Mia called on her armor to create a barrier of mystical fog over the house. Now no one would be able to spy on them through physical or magical means. Mia had done this before when the Sentinels had wanted to sneak up on Hecate without her sensing their presence with her magic. Astarte and Mia then woke up Zoe and had an impromptu meeting in the kitchen. They sat up for hours discussing what Mia had learned in her dream. She gave the orb to Astarte and told her what the winged figure had said about Egypt.

A few things bothered Zoe, though. "Why weren’t the two of you affected?"

Mia answered first. "They didn’t even try their head games on me because they wouldn’t have worked. My armor has given me the ability to see through illusions. Remember when Hecate had disguised herself as Uli’s mother to trick him into giving her the Jewel of Life? I could tell she wasn’t really his mom. I would’ve known right away that these weird dreams were deceptions and I would’ve alerted everyone else."

"But why didn’t you know later what was wrong with the guys?"

"Because by then no illusions were operating. What everyone was feeling was real. My armor was only giving me a general kind of warning that things weren’t quite right. As for Astarte, I don’t know why she wasn’t targeted."

"That is simple enough. I don’t dream. Ever."

"Everyone dreams."

"Normal people, perhaps. But my people were physically not even the same race as humans. I may not be an immortal anymore, but I am far from what you would call normal."

"And of course they attacked Zane and not me. It would have been a waste of time and energy. Since Zane could block me from the armor and not the other way around, they only needed to influence him."

Astarte just shook her head. "Kuk was right. He said I would return to seek their aid again. So you think this orb will give us another armor to fight the Nemesis and these Children of Nyx?"

"Yes. And I’m sure Anubis must be the one to wear it. He’s the one who has ‘walked in darkness and in the light’. I need to use my armor to make everyone see what’s happened—that they’ve been manipulated. I hope it’s enough."

"I know what you mean. It’s one thing to know the truth, but quite another to believe it. Unfortunately, the mind and heart are usually not working together. And we are dealing with men here--they can be so stubborn."

It was the first smile Mia had had in days. It felt good. They decided to wake everyone right away and try to put and end to all this nonsense once and for all. No one was happy to be woken up at four in the morning, but Mia didn’t care. She had everyone move the furniture to the side of the room so she had plenty of space. Then they all sat in a circle with Mia and Astarte in the middle. She’d done this once before when they’d been trying to find out where Hecate’s secret lair was. She and Anubis had provided the brunt of the power then—but he was part of the problem now, so she wasn’t going to take any chances.

Rather than tell them all what was wrong, Mia thought showing them would be more effective. She held up her Katana and shouted, "DARK FOG RISE!" Astarte added her own power to Mia’s armor. A grey fog rose up around her, growing until it encompassed the whole group. She turned her attention to Zane first. She stared at him hard—as if she were trying to look into his very soul. She could hear his thoughts now. Mia reached into his mind and pulled out the images from his dreams, still fresh and alive, raw with emotion. The fog around her began to take shape, forming the very images from his dreams. Everyone could see exactly what he’d dreamt of. But then the dream image of his mother changed, becoming a dark creature with a malicious grin. Apate, Goddess of Deceit!

Mia did this for Gilgamesh and Trace, showing their hidden fears and angers to all--revealing Age, Goddess of Hate, as the instigator. Mia had been tense all through the session, worrying that someone would break the circle rather than have his private thoughts exposed like that. She didn’t like doing it, but she agreed with the figure in her dream—images were powerful learning tools. Mia then noticed a ring of red light surrounding the circle of people, holding them in place. Astarte looked up from the Jewel of Life glowing in her hand and gave Mia a wink. Now Mia knew why no one had left.

They then turned their attention to Anubis. Mia hated to see him like this, so defeated. She had tried to goad him into asserting himself earlier with her temper, but it hadn’t worked. When the figures from his encounter with the Children of Nyx appeared above them, one of them was a woman with long green hair—Nemesis without her armor. They saw how she had pleaded for mercy for her family, but Anubis had killed them anyway on Talpa’s orders. But she wasn’t Nemesis then. She’d been Oshay of Clan Kataran, daughter of the chieftan…and Anubis’s betrothed. Then a new figure took shape--Moros, God of Doom, his smile ghastly white against the darkness of his face. Now they knew who was manipulating them and who the woman warrior was.

The sun was just coming up when they finished. Mia was stiff from sitting so long. She looked around the group to see their reactions. Not what she had hoped, but better than she expected. At least the heavy tension was gone. No one seemed inclined to talk. Mia figured the silence was better than the secrets and hate-filled glares, though—that meant they were thinking about what they’d seen.

Zoe spoke softly, afraid to disturb the quiet too much. "Now we know why this Nemesis hates Anubis, but why does she want to destroy the city? Is she just insane?"

Astarte joined them. "Perhaps she is. Pain and loss do strange things to the mind. They can make one less human…" She looked at Gilgamesh who was listening in. "…or make one become even more human. Then there are some people who can never accept losing family or friends." She then cast her gaze to Trace.

Mia wasn’t so sure. "I had that same uneasy feeling about her that I had about you guys. They’ve played mind games on her, too. I’d bet on that. She may not be insane, just very confused and emotionally unstable right now."

Zane joined in the conversation. "But what do they want? To take over the world? Destroy it?"

"I’m not sure, exactly. But from what I saw in my dream, these creatures are about destruction. They seem to enjoy causing it. Maybe they just want to destroy for no other reason than because they like it. I don’t know. I just know we have to stop them. That means stopping Nemesis first."

Anubis shook his head. "This is my fault—what she has become. I thought she’d died long ago. But now she’s a monster, as I once was. There is nothing I can do to change the past, but we have to save her somehow, here and now. Then, whatever she decides to do…"

"Hey. Don’t talk like that. I thought we were working past this stuff."

"This isn’t the deception of Moros speaking, it is a man who has savagely wronged someone who loved him with all her heart. Nemesis or not, she has the right to retribution. I will pay whatever she demands."

"Uhhh…first things first." Mia thought a change of subject would be a good idea right now. "We have to get that new armor. Astarte?"

"I will return as soon as I can. I think Zoe should come with me—the others I am still unsure of. And my instincts tell me she will be helpful. Zane. If we run into trouble and have need of the Armor of Tundra’s power, will you let Zoe borrow its energy?"

Even after what he’d seen, a small part of him still hesitated. "I…I don’t…"

Astarte walked towards him, assuming the bearing of the ancient goddess she was. "Forgive me, Zane. But your hesitation might get us killed." Astarte stared into his eyes, hers glowing green. Using her ability to control mortal men’s minds, she said only one word. "Sleep." Zane fell to the floor. "Can you access the armor now, Zoe?"

"Yes, with ease."

"Good. Then my guess was correct. He was consciously blocking her. Now that he’s unconscious, he cannot keep her from the power. I don’t think the Children of Nyx will be bothering his dreams—they probably think the harm has already been done. And because of Mia’s obscuring fog, they will not know that we have uncovered their lies. Once we leave the house, however, we will be watched." She looked down at Zane and sighed. "I do hope he will forgive me for this. It seems your brother often receives my not-so-tender mercies. Let’s go." She picked up the lifeless orb. Gilgamesh put a hand on her arm.

"I will go with you, as well."

"No, Gilgamesh. I don’t think…"

"Please." His expression had softened somewhat, making him seem much younger than he was. Astarte merely nodded, raised her hand, and the three of them disappeared in a flash of light.