Celtic Rose (29 page)

“What is that you’re cooking?” Kallisto asked finally. He looked at her with the same devious grin.

“I’ll tell you after everyone tries it,” he said. Kallisto waited for him to say more but he didn’t. She looked at him suspiciously, and she wasn’t the only one. Ephiny, as always, was the only one with a knowing look, but she said nothing. Gabriel met her eyes with a smile and she returned it. Kallisto didn’t like the way it looked. There was a joke in there somewhere but it was beyond her that early in the morning. William walked in, took one look at Gabriel and stopped.

“If you’re cooking I’m not eating. There’s no telling what you might put in that crap. You’d probably poison me without a second thought,” William said, angry at Gabriel yet again. The animosity between them was as confusing as ever. Gabriel turned toward William, giving him the full view of the apron. A low growl escaped his mouth, and his teeth and fingernails grew slightly. The look on his face was feral. William took an involuntary step back, realized what he’d done and took back the step. His face looked calm but his eyes were too wide. Kallisto could almost feel the fear vibrating off him. He clenched his fist as if he was preparing to fight. Kallisto saw the blue electricity start in his hands. Kallisto put her hand on his shoulder; the blue static hadn’t advanced that far yet. He turned and looked at her and the blue crackle ceased. They both looked back at Gabriel.

Gabriel smiled. “That was just a warning Billy Goat.”

“Don’t call me that!” he shouted angrily. “My name is William!”

“Oh, I didn’t call you that because of your name. Goats are used for sacrifice; remember that...
William
.” Gabriel turned back to his cooking. William glared at him and stalked over to the table, and sat next to Ephiny. She looked at him and smiled warmly in comfort.

“It’s all right, William, his bark is worse than his bite.” Ephiny tossed Gabriel a glare. Gabriel looked at her unconcerned.

Gabriel finished cooking and they all sat nervously as he gave them each a portion of the meat, keeping the biggest portion for himself. They waited and watched as he took a huge bite before they tried it. Kallisto’s taste for meat ran from chicken and turkey to pork and beef. She never touched exotic meats and that was what she was afraid it might be. She slowly cut a small portion and took a bite. It was very good, but the texture and flavor were different than anything she’d ever eaten before. Everyone ate at least a bite and then turned to Gabriel, who was eating quickly. He stopped in mid-bite as he realized they were all watching him. The fork never wavered from in front of his open mouth.

“I’ll tell you what it is, but not before you eat it all.” He shoved the fork in his mouth with a smile before anyone was able to protest. He never allowed himself another chance to speak. Before he’d swallow he had another bite ready to go in so his mouth was always full, and he never spoke with his mouth full. He was a gentleman with good etiquette and being a werewolf would never change that. Everyone picked up their forks and started eating again.

They all finished and looked at him, waiting expectantly. He got up from the table and started clearing the dishes away.

William rolled his eyes. “I thought you said you were going to tell us when we were finished.”

William stood front of Gabriel, whose arms were filled with dishes. When Gabriel looked at him, Kallisto could’ve sworn his eyes looked blood red. A low growl trickled from between his lips as he leaned toward William. When his face was as close to Williams as he could get without touching the growl stopped. William’s eyes were wide.

“Get out of my way, runt,” Gabriel whispered in a growl. William moved to the side so Gabriel could get through. He put the dishes in the sink and started washing them as everyone watched in astonishment. William remained standing where he’d moved, staring at Gabriel with his mouth open and eyes still wide. Everyone else sat in their chairs with close to the same expression, even Ephiny. Kallisto decided enough was enough. She rose from the table and approached Gabriel. He turned, looking at her in a side-glance. She walked right up to him with a sobered look in place. After a second, she beamed brightly at him and grabbed a towel to dry and put away. He gave Kallisto a half grin and went back to the dishes, and after a moment when she looked back at him he wore a smirk. Kallisto never really saw him do that unless he was thinking about doing something to William, but she let it go. When the dishes were done and put away Gabriel turned around and leaned against the cabinet with his arms and legs crossed, and looked at the group with an obnoxious look on his face.

“Okay, I think you’ve all had enough time to digest.” Gabriel’s lips twitched up like he was fighting not to smile. Kallisto started getting a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew it was something she would never have eaten on her own. Her mind filled with images of all the different animals there were in the Oklahoma area that might’ve been something she didn’t usually eat. Horrible scenarios kept running through her head, like goats and sheep and horses. Of course there wasn’t enough meat for a horse unless he didn’t cook all of it. Her head spun at the thought of eating a beautiful horse–surely Gabriel wouldn’t do that; he loved horses as much as she did. “It was bobcat,” Gabriel said, like it was normal.

Kallisto’s face paled, as did everyone else’s, but it wasn’t as bad as she had thought. She was just relieved that it wasn’t anything that she could’ve called a pet.

“A bobcat?” William said sarcastically.

“Yes, William, a bobcat,” Gabriel said seriously, and then he straightened and put his arms out. “Oh, come on. I fed you that one William. I’m a dog. I couldn’t pass up chasing a cat.”

Everyone froze for a moment. Kallisto looked at Gabriel for a minute to assess his attitude, and saw that his eyes were shiny with the start of laughter. It was true–she knew it was–but for him to find it funny was a shock all on its own. She started laughing, doubling over with it. He really was okay today and he was having fun again. She heard others chuckling, nervously at first, and then they all joined in, even William.

When the mirth was over, they needed to get ready to go. Kallisto gave Gabriel a grateful squeeze and started for the door. Talus gave her a quick kiss on the way past.

While the others were loading the SUV Kallisto walked up beside Gabriel and whispered, “Was that really a bobcat you fed us?”

Gabriel grinned brightly, “No.” He paused a moment. “It was two bobcats.” Kallisto stared at Gabriel, astonished, but noticed the mischievous grin still in place and his eyes still sparkling. She continued staring at him until finally he broke, “Alright, it wasn’t bobcat. It was venison, properly seasoned and cooked. Everyone was so freaked I just couldn’t pass up messing with you all, mainly William; but all your faces were priceless. Now don’t you go telling anyone. Okay?” Kallisto smiled and nodded her head. She thought how it had been a long time since Gabriel was that playful. He must’ve found whatever he was looking for in his mind the night before. A playful Gabriel was more dangerous than a grumpy one, but also more keen in his thoughts.

“I hope everyone’s ready for this,” Kallisto said to herself.

Chapter 11

They reached the airport in Oklahoma City by about half past ten. Their plane would leave at eleven. Kallisto was extremely nervous. She’d never been on an airplane in her adult life. All she could think about was that Alanis Morissette song ‘
Ironic
,’–the part where he’d waited his whole life to take the flight and his plane went down. Hope had only flown on a plane once in her life; Kallisto was with her, and she said the plane acted funny in the air. When they arrived at the airport, the pilot came on the radio and said that those who were on the through flight would need to get off and board another plane due to mechanical problems. Therefore, Kallisto was petrified of flying. Gabriel and Kalan could feel her panic rising and went to her. Talus and Kallisto were supposed to be two parts of a whole, but they weren’t able to feel what the other felt just yet. He saw the others walking to her and followed, as did William, Ramina, and Ephiny.

Gabriel patted her shoulder. “Calm down, Kallisto. Everything’s just fine.”

“Yeah Sis, I’ve ridden on an airplane twice. It’s not as bad as it seems.” Kalan smiled encouragingly.

“I know that plane crashes don’t happen every day, but think about it. We only have a certain amount of time left. What if the plane is the cause of our death? What if we die quicker because this is the only life that we’ve actually ridden on a plane?” The panic rose as she rambled. Her heart felt like it would hammer through her chest. She started breathing heavily, gasping for air. Talus pushed past Gabriel and Kalan; they let him by. He grabbed her and started gently sliding his hands down the sides of her face.

“Calm down, sweetheart. Everything’s going to be just fine.” Talus’ fingers slid down her cheeks gently, but it didn’t bring much comfort this time.

Everyone but Ramina and Ephiny looked at Gabriel as he spoke. “Kallisto, remember what I told you in the truck on the way to the house. We do not die on a plane.”

“I’d believe the plane death before I’d believe that someone in this group would betray us!” Only Ramina, Ephiny, and Kallisto knew about the betrayal; that’s what Gabriel wanted to talk to Ramina and Kallisto about when they first met and rode with him in his truck. He wanted to keep it from the guys to keep them from acting suspicious of one another. Kallisto hated secrets and she could only keep them for so long, but the pending plane ride was bringing it on quicker than expected.

“Kallisto, do you want to cause the death to come quicker? If you blow this out of proportion you just may.” He was getting angry now. Everybody got angry when a secret was told, but when it meant life or death the secret became survival. Talus kept trying to comfort her even though he was confused by the conversation. She quit talking, but she couldn’t stop hyperventilating. Her whole body shook and trembled.

Kallisto, honey, everything will be fine
. The ghostly words didn’t come from anyone in the airport. A vision of the enchantress was in Kallisto’s head. She floated toward her, smiling brightly. She placed her hands on Kallisto’s shoulders.

“The plane is not how you die, child. I know it’s scary, sweetheart, but you’ve died several times before. It doesn’t get better, but I promise, honey, you’ll come back like you have before and when the purpose is fulfilled then you’ll live the rest of your days with Talus. Your brother will be with Ramina. You will all be together and live full and happy lives when this is all over. I promise Kallisto, it’ll all work out. You’ll know the purpose of this in the end, and it will all be worth it.” She hugged Kallisto to her and a feeling of calm flowed through Kallisto.

“Kallisto? Honey, are you back?” Talus looked at Kallisto, concerned again. “I thought you’d went into shock or something. You scared me.” He finished and then he laughed. Kallisto had a smile on her face and she guessed it comforted him. The announcer called for boarding on their plane.

“Come on everybody, we better go or we’ll miss our flight.” Kallisto smiled brightly at them all. She grabbed Talus and pulled him along; everyone else followed. They made it through the gate quickly and boarded the plane. She felt calm as could be–so calm, in fact, that she went to sleep almost as soon as they were seated.

The flight seemed like a dream. She woke once or twice to Talus’ smiling face and went back to sleep. She seemed to be walking in a daze the whole way. She barely remembered changing flights; she didn’t remember where they changed or even how many times they changed flights. The only thing she remembered was walking hand in hand with Talus, and she vaguely remembered the others walking all around them. She didn’t even remember what the airports looked like; it was all just a blur.

Every plane ride was a blank except for a few glimpses of Talus and sometimes Gabriel as he checked on her. With Talus it was comforting smiles, but with Gabriel it was worried looks as he felt her forehead and checked her pulse. She couldn’t even muster a worried thought about why Gabriel looked that way. The only thing she could do was return Talus’ smiles and relaxed smiles for Gabriel, which only served to make the worried look on Gabriel’s face more defined. Kallisto tried to reach out and smooth the worried brow above Gabriel’s eyes, but half way to Gabriel’s face her hand would drop and she’d go out again.

They finally reached Egypt. Kallisto wasn’t sure how long the trip actually took since it was a blur, but once she got out of the plane and her feet touched solid ground she felt wide awake and alert. She stopped immediately and turned to Gabriel.

“Why did you look so worried on the plane?” she asked as she walked beside Gabriel with Talus still holding her hand. She finally reached out with her free hand like she tried to do in the plane and smoothed his brow. His brow smoothed out under her touch and he visibly relaxed. He let out a sigh and grabbed her hand, putting it to his chest and holding it with both hands.

“You were incoherent ever since we left Oklahoma. I was worried that you were dying from shock or something. I’m so glad you seem to be fine now, but I just didn’t know what was going on or how to fix it.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Kallisto thought she saw a glint of a tear at the corner of his eye. He never showed much emotion, especially with William lingering so close. Kallisto wasn’t sure if William just didn’t notice or if he was keeping the cruel banter he usually used on Gabriel to himself. That was more than Kallisto could ever expect of William especially when it pertained to Gabriel. Usually he’d be more than willing to capitalize on anything he deemed as a weakness on Gabriel’s part. As Kallisto looked at William she noticed there was a worried look on his face much like Gabriel’s; maybe that was why he hadn’t said anything. Apparently he couldn’t be cruel to a feeling in Gabriel that he felt himself.

Gabriel still had his eyes closed, breathing in shuttering breaths. A tear moved down his cheek, but there was only one. Kallisto realized in that moment that Gabriel hated not knowing what was going on; it made him feel out of control.