Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) (37 page)

The morning of tick mark forty
-
three
,
I again met
Zandra
in the garden and asked
her
the same question
as the day before
.  She refused to answer and gingerly walked away
for a second time
.  It was in that moment that I realized she was manipulating me in one of the most sadistic of manners.  She withheld what little human contact
was
afforded to me
.  I was stronger than she gave me credit for, sharper still for noticing it, and then it hit me – I wasn’t alone.  My mother’s spirit was undoubtedly here with me
. 
I just needed to figure out how to communicate with her.  By
Zandra
’s own admission, this was a gift bestowed upon me by Zeus himself
;
no amount of manipulation would inhibit this gift.

Chapter 27

I looked at my guard
;
it wasn’t the same one
who
had tackled me yesterday. 
“I know you’re forbidden from talking to me.  I don’t need you to say a word, but I do need you to
help
me.
  My guess is you don’t like her any more than I do.
  Blink your eyes once for yes, twice for no.  Do you understand?”  The guard
’
s eyes darted from left to right to ensure no prying eyes could see. 
He blinked once.
  My heart did a cartwheel in my chest.

“Does my father know where I am?”  His eyes blinked once
, again
.  “Has he tried to see me
?
” 
Again, one single blink
.  “
Do you know how long she plans to keep me?”  This time he blinked twice.  “Will you help me get out of here?”  He blinked twice again.
  What little hope I had felt when the guard blinked his answers disappeared in front of my eyes.

I heard my mother’s voice for the first time since her hospital room, “
Listen to his thoughts
.”
  I looked in all directions to see if she had miraculously appeared
,
but I couldn’t see her.  I smelled her perfume
,
and a warm glow overtook me
-
she was with me.  I concentrated with everything I had on this guard standing in front of me
. 
I looked at the lines around his eyes, the way the red vessels show
ed
through the white
,
and
the light
caramel
brown of his eyes
.
  My concentration did not waiver
. 
I was sure he had to feel me tugging at his thoughts
.  I
t was as if a thin membrane separated them from me. 

The guard did nothing to impede me.  I looked in all directions to see if
Zandra
was anywhere close.  I visualized the membrane separating his thoughts from me, and with near surgical precision, I cut a big gaping hole in it.  I saw the guard’s knees weaken for a
moment;
he recovered quickly and looked away.  I
asked him my question with my thoughts
, “
Can you hear me?
”

No reaction.  “
Can you hear me in your head?
”  Again
,
nothing.  He had to have known I was there
,
but
he couldn’t hear my thoughts, so
I
whispered,
“What’s your name?”

His answer came to me loudly
, through his thoughts
, “
I am
Phineas
.” 

“
Phineas
, I can hear you.”  His eyes glistened and a smirk appeared on his face.  I
was thrilled to have someone
who
would talk to me
.  I talked aloud and he through his thoughts.  He must have been suspicious that
Zandra
was closer than either he or I could see
because he instructed,
“
Keep your voice low. 
I am a close friend to your father.  I told him of your tantrum yesterday
.  H
e was pleased.”

“I wouldn’t call it a tantrum
, more of an assertion of independence.”

“
Call it what you want, she was furious
when Aragon told her you tried to escape
. 
Have you seen your
future?
”

“Uh, no.  How do I do that?”

“
I don’t know how, but al
l
Chiron
Centauride
’s
can
see the future
;
very few can see their own
. 
Zandra
saw your future and
locked
you away
to
keep it from happening.
  Gretchen is not as powerful as
Zandra
but believes you are at a crossroads
.  Y
ou
are
capable of several destinies.
”

“
So
Zandra
is trying to change my future by keeping me locked up here
? 
She can do that? C
hange someone’s destiny?”

“
She can influence it, but she cannot preclude one that has been selected
.
”

“What’d she see?”

“
I don’t know, but whatever it was
,
it really shook her up.
Your father hoped that she would
use this time to teach you the things your mother didn’t, to
bestow her maternal gifts on you
.
”

“
The only thing I need from that woman is an exit. 
So how do I get out of here?”

“
Your father
is still working on that.  Because you aren’t married, it is within her rights to remain your guardian
.
 
Your father wants to know if
you
have
spoken
with your mother’s spirit?
”

“Funny that you should ask
.  S
he spoke to me for the first time a few minutes ago, telling me to delve into your head.”

“
She may be able to help you, m
ore than I can.
  If I am caught aiding you
,
Zandra
will seek retribution on my family.  I’ve already put them at great risk
.”

I was so pleased to be talking with someone, I didn’t think of the implications for him. 
“Thanks,
Phineas
.  Let my father know I’m okay.”

“
I will
.”

“Why hasn’t he come to see me?”

“She’s put a spell on the gate,
so
none of your blood relatives can enter.  William
said you need to ask your mother about the night they met.  He said you needed to know something about that night
.”

“I will.  Tell him not to worry.”  When I stood up,
Phineas
followed me, just as he had during his shifts since the first day I came to
Zandra
’s home.  He neither made
eye
contact nor
shared another thought with me
.  Unsure of whether
Zandra
would be able to know if he were
communicating
with me, I silently closed the hole I had opened in the membrane of his thoughts.  It was quiet again, but bearable
.  A
t least now I knew I wasn’t alone
– I had an ally
. 

That evening, I sat by myself, the same as I had done every evening
,
to a lonely dinner in an empty
formal dining
room.
 
My evening guard had relieved
Phineas
,
and I was feeling sorry for myself again.
 
It was Aragon,
who
was
extremely loyal to her
;
he was the one
who
stood guard in my bedroom
nearly every
night.  I hated the idea of being watched while I slept
,
and I especially hated that he was the one watching me.
 
Zandra
walked into the room and saw the food I had pushed around on my plate.
  She looked at me with her usual disapproving glance
,
then
announced,
“I have a gift for you.”

I was start
l
ed by her voice initially. 
This was the first time she had talked to me outside of the garden
.  M
y heart leap
ed
at the idea that I m
ight
be leaving soon.  She withdrew a wooden box from inside a linen bag.  When she opened it, purple velvet lined the interior and a shimmering necklace
la
y
waiting.  “This was your mother’s.  I sense you are eager to leave
my estate
.
  I wanted you to have it.
”

I nodded enthusiastically, pleased that all our lessons and this dreadful prison were soon going to be a part of my past. 
Zandra
motioned for me to stand
,
and I held my hair away from my neck
,
allowing her to clasp the exquisite necklace to me.   It was made of platinum and
unbelievably large
sapphires.  
I
had
never experience
d
wearing
jewelry made of
platinum before and
had
no real appreciation for how
heavy
it
would be
. 
When
Zandra
secured the clasps
, I felt a short burst of energy encircling my neck
.  S
he
said, “
Th
is necklace’s weight is
meant to remind you of your obligations to this
blood line
, to your family
.” 

Zandra
had given
me a gift that belonged to my mother, acknowledging for the first time
that I belonged
. 
I was her flesh. 
I was thrilled
,
and without thinking
,
I blurted out, “When can I see my father?”

An electric shock so powerful shot through my body from the necklace, it brought me to my knees. I knelt on the floor crum
p
led from the energy, wondering what had just happened. 
Zandra
’s wicked voice calmly responded, “You will not see him until your wedding night
, Camille
.  Each time I feel your belligerence or
you
initiate a quarrel with me
,
you will be reminded of your place in my home.  Do you understand?”

I nodded my head in horror.  A second ago, I
had
felt like a princess.
What I
realized
was that in addition to my 24 hour guard watching my every move, my grandmother had given me
the Cent
a
ur equivalent of
an electrified shock collar
to curb my outbursts
.
  She smiled widely, in an effort to project her dominance, “Your mother wore that same
necklace.  She, too, was headstrong and threatened to run
away at the first opportunity.  I mistakenly removed it from her before she could marry the Centaur I selected for her.  I will not make the same mistake a second time.”

“
Zandra
, I can’t be married
. 
I can’t choose.  Mr. Richardson had me swear an oath that if his son was still not chosen by the time he was
twenty-nine
,
I would choose him.”

Her smile widened
,
giving me goose bumps
.  “You won’t have to wait five years, Camille.  I have already chosen Gage Richardson for you.  You will be married in a month.”