A Beautiful Fate (24 page)

“Ava, the deaths of your parents were very real. The danger you are in is very real. Be diligent...don’t let The Kakos sneak up on you. You won’t stand a chance.”

I let Julia’s warning sink in a bit, then made my way back up to the house, knocked all the sand off my body, and went in to clean up.

By the time I was clean and sand free, everyone had gathered together on the deck. I found Ari lying on the hammock, talking to Thais, Nick and Andy. He pulled me onto the hammock with him, making me feel safe and that I was the only other person in the whole universe. While we rocked gently back and forth, Andy talked with his son about the Kakos and their possible whereabouts. Ari listened carefully, responding from time to time to his father’s comments, all the while stroking my hair and running his fingers up and down my arm. He talked to Andy in a low and gentle voice, never taking his eyes off me. Ari’s parents, along with the rest of his large family, never seem annoyed by his lack of attention. They always watch him watch me, and they smile. At first, I didn’t know how to react. No one had ever been this affectionate with me before, but I loved the way he made me feel, so I didn’t protest.

One time, when we had first started dating, I woke up from a nightmare and found Ari already asleep by my side in my dorm room. (My being proper had lasted a total of one week. We had never been able to stand to be apart at night.) I asked him how he had come to feel so comfortable around me, knowing how much I like my space and how seriously I communicate to other people that I prefer they keep their distance.

“They don’t understand you like we do,” he said simply. “People are born with an ability to sense danger, you know…like when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up or when you get goose bumps.” He trailed his soft fingers up my arms and little bumps appeared like magic. “You may cause some people to feel in danger, because, honestly Ava, you are incredibly dangerous. You can zero in on anyone and take him away.”

I looked at him with a frown. “I’m not like that.”

“I know you aren’t like that, but you could be, and deep down inside people possess the primal urge to keep their distance. I think the rest of us can’t help but want to be near you; you draw us to you as a flame draws a moth. We can feel your power. You are our hope... and it is in our blood to honor you.”

“How could you tell I was like you?”

He paused for a moment, considering my question.

“Well, we all suspected something. There are a lot of us here in Dana Point whose bloodlines have been so washed out that they don’t even know they are Greek, let alone the descendent of an ancient deity. I don’t know what I thought you were, but I knew that I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

His admission made me blush a little and I was thankful for the darkness.

“I can see why it may bother you,” he continued, “to have people cross the street when they see you coming. But I think you might like the alternative even less,” he said.

I considered his own dilemma.

Ari is the descendant of Adonis and Aphrodite. Adonis was the mortal God of beauty, and people flocked from all over to be near to him, especially women. When Ari and I are out together, I see people stare at him, or take a step toward him, just wanting to be near. Ari often finds himself caught in conversations with perfect strangers; they feel the need to tell him their whole life story. No wonder Ari has perfected the art of conversation. He has had years of practice, and is always kind to people who come up to him. We complement each other nicely that way. I keep most people away, and people who do approach Ari don’t feel comfortable enough with me around to talk with him too long. Lauren has the same effect as Ari; she is the most popular fifteen-year-old girl I have ever known, and she’s always in trouble because of it. She is always sneaking off at night to some party somewhere and there’s usually a boy involved.

“How come I can’t kill the Kakos by cutting their thread at night?”

“Hmm?” Ari had fallen back asleep.

“I can’t kill them at night in my dreams like I can anyone else. Why?”

“Mmm… You can. They are just harder to find. You find people by locating souls, but the Kakos don’t have souls. You are the only one with the power to end their lives. The trick is going to be to get them close enough to death for their threads to be visible. He pulled me closer, kissed my eyelids and fell back asleep.

Chapter 13

I went over to Rory’s Christmas Eve morning when he failed to meet me outside for our run. He was asleep and still in the clothes he had had on the night before.

“Rory, get up!” I shook him and nudged him with my foot, but my prodding was of no use.

“If you’re trying to get him to run with you, Ava, forget about it. He just got home an hour ago.”

“You’re joking.”

Gianna shook her head in a playful way. “I wish I were. I was worried sick about him. Always out chasing girls,” she
tsked
and shut his bedroom door.

I followed her down the hall to the kitchen. She had been baking bread and the whole house smelled like a bakery; it was wonderful. Julia was perched on a stool, reading
People Magazine
. I glanced at the cover; some new break-up about some celebrity. I rolled my eyes at her.

“Don’t give me that crap, Ava. See what I am reduced to? Baking bread for hours on end? This,” she said, shaking the magazine at me, “is my only escape.”

“You could do homework,” I suggested.

“It’s Christmas break!” Julia bounced down off the stool. It was her turn to roll her eyes at me. She picked up a stack of magazines and carried them off towards her room down the hall next to Rory’s.

“Don’t worry about her,” Gianna said, waving her hand in the air at Julia’s empty seat. “She’s been moody for weeks. I think Thais is rubbing off on her.”

Gianna could be really naïve. She had no clue about Rory and Julia. Julia had started to really like Rory and Rory had backed way off from her. He had told Ari a couple of weeks ago that he had decided to try a “hard to get approach.” I didn’t think it was working in his favor, though. I could tell that the little comment Gianna had just made about Rory chasing girls hadn’t sat well with Julia.

I washed my hands and began to help Gianna knead bread dough.

Gianna loves to talk. I can see where Rory and Nick get their personalities. She is loud and has a full, happy laugh. I didn’t understand how someone like her had ended up with someone like Thais. I guess sometimes opposites attract. Almost as though reading my mind, Gianna opened her mouth to tell me her story.

“I met Thais in a job interview,” she smiled. “I had gone to his law office in hopes of becoming his legal assistant. I had no idea what he looked like and I was nervous. It was my first interview ever. My mom and dad wanted me to concentrate on school, so I never had to work. Not even a part-time job. Once school was finished and it was time for me to enter the real world, I found I had no idea what I was doing.

“Thais could tell I was nervous. He led me back to his office and got me a glass of water. He must have asked if I would be okay a dozen times. He started the interview, got a few questions in and then stopped. I thought I had really messed it up.

‘Ms. Marco’ he said, interrupting my answer to his last question. ‘I am afraid that I will not be able to hire you.’

“I was so upset I thought I was going to cry right in his office, but he continued. ‘You may be the most beautiful woman I have ever met. I can’t seem to think straight with you in here, so I know that this will not work out on a professional level. I hope this isn’t too forward, but I would like to ask you out on a date instead.’

“I was stunned. Thais was so smart and handsome and well spoken. I knew
who
he was. My father is Greek, a descendant of Achilles. My mother is from a Naiad Nymph. My father had actually lined the interview up for me. I never dreamed a man like Thais would be interested in someone like me.

“I could feel my face light up as he spoke and I quickly agreed to dinner that night.

‘Great, let me help you out with that job now.’ Thais stood up and walked across his office, took me by the hand and walked me down the hall to his brother’s office door. Andy was on the phone, but Thais took the receiver from his hand and hung up on the person Andrew had been talking with. Andy looked less than thrilled.

‘Andy, this is Gianna. She’s here about a job. I have gone through her references. She would be a perfect fit as
your
assistant.’ Andy shook my hand, showed me my desk, and told me to get that person back on the phone for him right away.

“I married Thais three months later and I have worked for Andy ever since. Don’t let Thais fool you. He is a very kind man. He would do anything for his family, Ava. And he would do anything for you.”

****

On Christmas Eve night, we all dressed up and spent the evening at Thais and Gianna’s home. Thais is older than Andy is by eighteen months and, like his brother, is a descendant of Adonis. He and Andy share a megawatt smile and handsome, dark-brown eyes. The two are partners at their law firm, Alexander & Alexander where they specialize in family law. Nick hopes to follow their example, but Ari and Rory have no desire to be involved with the practice of law. Thais is louder than Andy and can be a little bad tempered at times. He certainly does not have Andy’s patience and understanding. Gianna and Thais’ home is much more formal than that of Ari’s parents and, aside from at their beach parties, everyone is expected to be on a “best- behavior” setting.

Andy and Aggie’s get-togethers are always on a no-holds-barred basis; family and guests are free to relax and come and go as they please. Holidays are an exception – at those times, Aggie sticks to a tight schedule and wants people looking their absolute best.

The formality of Gianna and Thais’ home is probably why Rory and Nick are usually over at Aggie’s. I had heard, too, that Julia was having a difficult time living with Gianna and Thais, and had considered moving back to a dorm. Thanks to me, though, there were no openings. Julia had confided in Lauren, who, of course, blabbed to everyone, that she was planning to move out on her own once she graduated. I guess Rory had been devastated when he heard the news.

The house was packed, as usual, with people drinking and carrying on. The food was exquisite. Gianna served roast duck and potatoes in a rich glaze with a side of carrots, peas and crunchy bread. Every room in their house was decorated with beautiful Christmas decorations. Gianna had even decorated Nick and Rory with thick and scratchy-looking sweaters, red for Rory and green for Nick.

After a few hours, Ari and I snuck away. It always seemed that if we weren’t sleeping, we were surrounded by swarms of people, and while I loved the fact that there were always people around, I came from a home that held just my mom and myself. My mother worked eighty plus hours a week; down-time was the norm. Ari’s place was a nice change of pace, but if we had a chance to be alone, we didn’t take a pass on it. We eased out the front door while the rest of the family had cocktails in Thais’ bar, got back to Ari’s house and put on a movie downstairs in the den; a space that no matter what the Alexanders called it was larger than most Chicago apartments that I had ever been. There was a huge, wrap-around couch and a large-screen TV mounted to the wall above a fireplace. There was also a fully stocked wet bar and a keg of Heineken that was always on tap. They also had a pool table, poker table and some other bar games that I had never cared to play.

Ari lit the fire with a push of a button and turned all the lights off. We watched all of thirty seconds of the movie before things between us started to heat up big time. My head was lost to the clouds within minutes and we started to cross the line a bit when suddenly we were stopped by the flick of a light switch. Rory, and half of the partygoers from his home, came barreling down the stairs. Ari shouted out quite a few profanities, while I quickly made myself more presentable.

“What?” Rory responded to Ari’s language with a laugh. “It’s getting late and mom kicked us out. We’re just going to play some pool. No big deal!”

Ari just stared at him for a moment with cold steely eyes then said, “I hate you, Rory.”

“Nah, you’ll thank me later.” He pointed at me, smiled and winked, “Especially you.”

He was probably right. I don’t know what I had been thinking; a basement couch was hardly the most romantic place. We headed up the stairs to Ari’s room, where he grabbed a pillow and kissed me on the forehead.

“You don’t have to sleep on the couch,” I pouted.

“Uh… yeah, I think I do. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I gave a small sigh, then said goodnight.

Despite my frustration, and cold toes, I managed to fall asleep. Right away I found myself running in the woods again, wet and cold, searching frantically for something. My bare feet slipped on the rocky terrain. I had to stop several times to keep from falling. The rain was relentless and I again heard screams in the distance. I shot up in bed with a start, breathless, my heart pounding and my palms sweaty. The clock read only four a.m., but I knew there was no way sleep would find me again.

Quietly, I made my way down the hall and took a cold shower, trying to wash the fear away and hide it before anyone could detect my uneasiness. Something different had emerged in the forest dream. Details had become much clearer and seemed much more real, but I still had no idea what I was doing out there in the woods and for what I was so frantically searching. I was scared to death of how the dream would end, and had no clue about how to control that end.