“Yes, to some extent.” Dame Elisabeth stared at me for a moment and then shook her head slightly. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you remind me so much of her. It’s like going back in time.” She reached over and gently stroked my cheek. “I want to get to know you, Cassandra. I truly do. You’re meant for great things, and I want to help you achieve them.”
I was still trying to process everything when the laptop made a pinging noise, and a message popped up on the screen. Dame Elisabeth turned her attention to it. I tried to sneak a look, but the words made no sense. It was all in code.
She entered a response, but the letters changed to asterisks as she typed, hiding them from my view.
“Was that about my dad?” I asked as she finished her message. “Felipe Arroyo,” I clarified, not wanting there to be any confusion with Tobias.
“No.” Dame Elisabeth walked across the room and pulled out a gun from the small leather backpack that had been in the duffel bag. “I’m working on getting us more food and supplies.” She took the weapon to the bedroom where I could hear her opening a drawer.
Asher and I exchanged looks. We needed to talk and figure out what our next step was going to be, but that couldn’t happen with Dame Elisabeth nearby. We’d have to wait for the right moment.
Dame Elisabeth walked back into the room with a bulky square phone in her hand.
“Thought we couldn’t have phones here,” Asher said. “Isn’t that why you made me throw mine away?”
“This is a specialized satellite phone. It’s different.” She walked toward the front door. “I just need to make this call, and then we can continue our talk, Cassandra.”
She stepped outside and pointed the phone’s antenna up to the sky.
Asher closed the door and turned to face me.
“I had no idea about Tobias,” I blurted. “I would never have—”
“I know, I know.”
“He’s alive because of me. Those horrible things I saw for the future, they might have something to do with him. I let him back out into the world again.”
“You had no idea you were saving him. It was a mistake, Cassie. We’ll figure out a way to fix it once we get the spear.” The determination in Asher’s voice gave me hope. He was walking around the table, carefully inspecting each piece of electronic equipment as he spoke. “But this also changes things with Simone’s mom. I thought she’d come after you once she found out Tobias was dead, but now that he’s still alive …”
“You think it might buy us some more time?” I thought it through. “Yeah, if she thinks he’s still bound to the spear, she’ll be trying to get to him. He’s exactly the kind of person who would work with her to use the spear for their own power or wealth or—” I broke off. Simone’s mom already had more power and wealth than most of the people in the world. How could she want more? I rested my hand on one of the boxes and accidentally flipped off one of the switches.
“Careful!” Asher reached across and turned the box back on.
I stepped away and went to the window. Dame Elisabeth was pacing around the car, still talking on the phone. “Do you think the Hastati know that Tobias lost the power?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. In your vision, were there other people in the room when he died?”
I thought back to the scene I’d witnessed. Nurses and doctors clustered around Tobias. It was why I hadn’t been able to see who was in the hospital bed; I had simply felt that it was my father. “Yeah, there were.”
“Then the Hastati probably know that he lost the power.” Asher pursed his lips together. “Which means you’re in as much danger from them as ever.”
“But won’t they be focused on getting the spear? Dame Elisabeth told them who has it.”
“Yeah, sure. But they can’t take the chance that Simone’s mom might get both the spear and someone who can control it. They’ll have to hurry up and eliminate everyone with the birthmark … including you and Tobias.” He closed the drapes. “I don’t think we should stay here. As soon as Dame Elisabeth comes back in, we need to convince her that the best thing to do is go after the spear. The Hastati may have even killed Tobias by now.”
“No … I don’t think so.” I recalled one of the images of the future that had flashed in front of me while I held the spear. “Not yet anyway.”
Asher sat down on the sofa. “What do you mean?”
“When I used the spear …” I sat next to him and closed my eyes, trying to bring it all back. “The images came and went very fast.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I had asked to know when I’d see my father again. But I saw a stranger. I saw a man standing by a window, looking out at the sea, and I was walking toward him. It didn’t make sense at the time because I was expecting to see my dad. But that stranger must have been—”
“Tobias.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I guess it showed me my biological father … but he was definitely alive. I’d need to see a photograph or something of him to be sure, but if what the spear showed me really will happen, then I’ll meet him one day.”
Asher sighed. “Yeah, so we’ll definitely need Dame Elisabeth to give us some info on him.”
“I think I can get her to fill us in since—”
The door swung open, and Dame Elisabeth stormed into the cottage. Her eyes were blazing with anger.
“You!” She pointed to me. “You think you can play me for the fool?”
My mouth went dry, and I suddenly felt very vulnerable. “What?” Clearly, someone on the phone had said something about me. But what exactly had caused her to get so angry?
“Pretending to be so naïve … you almost had me believing that you knew nothing of what was happening.”
“I … uh … why would I … I mean, I have no idea …”
“Stop.” She held up her hand. “Enough of the acting.”
“Dame Elisabeth.” Asher took a step forward. “If you’ll just tell us what you are talking about, then maybe we can understand what has you so upset.”
She rolled back her shoulders, smoothed her hair, and regained her composure. The flash of anger was gone, replaced by an icy stare that sent a shiver down my spine. I was reminded that though she might be my grandmother, I barely knew this woman.
“Let me try this again,” she said, her eyes fixed on me. “I’ve just been informed that Tobias is alive … and that he’s escaped from where the Hastati were holding him.”
“Escaped?” I couldn’t believe it.
“How?” Asher asked with equal surprise. “Weren’t the Hastati guarding him?”
Dame Elisabeth’s eyes narrowed. “Someone from the outside broke him out of the facility.”
“Simone’s mother,” I muttered.
“Most likely,” Dame Elisabeth agreed. “But isn’t it interesting how neither one of you seems shocked that Tobias is actually alive, only that he escaped. It’s as if you both knew that he hadn’t died with Gregorio. Would either of you care to elaborate on how you already knew this?”
We stayed silent.
“Well, why don’t I tell you my theory?” She looked at us, lips pressed firmly together, giving us one last chance to speak. But we didn’t. “According to my sources, Tobias did die … albeit momentarily, but then, somehow, he spontaneously made a full recovery. They say it was as if something … or someone had miraculously restarted his heart.”
“But maybe he didn’t actually die,” Asher suggested. “Perhaps your source was wrong.”
“Doubtful.” Dame Elisabeth took a seat and slid the laptop to the opposite side of the kitchen table. “I believe his heart did stop and then someone changed his fate.”
I couldn’t help looking at Asher. Were we busted? Should we confess? Our plan had been to deny everything and not tell anyone that I was bound to the spear. The only problem was, if Dame Elisabeth had figured it out so quickly, then others within the Hastati would know, too. Denial no longer seemed to be a good strategy.
Dame El
isabeth leaned back in the chair, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits as she stared at me. “Cassandra, I know you must have used the spear to save Tobias. The question now becomes … what else are you willing to do?”
Silence filled the room. I could only hear my heart beating as Dame Elisabeth stared at me, waiting for a reply that I didn’t want to give.
“Well?” Dame Elisabeth raised a single eyebrow. “Don’t you have anything to say?”
I stayed quiet.
“Cassandra, possessing the power of the spear is a life-long commitment and you will need training. I can help … but don’t insult me with any more denials or lies.”
It seemed like we were busted and, truth be told, I couldn’t think of a better ally. She was an assassin-fighting, techno-savvy, Hastati-knowing grandmother who wanted to help.
With no options left, I decided to come clean. Dame Elisabeth stayed quiet as I told her everything from finding the spear in the Knights of Malta garden to misusing it while trying to save my adopted father. I only left out the part about putting the world in danger. I told her I didn’t see anything after the events I changed. It was bad enough for her to know that I had resurrected World Enemy Number One—she didn’t need to know that the granddaughter she had just met was an even bigger screwup.
Finally, when I’d finished, she stood and walked to the window. The setting sun cast an orange light on her face. “To think this all started because your mother chose to hide the spear instead of giving it to me.” She shook her head. “She was so stubborn.”
I got a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hadn’t stopped to consider my mother’s thinking in all of this. Why hadn’t she trusted Dame Elisabeth with her secret? Why had she hidden the spear, and why hadn’t she told Dame Elisabeth its location? Had I been too quick to tell so much?
Dame Elisabeth was lighting a gas lantern that hung on a hook by the door, when she glanced over at me. “Don’t look so worried, Cassandra. Just remember that the spear only allows you to control the immediate future, but in time, you’ll see how changing small events can lead to larger ramifications. We’ll work together on this. I can help you … You won’t be like Tobias.” She headed toward the kitchen with the light. “Now, why don’t the two of you start a fire while I make us some dinner? It’s dark enough outside that the smoke won’t be seen.”
I hesitated. I didn’t want the conversation with her to end. Did she really think I’d be able to learn to use the spear to make changes? What if part of my destiny was to be like Tobias? I shared his genes after all. Or had the fact that Papi raised me changed things?
I wanted … no, needed to know more about both my biological parents. It was the only way to know more about myself.
Asher seemed to sense what I was thinking. “She’s right about you not being like him. You used the spear to save someone … don’t forget that.”
“Yeah, but I knew there would be consequences and I didn’t care,” I whispered.
“Well, maybe you’re like your mom,” Asher suggested. “Or better yet, maybe you’re like yourself and it has nothing to do with where you come from.”
“But that’s part of the problem … I don’t know where I come from. The only family I grew up hearing about was my dad’s family in Cuba … and now I know that they aren’t even related to me.”
“Then go talk to her,” he said, motioning to the kitchen, where Dame Elisabeth had started cooking. “Find out. I’ll stay here and get the fire going.”
I walked to the tiny kitchen. There was barely room for one person to move around, so I hovered by the doorway. My grandmother had a pot of boiling water on the one-burner stove while she opened a package of beef Stroganoff. “Dame Elisabeth, can I ask you some questions about my mother?”
“Perhaps you should call me something else,” she said, lowering the flame on the gas stove. “Dame Elisabeth sounds a bit too formal.”
“Um … Grandmother?” I asked.
“Ugh, no. We’ll think of another name.” She poured the contents of the package into the pot and stirred. “So, you mentioned some questions … What is it you want to know?”
“Our family …” I said simply. “Who are they?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just that I grew up thinking my background was Cuban, but I guess that’s not true. So, what am I really? Do I have other relatives? What about my grandfather?”
Dame Elisabeth wiped her hands on a dishrag next to the small kitchen sink. “Our family is … I guess you would call us a bit nomadic. My parents, your great-grandparents, were Armenian and Spanish, but I was born in France, grew up in Spain, and moved to Cuba when I was in my twenties. There’s really no other family to speak of, since my parents and your grandfather died long ago.” She cut open another package of prepared food. “I raised your mother by myself in Cuba until she was …” She glanced over at me. “Well, until she was about your age, so I suppose your feeling Cuban is still pretty accurate. She considered herself more Cuban than anything else.”
“Well, I see myself as American … but I know what you mean. Why did you leave Cuba? Did you know my dad … Felipe?”
“Yes, I knew Felipe in Cuba. He was a friend of your mother’s.” She poured another beef Stroganoff dinner into the pot. “As for why I left … it was because of work. I started working with the Knights and a few other organizations that required I move to Italy.”
I leaned against the wall. “What exactly do you do for them?”
She smiled. “I’m what you might call a consultant.”
“Consulting on what?”
“Sensitive things that require a certain finesse.” She ripped a few paper towels and folded them into napkins. She handed them to me along with three forks. “But that’s not really important. What is important is that you eat something tonight so we can get started on your training tomorrow.”
I eyed the food now bubbling along with the water inside the pot. It didn’t look appetizing, but I was hungry enough not to care. “What kind of training?” I asked, envisioning her teaching me some self-defense moves.
“Mental conditioning. Here.” She grabbed a notepad. “Why don’t we start right now?” Pulling out a pen from one of the drawers, she drew what looked like a river with a small boat. “Now pay attention, Cassandra. You have to figure this out for yourself. No help from Asher. Ready?”
I nodded.
Dame Elisabeth pointed to one side of the page. “On this side of the river, you have a farmer, a wolf, a chicken, and a bag of chicken seed.” Dame Elisabeth sketched all four on the left side. “And on the opposite side of the river, there’s the farmer’s new house. The farmer needs to take the wolf, the chicken, and the seed to his place, but he can only take one item at a time across the river.” She glanced up at me to make sure I was following along. “What is the least amount of trips it will take the farmer to have everything at his new place?”
I wasn’t sure why she was asking this, but I quickly answered, “Three.”
“Really? What does he take across first?”
“He takes the seed and then—”
“No,” she interrupted. “The wolf would eat the chicken if they’re left alone. Try again.”
“Oh.” I studied the drawing a little more, catching on to the tricky part of the question. “The farmer would have to take the chicken first, because if he takes the wolf first, then the chicken would eat the bag of seeds.”
“Mm-hm.” She smiled. “Go on.”
“Then he’d have to bring over …” I scrunched my eyebrows, realizing there was an even bigger problem to the puzzle. “Wait, no matter what’s brought over, whether it’s the seed or the wolf, when the farmer goes back for the third item, something will get eaten. Either the chicken or the seed.”
“Seems like a bit of a quandary.” She turned her back to me and continued making dinner. “Give it some more thought.”
I stared at the drawing for a while, but I couldn’t find
a solution.
“Does it have an answer?” I asked, frustrated that I couldn’t figure it out.
“It certainly does. You just need to think about each future consequence and all the options. This is part of getting you ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“For what you were born to do … Using the spear to ensure that the world follows the right path.”
There was nothing I could say in response. I had used the spear once and already messed things up in a major way. I only wanted to use the spear to fix what I’d done—and that was it. I wasn’t the person she thought I was.
After dinner, and a few more brain games, Dame Elisabeth checked the coded messages on her laptop. “I need to make another call,” she announced, picking up the satellite phone. “I’ll be right back.”
The moment the door shut behind her, Asher turned to me. “Cassie, I don’t think it’s safe to stay here. We can call the number my uncle had written in his red address book. The one he told me to call in case he died.”
“But we don’t know who that might be or what they would do.” I pulled back the curtain and glanced outside. It was pitch dark, and I couldn’t see much of anything. “At least for tonight, I think this is the best place. We can figure out what to do tomorrow.”
Suddenly, a dark silhouette crossed in front of the window causing me to jump back.
The door opened, and Dame Elisabeth motioned for me to come closer. She had a scowl on her face, and her hand covered the bottom of the phone.
“Cassandra, your father is on the phone. He—”
“Papi? You got ahold of him? Is he okay? Let me talk to him.” I reached for the phone, but Dame Elisabeth pulled back.
“He’s fine, but he’s being a bit unreasonable about you being here. You have to calm him down.” She stared at me, making sure I understood. “Don’t give away anything about where we are … Someone could be listening,” she said, passing me the satellite phone. “Make him understand that it’s better this way.”
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