Defying Fate

Chapter 16-p3

Note: Merry Christmas! The Ocean Saga comes out today. If you like this story and haven't listened to EPIC: the Musical, then you're missing out on what inspired it. Check it out.

"I don't think he's faking it." That was Louiza's voice outside the door.

"Louiza, you're part of the coast guard. You're supposed to patrol the waters and make sure that tourists aren't drowning themselves in our lagoon. That's it. Not picking up a crew of crazy men—"

"He doesn't seem insane, and the tox report came back clean. He's lucid and alert, he just... thinks he's from four thousand years ago."

"They're probably a bunch of post-grads who got too enthusiastically involved in a project and it went to their heads. It's a delusion. Don't buy into it, Louiza. You're smarter than that. A little water and a shower and he'll remember who he is."

The door banged open and Odysseus shot upright, jerking on the manacles and sending shooting pain up his wrists. He cursed, and looked up to see Louiza and the large man from before with the hat. He'd taken it off now to reveal sandy hair, thinning at the top. He frowned down at Odysseus, who met his eyes steadily, the only act of rebellion he could manage.

"We're letting you go back to your crew," he grumped. "You all came back clean, so we don't have any reason to hold you. What have you gotten them into, you some kind of crazy cult leader or something?"

"There's no cult, officer," Odysseus said. "I'm just a man, trying to get his crew home safely. Every word I've said is the truth."

"And yet Odysseus was known to be a liar!" The man slammed his palms down on the table across from Odysseus, leaning in close, as if to be intimidating. Odysseus didn't flinch. He'd seen far more frightening displays from his allies, let alone his enemies.

"Believe me, or don't, officer," he said. "You said I could go back to my men?" He held up his bound wrists invitingly.

The man stood, and motioned with his head toward Odysseus, and Louiza unlocked the manacles, both of them this time. Odysseus resisted the urge to rub his sore wrists, kept his hands carefully to his sides. Louiza went ahead, and the man came behind Odysseus in an odd parade back through the narrow hallways. Once, Odysseus spotted the doors to the outside, but, he could hardly make a run for it without Eurylochus and Polites, and they still were holding Asterion somewhere.

The men had all been placed in a large stone room, unfurnished except for a few metal benches. The room had been separated into large cages, with bars all around them. The crew sat on the floor, huddled in the center of the nearest cage, some leaning on others, asleep.

Polites was asleep leaning on Eurylochus's shoulder when Louiza opened the cage. Eurylochus hit him in the shoulder and they both stood as Odysseus was pushed inside-not particularly gently-by the larger man.

"Captain!" Polites exclaimed, throwing his good arm around Odysseus as the two officers left. "You're safe!"

"What are they going to do with us?" Eurylochus asked. "Have they told you anything?"

"Is anyone hurt?" Odysseus asked, not answering the questions, looking over his men. "Where's Cassandra?"

"What happened to Asterion?" Polites asked at the same time.

"What happened to your arm?" Odysseus noticed Polites' broken arm had been wrapped thickly in something bright blue and stiff, that kept his arm bent at the elbow.

"Oh this," Polites glanced at it. "Dr. Tessaro called it a cast, and we're not supposed to remove it for at least 6 weeks."

"It's better than the splint," Eurylochus said. "She was very skilled. Where is the boy?"

"Asterion is being held somewhere else—" Odysseus tried to explain, but his throat closed on the words. "They took him—"

Polites put his hand on Odysseus' shoulder, his expression mirroring the sadness Odysseus felt.

"We will get him back," Eurylochus said with a jerky nod.

Cassandra stood from where she'd been sitting on one of the benches on the far side of the bars, in a separate cage. "The gods have gone silent," she said. "I don't have any prophecies that can help—"

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" An unfamiliar voice said, coming alongside the bars.