TheHealers

by Lynsie Buchanan

  “What are we doing?” I looked over with what I’m sure was not amusement on my face.

  “Uh…food?”. He shifted the car into park and turned to look at me with an all-out laugh on his face.

  “What’s so funny?”

  His head turned towards the restaurant sign. “Usually, when a place has the word cafe in it, people eat there.”

  Again with the smirk, but I started to find it cuter. My stomach suddenly rumbled.

  “See, you’re hungry. We’re going to eat.” Then he pushed open the driver’s side door and stepped out.

  I decided to follow him. He was my ride. God, he really was a beautiful man. Maybe if I just confined him to a bed for a few hours…no, a few days. Then I would get my fill.

  I followed him to what appeared to be some semblance of a hostess stand and waited for the girl to seat us.

  “Table fur two?” Her sweet southern charm was dripping from her words.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Alexander indulged her. It amazed me how he was able to fit right in and almost hide that subtle sound that kept his origin a secret.

  “Right this way, ya’ll.” Her platinum blonde hair was hanging a little too firmly on both sides of her head. Southern girls and their hairspray. Her body tightly stuffed itself into a mockery of a waitress dress. I had waited tables in college and the outfit I had to wear consisted of a skirt the appropriate length for nuns and long sleeve button down shirt.

  She halted suddenly next to one of the diner style tables and plopped down the menus. “Ya’ll enjoy.”

  I immediately sat and looked at the menu. Then my mind started to wander. What would happen to my practice? When could I get back to work? Would I have to move? The questions must have been visible on my face too because Alexander suddenly reached out to touch my cheek.

  “Your life is going to change for the better. Don’t worry.” The fact that he would tell me not to worry really irritated me. Where did he get this over confidence from? I most certainly didn’t appreciate being told what to do either.

  “I will worry. We just left behind my house and my practice. That may not mean anything to you, but that is my life.”

  “That has been your life. I think you’ll discover a new life. There are so many things for you to learn about. So much you don’t know yet that I want to teach you.” There was excitement on his face as he spoke and that was probably the only thing that kept me from being more furious. I started to look around to conceal my thoughts when I saw another waitress heading over to our table.

  “Can I get ya’ll some sweet tea or ice water to drink?” Sweet tea sounded wonderful to me.

  “I’ll have some sweet tea, please.” Then I looked over at Alexander for him to order.

  “The same, please. Thank you.” His eyes wandered back over to me and the heat in them just melted me from the inside out. I had been about to have a serious come to Jesus meeting with him when I realized I really just wanted to touch him. The frustration was driving me nuts. Jump him or fight with him. I finally decided on a topic that could possibly inflict problems on any more passionate ideas.

  “So, what was going on with the girl at your house earlier? Maybe she was trying to burn down my house. I spent the night with you last night. She could have been jealous.” My heart thumped erratically as I waited for an answer from him. What if she really was his girlfriend? Oh, I really wanted him to be unattached to anyone else. His arms were both lying on the table as he casually flipped through the menu. Alexander’s eyes looked behind me somewhere and then back at me. His body leaned over to speak softly.

  “I am only interested in being alone with you.” His strong masculine words caused my heart to stop. His body leaned back onto his side of the table and looked to the waitress to give his order. She set down our drinks and picked up her pen.

  Somehow, I managed to pull myself back together in time to order my meal. As I watched her walk away, I heard Alexander begin to talk again.

  “Scyrus is my cousin. I don’t think she would care about you being in my bed last night.”

  What does a girl say after that? I did feel a huge sense of relief to discover that he was available. Available for what? I think I was still imagining things to do with him when I realized those dark and warm eyes were stuck on me. It took me a moment to recall what he’d said after the information that indicated his availability. Finally, I was able to produce some sort of response.

  “Is she from Greece, too?” Brilliant.

  “No. She’s from my father’s oldest sister and they had already left by the time they started their family.” Alexander’s eyes darted around the room again. It appeared that he was some sort of superhuman bodyguard. The thought made me laugh and it felt good. Even though he was on alert, his body seemed relaxed. His back was against his chair and his legs were spread in a manly way that kept my thoughts far from safe.

  “What are you thinking of?” A smile touched his face as he asked.

  “I just noticed how watchful you are. You seem like my own personal bodyguard.” A strange look crossed his face, but he said nothing. Just then the waitress appeared again with our plates. I leaned in to inhale the scent of my biscuits and gravy. It was pure country heaven. Conversation was severely stilted as we began to devour our food. It must have appeared to any onlookers that we had not eaten in a while. My lips curved up in a smile again as I recalled the last meal I had with this beautiful man across the table from me. Then a blush colored my face as I recalled his words again.

  I am only interested in being alone with you.

  A smile creased his face as he asked, “Still noticing how watchful I am?” His gaze lingered slowly and deliberately across my curves.

  “Maybe I’ll let you know later.” The playful tease came out of my lips before I could even think clearly. Would I really play with this man who was becoming my greatest weakness?

  “I hope so.” His response incited a heat throughout my body that finalized itself in the warmth between my thighs. I nervously moved my legs to cross them in some subtle attempt at hiding all the lust that poured off of my body, and instead rubbed up against his leg. The table was not glass so I couldn’t view our legs together, but my body froze. I was afraid to move and lose contact and nervous that he might pull his legs back. He didn’t.

  Then we started to have what resembled a normal conversation.

  “Tell me about your job. Do you like it?” His curiosity about my life flattered me and made my heart beat just a little faster, if that was possible.

  “I love to help people. It gratifies me on a level that I have never felt with anything else in my life.” The delight in my work seemed to echo off of my soft voice. I leaned in to take another small bite of the last biscuit on my plate. Discipline told me to leave some food on the plate, but my stomach demanded that I eat it. After I chewed and swallowed, I finished speaking.

  “I’ve sort of never fit in anywhere my whole life. Helping people gave me that feeling. It just fits me. As to how I ended up in the mental aspect of healing, I’m not really sure. Maybe it was all the counselors I always had to speak to throughout my life in the foster care system. Their work just really resonated with me, even as a child.” I was aware that all of those words had just come out of my mouth, but I was in shock that I felt so comfortable to share them. Even my closest friends didn’t know these things about me.

  “You are an extraordinary person, Layna. Those people have been lucky to have you. As well as all the others you will continue to help as we condition and fine tune all that raw power you have for a therapeftís.” I could almost feel the energy that came off of him now. It seemed to be a constant feeling, but at this moment it went exponential. I wanted to ask him about it, but just then I saw the waitress heading back to us. Alexander pushed his empty plate in front of him and started to pull his wallet out from his back pocket.

  Chapter Fourteen

  We were back in the man vehicle when I started to get all doe eye
d as I stole little glimpses of Alexander next to me. All of a sudden, Leo’s face crashed into my head. How was I going to explain all this to him? Leo had cared for me and been a good friend to me for years. I guess I wasn’t sure what to tell him, because I still didn’t know what I wanted from him. He was the right person for me in my mind. Everything about Leo made sense. Nothing about Alexander made sense. My body and soul felt connected to him in a way that I could not find words for. Just sitting there now, I felt pain because I wasn’t close enough to him.

  A warm hand suddenly brushed itself across my shoulder and scooped up some of my hair to gently fondle. Just that simple touch impaired my breath. I wondered if it affected him the same way. Glad to know we were close enough in the vehicle that he could reach me, I inched just a little closer.

  “Why are there people trying to hurt me?” I really needed to understand. If I was a Healer and could help people, then whey would my life be in danger?

  “There are others that do not care for our talents and gifts. Some would say they are jealous. Stories have been passed down since the days of Asclepius.” He took a moment to glance in the mirrors. As he did, I took in a deep breath and tried to memorize the enormous live oaks dripping all over this grassland area. I only half wondered about our destination now, being too caught up in the beauty of the trip here.

  “After Asclepius’ death there was much turmoil over his healing practices and over who actually had the magic from him. The group began to segregate itself. Our people continued his true teachings through temples created in his honor. We were known throughout history as the therapeftís. Our symbol is the same as Asclepius—the rod with one serpent.” As he mentioned the serpent I felt myself shiver a little as I recalled my nightmares featuring the serpents. Now I began to see something a little more clearly.

  “So then there is another group. Those people that are not therapeftís. What are they?” I noticed the console in the front seat was pushed up and I had scooted myself all the way over to Alexander. His hand was resting on my leg. It would rub little circles occasionally, as was happening now, and I would forget our conversation for a moment.

  “They are Hunters.”

  A whole wave of unwanted, volatile emotions began forming in my psyche. Then he continued.

  “To us they are phroureo. It means hunter. Why do you think we call them that, Layna?”

  I swallowed and bit down on my lip, “Because they hunt us?” Even though I knew, the words still lingered with an inquisitive tone.

  “Yes. They have taken on a similar symbol to ours. They have the rod with two serpents. They claim to be gods of medicine and healing. They teach their people that Asclepius was these things, too. But, the fact remains, Asclepius only had one serpent on his rod. He was a Healer. They are not able to heal, but they create medicines that give an illusion of healing.” His voice was strong and confident. It rang with truth.

  The fury erupted in my head, “So they want to kill me because I help people! I don’t care what they are and I didn’t even really know what I was. How could they just try to get rid of me like that?” My hand roughly tugged at the seatbelt around my body in anger. This vehicle had a seatbelt that crossed over my chest even in the middle. I still wondered what had possessed me to move myself so close to this man that captivated every part of my body.

  Alexander’s foot started to depress on the brakes as we were driving through an area that resembled a small town, but smaller. Before I could ask why, I noticed the new speed limit signs that reflected a decreased speed.

  “Speed trap—”

  “Cop station—”

  Our words came out simultaneously. And our eyes met for a second, but it was enough to incite that need that became an ache in my body. A nervous giggle fell out from my lips. Then it was joined by the perfect sound of his whole hearted laugh. It was so pure and relaxed, but with a hint of subtlety.

  “Well, I guess I’m going to be missing the conference this week.” A smile was still on my face as if I could care less.

  “What conference?” The genuine interest in his voice shocked me. I faked a punch to his right arm that was closest to me. Then I left my arm on his leg. What was I doing?

  “You don’t have to pretend to be interested. It was just some classes on meditation and psychotherapy. Guess I’ll miss out on all that learning.” Being playful seemed to keep my mind off of the fact that we were being chased.

  “Oh? I don’t know. I think I can help you with some creative avenues in getting your body relaxed and calmed for meditation.” A small snicker came from his side of the car.

  A long sigh came out from me. It was from the wishful thoughts that tagged along with his playful words.

  “What’s wrong?” The immediate change in his tone made it clear he was worried about me. Just because I sighed? Wow. He would definitely make a great father. Not that I knew anything about great parents. Now, I was embarrassed. Should I tell him I wished we were really engaged in some of those creative avenues and then wake up to realize that wasn’t going to happen? I decided to lie.

  “I’m just feeling nervous and worried all at the same time. I’m sure you would feel the same way if it was your house that almost burned down.”

  “They are never going to hurt you.” His hand squeezed mine. “I’m never taking my eyes off of you.” The devotion in his tone and the serious look he tossed my way threw my stomach into a surge of somersaults.

  “Alexander, why do they hunt us?” The innocent voice in my question was so vulnerable, but I didn’t care. I knew he would explain and protect me.

  “We defy their very existence. If what we do is real, then all of their work is a mockery.” He gave a little pause for it all to sink in. Then he added more.

  “Do you realize how much revenue pharmaceutical companies and medical doctors get from their ability to get everyone addicted to their treatment plans?”

  The money! Now, I was seeing clearly. “Enough to want us dead,” my flat voice replied.

  “Exactly. In the beginning, there was conflict, but we could still coexist together. Somewhere between then and now, we went into hiding. Therap…Healers started dying. We had to preserve our gift and protect the legacy of Asclepius.” The pain in his voice over the dead was heartbreaking. To feel that this man could have such a heart touched me. Maybe he was more than what appeared on that smooth, sexy surface. I turned my head to look out the window before drooling could become apparent on my face. Foothills were starting to run rampant over the flat grassland we had looked at for the last hour. The live oak trees started to be ganglier as they randomly hung anywhere. The appearance of any town became less frequent.

  “I need to let my friends know I’ll be gone for a while.” I suddenly turned to him and asked, “How long will this take to resolve? What will it take for them to leave me alone?”

  Alexander’s hands tightened on the steering wheel and the hard words came out of his mouth, “I don’t know. I’m not sure you can ever go back to that life. We still have so much to teach you about our people. Do you think you could go back to your life after everything you now know?”

  I almost heard a tinge of sadness at the end of his voice. Could the thought of me leaving be sad to him? That was just…unimaginable.

  “No.” I spoke softly. Even through the anger at losing everything that I thought was my life, I still knew I couldn’t leave. Not him, and not this opportunity to find out about myself.

  Something in his body relaxed as he heard my words and his right arm reached down to rest on my left leg. The sizzle aura of sparks that I had noticed when we first met became commonplace to my senses because I had been around him consistently for at least the past twelve hours. They were still there, it just seemed more natural. The fireworks going off in my head and body were another story, however. His touch ignited a chemical response in my body. Almost like two halves making a whole. Was it possible to really find a person that unequivocally belonged to another?
It still challenged me to wrap my thoughts around that idea. Nothing about it made sense, but everything about it felt right.

  “I still need to let them all know so they don’t worry. I should probably call the police that were over the other night and let them know I will be out of town for awhile, too.” I picked up my cell phone and made the calls. I did not stop being aware of the constant touch between our bodies. His hand still rested protectively over my leg. That simple action gave me strength. I chose to just text my friends. I knew it was impersonal, but I did not have the energy to make individual calls and repeat the same information again and again. I did, however, have to make a personal call to the police.

  “Officer Banks.” The automated sound in his voice led me to believe he didn’t recognize my number on caller id.

  “This is Layna Covington, you were at my—”

  “I remember. We’ve been trying to find you. We got a report of the fire at your house.” So he did remember me.

  “How did you know about the fire?” I looked at Alexander questioningly, thinking that the people that cleaned it up would not contact police.

  “I have officers watching your house. Why didn’t you call immediately? Where are you staying? I can have an officer come and get you.” This little glimpse into my old world almost lulled me back. Calling the police was the sensible thing to do. I quickly reminded myself that the people coming after me were not going to be intimidated by police officers. I was still a little upset with Officer Banks.

  “If you were watching my house, then how did someone manage to light it on fire?” Silly and petty of me, but I couldn’t resist.

  “Layna, we don’t put twenty-four hour surveillance on a house that was broken into. Be reasonable.” I couldn’t help but hear a little bit of an apology in the tone.

  “Either way, I’m safer where I’m at now. I’m going to be out of town for a while until this all gets figured out.” The hand on my leg started to rub again. Oh, this man would be the end of me.