Blood of Gods

by Lola StVil

  “Look, Sailor, I get that you don’t like me. Maybe in time you’ll see that I care for your dad a lot and that I have good intentions with him. Maybe I’ll grow on you, or maybe I won’t. But why don’t we at least agree to be civil to one another? For your dad’s sake.”

  I nod again.

  “I’m sorry,” I say sullenly.

  I know I have to snap out of this. I have to get her to trust me. And whether I like it or not, she’s right. Until I can prove my theory, the team isn’t going to help me do anything to get her out of my dad’s life, and I seem to be failing miserably at doing it myself. Or proving my theory. That means she’s going to be sticking around for the foreseeable future, and if she keeps up this nice act and I am the one acting like a little bitch, if she does leave, my dad will always blame me for ruining what they had.

  I force myself to smile at her, searching my mind for something I can say to make her think I get what she’s saying. In the end, I settle for the truth. Minus the gems and the killing of course.

  “I guess I’m just used to it just being me and my dad. And I remember how he was after Mom… you know. I don’t want to see him get hurt again, that’s all,” I say.

  Raven reaches out and squeezes the top of my arm with a sympathetic smile. I resist the urge to pull away and her smile brightens slightly. She thinks we’re making progress. We are, just not the type she thinks we’re making. She thinks we’re on the road to singing songs and roasting marshmallows over a campfire. I think we’re on the road to her slipping up and revealing something I can use against her.

  God, when did I become so bitter?

  Oh, I don’t know, maybe around the time I discovered the fate of the world rests on my shoulders and my dad’s girlfriend is just using him to get close to me and work against me.

  “I get that,” she says. “And I promise you I have no intention of hurting him. Now, do you want to try those jeans on or not?”

  I shake my head, a smile crossing my face as I come up with an idea to move us on to a safer topic of conversation and let her think we’re starting to bond.

  “No. But I think you should,” I say.

  “Me?” Raven laughs. “Honey, I think I’m twenty years too old for them.”

  “No way,” I say. “You’ve got an amazing figure. You’ll look great in them. Come on.”

  I pull her into the store before she can argue any more. I lead her to the jeans and find the size I think will fit her. I push them into her hands and usher her towards the fitting rooms.

  “Go on,” I say, laughing.

  She laughs with me, and with a resigned sigh, she goes into one of the fitting rooms. I wonder fleetingly if I could have gotten her to try on something she would have looked ridiculous in, just to keep me happy, but I push the thought aside. She might have done it to avoid an argument, but she’s not an idiot. She would have known what I was up to, and that’s hardly the way to gain her trust.

  I stand in the store waiting for her, and although I hate to admit it to myself, I know she was at least partially right outside the store. No one on the team really thinks she’s part of the Boundless, and I’m starting to think I’m letting my own prejudice about her cloud my judgement.

  I remind myself of the overheard phone call, of how Raven always seems to pop up at just the right time to convince my dad to let me go off and do something for the mission. No, I’m not paranoid. I know I’m not. I can feel it.

  “Well? What do you think?” Raven asks, pushing the fitting room curtain open and stepping out to show me the jeans.

  “They look great,” I say honestly. “You should get them.”

  “I think I will,” Raven agrees. “And now we have to find something for you.”

  She disappears back into the fitting room. I wander to the front of the store and look outside, wondering where the team is hiding. Rye made it clear they wouldn’t be far away, and I believe him. I kind of wish I’d roped Mel or Ya-Ya into coming with us today rather than staying hidden. Ya-Ya would be good at getting Raven to talk. The problem is she would have her talking about fashion or skin care or something equally inane. At least then I’d have someone to take some of the conversation away from me though. And maybe Raven wouldn’t have called me out the way she did in front of someone else.

  I spot Raven going up to the counter, and I wave to her once she’s paid for the jeans. We leave the store and I suggest going for a coffee. Raven agrees eagerly, and we go into the next café we see and grab a drink each.

  “So where did you grow up, Raven?” I ask.

  “We moved around a lot.” Raven smiles. “I was actually born here in Whisper, and then my father moved us to New York.”

  “You grew up in New York?” I ask, surprised.

  “I was there for a few years, yes, and then I went back as an adult. That’s how I got into modelling. My stepmother at the time started entering me in pageants and I did well. I hated them though, and my dad put a stop to it. As an adult, I didn’t hate it quite so much. At least not at first. But it got old quick and so I came home to Whisper to start over.”

  “Is your father still here?” I ask.

  Finding out about Raven’s family could definitely be useful.

  “No,” she says. “He never did come back here.”

  “And your mom?”

  “She died when I was just a baby. As far as I know, my father is still with my second stepmother.”

  “As far as you know?” I probe.

  Raven nods, a faraway look on her face.

  “We don’t see each other anymore.”

  “Why not?” I ask.

  She shrugs. “It’s complicated. But it’s for the best I suppose. And it’s not like I could change it now even if I wanted to.”

  “Do you have any other family?” I ask.

  I really want to ask her why she thinks she can’t change things with her dad. I’m sure even if my dad and I fell out, we would find a way to make up. I hope we could, because if things with Raven go down the way I think they will, we’re most likely going to fall out over her.

  Why can’t Raven and her father do that? What could have happened that’s so bad they can’t even attempt to fix it? I decide not to ask though I’m dying to know. Raven’s face closed off at the mention of not seeing him, and I don’t want her to feel like I’m interrogating her. That’s not how to get her to talk.

  “I had a sister, but she died,” she says.

  “I’m sorry,” I say.

  It’s not just a reflex reaction. I can see the pain on Raven’s face, and despite myself, I find myself warming to her. Whatever happened between her and her father really seems to have upset her, and growing up without her mom and then losing her sister couldn’t have been easy...

  Even now.

  “Enough depressing talk.” Raven smiles. “That’s sure not what we signed up for today, is it?”

  I shake my head, but I’m intrigued to know more. I don’t know why, but I feel like learning more about Raven’s family is the key to finding out exactly who she is and why I feel like there’s so much more to her than what we know. Maybe it could even explain why there’s this tiny voice in the back of my mind that insists she’s familiar somehow.

  “Tell me about your time in New York,” I say.

  She begins to tell me a bunch of stories about her time as a model in the city, and I find myself drawn into them. She’s quite funny when I let myself forget that I hate her, and I find myself asking her questions about her time as a model, not to get information but because I’m genuinely interested.

  I catch myself warming to her and I make an effort to draw back into myself. She’s still talking, but I’ve mostly switched off now, just nodding and making the right noises in the right places. I wait until she finishes her story and try to steer the conversation back to her childhood.

  “Whereabouts did you live when you were a little girl?” I ask. “When your f
amily moved to New York?”

  “I don’t remember much about that time. I was so young,” Raven says. “But I do remember the shopping malls being a lot better than this one.”

  I get the distinct impression she’s purposely dodging the question, but I can’t think of any way to bring it back up without looking like I’m onto her, and if there’s one thing I want to avoid, it’s that. I have to get her to drop her defenses around me and tell me something useful and not feel like I’ve somehow drawn it out of her or manipulated her into talking.

  “Are you ready to carry on shopping?” Raven smiles at me.

  I nod my head and I’m sure I see a look of relief on her face that my questions are done for now. Even if I’m wrong about her being a part of the Boundless, there’s definitely something in her past that she doesn’t want me to know about. Probably what happened between her and her father. Maybe she did something so terrible to him that she doesn’t want anyone to know about it.

  She stands up and I follow suit, and we leave the coffee shop. I smile when I see a large bookstore looming up on my left.

  “Now that’s my kind of store,” I say, nodding to it.

  “Yes, your father mentioned that you love to read. Want to take a look inside?”

  I nod eagerly and we step inside. I move to the YA section and happily lose myself in the shelves full of familiar characters and worlds.

  “How about this one? I’ve heard it’s very good,” Raven says.

  I look at the book she’s holding and I have to admit I’m impressed by her taste. It’s Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman, a book I’ve actually been wanting for a while.

  “Oh, I love him,” I say, taking the book and scanning the back of it. I nod my head. “Yes, I’ll get this one. Now let’s get out of here quickly before I find half a dozen more.”

  Raven laughs and we head to the checkout area. I gasp when I see a poster on the wall advertising an upcoming talk from one of my dad’s favorite authors.

  “What’s wrong?” Raven asks.

  “Nothing,” I say. “Just my dad loves his books. I’ll have to remember to tell him he’s speaking here.”

  “Oh no, don’t do that,” Raven says.

  I frown at her and she smiles sheepishly.

  “Can you keep a secret?” she asks, and I nod. “I have tickets for the event for a surprise for your dad. I ordered him his latest book as well. I was starting to get worried it wouldn’t come in time, but I called the company the other day to track it down. The day you got sick actually. And they promised me it’ll be here before it’s too late to get it signed.”

  I feel suddenly ashamed of myself. That’s who Raven was talking to when she was saying she had to get it before it was too late. It wasn’t anything sinister. It was a surprise for my dad. God I’m such a bitch.

  “Sailor? Are you alright? Look, if you really want to come with your dad, you can have my ticket,” Raven says.

  “Oh no, it’s not that.” I smile. “It’s a lovely idea and he’ll be really pleased to come here with you. I was just thinking about… about how I felt that day.”

  “Oh I’m sorry, Sailor, I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Raven says.

  I shake my head quickly. It was just an excuse for my sudden silence and I don’t want to make her feel bad. Not now when she just told me something nice she’s done for my dad.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I say.

  We reach the front of the line and get called forward, ending the awkward conversation. I hand the book over and dig into my purse, but before I can stop her or protest, Raven hands over a twenty-dollar bill and pays for my book.

  “Thank you,” I say, meaning it.

  “You’re welcome.” She smiles. “As long as you don’t think I’m trying to buy your affections.”

  “Oh, I don’t care when you’re paying with books.” I laugh.

  Raven smiles at me, and for a moment, I let myself pretend I’m just a normal teenager getting to know my dad’s normal girlfriend a little better. If only that was the case.

  “Have you ever wanted children, Raven?” I ask as we head back out of the store.

  My question comes kind of out of the blue to both of us. I really wasn’t planning on asking her that, it just came out.

  “I’ve never really thought about it to be honest. Before your dad, I’d never met anyone who I could see myself being with long term,” she replies. “What about you? Do you want children one day?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” I smile. “So you’ve never been married before or anything?”

  “No,” Raven replies. “I never wanted to settle for anything less than the sort of love you see in the movies.”

  “And that’s what you and my dad have?” I ask.

  “Yes,” Raven says simply. “Have you ever seen someone from afar, watched them, the way they move, the way they hold themselves, the way they laugh, and just knew you had to talk to them? Knew you had to be with them?”

  I shake my head.

  No. I’m not a damn stalker. Or am I?

  Because I seem to remember feeling the same way about Rye when I first met him. Like my eyes were just drawn to him and I knew I had to get to know him.

  “I have,” Raven says. “And I’m so glad I bit the bullet and talked to your dad.”

  I know by the dreamy smile on Raven’s face that she thinks she’s telling me a cute little story, but I can’t help but think there’s something sinister in it. She doesn’t make it sound like their eyes met across a crowded room. She makes it sound like she’d been watching him for months and then just decided to plonk herself into his life.

  My mind is spinning. Part of me thinks I’m being irrational and ridiculous, but my instincts are telling me there’s something off with Raven, and the team all keeps telling me that as the Paradox, I have to learn to trust my instincts.

  I force myself to smile back at her.

  “It sounds like getting close to my dad was pretty high on your priority list,” I say.

  “Well that’s not quite how I’d word it, but yeah, I’ve never been as happy as I am right now, and that’s mostly down to being with your dad,” Raven says.

  “Mostly?” I probe.

  Is the rest because she’s getting closer to the Soul Gems?

  “Well yeah.” She grins. “It’s not the fifties anymore. There’s a little more to life than dating, right?”

  “Right,” I say with a smile.

  Raven glances at her watch.

  “Your dad is going to be home from work soon. Should we go meet him and have dinner together at the diner?” she says.

  “Actually, if you don’t mind, I have plans with my friends for dinner. Will you just tell my dad I’ll be home later?”

  “Oh. Sure,” Raven says.

  She sounds a little disappointed, but at least she doesn’t try to talk me out of it. Does she know I’ll be reporting to them? Is she confident she said and did all the right things to throw us off her scent? I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I do know I have to stop second-guessing every little thing like this. It’s going to make me crazy.

  We head to Raven’s car.

  “I’ll drop you at the cabin first,” she says.

  “Thanks,” I say.

  We drive out to the cabin and Raven pulls up. I start to get out of the car, but she puts her hand on my arm, stopping me for a moment.

  “Wait,” she says. “I enjoyed today, Sailor. It was nice to spend some time with you.”

  “Me too,” I say. “And thank you for the book.”

  “You’re welcome. Let’s do it again some time,” she says.

  “Sure,” I agree, although I’m anything but sure I want to put myself through that again.

  I don’t know what was worse. The ass-kissing at the start of the day or the part where I actually felt myself warming to her. No, the worst part is that I’m still no further forward. I still don
’t know if Raven is part of the Boundless or not, or what my conflicting feelings about her even mean.

  “Be careful,” Raven says as I get out of her car.

  “Why?” I say, smiling but suspicious. “What do you think is going to happen to me?”

  “Nothing.” Raven smiles. “But you are a teenage girl, and believe it or not, I was one of those too once, so I know a thing or two about not being careful.”

  I give her a half smile and watch her pull away. I am still no closer to having evidence of her being part of the Boundless, but I definitely think I am right to be suspicious of her. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that’s making my defenses go up, but something tells me Raven isn’t who she says she is.

  I shake my head and go into the cabin. The team is sitting in the game room waiting for me.

  “So did you all have fun stalking me?” I grin.

  “I did,” Ya-Ya says, picking up a handful of bags from the ground.

  “Yeah, the rest of us, not so much,” Sunday adds. “Was it worth it?”

  I shake my head and sit down.

  “I honestly don’t know. I was wrong about her phone call being about the second Soul Gem. She was checking on a surprise gift for my dad. But there’s something just not right about her. I don’t have anything solid to go on, but I’m still convinced she’s part of the Boundless, or at least up to no good,” I say.

  “Why? What did she say?” Rye asks.

  “That’s just it. She didn’t say much at all. She was really evasive about her childhood, but then she did say something about watching my dad and knowing she had to talk to him. Like she was stalking him or something.”

  “Or like she spotted him and felt attracted to him,” Mel says.

  I shrug.

  “Maybe. But every instinct in me tells me she’s trouble. That she’s hiding something, something big. We have to do something. We have to get her away from my dad. I know that much,” I say.

  “No, that would be a mistake,” Rye says.

  I glare at him. How can he doubt me this much all of the time?