Authors: Victoria Escobar
Tags: #good vs evil, #gaea, #spartans, #mythology goddess, #greek mythoogy
Of Gaea
Of Gaea
Victoria Escobar
Copyright ©
2013 by Victoria Escobar
Smashwords
Edition
All
rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be
reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express
written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief
quotations in a book review.
Edited by AGC
Editing and Services
Cover Art by
Art is Life: Cover and Art Design
Formatted by
Donna Dull
All
characters, events and places portrayed in this book are a work of
fiction. Any relations to persons, or events living or dead, past
or future are purely coincidental.
Just About
Healing
Coming
Soon
:
Of Sparta
Pariah
Contents
A
riadne’s
problems began with the
orgasm incident. That wasn’t really fair. It started with
the accident and escalated to the Incident. It wasn’t completely
fair to blame one incident for all her problems either, but
everyone and everything needed a scapegoat. “The Orgasm Incident”,
as she called it, was hers.
Nothing
had been the same since the accident.
Everything changed since it left her in a
wheelchair. She couldn’t exactly be a track and field star with no
working legs to support that rising. That wasn’t logical. She was
still an archery master but that was only because Sasha’s father
made a custom bow that wasn’t hindered by the
wheelchair.
Sasha
and Kleisthenes Horiaras and Nasya Monoceros were her reason for
living in the beginning. Without them, she would never have
recovered.
She really
hadn’t wanted to recover, but there was no way to say no to them.
Who wanted to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of their life? Who
woke up in the morning and said, wow I’m so happy to be a
paraplegic?
The
incident started on a normal spring day or as normal as any spring
day was in the mountains of Virginia.
The rain plummeted in thick, blinding sheets, and
Ari waited patiently in the school lobby area for Sasha or Nasya.
It was more likely Sasha would arrive first, Nasya was unreliable
when it came to early morning.
Ari sat
close to a heater to dry off while she waited.
Unfortunately, she had thick, sandy
colored Mediterranean hair, and left her with disgustingly riotous
curls when wet. Thanks to the slow roll of the wheelchair, her
jeans and light sweater just as waterlogged has her hair. If there
was a book that pictured a drowned cat, the picture would have been
her at that very moment.
The
reason she had to wait at all was because the unfair powers at
school had assigned her an upper locker.
Even when she had complained, loudly, they
wouldn’t switch the locker to a lower one. Now, because she
couldn’t reach the lock, let alone get her books out of it, she had
to wait on Sasha or Nasya – if she was around – to help.
They
helped her with a lot of things but they never made her feel like a
cripple.
It was a
relief, in a way, that her best friends were still her best friends
and didn’t look at her any differently since she’d lost three feet
of height.
Still,
since she had trouble sleeping at night, she had been at school
earlier than it was safe to be.
Sasha and Nasya was the wall between her and the rest of
the student body; or rather, the cruel portion of the student body.
When Ari heard the telltale heels on the stone floors, she knew it
was most definitely a mistake to have arrived early.
“
Ariadne.” The voice drew out the whole of her name in a low
feminine purr and though it was silky sweet, the hairs on her arms
stood on end.
She had
insisted, repeatedly, on being called Ari not Ariadne.
No one ever used the whole of
her name, unless she was in trouble or they were being very
serious. Except
her
. The other
girl always used the whole of the name, as if drawing it out
somehow increased the importance of saying it.
Students
came and went through the lobby, but no one stopped. Ari knew no
one would. No one, not even Sasha liked to participate in the
verbal assault of her tormentor. Sasha often did have words with
her to protect Ari and redirect her attacker away from her.
However, Sasha had always been more defensive than
offensive.
Reluctantly Ari turned the wheelchair to face her
attacker.
The girl
facing her was immaculate as always. Even with the rain pouring
outside she appeared as if it had never touched her. It probably
hadn’t, though Ari didn’t see an umbrella. Damia was never without
her full Vanity armor and this rainy day was no different. Her rich
black hair was coiled like snakes around her shoulders, and her
makeup flawlessly covered the scar Ari knew traced her cheekbone.
Her smile was set in a vicious gleam that said she was about to do
something greatly amusing to herself. She was a Medusa and Ari was
an unwilling Grecian victim.
Ari
inclined her head instead of answering Damia.
Silence was her best weapon. If she
cowered, Damia would never go away, and if she spoke, it only
encouraged Damia to attack. It was a fine line, but it always was
with a bully.
Damia
made a show of scanning the area. “I don’t see Sasha. You let your
little doggy off the leash? There is a leash law you know. We both
know Nassie is probably still in bed snoring; such a slacker that
one.”
“
What do
you want, Damia?” Ari kept her voice even and level. To admit she
dreaded the very thought of confrontation with Damia, would lead to
ridicule and that would only lead to much worse in the
future.
“
Tut-tut. That’s not very friendly, Ariadne.” Damia pouted
and overstressed the syllables in her name, again. She flipped her
midnight hair off her shoulders as she sauntered closer.
Ari
couldn’t prevent herself from shrinking away.
There was something about Damia that was
dark and evil, for lack of a better word.
“I could say
you weren’t very friendly when you smashed your car into my bicycle
and crippled my legs, but I won’t.”
Damia’s
mouth formed an “o” of surprise briefly before her wicked smile
returned sharper than before.
She leaned in to the wheelchair even as Ari leaned away.
“Maybe I was wrong, and it’s Sasha that keeps you on the leash.
You’re a bit testier than usual. Although, your bark isn’t as
vicious as it could be. I can help you work on that if you’d
like?”
“
What do
you want, Damia?” Ari knew what she wanted from the other girl. She
wanted her to go away. She wanted Damia to pretend Ari wasn’t worth
her time like she had in grade school. Ari wanted to shout it at
her, but it would only encourage her further. Ari had no idea why
or how she had become Damia’s favorite victim since high school
started, but it was wearying on the soul.
“
Well, I
do have a teensy question.”
Damia ran a finger down Ari’s arm before pulling away. She
only took a few steps before she turned. “What does it feel like
not to have to work at anything anymore?” Her face bore a maniacal
grin that was no different from the smile an axe murder gives
before a kill. “I mean you don’t actually have to do anything
anymore do you? Sasha does it for you. Must be nice to have such a
loyal puppy.”