Betrayal (33 page)

“Oh” I said, feeling the blood return to my face. I tried to giggle because I was a little embarrassed at how transparent I was.

I smiled at the children, Nikolas, and Bethany when they joined Evan, and I at the patio table. The table was spread like a buffet with fresh, sliced fruit, sliced breads, cheeses, and sliced meats. What I wouldn’t do for a cheese burger deluxe with fries right now. Everyone was chatting all at once. I did my best to focus on what everyone had to say, but it was difficult after all that I had just witnessed.

Nikolas, who sat next to me, whispered in my ear. “The gods are happy to have you back as much as we are.” I said nothing, and just nodded as I shoved a fork full of greens into my mouth.

“Aunt Alexandria says that I must begin dance instruction in order to thoroughly enjoy the balls,” Christopher said, pouting

“Cotillions!” Phoebe added, jubilantly. It was obvious that she couldn’t wait to be old enough to attend the extravagant and formal balls. Just looking at Phoebe as she gazed into the sky, she appeared to be far off somewhere, probably dressed in the most magnificent of ball gowns, waltzing around a glittering ball room with her knight in shining armor. I couldn’t help but smile at her pretty innocent face. She was a true girly girl, and I loved it.

“Well I’d much rather, ride a stallion around the ball room than dance like one as though I was in full gallop,” Christopher said, as he grimaced, jumped out the wicker chair, and pretended to gallop like a wild steed around the patio table.

Everyone giggled, and seemed relaxed. I tried to relax too, but the thought of defying the gods had me wanting to run away and hide in a deep hole where no one, especially an Ischero, could ever find me.

I looked around the table. Everyone was acting their age. I had to admit that it was reassuring to see everyone in another light. Suddenly Nikolas jumped up, threw off the oxford pinstripe jacket to his three piece suit, and galloped around like a horse in an exaggerated way, as Christopher did. I was just glad that he didn’t shift into one. As he galloped around the table, he appeared drunk, but I knew that he wasn’t. Nikolas and Christopher joined hands, and formed a ridiculous looking couple waltzing with a funny high step. The mockery was hysterical.

I loved Nikolas for his immaturity at that moment. His laughter thundered above everyone else’s. It was contagious. I laughed and laughed as the awkwardly paired couple whirled around the garden. With his head thrown back, Evan laughed at the mock waltz Nikolas and Christopher performed for our entertainment. I’d never seen Evan laugh the way he was laughing right now. Actually I’d never seen him laugh. I can’t recall ever witnessing him appear so happy. So far he’s always appeared moody and sullen. I guess it made sense with the weight of the world’s evil resting on his shoulders, although muscular ones, it had to be a burden for any eighteen year old.

I continued to watch the hilarious spectacle. Phoebe, not to be outdone by her older brother, couldn’t resist jumping out of her chair and joining in. To my surprise, Bethany got up, grabbed Phoebe's hand and they were off galloping around together as a couple. Their flouncy dresses twirled swiftly around their ankles looking like vortices of taffeta and lace.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evan hop out of his chair. He ran around the table to where I sat, and grabbed my hand. He jerked me out of my chair while I begged him profusely not too. I laughed as I gave in. We whipped around and galloped and laughed uncontrollably at the joke Christopher started. There wasn't a dry eye in the garden as everyone tried to catch their breath. We held our aching bellies from pure joy.

In that elating moment, I forgot all the hideous and downright outlandish things I’d seen and experienced in the last day and a half. My mind was free of the fear of being caught up in this unfamiliar time. I forgot all the foreboding, forever looming, ominous creatures, and circumstances which had very much become my present. It felt wonderful to laugh. It seemed like ages since I had. I guess it had been ages if you consider the fact that I time travelled over a hundred years backwards. I wondered just how long the feeling of happiness would last.

Seventeen

Listening In

After lunch, everyone, except Evan and I, retreated into the house. Evan gave me one of his mesmerizing smiles, which practically made my knees buckle every time I saw it. I smiled back catching my breath, knowing that I had to focus to breathe. His smile hadn’t faded as he held out his hand for mine, and I obliged. We strolled, hand in hand, back up the stone path, in the direction of the house, which led us back to the rose entwined gazebo.

There was no trace of the statues, no imprint of their marbleized feet in the grass, nothing. I wondered if what I had seen and experienced had really happened. I tried to focus on the pure beauty of the garden, and on what Evan may have to say.

The clusters of fragrant roses and thick vines wrapped around the gazebo like yarn. The rays of the sun fought to peek though the vines. Evan and I sat just a few inches apart on the charming wrought iron settee, silent for a moment.

I wanted to tell him so much. I should just plunge head first as if I were diving into an Olympic pool and tell Evan about the Apolluon vampire that I killed the night before, and about finding the journals, and how I remembered how to ride Gypsy and… but the words wouldn’t come out. I didn’t make a sound; instead I rolled my medallion in between my fingers, letting its iciness numb the tips of my fingers, and watched as the diamond reflected the sunlight onto the tangled vines.

A family of playful cardinals, chirping and tweeting at full volume in the birdbath, and the steady flow of the water trickling from the fountain were the only sounds in the garden. I allowed my senses to take in all the garden had to offer including absorbing the pungent aroma of the flowers, the sounds of nature, and the raw beauty of the perpetual flourish of the foliage. Evan seemed to do the same. It wasn't an awkward moment; just a peaceful one being shared.

Evan turned to me, and gently removed a wisp of hair from my face which had fallen astray from my bun. I sat still, not wanting to move, while he did this. He abruptly moved his hand away from my face then chuckled nervously, turning away and looking at his feet. He seemed nervous, and I was kind of glad that he was, but didn’t want him to interpret my stiffness as brushing him off. He had to know that I was tense as well.

“That was amazing back there…seeing the gods.” I said playing with the intricate beading on one of the numerous layers of my skirt.

“To a mortal’s eye they are statues but when in the presence of an immortal, an Ischero, they can be called upon, willed into taking human form, although a vessel is not always necessary.” Evan explained.

“So you don’t need to have a statue, or a replica of them to call on them?”

“No, although it’s easier, otherwise they are present, but difficult to see. Sometimes they’ll just appear as an orb of light. By having a replica, their image is clear. It’s best to call on them only when necessary. We always try to solve our issues without their grace.”

“Do the gods actually talk back to you?”

“Of course,” He said, looking at me intently. “I hope that you’re not frightened. They are our ancestors. They guide and protect us.”

“I’m not frightened; just a little… shocked, I mean before coming back I only remembered reading about them, and believing that they were just myths.”

“You shouldn’t be shocked at this point Cordelia.” Evan said, as he kept his eyes me.

“I’ll be honest with you.” I said, hesitantly.

“Please do. I’m counting on your honesty.”

“Well at first I thought that maybe you were just performing some kind of magic but then something in me changed. I saw something.” I couldn’t read Evan’s face, but I think he took what I said the wrong way.

“We don’t have to resort to imagery and magic tricks. We are divine. You will see what is real in your own time.” I knew it. Evan took my skepticism as an insult.

“I didn’t mean it that way. Look, I don’t know what to believe. I’ve been told who I am, and told many other things about my existence, but I hadn’t seen any real proof

until – ”

“Until last night?”

“Last night? No, I meant today… I had a vision, and I saw myself having a conversation with Athena.”

“I see. I thought you meant last night, when you killed the head Apolluon vampire’s wife,” Evan said, still looking me in the eyes. It was like someone had let the air out of my lungs like a tire. I was stunned speechless for a brief moment.

“How… how did you know that?” I stammered.

“I was there,” Evan declared, in just above a whisper.

“What? Wait a minute – you saw what happened with the vampires.” The shock in my voice couldn’t be concealed. Evan looked at me, but his face appeared constricted as if he was holding back his anger.

“I know what you did. I didn’t actually see you do it.” Evan’s voice was even. I tried to detect some anger, but I believe he was hiding his real emotions about me sneaking out in the first place.

“So how do you know it was me?”

“Only you have the ability to do that to an Apolluon.”

“I don’t even know how I did it. It just happened. I couldn’t control it, Evan.” I explained, trembling like a leaf on a blustery day.

“I know. You don’t remember how to. It will come. Hopefully sooner than later either way, I assure you, it will come.” I nodded repeatedly, and could feel the tears in my eyes about to overflow onto my cheeks. Besides my powers, I couldn’t control my tears either.

“I had hoped that Matthias couldn’t identify you, but he is a little over two thousand years old, and is well aware that only one kind can kill a vampire that old; only an emperor or an empress of the Ischero has that kind of power.”

“Oh my God. What does all this mean?”

“Gods.”

“Right, of course.”

“Well, it means that I have to speak to Matthias. He has to know that this wasn’t a direct attack.”

“Speak to him? Why would you talk to a vampire? Wouldn’t he try to kill you?”

“Technically, no, and he won’t. Matthias is not like the other Apolluon vampires. His soul no longer belongs to Hades. He is free to roam and dwell where he pleases, and doesn’t have a quota of dead souls to fill and send to the Underworld. That was the deal he made when he turned two thousand years old.”

“How old was his wife?” I dared to ask.

“She was about a thousand years old, give or take a hundred years. Driella was not free and officially still belonged to Hades. Therefore, Matthias must be stopped before informing Hades that the queen has been killed here. He is obligated, because Hades still owns the Queens soul. If we don’t prevent Matthias, then it will bring more Apolluon, and we will be grossly out numbered. Being that Lucas knows, then it suggests that Victor knows. Only time will tell not if but when Victor will attempt to sell this information to Hades for immunity.”

I never even considered what this could mean for Victor. A sour feeling swept over my stomach. I’ve put this family into more danger than they were in before. I prayed that I would get my memory back soon.

“Do you think Victor will tell Hades what I did?”

“It’s a very strong possibility. Victor believes that he has leverage now. He may ask Hermes to send the proposition to Hades since Hermes is the liaison between Zeus and Hades. Although I doubt that Hermes will interfere, it won’t hurt to ask him to deny Victor’s request. So I will. No matter what happens, I can and will protect you.”

“Damn it! Why can’t I remember? Why is it taking so long?” I loathed waiting. I detested the feeling of being so vulnerable, and I despised sobbing in front of anyone.

“Cordelia –” Evan took a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his jacket, and dabbed at the tears that slid down my face, and then took my hands in his.

“It’s only been a day. Patience is key, sweetheart.”

“I’m so sorry. I should have listened. I shouldn’t have left the house.”

“Honestly, it’s expected. I’d imagine that I would have wanted to search my house if I was told by a room of strangers that I needed to stay in their house. I’d be curious as well.” Evan spoke tenderly and truthfully.

“Does Thaddeus know?”

“No, he doesn’t. If he did, breakfast wouldn’t have been such a delight.” Evan smiled referring to Thaddeus’ outburst about my ‘short walk’. “By the way, where did you go this morning?”

I looked away because I knew that I had to lie to Evan. I wasn’t good at lying in the life I remembered having, so I knew I’d bomb at lying now. But how could I tell Evan the truth about where I had really gone. He couldn’t know that I had been to Gerald’s house.

“I went for a short walk through the valley.” I looked at him, but couldn’t look him square in the eye, so I stared down at my hands. I could feel Evan’s intense blue eyes on me. There was a long pause before Evan spoke again. When he did, he changed the subject. I was relieved although, I knew he was onto me.

“When we were children, we used to scamper through the pond, splashing the cool water all over ourselves as well as all over the garden. My mother could have killed us a hundred times.” Evan laughed, as he reminisced and gazed at the small fish pond.

“We were pretty rambunctious, huh?” I asked, smiling at the idea of running around, free as birds, without a care in the world.

“Yes, we were, and there weren’t any fish then,” Evan said, with a sublime grin, while recollecting.

“There weren’t?” I said, a little surprised, looking over at the pond, and then at Evan, who shook his head from left to right.

“Mother wanted a gate erected around the pond, but father said it would not appear to be natural, hence the fish.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“We were in awe of the tiny fish, so beautiful in all the colors of a rainbow. We named them and stayed out of the pond from that moment on. Mother got what she desired and well we continued to play hide and seek.” Evan mused.

Evan turned to face me once again as my face began to feel warm. I knew that I was blushing. He just sat there, just a few inches away, and watched me blush. Finally he spoke.