Men of the Cave (Symbol of Hope Series) (12 page)

“I will see you at ten, Max. He is not coming for us tomorrow.” Antony yawned.

Max followed his brothers upstairs

Dion opened the front door a crack and looked out. He placed his hand on my lower back and led me through the doorway. Once in his car, he sat stiff, clenching and relaxing his fingers around the steering wheel. Staring straight, he was furious. He gunned the gas of the Mini Cooper. As we reached the road from his driveway, I had to do something even though my nerves were on high alert as well.

“Yup, typical first date. Minus the Egyptologist, blood getting drawn, and slaying of immortals you are just an average Joe.” I said sarcastically. That broke his intense trance and he loosened up.

“I cannot apologize to you enough. I wish I never brought you to the house tonight.”

“I thought the future was inevitable. This would have happened regardless. Plus it wasn’t too bad-- minus the whole blood thing. That’s tripped me out.” I rubbed the spot.

His expression changed to worried, “It does not hurt, does it?”

“No…no that’s the trippy part. Your brother took my blood in the middle of your living room and there’s no trace that it ever happened. That’s freaky.”

“Max has a great gift. I have watched him heal so many. I am sorry for his behavior. He can be domineering.”

“What do you think about the whole Pandora thing? Can it be possible?”

“I do not know, maybe your likeness to her is simply a coincidence.  We will have to wait and see what the Professor finds.”

“She’s an immortal, right?”

“Yes, we have never met her.”

“Why can’t immortals have children?” I asked.

“I do not have the answer to that technically. My theory is that God did not want the immortal gene pool to mix with humans. Can you imagine if Earth was filled with humans born to immortals and their special powers were inherited?”

“Then you wouldn’t have to hide, and everyone would be like you.” I crossed my arms.

He sighed, “But immortals are sterile and therefore anomalies among humans.”

“Are you worried Sam might do something horrible?”

“Before we went into the cave, Sam and I were close. He was a great man. Who, like us, has paid a great price with no answers.  I believe he is bitter, and it pains me to watch him lead such an unhappy eternity. If I know my brother well, if deep down somewhere he still holds true to the man I once knew, then I cannot believe he would ever kill his brothers.”

“What about James?”

“James’ issue is with Max. He is seventeen and does not understand what happened to him. He wants to have fun. At first, Max was terribly restricting. He demanded discipline, order, and propriety. A few centuries ago he lightened up…”

“You consider the way he behaved tonight lightened up? Whew…” I shook my head.

Dion smirked, “James is a harmless, good hearted, rebellious teenager who got in with the wrong brother.”

We pulled up to the Castillo’s restaurant. Dion put the car in park and turned to me. I was fascinated by our conversations on his magical world and didn’t want it to end.

“It’s funny I’m no longer sleepy,” I said.

“Me neither. I can stay for while if you wish to converse.” He leaned his head back on his headrest.

I did the same. “So tell me, Dion what kind of things do you guys do when you live forever?”

“As you can see we own some nice materialistic things. Which we feel guilty about, so to keep a balanced life we help humanity out.”

“What do you mean?”

“We like to think we were given these abilities to do good in the world. So we helped out during the black plague. We go to poverty-stricken or diseased remote places around the world and assist with what we can. The longest we have ever stayed at one place was at a Franciscan Monastery during the dark ages. Other than that sometimes ten years in a region, usually it’s five. We should be leaving Deia, in a year or so.”

“That’s amazing.” I grinned.

“No…it is really not. Kasey, it does not matter how long you have lived. What you have done, or what you have seen, the world still has no rhyme or reason to it. Time and people now are as lost and muddled as they were a thousand years ago.”

Dion rambled, reaching deep within his thoughts and pulling his feelings out. I relished hearing his thoughts. He seemed wise, had done so much, and gained so many experiences.

“Agh…please enough about me tonight. Let us talk about you.” He turned his eyes toward me and beamed.

“Okay, fair enough. What would you like to know?” I smiled back trying to lighten up the somber mood.

“Hmmm…have you ever been to church other than here in Deia?”

I made a face at him. So much for trying to lighten up the mood.

“Yes,” I said.

“Really!” He was suprised.

“As a matter of fact, I’m baptized Catholic.” I gave him an, ah-ha look.

Shocked he said, “No! Please do explain.”

“Well, the last time I set foot in a church was the day I was baptized. Apparently, my grandfather was persistent that I get baptized. According to my father, my grandfather took me down one day and did it. They say he was a fanatic about angels and saints.” I gave him an impish look. “I bet he’d be thrilled if he knew I was dating one now.”

“Interesting,” he caressed my cheek with his knuckles. With soft eyes, he looked at me lovingly.

“Which part?” I asked.

“The fact that you were baptized, of course.”

 “Oh.”

He smirked, “After all, with John around, I already knew we would be dating.”

I scoffed. He was so cocky at times. I removed his hand from my cheek and tossed it in his lap. He laughed. I yawned unwillingly.

“I think you are getting sleepy, Kasey.”

“I think I am too.”

He opened his car door and then opened mine. Madhu’s words repeated in my head: “You will know by the kiss.”

I didn’t allow him to kiss me earlier. Would he try again? Feeling sick with the unknown, I wasn’t sure I was ready to feel another man’s lips on mine. We walked hand in hand up to the restaurant door. The rosy pink hue of the day’s light skimmed the horizon. The key hole was hard to see. As I fumbled with the keys, there was a click from the lock inside, and the door opened. On the other side, Beatriz stood in her robe.

Startled, I squeaked, “Morning Sra. Beatriz.”

“
Buenos Dias
, Kasey…Dion.” She turned and walked back into the restaurant.

I hoped he didn’t notice my embarrassed red my cheeks. Dion chuckled, leaned over, and kissed my forehead.

“Sleep well Kasey, sweet dreams.”

“Thanks, you as well.” Relieved he hadn’t tried a real kiss, I turned and entered the restaurant.

11. Kasey and Hercules

Dion and I spent the next two weeks casually dating. We saw each other every other afternoon. He backed off some after our bizarre first date. He didn’t try to kiss me again. Could he be waiting for me to make the first move?

His answers to my questions were always fascinating. I became familiar with how his world worked, and the awkwardness of it didn’t bothered me. Instead, I became engrossed in his magical supernatural world.

Madhu and Bernardo lasted a week; he wanted someone who would go the distance. It didn’t faze her, she had already moved on to someone else at the local bakery. I spoke with Nolan once a week. It went well for him in his new living arrangements and my parents are my parents.

Tonight I was going to Dion’s opening night at the theater. The anticipation of seeing him on stage prevented me from focusing on my term paper. A knock on the door came as a welcomed distraction.

“
Entra
,” I yelled out.

Señor
Castillo opened my door and walked in. I stood.

“Kasey,
un momento
, do you have a minute?” he asked. He held an old cigar box.

I gestured for him to sit on the desk chair while I sat on the bed.

“Kasey, I was hoping I could speak to you about something personal.” He stumbled with his words and looked quite uncomfortable. His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he stretched it out.

I became apprehensive myself, “its okay
senor
.”

He let out a deep breath, “Kasey, I know I am not your father, but you are staying here under our care, and I feel …I feel I should at least give you my advice.”

Oh no, he’s going to talk to me about Dion.

“I know you have started relations with Dion Kleon and even though they are a nice good family…” He paused. “Please be careful for yourself. They…well they are a different kind of family and I wish you to be cautious. Try not to get yourself involved with them too much.” His eyebrows furrowed.

Did he know their secret? It sounded like he was warning me against what they are.

“Here, in this box, are some old pictures of my family and our restaurant here in Deia. It shows how time has not affected the village. Take a close look at the first one. If you wish, we can speak again.” He left the cigar box on the chair and walked out.

I opened the box and saw a pile of black and white photos inside. I picked up the first picture. A man and his young son of eight or nine were standing in front of the
El Caracoles
restaurant. The restaurant looked different, but not too much. I flipped the photo over and the writing on the back read 1938,
Alejandro y Rodrigo Castillo
. I’d seen other photos of the Castillo family and knew that Alejandro was Fernando’s father and Rodrigo was Fernando’s grandfather. Turning over the photo, I examined it further. That’s when I saw it. In the background, five men sat at a table. Their faces were like haunting ghosts. The Kleon brothers, dressed in outfits from the early twentieth century, looked preserved in time.

A chill ran through my body. The reality of Dion’s immortality hit me like a stone hitting a serene pond. I knew he was immortal, but the visual left me sick and confused. Not sure what emotions I should be feeling, I put the picture back in the cigar box and closed it. What did I get myself into?

The phone rang at that moment. Dion was calling, and it was probably not a coincidence.

“Hi.” I attempted to sound normal.

“Hello, is everything all right?”

“Yes, why would you ask? You don’t have Martin and John spying on me, do you?”

“Well… are you sure everything is all right?”

“I’m fine. Are you ready for the performance?” I tried to redirect our conversation.

“Okay… yes. I am ready. Quite nervous.”

“Why? Haven’t you done this for thousands of years?”

“Um …yes and normally I would not be this nervous. But your presence in the audience has me anxious.”

“Would you rather I not come?” I asked coldly.

“Well no, I want you to go. Are you sure nothing is bothering you?”

“I’m fine. I’ll be there,” I snapped.

“With Sam and James still hanging around the island it would put my mind at ease, if you rode with my brothers.”

“That’s fine then. See you later.”

“Bye Kasey.” He hesitated before he hung up.

I ate my seafood medley soup around eight and decided to wait downstairs for his brothers to come pick me up. Fernando avoided eye contact the whole evening. The black Mercedes van pulled up, and I walked out to it. Antony was in the driver’s seat. John, Martin, and Max sat in the back seats. Martin opened the sliding door, hopped out and opened the front door for me.

“
Buenasnoches
Kasey.”

“
Buenasnoches
,” I replied in kind. I wasn’t sure how to feel about a whole car ride with Dion’s brothers minus Dion. It was unnerving. I had never hung out with any of them, just Dion. As we got going, the awkward silence in the car got to me, so I broke it.

“I’m sure you guys have seen Dion do this a million times. Is he good?”

“Very,” Antony answered.

“What was his best role?” I asked.

“Phantom,” Martin, John, and Antony said simultaneously.

“He was the phantom in Phantom of the Opera?”

“He has done that one a couple of times, but that first time he performed it, was the best performance I have ever seen him do,” Martin answered.

“He also did a stellar job with Laertes, back in the day.” Antony chimed in.

“Hamlet’s Laertes?” I asked.

“Yes, under the direction of Shakespeare in the Rose Theater. That was memorable to watch,” Antony elaborated.

My jaw dropped. “Seriously?” I asked, dumbfounded.

John chuckled. “Seriously Kase, we have met some pretty significant people through time.”

“Most of the time, we had no idea they were going to be these world icons,” Antony said.

“Who has been the most memorable person you have met?”

“That’s a loaded question,” John said.

“I would say Joan,” Martin said without a hesitation.

“Joan who?”

“Joan of Arc,” Antony answered.

I turned and looked at Martin. “What was she like?”

“Amazing. The will-power she had for her cause made even the immortals feel inconsequential.”

Before now, I’d never seen Martin demonstrate such passion for anything. I could hear longing in his voice.

“Martin crushed on her,” John teased.

I smiled at Martin. He turned and looked out the window bothered.

“I’m sorry. Was she close to you guys?” I didn’t know much about her. Only that she burned at the stake.

“No, we met her a few times. She was a busy girl. She would not even look twice at Martin,” John said.

“It was her God given destiny to lead the French army against the English. She was given a great purpose in this life to fulfill and she accepted it nobly,” Martin honored her with his words.

Since Dion and I started dating, Max avoided me. He never came by the restaurant anymore. No one said anything, but by the way he treated me I could tell he was not fond of the fact that I was dating Dion. I couldn’t help wonder if it was because I was human or not religious.

We pulled into the packed dirt parking lot. The theater was unique and something I’d never seen. It was an open-air theater on the side of a mountain. The stadium style stoned seating sloped downward to a state of the art stage. Complete with orchestra pit, sidewalls, and ornate curtains. It was a perfect blend of a sixth century Greek theater with modern day characteristics.