Chasing Xaris (8 page)

I wanted to tell them the truth, the whole story. But Ari was still watching me with that intense look.

“Yes,” I said.

“Of course it is.” Delphina marched to the edge of the platform. “Come here, girl.” She waved me toward the platform with her spear.

I glanced at Ari, who had decided to ignore me again. Fantastic.

With a shaky breath, I uncrossed my arms and climbed the stairs to the warrioress.

Delphina lifted my hands, pretending to assess me. “She doesn’t look very dangerous to me, Mother.”

In the crowd some of the younger Aletheians laughed quietly.

“Do you have any plans to start a civil war, Chandler Bloom?” Delphina asked.

“Of course not. I know how messed up the Civil War was for America, so yeah, I’m really anti-civil wars.”

Several people in the crowd had stopped scowling at me. People murmured, pointing up at me.

“How did you come to possess our xaris?” Delphina asked.

“I found it on Santiago’s journal,” I said.

The crowd suddenly hushed.

“
Parabatis
,” someone shouted. Others joined in.

Delphina banged her spear, undaunted. “How did you come by this journal?” she asked.

“My teacher is a local historian,” I said. “He had the journal, and the xaris was on its cover.”

“And how did your teacher come by the journal?”

“Someone mailed it to his college. He was a professor at the time.”

“She lies!” someone shouted from the crowd. Others joined in, banging their spears and yelling up at me.

My pulse hammered.

“We must have order,” Prytanis said, banging his spear. “She may be lying, but we must have order so we can try her according to our
nomos
.”

“Let us remember that a missing xaris has been found,” Helena said. “That is cause for great joy.”

“And Chandler is the one who so graciously returned it to us,” Delphina said. “She is a hero. We must welcome her warmly. We are Greeks—a generous and hospitable people.”

“
Ne
,” Helena said with a nod. “That’s true.”

“The abuse of those qualities led us straight into war,” Prytanis said, banging his spear. “We should judge her
now by our
nomos
.”

“But what crime has she committed?” Ari asked. “Other foreigners may have betrayed us, but she has not. Are we going to judge this girl for the crimes of others?”

He paused, letting his words waft above the crowd. People, young and old, began shifting their attention to him. Their eyes shone with admiration.

I realized Ari was like a prince to the
Aletheians. A very popular prince.

Delphina, however, was scowling at him, which made no sense. Weren’t they both trying to save my life?

“We should vote,” Delphina said.

Prytanis and Helena shared a glance and nodded.

Prytanis
raised his hand. “Those in favor of the death of Chandler Bloom?” he asked.

I

N
the crowd only a handful of people lifted their hands. Each of them had gray hair and weary eyes. They murmured and gestured toward me.

“You may lower your hands,” Prytanis said.

“And those in favor of the life of Chandler Bloom?” Helena asked, raising her spear.

Ari’s hand flew into the air. Everyone on the platform, besides Prytanis, followed Ari’s lead. Nearly every hand in the crowd rose, too.

I exhaled slowly and realized I’d been holding my breath.

“You may lower your hands,” Helena said. She sighed deeply. “She lives.”

The crowd erupted in murmurs and a few cheers.

“A grave mistake,” Prytanis said, staring at his son.

Delphina turned fully to me and, with a flick of her eyes, assessed me from head to toe. “Come with me. I will give you a room in my suite.”

As I followed her down the stairs, I glanced over my shoulder at Ari. He was actually looking at me, but his expression was as stony as ever.

I considered calling out to him. But Ari had kept our history a secret for some reason, and I felt a sense of loyalty to him.

Delphina’s firm hand led me through the loud hall and into the tiled corridor.

“How long can I stay here?” I asked. I couldn’t leave until I had talked with Ari.

“Indefinitely,” she said, without slowing her pace. “Foreigners can’t return to their old lives once they’re here—they might reveal our secret.”

“Wait, what?”

She looked over her shoulder and scowled. “This is your home now,” she said.

“But…” I already had a home. At least I did. Once.

Thoughts of packing my old room flashed across my mind. Each time I had dropped something into a box, I had felt like I was leaving another hundred somethings behind. I couldn’t pack the yellow walls Dad had painted or the scratch on the door from Mom’s hammer.

For a moment, I let myself imagine a life on
Aletheia Island. Away from the familiar streets, restaurants, beaches, and everything else I had shared with my parents. But that wouldn’t work. No, the ache in my chest wouldn’t go away until I had finished this thing.

Once Ari spilled the truth—all of it—I’d to return to Fort Lauderdale, to Jordan and Winnie, to Grandpa and Gran. They were the only sort-of home I had right now.

Gran.

I hadn’t even thought about her until now. What if she’d tried to text me? She’d get worried when I didn’t respond. And then more and more worried.

I had to get home before she completely lost it. Which meant I had to get my hands on some xaris and make it to the shield. Maybe Ari would help me escape. Judging from his chilly greeting, he’d be thrilled to get rid of me. The only person who was angrier than him about my presence here was his oh-so-delightful father.

“Why did Prytanis want to kill me?” I asked. “He must seriously hate foreigners.”

“Most of us have foreigners somewhere in our family line, even Prytanis,” Delphina replied, “Prytanis’s grandmother was actually a foreigner.”

She
led us to a giant wooden staircase with shiny banisters. This must have been the main staircase—it wasn’t hidden at the back of the mansion like the stairs we’d taken earlier that day.

“So why the whole ‘death to Chandler’ obsession?” I asked as we climbed.

Delphina slowed her pace and lowered her voice. “Prytanis feels responsible for the wars. So does my father. When our people settled on this island they chose to act as a democracy—the way of our ancestors.

“But then the Chronis and Galanis families each wanted to rule as a monarchy. For nearly fifty years our island was divided in two, each family ruling half the island. Our people knew nothing but bloodshed.” Her voice wavered, and I knew she’d lost someone in the wars. Her father? A sibling? I hadn’t seen either on the podium with her and her mother. And Ari’s mother had been absent, too. Had he lost her?

“It may have been foreigners who influenced the wars,” Delphina continued, “but the Chronis and Galanis families are ultimately to blame. Our people haven’t forgotten. Prytanis and my mother know this.”

Delphina resumed her normal pace, and when we reached the third floor, she led me down a hallway to an open door.

“Through here,” she said.

This time, I waited until she entered the room first before stepping through the threshold.
Wow. Gorgeous turquoise mosaics decorated the walls. Lemon- and lime-colored furniture dotted the room. Filmy white curtains fluttered in the wind, framing open windows. Bowls of shells and sea glass hung from the vaulted ceiling, like floating ocean bouquets.

I brushed my fingers against the feather-thin curtains. “How do you guys have all this stuff?” I asked.

“Our people once traveled to the mainland often,” Delphina said. “They sold fish in return for goods. Of course, that has changed.”

“Why?”

“There was an era of great suspicion in your country. Everyone suspected everyone of supporting communism. It became much harder for us to come and go unnoticed.”

She raised her chin slightly. “We’ve been self-sufficient for nearly sixty years now. Hunters aren’t allowed to even be seen by foreigners, much less talk to them. Any
Aletheian who betrayed our secret would be considered a traitor. We’d execute them.”

I swallowed. So that’s why Delphina had looked so afraid when I’d first mentioned Ari.

“This way to your room.” She turned abruptly, waving her hand for me to follow.

I hesitated. “Um, do you guys have bathrooms? I sort of have to, um, use a toilet.”

Delphina smiled. She actually smiled.

“Through there,” she pointed to a door along the wall to my right.

“Thanks,” I said, and headed to the door.

Inside, I found a beautifully tiled bathroom, complete with a regular toilet. Which surprised me. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting… a chamber pot maybe?

When I returned, Delphina led me across the suite to an attached room with turquoise walls and white drapes. A wooden bed, table, and wardrobe in the corner served as the furniture. Each was painted a soft shade of yellow, reminding me of the sun after a midsummer rain.

I walked to the open window. Through the translucent wall of red, I could see the outline of the coast in the distance. I pictured
Jordan standing on that coast, waiting for me to come home. It was dramatic and totally a scene Winnie would include in one of her stories.

“Chandler, what do you know of Santiago’s journal?” Delphina asked.

“Just what my teacher told me,” I said, turning. “It was mailed to his university. Why? What’s the deal with it?”

“The Santiago family reported it stolen three years ago,” Delphina said. “They also admitted to hiding xaris on the journal’s cover—which is against our law.”

“Why is that illegal?”

“Xaris is strictly monitored. Each hunter has xaris, but the rest is locked away for the island’s protection. But the Santiagos broke our law and kept xaris for themselves as a family heirloom. They hid it on the journal, which was never recovered. From what you say, one of our own must have gone to the mainland…”

“And mailed the journal somehow,” I finished.

“There are other possibilities,” Delphina said.

“Like what?”

Delphina shrugged. “I’ll let you rest. I’ll return with your wardrobe this evening before dinner.” She strode to the bedroom door and turned. “Are you hungry? You slept through lunch.”

“Not really,” I said. “Thanks for the bread earlier.”

Delphina’s lips twitched. “I am not the one to thank for that kindness.
Yia sou
.” She shut the door behind her, a little more loudly than necessary.

After waiting a whole five seconds, I tiptoed across the room and put my ear to the door to hear if anyone was in the common room. I needed to get out of here and find Ari so we could talk.

“How long have you known this girl?” Delphina’s hushed voice was asking.

“I barely know her, Delphi,” Ari’s voice answered. “We have talked once or twice at the pier when I’m surfing.”

“How did she know where to find us?” Delphina asked. “Did you tell her?”

“No,” Ari said. “I’ve already told you that.”

“Why is she here?”

“I don’t know. She’s a fool for coming.”

My fingers tightened on the doorknob. I wouldn’t have had to come here if he hadn’t abandoned me on the beach. And we’d talked way more often than he was letting on. What was his relationship with this girl? He might be her boyfriend—they were clearly close.

“Fool or no fool,” Delphina said, “you were adamant that we defend her. Why?”

“Because he isn’t scared of foreigners like our father,” a third voice said. Ari’s brother, probably.

“I shouldn’t have disagreed with Father,” Ari said. “He is probably furious with me.”

“He definitely is,” Ari’s brother said. “Well done. It’s nice to see someone other than me disappoint him.”

“Thank you for your heartfelt concern, Nick,” Ari said.

“Well. I’m concerned about the foreign girl,” Delphina said. “I knew nothing good would come from your little surfing trips. Why did that girl come looking for you?”

“I don’t know, Delphi. I already told you that I think she’s a fool for coming. Only a fool—”

Enough. I couldn’t listen to Ari another second.

I flung open the door. “Maybe this fool didn’t realize she’d be a prisoner. Ever think of that?”

Ari’s eyes were wide with surprise. “Hello, Chandler,” he said, in his usual solemn voice.

“I like her already,” Nikandros said to Delphina. He strode forward and extended his large hand. “I am Nikandros son of Prytanis. I gladly welcome you to our island.”

I took his hand, marveling at how much he looked like Ari. Same gray eyes and bronze skin. Same wheel tattoo beside his left eye. Like Ari and Delphina, he wasn’t holding a spear at the moment.

“Nice to meet you, Nikandros,” I said. “I think you’re the only one on this island who’s glad I’m here.” I glanced at Ari
before striding back into my room and shutting the door behind me.

Seconds later, I heard a knock on the door.

“May I come in, Chandler?” Ari asked.

I frowned.
Of course I had to let him in. I didn’t have time to let him dangle.

“Yes,” I said, backing away from the door.

Ari stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He stood with his back against the door, as far away from me as possible.

“I shouldn’t have called you a fool. I’m truly sorry,” he said. His eyes were open and
unguarded. I had never seen him like that before.

“If you’d just been honest with me from the start, I never would have come,” I said.

“I know.” His fingers sifted through his black hair. “I spent my whole life dreaming of a life off this island. Then I look at you, the girl who will attack any swell, and it seems like such a waste that you would choose this. That is why I called you a fool.”

“I didn’t choose this, Ari. I didn’t know I’d be a prisoner once I came.
Santiago’s journal failed to prepare me for that little complication. I just wanted to talk to you.”

Ari nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you a proper welcome when you arrived. If the others had discovered we knew each other, it would have meant death for both of us.”

“I still don’t get that.”

“I know, but there isn’t time for me to explain now. Meet me after dinner, here. We can talk and I will help you return home.”
             

I shook my head. “Ari, I can’t stay until dinner. I have a grandmother who is crazy prone to worry. I have to be home soon or she’ll freak out.”

“I’m sorry, Chandler, but I can’t manage your escape in broad daylight. You must wait.”

I wanted to argue with him but I saw the logic in his words.

“Then you’ll tell me the truth?” I asked.

“I will tell you everything I know.”

~~~

That evening, Delphina tossed an array of dresses onto my bed. Although the
fabrics seemed old, the dresses were gorgeous. They had billowy, ankle-length skirts.

She held up a purple dress with black lace trim. “How about this one?”

“It’s fine. Thanks.” I took the dress from Delphina’s stiff fingers, avoiding her scowl.

The girl was clearly threatened by me, which probably made her Ari’s girlfriend or hopeful girlfriend. She obviously thought I came here for Ari. Which was true. Just not in the way she thought.

“Ari has invited you to sit with us tonight,” Delphina said. Her brown eyes searched mine. Fiercely.

“Sounds good,” I said, keeping my voice even. If Ari and I were at the same table, we might be able to talk at dinner. Maybe I could even convince him to leave early and help me get home before Gran personally mobilized a SWAT team.