A monarch butterfly lands on my arm, which startles me. For a moment, I’m transported back home to California, where my butterfly friends would land on my arms, fluttering about in greeting when I came home from school. I guess I’m a little surprised to see a monarch butterfly here in Greece.
“Panaxia,” Ever whispers, “from the Valley of Butterflies on the island of Rhodes.”
I lightly stroke the gorgeous creature’s delicate wings, admiring their intricate pattern. There’s a vibrant energy from my little friend resting under my finger. This must be another sign of encouragement from above.
I am the Protogena.
I can do this.
Epilogue
I don’t get it. Three weeks of silence from Nick since he sent that text. I called, texted, e-mailed. Nothing. That night back at Ever’s house, Nick’s text message seemed so urgent that now his silence seems completely wrong. Finally, I decide the only thing to do is to go next door to see him in person.
My heart races erratically as I climb the stairs of Nick’s apartment building. I’m not sure I should do this. I mean, I looked it up on the Internet. There’s a name for it when someone completely cuts off all contact with someone they’re dating. It’s called ghosting. All the advice I’ve read says that Nick’s just not into me if he’s not taking the time to call me back. Not that I need him to be “into me” since Ever and I are going out now. I do miss Nick’s friendship, though. More than that, I’m worried about him.
As I’m about to knock, the door opens. I almost run smack into Nick’s mother, Anastasia. “Helen, uh, what are you doing here?” she asks. She looks worn out and completely different. Gone is her heavy makeup and gold jangly jewelry. It feels as if it’s a colossal effort for her to talk to me.
“I came to see Nick,” I say weakly. My heart is beating like crazy.
Anastasia sighs. “You don’t know, then?”
“Know what?” I ask in surprise, not expecting her reaction.
“Nikos and his father are in the hospital…horribly sick with that awful virus, Helen. He’s not doing well.” Sadness consumes her features as a tear drops down her cheek.
God…no!
Forever and Tonight
Original Song by Kostas Martakis*
Find out more at www.foreverandtonight.com
On a night like this, the stars above are shining
As a chameleon, I'm changing in your eyes
I will be yours till the sunrise
I want you now, don't you see?
Burn your boundaries and come with me
I want forever and this night
Take me in your arms and hold me tight
I want you now, don't you see?
Feel the way I feel and be with me
I want forever and this night
Eternity begins tonight, come hold me tight…
Clarinet Solo
On a night like this, the world becomes our heaven
And we chameleons who fall in love with light
Fallen’ in love with forever
I want you now, don't you see?
Burn your boundaries and come with me
I want forever and this night
Take me in your arms and hold me tight
Se thelo tora pio poly (I want you now, even more)
Feel the way I feel and be with me
I want forever and this night
Eternity begins tonight…
Clarinet Solo
Se thelo tora pio poly (I want you now, even more)
Oooohhhhh…
I want forever and this night…
I want you now, don't you see...?
Feel the way I feel and be with me
Se thelo tora pio poly (I want you now, even more)
I want forever and this night
Eternity begins tonight, come hold me tight…
* Produced and recorded by Panik Entertainment Group Ltd with Kostas Martakis, Marios Psimopoulos and Vicky Gerothodorou.
Global distribution by 3.14 Records.
More Books Coming Soon
From the ProtogenesisTM series:
Book 2: First Cure (2018)
Book 3: Protogena
Book 4: First Uprising
Book 5: First Competition
Book 6: Protogenoi
Book 7: Before the Origin
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www.protogenesis.com
Footsteps in Athens
Follow Helene’s Footsteps through Athens, Greece through six short movies narrated by Greek musical star, Kostas Martakis, and learn more about the characters and magical world of the ProtogenesisTM series at:
www.footstepsinathens.com
Find out more about Alysia and her real-life adventures in Greece, including a US reality-based TV series under development, at:
www.alysiahelming.com
www.meetmeingreece.com
Excerpt from Book Two
PROTOGENESIS: FIRST CURE
Prologue – The Escape
Planet Gaea – Earth Time 1998 A.D.
POV – Helene’s Mother, Diana (goddess Artemis)
If I were a typical victim, my current reality would seem quite bleak. I’m hanging precariously from a rusted-out chain in a moldy dark room being tortured within an inch of my life. Strong women aren’t simply born. We are forged through the fires of life. I am a woman who has weathered the storm and harnessed the thunder to not only survive, but to thrive. Frankly, I’m shocked that my captor could be so stupid as to underestimate me.
My heartbeat is faint and weakened from the torture, but survival is not an issue. I draw on my breath, deep and steady, in and out…in and out. After a moment, the chaos in my mind clears as a magnificent memory materializes there - bold, vivid and beautiful – of me and a Cypress tree. It stands so stately, alive, lush and green…such a stark contrast to the dire horror I currently face. A long time ago, when the forests thrived here, the one place where I could always find solace and inner peace was under the canopy of these towering trees. It is this image in my mind now that allows me to gather my physical strength, which I need to execute the plan.
Chained up next to me, but not within reach, is my oldest and most cherished friend, Athena. Even more than my own pain, I can’t stand to see her like this…so worn down, a shadow of the magnificent beauty that she once was…but even in this gods-awful weakened state, I know that her inner light still shines…strong and vibrant. I know this because we’ve been plotting our escape plan for the past two weeks. Thankfully today, not a moment too late, Aetos Dios – the Golden Eagle – arrived outside our window screeching at the top of his lungs. We were waiting for the sign that the black box has been placed. This is it.
“Artemis…it’s time,” I hear her voice clearly inside my head.
Athena has a special ability…telepathy. Not a good idea to underestimate her either. Our plan should work without a hitch, assuming my other friend, Hestia, survives. She hangs limply from a rusty wire, tattered and frail. Her long wavy blond hair and pale ivory skin still remain, reminiscent from her days of glory.
All three of us likely are necessary to overtake our executioner and his ‘pets’, although to be honest, we have the definite advantage, knowing his greatest weakness: hubris.
My executioner - a maniacal man with red-purple eyes and lopsided hair - laughs hysterically, giggling loudly. His only answer is the snap of his whip as it slices across my neck. He mocks me, “A few more hours and you’ll be human…torture will overtake your mind as you slowly sli
p into insanity. Then…off to the Aether!”
As long as the Elixir is still in my blood, I cannot die, at least until there is no Elixir left. He’s standing a little too close to my face, the foul stench of his breath hot on my neck, as he continues his rant, “…and since we’ve been friends for so long…what has it been?”
I don’t even open my eyes. He’s not worthy of any attention from me.
“Hey!” He grabs my arm, twisting it hard. “Talk to me! How long has it been?”
There’s no way I’m giving him the satisfaction of conversation with me here.
“Over twelve thousand years!” he yells in my face, I let fierce defiance fill my eyes. Of course, I’ve known him my whole life…we grew up together, but that makes almost no difference to him. He’s always been a cutthroat bastard, but at least back then, he at least pretended to care about his friends. Now, I barely recognize this twisted demon of a man who insists that we call him by his real name: Hades.
“Very well, since you’ve been such an old and dear friend to me for all of these years, I have a gift for you. You get to choose…which way do you want to die? Whip…?” he holds up the black serrated whip of which I’m already familiar, “…or Fork…?” He points to the wall where his weapon of choice - a two-pronged fork – is resting. I instantly recognize it as a gravity disrupter. If he activates it, everything within a five-foot radius his target destabilizes into dust. Probably the more pain-free option.
“I’m going wrap this chain around your neck, and snap it in two!” I scowl. My voice ragged and short as I struggle to breathe, but it still comes out loud and clear. “C’mon Hay! You’re better than this!” I goad him. I’m not taking his crap, not for a second.
“What did you just call me?” he screams. The restraints cut into my wrists as he slams his fist into the side of my head. “What’s my name?”
I’m chained to the side of the wall or I would fall to the ground from the force of the blow. The cobblestone walls are stained a deep burgundy from the blood of thousands of other victims through the centuries who must have long perished by now. The overwhelming stench of rancid mildew drifts through the air to me, irritating my senses, although I’ve become used to the rats scurrying between my ankles.
I slam my forehead into his face, forcing him to fall back and clutch his head in shocked pain. As he draws his hand back from his face, his eyes are wild, filled with fury.
“Agggghh! I’m bleeding, you filthy witch!” he screams. “You’ll pay for that!”
Athena makes her move, calling out to him, “C’mon sweet thing. Do you really want our blood on your hands?”
His head whips around to glare at her as his hands rush up to cover his ears. He shakes his head in a frenzy, as if to knock out something this is lodged in his brain. “Get out of my head, Athena! I know what you’re trying to do!”
She’s relentless, not giving up, “I’ll make you a deal. Just give me the Elixir and you can have the one thing that you’ve always wanted…”
This gets his attention, making him sidle over to where Athena hangs on the wall across from me. “And what exactly would that be?” he says as he strokes a strand of Athena’s hair behind her ear.
“You know…” she smiles seductively at him, charm and lust oozing from every pore.
“You lie!” he screams, “You’d never give up your precious virginity!”
“What do I have to lose…? You want me, you always have…”
I scream at Athena in disgust, “Athena, how could you…?! How dare you turn on us?”
This just amps up Hades more. He grabs the back of Athena’s head, then plants a big sloppy wet kiss on her lips. She plays her role flawlessly, deepening the kiss with fervor.
“I need my hands free if you want more,” she smiles at him sweetly. He takes the key and unchains her arms. She falls to the ground, wrapping her arms around his waist as she stares intently into his eyes.
Just then, a dog starts yipping. At Hades’ feet, stands a feisty little creature. This ridiculous freak of nature…what looks like a Chihuahua with three heads and a snake’s tail is the unfortunate result of genetic engineering gone horribly wrong. That, or perhaps someone’s idea of a harsh joke.
I wince as I peer down the length of my legs where scores of blood-crusted welts cover my legs and ankles. Ceberus Jr. may look small and harmless, but make no mistake, he is pure evil…just as twisted and insane as his owner. Fifteen pounds of sheer anger and ferocity. The original Ceberus, a gigantic three-headed monstrosity, was once one of the most fearsome of all creatures…at least until he met his untimely demise.
The obnoxious barking distracts Hades enough for Athena’s spell to dissipate. His eyes grow wide in sudden fury as he roughly grabs Athena’s face with his hand. He laughs, then says in a mocking tone, “Did you really think you could best me when you’re tied up?
Hades face reddens, eyes red-rimmed and bulging slightly as his rage starts to build. “You always did think you were smarter than anyone else…Zeus’ little pet,” he says with a sinister smile, baring a row of yellow crooked teeth, as he raises the whip up into the air, ready to strike.
“No, only you,” Athena replies, regarding him with her cool, ice blue gaze. Her voice is sarcastic, but from her clenched posture, I can see that she is bracing herself from the impact of his whip.
Instead of striking Athena, though, he turns at the last minute, swerving towards Hestia. As the whip darts outward wicked fast, it leaves a gaping wound on her once beautiful face. A weak moan emanates from her frail, hanging body as she writhes in pain and her head lolls from side to side from the impact.
Hades takes in Athena’s look of horror with a large obnoxious grin. He knows that Athena’s love of her friends is so strong that this is the worst imaginable punishment for her…far worse than if she were to take the blows herself. “Still feeling smart?” he says, with a terrible cackle.
“Hades…!” he whips his head around to me, a little annoyed to be distracted from Athena, as I chide him in a loud voice, “Do you really believe that crap about the Prophecy?” My voice laced with sarcasm as I continue, “What a load of dung. The Oracle is spinning more nonsense, as usual... ‘A virgin will give birth to a child that will end the Zeus’ tyrannical reign and bring peace to the people’. Wow, I think I’ve heard that story before…uh, the Virgin Mary?”
My intense brown-purple eyes are as alive and defiant as ever, in my best effort to bait him. “You know that the Oracle is making up tall tales just to gain favor with Zeus, right…? You’re just a stupid pawn in a game you’ll never win!”
He becomes irate. The whip descends. I feel pain seer through my body as the tiny barbed rope slashes across my thigh, leaving a deep gash and blood running down my leg. I close my eyes and send a message to the only thing that can protect me. A rat lunges in Hades direction.
“What th-…?” Hades screams in agony, “that vermin bit me!!”
“Thank you, my little friend,” I think silently. I still have some of my powers left from what remains of the Elixir in my blood, but they are fading quickly. He raises the whip again, but it cracks against the wall, breaking in two.
“Damn me to hell!” He scoffs. In an insane fury, Hay throws the whip down onto the hard stone floor, scowling in a full out tantrum.
Just then, my precious little rat scurries over to Athena, depositing a small purple glass vial into her hands…Elixir! Just enough to revive Hestia. Well done!
A violent landquake shakes the room. Hades looks around frantically, wild panic in his blood shot eyes. When he looks away, a ferocious look overtakes Athena…she’s tough. A true survivor. The land beneath Hay’s feet begins to quake again, forcing him to recede t
o the other side of the room.
Before I can register what is happening, Athena uses the key she stole from Hades earlier during their ‘kiss’, releases herself from her bindings, and throws me a dagger and the key. I use it to release my restraints.
Once I’m free, I allow my mind fall into a hypnotic meditative state as I sense some minute remains of the elixir in my blood, allowing the energy life force – the Aether - to consume me. That’s when I call out to them in my mind…the troops.
Off in the distance, I hear a loud mournful roar, like that of a wounded lion. The sound is so startlingly familiar. I am filled with hope.
I hear the sound before I can even open my eyes. The ground quakes again, but this time I know why. A stampede of different animals led by my beautiful white Stag rushes into the room, quickly overtaking Hades, throwing him down onto the ground.
Athena scowls, throwing her arms up in frustration, “It’s not time for the animals yet! You’re supposed to focus on Hestia first!”
The truth is that I had expected it to take a little more time for my ‘troops’ – a herd of exotic animals, each uniquely regal, majestic and lethal - to arrive. With so little Elixir left in my system, I’m frankly surprised that they came at all.
“I don’t exactly have the level of control over things that I used to!” I retort. My giant lioness roars loudly, making me turn. Hades has stabbed her with a sword as she pins him down underneath her enormous paw, claws dug into his writhing arm.
Athena and I use the key to free Hestia from her bondage. Once unrestricted, Hestia falls to the floor, lying in a heap. I feel my forehead crease as I try to feel for Hestia’s pulse…fading and weak, it’s barely there.
“Hestia...?” Athena picks up the glowing purple vial, cradles Hestia’s head in her lap, and pours the shimmering liquid down into her mouth.
Protogenesis: Before the Beginning Page 36
