I dropped to my knees and reached out to his face. His lips were blue. His skin was ashen. He wasn’t breathing. I drew my hand away.
I’m not dreaming.
He’s cold.
Lifeless.
Dead.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. I was supposed to free him. I was supposed to save him. I was supposed to save everyone.
I breathed in a ragged breath.
If I hadn’t been such a coward—if I had used that knife to—
Then I remembered the conversation I had overheard earlier. I replayed it in my mind.
“What happens if you don’t get the dosage right?” asked Galilea.
“If it’s too low, nothing,” Eileen answered. “But if it’s too high, she’ll go into cardiac arrest.”
Cardiac arrest—cardiac arrest, the words echoed in my head.
Yes. I could still save them. Spare them from the misery that I had brought with me at my birth.
From my jeans pocket, I dug out the tiny glass vial I had taken from the scientists. I pulled out the round cork. I raised the tube to my lips. In one quick gulp, I downed the yellow liquid. Three seconds later, my heart suffered the shock. My breath hitched. The vial slipped out of my hand. I hit the ground.
I squinted at the intense light shining down on me. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. I looked around. I was at the steps of a large white building with columns that seemed to touch the sky. Vines and flowers curled around the walls and pillars. The wooden doors were wide open. I took each step up with hesitance. What was this place? I stood at the doorway, and looked in.
A fire pit was burning in the center of the enormous room. Two chairs were placed at the far end: one was a pale gold color, the other looked like it was made of sticks and clay.
“Hello?” I said.
“Hello,” a deep voice came from behind me, and I jumped.
I turned and looked back. No one was there.
“Hello?” I said a second time.
A man appeared from behind one of the columns. The frock he wore looked like an old burlap sack of potatoes fastened at the waist with a leather belt.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“You’re lost. You’ve been lost for some time.” He stepped toward me, and I took a step back. “You don’t have to be frightened.”
“Who are you?”
“A friend.”
“I’ve never seen you before.”
“You don’t remember me, but I remember you. You were,” he held up his thumb and forefinger, “a tiny little thing when I met you.” He lowered himself to the first step and sat down. “The instant I saw you, I knew who you were. I knew what you were.”
“A monster?”
“A magnificent catalyst.” He raised his blue eyes to look at me. “And a marker of hope.”
“Right. I’m neither of those.”
“For someone that’s searching for answers, I thought you’d be more willing to listen. After all, that’s what you’ve been seeking, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” I stepped closer to him. “I need to know how to stop the monster inside me from taking over. Do you know how to do that?”
“Don’t fight it. Embrace it. You weren’t born a monster. The human side of you is far stronger than the beast. What you deem your flaw is essentially your strength. You must learn to control it—tame it.”
I sat down next to him.
“But I don’t know how to do that.”
“Then you’ll have to learn.”
“What if I can’t do it? What if I can’t control the monster?”
“You have to believe that you can. Or else, many will die.”
“People have already died because of me. I don’t want any of this. I don’t want the monster.”
“If you don’t accept your purpose, they’ll all perish.”
“Who will?”
“Mankind.”
“I’m not cut out to handle something like this. I’m no one.”
“Everyone is someone. And you’re the one that triggers man’s next step in evolution,” he said. “No. They’re not turning into beasts.”
“Then what?”
“They will evolve into a humankind more capable of loving and caring. They’ll become more advanced intellectually and physically. It’ll take many years, but the world as you know it will change. Wars will end. Violence will be no more. The starved will eat. The homeless will have shelter.”
“So the world becomes an ideal place because of me? I don’t understand. What exactly am I supposed to do to make this happen?”
“A battle will rage for the seed that’s been planted. Fight for faith, and hope will be born. That’s how the evolution of man begins.”
“Could you simplify that for me?”
“You’ll understand soon enough.” He stood, and I did the same. “You have to go now.”
“Where?”
“Back.” He picked a flower from a vine and handed it to me. “Life is a gift. Remember that.” He walked toward the open doors of the building and paused. “Tell Erosmus that his father sends his regards.”
“Who?” I blinked, and he was gone.
***
Indistinct whispers danced on my ears. My eyelids were heavy, my vision blurred. Two silhouettes stood in the distance. I made an attempt to sit up, but something was weighing me down.
“She’s awake,” I heard Galilea say. “Enoch, she’s awake.”
Galilea’s head hovered over mine.
“Where are we?” I sounded hoarse.
“I brought you to get your answers, like I promised.”
“How did we get here? What happened?”
“You don’t remember?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be asking.”
“We went to Carboné’s house. Do you remember that?”
Pictures of stairs and doors flashed in my head.
“There was a cellar,” I said. “Nyx was crying and—” I gasped. “Where’s David? Did we get him out of there? Did we get the file?”
Galilea took a deep ragged breath. “We didn’t get the file back from Carboné.”
“Galilea, tell me what happened to David. Tell me.”
“Before I say anything, I have to show you something.” She turned around. “Enoch, will you bring them?”
I heard footsteps walking to the bed I was lying on. I saw the man that Galilea had called Enoch pulling a large bulk behind him. He had white hair and wrinkled skin.
“Set them over there.” Galilea jerked her chin, then looked back at me. “Let me help you out of this restraint. We only put you in it as a precaution.”
“Is he dead?” I asked as she fiddled with the straps. “Galilea, I have to know.”
“I’ll answer you in a second.” She threw the white jacket aside. “Ready?” she asked, and I nodded. “Don’t freak out.” She moved aside. “This is what happened.”
Two people were lying on the floor, side by side, covered with a blanket from the shoulders down.
“Did I kill them?” I asked in alarm.
“No,” Galilea said. “It’s not what you think. Take a closer look.”
I set one foot on the floor, and Enoch took my arm. I looked down at myself and discovered I was dressed in what resembled a white hospital gown.
“Go ahead,” Enoch said. “Look.”
I took two steps and stopped to glance back at Galilea. She nodded once as a signal to keep going. I took a few more steps and stopped. I stared at the floor in horror. My face was on one of the bodies. The face next to mine was David’s.
“It’s just skin,” Enoch said, before I could voice my question.
“But how—”
“After you drank the narcotic and blacked out, Nyx and I needed to get you and David out of Carboné’s house fast, before my block depleted.” Galilea sat on the bed. “When Nyx lifted David’s head, she realized that something was wrong—it was too light. It was hollow. We d
idn’t know what to make of it. We hauled your bodies to the car.
After we arrived here, you began writhing. Then we saw your back tear open and you slid out covered in a sticky film—nude and bald.”
I touched my head. In place of my long hair was a layer of fuzz. I stood mute, trying to grasp what Galilea had just told me.
“Is this it?” I said at last. “Is my transformation complete?”
Galilea shrugged. “Beats me.”
I looked down at the human pupa at my feet.
“What happened to David?” I asked. “Is he alright?”
“He’s fine. He had escaped before we even got there. He shed his skin, took out the guards, and sneaked out. Somehow, he managed to get home. He called Nyx as we were headed out of Athens. She wouldn’t let me drive her—insisted I should get you out of there since my shield was already down. She jacked someone’s car at a stop light and headed back to David.”
“Where is he now? I want to see him.”
“In Bucharest at the asylum. We’re going back, but first, Enoch and Uno need to speak to you. They’re Runes like me. They’re the ones that have your answers.”
“Who’s Uno?”
“My uncle,” Enoch said. “He’s in the next room, waiting to see you.”
I nodded, and walked around the human casings on the floor and into the other room. Sitting at the table was a man that looked like Enoch’s twin. The only difference was that Uno’s eyes were white.
“Is she awake?” Uno asked, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
“Yes. She’s here,” Enoch said.
“Hello,” I said.
“Sit—sit, girl.” Uno felt for the chair next to his. “We’ve been waiting far too long for the marker of hope.”
“It’s strange that you used those words.”
“Why so?”
“I had a dream where a man called me the marker of hope.”
“Sometimes dreams are messages from beyond, windows into other worlds.” Uno balanced his chin on his cane. “I’m curious about your dream. Would you tell me more?”
“The man in my dream said I needed to control the beast, and that I had to do something—that I had to—to fight. I had to start some new evolution for the sake of humankind.” I looked at Galilea and Enoch. “Does that make any sense?”
Galilea shook her head, and Enoch stood silent next to her.
“What else?” Uno asked.
“Something about a new world.” I thought back. “And he said to tell Erosmus that his father sent regards.”
“Erosmus?” Galilea gaped. “Are you sure that’s the name he used?”
I nodded. “Does that mean something?”
“It means that was no ordinary dream,” Enoch told me. “Erosmus is the first conceived son of Deus.”
“Am I supposed to meet Erosmus?”
“Isis.” Galilea took a seat next to me. “Erosmus is the god of affection and desire,” she said. “Also known as Eros.”
“That means the man I was speaking to was—”
“Deus, his father,” Uno said. “And He’s spoken your truth.”
“Think back.” Galilea put her hand on my shoulder. “What else did Deus say?”
“He said there was a war coming—for the seed that’s been planted.”
“There is,” Uno said. “One that you must survive.”
“Like the Great Wars between Creatura, mankind, and gods?” Galilea asked.
“Worse.” Uno reached out to me, and I took his hand. “Girl, if you die, so does everyone and everything else. You must fulfill your purpose.”
“Tell me what my purpose is.”
“You are the bearer of hope—what the world needs. Keep hope alive, and you will save us all.”
“How—how do I do that?”
“The answers will be given to you in due time.”
***
The girl that looked back at me from the visor mirror was different. She had thicker lashes. Her eyes were a more vivid shade of green than I remembered. Her irises seemed too large for her face.
“At least your pupils are back to normal,” Galilea said. “I can’t explain it, but you look prettier somehow.”
I wrapped the black silk scarf around my head and neck, covering my hair-stripped scalp.
“I don’t understand how I’m still alive. I thought that if I drank the serum…”
“Neither do I, and that was a stupid thing to do.” Galilea frowned at me. “The stupidest thing you’ve ever done, as a matter of fact. If I wasn’t so happy that you’re alive, I’d be really pissed at you right now.”
“I thought I was making the right choice.”
“Well, you couldn’t have been more wrong.” Galilea turned off the ignition. “Are you ready to go in there and face them?”
“Them?”
“They’re all here. The entire Chios clan.”
“But I thought they were going to trial in Caelum?”
“So did I.” Galilea raised her brows. “But there was an interesting turn of events.”
I gave her an inquisitive look.
“Starr appeared at the hearing,” she said.
“Deus’ wife?”
Galilea nodded. “Starr ordered the Council to let the family go. Some of the Council Members and Clergy protested. She dared them to go against her ruling, but they know better than to upset the goddess. They stood down as soon as they saw her anger.”
“How do you know this happened?”
“I was there.” She knit her brows. “Isis, I’m worried. Starr hasn’t appeared before the Council since the days of the Great Wars.” She glanced toward the front door. “Also, Samuel was at the trial. I found him hiding in the back of the crowd. He was upset that we left Kyparissia and pissed that I messed with his memory. He asked for you—wanted to know where you were.”
“And?”
“I didn’t tell him anything. I don’t trust him.”
“Was Eros with him?”
“No. Eros never goes to Caelum. The Council kicked him out a long time ago. He only ever travels to Caelum when the Council summons him. The last time he went was…” Galilea paused. “Actually, I don’t remember. That’s how long it’s been.”
I tugged on the Star Crest hanging from my neck.
“Does David know that I left with Eros?” I asked, and Galilea shrugged. “I made a mess out of everything.” I closed my eyes. “Uno was wrong. How am I supposed to be the bearer of hope if I don’t have any hope left in me?”
“Isis.” She shook her head. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you in this short time I’ve known you, it’s that you’re always hanging on to the tiniest drop of hope.”
“Not today. Not for some time now.”
***
“I’m not going to sit here and argue with you when I know I’m right. Should we go inside?”
I nodded. I knew the family hated me, but right now, I didn’t care. What I wanted was to see David again, to know he was alive—even if he hated me, too.
There were suitcases by the door. The murmur of voices was coming from the interior of the house. I followed the chatter to the kitchen and stood at the doorway. Eight faces stared at me, but I was only looking at one.
After a moment, David pushed his chair back and stood up. His head was as bald as mine.
“We need to talk,” David said.
My stomach tensed. I nodded and followed him into the library.
“Is it true—about you and Eros?” He avoided my stare.
“I only left with him because I wanted to convince—”
“So you did. You left me to be with Eros.”
“No! I left because I wanted to save you.”
“I don’t need to be saved, Isis. Can’t you understand that? All I ever needed was you.”
“David—” I took a step toward him, and he turned his back to me.
“I’m leaving with my family in a few minutes.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You?
??ll be safe with Galilea.”
“Where will you go?” I asked, but he didn’t answer. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
“I wish I could believe you.”
I fought the tears. “David, I love you.”
He turned and locked his gaze on mine.
“You’ll never see me again. Don’t try to find me,” he said, and walked out.
I sank to the floor and cried. I was so angry with myself, so frustrated with my life. I hit the wooden coffee table in front of me. It broke in two, like I had minutes earlier. Galilea came running in after the loud crash. She knelt beside me and put her arm over my shoulder. Although she didn’t say a word, her being there, sitting next to me, was comfort enough.
Hours passed until I was finally all cried out.
“I’m going home.” I sniffed. “I’m going to figure out this mysterious purpose of mine, and I’m going to fight to save the people I love—even if most of them hate me.”
“I see,” Galilea said. “Well, I can’t keep you here if you don’t want to stay.”
“I’ll need a sidekick.”
“How about a sidekick and two smarty pants scientists?”
“That’ll work.” I nodded.
“When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow.”
My husband and son, Oscar and Max – Thank you for putting up with my fantasy worlds, my crazy, and me.
My fans and readers – Thank you for choosing to read my stories. Without you, I don’t exist.
My friends and family – Thank you for the ongoing support.
My assistants extraordinaire, Judith Lauren Frazee and Courtney Whittamore –Your whining makes me write, and I love you for it.
My editor, Elisabeth Kauffman – Thank you for supporting me since day one and for sharing your knowledge so that my stories can reach newer and better levels.
My beta readers and street team – Thank you for taking the time to give me feedback and for helping me spread my stories. You are truly invaluable.
My sister, Krystle Mendiola – Thank you for being my Isis.
Dr. Scott Gunn, Geneticist – Thank you for your time and knowledge and for allowing me to use you as a character in my book.
Giousé Carbone – Thank you for being the creepiest bad guy I’ve ever written.
Paulina Martinez – Thanks for the fan support, the friendship, and for being the other Isis.