Blood of the Pure (Gaea) (31 page)

I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Michael was right. I could do that. Hell! I could do more than that! The terms of our Contract clearly stated that he wasn’t allowed to hurt those around me, which wasn’t necessarily limited to physical pain. Besides, if there was something I’d learned during this past month, it was that it was useless crying over spilled milk. What was done was done. Now all I had to worry about was trying to fix the situation as best as I could. And so I decided that I wouldn’t allow Steph to get hurt because of him, even if that meant the end of our friendship.

“Thank you, Michael,” I told him in all honesty and he looked of relief.

“Finally.”

“What?” I asked unable to understand what he meant and his green gaze fixed on me again.

“You finally smiled,” he simply said and I looked away, giving my undivided attention to the calamari on my plate.

“Mmm, this tastes good,” I commented, trying to keep our conversation as casual as possible. I couldn’t help thinking of Lea, and how much he’d enjoy trying out some of those golden rings. Michael laughed lightly, filling my ears with that amazing sound that made my heart jump happily.

Tina returned to our table, completely ignoring my presence, and smiled looking at him from under her long eyelashes.

“Is everything all right?” she asked in a sweet, dragged tone, and he looked up at her with his usual smiling expression.

“Everything’s fine, thank you.”

“Call me if you need anything else,” she added and he nodded, which meant she’d run out of excuses to linger over our table any longer.

“That girl, she likes you,” I stated once she was out of ear’s reach, feeling more than a little bit jealous of the smile he had just given her.

“What? What are you talking about?” His caught-off-guard tone made me laugh.

“Come on! It’s written all over her face!” I replied. “And she’s not the only one.” I only noticed what I’d just said after I’d said it and the silence that fell between us made me blush profusely. “I mean!” I immediately tried to clarify. “At school there are a lot of girls who like you!” I tried, but the way his green eyes were watching me so closely only made things worse. “Which is normal, right? After all, you’re kind of like an idol!”

“An idol,” he repeated with an annoyed tone. “None of those girls interests me in the least. The idol you say they like doesn’t exist. In the end ... none of them really likes me. All they like is the image of me they’ve built in their own minds, and that’s not me.” I stared at my calamari once again. What was I doing? Sitting there, alone with him! When I knew perfectly well that the right thing to do was stand up and get out of there. Do it!
Stand up and leave
, I ordered myself and put the fork down. “And? Did you manage to read the book we bought together the other day?” he suddenly asked me and his casual tone caught me completely off guard,

“Ah, not yet. Sorry,” I replied, remembering our promise to exchange them, and he smiled, his usual warm smile.

“No problem. I still haven’t finished mine, yet. But I’m almost done. It’s very interesting. I think you’ll like it.”

I smiled as Michael vaguely told me what it was about, careful not to spoil the suspense, and we spent the rest of our lunch talking about one of our favorite subjects — books.

It was almost four o’clock when we decided to ask for the check and I had to fight my way through his stubbornness in order for him to allow me to pay for my part. When we went back outside, I noticed we weren’t that far away from my house and I promised myself to go back there with Lea, so he could try the calamari.

“Thank you for everything, Michael,” I told him, pulling up the collar of my coat to defend my neck from the cold wind and he smiled, shrugging happily.

“It was nothing. I’m glad I could help, and that I was able to cheer you up a little bit.”

I smiled awkwardly. It was true. I felt much better now, which naturally happened every time I was with him.

“See you tomorrow?”

He nodded and, before I could react, kissed the top of my head.

“See you tomorrow, Mari,” he whispered softly, making my heart jump, and smiled victoriously before walking away.

Chapter Eleven

CHR

– The Path of Kaph (Atu X). The Hiereus prepares the Candidate.

The Vision of the Wheel of Fortune.

The Three Energies of the Universe.
1
–

“I’m not what I seem to be.

The threads that bind me are thin, imperceptible, invisible.

And when you see me walk, laugh, speak, and breath, that’s all fake, nothing but lies.

In truth I’m nothing but a lifeless doll, over whose glassy face was painted a bright smile.

And the hands that command the threads of my life are beautiful white and cold.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

ea sat at the table, his legs anxiously swinging back and forth as he waited for yet another huge cup of chocolate milk. I’d just placed a few slices of bread in the toaster and he eyed the small device eagerly, probably wishing he could command it to toast the bread faster.

“Do you ... come here, to this world, often?” I asked, looking for the best way to strike up a conversation without having him telling me he wasn’t allowed to answer, and I handed him his chocolate milk, which he immediately gulped down followed by a huge smile.

“This is really good!” he said once again, licking his brownish lips, chocolate marks all across his face, his silver eyes shining enthusiastically. I couldn’t help smile.

“Better or worse than cat food?”

“Hmm, it’s hard to choose,” he answered pensively and I made a slight grimace. How come he had to think about that? Those dry, crunching things even smelled bad! And if they smelled bad, how could they possibly taste any good?

The smell of toasted bread started filling the kitchen and I took out the hot slices to put in new ones.

“And?” I insisted, spreading butter over the toast and giving it to him.

“If we come here often?” Lea wanted to make sure and I nodded. “No. Not that I know of. For me this is the first time. And Master doesn’t like Human Beings, much less being surrounded by them.” I considered his words for a moment. No one would guess. Every time I saw him at school, there were people around him, and he always smiled politely and was cordial with everyone. Sometimes I asked myself if we were talking about the same person.

“Why?” I finally asked. “Does he hate us? Despise us?”

“No,” he answered, staring down at his half eaten toast as if it were a work of art. “I’m the one who feels that way. Master just doesn’t like being around you because you’re ... too frail.”

“Lea, you hate us?” I asked placing an affectionate hand over his head and he nodded lightly. “Why?”

“Because you create us at your own whim and then abandon us to our luck. And we are nothing, and can’t even defend ourselves. And we spent our existence running, and hiding in fear and terror. And when we’re captured, all that’s left is suffering and pain, until our beings start to break down and slowly cease to exist.” The pain in his child-like voice left a bitter taste in my mouth and I recalled what he’d told me before, about how his caste came from the negative wishes and dreams of Human Beings. “It was better if you’d just destroy us after using us,” he added. I didn’t quite understand what he meant, but Lea raised his head and a childish smile brought a new light to his expression. “But you’re different. I like you.” I was taken by surprise with the simplicity of those words and couldn’t help laughing.

“Glad to know it, even if, in your opinion, it was better if I would simply die,” I said jokingly and Lea tilted his head to a side.

“Um, one thing has nothing to do with the other. It’s true that I like you, but as far as my Master is concerned, it was really better if you were dead.” He replied with that same simplicity and I gave him a light slap on the back of the head that made him protest with a loud ‘
Ouch!
’

“If I die I swear I’ll come back to haunt you!” I promised and his laughter filled the kitchen.

“Great! You can make me chocolate milk for all eternity!”

I gave him a threatening look and he laughed even harder. That small pest was much closer to being a devil than a demon.

I took out the remaining toast and spread strawberry jam, Lea’s favorite, on a slice. His eyes widened when I passed it to his small hands, now smeared with butter, and I watched as he relished his snack.

“Lea, when you said he thought we were frail, what did you mean?” I asked and he licked his sticky fingers.

“Because you Humans break too easily,” he explained, carefully making sure there were no more red marks worth licking. “Interacting with Humans requires extra caution, especially for someone like Master. Any small loss of control is enough to erase hundreds of Humans from the face of the Earth.” I shuddered at the idea. Somehow, and although Lea had said that as if it were of no consequence, I had the feeling I knew perfectly well what he meant. “That’s why I was really surprised when Master called me and told me he had accepted a Contract. I’ve never seen him accept a Contract before. Normally there’s no need to do so.”

“There isn’t?”

“No. Master has enough power to attain what he wants, without having to give anything in return,” he said, licking the inside of his now empty cup and stretching his small tongue as far as it could go, which spread chocolate stains around his face.

“Did he have the power to do that with my Contract as well?”

He looked at me and shrugged.

“That I’m not really sure,” he said, “but I guess so. I still think that, had Master really wanted, he wouldn’t have had to accept this Contract. I thought a lot about this, especially after he ... got so angry at me because of what I did. And I think ... I think he somehow made use of the Law so that it had to accept his choice and make it happen.”

I was truly confused. However, Lea’s grave expression warned me that he couldn’t tell me much more. And so I simply smiled and dropped the subject.

“And now, young man, bath time!” I informed him to which he immediately frowned in protest.

“Eh? Why?” he complained and I looked at him disapprovingly. There was chocolate all over his face, from his chin up to his forehead, and his black hair was sticky with jam.

“Really? Do you have to ask?”

“But I don’t like water!” he whined with a grimace. “Besides, I can use my powers and get all cleaned up. Better yet! I can change shapes and wash myself with my tongue!” he argued and I raised him from his chair, placing him on the floor.

“No way! And no powers either! Isn’t that what you’ve been told? Your small trick this morning was enough!” He looked away, guiltily, and folded his arms, frowning.

“That was because I didn’t want you to be punished because of me,” he mumbled and I ruffled his dark hair.

“I know. And thank you. But now let’s be good, OK? And as for your second option, spit bath isn’t a bath at all!” I stubbornly stated and held his hand, towing him upstairs, towards the bathroom.

“Hmm, you sure your original form isn’t that of a cat?”

“Of course I am!” he exclaimed, as if I’d just offended him, and I smiled.

“Come on, then. It’s going to be fun,” I tried to convince him. “And I promise I won’t try to drown you,” I added, jokingly, but Lea didn’t seem to think it was funny at all. However, he did stop fighting me, resigning, and I finally managed to put him in the bathtub.

The battle started as soon as I turned on the water and lasted throughout the whole process. Once again I was sure I was right in my last assumption regarding his original shape. Lea just didn’t like water, he hated it, shaking his head, spitting and almost drowning when I rinsed his hair and a few drops slid over his face.

When it was finally over, we were both tired and wet, and the bathroom floor looked more like a lake. I wrapped his small body in a warm bath towel and he sighed in relief.

I took him to my room, sitting him on my bed while I changed my wet clothes for something dry. Then I returned to his side, brush in hand, and started combing his hair.

“You think he’ll come home today?” I casually asked and he nodded. “Do you remember what we were saying before? About what he thinks of us?” He kept silent, waiting for me to go on. “What would you think if I told you that ... he’s been going out with a girl?” I asked and only then noticed how hard it had been to say those words. Lea turned towards me with a jump, his fierce gaze making me recoil apprehensively.

“What do you mean?”

“I ... I don’t know,” I answered, unsure, uncomfortable under the heavy pressure he exerted over me, making my heart beat too fast. “All I know is that one of my friends told me that they were together and that she didn’t want me to interfere.” I reported in an almost inaudible voice and that thin, sharp pain returned. Even if Steph didn’t like it, even if I hadn’t the right to meddle, something like that! I simply couldn’t allow it!

Lea averted his gaze, although his small hands clutched the towel, and he frowned with a clear disgruntled expression.

“That’s why I wanted to take him away,” he grunted, now apparently angry with himself for having failed his mission and I refused to recall what his success would have entailed.

“You knew, Lea? You knew about him and Steph?” I asked and he shook his head.

“No. And that’s not the real problem!” he answered, pointedly looking at me, and I was sure he thought I should know what he meant. As I kept silent he released a deep sigh and kneeled on my bed, sitting on his heels, losing his menacing stand. “What are you going to do?” he asked me curiously and I was completely caught off guard.

“What am I ... I don’t know!” I answered, filling pretty useless. “I tried talking with her, but she wouldn’t listen to me. So I thought I should try and talk with him. But it’s so hard. And then I don’t really have a way to make him obey. If he refuses ...” Lea held my hand and I turned to face him.

“You have to do like Master does,” he stated, smiling mischievously. “You have to learn to use the Law to your advantage.”

“Are you talking about the Contract? I thought about that, but, well, he can always break it, can’t he? And if he does, I’m sure he won’t get whatever it is that he wants, but, on the other hand, he’ll be free from all the other terms and will be able to do as he pleases. He might even decide to kill everyone,” I argued and Lea’s gaze glinted astutely.

“That’s not quite right,” he answered me and his small fingers touched the blue velvet ribbon around my wrist. “Contracts can’t be broken just like that. If they could they wouldn’t be Contracts, but mere agreements. This mark is the Seal that enforces the Law, and the Law states that the one betrayed by the breach of a Contract has the right to demand that the betrayer be punished. And the gravity of the punishment depends on the value of the Contract.”

I had to carefully ponder his words for a few moments before I was able to completely understand what he’d just told me.

“So, if he breaks the Contract, I can demand that he is punished?” I concluded.

Lea nodded with a serious expression. “And vice-versa.” I swallowed hard. It was kind of logic. I just had never thought about that.