Of Gaea (16 page)

S
asha still
cursed. He began
cursing from the time he and Leonidas had found Ari, all
the way back upstairs. He cursed at Leonidas all throughout the
hasty bandaging of her head. He cursed and paced, with a limp and a
tight bandage around his ankle.

While she hated the wheelchair, it was a relief to finally
be seated comfortably again.
Ari waited patiently until Sasha seemed to run out
of words to call Leonidas. It was a longer wait than she had
anticipated.

Fed up; she interrupted.
“I have the book.”

Both men looked at her. Leonidas’s face was stunned and
Sasha smiled.

Ari held the book out.
She had held it close this entire time,
unreasonably afraid that it would vanish the same way the
apparitions she had seen had.

Leonidas came over and looked at it, but didn’t touch
it.
“Are you
sure this is what you want to use?”

Ari nodded.
“This is the right one. Can you tell me what it
is?”

“It’s the Mother’s script. This is Gaea’s Hand.” He sounded
sad. “It hasn’t been used in a long, long time. I didn’t think it
was down there. I hoped it wasn’t… maybe it wasn’t. It appears this
is the Mother’s will. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen
this.” He sighed and gently took the book. “Can I have your
notebook? I want to rework your design with Gaea’s
Hand.”

Ari pulled her notebook out of her wheelchair and
reluctantly handed it over. It was everything. If he lost or
destroyed it, she would be back at square one.

He placed both books on the counter then looked
away.
His
eyes were far, far away. “Come back on Friday.” He said finally.
“One for the benefit of the full moon, and two so I have a few days
to… well, just a few days.”

“Thank you.” She told him quietly.

“There are fates worse than death.” He mused and smiled
bitterly. “I am not afraid to face mine but I need time to put my
affairs in order. Off with you. See you on Friday.” He looked at
Sasha. “I would appreciate it if you stayed home. This is going to
be draining enough without you pacing like an expectant
father.”

“I want to make sure it’s safe for Ari. That you’re not
doing anything shady.” Sasha’s jaw clenched. “I’m not leaving her
in your care just because you say it is okay.”

Leonidas fiddled with something on his right hand and held
it out to Sasha. “My house, my honor. She will not be harmed. What
needs done will be done.”

When Sasha accepted the item Ari saw that it was a ring
with a griffin’s silhouette embossed in the gold. Sasha’s hand
closed around the ring and then he pocketed it. “I’ll hold you to
it.”

“No doubt.” Leonidas waved to the door. “Go, go. I’m sure
she is tired and even if she is not, I am. Off with
you.”

Leonidas watched them go then moved slowly through his
place of business. He shut off the lights and walked through the
back into a grand solarium. The plants that could almost always
lift a black mood were ignored. He moved up a set of stairs and
into his apartment above the shop.

The neat organization was a habit instilled in him by his
sister.
She
had always aggravated if she could not find something. In respect
of her, he kept everything super neat and tidy. Not that she would
ever see it.

He set both books on the coffee table and moved to a
cabinet.
He
poured himself a drink from one of the bottles enclosed there and
sat heavily down in his favorite wingback chair. He swished the
liquid around in the glass and let his mind wander.

He wished he had Thalia’s advice.
He missed his sister more than he
would admit to anyone. Perhaps this was Gaea’s justice for his
ignorance. He had refused to help, so lost something irreplaceable.
What else would be lost before the Mother was satisfied?

There was no doubt Ari would be able to walk again. Gaea’s
Hand was the oldest and most powerful of the archaic rune scripts.
It was also the most dangerous in the wrong hands.

He could do exactly what she wanted but there would be a
price.
They
would be asking Gaea for healing. Since there was no one above the
Mother Goddess, the price could be heavy.

It wasn’t something he looked forward to.
The Goddess could
ask for anything. Many of those choices would involve trading
places with someone. Something he knew from the brief conversation
with Ari, she wasn’t willing to do.

Sasha would be though.
Ari was his weak link. Sasha would do
anything for her, which was handy. Ari would be unhappy when she
found out. Leave it to a woman to complicate matters.

“You worry too
much.”

He looked up
from the glass to see Nasya sitting on his coffee table in front of
him.

“I don’t
recall inviting you in.”

Nasya tapped
the book with the Gaea script inside of it.

He frowned.
“What is it you want, Nasya? I… I don’t hear her Song as
well as I used to.”

Nasya smiled gently and shrugged. “I came to see how you
were doing. That’s all. Gaea does not command this
visit.”

“I’m not
packing, if that was your concern.”

She shook her head. “While, you do have a track record of
ignoring matters you wish not to address, you’re no
coward.”

He toasted her with his glass. “Here’s to my death. I have
no doubt Gaea wants it.”

Nasya shook her head sadly. “I think in the end, you will
surprise even yourself.”

“Use the door.” He commanded when she stood. “That’s what
they’re for.”

“Indeed.” Nasya took the glass from him. “You are better
than this. This pity party is ridiculous. You knew she would come.
It was only a matter of time. You knew from the start what the
Mother expected of you.”

“I hate her. For what she’s done to me. I hate being this…
pawn. I…” He sighed. “Just leave.”

“I don’t think you hate the Mother or Ari.” Nasya began to
walk away, glass in hand. “I think you hate yourself.”

He snorted indignantly. “For what? Pray tell?”

Nasya tossed a coy smile over her shoulder. “You tell
me.”

S
asha leaned
heavily on the
wheelchair as he walked. When they arrived back at the
house they were moving slower than if Ari had pushed the wheelchair
herself. Sasha dragged and sat heavily on his porch.

“
Let me
see.” Ari bent down and propped his foot in her lap so she could
see his ankle.

He
hissed and leaned back as she gingerly twisted his foot back and
forth.
He watched
silently as Ari massaged it gently hoping to take some of the pain
out of it. It was swollen through the bandage and no doubt probably
had deep bruises.

Without
thinking about it Ari pressed her lips softly to his ankle.
“There. All better. Just like
you do for me.”

Sasha’s
lips quirked though his eyes didn’t mirror his humor. There was
something else there. Something that made her heart ache. Ari
briefly wished she had the courage to reach out for it.

Sasha
took her injured hand in his and leaned forward enough to place a
chaste kiss on her bruised wrist.
“Thank you.”

“Ari!”

They both
glanced up to see Ghita standing on the front porch her house.

“
Supper’s ready!”
Ghita called down.

“
Go on.”
Sasha spoke quietly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Ari
seemed hesitant at first then finally nodded. “Be safe.”

“
You
too.” He watched her roll away. Kleisthenes would have something to
say about him not escorting her home, but Ari would have been angry
had he offered. Besides with him on one porch and Ghita on another
it would be a foolish, foolish creature to disturb Ari. Still, he
watched and waited for her to be on the porch and in the house
before shuffling to his feet.

His
ankle wasn’t the only thing that ached.
His head throbbed in time with his ankle and his
back from his heavy landing on the books felt bruised in the
weirdest spots. That wasn’t the worst of it though. His heart felt
like it was in a juicer.

It was
the worst cosmic joke ever.
Even though it was forbidden, even knowing he couldn’t keep
her he loved her so much. He was pretty certain she just thought of
him as her closest friend, which made the pain even worse in some
ways.

He sat
on the sofa and propped his foot up on the coffee table.
He tilted his head back and
closed his eyes. In that position the physical pain was
insignificant to his inner turmoil.

“Who beat you
up?”

Sasha
didn’t move at Kleisthenes’s question. “Literal answer: Ari.
Technical one: Books.”

“
Knowledge is power.” Kleisthenes confirmed. “Really, what
happened?”

“
Went to
see Leo. He still hates me.”

“
Of
course he does. You know why. Be thankful he hasn’t tried stepping
in.”

Sasha
sighed. “I guess. It’s not going to matter in a few days anyway.
He’ll have to step in.”

“Have you told
Ari yet?”

Sasha
shook his head.
“I can’t
seem to bring myself to say the words. I don’t want to hurt
her.”

“
Sasha.”
Kleisthenes waited for Sasha to open his eyes and look at him. “Has
it ever occurred to you that she loves you just as much as you love
her? Doing it this way, you’re only hurting her more than she
actually needs to be hurt. You need to talk to her.”

“She only sees
me as her childhood friend.”

“
Which,
if that were true, isn’t it interesting that she’s never had any
boyfriends? What popular high school girl has no boyfriends? Or,
let’s say she does love you, than it makes better sense doesn’t it?
That she doesn’t share her heart with someone else. It already
belongs to you.”

“How do I tell
her?”

“
Tell
her the truth. Tell her you would die for her without regrets. And
tell her that when you do, you regret nothing and love her very
much.” Kleisthenes smiled. “If I know Ari, she’ll argue it, but at
least this way, she’ll know.”

A
ri sat in the
shade
against a tree
with her favorite book. Her study hall consisted of her picking a
book from the library and on nice days sitting out in the
courtyard. On not so nice days she sat inside next to the antique
fireplace that while never lit, still felt cozy and warm. Her
wheelchair sat a few feet away, close enough to be reached but far
enough away that she wouldn’t accidentally hit it and roll it
away.

This was
also the only class she didn’t have with Sasha. He had chosen back
to back college advancement classes. While Ari took the some of the
same classes, she chose to take some break time as well.

She
didn’t mind so much, being without him, though she felt odd during
that hour of the day.
Ari felt like half of her was missing. She would never tell
him that, of course. It would only make him adjust his schedule to
be with her more often than he already was.