Chapter
1
Greco sat on the end of the dock
that served as the boat slip for the new Omega Group’s headquarters, his feet
dangling above the water. The sun had begun to rise over the ocean and he could
just make out the outline of Amelia Island off to the north. The orange and
yellow hues that blanketed Nassau Sound at this time of day were breathtaking,
but Greco barely noticed.
His thoughts were elsewhere.
In the three months since the
Omega Group—and Mirissa in particular—succeeded in ending Daedric’s plans for
world domination, Greco found himself spiraling into a deep depression.
Although no one had ever considered him a people person, his need to withdraw
even from those he now considered friends was taking over his life.
Every day he was expected to
train with Mirissa, and every evening he went home feeling even more
disconnected. A good night’s sleep was a thing of the past as his guilt kept
him tossing and turning throughout the night.
How long can I keep up this
charade?
For over a year he’d been
Mirissa’s guardian—teaching her, molding her, helping her fulfill her destiny.
He’d done a good job, too. Mirissa was strong and getting more powerful every
day.
When he first met her, on her
eighteenth birthday, Mirissa was a happy-go-lucky teenager getting ready for
her prom. Only a year later, she was a formidable Amazon warrior with powers
that no other Amazon throughout history possessed. And she’d succeeded in
taking down a demi-god.
One thing he’d never understood
was why he’d been assigned as Mirissa’s guardian in the first place. Myrine,
the former queen of the Amazons during the period when Artemis imbued them with
their unnatural powers, had given Greco that particular duty. Although two
thousand years had passed since the time of her reign, Myrine still played a
vital role in shaping and training the Amazon tribe. Not in this dimension, of
course, but in another where the island of Tritonia still existed. All Amazons
visited this island and Myrine when they first donned their rings, and whenever
they needed guidance. They could simply will their consciousness there.
Greco travelled there many times
and was the only man to do so. He was, much to his mother’s chagrin, the first
male born to an Amazon in history.
A shiver went through Greco’s
body. Not from the chill of the early morning breeze, but from the thought of
his mother.
She was the reason he was in this
predicament. Why couldn’t she have just accepted him for who, and what, he was?
After all, it wasn’t as though he had any control over his chromosomes.
The earliest memory Greco had of
his mother was of her locking him in a closet to ensure her “guests” didn’t see
him. At the time, being only five years old, he’d had no idea that this was
unusual behavior. “ They can’t know about you,” his mother would say.
That was why there weren’t any pictures of him displayed in their house, and
his bedroom was decorated as a guest room.
He wasn’t hidden away from
everyone, though. His father wouldn’t allow that. Only his mother’s special
friends weren’t allowed to know about him. The friends who—unknown to him at
the time—were Amazons.
A splash beneath his feet brought
Greco back from his trip down memory lane. Myrick, the Omega Group’s resident
Merman, reached his hand up to the dock and gracefully pulled himself out of
the water.
“You out here again, lad?” Myrick
stood behind him, wearing neon green swim trunks, toweling off. Ever since the
new headquarters was built on the water, he would swim to the office, staying
far enough under the surface to ensure that no fisherman or pleasure boaters
would catch a glimpse of him. He kept a supply of clothing and towels in the
dock house.
“Just finished my run.
Taking a breather before heading in.”
The look in the Scotsman’s eyes
told Greco he knew something was bothering him, but he was kind enough not to
pry. “I’ll be ready in a
1
Greco sat on the end of the dock
that served as the boat slip for the new Omega Group’s headquarters, his feet
dangling above the water. The sun had begun to rise over the ocean and he could
just make out the outline of Amelia Island off to the north. The orange and
yellow hues that blanketed Nassau Sound at this time of day were breathtaking,
but Greco barely noticed.
His thoughts were elsewhere.
In the three months since the
Omega Group—and Mirissa in particular—succeeded in ending Daedric’s plans for
world domination, Greco found himself spiraling into a deep depression.
Although no one had ever considered him a people person, his need to withdraw
even from those he now considered friends was taking over his life.
Every day he was expected to
train with Mirissa, and every evening he went home feeling even more
disconnected. A good night’s sleep was a thing of the past as his guilt kept
him tossing and turning throughout the night.
How long can I keep up this
charade?
For over a year he’d been
Mirissa’s guardian—teaching her, molding her, helping her fulfill her destiny.
He’d done a good job, too. Mirissa was strong and getting more powerful every
day.
When he first met her, on her
eighteenth birthday, Mirissa was a happy-go-lucky teenager getting ready for
her prom. Only a year later, she was a formidable Amazon warrior with powers
that no other Amazon throughout history possessed. And she’d succeeded in
taking down a demi-god.
One thing he’d never understood
was why he’d been assigned as Mirissa’s guardian in the first place. Myrine,
the former queen of the Amazons during the period when Artemis imbued them with
their unnatural powers, had given Greco that particular duty. Although two
thousand years had passed since the time of her reign, Myrine still played a
vital role in shaping and training the Amazon tribe. Not in this dimension, of
course, but in another where the island of Tritonia still existed. All Amazons
visited this island and Myrine when they first donned their rings, and whenever
they needed guidance. They could simply will their consciousness there.
Greco travelled there many times
and was the only man to do so. He was, much to his mother’s chagrin, the first
male born to an Amazon in history.
A shiver went through Greco’s
body. Not from the chill of the early morning breeze, but from the thought of
his mother.
She was the reason he was in this
predicament. Why couldn’t she have just accepted him for who, and what, he was?
After all, it wasn’t as though he had any control over his chromosomes.
The earliest memory Greco had of
his mother was of her locking him in a closet to ensure her “guests” didn’t see
him. At the time, being only five years old, he’d had no idea that this was
unusual behavior. “ They can’t know about you,” his mother would say.
That was why there weren’t any pictures of him displayed in their house, and
his bedroom was decorated as a guest room.
He wasn’t hidden away from
everyone, though. His father wouldn’t allow that. Only his mother’s special
friends weren’t allowed to know about him. The friends who—unknown to him at
the time—were Amazons.
A splash beneath his feet brought
Greco back from his trip down memory lane. Myrick, the Omega Group’s resident
Merman, reached his hand up to the dock and gracefully pulled himself out of
the water.
“You out here again, lad?” Myrick
stood behind him, wearing neon green swim trunks, toweling off. Ever since the
new headquarters was built on the water, he would swim to the office, staying
far enough under the surface to ensure that no fisherman or pleasure boaters
would catch a glimpse of him. He kept a supply of clothing and towels in the
dock house.
“Just finished my run.
Taking a breather before heading in.”
The look in the Scotsman’s eyes
told Greco he knew something was bothering him, but he was kind enough not to
pry. “I’ll be ready in a
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