Gaia's Secret (25 page)

Alex and I revisited all of my favorite
memories: hours in their library, forts we had built, fights, food
we had cooked that always ended up looking more like vomit. Even
the squirrels hadn’t eaten it. Neither of us had been adept at
following directions. Well, as Alex liked to remind me, I was the
one that was terrible at following directions, and I also happened
to be bossy.

The sting in Alex’s arm had lessened, at
least from what I could tell. He was pretty good at keeping that
arm hidden from view. Every so often I would feel a shock of his
pain, but it would always fade just as quickly.

Evening cast its predictable shadow over the
forest, and we stopped for the night beneath an enormous tree.

Sonya walked to my side. “Cicero wants you
and Alex to fight.”

I knew it. Cicero was irritated. “Did I do
something wrong?”

Sonya smiled. “Oh, spirits, no. He just
thinks you should practice, you know, keep your skills sharp.”

“Oh.” Heat licked up my neck. “You mean
actual fighting.”

“What on Gaia did you think I meant?” She
laughed.

“Um, I don’t know.” I tried hiding my
embarrassment. “But, do you really think he’s in any condition to…”
I pointed towards my own arm.

“I heard that!” Alex called from beside
Parsec, fixing a few daggers to his belt. “And, to answer your
question, I’m perfectly fine.”

“So, what’s with the weapons?” I asked,
eyeing the daggers.

“He’s going to show you how to use them,”
Sonya said.

I was overcome with excitement. I’d never
fought with weapons before. “Really?”

Alex walked towards us with a spark in his
eyes. My heart beat a little faster and my stomach felt all
fluttery. What was wrong with me?

Sonya placed a hand on my shoulder. “Are you
feeling all right, dear?”

I swallowed and smiled back at her. “Uh,
yeah. Fine.”

She searched my face. “Don’t worry. Alex is a
natural with blades. He won’t hurt you.”

I held my smile but said nothing. It wasn’t
the blade I was afraid of. The thought of taking my training to the
next step—weaponry—was thrilling. It was the fighting with Alex
part. We hadn’t done that in years, and he certainly hadn’t been
built like…that.

“Ready?” Alex stopped before me.

His smile made me catch my breath.

Calm down, take a deep breath. You’ve fought
him a thousand times.

“Are you trying to intimidate me?” I nodded
towards his arsenal.

“As if that was possible.” He grinned.
“Anyway, these aren’t for you. They’re in case we encounter any
real danger.”

“So what, exactly, are you teaching me?”

“She’s all yours.” Sonya turned to me. “Don’t
be easy on him, not that you ever were.” She grinned at her son,
patted me on the back, and joined Cicero beneath the tree.

Alex stood there with a funny look on his
face. I couldn’t decide if he was amused or a little nervous, like
I was. I tried to get a sense of his emotions, but for some reason
I couldn’t feel a thing, and it bothered me.

His eyes gleamed. “Don’t worry, I might not
have inherited many of my mom’s good qualities, but I did inherit
her patience.”

Why was my heart beating so fast? “I’m not
worried.” I smirked, trying to shake off my nervousness. “But you
also inherited her sense of caution. I want to be functional in a
knife fight, not be the damsel in distress.”

Alex leaned close to me and my skin started
feeling tingly. His eyes were bright and unusually penetrating. “I
don’t think you have anything to worry about there. You’re the
damsel that distresses everyone else.”

With that, he marched off into the forest. My
face felt hot as I trudged after him. I didn’t know why my body was
acting so weird. Maybe it was because I was getting used to him
again; I mean, it had been years since we’d done anything like
this.

We continued through the thick trees, which,
to my relief, kept their branches to themselves. I gave myself a
silent pep talk the whole way, trying to convince myself nothing
had changed and there was no reason to be nervous. Alex didn’t stop
until he reached a patch where the trees were spaced apart a little
farther, the sun peeking what remained of its bright yellow head
through the canopy, glittering the forest floor.

The little clearing was beautiful. Splashes
of color were everywhere from large flowers that lined the thick
vines dragging along the forest floor, and the sound of falling
water whispered faintly through the trees. Something buzzed past my
ear, but when I looked, all I saw was a leaf about as long as I was
tall with something slinking on top of it. It looked like a
caterpillar the size of my hand. Short, stiff bristles of silver
hair stood out all over its body, making it look like a fuzzy
slinky. It inched along the leaf, leaving a shimmery, moist trail
in its wake.

I reached out to touch it.

“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.” Alex
was looking up at me from where he was crouched on the ground, a
few yards away.

I glanced back at the caterpillar but it was
gone, except for the shimmery trail. Even as I watched, the shimmer
darkened until it turned black like tar, and the leaf dissolved
with the faintest sizzling hiss. All that remained was the stalk
with an end that looked like someone burned it, and no sign of the
caterpillar.

“What was that thing?”

Alex studied me a moment. “This forest
doesn’t have its reputation for nothing. It’s home to many
dangerous critters. In fact—” the hint of a grin appeared on his
face “—I think you fit in nicely here.”

I narrowed my eyes but he only went back to
searching the ground, using his foot to move tall grasses and
fallen leaves.

“What are you looking for?” I left the deadly
slinky and walked towards Alex.

“These.” He picked up a couple small sticks.
He tossed one to me. “What you’re going to learn with.”

“A stick.” I stared at him. “You’re going to
teach me how to fight with a stick.”

His eyes widened with mock innocence.

Figured. “I’m having flashbacks to my
kindergarten days.”

“Do you want to learn or not?”

I made a face and he pretended not to see
it.

“Knives are a lot more dangerous than
wrestling. You
will
get cut. That hurts a great deal more
than getting the wind knocked out of you.”

“Mr. Protector, you’re already inhibiting my
first lesson.” I waved my stick.

He raised a brow. “Daria, you’re dangerous
with anything in your hands.”

For some reason, I didn’t like how he said
that.

“First rule,” he continued. “Point the stick
away from you.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to get stabbed with a
stick now, would we?”

He raised a brow. “Good, you’re paying
attention.”

I rolled my eyes as he continued. “Defend
against the blade, not me.
Always
keep your eyes fixed on
the blade. It’s the greater threat.”

“Considering your weapon of choice, I think
you’re the greater threat.”

He crouched, his features sharpened with
focus as he held the stick before him. Starting the match without
warning, as usual.

“How’s your arm?”

“Never felt better.”

I mirrored his movements, crouching on the
balls of my feet as we circled each other. “Are you going to
explain what you’re doing?”

“When I see you understand what I just
said.”

“What, that I’m going to get a small sting
and we need to keep these pathetic excuses for weapons between us?
Next.”

The answer I received was a physical one. He
feinted with his stick, his body twisted around it, and I was not
ready.

He was much faster than when we used to
fight, and the wound wasn’t slowing him. Not at all. It took all my
focus to watch him, anticipate his moves. But I couldn’t predict
them, not like I used to. His style had changed. He was faster,
smoother, and better. Much, much better.

He thrust the stick toward my stomach fast
and I bent back, but he used my momentum against me. He grabbed the
wrist of my stick wielding hand and reached around with his other
hand, pinning me against him. My spine arched backwards at an
uncomfortable angle and my limbs were immobile. Alex’s smirk was
inches from my face, his breath even and calm despite my haggard
breathing.

“You’ve certainly improved,” I gasped.

“And you certainly haven’t.”

I scowled as he chuckled; the sound of his
laughter reverberated through me. He released me.

“I wasn’t ready.” I rubbed my shoulder.

“Obviously.” He grinned.

“Why are you smiling?”

He shook his head with that same gleam in his
eyes. “Again.”

His features returned to hard focus and he
came at me again. His movements blurred and the next thing I knew
my hand was kicked and my stick flew through the air, landing about
ten yards away from me.

“Well, you’re supposed to hold on to it,”
Alex said.

“And you’re supposed to teach me how. You
haven’t taught me anything, actually.”

“I am teaching you something. Reminding you
why you need to follow my instructions instead of depending on your
usual method, Miss I-Can-Figure-it-out-Myself.”

“And you said I was distressing. Your dad was
right. You just like showing off.”

He chuckled as he ran over and retrieved my
stick. I liked hearing him laugh.

“Here.” He placed the stick in my hand. My
hand looked so small next to his, and fragile. “Form a tight fist
around the end.” He manipulated my fingers and I was suddenly aware
of how warm his hand felt on mine. “But keep your wrist flexible.
It helps maximize both power and penetration.” He stepped away and
the stick flopped between my fingers.

“This is ridiculous. It’s too small to get a
good grip, but my knife handle—“

“—
will
be simple once you learn how to
fight with this.” He finished for me. “Now—” he positioned himself
a few feet away “—always keep the weapon between us. Your free hand
should protect vital areas, like your heart or throat, or you can
use it to distract or grapple.”

I grunted my irritation as I rolled my
eyes.

“Now, come at me.”

Crouching low, I moved opposite him, making
sure to keep my stick pointed at him. His joy filtered through me
despite the serious look on his face and I was glad to sense his
emotions again. It was strange, but I was quickly becoming use to
feeling them.

I feinted with one hand and slashed the stick
across his torso, trying to trap him. He was too fast.

Before I could react, he spun around and
knocked my legs out from under me. My next view of him was from the
ground. That was it. I yanked out my dagger, and with it came that
same surge of supernatural strength.

“No.” His eyes narrowed.

I crouched low, taunting him with my
dagger.

“Daria, I’m serious. You’ll kill
yourself.”

“Quit being such a baby and fight me. I’m not
a little girl anymore, so stop treating me like one.”

He raised his eyebrow at that.

The strange power burned through my arm. My
hand gripped onto the dagger with ease—natural, comfortable—as if
I’d been holding one my entire life. My muscles knew what to do,
like the night before when I’d thrown it at the barghest.

I charged. He looked like he was going to
stand there, but just before contact he pulled his dagger. With a
loud
clang
our blades slammed into each other.

Our eyes locked, just inches apart. And I had
never felt more alive.

His concentration was sharp as he tried to
trap my dagger. But this time, I was too fast. Spinning away, I
kicked out my leg, trying to unbalance him. He leapt away at the
last second but I didn’t miss his surprise. Or was it my own
surprise? It was too difficult to distinguish. He tried again,
spinning around, bringing the flat side of his blade down on my
back. I just managed to avoid him, rolling away and jumping back to
my feet.

The surprise was his. “Did you forget to tell
me Alaric’s been letting you play with knives for the past three
years?”

I grinned, emboldened by this strange secret
knowledge of mine. We danced around each other, searching each
other for vulnerabilities while trying to remain unscathed.

“Don’t be easy on me.” I came at him
again.

He trapped my arm, but I writhed free,
slashing my dagger across his front, cutting at the air as he
jumped back. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the dagger in my
hands.

“Let me see that.” He reached for my
blade.

I jumped away from him. “Come and get it.” I
baited.

A smile spread across his face. I knew he
couldn’t resist. He never could.

Our eyes locked, our feet moved in a circle,
anticipating the other’s movements. As long as I could hold his
gaze, I could sense his direction. But just as I sensed it, he
would sense mine. He slinked around me, his steps strong yet
graceful, his movements fluid yet calculating.

This time, he came at me so fast it was all I
could do to keep my limbs intact. He grabbed on to my free hand,
spun me around, trapping me against him, and strain pulled through
my shoulder. His heart pounded against my back and his ragged
breath was loud in my ear. I wrapped my leg behind his, bringing us
both to the ground. My dagger flew out of my hand and slid fast
across the dirt. We scrambled over each other on the ground as we
fought to reach for my lost weapon. I thought I had it, too, when I
twisted his arm behind his back, but he used his legs to trap and
roll me beneath him. And then he secured my arms overhead, my
wrists clamped in his grip, as we gasped for air.

“Not fair.” I panted, glaring at him while
trying not to laugh. “You’re too strong.”

He grinned as he struggled to catch his
breath. “You never let my superior strength excuse you before.”