“No,” Taliesin said running his hand over my back. “She designs them all, but she has people who work for her and do a lot of the sewing, but she sews mine. And while she sews, she pictures me safe. It might be silly but to me it feels like a layer of protection and the crowd’s thoughts can’t reach me.”
“That’s sweet,” I said.
Taliesin sighed. “She started doing it when I was little and it stuck.”
“I’m glad you’re safe.” I squeezed him and stepped back. “I still want to kick them.”
Taliesin chuckled and turned to go back to the hotel. “Well since kicking people who make you mad seems to be your go-to thought, I’m not surprised by that.”
“I don’t—” Oh wait, yes, I kind of do. “I don’t actually kick them, I just think about kicking them.”
“Maybe I should get you steel-toed boots for Christmas.”
I took Taliesin’s arm. “That sounds like trouble.”
“Probably. So I have a question for you.”
“Okay,” I said. I always worry when people warn me they’re going to ask me a question.
“How do you feel about the baby?”
I shrugged. “Gavin and Anali are happy but worried. So I’m happy for them and hoping everything will be okay.”
“Yes,” said Taliesin slowly as if talking to a child. “But how do you feel about the baby?”
“I don’t see how we can fit a baby into what we do,” I said. “I mean when we're driving in the RV, I guess it won’t be so bad, but what about when the baby starts crawling or walking around? And once Anali wants to perform again, do we pass the baby around backstage?”
“True, it’ll be interesting to see how and if they can make everything work, but that doesn’t tell me how you feel about it.”
“How am I supposed to feel? The baby doesn’t have anything to do with me?”
“Well,” said Taliesin. “Some people get jealous and afraid that a new baby will take away attention and love from them.”
I snorted. “It’s a baby, of course it’ll need more attention. That’s how things work. When someone needs attention focused on them, the others have to accept it.”
“What about them loving you?”
“Of course they will love the baby more. It's their baby, their child. I’m not. I never will be. Why would I expect them to love me the same?”
Taliesin looked at me his blue eyes soft. For a moment I felt a wave of sadness, then he closed off his emotion. “On a lighter note. What movie are you making us watch?”
I huffed. Making? As if he wasn’t looking forward to it. “We should watch a Christmas movie.”
“Like Miracle on 34th Street or It’s a Wonderful Life?” Taliesin asked.
“I was thinking, While You Were Sleeping, or Love, Actually.”
* * *
I felt a hand shaking my shoulder.
“Sapphire, wake up.”
I opened my eyes. Gavin knelt next to me, his pale green eyes crinkled in amusement. Credits scrolled down the TV. I stretched a bit and realized that I was surrounded. My head lay on Kayin’s thigh, Miu’s head lay on my stomach, and Taliesin’s legs entwined with mine.
“You guys look like a pile of puppies. Why are you sleeping?” Gavin asked.
“We woke up too early, and then ate a lot. What’s up?”
“Michael said you guys were working out at eleven, and Anali wants me to go and do something today.”
I grinned. “She kicked you out.”
“She said I was making her anxious.” Gavin looked at the door towards their room.
“You guys aren’t used to being cooped up in a room together twenty-four seven. And you're both normally so active, she probably needs a bit of breathing room. Maybe after lunch you could go for a walk in the park,” I said. “If she’s feeling well.”
“She still gets sick, but most afternoons she’s feeling better. Good idea. You're going to make a great big sister.” Gavin clapped his hands. “Now how should we wake everyone up?”
Me? A big sister? Is that how they thought of me? Of us as a family?
“We’re awake—just pretending to give you privacy.” Miu sat up.
“What time is it?” asked Taliesin, stretching. I squeaked as he moved my legs.
Gavin looked at his watch. “Ten-fifteen.”
“That’s enough time to get ready,” Kayin said, jiggling his leg.
Sighing, I sat up. “Should we meet at the elevators in ten minutes?”
“Fifteen,” Sasha said. “There are three of us and only one bathroom.”
“Can I wait here?” Gavin asked. “Anali is napping.”
“Sure,” I said. “Give me a minute.” I freshened up. Seriously my breath must smell gross, and I needed to pee.
“So,” Gavin asked when I came back brushing my hair. “What’s new? I feel odd asking that, we haven’t been apart like this since we started touring.”
I started braiding my hair. “Not much, did you hear about Sasha’s dad?”
“No. Did his parents get to see him perform?” Gavin smiled.
“Yep,” I said and explained what happened.
Gavin’s jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed, his anger burned hot and sharp against my empathic bubble. “He hurt Sasha?”
“Yes, but Sasha took care of himself. And we decided to do more family kind of things together, you know like go out to eat, watch movies, and do touristy things,” I said.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Gavin said. “And I know Anali and I would love to join you once she’s feeling better.”
“Ready,” Miu said. She wore lavender yoga pants with a pale gray long-sleeved tee shirt with smiling, dancing cupcakes on it.
I smiled. My gray yoga pants and dark green shirt looked depressing next to Miu’s.
“Well, come on,” Gavin said.
Kayin stood by the elevators. “They're just finishing.”
“I’m ready,” Taliesin said, walking towards us finishing his braid. “Sasha is almost ready.”
“Sorry, my mama called. She and my papa are headed back home today,” Sasha said.
“Is your mom okay?” I asked.
Sasha nodded. “My father is angry, but he won’t hurt her.”
“Are you sure?” Gavin asked. “I can help her get away from him if she needs it.”
Sasha smiled, a tinge of evil to it. “My mama’s brother, he is a very important person with very scary friends. Papa wouldn’t dare hurt her, and in fact is probably going to try and make-up on the flight home. If my uncle finds out how he treated me…” Sasha shrugged. “Who knows what could happen?”
“Good, let me know if anything changes. Now let’s go work out.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Gavin must be going crazy trapped in the hotel,” Taliesin said as he sat down and scooted into the booth.
Sasha groaned as he sat. “I am not sure I will recover in time for show tonight.”
I sat next to Taliesin and scooted close to make room for Kayin. Miu and Sasha sat on the other side of the booth. Sasha smiled as he looked around the Russian restaurant with its rich red walls painted with black and gold patterns. The waitress set down a glass pot of tea and glass teacups with silver lace holders.
I opened the menu. “So what should we get?”
“I think we should order several dishes and share,” Kayin said. “I want to try everything.”
“What a great idea,” Miu said.
Sasha ordered for us. “Okay,” Sasha said once the appetizers arrived. “Everything but the smoked halibut and caviar is vegetarian.”
“What’s this?” I asked. Picking up a spoon and dipping it into the purple red pureed soup. It was sweet and warm.
“It’s borscht, a beet soup. My mama said it was good for your blood and had the cook make it three times a week,” Sasha said. “In summer it would be served cold.”
“It’s richer than the borscht I had before,” said Taliesin. “It’s
really good.”
Kayin held up a crescent moon pastry. “These are yummy, cheese and spinach I think.”
“Yes, my babushka would make them for parties. I would sit at the table with her and help fill the dough with different kinds of fillings. My favorite are the potato and cheese ones. I ordered some of those for the main course.”
“So is there a special way to eat these?” Miu asked pointing a platter of smoked fish and tiny pancakes.
Sasha gray eyes looked a bit sad. “My papa has a smoker; he goes fishing with friends and smokes his own fish. It’s the only cooking he ever does.”
We all froze for a second. Um, what am I supposed to say to that?
“Sorry, so you take an oladji,” he said picking up a tiny pancake. “A bit of sour cream, add onion or a slice of egg if you like them and either a piece of smoked halibut or the caviar.”
The soup reminded me of the pureed beets at the restaurant, but sweeter. I scooped a little sour cream onto my spoon then filled the rest with the thick purple red soup. “I like this.”
“The smoked halibut tastes so good,” Miu said spreading caviar, onions, and sour cream on the little pancake. “Yum, this is good too.”
“What do you think, Sasha?” Kayin asked picking up another one of the little pastries.
Sasha nodded spooning up some of the borscht. “It’s very good. But some day, I’ll take you home and let my babushka cook for you.”
“Well, it’s unfair to compare any cooking to a grandmother’s cooking,” Kayin said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Grandmothers always cook the very best,” Taliesin said.
Sasha smiled. “It’s the love. That’s what my babushka says, that because she loves me so much and wants me to be happy and healthy all her prayers and wishes for me go into her cooking, and that’s what makes it taste so good.”
Taliesin chuckled. “My grandma said almost the same thing when I asked why her food tasted better than anyone else.”
“Grandmas don't lie,” said Kayin. “And mine said the same thing.”
“Well,” said Miu. “My sobo, my grandmother, can burn rice, she’s an awful cook. My dad says he’s such a good cook because he didn’t want to starve as a child.”
I laughed, wondering if either of my grandmothers were good cooks.
“So what is all of this?” I asked when our main courses were delivered.
Sasha smiled. “There are bell peppers stuffed with rice, fruit, cheese and topped with tomato sauce. I would pick peppers on my grandparent’s farm for this dish. Rice covered with sour cream, mushrooms, and gherkins, and dumplings filled with potatoes or cabbage and cheese.”
“So what’s going on with the whole portal thing?” Taliesin asked once we served ourselves.
“I’ve had a Dream—well several.” Sasha ran a hand through his hair. “Sapphire needs to talk to a tree.”
“A hamadryad, I need to talk to a hamadryad and there is one at Hampton Court. I told Gavin, and he said he would make plans to get us there,” I said.
“Okay anything else?” Miu said.
“Well,” began Sasha. “I keep Dreaming about a doorway. A large castle doorway, no castle, no ruins, just a doorway on top of a hill in a field.”
Kayin shook his head. “I've never seen a castle doorway by itself.”
“Tell them about Avalon and the Earth magic,” Miu said.
“Avalon?” Taliesin asked.
“Well, Shamash said the hamadryad would tell me how to get to Avalon, where the portal is.”
“And the Earth magic?” Sasha asked.
“Well apparently a village of fae got very sick and before anyone from Akasha could come and help them devas came and healed them.” I explained.
“What are devas?” Taliesin asked.
“Devas are magical beings that are tied to a specific planet helping it grow.”
Kayin frowned. “How did that make Earth magic or are they Earth magic?”
I tried to remember all I had seen at the museum. “They are Earth magic, and they altered the fae’s magical energy when they healed them, so now the fae’s magic is Earth based, and I guess there are others whose power is Earth based as well.”
“How did you get all of that from a Dream?” Kayin asked.
I flushed and focused on my food. The mushroom dish reminded me of stroganoff, but I’d never eaten it with sweet pickles before.
“If Sapphire can Dream like that we don’t need you anymore,” Miu said.
Sasha glared at Miu, and a sharp spike of worry and anger came from him.
“No,” I confessed. “It wasn’t all from a Dream, but it doesn’t matter.”
My gut clenched at the wave of hurt and anger from Sasha.
“It does matter. We have to tell you everything, why do you get to keep secrets?”
“Sasha, I’d like to know too,” said Miu. “But isn’t the information what’s important?”
Kayin nodded.
“So we have to tell everything, give up everything and Sapphire can do whatever she wants?” His accent thickened in his anger, hurt still swirling around the heated emotion.
I held up my hands, something more was going on here than me not telling him something. “Sasha I’m sorry you’re upset, I’m not keeping anything important from you.”
“Then tell us everything. We have a right to know what is happening with the Jewel since we have to stand beside you and risk our lives.”
I held back my desire to defend myself, something was off with Sasha. Trying to fix things, I took a deep breath and confessed. “I might have, for a brief second, fallen into one of the pieces at the museum, a pair of brooches.”
“You lied to me, Little Sister,” Kayin said. The coldness in his voice made my stomach drop. “You said you were fine, you said that only stared at the piece a little too long.”
“I was fine, I didn’t lie I just didn’t tell you everything, and I didn’t want to upset Anali and Gavin, and I had it under control.”
“Is there anything else we need to know? Any other secrets you’re keeping?” Sasha asked his accent thicker with his anger.
“Woah, wait, what? It’s not like I purposely keep secrets. I didn’t say anything about at the museum, because Gavin and Anali have enough to deal with right now. And I told Gavin about the dream, Miu was in the room which is why she heard.”
“Why didn’t you tell the others?” asked Miu.
“I at least come and tell you when I have a Dream,” Sasha said. “I share important information.”
“So do I, while this information is helpful, none of it is life changing,” I snapped. My calm was gone, whatever emotional crazy had set Sasha off I was done trying to be nice and fix things.
“Is that why you couldn’t feel anything evil at the party because it was Earth magic?” Taliesin asked.
“Yes,” I said keeping my voice calm. “Earth magic is different enough that I can’t sense it.”
“We should have been told that,” Sasha said. “What if I had Dreamed something about Earth magic? I wouldn’t understand without this information. How are we supposed to protect ourselves if we don’t know things have changed?”
“How are you supposed to protect yourself from it now that you know?” I asked.
“You need to stop keeping secrets—it puts us all in danger," Miu said frowning at me.
“You’re making it sound like I’m hiding things on purpose, which I’m not.” I sat back against the booth and crossed my arms. What was going on?
“But you don’t tend to volunteer information, either,” Kayin said, his voice soft and hurt.
Sasha banged his fist on the table. “You don’t think to tell us what’s going on but we have to tell you.”
“I think we should all calm down,” Taliesin said.
I held up a hand. “You guys look to me as a leader. When things get difficult you turn and look at me to figure out what to do. So I have to know what’s going on with
you.”
“So that means you don’t have to share with us?” Sasha asked.
Hot anger flared from them and me. “Of course not.”
“Then why did you keep information from us?” Kayin asked.
I exhaled slowly trying to keep my temper. “I didn’t keep anything from you. I didn’t think to tell you something.”
“And what is the difference?” Miu asked.
“Intent, I didn’t plan to keep anything from you.”
“So you forgot about us? The people you are supposed to keep safe,” Sasha said.
“Kayin, move,” I said.
Taliesin laid a hand on my arm. “Sapphire, wait.”
I shook my head. “I’ll tell you what, the next time I feel the magic painfully being ripped out of a creature and connect to it while it dies, as soon as I start breathing again, I’ll be sure to call you. Kayin move, I’m leaving.”
Tears blurred my vision.
“Sapphire,” Kayin said.
“Move now, I'm leaving.”
He moved.
I found my stuff on the coat rack and put it on.
“Is everything okay?” asked the waitress.
“Everything was wonderful, I have to leave.” I handed her a hundred pounds. “This is for the bill, if it’s more than that the others can cover the rest.”
“Thank you, have a good afternoon.”
I walked down the street my eyes blurry between the tears and the sunlight. I opened up my empathy and looked up and down the street. Everything felt and looked okay.
We’d taken a taxi to get here, and I wasn’t exactly sure where I was but I didn’t want to wait for a taxi in front of the restaurant. I focused on walking and making sure I looked for oncoming traffic properly. According to the guide book at the hotel, many tourists are hit by walking into traffic because they forget about cars driving on the left side of the road.
My phone rang several times, I ignored each call. What were they going to say anyway? Sorry we judged you as being someone who would let us be hurt or killed? Is that what they thought of me? Or worse, is that who I am? Have I purposely kept things from them? Putting them in danger?
My phone rang again. I looked at the caller ID. “Hey, Gavin.”
“Are you all right? The others came back and told me what’s been going on.”
Heirs of Avalon Page 19