by C. Elizabeth
A little afraid for Todd, I said, “You wouldn’t take him up on the offer, would you?”
“In a heartbeat.” He was serious.
“Nathanael, he wouldn’t stand a chance!”
“Saydi, it’s the golden rule. If you get called out, you fight.” A poisonous grin crossed his face when he shot a glance at me. “Especially when it comes to the honor of a lady, even to the death, if we must.”
“You would not!” I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not.
His face cleared. “Well, let’s hope he doesn’t chance it.”
“Let’s.” What could I say to that?
When we pulled up to my house, he threw the car in park and turned a bit in his seat, draping his arm over the steering wheel. “You know what I like about you, Saydi?”
I shook my head.
“I can tell you have passion for your friends and the people around you. Not too many people have that anymore and it’s something I’d like to examine a little closer.”
There he goes again, turning up the heat monitor in my face.
Before he stepped out of the car, he tilted his head to one side, putting his chin to his chest. “I do love that color on you.”
At first I didn’t want him to walk me to the door for fear Mom would come barging out and bust up our moment. But there was no need to worry. He again made me feel calm, and everything was right with the world.
He looked at his watch and sighed. “Well, I have some work things to attend to before I go in tomorrow. Keeping up with Father is proving to be quite time consuming.”
I rested my back against the door with my hands behind my back, gazing up at him.
A puzzled look fixed on his face as he rubbed his chin. “Am I forgetting something?”
Playfully, I fluttered my eyelashes.
One of his arms crossed over his chest, the other rested on it while he continued to cup his chin. He looked to the ground, shaking his head slightly. “No, no, I paid the bill at lunch.” Then he looked at me from the corner of his eyes with a crooked grin. “Is it...maybe...” He pointed at me. “You. Are you waiting for something?”
I bit on my lower lip and shrugged.
Pulling me into his arms, he asked, “Is this it?” The aroma of his skin advanced quickly, cloaking my senses. He kissed me with such tenderness, allowing our tongues to lightly touch, and linger there, prompting me to want more before he released. “I have to go.” His voice was grainy as he rested his lips on my forehead and kissed it.
“Okay.”
“Do you have your keys?”
“Yeah.”
Stepping back, he held out his hand. I gave him the keys and he opened the door. “Have a good day,” he said.
“You too.”
Thirteen
The house was empty. Mom was more than likely visiting with some of her friends or being counseled by Father Lacombe about the horrible daughter she had for wanting to read a book. The thought made me excited to get right to it, Mom’s reaction long out of my mind.
I curled up into the corner of the couch and opened the cover, quickly flipping through the pages I’d already read. I loved the way the letters swirled and crossed into one another—it seemed romantic in a way. The next chapters grabbed my attention immediately.
~ * ~
It was well known across all realms that the Tov (gods) controlled and guarded the spirit chamber and in that chamber held all Spirit Lights that would help to guide all souls.
The Pyre (demons) spent many years trying to possess a spark from the chamber, believing if they destroyed the light of each of the souls, it would be easy to manipulate them and take them for their own. They never had any misconceptions that they would be able to control all souls, but even a spark held the light of hundreds if not, thousands, and it would give them an upper hand.
Eventually, the demons found a perfect ally in a god who they were able to temp with pleasures he desired. No name was given in the book, but that god was able to work his way up the ranks, becoming council to the spirit chamber. When an opportunity presented itself, he stole a spark, handing it over to Adramel, a high-ranking demon.
It was Adramel’s plan to simply lay in wait until the time came, and when it did, he plotted to snuff out the Spirit Light within the souls he possessed and swap them for the souls the mortals were given. Without their Spirit Light to guide them, the demons could pick and choose who they wanted, whether it be leaders or mere peasants. Then one by one, the temptations and whispers in the ears of each would eventually bring them to do the demon’s bidding.
However, until that time came, Adramel had to perform rituals to conceal it from prying eyes, and each time he did, he noticed that a portion of the Spirit Light would fall away and be replaced with the darkness from the ritual being performed. Adramel was extremely excited with his discovery, as it was going to change everything. With the evil already planted within the Spirit Light, the suggestions and enticements would be accepted immediately. Just as swiftly would the mortals be willing to do their bidding.
As he worked, his creation began to grow and even more excitement reigned in his realm. For they also discovered it wouldn’t be necessary to work one by one on the mortals, as his creation had the ability to take thousands, if not millions of Spirit Lights at once, giving no choice to the mortals...abolishing free will. He called it the Rondure.
The power of the Rondure was directly linked to the strength of the Spirit Lights it held. As it was, it was much too weak to achieve their goal; it was incomplete and would require the brightest of the Spirit Lights, the most powerful of them all. To obtain it, they once again commissioned the spy. Unfortunately for them, the gods already had their suspicions.
~ * ~
“Saydi?” Mom walked in.
Feeling guilty, I thrust the book behind my back. “In here.”
“Hi honey, did you have some supper?”
The book had me so enraptured I didn’t even notice the time, and somewhere along the way I had turned a light on. Creepy. “No, but I’m not hungry. I’m just going to go to my room.”
Mom sighed deeply. “I’m sorry for the way I acted yesterday.”
“Me too. Good night.”
“Good night,” she said quietly.
Flipping on my light, I laid down on my stomach and continued.
~ * ~
The gods discovered the spy while he was trying to take a specific Spirit Light, and in an effort to save his own life, he told them everything they needed to know, including which Spirit Light the demons were seeking. Knowing what the demons controlled, the gods had no choice but to attack. The war started.
~ * ~
The book continued to explain that all gods and all demons were recruited to fight, along with all the powers of the elements like earth, wind, fire, water, ice, etc.. Some brought with them mind reading, some the ability to change into other creatures, and some had the ability to transport themselves from one place to another. Others could will their powers to work just by closing their eyes. Though all had many powers, they only possessed one to three that were very strong—the ones they were known for.
Throughout the book, only two names of the gods were mentioned, and they were the most powerful of the war. Helios: His weapon of choice was the sun. Aeolus: He commanded the wind. They both intrigued me, probably because they were the only ones identified. Yet the thought of being able to control something your enemy couldn’t see, like the wind, sounded fun, especially with the explicit detail the book gave as to how they used the powers—their mind, hands and body movements were the key.
My eyes started getting weepy from exhaustion, but I couldn’t put it down.
The war continued for years and years and each side started to feel the effects, losing thousands and thousands of warriors. When the two thousandth year anniversary was upon them, it was looking dire for the gods. The demons began rejoicing in victory.
Aeolus, knowing the demons were also weak, had one last trick
up his sleeve. With the help of an ally on the other side, he sent out the wind. It flowed through every inch of the demons’ realm looking for the Rondure, even though he knew that if he was caught, they could turn his wind on him and kill him.
Just as a demon discovered him, Aeolus found the Rondure and encased it in the wind, snapping it back to his realm. As quick as lightning, the leaders of the gods surrounded it. At first they tried to release the darkness and refill it with the Spirit Light, but it didn’t work. Next, though it saddened them to do it, because of the Spirit Lights that would be lost, they tried to destroy it. It was all in vain. Their only option was to seal and hide it.
There was only one paragraph on the last page and it gave me a shiver: “To seal such a thing, the size be right, it must hold thy truth and thy strength. Take not lightly this duty, for it is with only thy vessel we have chosen, that thy catacomb will reveal.”
Slowly I closed the book. It was amazing. Then amazing turned into exhaustion when I looked at the time. It was two in the morning!
~ * ~
The morning came quickly and I dragged myself to school without breakfast, though Mom tried to shove food in me. Despite that, the closer school got, the better I felt.
The first ones I saw were Angie and Norma. I smiled and waved, but neither saw me. They were so tied up in each other’s faces they weren’t noticing anybody. My legs moved faster and the closer I got, the louder they seemed.
“Hey!” I said, approaching them.
They both snapped their heads in my direction, then faced each other again without even a nod in acknowledgement.
“You keep your hands off!” Angie threw at Norma, poking her in the chest.
“He doesn’t want you! He finds you boring!” Norma spat.
Angie scoffed, looking Norma up and down. “Why would he want that?”
Norma shoved her. “Because he does! He called me to meet him yesterday! Not you!”
Angie’s face was red hot when she grabbed Norma’s hair. “So, I was with him last night!”
My heart did a double take. What? I grabbed both of their shirts just as Becky ran up from the other side. “Stop it!” I screamed.
They both looked at me with really mean glares.
“What do you want?” Angie blared.
“For you to stop fighting!” I snipped right back.
“It’s none of your business, Saydi!” Norma spat.
“What do you mean, it’s not my business? Why are you two fighting?”
Angie looked Norma up and down again. “This geek decided she was going to go out with Job yesterday afternoon after he dropped me off.”
I turned to Norma. “Is that true?”
“He called me, because he said he was sick of Little Miss Perfect here!”
“Eww!” Angie lunged for her.
I threw myself between them. “Stop it! What’s gotten into you two?”
Becky gaped at me. “What happened?”
Shaking my head, I waved my hand. “Come on, don’t let him ruin your friendship.”
Then like out of a movie, they both turned on me, crossing their arms. Angie looked me up and down with a vicious grin on her face, although I didn’t even think it was a grin. “You just want him for yourself,” she spat.
I gulped. “What? Are you kidding me? I’m with Nathanael!”
“Yeah! Sure you do! Why not have two for the price of one?” Norma dripped with spite.
My throat tightened. “Norma!”
My two friends stared me down, making me feel like something I wasn’t.
Turning to Becky, I saw she was scrutinizing me as well, and I found myself fumbling to explain something I didn’t do. “You guys, I really like only Nathanael.”
Angie tapped Norma’s shoulder. “You were right...” Then she turned to me. “You do want Job for yourself!”
“No, I don’t! You’re all being stupid.” I pushed passed them. “Coming Becky?” She didn’t budge. Tears threatened to burn my eyes as I trundled forward down the hall. They weren’t listening to me—my friends were ganging up, making me sick to my stomach.
Angie didn’t show up to Social Studies and for the whole morning whenever my friends caught a glimpse of me, they turned away. It wasn’t only that, but the whole school seemed glum. No one was smiling and other kids were arguing, too. It seemed like the whole school was wrapped in a yucky cloud.
Then I saw Todd, Jimmy and Danny. At least Todd was still my friend.
“Hey, guys," I greeted.
Todd smiled. “Hey, Saydi.”
“Hi, Saydi,” both Danny and Jimmy chimed together.
“What’s up?” Todd asked.
“All the girls are mad at me.”
He took my hand and squeezed it. “What about?”
“Apparently Norma met with Job yesterday and Angie caught wind of it. They were fighting, then they all turned on me.”
“Wow!” Danny said. “Sounds like quite the soap opera.”
Todd tsked. “Doesn’t it?”
I don’t know why, but I felt the need to bring up something that was a sure fire way to get my last best friend pissed at me. “Todd, what happened between you and Norma at the party?”
His expression turned sour. “Nothing, why? Is she saying something happened?”
I looked at him through the corner of my eyes. “No, but that reaction tells me something did happen. I know you, Todd Lethars, and you’re hiding something.”
He shoved around me. “Mind your own business! Go nag Nathanael.”
Why not have everyone mad at me?
~ * ~
The rest of the day, including lunch, was crappy. I ended up eating by myself, and by the time the last bell rang, there was no need to go to Sloppy’s... I wasn’t ready to beg for forgiveness yet for something I didn’t do.
On the way home, a car I didn’t recognize passed by a half block away. Mom was in the passenger seat, and my first reaction was to wave and run toward it, but the fact that Mom was dabbing her eyes with Kleenex made me stop. The car disappeared behind the houses.
Mom crying only added to my already growing list of anxieties—the day sucked, but I thought it was about to change. A cherry red Mercedes was parked on the lot behind the church. A smile immediately came to my face and I ran up the front stairs, excited to see him. Just as I swung open the inside double doors, Nathanael’s voice boomed against the walls of the church. “How could you do that? That money was to be used for a specific reason! Don’t expect much from me again!” He turned on his heel, took one step and stalled when he spotted me.
They both looked angry, especially Nathanael, with his hands curled up in fists. When I looked at Father Lacombe, his face cleared and he smiled. “Ah, Miss Gardiner. What can I do for you?”
I darted an eye at Nathanael, unsure if I should be there. “Nothing, I just came in to see Nathanael. I saw his car out back.”
Nathanael shook his head and stormed toward me. “Saydi, what are you doing here?” He turned back to Father Lacombe and snapped, “Thank you, Father.”
There was no reply.
Nathanael took my arm a little harshly and led me out the doors and down the steps. It was starting to give me a complex having everyone mad at me for no reason—everything was a great big giant puzzle and I had no pieces.
Pushing his hand off me, I talked through my teeth. “Sorry! I saw your car and thought it would be nice to see a face that wasn’t crabby, angry or pissed at me for no reason!”
I whirled around and started to stomp away, adding, “But I guess I was wrong!” Throwing my hands up in the air, I continued, “Yet again! Eww! What is wrong with everyone today?”
Footsteps came up from behind me. He spun me around. “Saydi, what are you babbling about?”
The tears that had been on the cusp all day finally started to fall, and words spilled out so fast he actually tilted his head and squinted his eyes in an attempt to catch it all.
“Angie and Norm
a were fighting, and I told them Job wasn’t worth their friendship. Then they all got mad at me and said I wanted him for myself.”
He nodded quickly, darting his eyes back and forth in an attempt to keep up.
“Then every time they saw me, they ran away. I asked Todd about what happened with Norma, then he got mad at me too and told me it was none of my business! Then I saw Mom in some strange car and she was crying. Why would they think I would want one of your stinky brothers?” Nathanael smiled at my description of his brother. “Everyone’s fighting, being mean or...” I took a deep breath, “Just plain ol’ mad. Even Father Lacombe is mad. Then you bark at me, making me feel even worse, just when I was happy to see someone who wasn’t mad at me. But you are, too!” I crossed my arms in completion of my venting.
Nathanael raised an eyebrow and ran his fingers through his hair. “Whoa! That’s quite the day.”
“Ya think? Good bye!” I briskly turned and jogged away...slowly, hoping he’d stop me. I smiled when he did.
“Wait a minute!” He chuckled, stepping in front of me. “You tell me the sky is falling, then run off—if you want to call that running.” He tweaked my nose.
“It was jogging.” I pouted and crossed my arms again to give effect.
Puckering his lips, a smile played. “Okay, I’ll let you have that one.” Then he looked at me sadly. “Saydi, I’m not mad at you. Father Lacombe and I had a disagreement, and as for everyone else today, I feel it too. It’s a bad air.”
He started to lean in, but stopped himself as his eyes glazed over. “I have to get back to work. We have a bit of a crisis on our hands. I’ll call you later, okay?”
Before I could answer, he turned and walked quickly away.
Fourteen
Talk about feeling empty. When I walked into the house, I had no friends, the guy I liked pretty much gagged when he went to kiss me, and Mom was crying. Not much more could go wrong, except what did.
“Hi Mom,” I greeted her. She didn’t reply, because she was on the phone.
“I know, Andrea, it’s just sickening. It’s like an epidemic... Yes, that’s true...Okay, we’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
