Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
The dinner ended not long after Sage’s dire prediction. While the men acted as if her utterance were a normal thing, Rebecca waited until they’d left the couple to hiss, “What the heck is going on? Is Sage serious when she claims the end is coming?”
“The end might be coming,” Scorpio corrected. “Keep in mind, the futures she sees aren’t set in stone. There is some wiggle room.”
“Surely if she sees something bad, she could explain what, and when, so it could be countered.”
“She’s restricted in the sense she only gets shown pieces. From those glimpses, we do our best to avert calamity.”
“And has it worked? Can you stop bad things from happening?”
“Most of the time. I recently disbanded a horrific child-trafficking ring because Sage saw enough to lead me to them. But other times, we hear it on the news like everyone else. The Twin Towers were one of our failures. She predicted a terrorist event, knew it would involve planes, but couldn’t pinpoint where and when.”
Rebecca went silent for a second as they climbed stairs before quietly saying, “That must be emotionally difficult to handle. To be shown horrific futures and then be unable to stop them.”
“It is. Aries is her rock when that happens. Before him, she used to get either really high or drunk or both, and let me tell you, a wasted seer is not a pleasant thing because she looks right through you and tells you some messed-up shit.”
“Like?” she asked, starting to huff as they climbed the third set of winding stairs.
“Well, she told me I’d never figure out how to whistle. Oh, and that I’d get married.”
She snorted. “That’s not so horrible.”
“Um, it is to me. One, men are supposed to know how to whistle, and two, I’m single for a reason: because I like it.”
“Only because you’ve never fallen in love.”
“Says the woman who dumped her fiancé. Or are you going to tell me you didn’t love him?”
She didn’t reply for a moment because he raised a valid point. “I loved him but not enough to give up who I wanted to be.”
“I thought true love conquered all.”
“Not always. And I’m of the belief you can love more than once.”
“Meaning you’re still looking for Mr. Right?”
“Yes. Unlike you, I would like to get married someday to someone who will respect my dreams and desires.”
“And not turn you into a baby-making Suzy-homemaker.”
“Exactly!” she huffed, more from a lack of breath. As they rounded the next bend and she eyed the next flight, she whined, “Is it much farther?”
“Yes.” Without warning, he grabbed her in his arms. She squealed but latched on as he bounded up the next two flights.
He set her down when they arrived at his floor, and she shook her head. “You really have no concept of asking first, do you?”
“Wait, that wasn’t you asking?” he stated not so innocently.
A noise left her that was part laugh, part rueful. “Are you sure you’re only a century old? Because your manners are more caveman at times.”
His laughter rang loud and without remorse. “What can I say, I was born in a time when men coddled women.”
“You mean acted as if they had no brains and couldn’t do anything for themselves.”
“Having lived in that era, I can actually state that isn’t true. Yes, women didn’t have the right to vote and own property and stuff, but many households relied on their matriarchs to make the big decisions. Without them, families fell apart. Obviously, this wasn’t the case for all women, but the same stands true today. Strong women have always found a way to make their wants and needs known.”
“Yet, here I am. Decorated scientist reduced to a maiden locked in a tower,” she countered.
“Someone has to keep you safe.” He opened the door to his suite.
“I’m still not sure anything would happen to me if I went home.”
“True, but in this case, if I’m wrong, the worst that happens is you spend a bit of time in the tower. If you’re wrong, you could end up a prisoner, or dead.”
“Is this your way of saying you wouldn’t save me?” she tartly replied as she entered the room.
“Oh, I’d save you, but do you really want to hear me say I told you so?”
At that, she laughed. “Guess I would deserve it.” His conviction did prove contagious. Would she be in danger if she returned to her old life?
The better question, did she even want to return? She had to admit that the last two days had added a level of excitement she’d never thought she’d enjoy. The wonder of discovery. The new things she kept learning. Then there was the man who made her toes curl.
“Wanna play some video games?”
“What do you have?”
“Counter-Strike, Call of Duty…”
“I’m not into first-person shooter games,” she stated with a wrinkle of her nose.
“How about bowling?”
“You have an alley in the tower?” she exclaimed before adding, “I am not doing more stairs today.”
He laughed. “We can do it right here. I’ve got the game on my console. All you have to do is swing a remote.”
“You’re on. But I warn you, I used to be pretty good in college.”
She still was. Scorpio moaned and declared himself emasculated when she beat him five games in a row. Not that he acted the poor sport about it. There was much laughter, teasing, and fun. No talking about the company or the orb or the future. Just two people having a good time.
When she finally collapsed on the couch, she exclaimed, “Enough.”
“Tired?”
“Yes. Hard to believe this morning I was doing my job and now I’m here playing games.”
“After an eventful day, it’s important to do something to unwind. It helps to clear the mind.”
“Do you need to do that often?”
He shrugged. “Some missions are harder than others. It’s why I’ve got these distractions.” He waved a hand at his gaming setup. “Aries has a treadmill when he needs to de-stress. Cancer has a fish tank with the most epic setup you’ve ever seen.”
“Will your tower magically conjure something for me?”
“Probably. Heck, the tower might decide to fill a room with glaciers simply to keep you amused.”
“You’re kidding?”
“I told you, the tower gives people what they need. It’s really good at taking care of its inhabitants, even the non-warriors.”
“Are there many?”
He shrugged. “Hard to tell. It’s a big place so we rarely run into those who live here.”
“Aries ran into Sage,” she pointed out, recalling her story of having been brought here.
“Because Sage became part of the warrior circle, despite not being Zodiac.”
“Absolutely wild, and on that note, I think I’ll go to bed.”
“I take it you haven’t changed your mind on sharing.”
She cast him a glance and, for a moment, was almost tempted to invite him. Sleeping with him would complicate things though. “Nope. I sleep alone. You should be thankful. I’m a blanket stealer.”
“I don’t need a blanket.”
“Still no. Good night, Scorpio.”
“Night, Doc.”
He didn’t try to cajole or seduce. He let her go to bed while he took the couch. A big couch, but still, she felt a little bad about getting the comfy mattress.
Fatigue hit her fast and hard once she’d stripped in his bathroom, which held all the modern amenities she needed and a set of pajamas in her size. When she slid under the covers, her eyes immediately closed.
She slept. Deeply, but not dreamlessly. She floated in a dark place, not in water, but not with anything solid around her, either. Just pure nothingness, until she heard a voice.
Set me free.
She tried to reply, but nothing emerged.
Set me free! the voice demanded more stridently.
She wanted to ask how, but once more, the words remained caught. She couldn’t even apologize.
Set me free or the world will burn!
To make its demand more urgent, heat licked her floating body.
Intense heat that came with pain. A pain that had her soundlessly screaming until?—
“Wake up!”
She opened her eyes to see Scorpio leaning over her. “You okay? I heard you crying out in your sleep.”
Happy she actually wasn’t burning alive, she didn’t think, just flung her arms around his neck and dragged him close for a kiss.