Mortal Obligation (9 page)

When Sophie finished speaking, quiet rang through the room. Ree's mind seemed to be moving a million miles a minute. A large jumble of half-formed thoughts were whisking through her brain. She looked at her friends to see how they were handling this story, unsure of their responses. Juliette and Bryce were looking at each other, quietly sharing some form of couple telepathy. Weylin was still looking at Sophie, his sandwich raised halfway to his mouth. He looked down at the food in his hand, gave himself a shake and took a slow bite before letting his eyes return to the woman. His expression was somewhere between doubtful and reluctant. Ree continued her surveillance of her friends and looked at Paden. How would he handle this story?

His eyes were even darker and more shadowed than they had been before. He seemed to be wrestling with something as he stared past Ree's shoulder. She wanted to go to him and ask him what he was thinking, but at the same time she was frightened of the answer. She wasn’t sure she could handle the questions he was considering. She still had too many questions of her own. How did this magic work? How had Sophie known she would have the gift, or that the others were immortal? Why had she been sent so many protectors, and would that negate the careful bargain between the gods? Were the gods watching them right this second? Waiting to see what her response would be?

Suddenly she felt like the walls were too close. Her throat was tight, like she couldn’t breathe. She was trapped. Trapped in this room, and trapped by responsibility, a responsibility that would most likely kill her.

Rushing from the bed, she threw herself at the windows and wrestled with the lock until she was able to swing the large glass pane open. The cold wet air was a welcome shock as she gulped it in greedily. She leaned against the window sill and closed her eyes.
Get a grip, Ree. Freaking out is not going to get you anywhere.
She counted to ten slowly in her head, taking deep breaths as she did. When she felt a little more like herself, she opened her eyes and turned around to the room. Everyone was staring at her. She shivered and pulled the window shut behind her.

“Sorry. I needed some fresh air,” she didn’t move away from the window after closing it. Better to be close, just in case. Sophie was watching her with a neutral expression. Her eyes were guarded, as if she was waiting for something to happen. “What? Are my eyes glowing again? That can't be good, can it? They’ve only done that when a Dark One has been near.” She looked nervously over her shoulder through the window into the dark. She shuddered, but couldn’t see anything outside.

“No, there are no Dark Ones on this island. It is a sanctuary. A safe place set up by the gods to allow you to regroup and learn. That is why I didn't just have you come to the shop.” Sophie gave her a small, embarrassed smile and shrugged. “I was waiting for you to freak out. The others either ran away or refused to talk to me for hours. Sometimes they would ignore me for days. Some of them thought we were crazy.”

Ree sniffed. “I don't suppose that helped them any, did it?”

Sophie chuckled. “No, not really. Though they did take a while to process everything and perhaps that allowed them to deal with it fully.”

It had been a really long day. Things had chased her, tried to kill her and her friends, and she found out that she was gifted with magic, of all things. Oh, and she had to fight for the survival of mankind. Now she was being called slow. “You know what? It’s been a hell of a day and I’m still tired. Yes, it is a lot to take in and process. But I think I have the main points. Now I need you to answer my questions before I go get something to eat and take another nap.” She walked over and sat on the chaise lounge with Weylin. He tore off a bit of his sandwich and handed it to her. She took a bite and chewed carefully.

“So, why don't we start with how you fit into this equation.” She knew her attitude was rude, but she was angry. She could work with angry, it was better than floundering around in despair or fear.  The fact that the model-perfect woman was looking at her in amusement only added to her irritation. She narrowed her eyes at Sophie.

“I am an immortal Guardian. Long ago I was given the task of protecting my step-sister, as you would call her today. My father remarried after a plague killed many in our village. At the time, Tria was simply my sister by marriage. After our fight was over, I was left to help pass down the knowledge to the next Alastriana, to tutor you and your protector, or protectors in your case, in how to use all of your gifts.” Sophie spoke as if she had rehearsed it many times. Despite the amusement she had just shown, her eyes now looked distant and impersonal. Ree noticed she left out a lot of information and sensed there was a lot of hurt and pain in the missing parts. Nor did any of that explain how Sophie was able to use the same magic only a human was supposed to wield. But she wasn't so cruel to fixate on something that was obviously still painful.

Instead she asked, “Speaking of protectors, why on earth do I have so many? Everyone before only had one?”

She heard the others shift in their seats, interested, but she did not take her eyes from the woman that could give her answers. “It was initially intended for you to only have one Guardian. Paden was sent to protect you, but some of the gods and goddesses noticed the Dark Ones were spreading more than had been agreed upon. The dark gods were testing the rules, killing people that should have been off-limits. They were sneakily trying to tip the scales in their favor because they thrive on the hateful emotions that grow in the Dark Ones. Things were maneuvered so you would come into contact with several different immortal lines. To be honest, after tonight’s attack I feel their decision is for the best.”

Paden spoke up from his spot near the fireplace. “Do you know what lines we are descendants of?”

Sophie nodded her head. “You each bear the mark of your patron in one form or the other. Paden, you and Weylin each have matching tattoos on your wrist. Do you know what they stand for?”

Paden pushed up his sleeve and looked at his arm. Ree knew there was a small black trident on the inside of his wrist. “Every man on my fathers’ side of the family has this mark on their wrist. It’s a family tradition to get the tattoo when you turn eighteen.”

Weylin spoke up from next to Ree. “Our grandfather told us that our family used to guard Poseidon's temple.” He looked at Sophie, a little smirk playing on his lips. “Are you trying to say that Poseidon is our great, great, great, great, grandfather?”

Sophie laughed. “Something along those lines.”

Paden looked thoughtful. Bryce was the next to ask about his patron god. “I’m pretty sure I’m not the descendant of a Greek god. Wrong skin color.”

“No, Bryce your family originates with a very wise and ancient African god. Horus of the Egyptian gods is one of the few that foresaw the need for extra protection. You wear his mark on the ring on your left hand. The Eye of Horus is said to give the wearer protection, royal power and good health.”

Bryce looked at the ring on his left hand and gave a thoughtful smile. “It was my grandmother’s ring. She said it would watch after me. The ring has been in my family for a very long time.”

Juliette looked at the ring and smiled. “Well, I don't have a ring or a tattoo, but I do have a necklace from the Japanese goddess, Amaterasu. I wear it all the time. My mother gave it to me when we moved to the States. The Sun goddess is supposed to be the patron of my family. She rules with the Emperor.”

“And that would be your patron goddess. She has long taken an interest in your family.”

“Jules, are you saying that you are related to the ruling family of Japan?” Ree raised an eyebrow in question.

Juliette shrugged her shoulders delicately. “It’s a distant relation on my mother’s side.”

“Not so distant, it would seem.” Paden looked at his friend with a smile. Juliette gave another little shrug.

Everyone turned and looked at Melanie. She looked back at them and shrugged her shoulders. She sat there for a moment while they waited and finally sighed before turning her back to them and pulling the neck of her sweater down so they could see her shoulder. There, tattooed on her right shoulder blade was a triple moon symbol- two crescents, backs touching a full circle.

She turned back and looked at them. “I just had it done last month. The symbol had been showing up everywhere. I would wake up thinking about it as if it had haunted my dreams. Plus, it reminded me of my grandmother, she’s a hedge witch you know. When I asked Grammy what it meant, she said it stood for Hecate, the crone, and that I should embrace my heritage.”

“Yes, you are the daughter of a wise, spiritual people.” Sophie turned and looked at Paden. “You, O'Reilly, are different, though. You have more than one patron god. Do you not wear the symbol of another god? Something from your mother’s side of the family?”

He looked at her for a moment and the reached into his shirt and lifted a gold chain. Dangling from the center was Brigid's cross, a Celtic symbol from his Irish heritage. “I’ve had this charm since my first birthday. My mother used to insist I wear it every day. Now I feel odd if I don’t have it with me.”

“Paden, because of Brigid’s insight, you are the first Guardian to be of mixed immortal blood. She planned long ago to have someone that would be unbelievably strong in every way possible. She wanted an ace up our sleeve.”

No one said anything at first. Instead, they all turned to look at Paden. He was leaning against the wall, his hands stuffed in his pockets.  If you were able to ignore his mouth hanging open, he seemed completely composed.

“Er,” was all Paden managed to say before crossing his arms across his chest and clamping his lips shut. Ree raised a hand to her lips to hide her smile, but Weylin was not so discreet. He pointed at Paden and gave a loud whoop of laughter, making Paden shift his feet and grumble under his breath.

“Can you imagine? Paden, the super immortal?” Weylin chuckled. Everyone else was grinning, but they were all looking at Paden with interest, while he was obviously trying to ignore the stares. Ree felt a little relieved at not being the only one that was different from the others. So far she felt like everything was based on her, dependent on her, and yet she was the one that was human. The only one that could not heal quickly, that was still fragile like a human. She looked down at her hands lying in her lap. They seemed just like hands to her. Not delicate, but certainly no super powers either. Just like the hands millions of other people used every day: farmers, artisans, lawyers, doctors, and grocery clerks. Yet
her
hands had been surrounded by green power. They had shot light at monsters and changed the lives of her friends forever.