Page 13 of Capture of Capricorn (The Thirteenth Zodiac #3)

“A fake!” Capricorn yelled. “That fucking bastard pulled a switcheroo.”

“I’m not surprised. Crius is a sly bastard.” And Zora hadn’t clued in, too adrenalized at the time to realize something might be amiss.

“Fuck me,” he huffed. “My entire mission was about retrieving the relic.”

“Does that mean you’re going back?”

“I don’t know, but you can guarantee Aries is gonna ream me out for not double checking.” His lips turned down.

“Aries’ your boss?”

“Yeah. He kind of runs our team.” Capricorn raked fingers through his hair. “I gotta report in and see what they want me to do next.”

“Meaning no tour.” Pity, now that some of the shock had worn off, she found herself curious.

The scientist in her could scream all it wanted that everything he claimed was impossible.

However, no denying she’d been relocated, and in the blink of an eye.

There had to be an explanation, and despite his claim of teleportation by astral physics—or magic—she knew there had to be a gimmick.

Just because she’d never seen the machine that allowed it didn’t mean it didn’t exist.

“I can give you a mini one, if you want to follow me. The office is on the tenth floor.”

Zora eyed the stairs he led her toward. “No elevator?”

“Nope. Tower was built more than an eon ago, before those existed.”

“How many floors is it?” she asked as she joined him climbing the first flight.

“More than you’d believe.”

Zora began to lag as they trudged up the third set of stairs. “No way am I making it to the tenth,” she huffed.

“Want me to carry you?”

“I’ve been toted around like luggage enough. Can I hang out on this floor?” Her nose caught the scent of food.

“For sure. This is our cafeteria level. If you’re hungry, head to the alcove. Tower will offer you something to eat.”

The way he kept speaking of this tower as if it were sentient made her wonder if it was run by some kind of AI. There’d been massive strides recently in artificial intelligence and smart home systems.

“I don’t suppose it serves fast food.” Her deprived body craved something deep-fried.

“Tower will provide whatever it thinks you need.”

“If I end up with a salad, my hangry ass will probably hurt someone,” she warned.

His lips quirked. “I doubt Tower would be so cruel. I’ll be back in a bit.” Capricorn trotted off, taking the stairs two at a time now that he didn’t have to match her sluggish pace.

Showoff.

Zora glanced around and noted that, while he called this area the cafeteria, it wouldn’t have been out of place in a fine dining establishment.

Clusters of round tables carved in wood with two to six chairs occupied one-half of the space.

On the other side, a ridiculously long dining table that could have seated a few dozen, at least.

As she headed for the alcove, wondering if she had to place an order, she blinked and noticed it held a dome dish. Odd. She’d have sworn it was empty. Perhaps a trick of the light.

Before grabbing it, she glanced around once more, wondering if perhaps it was meant for someone else.

Seeing no one, she shrugged and grabbed it, carrying it to a table by a window that gave her a view of the outdoors.

No buildings or even a road, just some brown-hued, rocky mountains and hard-packed dirt.

She did notice a strip of noxious-appearing fluid that stretched out of sight left and right.

A moat? Why not? It wouldn’t be any odder than everything else thus far.

Once seated, she removed the dome covering the plate, and steam wafted, along with the mouthwatering scent of crispy fried chicken. The crunchy delight came with mashed potatoes, some plump corn, a jug of gravy, and some hot biscuits.

Zora could have cried as she ate. Delicious. Exactly what she needed.

As she finished the last bite, someone cleared their throat. “I think this piece of pie is for you.”

A startled Zora glanced over her shoulder to see a woman holding a plate, her pregnant belly looking ready to burst.

“I hope I didn’t accidentally eat your dinner,” she blurted out.

The woman smiled. “No, that tray was meant for you, Zora.”

“Who are you? How do you know my name?” She didn’t mean to bark, but she really hated how off-balance this place made her.

“I’m Sage.”

“ The Sage?”

The pregnant woman’s lips tilted even higher. “I see Capricorn mentioned me.”

“He did. Claims you see the future.” Zora couldn’t help the slightly mocking tone.

“I do, but not easily at the moment. I’m not sure if it’s junior impeding my ability”—Sage patted her belly—“or the fact we’re at a pivotal branch that’s making it so hard for me to read what’s coming.”

Sage spoke seriously, obviously believing she was some kind of fortune teller. As if.

“Capricorn says you told him to hand his butt over to Cetus.”

“I did. His capture was the best chance we had at stopping an approaching calamity.”

“Yeah, that might not have turned out so good.” Then, because Zora wasn’t sure if this Sage chick knew, added, “The orb we brought out of Area 51 was a fake.”

“I know. Poor Capricorn is really beating himself up over it. Meanwhile, there was never any branch he could have taken that had him leaving with the real one.”

Zora blinked. “You sent him knowing he’d fail no matter what?”

“I wouldn’t say he failed. After all, he did rescue you.”

“But didn’t he need to retrieve the real sphere to stop this whole end-of-the-world thing?”

“No, he needed to be captured to close off some of the nastier possibilities. I couldn’t exactly tell him he’d end up bringing home a fake, or he’d have most likely died tearing that place apart looking for the real one.”

The explanation didn’t clear shit up. Zora leaned back in her chair, ignoring the pie—warm cinnamon-scented apple with a dollop of melting vanilla ice cream, her favorite. “I’m confused. If Crius still has the sphere, isn’t that a bad thing?”

“Very bad for everyone on Earth. However, I have faith that all will turn out all right. After all, Olivia says the baby is going to take after Aries, which means she at least sees a future where my child will be born.” Sage rested her hands on the bulge.

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t buy into this cult bullshit you’ve got going. You and a kid seeing the future? Capricorn claiming he’s some kind of special Zodiac hero who can teleport? It’s a lovely fantasy, but also utterly impossible.”

Sage reached out and patted Zora’s hand. “Science-based people always have the hardest time, but you’ll come around. You should visit Tower’s library, which is on a floor above us. Lots of information about the Zodiac Warriors and Tower there.”

“Meaning books written by cult members.”

Sage laughed. “Oh my. You really are in denial.” Then the woman did something odd. She glanced to the ceiling and murmured, “Try to not shock her too hard.”

Sending a message to the AI running this place, or to those manning surveillance? Should she expect some theatrics in an attempt to subvert? They could try. Zora wasn’t gullible.

Sage rose. “It was nice meeting you. I look forward to getting to know you if the world doesn’t end.” With that, Sage waddled off, and Zora absently ate the pie—which was delicious—pondering what she’d learned.

A whole lot of crazy. However, the thought of a library did intrigue. Just how far back did this cult run?

She headed for the stairs and held in a sigh.

No wonder Capricorn was so damned fit. At least the library was only a single flight from the cafeteria.

She still arrived huffing and sweating but didn’t mind when she saw the shelves—and shelves, and more shelves—of books. Hot damn. So many to choose from.

She began walking towards the nearest bookcase and read the titles on the spine. The Capture of Capricorn . The Sins of Leo . Legend of Scorpio . Each Zodiac symbol had its own book. Beyond those dozen tomes, a slim spine, titled simply The Selection and Transformation of Warriors .

As if she cared about their cosplay routine. She glanced to the next shelf and saw a repeat of the books. Same colored binding, titles, size, everything. A glance left and right, even up and down showed only those thirteen books repeated over and over.

“Library, my ass,” she huffed. Was this some kind of joke? Get her excited about all the yummy things to read, only to mock her by offering no true selection?

“You know what, let’s see what kind of bullshit Capricorn and his friends believe.” She snared the how-to-become book and plopped herself in a chair.

The story began with, The planet we watch over, and the life that has blossomed on its surface, is in peril from otherworldly incursions and the emergence of dark forces.

If something isn’t done, not only will humanity regress as they struggle to survive but they might be wiped out entirely.

That would be unfortunate, as they are an interesting race to observe and it would be a shame for them to go extinct just as they’re beginning to unlock their true potential.

Zora kept reading and snorting in disbelief.

What kind of fairy tale fiction was this?

Written from an omniscient point of view, the first chapter spoke as if the author were some kind of god watching over humans and warning that civilization faced extinction from monsters, the kind that couldn’t be killed easily or by normal means.

Dragons, basilisks, gorgons, and even sea serpents that took down ships.

But there were also references to cursed locations, most often caused by either a tragic—AKA violent—event or an object that didn’t belong on this plane of existence.

Because, of course," the book implied there was more than one.

Utter nonsense. Zora flipped ahead to a chapter labelled, “Selecting A Warrior.” It began with a short sentence— To protect humanity, a cadre of warriors shall be chosen featuring the following qualities. A checklist followed.

The candidate should have heroic qualities.