Fruit of Misfortune (29 page)

ISIS
MARTIN

Galilea was ditching me. I slid out of the
back seat and shut the car door. I expected her to start the car
and leave, but instead, Galilea remained immobile in her seat and
stared out the front window. Then suddenly, I heard her scream at
the top of her lungs, and saw her fist crash into the driver’s side
window sending shards of glass flying into the forest. Then the
rearview mirror crashed through what was left of the windshield and
flew into the nearby tree branches. The steering wheel had the same
fate; only, it broke through the passenger side window. At last,
her fit ended and Galilea grew silent. I wanted to say I was sorry.
I wanted to comfort her and tell her it would be okay. But I knew
that it wasn’t what she’d want to hear, and frankly, I didn’t
believe anything would be okay anymore.

Galilea didn’t move for a long time. I sat on
the dew-moistened ground and leaned my back against a tree,
watching her. I couldn’t believe she had sacrificed her
relationship with Galen for me. I felt horrible. I should’ve just
kept my mouth shut like she had asked me to do. Why was I always
screwing things up?

It seemed like hours before I saw the trunk
pop open. Galilea stepped out of the car, her eyes red and
watery.

“Get your stuff,” she said. “We’re hitching a
ride.”

***

It had been six days since we’d arrived at
Galilea’s house in Bucharest. Six days since we had last heard from
the Chioses, Samuel, or Eros. Three more days, and I’d be a rabid,
carnivorous beast.

On the same night we arrived in Bucharest,
Galilea’s cousin, Olympia, showed up at Galilea’s front door.
Unlike her cousin, Olympia wasn’t very talkative. She kept to
herself and spent a lot of time in her bedroom. I found that
strange. Why would anyone visit family, and then spend days locked
up in a guest room?

Both Galilea and I had tried contacting the
Chioses, but our calls were ignored. We had missed the meeting with
the person—or people—that I was supposed to receive my answers
from. According to Galilea, the meeting had been rescheduled, and
all we could do was wait. My concern was that the monster inside of
me had no patience. I could feel it trying to take over me, pushing
me to taste what it yearned for the most—raw flesh. The hunger grew
worse with every day that passed, but I kept it under control by
eating greens. They agreed with my stomach most of the time. But my
body didn’t crave vegetables, and I ended up spewing more and more
often.

David was my other worry. I didn’t know what
had happened to him. No matter how much I begged Galilea to turn me
over to the Council to see if they were responsible for David’s
disappearance, she wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t bear it another
day.

I knew that Galilea wouldn’t be happy about
it, but at this point, I didn’t care what anyone thought. I was
going back to Athens with or without her.

The door to Galilea’s room was cracked open.
I was about to knock when I heard more than one voice coming from
the other side. I lowered my hand and turned to leave, but then I
overheard Olympia, Galilea’s cousin, raise her voice.

“I want her gone,” Olympia said.

“This is
my
house. I decide who stays
and who leaves.”

“I can’t believe you brought her, knowing I
was your guest.”

“Funny, I don’t remember inviting you.
Besides, the reason you’re here is because you found out that
Dahveed was coming.”

“You could have told me who she was six days
ago. Don’t you think it hurts to find out that he chose someone
else over me?”

“David and you happened eons ago, Olympia.
Get over it. Suck it up and move on.”

Jealousy didn’t even begin to describe what I
felt as I pictured David and the platinum blonde goddess
together.

“Oh, you mean like you pretend to do with
Galen?” said Olympia.

“You don’t know anything about my
relationship with Galen.”

“I know he’s unfaithful. Everyone knows. He’s
making a fool out of you. And he’s never going to marry you. Why
don’t you suck
that
up and move on?”

There was a short silence.

“Olympia, if you weren’t my cousin, your
teeth would be in my hand right now,” Galilea said.

“Threaten me again and I won’t care if I’m
related to you—
Cousin.
”

Suddenly, I heard a clang on the door
followed by a gasp. The gold tip of a knife had sliced through the
wood.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Olympia
hissed.

“Believe it, baby. And get your fat ass out
of my house.”

I heard footsteps approach the door. I didn’t
have time to walk away and risk being caught eavesdropping, so I
knocked. The door opened wide, and Olympia stepped out of the room.
Her blonde hair sparkled even in the shadows. Without so much as
giving me a glance, she walked past me, her hourglass figure
swaying like a mermaid in the ocean. Then, with a shimmer she
disappeared into nothing. She was gone.

Galilea, still in pajamas, stood from the bed
and pulled the knife from the back of the door.

“Morning.” Galilea walked to her bed. “Did
you get any sleep?”

“Not much.”

She picked up a book from her nightstand. I
recognized the cover—
Rockin’ the Heart
by Gracen Miller. I
would’ve never guessed Galilea was a bookworm.

“That’s a great book,” I said.

“It is. I wish I had more time to read.”

“Yeah, me, too.” I sat on the bed. “So,
Olympia didn’t look too happy. What was that all about?”

“Don’t pretend. I know you heard. I’m sorry I
didn’t tell you about her and David. I just didn’t want to add a
catfight to the list of problems we already have.” She tucked the
knife under a pillow. “I wanted—needed—to get her out of here. I
don’t know how she found out David was coming. She’s been skeptical
about the lies we told her since she arrived. She started asking
questions. Thank Deus she’s gone.”

“I’m leaving, too.”

“
What?
No, you’re not.”

“I have to. I’m going back to Athens.”

“Isis…” Galilea closed her eyes. “They hate
us. No one in that family is going to tell you anything about
David.”

“What else am I supposed to do? I don’t even
know if he’s alive.”

“Ahem.” Someone interrupted from the door.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I can’t find the coffee filters.”

“Dr. Gunn.”
What was he doing
here?

“Good morning, Isis. Nice to see you’re
still, uh…”

“Human?” I asked, and he nodded. “When did
you get here?”

“Late last night. Miss Galilea picked us up
at the bus station.”

“Who is ‘us’?” I looked at Galilea. For a
minute, I thought he might be talking about one of David’s family
members.

“I couldn’t leave my wife,” Dr. Gunn
explained. “Plans were made with Miss Galilea over the phone on the
day I visited you in Athens.”

“Have you spoken to the family since
then?”

“No. We felt it was better to stop all
communication until we were all here.” Dr. Gunn took off his
glasses and cleaned one of the lenses with his handkerchief. “If I
may ask, who is it that might not be alive?”

“David.” I felt my heart contract as I spoke
his name aloud. “The last we heard, he was missing.”

“Oh dear.” Gunn’s blinking twitch set in. “I
was afraid something like this would happen.”

Galilea and I exchanged a quick glance.

“Sharing is caring, Dr. G,” Galilea said.
“Tell us what you know.”

“Well—I might be wrong by inferring,” the
geneticist said, looking at me.

“You’re a genius,” I said. “Are your
assumptions ever wrong?”

“This time, I hope they are. Otherwise, Gio
Carboné may have already added a new piece to his collection.”

Why did his words make the hairs on the back
of my neck stand on end? I shivered.

“I think I told you this before. I know where
Carboné lives. I can help you find him.”

***

Mrs. Gunn—Eileen, as she had asked us to call
her—filled coffee cups at the breakfast table. She was one of those
women that looked classy wearing no make-up, except for red
lipstick and mascara. After introducing his wife, Dr. Gunn told us
that she had been the head of one of the labs at Johns Hopkins
University back in the States where they had met. Now, she was his
research partner, a tidbit about his work he had never told anyone.
The type of people he had become associated with in his research
was the reason he kept it a secret. It turns out Eileen was a
scientist, too. A biologist.

“This is useless!” I slammed my phone on the
table. Not one of David’s family members would answer my calls.
“I’ll find him on my own.”

“Are you crazy?” Galilea’s eyes widened. “If
Carboné’s men don’t kill you, the Turpis... No way. Uh-uh. You’re
not going. I won’t allow it.”

“You’re not my mother. I don’t have to ask
for your permission.”

“I said no.”

“I. Don’t. Care.”

“No one can find you here. They can’t find
any of us. It’s the only safe place for you, and I won’t let you
go.” She squeezed my hand. “Promise me you won’t leave, Isis.”

“This house isn’t exactly small, Galilea.”
Eileen set down her coffee. “Plus, it’s not like it’s invisible
from the top of the hill it’s sitting on.”

Galilea raised her eyebrows at me. So that’s
why Eros and my father hadn’t show up knocking on Galilea’s front
door. They couldn’t find the house, because they couldn’t see
it.

“Is that why you’re taking so long to
heal—because you’re using all your energy to keep the block up all
the time?” I asked.

Galilea nodded.

“I’m not following,” Dr. Gunn said.

“This house is a refuge,” Galilea said. “It
was built for the one I was born to protect. It’s been here for
over two thousand years. No one can find it because it’s
invisible.”

“Is that even possible?” Eileen gave her
husband a confused look, and Gunn shrugged.

“Trust me. It’s possible,” Galilea said, and
then turned her attention to me. “Does that tell you how important
it is that you don’t set a single foot outside?”

“No, not really.” I stood up. “You’ve been
talking in riddles since we met. I haven’t heard a single
explanation come out of your mouth about why you’re protecting me
or how long you’ve been spying on me.”

“I can’t tell you why I’m protecting you
because I swore an oath. You have no idea how big of a deal that
is.” She looked down at the table. “And to answer your question,
I’ve been following you since you left the States.”

I gawked at her.

“I didn’t tell you because I was afraid of
how you might react,” she said. “I needed you to trust me. And
judging by the way you’re looking at me, I know you’re having a
hard time with that right now, but just this once, do what I’m
asking.
Stay
.”

I considered Galilea’s request for a minute
because of the urgency in her voice. But the sickening angst that I
felt in my stomach when I remembered what twisted plans Carboné
might have for David wouldn’t let me give in. I couldn’t just wait
around and hope for the best, when I knew what type of sicko had
abducted him. I was irritated that his family wouldn’t answer my
persistent phone calls.

“Dr. Gunn, can you draw me a map to Carboné’s
house?” I asked.

“Jesus Christ!” Galilea slammed her hand on
the table. “What do want from me? You want me down on my knees? I’m
begging you, Isis. Please, don’t leave this house.
Please
.”

“If you can give me a reason that outweighs
David’s life, I’ll stay.” Galilea’s mouth opened, but she said
nothing. “That’s what I thought.”

***

As I packed a change of clothes and other
things into my backpack, I could hear Eileen’s voice down the
hallway. It was coming from the library where the scientists had
set up their computers.

“…her eyes.” I caught Eileen’s last words in
the sentence. “Tobias told me she was changing, but I didn’t expect
this.”

“You should learn to expect anything now that
you know about her.” Galilea paused, “Well, about us.”

“You know, to Tobias and me, this is all like
a dream come true,” Eileen said. “His hypothesis, all these years
of research—the Prodigal Project as we call it—is based on the
belief that your people and ours procreated and because of that DNA
combination, geniuses, like my husband, are the outcome.”

“Looks like you’re pretty close to finding
out the truth,” Galilea said.

“Would you be willing to tell us about your
race?” Gunn asked.

“Dr. G, if we get out of this alive, I’ll
give you whatever you want. Just keep working on a serum to slow
the change. We need time. How long does she have, anyway?”

“Three days, if my calculations are correct.
If there have been any triggers, the change may be sooner.”

“Her emotions cause her eyes to change. She
doesn’t eat or sleep. She’s irritable,” Galilea said. “Is that what
you mean by triggers?”

“Yes. Which means she may have less time than
I estimated. Though we don’t have a final serum ready, we do have a
trial narcotic that we believe may slow the change, but we’re
unsure of the dosage.”

“What happens if you don’t get the dosage
right?” Galilea asked.

“If it’s too low, nothing,” Eileen said. “But
if it’s too high, she’ll go into cardiac arrest.”

That last sentence caught my attention. I
tiptoed down the hall. Their backs were turned away from me as they
all peered at a small glass vial with a yellow liquid in it that
Eileen was holding up. She set the vial on a wooden rack. I tiptoed
my way back down the hall and to my room.

A few minutes later, I heard steps clicking
in the hallway, coming closer.

“You—” Galilea pointed at me as she walked
into the room “—don’t know how to fight. You’re clumsy and
impulsive when you’re nervous. You can’t tell a demon from your
left foot. You’ll probably get lost on the way to Carboné’s place,
and that’s if you don’t get killed on the way to Athens. And I bet
your phone’s battery is about to die. From my point of view, you
don’t stand a chance.”