“Torzu comselh bli micaloz! Torzu comselh bli lonsa! Torzu chiso emetgis naneel doalim! Darbs cnoqvol gemeganza! Noaln! “
As soon as he pronounced the last word, the entire Circle started to glow and I prepared myself to see it explode. But it didn’t. This time, the golden light rose from the floor, from all around me, and kept floating up towards the ceiling, and I kind of expected that it would pass through it. But, as it reached a physical barrier, the circle of light started to shrink, quickly diminishing in diameter, until it was just a small ring. A flash of white light blinded me for a second and, once the light was gone, the ring fell on the ground, as hard as any other metal ring.
I stood still for a moment, waiting to see if anything else was about to happen, but all that was left were a bunch of scattered salt and a few strange objects that, all together, had no meaning whatsoever.
“Pick it up,” I heard him whisper and I crouched, suspiciously touching the ring.
It was hard, and cold like any other I had touched, and so I picked it up, turning it in my hand. As I looked closer, I noticed the thin symbols delicately inscribed on the inside of the golden ring and then I finally recognized them. Those were the same symbols, the ones that had exploded when he’d appeared.
“Is this the Circle?” I asked, still in disbelief, and he nodded. “But ... wasn’t it supposed to disappear after releasing your power?”
“I didn’t take my power back. It’s all still in there,” he told me and I was even more confused. “I’d rather you have it.”
It took me some time to understand what he’d just said and my slow reaction seemed to amuse him.
“Me?” I asked, widening my already over-widened eyes, and he smiled.
“I know that because they don’t belong to you, it will probably be difficult for you to activate them. But, in an emergency, they will activate automatically, almost like a survival instinct, and protect you,” he tranquilly explained and I looked down at the ring on my hand, a lump forming in my throat as the small golden ring became suddenly too heavy on my palm.
“How can this be?”
“It’s nothing big, really. The difference is that instead of being here, the Circle will be wherever you are.”
And that was that, and was enough to make me happy beyond words. Because that meant that the link between us hadn’t been broken. Quite the opposite! It meant that he no longer had to return to that house, but to me! Wherever I might be.
“Is this like ... forever? What if, one day, you do want them back?” I asked, feeling slightly guilty, but not nearly enough to refuse his offer, and Gabriel shrugged.
“I’ll see to that when the time comes. Right now I’ll feel much more at ease if you carry it with you, wherever you go. At least until this thing is solved.”
I didn’t know if ‘this thing’ was Telane roaming around free, or the war itself, but I didn’t care. I told myself I should argue a bit more against that idea, but when I noticed the ring was already safely enclosed inside my hand. And I couldn’t stop smiling. All that ... had been for me.
“Thank you.”
Gabriel averted his gaze, as usual, embarrassed by any clear demonstration of affection, and I had to try hard not to laugh.
“And now get some rest! I know you still haven’t recovered from yesterday and you must be exhausted after today,” he whispered and, although I was kind of disappointed at myself for not having been able to disguise my physical condition, I was even happier to know that he was worried about me.
“And you? Where are you going?” I reflexively asked and he seemed to struggle to find the right answer.
“I’ll go check the barrier,” he finally told me and I found myself doubting the truth of his words. Maybe it was the fact that he was still avoiding looking at me, or maybe the brief hesitance in his voice. I didn’t want him to go look for Telane on his own, which I was fairly convinced that was what he’d do as soon as he left my room.
“Take me with you,” I offered firmly, and his surprised expression almost ruined my serious request. Being able to provoke those kinds of reactions on his stone-like face was something truly amazing.
“What?” he asked, even lower than usual, and I raised my head as if that could give extra strength to my words.
“Take me with you!” I repeated and, before he could refuse, went on. “You’re always talking about that barrier. I want to see it.”
“You’re tired. Another time.”
“I can rest afterwards,” I insisted. “You won’t be letting me go to school tomorrow anyway,” I guessed and knew that, even if he did, I wouldn’t be in any condition to survive the day. He didn’t deny it and I faced him firmly, aware of the influence my will had over his actions. “I want to go with you!”
He seemed to consider it for a moment.
“You’ll have to bear my proximity until we get there.”
“That’s not a problem,” I quickly answered.
“And you’ll probably feel sick,” he warned me and I smiled since I could already see that I’d won. He sighed and stretched out his hand in a silent invitation.
I hurriedly put on my boots and grabbed the coat left over the chair. I tucked the golden ring in a pocket, since it was too big to fit any of my fingers, and went to accept his invitation. My body was trembling even before I could reach him, my heart beating too fast, but none of that was enough to make me hesitate, not even for a second. His arm surrounded my shoulders, practically without touching me, and yet pulling me close enough that I could feel his sweet scent.
“It will be quick. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.” I obeyed and the vertiginous sensation that came over me made me hold on to him, in search of something solid that would push away that feeling of an endless fall. However, in the next second, the ground below my feet was solid again, and the cold wind that brushed against my cheeks helped me refocus my mind. “We’re here.”
I opened my eyes and the first thing I noticed were my fingers, securely holding on to his new shirt, clenching it with all their might. I blushed and released him immediately, and Gabriel stepped back, enough to help me stop trembling.
The wind blew again, making me shiver, and I looked around. To my surprise we were in a considerably wide terrace. The floor was covered in what once had been white tiles, now stained gray in many areas from the consecutive days under the weather. In the center was a rusty door, undoubtedly leading to some stairs and to the inside of the building.
I carefully walked over to the edge and peered down, stepping backwards the next second. Too high, I thought, especially taking into account the amount of vertigo and dizziness I had suffered that day.
And then it hit me, how we’d got there. And I turned towards him in disbelief, only to find him staring silently at me, as if I were some kind of strange animal, which made me quite uncomfortable.
“Did you make us appear here?”
“Yes. Here it’s still considerably far from your house,” he told me and looked at the mass of buildings we could see from there, mixed with some smaller green areas.
“But we’re still in Lewisham,” I guessed and Gabriel nodded. “And the barrier?”
“It’s all around us, passing far from here. You can say that here is the center of the area it protects. We’ll probably be able to see it soon.” He looked up to the sky. The sun was setting and it wouldn’t be long until it was dark. “Are you hungry?” he asked me and I followed his white finger pointing towards a plastic bag, resting on the small ledge surrounding the entire terrace.
I looked curiously at the bag and knew he was right. I was starving. I walked up to the bag, aware that it hadn’t been there just a second ago, and sat on the ledge, looking inside. My laughter echoed like a lost sound. It was obvious he, himself, had gathered our provisions.
“What?” he asked defensively and I wiped away an invisible tear.
“Nothing, really,” I replied, still laughing, and started pulling things out of th
e bag. “One poor lonely yogurt,” I announced, putting it down beside me. “And then, one packet of chocolate cream cookies, one packet of strawberry cream cookies, hmm.” I hesitated reading the next packet. “Oh, yeah ... one packet of caramel cream cookies and, of course, three packets of vanilla cream chocolate cookies,” I finished reading and smiled. Those were the same ones he’d asked me to buy when we’d gone to the supermarket.
“They’re good!” he countered, as if I were somehow doubting the quality of the food he’d chosen and I nodded, opening one of the packets, the vanilla cream ones, his favorites.
“I’m sure they are. But there’s probably more than enough cookies here to last us for a month,” I mocked and he seemed embarrassed, which amused me even more. “Want one?” I offered but he didn’t even answer, making me give up on my taunting. “So ... what were you discussing with Alexander when I woke up?”
He sighed, as if he had hoped I’d forgotten all about that, and I watched as he walked up to the edge in his usual controlled steps, and also sat on the ledge facing the dying sun, his legs dangerously hanging towards a fall of innumerous feet. His pale skin seemed to gain some measure of color when touched by the fire of the setting sun and the wind blew, gently playing with his hair.
“What happened today ... what you did. I don’t want you to do it again,” he simply told me but his firm tone wouldn’t allow any kind of question.
“What happened today?” I mused, nibbling one cookie as I forced my mind to quickly go through all the things I’d been witness to. He looked at me and the intensity of his gaze made my heart jump. “Those lights ...” I muttered and a shiver went down my spine. “I did them.” I wanted it to sound as a question but, when I realized, I’d stated it without a doubt. Gabriel nodded.
“It’s you.”
“It’s me?” He sat in silence while I struggled with the concept, and then many other things started to make sense. “Was this ... the power you wanted from me?” I asked, not even knowing if I could call it that, and he looked away, again towards the horizon that seemed to have lost some of the brightness it had just moments ago.
“In the beginning, yes.”
Unexpectedly his confirmation made me feel sad and I found myself with a bitterness in my mouth that not even the sweetness of the cookies was able to erase.
“That’s good then ...” I managed to say, hoping he wouldn’t notice how his simple answer had disturbed me, and I almost jumped in my seat when he raised his voice.
“Not good at all!” he claimed and I couldn’t help stare, completely stunned, at him. “That light is you! Your Soul! You cannot use it like that!” he went on, in completely scolding tone, and I blinked even more confused than before. “Do you understand?”
I did not understand. Not at all! But still I nodded just to appease him.
“Sigweardiel never told me anything about any of that!” he grunted, now sounding annoyed. “The only thing he told me was that Gaalgha possess gifts that no other Human Being possesses. And that because of their existence outside the Law, they’re able to easily suppress both Deiwos and Merifri Magic. He never told me anything about the use of those gifts burning through the user’s vital energy. Because it’s how he says, Human Beings don’t possess other sources of energy. Only gifted Magic Users are able to gather energy from other sources, like we do. I had never even thought about that, because the energy I have at my disposal is so much that I only worry about keeping it under control. It never crossed my mind that things like this could be depleted.”
He was quiet for a moment, as if he didn’t know what else to say, and I sat very still, my half-eaten cookie forgotten in my hand.
“Do you understand, Mari? Every time you do something like that it’s your own vital energy you’re using. And, although Sigweardiel says that you usually recover faster than others, he knows perfectly well that it’s only your immortal part, your Soul that recovers.”
I swallowed hard, feeling my throat rough, and smiled since I didn’t know what other expression I should show.
“That means ... that my life will keep on diminishing every time something like that happens,” I summarized and his silence confirmed my conclusion. “How much?”
“How much?!” I only noticed just how dangerous that question had been when his eyes flashed for a split second.
“It’s not that I’m thinking about dying!” I quickly explained. “In truth, it’s quite the opposite. This ... gift is something that I can use to defend myself, if needed, right? But I need to clearly understand how much that will cost me.” He seemed calmer but still displeased with my line of thought, looking away before he replied.
“Sigweardiel says one year, give it or take.” A lump cluttered my throat. So, that morning, in those brief minutes, I’d lost one year of my life, I told myself and I just couldn’t grasp the idea. “But, if I do as he wants, there won’t be a need to defend yourself anymore.”
All the doubts and uncertainty I felt were immediately replaced by a deafening anger and, unthinking, I threw one of the cookie packets at his head. He easily grabbed it in midair, before it could actually hit him, but the cookies were immediately turned into dust, since he’d grabbed them with too much strength.
“I’d much rather hear you laugh, like before,” he told me, in his usual velvet tone, and placed the packet beside him.
“If I could hit you! I swear I would!” I grunted. How could he still say something like that! He seemed amused by the idea.
“You’d only end up hurting yourself, even if I let you hit me. My bones are too hard.”
“I’d use a big stick! A huge stick! A freaking baseball bat if needed!” I countered, still boiling, but his laughter easily erased part of my fury.
“Now, that would be funny. You, little as you are, with a giant stick trying to hit me,” he said, genuinely amused.
Gabriel looked up at the sky that grew darker by the minute, and I recalled seeing him just like that on a rainy day. And yet, something had changed in his expression, and it was as if part of the pain that had been there had disappeared, making him look somehow younger and more at peace.
“You know, Sigweardiel was the one who told me about you, Gaalgha. I’d never even heard the name before. To me, all Humans were the same and it had never even crossed my mind using them as a source of energy. That would be like ... feeding of rats.” He had a sarcastic smile that irked me up to a point. “Gaalgha, however, were Sigweardiel’s world and it was due to the things he told me that I decided to help him with Jonathan. Honestly, I just couldn’t believe the possibility of there existing something so strange and yet so powerful that I’d never even heard about. But then this war started and priorities had to be reversed. And, although the outcome doesn’t interest me in the slightest, I’m also not willing to allow some other Deiwos to come along and destroy me, just like that.
“When some of my Brothers gathered, forming an alliance to Seal me, Lea and Delnak were with me,” he said fiercely in a darker tone. “I did not have a way to break the Seal without causing massive destruction in the process. Having too much power has that inconvenience. It’s too complicated to control and dose it. And so I put Lea to sleep fearing what he might do after I was gone. Maybe I should have put them both to sleep. Delnak sacrificed his life in return for the key to my prison of darkness, and he must have printed it in your book. When you evoked me, I was ... furious! But also tired and week after all that time lost in the darkness, trying to not lose sight of myself, of who I was, even though there was nothing to see or be on the other side. All I wanted was to recover my strength as soon as possible and leave to hunt down my dear Brothers. At that time I didn’t know how long it had passed, or that most of them had already been destroyed.
“When I saw you at my feet, small and terrified, I did not see you at all. I knew you were the one who had set me free. And I knew you were no Magic User — just a simple, insignificant Human. Sure I couldn’t understand how someone like
that had been able to release me, but I really couldn’t care. All I knew was that I had enough power to break the evocation’s Contract if I killed you quickly enough, before you could make any demands.”
He paused again to watch me closely, almost as if he feared the effects his words could have on me, but I sat still, unmoving, waiting for him to go on.
“But then ... you cried,” he whispered and hesitated for an instant. “In my fury I didn’t even notice how your tears glowed. Only when they burnt me did I recall what Sigweardiel had told me — that Gaalgha hardly express human emotions and that their true emotions come from their Souls. Which means that, when they cry, it’s their Souls who cry. It would seem that their bodies are as pure as the Souls that inhabit them, their glowing tears even more to the point that no Shedim can touch them without suffering the consequences. In that precise moment, I knew that your Soul rejected my presence and that, by imposing it, I was breaking your Soul piece by piece.”
“And that’s why you changed plans and decided not to kill me?” I managed to ask and he smiled, as if the fact that I was still able to speak had somehow relieved him. I still recalled his burnt hands, especially after the incident in London.
“Honestly, I don’t know exactly why. I was completely prepared for a course of action and, in the next moment ... In the end I didn’t know what to do and, since killing you would be a rather permanent and irreversible choice, I decided I might as well keep you alive for the time being. And so I spared your life and used the Law to establish a new Contract.”
I laughed nervously and didn’t even dare raise a hand to pull away the strand of hair that had slid over my eyes. I was sure it would shake uncontrollably and I didn’t want to risk him noticing, certain that if he did he’d end up dropping the subject and leaving things as they were.
“Big mistake,” I joked and he smiled so naturally that my heart skipped a beat.
“Probably,” he conceded. “However, when I finally decided to try to understand what was keeping me from killing you, as it was my original plan, I found myself making up arguments that supported the value of keeping you alive. You were, after all, a Gaalgha, something that I hardly knew. Sigweardiel had told me about some of your gifts. He’d told me that there’s a source of light in your Souls and that that power will only truly activate when the Soul synchronizes with the more Human feelings. He told me that, once activated, they’d be even greater than Deiwos’ Magic, and I thought that maybe I could use that to gain some advantage in this war, since my own powers are too troublesome to control.
Blood of the Pure (Gaea) Page 59
