Gabe was not someone to be trifled with. He had to learn that the hard way when the guy was only sweet five years old. Gregory did not answer. He only reached his voicemail. Aiden didn’t want to speak on tape. You never knew into what hands the phone would fall.
He had not planned to join today’s meeting which was held exceptionally at the beach house of his father in the Beaches on the shores of the Ontario Lake. His father was still out of town. Usually, they met in the Civic Center Park, in the school surroundings behind the Covenant Church. Today, they had decided to throw a Party after the training. Aiden had not felt like partying; he was restless because of Gregory's plan and because of the situation with Brooklyn. He had not spoken to her since. ... Well, since that night. It lay heavy on the stomach. He had done a lot of training with Gregory. For the other elements, Mila, Alex and Eva were determined. The element air was very rare and Eva was no longer actually at school. She had decided to make a gap year before studying to earn some money. He had met her at Starbucks since she worked there. She would soon leave the city and begin her studies in Boston. Eva was a red-haired pale girl with an Irish- Italian background who liked to drink a lot of beer. Rumor had it that she could gulp down a Guinness in a minute. Whether this was an essential condition for training was rather uncertain, but she had been his best choice. It was quite risky having Gregory train with them and therefore Aiden had decided to use his father's beach house for the purpose. His father hated the house, since his mother had always withdrawn there. If he had the possibility to sell it, he would have surely done it, but his hands were tied. The house would go over to Aiden after his 21st birthday. He feared that the gathering would turn into a binge drinking after the training and the barbequing. Maybe it was not such a bad idea after all if he showed up to look after things. Then, he could warn Gregory personally about Gabe.
He drove in direction of the Beaches in his Ford Mustang. Unfortunately, he was not moving ahead quickly; it was Friday evening and the streets of Toronto were clogged up like a constipated bowel. He should have taken the subway. Aiden was annoyed with himself. He tried to reach Gregory a few more times while he was stuck in traffic, but unfortunately without success. Where was that guy anyway? He couldn’t be that wasted, or could he? No one could be as wasted that he didn’t even hear the ringing of his phone. Tomorrow would be the summer - his big day - the day he planned to get rid of Gabe. Gregory had been so enthusiastic that he had misled the Vultures completely. He had persuaded them that the Savior had appeared in Vancouver at a high school. He apparently had them eating out his hand. They were even thinking about a transfer to Vancouver themselves. Aiden didn’t get it. Why could he fool Gabe and make him fall for it. He saw him in company of Gregory most of the time. No potion could be virtually that strong that Gabe’s mind happened to be dopy for such a long time, or could it? Well, he had to admit that he had no idea. Maybe Mila was really the best of all poisoners. Anyway, he had to warn Gregory somehow before the summer Festival because he knew now whom they were dealing with.
Aiden is too late
Today, training wasn’t going well. The Akandos were unfocused and Gregory was quite exhilarated because he had set the Vultures including Vincent on a wrong track. He felt high without having consumed any booze. Besides, he continuously peered to Leyla who was passing her time with a surfboard close to the shore. The weather was nice and warm and the lake looked tempting for a swim. The location of the beach house was just incredible - right on the lake with a bridge that led into the water and no curious neighbors. In other words, perfect for a Beach party followed by a drinking binge. The meat was sizzling on the grill and the beer was chilling. Everybody was in an exuberant mood. Gregory strolled slowly along the beach to where Leyla was trying to achieve balance on a surfboard close to the shore. He watched her for some time. She hadn’t actually discovered him yet, until his stupid phone started ringing. A look at the display told him that it was Aiden. Gregory was not in the mood to talk to him. He rejected the call. The ringing had startled Leyla. She lost her balance and fell screaming into the water coming to the surface an instant later snorting. His phone started ringing again. Damn, he thought.
He was not in the mood for conversation. He switched it to silent mode. He was standing on the shore feeling kind of stupid.
It had been a while since he had talked to her. She kind of evaded him totally since his undercover idea. With her arms on the surfboard and her dripping wet long hair brushed out of her face, she looked like a Mermaid or some kind of a mythical creature. With the sunset on the lake behind her, in the glittering water, she gently rocked back and forth within the waves. Gregory looked at her, fascinated. He could see only her upper body. With her turquoise bikini top, she looked like Arielle from under the sea. He grinned stupidly to himself. Lately, somehow, whenever he was near her, he acted like a complete idiot. She didn’t seem to be thrilled to see him.
“Hi,” he said, which was not the witty start to the conversation. And it even got worse, “Are you practicing surfing?”
She gave him an indefinable look.
“What does it look like to you, deep sea diving?”
He laughed, uncertain, sitting down at the shore. He tore out a reed, and turned it nervously between his fingers back and forth.
“Why are you avoiding me Leyla? We used to have so much fun together!”
He seemed to be truly unhappy. Leyla felt uncomfortable and she was feeling cold slowly. Her teeth began to chatter. She had to get out of the water, whether she liked it or not.
She would have preferred not to face him only dressed in her bikini. She came slowly out of the water and held the surfboard like a shield to cover her in front of him. Gregory had probably noticed her teeth chattering. He got up taking off his shirt putting it around her trembling shoulders.
Then they walked silently side by side to the shed next to the beach house. Leyla went in, to stow away the board having him follow her. The silence was awkward. His phone vibrated again in his jeans pocket.
“You should take it. Maybe it's one of your new pals from the Vultures.”
Leyla said it indifferently. She did not look at him and pulled on her clothes. Then she handed him his wet shirt. His face seemed to come closer. She looked at him angry and disappointed. He grabbed her shoulders and they stared at each other silently.
In the back of the shed, Alex, who had been drinking too much, had fallen asleep on the floor. He woke up when Leyla started to speak. He did not want to disturb them and for the record, he was always interested in hearing secrets. He liked to know what was going on. Especially, he liked making rumors public and had the gossip going in his clan. He was not malicious at all. He just longed for scandals and new stories he could tell to get some attention to himself. Gregory turned off his vibrating cell phone. “You know damn well, that I don’t care about the Vultures, and that I’d much rather be with you. I only do this for the clan. You got to believe me.”
Leyla shook her head and looked at him steadily.
“Of course I know, but I still think you are an idiot. Endangering yourself is not exactly a masterpiece. Seriously, you can't expect me to approve that. Have you ever thought about your friends and about me? How we would feel if you should die? I'm sure there would have been another way than to fool the Vultures with Mila’s poison. You know what they say about the universe. What goes around comes sevenfold back around to the one that sends it out. Do you think it helps the clan if you are actually killed?”
Gregory drew her closer and lifted her chin with his hand, so that she had to look into his eyes.
“I think it's sweet that you’re so worried about me, but nothing is going to happen to me. Mila’s potion is deadly. I'm going to hunt Vincent down. The potion is truly lethal. We are going to get rid of him for good. She has already given it to me. I’ll do it at the summer festival. Without him, the other Vultures will be powerless.”
He sounded so confident of victory and euph
oric that Leyla broke away, glaring at him.
“Then Mila is the answer to all our problems?
I know that she adores you and thinks that you are some kind of hero, but the damn potion could be used against you if it gets into the wrong hands. Have you ever thought about that hero?”
He grinned and tried to grab her.
“My God, you're jealous! There is no need for that. You know that my heart only beats for you. I am not interested in Mila.”
“You’re such an idiot!”
She pushed him away. He staggered slightly backwards and bumped into the surfboards lined up. They tottered alarmingly but didn’t fall. Alex, still laying behind the rack, held his hands protectively over his head and sighed with relief when nothing fell down to him.
Gregory didn’t back off and came closer again. She held her hands in front of her in defense.
“Don’t come any closer or it could be that I am battered to death by your huge ego.”
Gregory was suddenly deadly serious.
“Please listen to me. I am truly sorry. You are completely right, I'm an idiot. I miss you, and I would like to see you again. Are you going to the summer festival? Will you save a dance for me? That is not asking too much, right?”
He looked at her convincingly. His blue eyes looked almost black in the dark shed.
She was determined not to let him come on to her again, even if it hurt. He had to fulfill his purpose; his destiny without obligations towards her.
“I’ll go with Greyson to the summer festival,” she said almost silently. Gregory looked at her in fury as if she had just confessed having committed murdering someone. Alex held his breath behind the rack and waited tensely for Gregory's reply.
“You are going to the summer festival with the enemy? How can you do that to me? He looked at her hurt and disappointed.
“You’ve never been there and you didn’t show any interest to go there with me. You even said that you don’t want to be with me. You will probably still remember!”
She could not understand his reaction.
“When Greyson asked me, Î said yes. It's no big deal. I don’t know what you are talking about. He’s pretty nice and behaves quite normally, which is more than I can say for you.”
Gregory was visibly pissed. He gave the rack a strong push and this time, it really nearly crashed.
“You are like all the other girls and I was such a stupid fool believing that you were any different. Some stupid compliments and you fall for any crap.”
Leyla stepped closer looking him straight into his angry face without even batting an eyelash.
“That’s mean and you know that it isn’t true.”
“I guess I’m not a nice guy, and now you finally know it.
Just because we kissed doesn’t turn us into soul mates you know. And for the record, Greyson is far from being normal. Let me give it to you straight. He is a member of the Vultures. He was at each Meeting so far and he wants to see me dead like all other members of the Vultures!”
Leyla flinched, bumped into the edge of the rack, and fell on the ground. She screamed in pain as she hurt herself on the sharp edge of the rack. Bleeding, she remained sitting on the floor holding her knee. Gregory crouched in front of her.
“Oh my god Leyla, are you ok?”
He ripped off his shirt and pressed it to her injured knee.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He sounded desperate running his hands through his hair in an unruly gesture.
“I am truly sorry, and I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”
He sank to his knees and kissed her tenderly.
“I can’t help it. I keep losing control around you, and we both know that I am no good for you. You sure as hell are better off without me. I only put you into trouble.”
He sighed, got up and walked away without any further explanation. Leyla did not try to hold him back, still sitting on the ground pressing his shirt on her knee. Greyson was a member of the Black Vultures and she was screwed in any way that much was clear.”
Alex held his nose and stifled a sneeze. He waited until Leyla had left the shed limping. Then, he slipped out quietly. That had been really been very enlightening. He couldn’t wait to tell the story to someone. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to be interested tonight. Some had already left and others were simply too drunk to listen.
He met Aiden, who had just arrived and asked him about Gregory. After looking at Aiden's worried expression, he decided that this probably was not the right time to tell the juicy gossip story.
The summer festival
Leyla and Brooklyn were standing in the middle of hundreds of balloons. There was still so much to do and time was almost up. Soon the festival would begin. They had their hands full. Greyson had offered his help. Leyla would have been thankful for that if she hadn’t known him being a Vulture. Since Gregory had told her, she didn’t enjoy his company anymore and she would have liked to get rid of him the sooner the better. She watched him as he tied the balloons together. He looked so nice and likable. Hard to believe that he was after someone's life. Well, it obviously had its advantages having him here under control. She would make sure that he was not doing anything stupid. He certainly would not kill anyone, or he would have to deal with her. He flooded her with compliments from the moment he arrived. It made her nervous and restless. She didn’t particularly like to be the center of admiration. That had never been her thing. She was wearing a dark blue strapless dress with glittering ornaments and matching high-heeled sandals. Unfortunately, the sandals were anything but practical and her feet began to hurt already. She decided to take them off during the preparations and threw them in a corner. Served her right having Brooklyn convince her to wear high heels. She should have known better than that. Her friend had accomplished an incredibly work of art. She had styled Leyla's hair and put some makeup on her so that she hardly recognized herself in the mirror.
My God, she had no idea what she could look like. Brooklyn had performed a miracle with her hair. Some kind of a complicated French pleat. Some Greek looking earrings were dangling heavily on her ears. She looked like a stranger. Apparently, some other people thought the same; they barely recognized her. Greyson nearly fell over when he saw her like that. Leyla was not much into appearances, but if it was distracting Brooklyn from her problems, she gladly have her styling her that way. Then it was time, the first guests were arriving and the band started to put up their equipment. Leyla grabbed her high-heel killer sandals and tripped to the entrance followed by Greyson who really didn’t leave her out of sight. The photographer took pictures in pairs and Greyson wanted absolutely to take a picture with her. They just got into the queue when Gregory and Gabe arrived right behind them. Greyson turned around to say hi, putting his arm proprietorial around Leyla's shoulders. Leyla and Gregory's eyes met. It was like a crash, having them both look away again quickly. Gabe immediately figured out that something was going on. Interesting, he thought. Gregory felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. She looked so incredibly beautiful and was at the same time so beyond reach, on the arm of this traitor. He felt dark thoughts rising within. It was hard to get that picture out of his head. His concentration was gone. He could hardly remember what his purpose was, what he was supposed to do tonight. He would have bunked off, but he couldn’t. He had to fulfill this damn mission and poison this idiot by his side. Too bad that he could not just poison the basketball star at the same time. Since he would have been quite into that now. He looked in disdain at Greyson’s backside, searching in his pocket for the flask. He had almost forgotten Gabe beside him.
“Is there a problem Gregory? You seem somehow absent minded.”
He gave him a friendly punch in the ribs.
“Thought she was your cousin? But I get the impression that you're pissed to see her with Greyson.”
Gregory cleared his throat and madea dismissive gesture
"That’s n
ot the point, but I promised my uncle that I would look after her, so that she wouldn’t do anything stupid.”
Gabe raised his eyebrows doubtfully. He did not seem to be convinced at all by Gregory's statement. Leyla, who was still standing in front of them turned around angrily, “That’s definitely not going to happen you jerk.”
She glared at him, but was quite startled when she looked into his eyes. They had a worried and sad expression. Gabe laughed slyly.
“Man, there is quite a bit of tension between the two of you.” Gregory pretended not having heard his remark, looking around. “Where are Angel and the others?”
Gabe shrugged, something was wrong between these two. There was no doubt about that. He would have to consider taking a closer look at Leyla if he got the chance and he sure would.
This picture would go down in history for sure. The grim -looking girl with the beaming dude at her side, Leyla thought to herself, when the photographer asked her to smile. Well, the two guys behind them would for sure not win a prize for cheerfulness either if there ever happened to be such a thing. She thought about ditching Greyson with the excuse that she felt sick or that she had to help Brooklyn or whatever reason she could think of to hit the road. Unfortunately, her plan didn’t work out, as Ale and Aiden just appeared out of nowhere, and she heard Aiden say that Alex should wait for him at the bar. He said something about talking to the organizing team. She overheard that something with the bowl was wrong. What a lame excuse, as if he wanted to add some booze to it. She saw him stroll over to where Brooklyn was standing. Oh my God, the showdown would start any minute. He apparently planned to talk to Brooklyn about their relationship and would declare to her his love. How sweet and how out of line. It was probably the worst time ever. The band had just started to play and it was almost impossible to talk to somebody. She couldn’t understand her own word let alone what others were saying, so with no doubt the ideal conditions for a declaration of any kind.
ELEMENTARY VIRTUE: The Savior Page 13