On a whim, Zora veered, following the arrow on the sign, and headed down a residential road. She easily found the place by the number of cars lining the street. She parked and walked to the driveway crowded with items and people. Tables had been lined up and held heaps of household items; dishes, glasses, stacks of books, and a bunch of eclectic items that all had one theme in common.

Zora’s brows rose as she noticed the seller apparently had a fetish for all things stars and Zodiac. A quick peek at the books showed them either relating to the constellations in the sky or pertaining to the symbolism, from the history to the mysticism around them.

“My uncle was a bit of a nut,” a woman with curly hair and rosy cheeks confided as she sauntered over to Zora’s side.

“By the looks of it, he was really into astrology.”

“Just a bit. When he died, I couldn’t believe the amount of stuff he had stashed.” The woman sighed. “We hadn’t talked in decades. My mom, his sister, says he wasn’t the same after returning from a trip in Australia. Whatever he experienced over there led to his obsession.”

“What’s this?” Zora’s attention was caught by a metal egg-shaped sphere sitting between a large ceramic mug and a vase carved with symbols.

“No idea, but he must have prized it since he had it sitting on the fireplace mantel by itself.”

Zora grabbed the object and frowned as a tiny shock went through her fingers. She turned it over in her hands. “It’s not very heavy.” She hefted it. “Wonder what it’s supposed to be.”

“No idea, but if you want it, I’ll sell it for a buck,” the woman offered. “I want to get rid of as much of this as possible, else it will cost me a fortune hauling it to the dump.”

A dollar? She’d have gone up to five. “Sold.” Zora paid for the metal egg and tucked it under her arm as she kept browsing for other items she could use. She spent another five bucks on a box with some old rusty tools that could be cleaned for use. She almost bought a painting, too, which surprised, as she didn’t usually give a shit about that kind of stuff. However, the canvas, painted by hand and signed by the artist, caught the eye. The image of a very muscled dude, facing away, holding a sword, with a tattoo of the libra scales on his back did intrigue. Seemed like something you’d see on the cover of a romance novel, not hanging in some guy’s house. While intriguing, she couldn’t imagine displaying it, though, and thus chose to leave it behind.

Zora loaded her car with the stuff she’d bought, finished running her errands, and headed home. While she ate a sandwich, she eyed the sphere sitting on her counter. The smooth surface didn’t reflect anything, nor did it glint with the light no matter how she turned it.

What was it made of? Perhaps, despite its metallic appearance, it was painted plastic. Given its light weight, if the shell actually was metal then it would most likely be hollow. She’d soon find out.

The garage attached to her house had been converted into a workshop that included a welder, workbench, mini forge, basin with a faucet that she could fill for cooling, and a pegboard on the wall holding a variety of tools.

She set the sphere in a vise before grabbing a knife with the intent of peeling the surface. The tip of the blade slid across the orb without leaving a scratch. Hunh. Unexpected. Applying the drill to it to create a hole also failed. She took a reciprocating saw to it next, the jagged carbide teeth sharp enough to cut through anything.

The saw whirred, the blade screed, all to no effect. She blinked at the unmarred object. Definitely not plastic, but what kind of metal could withstand what she’d done thus far? None she could think of off the top of her head but she wasn’t giving up. On the contrary, the mystery intrigued.

Zora put on her welding mask and fired up her torch. A white-hot flame jetted from the nozzle, and she ran it over the orb, back and forth, before holding it in one spot.

The metal didn’t melt. Hell, it didn’t even change color. She held a hand over it, expecting to feel radiating heat off it, but instead felt nothing. When she poked it right after, preparing herself for a singed fingertip, the surface temp of it remained the same.

Definitely strange. She didn’t recall ever studying a metal that didn’t heat. As she ate some lunch, she pored over textbooks left over from her years at university. She went through the index, seeking out metals with the toughest properties. Tungsten, which had a crazy high melting point, titanium, chromium…

In her attempt to identify, she tried everything she could think of, even swung at it with a mallet!

Boing.

Her arms trembled from the reverberation, and the unmarred orb mocked.

What the ever-loving fuck?

Zora went to bed that night completely puzzled and woke in the morning determined to figure out the mystery. She logged onto some of her forums, the small community of metalsmiths always eager to help each other—and show off their talent.

She posted an image of the sphere and detailed her issues in identifying it.

Most of the comments that poured in over the course of the day proved unhelpful.

Alien artifact. Bury it deep! She doubted it was ET-crafted. However, it did make her wonder if it came from some kind of meteor. It would explain why she couldn’t class it.

Anyone can tell that’s not metal, claimed another comment. She, and her expertise, begged to differ.

Probably an ancient dragon egg. Try dropping it in a lava stream to see if it will hatch. Given she’d roasted it hot enough to melt rock, she doubted the suggestion would do anything.

How much for it? A direct message from Seeker419.

Sell it? She wasn’t averse to making a few bucks. Before she could reply, the next DM stated, I’ll give you a thousand bucks.

The offer raised her brows. That was quite the chunk of change for something that had cost her a dollar. Tempting, but at the same time, it made her wonder, what did Seeker419 know? And would they offer higher?

She replied with, Not for sale. Just looking for ideas on how I can use it.

It’s useless to you. I’ll give you ten K for it.

Ten! Holy fuck, the shit she could buy with that. But why, if it was so useless, would they be wanting to spend that much?

Is this some kind of ancient artifact? That might explain their eagerness to claim it.

Twenty thousand. Final offer.

Zora stared at the screen in disbelief. Twenty fucking thousand. Their desperation shone through. Would they offer more?

Let me think about it.

She logged off and leaned back in her seat, contemplating the sphere. She grabbed it, her fingertips tingling each time she touched it.

“What are you?” she murmured. Did it really matter? Even if she could figure out how to use it, she’d never make that much money selling whatever she created with it. Perhaps she should tell Seeker419 she accepted before they changed their mind.

In the morning. Perhaps by then, they’d have sweetened the deal a bit more.

For some reason, she took the metal ball to bed with her, and had a dream of a dark place with a voice that yelled, Wake up!

Zora’s eyes shot open just as someone slapped a damp cloth over her mouth and nose. The acrid stench of whatever coated it made her eyes water and close.

She woke—who knew how much later—in a locked room that looked an awful lot like a cell with its concrete walls and a thin pad on the floor. No window, just a single metal door that wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard she yanked.

Fear had her heart pounding, and panic had her screaming, “What the fuck? Let me out.”

To her surprise, she got a reply.

“You should have accepted the offer.”

Chapter 1

Capricorn crouched behind a wooden crate, waiting. He kept his breathing shallow lest it be heard. Hunting took patience. The slightest movement, sound, even a soft exhalation, could give away his position.

The sword in his hand fit comfortably. Some of his brothers liked to rely on firearms. Capricorn tended to choose what fit the situation. A gun could be practical in some fights, the long-range missile giving a kill without getting close, but sometimes silence was needed, and for that, a sharp blade did the trick.

The hairs on his nape lifted, and without even turning to look, Capricorn whirled and swung, scything his sword across the creature that crept up behind. He took it out just above the joint for its leg, toppling the oversized hairy beast. Another twirl took its head.

Victory!

The training simulation suddenly faded to show a flashing message midair. Aries wants you in his office asap.

The boss must have a new mission. Sweet. Training in the safety of Tower was all well and good, but Capricorn preferred to be in the field actually making a difference. As a Zodiac Warrior, he had a duty to protect Earth and its inhabitants from the monsters that human law enforcement was ill-equipped to handle.

He exited the chamber they used for battle simulation and headed up the stairs, wondering where he’d be going next. Hopefully, somewhere warm. While the cold didn’t affect the warriors, he preferred the freedom of movement that came with having to wear fewer layers so he didn’t stand out. People tended to remark on a guy standing out in freezing weather wearing only a T-shirt and shorts.

A brisk knock on the bossman’s door led to a shouted, “Come in.”

Upon entering the office, Capricorn noticed Aries sitting behind his desk looking grim. Then again, the man rarely wore a different expression. The sight of Sage, Aries’ wife, sitting in a chair, hands resting over her rounded belly had him tingling in anticipation. Only one reason she’d be present. Looked like it was his turn to be sent on a mythic quest.

“So, we have a mission for you,” Aries started to say.

“Hell yeah. My turn to Indiana Jones the shit out of the next artifact. Yeehaw.” Capricorn rubbed his hands together. He’d heard the stories of how his brothers had found some ancient relics. Locating long-lost caverns, evading traps, solving puzzles… Capricorn couldn’t wait to crush his mission.

“Not exactly,” Aries replied. “Seems like Cetus already has it in their custody. Your job is to extract it from their secret base in Area 51.”

The statement raised Capricorn’s brow. “Um, isn’t that an old military installation, meaning I can’t beam in—or out.” Something about the underground base prevented them from using their starbeaming power, a fancy word for essentially dematerializing in one place and ending up in another—hopefully with everything intact.

“Yes. Plus, it’s going to be guarded to the nines,” Aries added, steepling his fingers.

The info brought a frown. “Then how exactly am I supposed to retrieve it? We going in with the whole gang?”

“No, just you,” Aries stated.

It was Sage who next murmured, “I’m afraid, for this next task to work, you’ll have to be captured.”

His jaw dropped. “You want me to lose on purpose?” The very idea made him cringe.

“It’s the only way to win,” Sage replied. “Yours is the most important task, because if you fail, the world dies with you.”

No pressure.

Fuck.

“Are we sure about the captured part? I mean, surely there’s a backdoor I can sneak in, locate the relic, and then hightail it out. Soon as I get it outside, I should be able to beam my ass and the artifact out of there.”

Aries glanced at Sage, who shook her head. “Attempting to enter via subterfuge will fail.”

“But I’ll succeed if I let them nab me?”

“Maybe.”

He arched a brow. “That’s not exactly reassuring.”

Sage waved her hands. “The future is murky beyond your capture. I don’t see if you succeed or not. All I know is, it has to be you who attempts to retrieve it.”

“I have every faith in you,” Aries added. “After all, weren’t you bragging just the other night about being the best on the team?”

He had. In Capricorn’s defense, he’d downed a few shots of whiskey. “How soon should I leave?”

“In the morning,” Sage declared. “But I wouldn’t recommend starbeaming too close to the site.”

“Let me guess, you saw that going bad.”

“Well, you’d still end up where you should be, but how do you feel about a new scar?”

“Chicks dig scars.”

“This one would run from jawline to eye socket and you’d lose part of your left ear.”

Mar his pretty face? “Guess I’m taking a portal then. Anything else I should know?”

Sage stared at him with eyes that swirled with freakiness. “This mission will either make or break the world.”

“In other words, don’t fuck up,” Aries growled.

“Who, me?” Capricorn exclaimed. Then grinned. “Don’t worry. I got this.” Because failure wasn’t an option.

Despite being told he should hand himself over to the bad guys, Capricorn spent some time looking for another option. A warrior did not simply give up! Although he couldn’t help recalling Sage’s conviction that capture gave him the best shot. Handing himself over to the bad guys would certainly get him inside, but still, knowing Cetus—a company with nefarious dealings that on the surface appeared to be all about the climate and fixing it, but they were actually seeking the same artifacts as the Zodiacs and had tried to kidnap some of his brothers—he worried about what they’d do once they had him in their clutches.

With the help of Aquarius, their tech guy, they took a peek at Area 51. Aquarius pulled up satellite images of Area 51, of which there were only few because, imagine that, the government didn’t want plebes spying on their super-secret site. Although there were plenty who tried via all kinds of means. Renting a plane to fly over and take pics. Using drones fitted with cameras. Plenty of shaky video of folks trying to climb the fence and getting caught right away.

What he did learn was the site comprised a few buildings and hangars, but everyone knew the true facility was underground. While they could find no schematics for the base, Capricorn did get a feel for the terrain surrounding it.

Area 51 resembled a barren-ish wasteland. Scorching heat during the day led to hard-packed dirt and scrubby plants. Despite its less-than-hospitable climate, the area was popular enough to support a variety of alien-themed restaurants and stores selling related merchandise. People trekked to the spot from around the world in the hopes of catching a glimpse of something they could post about online.

When it came to infiltrating, Capricorn could easily evade the checkpoints manned by soldiers by climbing the chain-link fence plastered with Restricted Area signs. However, those weren’t the only protective measures being used to keep people out.

Aquarius zoomed in on an image of the perimeter and pointed. “Seems like there are sensors for motion detection not just running along the fence line but also sporadically placed within the secured area. I see cameras as well.”

“What if I starbeamed right outside a ventilation shaft to avoid them?” Capricorn asked, even as he recalled Sage’s warning. He wasn’t keen on a disfiguring scar.

“One, we’d have to find one. Their vents are camouflaged pretty well. Second, I would wager all ingress points have, if not cameras then, most likely, alarms.”

“Can’t you remotely disable them?” Capricorn asked.

“If I had access to their network, yes, but it appears they run everything internally, meaning no one can do shit from the outside. Even if I could divert the cameras and motion sensors and entry point alarms, there’s the AI drones.”

“Bah, drones are easy to shoot down, and given they rely on someone controlling them, surely you can intercept the signal.”

“Not these ones.” Aquarius pulled up some videos he found on the dark web, which showed a dark-colored, military-grade drone. “They’ve got Skynet two point oh’s roaming the sky. They don’t require a human operator, as their AI programming has them smart enough to fly themselves. They are also unhackable, at least according to my hacker peers, as well as bulletproof. I don’t see how you can avoid being spotted by one.”

Capricorn sighed. “So what you’re saying is, I’m either going in guns blazing and shooting the fuck out of everything, or I’m letting them capture me.”

“You know Sage wouldn’t have suggested it without reason.”

And usually, the warriors listened. After all, she was rarely mistaken in her advice.

Still, Capricorn couldn’t help but whine. “It just feels so wrong to hand myself over to Cetus. I thought that was the last thing we wanted, given they’ve been trying to get their hands on us to do some sciency shit.” AKA, Cetus wanted to dissect and analyze what made the Zodiac Warriors special.

“I doubt they’ll figure out what makes us special. It’s more than genetics.” A reminder that their powers, given to them by the stars themselves, were astrophysical in nature. Or, as outsiders called it, magical.

“You think it’s true they have the third artifact?” Aquarius asked.

“Sage claimed they do, and she also keeps muttering about a thirteenth Zodiac,” reminded Capricorn, and that wasn’t the pregnancy hormones talking.

A previously blank medallion in the portal room—which until now had only twelve spots for the dozen warriors—was two-thirds full. What would happen when it became whole? Would a new warrior suddenly join them?

“You know, there is some historical basis for a thirteenth, called Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer.”

“Never heard of him.”

“Me neither, until I started researching, and oddly enough, my information didn’t come from Tower’s library, but the internet.”

The revelation brought a frown. “Since when doesn’t Tower have the deets on something with historical basis?”

Aquarius shrugged. “Dunno. Kind of weird, right? But then again, given how that thirteenth dais in the portal room was blank until we started finding the artifacts, I am thinking the thirteenth Zodiac must have been wiped.”

“For a reason, one would suppose.” Capricorn pursed his lips. “Do you think his return is what will cause the world grief?”

“What did Sage say?”

“Nothing. I mean, she did say this mission was do or die for everyone. I have a hard time believing a Zodiac Warrior would turn to evil. We were chosen specifically because we’re heroes.”

“Anti-heroes,” Aquarius corrected. “Supposedly the true ones don’t kill.”

“Which is dumb,” Capricorn retorted. “Defeated bad guys don’t suddenly become good. If you don’t end them, then they’ll just start their shit again.”

“Agreed. Preaching to the choir, bro. I’m just saying there’s a fine line between the anti-hero and villain. I mean, look at Leo. He was borderline for a while there. I know Aries was watching him close to make sure he didn’t end up on the dark side.”

“Leo’s too noble to ever do anything that would merit discipline.”

“All it takes is the right push.”

“Well, the man is right as rain now that he’s got his kid back and his hot doctor girlfriend.” Lucky bastard. Capricorn would admit to being a bit jealous seeing all the happy couples. Aries and Sage had been together forever, but the recent hookups of Leo and Sagittarius with some chicks had him wondering if he’d ever find the right gal to settle down with. Hopefully one with a juicy booty.

“Still can’t believe Leo’s ex-wife fucked him over like that.”

Capricorn could. He’d seen the calculating look in Kylie’s eye the first time Leo brought her to Tower. The Tower of Babylon held untold riches and could do literal magic. He was sure more than a few outsiders brought here by circumstance had wondered how to exploit it. In Kylie’s case, it turned out she used Leo to birth a kid. A kid who ended up with powers like Sage. A child used by her own mother to try to bring the Zodiacs down. Only, in the end, Kylie’s plot failed because her daughter—Olivia—caught on and managed to orchestrate her own rescue.

The reminder of what Olivia could do had Capricorn dropping by Leo’s place for a quick visit. The big man answered the door wearing the little girl on his shoulders.

“Wassup?” Leo asked, letting Capricorn in.

“Just getting ready to go on a mission.”

“He wants me to tell him he doesn’t have to be captured,” the sweet—and much too perceptive—Olivia stated.

“Is there another way?” he asked, much too hopefully.

“No.” Olivia cocked her head. “It won’t be so bad, Uncle Corn. Zora’s going to be there too.”

“Who’s Zora?”

“You’ll see,” the child sang.

“Did you just come to grill my kid?” Leo growled.

“I was hoping for a second opinion, yes.” Capricorn sighed. “Guess I’m off to be captured.”

“Don’t worry, bro, if you get stuck, I’ll come rescue you.”

Capricorn’s lips twisted. “And never let me forget it.”

He left with Leo’s booming laughter following.

There seemed little point in packing much, seeing how he’d have it confiscated soon as he turned himself over. Capricorn just grabbed a few basics before he portalled out to the West Coast and rented a motorcycle for the drive to Nevada. Nicer than starbeaming, if he was going to be honest, the biggest downfall being the long drive gave him time to think about what might happen.

Would those guarding Area 51 shoot him on sight? A possibility.

Did his capture entail getting stuffed into a cage and having parts of his body trimmed off? That would really suck.

What about being forced to run on a treadmill like a hamster? They’d get bored before he got tired.

Subjected to electroshock therapy? No big deal. He’d once grabbed a whipping live wire to prevent it from electrocuting a bunch of people.

The absolute worst thing they could do to Capricorn, other than killing him of course, would be to have him fail his mission. He’d hate to end his winning streak.

Once he reached Rachel, Nevada, the town closest to Area 51, he stopped in at a trailer modified to appear like a flying space saucer. Edge of the Galaxy Curios and Gadgets, a store catering to certain types, not that Capricorn paid much mind to the posters and alien plushies. He browsed the rack of T-shirts in search of the perfect one.

He swapped into his newly purchased “I Believe shirt” before finishing his trip, driving right up to the entrance of Area 51. A pair of soldiers, holding guns, emerged from a shack.

Capricorn parked his bike and got off it, using a slow saunter to approach the men, one of whom barked, “Turn around, sir. This is a restricted area.”

“I’m pretty sure your bosses inside will want to see me. Name is Capricorn.”

“Sir, you need to get back on that bike and leave, now, before we’re forced to take you into custody.” The man with a stripe on his arm pointed up the road.

Capricorn held out his hands. “Go ahead. Arrest me.”

“Fuck off. We ain’t got time for this,” snapped the soldier with the patchy mustache.

Capricorn glanced around. “Yeah, I can see you’re real busy guarding against the invisible horde storming this place.”

“It’s like you’re cruising for a bruising,” snarled Patchy.

“Go ahead and hit me, but I warn you, no crying when you hurt your hand. Leo says I’ve got a jaw of stone.” Which Capricorn considered to be the highest compliment.

“You’re starting to piss me off.” Patchy bristled and lifted the barrel of his weapon, leading to his partner putting a hand on his arm.

“You can’t be shooting civilians.”

“Then why give us a gun?” Patchy argued.

“Hello, still here, waiting for you to arrest me,” Capricorn interrupted. “I promise, your boss will be happy you brought me in.”

“We don’t arrest folk. We send them on their way,” explained the calmer soldier.

Beep. Beep. The walkie at Patchy’s waist went off, and he held it up, clicking the button to mutter, “This is Exit One. Copy.”

“Bring that man to Zone 3,” said a crackling male voice.

“Looks like you’re getting your wish,” the nice soldier said. “If you’d give us your hands.”

“Ooh, you’re going to cuff me. Now we’re talking.” Capricorn held out his wrists and fought to not move as they placed the zip ties around them. This felt so wrong. Willingly submitting to capture.

But the embarrassment of it didn’t kill his humor. On the contrary, he had the biggest shit-eating grin as he said, “Take me to your leader.”