Chapter One
The intense sunlight blinds him as Apollo forces open the door to the surface from the Chamber. He has to shield his face from the bright light as it takes a moment for his eyes to adjust. The boy has no idea how long he was held prisoner by the Corsair but it feels like a month.
A refreshingly warm breeze, along with remnants of Antonia's voice, fight for his attention as the scene slowly comes into focus around him. He's instantly awestruck by what he sees, endless water. It's everywhere, rolling in hundreds of waves just like the ones he created back at the pond. It stretches to the left and right, as far as he can see. Apollo gazes out at the ocean as Antonia's voice resonates through his head once again, Acropolis Resident Integrated Eugenic Supercomputer.
The phrase had caught Apollo's attention the first time she said it. It was painfully obvious to him that it formed the acronym of Alcazar's main computer, ARIES. But now for some reason, each word also seemed like a clue.
He runs each word through his mind, Acropolis, Resident, Integrated, Eugenic, Supercomputer. The last one, Supercomputer, seems pretty self-explanatory to him so he separates it in his mind as he pairs the other four words together.
Acropolis Resident, seems to refer to Oriah or the current prime resident of the Acropolis. It also must be why Brutalius wants it so badly. Then the second pair of words, Integrated Eugenic, send revelations rocketing through Apollo's mind. Oriah must somehow be genetically connected to ARIES, which also must mean Apollo is as well. It's immediately clear now that that computer back in the library must hold the key to Alcazar's liberation and Apollo knows must find his way back there.
He wanders down the coast for what seems like hours with absolutely no sense of direction. He gapes out at the wide, dark-gray buildings that now line the shore. Everything that has happened to him, his imprisonment, his deal with the Kaine brothers, even Misery, the fake girl behind the glass, torture his mind. But even that pales in comparison to the one gut-wrenching thought that pulls him even deeper down into desperation. Grace. It kills him not to know what happened to her. And even though he knows Antonia's injection suppressed his telepathic abilities, his desperate cries for her come through the darkness anyway, Grace, are you out there? Oriah... Father? Sabrina? Will someone please help me!
Then as the moments creep by, morose laughter begins to tremble between his tears and Apollo curses his futility. The emotional outburst is short-lived however and is promptly silenced as a silvery female voice surprisingly slithers through, Greetings Nephilim, How can I be of service?
Instantly, Apollo's eyes flutter as the mental program embedded in him by his father takes over once again. His head jerks straight as images bombard his vision; pictures of a charcoal brick building with several motorcycles out front. An old woman with long white hair emerging, greeting Apollo and ushering him inside. She speaks to him but strangely, it's ARIES' voice that fills Apollo's ears, "Follow me, Nephilim. Welcome to our home."
When he enters, he is immediately belted by the extreme heat that boils out from the enormous fireplace across the room. The only thing the boy can mutter is, "What is this?" And ARIES voice quickly rings through, answering him, You are home Nephilim, where you finally belong. Then just as fast, the voice fades, leaving the crackling blaze as the only sound in the room.
Apollo stares into the brilliant firelight. He's astonished by the familiar feelings rising within him. It's almost like he can sense the flames burn. As he takes in the sensation, ARIES speaks to him once more, Nephilim, come home and reclaim what is yours. Surprisingly, her words are accompanied by the heat that baked his skin just moments ago. But now, the energy reaches further in, flowing throughout his entire body. Its intensity grows beyond anything Apollo's felt before and the fire in the hearth gradually dies, filling him. He can sense, beyond any doubt, it's him who caused it. But before he can begin to understand what it all might mean, everything around him explodes with an intense white light, and Apollo finds himself back on the beach in the hot sun.
Immediately, he begins a conversation with ARIES, what it my location? And her reply is almost instantaneous; you are in Sector Four of Corsair Territory. Apollo then asks his next question, what is the status of my father? And ARIES responds. The Doyen is in Sector One of Corsair Territory. His vital signs are normal, but diagnostics show damage to both optical nerves and the periorbital epidermis. The boy's spirits lift at the realization that his father is still alive, but yet he's still puzzled why he won't respond, ARIES, why can't I reach him?
ARIES explains how nanobots flow throughout Apollo's bloodstream, transmitting the matching frequency of his brainwaves. And how they jam the signals that allow his thoughts to manipulate his surroundings. ARIES also explains how the link to the Doyen is blocked by the same technology, but only it's applied to the walls of the structure that houses him.
So what about Grace, Solomon and Viceroy? ARIES' seemingly ignores Apollo's latest question, only replying with a phrase that is both strange and now familiar to him, come find me.
The boy's anxiety grows as he repeats his inquiry, ARIES, what is the status of Solomon Jon, Grace Matthew and Nathan Lex. This time Apollo's met with only silence. He yells out in frustration at what seems like more mind games. It doesn't take long though, before desperation wins out and convinces him what it is his father wants him to do. He closes his eyes and holds out his arms, embracing the warm breeze that's comes off the ocean as if it was his father's promise. Apollo bellows out into the wind, "Okay! I finally give in! I give you all the benefit of my doubt!"
He marches forward now with a renewed sense of purpose which motivates him. He speaks out to his father even though he knows he cannot hear him, "I'm with you now, Oriah." Apollo's not even sure he understands it all yet, but still he continues straight ahead, pulling the black cap over his eyes and taking surefooted steps toward the Corsair house that's now clearly laid out in his mind.