Page 12 of Capture of Capricorn (The Thirteenth Zodiac #3)

Rather than reply to Zora’s shocked exclamation, Capricorn stated, “It’s good to be home.

” He still held her close, having drawn her near to facilitate the starbeaming, but he’d not meant to kiss her.

Blame the temptation of those lips, and the need to forestall her questions.

Pressing his mouth to hers solved both problems.

She shoved at his chest. “Home? Where the fuck am I?”

“Welcome to Tower.” His reply didn’t lessen her glare, so he added, “As in, the Tower of Babylon. You might have heard of it.”

“I’ve heard of it,” she growled. “But how the fuck did we get from the alley to here in the blink of an eye?”

“Starbeaming.”

“Is not a fucking word!” she shouted.

“It is, just one not commonly known. It’s what we Zodiac Warriors call it when we use our constellation to transport us from our current location to Tower.

I would have done it earlier, but those bracelets blocked my ability.

Good thing you got them off.” Not only did the contraption block his ability, but he’d worried that if they had a tracker in them, Adam would have had a beacon practically inviting him in.

“I’m dreaming. No, wait. I’ve been drugged, and I’m hallucinating. We never left Area 51, did we? The gas must have gotten to us.”

“This is real, Beauty.”

“No, because it’s not possible to move places almost instantaneously.”

“And yet, it just happened. Care for a tour?”

She crossed her arms. “I want to know who exactly the hell you are.”

“I told you, my name is Capricorn, and I’m a Zodiac Warrior, an enhanced human tasked with being a protector of mankind and Earth.”

“Not funny.”

“I’m being utterly serious. I was chosen for the duty because I showed selfless bravery.

As part of my transformation, I have certain abilities that include starbeaming.

The room you’re standing in”—he swept a hand—“is known as the portal chamber. Think of it as an arrival terminal.” He tapped the dais under his feet.

“This spot we landed on, marked with my symbol, acts as an anchor for when I want to return home. The other medallions you see are for my fellow Zodiac brothers.”

Her lips pinched. “And those arches?”

“Fixed portals to specific spots on Earth. Those can be used by the non-Zodiac gifted.”

“Meaning I could walk through one and end up somewhere else.”

“You could, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Why not?”

“Well, for one, Adam is most likely still looking for you, and two, you might find yourself stranded somewhere you don’t like without funds or a way of getting anywhere.”

“This is insane.” She whirled from him.

“But real.”

“We’ll see about that. Show me this tower.”

“I’d be delighted.” They emerged from the portal chamber into the main hall just as the grand doors opened and Leo strode in, toting Olivia on his shoulders.

“Uncy Cap, you found Zora.” The little tyke clapped her hands and beamed.

Zora froze in place before whispering, “How does that kid know my name?”

“I saw you, silly.” Olivia giggled. “I told Uncy he’d find you.”

“And so I did, Squirt. Although Zora here is having a little bit of trouble accepting what’s going on.”

“Because it makes no sense,” Zora grumbled. “People cannot teleport.”

“Starbeaming is the best,” Olivia gushed. “It’s like a superfast zoom.”

Leo cocked his head. “Hey, Cap, your friend looks like she’s going to either faint or puke.”

“She’s fine,” Capricorn stated, but when he would have slid an arm around Zora just in case, she moved away and snapped, “Who’s the big dude?”

“That would be one of my Zodiac brothers. Goes by the name Leo, and that’s his daughter, Olivia. She can see the future, like Sage.”

“Of course she can,” muttered Zora.

“We are going to be the bestest of friends if you and Uncy save the world,” Olivia stated.

Leo coughed. “Um, yeah, on that note, I think it’s snack time. Let’s go, Rug Rat.” The big man jogged off, his daughter giggling as they jiggled and bounced up the stairs.

However, Zora didn’t watch them leave. She’d gone to the open door and peered outside.

“Where are we?” she asked quietly. “That landscape doesn’t match what I know of Nevada.”

“Because we’re not in Nevada, but Iraq. And before you ask, you won’t find this place on a map or satellite image. Tower is hidden from most eyes.”

“Iraq? Did I fall asleep? Because it feels like only minutes ago we were still in Nevada.”

“Because we were. Starbeaming happens quick, from a few seconds to get home to a few minutes. Given you didn’t pass out, I’d say the former.”

“I didn’t realize anyone had mastered translocation technology,” she stated. “Hell, I didn’t even realize anyone was doing actual trials for it, let alone succeeded in teleporting living organisms.”

“We’ve had this ability for centuries,” he boasted. “And it’s not done via a machine. Honestly, I have no idea how it works. Guess the closest science term would be astral physics, but, given I don’t understand that mumbo jumbo, I still fall back on what most people call it; magic.”

“Magic isn’t real.”

“Yeah, you won’t be saying that after a few days here.” Everyone changed their mind once they got a taste of what Tower could do.

“Exactly how long am I supposed to be staying for?”

He shrugged. “That depends on Adam and Cetus. You can go home once we’re sure it’s safe.”

“Given we have the orb, shouldn’t we be fine?” She patted the bag holding it.

Capricorn eyed the bulging bag and frowned. “It’s still in there?”

“Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because the last two disappeared during starbeams.” He’d kind of assumed the same would happen with this one.

“I still have it.” She unraveled the bundle and pulled it out. Her brow creased.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I didn’t notice in the excitement before, but it’s not making my fingers tingle anymore.”

“Is that weird?”

“Weirder than everything else that’s happened? Not really, but it would indicate something about it has changed.”

“Give me a second to check on something.” Capricorn dashed into the portal room for a glance.

Since he’d been dealing with Zora, he’d not thought to check the thirteenth dais when they arrived.

It remained two-thirds full, which made sense given they still had possession of the relic.

Did the fact they’d managed to bring it back intact mean they’d stopped what was to come?

Seemed too easy.

Capricorn returned to the main hall in time to see Zora dashing the artifact to the floor. It hit hard and rolled a few feet.

“What are you doing?” he exclaimed.

Rather than reply, Zora crouched and snared the artifact. She held it up and showed him the dented side.

“I thought you said it was indestructible,” he asked, confusion creasing his brow.

“It is. Hate to break it to you, but it appears we escaped with a fake.”