Legions (5 page)

Arie looked up at me, her
face streaked in tears. She shook her head as if to tell me she
understood, but I knew no one could understand unless they were in
this situation.

Cyril began, “So tell me,
what went on, every step; maybe we can still salvage
this.”

I nodded, taking a deep
breath in, hoping to regain my composure. I sat back on the couch,
grabbing one of the velvet pillows in hopes that it would provide
me with comfort. It did nothing of the sort. Cyril reached over to
the lamp next to him and switched it on. I was mentally prepared
for my interrogation. It was my fault, after all.

“He was at the library. I
could sense him. I had been walking around, trying to get a feel
for Victoria. Then I felt this sense of loneliness and overwhelming
concern wash over me. Images of Athen wouldn’t stop rushing through
me. I got so scared that the serpent woman was with him, or that
something was happening that would screw up my chances. Before I
knew it, I was following a path to the library.”

“Did you know at that point
you were going to go in and try to find him?” Arie asked trying to
gauge when my emotional side began overruling common
sense.

“No, I had no intention of
the sort. I sat outside the library trying to get clear images of
what was going through him and sense what he was feeling. That’s
when I first started feeling the ultimate depths of despair wash
over me. I knew they were coming from him along with a trace of
confusion. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why he would
be feeling that, especially in a library. I never experienced
feelings that drastic when I was in his shoes. I had occasional
lonely fits but nothing this extreme. I don’t know. I began feeling
this intense pull like I had that first night in the pub. I
couldn’t resist. I don’t know what came over me. I’m more sorry
than you know for any damage it could have caused. All it did was
leave me wanting more.”

“I know, sweetie. It just
took me by surprise. You had been so in control up until now,” Arie
took a deep sigh and patted Cyril’s hand, “So what now?”

Cyril shook his
head.

“Well, there’s more.” I
looked at them for a sign that now was the time to continue. They
both nodded.

“After sitting outside
several minutes, I realized I couldn’t shake the feelings so I
thought I should go in and do a quick check on him and then dart
out. I could sense him immediately once I was inside. I went to the
large area where mostly students were located, and even though he
should have blended in, he didn’t. That’s where I saw him sitting
at a table all by himself. On a side note, I do admit I was
thankful for that... him being alone and all. There were tons of
books spread out all over the table. He was taking notes
frantically. I was intrigued to find out what would have struck a
chord with him so quickly since he phased into this new false life.
I made my way closer to see if I could catch a glimpse. That’s when
I caused the issue that screwed up everything. My clumsiness
resurfaced a bit.”

Arie rolled her eyes,
making me cringe.

“So did he notice you up to
that point?” Cyril asked.

“No,” I sighed, “I managed
to get quite close to him. I had played as if I was searching for
something. He didn’t seem to notice me at all, until I knocked a
book off the shelf. I was able to catch it but caused enough of a
stir that a group of students looked at me and, in turn, so did
Athen.” I was becoming angrier with myself by the moment as I was
reliving these events.

“Then as I was placing the
book back on the shelf a searing pain began, which I recognized
immediately. I knew he was staring at me. I turned quickly to
glance in his direction, and I saw him staring directly at me. I
looked away quickly, but it was too late. Our eyes met – locked
rather. The odd part was that I couldn’t tell if I saw recognition
in his eyes or fear. Regardless, it made him run. Something that
struck me, however, was that I noticed his eyes flit over to the
prismatic colors on the wall that I was projecting. I don’t know if
that was coincidence, or if he actually recognized the
luminescence. Then he grabbed his coat and the notebook he was
writing in and took off.”

I was crushing my body
against the cushions probably hoping I’d dissolve into the fabric
and not face the ridiculing I was halfway expecting from Arie and
Cyril. The tension in my body kept mounting.

“So, this is the part that
has been concerning me. I can tell you in my previous existence I
had no clue about anything until you showed up that night. I’m not
sure Athen is as oblivious. That has me worried.”

Arie sat forward, suddenly
even more concerned, which I didn’t think was possible.

“What do you mean, Ana?”
She asked.

There was a long pause as I
tried to figure out the best way to come out with it. I decided to
be blunt. Get it over with.

“All of the books on the
table were on Angels and Demons.” I looked at them for some
sign.

“…
And he rode away on a
Ducati Diaveli.”

“The bike he was going to
get… Wow. It’s like his worlds are somehow colliding. He isn’t sure
which is which. Truthfully, I’m not sure I know either.” Cyril
finally spoke.

“Have you ever heard of
this? I didn’t think it was possible.” I asked them
both.

“No. This isn’t anything I
even thought possible either. You know, in a way, maybe there’s a
reason this happened. Maybe we were taking the wrong approach. If
he thinks something is going on maybe he’s more receptive than he
would be otherwise. Our chances might be better this
way.”

“Are you only saying that
to make me feel better?” I asked Arie.

“No, I wouldn’t do that.
I’m serious. I think we’re going to use this to our advantage.
Tomorrow is still going to happen. The training needs to begin.”
She said, winking at me.

“Huh. This isn’t how I
pictured this conversation going. I must admit I’m relieved.” I
said, trying my best at a smile.

“Well, let’s hope we’re
right. Now’s the time to put our little saying to the test, all
things happen for a reason. Let’s start dinner so we can get to bed
early.” She said slapping Cyril on the knee and bounding up, almost
back to her old self.

I was so thankful for
Arie’s positive attitude. I, once again, felt a multitude of
emotions ranging from despair to great anticipation in a matter of
hours. I really needed someone like her to give me hope. I was
exhausted and seeing Athen today made the agony even worse. I
missed him beyond anything I thought possible.

“Thanks for not making me
feel even worse than I already do by the way.” I told them both as
we headed for the kitchen.

I could feel Cyril patting
my shoulder, and I turned to him and hugged him.

“I’m truly so
sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m sure you’re
beating up yourself far more than anyone could ever do. I know
Athen did.”

Hearing those words made me
want to shrink into myself and hide. That’s exactly what I dreaded
- a comparison between our two situations.

“You’re right on that one,
Cyril.”

Even by going to bed early,
sleep would not come. I tossed and turned. Every little noise shot
me right up. Athen was on the tip of every thought that was
floating through my brain. After seeing him earlier, all I could
think of was how to rectify what I had done, and I was confused as
to why I would so easily fall into the same pattern that he had
decades earlier when trying to get me back. The thought of being
without him for decades made me shiver under my covers. It also
gave me an entirely new set of circumstances to worry
about.

Arie had told me that one
of the factors with my rephasing was that Athen interrupted the
process too early, playing a role in me being away from the family
for so many decades. I hoped I didn’t fall into the same pattern,
but it felt like it may have already begun to happen. I had no idea
what came over me. Now that I was away from him, I could think
straight again – kind of. I could now recognize that I should not
ever have risked it, but the pull I felt was something that I
couldn’t resist.

My mind kept wandering back
to his eyes. They were lacking the green that I was so accustomed
to, but he was still amazingly beautiful. The entire set of
circumstances seemed surreal. It was like I could feel him next to
me right now. I wanted him so badly to be near me tonight, to feel
a kiss against my lips or his fingers against my neck. My mind,
finally letting itself believe in the possibility of being with him
again, allowed sleep to enter into my veins at long
last.

Chapter 7

We were strolling the
grounds of Butchart Gardens, taking in all of the beauty that
nature and horticulturists had to offer, winding from one
magnificent garden area to the next. All of the paths led from one
awesome spectacle of nature to the next. Everything was so tidily
groomed. Even though we were on the edge of winter, leading into
spring, the gardens were absolutely beautiful. The deciduous trees
arched their limbs, directing you to view the tiered perfection of
pruned conifers. Tiny grape hyacinths were beginning to make their
appearance under the dark green ferns. The Sunken Garden overlook
was breathtaking. I could only imagine how incredible it would be
when everything was in full bloom and someone I loved was standing
beside me, holding me.

Cyril and Arie had walked
down the path, heading towards the Bog Garden, and I decided to lag
behind a little bit. I did my best to keep my emotions at bay and
scolded myself for the little snags of jealousy that entered my
brain as Cyril and Arie held each other so closely walking the path
to my first training ground. That wasn’t a side of myself that I
wanted to explore, but it kept reappearing.

I took a deep breath in,
feeling the cold, fresh air permeate my insides, reminding me that
I really was alive, even though I felt as dull and alone as one
could probably get. Every breath was a heavy effort, betraying my
own senses. Looking down on the beauty of everything made me want
Athen next to me so badly it hurt. The wind began picking up a
little, signaling for me to follow Cyril and Arie to our
destination. I wasn’t sure why they picked the bogs but assumed
there must be a good reason. Realizing the wind wasn’t calming
down, I zipped my jacket up and pulled the hood over my head. Doing
my best to snap out of my woe is me attitude, I jogged to catch up
to Arie and Cyril, praying that the training would get me out of my
element.

“Hey! Wait up!” I was close
to catching up to them, but they were gracious and slowed down so I
didn’t wear myself out before the training even had
begun.

The clouds started parting
a little but not enough to make up for the fact that the trees were
larger and the gardens more towering to block the light. I followed
them as they briskly moved off the path to exactly where we weren’t
supposed to be. My heart began to quicken a little at the thought
of getting caught as we traipsed further into the bog, but really
that should be the least of my worries.

When we were far enough out
of view, Arie and Cyril stopped and spun around.

“Well, are ya ready?” Cyril
asked.

“Sure.” I had barely
stopped walking when he grabbed me and swung me behind him climbing
up the lichen drenched tree. Within seconds, we were at the tiptop
of the tree staring down at Arie.

“You’ve got to be kidding.”
I uttered.

“Ah, that’s nothing. Wait
until you don’t need a tree.” Cyril said, his smile as wide as I
had seen it in a long time.

I rolled my eyes as he let
go of the tree, descending quicker than I thought possible and
making my stomach arrive to greet my throat, before he quickly
slowed us down to gently arrive on the marshy grounds awaiting our
arrival.

“Wow. I don’t know how much
of that I can handle at once.” Still trying to catch my breath from
the fear and excitement of the Cyril-made thrill ride.

“Your turn!” Arie announced
emphatically.

“Right. That’s a real
possibility. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?” I blew out my
cheeks, pretending I was reaching for the sky with my arms
extending.

Arie obviously not
impressed, grabbed my waist and sprouted from tree limb to tree
limb barely touching any of them, creating a slosh of movement in
my gut. Once reaching the top, she too let go, leaving me to do
nothing but close my eyes until we reached the safety of the bog.
Knowing that this was going to continue until I tried to figure out
what they were doing, I decided to try my hand at it.

I squished my way over to
the tree that they both had been using for the elevator rides, now
understanding why they chose a bog. It was Mother Nature’s own
mattress, patiently waiting for me to fall on my butt.

“Good one, guys.” I closed
my eyes and reached my arms up to the sky like they had done – only
nothing happened. I didn’t move at all, not even a hop. I opened
one eye to see Cyril and Arie chuckling.

“Laughing with me, not at
me right, guys?”