"I know that's not true. And I know someone who can help you. He's older than Pridament and very powerful. You can regain your powers but only by entering the Veil. You and I are too close, I can't take you safely. But he can. If you go with me, we can get your powers back-maybe even stronger than they were before."

"But Sophia and Allie-"

"Have Pridament to protect them. It wouldn't be for long. Besides, wouldn't you prefer to be the one to protect them? If Cain comes for you today, what will you do other than die?"

Have I gone too far?

Rage burned behind his eyes, and his hand tightened into a fist.

"And what about the rest of your plan?" he asked. "Is this some way to trick me into following your insane quest?"

"No trick," she said. "We try and get your powers back so you can help your family. After that, the decision is yours."

She stepped beyond the boundaries of the Wards. Showing they were useless against her current power would only upset him. It was safer to pretend she still had limits within his control.

"You know who I am," she said. "I've only done what I thought would help you. I've given you my offer. I have to leave. But I'll return tomorrow to find out your answer. Talk it over with your wife. Perhaps she has some insight she can share."

She stepped into the opening she tore in the Veil. Hopefully, she hadn't left Brandt and Caelum too long. Even if she had, there were larger things in play. Her role had changed, and she needed to perform the part, even if it caused others discomfort.

5.

Preparing for Treachery

They returned to the provided staging room.

The s.p.a.ce was filled with a few wood benches. Plain, utilitarian, like the rest of the facility. But it had a washroom where Fuyuko could lock the door, splash some water on her face, and have a moment to breath without the eyes of everyone else on her.

It wasn't a safe place to cry, or look in the mirror and ask what the h.e.l.l she was thinking-she had to a.s.sume the whole place was under surveillance like Suture was.

She settled for a healthy dousing of cold water on her face. It helped with some grime but did little to refresh her or calm her thoughts.

"Sparx," she called, coming out of the washroom.

"Yes, Sir."

"What's the status of Beta and Charlie team?"

"Thankfully, they used stun grenades, so no life-threatening injuries. Some are still resting, but about fifty percent are on their feet and ready to go."

"Good," she said.

She scratched at her ear and looked up at the corners of the room.

Sparx gave her a confused look.

Please don't be so dense, she thought.

She changed to tapping her ear and then nodded toward the obvious camera in one corner of the room.

Sparx finally made an Ohhhh face of understanding and nodded toward the washroom.

He didn't have Zeus' control of electricity, but the man could sense an electrical device and ascertain its nature in a matter of seconds.

She moved closer to him so that his face obscured her's from the camera.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

She couldn't tell if his eyes were widening in surprise, antic.i.p.ation, or fear.

Probably all three.

But he was a dutiful soldier and planted an awkward kiss on her lips.

She looped her arm through his and escorted him to the washroom, making a show of looking over her shoulder to make sure no one in the room was watching.

No, she was only concerned with the ones watching who weren't in the room.

Once inside the washroom she tapped beside her eyes and then beside her ear.

He responded by tapping his ear.

She turned the tap on full and moved close to his ear.

"Take a few members of Charlie and Beta team with you and secure three vans for our departure."

"Shouldn't we leave that to the base pit crew?"

Fuyuko shook her head.

"Anubis gave up too easily. I want eyes on our wheels, and I want to know if a fight breaks out we're moving to a secured location."

"You don't think he'd do something like that, do you? It would risk war within the Pantheon."

Sparx was one of the new generation of Anunnaki-awakened not by nature, but through an injection of Takeda's Formula. He'd been granted great power by Quetzalcoatl, a.s.suring total loyalty. After all, what one injection gave, another could remove. Surprising the horrors people were willing to endure, and inflict, to retain power.

His newness to the Anunnaki world and devotion to Quetzalcoatl blinded him to the pettiness of the Ageless Ones. She'd learned such naivety could get you killed.

"Anubis already risked civil war by usurping Osiris," she said. "I wouldn't underestimate his ambitions. Besides, regardless of his age or power, he can be petty, and I'm pretty sure my performance in there insulted him. He'll tell Quetzalcoatl he wants my head as his compensation. Either that or he'll just say we failed in our mission-the terrorists escaped and we were all killed."

"All?" Sparx gave an audible gulp.

Fuyuko chuckled.

"Really? You think he'd be stupid enough to leave witnesses? Yes, all. So it's in your best interest to keep our escape route clear, got it?"

He nodded.

"Then get to it."

Sparx stumbled through the bathroom door. Fuyuko hoped it would look on camera like he was having an issue walking right, not that he was nervous. He approached a few people in the room, then left to gather more, making his way to the garage.

Fuyuko sighed.

They were in a facility entirely controlled by Anubis. Every person aside from her team had sworn loyalty to him. Based on her briefings and cursory observations, that put her team at a disadvantage of about six to one. Not impossible odds, given none of Anubis' people were Anunnaki, but the likelihood of every member of her team surviving was low.

She wandered the room, checking on them, asking if their wounds had healed, gauging their emotional state. None of them had been handed a defeat as thoroughly as they had today. Was their confidence wavering? When faced with the inevitable betrayal, would they crack, or listen to her orders? Too many variables, too many uncertainties. And perhaps nothing would happen. Maybe all the years of G.o.ds and their games had left her jaded and suspicious.

But she was still alive. And that was proof enough to trust her instincts.

Her satellite phone buzzed in her pocket.

A text message read, Extraction in 6 hrs Alexandria International Airport.

Six hours. She hoped it would be enough time for her team to heal and be ready. Because if the worst happened, they'd not only have this facility, but the entire city, to fight their way through.

6.

Answers on the Horizon

Gwynn stared at the reddish hue along the trees to the west, where the sun had begun its descent.

A cool whisper of a breeze blew in from the valley. He didn't bother to wrap his sweater tighter-the cool air made his skin tingle. He felt alive. At Peace.

If only the breeze could somehow penetrate to his guts, which churned and boiled.

"You should talk to her," Pridament said, coming from the cabin behind him. "She'll understand better than you think."

Gwynn didn't look at him. Instead, he tried to pick out how many different hues separated the deepest reds on the horizon from the still visible yellowish rim of the sun.

"What makes you think I need to say anything more to her?"

"Gwynn, the last time I saw Adrastia, she was dragging my son...Cain, into the Veil. The same man who seemed intent on killing you. Her last words were to protect you. Her returning means something larger is going on. If she'd managed to kill Cain..." Pridament struggled to spit out the sentence. "Then you would've said something-even to me. Instead, you're standing here, staring at the horizon like you might find your answer out there somewhere."

Gwynn couldn't keep the bitterness from his smile.

"And what makes you think my answer isn't out there?"

Pridament moved in front of him, forcing Gwynn's eyes onto his own.

"Because, after all my years, after all the worlds I've seen," he pointed to his chest, "I've learned the answers to our biggest questions start in here."

Gwynn chuckled.

"Do you have any idea how corny that sounds?"

"Oh, I know exactly how corny it sounds," he said. "But you look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong."

Gwynn stared him in the eye, even let his mouth open to speak, but couldn't find any inspired words to provide as an argument.

"Fine, you're corny, but right. Happy?"

Pridament beamed.

"It's just..." Gwynn looked back to the cabin where an oil lamp inside created dancing shadows in the windows. "I don't want her to worry. We've been through so much, and yet, we've found a place where we're happy. I don't want to mess that up because of some foolish fear...or even worse, pride."

"You mean about you leaving?"

"How did you..."

Gwynn shook his head, a soft chuckle on his lips.

"Of course. I forget sometimes I'm married to someone who can see the future."

Pridament nodded.

"You shouldn't. Besides, even if she couldn't, the two of you are close enough she knows something is going on. It hasn't been your habit to keep things from her."

"I know, but how can I tell her this?"

"Tell her what?" Pridament asked.

Gwynn told him about Adrastia and what she revealed.

"How is she supposed to look at me, or worse, our daughter, the same ever again? If what Adrastia says is true, Sophia is doomed, and all of this may have started because of my desire for revenge. A desire I pushed on our child. Can you imagine the things our daughter endured because of that decision?"