Gaia's Secret (12 page)

We had spent every day, from dawn till dusk,
sawing and nailing boards together. When I kept missing the nails
and hitting my fingers, Alex had insisted I stick to painting. I
hadn’t listen and had worked harder with my purple nails and
saw-dusted hair. It had been completed in no time. On the day we
finished, we had brought his camera. I even remembered arguing with
him on how to use the timer function, but he had wanted to take the
photo himself. So, the photo had ended up being a close-up of us,
our cheeks pressed together with blurred wooden slats in the
background. Not much to show for our hard labor.

That was the Alex I remembered, dark hair in
disarray over his forehead, tanned face with sun burnt cheeks,
those green eyes bright and full of life, and a smile that always
lifted my spirit. That was the Alex I cherished, the Alex that
didn’t care at all about me. But if our friendship didn’t mean
anything, why would he keep this photo here?

A knock sounded on the door. I shoved the
photo back in the drawer and placed the letter on top of it.

Just as I closed the drawer, the door creaked
open and Sonya peered in. “Are you too exhausted to talk for a
moment?”

“Yes…I mean, no, I’m not too exhausted.”

She stepped in the room, her black hair in a
plait over her shoulder. In her hands was a burlap sack, the one
Alex had brought from my home. I’d forgotten all about it. She sat
beside me, setting the bag in her lap.

Those eyes of hers were penetrating. “How are
you feeling, dear?”

“A little overwhelmed.”

She nodded, her expression tender as always.
“I’m sure you are, but you’re holding yourself exceptionally well.
Your spirit is much stronger than mine.” Her smile widened in
response to the doubtful look on my face. “You weren’t supposed to
find out like this. Life never obeys our plans, I’m afraid. But, I
don’t want to keep you awake much longer so I’ll get to my point. I
brought you something for our journey.”

She held the bag before me. I took it from
her, set it on my lap and opened the flap. Varying shades of brown
leather lay folded within.

Sonya nodded for me to continue.

One by one, I pulled the items out: a thin,
brown leather top and pants, a matching leather belt, and a pair of
tall, earthy-brown leather boots. A pattern of swirls was etched
into the belt with small loops attached around it. And, strangely
enough, everything looked like it was exactly my size.

“They belonged to your mother.”

I stared at the pile of keepsakes in my lap.
I’d never owned anything that belonged to my mom. Never even seen
anything of hers.

“They were her traveling clothes. I know they
may seem unusual to you, but they are normal here—for travel.
Alaric planned to give them to you the day he brought you here. I
know he’d want you to have them now. They should fit; you’re the
exact same build as Aurora.”

My mother. A woman I never knew, who never
knew me. I’d heard more of her in the past few days than my entire
life, and with everything that was happening, I felt like I needed
her more than ever. I couldn’t help but think, had she been alive,
none of this would be happening. Dad wouldn’t be gone, the Del
Contes wouldn’t have lied, and Alex…

“She would be so proud of you.” Sonya’s voice
turned quiet. “I remember the day she told me she was pregnant with
you. She was thrilled when she found out you’d be a little girl.
She used to dream of you, you know. We talked about all the
memories the two of you would share,” Sonya’s voice cracked. Her
eyes were glossy as she stared at nothing, as if the memory played
in the spaces of the room for only her to see. And then she shut
her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. Her large dark eyes
settled on me again, great sorrow pouring over me. “I loved your
mother with all my heart, and I count myself blessed to have the
liberty of knowing her daughter and watching her grow into such a
beautiful and strong young woman.”

My own throat constricted, my chest heavy as
I gazed down at the precious folds of leather in my lap. I wasn’t
strong. I tried to be, but I failed.

Sonya stood beside my bed, laying her hand
over mine. “Get some rest, dear. I’ll wake you in the morning.”

She bent over, kissed my forehead, and
crossed the room.

“Sonya.”

She paused, turning her head to look at
me.

“Thank you.”

She smiled a weary smile, and left.

Sonya’s words pricked my heartstrings. They
shaped the vague idea of my mom into an actual person with feelings
and desires. A woman that had loved me. A woman that had been
excited to share memories with me—her only daughter. A woman that
might have taught me to deal with everything I was feeling.

My fingers brushed over the supple leather.
Leather my mother had worn.

I sat on Alex’s bed, listening to the soft
patter of constant rain. After everything I’d experienced, this
last part had been the hardest to hear because my already strained
mind had no more strength left. I had clothing from a mom I’d never
known, a letter from a dad that left me in a strange world, and a
photo from a friend who, at one time, meant the world to
me. 

My eyes began to sting and my vision
blurred.

I walked the clothing to Alex’s dresser and
carefully set them on it, stroking the fabric before returning to
his bed. There was an ache deep inside of my chest as I tugged off
my boots and lay down, my strong wall crumbling around me.

Just as another wave of heavy rain shattered
across the window, my tears burst free, streaming down my cheeks.
For the second time in my life, my churning emotions surged beyond
restraint and my body responded in the only way it knew how. With
laments that only my pillow could hear, I cried myself to
sleep.

Rook

T
he sound of sharp
scraping pulled me out of my nightmares. I’d been running away from
shadows, fighting against the invisible sea I ran through, my legs
sluggish and immovable. Alex had appeared, the Alex from my youth.
His hand was extended as he pleaded for me to hurry, that he
wouldn’t let anything happen to me. But when I grabbed on to his
hand he faded into a fine, white mist, and floated towards the sky,
disappearing into the clouds above.

I woke with a start, all covered in sweat. My
room was dark except for a line of light that shone beneath my
door. I heard soft shuffling about the house. Everyone must be
awake.

That scraping sounded again, followed by a
very high-pitched whine.

Crawling out of my warm blankets, I made my
way to the door, careful not to run into anything. My bedside
candle was the only source of light in the room, but I needed
matches for that. Why didn’t these people use electricity here?

My lids felt heavy and swollen; my eyes were
tender as I creaked the door open.

Egan ran right into my legs.

“Oh, good!” Sonya said. “You’re awake. I was
on my way to get you.”

Sonya stood at the end of the hall wearing a
very strange outfit. And as much as I tried, my murky eyes couldn’t
make sense of it.

“Go ahead and change into Aurora’s clothing
and meet us below. We’ll be leaving in a bit.” She disappeared down
the stairs.

Thick slobber now coated my hands, wrists,
and most of my arm. If I wasn’t awake before, Egan was fixing that
now.

“Egan!” Thad exited a room off the hall. He
smiled at me. “Morning, Rook. You look terrible. Awake yet?”

I rubbed my temples, and immediately dropped
my hands. They were soaked. “I’m getting there.”

“Better hurry up and change,” he said, and
started down the stairs, calling Egan after him.

Egan slumped his head, tail between his legs,
and followed Thad.

I walked back to my room—Alex’s room—and shut
the door. It was too dark to do anything so I opened the brown
curtains. The moon was still in the sky, lighting the room just
enough so that I could see shadows. And I changed into my mom’s
clothes.

After squeezing myself into the tight leather
pants and top, I realized I wasn’t just like my mom. She’d
obviously had hips. The pants were loose where my hips should be,
but the belt helped, and the top sagged a little at the bust. The
boots pulled snug over my legs, but they’d be comfortable enough to
walk in.

For a few moments I moved my arms and legs,
getting used to the feel of the leather. If anything, this strange
outfit made me confident in my decision to follow the Del Contes.
It would’ve taken me awhile to find something to wear—especially
something that would fit.

After combing my fingers through my long,
wavy hair, I made Alex’s bed the best I could in the dark, grabbed
my dad’s letter out of the drawer, and made my way down the
stairs.

Of course Alex was right in my path, crouched
beside the front door and fiddling with the ties on one of the
packs.

The leather threads on his ivory tunic were
left untied at his neck, showing off a lean, muscular chest. An
array of daggers hung around the thick belt at his narrow waist;
leather pants and boots boasted of the slender strength beneath
them.

The boy from the photo was gone. Replaced by
this…thing.

He stopped what he was doing and stood. A
wave of amusement passed over me.

When I glanced up, he was looking at me with
a raised brow and a grin. “You look…charming.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Save it.”

His grin disappeared but he continued to
study my face. “Your eyes look swollen. Was my bed…uncomfortable
for you?”

Before I was forced to come up with some
excuse for my puffy eyes, Egan came bounding in, Cicero right
behind him. He was dressed just like his son, carrying another pack
full of gear that was smaller than the others.

“You’re awake.” Cicero smiled, standing
before me. “You’re the specter of your mother. Here.” He set the
pack at my feet. “This one’s for you.”

Egan examined it with his nose, and then his
slobbery tongue.

“Have you mapped out our route?” Alex turned
towards his dad.

“There’s an alternate path through the woods
that should get us there by nightfall.”

Alex adjusted his belt. “Isn’t that a little
late?”

“We aren’t in any particular hurry, and I
want to avoid the main roads. Besides, Stefan isn’t sending the
horses to Rex Cross till tomorrow morning.”

“I bet ol’ Otis is having trouble containing
his enthusiasm.”

Cicero frowned. “It’s just one night.”

“But one glance at us reeks havoc on him for
a few months,” Alex countered. “You know members of the king’s
guard aren’t considered good company by most of the realm these
days.”

“We have no choice. Plus, it’ll place us near
the Kirkwoods, which will cover our tracks until we reach the
Arborenne.”

More names. More places. All of them bouncing
around in my head. None of them sticking anywhere.

What I needed was a map and a good month to
study it.

Sonya appeared with everyone’s cloaks. She
wore leathers—just like mine. However, hers had sheets of deep
green fabric attached at her waist, hanging down to her ankles with
long slits for movement. It didn’t matter what the woman wore. She
always epitomized elegance.

She paused before me in appraisal. “You look
just like her dressed like that.” She handed me my cloak. “How does
it feel?”

“I’m not sure yet. Ask me tonight.”

She grinned, then lifted one of the packs and
shrugged into it. Cicero and Alex did the same, so I followed. Its
weight wasn’t unbearable, but a week of this might be painful.

I noticed the gleaming silver handle of a
long sheathed sword attached to Alex’s pack. Well, this answered
one question. He
had
learned how to fight with weapons. And
apparently, so had the rest of the Del Contes. Between Cicero and
Sonya, there were daggers, swords, and a bow and quiver. And I had
nothing.

Thad’s words drifted through my mind.
“Makes you wonder what else they’re not telling you.”

When Alex and I fought, back when we actually
got along, we were pretty evenly matched. I’d thought it was
because of my skill. But the more I thought about it, the more I
realized he probably let me win those times that I did.

Thad was standing beside me, eyeing the small
loops on my belt.

“They aren’t supposed to be empty.”

“Would you like to make the first
contribution?” I asked.

“What, give you a dagger?” He laughed. “No,
thanks. I don’t want your blood on my hands. The secret service
would kill me. But I do have something for you—something even you
can’t hurt anyone with.”

He held out his fist, palm side up. His hand
opened, and sitting on his palm was a chess piece. The rook.
“Remember me on your travels, Rook,” he whispered. “When you get
tired of Del Can’t’s charms, you can brainstorm your strategy.”

I chuckled. He pushed his palm closer so I
took it and shoved it in my pocket. It was a tight fit, but it
would work.

“Are we ready?” Cicero fastened the last
dagger to his belt. How many did the man need? I was surrounded by
an arsenal…with legs.

“Thad,” Sonya said. “Thank you for your
hospitality.”

“Always a pleasure, Mrs. Del Conte.” Thad
bowed.

Sonya and Cicero were making last minute
adjustments while Thad walked to Alex and smacked him hard on the
back.

“Don’t miss me too much. Oh!” Thad leaned
over and whispered something in Alex’s ear. Alex grinned, shaking
his head. I had a strong feeling whatever he said had to do with
me.

Thad turned his mischievous face to me.
Seeing I was on to him, his smiled widened. “Have fun with the
secret service, and remember what I told you…about the
shadows.”