The Soothing Scent Of Earth (Elemental Awakening, Book 2) (20 page)

The mind is a terrible trickster, especially when you're so worn down. Maybe Theo was right, and sleep would help. Even if the idea of driving down Manaus streets left my heart thumping and caused sweat to break out all over my skin.

I lay looking blindly at the ceiling of the car, while Isadora and Theo talked about the route she planned to take, which would lead us on a round about path out of the city, avoiding all the known hotspots for
Gi
, using all the most human popular roadways.

"The most treacherous part is this side of Manaus," Isadora was saying. "The further we are from the actual forest, the safer we'll be. But nowhere is one hundred percent secure. The
Gi
own this city and can appear anywhere."

"Maybe I should be in the back with Cassandra," Theo suggested, and for a brief moment my heart swelled and my confidence lifted.

"They won't be expecting you, Theodoros," Isadora argued swiftly. "Who would believe the Prince of
Pyrkagia
would give up his life for a
Gi?
I sure as hell don't understand it."

"You've made that perfectly clear, Dora," Theo murmured, and my teeth ground together at his choice of name to use. Would the man never learn?

"This is not you, Theo," she insisted, her hands curling tightly around the steering wheel. "You have been hypnotised into believing she is yours. She is not!"

"Don't start this," Theo warned. "Not here." Not here? Then where? Somewhere I was not?

"Theo," she begged. "Wake up, please! This will only lead to your exile or worse, your death."

He was silent, staring out the side window, trying to ignore her. Or thinking her argument over inside his jumbled head.

She lowered her voice. God knows she must have been aware I was still awake and could hear every word, but she made the effort to look the part of a concerned friend, and not the wicked witch.

"What if she has channelled essence and used it on you," she whispered. Then her hand moved over the space between them and landed on his thigh. "Influenced you," she added, giving him a consoling squeeze.

I stared, absolutely astonished she'd be so blatant, so forthright in her attempts to get him back. In front of me. I felt the temperature in the back of the car rise, and there wasn't a thing I could do to stop it. To hide it.

"Isadora," Theo said, wrapping his hand around her own, and starting to lift it off his leg.

She didn't like that. She made a frustrated sound, then said under her breath, "You're a fool."

Silence, as Theo purposely placed her hand back on her own leg and released it. Then in a voice so soft, it made me feel every word alongside Isadora, he said, "But I'm no longer your fool."

"Theo," she breathed on a burst of saddened air, and
oh
now I wished I really wasn't bearing witness to this conversation. I felt my anger fold in on itself, my
Pyrkagia
Stoicheio
soon followed.

The large SUV seemed too small for the awkward silence that blanketed it. I kept my eyes shut, avoided looking at either of them, and willed our journey to be over.

The beautiful streets of Manaus flashed by, whether there were
Gi
walking them or not, I didn't know. But at some stage I felt comfortable enough to open my eyes, and let them drift over the tops of the buildings that I could see from where I still lay, as they whizzed past my rear window. Lush greens of the rainforest were slowly overcome by concrete and brightly coloured shop awnings. The odd church spire and then a rash of bright yellow, blue and red houses one after the other.

The road widened and tall palm trees lined the central island of a multi-lane highway. I sat up when the struts of a large bridge started to rhythmically flicker past the windows, indicating we'd made it onto the Manaus-Iranduba Bridge. No one spoke until the tyres
ka-thunked
over the final section, signifying our successful escape out of the
Gi's
most populated city.

"We've made it," I said, sounding as surprised at our near miss as I felt.

Theo turned and offered me a smile, while Isadora tapped her finger on the steering wheel and announced, "Just three thousand and eighty-eight kilometres left to go."

But her agitated and clearly unhappy mood couldn't dull the excitement at having evaded
Gi
capture. The more distance between me and that beautiful rainforest, the better. Even if the Earth cried silent tears inside my head; a sensation of loss, more than a sound of heartache.

It won't be forever,
I promised, not sure if it could hear me when I wasn't touching the soil with bare feet. "I'll be back," I whispered, unaware I'd say those words, that vow, aloud until I did.

Theo twisted in his seat again and searched my face, an obvious question in his intense hazel eyes.

I gave him a small smile and a shrug of my shoulders, then said, "I just have a feeling I'm meant to come back, that's all." And I did, deep down inside I knew my role here had not been fulfilled.

He held my gaze for several seconds and nodded, just when Isadora made a disgruntled sound. Theo ignored her completely and reached for my hand, giving a soft squeeze as soon as my fingers slipped in to his.

Giving me, without request, what Isadora had tried to force. I hadn't meant to raise my gaze to the rear view mirror, but I did it all the same.

And watched the hatred bleed into the gold haze that coated Isadora's eyes, as they sent a clear message of challenge back at me.

I think Theo was mistaken. Isadora wasn't a rival anymore. She was a full-fledged enemy.

An enemy helping us traverse another enemy's land. But was she dodging the landmines with us, or was she going to plant them?

"You should eat something," Theo said gently, bringing me out of my daze. I'd been staring out of the roadside diner’s windows we were at, watching the rush of traffic as it zoomed past in the twilight. Muted colours that the low setting sun turned into softly shining jewels instead of cars.

I lifted my eyes to his and nodded my head in agreement, but the mouthful of
feijoada that reached my lips failed to taste as good as it smelled. The fork clattered back onto my almost full plate.

"Casey," Theo said, reaching for my hand across the small table. "What's wrong?"

I glanced up towards the bathrooms Isadora had just gone to use, and frowned. For the past day she'd behaved herself. Never overstepping the mark again since we left Manaus. She'd been courteous, pleasant and even contained her smirks. I absolutely did not trust her change of mannerisms at all.

But that wasn't what had put me off my food. We'd taken a route away from the rainforest to begin with. The first part of our journey today had gone without mishap. But now, the BR-230 had brought us back towards the Amazon, nearer still to Santar
ém and the
Gi
. That alone should have been enough to keep me on edge. But it was more than that. So much more.

"I can feel it," I whispered, my voice cracking through the dryness of my throat. I licked my lips and then reached for the glass of water on the table, swallowing twice before I could go on. "The Earth is calling to me," I admitted, a shiver of disquiet tracing down my spine. Theo frowned.

"What do you mean?"

My hand left the glass and settled over my chest, right above my heart, and rubbed.

"It's in pain," I said, my tone relaying the agony I could feel through Earth's call. "It says I'm the only one who can save it. Theo," I said on an almost whimper. "I don't know if I can ignore its call forever."

"How long has this been going on?" he demanded, as though I'd been hiding vital information from him and he felt let down.

"The past two hours."

"Cassandra," he chastised. "Why didn't you say something?"

I glared back at him, matching his increased anger with ease.

"Maybe because of the company we're keeping?" I said a little sarcastically.

"This is not something that we can keep from Isadora. It affects all of us. It could be a trap."

I hadn't thought of that, but he was right. The
Gi
could use the Earth to trick me. Hell, they'd done it enough in the past. I wondered if I were to use my
Pyrkagia Stoicheio,
if I could tell whether this was true or not. But using my
Pyrkagia Stoicheio
in front of Isadora brought me back to the reason why I hadn't said a thing about the Earth's constant pull until now.

"I can't be sure it's not," I admitted reluctantly. "But I might be able to tell if I use my Fire."

Theo raised a brow, surprise etching itself on his face. "Well," he said. "That is interesting. Have you used the two
Stoicheio
in conjunction like that before?"

I nodded, just as I saw Isadora emerge from the toilets at the back of the diner. Theo followed my gaze, then returned intense eyes to mine.

"We say nothing for now," he murmured, somehow making it easier to breathe. "We'll be finding a place soon, to stay at tonight, and once alone we'll see what we can do." He squeezed my fingers and then withdrew his hand as Isadora approached the table.

I realised, uncomfortably, that he'd been doing that all day. Maintaining a distance between himself and me whenever Isadora was watching. His way of keeping the peace. Her way of placing a wedge between us.

I sat back sullenly in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest, my eyes boring into Theo, ignoring Isadora completely. He refused to look back at me, just returned his attention to his meal. Ignoring us both.

I hadn't taken Theo Peters for a coward. But right now I was astounded to see that's how he appeared.

Isadora made a fuss of sliding gracefully into her chair, but didn't comment on Theo's behaviour, or mine. She was behaving herself, all right. Which only made me fume more. I had a horrible feeling that she was winning this battle, and I couldn't even identify the target in order to fight back.

I played with my food, the silence at the table deafening. And all the while the Earth cried out for me in my head, in the trees outside the window, on the sweet scent of the air.

Aether
, it called.
We need you
, it stated.
Save us
.

A single tear trickled down my cheek and I turned away from the table to brush at it. I did not want Isadora to see me crying and think it was for something else. Familiar feelings of isolation welled up inside me. Feelings I hadn't felt since I fell into Theo's arms back in Manaus. Feelings I thought I'd be able to forget, never have to experience again. Yet here they were; taunting me, terrifying me.
Alone
.

The Earth continued its plea inside my mind, the noise of the diner filled the space around us, as Isadora started up a casual conversation about
Pyrkagia
issues with Theo, leaving me out in the cold. I tried to concentrate on what she was saying; I was
Pyrkagia
now too, and a small part of me had a whimsical hope that I would be accepted in their society one day. So I should pay attention. But the Earth's call escalated, as the noise in the diner became a throbbing beat, and Isadora's voice provided the high pitched string section of an orchestra hell bent on making me break.

I stood up abruptly from the table, making the conversation stop and the Earth hold its breath. The diner noise continued, giving me some relief that I wasn't losing it just yet.

"I'm going to freshen up," I advised, sliding out of my seat.

"I'll come with you," Theo suggested, standing up as well.

"No," both Isadora and I said in unison, but for entirely different reasons. I needed to be alone, ironically. God knows she didn't want Theo alone with me.

I stared at Isadora as she stared at Theo, a mask of friendly concern on her face.

"Women always go together to the bathroom, Theodoros," she stated, getting to her feet as well, so now we were all standing around the table staring at each other. I think my mouth had fallen open.

"You went on your own before," Theo pointed out.

"I'm not being hunted by the
Gi
." Good point, bitch. "And you can't follow her into the women's bathroom," she added with a delicate laugh. "But I can."

"There's no need," I said, sure I could handle myself for a few minutes of solitude.

"I insist," she replied, casually. "Or had you forgotten, Theodoros," she added, steel suddenly coating each word. "That I am the expert in this territory."

Theo considered her words for a moment and then to my horror, turned apologetic eyes to me.

"She's right, Casey," he said, cajolingly.

Oh God, crap, freaking hell.

"Safety first," he added. I stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. Safety first. What the...?