Chasing Xaris (10 page)

Ari had appeared at the open windows like a floating ghost.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said, “but a warning would’ve been nice.”

“Sorry.” He heaved himself over the windowsill with one arm. In his other, he held his spear. He was still wearing his formal clothes from dinner.

“So what do you know about my dad?” I asked.

“He was a good man,” Ari said.

“Did he come
here?” I asked. “Is that how you met?”

“No.” Ari gave a hard laugh. “I would never bring an outsider to this prison.”

Ari told me that he’d begun breaking Hunter rules a few year
s ago. It had begun with short hunts outside the shield, but had escalated into full-blown trips to the mainland.

“Didn’t people see you?” I asked.

“I was extremely careful,” Ari said. “Not careful enough, though. Delphi and Nick learned about my trips, and they tried to put a stop to them.” His eyes flashed with something like guilt. “They’ve kept my secret, which is also considered traitorous.”

“Have they ever come with you?” I asked.

“No, but they ask about the mainland often. I tell them how the fear of communism has ebbed, how our people could benefit greatly from your resources. There is so much world out there, and so little my people know of it.” Ari shook his head.

“Nick and Delphi never listen,” he said. “But then, I didn’t listen to them. I kept coming to shore and exploring places like the marina. That’s where I met your father. Captain Tye struck up a conversation with me and we became fast friends.” He paused. “Did you know your father wanted to boat around the world?”

I nodded. Everyone knew that. We’d taken some longer boating vacations as a family, but never that big trip.

Ari rubbed his bare foot against the tile. “I have the same dream. I have always wanted to see distant shores and meet new people.” He glanced up, measuring my reaction. “Captain Tye said I should do it
, but I told him I couldn’t. When he asked why, I explained.”

My eyes widened. That guy had broken every rule in the
Aletheian law.

“Your father was my friend,” Ari said. “I trusted him to keep my secret.”

“Well, he never told me.” And I wondered why. Hadn’t Dad trusted me?

“So what all do you know about the car accident?” I asked.

Ari’s jaw tightened.

“Can I show you something first?” he asked.

“My grandma is probably having a mental breakdown, Ari. I have to leave, like now.”

“Of course. What I want to show you is on our way, though. We must leave from the east beach, or we’ll be caught. I already have your kayak waiting for you there.”

“Oh. Okay. But then you’ll tell me everything?”

Ari nodded. His lips parted, like he wanted to say more, but then he gestured to the windows.

“This way,” he said.

“Why?”

Ari pointed to the closed bedroom door with his spear. “You are being guarded.”

“Since when?”

“Since you arrived.”

I thought of all the time I’d spent banging and screaming at the door. Someone had stood on the other side of that door, listening and doing nothing. Then I thought of the bread and oil someone had left.

“Were you ever my guard?” I asked.

“Briefly,” Ari said. He nodded toward the windows. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” I moved past him and leaned outside to survey a wooden lattice woven with jasmine vines. Their sweet perfume drifted up toward me.

Ari offered me his hand and I took it.

His skin was warmer than I expected, and so callused. I glanced up at his face, peering right into his gray eyes. They were the kind of gray that made you sad and happy at the same time.

Ari cleared his throat, and I returned my gaze to the windows. I swung my legs, one at a time, over the sill and onto the lattice.

As I climbed down, the stucco walls scraped my knuckles. Ari caught up with me quickly—even while carrying his spear. I kept glancing around as I climbed. If someone saw us, we’d be sunk. But we made it the rest of the way down, across the deserted clearing, and into a blanket of lush mangroves.

We ran on in silence, heading east, and my muscles warmed. My breathing grew steady. As the minutes passed, the trees turned to palms, then pines, oaks, and palmettos. Pathways had been cut through the leafy maze, criss-crossing at random. Thankfully, Ari
seemed to know the paths well.

“You guys only use the two beaches—the east and the west?” I asked, when he slowed our pace to a walk. “Isn’t the whole coast one big beach?”

“Yes, but the south and north beaches are much rockier. We scarcely visit those ends of the island. I stash my surfboard on the north beach—that’s where I come and go for surfing. In the south, we have our vault and our Triada.”

Ari moved a vine from our path.

“The vault?”

“It protects our misos stone underground.
My people don’t know it, but my father and Delphina’s mother wear the only keys that open it.”

“
Oh. And the Triada? Isn’t that your symbol?”

“Yes, and my ancestors used xaris to make a giant sculpture depicting it. The whole wheel is made from xaris.”

“How do you sculpt something like xaris?” I asked.

“You can cut xaris with xaris,” he replied.

“Well, it sounds incredible.”

“It is. I only wish that more people could see it.”

“What do you mean?”

“We hoard xaris like dragons guarding their gold. That doesn’t seem… right,” he said, shrugging. “The Triada is beautiful, though. I could show you.” He gave me a tentative glance. “It would take a bit longer.”

I hesitated, thinking of Gran.

“I have to get back,” I said.

Ari nodded and we walked on, with only the sounds of frogs and owls filling the silence.

“Will you get in trouble for helping me escape?” I asked him. “Will the guard at my door?”

“Your guard changes throughout the night,” Ari replied. “Blame will spread among many—no one will face punishment. And we still find xaris in the jungle often enough. Everyone will assume that’s how you left.”

“So you won’t face a trial or anything?”

Ari smiled faintly. “No. The only people who will know the truth are Delphi and Nick.”

“You’ll tell them?”

“I won’t need to. The three of us always meet up after dinner. They’ll come looking for me even though I claimed to be unwell.” Ari shook his head. “Delphi can be persistent.”

I heard the fondness in his voice and was glad for Delphina. But Ari didn’t say anything more about her as he led me deeper into the jungle. He used his spear to beat back palmetto bushes, and I wondered what he wanted to show me all the way out here. It was pretty and all, but I was officially ready to talk about
the hit-and-run.

He turned off one path and onto another. Here, the palmetto brush grew less dense. Then the brush disappeared completely, revealing a rectangular clearing. Rows upon rows of trees, at least thirty feet tall, stretched across the opening. Their silvery green leaves shimmered and swayed in the moonlight, reminding me of bells at Christmas.

Ari walked to one of the trees and pointed to the lowest branch, maybe eight feet tall.

“Do you recognize the fruit?” he asked.

I joined him and peered up. Hidden among the lush branches were a few black bulbs.

“Olives?” I asked

Ari nodded. “My ancestors brought young trees with them from Greece to begin this orchard. They wanted to carry some of their heritage with them. You just missed our harvest.”

“It’s beautiful,” I said, gazing up at the canopy of leaves.

“It’s my favorite place on our island.”

“I can see why.”

The orchard was all blues and silvers and greens. It felt like the ocean in some ways, only more contained.

“You would love our orange grove as well,” Ari said.

“I saw it when I first arrived,” I said.

Ari raised an eyebrow.

“Delphina led us through it,” I explained.

“Ah.” Ari stared at the silver prongs of his spear. “It really is fortunate that
Delphi found you first. Things could have gone very differently if she hadn’t.”

“I’m sorry about all that. I had no idea that my coming here could, like, hurt you.”

Ari studied me with his usual intensity. “How did you manage it?”

“Manage what?”

“Coming here.”

“
Lots of searching and then… it just sort of worked out.”

Ari laughed
quietly. “Do you conquer everything you attempt?”

“No,” I said. My chest throbbed, just to spite me, and I stared at the rows of trees ahead. They suddenly felt like fences, trapping me between them.

“That wasn’t a fair question,” Ari said quietly.

“It’s a fine question.” I exhaled slowly. “Your island really is beautiful.”

“Thank you, but I’m afraid it’s lost much of its beauty in my eyes.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m trapped here. I must feed my people every day. They don’t care what I think, only how much I can kill. Every day, I must hunt—it never ends.” He paused, his face bright in the moonlight. “Do you realize how lucky you are?”

“What do you mean?”

“You are not bound. You could go anywhere, do anything.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “I’m just as trapped as you are.” My hands reached out to touch the nearest tree. The bark was gnarled and rough. I followed its intricate pattern upward, to the silver leaves swaying in the wind. I wanted so badly to pluck them from their branches and let them soar away.

“They’re good grandparents,” I said, surprised to hear the words aloud. “It’s just… It didn’t seem possible to keep living after the accident. So, I don’t know, I sort of went on auto-pilot.”

Ari nodded for me to go on. The hard lines of his face had softened.

“I’ve been remembering a ton lately,” I said. “Like, I keep thinking about when Mom made a surf rack for my birthday. She rocked at carpentry. Mom would get this look when she sat at her work bench, and you knew she was doing what she was meant to. It was so… beautiful.” I whispered the last word.

My chest was aching, but I could picture Mom at her work bench, smiling to herself. I had forgotten all about that smile.

I looked at Ari, wanting to thank him for what I’d recovered, wanting to ask about his mom. But he was stepping away from me.

“Chandler, it’s time we talk,” he said.

“About the accident?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, and the lines around his eyes deepened. He suddenly looked so much older. “It’s my fault your parents are dead.”

“
W

HAT
are you talking about?” I asked.

Ari took another step away from me.

“After I told your father the truth about who I am, two men approached him at the marina,” he said. “They had discovered his friendship with me, and they offered him a lot of money if he would help them capture me. They threatened to harm him if he refused.”

He paused.

“Go on,” I said automatically. My voice sounded so weird, and my skin felt so hot.

“Your father refused anyway,” Ari said. “I met him only once after that and he told me everything. He even pointed out the men. I recognized them—they were treasure hunters who’d learned about my people somehow. They wanted our misos stone.” Ari’s eyes flashed. “They’d approached me at the marina a couple of times, kept calling me a ‘cherished one.’ They’d even tried following me to the island a few times.”

He met my gaze, his eyes red. “I don’t know their names, or anything else about them, but I’d bet my life those men were behind the car accident.”

I nodded, but the movement seemed to hurt my neck.

“I have spent the last two years wishing I could have protected your parents,” Ari said. “I tried finding the men, but I couldn’t. I made a vow to protect you instead. I owe Captain Tye that much.”

That’s why Ari surfed Laney Pier. Out of a sick sense of guilt.

“I’m sorry, Chandler. Truly I am,” Ari said softly. He held out his free hand, palm up. “I know you are upset with me—”

“Upset?” I asked. My ears rang. “My mom and dad are dead, Ari. They’ll never see me graduate or move me into a dorm room or meet my husband one day…”

I could vomit. I really could. I just needed to walk. Away from Ari.

I forced my feet forward, toward the end of the row where the orchard gave way to jungle.

“Chandler, wait.” Ari jogged alongside me. “There’s nothing I could have done.”

“You could have helped him.” I slapped aside palm branches. “You left them all alone and look what happened.”

“I kept away for their protection,” Ari said. “I’d brought your father nothing but trouble.
Chandler, wait.” He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to a stop.

I fought to pry his fingers free, but they gripped my arm like talons.

“Let go, murderer,” I whispered.

Ari’s face convulsed. He released my arm and staggered back.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. Our ragged breaths filled in the silence.

My face felt hot, then cold. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t believe what Ari was telling me.

“It’s time you leave,” Ari said.

“Yeah. It so is,” I said.

Ari turned his back to me and I followed him down another path. Staring at his back, at the guy who’d ruined everything. Humid air clung to my skin, my clothes. Walking took so much effort. But I wanted off this island—I had to keep moving.

At one point, I saw flashes of an old manor between pine trees. The great house was almost identical to the Galanis House, only smaller in size and with limestone walls. It had to be the Chronis House that Delphina had told me about. Ari didn’t offer any explanation, and I
wasn’t about to ask him about it.

We hurried along, getting closer and closer to the red wall
in the distance. Soon the jungle gave way to pale beach. Two kayaks waited for us near the water. One was Grandpa’s.

Ari set his spear down and knelt beside the kayaks. He fastened Grandpa’s behind his with rope and gestured for me to sit in the front of his.

As I sat, Ari settled onto the back seat. “We’ll have to turn when we get closer to the shield,” he said, pointing to his tattoo. “I must go through the shield first.”

“Fine,” I said. He should have just let me sit in the back to start with.

Ari pushed us away from the beach, and we paddled forward in silence. My arms moved. My shoulders worked. But my mind stayed so hazy.

The red wall
loomed only yards ahead of us. Ari turned the boats with a mighty heave of his paddle. Soon pressure barreled into my chest, then released me on the other side. I blinked. The island had completely disappeared.

I felt a faint sense of loss, but I quickly pushed it away.
There was nothing for me there. Ari turned the boats back around, and I plunged my paddle into the water, focusing on the blanket of dark water ahead of me.

In time, my muscles began to sting. Sweat and surf whet my skin. But I kept moving, kept paddling away from Ari’s island and toward Laney Pier.

I had a sudden urge to see Jordan. I wanted him to give me one of his giant hugs and hold me until I finally felt normal again. But that would never work. His touch only made my chest hurt.

I forced my thoughts on Gran. That’s who I needed to think about it. I’d have to console her and explain why I had stayed out so late. But I’d tell her something that didn’t leak the
Aletheians’ secret. Dad wouldn’t want that. Then I’d dive back into my investigation. My parents’ killers walked around freely—that’s why my chest still ached.

“Chandler,” Ari said.

I stared at the familiar pier jutting out towards us in the moonlight.

“Will you be careful?” Ari said. “Your father wouldn’t want you to do anything foolish.”

I stiffened. “I can paddle the rest of the way alone.” I just needed to climb into Grandpa’s kayak. But that would mean facing Ari.

I took a slow breath and forced myself to turn.

Ari averted his gaze. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a gold locket. He opened it to reveal a black-and-white picture of a woman with full lips and dark eyes.

She looked familiar somehow.

Ari pulled back the picture, revealing xaris tucked behind it, then righted the picture.

“In case you need my help again,” Ari said. He dropped the locket in my hand, careful not to touch my skin.

The gold felt cold against my palm. I opened the locket and pulled back the picture. Xaris glittered back at me.

I felt a rush of heat and dumped the xaris overboard. But it wouldn’t sink. The speck of blue floated toward me.

“Chandler!” Ari exclaimed. He scooped the xaris up in his hand.

“I don’t want it, Ari,” I said. “I won’t use it. I never—”

Ari raised a hand. “I know. But in case you do.” He took the locket from me, replaced the
xaris
inside, and handed it back to me. “Don’t use
xaris
unless the alternative is death. As you know, my people would consider you a trespasser.”

I studied the antique locket. It felt heavy with secrets and I was so over that. I thought about hurling the locket into the
water in some dramatic gesture, but I still had one final secret to uncover. I’d wear the necklace until I did.

As I draped it around my neck, I met Ari’s enigmatic stare. His face was cold and guarded—completely void of the emotions he’d shown me on the island.

He leaned to the side, and I climbed past him, into Grandpa’s kayak.

“
Yia sou
, Chandler,” he said, unfastening the rope holding our boats together.

I knew he was saying a final goodbye.

I gave him a quick nod, then pushed off his boat. My body hummed with energy as I paddled. Each stroke meant more distance from Ari.

When
I reached shallow water, I dragged the kayak ashore and looked back at the water.

Ari was out there, bobbing in his kayak. I could still feel his gaze coating my skin like the salty air. I raised a hand in goodbye, then turned away from the water. I never wanted to see him again.

I lugged the kayak and paddle up the beach, focusing on my steps, knowing that each one brought me closer to my grandparents’ house.

I debated how to explain my late arrival to Gran. I needed to keep it simple and believable. I paused, setting down the kayak and turning on my phone. I ignored the endless missed texts and calls and searched movie times at the theatre in
Hollywood, a city just south of us. Winnie and I had gone to a late movie there before.

Sure enough, tons of movies came up with show times after ten o’clock. I picked the popular suspense movie, the one Winnie had already dragged me to, and memorized its time. Then I grabbed the kayak and hurried the rest of the way.

The fort loomed at the end of Laney Drive, separated and surrounded by its leafy wall. I neared the driveway and saw the lights above the garage door were out—which had been happening a ton lately. Two cars were parked in the driveway. I didn’t recognize the white Buick, but I knew the VW Beetle on the street belonged to Winnie.

My face grew hot. Gran must have freaked out big-time and called Winnie. I wondered who else she had called. The cops?

For a moment, I just stood there, breathing in the salty air. I could do this. I just needed to stash the kayak and head inside. I forced myself to move along the fence, back to the shed. I kept glancing over my shoulder, but no one was coming for me. Still, my hands trembled as I hung the kayak and paddle on their hooks. I went to Mom’s old bike, rubbed all the dust off of it, and then circled around to the front.

This was it. I stared at the gray front door, squared my shoulders, and then walked through the threshold. Gran and a woman with coiffed auburn hair sat on the couch in the living room. I recognized the woman as
Edie Dickenson, Gran’s friend. Winnie sat opposite them on one of the oversized leather chairs.

“Chandler!” Winnie jumped to her feet and raced to me. She flung her arms around my neck. “What happened? Are you all right?”

I nodded my reply—she was squeezing too tightly for me to answer.

Gran reached me in seconds. She brushed Winnie aside and pulled me into a hard hug, shaking silently.

“I’m really sorry, Gran,” I said, wishing I could erase every minute of her worry.

For a long time, Gran clung to me without speaking. She hardly seemed to breathe. Then, she exhaled deeply and pulled away. Her eyes were all swollen and red.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I went to the beach,” I said.

“Why didn’t you take your surfboard?” Gran asked.
             

“I just wanted to sunbathe,” I said.

“You hate sunbathing,” Winnie said.

“Not always,” I said.

“But we looked for you on the beach,” Gran said.

She gestured to
Edie, who was walking towards us, and I pictured a search party of elderly women combing the beach for me. My lips twitched, and I had the most inappropriate urge to laugh. It wasn’t funny, though. I knew that.

“We couldn’t find you,”
Edie said, in her soft Southern drawl.

“I went way up shore,” I said.

“But why didn’t you answer your phone?” Gran asked. “Why didn’t you come home for dinner?”

“I forgot to charge my phone last night, so it died super early. And I grabbed some food at the crab shack after the beach.” My gaze darted to Winnie and
Edie. Were they buying it? That would help Gran come around.

“I meant to come home after dinner—I totally did,” I said. “But I decided to catch a late movie at that theatre in
Hollywood.”

“Your car was here,” Gran said flatly.

“I biked there,” I said.

“Your bike was here.”

“I took Mom’s old bike this morning,” I said.

Gran frowned, but she didn’t reply. She never went into that shed.

“I meant to text you at the theatre, but then I remembered that my phone was dead,” I added.

“Why didn’t you borrow someone’s phone?” Gran asked.

“I should have,” I said. “I so should have. I wasn’t thinking.”

“No. You weren’t.” Gran crossed her arms. “It’s after midnight,
Chandler. I called the police hours ago. An officer came out to the house and asked me all sorts of questions.”

“I’m sorry, Gran,” I said.

“Your grandfather was going to cut his trip short and come home first thing tomorrow morning. He’s worried sick.”

“I’m sorry, Gran. So, so sorry.”

She sighed and waved her hand. “I have to call the police and your grandfather. We’ll talk more later.” She turned sharply and strode toward the kitchen with Edie trailing after her.

I watched them leave and wondered how I’d ever fix this. Gran was furious with me. She had every right to be.

Winnie took me by the arm and led me over to the couch in the living room. Three empty mugs sat on the coffee table, evidence of all the waiting.

I sank onto the couch and pulled my knees up to my chest. “Thanks for coming over and staying with Gran.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Winnie sat down beside me. “What movie did you see?”

“
Seven Lives
.”

“You hated that movie.”