Chapter 17 Quentin
Tobias left me stranded in my home with no way back to Elysia.
Even without the cuff, I had no way of getting back to the heavens since I had not learned that particular trick.
The frustration at all the Gods continued to grow, and I chastised every decision I’d made that landed me here.
I’d never trusted them before and I should have gone with my gut instinct.
Gray had blinded me. Love had robbed me of all sense and pulled me into the most corrupt system that was beyond my imagination.
In Elysia, under Hunter’s fist, I couldn’t act on my anger.
I watched my words closely, only allowing the occasional slips, for fear of the consequences.
I couldn’t be sure, but maybe that had led him to the false sense of security that I would sit at home and wait until my next move was ordered.
It’s what I had been doing at his house.
I’d made trouble, but no escape attempts.
Sat like a (semi) obedient prisoner. But that would not happen.
Ignoring the flush of anxiety that was becoming all too familiar, I left my room, grabbing my lanyard off the desk as I did so, and headed for the lab.
By the time I made it to the building, the sky was beginning to look ominous. I stared up at it, wondering if this was linked to the storm that was brewing in Elysia. If the heavens were unbalanced, it equated to an imbalance on Earth—wasn’t that how the Gods had put it?
I slammed my badge against the electronic reader to be met with a red light.
I blinked and tried again. Same response.
Why was my pass not working? I didn’t have my phone, and I needed to get into the labs.
I went around the side of the building to check if the door there was open.
It was against our fire safety rules, but there was always someone who propped it open with a box to get some air into the building or because they needed to do multiple runs to the bins.
Today, it was firmly closed, and I let out a scream of frustration.
Rounding the building again, I saw someone walking down the path and away from it, heading home after their shift. If I believed any of the bastards that put me in this predicament, I might have fallen to my knees in thanks.
“Hey!” I called after the retreating back. “Hey! Can you let me into the building?” I walked towards them at a brisk pace.
When the person turned around, I could have cried. Shock was written all over James’s face, but he soon broke into a smile.
“Quentin!” He sounded happy to see me. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to get into the building. My pass won’t work. Can you let me in?”
“Yeah. Sure.” James walked towards me and fiddled inside his jacket to pull out his lanyard that his pass hung from.
“What are you doing here?” he continued, the smile still plastered on his face.
“Hunter said you were settling in Elysia. Something to do with making your transition easier. I have to say I was a little upset that you—”
I cut across James as rage ran through me, hot and white. “You can’t believe a thing he says.”
“I mean,” James’s brow furrowed, smile faltering, “he spoke to Gareth and relayed the message. The project is on hold indefinitely, as far as the test subjects are concerned.” James finally swiped his card against the reader and I heard the glorious electronic buzz as it granted us access.
The moment a gap opened up that was wide enough, I slipped through, unable to wait for the painfully slow automation of the doors.
James’s footsteps echoed behind mine as I made my way through the foyer and up the stairs, two at a time. I had no patience to wait for the lift.
“Quen, what is going on?” he asked, out of breath.
“I need to speak to Gareth. Will he still be here?” I hadn’t considered the fact that with the project on an indefinite hiatus, there may be no reason for anyone to be in the labs, let alone Gareth, who was overseeing the entire thing.
Working from home was an option we would all take, given the chance.
“More than likely,” James told me. “He’s been in a foul mood and locked up in his office for the last week or so. Are you going to tell us what is going on?”
I ignored him and picked up my pace, flying down the hall to where Gareth’s office was. As I reached out for the door handle, it opened and I spilled forward, colliding with my boss.
“What the… Scott?” Gareth sounded a little less pleased to see me. “What are you doing here? Is Hunter with you?” There was an uptick in his tone.
For Gareth, he was the chosen one. The one Hunter opted to seek out and speak to. I didn’t have the heart to break it to him that his devotion to the God meant he was an easy target that could be manipulated with little effort. Not a chosen vessel so much as a puppet.
“I need access to Teixeira’s lab,” I told him. “I need the oleander.”
“What?” Gareth shook his head. “No. I can’t—”
“Gareth, you need to listen to me.”
His face looked like thunder. “No. I am not bending any more rules for you.”
I narrowed my eyes, but James jumped in before I could open my mouth. “Gareth, I think we need to hear her out. There’s something more going on.”
“Of course there is,” Gareth muttered, but he turned around and walked back into his office. “When is it not when it comes to Scott?”
“Thanks,” I said to James over my shoulder.
When Gareth turned around, the exhaustion was written clear upon his face.
The urge to laugh bubbled inside of me and I pushed it down quickly.
I remembered feeling tired with the long nights in the lab, numbers and graphs on the screen, and endless pieces of paperwork that needed revisions.
It was nothing compared to the fatigue that tried to pull me under, thanks to the mind games I was thrown into in Elysia.
And to think… there was possibly an eternity of this.
“What is it this time?” Gareth asked, leaning against his desk and folding his arms across his chest.
Once upon a time, his tone would have left me feeling full of shame.
I worked hard to make sure that my supervisors and managers saw me as an exemplary member of the team.
Now, I didn’t care if Gareth saw me as a pain in the ass.
I was done with trying to please everyone. I needed them to do what I asked.
“I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a war in Elysia. And if there’s a war there, then I don’t want to think about what might happen down here.”
James’s whispered profanity was almost drowned out by Gareth’s laughter.
“What are you talking about, Scott? I spoke to Hunter. He said that you were struggling to fit in. No surprise if you’ve been half as difficult with them as you have with us.
They seem to accommodate all your needs, but he said you aren’t very grateful to them. ”
I narrowed my eyes. “If you choose to believe Hunter, that is up to you,” I said, keeping my voice as even as possible.
“I’m not going to waste my breath trying to convince you otherwise, but I’m going to remind you, Gareth, that I am also part Goddess.
Everything you cherish and praise in him, a part of that lies in me.
And I have been here, day in, day out, doing what you asked.
Hunter, he only spoke to you when he needed something.
It’s not my fault that my mother ended up being a Goddess.
I didn’t ask for it. So if you’re sulking at that, or over how unfair it is.
Or that it’s my fault this project has stopped, then you need to get a grip.
” I shook my head in disbelief that even those I had worked with had abandoned me.
“You know what? Forget it. I’ll do this on my own. ”
There was a beat of silence before I left the office. Even if I didn’t have access to Teixeira’s lab, I’d break in somehow. Hopefully, someone was still in there crunching numbers or doing tissue culture and I wouldn’t have to resort to criminal activity.
I hit the button for the lift, expelling some of my anger, and, after a short wait, stepped inside. As the doors closed, a hand appeared and James stepped in beside me. He was quiet as I set us on course for Teixeira’s floor.
“Gareth’s a dick and you’re not on your own,” James mumbled. “I’ll always have your back, Scott. Tell me what’s Hunter planning?”
Spite made me want to stay silent, but I knew I needed as much help as I could get. James had always followed my lead, with some negotiations. “He’s planning to sacrifice Gray. He wants to maintain power, and he thinks that if he sacrifices his brother, then the minor Gods will be happy.”
“He can’t do that.”
“He can, and he’s going to do it with me as his wife.”
“I’m sorry. What?”
I lifted my hand to show him the new ring.
“That’s only the start of it. He’s got plans to use my gift.
I don’t understand the specifics because he’s not explained.
I think he’s planning to use it in a way that basically forces people to pray.
To believe. I don’t even know if it will work, but if it does, this is bad.
Hunter had me under house arrest, and suddenly I’m sent down here with zero explanation?
There’s a war brewing and I think we’re at the precipice.
” The lift reached the floor, and the doors opened.
“I need to find some oleander and then I need to find a key to get this stupid cuff off.”
“And what happens then? You go back to Elysia?”
That was a good question. What was I going to do when I had my freedom and a weapon? Archer. Or maybe Dionne. They were my ticket back into the heavens.
“Quentin!”
I looked to my left to see Gareth emerge from the stairwell. He was breathing heavily and clutching his side, having just run up several flights of stairs to catch us.
“What do you want?” I asked. “If you’re about to kick me out of this place, then—”
“I’m not.” He reached me at the door. “I’m not,” he repeated. “I’m sorry. It’s not been easy trying to man this project. I thought there would be a more…”
“Just let me into the lab.” I wasn’t in the mood to hear Gareth’s pity party about how difficult his job was.
Without another word, he swiped his card against the access pad, and the three of us walked into the room.
There were a few lights on, but most of the benches were tidy.
I moved towards the windowsill where the oleander had last been.
It was clear now, not even a speck of dirt remained as a reminder of what was once there.
“Quen—”
Ignoring James, I walked through the lab and through to the tissue culture area at the back.
Stopping at the door, I was grateful to see someone still working there.
I knocked hard, habit stopping me short of walking in without a lab coat and ripping her headphones off.
The woman looked up at me and startled before taking herself out of the hood and pushing her headphones from her ears.
“Is everything okay?” she asked warily, eyes flitting to Gareth.
“We need some oleander,” Gareth told her. “Would you be able to get us some?”
“Oh.” She looked surprised. “I don’t think we have any more in the lab. Hunter said it wasn’t going to be needed and took it. I don’t think we have any extra. I mean, I could check for you.”
“What about the engineering department?” I asked, desperate to salvage something from this.
Gareth shook his head. “They were given what was needed for the cuffs after your titration experiments. They haven’t made cuffs since the final set needed for you.”
I closed my eyes. “Right. Okay.”
“Quentin, maybe you should go home and sleep. You look exhausted, and surely we can wait a few hours? If you can’t get back up there straight away…” James placed a hand on my shoulder. “We can try and get in touch with some labs and see if they have any oleander they can get delivered to us.”
“I don’t want to wait that long,” I muttered, realising he didn’t quite grasp the severity of the situation.
It wasn’t about the mess in Elysia, but the chaos that would ensue down here.
“What about a key?” I asked, holding up my wrist and looking up at the pair of men.
I noticed the conversation was being overheard.
Turning back to the woman, I nodded. “Thanks for your help.”
She bowed her head and bobbed a curtsey, realising who and what I was. The rest of us walked out of the room and back into the corridor.
“I’ll have to check with the engineers to see if they have a set of spares. There should be more than one set,” Gareth said.
“Can we check if anyone is there now?”
“Sure, let’s head over there.”