Chapter 15
The starbeaming from the Labyrinth to Tower took only seconds, with Taurus and the minotaur landing on his dais in the portal room.
Asterion staggered away from Taurus, shaking his horned head. “That was unpleasant.”
“But it worked,” Taurus noted. “Welcome to Tower.”
It took a moment for Asterion to recover from the fact he’d escaped his prison. He gaped around in astonishment. “You kept your word. You actually freed me.”
“Told you I would. Now if you don’t mind, I must leave you so I can return to the gorge and fetch Circe.”
“Leave? But…” Asterion appeared at a loss. “What am I to do?”
While a worried Taurus wanted to run off and rescue Circe, he couldn’t exactly dump a minotaur without giving Aries or someone a brief rundown of what happened.
Luckily, he didn’t have to go far to find another warrior. As he exited the portal room, Leo hit the bottom step.
“Olivia said you were back already. Did you get the plans?” Leo asked.
“I have them,” Asterion stated as he emerged from the portal room, drawing Leo’s notice. The warrior reached for a weapon, only to find his hip bare. Warriors didn’t tend to go around armed in the sanctity of Tower.
“Behind you, Taurus!” Leo balled his fists, ready to fight.
“No need to freak out. Asterion is here as my guest,” Taurus explained.
“You brought back the minotaur?” Leo exclaimed with a dropped jaw.
“And the plans for the device. Mind handing them over?” Taurus cast a glance over his shoulder.
“Seeing as how you held up your end of the bargain, time for me to do the same.” Asterion put down his cat and pulled the sheets of paper from his vest. Taurus took them with a nod of thanks before holding them out to Leo.
“Can you get these to Aquarius?”
“Why can’t you?” Leo asked, even as he took them.
“I gotta go back for Circe.”
“You left her in the Labyrinth?” An exclamation made by a round-mouthed Leo.
“It was the only way Asterion would agree to give us the plans. Speaking of whom, can you get him settled?”
“Sure. I’ll bet Tower’s already got a room ready for him.” Leo strode toward the minotaur and held out his hand. “I’m Leo.”
Asterion stared at the hand before sliding his slightly hairier grip into it. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“First thing, let’s get you situated in an apartment so you can bathe because, dude, smells like you haven’t touched soap in a while.”
“A few centuries at least,” was Asterion’s sheepish reply. “Supplies became scarce when Labyrinth stopped receiving visitors.”
“Well, that won’t be a problem here. Tower supplies everything we need.”
As the pair headed off, the cat trotting in their wake, Taurus briefly wondered what Aries would say about their new resident. Probably nothing, so long as the minotaur didn’t cause trouble.
With Asterion and the schematic for the Antikythera mechanism heading to Aquarius, Taurus exited the building, only to halt abruptly at the sight of the smooth sandbox. His diagram from that morning had been wiped clean and his sheet with the calculations, also gone, tidied by the efficient Tower.
Bloody hell. It meant he’d now have to waste time jogging up the many flights of stairs to get Aquarius to print out a new copy. He sprinted and took the steps three at a time, unlike Asterion and Leo, who walked up casually, the cat perched on the minotaur’s shoulder.
Leo paused when he heard him coming. “Forget something?”
“Need my math,” Taurus huffed as he passed them without stopping.
“That is a man in love,” Asterion stated almost, causing Taurus to lose his rhythm.
Love? It might explain his desperation to return to Circe as quickly as possible.
Upon hitting the administrative level, Taurus ran into Aries exiting his office.
“Back so soon? How did it go?” his boss asked.
Fuck. Taurus paused, hands on his hips, breathing a little rough since he’d pushed himself hard. “Got the plans. Actually, Leo does.”
“Why the rush?”
“I need to return to Crete to fetch Circe.”
“You left her behind?” Aries arched a brow.
“Part of the bargain I made with the minotaur, who, by the way, is currently getting the grand tour of Tower with Leo.”
“You brought back the beast?” Aries rarely showed such surprise.
“Dude said he’d give us the plans in exchange for his freedom from the maze. However, given his distrust of me, I had to leave Circe behind.”
“Which proved what?” Aries cocked his head.
“If Asterion dies, the spell that kept him prisoner will collapse the Labyrinth and kill her.”
Aries pursed his lips. “And what happens to this spell if the main subject of it is removed from its vicinity?”
It took Taurus a second to figure out what the boss meant. “Oh shit. Do you think the spell will assume he’s dead?”
“Depends on its construction,” Aries mused.
“Fuck me! I need to get back there asap.” He raced away from Aries and slammed into Aquarius’ office, bellowing, “Print out another copy of the coordinates.” A shout that did nothing since the room held no one.
Taurus glanced to the ceiling. “Tower, can you get Aquarius to come to his office?”
Aries replied, “Not possible, since he’s not here.”
“Where the fuck is he? I need him.”
“He’s out buying a very expensive 3D printer to recreate the Antikythera device. I assume you’re looking for the math to beam?”
Taurus bobbed his head. “He had a sheet printed for me this morning, but it’s gone.”
“Let me see if I can’t find a saved copy.” Aries sat down in the swivel chair and began typing while Taurus paced.
“I don’t suppose you know what file name he might have stored it under?” muttered his boss.
“Tripiti Gorge. My name. Quest. Minotaur. Labyrinth.” Taurus named off everything he could think of.
“Aha. Found it.” Aries slid the mouse and clicked. The printer whirred to life, and Taurus had his hand ready to snatch it soon as the sheet emerged.
“Thanks, boss. Back in a few hours.” He raced out of the office and hit the stairs, silently cursing out Tower for not making his descent quick. He wasted time. What if the maze had collapsed the moment he left?
Then he hurried for nothing.
A dire thought that he refused to entertain. Circe couldn’t be dead.
Leo and Asterion were still trudging, and despite his urgency, Taurus paused. “You said the spell would collapse if you died, but what about if you left its area of influence?”
A question that led to Asterion frowning. “I don’t know. I was under the impression it was linked to my life force.”
“But does it require proximity?”
Judging by Asterion’s face, not something he’d ever pondered.
“Fuck. I gotta go. Circe might be in danger.”
Not dead.
Not dead.
Not fucking dead because he’d been stupid and put the mission above her.
He hit the bottom step and raced for the door, exiting into a storm.
A strong wind lashed, a harsh dry force of nature that stung the eyes as it whipped loose dirt around. Worse than that discomfort, the sandbox couldn’t be used. The shapes he drew needed to be precise, and the brisk air currents had the fine grains rolling like waves.
“Argh!” He screamed his frustration to the sky before stomping back indoors. He stood within watching, waiting, praying.
“She’s alive,” Sage’s soft assurance.
He whirled. “Thank fuck. Stupid windstorm. I should have been halfway back to her already.”
“There is no point in returning to the gorge, for she is no longer there.”
His heart stopped. “What do you mean not there? Where the fuck would she have gone?”
“I’m afraid the enemy has taken her.”
“What enemy?”
“I’m afraid I didn’t see their faces.” Sage’s lips turned down. “And before you ask, I don’t know where they’ve taken her. In my brief vision, I saw Circe being placed on a helicopter parked atop a cliff.”
“It has to be the people Andreas was working with. But how did they know to find Circe in the gorge?”
“Seems more like ill timing. They likely went there seeking the plans for the device and came across Circe instead.”
He raked fingers through his hair. “They’re going to kill her.”
“If that was their plan, they’d have already done so.”
“What’s the point in taking Circe, though?”
A bellow echoed down the stairs. “Taur-us! If you’re there, come see me ASAP.”
“I do believe that is my husband bellowing for you,” Sage’s dry reply.
“Any idea why?”
She shrugged. “No, but I would guess it has to do with the current dilemma.”
“Gotta go.” He once more ran for the stairs, but this time, Tower proved kind and gave him a boost.
He didn’t bother knocking before entering Aries’ office, stating, “Circe’s been taken by the enemy.
“I know.”
“Sage told you?”
“What?” Aries appeared startled. “No. I found out through Libra.”
“How the fuck would Libra know anything about this?”
“Because he received a message at the shop. Here, look for yourself.” Aries handed over his phone, and Taurus scanned the texts sent by the other warrior.
Hey, boss, some dude came into the store and slapped a piece of paper on the counter and walked out. The note reads, ‘Have the starman from the maze bring the original Antikythera blueprints to the Ancient Agora at ten o’clock tonight or the woman dies.
“Shit,” Taurus hissed.
“Yes, it is quite the conundrum.”
At Aries’ statement, Taurus snapped his head and growled, “Like fuck it is. We need to give them what they want.”
“You’re not thinking clearly. One woman is not worth the possible eradication of humanity.”
Logically, Aries made a valid point. Billions of lives versus one. But this was Circe. “What would you say if it was Sage or Little Bean?”
Aries sighed. “So it’s like that with the astronomer?” A nod from Taurus and Aries added, “Then I guess we’re going to kick some ass. Let me round up the warriors currently in the tower.”
“If we attack, they might kill Circe.”
“How long do you think she’ll live if you give them what they want?”
Given their previous attempt to silence her, probably not even minutes. “Fine, so we ambush. Problem is, we don’t know how many will show or how they’ll be armed.” Fighting something with fangs and claws proved a lot different than people brandishing guns.
“Hopefully enough to make it sporting.” A weak attempt at humor that fell flat.
“What is this Agora place?”
“Ancient ruin in Athens,” Aries stated, whirling back to the computer screen to type. He pulled up some images. “It’s a tourist site that contains mostly a bunch of crumbled structures, although there is a stone-columned building still standing.”
“Lots of places to hide,” Taurus murmured, looking at the satellite images.
“Yes. I’m thinking, if we hurry, we can have most of the warriors enter and then conceal themselves before it closes for the day.”
“If anyone is already watching the place, they’ll hardly blend in.” Zodiacs tended to be big boys.
“Tower will help with disguises. Leo will make a fine-looking American tourist with the right mustache, fake belly, and an obnoxious patterned shirt.”
“He’ll hate that.”
“Yes, he will,” Aries replied with a smile.
At Aries’ request, Tower gathered all the warriors present in the dining room.
A final meal before they portaled to Athens.
While Aries recapped the situation, Taurus glanced at those present.
Fewer than Taurus would have liked. Leo, Zora, Capricorn.
Libra would be briefed after they arrived via the portal in the shop.
No one balked at the mission because this was what they did. Brainstorm how to handle a problem. Then execute, quite literally.
Only this time Taurus had a personal stake in the outcome.
“…when Taurus arrives at the Agora, we’ll form a wide net that shadows him.
If you come across any of the enemy, you are to eliminate them quietly.
No guns unless there’s no other choice.” Aries explained how the operation would unfold, not really necessary since, apart from Zora, they all had experience when it came to these types of missions.
Sage, who’d been quiet until that moment, piped in, using her spooky foretelling voice.
“Beware the lightning that falls, bringing uncertainty and darkness.”