The Broken Destiny (25 page)

Maya came crawling toward me, her bandaged leg dragging behind her. I would have laughed at the sight of us if I weren’t in so much pain.

“We are going to have to inject it.” I heard Arriana’s timid voice coming from above me.

I felt the sharp prick of a needle in my hip and just before I lost consciousness, the cold fluid tingled over my skin, into my pores and finally my head.

Gradually, I woke to a warm hand resting in mine. The roar of thunder outside shook me to full alert. The change in seasons could only mean one thing – it was happening. I was changing, the prophecy had begun. I looked over; Maya was sleeping next to me, but on her bed. I was under the blankets while she lay half slumped on top of pillows, to keep her leg up. Her sweet face brought on a much needed smile. The wind howled past the house and hustled through the branches of the trees. Flashes of light danced among the clouds. I sighed at the sheer beauty of the storm and wished I could be on the ocean where the storm would surround me in all its glory. Early morning confirmed that I had made it through the night. For a moment I had thought I wouldn’t. I slowly withdrew my hand from Maya’s in order to sit up straight, twisting the crick out of my neck. Running my hand over my shirt to wipe the moistness from holding onto Maya’s hand the entire night, I noticed that I had been changed out of my clothes and into some kind of sleepwear that was fit for toddlers. Frowning with disgust, I removed my cold feet from the bed and placed them on the carpet. I curled my toes as I welcomed the heat that the fluffy carpet provided. Looking around for my clothes in the dimness of the early morning light, I heard the slow screech of the door. A soft, golden glow entered the room. First, I saw his shadow and then I stared into his face.

“Oh, I didn’t think anyone would be awake,” he whispered.

I quickly pulled the blanket from the chair over me in one swift move. He turned away, embarrassed.

“Sorry, Ava,” he apologized as he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

I did not reply, stunned and engulfed in a scarlet blush. I swallowed the humiliation. I couldn’t believe that he had seen me in those hideous pajamas or whatever they were. I tiptoed over to the door, making sure to close it properly, the floor boards creaked beneath my bare feet. I turned to see Maya still asleep. I went over to draw the blanket over her. It was the most amazing feeling taking care of my sister. Searching on the floor for my jeans, I eventually spied them hanging on the handle of Maya’s wardrobe. I noticed the closet for the first time. Layers of blue, white and golden wood; antiquated patterns of Minoan symbols carved into the edges of the panels. Carefully, I unhooked them from the golden-leaf handle and pulled them on while searching for a shirt. I could only find one that belonged to Maya, but I changed into it anyway. The thirst drew me from the room, hoping with my life not to bump into Enoch. I should have been used to awkward moments by now as they happened to me more than I wanted them to. Turning to the window to check my reflection, I made sure that if I did bump into anyone, my appearance wouldn’t embarrass me. Treading lightly, I cleared the short passage. The early hour of the morning gave me hope that everyone would still be fast asleep, but the burning fire coming from the sitting room should have told me differently.

“I’m in safely,” I said to myself, not finding anyone in the kitchen.

“Who are you talking to?” His voice came from behind me.

I almost shrieked with fright, my free hand about to meet Enoch’s cheek. He caught my wrist letting out a goofy laugh, and as he made his way past me his hands rested on my hips. My body stiffened at his cold touch on my bare skin. I cursed myself for not wearing a longer shirt over the low riding jeans.

He chuckled again. “Sorry. My hands are cold.” He shrugged. “I’ve just come from outside. The rain has brought some icy winds with it.”

Looking down at my feet, I started to retreat. I wasn’t ready for his mind-games, pretending that nothing had happened was not like me. Regretfully, it was hard to keep my emotions at bay lately.

“Where are you going?” He looked back, his glacier eyes meeting mine.

I weakened, biting down on my lip. “I just need a glass of water, please, if you would be so kind,” I said softly, trying very hard to distance myself from him and avoid meeting his gaze again.

“You don’t have to play shy with me. It’s not like we’ve just met.”

“Sure,” I said, not really sure of how to react. I kept my eyes locked on the floor, my bare feet feeling the heat all the way from the kitchen entrance.

“How are you feeling, babe?” he said.

I felt a pinch of anger at that and couldn’t keep the flush at bay.

“My name is Ava, thank you very much,” I said, surprising myself. My words made me smile inside.

He ignored my comment and handed me a glass of water, but kept it in his grasp until I looked at him. I stared into the blue glass, gold crystal filigree around the edges made gripping the smooth glass easier. I could feel the tension between us. I smiled falsely at him, hoping that it would reinforce the wall of ice I wanted between us. It didn’t work. Frustratingly, it only provoked him.

“Playing hard to get I see.”

I shot him an annoyed look. “Thank you for the water,” I said impatiently and turned to leave.

“We don’t have to talk about it.” He said plainly.

I froze.

He flashed a sinister smile.

His eyebrow rose, his icy stare intensified, “You’re not going to have some of my mom’s homemade cookies then?” he asked as he turned back to the kitchen.

My stomach rumbled – power of suggestion. He turned toward me, a cocky smile on his face. The glow of the fire illuminated his ice blue eyes, threatening to pierce right through me. And I found myself slipping.

A part of me knew he was manipulating me, but I ignored my instincts as usual. My feet carried me through the kitchen while my heart thumped through my chest. I gulped the water down in one go as I stood before him, thankful for the temporary distraction as he kept his eyes locked on mine. I wondered why I liked him and why he had this effect on me when he was near. I should have known – the signs were there. It wasn’t right for me to have those kinds of feelings about him. I still didn’t listen to the voice of reason in my head, warning me against the blindness. Enoch cleared his throat and grabbed my hand to get my attention. Startled, I looked at him. I breathed in deeply, trying to clear my head of the fog moving over my mind.
Troy and the gang don’t trust him, so maybe I shouldn’t trust him either
. His grip tightened around my wrist. I thought about the night I had fallen, the way that girl had wrapped herself around Troy like she was an accessory of some kind. I realized that I might not have forgiven him after all.
Maybe she is just an accessory and maybe she isn’t, either way, I shouldn’t waste my time on him
, I reflected.
He is only going to hurt me and not in a good way, because we all knew what a sucker for punishment I was.
Pain made me feel alive, but not the kind of pain someone like Troy could inflict on me. I had no safeguards against him – none! Enoch let go of my wrist, the blood slowly returning to my fingers. I stood almost numb and confused at what had just happened.

“Are you just going to stand there the whole day?” Enoch said bluntly, pulling me back to the present.

He started stuffing his face with the freshly baked cookies which smelled delicious. It looked so cozy near the fire. I noticed that he still kept his gaze on me.
What is it about this guy that sucks me in?
I wondered. I had to forcefully and consciously restrain myself from tumbling down the rabbit hole. He smiled a crooked and mischievous smile. With my free hand, I hugged my bandaged arm and wondered when it would heal.

“I won’t bite,” he said, patting the seat next to him.

I headed toward him slowly, trying to resist the invisible magnet that kept on pulling me in, using my attraction to danger as bait. An image of Troy and that slut flashed before my eyes again.
Why not me?
I thought angrily.
Troy has forgotten all about me. I don’t need him. It’s not like I had great dreams of us being together. It’s not like I felt that Troy was the answer and that he was the only person who, without any effort at all, brought me to life. I don’t need him anymore. Tit for tat, right?
My grief empowered me to leap. I sat down on a chair across from Enoch. I could feel the energy between us start to vibrate, pulsate, pushing and clawing its way through my veins. It was scary and exhilarating. His hand brushed mine as he handed me the jar of cookies. I grabbed two, placed them on my lap and stared into the fire. I could feel his eyes on me. I didn’t know if I could handle the pressure any longer.
Say something
, I silently ordered.

“You are very beautiful, you know that?” he said.

That was the moment I should have got up and exited the room, but I loved the attention way too much and lapped up as much of it as possible. That shallow part of me returned without any resistance. Doing the wrong thing was always
so
much easier and
so
much more alluring than doing the right thing. I often got involved with people I expected to hurt me, because it hurt less. As crazy as that sounds, it made perfect sense at the time. Enoch and I talked about nothing in particular for a while, just keeping each other company, testing each other’s boundaries; mine easier to penetrate than his. I did pick up on the anxiety regarding coming events that plagued our minds. It felt good to have someone to talk to, without being judged. And, the flirting sure boosted a girls’ ego. I knew I was heading straight into the danger zone, but it was also an enthralling one. I loved every second of our time together. I shouldn’t have, because I knew all the attention I was receiving from him wasn’t real. I knew it was just a game and that it could only lead to heartache. I wanted the heartache. I didn’t care that it felt wrong. I was letting go for a change. I welcomed the fact that my life would change with every breath I took in this village. I decided that it was time for me to get what
I
wanted and to stop thinking of what others might say. I wanted him, the danger of losing my heart, of breaking my boundaries, of shattering my existence – I wanted it all. I decided it was
my
turn. I let the blindness fold over me and felt myself slip into his crystal eyes, forgetting every negative thing about him. I
had
to, if I was going to use him as a beautiful and intoxicating distraction. The blindness crept in.

CHAPTER NINE

The Fall

A
knock on the door woke me. I had fallen asleep talking to Enoch earlier that morning. Keeping my eyes closed, I pretended to sleep. The guilt was setting in. As per usual, I ignored those feelings hoping that they would disappear with time.

“Good morning, young lady. I found something outside.” I heard Willard say. He obviously knew I was awake.

“Hellooo!” I heard Sam’s familiar voice shout. A grin crept across my face.

I jumped up and immediately fell down again – someone had the gall to laugh. I was up again in an instant and flushed with embarrassment as I tried to untangle the blankets wrapped around my legs.

“Hi, Sam,” Anaya greeted as she entered the room from the passageway.

Sam giggled all the way through the living room, where she assisted me in unwrapping myself.
Enoch must have covered me up.
The thought made me smile. Willard made his way to the kitchen, looking for something to eat no less. My eyes followed him as he pretended to look the other way.

He dipped his hand into the pot of cookies. “Want one?” he asked, pointing the blue clay pot toward us.

Sam nodded eagerly. “I’m starving!”

“Sam, you’re always starving.” I joked.

I excused myself to go and freshen up. Soundlessly, I grabbed my utility bag from Maya’s room, being careful not to disturb her. Long, dark hair was sprawled over her lilac pillow and the usual rosiness had returned to her cheeks. A faint light crawled through the bedroom window, its position telling me that it was almost noon. With one hand, I pulled and tugged at my very creased shirt, wondering how long I had slept for, and how I could have possibly fallen asleep talking to Enoch? Mulling things over, I looked down at my feet as I walked, staring at my white toes when they hit the dark, wooden floor. I felt a tiny bit guilty for pursuing things with Enoch when I knew I shouldn’t have; every fiber of my being telling me so, but of course, I didn’t listen. At the end of the hall, I slammed into something which caused me to drop my brush on my toe. I almost swore, but on noticing Enoch standing so close to me, bare chested, took my breath away and my heartbeat accelerated. His broad, tanned shoulders towered over me, blocking out any light from the passage window.

“Ouch!” I exclaimed a little too late.

He laughed slightly as he bent down to retrieve my brush, his eyes lingering on it for a while before handing it to me. I snatched it back, shaking my head at his odd behavior. He stepped aside for me to enter the bathroom, his eyes not meeting mine. I guessed he didn’t want anyone to see us behaving ‘badly’.

“All yours,” he said, and I blushed.

Sam and I offered to help Anaya with lunch. Arriana was sitting outside where the storm had left behind a fresh breeze and wet flowerbeds for our pleasure. Almost quietly, her pottery wheel spun its rhythmic tune, one I was getting used to. Tatos and Willard hovered over Anaya as she took the bread out of the stone oven for lunch.

“Guys, please!” Anaya said irritably, shooing them away with a cloth.

“Lunch is early.” Enoch commented on entering the room all innocently. He was better at hiding things than I was, because upon being in the same room as him, I inevitably felt myself blush.

Sam bowed to greet him, a proud smile on her face for remembering their customs. Our eyes met and I smiled. The village would become a part of her world too, but how long before the Council stepped in and prevented her from coming here – if they knew she was here at all. Sam was also very good at hiding things when she wanted to. If not for her, I would never have sneaked out of our apartment successfully.

“Sam, Enoch. Enoch, Sam.” I introduced, clearing my throat shyly.

My stomach quivered at the mention of his name.

Enoch grabbed a slice of warm bread and kissed Anaya on the cheek.

“Thanks! It smells great,” he said as he made his way past us, bowing to his friends in greeting.

Enoch took a bite from his bread and we exchanged a look. My stomach performed another somersault, sweat beading my forehead. How long could I keep it a secret before it ruined me? At the slightest movement he made, my body was fully aware of his. I needed to hide my thoughts from Anaya, from Arianna, from them all.

“Sam…” he started, his eyes still lingering on mine, inspecting my demeanor and checking if I wouldn’t crack under the pressure. “Are you staying for the day? Ava has not stopped talking about…” he ceased talking when he saw the suspicion in Tatos’ gaze.

“So, tell me what brings you here for real?” I asked her, trying to defuse the suspicion.

“Boredom and loneliness, I guess.” She looked down as she spoke.

“I’m so sorry that you are alone. I feel…”

“No, Ava. I won’t let you make this about you,” she mocked.

We exchanged smiles.

“I hear it’s time to cut that silly thing off your arm,” said Kronan, as he came through the door.

There was something about Kronan that didn’t match his exterior.
Was it the look in his eyes, or the way he walked?
I pondered.

Sam clapped her hands together. “Oh, goody!” She exclaimed.

“Hi guys!” Maya hobbled in, hanging onto a pair of wooden crutches.

I saw the look on Sam’s face and tried to stop her before she put her foot in it. She was infamous for saying things at the wrong time.

“You and the boyfriend been at it again?” She joked.

I was too late.

“Something like that,” Maya answered, a goofy smile on her face.

Maya and I exchanged a relieved look. No one had noticed the word
boyfriend.
Willard was too busy hogging the loaf to have noticed while Tatos examined the saw Kronan had brought along to cut my hardened bandage cast off.

Saturdays were one of the busiest days in the Minoan Village. Pretty much everyone had something to do that day leaving Sam and I alone for most of the afternoon. I showed her around the little cottage, not entering anyone else’s room but Maya’s. We sat casually in front of the fire talking about all kinds of things and I somehow couldn’t stop myself when Sam asked about me and Enoch. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I told her the truth. She understood the attraction as Enoch was a very attractive man, but warned that anything that is kept a secret was never a good thing and I, of all people, should have known that. My only defense was that like Sage, my concern was that people were not ready for interracial relationships; our age difference was bad enough. After talking about it some more, she assured me that she’d keep it a secret for as long as she could and I was happy with that. I asked her not to talk about Troy. She knew that I was not yet ready to discuss whether or not I would have jumped if there hadn’t been any blood magic involved on the night of the bonfire. It was late afternoon when we heard the roar of an engine outside.

“Oh, my lift is here.”

Sam leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. I pulled away when I recognized the familiar sound of a particular red motorbike. I glanced down at my arm, my skin pale and flaky now that the bandaged cast had been removed. Sam moved to the door. I immediately stood up taking a couple of steps away from the couch. I shot her an angry glare from across the room. She knew I was jealous and enraged and hurried out the door with nothing more than a wave. I rushed over to the window, my stare hard on her back as they drove off together. I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmingly betrayed.
It should be me on the back of that motorbike, not her
, I grumbled to myself. For a second, I hated Sam and for the longest second, I wanted Troy to be mine. I found myself alone in the confines of the cottage. The warm fire wasn’t warming me at all and the white stone walls were collapsing in on me. I walked over to the couch, folded the blankets and sat down on top of them. I listened for the slow hum of the market place, the ocean’s roar, the breeze raking through the treetops. There was nothing to sooth my anxiety. As I gazed at the red hot coals in the fireplace, I was reminded of the tremendous heat that had seared my eyes after the Zulus had tried to grab me on the beach. My mind jumped back to that day. It was so tangible it felt as if I had gone back in time. I could feel the burn of the coarse sand against my skin, my mouth flooded with the bitter taste of the poison, the scar on my cheek pulled open underneath my skin and the numbness in my legs had returned. My eyes were suddenly on fire once more, my heart pounding as I felt the cold metal on my cheek and sensed warm blood flowing from the wound. I abruptly snapped out of my nightmare and instantly ran my hand over the tender scar across my cheek. When I looked at my fingers, they were dripping that same bright red. I jumped back and did a double take – it was gone.
I am driving myself crazy
. My throat pulled closed. I was feeling the anxiety as if it were a new thing for me. Dizziness clouded my mind. I drew in deep shallow breaths as Kim had taught me, in deep and out slowly. I got up from the couch and grabbed my jacket. I needed distraction to free me from my attack. This was exactly why I hated being alone with my mind.
Things will catch up with you eventually
, I heard someone say within my mind – warning me once again. I shook my head even harder in an attempt to clear it of all the clutter within. I wanted to run to the kitchen, grab a knife and stab myself to prove that I was not this alien I could feel trying to crawl its way out of me. I bolted for the door. I was suffocating myself with insanity.

“Where are you off to?” Maya inquired, as I pulled the cottage door closed behind me.

She was sitting alone. I glared at her, startled that she’d been there at all.

“Mom and Anaya are seeing Kronan off for the day. Won’t you wait until they come back?” She stared at me solidly. It was strange to hear her say ‘mom’ as if they had adopted me into the family already.

“Would you like some company?” I asked her.

Her eyes fell on something behind me. I turned to see Rion closing the small gate behind him, a basket filled with differently colored jars in one hand.

“Rion and I are going to paint some of mom’s pots. Why don’t you join us? It’s very therapeutic.” She smiled.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“Nonsense,” she protested. “You’re family now.” Her smile widened.

I smiled back gently, my gaze flicking over to the path that led down the narrow valley. Fog crawling in over the lush ferns made me shiver. Hugging my jacket for warmth, I still felt like I desperately needed to escape the cottage. I was used to being confined, but my sudden freeness had to be explored.

“And, mom will be very angry if she knew you were going anywhere unaccompanied.”

“I’m not a child,” I snapped, my chest tightening. “I’m sorry, Maya,” I apologized, immediately realizing I was wrong to snap at her. I bit down on my lip.

“Don’t worry. I know how you feel,” she said and looked over at Rion. “I need my space sometimes too. Just promise to keep your eyes open.”

“I will,” I agreed, nodding.

Rion and I greeted each other with a bow as I turned to leave.

“You need to be careful, please,” Maya stressed.

I started to make my way past Rion and noticed that for a young boy, he was very tall.

“Wait!” She called back, drew a dagger from her one boot and handed it to me.

I frowned at her. I had never used a weapon before.

“Take it.” She insisted.

I stared at the twirling patterns engraved into the blade and the turquoise stones inside the hilt. It looked ancient. I nodded, and slid it into my boot as I walked down the stairs. Having a weapon with me suddenly made me feel nervous.

“You shouldn’t let her…” Rion started to say.

“Rion, please. You wouldn’t understand,” Maya said to him as I closed the gate behind me. Once again the gems adorning the gate glimmered as I walked away. I thought that maybe it was just a protecting spell on the gate.

“Fine, but don’t come crying to me when your mom finds out you let her go off on her own,” he retorted.