Of Gaea Page 14

  She swayed, but her legs didn’t give out. Ari took that as a good sign and tried to take a step. She felt like she was dragging her feet through molasses. It was probably how a baby felt taking their first steps.

  Ari fell trying to cross to the window and it took a few tries to get back on her feet. She really wished she had more time to relearn how to walk, but she didn’t. She wanted out. Now.

  Slowly, so she wouldn’t fall again, she crossed to the window. There were no bars on it (probably because she had been secured to the bed) but she couldn’t see a way to open it either. Ari was on the second floor and looked out over what she really wished wasn’t a familiar park. There was no one walking on this side of the park; she really didn’t blame them. Who would want to see this eyesore on what was supposed to be a peaceful walk?

  Ari rested her head against the glass and inhaled deeply. Then thinking of ice, exhaled heavily. Startled she jerked back when the cold reached her forehead. Laughing inwardly at her stupidity, she inhaled again and exhaled. Like a lake frozen over with too must weight on it the glass cracked then shattered. The glass was made for cold, they were in the mountains after all, but she doubted that kind of cold.

  Ari gingerly pulled her legs over the broken glass. There was no ledge outside the window just the narrow sill. She was going to get glass in her butt. She just knew it.

  “Gaea protects the Faithful.” Ari muttered and jumped.

  The alarm started some seconds before Ari landed on the not-as-hard-as-she-thought ground. The wind wasn’t knocked out of her as much as she was surprised by the sudden stop.

  Ari didn’t linger. It wouldn’t take long for them to find her. It was kind of obvious she had jumped out the window.

  She tried to run but it felt — and probably looked — like a Quasimodo lope. Ari felt people staring as she gimped passed. She slowed to a jog that was semi-passable and the attention seemed to fade.

  Ari didn’t know where she was going. The brief time she had been here, she had a sharp object to her neck. Lyris had said the park was walled for a few blocks. There was probably no way out, and the walls were probably watched.

  She knew what she wanted though. Ari wanted to be in trees that were familiar. She wanted her bow and camping gear. She wanted Sasha.

  Ari frowned to herself. Sasha couldn’t save her from everything. Though he tried. Ari knew he did. She had to figure this out.

  Ari slowed as the tree grotto came into view. She hadn’t realized she had traveled this far already. She shouldn’t have even been able to recognize it.

  All the trees were blackened stubs. There was a circle of ash in the center that looked like a fire raged. She stepped into what were once beautifully old trees.

  These trees had been at the very least fifty to a hundred years old. They had seen more than most of the people inhabiting this compound. And they were gone.

  Filled with sorrow Ari knelt in the center and bowed her head. Sitting there she could almost feel the heat that destroyed them. Ari could almost feel the screams of the trees.

  A soft breeze blew through the carnage, almost mirroring her sorrow. What she wouldn’t give to be that air. Imagine if she could be air. Ari could just follow the air up and out and travel on it back to the Valley.

  Almost before the thought had completed she felt off. Dizzy. As if gravity had shifted. Ari closed her eyes for a second, inhaled carefully and reopened her eyes.

  Then laughed like a lunatic. There was no other way to describe the giddy sound that escaped her. She danced through the sky as the air itself.

  Ari was back on the ground in seconds. She stood on her camping cliff looking over the valley. She studied the landscape for a moment as she thought.

  She wondered if she could instantly move from place to place like that. Like dissolve in the air and reappear in the air. Wouldn’t that be cool?

  When the trees crackled behind her, she whirled into a crouch. In a few heartbeats Nasya appeared in the tree line and stepped out. Ari jumped up and ran to her.

  “Nasya!” She launched herself at Nasya and pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m so happy to see you.”

  She laughed. “And I you. You look… different.”

  Ari laughed giddily again and released her. “I am. I need your help. I need you to teach me. To show me. Gaea said you could.”

  “Did She? You’ve seen Her?” Nasya sat on the ground and her skirts spread out much in the same fashion as Gaea’s had been at the fountain.

  Ari couldn’t sit, she was still too giddy. She told Nasya everything, from Leonidas to the tattoos. Nasya was a great listener. She didn’t interrupt or even seem surprised as Ari started to practice air jumping.

  Ari found that she could still talk, and Nasya could still hear her even when Ari was the breeze. She also figured out, that yes, she could, instantly jump. As long as she knew where she was jumping to. Handy that.

  “So if I could recap? You have your tattoos, you slept the length of the full moon, but you were actually with Gaea, and you escaped the mental institute.”

  Ari nodded. “Pretty much.”

  “You know you can do that with the earth, too.”

  Ari stopped what she was doing and looked at Nasya. “Huh?”

  “Here. Jump me.” Nasya stood up and held out her arms.

  Skeptical, Ari leaped at her and shrieked in shock when she landed on a pile of dirt. Laughter floated behind her and Ari turned in time to see the earth rise and take shape.

  Nasya dusted herself off. “The dust is the only put off to doing it that way.”

  “Gaea said I was the only one left.” Ari jogged over to her, and noted she wasn’t limping anymore.

  “You are the only Child of Gaea left, yes. I am not a Child of Gaea.” Nasya gave her a patient look. “They will be looking for you. And you know it won’t take Ghita long to send someone here to find you. If she hasn’t already called ahead and Sasha isn’t already looking.” Nasya turned and walked backed towards the trees.

  “But, how can you do that if you’re not of Gaea?” Ari fumbled after her. “I mean, I know Wiccans, and Druids and what not have skills, but they can’t actually turn into the element until death.”

  Nasya glanced over her shoulder. “How do you know that?”

  “I just…” Ari frowned. “Gaea gave me knowledge. I guess some of it just comes to me as needed. Some of it I have to go digging for.”

  “I see. And yes, you’re right. Those that are Faithful can use the elements but not actually become them.”

  “So then…” Ari racked her mind and remembered the hint Gaea had given her. “You’re… a creature. One of Gaea’s creations.”

  Nasya vanished into the tree line. Her voice floated back to Ari. “Yes, I am.”

  “Nasya, I need your help.” Ari followed her into the dim trees, but Nasya was already gone. “Nasya, please. I need your help.”

  Nasya reappeared a hairsbreadth from Ari’s face and Ari fell back startled. “You are only limited by yourself. As a Child, your gifts work based on your intent, your will. Wiccans chant, “As we will so mote it be” for a reason. Your will controls the gifts.”

  “So if I will it to happen, it will?” Ari stood slowly. Her legs still didn’t like the getting up motion.

  “In a manner. You don’t need the spells, or the sacrifices or the ass kissing. You are Gaea. All you need is the intent, and the control to maintain.” Nasya smiled. “Let’s play a game of tag. We can make it down to your house, get some gear and then figure out where to go before Ghita gets back from the city.”

  “Tag?”

  She nodded and a tree branch slapped Ari’s butt. “You’re it.” She vanished.

  Ari laughed the whole way down the mountainside.

  When they reached the edge of Ari’s yard, she couldn’t bring herself to enter the yard.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Ari didn’t jump when Nasya materialized in the tree next to her. Ari was getting used to h
er popping in and out. It had also helped her learn. By watching Nasya.

  “I’m not sure. There’s something here. I can’t explain it.”

  “You just did. And you’re right there is something here. It’s a warding, for the Pure.”

  “Why is it here?” Ari hissed.

  “Isn’t it obvious? Ghita is Pure.”

  “I can’t go in there. Not right now. It’s too… substantial.” Ari let herself fade into the air. “I have another idea.”

  Ari reappeared at the edge of Sasha’s yard where her targets from the discus game still hung. There was something around his yard as well but it was different. It wasn’t the ominous cloak that surrounded her house.

  “He’ll know you’re here.” Nasya murmured. “Kleisthenes has protected what’s his against the Tainted and the Pure.”

  “He won’t know I’m here. He’ll know you’re here. We have nearly the same stamp. We go in together you visible, me not. I’ll grab my gear and meet you back on the cliff. Say thirty minutes tops.”

  “It may work but it has to be exactly at the same time.”

  Ari waved a hand at her and dissolved into the earth. Nasya sighed but nodded, together they entered the yard.

  Kleisthenes was immediately on the porch. He scanned the yard, and frowned when he saw Nasya. She crossed the yard lazily and Ari moved to the shed.

  Thankfully the shed had a dirt floor. It was also well organized and neatly stacked. It took no time at all to open a pack and stuff it with camping gear. Ari left the pack resting against the wall as she filled it.

  She didn’t have any clothes but Ari really didn’t care about that. She was sure Nasya had a work around for that anyway. Her bow hung on pegs overhead and as she pulled it down the door swung open. It was an instant thought to vanish.

  The bow clunked to the ground attracting the attention of the person in the doorway. Sasha stepped in, leaving the door open behind him. He picked up the bow and gently ran a hand over its fluid curve.

  Ari lay motionless against the ground. She was the earth. Literally. She had to clench her jaw to keep from laughing. The freedom her knowledge gave her was intoxicating.

  When Sasha turned Ari almost lost her resolve. In the light form the door, his face was haggard and tired. He looked paler than she remember and sickly. He put the bow back up and Ari saw his eyes fall on her pack. He looked up and scanned the shelves then turned and walked out shutting the door firmly behind him.

  He didn’t know what he expected. He had felt something that was Ari, not Nasya. He was tired though, and it was very possible he was just imagining it because he wanted her near. He desperately wanted her near.

  He didn’t know where Ghita had taken her, but he had an idea. Thanks to his stupid promise, he couldn’t do anything about it. He was dying not being near her. Not knowing if she was okay.

  Initially he had been angry when Leonidas had called. Angry and scared he had screwed something up. That hadn’t been it at all, and he brought Ari home where she would have been safe until she woke.

  There was no hiding the tattoos from Ghita. She had freaked, screamed at everyone and taken Ari. And there was nothing anyone could do about it.

  He wanted to talk to Ari. He needed to talk to her. He wanted nothing more than to hold her hand and apologize. Hold her hand and say goodbye. Before it was too late.

  Now with a half full pack and the bow resting on the floor he knew Ari was around and up to something. A sign, he was sure, of her growing into herself. It hurt more than anything that she had not come to him for help. It hurt to think she didn’t need him anymore.

  “Are you okay?” Nasya asked.

  Sasha didn’t respond as he sadly went back to his room. He was empty without Ari. There was no point in giving an answer they both already knew.

  Ari counted to ten before coming up out of the earth. There was no doubt he knew. She wouldn’t be able to rendezvous with Nasya. He would be there ahead of time. Ari grabbed her bow and a full quiver from the adjacent wall. She strapped the quiver on then slung on her pack. Hoping that she had enough control to move everything as she dropped into the earth.

  When Ari reappeared several miles further up the mountain than her checkpoint with Nasya, she promptly vomited. She had been using a lot of power since waking in the institute and she was starting to feel it. Her body felt too small for the organs in it and she felt super weak. Ari supposed it was deserved. A baby learns to walk in steps, not go from crawl to run.

  Ari looked around and sighed. She couldn’t stay there either. The clearing was the hunting grounds for quail and deer and the occasional moose or elk.

  She would have to suck it up and move to at least the farthest point out she’d ever been. Then she could walk from there (if she was able) to the north. There was a lake just on the other side of the West Virginia border that she had never been to. She would be safe enough for a few days there.

  It was a three day hike to the lake on the norm. Ari thought she could do it in eight hours. The sun still hung kind of low to the east. It wasn’t yet noon.

  Ari groaned to her feet. She couldn’t do another jump. There had to be another way. Ari forced herself not to vomit as she jumped and let the air catch her and swirl her up. Ari couldn’t take another vanishing trick, but she could probably, hopefully, ride the wind for a few minutes. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the cool feeling of the wind against her clammy skin.

  Ari must have passed out. She groggily surveyed her surroundings to find she laid half in and half out of a vast body of water. Ari was covered in mud, no part was spared, and her pack sat neatly a few feet ahead on the shore.

  Slowly Ari pushed to her feet and staggered over to her pack. Her head still swirled but she had no need to vomit. Her body felt beaten and just the few feet were excruciatingly draining.

  How did she end up at the lake anyway? Ari glanced back at the water. She had intended to be there, but on foot. Nasya had said the gifts work on intent, maybe her intent to be there had been stronger than her intent to walk there? It didn’t matter. She was there, and she had to find a way to get Nasya there too.

  “Look what we have here.”

  Ari looked towards the sound without fear. Some part of her knew there was no getting away from them. The Tainted creature stood a few feet away and thankfully downwind, or Ari would have gagged on the smell that she knew all Tainted possessed.

  “I have no business with you at the moment.” Ari’s voice was calm, more from fatigue than anything else, and flat. “Leave at once.”

  “Or?” It tipped its head similar to a bird would when contemplating. “Is there an or?”

  Ari picked up the dropped bow and drew an arrow from her quiver as she slowly rose. She was rock steady when she knocked the arrow to the bow. “We both know I rarely miss.”

  His eyes narrowed and he stepped back a few paces. “You would attack me?”

  “I would defend me.” Ari corrected. “From you and her.”

  Ari gestured to the Pure bird that fluttered in the air behind him. He didn’t even bother turning.

  “You cannot keep us at bay forever.” The Pure paused in mid-flap and seemed to just float, as if in water.

  “Shall we test that?” The Kirin stepped up from behind Ari. “At the moment she is in my care. Do you dare challenge me?”

  Tension and silence filled the air for several long moments. It was the weirdest standoff Ari had ever seen. It was the Pure that broke it first when she flapped her great wings mightily and vanished into the sky.

  “Time is running short, Gaean creature. You will not have her much longer.” The Tainted faded into shadow.

  Ari dropped to her knees and relaxed the tension on the bow. The Kirin turned to her and in a blink Nasya stood there. She knelt and pressed a hand against Ari’s head and her other grabbed Ari’s shoulder.

  “Nasya. You’re the Kirin?” It made sense. She could use the elements. She had been in and out in key moments
. “Something’s wrong. I feel sick. Very sick.”

  “You’ll be okay. Your body is just cleaning out the residue of the others. You need some rest but we can’t stay here. The rescue service already has men out. It won’t be long until they make it up this way.”

  “Residue?” Ari couldn’t think anymore. Just seeing Nasya brought so much relief.

  It was like a dream watching Nasya pick up the pack and pulling Ari to her feet. Everything was colored differently. Ari was so tired.

  “You’ve lived all your life in a Pure house and spent the last eight months tangled in Tainted magic. You should have figured some of it had rubbed off, so to speak. And now it’s being washed out by what is in you.” Nasya hefted Ari upright without staggering. “Come on. I know where we can go.”

  Nasya worried over Ari. She should not have been as sick as she appeared. Unless there was something else in play Nasya didn’t know about.

  Kleisthenes had been annoying with his insistence he know where she was going. He knew, of course, that she knew where and what Ari was up to. She hadn’t relented in give him the information. Ari needed this, as much as Nasya needed it for Ari.

  Admittedly it was unfair to Sasha. Even Nasya could see that he was slowly fading away. He would survive until Ari was ready. Her primary concern was Ari not Sasha.

  Ari went in and out for the next several days. She had no idea when or how they left the lake. Nor did she have any idea where they were. Not that it mattered.

  Every time she woke Nasya was there. She did what every mother does when their children are sick. She made sure Ari drank something she barely tasted before passing back out again.

  Only half the moon hung low in the dark sky. At least that was the first thing Ari noticed when she was coherent again. And, she was starving.

  Nasya laid nearby, but by the look of her she was fast asleep. Ari didn’t want to wake her, so she crawled silently out of her sleeping bag. She didn’t question where the cargo pants and snug tank top she was wearing came from or the fact that she was clean when last she remembered was mud from the lake.