Centaur Redemption (Touched Series) (27 page)

His voice was back to its previous thunder, “At my expense!”

I didn’t let his outburst intimidate me, despite the ground shaking in fear at his roar.  “The King should never have been able to board the ferry.  The passage across the River Styx is only for souls.  To my knowledge, no Centaurides have been able to turn living breathing humans into souls, well, not unless the humans were murdered.”

Confused, he stated, “Continue.”

I clarified with a question.  “Did the Centauride Phyllis kill King Sisyphus?”

“No.”

“Then how did the King board the ferry?”

Zeus scoffed, “This proves nothing.”

“It proves that someone beyond the Centauride Phyllis was involved.  Has a living human beyond King Sisyphus ever been able to cross the River Styx?”

“I have heard of many humans who have visited the underworld and lived to tell about it.” 

My heart sunk. 

A long silence hung in the air before Zeus asked.  “Explain to me how your husband is not in human form.”

His subject change caught me off guard.  I stammered for a second, because he himself had offered to turn Drake back to human form in South Dakota.  I assumed he knew the arrow had changed Drake. 

Chiron stomped a hoof hard into the dirt, pulling Zeus’s attention away from me.  “That was my doing, old friend.  I have long watched the turmoil in my herds.  I would never have defied you, or encouraged others to do so, but my young daughter was quick to see through the millennia of deception promulgated on all of us.  I knew you, in all your wisdom, would see the truth of her words.  To ensure she received an audience with you, I gave her husband the ability to change into a warrior when called upon.”

“Against my wishes?”

“Actually, old friend, you allowed Centaurs to take human form as a gift.  You placed me in the heavens so I would better be able to watch over my children.  From my perch among the stars, I saw my daughter required protection.  I did not see this gift as a betrayal of any kind to you.”

Zeus’s voice sounded irritated, but no longer sounded like it was blasting through twelve inch woofers.  “How did the Tak line survive?”

Athena raised her sword slightly, “I spared Rupert.  All of his wives and children had been murdered.  Lapiths were Centaurs’ mortal enemy, yet one saw the goodness in him and fell in love.  He began his herd with a new wife.  I was their Shepherd.” 

Athena hung her head, weighed down by guilt, and then added, “You once taught me the true test of a warrior was to know when an opponent has lost and show him mercy.  Rupert had lost everything and everyone he loved.  The most vicious Centaur Warrior in history had been reduced to a pitiful shell; I showed him mercy and gave him a second chance.  I am ashamed of my deception, but not of my action.”

Aphrodite took a graceful step forward.  “Zeus, you are aware of my meddling with Unice and Winfield?  Athena did no more or less than I did, and my interference is celebrated as one of the great love stories told.” 

I remembered Zandra sharing this story in her garden.  Unice was a Centauride.  She roamed the pastures of Thessaly.  Unice had the voice of an angel and often sang as she galloped along the countryside.  One day Winfield happened upon her.  Unice’s body was obscured by a large boulder, so he only saw the human half of her beauty and heard the magic of her voice. 

Winfield came to the meadow for weeks.  Anytime he tried to come closer than his perch, she would disappear behind the rocks.  After Winfield confessed that he was in love with Unice, she stepped out from behind the rocks and showed her whole body to him.  Aphrodite took pity on the couple and changed Unice to a human.

Zeus answered, “Your meddling did not hide a race from me.”

Aphrodite defended, “Athena merely hid one Centaur.  Fate hid the race.”

Zeus looked at the goddess standing in front of us, “Who is to say the Centaur will not play a prank on us again?”

Although not addressing me, it was my turn to answer, “The precedence is set.  The fact that you nearly exterminated an entire herd is a deterrent against a future infraction.”

“Ah, but is it enough of a deterrent?”

Zandra’s answer was cold and calculated, addressing Zeus for the first time.  “Your grace, I ruled with an iron fist for more than forty years.  The old and young alike feared me.  If the decision were mine, I would err on the side of brutality.”

I felt my breath hitch as Zeus answered her with a broad smile.  We had been played.  Zandra was as vengeful as I had believed her to be from the first moment I met her.  Her true colors were now on display for all to see.  I wanted to claw her eyes out.  Rage boiled in my blood.  Drake’s body lay teetering on the edge of life at my feet as fury took hold of each of my senses.  The goddesses who stood between us and Zeus turned toward Zandra in disbelief.  

(Camille Nash – Mountain top somewhere in the world)  

Her expression did not change as she added, “However, I have learned much as of late.  My brutality cost me the love of my children.  My arrogance cost me my beloved brother.  My blind acceptance of a lie cost me my parents.  It is time to bring those who have perpetrated these crimes against you to justice – those responsible were not my kind.  The age of brutal leadership among the Centaur is over – my granddaughter is the new Chairman.”

Zandra’s eyes settled on Athena, “Even the wisest parents can learn much from our children.  The Lost Herd is fortunate to have such a perceptive Shepherd.  I am grateful for all you have done.  You are a goddess who will be celebrated by our herds until the last Centaur breathes.”

Zeus answered, “That is very touching.  You have yet to tell me who is responsible for the trickery if not the Centauride Phyllis.  Which immortal had a hand in King Sisyphus crossing the River Styx?”

Athena bowed her head slightly, “Father, shall we excuse ourselves?  This is a matter better discussed at Olympus.”

Zeus yelled, “No!  I want answers and swift justice.”

Zandra positioned her body in front of mine, “Swift justice?  How many Chairman have left for the pasture since your decree?  Which immortal killed my parents?  It was neither my brother nor I, yet a god was allowed to murder without repercussions!”

Zeus pulled his arm back as if he were pitching a baseball:  a lightening bolt shot straight at her from his palm.  Chiron turned and kicked his back heels high into the air, deflecting the death blow away from Zandra and into the heavens.

Chiron’s voice grew loud for the first time, “You cannot pass judgment for a simple question.  If the Chairman's parents were killed at the hand of a god, aren't you curious why?  Athena and I believe Eris may have played a role.  Summon Eris and allow her to answer Zandra's question.”

Zeus held a fiery hand in the air as if considering a second shot at Zandra.  Chiron slid Zandra behind his broad body.  Zeus lowered his flaming hand. “This is a matter for Olympus.  Aphrodite, Athena, you will join me.  Chiron, if you are wrong, the heavens will be short a beloved constellation this evening.”

All three disappeared from the mountain top, leaving Chiron, Zandra, Drake and myself.  I didn’t waste a second reaching for Drake, sitting beside him with his head in my lap.  His skin was pale and cool to the touch.  He still had a pulse, but it was weak.

An awkward arm wrapped itself over my shoulder.  When I turned toward the body it was attached to, Zandra was kneeling beside me next to Drake.  She gingerly reached over and tucked some loose hair behind my ear.  “It is time I shared with you a secret.  You have magic as powerful as any god.  I was never strong enough to wield it myself, but I see it in you – you merely have to tap into it.”

My head instinctively swung from side to side.  Her conspiratorial words worried me that they may have been loud enough that Zeus could hear them.  As I scanned the mountain top, the four of us were still alone.

“Magic as powerful as the gods?  I don’t have that kind of magic.”

Zandra’s hand squeezed my shoulder, “Oh, my dear, Camille – you do.” 

Disbelief colored my words, “No one has told me about any Centaurides having magic.”

“It has nothing to do with our race.  The magic you have is shared with this brave warrior – it is the love in your heart.  Before you and Athena arrived, he had accepted it was time for him to leave for the pasture.  Your presence gave his spirit the fight it needed to stay.  Your love gives him the strength his body doesn’t have on its own.  Share your magic with him now.” 

The last words Drake spoke to me before he left Centurion came back to me.  It was my turn to remind him of his obligations.  I cradled his head in my arms.  His eyes were trying to focus on mine, but I didn’t wait for them to find me.  “You can’t go to the pasture without me.  You owe me.  You promised me a lifetime of nights wrapped up together.”

His eyes remained unchanged, the ice blue focusing on the brilliant blue sky above.  “Do you hear me?  You owe me a lifetime of days in the sun, or better yet, lazy days in a bedroom with blackout curtains.”

Drake didn’t flinch.  From the looks of him I might be down to just a few precious minutes.  I closed my eyes and broadcast my thoughts directly into whatever was left of his conscious. “
You promised me your life, your love for the rest of your life and eternity.  Don’t start eternity without me.  I need you here.
”

His thoughts were weak; they took on a hazy feel.  Zandra was right, Drake was holding onto life by a thread.  “
I hurt, Cami. . . I love you
.”

That’s when the wisdom of Zandra’s words finally sunk in.  My thoughts would ring loud in his head, because they weren’t coming from my mind, they were coming from my heart.  “
I’ve loved you since our first moments together.  Do you remember catching me in mid-air when I fell off of William’s back porch?  I’ve always been a klutz, but in that first moment with you, you made me feel like an elegant swan.
”

Drake’s hazy mind replayed that moment, it was blurry – but I could almost feel his arms wrapped around me through the memory.

I tried again, “
Or a little later that night when I got mouthy with Gage’s dad and you swooped in and ran off with me into the woods?  For a minute, I actually thought you knew how to fly.
”

Drake’s thoughts were trying to connect with mine.  A picture of William’s yacht flashed through his thoughts.  I laughed, “
When I close my eyes, I can still feel our first kiss.  It was a good thing I was sitting down; if we had been standing, your kiss would have knocked me off my feet, and you would have had to fish me out of the ocean
.”

A slight grin formed at his lips, his eyes focused on mine for the first time.  It was working.  “
Remember how you sneaked into my room at Zandra’s house?  How you hid in my closet so you could spend the night with me?  I remember how strong your arms felt wrapped around me, how warm your body was against mine – how it was the first time I had felt safe in months.
”

Drake’s hand clumsily reached up to mine still cradling his face in my arms.  Our fingers intertwined with each other and the words kept pouring out of me.  “
I remember the joy that ran all the way to my soul the night I found you in South Dakota – hooves and all.  The burning desire that night in Katherine’s garage when we found out there was hope for us.
”

Imagery of our time in the surf cascaded into my mind.  Drake had pushed the image to me.  His hoarse voice whispered, “Our wedding in Cancun.”

“Yes, that’s it!  Drake, tell me about our wedding.”

“Sunny. . . sand. . . you were beautiful.”  Drake’s fingers clenched mine, “You are beautiful.”

Joy billowed out of me as I confessed, “You’ve given me so much this year.  But I’m selfish.  I want more.  I can’t let you go to the pasture without me.  Stay.  Please stay with me.”

I glanced over at the wound on his side and a miracle was happening right before my eyes.  His skin was repairing itself.  He was healing.  I sat on the ground beside him, his head still rested in my lap, my fingers gliding through his hair and caressing his face.  I wanted to believe there were only the two of us left in the world. 

Whatever country we were in could have been Siberia, China, or Chile – it didn’t matter.  I didn’t think about my family, the herds, the heads of families – only the two of us.  In my heart, as his body continued repairing itself, we were finally being given a shot at the life we had both fought for since we met.

Drake was going to be okay.  The wounds on his body had healed themselves, but the horse portion of his body and his human looking chest were covered in scars, a keen reminder of Zeus’s wrath.  My hand traced one of the scars just below his neck.  Drake watched my fingers caress the mark and offered, “I’ve always been partial to long sleeves.”

“You are the most handsome man I’ve ever known.  No blemish on your skin will change that.”

Drake smiled, the first smile I had seen since we arrived.  “Blemish?  I look like I’ve been through a meat grinder.”