I’m afraid of heights, but I can’t help from peering over the edge. My heart beats out of control, and I’m dizzy with vertigo. Directly beneath my feet, there’s a vertical drop of at least a thousand feet that ends abruptly at the cavern’s floor below. Incredibly, there are modern-looking dwellings built into the sides of the cavern, spiraling all the way down to the bottom, like a contemporary metropolis contained inside the walls of a cave.
I step backward. The crowd around me is growing antsy, ready for the action to start. Then, I see the twins standing on a platform that juts out over the cavern’s edge. It’s a horrifying sight. They are wearing what look like space suits. They look scared, yet somehow also incredibly excited.
Minios explains, “This is the twins’ thirteenth birthday, which marks their passage into adulthood in Scythia. They must complete their coming-of-age ceremony by passing a test that requires them to jump into the mouth of the cavern with only a small parachute on their backs, then safely land on the cave’s floor almost sixty stories down.”
The crowd begins a countdown: 10…9…8… The twins exchange nervous glances. The counting continues: 3…2…1… The crowd goes crazy, clapping and cheering in anticipation. Then the twins make their jump.
I can’t look. But before I know it, it’s over. A raucous roar echoes from the cavern. I finally allow myself to peek through my fingers to see what’s going on. The twins have landed at the bottom, and a mass of people is swarming them in celebration.
Exciting as this seems, it feels to me like a delay for my mission. There’s no time for me to party! I need to find my mom. But where is Athena? I need to get down to the bottom of that cavern and find her, but how? All around me, the people who rim the edge of the cavern shuffle forward, slowly and methodically in a long single file towards the double doors of a high-speed elevator that transports them down to the cave’s floor.
As I contemplate how I’m going to cut in ahead of these people, my eyes are greeted by a startling image: Bastet is standing precariously on the edge of the same platform from which the twins just jumped. She peers down over the edge.
Suddenly, I hear a voice, clear as day, inside my head that says, “One day, someone will die doing this.”
I look around. Minios is gone. So, who said that?
Bastet roars, shaking her fur and body. Her amber eyes grow wide. I hear the voice again. “Don’t worry. This is easy for me!”
I’m either totally insane or Bastet just spoke to me. Well, actually, I know the truth. It’s just time I acknowledge it. I’m not nuts.
Without warning, Bastet leaps off the edge. I watch in horror as her strong, graceful body hurtles at incredible speed sixty stories down through the depths of the cave. If I wasn’t shocked before, now I am!
The shuffling crowd abruptly halts. An eerie silence consumes everything as the mass of people standing near me peer over the edge to witness Bastet’s insanity. I watch apprehensively as her body soars with effortless grace, landing firm and steady on her paw pads with almost no discernible sound. The crowd at the bottom of the cavern seems hushed in awe as they start to move in around her to form a tight circle. The mass parts as a stunning blond woman steps inside the circle and reaches her hand out to pat Bastet affectionately on the head as if they are old friends.
“Athena.” I hear Bastet’s voice in my head again. “This is Athena.”
Suddenly, the woman looks up towards me. Our eyes lock. Another voice fills my mind…one I don’t recognize: “Hello.”
Athena can talk to me inside my head too? I must be dreaming.
“It’s not a dream. Come on down.” I hear the voice again. It’s velvety soft, so persuasive that it makes me powerless to resist her. I feel my feet moving closer…and closer to the edge…so close that I almost lose my footing. My mind feels woozy, but adrenaline surges through my veins as I realize what Athena wants me to do.
I hear the voice again, so soft, so convincing. “Trust me. Jump.”
I shriek inside my mind, “No!!” But it’s as if I’ve lost control over my body. My heart beats wildly as I feel one foot move forward. My mind reels.
Athena’s voice is firm and awesome as it echoes through my mind. “Your physical transformation is just the beginning. Your true metamorphosis must come from within. Believe you can, and you will. Now, JUMP!”
Slowly, I raise a foot…and step over the edge into the void.
27 – Artemis
I plunge downward, arms flailing in an insane free fall as I plummet to the ground. Gravity takes over as my stomach lurches up into my throat, forcing me to scream at the top of my lungs.
I watch in horror as the tiny people on the cavern floor below grow larger and larger. I grab at my sides, my back, anything that might be a parachute, but then I remember: I don’t have one! I must have had a heart attack and died because everything has just shifted to slow motion. I feel totally surreal and out of body, like I’m floating or it’s happening to someone else. In the next second, my survival instinct kicks in. Gut-wrenching terror hits as I watch the ground approaching closer and closer and…
This is it. I’m going to die!
I squeeze my eyes shut, and my body goes tense and rigid as I brace myself for the impact. When I don’t feel it, I make the mistake of opening my eyes. There, right in front of my face, I see the ground, so close. I close my eyes again as a door in the cavern floor slides open beneath me….and slam! My body hits hard. Crack! Mind-blowing pain surges through me. All my bones must be broken. But how am I still alive?! I bounce off a spongy soft surface, then slide down and down, until finally I land on a tarp that feels springy like a trampoline. My world swiftly fades to darkness.
Some time must have passed when I finally crack open my eyes. Slowly, I refocus. I’m still alive! But where am I? Still lying on the tarp, I see that I’m in the middle of what looks like an enormous underground chamber. Just adjacent to me is a colossal marble statue, beautifully sculpted into the likeness of a gorgeous woman with long, flowing, wavy hair. She is holding a magnificent bow. The look on her face is fierce and courageous. Next to her is the likeness of an oversized mountain lion, staring ahead in fearless audacity.
Instantly, I recognize them both…my mom and Bastet.
I gasp at the sight of them. Just then, the real Bastet steps out from behind the shadows to stand next to her own statue. She utters a loud, ferocious roar. At the bottom of the statue, I read the words “Our Beloved Artemis.”
My mother is Artemis.
Oh my God! My breathing is shallow, so I feel like I’m hyperventilating. I wrap my arms around my fluttering stomach as the pieces fall in place. Of course! It’s as if I’ve known this all along and am finally able to acknowledge the truth. I know who I am now…the daughter of a goddess.
“You figured it out.” I hear that voice in my head again. Athena.
As she steps into the light, I take in the sight of her. She’s unusually tall, with a long, regal neck and smooth, perfect skin. Her striking blond hair is pulled away from her face in a severe ponytail.
Most exceptional are her piercing blue eyes, which draw me in and totally captivate me. I’m fully entranced by the montage of varying shades of blue that I see in her eyes, gradually building from the darkest navy in the center to the lightest sky blue, all rimmed in a ring of radiant gold. The effect is limitless and breathtaking, like an infinite geothermal spring.
Athena breaks the silence and speaks out loud. “Welcome to Scythia. This is your mother’s chamber.” Bastet nudges her large head into Athena’s hand. “Of course, you already know her lioness.” They stare at each other as if they are secretly conversing…and most likely, they are. Something bothers me, though, about Bastet.
> “I don’t remember any of the myths describing Artemis with a cat or a lioness. I thought her preferred companion was a stag or a dog?” I ask, perplexed.
Athena lifts her chin back and laughs. “Smart girl! You’re right. Keep in mind, though, that all ‘mythology’ as you know it on Earth occurred over thousands of years, shifting from storytelling to written form. All of it, however, came to a big, grinding halt when the Olympic Gate, a portal on a plateau near the summit of Mount Olympus, destabilized and collapsed on itself.” Her voice is alive with excitement. “All of the ‘gods’ that you know from your beloved stories were attending an event over here on Gaea, so when the Gate fell, we were trapped here and unable to return to Earth. This is the reason that all of your epic tales about us on Earth have so many variations and different endings.”
The image of the archaeologists’ recent discovery of the Olympic Arch gateway with the logograms and twelve symbols of the gods on the plateau in northern Greece comes to mind. But what does this have to do with my mom and Bastet?
Athena is two steps ahead of me. She continues, “Think about how much time has passed since then – thousands of Earth years. A lot can happen, and change, in that time, including your mother’s animal companion. She has had many through the years, but Bastet has been here the longest. She’s a goddess in her own right.”
I recall what I can about the goddess Bastet from Egyptian mythology. She was the protector goddess who, through the ascension of many legends, assumed the likeness of either a cat or…a lioness. Bastet is a real goddess. Of course! Why not?
“Exactly,” says Athena. Apparently, she can read my mind. “All mythology throughout Europe, the Middle East, Scandinavia, and the Far East originates with us, all starting around four thousand years ago. That’s a long story for another time and place.”
Athena moves in close to me and picks up my hand to inspect my ring. “This belongs to your mother. Each point on this star represents the twelve ruling gods who make up the Council of Twelve. You should wear it on your left hand, as from now on, it is your legacy. It has some interesting, uh, properties that you will discover over time.”
“‘Gods?” I ask. “Why do you call them that if they can die? Don’t they have to be immortal to be considered gods?”
Athena grins. “Well, they are immortal…in a way.”
“In a way?”
“When the time is right, you’ll understand.”
But I want to know now. Why should I have to wait? Wait for what?
I stroke the engraved image of the star on the silver face of my ring. A moment later, I feel heat emanate from my chest. As I touch the warmth there, my fingers brush the smooth, shiny surface of the cypress tree pendant. Instantly, the image of my mother’s smiling face flashes through my mind, and I remember why I’m here. I still need to find her. Athena must know something.
Once again, she’s ahead of me. She says in a stern voice, “Now that you know your mother’s identity, isn’t it enough? Why worry about her? She’ll be fine. You need to worry about yourself.”
This is not what I need to hear. “You don’t understand. I’ve been searching for her since the…accident. I’m not giving up now! I have to find her!”
Athena’s eyes light up. “Ah, yes! You are your mother’s daughter after all.”
“Where is the Lone Cypress Tree, Athena? At least you can tell me that!” I plead, tiring of this silly charade. Why can’t anyone just be honest with me? Just tell me the truth!
“The truth is that no one really knows where it is. Most consider it a fool’s legend, but if it does exist, then the only way to find it would be to use the Catalyst, which unfortunately is hidden somewhere far away on Earth.” Athena’s mesmerizing multicolored eyes seem to glisten as she speaks.
“The Catalyst?” I can’t believe yet another obstacle stands in the way of finding my mother.
Athena narrows her eyes and answers, “Really, it’s not that hard. Stop being so whiny. I always told your mother not to baby you so much, that she was making you weak. Fine, I’ll tell you about the Catalyst. Why not?”
God, what a b-i-t-c-…
“I heard that!” she screams at me. “You want to know or not?”
Crap, I have to be nice, even inside my own head. Something about this seems so very wrong, like a massive invasion of my privacy.
“You’ll get over it,” she says with a condescending smile. “The Catalyst is a quantum destabilizer, the only one of its kind. It was originally created by Atlas to pierce a wormhole through the fabric that exists between our universe and yours, bridging Gaea and Earth. It looks a bit like what you call a smart tablet – a handheld device – but it’s so much more than that! Your primitive iPad can’t construct a Gate!”
An image of the ancient-looking iPad device from the secret room under the school comes to mind. Athena’s eyes widen with alarm. “You’ve seen it! But how…how did you get into the Stronghold?”
I need to totally clear my mind while I’m here. I can’t allow her to see any more of my thoughts. If she won’t be completely transparent with me, then I’m sure as heck not telling her anything else.
“That’s more like it!” She’s happy with me, which is totally disconcerting. “Own up to the strong woman you are! It’s essential that you understand one very important thing about the Catalyst.” The limitless essence of her eyes bores into my soul. “Zeus must never get his hands on the Catalyst, or it will be the end of life on Earth as we know it.”
“I don’t understand. Why can’t he just create a new Catalyst?” I ask.
“Atlas is dead. No one else knows how it works. Prometheus stole it from Zeus just before he escaped to Earth, and ever since then, Zeus has been desperate to find it.”
Dire fear seizes my mind, but I fight the urge to think more about the Catalyst. I can’t know anything about it. Athena eyes me with suspicion when suddenly an apparition appears...of Janus.
His face is wild, frantic. “Athena, we’ve got a problem. It’s Helene. She’s gone!”
Athena starts to chuckle, which works Janus into a panic. His face turns red, filling with rage. “This is not a joke!”
“Uh, Janus?” she says as her eyes rove over to where I’m standing. His gaze follows hers. He blinks a few times.
I give Janus a little wave. He shakes his head. “Goddammit! But…how?”
I can’t say that I’m surprised by his reaction, but I am perplexed as to how Janus, or the image of Janus, is here right now. I decide to offer him a deal. “I’ll tell you how I got here if you explain to me how you are here now when we all know that you are physically on Earth.”
Janus grows stone cold and silent. He and Athena exchange looks. After a moment, he nods and then proceeds, his tone thick with sarcasm. “Fine. But you first. How did you get through the Gate?”
I scratch behind Bastet’s ear, place my finger on the cat’s-eye stone on her collar, then ask, “Recognize this?”
In a split second, Janus has completely lost his mind, hopping around like a possessed madman. “You! But how?” he exclaims as his eyes settle on Bastet. “I knew it! This is all your doing! I should never have allowed you in my house!”
I move myself in front of Bastet as if to protect her from his childish tirade. Athena comes to her rescue. “Careful now, Janus…”
He ignores her, eyes wild and intense, as he continues, “Bastet’s collar doesn’t explain how you broke in through the basement door! I placed a magnetic signature enhanced force field around that door,” he pauses, deep in thought. “There are only two people capable of breaking it…me and…”
Recognition crosses his face. “Oh yes…you. The Prophecy�
��you’ve been through Protogenesis.” He catches a glimpse of my ring. “The ring of Artemis,” he says with an air of reverence. “Of course you can break the force field. It would be easy for you.”
“She is my mother, after all,” I say quietly. Then I ask, “Protogenesis?” I feel I’ve heard this somewhere before, maybe in science class with Dimitris, something about a myth of the power of the cat’s-eye stone.
Athena cuts in. “Protogenesis occurs when any living thing passes through a portal, or ‘Gate’ like ours, which alters DNA at the molecular level to its best possible state. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, the transformation from Protogenesis can be drastic and life changing, although for most, the change is subtle.”
“I knew you had been through the Gate! I just didn’t know how!” Janus exclaims heatedly.
Well, at least now I know there’s a reason for my enhanced abilities. Still, I need to know what’s going on. “Okay, so we had a deal. Your turn to tell me how it is that you are here right now.”
Janus sighs, recomposing himself as his eyes flit over to where Athena stands. She nods in somber silence. And then…he starts to laugh. He knocks the side of his head a couple of times, grabs his earlobe, and twists it until a small earpiece falls out onto the floor. It looks like a tiny hearing aid possibly, but something that fits only into the inside of the ear, completely invisible to the outside world.
His laughing subsides as he reaches down to hold up the earbud. “Do you believe in ghosts?”
I decide to humor him. “Uh, yeah. In fact, I saw one recently at the Temple of Poseidon.”
“Oh, you did, did you?” Janus says, relishing my lack of knowledge here. Athena gives him the evil eye, but he continues his mischief. I start to get annoyed with him when he opens a drawer and picks up a device about the size of a toaster and launches into lecture mode. “So, most supernatural behavior on Earth, including ‘ghosts’ and ‘spirits,’ are created by this or a similar device – Orion’s Key. It’s a quantum destabilizer, which creates a mini-black hole between universes.”
Protogenesis: Before the Beginning Page 25
