Book 3 - Destiny: Chapter 1

Keyx and Marcus sat at a table in Mythos' restaurant, discussing the next steps on their case against Innara, when Liam spotted them. Pulling a chair up and sitting down, he joined them as he asked, "Hey dudes, how's it hanging?"

"Howdy Liam, why don't you join us?" Marcus offered sarcastically as he watched Liam snag a slice of their pizza.

Ignoring Marcus' sarcasm, Liam stated bluntly, "So, word is that the two of you are investigating Thea’s family and in particular, Innara and Mordecai because she wants to bring that asshole back."

"Possibly," Keyx responded, his eyebrows raised. “Word sure does travel fast around here.”

“Liam is a connoisseur of information. He has connections everywhere. There is a reason Darius put him in charge of a place like Mythos. Is there a realm you don't have connections with?”

Liam grew thoughtful momentarily, before responding, “Mmmm... maybe Telos but that’s in the works, so, nope. I usually hear about goings on before most. Innara and Mordecai are nasty business for all Mythics, which is why most of the realms are all a buzz with talk.

“None of that is important, though. What is important is that we CANNOT let them hurt Thea," Liam stated, looking very serious, almost deadly. “They both want her dead, preferably after they've acquired her power for themselves.”

"Well, our plan is to stop them before that’s even an option," Keyx stated, noting that Marcus seemed distracted and weirdly quiet.

"Good. She’s had too much in her life already. Thea is my family, my only family besides Lilith. So, how can I help with your investigation?”

"What do you know about her training sessions?" Marcus asked. “We’re trying to figure out weaknesses and what she knows.”

Liam blew out a deep breath and asked, "Have either of you experienced it yet?"

"Only once and it lasted only a couple of minutes,” Marcus replied as Keyx shook his head no.

As if trying to find the right words, Liam took another deep breath before blowing it our slowly. "Training is hard to explain. For the lucky ones, it's brief, lasting only minutes. For Thea, it’s lasted days, even weeks. Special psychics connect with your mind to upload training to your brain similar to uploading a program to a computer... think the Matrix but without the big needle in the brain. Marcus, your training covered what, a couple of days?"

"Yeah, it was the weirdest thing. It felt like I'd been in training for the whole weekend. But, when I came out, I'd realized it’d been only a few minutes. Took me almost a week to readjust," Marcus remembered.

"Each training for Thea has covered years, with a few lasting whole lifetimes. Medical keeps a close eye on the training sessions and normally has established limits, although Thea's training sessions have been known to go past those limits. Medical actually has her off training because of her last session."

"What happened?" Keyx asked.

"She had... complications. The senior trainer tried to push her to accept the training faster than the norms for her and, in a sense, her brain overheated and we nearly lost her. If it wasn't for Galena, Darius' sister, we would have.

“It wasn't the most pleasant of times, especially when it was discovered the trainer didn't get clearance for pushing the training, but rather had 'other plans' he wanted to get to. What made it worse was that he wasn’t in the least bit sorry. He refused to understand why nearly killing Thea was such a big deal. Damian went full Daemoni Prince when he found out. Damian is extremely protective of Thea... extremely protective.”

“What do you mean by full Daemoni Prince?” Keyx asked before taking another bite of pizza.

“Daemoni Princes are the most powerful of the Daemoni. How powerful depends on the Dark Realm they command. Ikisat is the largest and most powerful of the Dark Realms. It’s why Innara fears Damian.

“When Damian found out why the trainer did what he did, well, that trainer came to his bitter end via hellfire, a very nasty way to go. It keeps you alive as it burns you away, layer by layer. It’s also rumored that the trainer ended up being imprisoned in Ikisat, a place notorious for those being punished,” Liam explained. “If I were to find out that my soul was destined for a Dark Realm, I would wish for any realm other than Ikisat!”

“Damian commands Legions of Daemoni. Thea once told me she saw his Legions training. She said no mere description did it justice. When you get back to the office, look up Daemoni Prince of Ikisat. The ancient tales of Damian are terrifying and for the most part, true. Nira, Thea’s mother, is to thank for not having that version of Damian today but that is the version we all fear,” Marcus added.

“Except for Thea, she’s never feared him. I remember once when we were both kids and he visited I was a typical boy and stupidly pulled her hair because I was jealous. He flashed Red to scare me and Thea smacked his nose and told him that wasn't nice. She then gave me a hug and told me that I was the only brother she would ever have and she loved me as such,” Liam reminisced thoughtfully.

“Damian can clear out Mythos by showing his Daemoni form. When he does, Thea will roll her eyes and tell ‘Red’ to take a chill pill. It’s pretty funny.” Liam said. “Mordecai on the other hand... EVERYONE fears him. There’s nothing good about him, nothing. He’d destroy everything for the sheer fun of it.”

"So back to Thea’s training, how much training has she actually had?" Marcus asked before taking a large bite of pizza.

"To be honest, only a few know for sure and Thea refuses to discuss it in detail, but from what I hear, it could be equivalent to hundreds of years," Liam answered solemnly. "There’s a reason for all of it. For Thea, it's because she's so powerful. Not only that but her Daemoni side, Nihasia. Have you heard about Nihasia?”

“Of course, who hasn't?” Marcus asked with a sneer.

Liam raised an eyebrow at his tone before continuing. “Thea's father, Mikael, was known as the Cursed One until Nira freed him. Only the curse wasn't destroyed. Rather it was passed on to Thea. If while in her Daemoni form she consumes even one soul of the living, she’ll be cursed to forever remain in that form. It’s said that if that were to happen, the Earth would be cast into a truly horrifying version of hell on earth.

“To keep Nihasia under control and to do what she does for D Corp takes immense control. Before training was developed, that sort of power and control only happened after years of training and study.

“Her linguistic and cipher skills have saved millions of lives more than once. So many Mythics use ciphers in conjunction with their unique languages. Her ability to not only translate but also decode prophecies, plots, you name it is invaluable. So, she puts herself through all the training for the greater good. My only fear is that she and Darius don't seem to remember that she's breakable."

Kira sat discreetly listening to Liam from the bar as she waited for her to-go order. Leave it to him to make it sound like Thea was a martyr for the greater good. She knew what her best friend went through and why she did it. She didn't like it but she got it.

She also knew Thea didn't take anything lying down. She wasn't forced to do anything. Usually, she set up the training because she truly believed it was what she needed. There had even been times when Darius said no because he was worried she'd 'break'. Time to set the guys straight. Standing up, she purposely dragged a nearby chair along noisily to make her presence known as she approached the guys.

"Oh man," Liam groaned when he saw her.

"Shut up, you!" Kira stated as she smacked him for emphasis. "Listen up. Don't try to understand training until you do it. Thea does what she does because she chooses to and because she's an incredibly strong and loving person who gives a damn about people, sometimes too much.

“When she was a child she had just one main trainer assigned to her. Kaya was a Mythic that hated Thea and betrayed her trust over and over by purposely causing damage and pain and using what she found in Thea's memories as a way to profit from her.”

“I forgot about that! Thea would get the worst headaches and bloody noses after her training. I don't remember why Kaya hated her so much, though,” Liam stated as he tried to remember.

“It had something to do with her relationship to Innara, I believe. Anyway it was after then that they completely changed the protocols, including doing away with having the same trainer every time. Thea could have easily never wanted to have another training session again, and she would have been justified. Instead, she knew why it was so important and with it she could help so many more people. Mind you, my gal is as eccentric as they come some days but it all just makes Thea... well, Thea,” Kira smiled.

“Yeah, the trainings are admittedly a necessary evil at times but for the most part they are very much worth the risk,” Liam added.

“I would wonder if they aren't also a security risk as well...” Keyx mentioned thoughtfully.

“Not really, Darius has tightened that up,” Marcus cut him off brusquely.

“But if it could happen once, and then a second time to his own granddaughter, isn't it possible they could go after her a third time in a similar manner?” Keyx persisted.

“Fair enough, we’ll look into it. Now I've only seen and heard about her Daemoni side, what about her Celestian and Illuminare sides? Have either of you ever seen any powers or abilities resulting from those lines?” Marcus asked them.

Kira looked at Liam thoughtfully. “That's a good question. I think her Celestian side is why she is so good at languages and ciphers. As for the Illuminare side, not that I've seen or heard,” Kira said.

“I agree with Kira on the Celestian. The only thing I've heard is Thea mentioned not that long ago that she awoke to some dark purple feathers in her bed which she thought was strange because the Illuminare only have white feathers. Other than that, I haven't heard anything at all either.”

“Kira!” a voice from the counter suddenly called out.

“You gentlemen, and I use the term loosely with you, Liam, work calls. Behave!" Kira smirked as she got up. Giving Marcus a brief kiss, she grabbed her meal and left. Marcus shook his head and laughed.

"Yeah, laugh it up. Just remember she's yours," Liam grumbled.

"Yup, she sure is."