Angel Reborn, page 18
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that Aria was avoiding her daughter.
Now, she was asking me to send her away.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” I asked, watching as she stood at the rail staring out at the river in the distance. “I thought you wanted to keep her home with you.”
“You were right. She’ll be safer at school.”
I had said she’d be safe at school…not safer.
Was she worried Sage wasn’t safe with her?
I started to protest, to assure her that was ridiculous and that she’d never hurt Sage. But it wasn’t like the thought hadn’t crossed my mind after what I saw in the pool—what I’d seen all day with the blackout, the metal warping in her hand, and the manipulation of the water.
Whatever Aria was going through, she seemed to have no control over it, which meant neither of us could say Sage was safe being alone in Aria’s presence.
Joining her at the rail, I said, “I’ll call Zeck and tell him to arrange the added security for the school.”
Aria nodded but didn’t turn to look at me. I couldn’t remember her making eye contact with me since we’d left Mam’s.
“Look at me,” I said, reaching for her chin.
She hesitated before turning to meet my eyes.
Palming her jaw, I stroked her cheek with my thumb, and she tilted her head to lean into my hand.
“We’re going to figure this out,” I said as we stared at each other. “You’re going to be okay.”
She closed her eyes as she smiled a sad smile, her head resting more fully in my palm. “You don’t know that.”
I pulled her into my arms and held her as tightly as I could. She was right. I didn’t know, and that terrified me. It killed me to see her in such despair and not be able to help her. To not even know where to turn or what to do.
“I could have drowned her today. I could have drowned us both. I had no idea I was doing it, Nick.” Her voice was muffled against my chest as she clung to me.
“You won’t hurt her,” I said with more conviction than I felt. “You were acting on instinct to protect her, Angel. Your instinct will always be to protect her. Never to harm her.”
She pushed me away and turned to face the rail. “Even if I don’t harm her physically, it’s still harmful for me to scare the hell out of her. First, I was screaming and passing out in the kitchen. Then, making your mother’s pool act possessed. And now that I’ve done freaky things with metal and water, what’s next? What if I start a fire without meaning to? What if I cause a hurricane in the middle of the living room? Geez, I thought I was a bad mom for spending so many nights away from her at the studio and at school. But this? She’s definitely going to need therapy now.”
Moving behind her, I put my arms around her waist and rested my head against hers. “Then we’ll get her therapy. We will figure it out. Together. As a family. When you found out what I was…what I am…your first instinct was to keep me from Sage, to keep her safe. But somehow, you trusted me not to hurt her. You knew that I loved her enough to be around her without harming her. Now you have to trust yourself as well. I’ll call Zeck, and we’ll send Sage to school tomorrow. But we’re doing it so her day can be as normal as possible, and she can be surrounded by her friends doing what kids do and learning what she needs to.”
“That may be why you’re doing it, and it’s a good reason, but I’m doing it so I don’t scar her beyond the point of no return. Emotionally or physically.” She turned in my embrace to face me. “And I guess I’ll call Haley and tell her I need someone to teach my classes this week, and I’ll email my professors that I’m going to miss class. Again.”
“I wish you didn’t have to do that, but I think it’s best. For now.”
“Well, look on the bright side. If it does turn out that I’m some sort of freak superhero, I may not need that college education. I could just add metal bending and water shows to my resume under special abilities, and I’m sure the job offers will just pour in. Is there some kind of employment agency for supernaturals? Do you guys get any kind of special benefits in place of health insurance? Because it’s not like I’ll need to see a doctor if my body just heals itself. Hey, does this mean you don’t need to see a doctor now? We should see about cancelling your insurance coverage.”
“Hey.” I cupped her face in my hands, bending so we were eye-to-eye. “You’re going to finish college and get your degree. You’re going to keep teaching martial arts and keep finding ways to help people. And you’re going to continue being an awesome mom for Sage. We just need to figure out a few things. But no matter what we find out, this is not going to ruin your life. We won’t let it.”
I kissed her, trying to send all the reassurance, all the love, and all the hope through that connection, and hoping all the while she couldn’t sense how terrified I was.
The distance I’d felt all night was there in her kiss, and though she didn’t rebuff my efforts, she didn’t engage with me either.
“I’m gonna go take a bath,” she said when I released her.
“I thought you already did that.” I looked down and realized for the first time she was still in the clothes she’d come upstairs in when she’d said she was going to shower.
“I had planned to, but then I came out here to think and I’m still out here.”
Pulling her to me, I wrapped her in my arms and kissed the top of her head.
“I wish I could take away all the worry and give you the answers you need.”
“Thanks, babe.” She pulled away, and I felt a cold emptiness where she’d been. “I’m gonna get in the shower while you call Zeck.”
“I was just about to call you,” Zeck said when I rang him. “We got some surveillance footage on the car that was following your friend when she was out with Sage. It’s from a camera at the bike shop across the street from the ice cream place they visited. It’s grainy, but I think we may be able to make out a license plate number.”
“That’s great. Let me know what you find out.”
“Will do. Everything good on your end?”
“As good as it can be. Look, Aria has decided it’s best if Sage goes to school tomorrow. Can you see what you can put in place to make that a safe option for her?”
“Sure thing. Does she have everything she needs?”
“Yeah. I picked up her backpack and some school clothes when I went to the house earlier to get the swimsuits. Are you planning to be here tomorrow morning?”
“I can be. I have a meeting with a potential client down in Spring Valley, but I can phone it in if need be.”
“If you can do that, I’d appreciate it. I want to head to the downtown compound and go over some things with Graeco. I’d like to see the security footage myself.” What’s left of it, anyway. “I’m thinking it’s probably best if Aria stays here, though I haven’t told her that yet.”
The phone beeped over his response, and I looked at the screen and grimaced.
“My mother’s calling. I’ll get back to you.”
“Good luck with that,” Zeck said. “You still haven’t told me how you explained what went down in the pool to her.”
“That’s because I still haven’t explained it. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I clicked over to answer her call. “What’s up?”
“You tell me,” Mam said. “How’s Aria?”
“She’s good. She’s in the shower.”
“Wielding more water, I presume?”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed and wished I’d just let the call go to voicemail. “Could we not do this? It’s been a long day.”
“And an interesting one, for sure. I heard they might have a picture of the license plate for the car that was following Sage?”
“Yeah, that’s what Zeck tells me.”
“She is delightful, Nicolaas. I wish we’d had more time together for me to get to know her better. Why don’t the three of you come to dinner one night this week? I can have Chef make whatever her favorites may be. She was quite keen to see the bowling alley, so we could even have dinner there, if it suits her fancy.”
“I don’t know, Mam. There’s a lot going on and a lot of moving parts right now.”
“All the more reason to draw together as a family. Let me know which day and what you’d like Chef to prepare.”
“I’ll talk to Aria and let you know, but I’m telling you, I don’t think this week is gonna work.”
In all truth, I didn’t think there was ever going to be a week that Aria would think dinner with Mam and Sage together would be good, but that wasn’t a topic I cared to delve into now.
“I can ask her if you’d like,” Mam offered.
“No. I can ask her; I’m just telling you not to get your hopes up.”
“How much do you know about Aria, really? Have you met any of her family?”
“No, I haven’t. They’re estranged, much like I was.”
“Yes, well, given the events of last night and today, I think it’s time you found out who you’re sharing your bed with. She’s obviously not who she seemed to be when you first met her and risked everything you had to be with her.”
“I’m not having this conversation. I appreciate your concern, but this matter is between my wife and me.”
“And as I told you this afternoon, I respectfully disagree. What Aria is and how this plays out is very much my concern if it affects you or the Gilde. Or my new granddaughter. Why won’t you let me help you? The two of you don’t have to deal with whatever this is alone.”
“We’re not alone. We have Zeck.”
“Ah, yes. Hezekiah. Who’s on my payroll, might I remind you. I thought I’d made it clear to Graeco I didn’t want him hired again. He’s disrespectful.”
“He doesn’t bow to you. That doesn’t make him disrespectful. And if I’m now President of the Gilde, then that means he’s on my payroll, does it not? I need to go. I’ll be in Manhattan tomorrow. I want to go over the footage with Graeco.”
“Wonderful. We’ll talk more then. Please do pass along my concern to Aria and let her know I’m here if she needs anything. And tell Sage Mam-gu says nos da.”
My heart twisted in my chest.
Part of me wanted Sage and Mam to get to know one another. I suppose it was only natural that I’d want my mother to see how wonderful my child is, and despite her shortcomings, my mother had many good qualities that I’d love to see my daughter experience.
But nothing about the world I’d been born into was natural, and allowing Sage to get close to my mother meant exposing Sage to the dangers of that world. That was something I wasn’t sure I’d ever be willing to do.
“She’s already sleeping, but I’ll let her know you said good night.”
I ended the call and made my way back inside the bedroom, shocked to see that Aria was already in bed, lying on her side with her eyes closed.
Moving quietly across the room, I sat on the edge of the bed next to her, smoothing back her wet hair.
Her eyes remained closed, and her body remained still, but her heart rate and the depth of her breathing revealed that she was very much awake.
My heart hurt at her obvious desire to shut me out, but I could only imagine how much turmoil her mind must be in. If she needed space, I needed to give it to her.
I bent and brushed my lips across her forehead, breathing in the scent of her freshly washed skin.
A stirring of desire with an undercurrent of thirst began to rise within me, and I pulled back and stood.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need me,” I whispered. “I love you, Angel.”
It was only after I stepped into the hallway and the door clicked shut that I heard her shift on the bed with a loud huff.
It took all my resolve to keep walking and leave her to her own thoughts as I went to ruminate over mine.
Twenty
Aria
I spent the night tossing and turning, unable to find any peace or oblivion in the land of dreams. I don’t know how long I lay there staring at the ceiling after Nick left the room before my mind finally succumbed, but I didn’t stay asleep long. I was awake and aware of his footsteps on the stairs well before he opened the bedroom door to come to bed, and I’d felt him rise early this morning to head back down the stairs.
Part of my inability to sleep was due to my brain’s refusal to stop obsessing over everything that had happened the last few days, everything that could happen when we sent Sage to school today, and everything we still needed to figure out.
But I was also struggling to adjust to my body’s new and improved senses.
Every pop and creak of the house seemed magnified. The hum of the ceiling fan motor above our bed was maddening, and I could even hear the refrigerator’s motor running downstairs.
The aroma of the morning coffee was so potent that Nick might as well have been brewing it in our bedroom rather than the kitchen.
I knew the moment Zeck arrived because I could hear their greetings clearly. Nick asked him if he wanted coffee, and then I recognized the sound of someone retrieving a spoon from the drawer and the contact it made with the cup while stirring. I learned from Zeck’s security update that it had been a quiet night with no sign of trouble here or at Angie’s or our home in Newburgh.
But then their voices became muffled as they spoke more softly.
Curious to discover where my ability to hear them ended and began, I rose and made my way across the room to open the door as quietly as possible.
By the time I reached the top of the steps, their words became clear again, and I turned to go back inside the bedroom, not wanting to blatantly eavesdrop now that I’d satisfied my curiosity.
But then Zeck said, “Is Aria cool with you going into Manhattan without her today?”
And Nick replied, “I haven’t mentioned it to her yet. She was tired last night, so I let her sleep. I’ll tell her this morning. She’ll understand.”
“You sure about that?” Zeck asked. “You saw what happened when you left her with me yesterday. Her anxiety worked itself into a frenzy, and her instincts took over. Right now, she has no control when that happens, which puts her and everyone around her in danger.”
“I think with Sage safe at school and Aria on familiar turf here at the house, she’ll be able to manage her emotions better.”
“I don’t know, Nick. Aria may have said she wants you to send Sage to school, but have you considered how that motherly fierceness may come into play when it’s time for Sage to walk away from her? We can’t risk her blowing up the school if she can’t handle what she’s feeling.”
“Which is why I’m going to ask Aria to say goodbye to Sage here and let me drive her to school.” A chair scraped on the floor as one of them moved. “And it’s all the more reason I can’t have Aria accompany me into the city. What if she loses control and exhibits another manifestation of power in front of everyone? There would be no keeping a lid on things then.”
“That's for sure. Especially since we have no way of knowing what power is going to appear next. She's already displayed signs of the Veiori and the Galdorcræft.”
“The metal and water manipulations are definitely Galdorcræft, but maybe the flashback from the rooftop was a memory, not a vision.”
Zeck scoffed. “She saw the event through the arrow’s energy. She was a captive to that energy as the vision played out. You were there when she grabbed it and went into the trance. You know that.”
“It’s not possible for someone to control multiple energies or exhibit the abilities of more than one bloodline. You know that.”
“You’re right. The things she’s done shouldn’t be possible.” Zeck must have leaned closer to Nick, because his voice seemed nearer when he spoke. “But we’ve seen it with our own eyes, Nick. What we’ve been told must be wrong. There must be an exception somehow. Aria is living proof.”
Nick groaned, and I could easily picture him running his hands through his hair, tugging at the ends as he did when he was stressed. “I wish I could talk to my mother. Undoubtedly if this type of thing exists, she’s encountered it somewhere in her research.”
“You never did tell me what you told dear old Gwenhwyfar last night. How’d you get around explaining what happened in the pool?”
“I told her I’d sworn my silence to Aria and that I intended to keep that oath”.
I turned then, ashamed of how long I’d been listening in on their private conversation.
In my rush to step away, I forgot to turn the doorknob quietly, and neither of them spoke once they’d heard the click of the knob releasing.
Frantic that I’d been caught, I turned and headed down the stairs, intent on acting as though I’d just woken and descended, but what I’d heard kept playing on repeat in my mind.
Nick was going to leave me behind today, and no matter how badly I wanted to protest, I needed to let him for all the reasons he and Zeck had mentioned.
They were right. It wasn’t safe for me to be around people right now, not even Sage, which was why I’d told Nick to send her to school.
Until we figured out what was wrong with me and how to get it under control, the best thing I could do for everyone involved was to lay low and stay out of sight.
Shortly after Nick left with Sage, I called Angie to check in, letting her know the coast still seemed to be clear and that we’d sent Sage back to school. Just as I had the night of the attack, I kept the details of my seemingly supernatural abilities to myself, not wanting to worry Angie any more than I already had. But it felt wrong to hide something so important from the woman I’d always confided in, the woman who was like a mother to me in all the ways my mother had never been.
Once we’d ended our call, I texted Haley that I wasn’t feeling well and would need someone to cover my classes at the studio, and then I emailed my professors that I was battling some kind of illness and thought it was best if I completed any assignments for the week at home.
