Fate Breakers

Chapter 18

Ceno

It's not that I hate the water, I'm really just not around it enough for me to have enough good experiences. Everything I know about the ocean comes from stories. The story of Odyesseus scared the living fuck out of me as a kid. It still does. That may be the one and only think I will ever resent my father for.

Liam seemed indifferent when it was mentioned we'd be sent back to the Aeolian Mountains by boat with a few others. The Udrusalin Sector didn't want us at all. This province has been more or less ungoverned for more than a thousand years, ever since the Queen of Death's Chasm was put to death. One thing has remained consistent: Udrusal is populated by Hell Raisers, the Children of Echidna, and Drákon. So seeing me—a half Siren—it's no wonder I was turned away.

Then there's Liam. Truthfully, I know fuck all about the man I've been traveling with for close to three months. I don't know what he is, what kind of powers he actually has. I can sense Hypnos' presence like cologne, but that might just be because of my own connections. The only thing I know about Liam is that no open units want a field medic who's taken the Hippocratic Oath. Every unit needs a minimum of two, but even those who have no medics refuse to look Liam's way.

"The oath comes from an Old World text," Liam explains as we pack for the port. "It is an oath that is both meant for the Gods and for the patients, that those taking it will help the sick and dying, and never use their tools to harm."

"I can see why they didn't want you to take it," I joke. "Seems a little contradictory for a soldier."

Liam gives me a cold look. "They don't want people taking the oath, because taking the Hippocratic Oath means aiding everyone who needs it, regardless of what side they're on."

"Oh..."

My heart just sort of sinks. I had heard Crestmont and a few others from his unit calling Liam a liability, amongst other unsavory things. We came across a city overrun by Underworld Beasts. After we killed off the monsters, Crestmont wanted to move on, in spite of Liam being nowhere to be found. I forced everyone to stay behind. We ended up losing a day. Liam didn't say anything when he returned, but I didn't wanna pry when the rest of the unit already seemed so pissed. Now I know what he was doing.

And now that I know. "Did... anyone die that night in Cerca?"

Liam doesn't look at me, he just keeps packing. "Two, a little girl and her big brother."

"What did they die from...?"

"The brother bled out on my table. I didn't have all of the necessary tools, and I didn't have an extra set of hands."

I swallow the lump in my throat. "And... the little girl...?"

"Her heart malfunctioned. I was granted access to her records, she had a history of it, a few in her family did. I helped their mortician clean up the bodies and I presented the news to their parents and siblings."

"How...?"

"Like nothing else was more important than their grief. Those two were the worst case. My remaining injuries consisted of broken bones, a few concussions, and a few bad gashes. I spent the night with that family."

I think back on everything I've heard about Liam, about his brother and how he operates. I'm thinking back to when I first met him. Hypnos was already with him.

When Gods choose mortals, the mortal has to die in order for a kernel of the God's power to be embedded within them. I died the same night as my father, from a blow to the back of my head. Liam died the same night as Eugene did. The Gods only let one of them come back.