Blood of the Pure (Gaea) (46 page)

I felt a knot tighten around my throat and I turned away. I knew if my tear ducts were anywhere near normal, I’d be crying by then. This was all so unfair.

“When you say it like that, it almost sounds like all this is for me,” I blurted out bitterly. “To save me or something. And that I should be thankful!”

“No, of course not. I won’t deny that the reason why Izrail accepted this Contract was far from innocent or pure. But that’s not the question. I’m talking about your attitude. From what I know about Human Beings, especially those like you, that passivism and defeated are way out of character. I understand it’s the easiest way, but it’s also the wrong one. And if fighting things head on doesn’t work, why not try finding a way around it?” I raised my face, allowing the cold wind to brush over my skin. I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to stand up, pick up all the broken pieces and try to find a new way to survive all that. Disappearing inside myself was, in fact, the easiest solution.

“Is ... Izrail even his true name?” I asked and, since he didn’t answer, stared back at him. His expression looked uncertain. “Questions! You said you would answer, remember?”

“Ah, yes, yes!” he nodded, smiling and looking content. We resumed walking, talking amiably as if we’d known each other for some time. “Izrail, right. If you’re asking if it’s his true name, then no, it’s not. But it is one of his names. As with all
Shedim
, he has seven names. But I’m sure you already know this. You, unlike me, must know his real name. After all, you’re the one who evoked him. And no evocation is possible unless one’s real name is used.”

“So, I’m supposed to know it?” I mused, recalling that strange sentence filled with foreign words. Maybe his name was hidden in one of those words, I wondered.

“You mean you don’t remember it?” he asked, intrigued, and I pulled the collar of my coat up to guard my neck from the cold, bitter wind.

“That’s not really it. I just don’t know exactly what I read. If his name was in there, I have no way to identify it.”

“Then, you didn’t know what you were doing when you evoked him?!” he asked and I stopped once more to look at him in outrage.

“Of course not! Who, in his perfect mind, would do such a thing?! All I wanted, all I wanted ...” I stammered. All I wanted was for Michael to look my way. Only once would had been enough. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore. And what about you? Did you come to kill him like that other
Mazzikin
?” I asked, changing the subject as he accompanied my walking with much smaller steps.

Alexander laughed cheerfully. “Kill him? Me? Not even if I wished it with all my strength. I’d never have enough power to do it. On the other hand, even if I did, I’d never do it.”

“Why?” I asked, tilting my head to better see his face, and he smiled again, a real smile this time that made his face look even younger and more beautiful.

“Izrail spared my life and helped me when I most needed it. My debt to him is so big that if he asked me to die for him, right now, I wouldn’t be able to deny him.” I waited silently for him to go on and he looked at me, smiling slyly, noticing I was eager to listen to what he had to say. “If you want to know more, have lunch with me.”

I frowned at what almost sounded like a poor pick-up line and he smiled again.

“We’re arriving at your school and this is a very long talk,” He pointed out. “I do not dare to talk about these things anywhere within Izrail’s hearing range.” He cringed at the idea, as though expecting someone to hit him.

“All right, then.”

“I’ll be close by the whole morning, just in case. And, if everything goes all right, I’ll be waiting for you by the gate.” I nodded and he walked me up to the entrance.

It was only when I saw Stephanie, waiting, that I realized Gabriel was probably going to skip school, and that I’d be the one everyone would turn to in search of an excuse. Steph seemed to think so as well and, as soon as she noticed that he wasn’t the one keeping me company, she strode like an arrow towards me, hands clenched in tight fists as if to hit me.

“Where’s Gabriel!” she demanded in a clearly accusatory tone. Having to face her cold eyes and angry expression was real hard to bear.

“Good morning,” I greeted her as always, but she ignored me, stepping even closer, almost threateningly.

“Where is he!”

“I really don’t know, Steph. But I’m guessing he’s not coming today,” I tried to explain, but her angry expression made it clear the matter was far from over.

“What do you mean you don’t know! Aren’t you the one sleeping with him?” she went on, her voice rising almost to a shriek, making everyone turn to look at us. I felt the blood drain from my face. I already hated being the center of attention as it was, and her accusations would certainly make me the subject of gossip all over school, again! Above all, was that what she really thought of me? Steph, who knew me so well.

“Stephanie! What are you saying!” another voice questioned, sounding almost angry, and I felt a weight had been lifted from my chest. Michael walked up to us with his steady stride and placed himself protectively at my side. “You know you’re talking nonsense! And knowing Gabriel as you do, you really think he would give a reason to anyone just because he decided to ditch class? Today is the last day of school. He probably just decided to start his holidays one day sooner.” He practically scolded her and Steph frowned, clearly disgruntled about how her scene had turned out, simply bolting away.

I took a deep breath and turned to Michael, making myself smile.

“Thank you,” I sincerely told him, all too aware of the quantity of eyes still staring disapprovingly at us. Michael smiled, his usual warm smile, and placed a caring hand on my head.

“It’s fine. Good morning, Mari.” His light filled me up inside, making me feel more calm and assured.

A swift movement I could hardly see made me blink and, in the next moment, Michael’s warm hand wasn’t touching me anymore, leaving that cold sensation in its place, as if a shadow had fallen over me. Half lost, I searched for that miraculous hand, wishing he would touch me again, and found it tightly locked in Alexander’s grip, his dark eyes staring threateningly, almost hatefully, at Michael’s bewildered face.

“Alexander! What are you doing!” I demanded, panicking, and pulled his arm as if that could make him release Michael’s wrist.

“You ... have no right to touch her!” Alexander growled in the most menacing tone I’d ever heard, and I looked around urgently, seeing in the faces of my schoolmates the beginnings of yet another rumor about my lovers and me.

“Stop it! This instant!” I commanded as fiercely as I could without raising my voice, hitting him on the shoulder, his hard muscles probably feeling very little of that, and he finally released him. “Who do you think you are?”

My heart drummed in my throat, my face burning even in the cold morning; and then Michael placed a hand on my shoulder, and all my anger magically disappeared.

“It’s OK, Mari. I’m sure your friend is only worried about you,” Michael calmly remarked and stretched out a friendly hand towards Alexander. “My name is Michael. I’m one of Mari’s classmates.”

I couldn’t help feeling sad with his classification of our relationship. Not even friend, I thought sadly.

Alexander stared at his outstretched hand, hate pouring unmasked from his expression, and slapped it away, the sound echoing around us.

“I’d rather die than having to shake hands with someone like you!” he spat with pure hostility, leaving me no time to feel depressed. Gabriel had never been anything but polite and cordial with everyone around me, accepting all my classmates with equal patience and tolerance. Alexander, however, remained intransigent to Michael’s presence, the fierce glow in his eyes making it ever so clear its dark-red color. And then he simply turned in disgust and walked away, to my relief.

I allowed myself a split second of peace, but my mind was soon racing again in search of adequate excuses and explanations. I turned back to Michael, who still looked shocked for being the target of such open animosity.

“I’m really sorry, Michael,” I said, smiling apologetically and holding the hand that had been so violently slapped.

“Oh, it’s fine. I guess he didn’t like me all that much,” he mused and smiled, back to his composed self. “Still, that really took me by surprise. I don’t recall ever being treated like this.”

“Please don’t take it personally! He’s always like that.” I kept my smile firmly in place, even though I knew nothing about Alexander. “He’ll probably be all over you next time, treating you like you were his best friend. I guess he’s bipolar or something. And he has the bad habit of saying the first thing that comes into his head.”

Michael laughed, amused with my description, and we began walking towards the North building.

“The way you talk about him, it almost makes it sound like he’s really crazy.”

“Well, that’s because he is!” I confirmed. The one who was going crazy was me, I thought.

“Have you known him for long?”

“Ah, yes, since I was a child.” More lies. And the natural way they left my lips made me feel depressed. “To tell you the truth, he is more Gabriel’s friend. He came to visit him over the holidays. And, since Gabriel decided to ditch school, he offered to accompany me.” I hoped it would be a plausible explanation, and Michael nodded.

“So, he’s staying with you guys all through the holidays?” Not the kind of question Michael would normally ask, and he seemed to be aware of that. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No! Not at all!” I hurriedly countered. “It’s just that I was thinking about how much this is so unlike you, all these questions. It’s not that I mind answering them. I really don’t know how long he’s staying.”

“Hmm. I see.” He mused silently for a moment. “You know, to tell you the truth, I also didn’t like him all that much.” He sounded almost guilty for feeling like that, and I couldn’t help stare at him. It was the first time I’d ever heard Michael say he didn’t like someone. Normally, from his point of view, people around him were either important to him or plainly indifferent.

“And it has nothing to do with his stuck-up attitude,” he continued. “I guess it was kind of funny being so outright rejected by someone I don’t even know. I’m sure I’ve lived through that many times before, but since I can’t recall any of that, it was kind of a new experience for me. But he gives out an ... oppressive sensation.” His green eyes focused on something unseen as he looked for the right words to describe what he’d felt. “It’s hard to explain. But it’s like something is terribly wrong, something out of place, maybe something that shouldn’t even be.” He had lowered his voice, but then he was smiling again, his bright eyes looking straight at me. “Well, I guess I’m just being paranoid. Will I see you after school?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I can’t today,” I excused myself which, by then, was no surprise to him, even though disappointment always took over his face.

“Then I won’t see you till after the holidays?” he asked, looking like an abandoned puppy, and I forced my brightest smile to take over my lips.

“But of course you will! You have my phone number, right? We’ll arrange something,” I suggested and his expression became immediately brighter.

“You won’t mind if I call?”

“Of course not!” I answered vehemently. Those were probably the truest words I’d said all morning.

“It’s a deal then. I’ll see you soon!” he stated in all confidence, and leaned towards me to place a warm kiss on my cheek.

I took a hand to my chest, to my heart beating too fast, and watched as he walked away. I loved him so much and yet my love only seemed to bring him pain.

The morning went by as in recent days, with Steph adding an extra foulness to her mood and Joanne ignoring the both of us. When the bell rang I made sure to go to the cafeteria just to say goodbye to my friends. I asked for their forgiveness for ditching our last meal together before the large separation that followed, and everyone forgave me immediately, between promises of meeting during the holidays, promises I knew I’d probably never fulfill.

When I reached the school gate, Alexander was already there, leaning his tall body against the fence, smiling as if nothing had happened, and attracting too much attention for my taste.

Chapter Seventeen

VTA

– The Vision of the City of the Pyramids.

The Reception of the Master of the Temple.
1
–

“If Knowledge weighs this much, carving daggers of eternal ice deep inside,

wouldn’t it be better to just remain ignorant?

And so we would live in immortal darkness, not wishing for anything that weren’t right there, within our reach;

and we would truly smile, happy with what little we would have.

Then why do we stubbornly look for answers that will only bring us pain;

answers that indisputably reaffirm just how insignificant and feeble our existence really is?”

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

elcome back,” he addressed me with a light bow of his head, and I frowned, reminding myself that I was still irritated by his earlier behavior.

“What the hell was that this morning?” I demanded and my question erased his smile immediately.

“Shall we go?” He didn’t even wait for an answer before walking away. I had to run to catch up with him. “On my way here, I saw a small dinner not far from here. We’ll probably be able to get something to eat there.”

“Don’t change the subject!” I insisted.

“If you really must know, I simply didn’t like him.”

“Simply didn’t like him? Are you insane? You can’t just go around hitting people without a reason, just because you don’t like them! Besides, you don’t even know him!”

“Fine. I won’t do it again,” he replied nonchalantly, making my nerves stand on end. “Does Izrail know this Michael?”

I frowned defensively at his question. What did that have to do with anything? “Sure! Why?”

“Oh, that’s OK then. Maybe he’ll give me permission to erase him once and for all.”

I felt my heart jump in panic at the idea.

“You can’t!” I almost shouted, holding him back by his arm. “You just can’t! Besides, he’ll never allow it!” My sudden panic gave way to rational thought. “He’ll never allow you to hurt Michael!”

“Oh yeah? And why’s that? If I didn’t like him, I can only imagine what Izrail thinks of him,” he replied sarcastically, and I kept my fear at bay, holding on to my recent decision to implicitly trust Gabriel’s word.

“Gabriel knows Michael very well! We’ve spent a lot of time together,” I stated as convincingly as possible and he seemed surprised.

“The three of you?”

“Yes! Plus a few of Michael’s friends. Besides, even if you were right and he were to agree with you, he wouldn’t allow you to hurt him!”

“Because of the Contract?” he asked and his dark eyes glowed coldly. “I’m not bound by any Contract. I can do as I please.”

“But you want him to get what he wants, right? And what he wants depends on this Contract. And if you hurt Michael, then this Contract will never be fulfilled. It will end up being void, or something. I don’t think he would really appreciate that.” I argued to the best of my abilities and his elongated eyes opened wide.

“This Michael ... is he the Contract? Is he your wish?” I felt my cheeks burn and looked away. “Jesus!” He muttered with a sharp gasp and fell silent for a moment. “But now everything makes sense,” he concluded and I looked up at him inquisitively. What did? To me nothing ever made any sense at all! “Are you in love with this Michael, Mari?” I walked a bit faster, trying to avoid his prying eyes. “I see ...”

“And what’s wrong with that?” I demanded, defensively.

“Nothing wrong, certainly not from your point of view,” he responded, easily keeping up with my pace. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything against your Michael. To tell you the truth, I’m not in the habit of meddling in other people’s business. I have enough problems as it is. It’s just that ... he really annoys me! And I rarely feel annoyed. Don’t judge.” He put on a crooked smile from my critical expression. “Things are not always as they seem, and you may well yet find out about that.” It sounded more like a threat than a promise. “Ah, look. It’s right there,” he said, enthusiastically, pointing to a small door on a yellow painted wall, and urged me towards it. I added a mental note to the already long list of questions I’d compiled during morning class. If he was offering questions, I wasn’t about to let that subject slide just like that.

We sat at a table for two in a small, almost empty establishment, in spite of the hour, and a middle-aged man brought us the menu. I didn’t dwindle much over its contents, too focused on what was yet to come, and chose a baked fish dish garnished with some healthy greens. Incredibly, the apparently young man sitting across me ordered three full sets, all different, just for him! The waiter seemed to think the same as he took our order, asking us if we were expecting anyone else. It clearly wasn’t the case, seeing that Alexander had made a point to ask for a table for two. As soon as we were alone, he reached for a piece of bread and started an intricate fight with a small pack of butter. I sighed before his bewildered expression as he stared at the small thing, and took it from his hands before it could become mush, opening it easily.

“Oh, one is always learning,” he noted pleasantly, making sure all the other packs had the same small corner unstuck to make it easier to open, and spread a generous layer of butter over his bread. “So, where were we this morning?” he asked, almost eagerly, and I wondered how come he was so willing to talk about things that Gabriel had always avoided and Lea hadn’t been allowed to discuss.

I pulled a notebook from under my pile of schoolbooks and opened it to the page where, during class, I’d compiled the many subjects I wanted to go through. He peered curiously at the white sheet, an eyebrow shooting up, and laughed.

“What! You said you’d give me answers!” I argued in my defense. “Well, I have a lot of questions!” He smiled, amused.

“I see. You know, Mari, I think you’re kind of interesting, after all.” My hands froze over the scribbled paper. Interesting. That was the adjective he always used.

“Interesting, me?”

“Yes, I guess. To tell you the truth, I thought you would react much worse to our sudden appearance,” he said, referring to himself and Jonathan, and I glued my eyes on my list of questions. I had reacted badly enough, I recalled, really bad. He himself had just saved me from the edge of yet another precipice just that morning. Hadn’t he noticed it?

“Reacting bad. By now I’m not even sure what it means,” I finally remarked. “Besides, I’ve been living in the same house as Gabriel for more than one month. I guess I’m at the point where I no longer know how I should react anymore.”

He laughed lightly, capturing my attention. His laughter was warm and friendly, so unlike Gabriel’s cold and sneering smiles.

“Yeah, I imagine it hasn’t been easy,” he confided. “Izrail can be difficult at times.” He sounded almost like a father talking about his misbehaved child, and I took that chance to bombard him with one of my questions.

“You said he had seven names. What are the others?” I asked and he smiled, reaching for another piece of bread. My face flushed, aware I hadn’t been subtle at all in the way I’d changed subjects, but he didn’t mention it.

“I don’t know all of them. No one does. Actually, you’re the first person I know who knows his true name, and, frustrating enough, it’s the same as if you didn’t.” He seemed to hope I would share it with him and took a bite on his butter-coated bread. “Izrail is the name everyone uses to call him within the clan. But I also heard others calling him Erebos, Enky and Skylar. I suppose it all depends on who’s calling and what that individual sees when he looks at him. I should probably also call him Skylar, as it is.”

“Why?”

“All our names have meanings. And Skylar means protector.”

“Protector?” It was hard connecting such a frightening creature like him with that word.

“That’s right. I believe that’s where we more or less were before I dropped you at school this morning. The reason why I have such a big debt with him to the point of not being able to deny him my own life, should he ask for it.” I nodded in agreement and Alexander took a deep breath, squeezing a piece of bread into a small ball between his fingers. “I gather, by our previous talk, that the cat told you about our castes?” he wondered, referring to Lea. “Well then, just shortly after I fell, becoming what you see now, I was hunted by a
Se’irim
.”

“The ones that were Humans once,” I made sure and he nodded.

“Yes.
Se’irim
can be very vicious, you see, and one of their main hobbies is hunting down recently fallen
Mazzikin
. Because those are very hard, very confusing moments, and also when we are at our weakest.”

I tried as hard as possible to accept all he was telling me without my usual attempts at escaping reality.

My eyes fell on his hands, still playing with that piece of bread, so close to mine that I couldn’t help watch in wonder. He sat so close to me and I felt fine. If I thought about it, I could feel a slight tingling at the tips of my fingers and at the base of my neck, but nothing else. What was it with standing close to Gabriel that plunged me into such mad darkness? Although a
Deiwos
, like Gabriel and Lea, the air surrounding Alexander was light, even pleasant, making me completely at ease, maybe too at ease, since I didn’t really know him and he was, after all, still a demon.

“But why?” I asked as he seemed hesitant to go on. “Why hunt you down?” His answer was postponed by our waiter’s return. The man placed four fuming and deliciously smelling plates on the table and, once more, threw a dubious sideways glance towards Alexander, probably convinced that he’d never be able to finish all of it and that half the food would end up in the garbage.

Alexander seemed to hardly notice it, rubbing his hands together as he gladly contemplated his small feast. He looked undecided for a moment, trying to choose from where to start, and pulled one of the plates closer, grinning almost like a kid. The man, still by our table, snorted in disbelief and walked away. I, too, was having a hard time believing that someone with his appearance would be able to eat all that. On the other hand, I mentally added with a bitter grin, by now I should know better than to doubt anything, when they were concerned.

I absently picked on my fish, driving some of it into my mouth, while waiting for him to go on.

“This is without a doubt one of the best things of your world,” he commented almost dreamily, a smile stretching from side to side on his face, and I looked down at his plate.

“Food?”

“Tasty food with no secondary effects,” he answered and laughed at my grimace as I tried to picture what kind of secondary effects their food could possibly have. “Well, where were we? Ah, yes, you asked why they hunt us. I guess because it’s an easy and fast way to please the
Shedim
. They are at the top of our hierarchy. They are what you Humans would call nobility.”

“Nobility.” I repeated under my breath, unable to stop myself from feeling kind of impressed. So, Gabriel was a noble?