers, you can hone your abilities. Good luck with that and your professional career.

  Thank you for everything. Take care.

  -Aerigo

  To that Roxie added:

  Hey, Luis & Family-

  I’d like to thank you as well for sharing your cabin and whatnot. You’re a wonderful family, and if I ever come back I hope my grandmother and I can meet you on more organized terms. That would be fun.

  I’d apologize for the other morning as well, but I’m almost as clueless as the three of you, and what I know is not desirous to know.

  Roxie flipped over the pencil and erased the “not desirous” part. It sounded too depressing, along with a reason for them to worry about her and Aerigo. She replaced it with “hard to explain.” She was sounding like Aerigo, but there was no way she could try and reiterate everything she’d recently learned on that one piece of paper.

  Once I understand things better, I’ll gladly take the first opportunity I get to enlighten all of you, as a way of thanks. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

  -Roxie

  She set the pencil aside and hurried over to Aerigo’s side, letter in hand.

  It was barely seven o’clock when Aerigo and Roxie descended to the lowest open deck on the ship. The brisk air nipped at exposed skin, and fog masked the water. The sun was partially hidden, but its strong rays were making quick work of its mask. The anchor had been dropped and the crew hurried through the last stages of setting up the gangways. Roxie wished she’d switched to jeans instead of shorts as she lifted a leg to rub at the goose bumps. Dozens of other people in light jackets or long-sleeves had gathered around, waiting to disembark and explore Bermuda. It was a decent-size throng, enough to make Aerigo’s next action inconspicuous.

  Once they filed off the boat, he looked around, then pulled Roxie aside to duck and hide between two small seaside cottages.

  “What’re you doing?” Roxie said in a hoarse whisper. “Everyone else is still going straight.”

  “We’re not going that way. Just follow me.”

  “Where are we going?” Roxie followed him southward through back yards and between whitewashed stone cottages.

  “To Phaedra,” he said over his shoulder. The circuitous path he led them along could have been drier. There we
re so many garden plants and flowers on the ground, walls, and sides of houses, and the morning dew clung to every leaf and petal. They were nearly soaked by the time they reached a southern beach of Bermuda. At least it smells pretty, Roxie thought as she brushed a couple of dead leaves from her shoulder.

  Aerigo walked across a pale beach and right onto someone’s private dock. Roxie knew this was trespassing, but hoped they wouldn’t be there long enough for anyone to care. Aerigo stopped at the edge and turned around. “We’re here.”

  Roxie scanned the foggy ocean. “Where’s here?”

  “The extended reality rift. It’s actually farther out across the water. If you look hard enough you can see where it is. I’m going to have to carry you.”

  “Carry me?”

  Aerigo took off his pack, dagger and canteen and tossed them to Roxie, who managed to catch everything. “Hold on to those for me.”

  Sure, no problem! Roxie shouldered everything but the dagger. That she held gingerly in her hands.

  Aerigo walked back onto the beach and faced the ocean, leaving a thirty-foot gap between him and the dock. He spread his feet to shoulder width, closed his eyes and bowed his head in concentration. He made fists with both hands and held out his arms. His form fell out of focus. It was like looking through the air over a fire as his body began to swell into a giant version of himself. Startled, Roxie fell onto her rear. Aerigo’s full canteen bounced off the sand and into her lap.

  It took only seconds, but by the time Aerigo was done Roxie stood only as tall as his ankle, which had to be as thick as a bus. His booted feet were easily as long as one. Roxie could smell the black, leathery material, and see all the stitching where the boot and sole met, the sole’s thickness reaching up to Roxie’s knee. She craned her vision skyward. Each leg loomed over her like a massive redwood tree wrapped in black cloth.

  Aerigo’s titanic shape squatted on his haunches, balancing on the balls of his feet as he laid one giant hand down for her to climb onto. A minor gust hit Roxie as the air made room for probably the largest creature Earth had ever hosted. She had a feeling that the sight of Aerigo was what a mouse felt when humans squatted over them. She couldn’t help but feel a little frightened, remembering her encounter with Daio in giant form. But the fear passed with a lack of a threat to sustain it. She stared at the giant hand in awe. The pronounced creases and fingerprint lines were easily as wide as her pinky finger. She brushed a hand along one of the massive fingers, causing it to flinch. “What’s wrong?”