Page 22 of Souls of Steel
“She’ll be taken to the nearest hospital and healed,” I murmured. “He’ll pay the fine. If she has an employer, she’ll be returned there. If not, she’ll have to go back to the streets and start over. Tomorrow, it’ll be rinse and repeat.”
Selene had started to shake in my hold. “This is just… This is horrible.”
This was nothing. If she knew what happened behind the scenes, what decisions The Grand Judiciary sometimes took, she’d be even more outraged. But telling her would compromise my position, so I had to keep my mouth shut, at least about that.
Besides, even in the Pit, there were far worse areas, like, for example, Persephone’s Plaza. I debated the merits of taking Selene there, but decided against it. We weren’t going to turn Selene away from her chimera in one day and the plaza was much too vulgar. Scylla always hated it when I went there. More importantly, I didn’t want to see how the plaza’s visitors would react to Selene’s arrival. Until now, our presence had deterred the citizens from approaching and harassing her, but that could always change.
“Maybe we should return to the academy. You’ve had quite enough of sight-seeing for the day.”
“That’s a good idea,” Selene replied, her face as white as a sheet. “Yes, let’s go.”
By the time we dropped her off at the dorm, less than half an hour later, she’d recovered some of her color, but her eyes still held a blankness that hadn’t been there earlier. I ached inside, knowing that I’d been partially responsible for that.
“This is for her protection,” Scylla reminded me. “It’ll be much worse if she stays. And hiding the truth won’t help her.”
I thought about Scylla and the way she’d suffered when she’d been alive. I remembered my sister and the horrible way she’d died. Not again. Never again.
Scylla had probably smiled just as sweetly once, before she’d been cursed to turn into a sea monster. Stella’s eyes must have looked like Selene’s, before she’d been led to her fate. I wouldn’t allow the story to repeat itself. My sister’s starlight had forever been extinguished. But Selene’s glow remained, and I’d preserve it, even if I had to hurt her to do it.
Broodmate
Selene
After my eventful arrival at the academy, I didn’t leave the school again. I considered going to Tartarus City on my own, perhaps sharing some of my credits with the women there. But Sphinx forbade me to do so and pointed out that being rash wouldn’t solve anything. Tartarus City was much too dangerous for me to brave on my own.
To deal with the crushing feeling of failure and helplessness, I spent most of my time with Sphinx. She gave me additional background information on what I was supposed to learn here as a new student and told me more about heliovore apsids—the so-called Sun-Dwellers.
It was an excellent distraction and an excuse to keep my distance from things that made me uncomfortable. I took the occasional decontamination shower in the hangars, ate rations brought to me by a helpful drone, and avoided the dorm room for everything else except sleep.
But I couldn’t hide forever, and so it was that, on the morning of the first year of school, I woke up bright and early, firm in my resolve to control my emotions and handle this better.
Yes, things were pretty horrible at Tartarus Base, but my mother had warned me about that. I’d learn how to be a tamer and prove to everyone here that women were so much more than sex objects. Maybe in the future, that would help me assist all those poor sex workers who were forced into a life of humiliation and servitude.
Right now, I didn’t have any power, but as a member of the Grand Chimera Unit, I could earn it.
It was easier said than done and the moment I stepped into my first class, I knew I was in trouble.
The class was held in a stark classroom with bland, metal walls. It was called Introduction to Tachyon Manipulation and taught by a man with eyes as hard as Tartarus diamonds.
“I am Professor Titus Strange and I’ll be your teacher for Tachyon Manipulation,” he said. “Be advised that I will not go easy on you just because you’re young or inexperienced. As long as you’re in this classroom, you belong to me and you will comply with all my orders.”
His eyes lingered on me when he spoke, and I almost couldn’t blame him for it. I stood out like a sore thumb. Not only was I a woman, but I was also several years older than every other person in my class.
The other students were all teenagers and when the teacher turned his back, they stole unashamed looks at my breasts and ass.
They didn’t say anything, but it was still uncomfortable to be stared at like that. I ignored it and focused on what the teacher was saying.
“As you know by now, chimera pilots—or tamers—all emit tachyons, particles that travel faster than light and originate from Tartarus himself. A human body isn’t naturally aligned to channeling tachyons and therefore, controlling this power is a difficult task.
“As prospective tamers, you all have a degree of talent, but it has not yet reached its full potential. If you connect with a chimera, that will change.
“The hormonal response to an increase in tachyon output often leads tamers to lose their minds or have serious breakdowns. This is why you must learn several techniques that will help you regulate your own brains and make sure you don’t go out of control.
“But before you can do that, you must have an understanding of what tachyon manipulation actually is. Throughout this class, we will use tachyon power as a direct weapon. Even those of you who do not become chimera pilots will need tachyon channeling.”
His explanation made sense, although it also seriously intimidated me. More than one person had told me I was dangerous and I’d acknowledged it was true. But I’d never understood the science behind my power. Knowing my own brain could turn on me because of the gift I’d received was both frightening and humbling.
“Today, we will start with a brief demonstration of what tachyon manipulation is.” He waved a hand and the wall parted, revealing a set of floating robots. They reminded me of the training dummies I’d seen a few times in the Temple of Gaia and I guessed they had the same purpose.
