Blood of the Pure (Gaea) (74 page)

The kitchen was immersed in silence and I immediately missed the voices that usually filled it. I stuck my head in the freezer and checked its contents. Once more our provisions were dwindling and I made a mental note about the need of a quick stop by the supermarket the next day or so. I took a piece of veal, perfect for what I had in mind, and seasoned it with lemon juice, salt and pepper. I added some chopped garlic and sprinkled it with thyme and oregano, and, after adding a generous amount of olive oil, slid it into the oven. I would serve it with some salted vegetables, I decided. But I would still have to make fries, since Lea always made a face every time I told him eat his veggies. Fries would be my trading chip, I planned with a smile as I peeled the potatoes.

The sound of the front door bell left me intrigued. I didn’t recall anyone ever ringing my bell ever since Rachel had returned to Paris. And so, I put down the knife and went to the door, warning Alexander not to worry as I passed by the living room. The bell rang again, persistently, and I slightly ran to get it.

“All right, all ready! I’m coming!” I warned, turning the key and, as soon as the latch unlocked, the door opened with such violence that I had to take a step back so it wouldn’t hit me. I took a hand to my chest, trying to still my heart from the scare I’d caught, and looked back at him in complete disbelief.

“Mari! I need to talk to you!” Michael blurted out, obviously distressed about something, and stepped into the house without even being invited. And yet, two steps after, his body was completely frozen, his anxious expression changing into one of utter shock, fear even, and then growing darker and more frightening as his green eyes glowed threateningly. “Him! He’s here, isn’t he?” he asked me in a harsh, angry tone, and I blinked, completely stunned.

With a fast movement, Michael grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me outside the house, making me stumble to accompany his fast, furious pace. I ran, and stumbled again, too confused to react as he dragged me down the street, towards a small parking lot not far from there.

And then, it suddenly came to my mind, and I felt wretched inside. The promise we had made, the afternoon I had agreed to spend with him, the birthday I had wanted to celebrate. I had forgotten all about it. My mind had been so far from all that, I hadn’t even remembered it when Gabriel had mentioned his name.

“Michael ...” I started, trying to apologize, knowing that what I’d done was unforgivable, that he had every reason in the world to be angry with me, and he pulled me even harder.

“Just shut up! Do you know you even smell like him!” The harshness of his usually gentle voice left me wordless.

He stopped near the place where he’d left his bike ... more broken promises, I thought, as he released my wrist to get on it.

“Come on! What are you waiting for?” he demanded, still angry, and I finally understood that he expected me to leave with him. I instinctively took a step back, holding my wrist that still hurt, and shook my head.

I knew better than anyone that it was too dangerous being alone like this. It was like asking Telane to find me and finish what she had started two days ago. But, above that, right then, I didn’t want to be alone with him. His fierce, almost crazed, expression scared me. I didn’t know that Michael at all. And my silent refusal seemed to only make him angrier, his hands closing into tight fists that shook under the strength of his own grip.

“Why is he here?” he asked accusingly, raising his voice, and I cringed instinctively. His voice almost sounded like a thunder echoing across the skies.

“He?” I replied, still too perplexed by all that to react accordingly, and a deep frown marked his forehead.

“I saw you yesterday, Mari! At school! Who do you think you’re fooling?” My heart jumped at that. He’d seen us? How? And if he’d seen us, what else had he seen?

“Michael, it’s not what you’re thinking,” I tried to explain, appealing to his comprehension, above all trying to appease him, but it all had the opposite effect.

“And how do you know what I’m thinking? Why didn’t you tell me that he was back? Better yet! How long has he been there, stuck in the same house as you, without even going to school?”

I blinked, incredulous of the direction our talk was taking and, somehow, I felt more relaxed.

“Gabriel is only passing by,” I assured him, even though the mere possibility of my words being true made me sick to my stomach, and he frowned again.

“Passing by!” He spit the words with scorn. “I saw you together! In each other’s arms! I reckon that you spent the afternoon with him! And to think that, even after that, I still waited for you. That I still believed you’d be back. I’ve been nothing but understanding up till now! Trying to accept that distorted relationship you two have. Trying to respect your doubts and insecurities. And what for, since it’s obvious I’m losing you to him!”

“Michael!” I shouted above his voice and was gasping for air the instant after. I felt terrible, and guilty, and the worst Human Being on Earth for having hurt him like that. But, above all, because what had lead me to shout like hadn’t been his pain or his despair, but my fear that his words could fulfill the terms of the Contract. And not because I was afraid to do my part, but because that was the only bound that truly united Gabriel and I. “I am sorry for yesterday. I truly am.” I told him in complete honesty, my voice breaking halfway, and did my best to face his furious but also hurt green eyes. “But everything else ... it’s just crazy stuff from your head.” Shaking inside, I told myself I was not trying to deceive him while my darker voice laughed mockingly at my lie.

He stood up, seeming calmer, and took two steps towards me. And even though that was Michael, the Michael I loved and trusted implicitly, I still had to make a real effort to just stand there, and not step back in order to keep the distance.

“Prove it!”

It took me some time to understand the true meaning of his words and my heart beat hard against my chest, making me look away in hopes of escaping that command.

“Michael …”

“Prove it!” he repeated, cutting me off, and his hands held me by the shoulders, pulling me roughly.

I couldn’t breathe and reflexively pushed him with all my strength, my shaking hands on his chest, but he didn’t move an inch. The warm hands that covered my shoulders hurt me, his fingers digging into my skin, and I groaned in pain knowing I’d never be strong enough to free myself from his grip.

“Let her go!” That voice, although spoken in what could be considered a normal tone, echoed all around us in a heavy, dark threat, putting everything to a stop. Michael raised his head, looking surprised, and his hands automatically lost their strength, ending up releasing me. Before I could react, an arm was across my chest and I was pulled back against a firm, warm body.

“You are ... that friend of his,” Michael murmured. The tension around us made me shudder.

“That’s right. And you! You don’t have the right to even come close to her!” Alexander replied, murderous intent dripping from his every single word. Michael stood silent, looking at me with a mix of pain and regret, making my heart hurt as well. Alexander took a deep breath and released me. “However, because Mari worries about you, I’ll tell you what happened. Gabriel and I came back yesterday. His mother, Mari’s aunt, passed away last Sunday. The family thought it best if we gave Mari the news personally. And so we met her at school. Mari wasn’t feeling well afterwards, and so we brought her home.” He spoke in a monotonous, obviously annoyed tone, and placed a warm hand on my head as if to comfort me. I couldn’t even feel outraged at the stream of lies flowing out of his lips. “Since she wasn’t feeling all that great, I gave her a sleeping pill, and she just woke up an hour ago. And now! After all she’s been trough, you still come here with this kind of shit?”

He was, back to his furious mode and Michael winced in pain, like he’d been really hit.

“Alexander! Please,” I begged. I was the one at fault. I was the one who had hurt him. I didn’t want to see him suffer anymore, much less for a bunch of ridiculous lies.

Alexander looked down at me for a second, and then looked away, almost pouting, but didn’t say another word.

I looked back at Michael, at his guilty and confused expression. I could still clearly remember his bright smile when he’d shown me his new bike, inviting me to spend the afternoon together. I swallowed my sobbing that would only lead to a tearless crying, and made my lips smile, making sure I kept my emotions under control and that I kept facing him, even as hard as it now was just looking at him.

“I am really sorry,” I told him in all honesty. “I know how important yesterday was for you, and I do wish I could have spent it with you.” I felt sad and disappointed at myself, and he lowered his head.

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I ...” His shoulders shook and then he was facing away and getting on his bike as he slid the helmet over his head.

“Michael! Wait!” I called out to him, desperately trying to reach him. I couldn’t let him go like that, as if things had been broken between us. How could I possibly fix that? But Alexander held my hand, pulling me back, and then his bike was already roaring even before he released the brake as he sped out of the parking lot and down the road, leaving me behind, empty and cold. 

“Let him go, Mari,” Alexander told me as I watched him go. There was nothing else I could do.

The pain, however, was all mine to bear and I sobbed bitterly, not even one single tear obeying my sorrow. Childishly enough I was angry with my own Soul! How could she just watch him go like that and do nothing! And feel nothing when I was in so much pain. And then my usual defense mechanism turned on and everything inside me was quiet, still and unfeeling for as long as I could keep my mind like that, completely blank.

It was in that almost apathetic state that I returned home with Alexander by my side. I heard him ask me for forgiveness for not having arrived earlier. And somewhere I knew I should thank him, but the words were lost inside of me. As soon as he opened the door I could smell burning, and I went straight to the kitchen to see Jonathan surrounded by a cloud of gray smoke.

“I’m really sorry! When I noticed it was already too late! And I don’t really know how to use these things,” he said, sounding strangely flustered. I didn’t know what was stranger; that he was talking to me or that he could show that kind of expression, but I didn’t care either way.

“It’s fine. No big deal,” I told him, looking at my scorched veal.

“What now?” he asked, sounding genuinely worried, and I shrugged.

“Throw it away,” I replied and turned away, feeling Alexander’s gaze following me, as I went up to my room.

For a moment I almost expected seeing him there, looking at me with his mocking smile, and an ironic sneer touched my lips. Even then, even in that kind of situation, after all that had just happened, in the end my mind turned towards Gabriel.

With a sigh I went to the place where he usually sat, on the floor, and sat down. I recalled Steph’s words and buried my forehead on my knees. She’d been right all along. I wanted them both and, not surprisingly, the only thing that could come out of something like that was pain and suffering. I couldn’t even think about things like having to choose one, even though that would probably mean that I would end up losing both. After all, Gabriel wasn’t even Human.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

PAZ

– The Marriage of Yod and He. The common Tibetan Symbol. The Seer identifies himself with it.
1
–

“And, even surrounded by despair, the joy that fills me inflates my being and feeds my life ...

However, I know all too well that reality is quite different, and that what I now feel are nothing but cruel,

passing illusions of a life pulled away from its Destiny.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

hat are you doing there, sitting on the floor?” I raised my head and blinked, not knowing if I was sleeping or awake. Gabriel was right in front of me, sitting on my bed, as if he’d been watching me for quite some time. His face was an indecipherable mask, his velvet tone sounding dry and restrained.

I asked myself how long he’d been sitting there. I had the feeling I’d fallen asleep. I looked out the window in search of some reference, but the day outside was still bright.

I shrugged, answering his questions. I didn’t want to talk, or think, certain that the sound of my own voice would bring everything back, breaking the quietness and stillness inside me. If I could stay like this, I felt I could pretend I still had my eyes closed, forgetting myself so I wouldn’t be able to feel.

“Until when are you going to stay there?” he insisted and I watched him in silence.

Although his expression seemed serene and indifferent, something in his eyes and in the way he spoke told me otherwise.

My lack of response seemed to worsen his bad mood, and a small crease marked the perfect skin of his forehead.

“You still smell like him!” he accused me, dryly, and the wave of pain that washed over me, together with how ridiculous everything really was, left me on the brink of despair; and so I laughed, knowing I could never cry.

Gabriel sat in silence, watching me with his serious expression until my laughter started to dwindle. My throat hurt, as though I’d been screaming for hours, and I faced him, running a cold, moist hand over my scalding face.

“Did you know he told me the exact same thing?” I asked and my voice sounded harsh, and broken. I smiled sarcastically and rested my head on my hand. “He also told me I smelled like you, and searched for you like a mad man, as if you could be hiding in my shadow.” Gabriel seemed to try to control his bad temper and closed his hands into tight fists over his legs.

“Sigweardiel told me what happened,” he confessed.

“And?” He looked away and frowned.

“That pain that consumes you ... annoys me!” I smiled briefly at his comment, lost between pain, and sadness, and happiness. “Seeing you there, because of him, makes me want to do something drastic, something that would replace him inside of you.”

“You want even my pain to be because of you? I thought you wanted me to smile,” I argued and he seemed to struggle with the idea.

“And I do. But if that’s not possible, then I’d rather that even in pain you’ll think only of me,” he told me roughly.

“Michael is important to me,” I declared in a small voice and saw him clench his teeth. “He’s the reason why you’re here.”

“That means ...” His voice broke, hesitantly, and I forced myself to stop being a coward, at least in front of him.

“That I love him, yes,” I completed and the air around us became heavier, showing just how much those words had enraged him. “It hurts me knowing that I hurt him. I feel sad, knowing that I’m the reason of his sadness. He used to be so bright, and now ... and I feel like it was me, who stole his light.”

“Then is it because of the Contract? Is that the reason why you’re here, and not there? With him?” he asked in an icy murmur, refusing to look at me, and that sharp pain pierced my chest again.

“No, not anymore,” I whispered, but it looked like he didn’t hear me.

“If you want to be with him, just go!” he told me, raising his voice, and the glass of the windows shook as if about to break.

Gabriel took a deep breath, resting his forehead on the tips of his fingers and seemed to focus on controlling the intensity of his presence that, even from where he sat, already had me shivering.

The shadow in which his bent body had transformed left a bitter taste in my mouth. I felt him alone again, and that idea was like a dagger piercing my heart. Because, in the end, he was always alone, even when surrounded by those who knew him, like Lea and Alexander. Constantly restraining himself, constantly tying himself up from the inside out, in a dark place where no one could ever reach him for hundreds of years.

I stood up, using the wall behind me, and went to him in slow steps, waiting, at any moment, for a more brusque reaction. And yet he didn’t even move, and I couldn’t help thinking how much he looked like a Human at the brink of despair.

I recalled other moments when I’d wished I could hug him and comfort him. Back then I couldn’t even get close to him, my own existence rejecting his. But now everything had changed.

I slid my fingers between his soft, dark hair and he seemed even quieter. Although I couldn’t stop trembling, I pulled him close, until his head was against my stomach, surprised at how easily he allowed my hand to guide him, and took a deep breath.

“I’m exactly where I want to be,” I said without a shadow of a doubt and that certainty actually made me feel more relaxed. “And the Contract ... the Contract is the only thing that binds us together, and the reason why you’re here. And if I don’t want it to be fulfilled, it’s because you would probably leave afterwards,” I added, drawing small, soft circles with the tips of my fingers on his head.

“And what if you had to choose?” he asked, his velvet voice sounding muffled, and I was instantly frozen in place.

It wasn’t as if I hadn’t asked myself that same question, certain that he would end up asking it, but until that point, I was yet to reach an acceptable answer.

“That is impossible for me,” I confessed openly.

“Because I’m not Human?

I thought about it for a moment. I couldn’t deny the weight that that had, and how much the differences between us pulled us apart. But I still wasn’t sure it would be any easier to choose if he were just another one of my schoolmates.

“I don’t know,” I said. He raised his head, making me release him from my touch, and I was dazed, for a moment, lost in the perfection of his face. “Are you angry? Annoyed? Sad?”

“Happy ... because you’re here.”

I smiled at his answer, and touched his face, sliding my fingers over his soft, cold skin. He closed his eyes, like I’d seen him do to feel the rain, and I traced the perfect lines of his face, as if I were the one molding that perfect statue. The complete absence of any imperfections made his skin totally inhuman and, if it weren’t for the electrical sensation that tingled in my fingers, I could have sworn that there was no life in him.

I drew his ears, lost in their anatomical perfection, and traced the thin cords that were the muscles of his neck, detecting a light slow, beating rhythm from far away.

“Your skin ... is so strange,” I murmured, noticing that the texture was always the same, and Gabriel smiled, opening his eyes to look at me.

“Strange is the feeling of your touch.”

I pulled my hands away, immediately, suddenly aware of what I’d just done, and he laughed.

“It’s only because I’ve been curious about it for a long time now!” I claimed in my defense, flustered. “I didn’t mean anything special!”

“But it was special ... for me. I don’t remember anyone ever touching me, unless they were trying to destroy me.” I faced him seriously, knowing that he was referring to the other
Deiwos
, and he smiled again. “Ah, except Lea, of course.”

“And other Humans?” I asked and immediately condemned the true source of that question, hurriedly trying to disguise it. “I mean, everyone at school, they didn’t have any problems being close to you, unlike me, that can’t stop shaking.”

“Mostly coerced cold and distant touches that want more than they’re willing to give. Yes, I’ve had plenty of those,” he said. “But, when left on their own, Humans tend to avoid me, just as much as I avoid them. They’re too frail and complicated.”

I stood silent, avoiding saying anything for fear that I’d end up saying what I didn’t want to say.

“Before Lea came to me, there were times when I spent my days in the Human world. I was young and searching for something that could fill the emptiness inside me, something that would be a challenge, since everyone seemed to fear me and, for that reason, avoid me. At least Humans, when properly influenced, can even treat me as their equal. And here no one knew who I was, and I could easily play with their stupidity and innocence. Two words and a smile were enough to make them forget their own primal instincts, and they would walk and talk with me, completely oblivious of my true nature. I even ended up spending a couple of Human lives here, helping ones and harming others, as if the world were no more than a huge doll house. And, obviously, I had many lovers, whom I freely manipulated according to my desires, using them as pawns in my games. However, none of the ones I allowed to touch me lasted for long.”

Once more I felt him looking for a reaction from me, as if what he’d just told me was just another test to my persistency.

“Although to them such actions could be seen as expressions of affection, I always felt like if something, somehow inferior to me, had just touched me,” he explained. “And the way they always lost themselves in my arms, always wanting more, unable to think, trying to find new ways to seduce me, it made me want to kill them, certain that afterwards I’d be able to enjoy some blessed quiet moments.”

I stood silent, my heart beating hard against my chest, and raised one hand to touch the lips that so coldly had spoken those words. The warmth from his breath touched my fingertips, contrasting with the cold of his skin. I still remembered the feeling of the gentle kiss he’d given me the night before and, even after hearing what he’d just said, I still couldn’t help wanting to feel it again.

However, the words I’d been restraining since before were still persistently tumbling around my brain, and I hated myself even more for not being able to contain them.

“But not Steph,” I muttered and he seemed surprised for an instant, pulling away from my touch.

“You shouldn’t say things like that, Mariane. Not when I’m trying this hard to behave,” he grunted, but I wasn’t up to letting him escape my question, since I’d had been shameless enough to bring it up in the first place.

“She was different,” I insisted and Gabriel sighed.

“Of course she was. She was important to you.”

“Is that all?” I pressed on and he seemed amused.

“That’s all. In truth I never even raised a single finger to touch her. And besides, if she was an important existence to me, I wouldn’t be here with you.” My heart responded automatically to his words.

“Because I’m important to you,” I tried, looking for a confirmation, and his expression became almost grave.

“Yes.”