by Anne Schlea
“To keep up appearances?” Anna hears the condescension in Riley’s tone. Broken trust is something Riley has difficulty coming back from. She can’t begin to imagine what it took for him to forgive her.
“No. To give them something to live for.” Putere looks from Anna to Riley and back again. “I don’t know either of you fully understand yet what we’re about to do, the quest we’re starting. Believe me when I tell you we need to give our people some good memories before we take on the most powerful demons to walk this world.”
Chapter Sixteen
The observation deck is completely full, standing room only. No empty seats are to be had and there’s a rumor that some inside are being sold to the highest bidder. Everyone in Orasul wants to see this year’s Midwinter Festival archery contest. Word has it Keagan’s going to shoot against Kurt and Anna both.
Three Committee Members are seated front and center to observe the contest, their formal robes draped over their chairs in a show of grandeur. Putere is nowhere to be seen.
“Orasul.” Riley steps to the center of the archery range and looks up at the observation deck, his voice loud. “Your champions!”
Applause and cheers fill the air, twelve archers file onto the range. Kurt leads the line out followed by Keagan, Anna, and nine others. They each take position at one of the targets. Anna reaches up to stretch her arms and center herself, her blood pumping and adrenaline spiking to the sound of the crowd.
She never would have considered entering this contest had Putere not insisted.
“Archers.” Riley turns toward them, his voice still amplified so the observation deck can hear. “There are twelve arrows for each round. At the end of each round the archer with the worst score will be eliminated. If everyone in the round has a perfect score, all archers will continue. Archers, good luck.”
A cheer echoes down from the observation deck.
Anna, along with the other archers, looks up and salutes the gathered observers.
“Looks like we’ll finally get to see who the best archer is.” Keagan grins at Anna and then bows his head in respect. “Good luck.”
“I don’t need it.” Anna smiles, bows respectfully, and then returns her focus back to her target.
Anna has been working by Kurt for two weeks on the ridge. Her arms are more than ready for this and her aim is virtually infallible, but Keagan has time and a lot more muscle on his side. Nor is she sure what Kurt is capable of. She hopes she doesn’t embarrass herself.
The first four rounds are no contest. Young archers who entered only for the notoriety of entering the Midwinter contests are quickly eliminated.
Then there’s a surprise. One of the line’s leading archers’ finger slips and a top prospect is eliminated. Keagan spares a glance at Anna before the next round begins. She manages a tight lipped smile and reloads her bow.
Four more rounds and the event everyone is waiting for has arrived – a showdown between Anna, Keagan, and Kurt. For two rounds, everyone lands every shot without a miss. By now, after one hundred and twenty shots, Anna’s arms are starting to shake between rounds. She sees her chances at a win fading away until Kurt brings up his next shot while is hand is still sweaty. His left hand slips and the arrow fell six inches below its target.
A shout goes up from the observation deck above.
Kurt turns to give a respectful nod to Anna and then to Keagan.
“It’s just you and me now.” Keagan raises an eyebrow in challenge at Anna and then loads up his quiver for the next round.
“For this round both shooters will use the same target.” Riley indicates a new, clean target being pulled onto the range. “The first to miss the center will lose.”
The new target is set up and Keagan steps closer to Anna. “Ladies first.”
Anna takes her shot and Keagan follows. For six shots she nails the center of the target and for six shots Keagan plants his arrow right next to hers. She figures he’d split her arrow in half if it were possible. Her seventh shot misses the center by an inch and a half. With a sigh she drops her head and steps back from the line. She gives him a small bow of the head, acknowledging her sure loss. “One more shot and the win is yours.”
Keagan looks to the target and then back at Anna. “There’s always next year.”
He loads his bow and takes aim. It seems to Anna that he stands there a long time before he releases.
His final arrow hits the target a fraction of an inch outside of Anna’s.
A roar goes up from the observation deck above and Riley appears to measure the final shots for the Festival records. Keagan smiles at Anna, a sly light in his eyes. She’s astounded and a little bit offended. She accepts his handshake and leans in to him. “You threw the last shot.”
“I did not.” His eyebrows go up in mock protest. “You’re the better archer.”
“You could have nailed a dozen more.” Anna keeps her smile on her face as they both waves up to the crowd above. She can see Marissa smiling and waving back, the ever present red-headed Nick by her side.
“Truly, you have high expectations of me.” He takes a step back so that Riley can declare Anna the winner and award her the year’s medal. “Today the more deserving archer wins.”
∞∞∞
The rooftop of Orasul had been transformed into a beautiful nighttime festival. Lights and heaters are hung from wires, tables of food and drink are set up under colorful tents, and musicians are playing from a stage in the center of the roof. The very edges of the roof, dangerous to small children who can fall, are roped off to prevent anyone from being hurt.
Riley leads Anna across the top of the roof to a space where several families have set out blankets to sit on and enjoy the night. He takes the blanket out from under his arm and spreads it on the ground near one of the portable heaters. Between the electric heat and her own normal body energy, it’s almost hot outside. “Is this okay?”
“Sure.” Anna waits for Riley to finish and then sets down the picnic basket she’s brought. Mia and Marissa look around at the other families and Fallen gathered on the roof.
“I’m going to go check out the food tables.” Mia take off in the direction of the brightly colored tents at the same time Marissa spots her friends from school.
“Mom, can I go sit with my friends?” She waves at them from across the roof.
“Sure, just don’t stay out too late.” Anna watches Marissa hurry across the festival to a blanket where Nick and Amy and several other kids from school are camped out. They’re laughing and greet Marissa with hugs and smiles.
“She’s going to be fine.” Riley’s voice is very close to Anna’s ear. She turns her head and bumps against him. He brushes a quick kiss against her check and leans back on the blanket. “She doesn’t need to be with us all the time.”
“I know.” Anna lets herself sink down on the blanket next to Riley. They have not been public about their personal relationship but it’s obvious Mia, at least, had figured out something is different. Anna reaches out to lace her fingers through Riley’s hand. “I’m also trying to not remember what we were like at that age.”
He smiles and brings her hand up to kiss the palm.
“Do I need to find somewhere else to crash?” Mia’s voice interrupts.
Anna looks up to see Mia standing there with a bottle of wine in one hand and three glasses in the other. She’s looking at them both with one raised eyebrow and a cocked hip.
“Of course not.” Riley sits up and takes the wine glasses. He hands one to Anna. “We’ll be good.”
“I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to own up.” She passes over the bottle and claims her seat. “I’m getting tired of playing dumb, and the sneaking around is laughable; like you seriously think no one knows what you’re up to.”
Riley pours three glasses and flips open Anna’s picnic basket. She picked it up from the kitchens before they came upstairs, and it’s packed with traditional foods from the places the Falle
n originally came to earth. There are figs, olives, breads, smoked meats, cheeses and wines from around the world. There is more of everything on the festival’s tables along with selections of sweet deserts representing the Fallen cities.
“I don’t want to upset Marissa and I’m not sure she’s ready for this yet.” Anna takes an olive from the basket and enjoys its salty flavor against the sweet wine Mia picked.
“You underestimate Marissa.” Mia shakes her head. “And you’re crazy if you think she hasn’t figured out exactly what’s going on between the two of you, too.”
“What did you tell her?” Riley pins his gaze on his sister. Anna smiles. She knows Riley would like to believe his little sister still is afraid of him, but Anna knows better.
“I didn’t tell her anything.” She shrugs and takes a drink from her glass. “You really should talk to her soon, though, it freaks her out more that you’re hiding it than if you just admit to it.”
“Why does she have to be so observant?” Anna drops back on the blanket and thinks about how much Marissa knew before Riley even showed up on their doorstep. “Isn’t she supposed to be completely self-centered?”
“Or…. you’re just that obvious.” Mia snickers. “I mean this has been going on what? Six weeks?”
Six weeks exactly. Riley laughs. “That obvious?”
“I could be blind, deaf, and dumb and it would still be obvious.” She takes out a loaf of bread and starts to pull it apart.
Riley fishes out a dish of olive oil from the basket and opens it for Mia to dip her bread it. It’s infused with exotic herbs that release a spicy scent into the air. Mia takes a deep breath in through her nose before she takes a bite.
“I guess I’ll have a talk with Marissa soon.” Anna eats a fig and then groans when she remembers the upcoming meeting with the delegates from the other city. “Tomorrow. I’ll do it tomorrow before the staff meeting.”
“Just don’t forget to look surprised when she tells you she already knows.” Mia smiles. “She hates it when you’re one step ahead of her.”
“I’m a mother, it’s my job to be one step ahead of her.” She looks over to the blanket with Marissa and her friends. It doesn’t get past her how close Nick is sitting to Marissa.
Mia follows Anna’s gaze. She, too, watches the group of teenagers for a minute with a smile on her face. “Good luck with that, too. I’m tapping out on that one, you get to deal with that all yourself.”
Anna finishes her glass of wine and watches Riley fill it a second time. She doesn’t drink often even though it isn’t frowned upon in Fallen society. This is a sweet wine, probably brought in from the Fallen city outside of Brandenburg where the cold weather creates sweet white wines. “I probably should stop with one glass.”
“It’s a festival,” Riley hands the bottle back to Mia. “Relax and enjoy yourself for once.”
It might be the last opportunity we have for a while. He doesn’t say it, but he doesn’t have to. The three of them know all too well what might be coming with that prophecy looming on the horizon and a hidden prison to be found. “Quest” doesn’t adequately describe the mission the whole race is about to set upon.
“You’re right.” Anna takes a drink from her now full glass and leans back to look up at the stars. The night is crisp and cool and beautiful. All around them the residents of Orasul laugh and dance to the music. There are no problems they can solve today, she may as well enjoy this night.
Riley leans over and kisses Anna on the top of the head before he pushes up from the ground. “I hear there’s some Baklava from Istanbul in one of those tents, I’m going to go see if I can find it.”
Mia waits for Riley to disappear before she turns on Anna. The two women haven’t had a private conversation since the argument in the hallway. “It’s about time, you know.”
“Thanks for the push.” Anna relaxes the muscles she didn’t even realize she’d tensed. “I really had no idea.”
“That’s because you’re both blind. How you’ve both survived in the world this long is beyond me.” Mia eats a handful of grapes then leans back and looks up at the sky. “Do you think this will be happening next year?”
“The festival?’ Anna looks around at all the people. “I assume so. It might look a little different but I don’t think it will stop just because…”
She doesn’t finish the sentence because she doesn’t know what to say. Because the people they’d trusted their whole lives had lied to them? Because the war was about to gain traction? Or because maybe living apart from humanity in cities like Orasul is becoming obsolete? If one Fallen city can survive in the middle of a booming human metropolis, who’s to say others can’t?
Demons are drawn to people. Those sent to fight the demons should be closer. Cities within cities would make their jobs much easier.
“I hope you’re right.” Mia looks over at her. “I’d like to think one day I’ll be able to settle down and have a family. I don’t want our way of life to die.”
They watch the people around them until Riley returns with not only baklava but also cheesecake. Anna takes a piece of cheesecake and finishes off her glass of wine. Riley starts to pour her a third but she shakes her head. “No way. Or at least wait a little while.”
“If that’s what you want.” He sets the bottle down and pushes himself back up. Then he holds a hand out to her. “Come dance with me.”
Anna looks at him with skepticism. Obviously, with the hand holding and kissing on top of her head the cat is out of the bag; but this is a very public event and he’s a very public figure in their society.
When he looks hurt, she crumbles.
Anna allows him to pull her to her feet and then lead her over to a section of the rooftop with less picnicking families and more dancing couples. It’s just her luck the band picks that moment to take a break from the joyful upbeat music of the evening to play a slow, sad song.
Riley turns around and pulls her gently into his arms. He looks over her shoulder, back the direction of Marissa and her friends, and keeps a respectful distance between them. She relaxes a little and lifts her own arms to drape down his shoulders.
“This is how it’s supposed to be, you know.” He says softly after moment, their bodies swaying in the music.
“How what’s supposed to be?” Anna’s surprised her voice comes out so soft. The warmth of Riley’s arms around her waist and the second glass of wine are lulling her into relaxation. Other dancing couples around them seem to disappear from her reality as she focuses on Riley’s emerald eyes.
“Our lives.” He leans down and rests his forehead against hers. “Yours and mine. We’re supposed to be here, now, in this moment.”
There’s no argument from Anna and she doesn’t need her gifts to know Riley is telling her the truth as his heart knows it. She feels her body relax more and she moves a little closer to him. Her arms slide forward to rest on his chest and grip his shirt lightly. His heat and energy fold around her when he move closer and his arms tighten. Everything else in her life fades away like the other families on the rooftop. For right now there’s only the two of them.
Whatever happens tomorrow.
One of Riley’s hands move from Anna waist up to cup her face carefully. She knows he’s going to kiss her and can’t remember at the moment why it isn’t a good idea on the rooftop, in the middle of a festival, in front of the eyes of an entire city. She lifts her face and feels her nose brush against his.
The kiss is gentle, soft, almost chaste. It’s nothing more than a soft press of his lips against hers – not anything that can be considered inappropriate in the middle of a city festival. Other couples around them are doing the same. It’s a night of joy and thanksgiving for another year of life.
“You know we’re on a rooftop with hundreds of other people, right?” Riley smiles against her lips and then kisses her again.
“I do.” Anna leans back toward him, reconnecting. In the back of her mind she wonders how fa
r this moment can go in such a public place.
“Mom!”
Had someone thrown a bucket of ice water on Anna it wouldn’t have had any more of an effect as her daughter’s voice right next to her.
Anna jumps back from Riley and spins to face Marissa who looks completely embarrassed. Nick is right behind her, two plates of desert in his hands, looking equally uncomfortable. “Marissa!”
Marissa looks back and forth from Riley to Anna and back again. Finally she lets out a frustrated sound. “Can’t you find someplace private to do that?”
No words come to Anna’s mind watching Marissa stomp off with Nick following close behind. She turns to look at Riley and finds herself at a complete loss. Now what?
“Well, now you don’t have to talk to her tomorrow.” Riley’s voice sounds hopeful but he looks like he’d just faced down an entire army of Legion.
Suddenly Anna bursts out laughing. She turns into Riley who looks confused as he wraps her back in his embrace. When she calms down enough to breath she kisses him quickly on the lips. “I think I just completely embarrassed Marissa.”
“Congratulations, you’re a parent.” Riley is still looking down at her like she’d lost her mind. “I don’t understand why that’s funny.”
“You have no idea how much I’ve been dreading that.” Anna wipes at the tears that spilled down her cheeks and then tries to catch her breath. “I thought she’d be mad or hurt or afraid she’s going to lose me. Now she’s just embarrassed.”
“I’d be more worried about that red haired boy that seems to be everywhere she is lately.” Riley’s eyes follow the direction of the teenagers. “She can survive embarrassed.”
“I know, but I don’t want to think about that tonight.” Anna takes Riley’s hand and starts back toward their blanket. “Come on. I think I need that next glass of wine.”
Chapter Seventeen
