Blood of the Pure (Gaea)

by Sophia CarPerSanti

  uesday began like all other Tuesdays — with the detestable sound of my alarm clock. And everything went on as it was supposed to, at least until I went down to the kitchen.

  The first thought that occurred to me and immediately froze me by the door was a ‘he’s back.’ Then I noticed the lasagna I’d left for him was gone, which made slightly happy. Next, an unsettling sensation invaded my body and when I dared look at him, I noticed he was observing me with a critical look. In a split second I couldn’t help think about how disturbing he could be, sitting there, unmoving. His shirt and pants were all black, like his hair, making his skin look even paler.

  “That won’t do,” he finally told me in his velvet tone, making me shiver. “Go and put on the white skirt, the one with the red ribbon.”

  I was stunned, for a moment, trying hard to understand what he’d just said. Lea, on his lap, opened his eyes to peer at me and went back to nuzzling his white, long hands, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

  “What?” I managed to ask and he raised an eyebrow, my question evidently testing his patience.

  “Go and change your clothes. Put on the white skirt.”

  I felt really glad when anger bubbled inside me since his expression, right then, was really scary.

  “Why?” I asked frowning.

  “Because I told you so. It’s time we go into the next phase. This is dragging too much for my taste,” he declared, his deep voice slightly impatient.

  “What next phase?”

  “Just do what I tell you to! Or are you going to make me destroy all your clothes except the ones I want you to use?” I shuddered don’t know if from anger or from the fear that made my heart pound in my ears. I turned around and ran up stairs, stomping all the way up in a childish challenge. I poured my anger on the wardrobe’s door when I opened it and pulled out the skirt he had told me to wear. It was a white, knee-high, circle skirt that tied around the waist with a red silky ribbon. I took off the one I’d put on, one of the few long skirts I now had, and unwillingly changed it for the white one.

  The feeling of having just been clearly and completely manipulated deeply irritated me, frustrating and scaring me beyond anything rational. It made me too aware that he could do whatever he pleased, and that there was nothing I could do about it.

  I also had to change my green and white jumper for a red one with a neckline that I insistently pulled up.

  I went back down, walking carefully because of the heels from my shoes that I also had to change, and stopped by the kitchen door, facing him angrily, although I knew it was completely useless.

  He looked at me once more, from head to toe, looking completely indifferent, and nodded one single time approvingly.

  “What the hell is going on?” I asked, but he didn’t answer.

  “See you at school. Don’t even think about changing your clothes,” he warned me with a threatening look that made me take a step back and, before my frightened eyes, he disappeared as if he’d never even been there.

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  Due to that annoying waste of time, I had to practically run all the way to school and, even so, arrived after the first bell. My salvation was that our first class was English and the teacher didn’t seem to notice my tardiness. He was already there, at the back of the room, and his black eyes followed me unceremoniously, making me tense. I hadn’t changed clothes, if that was what he was checking! I hadn’t even thought about it, after his veiled threat.

  Steph arrived nearly fifteen minutes late, beating her own personal record. We spent the rest of class talking, with Joanne turning backwards in her chair, about what had happened the previous day. Joanne sounded even more excited than Steph, firmly guaranteeing Michael’s interest on me, and I had to ask them more than once to stop sounding so excited about something that probably would never happen. I almost felt relieved when class was over and we had to change classrooms. Kevin’s silent company was like a balm for my tired mind of having to deal with Gabriel and Michael, alternately.

  We met again at lunchtime and Gabriel joined us. The ‘Michael’ subject was once again the main topic of everyone’s talk and, for quite some time, Joe and Albert still expected to see him arrive at the cafeteria’s door. As he didn’t show up, Joe’s attention turned towards Gabriel, mentioning how the CD he had lent him was amazing. I saw him smile, in that mask of friendliness, and couldn’t help wonder if that daily act didn’t bother him; if he were really insensitive to Human feelings, if the only thing that really mattered to him was fulfilling that Contract.

  When he finished eating Gabriel stood up, picking up his tray, and invited me to accompany him to our daily task.

  “We already missed yesterday. We better go,” he demanded with a smile that looked even falser, and I whimpered knowing I couldn’t deny him. Once more he was the one deciding what I had to do.

  We walked in silence as my emotions mixed chaotically.

  On the one hand, I couldn’t help feeling sad, since all my efforts to better deal with him had been all for nothing. Overnight, Gabriel had become someone completely impregnable, a terrifying icy stone. But, on the other hand, I couldn’t feel happier knowing I was about to see Michael once again, even though I still felt embarrassed every time I recalled our last meeting.

  When we reached the door leading outside, he opened it, giving me passage, and I stepped outside noticing I’d been right. That gesture had been exactly like Michael’s.

  We walked side by side across the grass and Michael noticed us at a distance.

  “Hey! Hi, Mari! Gabriel!” He greeted us with a warm smile and Gabriel waved him back.

  I muttered a shy and global ‘hello’ when we reached them and Steven answered me friendly, as Francis frowned and Megie jumped at Gabriel’s neck.

  “Gabriel! I missed you!” she cried out with a mischievous smile, and he hugged her, kissing her soft blushed cheek.

  “So sorry. Promise it won’t happen again,” he told her nicely and she seemed convinced. Lauren stared at me with cold eyes, like she wanted to kill me, and Michael approached me with such a sweet expression that I thought I would melt.

  “Everything OK?” he asked me in a lower tone than usual in words that seemed meant only for me, and I nodded, blushing. “I was worried yesterday. I shouldn’t have let you convince me so easily to let you walk home alone!”

  “Oh, nothing happened,” I assured him, not knowing where I could possibly keep all my happiness. “Ah, right!” I remembered, searching my handbag. “I brought you a new book.”

  “Hey, wasn’t it my turn?” he complained and I smiled as I gave it to him.

  “I know you didn’t bring it, right? Because you were thinking about all that stuff. It’s OK,” I added noticing his suddenly serious expression. “I want you to read this one. It’s about our real being. It can be a bit ... philosophic. It’s probably not your style.” He took the book from my hands and smiled, washing that bright light over me.

  “Thank you.”

  All my worries disappeared instantly. I couldn’t care anymore if he was going to like it or not, or if he was even going to read it. All I knew was that I could even die, just to see him smile like that.

  Suddenly, a cold wind made me shiver, freezing me inside. My mind took a few seconds to understand what was going on and, as soon as it did, panic squeezed my chest leaving me breathless. I urgently looked for him and saw him not that far away, between Lauren and Megie, who were telling him something apparently amusing. Yet, he wasn’t listening, his dark eyes locked on me. Completely terrified by the expansive strength of his presence, I noticed that on his statue-like face only his pale lips were moving, fast and silent.

  A warm hand held my arm and Michael’s voice sounded distant, lost among the deafening sound of my heartbeat. What was he doing? Was he going to attack Michael again? If so, how? How could I protect him?

  His dark gaze became alight with that reddish glow and I wanted to scream! Warn
them! Tell them to run! I felt the instant he released his strength like a thunderous explosion and the world spun around me.

  I only understood it later. I had fallen, my head hurt. That strength had been aimed at me.

  I saw Michael leaning over me, his panicked expression, shouting something I couldn’t hear. I turned my gaze, stubbornly fighting the drowsiness I felt, and saw Steven running towards me. Gabriel didn’t even move, remaining exactly where he was. His perfect pale face unchanging, and yet, the pain in his eyes was so unexpected that it stole my breath away.

  I tried to fight against that numbness, tell everyone I was OK, that there was nothing to worry about, but the weight over my eyelids won and darkness enveloped my ability to think.

  The sound of running steps, the frenetic beating of something near my ear, the sound of a ragged breathing, arms that held me firmly ... And the warmth that made me feel more at ease and safe...

  I heard voices, far away, and words I didn’t understand.

  The warmth of those strong arms abandoned me.

  The voices went on, urgently, and once more I wished I could tell them that everything was all right. I didn’t want them to worry and, worst of all, I didn’t want anyone thinking about calling my mom, in Paris, to tell her about what had happened. That would only make her worry in vain.

  A soft caress touched my skin.

  “Mari,” his voice cut my heart. I didn’t want that pained tone to be because of me. Michael ...

  His hand disappeared as if he’d heard me and gotten scared, and I heard what sounded like a chair falling. I fought hard to open my eyes and wake up from that forced sleep, but it was no use and his rushed footsteps reached me, as he ran away from there.

  A light laughter froze me inside and my heart exploded painfully. Was he there? Right beside me? And I couldn’t even move! That was the same exact situation that had made me spend innumerous terrifying and sleepless nights, when he’d first started sleeping in the living room. Me, completely defenseless. Not that there was anything I could do if I were awake, I thought, trying to rationalize the situation.

  “Suileabhan.” I heard his deep voice in that single word and all the cells in my body shook. A small bell echoed somewhere. “Did you see that? Interesting.” I heard him again, his tone sarcastic and ice cold. “Follow him,” he ordered and the bell rang again. Who was he speaking to? And follow who? Michael? Just the thought made me terrified. Why? What was he thinking??

  I felt a touch on my face, on the opposite side where Michael had touched me, and was immediately petrified, unable to breathe. His soft fingers slid over my skin, lightly drawing the contour of my chin. I felt his breath, surprisingly warm, and something cold and soft briefly touched my lips.

  “Mariane ...” The sound of my name in his voice ordered my chest to breathe in and I gasped for air as if I were drowning. His ice-cold hand supported my neck, helping me raise my head, and I coughed, chocking. “Soon ... just a little longer.” I heard him again and his voice became an inaudible whisper. “Right now, how I wish that you’d never read that spell...”

  I sat up with a scream, squeezing my burning chest as I fought for every breath and I looked around, searching for him in panic.

  “Mar! Take it easy!” I instinctively ran from the hand that touched me on the shoulder and looked at him, too frightened to speak. Steven raised both his hands, trying to calm me down, and I looked around once more. “Everything’s OK,” he guaranteed and I slowly began recovering control over my own body. “How are you feeling?”

  “OK,” I whispered and took a shaky hand to my face. I had to control myself.

  I looked around once more and recognized the infirmary. I was lying in one of three beds and the screen between the beds was opened. On the other side were a table and chair, but there was no one else around.

  “Michael. He brought you here,” he informed me and I looked at him, surprised. So that hadn’t been a dream, I thought. But I felt childishly disappointed because he was no longer there. “He wanted to stay,” Steven added with a smile and I asked myself if my disappointment had been that clear. “But he wasn’t feeling all that well. To tell you the truth, Michael has some difficulty dealing with situations like this. Sick people, doctors, medical facilities.”

  I lowered my head remembering his frightened expression and felt sad for having been the cause of his pain.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. It wasn’t you fault,” he said with his friendly smile. “Once during a game, I was hit with a tennis ball on the forehead, right here.” He pointed right between his eyes. “I was unconscious for about half an hour and, when I woke up, he was right beside me, crying as if he were a three-year-old. Absolutely unbelievable, for a guy his age,” he added with a sigh, but the softness in his voice made me smile. “The nurse was here and took a look at you. She told him you were all right, but since you wouldn’t wake up, he stressed up. I met him in the corridor when I was coming to see how you were doing and he asked me to keep an eye on you.”

  I took a deep breath and pulled away the blanket covering me. Steven looked surprised and I faced him seriously.

  “Do you know where he is?” I asked in a firm tone that seemed to surprise him even more.

  “Yeah. I mean, I suppose. What are you thinking?”

  “I want to go and meet him, of course. I have to show him there’s nothing to fear. That I’m OK! Don’t want him thinking any unnecessary things,” I told him, standing up, but a dizzy spell almost made me fall.

  “That can wait!” Steven countered urgently as he held me. “The nurse said you should rest!”

  “It’s nothing. Probably low blood pressure. I’m fine now.”

  “Clearly you’re not! I just have to look at you. You look terrible!”

  I smiled bitterly. I always looked terrible, I thought. “I promise I’ll get some rest. After. Now take me to him. You know I’m right,” I added, making use of his sense of protection towards Michael, and he moaned, beaten.

  “But after, you’ll return here!”

  “Promise.” He sighed again and put an arm around my waist, supporting me and almost raising me from the floor.

  “There’s no need. I can walk.”

  “Yeah, yeah. We just saw that,” he grumbled, accompanying my much smaller footsteps. “If you faint again, and this time break a bone, Michael will kill me!”

  I laughed just trying to imagine Michael angry, and we left the infirmary at a really slow pace. Steven walked carefully beside me, completely overprotective. I, on the other hand, only wished we could reach Michael as soon as possible. And then, as if he’d just materialized right in front of us, Gabriel was there, freezing me in place.

  His expression, I’d never seen him like that. The air around us became heavy and his gaze glowed with that reddish light. He was furious. Insanely, I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn’t obey, and so I stood there, shaking uncontrollably.

  Steven looked at me worried, unable to understand what was going on, tightening up his grip around my waist, probably fearing I might fall. And I saw, from the corner of my eye, he was telling me something ... something that I just couldn’t hear anymore.

  “Mariane. Come!” Gabriel commanded in his soft tone that, even so, filled me with terror, and I saw him raise his arm, his pale hand outstretched towards me reinforcing his words, making it impossible to disobey them. His hard gaze wouldn’t stand for a denial, just like it hadn’t that morning, but this time there was something different. The self-control I’d always seen him show was completely gone, and I was aware for the first time of just how much he usually restrained himself.

  Images from the strange dream I’d had came back to me, consuming what little was left of my sanity. His cold fingers on my face, his warm breath on my skin, and those words.

  I couldn’t breathe and my chest burnt painfully. His command, however, still remained in that outstretched hand.

  Two hands held me and shook me
hard by the shoulders, roughly turning me around, although I couldn’t look away from Gabriel. I knew Steven was calling my name, but his voice couldn’t reach me.

  Gabriel’s furious gaze looked away from me to look at Steven and my heart stopped as a deep hatred took over his expression. No!

  “Mari!”

  I was stunned for a moment. His voice had invaded the darkness surrounding me like a bright ray of light, breaking the barrier keeping me away from the real world. Now I could hear Steven, asking me if I was all right, his warm, strong hands encircling my arms.

  Michael ... I could hear him gasping for air right behind me, as if he’d run there. But Gabriel didn’t seem to notice his presence. The mark on my wrist stung. Panicking, I instinctively knew what was happening. The Contract ... he was about to break it!

  “No!” I shouted, not knowing if my voice would obey me, and pushed Steven away, freeing myself from his hands.

  My terrified gaze turned to Michael, towards the light that guaranteed my freedom and, without even thinking, I ran to him. His arms surrounded me protectively and I squeezed his warm and soft sweater, making sure he wouldn’t push me away. His heat swept over my frozen body, restoring my ability to breathe, my lungs hurting.

  I wanted to cry and my frightened gaze turned to Gabriel. I saw him lower his empty head, his attention once more locked on me, and I clenched my teeth hard when he took a step towards us. I was sure he was about to fetch me and all I could wish was that he would simply disappear.

  Steven took a step to the side, recovering from the hard push that I’d given him, and took on a threatening stand.

  Gabriel stopped, indifferently gazing at the obstacle in his way and I felt my wrist burn just like before.

  I closed my eyes hard, not knowing what to do to prevent what I knew was about to happen, and held onto Michael’s sweater.

  “Go away!” I shouted in despair. “Go away! Go away ... go away ...” I commanded repeatedly, my voice breaking down to a whisper, as if those were magical words that needed to be repeated a thousand times to become real, until a warm hand rested on my head.