The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales) (25 page)

We settled down on the sofa. “That went well, don’t you think?” she asked.

I nodded, sipping my tea.

She unfastened her heavy sapphire earrings and set them on the table, “I was hoping your father would be up to joining us, but Amrita was against it. She was afraid it would be too taxing. I invited her, but she refused to leave him.”

“I don’t really like her
.
” I
complained,
“She’s way
too restrictive.”

“She’s a talented healer… And she’s
extremely
dedicated to your father.”

I thought about the fortuneteller’s warning. She was definitely preying upon my loved one’s weakness
.
“Where did you find her?”

“One of my charitable foundations recommended her to me.”

“I don’t trust her.”

Evie looked surprised, “Why?”

“She seems nervous all the time.”

“Oh Marina,” Evie smiled at me indulgently, “Can’t you see that you intimidate her?”

“Me? Why?”

Evie sipped her tea, “Amrita comes from almost unimaginable poverty. My foundation found her when she was a mere child, working as a domestic for starvation wages to support her elderly Grandmother. We gave her the opportunity to attend school, and to her credit, she made the most of it. She graduated at the very top of her class.”

I s
hook my head sadly
.
N
ot again, I thought. The story of Amrita’s deprivation reminded me of Ethan’s excuse for his mother’s behavior. Everyone seemed to be trying to make me feel guilty for being born into a life of privilege. There was no winning this game– from now on if I complained about Doctor Permala, I could be labeled insensitive.
I changed the subject.

“What about Olivia? What’s going on in the search for her?”

Evie frowned, “It seems that our… difficulties… have split the council into several factions. Some side with her, and they’re shielding her from me. Others believe me, and find her behavior repulsive.”

“You mean criminal!” I exclaimed.

“Unfortunately, council members are above the law,” she said flatly. “Most of them control the law enforcement in their respective countries. We are all protected by our peculiar talents… or our wealth.
According to the last report I’ve heard, Edwards and Olivia were sequestered at one of his homes on the continent.”

“Untouchable,” I grouched.

Evie straightened her spine, “That sword cuts both ways. We must keep our guard up and stay on the defense.”

Defense. I was done playing defense; from now on my strategy was to go on the attack, t
o set my opponent off balance–
to force them back on their he
els. I was through being afraid;
I
refused
to sit
and
wait for them to come for my sisters again.

“What about Bradley?” I asked her, “Do you think it’s a good idea to have him under your own roof?”

“Boris and I discussed it. We think it’s best for security purposes, should his father ever surface again.”

“How’s that?” I was puzzled.

“You know what they say
…
”
S
he stirred her tea
briskly.
“Keep your friends close… and your enemies closer.”

“So I’ve heard,” I said dryly. “
But h
ave you decided if he’s a friend or an enemy yet?”

She sighed, “I’m inclined to believe in his innocence.”

“And Yuri’s
?
”

“
Most c
ertainly,” she said firmly.

I wished I could trust
Brad
for Cruz’s sake, but it occurred to me that Evie and I might be incapable of seeing everything clearly. Maybe we wanted to be able to believe in Brad the same way Ethan wanted to believe in his mother.

“Where is Ethan tonight?” Evie asked, seemingly reading my mind.

I exhaled, slumping into the comforting embrace of Evie’s velvet cushions. It didn’t take much prodding before I found myself telling her all about Ethan’s mother, bitterly complaining about how easy it had been for her to come between us.

“He’s so desperate to believe her that he can’t see what’s really going on,” I whined.

Evie was philosophical, “A man’s mother carries a very powerful psychological
stick
.” S
he
started
ticking off theories, “Oedipus complex, fear of rejection… separation anxiety…”

“But what about me? Why can’t he just believe me?”

“Sweetheart,” her voice grew wistful, “Their relationship may be impossible for us to truly understand… both of us having lost our own mothers so very early in our lives.”

I nodded my agreement; now Evie’s armchair psychoanalysis was actually starting to make sense.

“I guess so. He’s been acting irrational lately… Ruby’s got it in her head that there’s something going on between me and Paul, and she’s gotten Ethan all fired up about it.”

“Paul?” her right eyebrow raised
.
“
Is
there something going on between you two?”

“
NO!
Not at all!” it came out a little more forcefully than I wanted it to, but I was sick and tired of having my innocence questioned.

She pursed her lips, “There’s no need to get so upset– it’s a perfectly reasonable question. After all, Paul
is
a very handsome man…”

“It’s not like that!
We’re just friends!”

She studied me, “How’
s
the self-defense training coming along?”

“Everything’s fine… Stop looking at me that way!”

Now she really raised her eyebrows at me, and I struggled for the words to explain. I wanted to tell her about being followed and spied on, but I kept my word. Paul would get to break it to her himself.

“Listen,” I paused to take a breath
.
“Paul and I are just good friends, and he’s been a huge help to me.” I remembered how worried he was about his perceived failure, “Promise me you won’t fire him or anything… okay?”

“Why on earth would I fire him?” Evie scrutinized me suspiciously.

“Nevermind,” I said, getting up to go
.
“I should go check on Stumpy.”

“Marina!” Evie was aghast, “That’s really no way to refer to your fa
th
–”

“It’s my new
kitten
,” I interjected
.
“
Maybe
I’ll bring him by to meet Pierre and Fifi tomorrow.”

Evie’s tinkling laughter escorted me out the door.

I slipped in the front door of my apartment, and found Amrita sitting alone on the couch. She looked guilty, like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“Martin is sleeping,” she announced quietly. I came closer, surprised to see Stumpy sp
layed
out on her lap, his underbelly exposed. He looked up
to greet me with
a tiny meow.

I sat down next to her, “I didn’t think you’d approve of him.”

She straightened up, adopting a
professional
tone, “In many parts of India, cats are considered bad luck. People can be very superstitious.”

I studied her profile, trying to figure her out, “But you don’t think so?”

“Having animals around can be very therapeutic. I think your father might benefit from his presence.”

“You like him too,” I said.

She smiled wistfully down at Stumpy, tickling his soft white belly, “My Grandmother loved cats. She believed that they knew the secret to immortality.”

“We say they have nine lives,” I told her.

“My Grandmother believed that they could
kill poisonous snakes without being hurt because they had traces of Amrit in their throats.” She stroked Stumpy’s throat as she spoke, and he responded by stretching out his arms luxuriantly.

“Amrit?”

“Nectar of the gods,” she said softly
.
“The Gods churn the ocean to create Amrit… the elixir of immortality.”

I was silent for a moment,
a little shocked at her mention of the sea and immortality in one breath. Evie always said that there were no coincidences in the universe.

I turned my attention to the cat, “Are his legs ever going to straighten out?”

“It’s unlikely,” she said clinically, taking each hind leg and putting it through its range of motion. Stumpy started to purr loudly, clearly enjoying her touch. “An unfavorable position in the womb has caused a tendon deformity.”

“I like the way he hops,” I said.

She smiled over at me
timidly, her beautiful sloe eyes shining, “He does seem to get along very nicely.”

I sucked in a breath, “Is my father going to regain the use of his hand?”

She looked me square in the eye, and I saw the fire of determination, “Yes.”

Her resolve blazed through me, and I was moved. I could see why Evie believed that she had the power to heal my father. Stumpy flipped over and hopped onto my lap.

I scooped him up and rose from the couch, “Uhm… We’d better turn in now… Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she replied.

I started to leave, and paused, “Amrit… Is that like your name?”

She nodded shyly, “Yes.”

“Well… it’s a beautiful name,” I said, retreating to my room.

I set Stumpy down on the bed while I changed. We both jumped when the phone in my purse rang. It was Ethan.

“Where are you?” I didn’t like his demanding tone.

“I’m at my dad’s.”

“Come home now,” he
told me.
“We need to talk.”

“I’ll be home Sunday night,” I replied frostily, “We can talk then.”

“Look
…
If you think someone is following you again I want you here with me.”

“So you believe me now?”

His voice softened, “Listen, it doesn’t matter what happened with you and Paul… You were going through a lot with your dad… If he took advantage–”

“NOTHING HAPPENED!”

“Okay, okay,” he was annoyingly placating, “The most important thing is that you stay safe.”

My checks burned hot, and I could feel the irritation rising up in me, “You don’t get it! You’re too busy listen
ing to your mother to believe
me!”

“That’s not true.”

“I have to go,” I said, freshly annoyed.

“Marina… I want you here. Please come home tonight.”

“No. I’m going to Megan’s show tomorrow.”

“Don’t you want to be with me?”

“Not like this,” I said angrily, pacing around my bed
.
“
W
e need to think about slowing things down.”

“I don’t want to slow anything down! I want you here with me
now
.”

I heaved a shaky breath, “I need some time to think.”

“Away from me?”

“Ethan, if you don’t trust me, we have no business getting married.”

He was quiet for a moment, “Don’t you love me anymore?”

I sighed, “You know I do.”

His voice lowered, “Then come home right now.”

“No,” I said firmly
.
“We’ll talk
on
Sunday.”

“Fine,” he s
ounded
sullen, and I could feel a wall going up between us, brick by brick. “Talk to you later.”

I sat on the edge of my bed, twisting my engagement ring on my finger. How could he not believe me? I could never stand to be
looked upon as
a naive fool, jealously guarded as if I were
senseless enough to be easily led astray. I was much too independent to be treated like a child, and I found his attitude demeaning as well as insulting.

Evie always said that everything happened for a reason, but I couldn’t see why I had fallen in love with someone so fragile and needy. Ethan could never seem to have enough reassurance or security
–
H
e was always going to be reaching out for more. Nobody could ever be enough to fill the void
, and
maybe that’s why I’d been so hesitant to get physical.

What could I say to make him see how ridiculously he was behaving? I feared that if I couldn’t work things out with Ethan, everything about me would change. According to Naida, I had three long years of
beckoning
moons left, before whatever magic my mother had conferred upon me expired. I doubted I could hold out that long. A terrible sense of dread engulfed me, and my stomach quivered inside.