Escaping Fate (22 page)

“I know that what was done to you was a
terrible thing Kivera, but what you two have done cannot be excused
either. No one blames you for wanting to be rescued from such an
evil fate, but this,” he said gesturing around him, “cannot go on.
It must stop now. Sacrificing yourselves for all the girls to come
is the only way to stop the killing. Show the god Tlaloc you aren’t
the selfish children you once were. Repent for the choice you made
and pay the debt you owe. It’s the only way.”

Sure that what he said was true, I
closed my eyes, pleading for them to accept.

“I have never considered this before,
but I believe he is right, Kivera. Perhaps Tlaloc will forgive us
and remove the curse if we are willing to give each other up. I
must perform the ceremony one last time,” he said
gravely.

“Will it really work?” Kivera asked.
“Could we save her?” She glanced at me, still prone on the altar,
with hope in her eyes. “I cannot bear to watch her die.” Skaline
nodded, more sure of the proposal with every passing second. “What
about the others? Would it be as if we had done it on that first
day?”

“No, Kivera. Our choice cannot be
erased. What’s done is already done. There is no saving those
children, no saving our children. But we can save Arrabella. I’m
sure we can at least save her, and every child that might come
after her. Think of those we’ll be forced to watch die in years to
come if we don’t do this. We can end this, now. The old man is
right,” Skaline said, conviction tight in his voice.

Solemnly, Kivera nodded her consent.
She released herself from his iron grip. Pride for her decision to
sacrifice her life for mine swirled with remorse for everything she
had already lost. “Release the child,” Kivera ordered, her voice
firm and commanding. The guards jumped to obey her. In seconds I
was free, as was my grandpa.

He ran to me. Scooping me into his
arms, he hugged me with every ounce of strength he possessed. “It’s
alright, honey. You’re safe now. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay now, Grandpa,” I said, trying
to calm myself, worried about the blood matted in his
hair.

“I wasn’t any help at all was I?” I
said. “All I could do was scream at her and hate her for what she
had done, but you felt sorry for her, didn’t you?”

My grandpa shook his head wearily. “I
never thought I would pity either of them, but when I saw their
faces, I felt nothing else.”

A slight sound drew our attention back
to our former captors. Standing next to the altar, Kivera’s body
was perfectly still. A genuine smile graced her lips. Slowly she
lowered herself to the altars face. There were no cords this time.
The guards stood aside, looking just as relieved that their endless
task was nearing its end. A calmness settled over Kivera as she
laid on the altar.

Knife in hand, Skaline slid into place
at the head of the altar. His face was composed, but the horror of
what he was about to do, kill his own wife for the sake of a young
girl he did not know, was plainly visible. The question in his eyes
was answered by a stiff nod from Kivera as she gazed at the knife
in his hand. Even though she wasn’t technically alive, she would
feel its bite. Whether she knew it was the right thing to do or
not, she was terrified.

Tears flowed freely from both faces,
but neither one would turn aside now, not with their only hope for
peace being offered to them. The air wavered briefly. The centuries
of pain and torture was lifted from their bodies. I gasped. The two
stood transfixed, the exact images from my dream. Kivera’s timeless
beauty was restored. Once again, Skaline was the strong young man
he had been before trading his soul away.

“I love you,” Skaline whispered, before
plunging his obsidian blade into her chest.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

A sweet smelling breeze lifted my hair.
The strange stillness of the temple mesa was gone. Leaves rustled
once more. Birds sang. The ice cream truck finally drove
by.

The absolutely ordinary day surrounded
me, and I reveled in it. The grass under my fingers was soft and
itchy. I didn’t remember falling. Hands digging into the earth, my
body heaved out gasping breaths. My head was swimming and I
struggled to keep from tipping over. It was a wasted effort though
because I found myself sprawled out on the grass a few seconds
later with Tanner hovering over me.

“Arra, what happened?” he asked,
panting with anxiety. “You went so still. You didn’t look like you
were even breathing, and then you just collapsed. Are you okay? Are
you hurt?” His hands roamed over my body checking for damaged and
tickling me enough to make me laugh and squirm.

“Tanner. Tanner! I’m fine. It’s okay.
We’re both fine, now,” I gasped.

Tanner just stared at me, completely
perplexed. His eyes clouded angrily. “Why are you laughing? I was
scared to death. I thought you were dead when you fell. What
happened?”

“I’m sorry, Tanner.” I reached up and
grabbed his face and pulled it down to mine. Seeing the fear in his
eyes brought everything back. I never thought I would see him again
and now that he was in my hands I didn’t want to let him go.
Pulling him to me I locked him in a passionate kiss. His anger
melted away the stiffness in his body and his hand came up to
caress my face.

“I really didn’t think they knew each
other that well,” Father Margulies said. Tanner and I darted apart
at the chuckling voice, our faces deep shades of
crimson.

“Are you okay?” my grandpa asked with a
weary laugh. His voice was tight, his throat raw and nearly hoarse,
but a relieved smile played on his face.

Looking over at him, I smiled. He
looked worse than I felt. He pulled himself off the ground, using
the bench arm rest for support, and slid onto the uncomfortable
wooden slats. Reaching for me, his hand shook slightly. I stepped
away from Tanner and went to him.

“I’m okay, Grandpa,” I said. “I’m
better than I expected to be at this point.” Taking his hand, I
slid onto the bench beside him. Tanner and Father Margulies both
waited for us to gather our thoughts. I was sure they both wanted
explanations, but they looked content to wait a little
longer.

“How did you know it would work?” I
asked. The relief and wonder I felt at how he had rescued me made
him look down self-consciously. “I didn’t think anything would stop
this from continuing.”

“When I saw his face, how different it
was from the dream, I was shocked. I believed him when he said he
wanted to stop it. I could almost pity him. Almost,” I said with a
grimace, “but I still didn’t think he would stop from killing
me.”

“When I looked at them,” my grandpa
said, “I realized that they were the ones being punished. I mean,
it doesn’t really make sense to kill so many just to teach two
people a lesson, but I think that was what Tlaloc was doing. I had
suspected it before today, but there was no way to know for sure. I
wasn’t sure either of them would actually do what I suggested, but
I hoped.”

“If you could have seen her in my
dream, the joy on Kivera's face when she was offered a way to save
herself, you never would have believed she would offer herself to
save me. I wouldn’t have,” I said.

“When my great uncle described what had
happed at the temple, the way the woman looked ready to crumble
into dust, I knew she must be hungry for redemption, they both
were. I wondered if she would take the chance to atone for her
terrible choice, if only it was offered. I just wish I could have
done something for the others,” my grandpa said, pain cracking his
voice.

“When Kivera, mentioned the other
girls,” I said, “asking if they could be saved too, my heart leapt.
I prayed for that brief second, that Katie and Maera would come
back. I know it was a foolish thing to hope for, but it was hard
not to.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I was so
afraid that I was going to be forced to watch you die.” He shook
his head, as if shedding years of pain and grief in the slight
motion. “I’m just so glad to have you here now. Let’s have no more
talk of the past. It has haunted our family long
enough.”

Both Tanner and Father Margulies still
looked slightly unsure of what had actually happened, but neither
of them said anything. I would explain to Tanner later, and I was
sure Father Margulies would get the details from my grandpa sooner
or later. But for now neither of us wanted to speak of it
anymore.

“What time is it?” I asked. The time
spent atop the temple mesa seemed to have lasted days, hours at
least. With the exhaustion that had overwhelmed me, I would not
have been surprised if it really had been several days since the
Aztec guard had touched my hand. I shivered remembering that brief
contact.

“It’s twelve oh five,” my grandpa
answered. “I don’t think any time passed at all while we were
there.” Rubbing his eyes, he sighed deeply, expelling emotions that
seemed ready to overwhelm him. “I feel like I haven’t slept in
days.”

“Me too.”

My grandpa ran his fingers through his
hair and winced. His fingers came away bloody.

“That isn’t going to be easy to
explain,” Father Margulies said.

“We’ll just tell your dad I tripped
while we were hiking. Old fogies like me are always falling down,”
he said, laughing for the first time in days.

“Then he’ll want you to go in for a cat
scan,” I said.

“Why don’t you come inside and let me
get you cleaned up,” Father Margulies said. “I’m sure Tanner can
get Arra home okay.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The low crackling of the bonfire was
hardly the only noise on the beach, but it was the one that I
reveled in. Yesterday, I thought that the only fire I would ever
see again was the one burning next to the Aztecan altar. The sounds
of laughing and the sound of the waves breaking in the moonlight
went unheard by my ears as I moved closer to Tanner. He responded
by wrapping me in his arms and pulling me into his lap.

Looking up at him, I watched the flames
of the fire reflected in his eyes dance merrily. His lips turned up
into a smile before leaning down and pressing against mine. Unlike
the kiss we shared before I was pulled away to the temple, this one
held no fear or desperation, only peace. Tanner pulled away sooner
than I would have liked, but the adoring smile he gave me made up
for that.

“Are you warm enough?” he
asked.

After that kiss, I was plenty warm.
“I’m fine.”

His smiled widened into a playful grin.
“But you’re shaking.”

Color flooded my cheeks and I was glad
for the darkness. “That has nothing to go with the temperature.
Ever since yesterday that seems to happen to me every time I get
near you.”

I expected more teasing, but Tanner’s
face softened. “I’m glad you are near me,” he said. “I was scared
yesterday. It only lasted a second for me, but I was terrified of
what you were going through.”

I told him later that night the details
of what happened on the temple mesa. Tanner stayed quiet the whole
walk home from the church, which I appreciated. Dinner and a movie
with my parents in honor of my birthday temporarily banished his
questions and worry, but as soon as we were left alone in the
living room he begged me to tell him everything.

Telling him was the last thing I wanted
to do, but the guilt in his eyes that he had not been able to
follow us convinced me in the end. He listened to every word, and
even though he knew how it ended his hands were clenched in fear
the entire time. In the end, we held each other until we were both
convinced that it was really over. We were on the couch for a long
time. Maybe not long enough given the look on Tanner’s
face.

“It’s all over, Tanner. I promise,” I
said. My fingers came up to his face and drifted back into his
hair, curling the short strands around my fingertips in an attempt
to soothe him.

“I know it’s over,” he said. “It’s just
hard not to think about how close I came to losing you.”

An owl hooted in the distance as it
searched the woodland floor for little mice. The owls had unnerved
me the first few nights we were here, but now every sound of life I
heard reminded me that I was still alive. So much had changed since
moving to Grainer.

“Do you want to know what I dreamed
about last night?” I asked him.

I can still see the fear in his eyes,
but he attempts to hide it from me by pulling me against his chest.
“What did you dream about last night?”

Pulling in even closer, I said,
“You.”

“You dreamed about me?”

“Uh huh.”

“What happened?” Tanner asked, his body
relaxing.

My grin is thankfully hidden by the
darkness, and my giggle swallowed up by the sounds of the fire and
ocean. Or at least I thought they were. Tanner’s warm breath
rippled across my neck as he leaned closer to me.

“What happened in this dream?” he asked
again.

“I’m not telling,” I said with another
laugh.

“That is not fair.”

“Neither was showing up at my house
with a bow as a birthday gift. My mom nearly had a heart attack
when she saw it.”