Chapter 3 #2
“This isn’t a dream, honey.”
“Says the man who doesn’t exist.”
An annoying rebuttal, but actually quite common for first-time visitors to Tower. Once upon a time, he’d been the guy struggling with disbelief. “If you’re done arguing, we need to report to Aries.”
“Why?”
“Because, for one, you portaled into Tower. The boss will want to be told about that. And two, he’ll want to hear firsthand about this asteroid.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure. Why not? Perhaps this Aries will give me the answer I seek, even if he is, technically, a creation of my subconscious.”
Damn, she really didn’t want to believe. Should he push the issue? Nah. Let Aries make that decision. He’d likely pump her for info, wipe her memories, and send her home.
As they exited into the hall, she sighed as she realized they’d be doing more stairs. “I don’t suppose your Tower will transport me again.”
Before Taurus could say “It’s not up to me,” the stairs began moving like an escalator, leading to more rich laughter from Circe. “How marvelous. You didn’t mention this tower granted wishes.”
More like Tower tried to impress the disbeliever.
Still, Taurus didn’t mind the boost, as it got them to the level with Aries’ office much quicker. A quick rap at the door ended up answered by Aries, who held the baby tucked to his chest.
“What’s u—” Aries gaze went past Taurus to Circe. “You found the lady in green.”
“Yup, in the library like Olivia predicted.”
Circe said nothing, but he noticed her gaze took in everything.
“Come in, come in. Don’t mind Little Bean. She’s decided to not nap quite yet.” Aries strode across his office, not for the chair behind his desk but rather the rocker set by the hearth. He sat in it and started swaying.
Taurus stood a few paces away, hands tucked behind his back, and began to report. “This is Circe Aetos, astronomer for the National Observatory of Athens. She came through the Grecian portal by accident.”
“Hardly accidental,” she huffed. “I was locked in that shop and looking for escape.”
A claim that arched Aries’ brow, but rather than address it, he greeted their guest. “Hello, Circe. I’m Aries—”
She waved a hand. “A figment of my imagination but possibly useful. What can you tell me about the change in the Milky Way?”
Aries appeared slightly stunned but recovered quickly. “What change?”
“As if you don’t know. The stars in the Ophiuchus constellation appear to be bigger and brighter and might be affecting the Milky Way.”
“Sounds possible,” Aries replied slowly with a frown. “After all, Ophiuchus has recently gone from a dormant state to an active one.”
“Active in what sense? You know what, it doesn’t matter. It’s obviously caused a change in the Milky Way. However, the new force it is exerting shouldn’t be having an immediate effect on our solar system. So why does the device keep insisting the planets have shifted?”
“Is it bad that the planets aren’t exactly in the same spot?” Aries questioned.
“Very, because that is what will cause the asteroid to veer.”
“What asteroid?” Aries exclaimed, his brows lifting high.
“Don’t waste my time asking questions you know the answer to.” She waved her hand.
Taurus cleared his throat. “She believes this is a dream.”
“Did you not explain where she is and what we are?” Aries asked.
“I tried.” Taurus rolled his shoulder. “But she stubbornly insists none of this is real and that it’s her mind trying to work through some problem with the placement of the planets and an asteroid.”
“And I’ll ask again, what asteroid?”
Taurus glanced at Circe. “Care to explain to him what you did to me?”
She sighed. “If I must. 8675309 Odyssey is a kilometer-wide asteroid that originated from outside our solar system and is supposed to pass by the Earth within the next few weeks if it maintains its current speed. However, it’s possible that prediction is wrong.”
“You said earlier the planets have shifted spots?” Aries asked, patting the baby’s back.
“Might have,” she corrected. “Our most recent data isn’t showing a change; however, my replica of the Antikythera mechanism is indicating otherwise. If the device is correct, then that would mean an alteration in the trajectory of the asteroid, which will slam it into Earth.”
Aries didn’t scoff, but he did question. “My understanding of the ancient device is that there only exist replicas based on one-third of what was discovered. What makes you think it’s accurate?”
“Because, until recently, the replica has been spot-on. I should know, as I’ve been writing a paper about it that involved much testing.
However, recently, its astral predictions have diverged from our collected data.
Everyone is convinced the device is wrong, but I think it’s our data collection that might be flawed. ”
“Why?” Taurus was the one to query.
Her lips twisted. “For the least scientific reason in the world. Because my gut says so.”
Good enough for Taurus. His gut had saved his ass more than once.
“This is very interesting,” was all Aries said.
“And?” Taurus prodded.
“I see why the lady was brought to us. We had no idea of this approaching calamity. Neither Sage nor Olivia made mention of it.” Aries glanced right at Circe. “Let’s say the mechanism is right. How do we convince governments to take it seriously?”
She pursed her lips. “Since they keep mocking any mention of it, we’d need to ensure the data we’re receiving from our more modern means is accurate.
If it’s not, then we need to properly update it, which would then change the modelling of the asteroid, thus creating a warning.
However, the window to divert it or break it up narrows every day that goes by.
Soon it won’t matter if I can prove my hypothesis because there won’t be time to do anything. ”
“Knowing how slow governments move, it might already be too late. Good thing we don’t need to wait for committees and votes.” Aries glanced at Taurus. “It’s a good thing she stumbled across that arch, or we might not have known of the problem. At least now, we can do something to stop it.”
Circe snorted. “What can a father with a baby and a bull-sized man with a scruffy beard do about a giant hurtling rock in space?”
“We have our methods for dealing with such matters. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I’ll have Taurus return you home.”
“You sure about that, boss? Olivia said I was supposed to help her find something, and that there would be monsters,” Taurus reminded.
“She likely needed to locate someone who would listen. As to the latter part of Olivia’s prediction, most likely she spoke of a mission still to come.”
Possible. She was still just a kid. “So I’m to take Circe back to Athens?”
“Yes. As soon as possible.”
“You’re not going to wipe her memories?” Taurus questioned.
Aries shook his head. “I want everything intact in case we’re not done with her.”
“What if she tells people about us and Tower?”
“Tell people I met oversized men claiming they’re Zodiac gladiators protecting the world using magic?” Circe snorted. “Not likely. Although it might make for an interesting science fiction story if I had the time or inclination to write it.”
“Don’t,” Aries flatly stated. He stood with the baby. “I’ll speak with Aquarius about what we’ve learned. Get him to see what he can find out about this asteroid.”
“Sounds good, boss. Anything else?”
“Once you return her to Athens, hang tight until I find out more.”
“You got it, boss.” He turned to Circe and pointed to the door. “Time to get you home, honey.”
Circe, however, hesitated. “Go? But I don’t yet know how to get the computer data to reflect my discovery. People won’t take this asteroid seriously until I do.”
“No longer your problem. We’ll handle it from here,” Aries stated.
End of conversation, or it should have been.
The lady in green huffed. “You don’t get to tell me what to do in my own dream.”
“Guess again,” Taurus muttered, and then, rather than argue, he swept Circe off her feet and carried her out of Aries’ office.
“What are you doing? Put me down.” She futilely pounded at his chest. He’d had more vigorous massages.
“I thought you wanted to go home.”
“I do.” She paused before adding, “When I wake up, will it be morning?”
“Maybe. Portal is weird about time zones and shit. Technically, we’re only one hour ahead of Athens, but from the sounds of it, you left at night, and meanwhile, we’re only mid-afternoon.”
“This dream is so strange, especially since I never watch science fiction,” she muttered.
“Seriously? Isn’t that like a prerequisite for being interested in space?” He and the other Zodiacs devoured all things science fiction and fantasy. They thought of it as research for the job.
“Why would I waste my time with fiction?” She snorted. “I’ve studied the solar system enough to know what’s out there and what isn’t. There are no aliens, no possessed constellations inhabiting people on Earth, no magic.”
“You keep thinking that, honey,” Taurus retorted.
“Much as you keep trying to convince me this is real, I know better,” she huffed in reply.
“Does this feel real to you?” His lips pressed against hers, a quick embrace, over as quick as it started. He couldn’t have said what possessed him or why a jolt went through him at the touch, but at least it shut her up.
She remained quiet for the remainder of the jog down the steps, the jostling leading her to cling tight to his neck.
Tower didn’t bother making the descent faster, but he’d done the climb up and down enough that, even with her added weight, he arrived on the main level without breathing hard.
He strode into the portal room with its many arches, which led to her eyes rounding.
“Those look just like the ones in the store basement,” she exclaimed.
“Told you we had a couple. Now let’s see. Athens is…” He mumbled aloud as he sought to remember which one he needed. He didn’t use the portals often, preferring to do the math that allowed him to beam directly to where he wanted.
But in this case, quicker was better. With Circe still in his arms, he stepped through—hopefully—the correct arch, not bothered by the sudden intense cold or the jarring sensation as he took flight, a disembodied stream of tiny particles that shot from one doorway to the next.
They arrived in a plain room containing only the arch he stepped out of.
To his relief, Circe had lost consciousness, the second transport in quick succession more than her body could handle.
But her drooling and limp state led to a new dilemma. What to do with her? He couldn’t leave her in the shop, not if he wanted her to think she’d had a vivid dream. Guess, he’d have to take her home, assuming he could figure out where she lived.
As he headed out of the portal room, he spotted a satchel on the floor. Shifting Circe to dangle over his shoulder, he scooped the bag and dug inside, looking for a wallet. Found it and an identification card that listed her address.
The padlock on the back door of the shop didn’t take long to break, and within five minutes—because he jogged to get the task done—he had Circe inside her apartment and tucked into her bed. Being chivalrous—AKA not a perv!—he left her clothes on and removed only her shoes and cloak.
With a final glance at the sleeping Greek beauty, Taurus left, wondering if he’d ever see her again.