Chapter 3
Taurus walked into the library—because Tower left him no choice—and lo and behold, there crouched the green lady.
Green not of skin but because of the voluminous cloak she wore that covered her head to toe.
Seemingly human-shaped but, to be sure, he drew her attention.
“So you’re the reason I couldn’t finish my shower. ”
At the accusation, her head turned, and he got a glimpse of her face framed by the deep hood. His first thought? She’s beautiful. Cream-colored skin, a slightly hawkish nose, dark eyes framed by dark lashes and brows, finished off with full lips. In better news, not a monster or alien.
“Who are you? Have you come to let me out?” she exclaimed in Greek, which he understood, languages being one of the Zodiac gifts.
At her rapid-fire queries, his brow arched. “Name is Taurus, and why do you need me to let you out when you obviously knew how to find your way in?”
Her lips pursed. “Apologies. I didn’t mean to get caught in your store after closing. An honest mistake. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to leave your establishment so I can go home.”
“Store? What are you talking about? You’re in Tower’s library, lady. As to how you got here, why don’t you tell me?”
The lady in green rose to her feet and glanced around before facing him, paler than before. “This isn’t right. I don’t remember entering this room. How did I get here? What did you do to me?”
He held up his hands. “Slow down on the accusations. I didn’t do shit. You’re the one trespassing, so why don’t you tell me how you got here?”
“My last recollection was of the shop’s basement. I sought a tool to break the lock on the shop’s rear entrance so I could exit. Instead, I found a door, which I hoped led to the catacombs and possible escape. However, the room beyond only held an arch—”
Taurus interrupted. “Was it made of stone, kind of old and fancy looking?”
“Yes.” She glanced around and frowned. “It’s gone. Odd, because I distinctly recall stepping through.”
By her words, she’d ended up here by accident. What he found more interesting? The fact she’d ended up in the library and hadn’t remained in the portal room. Most likely Tower’s doing.
Before he could say a word, she blurted out, “What happened to the arch and the room it was in? Is this some kind of trick accomplished with mirrors or projectors?”
Hoo boy. How to explain? Might as well stick to the truth. “You stepped through a portal that brought you to another place.”
She blinked her incredibly long lashes. “Excuse me?”
“You.” He pointed at her. “Teleported.” He waved his hands around and sought an explanation she might understand and found one in popular fiction. “Just like in Star Trek.”
“Impossible,” she huffed. “We don’t have that kind of technology.”
“You’re right, we don’t. The portal system uses magic to move things, including people.” Easier than explaining that the mystical force of the Astraeus—the entities that lived within the Zodiac constellation stars—powered the arches.
His reply drew a snort from the lady. “Magic isn’t real.”
“Then explain how you got here.” He went to cross his arms, only to realize too late that it meant losing his grip on the towel. It fell to the floor, and he stood there, flashing his—impressive!—goods.
She totally noticed. A pink stain spread across her cheeks, and she turned her head while he retrieved the cloth. “Where are your clothes?”
“In my room. As I said before, you interrupted my shower.”
“So I’m in your home?”
“Kind of.” He exhaled. “Here’s the nutshell version.
You’re in what’s called Tower, Tower of Babel to be exact, and before you start going off about how it doesn’t exist, it does.
It’s just hidden from most human eyes. You got here via one of the teleporting arches.
Not sure which one. There’s only a handful in the world. ”
“I’m from Athens,” her faint interjection.
“I don’t suppose the shop you got locked in was called Zodiac Emporium.”
Her head bobbed.
“That idiot, Libra,” he grumbled. “He knows better than to simply leave without checking the place.”
“He seemed to be in a hurry.”
“Doesn’t matter. He’s supposed to be ensuring no one stumbles across the arch by accident.”
“It wasn’t quite an accident. I found the code for the door and entered, hoping it would provide an exit.”
“And ended up here.” He rubbed his chin with his free hand. “What’s your name?”
“Circe. Circe Aetos. I’m an astronomer with the National Observatory of Athens, and my absence will be noted.” She lifted her chin.
“You study the stars?” He couldn’t help but bark with laughter. Oh, the irony.
“What’s so funny?”
One side of his mouth lifted as he replied, “Because this place, me, what’s happened to you, are all linked to the stars. The constellations, to be exact.”
Once more her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“Obviously, and I will explain best I can, but first, I’m going to put on some pants.”
“You’re leaving?” She wrapped her arms around her upper body and chewed her lower lip.
“Just long enough to hit my room for some clothes, that is, assuming Tower allows it.”
“Why wouldn’t this tower let you get dressed?”
“It’s complicated. Why don’t you sit your butt down in a comfy chair, relax, and I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
“What I want is to go home.”
“We’ll get to that after we have a proper chat.”
“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?”
“Someone told me only this morning that I would be meeting a green lady who needed my help with something that’s been lost.”
“The only thing lost is me,” she muttered.
“There was also mention of monsters?” He couldn’t help a hopeful lilt.
“Excuse me?”
By her clueless expression, she had no idea what Taurus spoke of. Maybe Olivia had gotten it wrong.
“Never mind. Can you sit tight while I dress?”
She glanced around. “Will I be teleported again if I don’t?”
“Not likely, but you never know with Tower.”
“Can’t I come with you?”
He opened his mouth to say no, then thought, why not?
She’d obviously not believed a word he said.
Might as well show her the truth. After all, they had ways of wiping memories if required.
“Sure, but hope you don’t mind stairs.” Clutching his towel, he opened the door and swept his free hand. “After you.”
She took a hesitant step, then another, before striding past him and stopping short in the hall.
“This truly isn’t the shop.”
“Told you,” Taurus replied, joining her to see Tower had returned to its usual aspect. Winding stairs led up and down to the various levels.
“What did you say your name was?” she suddenly asked as he began to climb.
“Taurus.”
“Like the tattoo on your back,” she murmured. Kind of hard to miss, given it spanned the entire width.
“Yup.”
“Your parents named you after the constellation?”
“Not my parents. It was given to me after my rebirth as a Zodiac Warrior.” Might as well start laying it out.
Laughter erupted, and he half-turned to see her pausing on the staircase, expression bright with mirth.
“What’s so funny?”
“All of this. Here I’ve been taking this all so seriously when, in reality, I am dreaming. I must have lost consciousness in the basement of the shop. Hopefully not from any undetectable gases.” She chewed her lower lip. “Perhaps that was why the room was locked.”
“Everything you’re seeing and experiencing is real. I was chosen by the Astraeus to be one of their avatars on Earth with the task of serving and protecting humanity.”
“Protecting them from what?”
“Monsters. Great evil. Galactic threats.”
“Aliens?” she mocked.
“Yes.” He continued to ascend, and she skipped upwards to keep pace.
“Let me guess, there are twelve of you defending Earth.”
“Thirteen now. We recently freed the Astraeus known as Ophiuchus, so now have an extra warrior on the team.”
“Wait, when you say recently freed…” She paused on the stairs again and began muttering to herself. “That is the constellation that likely started the chain of events with the Milky Way and the planets, which, in turn, will cause the asteroid to shift trajectory.”
His turn to halt. “What asteroid?”
“The one that recently entered our solar system, named 8675309 Odyssey. Everyone believes it will bypass Earth. However, according to the Antikythera mechanism, the planets have slightly shifted their orbits. If the results from the device are correct, this will cause this asteroid to veer from its projected path and crash into Earth.”
“Holy shit,” he muttered. “How does Aries not know about this?” Probably because their usual seer hadn’t been able to predict anything of note lately.
“Who is this Aries you keep mentioning?”
“My boss. You’ll meet him in a bit right after I put on some pants.”
Taurus began moving swiftly up the stairs, suddenly not caring if she followed because if what she said turned out to be true, then he had bigger problems than an astronomer who accidentally stepped through a portal.
Just as he reached the level for his apartment, she zoomed past and ended up standing by his door, looking wide-eyed.
“What just happened?”
“Tower gave you a lift because you were too slow.” He opened his door and entered the open space, making a beeline for his closet.
“Not all of us wanted to sprint,” she grumbled as she followed him inside.
As he dropped his towel, not caring if he flashed his ass, she asked, “This is where you live?”
“Yup. But only when I’m not on a mission.” He pulled on his track pants before grabbing a sweater. He then veered from his closet to see her standing at the window.
“This isn’t Athens,” she stated.
“I thought we’d already ascertained that,” he retorted. “We’re in Iraq, which, if you know any history, is the home for the Tower of Babel.”
“I know of the tower, although I am not sure why it’s in my dream. Not that it matters. All this talk of constellations is obviously my subconscious trying to tell me something.” She chewed her lower lip. “What has my mind grasped that’s so important it has created this elaborate scenario?”