I couldn’t begin to pick my gaping mouth up off the floor. Maybe I shouldn’t have been shocked to have a Goddess standing in front of me, I was an Immortal after all, but I could only sit there and stare at her.
Both my and Aidan’s power had been on full tilt since we’d entered the cavern. Our eyes glowed in the semi-darkness of the room now that the light from the wall was gone.
“Before we begin, allow me to restore you fully,” Gaea said as she held out her hands. A swirling white mist rushed from her palms and enveloped us both. I wanted to step away, but as soon as the droplets landed on my skin, as soon as I breathed the fine vapor in, I felt the change. My body felt less battered and my mind felt clear. I stood taller. I felt Aidan’s change as well. I brought him back from the edge, but through Gaea’s power, his strength returned fully and the internal wounds from his episode completely healed.
Aidan tightened his grip on my hand and I returned the gesture, grateful he was beside me.
“You said we were saviors. Of what exactly? What is a Goddess doing trapped in a mountain? And why do you need us both?” As I peppered her with questions, her smile only grew.
I wanted to feel uneasy as she moved closer, but I was drawn to her. That same pull in my chest made me want to walk into her arms and allow her to hold me. To fill me with everything inside her, all the love from a mother I’d never known. Aidan must have felt my warring emotions. He let go of my hand and locked me to his side.
“We’re in this together, doll. You stay with me,” he whispered in my ear and I nodded, though I wasn’t sure I entirely agreed.
“Don’t be scared,” she said softly. “I will tell you my story, but first, you must know I have been waiting. So long, I’ve waited. Yet, you are still a surprise, Amelia. Your mother went to great lengths to protect you and our people. Her only downfall was she didn’t know everything she needed to. I called to her, just like I called to you, and just before you opened the door, to Aidan. In the same way I unlocked his memory, I tried to draw her to me, to show her the truth before she made her choices. I feel the darkness she put in you. I can make it go away, but we will get to that.”
Gaea stopped, waved a hand, and the ground started to crack. Stones in front of her ruptured as saplings emerged. They began to weave themselves together, a quick dance of bark twirling around bark, interlacing and creating a beautiful chair.
“The earth is only one element you can manipulate, Amelia,” she said as she laid a hand on the bark. Leaves burst from the intricately woven tree limbs, creating a plush cushion for her to sit on. She repeated the movements and Aidan and I both jumped as stones behind us cracked apart and a small couch for us to sit on knitted itself together.
Gaea snapped her fingers and the room lit up. Fire danced above us, creating a glow that touched all corners of the room. Finally, I watched her eyes land on Charlie and Onyx. Her smile widened, and she whispered, “My loves, my sons, come to me as you were.”
The Great Danes I loved morphed before my eyes into men. With a snap of her fingers, they were both dressed. They stood tall, as tall as any Hunter, and with the same light brown skin and white hair. They both walked quickly to Gaea and fell to one knee.
“Mother,” Charlie said, his head bowed and white hair gleaming as it fell around his shoulders, “we have missed you, but we have done our duty in your absence.”
She reached down, cradling both of their cheeks in her hands. “I rejoice knowing you are still here with me. Stand so you can properly introduce yourselves.”
The men stood and turned to us as Gaea sat down. Aidan pulled me tighter to him, but I refused to be held. My curiosity was too much. I stepped forward and he was quickly beside me, muttering his displeasure.
“Charlie? Onyx?” I stared at them, my eyes shifting from Onyx’s dark features to Charlie’s broad stature. Onyx had yet to speak, but his almost-black eyes danced with amusement.
“The Hunter was right, we are Sentinels,” Onyx said with a wry smile. “We are the guardians of the Great Mother and her children. When we could no longer get to her, we took a shifted form to protect ourselves and hide from the Queen. It was serendipity that your uncle found us and led us to you and your brother. We knew we had to bring the chosen ones back here if we were ever going to free Gaea. As your power has grown, so has ours. We had been apart from our mother for too long and became more animal than man. As her power manifested in you, it provided us the connection we needed to find ourselves once more.”
Charlie interjected. “To answer your first question, we are most closely tied to Hunters and AniMages. Close to Gaea, we can do things others can’t, and we have the ability to share our gifts.” Charlie’s eyes shifted to Aidan and his gaze settled there, clearly waiting for something.
I heard Aidan’s quick intake of breath and felt his heartbeat racing. “You? It was you?” He breathed out the words. I looked from him to Charlie, confused.
Charlie nodded and explained. “We took the form of puppies knowing they are more desirable and people would protect us. In the beginning, we were able to shift back and forth and continue our duties. Your uncle’s home allowed us the freedom to roam, and he didn’t worry when we were gone for long stretches. We tracked the Hunters who searched for Zendrick and Kayla, and masked ourselves to join them the night they attacked. I found Aidan and did what I could to hide his presence and ensure his survival, including imparting some of my gifts upon him.”
I looked past Charlie and saw Gaea’s eyes shine with unshed tears of pride. Aidan still hadn’t spoken, but I felt the conflict brewing inside him.
Charlie continued, saying, “I also told Cole to give everything he had to Amelia. I knew the power he held wasn’t his to keep, and that Amelia wouldn’t survive the Keeper without it.”
My dog gave Aidan additional Hunter power and told my brother to give up his power to save me. My dog.
“While I do love all creatures, Charlie and Onyx are much more than dogs, Amelia,” Gaea said. “They were the first Immortals I created on Earth. I made them to protect me, but to also help me carry out my mission. While I was unable to come back to Earth fully, they continued to make a difference.”
“What we didn’t understand was that they needed me,” she said sadly. “Everything we do has a price, never forget that, and while I was able to give them so much, they needed me to thrive. Charlie infusing Hunter power into Aidan was one of the last times he was able to use his full power. Too far from me, he was incapable of gathering what he needed to replenish, and hasn’t been able to leave his shifted form until now. As Onyx said, they regressed into being more animal than man.”
Gaea held out her hands and each Sentinel took one. She looked up at them, her affection obvious, squeezed theirs hands, and let go.
“So, it’s true? What Julia has said all along, that AniMages were more animal than man?” I asked the question as my mind rebelled against the potential answer.
Gaea shook her head, a sad scowl deepening the lines in her face. “Charlie and Onyx were something special, something different. They were the first and therefore, the test. Please sit, and I will tell you my story. It needs to be short as you have choices to make and places to be, but there are truths you must know to survive.”
I turned to Aidan, and his shocked expression matched my own.
Are you ready for this? he asked.
No. But that doesn’t matter. Everything I’ve done has led me here. She is the first person who can truly give me answers. I can’t run from this.
He reached out and I took his hand, mine shaking slightly.
Neither can I. We are both tied to this in ways I had never imagined. I’m here with you, doll. Every step.
I nodded and we sat on the couch to face Mother Earth and hear the tale of how we came to exist.
33
Amelia sat next to me on the lush pile of leaves that made our seat, her knee bouncing up and down as she tapped one finger on her leg. Her mind raced, the
anxiety a ball of nausea that started to get to me as well. I grasped the rough bark of the tree supporting us and allowed it to dig into my skin, forcing me to focus.
I looked up to find Gaea staring quietly at me. It was unnerving. I couldn’t tell whether she was judging me, expecting me to do something, or waiting for me to freak out. Any combination of those was a real possibility. I’d never sat in front of a Goddess.
Jesus. This is actually happening.
Gaea chuckled, a high ting of laughter that immediately drew my brows together as I scowled in her direction.
“Let me guess, you do the mind invasion thing, too?” I asked. Her quiet calm was really getting to me. It was easier for me to handle people who couldn’t handle themselves.
“Yes, Aidan. That is one of my many talents,” she said. I hated the fact that I was drawn to the way she said my name and that her approval was suddenly something I craved. I clenched my fist and willed myself to focus. We needed information.
“There are things happening out there we have to deal with. We can’t sit here forever.” It came out gruffer than I’d intended, and Amelia gave me a dirty look.
“I’m sorry, Gaea, he doesn’t mean that,” she hurriedly apologized. “I mean, um, we do have a situation out there, but we want to hear what you have to say,” Amelia stuttered, and preened as Gaea smiled at her. Gaea’s approval was something we both wanted, like it or not — and I did not.
With Onyx standing over one shoulder and Charlie over the other, Gaea finally began her tale.
“I won’t be so self-absorbed as to think you know my history since children don’t cling to the stories of the Gods the way they once did,” she said. She waved a hand in the air and a light breeze floated through the room.
“I am called many things,” she continued, “but the one most known is Mother Earth. The universe, the stars, this planet, the Gods and Goddesses of Homer’s stories…they all came from me in one fashion or another. I’ve created many things in my time, but this planet has always been one of my favorites. I always watched over and loved the humans. But, as the years have passed, I realized they are a self-destructive species, not just destroying themselves, but the planet I adore. I decided they needed help. I went against the wishes of many, as I am prone to do, and created the Immortals.”
Gaea paused, her lips twisting into a thoughtful smirk. “To be fair, I was acting impetuously, as is also typical of me, and created this new race without fully thinking it through. I thought as long as I left someone in charge, my children would do as I asked and play the roles I gave them. It did not work that way. Few things ever work out as you intend.” She stopped, staring off into space.
It gave me the opportunity to watch her, to study Gaea, Mother Earth. The breeze she’d conjured still floated through the room, rippling the long dress she wore and catching in her long hair. She put her chin in her hand, her expression relaxed and her mind clearly wandering. Her eyes glowed white when she actively used her power, but settled to the color of mist. If it weren’t for the strangeness of her eyes, I pictured this woman in a kitchen, her hands buried in dough and flour on her face. She was the grandmother everyone wished they had.
Caught in my own thoughts, I was surprised when Gaea sat straight in her chair and addressed Amelia.
“Amelia, you have something in you that was never meant to be,” she said, her tone tender. “Your mother didn’t understand what being an Elder meant. She didn’t get close enough to me to see the truth of what was happening around her.
“And now, though the darkness is tethered, your safety is not going to last. The power inside you, as you’ve learned, is instinctual and primal. In its current form, it cannot be contained. The choice is yours to make — the first choice that’s truly ever been yours.” Gaea smiled. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the way she was playing to Amelia, or the way Amelia was leaning in, eating up her words.
I reached for Amelia’s wrist and pulled her to my side. She scooted toward me, but glowered at the interruption.
Gaea looked at me, her curiosity obvious as she leaned in and tilted her head to the side. “You don’t trust me, do you, Aidan? Though, I suppose after all you’ve been through, you have no reason to trust me. To really trust anyone,” she mused quietly, and I wondered if she meant to say it out loud.
“There are people — your people — who need us, who rely on us. Can you please tell us what we’re here to know? What I think right now doesn’t matter,” I said. All I wanted was to get what we needed and get back to the AniMages. To protect those I could from whatever was coming.
“Ah,” she said as she sat back in her chair with a small smile. “Your protective instincts are just as I’d hoped. Let us move forward. We will come back to Amelia’s choices once I’ve explained.
“This began close to a hundred years ago. After Charlie and Onyx, I created Mages, AniMages, and Hunters,” she said. “Mages to protect the humans from themselves, AniMages to protect the animals and nature from the humans, and Hunters to protect the Immortals from the rest of the world. The Hunters were fashioned after Charlie and Onyx, given instincts allowing them to foresee enemies and the fortitude to do what had to be done to protect those whom I created.
“I only wanted my children to help maintain order on this planet, and I took much grief from Olympus for it. Not that I hadn’t been enough of a pain throughout the years, but to create races specifically to protect those lesser beings who were mortal…” she trailed off and clutched her chest, rolling her eyes. Images of Zeus holding a lightning bolt and threatening to kill us all had me stifling a chuckle. Amelia giggled a little and Gaea laughed. “While I created them all, I have been a thorn in their sides for as long as they can remember. I like it that way.
“The Clairs were meant to rule,” she said. “They were Mage and the only family to have direct access to me. They were the only ones who understood who I truly was. As it tends to be, after a few decades, I paid less and less attention to my creations and they did as children are wont to do — exactly what they are not supposed to.
“Instead of keeping the Immortals in the shadows, silently correcting the humans and their balance with nature, the first King decided, because he was Mage, the Mages should be considered the most important Immortal. He abandoned his duties and put my children against each other. He said it was in my honor, as if I would ever condone such a thing,” Gaea sneered, her face twisting into a grimace for the first time since we’d met.
“What he didn’t anticipate was civil war erupting,” she said with a sad sigh. “It didn’t take long for him to come crawling to my altar, begging for my help. By the time he showed me the truth, it was too late.”
Amelia and I exchanged shocked looks as Gaea paused, tears dripping from her eyes. Charlie knelt next to the arm of her chair and she grabbed his shoulder, slowly breathing in and out. The leaves she sat on shriveled, transitioning from bright green to brittle brown, crumbling beneath her until only bare trees remained, a twisted throne.
“You cannot understand the loss of children,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “I have lost so many in my time, and so often for such senseless reasons, but this was something I never expected. Of course, I told him I would do anything it took. Much to my surprise, anything ended up being everything.
“There were so few of them left, and the hatred he had bred was so prevalent, so violent, the only thing that could turn them back into my loving children was a total change.” Gaea paused again, her pain obvious in the way she gripped Charlie’s shoulder.
“So,” she continued quietly, “I did what no Goddess had done before. I sacrificed myself to give my children a chance. To give this planet and the human race a chance. Love drives us to do the most illogical things, but I thought my love was the only thing that would save them.”
34
I couldn’t look away from her. I gripped my hand firmly around Aidan’s, ensuring I didn’t lose myself to the pull of Gaea’s
power. I could feel it tugging at me and I refused to lose myself to anything again. Aidan’s hand was an anchor, his wariness and distrust of the situation a reminder.
Gaea sniffled, allowing a few more tears to drip down before she spoke again. “The next part I must show you, because words will not do it justice. I had no idea my children were capable of such savagery against themselves.” She waved a hand and a white orb appeared between our couch and her chair.
“It was you!” I said. I pulled myself away from Aidan and shot across the small space between us. I stood in front of the elusive white orb that had haunted my every interaction with the separated Keeper power.
“It was you inside me,” I said again. “You were there, with the Keeper. But you wouldn’t come to me. You wouldn’t help me. Why wouldn’t you help me?” I stared into the bright light and lifted a hand to reach into it, the one thing I’d never been able to do, when Aidan grabbed me around the waist and yanked me backwards.
You can’t trust her or any of this yet, Amelia. If she’s a Goddess, who knows what touching that will do.
I turned to him, his face stricken, panic etched in his set jaw and rigid posture. He was right. I knew he was right. Gaea’s allure was stronger than I wanted to admit. I nodded and we sat back down. It was harder to stay still than I’d anticipated.
Gaea watched us with clear curiosity, but continued once we were seated again. “I could not help you because you were not meant to have the power inside you. Had I allowed you to access everything in your soul, it would have devoured you. I learned many things from your mother’s choices, but chief among them was the need for balance.
“The power she placed in you was nature-based,” Gaea explained. “It was core to each of the races, but had no counter. I realized what she had done to make the cuff once you put it on — the love she embedded, the tears she cried, and the blood she shed. You were able to access the other power through a mix of her magic, her love, and your will. I understood then what the Immortals were missing was balance. I had concentrated too much on what they were and what I wanted them to be, I did not provide the love and guidance they needed. I did not temper instinct with affection.” Her words were so simple, so matter of fact.
Bound by Prophecy (Bound Series Book 3) Page 18
