Nemesis didn’t fly far. Not at first, anyway. She lingered about the town in the form of an owl, watching as Hera saw to the burning of her temple. She watched Echo weep in grief and frustration before being hauled away by Hera’s titan-kin ally. Nemesis wanted to help her, but for now she was alive, and any further action on her part would almost certainly end up getting the woman killed. Nemesis flew onto her next closest temple, and found it had already been torn down by one of Zeus’s allies. She went onto another, and another, hopping from one island to the next, but what she found was always the same – her temples had been burned down. Her followers had been driven off or, in some cases, outright killed, and Nemesis’s heart sank, feeling their loss viscerally.
Despite all the duties she would have thought demanded Zeus’s attention, she seemed to become his sole focus. She ran for years, changing shape, assuming different identities, using every trick she’d learned from hunting human prey to stay ahead of her own divine predator. He pursued her across the Mediterranean and back again, changing forms to match her. In her flight across the world, Nemesis discovered a great deal about herself. She had feelings, emotions she didn't know she could experience – anger, fear, sadness, and many others. She didn’t know if they were always part of her, or if she learned them hiding among the human beings, but they were there either way.
As the faith devoted to her faded, Nemesis’s strength dwindled. After two years, the only feat she could manage was shape shifting between her human and bird forms. She avoided spending too much time in her god-form, as it presented too great a risk of discovery, and used her other forms to disappear into crowds and flocks. She traveled to the largest towns, places where unfamiliar faces were expected, and whenever she started to get too comfortable, she’d fly onto the next town. She didn’t know why she stayed in Greece. If she went somewhere else, she might not have to hide. But then, there were gods in every land, and they seldom reacted well to someone like her passing through their turf. At least in Greece, she knew where she was and who was searching for her.
Now she walked through the market of one of Greece’s medium-sized cities looking at the various food options longingly. Without worshippers to energize her, Nemesis needed food like a human. She could shift to a bird of prey and hunt something, but it was difficult for a 14lb bird to bring down enough prey to sustain a 140lb woman. Of course, that had been a concern about 30 pounds ago. She’d been able to count her ribs this morning.
There was a time when she could have simply conjured some gold, silver, or precious jewels to pay for whatever she needed, but that power had faded away after her lightning and shadow powers. She was broke, and now she was officially starving; if she didn’t find a way to support her human self soon, she’d have to start living as a bird full time, and maintaining an animal form for that long could cause long term psychological damage.
She lingered next to a basket of apples. One – just one – she thought. Surely one apple would not be missed in the grand scheme of things. She waited until the vendor was absorbed in a customer’s questions, and hesitantly reached for a piece of fruit.
Someone next to her grabbed her wrist before she could take the fruit. It was a young foreign woman, probably in her late teens, with bronze skin and loose black hair. Nemesis started to protest, but the woman put a finger to her lips as she led her away.
“Cassim is sharper than he looks,” the woman said, “See over there?” she gestured to a grizzled man drinking at a nearby bar, “Cassim pays Taio to watch his back and to watch his goods. And he forgives nothing. An apple would cost you a hand, and he wouldn’t wait for the city guard to carry out the sentence.”
“Who are you?”
“Cassim’s slave, Morgiana.”
“But you’re not going to …”
“Rat you out? No,” Morgiana said, “I’d say that Cassim doesn’t pay me enough, but he doesn’t pay me at all. He barely even feeds me.”
“I’m… Adresteia. And I’m not a thief,” Nemesis said, “I mean… I was going to steal that apple…”
“But you’re not a career criminal?” Morgiana laughed warmly, “That was pretty obvious. Here,” the slave girl produced a large red apple from out of her loose, colorful garments.
“Where did you…”
“Oh, I took it from Cassim’s stand while Taio was giving you the hairy eyeball.”
“You make it sound easy,” Nemesis said as she began devouring the apple hungrily.
“A single apple is easy. Two is challenging,” Morgiana said as she pulled out a second apple.
“Thank you,” Nemesis said sincerely, “I wish I could repay your kindness.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Morgiana said, “But tell me, how is it a beautiful woman such as you doesn’t have a keeper?”
“Beautiful?”
“Well,” Morgiana said, “you would be if you weren’t quite so emaciated. I’m guessing you did have an owner, and you ran from him, yes?”
“… Essentially,” Nemesis said.
“What did he do that finally pushed you to that point?”
“He… wanted me to give him children.”
“Oh, so you’re one of those girls.”
“What do you mean by that?!”
“Most people have to just let the man screw them,either figuratively or literally,” Morgiana said, “It takes someone with a special sort of crazy to slap the man and run.”
“Crazy?!” Nemesis said.
“Hey, I intend it as a compliment,” Morgiana held up her hands, “I’d like to think I’m the same sort of crazy. If Cassim ever tried anything like that, I’d be gone, or so I tell myself, anyway. So, details? Did you slap him? Your owner?”
“Sort of…”
“Sort of… did you do less? More?”
Nemesis shrugged.
“You did more?”
“I drew blood,” Nemesis said.
Morgiana whistled, “Damn girl; and you got away?”
“Yes. People helped me…”
“Well, that’s sort of inspiring to hear.”
“… but he killed them.”
“Oh, damn… I’m sorry.”
“I wish I hadn’t run. If I’d known I was risking more lives than my own, I wouldn’t have…”
“Hey, hey now, don’t blame yourself for someone else’s sins. Their choices are on them. But uh… you think he’ll kill any more of your friends?”
“I haven’t seen his shadow for a long time,” Nemesis said, “I think I might have finally lost him.”
“You going to stop running, then? Start living?”
“I don’t even know what that would mean.”
“Find a job, find a home. Find a lover, maybe?” Morgiana said, “You’re a free woman now; you ought to live like it.”
“But I have nothing…” Nemesis said.
“Well, fortunately, I know someone who needs a servant, and is willing to pay for work. Just come with me.”
Morgiana led her out of town and a ways up the banks of the nearby river to a charming little wetland area with a nice house perched on a low hill. Beautiful swans drifted among the reeds, and taller birds snapped fish out of the water. A tall woman came out of the house and stepped gracefully down the stairs, as if she’d been raised with far better etiquette than her surroundings would have forecasted.
“Morgiana,” the woman said, “What have you brought me now?”
“Anesidora, this is Adresteia. Adresteia, this is Anesidora. She’s lived here on the edge of town as long as anyone can remember.”
Nemesis bowed slightly, “Morgiana said you were in need of a servant…”
“Indeed…” Anesidora said, “Someone who can be discrete.”
“Discrete?”
“Anesidora provides healing salves and curative balms and potions for the people of the city. Some aspects of her work might invite the wrong sort of attention if someone got too free with their words.”
“Everyone wants blood sausage,” Anesidora said, “But no one wants to know how it’s made. Can you keep my secrets girl? Or are you likely to run off to the market and start blabbing to everyone about what you’ve seen?”
“No ma’am, I’m very good at keeping secrets.”
“Adresteia’s an escaped slave,” Morgiana said, “You need a discreet servant and she needs a discrete employer…”
“I see,” Anesidora said walking over to study Nemesis more closely, “Well, I never did approve of slavery in any form. If one of our sisters needs a safe space where she can be free of man’s grip, then she can find it here.”
“Sisters?” Nemesis asked.
“Never had any sisters?” Anesidora asked.
“Not to my knowledge. I don’t have any family.”
“Well, then perhaps this is all the more the place you need to be.”
“Ma’am, you should know… my master…”
“Former master,” Andesidora said, “Until you’ve escaped up here,” she tapped her head, “you haven’t truly escaped.”
“Yes ma’am,” Nemesis said, “But you should know, that he killed at least four people trying to get me back.”
“When was the last you saw him?”
“It’s been over a year…”
“Then he’s almost certainly lost you,” Andesidora reassured her, “Still, I am taking on a degree of risk. Fortunately, Morgiana does have something I want…?”
Morgiana produced a strange coin. It had a hole in the middle, irregular notches around its circumference, and was engraved with an oroboros. “I will need this back, eventually,” Morgiana said as she flipped the coin to Andesidora.
“Of course, of course, Morgania.”
“Morgiana.”
“Whatever – there’s one letter’s difference. If you want me to keep your trade names straight, don’t make them so similar.”
“Hm, nice,” Morgiana said.
“Oh, how is Lauma getting on with… Enyo, was it?” Andesidora asked.
“Very well, actually,” Morgiana said, “I know it must have been heartbreaking to watch Lauma leave, but I think she saved Enyo’s life. I’ll make sure to send her your way to catch up at some point. In fact, when you’re done with the coin you can send it back by way of her, if need be.”
“Ah, yes, a very good idea, Morgiana.”
“Anyway, Adresteia, take good care of my friend and she’ll take good care of you, okay?”
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