Gaia's Secret (39 page)

At first I thought he didn’t hear me. He just
sat huddled inside himself, silent, motionless. Then he lifted his
head and the light caught in his eyes. It was distracting, the
silver in them. “Murdered. I watched them…” He buried his head back
into his self-created shelter.

I wrapped my arms around him even though he
flinched. “We have to help him.”

Tran stared at the boy, his face a mask of
thought. “He needs to be taken to the Keep. Immediately.”

Fleck started shaking.

“We can’t just hand him over to strangers!
Look at him. He needs care. Who knows how long he’s been imprisoned
back there. He can stay with us—at least for a little while.”

It was evident that Cicero, Alex, and my dad
were wary of this plan, each looking at the other to give me the
answer I didn’t want to hear.

“Please,” I begged. “Let him come with us. It
won’t be permanent. He risked his life for me. The least I can do
is get him a warm bath.”

The others chuckled at that—except Tran.

“You may be right, child.” Tran rubbed his
chin. “It may benefit us to find out where the boy came from and
what Lord Tiernan wanted with him.”

“Who is Lord Tiernan?” I looked at my
dad.

He sighed and shut his eyes. Memories struck
him, all of them streaking pain across his features, until his
wearied blue eyes opened once again. “There was a time, well before
you were born, when Lord Tiernan was both a friend and confidant of
mine. I don’t know how much the Del Contes told you, but Tiernan is
the brother to the trusted Lord Commodus Pontefract of
Orindor.”

“Lord Commodus—the person you visited?”

Dad nodded. “Yes. Lord Commodus is a very
strong and brilliant leader—I’ll discuss that meeting with you all
soon. His brother Tiernan Pontefract was just as
brilliant—particularly with military tactics. Many members of the
Guild hated him, because he was both powerful and influential in
ways the Guild prides themselves in being.

“I first heard of his disappearance from
Commodus—he hadn’t seen or heard from his brother in weeks.
Commodus was anxious, searching the lands for him. There was
tension in the world then, much like there is now. Relationships
were strained. Always over power.” These last words uttered by him
were laden with bitterness. “No one had word of him, not until a
few years passed when we saw Lord Tiernan, looking much like you
saw him, fighting against his own brother. Commodus wasn’t the same
after that.”

To have your family—your very own brother
turn so far away that they wanted to kill you. How could someone
turn so far that they’d destroy the very ones they loved?

“But it doesn’t make any sense. If Lord
Commodus was so upset over his brother, they must have had a decent
relationship. What could change so that Tiernan would kill his own
flesh and blood?”

Dad winced, taking a deep breath. “Evil never
happens at once. It finds a weakness and plants its seed. That seed
grows, branching through all other aspects of your thinking. You
don’t realize its hold until it’s too late. For some reason the
dark is more potent. Many that tamper with it are drawn to the
possibilities. The more power that is naturally given to you, the
greater the temptation. Many think Tiernan kept his real intentions
hidden for years, until one day, chance favored his prepared mind
and he left. What his purpose is, only he knows. I—and the Del
Contes—believe there are those like Tiernan, who exist within the
palace gates, monitoring what is happening, communicating with the
dark.”

“Is that why you kept me on Earth?”

Sorrow radiated so strongly from him, I began
feeling guilty for bringing it up.

“Yes,” his voice cracked. “There is…so much
to tell you.”

My insides fought it out. Half of me wanted
to tell him to stop and rest, but the other half, the side with
cannons and flares, needed him to continue. I wanted the truth. I
needed the truth, so that I could be free from its haunting once
and for all.

“Your mother was a very powerful woman,
Daria. Her tie to this world was a unique one and her abilities
were greater than most—even equal to members of the Guild. But even
beyond that was something more precious. A secret her family kept
for decades.” He hesitated. “She was a Pandor. It is said that when
Gaia separated from Earth, she entrusted something to the Pandor
family: a box that held the secrets to this world, secrets even the
Dalorens do not know. The knowledge of that box was passed on
through generations and told only to the successor. Your mother
never even told me—and that woman prized her honesty, telling me
everything.”

“Pandor…as in Pandora’s box?”

He grinned. “No, but the Greek myth was a
coincidental distraction. Your mother’s maiden name was Pandor, not
Pandora.”

Too coincidental if you asked me. More
probable the myth was planted.

“When I was imprisoned,” I started, thinking
back. “Tiernan asked me where a box was. I didn’t know what he was
talking about…but it must be this box you’re talking about.”

Dad nodded. “A prophecy exists—one that has
been around for centuries. It says one day a woman will rise from
two powerful bloodlines, and she will lead the people of Gaia
against Mortis’ return—the Great Lord of Shadow. And my family has
also been blessed—or cursed depending on how you look at it—as
being one of the strongest humans in this world. We seem to have a
unique tie to the elementals.”

“Cicero told me about them,” I glanced at
Cicero. “About the Great War and how their powers were used.”

“Ours is the only known lineage that claims
ties to the elementals. I’ve been able to shape the earth since I
was a boy.”

“You…you created our escape back there? You
split open the rock?”

He nodded.

I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I hadn’t
thought much about it and I guess I’d just assumed it was Tran. But
to think it was my own dad…

Boy, did I have a lot to learn.

No wonder he had fallen unconscious. And if
his lineage really had this power, it meant he thought I had it
too. But how? I hadn’t seen any sign of an element.

But you have
.

With the whispers of the breeze, gusts of the
wind, flying through the air.

Dad smiled encouragingly. “His name is Cian.
The elemental of wind. He’s hidden himself from this realm for many
years, but I’m almost certain it’s him. We’ll have to keep
watch—see if he’s returned—or just feeling things out. He’s a
fickle one, much like the wind.”

It was almost too much. A tie to this world
from my mom, a bond to an element from my dad. I wasn’t sure what
it all meant, but it was certainly a lot to think about. “So you
think I am the one the prophecy talks about? A merging of two
bloodlines?”

“I’m not sure, but I won’t risk your life for
something that seems more than coincidental. When your mother and I
found out she was pregnant with you, we were afraid. We told no one
except the Del Contes and…your grandfather.”

“The king?” I asked.

I felt the surprise of the Del Contes and my
dad, his brow furrowed. “You know?”

“Tiernan told me,” I whispered.

He shut his eyes, his grief strong. “I’m
sorry you’ve found out this way. I thought I was protecting you,
that knowing certain things would put you in greater danger. I
didn’t expect Tiernan to simply try and take your power.”

He sighed. “Serves me right, I suppose. When
your mother was—“ he shut his eyes briefly “—dying, she made me
swear I’d keep you hidden until I found the evil behind Lord
Tiernan. She’d never trusted him, even back then, and vowed Gaia
wouldn’t be safe for you until he was gone. We knew that they’d
come for you if they knew she was pregnant with a girl—they all
kept watchful eyes on her the moment we married. People can be
vicious in their devotion to their beliefs.

“After your mother passed, I tried
relentlessly to find out what’d happened to Lord Tiernan so I could
bring you here, but failed. The Del Contes were nice enough to come
with me to protect you, under an oath of secrecy—even from telling
you. I hated doing that to you.” Here he paused.

I believed him. I felt his regret and
remorse.

“But even when you were little you were too
inquisitive for your own good. I knew if I, or the Del Contes, told
you anything about this world—even if I told you why you weren’t
allowed to go to it and of the dangers waiting for you here—you
would try to find it, and nothing would be able to stop you.”

He was right about that. That’s just what I
would have done. And it wasn’t helping my guilt.

“All these years the Del Contes have
monitored the entrance, until recently when those Pykans made it
through. I couldn’t have you marching back into the castle—not only
because most of Gaia doesn’t know you exist but also because I
wasn’t sure it was safe. Before I could take you there, I needed to
figure out what was going on. This place—” he waved his hand at our
surroundings “—was the safest, most concealed location I could
think of, a place where I could meet up with you and tell you
everything myself. Try and salvage what little respect you may
still have.”

“Dad.” I knelt at his side. “I was angry that
you didn’t tell me…angry at the Del Contes.”

“I know how you feel about lies.” His grin
was weak.

I caught Tran’s gaze then, his face tender
and loving. “
You should not cast judgments on what you don’t
understand,”
he had said. Tran grinned then, as if he heard the
thought himself.

“But—” I turned back to my dad “—I understand
why you did it now. Knowing such a powerful evil exists, and if I
knew they were after someone I cared about, I can’t say I wouldn’t
do the same.”

I caught Alex’s gaze then and looked away. I
was so ashamed of how I’d treated him.

“How
did
you figure out how to use
that amulet though?” Dad studied my eyes.

“Oh, that.” I felt embarrassed remembering
what I’d done and how I’d spoken to the Del Contes. How I’d tricked
Alex. How I’d stolen the amulet from Cicero’s pack. The list of
things I’d screwed up was almost as long as the list of things that
wanted me dead. Probably longer.

“I’m not sure, really. I was so desperate to
find you. I knew they were talking to someone named Stefan and he
hadn’t mentioned you in a while, and they wouldn’t let me read the
bindingbook. I told myself I’d follow the Del Contes here, and if
you didn’t show, I’d try to find you myself. And then I had a dream
about you…it was so real. I had to see you…find you and make sure
you were all right. I wasn’t sure what I was doing when I put it
around my neck, but it worked.”

“I should’ve known better.” He shook his
head. “Stefan hadn’t heard from me because I was riding hard to
meet up with you. He was worried someone knew we were communicating
and didn’t want to give away my location. And,” he paused, his eyes
strained. “Sonya didn’t let you read the bindingbook any more
because Stefan forgot himself and…asked how his sister Daria was
doing.”

At first I hadn’t heard the words. I was
still sorting through the stupid conclusions I’d drawn. My
judgments were formed with such haste it was mortifying. And then
the rest of his words reached my ears. “Sister?”

“Stefan is your brother.”

I looked at him with a blank stare, unable to
move, my breath lodged somewhere inside of me.

“I didn’t want you to know.” He searched my
face. “Not until I told you. It was wrong of me, I know, and
completely selfish, and I am so sorry for keeping him from you all
this time. The longer I kept his existence from you, the harder it
was to tell you about him. I told myself I would tell you when you
learned about this world, but I never wanted you to find out like
this. The Del Contes were only upholding their oath to me by not
letting you know your connection to him.”

Time passed in silence as his words echoed
through my head. I wanted to argue, but by his expression I knew he
was completely and wholeheartedly serious.

I had a brother. Another living creature
existed in this world that shared my own flesh and blood. For
eighteen years I had been an only child, but there had been another
that called my dad “dad.” There was another that called my mom
“mom.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but only air
escaped. My heart beat a little faster and my breathing became
shallow. I could feel the truth in his words, but they would not
sink in.

A brother.

I had a brother. That meant I was the sister
to someone.

Dad sat silently, his pale face never turning
from mine. I could feel his anxiety and pain, but what I felt more
than anything was his regret. Of all the untold secrets, this was
the hardest to hear.

“So he lives here?” My voice was fragile. “In
this world?”

He nodded.

The ground began rising, swallowing me within
it. I closed my eyes, struggling against the sabotage of my calm.
With each slow breath I fought to hold onto a thread of stability.
My emotions were running rampant with so many conflicting feelings.
Pain, fear, joy, and bitterness. It was difficult to hold myself
together without having anywhere to hide and sort everything out.
In fact, that was how it had been ever since I had left home, an
onslaught of life changing information with no private sanctuary
for my thoughts. Was it possible for a human being to hear so many
things about their life and stay sane?

I stared at the ground, trying to find solace
in its emptiness, but I kept feeling the concern of my dad and
Alex.

Minutes passed in thick silence before it hit
me. I had a brother. A sibling. No matter how upset I might be that
I’d never known, I had finally been told. There were no longer just
two in our small family; there were three. Curiosity began to prick
at my mind. “What’s…he like?”