Chapter 18

 

Thomas placed the phone back on the charging unit, then turned to look at me, “Do you want to go back to bed?” he asked in earnest, knowing that I had been mortally injured.

“No, but thank you.” I looked at the bed shaking my head, “I don’t think I’m ready to be back there just yet.” Thomas looked at me, concern filling his beautiful blue green eyes, I could see the tension etched along the line of his jaw as he thought about what had happened while he lay beside me asleep.

“Amy if I had known…” Thomas trailed off, standing there looking at me.

“Neither of us knew Thomas. If we had, she wouldn’t have been able to do it.” I said trying to comfort him. If I could have jumped off the sofa and wrapped myself around him in that moment I would have. How was I going to be Siren when I couldn’t even protect myself from an attack let alone anyone else. I felt so useless at the moment, so utterly, completely useless. This was never going to work, I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have the skills or the knowledge, and there was no way I was going to learn it all in time. I looked up at Thomas, standing there, looking back down at me, blaming himself for what had happen. I don’t know if it was the night’s events catching up to me, but I felt the tears welling in my eyes, stinging them hotly, wanting to trickle down my cheeks, I was afraid if I let them start, they might never stop at this point. So much was changing around me, about me, I wasn’t sure I could handle it all. Thomas knelt beside me, reached for me, and held me as I cried. He didn’t try to be a clown making me smile, he just held me while I let all the emotion pour out and down my cheeks in tiny streams of water. I was the only place I felt safe at the moment, in Thomas’ strong arms.

I must have cried myself to sleep, because when I woke I was laying on the sofa on my pillow, covered with a blanket from my closet, it took me a second to realize it was the quilt that my paternal grandmother had made me. It was old and almost threadbare, I had loved this quilt as a child, I refused to cover myself up with anything else. The quilt was a reminder of security to me, if an adult can have a security blanket, this would be mine, I usually dug it out when I didn’t feel good, or missed home, but how had Thomas known? I raised my head looking around the apartment for Thomas, but he wasn’t there. There was a note on the table in front of me:

Amy,

Went to get some food for us, will be back soon.

I love you,

Thomas

Thomas was doing his best to take care of us, for that how could I be anything but grateful?

Thomas closed the door quietly behind him, leaving me sleeping soundly on the sofa. He made his way down to the lobby, when he reached the door, Josh stopped him.

“Is Amy ok?” Josh had a serious almost disapproving look about him.

Thomas, who stood as tall as Josh looked at him uncomfortably, “I think so, she’s doing much better now.” Thomas answered as honestly as he could.

“I had heard something happened in the night, though I’m not sure I understand what it was, only that Amy was hurt?” Josh made it almost a question to Thomas. Thomas shook his head.

“Yes Sir, Amy was hurt, and I don’t even understand it myself.” Thomas said, trying to keep from having to explain too much of what happened. It wasn’t something that humans, well most humans would even begin to understand. They knew we were among them, they even knew I existed and was at large, somewhere in New York. They didn’t however know, I was me, save for Nick and Andy, who were my closest friends, and wouldn’t tell anyone who I was. To most I was nothing more than another college student at New York University, I was in my fourth year of studies for my Bachelor’s Degree, and though I had Senior status, I had one year yet to go before I entered the Master’s program in Education. Some knew I was from the Midwest, others didn’t care, to know that much about me. Most knew me as Amy Wynn, not Amethyst McNamara, the Runaway Princess from the Itasca Grotto, who had been reported missing four years ago. I looked nothing like the pictures that had been flashed across the press for almost a year. Then the threat went away, my family stopped looking for me, they knew where I was, but they had to make a show for the public, and that was all it was. Fewer and fewer pictures of me showed up in news reports, and the legitimate news sources stopped carrying stories of sightings all together, now occasionally the tabloids would pick up on a supposed sighting of me, which usually wasn’t me anyway.

This was the problem with what Keith had proposed to me, did I want the personal exposure from the press should I go to the Olympics? Could I convince a world of spectators I wasn’t me? I hadn’t thought about it for awhile, but with the arrival of Thomas in my life, things were quickly becoming more complicated, and I was having second thoughts about most things in my life.

Josh looked at Thomas, as if he was weighing and measuring him from head to toe, he was having second thoughts about this man who was suddenly in my life, in my apartment, in his building. “I just hope you being here isn’t causing the problems in Amy’s life” Josh looked at Thomas sternly.

“So do I.” shrugged Thomas, being as honest as possible. “So do I.” With that, Thomas stepped through the door and outside on to the street, looking up and down the sidewalk trying to decide which would be the best direction to go first. Thomas who was quick to use a cab, didn’t hail a taxi, he needed the time that walking would allow him to think about the events of the night before, about what had happened to me, what Emerald had done, how strong Emerald was, if I could confront her at all. He worried that he had gotten me into more than I could handle, more than he could teach me. Thomas started in the direction of Washington Park, he had calls to make back home, and while a cell phone might work for most, for these calls, he needed water. He knew I would be asleep for awhile, considering I’d taken a pain pill, and I’d been wounded and my body would make me sleep to mend it’s self more thoroughly, time was working for him, rather than against him, at least for the moment.

As Thomas walked he thought about everything that had gone on from the time he’d come to New York, he himself wasn’t sure he could go back to the grotto, either of them without me. But, he had a duty, and was honor bound to my grandmother, what would he say to her, for that matter, what was he going to say to his own family about what had gone on? Thomas tried to sort it all out, make sense of it as he walked towards the park.

Thomas decided to take a detour so that instead of walking into the park, he walked in front of The Bacchus House, the house he wanted to buy for him and I, here in The Village, here away from the politics of the grottos, the families. He stood there for a long time, just looking up at the house, imagining what it would be like to live free of it all, and raise a family here, in the city. Thomas’ boyish grin played at the corners of his mouth as he thought about it, a happiness he wasn’t sure he’d ever get to taste, he shook it off, turned, and headed back towards the park, he had an urgency pressing on him about contacting both Sirens, and his father.

It was before noon on a Sunday morning, the park was quiet, almost deserted. Thomas had never seen the park so peaceful in the short time he’d been here in the city. It was a refreshing break from the usual chaos that seemed to go on around the clock in this place so far from home for him. While there were aspects of being here that he craved, there were parts of him that missed the solitude, and quiet that he’d grown up in and accustom to all his life. This morning was one of those times, he wanted to be left alone, and have quiet to concentrate on the tasks at hand. He really only had the desire to make one of these calls, to his father, he wanted advice, guidance in what to do, especially after last nights events. Though Thomas may appear to be totally in control, a part of him still reached out to his father seeking sage advice from one who has lived a life much longer than his own.

Thomas walked towards the fountain, he stood there for a moment, peering into the water, reaching into the small backpack he was carrying, he drew out a highly polished silver bowl. He bent down, and scooped up as much water as the vessel would hold, and started walking slowly towards a patch of grass under a large tree, where he could sit on the ground, and make his calls undisturbed. As he reached his destination, he sat down carefully as not to spill from the bowl setting it on the ground in front of him, he slid the backpack off of his shoulder. There were many spells that human magic users could use, including some of the most powerful offensive and defensive spells known, though to a lesser degree, but scrying, was an art form, you could either do it or you could not, and most humans could not, not without some degree of Mer blood running through their veins. Thomas took out his cell phone, he decided he didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to himself this morning, it’s just something that he nor I needed in our lives right now. Laying his cell to one side, he slowly started to recite the incantation to the scrying spell, as he traced runes in the water of the small bowl in front of him. The water took on an almost unnatural clearness as the bowl glowed for a moment and then returned to it’s normal state. The small scrying vessel was now ready to contact anyone whom Thomas wished, providing they were with in the range of another scrying vessel. All he had to do now was to think of whom he wished to contact, and the scrying bowl would summons them to a scrying vessel on the other end.

Thomas looked into the bowl, clearing his mind of all thoughts, as not to summons some one he didn’t wish to talk to, he then concentrated on his father, hoping that he was some where that he could be reached. Thomas’ wish was that it was some where private and that he could honestly and openly talk to his father, though he knew that anything said on water could be carried to any grotto should some one wish to eavesdrop. Thomas had been careful to bring his own scrying bowl from home however, so the chance that the bowl had been tampered with, a spell cast on it to signal when he was using it was unlikely, though he had the bowl given him by Amy’s grandmother with him as well, and fully intended to use it for the call he would make to her grandmother. But this call, and the next were private, to his family, and he didn’t want Amy’s grandmother to know about them, if he could keep it from her. Thomas passed his hand over the bowl, as to hide it in illusion, so that only he could hear and see it, he then picked up his cell phone, as he waited for is father to answer the summons on the other end.

“Tommy?” came the thick Scottish accent of his father’s voice from the bowl. A broad smile washed over Thomas’ face at the sound of it.

“Yes, Father?” Thomas said, making it a question as to use formality or not. “How are things back home?”

“Tense,” was the response, though not the one that Thomas had hoped for in the least. “Seems there are rumors afoot in the court, of The Princess’ wrong doing, her grandmother is not a bit pleased with her at the moment.”

“Which Princess?” Thomas asked carefully, his heart catching in his throat, scared that it might be something he caused.

“It seems…” his father paused for a long time looking for the words to describe it. “Miss Emerald has made mischief that has hurt her sister?” His father’s green eyes peered back at Thomas in the water, as if looking for an answer, an answer that Thomas was not sure he wanted to share even with his father.

“Aye Dad she has, and it almost killed Amethyst, we’re still unclear as to how much damage it caused internally.” Thomas was careful not to tell too much of what he already was afraid of, the wound had been to Amy’s abdomen, and Thomas was scared that it might have affected her ability to reproduce, which he didn’t want to share with anyone, or they would strip him from her. “She is resting comfortably, letting her body mend it’s self as we speak.”

“That’s good,” his father replied, “May the Goddess see to her recovery, I know that it would devastate you if something happened to her, Son.”

“Yes dad, it would, but I’m already afraid that I have done too much to her, by coming to her in the first place,” A worried look crawled slowly across Thomas’ face. “ What should I do Dad, I love her, I want to be with her, but I feel I’ve put her in danger, and I don’t know if I can teach her enough to protect herself from it.” His father looked at him though the window like surface of the water, brow furrowed though there were only tiny traces of lines to show it.

“What do you mean, Tommy?” his father asked. “You’ve been trained by the best The Grottos have to offer, you learned your magic from the Priestesses, and your battle skill from the Royal Guard, you should be able to teach her anything.”

“Maybe I just worry too much, especially about Amethyst.” Thomas sighed, “I just don’t want anything to happen to her is all.”

“Aye, I know Tommy. I feel the same way about your mother.” his dad chuckled, “just teach her everything you know, and you both should be fine, son.”

“Thanks Dad,” Thomas smiled, “I have to go, I have to report in to the Siren, and talk to Great Grandmother before I head back to the apartment, so I need to get going.”

“I love you Tommy,” his dad said.

“I love you too Dad, give Mom my love, with luck we will be home soon.” Thomas said as he moved his hand over the bowl to blank the water.

Thomas sat for a long time, just thinking about what his father had told him. He had found out basically what he’d wanted to know about Emerald from his father. He thought that there was really little point in contacting the Siren to confirm what he was already told. His father wouldn’t lie to him about it. He had no reason to.

Thomas got to his feet, picking up the bowl, pouring the water against ground near the exposed roots of the tree he sat under, wrapping it back in it’s cloth and placing it back in his backpack. He then started walking back towards the apartment, more briskly than he’d walked towards the park. He wanted to get back to the apartment, afraid I might wake before he did. Thomas stopped at a coffee shop, picking up a fresh pastry for each of them, then continuing on his way. Thomas stepped up to the door of the building, opening it, and stepping through. Josh wasn’t at his usual post, it was noon on Sunday and he was never on duty on Sunday afternoon. Thomas headed across the marble floor to the elevator, and up to the apartment.

I was already awake, but hadn’t moved from the sofa yet. I felt much better than when I’d fallen asleep, though I’m not sure if it was the crying, or the pain medicine that had done it. When Thomas entered, I had the television on, flipping through the channels, trying to find something other than network church. I didn’t understand why the humans felt the need to push their beliefs on others, forcing it even into our homes, our very sanctuaries as it were. Are humans that unsure of their own faith in their God that they must continually push it at the population? I wasn’t sure, and really wasn’t in the mood to contemplate it at the moment. I only knew the idea of the entire issue annoyed me. I looked up at Thomas a smile crossing my face.

“Good Morning” Thomas couldn’t help but smile back at me. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes, much,” I responded as he set the small brown bag down on the coffee table.

“Are you up for coffee and pastry?” he asked. I nodded, and he headed to the kitchen to make us some coffee. I managed my way to my feet and headed the opposite direction into the rest room, while he was otherwise busy.

I came out with my hairbrush in hand, as he entered the room from the other way, two cups of coffee in his hands. He sat them down on the coffee table, then moved my blanket aside, sitting down on the sofa. We had breakfast. When I got up to clean up afterwards, Thomas stopped me.

“No, I’ll take care of it, you rest.” Thomas stated. “Maybe this afternoon later, if you’re feeling up to it, we’ll go look at furniture or something.” He smiled at me, that irrepressible smile I so loved. I pulled my feet back up on the sofa, snuggled into my quilt, and waited for Thomas to come back to the room.