Vissarion Read online

  “Your kind?”

  Worry skittered down Max’s spine.

  What was her kind? Was she one of those creatures from outer space, from one of those planets one saw when using those gigantic telescopes at the observatory?

  Then Max stiffened. What if she was one of the Gifted. Over the last century or two, people from all walks of life had slowly begun to reveal the powers they possessed.

  Or better yet, she could just be on some kind of black market drug for the elderly.

  Or she really could just be senile as he’d thought to begin with.

  He started when she spoke again, bringing him out of his thoughts. “Do you know what an oracle is?”

  Of course, he did. He was tempted to tell her that, but instead, he merely nodded.

  “What about a Pythia?”

  Max couldn’t help himself. He rolled his eyes and bit back a frustrated sigh. “If you don’t know about the Pythia you may as well be dead.” He looked at the old woman for a long moment. She’d spoken confidently, making him wonder. “Do you know the Pythia?”

  She smiled then, her eyes sparkling. “Perhaps I ought to have introduced myself.” She shifted until she faced him, then extended her hand to him. “My name is Aurelia Julian.”

  Max felt his mouth fall open and for once he didn’t care how that would look. “You’re the Pythia?”

  Chapter 4

  She gave a short nod, and her expression clouded, as if her happiness had fled with the mere reminder of who and what she was. Then Max frowned, glancing around the park. “But shouldn’t you have security? Like bodyguards or protection?”

  “Why?”

  “Because if people knew who you were when you walk by them on the street, they wouldn’t leave you alone.” He scanned the area around them again, this time looking for anyone who seemed to want to listen to their conversation. But he and the oracle were alone.

  He sank back against the backrest, relieved. “Don’t you care that they’d find out?”

  The oracle shook her head. “Not at all. They don’t see me. I’m old and unimpressive. Most people will walk straight past me.”

  Max opened his mouth to reply, but then he paused. He’d been about to object, to assure her that it wasn’t true. But then he realized there was a kernel of truth in her claim. Hadn’t he only stopped because he’d bumped her and he wanted to make sure she didn’t fall and get hurt on his account? If he hadn’t knocked her over he’d likely not have seen her at all.

  And he suspected that even if he’d bumped into her, he’d have waved a vague apology and continued on his way.

  When he looked over at her again, he found that she was grinning at him. “It’s understandable. It is what I prefer. The anonymity is refreshing. I can move amongst the people without being disturbed. I’ve spent so many years in my life serving them, they’ve forgotten I am still human, just like them.” She sighed and sat back, her expression serene as if it didn’t bother her that people ignored her existence. He wasn’t sure what to make of it.

  Even so, he still had to wonder what it all had to do with him. She still hadn’t properly explained what she wanted with him. Perhaps he wasn’t all that good at hiding his thoughts because Aurelia reached out and patted the back of his hand, the movement comforting.

  “Very well. I will no longer keep you in suspense.” Her smile widened, and she settled against the back of the bench and folded her arms over her narrow chest. “Do you know how the oracles see?”

  Nodding, Max replied, “You touch a person, and then you can see their future.” He kept this tone even despite the worry that kept flickering in his mind; his parents would be looking for him. Joachim Vissarion was not the most patient of men, and the horses probably needed to be watered and fed soon.

  Aurelia smiled. “Yes. It’s why I try not to touch people even if by accident.”

  “Why not?” Max frowned.

  “Because there is the issue of privacy. Some people do not want to know what their future holds. Most people will only come to me if there is a good reason. There is only a certain type of person who wants a window into their future.”

  Max found himself understanding her more than he’d expected to. He himself, despite the desire for success, for achieving his goals in life, even surpassing them, he’d never been of the frame of mind to speak to a seer about his future. “I think I know what you mean. Those who have something to gain by it.”

  “Very good. You catch on fast.”

  Then Max did a double take, the blood in his veins chilling. “But I touched you. When I bumped into you.” He stared at the old woman, his eyes wide with shock. “Did you see my future?”

  Happiness shone from Aurelia’s eyes as she stared at him, shaking her head in what he thought was disbelief. And, of course, joy. Which to Max was really strange. “I didn’t,” she replied softly. “And that is why you and I are here having this talk.”

  “Because you didn’t see my future when you touched me?” The old woman was too confusing. Usually, Max would never admit to being befuddled by anything—it was too great a blow to his young ego to admit ignorance of any sort—but in this case that’s exactly what he was. Confused.

  The old woman sighed and shuffled to the edge of the bench. Then she stood and carefully straightened, and Max was certain he’d heard a few of her bones creak.

  “That is what it means to be Immunis. You are immune to the Seer’s touch.” She turned to look at him, a serene smile spreading on her lips. “You, my dear boy, are destined to be the Voice of the Pythia.”

  Max boosted to his feet, a rush of fear rippling along his limbs. The old woman’s words were insanity. Yes, people knew about the Pythia, even feared her ability. But nobody that he knew of ever aspired to the position of her Voice. In fact, he’d never even heard it was a real thing. Just whispers from a past filled with myths and folktales.

  “I thought they were just a myth.”

  “A myth as much as the Pythia?” Aurelia asked, smirking as she straightened to stare up at him. Again, he was struck by how small and fragile she was. He didn’t regret coming here to help her, to look out for her. But things had taken a turn for the weird.

  “So, what is it you want from me?” he asked. Strange how well he’d taken her revelation. It’s entirely possible that he’d lost his own marbles as well.

  The old woman didn’t reply. Instead, she reached out a hand and waited, and Max could only assume she wanted him to offer her his arm.

  He did.

  She seemed pleased as she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. “Walk me to my car, young man. We need to make arrangements for your training. And I will need to speak to your parents.”

  Max was taken aback by Aurelia’s suggestion, but didn’t object as he walked her to the edge of the park to find an ancient Ford chugging away as it awaited her return. The taciturn driver got out to open the door for the old woman, and she pulled Max inside the car and bade him close the door.

  Max gave the driver his address and remained silent as they drove through the hills toward his family’s vineyard. Aurelia had fallen oddly silent, and Max had been reluctant to disturb her in case she was taking an old lady nap or something.

  When the driver drew up in front of the Vissarion Vineyard’s main house, Max alighted and helped Aurelia to exit the vehicle. By the time the old woman had righted herself and faced the door, Max found his parents both standing there, a little confused.

  Neither appeared angry, though which Max counted as a win.

  Aurelia walked up the stairs and paused before Joachim and Kassandra Vissarion, and introduced herself, her voice hushed as Max climbed the stairs.

  Both his parents turned to stare at him as he came to stand beside her. In response, he lifted one shoulder and raised both his eyebrows. This was none of his doing, and he wasn’t going to hesitate to defend himself.

  Aurelia was invited inside and welcomed to the dinner table where she inquired after M
ax in such detail that he began to feel uncomfortable. Grades, sporting actives, friends, attitude to elders and even his performance around the vineyard.

  Why would she want to know such details?

  Still, Max’s parents had answered her as best they could while casting sidelong stares at Max when he clamped his mouth shut in defiance. He still wasn’t sure he’d want this—whatever it was—to go any further.

  His mom had wanted a further explanation as to what the Immunis was, and how Max was expected to fulfill such duties. And that was when Vissarion senior had used his legendary negotiation skills. He’d gone in, passionately demanding that Max receive at least his basic military education while working for Aurelia.

  To his father’s surprise, Aurelia had happily assured him that the training involved in strengthening his standing as an Immunis would easily surpass that of any military academy in the country.

  Not long afterward, Max had been shipped off to Aurelia’s remote estate in the hills of Argentina.

  Chapter 5

  Max’s feet slammed into the solid ground as he ran, sweat beading on his neck and dripping along his shoulders and down his spine. He felt the vibrations of the impact with the earth run through his limbs, through his bones. He ran bare-chested, though he’d refused to ascribe to full Spartan styled nudity.

  Over the months, many of the women in Aurelia’s camp had expressed interest in Max, and he’d turned them all down. He’d grown in the last two years, taller, more muscular, drawing more attention from both sexes. He suspected that much of that interest was purely admiration as opposed to serious consideration. Or so he’d hoped.

  Only a small handful of the women who worked on the estate, and of those engaged in warrior training, were near his age, and yet even the younger women hadn’t appealed to Max. Not that he’d been immune to their beauty. He did have eyes in his head after all.

  What with all the training in the hot Argentinean sunshine, he often encountered women, their thin cotton training shifts soaked with perspiration to the point of being transparent.

  Still, even the sight of luscious breasts of varying shapes and sizes hadn’t elicited more than a passing self-admission of admiration.

  Now, as he ran in the hills, half hidden by the dense overgrowth of greenery, Max considered what his life had been thus far, and where it was going, and whether he’d made the correct choice.

  Max had stepped off the helicopter all those months ago, more convinced than ever that a military career was what he aspired to. He’d been amped up, intending to demand Aurelia arrange an interview with the NGS army for him and request an early entrance. But he’d arrived and been received by a man who appeared to be of military stock.

  General Codimus had welcomed him with a terse announcement that Max would be training under him for the duration of his summer break. Though Aurelia had requested Max be removed from formal schooling, his parents had refused, although the elder Vissarion had implied he’d reconsider if Max gained early entry to the army.

  Apparently, Max had inherited his stubbornness from his father.

  There had been a point when Max had considered that his training was far too tiresome considering it spanned all of his summer holidays, not to mention long weekends off being trained at a local army facility.

  But the one surprising factor of his edification where it applied to the Oracle Aurelia was language. He’d learned the ancient tongues of Latin and Greek, now and spoke them all fluently with Aurelia.

  As interesting and different as things had been, sixteen-year-old Max found it hard to adjust to a life without his friends. Although the first six months had gone with him being choppered back and forth for training in Argentina and then long periods of locally based training, he’d begun to miss his friends and to question if he really did want to spend his life translating visions for an old woman who’d already managed decades without him.

  She’d often talked of the destruction of the Pythia line, of people who lurked in the shadows waiting for the moment to strike. Max had chalked that up to an old woman’s ravings, but a part of him had wondered if perhaps he had an obligation to ensure she remained safe.

  But then he’d question why him. What made him, in particular, the best person for the job?

  Max had been so focused on running, on the rhythm of his breath and the burn in his muscles that he’d almost missed the sound of a set of hoof-beats, thundering on the ground and growing ever closer.

  Slowing to a stop, Max stared around him, unsure of the origin of the sounds, unable to pinpoint the direction in which the rapid hoof-beats were moving. Was he in danger? Or was he just being paranoid?

  The hoof beats drew closer, and the leaves on the trees shuddered, the pebbles and loose soil on the ground raised with each vibration.

  Max whirred around, the perspiration on his skin cooling as fear struck deep.

  A gigantic beast tore through the trees, and it seemed as though time slowed.

  The beast pawed the ground, steam spurting from his great nostrils. Red eyes glared at Max, and his heart stilled. The beast lowered its head, and despite everything he’d been taught Max took a step back. His instinct told him to run, as fast and as far as he could.

  But the step away seemed to enrage the beast even further. It lurched closer, horns dangerously close to Max’s face. It seemed as though time refused to pass, making that one moment last forever.

  Finally, Max’s heart began to thrum again, and he took a slow long breath. If this was his moment to die, then so be it, but he wasn’t going to run. It really made no difference. In the choice between being gored facing his killer or being mauled while running away, Max chose to look the beast in the eye.

  Chapter 6

  The giant boar let out a soft roar and stomped closer, its glistening snout stopping an inch from Max’s bare chest. The monster had lowered its head, and the metal ring through its nose glinted in the sunlight.

  Max froze.

  A gold ring?

  Was this beast domesticated?

  It seemed unlikely, especially considering how dangerous the beast appeared to be. Max exhaled slowly, forcing his breathing to take on an even rhythm.

  He kept his eyes lowered, head down, waiting as the creature huffed and sniffed him again. Max was unable to calm his rapid heartbeat and decided that it didn’t matter any longer. If the beast had been of the mind to maul him, he’d have done it by now.

  Or so Max hoped.

  When the boar tossed its head, Max glanced up and found himself sucking in a shocked breath as he stared into a pair of eyes that were not…eyes. They were obsidian orbs filled with living flame, flickering and shimmering and yet seeming to see Max.

  Now that he was looking at the boar instead of hiding his face as though he were prey, Max was stunned to see the creature’s body shimmer, as if the edges were fading into another dimension. Blue sparks of electricity flickered along the beast’s skin, emphasizing that this was no ordinary creature.

  The boar tipped its head and sniffed Max again, this time its nostrils grazing Max’s chin.

  Well then.

  It appeared the creature wasn’t about to maul Max to death.

  So, Max decided that perhaps he ought to make friends. He lifted a hand and reached out to lay his palm up the beast’s neck. But instead of submitting to Max’s offer of friendship the boar growled and reared back, snorting loudly before shook its head.

  And then he disappeared.

  Perplexed, Max stared at the empty spot where the beast had stood only a second ago, wondering if he’d imagined the whole thing. But a stray thought teased at the back of his head. The boar meant something, or it was here to tell him something.

  Then Max shook his head and stared around the clearing, not sure what he was searching for. Perhaps to find someone lurking waiting in the shadows, laughing at the trick they’d played on him. Which was entirely too illogical.

  Max backed away and walked slowly through the
trees. His heart still raced, but he’d accepted that he’d seen something. But he wasn’t yet sure what it was.

  Continuing his run, Max followed the route back to the estates, studying the trees as he went. When he reached the main house, he hurried up the stairs, something still disturbing his mind. Not that the sight of a gigantic living breathing fire-eyed magical boar was not disturbing enough.

  Inside the main hall where Aurelia took her meetings with her liaisons from around the world, Max found himself drawn to the murals on the walls. It seemed his subconscious knew more than he did, because it didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for.

  The murals were painted floor to ceiling, the images were life-size, or close enough that they seemed almost real. Images of Pythias from across the ages, sitting beside fires, hands raised, expressions intense. Here and there were images of a Pythia alone, but not alone.

  In nearly almost every painting, was a smoky image of a human-sized boar.

  With a golden ring in its nose.

  Max was staring up at the boar, unsure how he felt about having dreamed up a meeting with the boar, considering it was an element in the mural. Had his subconscious remembered seeing it during all those months that he’d been coming to the hall.

  “I do believe you’ve met Xales,” said a voice from Max’s side.

  He turned to Aurelia who beamed at him, her faded teeth shining with glee.

  “Who?” asked Max although his gut was telling him the truth.

  She pointed at the boar. “Xales. He’s the Pythia’s familiar. He follows the Pythian line, guarding the presiding oracle during her time in her role as seer for humanity.”

  Max grunted. “What does that have to do with me?” he asked, still half unsure that Xales was real.

  Aurelia snickered. “Denial will not help you today, young man. From the look of you, I can see you’ve stared into the eyes of the beast. And the fact that you are still alive attests to who you are.”