Gaia's Secret (11 page)

“No,” I whispered. “I’m not going to throw
it. You’ll break something.”

Egan whimpered and curled around so that I
was facing his rear. Typical.

“You’re nicer to the dog,” Thad said.

I glanced up. There was a definite smirk on
his face.

“And?” I asked.

Thad shrugged. “Maybe you need another
drink.”

“Maybe you should mind your own
business.”

He stopped swinging his legs and grinned.
“Considering you’re in
my
house, it is my business.”

“This is your house?” I raised a brow.

“Well…” He folded his arms behind his head
and leaned back. “It’s Alex’s, but I live here. He needs me for
protection.”

“Alex doesn’t need anyone,” I mumbled.

Thad studied my face with that smirk. “Sore
spot, eh?”

I glared at him but he just chuckled. There
was a recklessness to those youthful features of his, and I
wondered if Thad and Alex actually got along. Alex might have been
my fellow conspirator at one time, but he’d never been reckless.
That’s also why my dad had always trusted him so much.

“How did you two meet?” I asked.

Thad dropped his legs to the floor and sat,
taking a swig from his mug. “The Academia.”

“The what?”

He choked on his tonic and his hazel eyes
opened so wide I thought they were going to fall out of his head.
“You’re joking, right?”

My irritation surged. “I just found out about
this world yesterday, remember?”

He didn’t miss the bitterness in my voice.
“Right.” He rested his chin in his palm as he studied my face. “It
must be difficult.”

“You have no idea,” I snorted.

He studied me a moment. “Makes you wonder
what else the secret service isn’t telling you.” He nodded towards
the direction the Del Contes had gone.

Uncomfortable, I looked away. It was hard
sticking to my plan when I thought about all their secrets, and his
words weren’t helping.

Egan sulked over a few feet, and plopped to
the ground again with his rear still to me.

“So what is it?” I asked.
“This…Academia.”

Thad came out of his trance and ginned. “I
don’t think the secret service will care if I tell you about that.”
He craned his neck to check down the hall then leaned forward.
“It’s a school. But it’s the Gaian version.”

“Gaian version?”

That mischievous grin spread wider. “It’s
more like a training ground.”

“For?”

“Fighting.”

I stared at Thad, impatient for him to
continue. It sounded too good to be true.

“All Aegis-in-training—like me and Alex—study
with Masters in the art of fighting and magic. We train to fight
against evils of this world—including abominations like those
Pykans.”

That sounded incredible, and insane. I
wondered how my ju-jitsu training would hold up in a place like
that.

“Which reminds me. I wanted to warn you,”
Thad continued. “Watch out for the Black Bard on your journey.”

“Black Bard?”

Thad’s voice turned low as he leaned closer
to me. “He’s a powerful sorcerer that lives deep in the mountains.
He was banished long ago for doing terrible things—things that
would make your blood curdle. No one has ever seen him because no
one has lived to tell. Rumor is he travels as a shadow. Keep watch
so that he doesn’t sneak up on you.” His gaze was penetrating, his
features tight. And then one corner of his mouth turned up. “I’d
hate to lose my newest acquaintance.”

“Considering you’re the self-proclaimed
master protector, I’m surprised you’re not coming with us.”

He chuckled, leaning back in the lounge. “If
it was a journey to worry about, I’d be going.”

I rolled my eyes. “This Academia. Is that
where you met Alex?”

“Fine. Ignore my warning at your own risk.”
He smiled. “But to answer your question, yes. The Academia isn’t
far from here. That’s why Alex let me live with him.”

“Does your family live far away?”

Thad glanced down and studied his hands.
“They move a lot.”

The rest of the day was filled with raindrops
and dark clouds. The Del Contes made various preparations for our
journey, while I stayed in the sitting room with a chessboard and
Thad. I’d tried to help prepare. I thought it would be good to see
what the Del Contes thought necessary for travel in this world. But
after multiple instances of being shooed away from Sonya, I gave up
and accepted my fate of losing incessantly to Thad. 

I admit, he was a master chess player. But
despite my losses, the game kept my mind preoccupied, and Thad’s
exuberance and confidence in his strategies kept the mood light.
Egan remained our faithful audience; his tail beat at the air every
time I moved a piece. He probably thought I was going to throw
it.

“Check mate!” Thad leaned back in his chair
with a grin.

As many times as he’d won today, I thought
he’d be used to it by now. Apparently not.

“I don’t see why you act so surprised,” I
said. “You’ve only criticized every move I’ve made since we
started.”

Thad smiled at me, and then went back to
setting up the pieces. Again. “You learn a lot about a person by
their strategy.”

“What about when that person has none?”

Thad grinned. “Having no strategy is still a
reflection of character.”

“Oh? So what does that tell you about
mine?”

Thad held a pawn over its square. “You’re
impetuous and you don’t understand the consequences of your
actions. And you don’t have the patience to learn, which prevents
you from making good decisions.”

I scowled. “That’s ridiculous. You’re judging
me on a game I don’t even like.”

Thad flashed me a knowing smile as he
returned to his task of arranging the pieces. “That reveals
something else, actually.”

“What, that I don’t like chess?”

His eyes held something sinister in them.
“The fact that you’ve spent all afternoon playing a game you don’t
like with someone your don’t know tells me you are trying to keep
yourself distracted from something else you don’t know how to deal
with. Or should I say…someone?”

My jaw dropped as I glared at him. He smiled,
shaking his head.

“You little—“

“We should probably get to bed.” Cicero
walked into the room. “It’s getting late and we’ve got extensive
traveling ahead.”

With all the curtains closed and no sign of a
clock anywhere, I hadn’t noticed the day pass. But sure enough, the
Del Contes had filled large packs with food and supplies for our
journey and the bags were tilted, resting against the wall beside
the front door. 

Alex walked into the room, his face blank as
he eyed Thad and me.

“Hey, Del Can’t.” Thad grinned. “Didn’t you
ever teach your old friend here how to play chess?”

Alex walked over and glanced down at the
pieces before his eyes lifted to mine. “You hate chess.”

I wanted to punch the satisfied smirk off
Thad’s face. “Actually, I had fun.”

Alex raised a doubtful brow.

Thad looked at Alex and place a hand on his
shoulder. “I know, I know, it’s not every day a woman chooses me
over you. But don’t be too jealous, Del Can’t. I’m pretty sure the
only reason she hung around me is because she’s too nervous to be
around you.”

Horrified, I glared at Thad. On second
thought, maybe I would punch him. “That’s not—“

“Alex.” Sonya poked her head in. “Show Daria
to her room, please. And Thaddeus, thank you for allowing us to
intrude under such late notice.”

“It is a pleasure, Mrs. Del Conte.” Thad
smiled with all innocence.

“See you in the morning.” Sonya smiled, and
she and Cicero disappeared, leaving me all alone with the pair of
conspirators. I was too humiliated to look at Alex and much too
infuriated to look at Thad, so I crouched on the floor and petted
Egan.

“I think she’s angry with us.” Thad pretended
to whisper.

“I’m not angry.” I scratched Egan’s soft fur
between his ears. “I just refuse to talk to someone who makes
ridiculous accusations.”

“Hmm, I don’t know about—“

“Thad,” Alex interrupted with a tone so firm
I glanced up.

His gaze was fixed on Thad. Something passed
between them and the humor in Thad’s features transformed into
something more like respect.

Thad looked back at me; only the shadow of a
grin remained. “Del Can’t to the rescue. Well, then, thanks for
keeping me entertained all afternoon, Rook. Even though you’re a
terrible chess player.”

Thad started to walk away. “Egan, come.”

Egan dropped his head and followed Thad out
of the room. When I glanced back, Alex was studying me without
expression. “Rook?”

“Yeah, well.” I looked away, still
embarrassed from Thad’s comment earlier. “According to your
friend
, it’s the one piece I misunderstood and misused all
afternoon.”

I felt a wave of Alex’s amusement. “Thad
compared you to your chess strategy.”

“Oh, so he’s done it to you, too?”

“Once.” He stared at Thad’s empty chair and a
corner of his mouth turned upwards. “He never asked me to play
again after that.”

“I can see why. You’re such a good liar I bet
you were a formidable opponent.”

I wasn’t sure why I’d said it. Sure, I was
thinking it but I hadn’t exactly planned for it to come out. Which
seemed to happen every time I was with Alex.

Alex’s smile disappeared and when he looked
back at me, the green in his eyes had turned cold and lifeless.
“I’ll take you to your room.”

He led me down a darkened hallway and up a
narrow flight of stairs. The floorboards creaked beneath each
step and shadows danced on the walls as light from the sconces
flickered. I could only see Alex’s silhouette but I knew he was
upset. One hand was latched on his front jean pocket and the other
raked through his hair—something he always did when he was very,
very agitated.

Alex stopped before a door at the end of the
hall. He pushed it in and held it open, gesturing for me to go
inside. I glanced at him as I walked by but he didn’t meet my
gaze.

An enormous bed occupied half of the room.
Next to it was a small wooden table with a glowing lantern, the
window behind it hidden behind brown curtains. The other wall
housed a small dresser and a pair of sturdy wooden bookshelves
stuffed with books. The room was simple, uncluttered and tidy, and
I was suddenly suspicious. 

I glanced back at the door. Alex hadn’t
moved. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded
over his chest, watching me.

“Is this your room?”

His jaw clenched. “Yes.”

A small feeling of guilt began to creep
inside. “That’s really nice of you, but I’m fine sleeping on the
couch.”

“You can’t. That’s where I’m sleeping.”

We stared at one another in silence, the
muffled rain splattering against the window. I couldn’t sleep here.
In his bed. And considering how little he thought of me—and how I
kept speaking to him—I was certain he hated the arrangement as much
as I did. This was ridiculous. “Really, Alex, I’m just fine—”

“Do you need anything else?” He cut me off in
a tone that was both tired and firm.

“No,” I said. “Thank you.”

He held my gaze. Something sad and pained
flashed through his eyes, and then he closed the door behind
him.

And I was alone.

It was strange being in Alex’s room. I felt
like an intruder, but somehow worse. Like all his furniture was
glaring at me. After a few moments of convincing myself that he
hadn’t embedded his personality into his furnishings, I peeked
around.

I wandered over to the bookshelves. The
titles were strange.
Magic. Weaponry. The Art of Defense. Tenets
of Tracking
.
Elementary
Antidotes
. They were
probably related to his studies. If I weren’t so uncomfortable, I
would’ve loved to peruse his book collection—have Alex introduce
them himself. I certainly could use the distraction. As it was, I
hesitated to touch anything. I didn’t feel like I’d earned the
right to pour through his personal belongings.

There were a few odd shaped objects leaning
against one corner: a couple fat, wooden sticks, a thin metal rod,
and something else with a bronze handle. I stepped closer and
pulled it just enough from its case to see the metal gleaming in
the candlelight. A real sword. Alex and I always fought when we
were little, but never with weapons. Had he learned how since
then?

There’s probably a lot you don’t know about
him. Maybe you could find out if you just talked to him.

Frustrated, I slid the sword back in its
sheath, walked to his bed and sat on the thick wool
blankets. 

Was this what it felt like to have an
identity crisis?  Except it wasn’t my identity in crisis, it
was everyone else’s. The identities of every person of worth in my
life had been overturned and were replaced by something fantastic
and bewildering.

I pulled my dad’s letter out of my pocket and
read his words again. Just seeing his handwriting comforted me. At
least one thing in my life hadn’t changed. Dad still loved me.

I wanted to keep my letter somewhere safe, so
I opened the little drawer in Alex’s nightstand. Just as I started
to place the letter in it, I paused. There was a photo in the
drawer. It seemed out of place in this world void of technology—at
least from my experiences so far. Curious, I pulled it out.

It was a photo of Alex and me, taken years
ago. I remembered the day perfectly. One summer, Dad had let me
stay with the Del Contes—Andersons to me then—for a few weeks. Alex
and I, the adventurers we were, had decided to build a treehouse.
Well, I had decided I wanted us to have a treehouse and Alex had
figured out how to build it. He had always been the industrious
one, so good with his hands.