Blood of the Pure (Gaea) (33 page)

“To me? Interesting. I’m listening.”

I watched him for a moment and couldn’t help wonder where he’d been until then. That small, sharp pain returned when I considered the possibility that he’d probably been with Steph, which, together with everything else, made me irritable and angry for no apparent reason.

“I ... I still haven’t thanked you for what you did this morning. For having ...” I stopped myself, recalling his words, and corrected my phrasing. “For releasing Lea form his punishment and for saving my life. And what happened, well, I’m sorry.” I finally said it, telling myself that throwing away a bit of pride was a cheap price to pay for sealing any debts I might have incurred during the last events. “I was scared. I didn’t think ... I never meant ...” I stammered, unable to put it any clearer and made a brief pause to recover from the effort. He remained calm, unmoving, like he wasn’t there and I was talking to a wall. “Now, that aside, I need to know. What happened between you and Steph?” I asked, making sure I did so in my most firm tone, and his eyes turned away.

“So, that’s it then,” he observed in a mix of scorn and disinterest, and my anger burnt molten hot.

“It’s important!” I retorted, countering his apparently detached expression.

“She’s nothing but an insignificant Human.”

“Stephanie is my friend!” I declared, raising my voice, and unthinkingly stood up, as if doing so could help me mark my point. The chair fell backwards with a bang that left us both in silence.

“Very well. What do you want to know?” he finally conceded, but his gaze escaped mine once again, as his expression became even harder and indifferent.

It took me some time until I was able to organize my ideas enough to establish a coherent line of thought and I swallowed hard before talking again. Now it wasn’t only his presence that made me shiver, that made my stomach burn. I had questions I wanted to ask, but answers I was sure I didn’t want to hear.

“Are you ... together?” I managed to ask and my voice sounded lonely and frail as the words left my lips.

“What does that mean?” he counter-asked, completely indifferent, which made me frown as I had to reformulate my question.

“Tuesday. Were you together?

“She came to me,” he calmly admitted and my heart almost stopped since he hadn’t hesitated for even a split second.

“You stayed together?”

“What do you mean?”

I clenched my teeth, grinding them together in despair. He wasn’t going to spare me having to ask it word by word. 

“Did you ... sleep with her?” I whispered in a hiss, the words burning my tongue, and he just stood there, unmoving.

“Yes.”

Pain spread through my chest, making me lean forward, and I forced new air to fill my lungs. The pain started clawing at my brain, making me faint, and I braced myself against the table, my fingers clawing its smooth surface.

“Why?”

“Because she came to me.” His indifference exploded against the wave of pain that consumed me and my anger was unleashed.

“What now!” I asked, unable to recognize my own voice, hard and threatening, and he shrugged.

“You heard what she said. She thinks I belong to her.” The mocking tone that marked his last comment was the last drop. I slammed both my hands on the table, wishing I could hit him instead, and the sound vibrated in the air around us. His head turned slowly to face me, his expression half surprised, half curious, and I faced his dark eyes with all my fury and anger.

“Because of you! Because of you, I lost my friend!” I accused him and my mouth tasted bitter before his lack of reaction. “And I can’t care less about what you do! But one thing you have to abide by!” I went on, not wanting to stop, knowing that if I did I’d probably never be able to start again, and I pulled hard at the blue ribbon around my wrist, tearing it effortlessly, as I raised my hand in front of him. He frowned, annoyed at the sight of the small red mark that stained my skin, and I continued. “You’re the one who created this Contract! And I will not allow you to break it!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he retorted dryly, completely different from his previous indifferent self.

“I told you, you weren’t allowed to hurt those around me! I won’t allow you to hurt Steph! Or is it that you only know physical pain!” His eyes widened, in an expression that I’d never seen in his face; as if he’d just now thought about that. And then his expression became heavier, like the air around us, becoming harder to breathe. I pressed my lips together before throwing myself back into the fight. “If you hurt her ... if she ends up suffering because of you. If you make her cry. I swear I’ll declare this a broken Contract and I will demand your Soul as compensation!” I threatened darkly, lowering my voice to a tense murmur, certain that it would end up failing me should I try to speak any louder than that, and the fury that took over his face would have sent me spiraling to the floor, if it weren’t for the table that I used to supported my shaking body with all my strength and determination.

I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling cold drops of sweat sliding down my forehead. I’d managed to say what I wanted to say, I congratulated myself trying to focus on what was really important instead of the devastating effect that his terrible presence had over me. Now all I wished was to be able to get away from that place, to return to the apparent safety of my room, where I could faint at ease. Above all, I didn’t want to lose consciousness there, in front of him!

“I see what you mean.” His voice was surprisingly calm and I opened my eyes to look at him. I recalled what Lea had told me. He hadn’t only controlled his voice, but his emotions as well. His face returned to that perfect unfeeling statue, his dark gaze once more indifferent. The air became lighter, once again, and I was able to straighten my back. “Agreed,” he conceded calmly. “So, from where I stand, I only see two ways of solving this. Either I keep on sustaining this relationship, or I break up with her. What do you wish me to do?”

Wish. Lea had told me that he would comply with my wishes, as long as I made them clear. My answer was so immediate that I couldn’t help hesitate. I had no doubts regarding what I wanted. I wanted him to break up with her, now! In that precise moment if possible! However ... however, my mind could easily come up with arguments that made the other option look much better, as far as Stephanie’s happiness was concerned. And, if I rationally thought like that, why was I wishing the opposite?

“How ... how can you break up with her and not hurt her at the same time?” I questioned, hoping that he’d offer me a few more arguments in favor of my rational choice. If I could prove myself that my wish was impossible, then there wouldn’t be a choice to be done anymore. I should’ve known better. He would never help me. That wasn’t his role.

“It’s quite easy for someone like me. There’s a Human boy interested in your friend. If he takes my place in her heart, then she will not suffer,” he stated in a disconcerting matter-of-fact tone, his black eyes observing me, and I felt a hint of guilt weighing on my consciousness. I knew he was challenging me, provoking me, and that he knew all too well what I really wanted, just like he’d known when I’d evoked him. There was no escape. “To tell you the truth, it’s not like she’s in love with me, or anything,” he pointed out, his voice deep with sarcasm as he pronounced the word love. “She admires the fleeting image she created of me in the brief moments she saw me and is under the influence of the night we spent together. She doesn’t even know me. How could she possibly love me?”

It was the same, the same that Michael had told me. Sure, his tone was colder, and bitter, and filled with sarcasm, but strangely enough that only made it sound even more real.

“Do it then!” I decided and he tilted his head sideways, smiling murderously.

“And what shall I do, exactly?” Again, without sparing me, not even when I knew that my choice wasn’t as unselfish as it should be.

“What I wish!” I stated firmly. “Break up with her and leave Mark in your place!”

His smile widened and he straightened his back, uncrossing his long arms, leaving me apprehensive and trembling, as it always happened every time he moved.

“Fine. I’ll do as you wish,” he said and I sighed in relief. “However!” His ‘however’ echoed in my mind, making me tense. There was more. It wasn’t going to be that easy. He wasn’t finished.

He kept silent for a moment, allowing me to recover from the shock and disappointment, and I took a deep breath when I felt myself able to resume our conversation.

“However?” I asked and he smiled again, seeming amused, his face taking on that surreal beauty that could never belong to a Human Being.

“However, I’ll only do this if I get something in return.” My legs threatened to buckle under my weight and I held on to the table with all my strength. More exchanges, more Contracts. And what could I possibly give him that wasn’t already pledged? I had nothing, besides despair.

“What ... do you want?” I whispered between breaths, my voice falling to its usual frail and broken tone, and his expression became slightly cruel, the corners of his perfect lips slightly turning downwards. And still he was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Let’s see ...” He left his words hanging, as if considering the matter, and I waited. “It so happens that I’m rather bored,” he told me with a tedious expression. “In the end, we both know that I’ve already fulfilled my part in this Contract, and still here we stand, in this boring impasse.” My eyes widened unable to understand, not wanting to understand, and he looked at me curiously. “Come on! You’re not going to tell me that you still haven’t noticed! The useless blondie is head over heels for you!” he declared with such certainty that I felt completely lost, as if I’d just been pushed to the edge of a cliff, not even noticing how I’d come to stand there. “Everyone can see it! It’s rather annoying!” he went on and my mind fervently denied every single word he said. “Whatever the reason, he seems to be refusing to admit it. I wonder why!” Sarcasm again. “Either way, I promised that your feelings would be returned and, although we all know this is already true, there’s no way to prove it to you, unless he admits it himself.” I almost felt relieved. If that was true, then there were still ways to stop it from happening. “And so, I have to remain here, until such time. I was about to die of boredom when Stephanie challenged me.” I clenched my teeth hard and resisted the impulse to cut him off. Hearing Steph’s name in his voice annoyed me deeply, beyond any rational reasoning. “And now you want me to give up my one and only amusement. It just doesn’t seem fair.”

“Amusement,” I repeated in disbelief. Was that how he saw her? And those who worried about her, like Joanne and me? All of that was it of no consequence to him? “Just say what you want!” I demanded, once again boiling with anger, and his face lost that sarcastic look, becoming frighteningly serious.

“The time I should be passing with her, you will be passing with me,” he told me with absolute certainty, and I just stood there, staring at him.

“What!”

“You’ll be the one to decide. The longer you spend with me, the lesser I’ll spend with her. After all, it’s your clear lack of taste in men that lead us to this annoying situation. Any other, in his place, would’ve already given the next step!”

I ignored his clear provocation and ran a hand over my damp forehead.

“How long?”

“How long?”

“How long will you need to let her go,” I clarified and immediately wished I’d kept quiet.

His eyes flickered lightly, as if he’d just had a wonderful idea, and that ironic smile returned to his face.

“Hmm, let’s see. It all depends on you,” he declared and I stared at him clueless. “I’ll set your friend free the day you’re able to come close to me enough to kiss me. Until then I think I’ll probably go on having fun in her company every time you’re otherwise engaged. Contrary to your indecisive self, she always knows perfectly well what she wants.”

Not thinking, I grabbed the first thing my hands could reach and threw it at his head. I didn’t quite understand how he managed to avoid it, since I couldn’t even see him move. However, the glass hit against the door frame right behind his head, shattering and falling on the ground in a dozen pieces. He looked down, at the small pieces of glass at his feet, looking surprised for just an instant, and then laughed, a rich, warm laugh that filled the entire room, ringing in my ears.

“I guess that means we have a deal?” he suggested, still laughing, and I wished I could cry of anger.

The soft sound of a small bell captured our attention, and Lea appeared at the door, still rubbing his eyes, looking extremely sleepy.

“What is it? What’s happened?” he mumbled and Gabriel bent over him, picking him up with ease. His silver eyes shot wide open, immediately awake as he felt himself suddenly rise so high above the ground, and, for a second, I was afraid for him. “M-m-master ...” I thought he was going to scold him for walking around the house in that shape, or at least treat him coldly as he’d done that morning. But Gabriel smiled, that smile he only showed that child, and ruffled his hair in an obvious good mood.

“You better sleep with me tonight, Lea. Mari is throwing a tantrum and dangerous things happen,” he added, pointing to the glass pieces with a movement of his head, and Lea followed his gaze, almost alarmed.

“Mari,” he whispered looking at me, his childish expression changing to one of sadness and pity as he empathized with my wasted and broken appearance, and then turned to Gabriel, pleadingly. “Master, can we go now?” he asked and Gabriel offered me a last amused smile before turning his back on me and walking away, taking Lea with him.