Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
Ruth woke lying on a hard floor. She blinked as she stared at a beautiful, if unfamiliar ceiling. Light, tan-colored stone blocks arched overhead.
What happened?
She recalled being shot at.
People trying to kill her.
And Leo, unfazed by it all, yanking her from the footwell of her Bronco. Then, the strangest sensation as she felt weightless and extremely cold. Even now she remained somewhat discombobulated, especially since she didn’t recognize where she was. How had she gone from being involved in a massive shootout to here, wherever here was?
The warm air, when inhaled, hinted of flowers. She sat up and tried to orient herself, only to fail. The room appeared like something out of an epic fantasy. Tall stone arches intricately carved, thirteen in total, formed a semi-circle around part of the room. The section of floor she sat on held embedded circles, each with a different design, except for one that appeared unfinished.
A scuffing noise had her whipping her head around to see Leo standing in a doorway.
Her gaze narrowed on him, and she uttered a rare expletive. “Where the fuck am I?”
His lips quirked. “Welcome to the Tower of Babel.”
The answer made no sense, which was when Ruth realized she must be dreaming because how else to explain it all? A patient killing thugs who were trying to break into her office, getting kidnapped by said patient and taken to a garage that opened as if by magic, her SUV starting on its own, a gang of mercenaries shooting at them, and then suddenly finding herself in a foreign place.
This is just a dream. A really, really weird and vivid one, which meant she wasn’t in danger, she simply had to wake up.
Ruth closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing while calmly counting backwards. When she made it to zero, she would snap out of it.
Zero.
She opened her eyes. Nothing had changed. It mustn’t have worked.
She started over. Ten, nine, eight…
Zero.
Still sitting on the floor of a room that would have made her father probably weep for joy.
“You okay?” Leo asked as he crouched in front of her. “You planning to puke?”
“No. Where am I?”
“Told you, Tower of Babel.”
“The Tower of Babel, depending on who to believe, was either a myth or destroyed.”
“It’s real. You’re sitting in it.”
“But how did I get here?” Her gaze narrowed. “Did you drug and kidnap me?” It seemed unlikely because one second she’d been shot at and the next here. Still, what other explanation could there be? He must have given her a powerful sedative that kept her knocked out.
“No drugs and I wouldn’t call saving you from death kidnapping.”
“Says the man responsible for me getting here, wherever here is. And don’t you dare keep trying to feed me a line claiming the Tower of Babel. It doesn’t exist.” Her voice rose shrilly.
“I wouldn’t say that again, or you might hurt Tower’s feelings.”
She glared. “This isn’t amusing.”
“Wasn’t joking. I know you’re confused—understandable—and I can explain, but I warn you, it’s going to sound crazy.”
“Crazier than everything that’s happened thus far?” she grumbled.
“Much,” his dry response. “So first off, as to how we got here. We starbeamed.”
“Pretty sure that isn’t a word.”
“Not one you’d know. However, starbeaming is real, but only something people like me can do.”
“People like you,” she repeated. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m a Zodiac Warrior. Someone who used to be a regular human but was chosen by some higher astral power to serve Earth. Never understood why they picked me, but whatever the reason, I was transformed, my body physically changed, giving me the ability to use my constellation to travel anywhere in the world.”
She digested his claim and laughed. Laughed somewhat hysterically. “I must still be dreaming. That, or you’ve somehow managed to drag me into your delusion.”
He sighed. “You are not dreaming.”
“Zodiac is a name for the constellations in the sky.”
“Yes.”
“You might be called Leo, but that doesn’t give you a special connection to that grouping of stars,” she bluntly stated.
“My name is Leo now, but I was born with a different one.”
“Of course you were,” she muttered. Why did her mind insist on pulling this garbage with her? Perhaps she was injured and in a coma. It would explain why she couldn’t wake.
“What will it take to prove this is real?”
She opened her mouth, only nothing emerged because she didn’t know the answer to that. Everything seemed real, from the hard floor she sat on, to the fragrant air, to the room she was certain she’d never seen before and seemed unlikely to have imagined. “You can’t, because everything you’ve claimed thus far is impossible.”
“Not impossible, just unknown to the majority of the world. Trust me, I had questions, too, when I was recruited to be a Zodiac Warrior.”
She pursed her lips. “And what does a Zodiac Warrior do?”
“Protect the world from evil.”
The laughter erupted again, leading him to scowl.
“I’m not joking. It is our task to protect humanity from things they don’t understand and can’t handle.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“The monster that took my wife and child for one,” he snapped. “And before you speak, you should know it wasn’t a human serial killer but a wendigo, a very hungry and bloodthirsty monster.”
“Says you.”
“Yes, says me. Do you not recall they never found the killer’s body? That they never even managed to find out its identity or any detail about them?”
She did remember that tidbit, the whole city did. There’d been fear for months after the police found the bodies that the killer would resume the grisly murders.
“Wendigos are a legend.”
“A legend based in truth. Most monsters exist. The only reason the world thinks them fake is because we handle them.”
“By handle?—”
“If they cause trouble, we kill them.” A flat reply.
“That man in the alley and those who entered my office weren’t monsters.”
“No, they were mercenaries for hire, making them worse. They chose to do evil, unlike monsters, who can’t help their nature.”
“What makes you any different from the men you killed?” she interjected.
“I don’t do it for gain.”
“So you’re Batman,” her sarcastic retort.
“Hardly. Batman doesn’t kill. Which is shortsighted, if you ask me. Then again, his movies would have been a lot shorter if he didn’t constantly let the bad guys live to attack again.”
Ruth rose to her feet and pursed her lips. “I am not interested in your Batman critique. I want to understand where I am.”
“Currently, we’re standing in the portal room. Those doorways are shortcuts to spots around the world.” He indicated the arches.
“Why call it a portal room? I thought you said we starbeamed.” An inane thing to ask, and yet she wanted to understand.
“It’s been called that for as long as I’ve been a warrior. Most likely because arches can be used by anyone to portal. Starbeaming, however, is a warrior-only thing. We can use that power to go anywhere in the world, and when we need to come home, we simply activate our tattoos. These things on the floor act as anchors so we don’t get lost in transit. One for each Zodiac Warrior. This is mine.” He tapped the one closest to her.
Ruth began to think she might not be dreaming because no way could she have imagined something this elaborate.
“There’s thirteen spots. Does that mean you’re not the only warrior?”
“Yeah, twelve in total, although…” He glanced behind him at the medallion that appeared to be missing two-thirds of its contents. “Sage has been muttering about a thirteenth.”
“This is all very confusing,” she mumbled.
“Yeah, but you’re a mostly smart lady. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Her gaze narrowed. “I am smart, which is why I know this can’t be happening.”
“Is Buttercup upset the world has more layers than she realized?” he taunted.
“Don’t mock me.”
“You’re the one who refuses to believe.”
“One thing doesn’t make sense. Given you’re supposed to be some kind of hero fighting evil, why come to me for a therapy session? And don’t you dare tell me because I’m a monster you planned to kill.”
“You’re not a monster. As for why? Sage told me to.”
“Who is Sage?” she retorted.
“Our seer. It started with Aries telling me I needed help getting my head back on straight. Sage was the one who insisted I go see you.”
“When you say seer, are we talking about a Nostradamus-type who predicts the future?”
“Yup.”
“Why did she send you to me?”
“I assumed initially because you were good at your job, but given what’s happened, I now think she was prepping me to save you from those mercs.”
“Was anything you told me true?”
“Pretty much everything.”
“You’re not a police officer,” she pointed out.
“No, I’m not. Not the kind on a city payroll, at any rate. Sage suggested I say that as it would allow me to speak about what happened to my family without revealing anything about the Zodiacs.”
“Your wife and child really died?”
“Yeah. The wendigo got them a few hours before I tracked it down and killed it.” His lips turned down. “If you ignore the cop part, everything else I told you was true.”
“This is a lot to digest,” she murmured, turning from him and taking a few steps.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t plan to tell you any of it, but events kind of spiraled. Since surrendering to those mercs wasn’t an option, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with more bullet holes, I had to act fast. Bringing you here seemed like the best bet.”
“Why were those men after us?”
“Not me: You. I just happened to be there.”
“You seemed to think they were after my father’s journal.”
“According to the thief I captured, that’s exactly what they wanted.” He pulled the book from his duster pocket, along with the crumpled image he snatched from her desk.
“Why would anyone want them?”
“Dunno exactly, although having seen the pic, I assume it’s something to do with the Zodiacs. Most likely the journal has something about us, too.”
“You could have just asked me for them.”
“That wasn’t my mission. I was told to protect you and make sure the bad guys didn’t get their hands on your dad’s stuff.”
“Let me guess, told by Sage.”
“Yup.”
“Do you always do everything she says?”
“Yup.” No hesitation.
“What if she’s wrong?”
“I’m never wrong, I just don’t always see everything,” replied a feminine voice. From behind Leo, a woman appeared wearing a light summer frock, the belly of it slightly distended. “I’m Sage, by the way, and you are Dr. Ruth Warmstone. Lovely to meet you in person. Glad to see Leo managed to get you out in time. I worried the other branch might come true. If you’d died, that would have resulted in a poor outcome for everyone.”
Ruth pursed her lips as she eyed the petite Sage. “Leo claims you see the future.”
“Futures,” Sage corrected. “Actions have consequences, and the results eliminate possible offshoots. We are currently on the path where you survived the attack, which gives me hope.”
A chilling thing to hear. “Does your ability show me going home anytime soon?”
“No.” Said without a pause. “You are now fully entangled. I’m afraid the life you used to know is no longer an option.”
“Excuse me? I don’t think so. Whatever it is you are doing here, saving the world, or whatever, is none of my business. You have the blasted journal those mercenaries wanted. I’m not needed.”
“On the contrary, you will play a pivotal role in what is to come.” Sage folded her hands over her belly, and her eyes took on a strange cast as she lowly uttered, “For she shall be the one to lead the warrior to the perilous forest following the clue only a daughter would know.”
A shiver went through Ruth. “This all points back to my father, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.” Sage stared at her.
Leo held up the drawing. “This picture he drew shows a doorway with ancient zodiac symbols. The Zodiacs need to find that entrance, and this, most likely, tells us how.” He held up the journal.
“I don’t see why you need me for that.”
“You heard Sage. Only a daughter would understand.”
“Ha. You’re assuming my father and I had some special bond. I assure you, his journal most likely never mentions me. He was all about his work. Read it, you’ll see.” It emerged a tad bit bitter.
“Maybe you should read it,” Sage murmured. “After all, he wrote it for you.”
For some reason, her words brought a hot flush of guilt to Ruth’s cheeks because she’d never even bothered cracking it open. Why would she when Mom told her it was the ramblings of a selfish man who didn’t care?
“Exactly why do you need to find some old door?” she grumbled.
“We seek two artifacts that must not fall into the wrong hands.” Sage spoke in a normal voice and yet the words… still bonkers.
“What are they, ancient curses?” Ruth joked.
“Worse. These objects could spell the end of humanity.”
Ruth’s smile evaporated. She now understood how Alice felt when she fell into the rabbit’s hole, only she feared she’d never find her way out.