Page 17 of Legend of Scorpio (The Thirteenth Zodiac #1)

CHAPTER 16

I am such an idiot. Rebecca couldn’t help the feeling, seeing her current dilemma. In her defense, hearing Sage’s ominous words in the library had sent Rebecca into a panic. “What do you mean Scorpio will die without me?”

The woman had ducked her head and whispered, “I see an ominous future if you’re not by his side. Death. Destruction. A world in flames.”

“But how am I supposed to help? I’m not a warrior. I cringe when I kill a bug.”

At that, Sage had shrugged. “I don’t see the why, just the result.” She put a hand on her belly. “There will be no hope for any of us if Scorpio doesn’t retrieve the relic.”

“Well, maybe you should have stressed that before they left,” huffed Rebecca, slightly miffed. “It’s too late now. Even if I hopped the fastest jet, I wouldn’t make it in time.”

“Not true. There is one left who can take you.”

It took her a moment to blurt out, “Do you mean Aquarius?”

“No, he’s needed here, but another has just returned from a sabbatical. Capricorn can take you.”

“Assuming he agrees.”

“He already has. I spoke to him before finding you. He’s waiting in the portal room. Hurry. There is little time to stop what is to come.”

With that warning, Rebecca had bolted from the library. She put her feet on the stairs but didn’t have to do anything, as the tower took over, zooming her to the bottom, where a burly fellow, his face covered in a shaggy beard, stood waiting by a pile of luggage.

“You must be Rebecca. I’m Capricorn. I heard you need to go through the portal in Maine to meet up with the crew.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to impose,” she’d stated.

“When Sage speaks, we listen.” His lips quirked. “Although, at times, I think she uses that to her advantage. The things she had me buy while I was away…” He indicated a bulging knapsack.

“I don’t see how I can help, though,” Rebecca had grumbled as she walked quickly to match his long stride.

“We often don’t know what we’re capable of until put to the test,” his words of wisdom.

“Yeah, well, I don’t see how I’ll be able to do much, seeing as how the last time Scorpio starbeamed us, I passed out for a bit.”

“Starbeaming is hard on unmodified bodies. Portal travel, however, is much gentler. You should be fine.”

He entered a room that had her gaping. Scorpio had mentioned the portal room when they’d passed it on the way to the stardust room, but he’d not said anything about the size of it. Massive. As her gaze moved around, she noted thirteen free-standing arches formed a crescent-moon shape on the back end. Embedded in the floor before them, on a stone dais, all but one of them carved with a zodiac symbol. The thirteenth was blank.

“What’s wrong with that spot in the floor?” She’d pointed.

“Nothing. It’s always been like that. A tower quirk, I assume.”

“Where to?” she asked, eyeing all the doorways.

He pointed to one on the far left. “This will take us where we need to go.”

“Only thirteen portals to cover the entire world. That doesn’t seem like enough.” She babbled to hide her nervousness as she followed him across the room.

He shrugged. “Yeah, not sure why that number. These were here long before I came along. It is an oddity, though, especially given the distance between some. The boys were lucky the Maine one worked for their mission because the only other one in North America is situated on the West Coast.”

“Couldn’t they have starbeamed?”

“Yeah, but bringing equipment can be tricky if you get the math wrong.”

A reminder of how she’d first met Scorpio.

Capricorn paused in front of the arch. “You ready?”

She glanced upward at the structure, a good ten feet tall and made of sparkling stone. Deep breath in. Exhale. In again. She did her best to quell her quivering nerves before she said, “Let’s do this.”

“I’ll need to hold your hand, if you don’t mind.”

“Is that enough? Scorpio had me plastered to him last time.”

Once more, Capricorn’s lips tilted. “For this, yes. The portal isn’t as finicky as starbeaming. It just needed to be activated by someone with the Zodiac genes. Technically, we don’t have to touch, but if we don’t go through together, at the same time, it can get messy.”

Her eyes widened.

“I’ve never seen it happen,” he’d hastened to add. “Rather not, either. Still ready?”

No, but she kept that to herself as she clutched his calloused hand.

“On the count of three, step with me. One, two…” On three, they both moved forward, passing through the arch.

Disorientation hit as she went from staring at the wall on the other side of the room to blinking at an orange velvet couch and an honest-to-goodness avocado-green shag carpet. In good news, she remained conscious. In the bad, her stomach protested.

She held in her dinner and asked, “Where are we?”

“Zodiac safe house.”

“In what year?” she asked, glancing around at the seventies décor.

Capricorn chuckled. “We haven’t gone back in time, despite the look of this place. We’ve owned this house since it was built to protect the portal. Used to be where Pisces lived back in his disco days.”

“Where to now?”

“Aquarius gave me the coordinates to the farmer’s field, where they’re waiting.”

“How are we getting there?”

“There should be a second SUV in the garage. All safe houses have a pair in case we need to transport the entire crew at once.”

In moments, they were on the road, Capricorn somehow managing to catch all the lights green, getting them quickly out of the town and into the country, where darkness encroached on the land.

“How far is it?” she’d asked.

“Half-hour.”

“Will we make it in time?”

He’d grinned. “It will be tight, but don’t worry, I’ll get you there.”

And he had, exceeding speed limits, whipping them down single-lane roads that had her fearing for her life. If anything had wandered out in front of them…

They didn’t hit anything or crash, and she knew they neared the place when she saw a distant explosion in the sky.

Her mouth rounded. “They did it. They took down the plane.”

“That wasn’t a plane,” was Capricorn’s grim prognosis.

When he’d skidded to a stop, she’d tumbled from the car, recognizing Scorpio’s distinctive bulk against the backdrop of a burning wreck.

She’d run for him. Happy to see him alive. Then scared because he barked they had to go.

Only they didn’t escape.

A net fell upon them, Scorpio couldn’t beam them out, and next thing she knew, she woke in the back of a cargo truck, hands tied together in her lap. Ankles tethered too. Across from her, a scowling Scorpio. Between them, the orb.

“Hey, Doc. How you feeling?”

“Groggy. Dumb. So much for Sage’s prediction you needed my help,” she grumbled.

“I can’t believe she told you to come after me.”

“I had to. She said you’d fail without me. Guess I got there too late.”

“I doubt it would have mattered. The entire thing was a trap.” He leaned his head back. “Cetus knew we’d be there and came prepared. The net they used on me was threaded with meteorite and impeded my ability to beam. The cuffs appear to be made of the same shit.”

“Everyone else escaped at least.” She tried to inject something positive, despite her own fear.

“Not really. They caught you.” His lips twisted.

“Caught us . And it’s my fault. You would have escaped if I’d not distracted you.”

“Maybe.”

“Where do you think they’re taking us?”

“Nowhere good, I imagine.” He inclined his head at the glass box. “Nothing like the enemy taunting you.”

“At least we know where it is.”

He uttered a short barking laugh. “True. Problem being, how we can escape and take it with us?”

The truck slowed and stopped. A rattle at the rear doors had them opening to reveal four mercenaries wearing helmets and holding guns.

“Get up,” barked the burly fellow with a green stripe on his arm.

They had to shuffle to reach the door, and then Rebecca was grabbed and placed on the ground. Not Scorpio. He scowled and leaped, despite his tied ankles. He bent his knees as he landed before standing and towering over the men.

“Move.” The guy in charge pointed with his weapon at a steel door flanked by a facial-recognition scanner. He had to raise his visor for it to read his features.

They were prodded inside and led along a corridor with plenty of closed doors to an elevator, which took them down a level. From there, they were placed in cages.

Actual cages.

For some reason, this more than anything that had happened thus far had her trembling. It didn’t help they appeared to be in a pristine lab. Gleaming counters, spotless floors. Machines waiting to be activated.

The guards left without untying them, making it feel so much worse.

“What do they want with us?” she whispered, despite knowing anything she said or did would be seen most likely by a security camera.

“Nothing good, I imagine,” Scorpio drawled.

“I’m scared,” she admitted.

“I’m sorry, Doc. You shouldn’t be here.”

“Neither should you,” her hot retort.

“I can handle whatever they dish out.”

“You shouldn’t have to handle anything. This is illegal.”

“Pretty sure they don’t care about laws.

She grimaced. “Obviously.” She wanted to ask him if he thought the other Zodiacs would come to the rescue. Most likely, yes, so no reason to have those listening beef up their security. As it was, the location appeared well-guarded.

“Listen, Doc, whatever they ask of you, just tell them.”

“Tell them what? I know nothing.”

“Exactly. Don’t resist.”

She arched a brow. “And are you going to follow that advice?”

His lips quirked. “Not a chance. But no point in both of us being tortured.”

Hearing him say it brought back the trembles. “You think they’ll hurt us?”

“I’d count on it,” his grim response.

“Way to reassure,” she grumbled.

“Would you rather I lie?”

“No.” A sigh escaped her. “How long do you think they’ll keep us waiting?”

“Given the late hour? Probably until morning. You should get some rest.”

“I doubt I’ll sleep.”

A sudden hissing had her tilting her head to see the vent over the cages spewing a whitish fog.

“What is that? Is it poison?”

“Don’t panic. It’s sleeping gas,” Scorpio stated just as her eyelids began to flutter.

She woke to find herself still in the cage, lying on the floor, no longer in her clothes but a set of light blue scrubs. In good news, her tethers were gone and the door to her cage was left open. In the bad… Scorpio appeared to have disappeared from his prison.

It took a moment to realize they’d moved him to a hospital bed, one with built-in restraints that held him starfish style.

“Oh no,” Rebecca huffed as she stumbled to her feet, still woozy from the drug. She tottered from her cage and passed machines that hummed as they processed whatever samples had been inserted. Judging by the tray of tools beside a strapped Scorpio, she could easily imagine what some of those samples were. The needles and bloodied scalpel told a story, as did the oozing wound on his forearm.

His eyes were closed, but as she neared, they flashed open, full of rage that tempered to concern as he saw her.

“Hey, Doc. You okay?”

“I’m the one who should be asking that,” she chided softly as she reached for some gauze and began patting the spot where they’d taken a chunk of his flesh.

“Bah. It was just a few needles,” he scoffed. “The most traumatizing thing thus far was having some dude holding my dick and telling me to pee in a bottle.”

“Have you found out what they want?”

“Other than a lab rat?”

Before she could reply, a voice boomed, “You are much more than a rat. Your kind are so very interesting. Born human—your genetics don’t lie—and yet there are differences that go beyond chromosomes. DNA changes the likes of which we’ve never seen but suspected since we discovered the existence of the Zodiac Warriors.”

Rebecca whirled to see the same older man she’d met in Antarctica. “You again.”

“Yes, me. Dr. Augustus Monroe. We never had a chance for a proper introduction since you abruptly left our last meeting. Luckily, you were drawn from your hidey-hole so we could continue with the project.”

“This is kidnapping. I demand you release us at once!”

“You are in no place to ask anything,” snapped Monroe. “On the contrary, either you cooperate, or face the consequences.”

“What could be worse than being held prisoner?”

“I can think of a few things. How attached are you to your limbs?”

Her heart stuttered. “You’d maim me?”

“I would do a great many things in my pursuit of science. So either you aid us, or suffer.”

“Help you with what? I know nothing.”

“You found the orb,” reminded the doctor.

“By accident. And only because you sent me to that location. You could have located it yourself.”

“Do you think we didn’t try? Years we’ve been searching. Our donors were beginning to grow impatient. Luckily, it was brought to our attention that we needed a specific set of people. A human bonded to a Zodiac, which turned out to be you, and the fellow who calls himself Scorpio.”

“What do you mean bonded? I barely know Scorpio. We’d only just met when you found us.”

“While your meeting was recent, the bond formed immediately, even if neither of you yet recognize it. A strange quirk unique to his kind. Hence why fate acted to bring you together, or perhaps, in this case, you could blame the stars. Whatever the case, you found each other, a link between you formed, and that is why you could access the relic.”

“You have the orb. I don’t see why you need us.”

“The Zodiac is needed so we might research what makes him a star warrior. If we can reproduce the change in others, the applications will be endless and financially lucrative.”

“Test all you want, dumb fuck,” Scorpio spat. “Being a Zodiac isn’t something you can inject into someone.”

“I’m sure you think so, but I have some of the best scientists working with me. If there is a way to mimic the process that changed you, we will find it.”

“You have me. Why take Rebecca?”

“One, because her well-being will depend on your cooperation. My understanding is that bonded pairs don’t like to see their other half suffer. But the main reason we needed Dr. Guthrie is because she is the one who will open the orb.”

At his statement, she blinked and blurted out, “Excuse me?”

“Don’t play hard of hearing. I have it on good authority you will open it.”

“And exactly how do you expect me to do that?” She flexed her fingers. “Pretty sure my blunt nails won’t even scratch the surface.”

“Don’t be so sure of that. The orb isn’t behaving like an object of this world would. Despite repeated attempts while you napped overnight, we’ve not managed to penetrate it, and not for a lack of trying. It cannot be x-rayed or scanned. We’ve tried cutting it with a metal-toothed saw, a diamond blade, a drill bit, even a laser. Acid just rolls off. We tried crushing it in a compacter, but it broke the machine. It neither heats nor cools, even though we submerged it in liquid nitrogen. Nothing we’ve tried even marred its surface.”

“Maybe it’s not meant to open.”

“Don’t be pedantic. It is merely a protective shell for what’s inside, which you will retrieve, or else.”

“If you couldn’t do it, what makes you think I can?”

“Because it’s been foretold,” Monroe stated bluntly.

“You’re insane.”

“I like to call it determined. I am also impatient, so let’s get to it.”

“I don’t know what you expect me to do,” Rebecca grumbled, stalking for the orb.

“Touch it, rub it, spit on it, pee on it. I don’t know, but do something!” Monroe snapped.

“And if nothing works?”

“Then you’ll try again. And again. Oh, but each time you whine about failing, your bonded Zodiac over here will lose a finger. Or a toe. I wonder if there’s ever been a one-eyed warrior,” Monroe mused aloud.

“You’re a sick bastard.” A rare expletive slipped from her lips.

“No, I’m a man who’s been waiting a long time to find this relic, and I am out of patience.”

“What’s it supposed to hold anyhow?” she muttered as she reached for the orb. It vibrated faintly in her grip.

“As if you don’t know.”

“Would I be asking if I did?”

“What’s your mate have to say?” Monroe glanced at Scorpio.

“Don’t ask me. First, I heard of this thing was a few days ago when I was told to find it.”

“Surely your seer had more to say,” Monroe stated.

“Yeah, she said if we didn’t get our hands on it, the world was fucked.”

The reply punched Monroe’s lips. “That’s not what our seer has told us.”

“Oh, and what exactly did yours say?” Scorpio asked.

“That it was one of three objects of immense power.”

“Did you ever stop to wonder what kind of power?” Rebecca interjected. “Doesn’t seem like the good kind to me. Why else would someone have gone through the trouble of hiding them so thoroughly?”

“Because the Zodiacs think themselves superior to humans.” Monroe sneered. “And yet, I look at this one, and I don’t see it.”

“Let me out of this contraption, and I will impress you with my special skills,” Scorpio taunted.

“How about you be quiet, or I’ll put you down for another nap,” threatened Monroe before turning to Rebecca. “Open the orb.”

She bit her lip, rather than asking how. She had no doubt Monroe would enjoy punishing Scorpio if she didn’t at least try.

But try what?

The orb in her grip no longer vibrated, nor did it feel warm or cold for that matter. Her lips pursed as she lifted it to eye level. It definitely did not weigh as much as expected, nor did its metallic surface reflect anything. She shook it and heard nothing, no sloshing or rattling, making her wonder if it was even hollow.

“Would you stop screwing around?” huffed Monroe.

She paused. “How about you calm down? You asked me to open it. Since I haven’t the slightest clue how, I need to study it first, see if I can figure out its puzzle.”

“How long?”

“However long it takes,” she growled. “Longer if you won’t shut up about it.”

Scorpio snickered, causing Monroe to glare.

“You know what would help? Food? I’m starved.” Not entirely false but not true either. While she knew she should eat, Rebecca had no appetite. What she really wanted was for Monroe to leave.

“You’re not in a position to make demands,” the piqued doctor huffed.

“Maybe not, but I’m also useless if I’m hangry,” she quipped.

Before Monroe could retort again, an alarm sounded; a strident blare that startled.

“Now what?” the doctor grumbled. He glanced at Rebecca. “Hands on the counter.”

“Why?”

“Do as you’re told.”

She placed them on the flat surface.

It shouldn’t have surprised her when Monroe pulled out a flex cuff and used it to attach her left hand to a ring bolted to the table’s front edge—a ring that she now understood. How often did they take people prisoner?

“Wouldn’t want you getting into trouble while I go check things out. Feel free to play with the orb while I’m gone, but keep in mind, you are on camera, so if you find anything, I will know. Meaning, don’t bother hiding it.”

With that final warning, Monroe left, and Rebecca glanced at Scorpio.

“What do you think is happening?”

His lips curved, and he sounded pleased as he stated, “Cetus is about to face the wrath of the Zodiacs.”