Twelve

Ch 22: Loss

Before he left, Hermes had acquired a small apartment for the five remaining zodiacs. The apartment was maintained by several silent staff members whom Hermes referred to as Guardians. They attended to the siblings and provided food, but once they left one's line of sight, it was difficult to recall what they looked like. The enchantment surrounding them was so strong it was hard to tell how many Guardians there actually were.

It had been thirteen days since Hermes had made an oath to the zodiacs and subsequently disappeared. The first week or so had been filled with optimistic planning. A promising end was in sight. Then, the optimism lulled to a cautious hope. An end was still in sight, but their energy was becoming stagnant. Now, all optimism was replaced with worry and doubt. They had been locked up for two weeks, their only hope was missing, and their murderer could find them at any moment.

Sci sat in the corner of the dark room, catatonic. That happened more often as each day passed. The rest of the zodiacs were clustered around a coffee table, tension weighing down their shoulders.

Taurus stood abruptly and nearly knocked the table over. "He can't seriously expect us to just sit here and wait!"

Shouting matches had become more frequent, and louder.

Cancer struggled to keep his temper. "Waiting here is the only reasonable option we have. Going outside is suicide."

"We have to fight back. That's the honorable thing to do."

"Oh screw honorable. What good is honor if you've been murdered?" Cori's muttered words earned him a glare from Taurus.

"You can wait here for the rest of your life if you want, but I refuse to hide."

"You idiot! You're nothing against a god," Gemini called out as Taurus stormed out of the apartment.

Cancer had gone pale. "He's going to die."

Gemini's mouth was set in a grim line. "I know."

"Would this be a bad time to say that he's as stubborn as a bull?" Cori asked as he cradled his head between his hands.

Cancer opened his mouth to scold Cori, but was interrupted by a whisper of a chuckle from Sci's corner.

Cori's head shot up. "Did he-"

"He did."

The trio was at a loss for words as Sci got up and joined them at the table.

"Why so grim?"

"Bold words for someone who was sulking in a corner for thirteen days."

"I wasn't sulking, I was meditating."

"Could've fooled me."

"Ease off, Cori." Gemini poured Sci a cup of water and fixed him with a hopeful gaze. "Think up any solutions?"

Sci's face settled into a frown. "No, but Scorpio is acting up."

Cori shot him a look. "Aren't you Scorpio?"

"We all eventually fully awaken and thus have full access to our powers and past knowledge. Sci is kind of behind schedule."

Cori scrunched up his nose. "Alright then, I guess."

"We should go after Taurus."

Cancer sighed wearily. "We can't risk our own safety to find that fool. He's made his choice."

Sci frowned. "We can't abandon him either. I'll go."

Gemini stood and began to pace. "Splitting up is death. But abandoning our own is almost murder."