-----

Author's Note: Here's 13. There's some Amazon explanation in this chapter and pretty much nothing else. So I guess you can say its a explanation chapter if there is such a thing. I'd like to thank djkauf for the wonderful editing and DC Comics for the wonderful characters.

-----

Chapter Thirteen:

They weren’t kidding.
As soon as Charis was done talking to whoever was on the phone, she pushed a little button underneath her desk and there was a buzz. A door to her left clicked open and I guess that was our cue. Artemis led our little group, Akila followed and Persephone took up the rear. As soon as we passed through the door, I half expected to walk into another room decked out in tacky Greek décor. But this new room actually looked like a fitness club. You know those commercials you always see on TV with an area for aerobics in one corner of the room and the rest of it set up with exercise equipment. Well, that’s exactly what I was seeing here. There were a lot of people in here too, all of them women, I noticed. All of them also seemed to be no older than twenty something.

Artemis led the way through the room. A lot of the girls stopped what they were doing when she passed and nodded. It almost seemed like she held some kind of authority here. I tried to look around without being too awkward but it was hard not to. This place seemed pretty hardcore and exclusive. None of the girls we passed looked to be dainty lightweights. Not only that, there wasn’t a single ounce of flab in the group. I knew a lot of those commercials were misleading and only showed the beautiful people---usually paid actors---to drag in the business. But this place was the real deal. All of the girls working out here looked like they stepped out of lingerie catalogs.
It was kinda freaky actually.

“What the hell is this place?” I asked, looking left and right, wondering when the funky 80’s workout music was going to start playing.

“This is our exercise room,” said Artemis, sounding like a cruise director. She pointed to a few places. “Over there is where we do aerobics and through that door there is the locker rooms.”

But we didn’t stop. Instead, she kept walking and the others kept following. She led us toward an elevator that was sorta hidden between two tall potted plants. You wouldn’t really notice it unless you were looking for it. I looked behind us; none of the girls working out seemed to notice it. In fact, they didn’t even seem to acknowledge us much, except for a few nods here and there. It was kinda creepy. But not as creepy as when Artemis took a chain with a key from around her neck and actually unlocked the elevator. I mean it was a fricken health spa, why did they need a key for the elevator. She smirked when she saw my look.
She pushed the button, opening the elevator door and the four of us got inside.

“Am I missing something here?” I asked as the door started closing.
No one said anything until the elevator starting moving. Except it wasn’t going up like I thought it might, it was actually going down.

“What you see out there is a front,” said Artemis as an explanation. “We an exclusive, members only health club, spa and fitness center. It’s all very legit.”

I nodded. “But it’s fake?”

Artemis smiled. “It’s quite real. All of our members are young women between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one. They’re all good girls. They’re strong, fast, and agile but most of them never get past where they are right now. Only a select few get to step into this elevator.”

“And where are we going exactly?”

“To the real Bana-Mighdall, of course.”

It took several minutes for the elevator to continue its downward descent. That freaked me out more than anything. I’m not a big fan of elevators. I hate that everything is so cramped and that the only thing that’s holding you up is little cables. I’m sure it’s a lot more complicated and sophisticated than that but it still freaked me out a bit. When we were ten, Connor and I got to go to the Sears Tower with my grandfather. I was perfectly happy with being on the ground floor, doing whatever down there. But Connor insisted we ride the elevator as high as we could go. I tried to talk my grandfather out of it.
He knew I was terrified but he was the kinda guy who said, “You should face fear head on so that way you know where it is.” Riding in the elevator then scared the hell out of me but I did it.

Now it was just as freaky. Instead of going up, we were going down. It was taking a long time to do it to. Too long, as far as I was concerned. Finally, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.
I don’t know what I was expecting but it was definitely not what I saw. The room before me was large, larger than anything I thought might be possible. It was also a strange amalgam of two different places: a combination between some kind of temple and a dojo. The floor was padded, the walls were solid hardwood. The focal point of the room was a stage of some kind with a dais, which stood in front of a large marble statue of an unrecognizable woman. She was decked out in Greek garb but she was none of the characters that I knew. In front of the dais was about twelve girls, all wearing white shift dresses, in some the middle of some kind of prayer.

I looked around, there was no priestess. I turned to ask Artemis a question but she put a finger to her mouth, shushing me. Apparently, we weren’t allowed to speak here. She pointed to the left, where I saw a door. There was an identical one on the other side of the room. Artemis led the way, while Persephone and Akila turned and went for the other door. I watched them as they slowly walked over to it and disappeared through it. Then we got to our door, Artemis opened it for me and ushered me inside. It opened onto a long narrow hallway, dimly lit by wall sconces every ten feet or so.
“Sorry about that” she said with an apologetic smile. “We’re not allowed to talk while prayer is in session.”

“Prayer?”

She nodded. “Every time that a Sister comes down here we must spend an hour in prayer to Our Patron.”

I nodded. These girls weren’t Amazons; they were some kind of nutty cult. What the hell had I gotten myself into? I smiled as fake as I could.
“Why aren’t you in prayer then?” I asked as she led me down the hall.

“I have to show you to Antiope’s office first, then I’ll join the others.”

Fortunately, we didn’t have very far to go. Antiope’s office was only a few doors down from the door we came through. Artemis stopped in front of it and knocked. There was a click and then she nodded. I smiled at her; she smiled back and then turned and walked away. I took a deep breath and opened the door. I’m not sure what I was expecting on the other side of the door and was surprised at how normal everything looked. Ok, normal might have been pushing it a little but it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting in a place like this. It had all the normal office stuff: a desk, a bookshelf crammed with books, a couple comfortable velvet backed chairs. The things that made it different than other offices were the other furnishings. In one corner was a marble bust, the head of some random Goddess I was unfamiliar with. Behind the desk was a large tapestry, depicting a battle scene with woman in loincloths fighting armored women.
At the desk was a woman that could have been anyone from off the street. She had long blonde hair, a welcoming smile, and was dressed like a normal person. I say normal because it wasn’t one of those crazy white dresses that the others were wearing.

“You must be Cassandra,” She said, I nodded. “We’ve been expecting you.”

That sent a shiver down my spine. Were they in communication with Hera? I mean how crazy is it that I go back to Chicago and there’s a secret sect of Amazons who just happen to live in the city. There are such things as coincidence and this wasn’t one of those times.

“You have?” I asked, trying to see what this woman knew.

She smiled. “Of course. Ever since Artemis told me of your prowess on the track field the other day I just knew you were destined to be one of us.”

I nodded. What the hell did I just get myself in to?

“Why don’t you take a seat?” she said, pointing to one of the chairs. “And you and I can talk for a bit.”

I reluctantly took a seat, looking around the room. A lot of the books on the shelves were about Greek Myths and Legends. Several of them I recognized from my mother’s personal library. Two of them were very familiar to me because Mom wrote them. If she had Mom’s books then this woman was really a fanatic. They were all about female empowerment and stuff like that. I’ve read both of them, barely.
“How much do you know about the historical Amazons?”

I smiled. “Quite a lot actually. My mother is Helena Sandsmark.”

Her eyes widened. I don’t think she was expecting that. “How serendipitous then.”

Her smile afterwards was so fake. I knew her type. She was one of those people who read a lot of books and thought herself smart because of it. She liked to use those smarts to thumb her nose at people who weren’t as smart as she was. Traveling around the world with Mom, I met a lot of academics like her. They thought they knew everything there was to know about their given field and hated it when people knew more information than they did. I think she thought I was a dumb jock like the other girls and she could tell me what’s what.

She recovered from her shock quickly though. “How much do you know about the Bana-Mighdall?”

She had me there. I didn’t even know they were a people. I thought it was just some stupid name she made up. At seeing my confusion, she got a sinister smile. Touché.

“Did you know that were two Queens of the Amazons?” I shook my head; her smile spread almost the whole of her face.

“Hippolyta---who is the one everyone knows---and her sister Antiope. The two sisters ruled the Amazons jointly for some time until He showed” The way she said “He”---with that venom---I think I knew to whom she was referring. “He came on one of his stupid labors. At first, the sisters captured him and forced him into manual labor for several months in fact. But slowly he started to woo the weak-minded Hippolyta. Antiope saw right through his tricks though and tried to warn her sister that no good would come from this man. She wanted to kill him but Hippolyta was smitten. She couldn’t see reason. She released him from his captivity and let him roam their camp freely. That’s when disaster struck. He stole her precious belt, running off with it just as he planned all along.

Hippolyta was heartbroken. But Antiope was unforgiving. She tried to convince her sister to raise arms and follow the infidel but Hippolyta refused. Enraged, Antiope and several of her followers broke off from the weak minded Hippolyta and her foolish ways”

She took a deep breath, taking a sip from a nearby mug. “Antiope and her Sisters wandered the whole of Europe and then the Middle East, looking for a new home. They finally found one in Egypt, founding the city of Bana-Mighdall.”

She took another sip. This part of her tale sounded vaguely familiar. Mom and I were in Egypt about a year or so ago. She was following up a lead there. We actually went to some ruins, believed to be a diverse sect of the Amazons. But after playing in the dirt for a month or so, Mom deemed them to be insignificant. She said there was evidence of Amazons being there but they were unimportant to her. So unimportant that she didn’t even bother to take any notes. I wonder what this “Antiope” would have thought about that.
She set down her mug.

It interested me a bit. “What happened to them?”

She smiled. “They thrived for many years but like most civilizations, they disappeared into history. But unlike most, they didn’t completely go away. Secret sects of the Bana have been documented throughout history, going by different names. There have been several notable members in fact.”

I waited for her to list them but she didn’t. “Unlike their Greek sisters who faded with time, the Bana continued to gather followers, growing secretly over time. There are chapters all over the world, most not as big as the one we have here but just as important.”

I nodded. “Is that why the girls have Greek names?”

She smiled and nodded. “It’s a tradition. When a new Sister is inducted into our Order, she gives up her real name and takes her new, proper one.”

I nodded. “Are all the leaders of the different sects called Antiope?”
Boy would that be confusing at get togethers.

“Most of them choose their own names. I was given the privilege to be named after our Patron due to my large contribution to the Order.”

“Does that make you the Queen?”

She smiled. “We have no Queen. Not anymore.”

I could hear the disdain in her voice, though. I think she wanted to be Queen. I think she wanted to be Queen more than anything in the world. I felt kinda uncomfortable sitting across from her. She was clearly an ambitious person and ambitious people---like my mother---tended to have their own problems. I can’t even fathom what Mom’s are. But this woman’s problems were pretty clear. She wanted to be in control and would do anything to get it. People like her were extremely dangerous because you never knew what they were going to do. Looking at this pretty blonde woman sitting behind her desk, plastered with a fake smile, I was very wary of her. I’m sure she didn’t even notice her particular flaw and if she did she probably didn’t think of it as one, but it was there. I wanted to get up and run away as fast as I could but I had Artemis to think about. She was so excited about bringing me here, I was certain it would hurt her feelings if I fled. I had something else to think about, too.

These girls were Amazons, after all. They might not be the ones that I knew about or the ones who followed the Queen of whose belt I wore but they were still Amazons. A small part of me was certain that being here was Fate. I’m not sure what my part was to play in any of this---Hera hadn’t really been all that forthcoming on that---but I was certain she wanted me to find these girls. I’m not sure how or why I knew that but I just did. Ok, so maybe I didn’t believe in some of the stuff they did around here but maybe I could help change that. The girls on the track team didn’t seem all that bad, Artemis wasn’t a bad person. The only one I really needed to look out for was sitting across from me and as much control as she had now, in the end there wasn’t much she could do that could hurt me.

She studied me for a few seconds, probably trying to figure out what I was thinking. Then she picked up her mug and took another sip. “Usually when I have a talk with a potential recruit, she and I have a heart to heart, put all our cards on the table” I nodded. “But I don’t think I need to do that with you. I like you, I like everything about you.”

She flashed me one of those fake smiles again. It made my skin crawl. Could I join this group and deal with her every day? “I’m honored that you would think of me as a potential member but I’m still not sure what you guys do around here.”

She laughed. It was a melodious tone. “We don’t do much of anything other than what our ancestors did, of course. I can trace my bloodline back to Phthia; my ancestors were born leaders. Most of the girls here can’t do any such thing, but they have a lot of potential. Your friend Artemis for instance, I foresee a great future ahead for her.”

I nodded. “You still didn’t answer my question.”

She smiled, her eyes narrowing a bit. “Well first and foremost we train.”

“For what?”

“To hone our bodies and our minds of course.”

I nodded. “But why do we need to do that? Are we preparing for something?”

Antiope looked confused. “I’m not sure I’m following you.”

“You said the girls here are training their bodies and their minds. But you can’t honestly be doing it just to do it. There has to be some purpose, right?”

Like the reason why I was given the Girdle or the reason why my brain was now hardwired with the Amazons, twenty-four seven. She might be a hack but maybe she had some answers.

Antiope smiled again. “There is always something my dear. Some obstacle to overcome, some war to train for. I can honestly say that there’s nothing at the moment but we are always prepared for something.”

I inwardly groaned. So this was all a load of crap. They were a group of LARPers playing pretend. I’m sure they thought it was all serious but it was nonsense to me. Here I thought I’d found the answer to some of my questions, but all I really found was a bunch of fakes. I’m sure they meant well but in the end, they were a group of young women who were using this place as an excuse to do something with their lives. I couldn’t believe Artemis and her friends would buy into all this crap. I couldn’t believe I was still sitting here listening to it.

“So in other words you guys do nothing?”

She laughed and shook her head. “It might not look like much but we help young ladies like yourself discover their true potential. I’ll admit that we’re not much to look at but if anything, we help you become athletes.”

Upstairs could attest for that.

“I’m not sure if I’m interested,” I said, pushing myself up out of my seat.

I was tired of playing games with her. She and this place had nothing to offer me. I had a feeling as soon as I walked into her office that this was going to be a waste of time. When I stood up, she didn’t bother to stop me. She only smiled. I wanted to give her the damn finger but instead I turned and walked toward the door, grumbling.

“You and your mother found something in Greece, didn’t you?”

I stopped dead in my tracks, my hand on the doorknob. Her words turned my blood ice cold.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” I said, opening the door.

“I have connections, I hear things.”

“Well your connections are wrong.”

“My connections are very precise,” she said, standing up.
I turned around and she came around the desk. She was a bit taller than I thought---not as tall as me but still close to six feet. I guess the Amazons here had a height requirement or something. Looking for the perfect female specimen no doubt. She walked slowly over to me. I took a step back, not wanting her to come any closer. She made me nervous and I didn’t like that about her. Like I said, she was a dangerous person and I didn’t trust her one bit. She put her hands on my shoulders, backing me up gently into the door.

“I have no idea what you found there and right now it’s not important,” she said with a sweet smile. “What is important is that you can find a home here, friends and even family if you wish. I can help you and maybe in time you can learn to trust me.”

“You have nothing to offer me,” I said, pulling out from under her hands.

“No” she said, admitting something which was already very obvious. “But maybe you and I can find someone who does. As I said, I have a lot of connections. The Bana have a large network, we’re all over the world. Maybe I don’t have something, but maybe one of our other Sects do. If you’re willing, maybe you and I can see if one of those Sects has something pertaining to whatever it is you might have discovered.”

I bit my lip. I couldn’t do this alone. I knew I shouldn’t trust her but there had to be a reason for this. I mean what are the odds that a group of Amazons would show up in my home town. I took a deep breath and nodded.

“I’ll join your little group,” I said, she smiled but I raised my hand to cut off whatever she was about to say. “But I’m not taking part in any of your stupid little games.”

She smiled. “Fair enough.”

I groaned. She leaned forward and wrapped me in a hug.

“Welcome home sister” she whispered softly in my ear.
What the hell was I getting myself in to?

It was late by the time Artemis drove me home.

“I can come in and explain things to your grandma if you want?” she asked, knowing how late it really was.

I shook my head. “I’m already in enough trouble as it is; I don’t need for you to get into any, too.”

She smiled. “Trouble in my middle name.”

Lately it was mine too. I thanked her for the ride and for everything else then I got out of the car. It was cold and dark as I made my way up to the porch, carrying my backpack in one hand and the duffle in the other. I didn’t even have to pull out my keys because the door opened even before I got there. My grandmother was standing there with the sternest look on her face. I opened my arms and she did something unexpected, she through her arms around me and wrapped in a hug. She might have even been crying a little bit. Ok, that I wasn’t expecting. We stood in the doorway for a few seconds until I managed to pry her away and we went into the house. I heard Artemis squeal away behind us so I locked the door.

“Ok, what did I miss?”

My grandma sighed. “I was so worried about you. Agent Chase was here earlier and said you disappeared after your track tryouts.”

Busted. “I was going to tell you about that,” I said sheepishly.

“Later” she said as she walked over and sat on the couch. “She had agents scouring the whole city looking for you; I think she thought you were abducted by the same ones who attacked you on the island.”

I groaned. I realized how careless I’d been, but I forgot that I was in danger. Of course, everyone would be worried about me. I mean after all I did kinda disappear without telling anyone where I went. I’m sure Chase was pretty damn furious and she had every right to be. I would have been pretty furious with me, too. The worst part, I’m not usually one to go off and not tell anyone where I was going. Of course, I never went off anywhere in the first place. Before, I used to go to school and come home, spending the rest of the night doing homework, watching TV and playing video games. Yep, I was a total loser before.

I dropped my bags near the door and walked over to the couch. I sat down next to grandma and took her hand. I quickly gave her a rundown of today’s events. I apologized about not telling her about the track team but she understood. She asked if I wanted her to straighten it out with the principal but I shook my head. I think I could make it work. After all, I needed to keep busy and track might actually be the outlet I was looking for. I was convinced that I’d be able to keep myself under control. When I told her about Artemis and the girls taking me to Chicago, she turned kinda green. But I quickly explained the fitness club to her and she relaxed a bit. I left out the part about those girls pretending to be Amazons.
It was just too crazy to explain.

When I was finished, grandma patted my knee. “You’re a big girl; I think you can make your own decisions.”

I smiled. “Thanks grandma.”

She slowly got to her feet. “Are you hungry? I can warm up some leftovers for you?”

My stomach grumbled so that answered the question. I followed her into the kitchen and she took a plate out of the fridge. It was meatloaf, wrapped in saran wrap. She unwrapped it and put it into the microwave. Then she handed me the phone. I knew exactly what she wanted me to do but I groaned anyway. While she was heating up dinner for me, I dialed Cameron’s number.

She picked up on the second ring. “You better have a good explanation,” she snapped, not even waiting for me to say hello.
I filled her in with as little detail as possible.

“The track team?” She sighed heavily. “Are you out of your mind?”
“I need an outlet and as much as I enjoy running circles around Jay, that’s not really cutting it for me. Track is exactly what I need.”

She groaned. “This is a really bad idea.”

“Then stick a spy on me or something. Make sure I don’t do anything stupid.”

I think I heard her smirk. “How do you know we don’t have one already?”

I laughed. “I think I’d know if someone was following me around.”

“You’d be surprised.”

I’m not sure I liked that. I stuck to the subject though. “So is the track team ok or not?”

She sighed heavily again. “If you promise not to overdo then I don’t see where there’s going to be a problem.”

I pumped the air with my fist. “You’re the best, Cam.”

“Don’t call me Cam” she said and hung up.

“Everything ok?” asked grandma as she placed the plate in front of me.

“Never better” I said as she handed me a fork and I dug in.
Grandma excused herself, going upstairs to ready herself for bed. I ate my dinner alone at the kitchen table. Unfortunately there was only a little bit of the meatloaf left, I think she probably gave most of it to the agents who I’m sure were here all night. Afterwards I washed the dish and fork then made my way upstairs. It was only eight o’clock or so but grandma often went to bed fairly early. I knew that didn’t sound too late to come home too but I’d never stayed out past six, ever. Not even when I was a kid, unless I was off somewhere with grandpa. Then the two of us spent hours out doing whatever it was we usually did.

I went upstairs, dragging my two bags with me. I dropped them on my bedroom floor, taking note that there was something different about the room. New curtains, I think. I also noticed the new alarm clock. I smiled as I stripped out of my school clothes and retrieved the oversized shirt that had become my official pajamas. I grabbed my homework and went back down to the kitchen. It was English and Math tonight; I did most of the other in my late study hall. I think I might have mentioned how much I hated math. I could never understand why we needed it in the first place. But as I sat there and looked at the problems on the page, it all suddenly started to make sense to me. I groaned, realizing it was more of the hardwiring. Math was mainly a Greek thing I think, so of course Hera would put it all in my head. It kinda creeped me out but it was cool that I was able to breeze through it so quickly.

English was another story. How do you write an essay about what you did over break when you had a break like mine? Luckily, for me it wasn’t due until the end of the week. So I pushed it aside and went into the living room to watch TV. I surfed for a bit, ended up on the news for a minute or two. They were talking about the new girl who had just inherited billions. I think I might have heard something about it. I paid little attention but it was kinda cool that she was my age and now she was a billionaire. She was cute too, they showed her leaving her fancy skyscraper and getting into a limo. It was too bad that I didn’t like girls that way anymore.

I watched Adult Swim after that. I laid down on the couch, dragged one of the pillows under my head and laughed at all the stupid cartoons on there. I’m not sure how long I watched it before my eyelids got heavy and I started to get drowsy. Before I lost total consciousness, I swore I saw that damn owl sitting outside the living room window watching me. But it was there one minute and gone the next. I ignored it and allowed my mind to drift off to other things. Mainly what I was going to do about this Amazon thing. I couldn't get my brain around what I was going to do about it.

I thought about that for a while then slowly drifted to sleep.