Centaur Legacy (10 page)

Her smile had returned,
“
But those who are tied closely to Rupert,
the original sire cast out of the pasture, are able to mask their
bloodline. Your father is Rupert’s direct descendent and can be a
chameleon. He told me his last name was Strayer, and I recognized
it from the pasture. He did not tell me and I did not realize what
his real bloodline was.
”

“So you did know he was
married?”

“No. I believed him to be
a lonely Centaur who had passed his age of selection. Once a
Centaur is thirty, he is no longer eligible to marry a Centauride.
Many become bitter – William was not. He was carefree and fun and
completely charming. I had vowed never to marry, as I loved Kyle
and knew I would never meet another like him. Your father was
charming, and I was lonely. When he was preparing to return to
South Carolina, he told me of his lineage and his
wife
.”

“He told you he was in the Lost
Herd?”

“He did. He had been
ordered to seduce me, to father a child who would unite the herds.
When he left, he told me of his orders but said he would go back to
his father and tell him that I was not Angela Chiron, that someone
had gotten it wrong.
”

“But he knew he’d fathered a
child?”

“No. He called me weeks
later and even tried to see me in the subsequent months. I lied. I
told him that the Chiron line was too strong to allow for a set of
twins mixed with Tak blood. Zeus himself decreed the end of the Tak
bloodline. I didn’t know what to do. I told him his attempt had
been a wasted effort, and he had betrayed his wife for nothing. I’m
sure I said a lot of other things, as well. He swore he would keep
my identity a secret. To his credit, your father kept his
word
.”

“What about Kyle
Richardson?”

“You know all about him.
He hid me from everyone
.”

“Why did he hate me so badly the night
I met him?”

“He didn’t hate you. He
was unaware that you existed. He was furious with William and me
and he couldn’t comprehend how William could be your father. I
tried very hard for you to hear me that night to tell you what had
happened
.”

“
Why does everyone keep
telling me that I have to unite the herds. Even Zandra wanted
that.”

“My mother isn’t
interested in uniting the herds; she merely wanted our blood tied
to Winfield and Unice. There is much dissention among the Centaur
herds and no clear line of leadership. Most believe Chiron to be
the rightful ruler, but the Lost Herd, the Tak, were the true
warriors of our race. You or Cameron would be the rightful Centaur
leaders
.
”

“
Wait, Cameron? Is that my
twin brother?”

“I gave birth to you and
your brother. I worried that Kyle’s magic couldn’t protect all
three of us, so I placed Cameron with a human for safekeeping. He’s
protected, but is also unaware of his lineage
.”

“Does Zandra know where he
is?”

“Not yet, but after she
found you, she began looking for him.”

“Is he in South Dakota? I saw your old
plane ticket in your closet. I saw the picture of the two of
us.”

“He is protected by the
same thing you seek. I’m merely a spirit now. I cannot see the
future anymore. He was still in South Dakota when I
died.
”

“Wait, the man with the arrow? No
wonder Zethus gave it up to a stranger. I thought he was crazy when
he said he’d given it to some guy he didn’t know, but that makes
sense. So, how do we find a man we don’t know, who we don’t have a
description of, we don’t know where he lives, who happened to have
the arrow twenty years ago, and oh, by the way, is the guardian to
my twin brother?”

“
I’m running out of time
and the strength. Beware of Phineas. You are the rightful leader of
the Centaurs: Daughter of Chiron and Daughter of Rupert of the Lost
Herd.
”

“Wait, Phineas? Like from Zandra’s
house?”

“Yes.
Phineas
is part of the Lost Herd. You
feel a kinship to him, but do not turn your back on him. Know that
he is seeking you now
.
Zeus isn’t yet aware that there are Tak survivors, so for
now, Phineas is your biggest concern.
”

“But he helped me find Drake. He helped
me escape.”

“For his plans to work, you
needed to be free of Zandra. I overheard him on the telephone after
you were free. He didn’t expect your father to arrange for your
departure so quickly.”

I needed her to tell me we were doing
the right thing. “Finding Hercules’ arrow seems like a long shot.
Is this what we should be looking for?”

“Follow your instincts. If
that’s where your instincts tell you to go, then you’re on the
right path
.”

“Can’t you just tell me what the right
path is?”

“All the skills I possessed
while alive and a Centauride did not follow me to the spirit world.
I no longer see the future. I trust you. You need to trust in
yourself, as well.”

A feeling of déjà vu crept up on me,
and I remembered something else she said in her dream. “Mom, you
told me if I loved Drake, I needed to let him go, the same way you
stayed away from Kyle Richardson.”

“Yes.
”

“I can’t do that. If he’ll have me, I’m
going to marry him.”

She smiled at me, and it
filled me with a warmth I hadn’t felt in months.
“
He’s already made it very clear to you
that he wants you as his wife; why do you think he would change his
mind?
”

Wow, a conversation I never wanted to
have with my mom when she was alive, I certainly didn’t want this
one now. I didn’t have much of a choice. I needed to know. “Okay,
from everything I’ve gathered, when Centaurs marry, they’re um. . .
each other’s firsts.” She nodded at me affirming what I already
believed. I took a deep breath, “Drake wouldn’t be my
first.”

“I see.
Have you told him
?”

“No. So, am I right? He won’t marry me,
will he?”

“I don’t know. That’s up
to him. I wouldn’t keep it from him. It’s a part of your past. He’s
in love with you now. Your past experiences are what make you who
you are now
.”

“So you’re saying it isn’t that big of
a deal?”

“I’m saying you need to
trust Drake enough to tell him the truth. Never be ashamed of who
you are.
”

Another question had been burning
inside me. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this, Mom? All those
months you knew you were sick. We were at the apartment together
watching stupid re-runs on television. There’s so much I should
have learned from you.”

She looked sad; her voice
was a little lower when she said, “
I
didn’t want this for you. I didn’t want any of it. I always hoped
you and Daniel would grow beyond friends and none of this would
matter. Before I died, he promised me he’d always be there for you.
I believed any hole you felt when I was gone would be filled in, in
a different way
.
I
also hoped that Aphrodite’s magic would still cloak you after I
died.”

“But you gave me William’s name. You
told me where he lived. You didn’t think I’d contact
him?”

“It was a possibility. By
the time I had decided to give you the one thing I had always
denied you, I was too weak to look into the future, to see what
would happen. I trusted that whatever happened, you would draw from
your inner strength. You would make the life that you chose your
own, whether that life be as a human or a
Centauride
.”

“So you wanted Daniel and me to hook
up? Ewww, Mom, he’s like my brother.”

“Yet you keep secrets from
Drake that I’m sure you willingly shared with Daniel. Do you
question your decision to marry Drake
?”

“No. Drake is different.” I tried to
think of a way to put my feelings for Drake into words: the rush I
get from him when I catch him watching me, or the tingles that rip
through my body when he holds my hand. “He’s so serious all the
time, you know? I’ve never met anyone more conservative in my life.
He has a way of pushing these images in my head that are – I don’t
know. . . lifelike. Like whatever he’s showing me is reality if we
just make it that way. I know what you said, but I won’t leave him.
I can’t.”

“Are you convincing me or
yourself
?”

I smiled at her. This was one of her
favorite questions when she was alive, and I’d heard the same
question at least once a week my whole life, and I couldn’t help
but let the smile loose. “Both. I’m convincing us both,
Mom.

I saw her image begin to fade. I wanted
to reach out and hold onto her. I couldn’t. Despite what she said
about growing weaker, I hoped this wasn’t the last time I’d see
her. When the last of her had faded away, I looked at Drake still
asleep in the recliner next to me. My instincts told me we were
doing the right thing. I wasn’t convinced the arrow was the prize
we needed, but we were definitely going in the right direction. I
reclined my seat, closed my eyes, and snuggled in close to
him.

Just as I was about to doze off, I
remembered the co-pilot told me to call Will. As I reached for the
phone, there was someone I needed to talk to more. I dialed
Daniel.

He picked up on the second ring,
“Oceanside morgue. You bag ‘em, we’ll tag ‘em, now offering late
night pickup service.”

I rolled my eyes, “Some things never
change.”

“Cami?! Cami, is that you?”

“I think I’m partial to ‘Hot Lips,’ but
yeah.” It had been months since I’d spoken with Daniel. In our last
conversation before I was kidnapped – he’d called me “Hot
Lips.”

“Where the
hell
have you
been?”

“Oh, you know, touring the countryside,
circumnavigating the world.”

“I thought you were dead.” His voice
was. . . I don’t know, serious. I couldn’t remember ever having a
serious conversation with Daniel.

“Hopefully you didn’t file a life
insurance claim. I’m still breathing.”

“Don’t be a smart ass. Where’ve you
been?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Do you know I flew to Charleston two
times looking for you? By the way, your father’s a real piece of
work. Why wouldn’t you see me when you were at your grandmother’s
place?”

“You flew to Charleston? You were at
Zandra’s? In Florida?”

“What did you expect me to do? You
didn’t return my calls, emails, texts – I filed a missing person’s
report. Your dad didn’t tell you?”

“I haven’t talked to him much the last
couple months. What do you mean he’s a real piece of work? And when
were you in Florida?”

“He wouldn’t tell me where you were. He
acted like it was this ginormous secret. He’s a prick. Beau told me
where your grandmother lived, but she wouldn’t let me see you,
either.” I could hear the hurt in Daniel’s voice.

My mind remembered Zandra coming into
my room and speaking when I was still numb from losing Drake and
Bianca and so starved I couldn’t understand a word she said. I
didn’t want for Daniel to know what I’d been through. “I was pretty
sick for a few weeks. I must have been out of it the day you
stopped by.”

His voice was guarded when he asked,
“When are you coming home?”

“I’m not sure. Things are pretty
complicated, but I’m okay.”

“Where are you? Right now, where are
you physically at this very second?”

I chuckled, “About 40,000 feet above
the Atlantic Ocean, I think. I could ask the pilot if you want
coordinates.”

“Stop being a smart ass. I want
answers, and I want them now.” His tone had changed from serious to
borderline angry, not at all the best friend I’d had since
elementary school.

Drake stirred next to me. He was awake,
but he didn’t ask me who I was talking to. He reached up and gently
stroked my hair. “It turns out that guy I told you I didn’t like? I
decided I liked him. We took a trip to Ireland, and we’re headed to
South Dakota for a while. If things go well, maybe back to
Oceanside. We haven’t made any long term plans yet.”

There was no more borderline: Daniel
was angry. “You couldn’t pick up a phone?”

Trying to keep the conversation steered
clear of rage, I answered, “I’m sorry, this plastic device with
numbers on it that I’m holding in my hand looks suspiciously like a
phone.”

“So that’s it, you’re flying around the
world with Bianca’s fiancé?”

“His name’s Drake. You’ll meet him
soon. They broke it off.” It would be impossible to tell Daniel
everything I’d been through, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to share
any of it with him. He’d always been a little hotheaded, and
finding out I’d been held against my will, led to believe my
actions caused the murder of two people I cared about, and finding
that my mother had had roughly the same fate – it was just too much
to burden him with.