Inquest

 

by J.F. Jenkins

Published by Astraea Press

www.astraeapress.com

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

 

VALA: INQUEST

Copyright © 2014 J.F. JENKINS

ISBN 978-1-62135-379-9

Cover Art Designed by
Cora Graphics

 

 

Teague Willam watched Persephone the First. She huddled in the corner of the small room that made up her "cell", curled into a ball as she hugged herself. With one hand, she held her head, as if in some kind of pain. Tears streamed down her face.

"Keep it together. You have to keep it together," she whispered to herself.

He wanted to offer her words of comfort, but in the dream world, all he could do was observe and take note of everything happening around him. As a Fate, Teague often dreamed about different events in vivid detail. Most of them were of the past — that was his specialty. Each Fate had a time frame they saw the most. His father Anj saw the present most often but was known to have visions of all three time frames: past, present, and future. However, Teague's abilities were nowhere near as strong , even though his visions were much more detailed than anything his father experienced. The few times they'd talked about it, Anj described his dreams as being short and to the point but not necessarily specific.

While Teague may have been dreaming about the past, it was also his present — confusing, but that was how time travel worked. He'd been sent to the past to right a terrible wrong. Whatever was happening to Persephone was technically occurring in the time frame his body was presently in. Because he was from the future, the incident represented his past. He wasn't about to complain. The more information he had, the better. He needed all the help he could get to complete his quest.

Teague couldn't provide Persephone with any direct comfort, but maybe in some small way, she could sense his presence. Magic had a way of making itself known even if no one could see it at work. If anything, it made him feel
better
inside.

"You're not alone," Teague said. "I won't leave you if I don't have to." He sat next to her, wanting to touch her but unable to do so.

When Persephone lifted her gaze, she did so and looked directly at him. Though, the young woman he saw wasn't Persephone but Cheyenne Loveless, the teenage girl Persephone had possessed. The whole possession thing confused Teague. There were a lot of pieces he was still trying to put together. From what he
did
understand, Cheyenne was the chosen vessel for Persephone to be reincarnated into and a long lost descendant of the original deity. Persephone's true love, Hades the First, was reincarnated into a teenage boy named Denver Collins. Together, they would fulfill an ancient prophecy that was supposed to bring back power to the Divine Council, the ancient political circle of the gods and goddesses who controlled the laws of all magical beings.

Poor Cheyenne. There was so much sadness in her gaze, and confusion. Teague felt sorry for her. She didn't always make the best decisions, but she also wasn't always in control of her life. The part of him that wanted to hate her for all of the pain she'd caused his family, got shot down by the compassion he held for her in his heart. Seeing her sad, fear-filled eyes, he realized she was nothing more than a girl and no different than himself. Because even though he was a teenager, there were days when he felt like a small child — and the world was a big place for him to get lost in. She was the same, a pawn being used for a greater scheme that she didn't understand. The world of magic was foreign to her — a fact he hadn't realized until that moment.

Footsteps could be heard from outside of the room. Cheyenne was still in control of her body, and she gazed at the door with a whimper. "He's coming. Stay strong."

There was a jingling of keys in a lock. The door opened and in walked the dark angel Lucien. Teague had seen him a few times before in other dreams. He could never forget what the creature looked like. On first appearances, he was just like any other normal young man. Lucien could have passed for being around twenty years old and was the typical tall, dark, and handsome thing that supposedly made girls swoon.

On his back was a pair of large, blood-red, wings speckled with flecks of silver that brought out his cold, lifeless, steel-gray eyes. First encounters with him suggested he was innocent enough, that he meant well. But the demon had a manipulative tongue and an evil heart. Nothing he said could be trusted. He didn't flat-out lie, but in every deal he proposed and in every truth he spoke, there was also a hidden loophole present, and he had no qualms with using it for his advantage. Or at least that was what Teague had observed over his many visions of the monster.

"My love," Lucien said, approaching Cheyenne with a confident swagger. "How are you feeling today?"

A sour laugh left Cheyenne's lips, and Teague noticed that once more Persephone was in control. "Love? You dare call me your '
love'
? You're keeping me prisoner."

"I didn't have a choice. Your host's friends are searching for her. The Divine Council has its best on the case. If I thought I could let you roam free, I would, but I don't think it's safe."

"For you, or for me?"

"Either one of us. They'll try to pull us apart," he said.

She scoffed. "You're still trying to hold onto the lie of being Hades, hmm? Even though the boy claims to be the real return of my true love, I've seen Hades's real soul inside of him. Stop attempting to persuade me otherwise. I thought you were above lying."

"I am," Lucien murmured. He reached down and stroked her hair with a lot more gentleness than Teague would have thought a demon capable of. "It was never a lie. Perhaps the boy is now Hades, officially, with the taking on of his father's power and also with the return of the original Hades's spirit. I can concede those truths, even though I tried so hard to fight them from coming to pass. I was supposed to be the heir to his throne, and I was going to find a way to take on all of his power. The boy beat me to it, but that doesn't mean he will be the victor. There are other ways to be Divine."

"But you won't be
my
true love," she whispered.

The demon's eyes narrowed. "And what makes you so sure of that? Because of an ancient covenant? Have you bothered to give me a true chance? You're hung up on a fairytale and missing out on what could be the real love of your life. Have you thought of that? No, of course not. You're just like the rest of the Divine. You remain focused on tradition and don't follow your heart."

"You only want to use me." She gazed at him with tear-filled eyes.

"I need you in more ways than just your magical capabilities. If you let me, I can be the husband you so desire," he said. "All you have to do is say the word, and I will be faithful. I will worship your every move. We will be the most powerful of all beings on the planet, and we can also be the most in-love. The only thing holding that back is you."

For a moment, she gazed into his eyes. "I want to believe you, but I denied Hades once. Doing so again could be even worse than the first time."

"Denying me could be
more
awful."

The world around Teague began to grow fuzzy and then faded away, leaving him in a black void. That was common at the end of his dreams. It was a lot like floating, though he still felt solid ground under his feet. A few seconds later, a shimmering, blue door appeared before him. Sometimes, the door led him to the waking world. Other times, it brought him to the Elder Fates, those in charge of keeping order amongst all of the Fates in existence.

No visit from the Elders that night. They hadn't wanted to see Teague for a while. Were they aware of what he was dreaming? He still wasn't sure how many visions they witnessed when it came to the lesser Fates. Supposedly, they had access to every dream. Whether or not that was true was a whole other story. He hoped not, because he had the feeling one of them was a bad person — a
very
bad person. In fact, Teague was convinced one of the Elders was working with Lucien himself. If the Elders had access to Teague's dreams, then they had access to other privileged information he contained — information that could sway the odds in his favor if he could keep it to only those he trusted.

As Teague opened the door, the real world began to form around him. For the time being, he wouldn't worry about it.

****

Slowly, Teague's eyes opened. It took him a moment to remember where he was. The room he awakened in was not his own but was somewhere in the hospital wing at school. Once he recognized where he was, he had to remember how he got there.
A demon attack. One of the demons had tried to kill Denver. I tried to help him and got hurt.

Teague's wounds weren't anything serious — maybe a concussion, and originally there had been a few broken bones. Thanks to magic, those healed quickly. Observation protocol was the only thing keeping him in the hospital for one more night. He didn't particularly mind. The hospital wasn't his dorm room. He hated his dorm room. Too cold and empty. Nothing like home, which he missed more than anything.

It took him months to remember he was from the future. For a long time, his memories were hazy and confusing — small, fragmented pieces that he needed to put together again in order to understand the greater picture. Once he remembered everything, life got a lot more complicated. He couldn't let people know where he was from, at least, not everyone. The time he'd gone back to was during the days when his parents were still just boyfriend and girlfriend. If he wasn't careful, he would not only alter the future, but could wipe out his entire existence. No way could either of them know who he was. The whole universe might be destroyed.

Only a few people knew the truth of his origins: Denver and some teachers at the school. Some of Teague's enemies must have known as well. For a while, the demons were chasing him, wanting to destroy him before he could succeed in his mission. Because he did want to alter the future, a future where the demons gained more control than they should have. The world wasn't completely destroyed
yet
, but it was a whole lot closer than it needed to be.

For the time being, he was alone in the room. When he'd gone to bed, Jewl Dite, his mother, had been with him. Obviously, she didn't know she was his mother. There was an awkwardness between them. The story she believed was that they were brother and sister.

She probably only came to see me because she felt obligated to. I know she feels sorry for me because I'm "too dumb" to take care of myself.
It's not my fault. The time traveling messed with my brain. Now I'm normal again, but I'm not sure if I can act that way. People might get confused and start wondering what's going on. Questions will lead them to the truth of who I am. I need to continue to be stupid.

The door opened to his room, and Denver poked his head in. "Good, you're awake. Was starting to get bored waiting."

"Sorry," Teague mumbled.

"It's not like it's your fault. Don't know why you're apologizing." Denver sat down in a nearby chair. "Okay, so it might be a little your fault, since you decided to try and fight those demons and almost get yourself killed. At the same time, you kind of helped me stay alive, so I won't complain about it too much. Don't get a big head about it, though. Key words in there are 'kind of'."

"I don't have a big head," Teague mumbled.

Denver rolled his eyes. "It's a figure of speech."

"Yes, I know."

For a moment, Denver only stared at him. "You...do?"

"Yes, I told you I remembered things the last time we talked," Teague said. "Part of the memories coming back is me getting back all my brains."

"Bummer, I was hoping you really were just a cute and innocent guy stuffed with fluffy good feelings." At first, he thought Denver was being sarcastic, but the downcast gaze Denver gave suggested he was actually being serious.

Teague wasn't sure what to say. Was he not supposed to be a typical teenage boy? Not having a brain was going to be a hard thing for him fake for the sake of keeping up with his cover. The first sign that he was different, things would start to get hairy, and he might have some problems completing his mission and getting home again.

Stupid was not something he normally was. The idea of acting like a complete moron was making him cringe. Innocent? He supposed he still retained some of that. The world hadn't jaded him too much in his sixteen years of life, and that was saying a lot, given everything that had happened at home.

"I...," Teague said, disliking the strange silence between the two of them.

Denver waved a hand in front of him. "I get it. You got a normal brain and all. It'll take some getting used to, but I'll manage to deal with it."

"Glad to hear." Teague gazed out the window, sighing.

"You look like I just shot your dog, man."

"Tired," he mumbled.

Nodding, Denver settled into his chair, making himself more comfortable. "When you're better, we'll work on the 'what next'. Now that you have a mind we can use, it'll be a whole lot easier to come up with a plan. You're going to have to share what you know, though."

"Like, from home?"

"Home, yes, that's a good word to describe it."

Teague swallowed. "I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say to you
now
. There are probably rules to the whole time and space continuum thing."

"But..." Denver's jaw tightened. "I'll find those out. We don't have to talk about it all right this second anyway. As much as I want to get on my proverbial white horse and march off to get Chey back from that loser demon poser, I'm not ready. If the world was going to end as soon as she was kidnapped, pretty sure it would have happened by now, right? Something tells me we've got some time — not a ton, but at least some. Lucien isn't bound by the same restraints we are. He can afford to wait a little."

Time. Something so fragile and yet a whole lot more flexible than anyone ever realized.
A demon would have all the time in the world. In the underworld, time passes differently, for one, and they're eternal.
"But Cheyenne isn't eternal...," Teague whispered.

"Huh?" Denver asked.

"Cheyenne isn't eternal, er, immortal. Not until she takes on the official position of Persephone in the Divine Council. He's got some time but not a million years to wait."

"Duh," Denver said. "It was my way of saying you can rest and not stress out over the whole situation for a while. You know, being nice and looking out for your best interests. If you want to get to work right this second, though, I can get a whole lot more pushy."

Teague cracked a weak half-smile. "Uh, no, that's okay."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Denver nodded, as if satisfied. "Besides, I think I'm gonna be getting the boot from your room soon. Mr. Thantos is pretty peeved at me for putting you in danger and for knowing about all of your time traveling adventures."

"Mr. Thantos thinks I'm here on accident," Teague mumbled.

Shrugging, Denver kicked his feet up onto another chair. "Either way, he's trying to get me banned from the hospital wing. Actually, I wouldn't put it past him to ban me from the school. Then you add in your lovely overprotective family who all hate my guts, and it's been a picnic. You've missed a lot since you were sleeping. The faster you heal, the better. Then you can come find me."

"I didn't realize my family cared enough to be protective of me. Not here, in this time, I mean," Teague said.

"It's weird. Not sure if I know how to explain it."

Teague knew how to explain it in just one word: obligation. His mother took him under her wing because she felt like she
had
to. Aphrodite, the current reigning goddess of love in the Divine Council, his grandmother, found him when he first made his journey back in time. She'd brought him to Jewl, involved her in his quest, and family loyalty kept Jewl around. The lie about them being brother and sister was enough to keep her within arms' reach, but not too close. He imagined it had something to do with her relationship with her half-sister, Sonnet, though he didn't know the whole story. Sonnet wasn't around in the future.

Because Jewl showed an interest in caring for him on occasion, Anj Willam, his father, did as well. Anj knew that Teague was a Fate, which bound them together. He felt an obligation to look out for Teague; it was so obvious in the way the two interacted. Teague was pretty sure if his father could have his way, he'd rather pretend his son didn't exist, which was amusing and heartbreaking all at once. Back home, in the future, Anj and Teague were practically best friends. Time changed a lot of things. But Teague was also a different person in the future, and if Anj knew he was his father, perceptions would change as well.

Small details impacted so much of the bigger picture, it was mind boggling. Major events made even more dramatic changes to the world. Things in the future were already altering because of the actions Teague was performing in the past. He hadn't done too much, simply nudged Denver in the right direction. He'd also helped save his mother, something only his father, Denver, and another close friend were around to do in the original timeline of the past.

Teague's memories of the future, and the obvious differences between what he'd grown up with and what was changing, didn't start showing up until he got more involved with Denver regaining control over the throne of Hades. Once the events of the past were altered, so were Teague's memories. As of that moment in time, he hadn't gotten rid of his existence so he could still go back home again. All the same, he had a firm reminder to be careful.

"Things still not the same as they were before?" Denver asked.

"Huh?" Teague raised his gaze back toward him.

Laughing, Denver shook his head. "Before you went to sleep. You told me not to worry, because things were already getting better, so don't let everyone else make me doubt my actions."

"Oh, yeah, that. Yeah, things aren't the same." He shrugged. Teague was pretty sure that was a good thing. Then again, anything would have been better than the alternative.

"That's all I wanted to know." He stood and gave Teague a firm pat on the shoulder. "Don't know if I'll be coming back. I'll tell you where to meet me, though."

With a nod, Teague closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. "Okay."

Being alone was for the better. There were a lot of memories to sort through, both old and new.