Of Gaea by Victoria Escobar Page B

off.
    “ Girls
are different unless they possess a skill. For instance if a girl
child possessed a great skill in words but her mother did not, she
would be given to foster within her family but if she was just a
normal silly girl, she would be left with her mother. For you…”
Nasya trailed off. “If I were to guess, I would say you would have
been placed with your grandmother or your great aunt. They possess
many of the same attributes you do.”
    Ari
frowned. “Attributes? But I’m not skilled in anything.”
    Nasya
laughed. “Archery is a skill, so is your athleticism, and of course
your ability to hunt on any track. Those are all prized skills in
Sparta. You would have made a fine soldier or tracker. Potentially
a messenger with your ability to blend in… a spy, too now that I
think on it. Of course you’d be part of the Envoy house
automatically…”
    “ You’re
being silly.” Ari chuckled then shivered. Since she hadn’t been
paying attention to their surroundings she wasn’t entirely sure
where they were. She looked around and saw nothing out of sorts. It
looked like a normal street but there was something she felt uneasy
about it. “Where are we?”
    “ A bit
off Main Street. Something wrong?” Nasya’s voice made it sound as
though she was hoping for Ari to answer yes.
    “ Cold
chill.” Ari muttered.
    “ It’s
eighty degrees out here, Ari. Tell me what you feel.”
    “ You’re acting weird, Nasya. Where is Sasha,
anyway? Why didn’t he come with us?” Ari twisted to look at Nasya
but her companion was paying her no mind. Nasya’s eyes carefully
scanned the streets looking ready to ward off anyone who
approaches. Ari turned and faced forward again. Her anxiety was
growing but she wasn’t ready to tell Nasya that.
    “ Sasha
is sleeping. His fear and anxiety over you and the relief that you
are okay has drained him. I’m not acting weird in the least. I’m
trying to help without actually coming right out and saying
anything.”
    “Why?”
    “ Duh.” Nasya slowed her pace. “Ghita is already angry.
Imagine if I actually broke one of her silly rules. I’m not bound
by them so I have more freedom than the men do but I still know the
limits. She cannot bind me. In reality it’s me she fears, though I
can’t fathom why. It’s also why I’ve never let her see me. Or
haven’t you noticed that, either? I am never around when Ghita is
and there’s good reason for that.”
    “ I don’t
understand.” Ari yanked on the ends of her hair. If she had the use
of her legs she would have been tapping her foot in nervousness.
“You’re confusing.”
    “ You
will understand in time. Humor me. What do you feel?” Nasya stopped
the wheelchair and turned Ari to face the street.
    People walked passed unbothered by their pause. The cars moved
along like normal but the animals were acting strange. Ari saw a
cat stare and hiss and slink away. A dog crossed the street quickly
with its tail between its legs. The animals felt whatever it was
that made Ari uneasy. As she looked around, none of the people
seemed to notice.
    “ There’s something wrong.” Ari murmured as a
slight panic set in. “I feel uneasy but no one else notices it. The
animals do.”
    “ Just
uneasy?” Nasya whispered in Ari’s ear. “Or is there something
else?”
    Ari
closed her eyes and breathed in slowly. “Anxiety. I want to leave.
Can we leave, please? I feel like if we stay here too long I’m
going to vomit.”
    Nasya
turned the wheelchair around so Ari could see the shop windows
behind them. The first thing Ari saw was a misshapen, decapitated
creature that looked like it had been half eaten. Even as Ari
cringed her eyes found the vials of unmarked liquids that looked
like blood and other bodily fluids. There were bones in various
states of decay. At the top of the window in fluid script it read
“Madame Erelah’s Voodoo Shop”.
    “ In most
instances,” Nasya said quietly, “you will be able to tell