Men of the Cave (Symbol of Hope Series)

by Burgess, Marisette

  “I think Max talked him out of it. If Dion stared at you at first, it is because he could not wait to meet you. He was nervous driving you that first time,” Antony said, amused.

  When Dion returned I gave him a great big smile. He eyed his brothers suspiciously. He looked at me funny.

  “Do not believe anything they said.”

  We laughed.

  The French pastries and cappuccinos were the best ever. We ate breakfast, then Dion took me back home. I didn’t want him to walk me inside. I thought it might cause a scandal in the Castillo household. Last time I showed up early in the morning with Dion, Beatriz lectured me on the ways a good woman should act. Her methods worked and the Catholic guilt established itself. I didn’t think I did anything wrong, but Deia being a small town, the gossip is everywhere. The Castillo’s were a good family, and I didn’t want anyone to shame their name because of me. The situation this morning appeared worse than the other night. It was after breakfast, I was not in last night, and I was wearing Dion’s clothes. The first to greet me were Rodrigo and Garcia.

  “Buenos dias Kasey,” they both said.

  “Hi,” I replied, and dashed for the kitchen door.

  “You went running early,” Garcia mentioned, before I could escape the room.

  “Are you not cold in that tee-shirt?” Rodrigo noticed that I came in without a sweater, my arms crossed over my chest.

  “Um…I ran hard, so I get hot easily,” I lied and darted past them into the kitchen.

  I jumped as I came face to face with Catalina cutting some vegetables. The minute she saw me the knife in her hand stopped. She tried to contain a smile.

  “Did you spend the night at Dion’s?” I hated her bluntness, an attribute we shared.

  “We didn’t do anything, we just slept,” I blurted out unsure why I explained myself to her.

  Her jaw dropped. “I am not surprised you would do something like that, but I am shocked Dion allowed it.”

  Her piercing comment crawled under my skin. As if I corrupted Dion or something. I went up the stairs, Fernando and Beatriz sat in the living room drinking their morning coffee. Our eyes met, and I no longer could breathe. Fernando’s face tightened with a stern expression. I blushed. Beatriz looked like she failed.

  “Buenos dias Kasey,” Fernando said.

  “Buenos dias,” I replied stiff as a totem pole.

  “Kasey, come in here please,” Beatriz said.

  I exhaled, walked into the room, and sat down in front of them.

  “Kasey,” Beatriz continued, “I know you come from a different world than us.”

  Oh, God she was giving me another lecture. Foreign to this type of parenting, I didn’t know what to expect. Testing my limitations once, I ran off for an entire weekend with Teal. My parent’s only comment was, “Did you have fun?”

  I am eighteen now, for goodness sakes, why did I feel ashamed?

  Beatriz continued, “Fernando and I are aware of our cultural differences and we want to respect your way of life, but at the same time we need to think about our way of life here.” She looked at Fernando for help.

  “We are not going to tell you what to do. We are asking that you keep a respectful mind of our ways and customs. Do you understand?” He asked, stressing his point.

  “Clearly, señor. I’m sorry if I have…”

  “Please, Kasey, you do not have to apologize. We understand you are who you are. That is okay, because very soon you will go back to America, and you are not our daughter.” Beatriz spoke in a gentle way.

  “I can’t thank you enough for all you do for me and I promise I will not disrespect you guys again.” I went straight for my room. I felt awful. For once in my life I was thankful that my parents didn’t ever care what I did. This guilty feeling of letting the Castillo’s down caused absolute misery.

  ******

  Without any rhyme or reason to why I felt the way I did, I took a break from Dion and decided to spend my time with the family. For two days I helped preparing food and working at the restaurant. My phone vibrated in my pocket, as I stuffed octopuses. With my pinky fingers being the only ones clean, I reached in and pulled it out.

  “Hi Dion,” I said flustered by the phone ordeal.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yes, I’m stuffing octopuses.”

  “Sounds like fun. Are you still under your own grounding or can I see you today?” He asked. I suspected he’d want to see me today, the winter solstice occurred tonight.

  “I wasn’t grounded. I thought I should spend some time with the Castillo’s.” I defended.

  “Uh-huh. Would one hour be alright?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’ll make sure I’m available.” I hung up the phone.

  I finished the octopuses, and went upstairs to get rid of the fishy smell off. Accustomed to Dion’s punctuality, when he said an hour, he meant exactly on the hour. I was in the bathroom scrubbing my arms as hard as I could with soap when he knocked on my door. Somehow, his hours seem a lot shorter than mine do.

  “Come in!” I yelled. Patting my arms with a towel, I realized I’d rubbed too hard. The scrubber left red scratch marks on my whitish arms.

  “Hi.” I said going over to greet him.

  He took one look at me and his eyes bulged out.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “I’m pale, that’s what.” I leaned up and kissed his lips.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, it will fade.”

  “You must be made of porcelain. Such a delicate human.” He caressed my arms.

  “So does this mean I can go over to your house tonight?” I planned on using my powers of persuasion. I fluttered my eyelids.

  “And risk having you grounded again, not a chance.” He sat on my bed.

  “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” I sat down next to him, “Dion, I want to be there. You have no idea what a nervous wreck I will be knowing what’s happening and not knowing what’s going on. Please…” I begged.

  He took a big breath, rolled his eyes around as if he pondered the thought, then kissed my lips. “No,” he finally said.

  “Dion,” I sighed.

  “Kasey absolutely not.”

  “I’m the one he tried to kill I have a right to be there,” I pouted.

  Dion tensed. “Kasey, you have no idea how betrayed I feel over what happened to you. The brother that I knew, the man who died in that cave with me, is not the same man. Sam has lost who he was. He will pay for what he did. It is our duty to ensure that he not roam the Earth as free as he does. Especially, since he is capable of committing such mortal sins.”

  I’d never seen Dion distraught.

  “Please, don’t do anything stupid. Don’t let your anger over this get the better of you.”

  “I will not I will be fine.” He leaned in for a pop kiss.

  “Somehow this doesn’t feel right,” I couldn’t ignore the awkward sensation deep within me.

  After a few hours, Dion returned home. I sat in a daze contemplating the entire Kleon situation when Rodrigo broke my train of thought, “Kasey, we will be going down to the hogueras, around eleven o’clock. You might want to dress warm it will be a cold night. Mama and Papa said they have to pick up some wine. Would you mind driving us there?”

  “No, no problema. Gracias Rodrigo.”

  The reports claimed Mallorca would experience record lows tonight. They believed that it might even drop into the low thirties. Being from such a warm state my bones and muscles reacted poorly to the cold weather. That night I put on my jeans, sneakers, my royal blue turtleneck sweater, and my black wool jacket. I even slipped on black gloves to make sure not a single part of me felt the cold.

  We headed out late, closer to eleven thirty. We could see the light from deep within the dark forest. I figured that the bon fire must be massive in size. The blazes glowed from the path. Once we came to the clearing, it was a remarkable spectacle. In the middle of the site, a rim
of small stones surrounded a dancing wild fire. In the far corner of the clearing, some local men with their classical guitars in hand played melodies with Flamenco rhythms. The villagers danced, sung, and drank wine.

  The celebration honored the first night of winter and the air outside gave no mercy to that fact. Even with the fire, and the warm attire, the chill hit the core of every bone in my body. Off to the side I noticed a smaller bon fire with a line of people waiting to jump over it. Catalina laid out a blanket to sit on and the boys ran off dancing in the rotunda. I sat next to Catalina she smiled and gave me a nod. Fernando and Beatriz showed up with more cases of wine. They immediately went to mingle with their friends, but not before Fernando placed half a glass of red merlot in Catalina and my hand.

  “It will keep you ladies warm,” he said before joining his wife and their friends. The oaky wine slid down my throat with a heavy coating.

  “Do you plan to jump tonight?” Catalina surprised me as she tried to start conversation.

  “I don’t know. It looks like fun. Why do they do it?”

  “Health, for the long winter and the year to come. The celebration is an old tradition. It is a much bigger festival in other cities.” Catalina put her wine glass down and stood. She extended her hand down towards me.

  “Come, I will jump with you.”

  Seeing the perfect opportunity to mend my relationship with her, I put my glass down and reached out for her hand.

  “Does it get hot?” We put ourselves in the fast moving line.

  “It is fire, what do you think,” she said in her Catalina way. The flames raised three feet off the ground. Two men stood on the other side with blankets ready to put out anyone who caught fire.

  Our turn came up. She grabbed my hand, and hunched down ready to sprint. “Run as fast as you can, jump high enough to land on the other side,” she laughed. Catalina, fun! Where did this come from? Finally, after all these months she opened up. Catalina started without any warning. We ran together holding hands. As soon as we hit the edge of the fire, we jumped. I brought my legs forward as I would in the long jump during gym class. The blaze prickled the bottom of my feet. My skewed perception, as we went over the fire, gave the impression that the flames rose with an attempt to catch us.

  We passed through a fog of heat before we both landed on the other side laughing. The smoke I inhaled burned the insides of my nose. The smell of the burnt wood attached itself to my clothing.

  “Thanks. That was fun.” The warm air from my breath puffed out.

  “You are welcome,” she smiled.

  A familiar old woman sat tapping her foot next to the men with guitars. Helen of Troy, sung along cheerful with a glass of wine in her hand.

  “I’m going to see someone. I’ll be there in a sec.” I told Catalina.

  I approached and knelt beside her cane starring in awe at the demi goddess before me. She smiled and wacked the side of my body with her cane.

  “Hello, Kassandra.” She spoke in English!

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “Your smell is unforgettable, same as the woman, whose lineage you carry.” She added wrinkles to her cheeks with a smile. Gorgeous, even in her old age, she couldn’t hide her beauty.

  “I didn’t know you can speak English. Why didn’t you the day we met?”

  What did she mean from the lineage I carry?

  “Ah, that was your Dion’s doing. He is the sneaky one, out of the brothers,” she smirked. She placed her hand to my cheek. I froze my thoughts worrying about what I was thinking.

  She laughed. “Do not worry so much young one. It is a waste to live life with worries. The lineage I speak of is the one you carry from Pandora.”

  “How is this possible?” I asked.

  “This I do not know. Your existence puts to rest all the rumors that have circulated about her.” She sipped her wine.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Pandora has not been seen for the past three thousand years. She allied with the other side and vanished. Rumor is, that if Zeus came back to Earth, he had a score to settle with her.” With vindication she smiled, “She betrayed them all. You are proof that she is still on Earth.”

  A chill trickled down my spine. The band started a new song and Helen joined in with her lyrical voice. I placed her hand in between mine and squeezed, “thank you.”

  I joined Catalina on the blanket.

  “So, Kasey why is Dion not here?” Catalina asked.

  “He’s back home with his brothers.” I watched my words. The mention of his name evoked feelings of anxiety. I sipped more wine.

  “Does it have to do with James leaving?” She asked in a casual way.

  “What do you mean?”

  She looked at me bewildered. “You do not know?”

  “What?” I asked.

  “James said he was leaving tonight and he wanted to say good bye. He said it would only be for a few months then he would return.”

  I must have looked horrified because she asked, “What is wrong?”

  What was James’ plan? Was he a planted device to infiltrate the house? Could he really be that sneaky to his own brothers? All of a sudden anxious turned into panic. They were clueless as to what was coming to them. I have to get to them I must help.

  “Tell your parents I went to see Dion.” I put my wine glass down and ran. I sprinted as fast as I could down the dark path and straight to my car. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs rejected the cold air. A simple ten-minute car ride felt like a never-ending journey. I didn’t even bother knocking I approached their red door and entered the living room. Shadows stood outside in the pool deck area.

  17. Dion vs. Sam

  *Late that afternoon.

  I left her house and found my brothers all minus James sitting in Max’s room.

  “What is going on?” I asked as I entered.

  “We are discussing strategic plans. I wish to be prepared for anything,” Max said acting as if he was going into battle.

  “Look he came after Kasey. I will go for him first. He is mine.” I owed it to her to make sure Sam got what was coming to him.

  “Dion, we all want to assure Sam pays justly for what he did to Kasey. But you cannot think you are going to take him down single handedly,” Max huffed at me.

  “Where is James? Should he not be in here?” Martin asked.

  “James, until recently was with Sam. I love my brother dearly, but I do not want to trust him, yet,” Max said.

  He continued. “Sam has an advantage over us. Even in his spirit state he can now make physical contact with the concrete world.”

  “Wait, since when could he affect the human world in his spirit form?” Antony asked.

  “That is what James told me. He has spent many years evolving his ability and pushing the limit of what he can do further. He is able to harness his spirit form so that it actually can interact with the physical world as if he were a living being. Apparently in his spirit form he is also more powerful.” Max looked at me concerned.

  “I did not say anything because I knew you would explode with anger, Dion. But one of the things that upset James was, he is not entirely sure Sam did not push Kasey over the ledge purposely. James says that Sam at times, is uncontrollable in spirit form…”

  I stood up and clenched my fist.

  “Dion, revenge will only get you killed. James believes that when Sam is in his spirit form he is not himself anymore, he is out of control, violent. He can morph into anything. That day he was chasing Kasey as a tiger.” Max informed.

  “I do not know if I can keep control tonight!” I paced the floor.

  “You are going to have to. We have to stick to the plan as best as possible,” Max said annoyed.

  “What is the plan, Max?” John stood and began to pace with me.

  “John, Martin, I want you to stay behind James. Do not let him out of your sight. I want you to make a move on him before we give him the chance to move on us. Whether he is
on our side or not.” The twins nodded. “Now, gentlemen can you focus and give us any heads up about tonight?” Max asked them.

  “We have been trying, nothing has come up yet,” Martin said frustrated.

  “Antony.” Max looked at him.

  Antony nodded. “I will have a talk with Layna, we will be ready.”

  “Good, because if we ever need to separate James and Sam she will be a great distraction.” Max turned to me.

  “You and I will go for Sam. I have a plan, I do not know if it will work but if it does, Sam will be caged for as long as we keep him that way.”

  “Now remember the curse. As long as he is chanting it, if he manages to stick a blade in us, we are done. Do not take James for granted either he is just as capable to use the curse for himself.” Max looked at the twins, “protect yourselves and stay safe.” Then he swallowed hard, “I do not want to lose any brothers here tonight. Now, go and do what you have to. Prepare for tonight. Stay behind Dion, I want to talk to you about what I have planned for Sam.”

  Max and I spent the next few hours going over our part of the plan. Antony had the task to prepare the weapon. At eleven thirty, Martin and John received a premonition. They came into the weapons room where Max, Antony, and I readied our swords.

  “He is soon to be on his way,” Martin said.

  “It is going to happen on the pool deck. That is where I see us all being,” John imputed.

  “So it has begun.” Max took a deep breath. I grabbed my Pugio Dagger. Squeezing the handle twice, I headed out the door. Max preferred the Roman Spatha, the twins took their Gladius swords, and Antony took his Moorish Scimitar. We chose not to carry shields. We never fought with them and thought they would slow us down. James joined us and picked out a Gladius for himself.

  Camouflaged for the night in thin black sweaters and jeans, we positioned ourselves. The cold night air and the slight breeze sent chills that I ignored. We stood outside anticipating his arrival, Max in front, I to his right, Antony to his left with Layna at his side. Following behind, were James, Martin, and John. The tall grayish ghost figure approached through the forest pathway. Sam appeared in spirit form, a monstrous looking image of himself. His face contorted, wrinkled, and aged. He resembled a Hollywood ghoul. Sam stopped at the edge of the deck.