Blood of the Pure (Gaea) (67 page)

I felt something cold, hard and icy touch my forehead and the world seemed to stop. I felt like I was falling, but I couldn’t feel the impact, whether the ground below me was hard or soft.

It looked like eternities went by me before the light returned to my eyes, showing me a world of green shades, all trembling and dancing above my head. Then it was the sound bursting into my ears in a ragged, sickening noise that distantly sounded like someone’s breath. And finally, feeling returned to my body and I wished it hadn’t, and I screamed in pain, although I hadn’t enough air in my chest to scream. Pain, pain, pain! Pain like I’d never felt burnt through my veins, through my lungs, through my heart, and I knew I was dying ... and I wished I would die! I wished I would die as soon as possible!

The sound of my name echoed from far away and the next thing I knew, the two most scared pair of dark eyes that I’d ever seen were looking down on me. There were smears of blood on his face, shinning bright red in my distorted vision, and then green was back, and I was alone, and still painfully alive.

Hands touched me and picked me up, and I screamed even more, but my mouth was too busy with gathering enough air to utter a single sound. My muscles seemed to catch on fire as my body was forced to move and then I was dizzy, and sick to my stomach, until they put me down on a much softer place.

The chaos inside became even more destructive. Besides the spasms that already cursed through my body, I began shaking again, terrified to the bottom of my being, blinking furiously as I tried to see who else was there.

One hand held mine, that kept twitching and squirming, making my fingers hurt my, and I squeezed it with all my strength, feeling it firm and cold.

“Mariane.” His velvet voice sounded bitter and hurt. And I waited for the magical effect of my name in his voice, but I still couldn’t breathe and the pain didn’t lessen at all. And, as my life slowly slipped away, all I could think of was how much I wanted to tell him I was OK. “You’ll be all right ... Rest now.” I wanted to cry for the pain in that beautiful voice, and another cold hand was placed on my forehead.

The ice from his skin magically interrupted the wave of agony that was torturing me and, although I was still trembling, the burning spasms began to fade away. Bit by bit my lungs started allowing air in and a huge wave of sleep weighed over my eyes.

I knew immediately that there was nothing I could do to resist that drowsiness, but I wanted to tell him that, just like he’d said, I was all right.

I squeezed his hand, unable to utter a single sound, and wished I could keep him there while I slept.

Chapter Twenty-Four

DEO

– The Path of Daleth. The Black Brothers.
1
–

“If I could be the light that lights your way, I wouldn’t wish for anything more of this finite passage over this lost world. And not even all the shadows I carry, nor all the thorns that torture me,

would be strong enough to pull me away from my destiny.”

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

remember coming back to life in a warm wave of pain. My whole body hurt as if I’d been a victim of some serious spanking. I groaned as I took a deep breath, and then groaned again just to make sure I’d recovered my voice.

The weight of the air around me left me immediately alert and, with some more groaning through clenched teeth and some cringing, I turned to the other side. My eyes were immediately on him, on his perfect figure, and my heart sped up in a conditioned response.

Gabriel was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall opposite my bed, keeping enough distance to spare me from all the annoying shaking and trembling. He had his knees bent, his long arms resting on them, and was staring inexpressibly at me, completely motionless and quiet.

I thought that, once more, I could’ve easily mistaken him for a white stone statue, if not for the red gleam that crossed his violet eyes, which made me considerably nervous and apprehensive. Contrary to how it might look, he was very much alive and it was with a huge amount of effort that he kept the wrath inside him under control.

I smiled weakly, since even the smallest movement sent shards of pain through my body, and breathed in making sure my voice wouldn’t fail me.

“Hey,” I whispered, although that hadn’t been my intention at all. “What are you doing there, sitting on the floor?” I asked as lightly as I could, but he didn’t move an inch, nor did he reply, making me sigh in frustration.

Clenching my teeth hard so that my face wouldn’t show another single painful expression, I pulled my quilt back and tried to sit up, angry at my shaky arms that just wouldn’t obey me. I could feel his gaze on me, following my every move, and so I focused my mind on letting him see that what had happened wasn’t really that much. Even so, I was all too aware of my weak state to even consider the possibility of being able to stand up, and so I let myself slide to the ground and looked at him with a defiant smile.

“You’re quite right. This isn’t half as bad,” I joked, even though I was shaking inside. Somehow I had the distinct feeling that this absence of reaction was a hundred times more dangerous than his explosive furies. Besides, that red gleam in his eyes made me unsure of even my own safety.

I took a deep breath, contracting the muscles in my arms to make sure that they’d obey me, and a crawled on my hands and knees towards him.

“What are you doing?”

His soft but cold voice made me stop for a moment and I took the chance to recover from what looked like an immeasurable effort. Still I couldn’t help smile.

“What does it look like?” I asked and, as he didn’t answer, I decided to crawl some more.

The tremors came back ruthlessly, making my whole body hurt even more than it already did. But, even so, I only stopped right in front of him, sitting on my heels.

“Those eyes ... are terrible,” I noted between forced inspirations. His presence, even contained, was too intense and palpably threatening. “Is that anger? Desire to kill someone?” I asked and his lips moved all so slightly, just enough to let a few words escape them.

“To shred to pieces.”

His voice sounded like an icy thin blade cutting through the air, making me sick. Because that was the true voice of his Soul.

“Me? Or her?” He was silent again, but I couldn’t help noticing how hard he was clenching his hands. “This was my choice,” I reminded him and the air around became even heavier, making it even harder to breathe.

“Get away from me, Mari.” His dark whisper brought back all the irritation I’d carefully been ignoring these last few days. There he was again! Trying to avoid me!

“Why? Are you going to tell me it’s not safe?” I provoked him and saw him slightly frown.

“I’m trying ... really hard ... to keep myself under control.”

“Isn’t that why you’re here?” I asked. I knew all too well that I should have woken in an empty room with the certainty that he was somewhere out there, looking for my attacker.

“It’s easier keeping control over myself when I’m near you,” he said and I smiled ironically.

“Are you using me as if I were one of your Seals?” I asked, knowing he wouldn’t answer. “All right then,” I agreed and crawled to his side, lying on the floor beside him. Everything remotely similar to a standing position was just too painful to keep up for long and I sighed in relief when I no longer had to try and keep my body up straight. I took a peek at him, noticing that he’d followed me with his gaze, and smiled. “If that’s how it is, I may as well stay close by, right? So that we can be sure that you won’t simply explode with half the city,” I added jokingly, although I was quite aware of just how serious the situation really was, and he took a deep breath of defeat.

I saw him release the strength with which he squeezed his hands together and, with a slow movement that seemed to take an eternity, he placed a hand over my head. The coolness of his skin reminded me of the relief I’d felt when he’d touched me before, as he made me sleep. And I noticed that his hand was slightly shaking, recalling what he’d told me about always being afraid to hurt me with his inhuman strength.

“I wish ... you would stop trembling,” he told me and, somehow, it sounded as if his tone had changed, and I immediately recognized that shadowy pain that always made me suffer as well. I placed my hand over his, his soft cold skin sending an electrical tingling up my arm, and firmly kept it trapped between my head and my hand.

Like always his touch sent my heart into a crazed race and my timpani vibrated, leaving me deaf. But still, I decided I wouldn’t let go of that hand, squeezing his long fingers as if that could stop him from noticing just how much I was shaking.

“I’m sorry.”

“When it’s my fault?” he asked and I smiled, more at ease as that crimson glow slowly diminished. “Tell me what happened.”

My smile disappeared immediately. As softly as his voice had sounded, that hadn’t been a request and I rapidly calculated all the possible consequences of telling him exactly what had happened that afternoon.

“I ... don’t really know for sure,” I answered, trying to gain some time, but, before his grave expression, I knew I had no other choice. “I got out from class earlier. She was sitting on this branch.” As I described it, I recalled that he, too, had been sitting like that the first time I’d seen him after the evocation. I watched him for a split second, trying to read his expression, but he seemed as indifferent as always, and so I went on. “I knew she was there even before I could see her. And, when I did see her, I guess I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as her. And yet, I felt exactly what I used to feel near you, with the difference I was sure she wanted me dead. Contrary to what I first thought, she didn’t find me by mistake. She was looking for me. Because, somehow, I’m on her way. I think she knows that you’re staying here because of me and she wanted to set you free.”

His hand trembled and I noticed he was struggling to keep it carefully motionless. The muscles of his jaw tensed with the effort of containing his rage.

“Her name is Telane,” he said firmly and I found myself kind of shocked as I understood he knew her personally. “It was after her and one of my Brothers that we left the last time.”

“She’s like you … a
Shedim
,” I pointed out and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

“Yes. She’s the strongest living female of our entire caste. And she is the prize that will belong to whomever wins this war. That’s why she was given the right to take part in it. As I heard it, Telane refuses to belong to a male weaker than her.”

“Then ... she wants to win?” I asked, trying to make my voice sound stronger.

“She may even want, but she certainly knows that that’s impossible. And attacking you was a fatal error!” With his last statement, the crimson glow came back to his eyes and, with my heart hammering against my chest and the air around me charged and crackling, I sat up all too quickly, which sent waves of pain through my entire body.

“I’m just a Human Being!” I reminded him, squeezing his hand with all my strength. “My life is frail and short. Dying now or in forty years doesn’t make all that much difference. Why must you step away from your path because of a stupid vengeance on something that didn’t even happen?” I asked, apprehensively, and his hand escaped from mine, leaving me with a terrible sense of emptiness. “If you must kill her, then kill her. But only because there was no other way. Because you’re at war. I don’t want you to do it for me!” He looked away and his expression seemed even more serious.

“I can’t do what you ask,” he replied coldly and I felt despair creep up on me. My presence, my existence had triggered something incontrollable and it was as if I was already losing him, as if he might disappear just like that, to never return.

“Nyx!” I called out to him, as if that single word had enough power to make him my prisoner and, without thinking, held his arm. My nails slid over his silky shirt, scratching him, and I looked for his eyes, too insecure to stay still. I watched as a small crease marked his forehead and, in the next instant, at a speed I couldn’t follow with my eyes, cold hands grabbed my shoulders, pushing me hard against the wall.

All I felt was the shock of my back against the hard cold surface, and the waves of pain that the movement sent throughout my entire body. I immediately made myself breathe, trying to keep his face in focus, feeling dizzy and queasy. I ignored the claws that were his fingers, completely covering my shoulders, and pressed my lips together to silence a painful groan.

“What the hell do you want from me!” he screamed at me, making me cringe before his fury. “And what difference does it make how I kill her? Can’t you see that there’s nothing else I can do? Because this should have never happened! Because I guaranteed that you’d be safe!” His anger and frustration made me shake. Refusing to admit that I couldn’t do it, I raised a hand and placed it on his face. The electric charge that crossed my palm made me sick to the stomach, but still I refused to move it. I responded to his sudden expression of disbelief with a smile, and parted my lips to give way to my thoughts.

“I just want you to act according to your own nature,” I murmured, “and small, insignificant feelings as revenge are way below you.” His hands lost their strength, ending up releasing me. My arm too lost the necessary strength to keep that contact, and I took a deep breath. “Nyx. I’m here, aren’t I? The past is in the past, even it’s five minutes ago.” He lowered his head, looking suddenly too tired and I went on, not wanting to lose the small control I had gained over him. “If you go into battle the way you are now, because all you want is revenge, how will you be able to control yourself? You’ll end up hurting those you do not wish to hurt. Think about Lea.” I thought I saw him shudder. Just as I’d thought Lea’s life was too precious for him to even admit the possibility of putting him in danger like that.