Of Gaea (5 page)

Something flickered in her eyes, but it was so brief Ari
could have imagined it. “Please follow me.”

She had expected the sterile halls and rooms of a hospital,
but it wasn’t. Instead it looked and felt like was a home. The
walls were warm, the floors some kind of wood, not typical white
tiles. The paintings were street scenes full of life.

The receptionist knocked on a door before cracking it
open.
“Ariadne is here.”

“Let her in.” The voice was rich, well-aged and well-
articulated.

The receptionist stepped back and with a long look at
Sasha, she walked back the way they had come.
Ari watched Sasha’s shadow on
the floor nod politely to the woman before he rolled the wheelchair
through the open door.

It was like a law office.
There were books of every kind lying on
every available surface. The desk was dark red wood and with the
streaming sunlight though the window it looked like blood. The
chair behind the desk was turned to look out on a blooming
garden.

“Welcome, Ariadne.
I am Elias.” The chair swiveled around to reveal a
man old enough to be someone’s great grandfather. His smile faded
when he looked over Ari’s shoulder to Sasha standing behind her.
What he had been about to say died on his lips. He cleared his
throat hastily, “I’m sorry, child. I cannot help you.”

Ari blinked in surprise. “But, you haven’t even tried. We
haven’t even discussed…”

“Some things I know are outside my gifts.” His gaze
flickered back to Sasha. “You should go.”

“But, I…” She stuttered confused. “I don’t understand. What
does Sasha have to do with you trying?”

“Perhaps, you could give some words of advice or another
avenue for her to explore?
If you refuse to use what you claim to have, you
could at least impart some wisdom on us for our troubles.” Sasha
still sounded completely pleasant but there was something dangerous
in the undertone of his voice.

“Young man, I have seen enough of the light and the dark to
know when not to interfere in their war.” Elias stated sternly,
“why don’t you ask your…”

Ari looked up at Sasha when Elias trailed off. Sasha’s face
was rigid and cold, unlike anything she’d ever seen before. She
couldn’t read the look in his icy eyes but apparently Elias
could.

“I’m sorry.”
Elias rubbed his eyes, but whether from actual
strain or not Ari couldn’t discern. “You’re not sleeping well.” His
gaze returned to her with the random, abrupt statement.

Ari wasn’t shocked. There was so much trying to process
that there wasn’t room for any additional emotion. It created the
worst mental exhaustion she’d ever experienced. “It’s
hard.”

He nodded. “To be expected, considering,” he opened a desk
drawer and pulled something out. Ari didn’t have enough time to
examine it before he tossed it at her.

Sasha caught it with his considerably longer arms before
she could.
She watched him examine it carefully with his eyes before
he brought it to his ear and shook it gently. Then he brought it to
his nose and sniffed cautiously.

“Sasha.”
Ari reached up and tried to take the bag, but Sasha had the
considerable advantage of legs. She settled for punching his leg as
hard as she could. It was like hitting a steel vault door. Ari was
pretty sure she might have dislocated some fingers. “Give it here.
It’s not for you.”

“Your guardian is making sure I’m not trying to poison you
in some fashion. You’ll want to hang that on a bed post, under your
pillow, or in a spot in which it stays under your head.” Elias
provided even as Sasha dropped whatever it was in her
lap.

“It’s safe.”
Sasha announced. He wanted to mention that his leg
was on fire where Ari had punched him. Her arms could break bricks
and he knew he’d have a solid bruise from her hit. However, in
front of Elias, he wouldn’t share any of his discomfort.

“Duh.
What would you have done if it wasn’t? You’d have been
poisoned.” Ari commented even as she examined the delicate violet
sachet. It was soft to touch like cashmere or velour would be, but
she knew that wasn’t what it was. “So genius, what’s in
it?”

“Rosemary, mint, sandalwood, a touch of vanilla and
jasmine; it feels like there are stones in there as well. At a
guess, I would say Onyx, or Chiastolite combined with Amethyst or
Charoite. Potentially, a combination of those.” His answer was so
instantaneous and easy Ari wasn’t sure if he was joking or
not.

She looked at
Elias for confirmation.

He nodded.
“He’s right on the herbs.” Elias said. “But it is Turquoise
wrapped in copper wire, Agate as a booster, Talachite to ward off
nightmares, and Labradorite as a booster for dreams. There should
be a small dime size stone of Danburite as well, for restful sleep.
Your stones are the most common for sleep and pushing off
negativity.”

“Yours are stronger.”
Sasha gestured to the sachet. “Why do you even
have that?”

Elias smiled half-heartedly, “I’m old, child, and I’ve seen
a lot of things.
If you want guidance in the right direction I suggest
exactly what you’re holding in your hands. The earth will never lie
to you.”

Ari looked up from the sachet to Elias’s wrinkled,
weathered face. “I don’t understand.”

Elias’s smile saddened for reasons unknown. “You will. Of
that I am most assured.” His eyes moved back to Sasha. “Please
leave now.”

“Of course,” Sasha moved behind the wheelchair before Ari
could protest. He knew trying to get anything further from Elias
would not only be a waste of time but a bad idea. Ari would have
questions of course, but Elias wasn’t the source of information she
needed. At least he and Elias were on the same page about
that..

Ari waited until they were out on the street before
speaking again. “Sasha,” she began slowly thinking out her words.
“Why was everyone staring at you funny?”

“Wouldn’t you stare at the six five guy with broad
shoulders and rippling muscles hunched over pushing a wheelchair?”
He was joking of course, but she wasn’t having it.

“I get the feeling it’s not that he couldn’t heal me. It’s
more he wouldn’t, and I’m getting the impression it has something
to do with you.” SHe paused a moment biting the inside of her cheek
thinking it out. “You wouldn’t keep secrets from me, would you? I
mean we’ve been friends how long?”

“For you or for me?” he asked. “Let’s say for you. We have
been friends, thirteen years, eight months, two weeks, four days,”
The wheelchair stopped and Ari watched the long shadow look at his
watch. “Sixteen hours, four minutes and forty seven seconds and
counting I’d say; give or take thirty minutes. Or if you want the
short version: five thousand and four days plus or minus a few
hours.”

She put her hands to her face and laughed to keep from
crying. “Please tell me you made half of that up. Who actually
keeps track of time like that?”

“Remember the first time we met?” Sasha asked and resumed
walking pushing the chair. “I’ll never forget. It was September
after school, I would have been made to do my homework first so
sometime between four and five thirty. I was only outside for a few
minutes when I heard a crash and the wails of a little girl in
pain. I ran around to the front of the house and there was this
little girl sprawled out on the sidewalk, with a pink bicycle
turned on its side next to her. Do you remember what I
said?”

“You didn’t say anything at first. You crouched down, took
my hands in yours and looked up into my crying face. Then you said
“Are you hurt?” And I…” She trailed off and tried to pull the full
memory into focus.

“You pointed
at the bike,” he finished for her, “and said, “It tried to kill
me.” I was stunned.”

“You kissed the scrapes on my hands and made it better,
like my mom always did. You were so solemn about it, like it was a
serious affair.” She remembered quietly and laughed. “You taught me
to ride the bike without falling.”

“Yes, I did; and when your mom called you in, I walked you
over. And I said to your mom, “Ma’am, it’s a pleasure to meet you.
As long as I’m with Ari she’ll be safe. I promise.” Your mom
laughed and invited Da and I over for dinner.” Sasha traced his
fingers briefly over her hair. “But for one incident, I’ve kept my
promise; I don’t intend on breaking it further.”

“Sasha,” Ari exhaled slowly. “You were four; I was four.
I’m not holding you to that.”

“Should I make a new one then?” Sasha stopped and moved
around in front of the chair so she could see him. He crouched down
and looked up into her face. His face was as solemn and serious as
it had been when they were four. “As long as I draw breath, nothing
further will harm you without going through me; I
promise.”

“Sasha, I…” Ari stared into his warm frosted eyes. He
waited for something from her, but she had no idea what it was. She
reached for whatever seemed appropriate for the moment. “Your dad
would say, “Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right
use of strength.” Wouldn’t he?”

Sasha’s lips quirked, “He would. Do you trust me to do
that?”

“Sasha,” Ari reached out and combed his hair ever so
gently. The silky smooth strands drifted like water through her
fingers. She wished she could linger there. “I have never, not
trusted you. That will never change. I will always trust
you.”

He smiled sadly. “I’ll make sure to always deserve
it.”

“S
asha.” Ari
began as he
stopped in
front of her house. “You wouldn’t ever lie to me would
you?”

Sasha
paused a moment before moving around to the front of the
wheelchair.
He gave her
a pained look and then looked away down the street towards his
house. From the distance they could see Kleisthenes seated on the
porch steps. He was reclined in a relaxed position, but Ari had
known the Horiatis men long enough to know that even in a semblance
of relaxed they could jump up and be completely mobile in
seconds.

“
Sasha?”
She pulled his attention back to her.

“
I don’t
ever want to lie to you. Thereof, I’m not saying anything that
could potentially leave me in that position in the future.” He
replied quietly. “I should talk to Da first.”

“
You’ve
been acting weird since the accident Sasha. You’ve barely left my
side and today when I go to a spiritual healer, he and his staff
act really funny around you. Why won’t you talk to me?”

He
looked up at her house and seemed to study something important
before speaking again.
His tone was so sad, he sounded on the verge of tears. “I
wish I could. I really do. It’s not my place. You should talk to
Miss Ghita.”

Ari
scoffed. “The only thing Mom wants to talk about is God’s healing
and how school’s going. She’s not exactly on par with the
world.”

Sasha
closed his eyes a moment and Ari could almost see his internal
struggle before he spoke again. “You should ask about your
grandmother.” He looked down briefly and smiled though it wasn’t a
happy smile. It was laced with the sorrow in his voice. “I’ve got
to go talk to Da. Do you want me to come by later?”

“
Only if
you want to,” she forced a smile on her face. “You should probably
study for the Advanced Chemistry test.”

“Talk to Miss
Ghita,” he reminded before he walked away.

Ari
watched him walk, slightly limping from her punch, the three doors
down.
She watched as his
dad remained seated on the step and Sasha spoke to him. Sasha
didn’t actually look at her but she felt by both of their postures
that they were talking about her. Kleisthenes hadn’t even moved,
but something about the air around him seemed to tense.

Kleisthenes felt Ari’s eyes on him.
He didn’t move or gesture that anything
was wrong. He knew she would be able to read the move as easily as
a book. She was extremely observant.

“How did it
go?”

Sasha
wanted to hit something. He wanted to shout. But he knew as well
Ari still watched. And he knew da would be disappointed with his
lack of control. “How did you know?”