Shield of the Gods (Aigis Trilogy, Book 1) (2 page)

             
Nothing. She was free to walk wherever she wanted.

             
Aerigo looked at Roxie expectantly.

             
“For the past two weeks I’ve had this strange need to travel east. No clue why. And now that I’ve met you, it’s gone.”

Aerigo’s face brightened with recognition. “You were subconsciously guiding me to your location.”

Roxie gave him an unconvinced stare.

“It’s called magic,” he said. “Although—”

“Magic’s real?” Part of Roxie had often wanted magic to be real so she could magic her eyes into glowing and fading on command. Of course this never worked.

Aerigo gave the young woman a faint smile as he put the glass bottle on the ground and reached for his canteen. He unscrewed the cap and cupped his free hand, ready to catch the water as he upended the canteen. The water fell as Roxie expected, but as soon as it almost touched Aerigo’s palm it began to collect as if it had fallen into an invisible bowl.

Roxie’s eyes widened as Aerigo began to mold the liquid into the likeness of a rose. He let go of his canteen and held his other hand over the reshaping globe of water, slowly moving it up and down like a musical conductor measuring out beats. The water rose splayed over his cupped hand, and the petals shimmered like pool water in the middle of the afternoon. Roxie raised a finger, but restrained herself from touching it.

“Go ahead,” Aerigo said gently, letting his free hand relax. “It’s just water.”

Roxie reached for the nearest petal, which was as big as a half dollar, and tapped its fringe. She looked at her fingertip and saw a drop of water on it. She dipped a forefinger into the water rose and took it out again, noticing that the inside of the rose felt like a bubbling Jacuzzi. Again her finger remained unharmed. “Weird.”

Aerigo reached for his canteen as he turned the rose upside down, which began to dismember itself one petal at a time. Each piece congealed into a large drop and returned to the canteen. The big man screwed the cap back on. “Your turn.” He picked up the glass bottle and held it out to her. “Drink this.”

              Roxie reached for the bottle, then stopped herself. “What is it?” She stared at the pale liquid. Even though she felt kindred toward Aerigo and his glowing eyes, she couldn’t ignore being trained to avoid accepting gifts from strangers.

Aerigo looked at the bottle. “Being able to do magic is supposed to be normal for you.”

“And that drink will make me normal?” It was more a statement than a question.

“Essentially, yes.”

Roxie bit her lower lip, folded her arms and stared at the bottle. For some reason the thought of drinking it frightened her. It would change the life she was familiar with, as lonely as it had sometimes been. Already things weren’t the same because she’d met Aerigo, but she was still herself. On the other hand, being able to do magic would be the coolest thing in the world.

Roxie accepted the bottle, unscrewed the cap and sniffed its contents. It was odorless.
Well that’s a help.
She summoned her courage, closed her eyes, took a sip and swallowed. The liquid tasted mostly like water, slightly sweetened with the hint of a sports drink flavor. She licked her lips, enjoying the sweetness, then began downing the rest of the bottle with the zeal of a person who hadn’t a drop of liquid in days.

She managed to swallow half the contents before a loud crash from somewhere nearby startled them both. “What was that?” she whispered, the bottle still to her lips.

“I’m not sure,” Aerigo whispered back. “Go home and finish the bottle there. Make sure you drink
all
of it.” He picked up his belongings, then pulled out his dagger and faced Roxie. “I’ll find you in the morning. Just stay home and don’t wander off.” He headed towards the darkest part of the street.

“You don’t even know where I live!” Roxie said as loud as she dared.

Aerigo turned around and sent her a glare punctuated with smoldering red eyes.

Unable to disobey that signal, Roxie hastily capped the bottle and turned to leave, but a sly voice alarmed her and caused her to whirl around.

“Don’t leave just yet.” The man belonging to the voice stepped into the light of the street lamp and stopped in front of Aerigo, smiling at him. “Tell me, Aerigo, who’s your new girlfriend?”

Now would be a great time to start running home, as Roxie had been instructed. However, the tone of that man’s sly voice made her more curious than afraid. She looked to Aerigo for an answer. His muscular arms were corded with tension, eyes burning a molten red. Roxie kept quiet.

This second person looked like he had been swallowed by a shark and spit back out again—twice. A starchy material, covered in dirt and ripped in many places, was all that was left of his jeans and flannel shirt, and his reek stung Roxie’s nose from fifteen feet away. His short black hair was spiked forward, his dark eyes appeared sunken from fatigue, yet his gaze was charged with...what? Triumph? Whatever it was, Roxie didn’t like how this lean-muscled newcomer stared.

“None of your business, Daio,” Aerigo said, and raised his dagger slightly.

“Ah.” Daio was sneering now. “So she’s the one Baku has sent his
mighty
warrior to protect. Nexus will be most pleased to learn this.”

“What does Nexus want with the girl?”

“I don’t know,” Daio said irritably. “What does Baku want with the girl? She doesn’t seem particularly special. However, since
you’re
making a big deal, there’s got to be more to her than what I sensed.”

One moment Daio was standing feet away from Aerigo, and the next thing Roxie saw was Daio right in front of her, wearing his malicious grin. He grabbed the sleeve of her t-shirt and yanked on it, ripping the shirt to the other shoulder and down the side. Roxie threw a fist, but Daio swatted it away as if he were expecting it, and the parry stung as if a block of iron had struck her arm.

“Your eyes
do
glow!” Daio said happily. “You’re one of our kind.” He bent his knees and kicked one leg backward, catching Aerigo in the stomach.

“Rox, go home now!” Aerigo yelled in a tight voice as he clutched his stomach. Sucking in a breath, he lunged for Daio with his dagger, but only succeeded in driving him away from Roxie and into the street. Aerigo positioned himself in front of Roxie and faced the street.

Roxie started backing into an alley on shaky legs, and with her arms clamping her tattered shirt to her chest. She wanted to run, but feared putting her back to Daio, who had one arm stretched toward the middle of the street, as if he were reaching for something.

“Catch up with you later, kid.” Daio lost his grin, and looked at his hand. “Well that’s no fair.”

Aerigo took the tip of his dagger between his thumb and forefinger and, with a grunt, launched his weapon. Daio ducked out of its trajectory. The blade clanged against a brick building and hit the ground.

“I don’t know what kind of threat you think the girl could possibly pose,” Daio taunted, fists raised and smiling once again. “She has so little time to prepare.”

“She’s none of your concern.” Aerigo raised both fists as well.

“What a stupid thing to say,” Daio said, sounding bored. “But in all seriousness, she does have
you
for a teacher...”

Why is some creepy guy interested in me, and what am I supposed to be taught? Does this guy think I’m some sort of secret weapon?
It seemed frighteningly plausible. Before Roxie could ponder the situation further, Daio was a couple of feet away from her again, but this time with one of Aerigo’s arms clamped around his neck. Daio grasped for his neck with both hands as Aerigo forced him into the street. Roxie stood there watching with the same morbid fascination of seeing a fight break out in a school hallway.

Both men struggled to push or trip the other off balance. Finally, Aerigo swiped one of Daio’s legs out with one of his own. As they teetered, Daio jerked his torso toward the ground, causing them both to corkscrew midair. Aerigo hit the ground on his back with a ground-vibrating thud. Daio started elbowing Aerigo in his ribs and Roxie winced. Aerigo freed an arm and punched Daio in the head so hard he slid off him and onto the pavement. The impact sounded like the dull crack of a ball hitting a bat. Aerigo popped to one knee, cocked a fist, then stopped. Daio lay unmoving, his arms spread like a scarecrow. Aerigo glanced at Roxie, then got to his feet, draped Daio over one shoulder and headed over to Roxie. Neither man bore any cuts or bruises.

“Did he hurt you?” Aerigo asked.

Considering the fact that the only part of her that had sustained any injuries was her shirt, Roxie said, “No. Is he dead?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Aerigo looked at her a moment, then said, “It’s a long, complicated answer. Stay there. I’ll be right back.” He solemnly walked past Roxie down the alley, and into darkness.

The death question seemed half fair, half harsh. Daio was a threat, yet he hadn’t tried to harm her on the first chance he had; he just ripped a perfectly good shirt. After that, he’d seemed ready to leave, but for some odd reason didn’t. What had he been planning to do to her if Aerigo hadn’t protected her? All possible answers made Roxie feel sick to her stomach.

Footsteps steadily approached. Roxie turned around. Aerigo paused before her, frowning, then retrieved his pack from the sidewalk. He returned to Roxie’s side, setting the pack on the ground as he unzipped it, and produced a white rolled-up shirt from the main pocket. He sniffed it quickly, then handed it to Roxie.

“Here.”

Roxie mumbled her thanks as she accepted the shirt, then sniffed it as well. “Pine trees.”

“I’ve been sleeping outside the last few days.”

Aerigo stood and rounded the corner of the building and out of sight. Roxie scanned the intersection, along with the dark alley behind her. Seeing no one, she shrugged out of her ruined shirt, and into the pine-fresh one.
Sheesh, I’ve known him a whole five minutes and I’m already wearing his clothes. This better not be the start of a trend.
Aerigo’s shirt was huge on her; it stopped just below her fingertips when she held her arms to her sides. Roxie was tall for a girl—five-nine—but the shirt was so long and baggy on her it reminded her of when she was small enough to use her grandma’s shirts as pajamas.

Roxie balled up her ripped shirt, figuring she’d throw it away in the nearest garbage, then picked up the half-f glass bottle. She peeked around the corner to find Aerigo leaning against the pawnshop’s glass window. He looked up at her, his expression pensive.

“Now what?” Roxie asked.

“Take you home to get some rest.” Aerigo drew closer and collected his pack. “But let me get my dagger first.”

Oh, this is going to be fun.
Roxie was
not
looking forward to explaining to Grandma everything that just happened.

Chapter 2

Energy Shift

              Roxie discarded her ripped shirt in one of the many garbage cans lining Buffalo’s broad sidewalks, and wordlessly guided Aerigo out of the city. Aerigo didn’t seem in the mood for conversation; his eyes followed the ground, his footsteps silent and measured like a martial artist’s. Roxie wondered if he was anticipating someone else to attack her or both of them, but her thoughts were too preoccupied by a far more pressing matter: how to explain to Grandma everything that’d just happened.

             
Roxie wanted to hide behind Aerigo and let him explain everything, but she knew Grandma would look down on her for such cowardice. Roxie didn’t want that. She wanted to be a respectable almost-adult, and to be trusted. She wasn’t earning any brownie points right now, but at least she was returning home in one piece—minus her T-shirt.

             
The trek through the Buffalo leg of their journey should have taken twenty minutes, but it felt like no more than five. Roxie’s eyes found the end of every block they traversed, each curb fueling her mounting anxiety.

             
She found herself wanting to walk slower by the time they reached the forest dividing her home from the city limits. The bed of fallen pinecones and needles felt like a springboard beneath her sneakers. If anything, their pace quickened as a chorus of tree frogs and crickets chirped away on either side of the path.

             
Introducing Aerigo didn’t seem like that big of a deal. Sure, the time of night was awkward, but Roxie hoped the fact that his eyes could glow like hers would smooth things over. But every time Roxie tried to think of how to explain why she was wearing one of Aerigo’s shirts, the truth sounded absurd, and any lies carried all the wrong implications.

             
The trip across the back yard seemed way too fast. Then the five porch steps were behind them and the screen door awaited their entry. Light from the living room window to the left seeped through closed curtains. Roxie stared at the handle, her mind blank.

             
“What’s wrong?” Aerigo asked.

             
“What the heck do I tell my grandmother?” Roxie said, wringing the fringe of her borrowed shirt between her fingers.

             
“Just tell her the truth.”

             
“I know but—” Roxie tried to think of the best way to word her thoughts. “I don’t want her to worry about me or be scared, or think I’m irresponsible. She didn’t want me roving around this late at night in the first place. Meeting you and that other guy is the last thing I want to tell her about.”
I don’t want another lecture.

             
“I’ll explain things where you can’t, but I’m just a stranger to your grandmother, so I don’t know how she’ll take the information.”

             
“If it were, like, first thing in the morning, this wouldn’t be so bad.”

             
“I can wait outside until morning if you want,” Aerigo said, gesturing to the wicker couch on the porch.

             
Roxie glanced at the couch and its flowery cushioning. “No, that’ll make it even harder to explain how I’m wearing your shirt. Grandma won’t rest until she knows I’m safe, and I won’t rest until the earful I’m about to get is over and done with.” Roxie took a deep breath, straightened up her oversized shirt, and exhaled. When she reached for the door handle, she remembered the bottle in her hand. “Wait just one second.” She unscrewed the cap and chugged the rest of the mystery liquid, licked her lips, then deposited the empty glass in the recycle bin. “Hopefully that’ll give me one less thing to have to explain.” When she reached for the handle again, drowsiness struck her. “Whoa, what’s in that stuff?”

             
“What’s wrong?”

             
“I feel like I could curl up right here and fall asleep,” she said, eying the doormat. Roxie opened the screen door, which screeched. “Well now I’m a little more awake again.”

             
Aerigo held the palm of his hand to Roxie’s forehead.

             
Roxie brushed it away. “I’m not feeling sick; just sleepy.”

             
“Your energy is changing.”

             
“Whatever.” Roxie didn’t have the drive to care or wonder what he meant. She figured whatever she just drank was affecting her. More magic stuff—either that or her adrenaline rush had finally run out, allowing her system to prepare her for sleep mode. But right now she needed to convince her grandmother that she was okay and didn’t need to worry about her anymore. She opened the inner door and peeked in.

             
The kitchen was dark and empty, the TV off, and the top of Grandma’s grey head protruded over the back of the couch. Roxie tiptoed inside and called to her grandmother, who didn’t stir. Roxie took off her sneakers and socks and set them by the door, then padded over to the couch. She checked behind her when she heard the back door click shut. Aerigo was taking in his new surroundings with his pack hanging in one hand. “Just put your stuff by the table,” she said, then turned back to her grandmother.

             
Tucker, their tabby cat, was curled up in Grandma’s lap. He raised his head and gave Roxie a bleary-eyed look.

             
“Hey, Tucker,” Roxie whispered. “Go back to sleep.” The cat replied with a yawn, then curled back up, tucking his nose under one furry wrist, and started purring. Roxie called to her grandmother again, who continued sleeping. She put a hand on Grandma’s shoulder and the old woman woke with a start, scaring Tucker off her lap. The cat slipped under the coffee table and out the other side, and proceeded to study both ladies from his new post.

             
As soon as Grandma noticed Roxie she pressed a hand over her sternum. “Goodness gracious, you scared me!”

             
“Sorry, Grandma. At least I made it back home in one piece.”

             
“And for that I’m grateful. Did you find what you were looking for this time?” Grandma rose from her seat and readjusted her bathrobe.

             
“Yep. You were right. I’m not an alien.”

             
“Ah, you finally believe me.”

             
“I’m actually an Aigis.” Roxie tried again to sort out the revelation about not being human, but her sluggish brain wasn’t in the mood to make any more sense of it. She hoped she wouldn’t have to elaborate. She kept seeing pictures of the ultrasounds in her head.

             
Grandma went from sleepy to serious at the mention of “Aigis.” She gazed into Roxie’s eyes, then looked a little lower. “Whose shirt is that and what happened to yours?” she said as if she already knew the answer.

             
Roxie winced and braced herself for an incoming scolding. “Mine kind of got ripped up and someone named Aerigo gave me one of his to wear.”

             
“Aerigo?” Grandma said in disbelief.

             
“Don’t tell me you know him?”

             
“Yes. No!”

             
Aerigo crossed the open space and stood close to Roxie as Grandma’s eyes went livid. “Ma’am, I—”

             
“Get out of my house!”

             
Aerigo put up his hands and took a couple of steps back. “I mean you no harm,” he said, his voice calm.

             
“
Out!”

             
“Grandma,” Roxie said, “don’t make him leave. His eyes glow too.”

             
“I don’t care!” Then to Aerigo, “I don’t want you to ever return.”

             
Tucker meowed loud enough to get all three of them to look at him. Arms still up, Aerigo took a step closer, looking at the cat with a raised eyebrow.

             
“Baku?” he said, unsure.

             
“Tucker,” both women corrected in unison. Roxie recognized the other name but couldn’t remember who that person was or what Aerigo had said about him. She squeezed past Grandma and plopped onto the couch, feeling like her legs had no strength left in them.

             
“Are you okay, Rox?” Grandma asked.

             
“Yeah. Just tired,” she said, then yawned. “And really confused.” She sunk into the plush cushioning, closed her eyes, and fought the urge to sleep.

             
Grandma said, “I’m sorry. Aerigo, you don’t have to leave.” She took a seat next to Roxie, sitting on the edge of the cushion. “I do owe you some explaining but first I want to hear about what happened to you and your shirt.”              

             
Relieved to not be getting another lecture, Roxie summarized how she met Aerigo, the strange drink he gave her, and their encounter with Daio. Aerigo reassured both ladies that they should be out of immediate danger.

             
“I don’t understand this Daio character,” Grandma said. “What does he want?”

             
Roxie had been about to fall asleep, but her grandmother’s question piqued her curiosity. “Yeah, what does he want and what does he know? He made me feel like he thinks I’m some sort of secret weapon.”

             
Aerigo said, “You do have quite the task before you but you’re not a secret weapon.”

             
“But what does he think you’re going to teach me?” Roxie asked softly. “He said I was supposed to be a threat or something.”

             
“You are a threat to his agenda, but not necessarily in a violent sense.”

             
“What do you mean?” She closed her eyes but Aerigo’s voice kept her conscious.

             
“To put it simply: Daio, his master and their allies want people to die. Baku, many others, and myself don’t want this to happen. We need your help to save lives.”

             
Roxie’s mouth barely formed the words “sounds complicated,” and then she passed out.

             
Aerigo drew closer and put a hand on Roxie’s forehead, evaluating her energies again.  Her skin was hot to the touch, but it felt like change; not illness. “She shouldn’t wake up anytime soon. She’s changing into a proper Aigis.”

             
“She’ll be able to do everything she’s supposed to soon?”

             
“Correct.”

             
“Is it safe to move her? We need to talk but I don’t want to disturb her sleep.”

             
Aerigo scooped Roxie into his arms. “Where to?”

The old woman led him across the living room, down a flight of stairs and into a typical teenage girl’s bedroom. The walls were covered with movie posters, pictures of scenery and people, and a couple of stuffed bookcases. In one corner of the room near the ceiling hung a net overflowing with stuffed animals. Below it was a twin bed neatly made. Aerigo laid Roxie on the comforter of striped pinks and reds with stars, hearts, spirals and wavy lines all over it. Grandma took the throw blanket from the foot of the bed and covered Roxie from the shoulders down, then kissed her granddaughter’s forehead.

              “So you’ve come already,” she said softly, sorrowful.

             
“Yes. It can’t be helped.” Aerigo felt both grateful and saddened by Grandma’s foreknowledge. Grateful because his arrival was less of a shock, yet saddened because no amount of warning would make the family parting any easier to accept.

             
“Don’t you think she’s a little young?”

             
“What did Baku tell you about Rox?”

             
“Come.”

             
Aerigo followed Grandma back upstairs and took a seat at the kitchen table when she gestured to it.

             
“I’m making some herbal tea. Do you want any?”

             
“Please.”

             
Grandma filled up a teakettle and set it on the gas stove to boil, then calmly walked around the counter and down the hall, into her room. A moment later she returned and dropped a folded piece of paper on the table, then returned to the kitchen. “One morning, when Roxie was still a newborn, I went to her crib to feed her and found her holding an envelope in one tiny hand. I couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation for how the letter got there, much less without disturbing a baby.” Grandma retrieved two ceramic mugs from a hanging cabinet and set them by the stovetop. “If you’ve seen enough of the world around us, you’ll understand that magic isn’t a reasonable explanation.” She took out a couple of tea bags from another cabinet near the stove and deposited one in each mug.

             
Aerigo gave the lady a comprehending nod. “I’ve been to quite a few worlds. Some have magic; some don’t, like yours. It’s just the way things are.”