Gaia's Secret (20 page)

Alex returned to his daggers without eating.
From the way he was acting, one would’ve thought I’d planned all
that. When chatter finished and drowsiness set in, we crawled into
our beds. Sonya kissed me goodnight and crawled into her blankets,
which were not too far from mine.

I wasn’t sure how long I lay there, watching
the golden remnants of our firelight flicker on the ceiling. When I
stole a peek at Alex’s profile, I saw his eyes were wide open,
too.

“Alex,” I whispered.

He didn’t flinch, but I knew he heard me.

“Sorry about your shirt.”

Nothing. But his anger was like an invisible
halo around him.

“Look, I don’t know why you’re so upset when
it was just an accident.”

He turned to face me, frowning. “Are you
apologizing, or telling me why I shouldn’t be angry?”

“Forget it. I guess I’m the only one that has
anything to apologize about.”

His jaw clenched. “Don’t try that again until
we meet your dad. You have no idea how to control your power and
you’ll end up killing yourself. We can’t protect you from you.”

“You’re just an overbearing egotist.” I
didn’t mean to say that out loud.

And he didn’t miss it. His aggravation
surged. I watched him, fighting against words he wanted to say but
his self-control wouldn’t allow it.

“Daria,” he said in a very tight, controlled
tone. “My parents don’t know you like I do, and you didn’t catch
them on fire.”

This again? “What do you want from me? I told
you I was sorry. It wasn’t like I tried to hurt you.” Even though
he deserved it.

“I know. You never
intend
to hurt
anyone.”

I was taken aback. “What is that supposed to
mean?”

He held my eyes a moment then looked back at
the ceiling, eyes closed. “Never mind.”

Frustrated, I flopped on my back and glared
at the ceiling. Maybe he should reconsider our circumstances. Last
time I checked, I wasn’t the one lying to everyone about how I felt
and who I was.

A few more days. That’s all I had to wait
until I would see my dad. But what would happen once we met up with
him? Would all of my issues just dissolve? What if he expected me
to return to our home on Earth?

No, I couldn’t go back there. Not after
knowing this.

I stared at the ceiling with my conflicting
thoughts, but each thought ended with the anticipation of reuniting
with my dad. Everything would be made right once he explained.

It had to be.

“
I
t’s up ahead,”
Cicero called over his shoulder.

The sound of rushing water poured through the
forest as we neared a river—the one Cicero said we had to cross.
But when we reached the gorge, all that remained of a bridge were
two fat wooden posts. Wrapped around them were remnants of rope
with frayed ends. And there, hanging from the opposite cliff, was
our bridge.

We all stood quiet, gazing at the white
frothed rapids below.

“Well, this looks promising,” Alex
offered.

Cicero’s brow furrowed.

“What now?” Sonya asked.

“Looks like we’ll have to cross further
upstream,” Cicero said.

“Will it put us far behind?” I asked.

Cicero shook his head. “Not more than a
day.”

I wasn’t sure I could handle an additional
day. The current wait was already long enough.

Alex leapt from Parsec and walked over to
examine the rope, rubbing the frayed ends between his fingers.
“This was cut.”

Cicero and Sonya exchanged a glance.

Still crouched, Alex searched the ground,
pushing aside grasses and fallen leaves. Cicero joined him. Besides
our horse tracks, I couldn’t see anything unusual.

“Here.” Alex had pushed aside a few
leaves.

Beneath was a small indent in the soft earth.
Even if I’d seen it, I doubt I would have stopped and called it
evidence. But since Alex had pointed it out, I couldn’t deny that
it seemed out of place. Whoever had made it had been very careful
to cover the rest of their tracks.

Alex stared across the gorge, his features
hard. “Do we have any other options?”

Cicero took out his compass, the little arrow
floated over that strange looking “R”.

“No.” Cicero stood, his brow in a line. “Not
unless we turn around.”

“Then let’s,” Alex said.

“You know that’s not possible.”

“It
is
possible.” Alex stood, his
voice louder. “Notify Stefan. Let him know we’re being followed. He
can tell Alaric. I’m sure Alaric will understand, and ask us to
meet him somewhere else.”

“Where, Alexander?” Cicero’s voice was
hard.

“I don’t know! Somewhere with less variables
than this cursed forest.”

As if to emphasize its own mystery, a large
gust of wind blew through the trees, stirring the fallen leaves
below.

Sonya had dropped from her horse and walked
to her son. Her features were tender, like they always were when
she was about tell me something I didn’t want to hear. And by the
look on Alex’s face, he knew what was coming.

“Dear,” Sonya’s voice was low, soft.

“Don’t—“

“Alexander Del Conte.”

Her tone silenced him.

“You know those variables you don’t trust are
concealing us from all of Gaia. Alaric knew that. If someone is on
our trail, we are more than capable of handling them. Otherwise,
they would’ve shown themselves by now.”

Alex’s hard eyes didn’t falter.

“And remember.” Sonya placed her hand on her
son’s forearm. “You are not the only one here that cares.”

Alex’s anger ebbed as he stood, holding his
mom’s gaze a long moment. Our eyes met just before he mounted his
horse. He began walking Parsec in the direction Cicero had alluded
to.

“You’d better be right about this,” he called
over his shoulder.

We stayed parallel with the river; sometimes
with it in view, sometimes only the sound of it for company. The
gorge, however, showed no sign of ending. I wondered if it was
going to take us more than one extra day. We’d been walking for
hours and always away from the bridge. Cicero and Sonya had taken
the lead, guiding us through the thick, green maze. Our path became
narrower, overgrown with no use.

Alex walked behind me for the most part, but
moved to my side when the path was wide enough. He never spoke.
Neither of us did.

It was during those silent, awkward moments I
realized something about Alex. He had changed, and for the worse.
There was no semblance of the boy who grew so fast his muscles
couldn’t keep up. This one filled out his clothing, wore it with
strength and pride. His features had sharpened, giving them a
chiseled appearance. It was like he’d exchanged his brain for good
looks. Such a waste. How could he have let that happen to him?

“What is it?” he asked, not bothering to turn
and look at me.

“Nothing.”

“You’ve been staring at me for the past five
minutes.” He turned those deep green eyes on me then. I decided
those eyes saw too much and I should probably avoid looking into
them.

“I was just wondering what happened to you,”
I said, looking ahead. “Why you look like that.”

He paused. “I’m not sure how to take that
one.”

“Don’t take it as a compliment.”

He gazed sidelong at me. “You’re saying I
look different and you don’t like it?”

I nodded. “Tall, dark, and handsome isn’t a
good look for you. It makes you look…dumber.”

“So you think I’m handsome, do you?”

I felt the rush of his amusement as easily as
I heard the smile in his voice. Heat rose to my cheeks. Calyx
didn’t need to be kicked in order to understand his time with
Parsec was over.

Night began to fall, and there was still no
way to cross. With each step my heart grew heavier. We were walking
farther and farther away from our intended meeting place.

Cicero directed us uphill on a path so
overgrown I had to hold an arm across my face to fend off attacking
branches and vines.

Between two enormous trees, I saw the dark
outline of a small building. It was a dilapidated structure, walls
constructed of crumbling stone, a simple square shape of two
stories. Narrow windows lined the sides—most of which were missing.
A small stable stood beside it, equipped with rotted thatched
roofing. It was probably an attractive and sturdy building at one
point but weather and time had stripped away its strength, leaving
only bones behind.

A wave of apprehension passed through me from
the Del Contes. Cicero leapt off his horse, landing with a dull
thud.

“What is this place?” I stared at the
ruins.

Alex walked Parsec past me, his dark brows
brooding. Fear crawled over my skin.

“It looks like an old outpost.” Sonya slowly
pushed out the folds of her skirt.

“An outpost? In the middle of nowhere?” I
asked.

A strong gust of wind barreled through
again.

“This region didn’t used to be the middle of
nowhere,” Cicero said. “Time has segregated the magical and
non-magical. Many of the magical live here now, and because of the
divide, humans have stopped frequenting this forest.”

“Look at this.” Alex held something black and
curved and very sharp.

Cicero’s brow furrowed as he gazed back at
the vacated building. “Well, it’s more dangerous if we travel in
this part of the forest at night.”

Alex threw it hard at the ground, and led
Parsec to the stables.

Calyx started whinnying, his steps nervous.
“Sh,” I whispered, patting his mane. “It’s all right.”

Calyx believed me as much as I did.

Cicero and Sonya were already walking their
anxious horses towards what was left of the stable. I slid off
Calyx and glanced around. The air whispered as it rustled through
the treetops, its cold fingers reaching beneath my cloak, chilling
my damp leather. Calyx jittered nervously again, nuzzling his nose
in my side.

“I know. That cave doesn’t seem so bad now,
does it?”

There was something powerful here.
Something…evil. It was in the air, in the trees, in the silence. I
couldn’t imagine I’d get any sleep tonight.

Alex was fiddling with his pack when I
approached with Calyx. His movements were quick and angry. I didn’t
need the ability to sense his emotions to know he was furious. His
countenance was saturated with it.

He didn’t glance up, but as he walked past
me, out of the stable, he paused. “Don’t go off on your own.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. When has that even been
an option since you guys dragged me out here?”

He looked in the eyes. “I’m serious.”

Before I could say a word he was off into the
forest, slashing through the overgrowth with his blade.

“Planning on sleeping in the stable?”

The voice was so close I jumped. Cicero was
standing behind me.

“Where’s Alex going?” I asked.

“To check our perimeter.”

“Shouldn’t someone go with him?”

I could feel Cicero’s silent suspicion as he
studied me. “He’ll be back. Ready to come inside?”

“Sure.” I patted Calyx, who was very unhappy
about my leaving him. “Don’t worry, I’ll just be on the other side
of that wall,” I whispered for only him to hear. Taking one last
glance at Calyx, I followed Cicero through an old shabby curtain of
a door.

The space inside was filled with the smell of
dried, rotted grass. There was no furniture, only dirt flooring. No
glass filled the windows near the ground, just holes covered with
shabby burlap cloth. There was no floor where the second story
should have been, except for a small wooden ledge clinging to a
portion of wall. I could even see parts of the sky through the
thatched roof.

I sure hoped it wouldn’t rain tonight.

Sonya had brought in our blankets and was
already spreading hers along one wall. Cicero inspected the
building, moving methodically around the perimeter. He trailed his
hand along the walls, pausing at increments, and every time he
paused, I felt a surge of energy. Like a current ran through my
body.

“Will it work?” Sonya asked.

Cicero frowned. “I hope.”

I was about to ask what they were talking
about when Alex returned with some edible looking fruits in his
hands. My heart swelled knowing he was all right, but quickly
turned angry for being so concerned about him.

He handed the food to his mom. “All
clear.”

Sonya took the little purple fruits from
Alex. “Oh, I love these! Thanks, dear.”

Alex nodded. “What, no fire?” he asked his
dad. “Don’t tell me it could attract attention.”

A firm look from Cicero kept Alex from
commenting further.

I glanced between them. “Attract who…or
what’s attention?”

Cicero transferred his stern gaze to me. “No
one. Try to rest now. It could be a long night.”

I’d been lying there for hours, staring at
the same hole in the roof. So much time had passed that I was able
to see some of the stars move in their orbits. I’d counted them. At
least ten times. I tried to sleep, but my mind wouldn’t stop
thinking. Dad, this world, the secrets, Alex. All of them screamed
in my head, holding me hostage from slumber.

Frustrated, I sat up.

Hot orange embers were all that remained of
our fire. The Del Contes were scattered around me, all sleeping.
Alex was turned away from me, but the rise and fall of his chest
was slow and even.

Wrapping my cloak around myself, I crept over
to the door and sat down, leaning against the doorframe. Thousands
of stars glittered across the night sky. I searched and searched
but couldn’t find any familiar constellations. No Big Dipper. No
Orion’s Belt. These were all foreign, like everything else in this
place. I swore everything in this world conspired against me, just
to remind me I was a stranger.