Gaia's Secret

by Barbara Kloss

  Alex and I revisited all of my favorite memories: hours in their library, forts we had built, fights, food we had cooked that always ended up looking more like vomit. Even the squirrels hadn’t eaten it. Neither of us had been adept at following directions. Well, as Alex liked to remind me, I was the one that was terrible at following directions, and I also happened to be bossy.

  The sting in Alex’s arm had lessened, at least from what I could tell. He was pretty good at keeping that arm hidden from view. Every so often I would feel a shock of his pain, but it would always fade just as quickly.

  Evening cast its predictable shadow over the forest, and we stopped for the night beneath an enormous tree.

  Sonya walked to my side. “Cicero wants you and Alex to fight.”

  I knew it. Cicero was irritated. “Did I do something wrong?”

  Sonya smiled. “Oh, spirits, no. He just thinks you should practice, you know, keep your skills sharp.”

  “Oh.” Heat licked up my neck. “You mean actual fighting.”

  “What on Gaia did you think I meant?” She laughed.

  “Um, I don’t know.” I tried hiding my embarrassment. “But, do you really think he’s in any condition to…” I pointed towards my own arm.

  “I heard that!” Alex called from beside Parsec, fixing a few daggers to his belt. “And, to answer your question, I’m perfectly fine.”

  “So, what’s with the weapons?” I asked, eyeing the daggers.

  “He’s going to show you how to use them,” Sonya said.

  I was overcome with excitement. I’d never fought with weapons before. “Really?”

  Alex walked towards us with a spark in his eyes. My heart beat a little faster and my stomach felt all fluttery. What was wrong with me?

  Sonya placed a hand on my shoulder. “Are you feeling all right, dear?”

  I swallowed and smiled back at her. “Uh, yeah. Fine.”

  She searched my face. “Don’t worry. Alex is a natural with blades. He won’t hurt you.”

  I held my smile but said nothing. It wasn’t the blade I was afraid of. The thought of taking my training to the next step—weaponry—was thrilling. It was the fighting with Alex part. We hadn’t done that in years, and he certainly hadn’t been built like…that.

  “Ready?” Alex stopped before me.

  His smile made me catch my breath.

  Calm down, take a deep breath. You’ve fought him a thousand times.

  “Are you trying to intimidate me?” I nodded towards his arsenal.

  “As if that was possible.” He grinned. “Anyway, these aren’t for you. They’re in case we encounter any real danger.”

  “So what, exactly, are you teaching me?”

  “She’s all yours.” Sonya turned to me. “Don’t be easy on him, not that you ever were.” She grinned at her son, patted me on the back, and joined Cicero beneath the tree.

  Alex stood there with a funny look on his face. I couldn’t decide if he was amused or a little nervous, like I was. I tried to get a sense of his emotions, but for some reason I couldn’t feel a thing, and it bothered me.

  His eyes gleamed. “Don’t worry, I might not have inherited many of my mom’s good qualities, but I did inherit her patience.”

  Why was my heart beating so fast? “I’m not worried.” I smirked, trying to shake off my nervousness. “But you also inherited her sense of caution. I want to be functional in a knife fight, not be the damsel in distress.”

  Alex leaned close to me and my skin started feeling tingly. His eyes were bright and unusually penetrating. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about there. You’re the damsel that distresses everyone else.”

  With that, he marched off into the forest. My face felt hot as I trudged after him. I didn’t know why my body was acting so weird. Maybe it was because I was getting used to him again; I mean, it had been years since we’d done anything like this.

  We continued through the thick trees, which, to my relief, kept their branches to themselves. I gave myself a silent pep talk the whole way, trying to convince myself nothing had changed and there was no reason to be nervous. Alex didn’t stop until he reached a patch where the trees were spaced apart a little farther, the sun peeking what remained of its bright yellow head through the canopy, glittering the forest floor.

  The little clearing was beautiful. Splashes of color were everywhere from large flowers that lined the thick vines dragging along the forest floor, and the sound of falling water whispered faintly through the trees. Something buzzed past my ear, but when I looked, all I saw was a leaf about as long as I was tall with something slinking on top of it. It looked like a caterpillar the size of my hand. Short, stiff bristles of silver hair stood out all over its body, making it look like a fuzzy slinky. It inched along the leaf, leaving a shimmery, moist trail in its wake.

  I reached out to touch it.

  “I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.” Alex was looking up at me from where he was crouched on the ground, a few yards away.

  I glanced back at the caterpillar but it was gone, except for the shimmery trail. Even as I watched, the shimmer darkened until it turned black like tar, and the leaf dissolved with the faintest sizzling hiss. All that remained was the stalk with an end that looked like someone burned it, and no sign of the caterpillar.

  “What was that thing?”

  Alex studied me a moment. “This forest doesn’t have its reputation for nothing. It’s home to many dangerous critters. In fact—” the hint of a grin appeared on his face “—I think you fit in nicely here.”

  I narrowed my eyes but he only went back to searching the ground, using his foot to move tall grasses and fallen leaves.

  “What are you looking for?” I left the deadly slinky and walked towards Alex.

  “These.” He picked up a couple small sticks. He tossed one to me. “What you’re going to learn with.”

  “A stick.” I stared at him. “You’re going to teach me how to fight with a stick.”

  His eyes widened with mock innocence.

  Figured. “I’m having flashbacks to my kindergarten days.”

  “Do you want to learn or not?”

  I made a face and he pretended not to see it.

  “Knives are a lot more dangerous than wrestling. You will get cut. That hurts a great deal more than getting the wind knocked out of you.”

  “Mr. Protector, you’re already inhibiting my first lesson.” I waved my stick.

  He raised a brow. “Daria, you’re dangerous with anything in your hands.”

  For some reason, I didn’t like how he said that.

  “First rule,” he continued. “Point the stick away from you.”

  “Yeah, wouldn’t want to get stabbed with a stick now, would we?”

  He raised a brow. “Good, you’re paying attention.”

  I rolled my eyes as he continued. “Defend against the blade, not me. Always keep your eyes fixed on the blade. It’s the greater threat.”

  “Considering your weapon of choice, I think you’re the greater threat.”

  He crouched, his features sharpened with focus as he held the stick before him. Starting the match without warning, as usual.

  “How’s your arm?”

  “Never felt better.”

  I mirrored his movements, crouching on the balls of my feet as we circled each other. “Are you going to explain what you’re doing?”

  “When I see you understand what I just said.”

  “What, that I’m going to get a small sting and we need to keep these pathetic excuses for weapons between us? Next.”

  The answer I received was a physical one. He feinted with his stick, his body twisted around it, and I was not ready.

  He was much faster than when we used to fight, and the wound wasn’t slowing him. Not at all. It took all my focus to watch him, anticipate his moves. But I couldn’t predict them, not like I used to. His style had changed. He was faster, smoother, and better. Much, much better.
>
  He thrust the stick toward my stomach fast and I bent back, but he used my momentum against me. He grabbed the wrist of my stick wielding hand and reached around with his other hand, pinning me against him. My spine arched backwards at an uncomfortable angle and my limbs were immobile. Alex’s smirk was inches from my face, his breath even and calm despite my haggard breathing.

  “You’ve certainly improved,” I gasped.

  “And you certainly haven’t.”

  I scowled as he chuckled; the sound of his laughter reverberated through me. He released me.

  “I wasn’t ready.” I rubbed my shoulder.

  “Obviously.” He grinned.

  “Why are you smiling?”

  He shook his head with that same gleam in his eyes. “Again.”

  His features returned to hard focus and he came at me again. His movements blurred and the next thing I knew my hand was kicked and my stick flew through the air, landing about ten yards away from me.

  “Well, you’re supposed to hold on to it,” Alex said.

  “And you’re supposed to teach me how. You haven’t taught me anything, actually.”

  “I am teaching you something. Reminding you why you need to follow my instructions instead of depending on your usual method, Miss I-Can-Figure-it-out-Myself.”

  “And you said I was distressing. Your dad was right. You just like showing off.”

  He chuckled as he ran over and retrieved my stick. I liked hearing him laugh.

  “Here.” He placed the stick in my hand. My hand looked so small next to his, and fragile. “Form a tight fist around the end.” He manipulated my fingers and I was suddenly aware of how warm his hand felt on mine. “But keep your wrist flexible. It helps maximize both power and penetration.” He stepped away and the stick flopped between my fingers.

  “This is ridiculous. It’s too small to get a good grip, but my knife handle—“

  “—will be simple once you learn how to fight with this.” He finished for me. “Now—” he positioned himself a few feet away “—always keep the weapon between us. Your free hand should protect vital areas, like your heart or throat, or you can use it to distract or grapple.”

  I grunted my irritation as I rolled my eyes.

  “Now, come at me.”

  Crouching low, I moved opposite him, making sure to keep my stick pointed at him. His joy filtered through me despite the serious look on his face and I was glad to sense his emotions again. It was strange, but I was quickly becoming use to feeling them.

  I feinted with one hand and slashed the stick across his torso, trying to trap him. He was too fast.

  Before I could react, he spun around and knocked my legs out from under me. My next view of him was from the ground. That was it. I yanked out my dagger, and with it came that same surge of supernatural strength.

  “No.” His eyes narrowed.

  I crouched low, taunting him with my dagger.

  “Daria, I’m serious. You’ll kill yourself.”

  “Quit being such a baby and fight me. I’m not a little girl anymore, so stop treating me like one.”

  He raised his eyebrow at that.

  The strange power burned through my arm. My hand gripped onto the dagger with ease—natural, comfortable—as if I’d been holding one my entire life. My muscles knew what to do, like the night before when I’d thrown it at the barghest.

  I charged. He looked like he was going to stand there, but just before contact he pulled his dagger. With a loud clang our blades slammed into each other.

  Our eyes locked, just inches apart. And I had never felt more alive.

  His concentration was sharp as he tried to trap my dagger. But this time, I was too fast. Spinning away, I kicked out my leg, trying to unbalance him. He leapt away at the last second but I didn’t miss his surprise. Or was it my own surprise? It was too difficult to distinguish. He tried again, spinning around, bringing the flat side of his blade down on my back. I just managed to avoid him, rolling away and jumping back to my feet.

  The surprise was his. “Did you forget to tell me Alaric’s been letting you play with knives for the past three years?”

  I grinned, emboldened by this strange secret knowledge of mine. We danced around each other, searching each other for vulnerabilities while trying to remain unscathed.

  “Don’t be easy on me.” I came at him again.

  He trapped my arm, but I writhed free, slashing my dagger across his front, cutting at the air as he jumped back. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the dagger in my hands.

  “Let me see that.” He reached for my blade.

  I jumped away from him. “Come and get it.” I baited.

  A smile spread across his face. I knew he couldn’t resist. He never could.

  Our eyes locked, our feet moved in a circle, anticipating the other’s movements. As long as I could hold his gaze, I could sense his direction. But just as I sensed it, he would sense mine. He slinked around me, his steps strong yet graceful, his movements fluid yet calculating.

  This time, he came at me so fast it was all I could do to keep my limbs intact. He grabbed on to my free hand, spun me around, trapping me against him, and strain pulled through my shoulder. His heart pounded against my back and his ragged breath was loud in my ear. I wrapped my leg behind his, bringing us both to the ground. My dagger flew out of my hand and slid fast across the dirt. We scrambled over each other on the ground as we fought to reach for my lost weapon. I thought I had it, too, when I twisted his arm behind his back, but he used his legs to trap and roll me beneath him. And then he secured my arms overhead, my wrists clamped in his grip, as we gasped for air.

  “Not fair.” I panted, glaring at him while trying not to laugh. “You’re too strong.”

  He grinned as he struggled to catch his breath. “You never let my superior strength excuse you before.”

  I tried to ignore how close he was. “You were never that superior in strength before.”

  He leaned so close I felt his hot breath on my lips. “Then you need to find another advantage and use it.”

  The green in his eyes was intense. Our faces were so close I felt the rush of every breath he took. My blood ran hot and I suddenly felt…confused.

  I didn’t remember feeling like this when we fought. We’d been close before, but I didn’t remember being so aware of it. My mind raced against my pounding heartbeat. My eyes were trapped in his. I wanted to pull them away but I couldn’t. The way his beautiful dark hair fell around his face, the strong lines of his jaw and cheekbone, the perfect shape of his full lips. I wanted to reach out and trace my fingers over them, touch his skin with…

  My hands. The ones currently trapped in his grip because we were suppose to be fighting. And I was lying on the ground admiring him like some boy-crazed teenager.

  I had to move, I had to get away from him.

  Think, Daria!

  His grip on my wrists had weakened and fire surged through my veins. It wasn’t over, not yet.

  I ripped one hand free, pulled a dagger from his belt and held the flat side against his throat. “How’s that for an advantage?”

  Amusement flashed through his eyes, and his sharp focus returned. He shook his head, leapt off me, and pulled me to my feet. He held my hand a moment longer than necessary before letting go.

  “Not bad for your first try.” He didn’t meet my gaze.

  I handed him back his dagger. “Not bad? Admit it. You lost to an amateur.”

  “Amateur?” He re-sheathed both blades. “Please. You knew what you were doing.”

  “What? Getting your pretty white shirt dirty? Yeah, I’m a real expert.” I poked his now brown tunic.

  He looked back at me and grinned, but it failed to touch his eyes. “That’s enough for one day, I think.”

  Without giving me the opportunity to protest, he walked off and started picking through the underbrush.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  He didn’t look up. “Search
ing for your dagger.”

  Oh, yeah, that.

  I didn’t know what had just happened, or why in the midst of a fight, I had decided I wanted to touch his face. He was my friend, right? It was okay to acknowledge that he was…decent looking. Okay, maybe he was the most gorgeous guy I’d ever seen, but that shouldn’t matter. He was practically family. But as I thought over it, my stomach felt all fluttery again. He wasn’t saying anything either, which didn’t help matters any, and try as I might, I couldn’t detect any of his feelings.

  My face flushed as I went to work, pushing aside leaves, searching the ground, kicking aside twigs and underbrush. Odd, it hadn’t seemed like the dagger slid that far away.

  A light breeze whispered through the trees, lifting the hair off my neck, cooling the sweat on my skin. It had been invigorating, the two of us fighting. Much like it had always been. Except Alex had been a lot skinnier then and he had never made me feel so self-conscious.

  His change in looks really was unfortunate.

  And still, no dagger. I glanced over at the unfortunate Alex, who was picking through some of the bushes, when I heard my name.

  “Daria.”

  It was only a whisper. I glanced back at Alex. I hadn’t seen his lips move, and he certainly didn’t look like he was trying to get my attention.

  Thinking I’d imagined it, I went back to searching for my dagger when I heard it again.

  “Daria.”

  “Did you hear that?” I asked.

  Alex looked over at me. “Hear what?”

  “I heard someone whisper my name.”

  He held my gaze. “I didn’t say anything.”

  I looked up at the trees swaying overhead. “I know. I didn’t think you had.”

  “Daria.”

  “There it is again, did you hear it?” It sounded like it was coming from somewhere off to my left.

  Alex stood still, features hard as he surveyed our surroundings.

  I had to find out where the sound was coming from. Step by slow step, I began walking toward the sound.