Legions (3 page)

“What do you say we finish
this on the road?” I asked in as innocent of a tone as I could pull
off.

“Are you all packed?” Arie
raised her eyebrows at me suspiciously.

My cheeks flushed
instantly.

“I’ve been packed since the
eve of that first night we had our ritual. I had no idea what to
expect so I thought I’d better be prepared rather than be the one
to hold everyone up. I thought that first night when we would
summon him that he would…”

“Appear?” Cyril chimed
in.

“Yep, foolish on my part.”
I whispered, shaking my head.

“No, we should have
explained more. That step was crucial in locating him and creating
a shield around him. Hopefully, we even placed some of our memories
in there too. That’s the key. Time will tell,” Arie said, hugging
me, “I’ll go grab our bags as well.” She gently squeezed my
shoulder.

“Ha! So you’ve been ready
too! That makes me feel better, not so desperate maybe.” I said,
trying my best to force a laugh.

“We are all desperate,
Ana.” Cyril said, beginning to lock things up.

Off to Victoria - I only
hoped I wouldn’t come back home empty-handed. I had to follow the
rules. I would not mess up over some silly emotions and repeat the
mistakes of the past. It was as if the more I chanted it to myself,
the better my odds of sticking to it.

Chapter 4

We drove in silence to
Anacortes, where we would catch the ferry to Victoria. A slight
detection of
Between Two Lungs
hummed in the background, calming me to a certain
degree. I loved Florence and the Machine, I only hoped I’d be able
to share it again with Athen in this era and not another. The deep
sadness began to crawl into everything. As I tried to take in the
beauty of the car ride, it only made me wish Athen was with me to
experience the beautiful Douglas firs towering over the road, or to
witness the jagged boulders that were whipping alongside the
freeway as we drove. I thought of his green eyes glowing with
anticipation, searching for my reactions. My soul ached. My life
had been filled with so much happiness, and it had now been reduced
to a loneliness that was indescribable.

A constant pursuit of
someone who I was deeply in love with, who may not even remember me
for centuries, created a gloom I couldn’t shake. If my heart could
shatter into a million little pieces, I knew this would be the
moment. The dark green ferry signs, that fought with the moss that
was attempting to hijack the wording, pointed to the lane we needed
to be in, and our car began to downshift. Soon I’d be near Athen;
even if I wasn’t allowed to see him.

As soon as our car was
situated on the car deck, I hopped out of the car, running up the
stark metal stairs, leaving an echo of footsteps in my wake. I
wanted to enjoy the ride from the passenger deck, possibly pretend
that Athen was here with me. I was determined to take in the view
as much as I could. I was thankful for the latte that I’d gotten on
the way to the ferry. I needed some comfort in my life, and for
now, Starbucks would have to do. Hopefully, Athen would see the
humor in him being replaced by coffee. I wondered if Matilda was
enjoying her life with Athen because I sure missed her. The ferry
window was beginning to steam up, and I did my best to secure a
spot to look out by wiping the window with my tissue that I always
now carried in my pocket for one of those moments when I was about
to spontaneously burst into tears. My mood certainly matched the
dullness in the air.

Arie and Cyril made their
way through the line of people who were waiting to get coffee and
landed in our booth with a thud.

“You know some things just
work out. This is the last ferry ride to Victoria until Spring.”
Cyril announced grinning, eyes sparkling, reminding me just enough
of Athen and the smirk I missed so much.

“Is it a sign? Actually, I
kind of hope not... I’d like to think that getting Athen back won’t
take until Spring.” I noticed Cyril and Arie exchange
glances.

“What faith you have.” I
said, trying to tease them a bit.

Arie reached across the
table and grabbed my hand. The red vinyl seats squeaked as she
moved forward. I began to chuckle. Athen wouldn’t have missed the
noise either, if only he were here. Our humor was so in
tune.

“I know it’s tough, but you
should maybe try to prepare yourself for a little longer than a
week up here, sweetie.”

“I got it, really. I want
to think positive as much as possible. You know take things in
little steps, otherwise, I don’t think I can handle it.” My throat
started to constrict. Realizing how many emotions I’d been holding
in, I paced myself with every breath so I wouldn’t start crying
again. I looked down at my lap, trying to get myself together
before anyone of the other ferry passengers noticed.

Most of the ferry ride
encompassed us staring gloomily out the glass window that now had
glistening rain droplets rolling down in a steady stream, and Cyril
walking to the cafeteria hoping that their food offerings had
changed from the last time he was there, searching the sandwich
cooler and coming back to our table empty-handed time and time
again.

The ferry ride was
non-eventful, thankfully. The water was pretty calm. That was about
the only thing in my life at the moment that appeared to be that
way. The clouds loomed so low that it was almost difficult to see
where the dark grey clouds stopped, and the dark ocean began. If it
wasn’t for our chugging through the water leaving plenty of suds,
the water would be almost as smooth as glass, which was extremely
unusual for this time of year and in the rain no less.

My daydreaming was
interrupted by the Captain’s booming voice coming over the loud
speaker announcing our arrival time. The crackle of the intercom
kept echoing through the cabin as if to chase us all out, so we all
scurried down to our car as fast as we could. I could tell that
Cyril and Arie were equally as amped as I was. If nothing else, we
could at least feel like we were close to Athen. The energy was
running through every part of my body. I was ready for whatever
battles might be ahead to get my love back. I wasn’t going to stop
until he was back in my arms.

“This is the beginning,
guys. I know it. We will not leave here empty-handed.” I announced
emphatically as we all piled into the Jeep.

“That’s the spirit!” Arie
exclaimed.

“Let’s find a Starbucks
first before we head to our abode.” I pleaded.

“That’s a deal. That tea I
had didn’t quite quench my caffeine need,” Cyril said shaking his
head, “I don’t know why I do that.”

The traffic directors
dressed in their orange vests and yellow flashlights signaled for
us to start our engine and off we went into the unknown. Arie was
looking at her iPhone getting more updates about the disturbances
that were not letting up as Cyril drove us to a rental home that he
was able to secure on a week-to-week basis, which told me he was
holding onto enough hope that we would get Athen sooner rather than
later as well.

We pulled off the ferry
dock and headed into town. I noticed the Starbucks right away. I
was a girl who knew how to get her caffeine fix, no matter how dire
the situation.

“Right there, you guys!” I
pointed, but Cyril kept driving, and then I felt it. Athen was in
there. I wasn’t expecting anything like this to happen. I
immediately started hyperventilating, and the waves of nausea hit
next, creating a clammy shell over my entire body. If out of any of
the rituals that I was supposed to adhere to that was the first
one. Not to run into him or try to see him unless he was ready, and
he wasn’t ready.

“He’s there isn’t he? He’s
there?” The butterflies in my stomach began fluttering double time.
My arms became weak with hope and anticipation. Being this near to
him was almost incapacitating.

“You guessed it,” Cyril
stared at me in the rearview mirror, “You can do this, Ana. Stay
strong. Now isn’t the time.”

“Was he alone?” I
muttered.

Arie flipped around in her
seat. I could tell by her eyes.

“No.”

I felt my entire body
stiffen. I had no idea that this could even be a possibility. I
wasn’t even sure why I had asked it, but I certainly didn’t expect
that response, especially so soon. I tried blocking out the images
that began flooding my mind of the woman who I had seen in my
nightmares so often – the one with the serpent-shaped eyes. The
wretched raven-haired demon, her hand grasping Athen’s, her eyes
meeting mine, her evil smile dripping with a depravity that I
couldn’t stomach. I prayed with all of my heart that it wasn’t
true.

“I guess that’s going to
complicate things?” I asked, trying to sound as strong and
unworried as I could.

“Possibly.” Was all I heard
before I slumped back into my seat and went into a deep stirring of
oblivion. I never should’ve asked the question. I already knew the
answer. My dreams had told me.

Chapter 5

The rental home was a
beautiful Tudor house. It was situated close to town, which was
nice, but it wasn’t nearly close enough to that particular
Starbucks I had encountered earlier. I never expected to feel Athen
on the first day of coming to Victoria though. Now I was feeling as
if I couldn’t even concentrate on a simple task like emptying out
my suitcases.

I looked around the room
and began feeling the emptiness creep into my mind. The four walls
staring back at me were beautifully wallpapered in a tiny floral
print, but it wasn’t the same as Kingston or Whistler where I last
was with Athen, together. I yearned for Whistler or our home on
Kingston – anything to be near Athen’s last presence. The home did
remind me of something I couldn’t put my finger on though; maybe, a
home I’d see in Europe. Memories quickly began flooding in of Athen
and I wandering the streets of London, and I realized it was one of
the last trips we had been on before I was taken away. I was filled
with despair as I realized my thinly stretched images did nothing
to satiate my need to be with him. If only I could remember us in
more detail together.

I was doing so much better
before we got off the ferry. Feeling him in such close proximity
made me feel as if everything I was instructed to do completely
vanished from my mind. I knew I needed to stay away from him until
it was time, yet the pull I was feeling was overpowering common
sense. Now, I could see how Athen may have disrupted the process so
early on with me. It was going to take every ounce of strength I
had to stay away from him. I wondered if I made a mistake coming
here so soon. Only the tick of time would answer my
question.

I opened the top drawer of
the dark pine dresser to an eruption of squeaks from the slats of
wood rubbing against each other and began slowly piling all of my
sweaters inside with not a happy thought to be had. I took a deep
breath in, thankful that Arie and Cyril decided to go grocery
shopping to get our kitchen stocked. I somehow doubted that was the
only reason they left. At this point, I didn’t really feel like
hearing what they might be up to. I thought about Matilda again,
which only made me feel more depressed. I missed her light snores
and snorts. I understood the importance of her being with Athen,
but she really was my partner in crime over the years. I wondered
if she’d remember me.

I popped my iPhone onto
the player and hoped that my usual playlist would brighten my
spirits. I tried my hardest to let
Rill
Rill
permeate my senses and bring a smile
to my face, but no such luck. Even Sleigh Bells, one of my favorite
bands, couldn’t help my mood. I opened the curtains to let a little
light in even though the city was covered in a thick layer of
clouds. The naked maples lining the streets were a pretty sight.
Surely, in the fall they would be gloriously blazed in reds,
oranges, and yellows. I only hoped that I wasn’t here long enough
to see that.

On my way to the kitchen, I
noticed that some of the photographs on the walls were pictures of
Athen and myself. I immediately flipped on the hall light, staring
in disbelief. It stopped me dead in my tracks. I couldn’t figure
out what was going on or why in the world we would be on the wall.
Was this supposed to make me feel better? It’s not like we are
staying at some long-lost family member’s house. They would have
told me that. I don’t even think we can have long-lost family
members in our situation… Or maybe we can. I don’t know anymore. I
put my thoughts aside and began taking in the photographs -
anything to get another glimpse of Athen. Seeing his smile up close
lit up my world -the little creases around his eyes that formed
when he was laughing.

My fingers began gently
touching the photos as if that would make him real again. His eyes
were so beautiful. The happiness radiated out from the images that
were on the wall. The lump in my throat was getting bigger by the
minute. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold in my tears. I was so
tired of crying. I wanted to be able to save my tears for a moment
of happiness, not all of this loss.

As I was getting lost in
the maze of my own mind, I decided to not tip on the verge of
insanity and, rather, wait for Arie and Cyril to come home and
explain why in the world there were pictures of all of us on the
wall. In the meantime, I’d continue to explore this supposed rental
home for more possible treasures.