Of Gaea (15 page)

Ari blinked in
surprise then realized Leonidas still spoke.

“
You
want the runes so badly?” Leonidas gestured to the mountains of
books. “I’ll give you an hour to find the book you want. If you
find it, I’ll help you. If not, well. You get the idea.”

Sasha
stepped off and waited for the elevator doors to close. He sneezed
once then sighed. “Do you have any idea what to even look
for?”

Ari
looked around what could be seen of the room and sighed. “Nope.
Golden needle in a stack of silver ones.”

“
Wonderful.” Sasha took a few steps and sneezed again. “It
would be nice if he dusted once in a while.”

Ari
scanned shelves as Sasha walked. “How do you know
Leonidas?”

“
Broken
nose.” Sasha muttered.

“
Yours
or his?” Ari gestured to a semi clean table. “Set me down here. I
need to think.”

“
I’m
waiting.” The woman Ari had heard from the elevator spoke
again.

Ari
jerked her head in the direction of the sound but there was nothing
there.
“I’m officially
spooked.”

Sasha
turned away from the shelf he perused. “What’s wrong?”

She
gestured in the direction she heard the woman. “I think we should
go that way.”

“
How do
you know?” Sasha scooped Ari back up.

“
There’s
a woman, over there. I hear her.” Ari shifted nervously. “At least
I hope I’m not hearing things.”

“
A
woman?” Sasha danced sideways around some books. “Let’s hope she’s
friendly at least.”

“
I hope
so, too.” Ari gestured for him to stop. She closed her eyes and
waited. No voice spoke but Ari felt the pull like a magnet. She
held out her arm like a compass needle. “That way. I’ve never heard
her before but I feel… connected. She doesn’t feel
threatening.”

Sasha
cursed under his breath as he tripped.
He hadn’t realized he stepped on a book, and it
slid out from under him when he shifted his weight. He didn’t let
Ari go, rather his hold tightened.

Ari
threw her hands around his neck and held tightly as they went
down.
There was nothing
she could do about her flailing legs. All she could do was hold
tightly and pray Sasha didn’t land too heavily on her.

He
turned so suddenly Ari barely registered the movement.
Sasha landed with his back on
the ground with Ari on top. The sudden impact slammed the breath
out of her lungs. Her limbs were tangled in his arms.

“Are you
okay?”

Ari
looked up and their mouths briefly met.
It was just a feather of a touch, just a whisper
of contact. The surprise was enough to freeze them in
place.

He
jerked away first. “I’m sorry.”

Ari
didn’t hear his apology over the pounding of her heart or the rush
of blood. It had been barely a touch and yet… She saw the words
form and the rush of emotions were stilted.

He was
sorry.
He hadn’t meant
to do it. It hurt a bit more than she was willing to
admit.

S
asha shifted
and groaned softly. “I turned my ankle. I can’t get us
up.”

“
Come to
me. Come, my child. Show me your strength.” Ari looked in the
direction of the voice. There was still nothing for her eyes to see
but books and dirt.

“
It’s
alright Sasha.” She looked around to get her bearings. She held her
hands out to the shelves on either side. Her elbows almost hit the
shelves. An idea came to mind; Ari had decent upper body strength;
the bow and other activities Kleisthenes encouraged required it.
“Can you stand Sasha? Just stand you don’t have to walk. I need to
get up.”

“
I
can’t, Ari. We’re not going anywhere.” He closed his eyes. His face
briefly contorted in pain. “I’m sorry.”

Not
willing to give up Ari reached for the nearest shelf and began
pulling herself up. Her legs were a useless annoyance. She felt
rather then saw Sasha untangle and straighten her legs
out.

“
What
are you doing?”
Sasha
raised his arms to catch her if she fell but he didn’t stop
her.

“
I’m
going to find her.” Ari leaned heavily against the bookcase. It was
the first time she had stood since the accident. She wasn’t even
really standing but propped up. She was dizzy, scared and
exhilarated all at once.

“At the risk
of sounding like a broken record, what are you doing?”

Ari
looked down at him and smiled. “Not giving up. I want that
book.”

She used
the bookcases the way a gymnast did parallel bars. It was slow
going, and Ari nearly fell several times as a shelf protested her
weight. She gave Sasha an encouraging smile when she reached the
end of the stack then turned back to the new
predicament.

Ari
studied the way the shelves lined the wall and contemplated a
moment.
There was no way
to crawl over the hazardous piles of books. There was a ladder
propped against the shelf a few feet down that still looked to be
on its track.

Ari
turned back to Sasha, “wait here.
I’ll be back.”

“
Please
be careful.” He shifted and winced. “As soon as I can get up I’ll
find you.”

“
Take
your time. I’m about to.”

The
gymnast routine worked well.
Ari had to stop at the end of every stack to rest and
reevaluate. Her arms were fitter than they had been when her legs
worked. They didn’t burn nearly as badly as she originally thought
they would. It felt like the hour depleted faster than she moved
but there was no way to tell.

Every
time she stopped the woman was there whispering,
encouraging.
Always
louder than the last time Ari had stopped. The book was a flame and
Ari was the moth, helplessly attracted.

As she
got closer she grew more urgent.
She had to have that book. She had to get there
before time ran out. In her haste, Ari wasn’t as careful in testing
the shelves before putting her weight on them.

One
minute her left hand was closed firmly around a shelf and the next
it was gone, splintered in half.
She fell clumsily against the case disrupting the
books above her as well as the other shelves on her way
down.

Ari’s
head cracked against the case and her hand jarred as it bounced off
the other shelves searching for purchase.
She hit the ground hard and barely had time to
throw her hands up to protect her head from the falling
books.

It was
very much like she imagined a gang beating would be.
Books bombarded her from all
sides as they rained from the shelves. She couldn’t hear anything
over their thundering descent.

“Ari! Ari!
Ariadne! Answer me! Ari!”

Ari
could barely hear Sasha’s shout over the ring in her ears. “I’m
alright.” It wasn’t loud and not as convincing as it needed to be.
“I’m alright!”

“
Don’t
move! Just stay where you are. I’m coming for you.”

“
I’m
alright! Don’t worry!”
Ari brushed her hand against her face to swipe her fallen
hair out of her eyes and felt something sticky. When she pulled her
hand away the crimson of blood was clearly discernible.

She
sighed and leaned up against the broken book case.
There was no way to go further.
Her ears still rang and her head throbbed in beat with the ring.
The bruises screamed for attention and her left hand pounded
viciously. She wouldn’t be able to put any more weight on it for a
while.

Ari
tilted her head back and closed her eyes but something stood out.
She turned her head slightly and on an undisturbed shelf just above
her head was a slim, leather bound book.

It
looked like all the other books on the shelf.
Except for the smooth etching in the
leather of the elements swirling together and breaking apart. It
was fascinating and somehow compelling. It couldn’t have been that
easy, could it?

Ari
paused and waited.
She
didn’t hear anything. Nothing at all, which felt odd. It was almost
as if the room held its breath and waited.

She had
to stretch to reach the book.
Electricity jolted down her arm when her fingers grazed the
smooth leather. Instead of being frightened, Ari only wanted to get
it down more. She heard the whirl of the elevator and in panic
forced her injured hand to bear weight on the nearest shelf to get
the book. She was certain to pay for it later, but the pain was
worth the prize.

In her
hands, it looked simple and ordinary.
Ari couldn’t resist running her fingers over the
beautiful elemental earth on the cover before opening it. Her eyes
didn’t know the script that filled the pages, but her heart
did.

Ari
couldn’t rationalize how she knew the lettering apart.
She couldn’t justify why her
chest felt tight. If she wasn’t so fascinated by the feminine lines
she might have been scared.

They
looked almost like the elder Futhark but without the harsh
corners.
It was fluid,
like calligraphy, and flourished in much the same way. The dots
didn’t make much sense, but there was a distinguishable pattern in
their placement. It was beautiful, simply beautiful.

Ari knew
but she didn’t know; it was like a memory that flirted just at the
edge of consciousness. When reached for, it vanished. If ignored,
it played just out of reach tantalizingly frustrating.

She
closed the book and held it close. Ari tipped her head back and
closed her eyes. Relief flooded through her. She finally had what
was needed to be able to walk again. She was sure of it. Now, it
depended on Leonidas’s cooperation.

As she
sat there and waited patiently for Sasha and Leonidas, the air grew
cold and the hairs on her arm rose in protest to the change.
There was something else that
changed in the room. Something she couldn’t describe but Ari
recognized the smell.

Startled
out of her calm Ari opened her eyes.
The horror from her nightmare was advancing on
her. It slowly took shape; a black horse with fearsome red eyes
that oozed death in its wake. She recoiled, but had nowhere to go
and no legs to take flight. She was essentially a sitting
duck.

Her eyes
squeezed shut when the thing lunged.
Ari didn’t want to see it up close. Panic rose and
her throat tightened to scream. The attack never came.

When she
cautiously, opened her eyes Ari had trouble understanding what she
saw before her.
She had
thought before that her life was weird and it couldn’t get any
weirder. She had no idea how wrong she had been.

There
was something made of opposite material battling the evil
thing.
Its light was
almost blinding and it looked soft and airy in comparison to the
dark swirling ooze. It held the form of a bird of some kind, both
graceful and pure.

They
lunged at each other, almost like peacocks flaunting their
feathers.
Their dance
around each other gave her pause. They weren’t trying to hurt each
other. They were showing off strength.

They
wanted something from her. That’s the only reason she wasn’t dead.
They fought over something Ari had or something they thought she
had. It made her nervous. She had no idea what she possibly could
have or know that would draw their attention.

When
they both turned their attention on her, Ari said a quiet prayer to
whoever was listening.
There was no possible way she would survive a power
struggle between the two. She couldn’t even bring herself to try
and bargain over it.

When
they both lunged, Ari braced herself but they never came close.
They were thrown back suddenly and between Ari and them stood the
Kirin.

Ari
wasn’t as baffled by its appearance as she had been the first
time.
She had moved
beyond baffled. She was stupefied. What did this mean now? Why did
she protect Ari?

The
Kirin stood tall, her tall swished in angry strokes.
When the light and the dark
came forward again, she reared up and pawed at the air in threat.
When she came down she lowered her head and swung the single antler
back and forth.

The
light and the dark seemed to pause then they dipped their heads to
her.
Together they
backed away slowly until they vanished from sight. The Kirin turned
to Ari, dipped her head in respect then faded from sight as if she
had never been there to begin with.

Even
though Ari had seen it with her own eyes, she had trouble believing
it had been there to begin with.
Sasha had warned her that life was going to get
weird. She wondered if bizarre was included in that
categorization.