Gaia's Secret (29 page)

He didn’t look at me. “Only if you want.”

I recounted both visions to him in detail,
fighting against the emotions that threatened to return, but I left
out the extent of my agonizing over his death. That, I felt, was a
little too personal. His face didn’t change as he listened.

When I was done, he grabbed my hand in
between both of his. His face was solemn, his eyes sad, and his
lips lifted into a grin that failed to touch his eyes. “That’s
terrible.”

“I know, so why are you smiling about
it?”

He brushed a strand of hair from my face, his
fingers lingering for a moment. “No wonder you don’t care to meet
another magical creature.”

“But, what does it mean?” I tried to ignore
the feel of his fingers on my skin.

He peered off into the forest. “I’ve no idea.
But…” He looked back at me. “I don’t think you need to worry about
killing me. Unless you grow two feet and gain some serious muscle
mass.”

I chuckled, shaking my head.

He let go of my hand and leaned back on his
arms, watching the fire. Despite his attempt at making light of my
vision, I could feel that it bothered him. “Maybe next time they’ll
show me a vision of you dancing. I can only imagine how
catastrophic that would look.”

He tilted his head studying my face, his
suspicion strong. “Are you…jealous?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I answered a little
too quickly.

There was a smirk on his face as he studied
mine. “I think you are.”

“I am not.” My body felt warm all over. “Why
would I be jealous of your bad dancing?”

There was a gleam in his eyes. “You know
that’s not what I’m talking about.”

Of course I knew, but if he thought I was
going to talk to him about it he had another thing coming. He was
my friend. I had no right to care about his love life.

But I did. I couldn’t stand not knowing, and
there was no way I was going to ask. Especially right now.

I glared at the fire as Alex’s amusement
poured through me.

That was it.

“I’m going to bed.” I got to my feet.

He raised his brows and looked up at me, but
said nothing. He knew what was wrong with me. He knew what was
wrong and wasn’t saying a word to deny it. My stomach turned.

“See you in the morning.” I spun around and
walked to my blankets, feeling his eyes on my back.

“Daria…”

I kept walking. “Alex, it’s fine. You don’t
have to explain…”

“Daria…”

This time I paused, but didn’t turn. The
night listened as I waited. I heard him sigh.

“Good night,” he said.

Without answering, I lay down, pulled the
blankets overhead, and closed him from view.

I woke shaking, startled from my dream of
Alex lying dead on the ground, me sobbing hysterically over
him.

I sat up. All that was left of our fire were
glowing embers. The night around me was thick with shadows. The Del
Contes were all in a deep sleep; Cicero’s heavy breathing sounded
particularly loud in the silence.

A glow off in the distance caught my eye. It
was a faint white halo, floating in the shadows a few yards from
where I sat.

“
Follow me,”
a sharp whisper sounded
in my ear.

I started and looked around me. Nothing but
shadows, and the Del Contes all had their eyes closed.

My breathing quickened.

“
There is something I must show
you.”

The voice was in my head.

“
Daria, you cannot trust them,”
the
whisper continued, the light pulsing with each word.
“Your
entire life they have lied to you. They keep things from you still,
and now they refuse to tell you about your father.”

I jumped to my feet as the halo floated away
from me, deeper into the dark woods.

“
Yes, I know where he is and what has
happened to him. Your companions don’t want to tell you. There are
many secrets they continue to keep—many dangerous secrets. Listen
to your heart. You already know you cannot trust them, and I cannot
tell you with them near.”

The light was moving away fast. Fear and
curiosity battled within me, each fighting for dominion. Curiosity
won. I had to know. For too long I’d lived a lie. And whoever—or
whatever—was trying to get my attention knew about my past. Which
also meant it was feasible they knew about my present.

My alternative had presented itself earlier
than expected.

I glanced back, making sure the Del Contes
were still asleep, and tiptoed after the light into utter
darkness.

T
he light moved fast.
I stumbled over roots, grabbing low hanging vines for support as it
pressed on.

“Who are you?” I asked, now well out of range
of the Del Contes.

It was silent, a white orb swimming through
black. And then it stopped. Something cold touched upon my senses
and the light disintegrated, leaving me in total darkness.

Alone.

I gripped the handle of my dagger and pulled
it free. My breath was the only sound in the night.

A puff of stale air, cold as death, tickled
my neck. I jerked my blade around. “Who’s there?”

Something chuckled a few yards away. The
sound was deep and gurgling.

“That was almost too simple,” hissed a
bone-chilling voice.

“What do you want?”

The voiced paused. “It is incredible how much
trust you’ve put into those that continue lying to you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your…
friends
.” The word was filled
with loathing. “They’ve led you here,” the hiss continued, now on
my other side. “In a direction opposite your father. All your life
they’ve lied to you and are lying to you still, yet you do not
question them.”

“Who are you?” I wanted to believe he was
lying. I needed to believe.

“Haven’t you questioned them and this power
they worship? It isn’t as good and pure as they would have you
believe. How could it be when its followers are forced to lie to
those they hold dear? How can a power so good and pure enable such
corruption and tyranny? The one I serve is greater. He can give you
the answers you seek. He can give you power so that no one—not even
your companions—will dare lie to you again. Take your future into
your own hands. Do not trust it with them.”

I couldn’t take it. Each word ran through me
like a sharp blade because each word was true. “What do you want?”
My dagger trembled.

A light breeze rustled the trees above.

A distorted human face appeared. His skin
looked like it was made of dirt, cracked and dry like the ground
when it hasn’t seen water. His eyes were orange and cat-like, and
he had no nose, just two fine slits. His lipless mouth smiled,
revealing a row of spaced, pointed dagger-like teeth and its tall,
cloaked form hovered over me with breath that smelled of rotted
flesh.

I opened my mouth to scream but no sound
came. My dagger burned in my hands, bringing me back to life. I
lashed out, slashing across his torso, but he vanished and appeared
on my other side faster than I could blink. Horrified, I tightened
my grip on the handle when a bolt of blue light shot past me.

Fury filled his orange cat-like eyes and a
low growl rumbled from his chest. He leapt straight into the air,
cloak whipping after him, out of sight. A ball of green light
exploded from the trees, arching into the darkness beyond. Another
bolt of blue light twisted above from somewhere close, stretching
its blue fingers high into the tree, illuminating the silhouette of
my attacker.

My feet were frozen in place as my eyes tried
to make sense of what was happening. Bright lines of light streaked
through the darkness—green, blue—each vying for dominance. Whatever
had led me here was producing the green. So who—or what—was making
the blue?

Before I could find out, something clamped
around my wrists.

I tried to break free but it was like trying
to pull off my own arm. Someone was dragging me away from the
battle of blue and green lightning, farther into the shadows.
Another streak of blue light flashed and I saw my captor’s orange
cat-like eyes glaring at me.

There were two of them.

I flexed and twisted to free my wrists but
his grip was like iron. “Let go!”

He just pulled me after him like dead
weight.

With all the force I could muster, I kicked
out my leg and struck him hard in the back. My leg jarred as it
made contact, sharp pain shooting up my shin. I might as well have
kicked a rock. My joints burned and my leg throbbed, and the pain I
felt was all mine. None of it belonged to the creature. I couldn’t
even detect the slightest discomfort. He just pulled and pulled and
pulled, leading me farther away from the battle. What was this
thing?

My dagger singed my palm again. Heat spread
through my blood, bringing life back to my aching limbs, and this
time when I twisted my wrist, I broke free.

Everything slowed and my senses
sharpened.

The light overhead froze mid-arch and my
captor’s face was stuck in ugly surprise. Gripping my dagger, I
slashed across his arm, freeing my other wrist. Surprise and pain
shot through me as he let go.

Light shot from his hands, but the light came
slowly, creeping forward as my blade rose to meet it. The burst of
energy hit the metal with a spark and deflected into the trees in a
hundred directions.

Another bolt of light came and I rolled
towards the creature. The light singed the place I had stood only a
moment ago. I leapt to my feet and thrust the blade up into the
creature and a burst of pain shot through my ankles.

My legs were yanked out from under me and I
slammed to the ground, hard. I choked on my breath as I fought to
move, but my legs were stuck together. A thick root had snaked
around my ankles and pulled tight. I hacked at it, chopping away as
hard as I could, but my dagger didn’t even make a scratch. The
creature grabbed my feet and started pulling again, the rest of me
dragging after him.

I slashed at the air, screaming at the
monster. Light flashed above and I saw another shadow move from the
trees.

My heart sunk. Another one? I’d never
escape.

There was a burst of white light so bright I
was blinded. The grip around my ankles vanished and the light
dimmed to black. Flames exploded, filling the night with smoke and
fumes, engulfing my captor. His agony and fury powered through my
body as I struggled to get away.

Sweat dripped into my eyes from the heat as I
pulled myself from the flames, dragging my legs behind me. The fire
suddenly disappeared, as if someone snuffed it out, and everything
returned to darkness.

“Daria!”

It was Alex. I couldn’t see him, but within
seconds his hands found my shoulders and he was trying to get me to
stand.

“I can’t. My ankles are tied.”

He was quiet, his mind racing until I felt
him turn decisive. “Don’t move an inch.”

“Okay.”

The sword in his hands started glowing
white.

“Daria…” He leaned closer to me, his eyes
shining from the glow of his sword. “I’m serious. You can’t
move.”

I held his gaze. “I won’t. Promise.”

Satisfied, he took a deep breath and stepped
away, focusing on my ankles. He raised his sword and looked back at
me with a warning so strong I might’ve been scared if I wasn’t in
such pain from the thing binding my legs.

The sword flashed and he brought it down in a
white blur. The root snapped and fizzled, the shards wriggling and
writhing back into the earth. He dropped his weapon to the ground
and crouched at my side. “Did they hurt you?”

I wiggled my ankles and flinched. “Not too
bad. I’ll live.”

The glow from his sword faded. “Come on, I’ll
help you up.”

“I don’t need your help.” I tried pushing
myself to stand, but the pain in my ankles was too much.

“Let me guess.” He ignored me and wrapped his
arm tightly around my waist. “You have everything under
control?”

His breath tickled my ear and I swallowed.
“Yes.”

I felt his amusement as he helped me to my
feet. I was thankful for the dark because I could feel my cheeks
burning.

Pain ripped through my ankles and legs and I
stumbled. Alex held me tighter so I didn’t fall and I bit my lip,
fighting back tears. My ankles were sprained, badly. Come to think
of it, breaking them might have been less painful.

Alex slowly sat me back down. “Looks like
I’ll have to carry you.”

No way. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, you look fine.”

“Just…give me a minute, okay?”

He sat himself beside me, our sides
touching.

I could feel him—his curiosity. He wanted to
know what I was doing out here. He wanted to know why I’d left, but
for some reason, he didn’t ask. I could feel his hesitation pulse
as strongly as the burning sensation in my ankles, but before he
said a word, something snapped a few yards away.

My heart sunk. Not another one.

Alex leapt to his feet, sword in hand. “Don’t
move,” he whispered.

Like that was an option.

A tiny light appeared, hovering in midair.
Standing just a few feet away from it was an old man. His hair hung
long and straight and white at his sides, and his wrinkly forehead
wrinkled further in curiosity as his clear blue eyes stared at the
pair of us.

It was this man that had saved me. He had
been the one that had produced the blue light. I didn’t know how I
knew that, but I knew it with certainty.

Alex stood over me, blade ready, as the man
approached. The man halted one small step before the tip of Alex’s
sword.

“Who are you?” Alex growled.

“Great mages, young man, do you always
introduce yourself like this?” The man’s voice was raspy, but not
threatening. Like he spoke too much and his vocal chords were
wearing out. “I warn you, it will never encourage
friendliness.”