Return to Celio (6 page)

I stared at him again.

“Say it!” he ordered.

“Okay...okay...this is real,” I said, halfheartedly.

He glared at me. I acknowledged the look he was giving me. Was he kidding? After all we’d been through, I definitely believed it.

“It’s real,” I said, more convincingly.

Nodding, he turned and we started walking again.

“So, Darrios, how do I get back home? I mean, it seems like we’re walking farther and farther away from where I came in.”

“We are.”

“Why?”

“The portal...or door is gone. Another won’t appear there. And it doesn’t matter anyway. You can only come in through the doors. You can’t get back through them.”

I started feeling anxious. “Then how do I get home?”

He sighed then stopped. He put his hands on his hips. Without looking back at me, he answered, “In order to get you home...the only way I know...is for you to get to Avascon first.”

“Will you help me get there?”

Darrios’ head snapped up and he whirled to face me, looking stricken.

“I...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. You’ve already done so much for me,” I rambled.

“No, it’s not that. I’m just...a little surprised, that’s all. Um, yeah, sure, I’ll help you.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s do it.”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down. Jeez, first you push me away entirely, and then you want me to take you right now. We need to get to Inland before we can even think about Avascon.”

“Why?”

“Trust me. It’s going to be far more likely for me to get you to Avascon after we get to Inland. There will be far less stress. Nothing will be trying to kill us. We can both clean up first...”

“But once we get to Inland, you won’t make me wait, right?”

Darrios furrowed his eyebrows, let out a breath, and shook his head. “No, Maggie, I won’t make you wait.”

I smiled warmly at him and thanked him. He smiled back. First he saved my life, then he kept me out of harm’s way, now he was taking me somewhere where I would be safe, and then on top of that, onto the place I needed to get to so I could go home. And he hadn’t asked for a single thing in return. He was a good man. I just wished I had some way to repay him for his kindness.

We walked for the next few hours relatively peacefully. I noticed the ground becoming hillier and a little bit greener with grass. Darrios asked me to tell him about my family.

“My parents died when I was nine. My brother Brendan was six. My grandmother, my Aunt Gin’s mother, took us in, but she wasn’t exactly the warm, baking cookies, granny-type. A better description would be cool and aloof, maybe even resentful at times.”

“Was your own mother like that?

“Not as much, but yeah, some. Honestly? With my grandmother as a mother, I don’t know how Aunt Gin turned out to be so loving and affectionate, but she was the one who tucked us in at night and read us bedtime stories. She kissed our scraped knees, attended the school plays and sports events. She doled out hugs when we were sad and helped us with our homework. She was more of a mother than an aunt.”

“That’s nice that she was there for you.”

“Grandmother died when I was nineteen. Brendan graduated high school a year later and went off to college the following fall. Aunt Gin sold grandmother’s house to pay his tuition. She rented us a little place about fifteen minutes out of town.”

Maggie stopped and placed her hand on her hip. “He graduated almost nine months earlier than he planned, but he took classes every summer so he could.”

“Wow, that’s quite an accomplishment.”

“That’s just how he is. Everybody loves him, he’s a great guy. He has sort of this boyish charm, not to mention that he’s funny and he loves to help people. He’s always getting involved in some cause. Even when he was a kid, he’d rake leaves or have lemonade stands for charity. He drove my aunt crazy, always bringing home some stray or injured animal. He’s going into social work, naturally.”

“He sounds like a really special guy. I can tell you love him a lot.”

“I do. Even when we were kids, we shared everything from Halloween candy to deep dark secrets.”

“What does Brendan think of Gregg?”

My smiley thoughts faded. “He’s not a fan.”

“Really? Why not?” Darrios asked a bit smugly.

I definitely picked up sarcasm. Glaring at him, I walked past him. He caught up in two strides. I blew out an exasperated breath. “He thinks Gregg is a self-absorbed bore. He thinks he’s narcissistic and controlling, and he definitely wasn’t pleased when Gregg and I moved away. Happy now?”

“A little,” Darrios admitted. “So, what attracted you to Gregg, anyway?”

I shrugged thoughtfully. “I don’t know. I guess...I was younger, and a little naive. He was older. He’d just turned thirty. He seemed so sophisticated. Then once we got together, he started giving me tips on how to improve myself...”

Darrios stopped and looked at me again. “Was there something wrong with the way you were?”

“No...I mean...I don’t think so. He was only trying to be helpful and encouraging—”

“Why can’t you see what he does to you? Being encouraging would be supporting you when you want to do something. It seems like he was trying to, I don’t know, fix you, to turn you into what he wanted you to be and then brainwash you into thinking he was the good guy. Tell me, Maggie, does he ever make you feel good about yourself? You know, compliment you? Say nice things? Or is it always a self-help session?”

Holy shit. He was right. Why had I never seen that before? That little revelation was not doing wonders for my self-esteem. Darrios just looked at me thoughtfully for a minute and then he said, “Maggie, you are a beautiful woman and you’re just fine the way you are.”

I wasn’t ready to hear that and I desperately wanted to change the subject, so I asked Darrios about his family. He shrugged.

“It was just my mom and me. She was usually too drunk or too busy with one of her boyfriends to worry about me. Hell, I’d be surprised if she even noticed I was gone. I think the moltergs are more motherly than she was.”

Darrios smiled, his dark outburst seeming to have passed. He motioned up ahead. The trees and shrubbery were thickening and more varieties emerged as we walked. The greener landscape gave the place a much friendlier feel.

“Once we get through this brush and up past that darker green patch, we can stop and eat something. I brought some...well, it’s kind of like a sweetbread. I promise, Maggie, we’ll eat better once we reach Inland.”

I nodded and smiled back. Seeming anxious to break the silence and talk again...about anything...Darrios asked me, “How did you and Gregg actually meet?”

“He was a friend of one of
my friend’s older brothers. He saw me at my friend’s house one day and I guess was attracted to me. He asked her brother to introduce us. My friend wasn’t crazy about Gregg and she thought he was too old for me, but eventually she got over it. That was only a year and a half ago, but it seems like a lot longer, maybe because we’ve been so miserable lately.”

“You sounded a whole lot happier talking about your brother and your aunt.”

I sighed. “There was a time when I thought we might be able to work it out. I tried to talk to him, to actually have a conversation about our problems.”

“How did that turn out?”

“It didn’t. He refused to discuss it. He said our problems stem from my insecurities and him settling into his new job. He thinks they’re insignificant.”

Darrios pursed his lips and shook his head.

“What now?” I asked.

“Every time I ask you something about you, you tell me what Gregg thinks. What do
you
think? Do you ever get to have a say in any decision?”

I started to react defensively, but then I stopped. I suddenly realized Darrios was right. “I guess I got so used to him making decisions and I got tired of arguing. I quit contributing an opinion, but that’s my own fault, not his.”

“You’re right, it is. So why do you wanna stay with this guy?”

“I don’t, especially now. I am done being so needy.”

Darrios laughed out loud. “Ah, Maggie, I realize I’ve only known you a little while, but you seem
anything
but needy!”

“
Looking back? I was. I gave up a lot for a man who turned out to be...well, definitely not what I thought he was.”

“I think he wanted you to believe you couldn’t make it without him...because maybe he couldn’t make it without you...”

“I don’t think so,” I snorted, “Gregg’s very...self-sufficient. I seriously doubt if he’s ever needed anybody. And if he did, he’d never admit it. But it is a nice thought.”

“Don’t you think he’s worried about you?”

“I’m sure he’s wondering where I am, but not because he’s concerned for my welfare. More like because I’m inconveniencing him. I’m sure, right now, he’s going over all the rational explanations for my disappearance that have nothing to do with him.”

Darrios shook his head and then gave me that intense look again. “If I was him and you went missing, I wouldn’t give a damn about rational explanations. I’d be going crazy trying to find you!”

His words sent little shocks firing off across the top of my head. I cleared my throat. “It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s not like he has any chance of finding me here,” I said quietly.

****

We found a spot under a small tree with just enough shade for the two of us. We ate quickly and without talking. Darrios began glancing around again, making me nervous.

“Why do you keep looking around like that? Like you’re expecting something to jump out at us?” I asked him.

“I just don’t like being a sitting duck. I feel better when we’re moving,” he answered.

I stood up. “Let’s go, then.”

He got to his feet and put what was left of our meal in his pack. We both drank from the flask then continued on our journey. He assured me we were getting close.

I could tell as I looked down at the rocky, sandy terrain. I found myself pleased to discover an increased number of trees. They were bigger than the ones we’d seen so far. Patchy little rugs of grass grew randomly about, but thickened as we moved forward. The air smelled, I don’t know, cleaner.

I yelped in alarm as I watched what looked like a three-foot-long caterpillar drop from a tree and scurry after Darrios. Turning, he started to draw his knife until he saw the creature. He shoved the knife back in its case, placing his hands on his hips, smiling with relief. He reached into his pack, pulling out a piece of our lunch leftovers and tossing it to the animal.

Its fuzzy purple body had yellow spots with no hair and springy antennae sprouted out the top of its head. It made me think of
Alice in Wonderland.
I stood staring as Darrios fed it while making clucking noises.

“This is a ralapet, Maggie. He won’t hurt you. They’re just perpetually hungry is all. Do you want to feed him?”

“No, that’s okay, you’re doing fine. It looks like a giant caterpillar.”

“They’re very soft and cuddly. Go ahead, pet him.”

“I don’t know...”

“Watch.” He crouched down. The ralapet wormed its way over to Darrios.

“Does it have feet?” I asked.

“Yeah, about a hundred. You can’t see them because they’re covered in purple fur.” He stroked the ralapet with the back of his hand like you would a cat. “There you go, fella.”

As Darrios continued to pet the ralapet, it began making a soft purring-cooing sound. Laughing a little, I moved closer.

“Go on,” Darrios urged.

I reached out, gingerly touching the softest thing I’d ever felt. Softer and fluffier than any animal, stuffed or real, that I’d ever encountered. I raked my fingers through the ralapet’s hair, smiling.

“It’s wonderful. I’ve never felt anything this soft,” I marveled. It blinked its eyes at me and I swear it smiled back.

“I know. It’s soothing, almost hypnotic. Once you start petting, you don’t want to stop.”

“Exactly.”

“Sorry, Maggie, but we need to get moving. We don’t want your scent lingering in one place for too long.”

Reluctantly, I stood up and waved at the strange little ralapet. Darrios pitched the rest of the leftovers far off into the bushes. I watched as it scampered in after it.

“What did you do that for?” I asked, puzzled.

“Remember, I told you they’re perpetually hungry?”

“Yeah, so?”

“I meant it literally. We have to get out of here before he finishes that. That was the last of the food, but he’ll want more.”

“What happens when there is no more?”

“He’d follow us, whining non-stop, and as cute as his happy noise is, the whining is ear-splitting agony. Trust me when I tell you it isn’t something you want to experience.”

“I’ll take your word for it. You know it’s funny, Darrios. When we were in the Outer Rim and even when we got to Midland, when you told me about the scabras and viocomen, all I imagined here was death and monsters. I didn’t even think about harmless creatures like Rufus and the ralapet.”

“Don’t be fooled, Maggie. Until we get to Inland, we
are
in danger. There’s far more to fear out here than there is to pet and play with.”

I nodded solemnly. We continued our journey, my eyes darting around checking my surroundings. I checked Darrios’ body language frequently, watching for him to tense up or move more quietly. He trudged along casually so I began to lighten up.

Just when I started to relax a little, I heard what sounded like a whip from behind me. Like before, Darrios whirled around, grabbing me. He pushed me behind him before I even had time to look.

I peeked around him to see the strangest creature we’d encountered yet. It stood at least a foot taller than Darrios, but it was extremely thin. It didn’t have so much as a hint of hair anywhere I could see and its smooth, shiny head was much too large for its body.

Its beady, black eyes truly emanated a sense of evil. Sharp, dagger-like teeth and tiny, pointy ears gave it the demeanor of an overgrown, depraved elf. It curled up its lip in a hideous smile, emitting a piercing, high-pitched wail so shrill it caused me to wince.