The Wiccan Diaries (10 page)

Halsey

He didn’t come. He
didn’t come. He didn’t come.
Absentmindedly, I felt with my fingertips for
the locket. For the portraits of Kinsey and Maximilian Rookmaaker. My parents.
Why hadn’t he come? I stood at my balcony, watching the sun go down. Everywhere
was a golden glow. I could look to my left and see the Spanish Steps. Lovers
met there to share their evenings.

I had just taken a bath and brushed out my hair. Of course,
my hair dryer would go on the fritz. Which meant more air-drying. Ballard’s
hand drawn map was to what looked like a piazza.

It had me piqued. I was from the New England countryside.
What was an authentic Italian get-together at a piazza like? This was the first
real urban environment I had ever lived in before. Hanging out with Ballard’s
family and friends sounded like fun.

I’m going. If he wants
to find me, he knows where I live.
Part of me wished Lennox were here. It
wasn’t like going stag was a problem. I had never officially
had
a boyfriend. Becca was always trying
to get me to go out more.

The only problem was there was nowhere to go. St. Martley’s
was very conservative. As part of that conservatism, they had built their
school as far away from ‘distractions’ as possible.

I thought about the Six Nine Guys. They would probably look
at me like I was one of Ballard’s harmless, annoying friends. No one to bother
with. Whatever.

I decided to get ready anyway.
It won’t be like
they’re
staring
at you.
I brushed my teeth and ran the brush through my hair again, and put
on a pair of Levi’s brand jeans and a T-shirt. My landlady frowned at me again.
She ran her finger across her throat. “Stupid
ragazza
,” she said.

Crossing my fingers so she could see I was optimistic about
the whole endeavor, I went down the rickety stairs and descended onto the
street. My Vespa was in a park a few blocks away. The last rays of light
colored the sky like pale fire.

By the time I found my Vespa and started it, it was
nighttime. I passed through the canopy of trees and the last-minute games of
tag being played by children, and set out to go meet Ballard again. My stomach
rumbled from not having eaten all day. I was going to have to do something
about that. The last thing I’d eaten was the grattachecca. It took me about
fifteen minutes from the park, to get to Trastevere.

I got that sense again of going from modern utilitarian
poshness to authentic Rome. Trastevere was so solid. It was becoming my
favorite of the areas I had seen so far. I pulled over at a store just to check
the map again. My hair was probably going to look awful when I took off my
helmet. I didn’t care.

The map led south, to an area just inside what looked like a
giant wall. Ballard had drawn it in thick, bold, double lines, continuous and
solid-looking. It went off in interesting directions, the wall. I drove
according to the map, when I came to an archway suddenly.

It was made of fine white stone––not unlike my
balcony, except it was so large––almost like a triumphal arch.
Emperors used to build them to celebrate conquests. This one had a
shield
––a pair of fierce
tigers, like a crest, guarding over the entrance to the small piazza.

The piazza was full of light and music and sharp sounds of
laughter; it was full of Ballard’s family and friends.

* * *

He came running up to me, when he saw me. “You made it!” he
said, looking on happily as I put down my kickstand. I raised the visor on my
helmet. “Uh-huh,” I said, hoping he would turn around a sec, so I could take
the helmet off my head. I had to run my hands through my hair; it was sure to
look a mess, all knotted, etc. As if obliging my secret whim, he looked up and
inhaled deeply through his nose, looking around. I took the opportunity to
remove my helmet and check my reflection briefly in one of the two mirrors
attached to my Vespa. I ran my hands through my hair, but there was nothing I
could do about it. So I just gave it up as a bad job. He turned, and said,
“Some party, huh?”

I looked around. “Yeah,” I said. They were all off mingling
with each other. I saw all their bikes.

There were the
really
tall dudes
, but there were also people my own age, some younger, and a lot
older. “We get together, sometimes,” said Ballard. “Everyone in the
neighborhood is invited, of course.”

“Of course,” I said, wishing I would stop feeling so
uncomfortable. What was I doing here? Ballard, I had to hand it to him, did his
best not to make me feel like a stranger. Before we went to meet everyone, I
asked him about the wall. Now that I was here I could see it properly.

“That’s a long story,” he said. “It was built by the ancient
Romans to keep out invading hordes. So I guess it’s not that long a story.” He
smiled, goofily. “It’s pretty freaky, though. It goes everywhere. It circles
old Rome.”

“So that’s where we are now?
Old
Rome?”

“Then there’s the pomerium. There’s a story, would you like
to hear it? About Rome’s founders, Romulus and Remus.”

I listened, nodding for him to continue. Lia came over
instead.

“Not keeping her to yourself, are you, little bro?” she
said. She looked me over. I felt a part of her sizing me up. It was nice of her
to speak English, though. “We were never properly introduced,” she said,
holding out her hand. “I’m Lia.”

She waited for me to take it.

“Halsey... Rookmaaker,” I said.

“Well, Halsey Rookmaaker, what brings you all the way
from––wait, where are you from?”

“I... Massachusetts,” I said. “That’s in the––”

“I know where it is. How do you know my brother so well?”

“Like I said, we wrote to one another.”

“It’s called the Internet,” said Ballard, inventing quickly.
“I met her in a chat room. We have the same interests.”

“You like Manchester United, too?” She looked at me.

“Actually...”

“So it’s something secret. I have my eyes on
both
of you.” She poked Ballard in the
stomach. “It’s nice to meet you, Halsey. Enjoy yourself tonight. Just make sure
you don’t turn this one’s head, all right? I don’t think he’s ever even talked
to a girl before.”

“Hey!” he said. She left us to meet some other friends.

“I think she just... cockblocked you,” I said, somewhat. He
just laughed. And then he couldn’t stop.

“I told you. She’s like mother hen. Don’t let it get to you,
though. Once she’s someone’s friend, it’s to the death. I know a lot of people
who would go to war with Lia. Some who would go to it for her.”

He pointed.

I turned and saw the most gorgeous man I had ever seen in my
life. He made the fountain that was in the center of the piazza look tiny. His
arms in the pullover he wore were stunningly ripped––huge, broad
shoulders. He looked like a stalking panther. His perfect bronze skin
disappeared into designer clothing.

“That’s Gaven. Every girl I know wants to be with him,” said
Ballard. “He chose Lia instead. Go figure.”

I sighed. “He’s...”

“You can say it.”

“Wow. I mean... Is he one of you, too?”

Ballard considered. “By one of
me
, do you mean all of them? They have this whole thing, Halls.
They get up to weird stuff. I wake up sometimes at night and hear them all
zipping around. I swear to god, they have motorcycles on the brain. Not one of
them works.”

“How do they afford all... that?” I swept my arm across the
vista of shining racing bikes. “I mean, all those bikes must cost a fortune.”

“That’s just it. I don’t know what they get up to. I tried
asking Lia, but she tells me to mind my own business, like I’m getting on her
nerves or something. It gets pretty tiring fixing all of them, too. Lia just
says it’s helping them out. Like I should just spend all my time doing them
favors. I swear, my two older brothers had it right. They just got out. I think
they live in some place called Fresno, wherever that is.” He shrugged. “Let’s
go get some grub. You look like you’re malnourished or something.”

I held my hands up to my hair. No wonder Lia was looking at
me like that.

“So are you going to tell me about Romulus and Remus?” I
asked.

“Sure,” he said, and then made a moaning sound. “Mmm... spare
ribs...” He grabbed a paper plate and unstuck a bunch. “Help yourself,” he
said.

“They were twin brothers who founded Rome.”

“Okay,” I said, dishing up. The moon and stars were out
early tonight. I watched them wheel overhead.

“So it’s a really big deal, especially for us.”

I listened on, intrigued. “Why is it a big deal for you?”

He ate his grub. “Before that there were a lot of so-called
‘outlaws.’ They were the ancestors of our people. They roamed the countryside,
the
campagna
, around Rome and
elsewhere, homeless savages looking for a place to call their own. Lia and
I––all of us––we are what’s left of them.”

“Savages?” I said, holding up a spare rib with my fingers.
The meat melted right off the bone; it was absolutely delicious. I think we
both licked our fingers a lot. Ballard was a natural storyteller. I could tell
he kept so much in reserve, doling it out. I listened for more.

“They were called the
feral
children
,” he said, “they seemed to be all our age. Them, I
mean––” he pointed to Gaven and all his hangers-on. “No one older
than thirty. It was so bad, the people wondered, ‘Who are these savages? And
why are there no old men and women?’ They figured the feral children must eat
them. It’s good, no?”

“Sì, Signor Ballard.”

“They figured the feral children were savages and must feed
on the blood of their own kind. The land was full of blood drinkers. No laws.
Outlaws.
Romulus became the first
‘King,’ so-called. I don’t want to jump ahead of myself. Have you tried one of
these?”

He put down his plate, and wiped off his hands with a paper
napkin. In a big barrel filled with ice was enough Succo del Gatto to last the
summer! I smiled in spite of myself. “I love those!” I said. He nodded his
approval. Soon we were both drinking them and eating the spare ribs. Everywhere
people had the red with gold foil. It gave a
kick
to the back of the throat, like a wake-up call. I listened
astutely. He started to talk about how they did not get along.

“Romulus and Remus were at each other’s throats,” he said,
shaking his head sadly. “It’s a foundation myth. Every culture has them.”

“They unified the tribes?” I asked.

“Basically...
yes
,”
said Ballard. “Until then, the countryside was filled with wanderers. As soon
as the two brothers established Rome––where, basically, it has been
kept all of these millennia––there was no resting place for the
fuorilegge
, the outlaws. But it’s more
interesting than that.

“They were
royal
,
these two brothers. The offspring of the highest. It is the old story. There
was a
prophecy
.”

“Isn’t there always?” I said.

“The wannabe ruler, who thought himself so high, well, when
he heard the prophecy about these two, and how they would someday overthrow him,
he plotted, he thought and he planned. How to eliminate a threat to us, he
wondered? For So-and-So was destined to bear special children; they would be
the ruin of him.”

I think we were both enjoying the Succo del Gatto a little
too much. Ballard had a manic light in his eyes.

“Rhea Silvia gave birth to them, and behold, they were
mighty––plump and squirmy, but mighty. Their uncle saw their little
fingers grasping for him and he thought they grasped for his crown. So, in a
jerk move, he ordered them left to the elements. Death by exposure.”

I listened on, awestricken. “Oh no,” I said.

“Yes,” he said. “Those poor little infants were to be thrown
to the wolves. Except everything went
wrong
.
As you know, prophecies are tricky things. A she-wolf found them and suckled
them. They fed at the many strong teats of the she-wolf. In time, they grew
mighty and strong.

“And then they started bickering about where such-and-such
should be built, and Romulus punked his brother.
Yea.”

He nourished himself on his Succo del Gatto, and laughed.
“So what do you think about our story?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Definitely,” he said.

“Okay, don’t get mad, but I think you’re the worst
storyteller of all times.”

“Naturally.” He beamed with a certain pride.

I ate my spare rib, making a pile of them. And worked some
more on my Succo del Gatto. “What you’re describing is like, I dunno,
carving for one’s self
. Do you know what
that means?” I said.

“Uh-uh.”

“Well, you have these two twins. I mean, obviously they were
young and everything. It sounds like they came from a kingdom that was already
established, Ballard. And there were
two
of them, right?” I held up my fingers like I was making a point. “Double
trouble. It’s like, How can I be anything, if I have to fight with my brother?”

“Exactly,” said Ballard.

“So they decide to wander the earth.
Searching.
Until they finally find this place, but now they can’t
agree on what they should do, because there are two of them.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” said Ballard.

“I’m fine.” I held up my two fingers. “Where was I?”

“You were saying something about two,” said Ballard.

“Right. Exactly. Of course they can’t get along. They’re
each trying to carve for themselves. To build their own lasting empires.
Obviously one’s going to try to buy the other one out.”

“He killed him,” said Ballard, soberly.

“Who?”

“Romulus killed Remus. But there’s more to the story.”