An invisible weight crashes into me. Stealing my breath and causing my legs to give away from beneath me. If my knees hitting the floor hurt, I didn't notice.
The console goes black, but the last words echo through my mind.
Your light yet lives.
Is that even possible.
I feel hands at my arms, and I refocus on everything around me to see Zephyr wearing a horrified expression and with skin paler than snow.
"Are you okay? What happened?" He asks me, looking back and forth between my eyes trying to make eye contact with me. I need to confirm this first. She said there was an explanation on the main computer. I stand up and start walking.
"Did you hear the last message?" I ask Zephyr as I canter out of the room with him trying to stay on my tail.
"No, what did it say?" I pause… Should I tell him? What good will it do to tell him? Or more importantly what good will it do to keep it from him?
"It—I…" I exhale in an exasperated huff, "Just give me some time to figure this out." I canter to the middle hall and then to the main console. I start to search the through everything there. My knuckles white from gripping the edges of the smooth console.
"You were watching messages right? What did they say? It's obviously not nothing if you're this worked up about it." Zeph says as he arrives at the console behind me.
"I need to figure this out first… If what she said is true in the way I'm understanding it… Then…" Then all this time… He's been stuck, in the dark… But how is this possible? I search and search until I come across something bearing a sun. I activate it and see Minerva's face on the screen, "Dike said in the message… 'Your light yet lives.'" Zeph narrows his eyes for a moment and then realizes what that could mean in a gasp.
"Astraea. If you are seeing this message then I was successful in storing this within Astraeus and Eos' devices without them realizing. Long ago I noticed something about your power. It leaves traces on those you seem to feel connected to, rather those you feel a deep bond with. Such as Dike, which is why it was her I asked to leave that message. I wonder on whether it could have extended the lives of a few Isu, like myself and Dike. As I have seen that she will outlive the rest of us by a long time. I had also hypothesized about the effects it could have on a human, should you ever feel a deep enough bond with another human.
"I did realize quite early on that you had once been a human. I had shared the revelation with Astraeus and Eos, but they chose not to tell you in fear of you feeling inadequate. Now, I know you have regained your memories and it has been many millennia since the time of the Isu ended for good. And I cannot spare this much time else the world perish, but I thought it would only be fair to share with you all I managed to discover regarding your power.
"I was not able to find the source of what happened to you. Perhaps it is because you came to us from the time of humans, it is hard to say. What I did find is that your power is not based in Isu ability as we once thought. And it seems you may be able share parts of your power with those with whom you have a deep and indomitable bond. In a human it may be able to extend life as your power does for you. This I found by sheer folly as I had looked forward to find my Prophet, and my last resort to save the world. I felt that with this discovery, I should share it with you out of respect for the time we shared. Thank you for bringing life and light to the home of my friends, they had often felt alone after their children left to be their own people, and you brought life and love back to them. Thank you, and goodbye."
Her image flashes off the screen and I'm left with the ever-shifting information she's left in the section with the sun.
"Uh… That was Minerva…" Zeph points out, "And she just left a personal message for you."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious. Athena was always kind to me… And now… If she's right…" I swipe all the information away, leaving the screen as a shifting black void before I jog over to where my things had been put.
"Hey! Wait up!" Zeph shouts as he struggles to keep up with my speed, "Didn't we just have a whole thing about honesty?" He says as he comes into the area where I'm throwing my things into my bag again.
"Yep. So I'm honestly telling you that I'm leaving now. If what she said is true, then I'm going to Istanbul. Immediately." I fling the bag over my shoulder and head back to the room holding all of my weapons. I grab a pair of dual swords that Hephaestus had made for me in collaboration with Hermes. They are my favourites. The beautiful scrolling vines design modeled after my power, the use of my favourite dark green with the emeralds. Uniquely beautiful, but I choose them for the matter of what they can do. I test the feeling of them in my hands after so long, slashing the air and spinning them until Zeph arrives.
"Are you really going to take two swords into the world? They're very pretty… But that isn't very conspicuous…" Zephyr states as I hold them in my hands, I look at him a let my power seep into them for the first time in many millennia. Soon they glow the warm golden colour as they wake up and come to life. Then as I remember doing so many times I bid them to change.
And surely, they glow brightly for a moment before they each turn into a golden bangle with the scrolling vines around the metal and inlaid with the same emeralds. Zeph's jaw comically drops as I put the bangles on each wrist.
"Okay… Point made." He nods while blankly staring at the floor.
Then I begin to head over to where the sanctuary opens to a cave that leads out of the mountain on the opposite side of the other cave.
"Hey, hold on… Shouldn't we at least discuss this as a family?" Zeph grabs my arm as I start to walk away, my anger and impatience rising.
"Athena just told me that the love of my life might have been alive all this time. For five hundred years. Buried. Underground. I'm going to go get him out." He exhales slowly, thinking over what he wants to say. I'm probably sounding angrier than I want to with him, but I…
"Okay, you go ahead, I'll tell them." I turn to leave but he pulls my arm to look at him, "But don't you think for a second that we won't be following behind you as soon as we can." Stubbornness glittering in his cold grey eyes.
"Fine, but at least two of you should probably stay here, hold down the fort. At least until we can give them an update." I say as he releases my arm and I begin to walk away.
"I'll relay that you think so, but the end decision is up to us. Not you." He says as I leave the room, my mind racing too much to bother arguing.
I run through the space and come across Aquilo on the way out.
"Hey, where are you leaving to?" He tilts to see the bag on my shoulder, "With all your stuff…" He narrows his eyes at me.
"Zeph has the whole story, I need to go now. I'm sorry we never really got to discuss things properly between us privately…"
"I'm sorry too… Be safe." He says as I begin the steep climb up and out of the sanctuary's cave.
Once I get out of the cave I dig out my flip phone from the bottom of my bag and call up Silvija. She is luckily on her way back to the antiquities dealer in Bitola, so she will be stopping and dropping off a load of antiques for this guy's show. So I'm in luck that she is already en route to me, and she'll be able to take me to an airstrip just outside of Istanbul that she managed to get a deal with for my company, although, I suppose for now it is just as much hers as mine.
Knowing that it will take a while I don't rush to the small airstrip east of the city. With the sun about two hours away from setting the temperature is warm without feeling too hot. I try to enjoy the leisurely walk, aiming to let my mind settle down over the new information I received. I do my best to reason that since there is nothing I can immediately do, that I'm not already doing, then there is no reason to get further upset. I need to keep a level head. Then after about an hour the little phone rings.
"Yeah?" I say, knowing it could only be one person.
"Astraea? I got a call from Zephyr. He said that he and his twin are joining this flight to Istanbul. Is that okay? I know you mentioned you wanted to keep your connections to this company quiet."
"It's fine. Aquilo and Zeph can keep a secret. Call them back and tell them to rush. You're already in Bitola, right?"
"Yes, we landed about fifteen minutes ago and are just finishing up unloading the antiquities to the buyer."
"Excellent. I'll be there in about thirty minutes. See you soon." I hang up, I am surprised that it took them so little time to figure out what they all wanted to do. Then I hear a honking behind me on the road. I turn and see Lio in the driver's seat and Zeph in the passenger seat of a small grey sedan. They stop next to me and Zeph rolls down the passenger window.
"Hey, hot stuff… Where you headed?" He grins wickedly at me waggling his eyebrows. And I hop into the backseat of the sedan.
"You didn't think we'd let you do this alone, did you?" Lio quips as we pick up speed again and start towards the airstrip. In a vehicle it will likely only take another ten minutes… I text the update to Silvi so she can expect us sooner.
"Actually… No, I didn't. But I was sure I'd at least make it to Istanbul first." I joke to them.
"Well… We could let you get off the plane first, then technically you would be getting there before us." Zeph suggests and I chuckle at the comment.
After twelve minutes on the road we pull into the hangar where the little jet is waiting for us.
"Oh, I know this one… I've gotten rides from these guys before. They're surprisingly good at keeping things looking legit." Lio says as we walk up to the plane, and Silvija comes over to us.
"I have to admit I wasn't ever expecting to meet any of your family… And here I find out that I already know some of them." She jokes as she comes over and hugs me.
"Trust me… I'm more surprised than you are." I respond as I look at Zeph and Lio, Zeph already saw me interacting with Silvija and isn't so surprised but Lio's jaw is practically hitting the ground, "You guys want to hop in? I'm gonna talk shop with Silvi."
"Sure thing, little sister." Zeph emphasizes the 'little' and smirks at me.
"But… I'm…" Lio stutters out.
"Come on, man…" Zeph herds the larger version of himself onto the airplane.
"So Silvija, this strip near Istanbul, what kind is it?" I ask her as they climb the stairs up and we stroll towards them. She passes me a fresh smartphone, ever thoughtful knowing I had to ditch mine. I slide it into my pocket.
"It's fairly exclusive. We had to wrangle in a large antiquities' seller in Istanbul for this deal, but after a few successful ventures with them, we earned the use of the strip. But I admit that it won't be good to have you stepping off with you and your brothers dressed as you are. I think it would be best if you dress the part of one of our executives. I have already called in to confirm that we can fly in an executive this evening."
"Well, I hope you've got changes of clothes up there, because we have nothing. Nothing that will scream antiquities transportation executive and company anyway." I laugh as we climb the stairs, me just behind Silvija. When we get into the cabin she opens up one of the cupboards to reveal three garment bags.
"As soon as Zephyr called I had someone who was already in Bitola pick up two plain black suits, for them to dress as your security team. And I always have something of yours on these aircrafts. Just in case." She separates each bag and passes one to each of them. They both look confused.
"You are always so prepared. This is why I left you with all this. I'll explain to them if you want to get us going." I assure her.
"Absolutely. Make sure to buckle up, it can be rough to leave the mountainous areas." She says to us before disappearing into the cockpit, "And you look exhausted, maybe get some rest?"
I explain everything while we climb up to cruising altitude, then I lay down on one of the couch spots and close my eyes for a while.
Shafts of lights sneak in between the planks that were used to fashion this hefty crate. The inside inscribe with Greek words in the form some prayer to Zeus and Ares. Against any demons of death and destruction that escape from Tartarus. I wonder what the outside looks like. The army had overpowered me. So efficiently too. The way they had switched in and out moving tiring soldiers out of the circle around me and bringing in fresh faced soldiers to wear me down little by little. My unwillingness to kill them all had been my undoing. And now here I am. Trapped in a box, on what feels to be a ship by the rocking back and forth.
"And now!" The sounds of cheering soldiers, "We shall send back—" The speaker is cut off again by further eruptions of cheers from the ship I know we're on and others that sound to be near by, "This Tartarus Cursed Demon!" Deafening jeers fill the air as the box that I've locked in gets rapped on, "We shall show Hades, here and now, THAT WE DO NOT FEAR THOSE THAT MAY ESCAPE HIS PRISON!" The loudest cheers as I hear scraping beneath me, "And we shall show him that we CAN FIGHT for our own!" Cheers resound further, I had only met this man a couple of times, he is truly a good leader… "That we can send his prisoners back to him for caging! That they shall no longer sow fear and destruction among us and our families!"
A sharp scraping sound followed by the sound of rushing air before an impact causes my feet to hit the bottom of the box and the gaps that had been letting in the sunlight are now points where water is rushing in and the air is being forced out.
I smash my fists against the wood, but it has been well crafted this little box. I know I won't die from lack of oxygen thanks to Ilios' experiments, but I will go dormant. The hibernation that happens when I'm deprived of that which I need to live. And there won't be anything I can do. Nothing. Not until this box is destroyed by some outside force… Or by whatever length of time it will take for the box to become brittle enough that the currents of the sea can finally unmake it. And hopefully before it gets buried in silt and sand.
I take a deep breath as the last of my air escapes from this box. I futilely try to break the top off the box, until I can't hold my breath any longer. And the last of the air escapes from my lungs and out the cracks of the box. I beat the inside of the box until life fades from my mind.
Then my eyes close and I sleep.
I shoot up from the narrow couch on the jet, the sounds of the engines bring me back to the present, where Zeph, Aquilo, and Silvija are all looking over at me.
"Are you okay?" Zeph asks before the other two get their words.
"Yeah… I'm fine. Bad dream is all." I take a deep gulp of air, remembering what it felt like for my last breath to leave my body. They go back into their discussion as I stand up to grab my garment bag to change into the professional set of dark grey pants and a blazer. In the bathroom I also apply a little makeup and tame my hair into a basic French twist bun. Then I step out and the three appraise me, with Silvija nodding with a smile and Zephyr and Aquilo just staring. That is until Zephyr finds something he deems clever to say.
"I don't see why I can't be the executive. I obviously have the most executive looks out of all of us. A handsome face, without the body builder look." Zeph side-eyes Aquilo as he straightens the suit sleeves.
"Hey. Don't dis the bod." He straightens his back a little and has to adjust his tie. I go to say the reason, but Silvija beats me to the punch.
"The reason is because with all of our company's paperwork, employees, contract-holders, and deals, and even within our reputation it is known that the owner of the company is a reclusive and rich woman who has kept herself out of the picture ever since the death of the previous owner, her mother." As she finishes she snaps the folder she's holding shut.
"Since her mother's death?" Aquilo asks looking at me.
"Well, since the world doesn't have any laws supporting immortals who own businesses, I've had to make it as though it were being 'passed down' through the generations. From mother to daughter. For hundreds of years. It's only been recently that I had Silvija taking care of business."
"Recently for you maybe." She quips at me with a smile, "For the rest of the world it's been seven years. And twenty-four since you helped us escape Abstergo."
"Wow… That was a long time ago…" I say, I hadn't realized that it had been nearly a quarter-century since I had saved her family. We land and begin the short taxying to our hangar.
"You're only saying that because she pointed out that it's a long time." Zeph accuses.
"Well. Now you know that I'm the executive because I'm the only one who's ever really been an executive before." I bring us back to the issue at hand and Zeph makes an 'ouch' face, "Don't forget what you're supposed to be doing. We have to look like we've done this as a team at least a hundred—no—a thousand times."
Then the plane stops moving and Silvija's co-pilot comes out of the cockpit and opens the door. I stand up and look at my security team. I raise my eyebrows at them, and they both nod to say they're ready. Silvija stows our clothes and small backpacks into a plain black suitcase.
Then we disembark the small jet and parade to the sleek black car waiting for us. On the way there Silvija hands me a folder with some details about the company and I flip a couple of the pages skimming the notes she's left for me before closing it. Silvija opens the door for me and I sit in the seat, then she closes the door and goes to the other side with Aquilo behind her and Zeph goes straight to the driver's seat and away we go. Towards the looming lights of Istanbul.
Finally. My heartbeat picks up more speed as we arrive to the place I've been itching to get to ever since I heard Dike utter those words in her message.
"Great job. I'd expect nothing less from fully trained Assassins." Silvija praises Zeph and Aquilo on their A+ jobs of acting the part of top-tier security team.
"Thanks, I think… So where are we off to? Also, were you judging us on a higher level than Raea?" He scrutinizes Silvija in the rear-view mirror.
"We're going to a warehouse that has already been prepared for your use. And I wasn't worried about Astraea. I've seen her play the part of executive many times before. It always seems so natural to her." Silvija replies coolly, then she swipes at her tablet and the map of the warehouse I asked her to get ready appears on the dash before his eyes.
"Wow. That's cool… But we've never been filthy rich, so how does the filthy rich act come to you so naturally?" He asks me. I meet his eyes in the rear-view mirror.
"Because. If you were to tally up all of my belongings; property, antiques, caches, and other assets I would be the richest person in the world. Not Jeff Bezos. And that is even with constantly funneling money into various charities and research… Research done by those who are not with Abstergo's advantages. The shipping company is only one of the things I have in the world. I have deeds for homes and other kinds of property all over the world. A huge portion of my wealth is in objects and property rather than actual cash." I watch the city's lights go by out the window, along with the mix of ancient and modern buildings that can only happen in timeless cities like Istanbul. "Of course, it is all with various names on the ownerships, but the names on the ownership of each asset is a set of identification that I have fabricated to keep myself unknown in the world. I had a bit of an advantage since I knew how digital the world was when I left it, so I was able to ensure that everything is traceable, through paper trails from earlier times and digital ones as it became more common. Like the ownership of the shipping company, in how I've had it be passed down every four decades, or so, to the next person of the lineage. In fact, I had it 'passed down' to the current owner only five years ago. Silvija was able to act as the witness for it, which was very convenient." Aquilo whistles his admiration.
"Wow… You certainly haven't been twiddling your thumbs, have you?" He comments.
"No, I have not. I learnt the hard way to never make myself too traceable, conspicuous, or perfect. Also to not make too many ripples in one place."
"What do you mean by ripples?" Zeph asks from the front.
"I mean, don't do too many things that can be noticed. If I do something that draws too much attention, I typically leave the area for a while. Not unlike how the Assassins often change their hideouts and with how no single member knows where everyone is at any given time."
"And I imagine you know why that is." Aquilo says from the seat next to me.
"Of course. Because of what happened in 2000." I leave it at that. If there are any Assassins that don't know about the Great Purge performed by Abstergo, it isn't my business.
We pull into one warehouse and use an underground parkade to get us to the adjacent warehouse, as detailed by Silvija's directions to Zeph via the car's maps system. The reason being to hide that anyone is using this one at all. Once Zeph parks near the entrance to the parkade, we all pile out of the car.
"The motorcycle is still at this warehouse right?" I ask Silvija.
"Of course, it's in the small sea can in the corner over that way." Silvija answers without having to even look up from her tablet and points over to the far corner, where there is in fact a small sea can.
"Alright! Motorcycle! That's awesome." Aquilo hops with excitement.
"Sorry, Lio. I'm taking the motorcycle in order to get there quickly. You guys wait here until I message back with the okay to come to me. Right now I want to get there quickly. You two get the van over there ready to go while I'm going to where he should be." I explain as we walk over to the sea can while I begin to shed the layers of the executive shell. I take them right down to the active top I have on underneath the white button-down blouse and pull the two pins holding the bun in place letting my hair fall down, "And make sure to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. And Silvija, maybe make sure to have the first aid ready too… I'm not really sure what to expect when I get him." Even though she hasn't be told exactly what we're doing but all she does is go along with it, no questions asked, "After that, you should probably get back to regular business…"
"There should be a full field triage kit and a standard first-aid kit in the sea can. Other than that I'll just make sure to have a get away ready if you need it." She smiles and taps my shoulder with her hand before returning to the sleek black car we got here in and she leaves out the parkade again.
"Where did you even find her?" Zeph asks as Aquilo gets impatient and opens the sea can to admire the motorcycle.
"She had been caught up in an Assassin operation by complete coincidence… But Abstergo, of course, didn't buy that. She and her family ended up being targeted by Abstergo. The Assassins were doing nothing, so she put a plea on the dark web of the early nineties. I was the only one to answer her call for help because no one was willing to be put in Abstergo's crosshairs. Even the Assassins wouldn't own up to having caused the issue."
"Yikes… The Brotherhood would have even been capable of it then… But I think if it were now, they would if they could." Zeph says as we arrive at the sea can where Lio is gawking at my motorcycle. He leaves unsaid that it had been that operation of Abstergo's that deeply humbled the Assassins.
"Where did you get this?" He asks wide-eyed before barely hovering a hand over the surface of the bike. Zeph tries to be more subtle but I can see his eyes widen at the sleek machine.
"I had it made custom sometime in the late nineties." I answer as I dig through the wardrobe in the sea can to grab my leather jacket and helmet. And sure enough, the keys are in the pocket of the jacket.
"So, wait… You said earlier that you have caches… Are they all like this one? Just out there, in warehouses and shit?" Aquilo guesses as I zip up the jacket and being to walk the bike out of the sea can.
"No, some are like this. A warehouse somewhere being paid for by auto payments out of some half-existent company. Others are… More reclusive. Some are in remote areas, some are underneath old cities, hiding under the basements of houses I own that are being passed down through families that supposedly started when I first came into possession of the building. More often than not I have to go through great efforts to make sure my locations stay hidden. Once or twice they've been found, heralding an amazing archaeological find for some lucky bugger. But it's not like I can go and say 'Hey, that's my shit, fuck off!' Which is why I keep most of my caches are fairly mundane. Plus, I did downsize them in the decades leading up to now. I knew it wouldn't go unnoticed if I were suddenly travelling the world to really specific locations as Astraea… But now I guess it doesn't really matter." My thoughts linger for a moment on the keys and location of Kassandra's last gift to me.
"Jesus… You are a bonafide hoarder." Zeph quips with a malicious smile.
"Ha, ha… Aquilo?" He looks up at me from the bike, "If we get a chance, you can have a ride on the bike." I slide the helmet over my head and tap the side to create the wireless connection to my new phone.
"Score!" He fist pumps before looking at Zeph whose jaw drops.
"Remember, be ready to leave at the drop of a hat." I flip visor down and start up the bike before tearing out of there, my heart had begun to beat so hard that I was sure they would hear it. My nerves have been frayed this whole time. I'm barely holding myself together.
Will I get to see him?
Could this really be happening?
I've been just going… Going so quickly I haven't even given a thought about what to say… Or do… How to act… What if, like me, he has memory loss? I didn't regain my memories until I had been in stasis for a few thousand years. And the world had changed irrevocably in that time…
Even for him. The world will be so different from what he knew… The only familiar parts will be the war with the Templars and me.
Speeding through the streets of the city, over the water that once needed a ferry ride to cross, past buildings… Some new and sparkling with glass and light, and some old buildings dusty and worn by time. As I do, I remember all the things about him.
I pass the café where Sefa and I had coffee before she brought me to Yusuf's grave. Then It had been a chance to see his grave renewed. Now, I go to upend it and free him. After I pull into the smaller street we had walked down that time, I hop off the bike and walk it along to a spot near the opening to the graveyard.
There is hardly any light, but that doesn't affect me in the least as I turn in to see the graveyard. I see the tree that Yusuf's grave is next to and I walk over to it.
Only…
What I find stops my heart.