“Whoa—you can gleam during flight? That’s so cool.”
“It just takes practice.”
Then I saw it—the moonlight reflecting off the side of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the French Alps. Now I knew why Akil wanted me to see it before gleaming to Paris. It was so majestic. I had never seen anything like it.
Suddenly, the lights of a city appeared before us and I realized Akil had gleamed us to Paris. He glided in a circle around the city and my mind switched from natural wonders to all the amazing things I’ve always wanted to see in Paris.
“Akil, look! It’s the Arc de Triomphe! And they haven’t taken the Christmas lights off the trees yet. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“I think I would prefer it without the highway. Maya! What is that!”
“What? The Eiffel Tower?”
He headed for it immediately, gaining speed with every beat of his wings. “It’s genius! Avez-vous jamais rien vu de si beau?”
“Sure, I guess it’s pretty with the lights and all. But, Akil, it’s made of iron.”
But my opinion didn’t seem to matter much. He decided he was going to glamour us and head in for a closer look. He landed next to one of the radio antennas on the top and hopped over the railing.
What the—? “Akil, you’re going to get yourself killed!”
Totally ignoring me, he started to climb along the girders. This was obviously his idea of fun. (Ah, Paris. All the culture in the world and even a jungle gym built for a god.) At first, it was actually kind of cool. He was so strong and moved so quickly, and he never made a false move. Of course, that didn’t mean he had to let go of me and leave me up on top. I wasn’t afraid of heights or anything, but I was pretty sure that a radio room and a bunch of antennas were not all Paris had to offer.
“Akil, come back up here and get me!” I yelled.
He gleamed and was instantly at my side. “You’re very loud ma chère. It’s a good thing it’s the middle of the night.” He gestured toward the structure below us. “What did you call this?” he asked.
“La Tour Eiffel. The Eiffel Tower.”
“Why does it have that name?”
“Um, I think it was named for the guy who built it. Or maybe he was just in charge.”
“It’s magnificent.” He wrapped his arms around me and gleamed us into a Parisian alley. (I still didn’t like alleys, but I was beginning to see how handy they are.) “Are you tired?” he asked me.
“Why? Is it late?”
“Very.”
That was odd. Maybe it was just adrenaline or whatever, but I was wide awake.
“Are you hungry?”
“I could eat. But it’s the middle of the night.”
“It’s early morning. There must be a bakery opening soon.”
He was right. After we had walked a few blocks, the smell of fresh-baked bread started to waft through the air. My stomach growled, and we stopped and picked up two hot baguettes.
“So what would you like to see next?” he asked.
“Notre Dame Cathedral,” I said. I have a major thing for Gothic cathedrals.
Akil glamoured us again and we followed the Seine, came to the island, then landed on the roof between the two big towers and sat down to eat our warm baguettes. I could see daybreak just beginning behind us.
“Do you ever sleep?” I asked.
“No. I can, but I don’t need to. I don’t see the point.”
“Tell me more.”
“What would you like to know?”
“About me. About us. The three of us.”
“Let’s see. Akina was the moon goddess, I suppose they would say.”
Huh? “They?”
“The innocents. Humans always seem to feel the need to give us titles. Akina’s power originated with the moon. So I suppose she was the moon goddess.”
“Powers? Like what kinds of powers?” I pulled off a piece of bread and popped it onto my mouth.
“As gods we all have powers that we share. Flight, gleaming, and the ability to glamour. And then we have greater and lesser powers of our own.”
“What could Akina do?”
He smiled a little. “She had dominion over the tides and the seas.”
“And her eyes were—”
“The color of the sea, yes, like mine.” He chuckled. “She could also make the wind blow. But more than anything else, she was the goddess of love.”
“Love.” I looked away from him. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I wasn’t sure why. I blinked them back. “And you?”
“My power comes from the sun.”
“So you’re the sun god?”
He laughed and there was just the slightest crinkle around his eyes. “It sounds funny to hear it that way.”
“And what power do you have?”
“Fire, heat, light…nothing all that impressive.”
Nothing. All. That. Impressive? No wonder he could warm me up while we were flying. “So you could, like, what, just set this bread on fire?”
“I suppose. Why? Do you want me to toast it?”
I giggled. For some reason, I got the image of him flying across the sky in a chariot pulling the sun behind him. “So did you just hang around in the Otherworld and make it light and dark every day?”
“Of course not.”
“What about those, what did you call them? Lesser powers?”
“I can manipulate dreams and memory. But only in small ways.”
“Oh…is that how come the…” I pointed to my forehead.
“Exactly.”
“Huh.”
“Now you…you were splendid,” he said.
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
I sat quietly for a moment as the memory of Chichen Itza flowed into my mind. “My power came from the earth,” I said out of nowhere.
“The earth goddess.” His smile was back.
“Why is that so cool?” I asked.
“Do you really need to ask? Look what you did the day that I first sensed you. And you weren’t even trying.”
Whoa. Not trying? He obviously had the wrong girl.
“I was nearly killed, Akil! What do you mean I wasn’t trying?”
He looked at me thoughtfully. “And then you healed yourself. Am I right?”
“Sort of. Hey, how did you know that?”
“You’re here now, aren’t you? Gods are immortal, Maya. We can’t die. To die is human. I highly doubt you would have.”
“I can’t die? Really?”
“Would you like to find a freeway and test it out?”
“No, I would not, thank you very much.” I gave his arm a punch. “Akil?”
“Yes?”
“Does that mean I’ll never die?”
“I wish I could tell you for sure. It seems as though your power has come back, at least to some degree. But I’m not sure how much.”
“What do you mean?”
“What you did was incredible, Maya. And your gleaming. But at the same time, your wings are missing and you can shape-shift now. I’m not sure your abilities will ever be exactly what they once were.”
“Well, then maybe I’m some kind of demigod or something.”
For the very first time he laughed a full laugh. It was amazing. “A demigod!” He snorted. “This isn’t Homer, Maya! We’re not in some epic poem.”
I felt myself flush. “It was just an idea,” I said.
“We’ll figure it out.”
We sat quietly watching the dawn. I looked up at the stars, trying to get my head around everything Akil was telling me, and then I closed my eyes and quietly asked Balam to help me deal with it. And just then—my insides switched over to Matt. Complete and utter loneliness mingled with fear and sadness filled my core. Oh, God. What was I doing? There was no way I was going to be able to stay here much longer, no matter what I did or didn’t find out.
Akil broke into my thoughts. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. I was just…uh…think
ing about my friends.” I made a split-second decision not to bring Matt’s name up. I wasn’t comfortable talking to Akil about something so special to me. I didn’t feel like I knew him well enough yet.
“It’s interesting that you’re a shape-shifter.”
“Why? Because I wasn’t before?”
“I suppose.”
“Have there always been shape-shifters?” I asked.
“For as long as I can remember. But I’ve never heard of a god with that ability. It’s more of an elevated human ability.”
“Well, maybe I’m the first one.”
“I suppose it’s possible.”
“Jeez.”
“What?”
“Oh, nothing.” Either I was a shifter who was a god or a god who was a shifter. Either way, it was like I was a freak again. Why couldn’t I figure out where I belonged for once? I pushed the thought out of my mind. I was so over thinking of myself that way. Besides, I knew where I belonged.
Akil stood up and stretched. I followed his lead as he opened his arms for me, then we gleamed into another nearby alley. We were walking toward the street when I suddenly stopped.
He turned his head. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah, it’s just…Akil, if immortals live forever, how the hell can Akina be dead?”
CHAPTER TEN
It was so early Lyssa’s brain could barely function. Her eyes were swollen from crying and her head hurt. Standing next to the door to the room she and Cesar shared, she watched him as he threw a few last minute things into his pack. He walked over to her and cupped her cheek with his hand.
“I will find him, bella. You have to trust me. You are sure it’s the beach on the map where you showed me?”
She nodded.
“I think that’s exactly where he’s gone. Keep your cell on.”
“I will.”
He opened the door and started to walk down the short hallway.
“Cesar!” He stopped and turned to his mate. “I love you,” she called out.
He smiled the sexiest smile she’d ever seen. “Yo también te amo.”
Then she watched him walk out the front door of the cabin. She quietly shut the door to their room and leaned against it. Holy shit! Had she just said that? God. She had never meant anything more in her life. Watching Cesar head out at 5:00 a.m. to search for her best-friend’s mate on his own because that’s what she thought was best…Well, it was enough to make her want to shout her feelings from the rooftops. And she was so not a rooftops kind of girl.
She slid back into bed and tried to get at least a few minutes of sleep. She hadn’t slept at all the night before. With Maya and Matt both gone, the idea of “worried” had taken on a whole new meaning. And it wasn’t just that. Why hadn’t she asked Matt if he was okay? She hadn’t wanted to pry. He really did seem different from the last time Maya was gone. And the circumstances were totally different now, too. She was mated. She should have known that there was no way Matt was handling it as well as he seemed to be. She picked up her pillow and plopped it on top of her head, hoping it would shut her brain the eff up.
An hour later, she was walking through the gardens on her way to her tutoring session. There wasn’t anyone around to eat breakfast with, anyway. They were all out searching for Matt. She picked two oranges off a tree as she passed it, one for her and one for her twin. Then she skipped back and picked a third for Nate. Couldn’t hurt, right?
“Good morning, Lyssa.”
“Morning, Nate. Hey, little brother.” She set the oranges down in the center of the kitchen table.
Nate smiled. “Thank you, Lyssa. That’s very kind.”
“No problem.” Matt’s missing.
“What!” Damian yelled out loud.
Nate looked at him. “Are you all right?” he asked.
Damian flushed. “Oh, sorry. I’m fine. Really.” What do you mean Matt’s missing?
Gone. G-O-N-E. Cesar came back from duty last night and said they couldn’t find him anywhere. They had to come back without him. Lyssa looked up at Nate and gave him a big smile. Not that there was any way he could possibly know that she was chatting telepathically with her twin during class. But just in case.
Damian glanced at Lyssa. So are they out looking for him?
Yeah, but I sent Cesar someplace else. I think Matt went to their beach. Or maybe he’ll show up there, at least at some point.
Good thinking.
Was that a compliment, little brother? She looked down at her math homework. Hey, what’d you get for number five?
Nice try. Do your own work, Lyss.
She sighed. Oh well, at least she had Nate and Damian for entertainment. Watching them volley back and forth was more fun than the British Open. Nate would ask them a question. Then Damian would give him the answer. It wasn’t like she knew it, anyway. Then Nate would tell Damian he was correct and Damian would get all flustered. But Lyssa was also seeing what Damian wasn’t. Like the way Nate was watching Damian work. He never watched her work. ’Course that was possibly because she wasn’t doing any.
Today things seemed to have bumped up a notch in their little academic tennis match. They were starting to actually catch one another looking. Lyssa raised an eyebrow. This was new. It was also confirmation of what she had suspected all along. Nate was gay. And he was attracted to Damian. Unfortunately, convincing Damian of that attraction was going to be nearly impossible. For one thing, he was shy. Once he got to know you, of course, it was a different story. But how was Nate ever going to know that if all Damian ever said to him was the answer to number seven?
“Lyssa?”
Lyssa!
“What!”
“The answer to number seven. Have you finished the problem?” Nate asked.
“Oh, almost. Sorry.” Whoops.
“You two seem awfully jumpy today,” Nate said.
“Really?” Lyssa asked.
“Huh?” Damian said, “I hadn’t noticed.”
Or for cripe’s sake, Damian. Would you just jump tutor boy and get it over with?
That’s just rude and crude, Lyssa.
I’m telling you, Damian, he likes you.
No, he doesn’t. Hello? I don’t even know if he’s gay. Besides, he’s our tutor.
Exactly. He’s our tutor, not our teacher, little bro.
It’s still more than slightly inappropriate.
Lyssa rolled her eyes. Oh, please.
And he’s eighteen!
Big deal. Cesar’s nineteen.
You’re mated, Lyss. It’s not the same.
Why don’t you just admit that you’re afraid to talk to him?
WHAT?
That was the end of that mental conversation. Damian put up his wall, and Lyssa was left with the slightly suffocating feeling she always had when he did that. The feeling only lasted a few seconds, but it happened every time. Well, this time it didn’t matter. She had accomplished her mission. Damian had issues with shyness, but he had even bigger issues when it came to proving himself to his big sister. He was hella smart, but he was also super competitive. With a little luck, she thought this might do the trick. Her brother did not like to be called a wuss. Except what happened next made her eyes bug out of her head.
“Nate?”
“Yes, Damian?”
“Do you think you could start me on a couple of other topics for AP calc?”
“Sure. But what’s the rush?”
“I wanted to take a class at WNMU next fall.”
“Really? That’s very ambitious. I’d be glad to. I won’t have time during regular tutoring sessions, though. I’m barely squeezing enough material into the three hours as it is.”
“Maybe we could do it afterward? If you have time, I mean.”
“I could spare forty minutes or so. We’d lose our space when everyone comes in to eat lunch, though.”
“I don’t mind moving to another room.”
“All right then. How about if we start tomorrow?”
“I cannot believe you just did that!”
He turned to face her. “Oh, no? You practically dared me into it, Lyssa.”
“Well, at least you talked to him.”
“That’s just great, Lyss. Just great. And when I get my heart crushed into a thousand pieces, I’ll remember that. I’m sure it’ll be very comforting.”
Whoa. He was pissed. And he never got this bent out of shape. What was his problem, anyway? So he was going to work on some extra math. What difference did it make? Unless….
Lyssa closed the door. “Wait, you really like this guy, don’t you.”
“I—I dunno.”
“Oh, Damian, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize—”
“Is it okay if I meet you at lunch?” he asked. “I’ve got some stuff I’ve gotta do.”
“I…sure.” She left the room, closed the door, and let herself fall against it. What had she done?
***
That afternoon, Lyssa made homemade churros for dessert. She didn’t even know if anybody would be around for dinner. With everyone out looking for Matt, her twin apparently not speaking to her, and Maya…off doing whatever it was she was doing, she could easily end up eating the fricking things alone. It didn’t matter. She needed to be busy. She always had too much energy.
“Do I smell something fried?”
Lyssa whipped around so fast, she almost knocked the frying pan to the floor. “Matt!” She ran across the kitchen and he scooped her into a huge hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Hey, Lyss. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken off like that.”
She heard the screen door slam and trained her eyes on her mate, who crossed the kitchen and picked her up and held her.
“Ay, cuanto te quiero,” she whispered.
“I know,” he said, “And you’re going to burn your churros.”
“Shit!” She hopped down and dashed back to the stove.
“That’s my bella,” Cesar said to Matt with a chuckle.
Matt laughed. “Yeah, good luck with that.”
“Hey!” Lyssa said.
Jaguar Moon (Jaguar Sun Series Book 2) Page 7
