Gaia's Secret (13 page)

He winked and disappeared down the hall.

Alex still had the grin on his face as he
looked after Thad, then his eyes moved to mine. The smile dropped.
It was good to see I elicited the same feelings in him as he did in
me.

Cicero cleared his throat.

Alex and I both turned our attention to his
dad, whose face was serious. “We must remain undetected, so no
speaking, at least until I give the go ahead. We’ll rest once we
are further away. And Daria…it’s imperative you stay close at all
times. This world isn’t safe for you. Follow our instructions—even
if you don’t agree. Trust us implicitly—even if you don’t want to.
We will get you to Alaric without harm, as long as you do what we
say. Do you understand?”

I understood plenty. They expected me to hand
over my freedom on a silver platter and trust them to keep it safe.
Exactly what I didn’t want to do. But I’d been down this trail.
There weren’t any other options for me, yet. At least none that
made any practical sense. So I was forced to accept their offer and
take my consequences later.

Maybe Thad had been on to something.

The morning air was crisp, the world quiet
with anticipation as we walked away from the cottage. We headed in
the opposite direction from which we’d come. Our path remained
unmarked all morning, not that it would’ve mattered. I rarely
noticed where I stepped because I was so enthralled by the scenery.
It wasn’t because this forest was so different than any forest back
home. Sure, the trunks were thicker and grander, and the canopy
above was the most vivid green I’d ever seen. But what kept me
entranced was the life all around me. I could
feel
it.

With every light breeze, every swaying
branch, every rocking treetop, there was life. Not just the
chemical life that all natural plants share. Here, in this place,
it was as if they had a soul, like they were connected to one
another, speaking to one another in whispers. Just as I thought I
could discern a word, the sound would flit away, drowning in the
breeze.

Rays of sunlight streamed through the trees,
dusting the earth below with halos of gold. As we walked through
the patches of light, I lingered. It was as if my leather and skin
were a porous covering, allowing the heat of the sun to travel to
my body’s core.

Light, cheerful melodies chimed in the
forest. I was mesmerized by the sound—the ringing somehow familiar,
but with an ethereal quality to it. Throughout our walk, I searched
for the source of the beautiful sound but searched in vain. The
little musicians were obstinate things, never showing
themselves.

In this wooded chamber of serenity I thought
the weaponry of the Del Contes seemed out of place. Violence
couldn’t exist with such beauty. Not to mention, I hadn’t noted any
sign of civilization. Not one. On occasion, Cicero would stop, his
fingers trailing the soft earth, but then he would continue leading
us forward, always silent, always watchful.

It wasn’t until midday when Cicero showed
signs of stopping for more than a minute. He crouched beside a tree
trunk that was three times his own width, sloughed off his pack,
and began digging through it. Sonya and Alex stood apart from him,
eyes always scanning the perimeter. Considering our uneventful
morning, their constant surveillance seemed unnecessary.

Cicero pulled out a small item that looked
like a bronze coin. Something was engraved on the surface but I
couldn’t tell what. He set the coin in a dark knot on the bark.
When he moved his hand away, the coin was still in place.

And then the coin moved.

It sunk into the tree like quicksand, inch by
slow inch, sinking until the bark closed its wooden fingers around
it. And the bronze coin disappeared.

“The tree…it just…” I stuttered.

Cicero held a finger to his lips.

A dark crack appeared in the bark. It was
about as tall as Cicero was crouched, and the bark pulled back like
a curtain, leaving darkness in its wake. When it stopped, it left a
hole so large I thought Cicero might be able to climb inside.
Cicero smiled at me then, and did crawl inside.

Sonya waved for me to follow.

“There’s no way that’s big enough for all of
us.”

Sonya’s gaze was firm as she held a finger to
her lips, still waving at me to move it.

I took a deep breath and followed, expecting
to be crammed inside. But I wasn’t.

The inside of the tree was huge, much larger
inside than I thought possible. It was hollowed out into a single
room, one so large I could easily stand. There were a few candles
lit, hanging from the tree walls, and Cicero sat smiling at me from
a wooden stool.

“You were saying?” He grinned.

“What is this place?” I looked up, the room
unending as it stretched into the tree’s utmost heights.

Cicero glanced around. “Technically, I
suppose you would call it a tree.”

Sonya and Alex joined us.

“No, I know that, but how is this possible?
It didn’t look this big outside.”

“That’s because it’s a Shroud
.
It was
a tree once, but it’s been infused with magic and was changed into
a hiding place. A safe place. They’re difficult to create—only the
greatest masters have been able to construct them. Your father and
I stumbled across this particular one when we were much younger.
Sometimes—if you’re really paying attention—you can find others,
but you have to know where to look.”

“Come—” Sonya patted the ground beside her
“—you need to eat something.”

Staring at the innards of the enormous tree,
I sat next to her. She handed me a small loaf of moist bread. The
aroma was rich and sweet. Alex was already digging into his, seated
near our entry, watching.

I took a bite and the flavors exploded in my
mouth.

“What ith thith?” My mouth was full of
food.

Sonya chuckled. “Brownbutter Loaf. Another
Thad specialty.”

I swallowed. “Wow, Alex, you have quite the
little housewife. She fights and cooks for you. Does she clean
too?”

Cicero and Sonya laughed, but Alex didn’t
think it was all that funny. In fact, he continued staring
outside.

Cicero smiled at his son. “Did Alex tell you
he built that cottage?”

I studied Alex. I knew he was skilled with
his hands, but I never would’ve expected that.

“Dad, I didn’t build it,” Alex muttered, not
bothering to turn around.

“Might as well have. Come to think of it,
building it from the ground up might have been less work than what
you did. The first summer he was here—” Cicero glanced back at me
“—Alex spent all summer on it. You should’ve seen the place before
he moved in—it had been abandoned all these years because we were
living in Yosemite. Right before his training started, I went to
check on him. Boy, was I in for a surprise. He’d added
rooms—another floor even—gutted the entire thing, rebuilt the
cabinets and all the furniture. You must have worked on that thing
all day and night your first summer in Gaia…so focused on that
house.” Cicero stared at his son.

Bitterness powered through me in the same
moment I caught a sideways glance from Alex.

Everyone was quiet, enjoying the meal
compliments of Thad. He was quite the cook, if he had made the food
I’d tasted in the past few days. Or maybe food just tasted better
here. Everything else was more vivid. After my stomach was
satisfied, my mind wanted its turn.

“Where, exactly, are we going?”

Cicero swallowed his bite. “Rex Cross. It’s
an inn near the junction of the four major roads throughout the
land. From there, we’ll get horses and a few other necessary
supplies before we continue through the forests and on to Lake
Amadis.”

Trying to map out a journey in a landscape
I’d never seen was impossible. I had no points of reference, no
ground to start from.

A tightly wound scroll landed at my feet.

“Open it,” Alex said. “It’s a map.” He turned
his attention back to the outside.

Untying the thread, I unrolled the thick
papyrus. It was a map, and on it was a single continent surrounded
by ocean on all sides, save the northern boundary.

“Gaia?” I asked.

Sonya nodded. “Most of it.”

There was a dotted line with the word
Icelands
scrolled upon it, foreign mountain ranges, rivers
and lakes, forests with strange names. The landmass was separated
by natural topography into four major territories: Orindor, Alioth,
Campagna, and Valdon—the one Rex Cross was nestled into. And from
each major territory trailed a single road, all of which led to
Valdon. At the point where the roads intersected was written the
word
Rex Cross
.

Sonya moved to my side. “Here.” She pointed
her finger at the lower right-hand corner, near a star with King
Darius Regius written beside it. “King Darius of Gaia resides here,
in Valdon.”

Valdon was surrounded by mountains, and the
largest peaks were near King Darius’ star.

“We’re somewhere here.” Her finger hovered
over a small, unnamed patch of trees. On the other side was a main
road that led from King Darius to Rex Cross.

I saw Alex’s dilemma. “I know you want to
keep us hidden, but seeing as this Rex Cross is right at a major
intersection, doesn’t that defeat the purpose?”

I didn’t miss the sound of Alex clearing his
throat. Cicero didn’t either. His face was stern as he looked at
his son and then me.

“Its popularity is what I’m counting on.
It’ll be easier to hide. We know the owner personally, and Alaric
trusts him. It is the only safe place for us to make an exchange
before heading into the forests. Plus, we may learn some
information that could be of use to us. Otis sees and hears a lot
of things.”

“I still don’t like it,” Alex said.

The candles inside the tree flickered. Dried
pine needles and loose dirt swirled into our temporary shelter. The
air twirled before me, wrapping me in its fingers, lifting strands
of my hair, and then it stopped, dissipating as quickly as it
started. I peered into the faces of Cicero and Sonya, both of their
expressions curious. Even Alex looked back, his eyes narrowed as he
watched me.

“What was that?” I looked around.

Cicero collected his things. “I think it
means we should get moving. Can’t be too careful nowadays. Not even
concealed in here.”

C
icero and Sonya led
us forward through the trees while Alex brought up the rear. It was
strange, but every so often I would get this sense of frustration,
and what bothered me about it was that it wasn’t my frustration. It
seemed like it was his. Without warning, the frustration would
pulse through me and I would look back to find Alex’s brow furrowed
as he hacked through a branch in his path. I could feel all of
their emotions at one point or another: Cicero’s determinedness,
Sonya’s caution. But Alex’s frustration was always strongest. In
fact, it was difficult separating his feelings from mine, and it
made it difficult to keep him from my thoughts, like I tried so
hard to do.

The shadows thickened as the sun began to
set, and my entourage remained silent. My mind was left to itself,
driving me mad with the same questions. Where was Dad in this
strange land? What did he have to tell me? Who was after me…and
why? And what took him so long to let me in on the secret they all
shared?

The colors of the forest transformed from
greens and browns to varying shades of black. Although I couldn’t
see the sun through the green barrier above, I knew it was nestling
into the horizon for the day. I hadn’t heard anyone mention
anything about stopping and was starting to get worried how much
farther they intended to go. My legs were tired, my feet were
swollen, and I had the eerie feeling that we were being followed. I
silently cursed Thad for his story of the Black Bard. I’d have to
remember to yell at him when we returned. If I returned. And before
I could finish the thought, something rammed into me.

But there was nothing there.

The air became so thick I was smothered in
it. I tried to push the ubiquitous force away, but it wouldn’t
budge. Its grip only tightened. It was noxious, reaching its
tendrils into my mind, searching. My skin turned to ice, like all
the light and warmth in the world was being pulled into itself, and
my lungs burned as I tried to steal a breath, but the shear force
made it almost impossible. And just when I thought my lungs would
never taste air again, it ceased.

The others were huddled around me, an aura of
fear surrounding them.

“What’s wrong?” Sonya gripped my
shoulders.

I closed my eyes, trying to recover my
senses, but my breathing was still ragged.

“What happened?” Cicero demanded.

“I…I don’t know.” I looked at Sonya. A shadow
of realization darkened her features.

Without a word, Alex unsheathed his sword and
disappeared into the forest.

“Where’s he going?” I stared after him, fear
writhing up my spine.

Sonya ignored my question. “What did you
feel?”

“I’m not sure.” I continued to watch the
trees for Alex. “I felt this strange pressure. I couldn’t breathe
and my vision turned dark…what’s Alex doing out there?”

Sonya looked at her husband. “They’re
following us.”

I didn’t know who “they” were, but it didn’t
matter. “You let Alex go out there by himself?”

Cicero raised a brow, his eyes fixed on me.
“Alex is fine.”

Cicero seemed to think everyone was fine,
except those that were actually present, like me.

I studied the opening in the trees where he’d
gone, searching for any sign of movement. Sonya and Cicero seemed
confident in their son’s abilities, but for some reason I felt
sick.