“I don’t know if we should let her climb today. Maybe we should…” he started.
“There are enough of us to assist her,” Tatos said, cutting him off, his voice distant and his glare remote. “Stop being such a softy and let’s get on with it. The Zulus are becoming reckless and desperate. I think they might be bewitched,” he added as he slowly tilted his face up toward the sky. The concern in his voice had risen. “The skies are changing faster now. You do know what that means don’t you?” he said, shooting Enoch a glare.
“He’s right, Enoch,” Willard said, moving in closer. “Time is running out.” He cleared his throat.
Enoch was still holding on to me but his mind was a million miles away. I did not like it one bit. The attention was unbearably awkward. I had been in numerous uncomfortable situations in the last few days, but I only had myself to blame for feeling this way. Closing my eyes tight, I wished that I was back home with Sam, sitting on my bed and watching some old Earth movie. I could have used the therapeutic properties of James Dean’s tight jeans and rugged face right about then. Maya and Willard eagerly placed themselves on either side of me. Tatos whistled for the others who had begun setting up camp against an embankment that gracefully rose to meet the yellow wave of rock above it. There was something magical about where we were. I had noticed earlier that the rocks in the surrounding area reflected many different colors from dark brown to yellow, terracotta and gray. Like I was in a child’s painting of an imaginary world.
We started heading toward the mountain. Enoch picked up his backpack, very similar to one I used for school, its contents clattering together as he swung it over his shoulder. I noticed that our school badge was on one of its pockets. It showed two swirling mermaids, their swords held gracefully at their sides. Their hair was shorter than I would have imagined. Often, I would ponder what it would be like to be a creature that lived deep beneath the surface where the world could never find it. Silent, soothing motions would surround it, light as a feather; drifting, flowing, gliding to wherever the current decided to take it. No freer than a bird. I snapped out of my daydream when Enoch pulled the other strap over his shoulder, the clattering chiming though the valley. I stared at my school badge. It was odd that Enoch should have such a bag in his possession. I shot Maya a thoughtful look but she didn’t seem to notice, so I disregarded it; after all, Anaya was a Council member, she might have given him one. Who was I to say what he could or could not have in his possession? Nevertheless, I still had a nagging feeling that for some reason I wasn’t seeing something that was right there in front of me. Three teenage boys came jogging past us shirtless, distracting me from my thoughts, and waved at Maya and I. From the look on Maya’s face, I could tell she was awestruck. I recognized one of them from the hockey game we had played a couple of days before. He had dark, spiky hair, biggish ears, a wide smile that formed deep-set dimples just above his chin, and almost black eyes that dared you to smile back at him.
“See you when you get back, ladies,” he said, saluting us. His chest puffed out like a dove during the mating season.
Maya snickered and Willard almost chocked on his own spit as he tried to say something that didn’t quite make it all the way out. As we followed a narrow trail away from the beach, we began finding scattered vegetation which made the trail more visible. Enoch came up from behind us gently grabbing Maya’s shoulders to guide her forward. Willard shifted my weight on his shoulders before we started to climb the base of the mountain. Enoch, who was now walking up front, was either in deep thought or ignoring me completely. Was he upset because I pushed his hand away earlier? I wondered. Had he felt rejected? I wasn’t sure, and I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to get into his mind just yet either. I forced myself not to care. I was tired of always trying to spare other people’s feelings and always forcing myself to do things because I felt obliged to. I felt I owed people something for taking an interest in me. The obligation I felt toward others sometimes compelled me to act in ways I later regretted, and loathed myself for. I had a trick though. I was extremely good at ignoring those feelings and cutting myself off from me. Sam said it was a supernatural power. It was easy for me to blissfully plod along and keep myself busy with other things, while my self-loathing sank to the bottom of a deep pit beneath the surface of my consciousness. But, I had lost that ability recently and for the first time in my life I couldn’t control my emotions, hating every second of it. I was firmly latched on to Maya and Willard as we climbed up onto some rocks at the base of the mountain. My sweat made my tights stick to the folds of my knees and I kept on slipping on small pebbles and loose sand as the incline became steeper. It was the most uncomfortable I had been in a very long time. We were walking on all fours at one stage. I had to sit down every now and then when my legs turned to jelly. Suddenly, small rocks fell from Enoch’s grip above us.
“Watch out!” he yelled, one arm dangling beneath him as he tried to catch the falling rocks.
Maya and Willard slid to the sides as I let go and became one with the rock in front of me. That shot of adrenalin had renewed our energy, making the climb further up that much easier. Once I had reached a small landing, Enoch tied a rope around my waist, wordless, fixed it to his belt and threw the rest of the length of rope down toward the others. We climbed higher and higher. This had to be the scariest thing I have ever done, I thought, as my hands reached another landing. I was very pleased with the padding of the gloves. Enoch pulled me up so that I was standing on the ledge beside him. My body swayed when I realized how far up we had come – yes, I had looked down and almost fainted when I did. His hand pulled me into him but his eyes never met mine.
“Whoa. Easy there. Maybe you should sit down for a bit,” Tatos said.
“Thank you, I think I should.” I said.
Enoch slowly untied me, careful not to linger with his touch on me – I should have seen the beginning of his games and mind tricks then. I sat down beside a big, black boulder, refusing to accept that I was heading into a very dangerous zone with Enoch. Gently stroking the moss that covered its surface, I looked around to find out where the moisture could be coming from and realized we had reached a plateau. Behind us, I could see a small creek sparkling its way toward a thick forest of untouched silverwood trees; the silver of the trunks echoing the silver of the stream passing through. The wind sang through the trees like music to my soul. Maya locked her arm into mine as we followed Enoch into the distance. All the strength had returned to my legs, my sight and my hands but not to my mind. The poison would take longer than that to work its way out of the depths of my thoughts, my soul – that is what it was designed for. The wind picked up as we ventured further into the great mountain. I slowed down and stared in awe at the beauty that the mountain brought into view. In the open expanse below us, I could see the turquoise ocean bleeding into dark navy as the depth of the ocean deepened. The lines of white foam sprayed into the distance as the wind picked it up and carried it toward the valley below. I held on to Maya as I stared straight down into the lush, green vegetation that filled the base of the mountain. I realized yet again how high up we were and felt myself sway slightly once more. Maya giggled, “You have never been this high before, have you?”
I shook my head, wiping the beads of sweat from my forehead. In the distance, I could make out black dots where the camp had been set up on the beach and wondered if they were looking up at us as we made our way up the mountain. My eyes zoomed in on three boys who were dragging a limp body toward the beach. They stopped and bent over. One of the boys circled the body and it went up in flames. A flash of fear shot through my stomach and I looked over at Maya. My eyes lost focus and the boys below suddenly looked like tiny ants as they scuttled around the beach, running back and forth from the ocean to the sand. Some even went into the hem of the forest. I wondered if my new found ability to hear and see things was just an after effect of the poison – or had the Change come too soon?
“It’s spectacular, isn’t
it?” Maya had a tranquil smile on her face as she stared at the ocean.
“It’s too much to take in,” I said, blowing out some air. I wondered if what I saw was real.
“I used to visit Kronan a lot when I was a kid together with my mom and dad. We had some good times, until…” She looked at me, her eyes drowning in bitterness. Gritting her teeth, she unexpectedly spat out, “I hate them” before looking down. I was sure she meant the Zulus, but I was not going to ask. Turning my back on the scene below, I looked up at the steep rise of the mountainside, the stretch of its shadow dimming the glow of the silver stream. Dark stone evened out making it look like a great wall rising into heaven. It overpowered most of the skyline. Behind me, I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks and in the distance I smelled flowers. Their presence in the cold was very peculiar, but everything about the planet was peculiar. We continued to walk alongside the mountain until we entered a field through an archway of gigantic evergreens. Thousands of yellow lilies covered the ground in every direction and the silver creek flowed into the darkness of the woods. I patted the dust from my gloves and shook the dirt from my boots. I was relieved that I had insisted on using my own boots – it was quite a strenuous climb. I stopped to gape at the valley before us.
“The Fields of Gold,” Willard declared, turning back to face us.
“It’s… it’s…” I could not find the words to describe what I was seeing. It was unlike anything I had ever seen with my own eyes. I had seen something similar in pictures of Earth, but not here, ever. We walked a short distance further among the gigantic silver tree trunks that hugged the narrow path. The trail cut through a dark green meadow. It looked like a carpet flowing between the rows of yellow lilies that went as far as the eye could see. The silver stream ran alongside us and sparkled into the woods. Suddenly, Enoch stopped. His forearm snapped up, hand open, making us all stop abruptly. Willard drew his sword. Tatos drew an arrow from its sheath as he clenched his bow with his other hand. Within seconds he had aimed at the rustle in the bushes ahead of us. My skin tingled as my nerve endings prepared for another attack, a subtle electric current running through me like a warning of something to come. With a crunch of greenery, a white horse broke through the bushes inches away from us, water splashing violently as he galloped through the silver stream and circled us before galloping off into the clearing. Maya and I giggled softly, relieved. A very tall man ran after him not a few seconds later. I froze. Noticing our presence, he came to a sudden halt, his turquoise and pearl beads clattering together. He also wore the same deep purple robe as the others, the golden symbols swimming around his wrists. He clapped once. I jumped. It must have been colder than I realized as mist came pouring out of his mouth when he exhaled heavily.
“Wonderful!” he said. “Not a moment too soon.” He chuckled to himself, his deep voice bouncing thunderously off the cliff and ringing throughout the valley.
“I’ll catch him later – it’s not like I have been chasing the stallion my entire life.” A hint of sarcasm in his voice lifted the fear from my mind. He was a friendly.
Maya released her grip around my wrist and everyone bowed.
“Kronan,” Enoch said in acknowledgement.
“Come, please. I will prepare some tea.” The old man’s voice perfectly mirrored his appearance; boisterous.
He stared straight at me and I took a step back. Maya shook her head. Kronan then smiled again. I looked up and saw some birds, butter flies and squirrels that I hadn’t seen anywhere near the planet’s forests for some time. After making our way through a series of streams, I was thankful once again that my boots were knee-high. We entered a round, wooden door that was framed with golden writing and led into the rock face, a door similar to that of Arraina’s.
“He lives in a cave?” I whispered to Maya as we crossed the threshold.
Green moss concealed the pillars that bordered the entrance hall. We walked through a short tunnel and around a small stream of water, which bled down the walls of the cave. As we reached the end of the dim tunnel, we entered a large circular room where a steady heat radiated from a colossal fireplace that was located on the opposite side of the room along with a stack of carved-out bookracks. Dozens of books filled each shelf. I was under the impression that our library at school held the last sacred books of Earth, but with a quick glance, I had noticed that Kronan’s library held books on all kinds of races. More lies.
“Please, make yourselves at home,” Kronan said, taking our thick sweaters to hang up on a very large coat hanger made of the most beautiful iron I had ever seen. It was shaped like a tree with leaves of turquoise. I noticed that mine was covered in blood and hesitated before giving it to him.
“I will have it clean in no time, my dear,” he said. His head remained bowed, his kind amber eyes folding up at the corners as he smiled. But his glare gave something away. He was not all that comfortable with me there. And why would he be? Humans and Minoans were of different species’. As if reading my mind, his glare softened into a genuine smile. I wondered if Troy had the same eyes as his father. Kronan’s eyes were warm, gentle and inviting. He had a kind and handsome face – a face you knew you could trust. It was the only thing I had to go by while I tried to put Troy together in my head.
“Thank you, Sir.” I nodded back.
“If you would be so kind as to take a seat, I shouldn’t be a moment.”
He gestured to the far corner near the massive fireplace. I had the distinct feeling that something was on his mind. Maya and I sat down on a circular rug made of incredibly soft fur. I tried to figure out what animal it had been, marveling at the huge surface it covered. Maya shrugged her shoulders. The warmth of the fire immediately brought feeling back to my cheeks and the sting beneath my eye returned.
“I tried to figure that one out long ago,” she said sobering my mind again, her eyes locked on the others as they headed toward a massive round table, its surface lighted by unseen lamps from above. I still couldn’t recognize magic when I saw it. Enoch put all our gear down next to a huge shelf that held an abundance of small bottles in every shape and color you could imagine. They were similar to the bottles on Maya’s dressing table. Maya and I fell back onto the thick white rug and stroked its luxurious fur. I stretched out and took a deep breath. I could go to sleep right now, I thought to myself, at the exact same time that Maya said precisely the same thing – out aloud. I laughed quietly.
“I was thinking the exact same thing,” I told her.
I looked up at the stalactites that formed thick columns all the way along the wall. Pink and orange stripes ran vertically around the columns, like the rings on the inside of a tree.
“Maya?” I turned to face her.
“Hmm,” she replied. She was lying on her stomach, her eyes shut and her head resting on her arms.
“Kronan is Troy’s father, right?”
“Yup.”
“His friends, they’re in the Military School.” I stated.
“Yup.”
“Does he go to the same school as his friends?”
“He does.”
“Kronan is Minoan,” I said, stating the obvious.
“Kind of,” she mumbled.
“What do you mean kind of?”
Maya opened her eyes. They still sparkled but were a little red from either crying or tiredness.
“Well, it’s like this. Kronan is what we call ‘Broken Blood’ or ‘Half Blood’. His mom was human like his wife was, and his dad was Minoan. So, both Kronan and Troy have qualities from both races.”
“Oh! So, Troy was born on Poseidon then?”
“No,” she said, lifting herself and resting her chin on her fists. “Kronan and his father traveled to Earth shortly after his first birthday. Legend has it, that his mother fell ill after giving birth to a ‘Broken Blood’ and Kronan went with his dad to look for a cure as none of his kind would look after a Broken Blood. They thought they would find a cure on your planet.”
“No. She died before they returned from Earth, but he came back with a son.” She beamed.
“For how long were they gone?” I asked her, looking back over my shoulder at the men. They were leaning over the table and paging through a thick leather-bound book.
“Almost two hundred years.”
“What?” I protested.
“You do know that warlocks have extremely long lives, don’t you?”
“Warlocks?” I shook my head.
“Wizards, sorcerers, blah, blah, blah…” she said, closing her eyes again.
“Oh boy, this is getting complicated,” I said rubbing my eyes, which caused my cheek to start stinging again.
“Maya.”
Enoch approached us. He still couldn’t look me in the eye. He was carrying a golden tray that held glowing golden cups and some radiant pink flowers on it. He set it down on the floor, carefully placing it in front of us so as not to spill a single drop of liquid on the impeccable white rug.
Kronan wasn’t far behind. “Compliments of the chef,” he said, his long arms stretching out toward us. His long, dark hair almost touched his knees – fitting for a warlock. The glow of the fire highlighted the golden, green sparks in his amber eyes, but there was something else in his eyes, a young soul. How I could see that I wasn’t sure. I felt a frown develop on my forehead as I tried to place him in my head.
“Kronan,” Tatos spoke from behind them. “There is an urgent matter we need to discuss.”
Kronan nodded, keeping his eyes on Enoch, slowly twirling a dart between his elongated fingers.
“Yes, of course. Follow me, Enoch,” he said. “I always knew him as the impatient one,” he added. “Let the girls rest. I can see it has been a long day for all of you…” He said with trace of seriousness in his tone.
Maya took a sip of her tonic and scrunched her nose into a little ball.
The Broken Destiny Page 10