Chapter Six
While Driving to Calli’s house after work on Thursday, Legacy thought about her most recent dream. It was similar to the previous one, but there were a few changes.
Instead of a forest, there were two fields. And, technically, she hadn’t seen the tornado, but she knew it was coming for her. She could see the black clouds, and she could hear the roar. She’d been standing in one field when she first saw the clouds and looked down into the grass. She had dropped her car keys, so she’d bent down to pick them up before she ran to her car. But as she hunched over, she noticed her keys landed in the field in the middle of three huge snake holes. Frightened, she ran for her car without the keys.
When she got to her car across the street in the second field, she noticed the blonde girl from her last dream sitting in the passenger seat. She opened her eyes wide, scary wide, and screamed for her to go back and get the keys.
“Hurry! Do it now! You must go back!” the girl had screamed frantically at her.
She had turned and ran back into the field where her keys were. But when she got there, she’d woken up.
She still didn’t know what to make of the dreams. But she had more important things to digest. Over the last few days, she‘d gone to work, but never talked to River about their conversation. His mom had kept him busy. Almost too busy, but she figured she was just being paranoid. Legacy really didn’t know what to make of what he said about her being evil. She remembered how she’d looked at her that day in the basement and figured that maybe River’s comment about her was loosely related to her overprotective nature. Any teenage boy with an overprotective mom probably viewed her as evil—it was all relative.
On the surface, she knew she should probably be asking all kinds of questions, but honestly, as each day passed, she was getting more and more excited about her second date with Adin. That was why she was staying the night with Calli tonight. They were going to talk girl stuff and keep her from jumping out of her skin with excitement.
She pulled in and went straight up to Calli’s bedroom. Her friend turned to her with a huge smile.
“I have a date!”
“Really? With who?” The happiness she felt for herself instantly shifted over to happiness for Calli. Legacy sat on the side of the bed and Calli sat beside her.
“This guy named Zach. You don’t know him. I went to the park with Ellen while you were at work. I met him there. Of course Ellen was flirting with him like she didn’t already have a boyfriend, but he paid her no attention.” She giggled.
“Calli, that’s great. When are you going out with him?” Legacy had hated telling her River was involved with someone else, so Legacy was thrilled Calli had her eye on someone else now.
“Tomorrow night. He’s taking me to dinner and then back to the park where we met. They’re playing a movie at the old ball field—it’s a classic romantic comedy—so we’ll have something to occupy our attention if the date isn’t going so well. But it’ll be outside and relaxing, so we’ll be free to talk and get to know each other if we click.”
“That sounds great. Maybe we can double sometime if you two do hit it off.”
“Ah, that sounds like fun!” She smirked. “Do you think Adin will kiss you this time?” She was barely able to ask without giggling.
“I don’t know. I think it’s probably too soon for that. You know he wants to take things slowly, so I think that omits any tongue action. For now.” Legacy wagged her eyebrows.
Legacy and Calli spent the next couple of hours theorizing about their impending dates, talking about Legacy’s mom, and reminiscing about growing up and how Adin had always been around. Adin and Legacy had been friends since they were little. She remembered playing games with him on the playground in elementary school, hanging out with him and his friends at the skating rink in middle school, and watching him play sports and grow into a very attractive man in high school. Not that he hadn’t always been attractive, but as she got older, she appreciated it more. His flawless features were devastatingly beautiful. But his beauty wasn’t just skin deep. He was a beautiful person through and through.
“What do you think River is doing tonight?” Calli asked in a nonchalant manner. She wasn’t fooling Legacy. It was obvious her best friend wanted to switch gears on their conversation. Not that they hadn’t talked about River. His Greek mythology information had dominated about thirty minutes of their conversation.
“Um, I don’t know. The store is closed by now, so he might be home,” Legacy offered with a shrug.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Calli perked up and looked at her with hopeful eyes. Yeah, Calli might have a date, but she still appreciated eye candy.
“Sure.”
Calli freshened up—touching up her makeup, spraying on her French perfume. They walked down the stairs and out of the house.
“What do you think I should do if Adin doesn’t ask me back out again?” Legacy asked in an effort to distract her friend and hoping Callie wasn’t getting her hopes up about running into River outside.
Calli looked at her and appraised her expression before responding. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“But let’s say he doesn’t. Should I call him? If so, when? I mean, how soon is too soon to call a guy after a date?
“Legacy, this isn’t the twentieth century. If you want to call him afterward, you should call him. At the very least you could chat with him on Facebook. You did grow up with him. It’s not like he’s some new guy you hardly know. Besides, he took a big step in calling you and asking you out. Once he gets back in town, you two will probably be inseparable.” She giggled.
They were off Calli’s property and nearing River’s house now. It wasn’t as grand as Calli’s. It had a more modern flare to it. In fact, it almost had an institutional look. The gray tones made it look cold, and the straight lines of the design were too severe. Even the fence and gate resembled bars in a jail cell rather than an elegant addition to a private estate. But she guessed it went with the décor.
River’s car was out front, but Calli didn’t notice. Legacy realized then that she had left this detail out of their earlier conversation when Calli had grilled about her night out with him.
“You see that silver Mercedes?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s River’s car.”
“No way!”
“You sound surprised. Why? You drive a luxury car too.”
“Um, I know. I just mean that it’s a nice car. Very sporty.”
Legacy laughed at her response, and they slowed their pace. She felt a little weird spying on his house—she’d never even done that to Adin.
“There’s his mother,” Calli whispered.
Ms. Gorgos was glaring right at them. Legacy felt a chill as she remembered River’s warning about his mother. She did have some kind of cold exterior.
The girls both smiled and waved at her like friendly neighbors would, and her glare softened just before she turned and went back into the house.
“That was weird. Wonder if she was mentally throwing some evil goddess voodoo at us,” Calli said with a smirk.
Legacy chuckled at Calli’s sarcasm, but she wondered how truthful River was being about his mother. Maybe she needed to talk to him some more, sooner rather than later.
They both stopped walking and turned back around when the gate opened. River was walking toward them.
“Keep your cool,” Legacy whispered to Calli while they were still out of earshot.
Calli took a deep breath while he approached.
“Hey, what are you two out doing?” River asked when he reached them.
“Getting some fresh air,” Legacy answered, not waiting on Calli, fearing she’d act like she did the first time she spoke to him.
“What are you doing out here?” Calli asked without skipping a beat this time.
“Getting some fresh air,” River said with a half-smile.
“Are you working tom
orrow?” she asked River, hoping this conversation would not deviate to that uncomfortable topic about sugar like last time.
“Yes, I’ll be manning the store. My mom wants us going through a lot of old paperwork.”
“Good maybe then you’ll tell me some more about you know what,” Legacy said with a raised eyebrow.
“We’ll see. I am doing some of my own research, and I have to tell you, if I’m on the right track, your family is pretty fascinating.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not going to elaborate just yet. I’m still digging, and I don’t want to tell you something that isn’t really true.”
“But if you’ve already found out something, how could it not be true?”
“It’s complicated.” His tone was serene, and she could tell he wasn’t going to explain. Fine. She would get it out of him, eventually. She’d rather wait until they were alone anyway. Not that she wouldn’t tell Calli everything, but for some reason, River seemed more at ease around her if it was just the two of them.
“I’ll get it out of you—one day.”
“You won’t have to try hard,” he whispered back. Suddenly, his expression looked pained.
“River!” Ms. Gorgos called from the front door.
“Sorry, I have to go. She needs help gathering the documents.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.
He smiled and nodded. His eyes lingered on her.
“Bye,” Calli said softly.
He flashed a brilliant smile at her as he turned to walk back through the gate. “See you later,” he finally responded before turning completely around.
Calli and Legacy kept walking in the same direction until they came upon the pond in the undeveloped area and then they turned back. She was glad Calli hadn’t turned around and walked right back home after running into River. That would have been too obvious. At least now Calli had the added benefit of walking by his house again. Unfortunately for her, he didn’t come back out.
With it being late and Legacy having to work in the morning, they went to bed when they returned. Since it was cool outside, they slept with the windows open in her room. It hadn’t taken Legacy long to fall asleep.
Or find herself in another dream.
Instead of being strictly about a tornado, this dream was about the weather in general. She knew a tornado was coming, but as soon as she realized she needed to take cover, the sky turned a vivid pink color. So pink it was blinding. Without the warning of thunder, lightning fell from the sky, but this was no ordinary lightning. Instead of flashing forcefully with an electrical fervor, it glittered and fell like confetti, disappearing before it reached her. Another different characteristic, the strange little girl did not make an appearance. But she was not alone.
As she took cover from the peculiar lightning, Adin was sitting at a patio table under a side porch of a traditional house. She didn’t recognize the house, but it was pretty. It looked like a newer house, but built with the cadence of yesteryear. It wasn’t the house that stood out, though. The most intriguing aspect of this vision was Adin.
He watched her approach him without getting up. Once she was at the table, he looked at her and handed her a broach. It looked like one of those pieces of jewelry she found in Lissa’s room. It was old and very ornate. There wasn’t a special design, except it had the numbers 1887 painted in the center of the enamel.
“Be careful,” he whispered with a protective look in his eyes.
Then it was over.
She woke to the sound of Calli’s dogs barking outside. The window had apparently muffled their barks the previous mornings; it did not shield them now.
Since Calli was still asleep, Legacy gathered her toiletries and took a shower. She stood in there contemplating her dream as the hot water sluiced off her. Why was she having dreams about the weather? The tornado must represent something. She knew dreams usually weren’t literal. She learned from Lissa that dreams were usually a manifestation of some subconscious emotion.
She got out of the shower and put on her typical work outfit. She grabbed some Pop Tarts from the kitchen and strolled out of the house. She hadn’t burned up enough time in the shower, so she could afford to take her time getting to work.
On the ride there, she watched the sunrise. The sky was pink. The same vivid pink of her dream last night. Weird. But it was still magnificent. The exquisite sunrise was truly mesmerizing. The thin clouds coming up from the south were transparent against the large orange ball, casting a brilliant sheen over the horizon. She kept glancing at the sky while driving to work and watching the thin clouds getting thicker while the comfortable breeze flowing into her car windows picked up. A front must be moving in. She hoped the weather would be beautiful tomorrow for her date to the botanical garden. Her mind went from looking at pretty flowers to fantasizing about Adin pulling her behind one of the rose bushes tomorrow and making out with her. Her face heated as the fantasy continued, which also kicked up her nerves.
She pulled into the parking lot and started for the front door. She tripped twice—once from a pothole, the other she could find no external culprit. Her nerves were in overdrive. She needed to get into the store and get this day going quickly so tomorrow would get here that much faster.
“Good morning!” she yelled as she walked through the unlocked door.
“Legacy?” River called from the back of the store. “What are you doing here so early?” he asked as he walked into view.
“Calli’s dogs woke me up. I decided to come on in so I wouldn’t wake her. You?”
“We’ve already made two trips here.” He laughed. “Yale called in sick. She has that Beautiful Friday Syndrome,” he said with a chuckle.
“I hope she isn’t really sick.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll be all better come Monday.” He smirked. “Mom’s closing the store today since Yale won’t be here and business has been kinda slow. She really wants us to tackle the paperwork.”
She walked to the break room to put up her things and saw all the boxes they’d have to go through. “Ugh. This is going to take forever,” she groaned.
“Yep. We’ll be going through some stuff that we had in storage and throwing out what isn’t needed anymore. A lot of this is old documentation that’s been scanned and stored on a hard drive. We need to shred the old papers and repack the other stuff. The objective is to store fewer boxes than what was originally packed away.”
“Got it.”
They spent the morning going through the boxes as needed, but River seemed to be distracted from the menial task. And Legacy couldn’t be sure because they hadn’t talked much, but it seemed as if he was flirting with her. Every time he handed her a stack of papers to shred, his hand lingered on hers. He would brush his thumb against her thumb, rub her shoulder to get her attention, and once he caught a stray strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. She didn’t know what to say, so she kept her mouth shut while she worked.
“Are you ready to take a break?” he asked after they’d spent a few hours going through the boxes.
“Sure.” She shrugged.
He grabbed a couple of drinks out of the vending machine, and they stayed in the same seats they’d been in all morning.
“I’m glad my mom hasn’t come in here to spy on us. She’s been in a bad mood since last night.”
“Why?”
“Long story,” he said cryptically.
“We still have a ton of boxes to go through. I think we have plenty of time for a long story.”
He shook his head and glanced at the door, then looked back at her. Right then, Ms. Gorgos walked in.
“I’m going to order some sandwiches from the deli for everyone. Legacy, is turkey okay with you?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“River, I’ll be back in about an hour. I’m going to run to the bank and make a deposit before I get the sandwiches.”
“Okay,” he said without looking at her.
He took another drink of his soda while Ms. Gorgos walked out. After a few seconds, he got up and looked out the window of the door. Legacy assumed he was watching his mother leave because when he turned back, around he was smiling.
“She didn’t seem to be in a bad mood to me,” Legacy said matter-of-factly while River sat down.
“Of course not,” he said as he raised his eyebrows.
“So what was she mad about?”
“She was mad at me.”
“You? Why?”
“It had to do with the things we talked about the other night.”
“You mean the stuff you told me about Greek mythology?”
“Yes, but she was really mad I mentioned your mom. I told her about it last night. She was furious.”
“Why?”
“Because she doesn’t want me talking to you about it.”
“Does she know my mom?”
“Legacy,” River trailed off, shaking his head.
“Please tell me what you know.” It felt as if he wanted to, but was struggling with whether he should.
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Please,” she tried again, staring into his eyes. “I want to know what you know. I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense to you. Just please tell me so I can try to make sense of it myself. I’m already taking a huge leap of faith by entertaining any of this.”
“Okay,” he whispered. He put his arm on the table to rest his head in his hand.
“I’ll tell you everything, but please keep in mind that some of this is going to be incomprehensible.”
“I’ll try.”
“And we can never talk about this in front of my mom or Lissa. We can’t even talk about it at either of our houses. I’m not entirely sure if it’s safe to talk about it here, so after today, the store is off limits too.”
“Okay.”
“There are stories today about Greek gods during the mythological times, but those stories eventually came to an end. In reality, the gods created a new generation, and with each new generation, descendants are created from the likeness of the previous generation, but they’re different. Not all the special traits of their creators are passed to the descendants. Over time, the power given to one god blended with other powers, so instead of a new god with one powerful ability above all others—like the original gods—the new gods created had many, less powerful abilities.”
“The abilities you’d mentioned before?”
“Yes. If you think of the thousands of years that have passed, you can see how a gene pool can become a melting pot of abilities. Usually, no one can be certain who has what abilities until each new god reaches adulthood. At which time, those powers are solidified. But since these offspring were created by gods, there are those who know exactly how new gods will turn out. Every once in awhile, a new god is created with a pure ability. The sole ability from the original Greek god. That new god is extremely powerful, and sometimes the other gods become jealous. Those who are in the know keep this knowledge to themselves out of safety for the new god, but there are some that know who do not have the best intentions.”
“What do you mean?”
“An old god does not die off like a mortal would, which is how they get a horizontal lineage in addition to a vertical lineage.”
“Lissa told me about that.”
“Okay, so you can see that although new gods are rarely created, over time they would still have too many gods. Less powerful ones can move up the ranks, so to speak, by preventing a new god from fully developing. If any god prevents the transformation of another, then he assumes the abilities of that would-be god.”
He paused to make sure she was grasping everything. She nodded for him to go on.
“There are many different families that descended from the gods. These families are all over the world. Some are extremely powerful and don’t even know why. They’ve been away from the homeland for many generations, and their abilities are so diverse that they haven’t made the connection. They don’t think of themselves as gods, only magical. But those of us who do know understand the importance of those born of a pure ability.”
“What does this have to do with your family or with me?”
“Do you think it was a coincidence that there was a tornado warning when you were here with my mother last week?”
“You think your mom did that?” she asked bleakly.
He nodded. “Like I said, those of us who do understand what they are, know the importance of a god being created with a pure ability. I think,” he hesitated, “that’s why my mom doesn’t like your mom. She believes your mom created a god with a pure ability.”
“What?” So now it wasn’t just some less-powerful abilities…it was a pure ability?
“Legacy, I’m still trying to figure out the specifics of who you are and who especially your mom is. There are too many variables right now.” He sighed, shaking his head. “But I do know mine. I think my mom will stop at nothing to keep you from attaining your full power. She’s been emotional lately, and it seems like the weather is connected to her emotional state, but I’ve never seen it as strong as this before.” He sighed. “There’s more.”
More? She gaped at him.
“There was another reason my mom was mad that I talked to you about this,” he said as he looked down to the table.
“What was the other reason?” she asked with an even voice. His qualms didn’t matter now—how much weirder could this get?
“She knows that we’ll…er…be together. If—”
“Huh? If what?” she asked as she shook her head. She was wrong, this did get weirder.
“If Adin stays alive,” he whispered.
“What does this have to do with Adin, and what do you mean exactly that we’ll be together?”
“You asked me the other day if there was anyone special in my life, and I told you there was.”
“And?” What she really wanted to say was so what?
“You’re that special someone, Legacy,” he said as he looked back up and met her gaze.
She stared back at him in total disbelief.
“I don’t know when we’ll be together,” he continued, “but it has been prophesied that if Adin stays alive, you and I will be together. The three of us are bonded by that. Some action will break it, which I think Adin is that link. I can only guess since I don’t know much about him, but if he dies, I think you’ll be too distraught to be with me. If you stay with me, then I guess he’ll continue to live a long life as any other mortal.”
“That is absurd!” she roared.
“Legacy, you asked me to tell you what I know, and that’s what I know. You can believe whatever you want. I found out about the prophecy the night before you came in the store and got the job here, so I’m still dealing with all this too.”
What? “You found out last Friday night?” she asked, puzzled.
“Yes,” he responded, but seemed confused at the change in her tone.
“That’s the same night I found out about my mother.”
“I know.”
“Don’t you think it’s weird that we both found out things about our lives on the same night?”
“I’m sure it wasn’t a coincidence. There are no coincidences.”
“I don’t understand any of this.” And she couldn’t. Just when she thought she’d gotten a handle on the goddess stuff, her mind would rebel.
“I’m not sure if I believe it completely myself, but I know when I saw you here that Saturday, I knew there was something special about you. When we went out and you told me about yourself, I realized why. I feel attached to you, like I need to protect you, which is why I don’t like my mother’s hatred toward you or your mother.”
“What do you mean you feel attached to me? We just met!” There went any politeness she was trying to maintain.
“Don’t you see? This is why I didn’t want to be the one to tell you this. I needed to give you enough
time for our relationship to develop naturally. I’m not playing with the same advantages Adin has.” He half-smiled and sighed, looking up. “He’s known you for years. You’ve had time to be friends with him first. If he weren’t in the picture, then maybe I wouldn’t have needed time; I could have just flirted a little and asked you out.” He blinked and looked at her with more conviction. “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you about this just yet. But you pleaded with me, and I can’t refuse you,” he said shaking his head, watching her eyes. “I already feel like you belong to me. I can only assume Adin feels the same way. He just doesn’t understand why he feels so strongly for you now. This is out of all our hands.”
She slumped back into her chair. “That’s insane,” she said, barely a whisper.
“My mom will be back any minute, and I have one more thing I need to say to you before she gets here.”
“What?” she asked, but was distant.
“Legacy, look at me. I need you to pay attention.”
She forced her gaze to meet his.
“My mom doesn’t like you or your mom, so she’s not happy about this prophecy since it’s about the two of us being together. I don’t know Adin, but I don’t have any ill feelings toward him either. I don’t think you should talk to him about this because he will not understand, but I think you should watch out for him. If the only thing that keeps us apart is his death, I wouldn’t put it past my mother to make sure that that happens.”
The bell sounded as the front door to the store opened.
“That’s her,” he said quickly. “Remember, we can’t talk about this with her around.”
She nodded and picked up a stack of papers to shred, and he dug into another box. Ms. Gorgos walked in with bags of food and put them on the table.
“Did anything happen while I was away?” she asked River.
“Nope,” he responded, seeming uninterested while he separated the papers out into different piles.
“I’ll be in my office,” she said, and turned to walk out the door.
Legacy ate quickly without another word to River. Once they were finished eating, they went back to the menial task in silence. She caught him staring at her a few times, but he tried to play off those moments as nothing. She wondered what he could be thinking. She already knew what she was thinking.
“Are you okay?” River finally asked.
“Fine,” she said without making eye contact.
“I’m really sorry,” he whispered. “More than you know.”
She took a deep breath and looked at him. “Don’t worry about it,” she said matching his tone. “I’ll be fine.” She shrugged and turned back to the shredder.
She heard his chair move, but didn’t turn around. Then she felt his hand on her shoulder, which startled her.
“You know you can talk to me about anything,” he whispered, being careful not to mention the specifics.
So he felt like she could talk to him about anything, but she didn’t think so. To her, he was still someone she hardly knew. But he was right in that he was the only one who’d offered her any explanation. She couldn’t deny that. She didn’t want to close off this source of information, but she didn’t want to encourage him either. He already felt a connection to her, but she didn’t feel one for him. She knew who she wanted to be with.
“I know,” she said, nodding her head.
He went back to his seat, and they finished going through all the boxes. Ms. Gorgos came in while they were on the last one and was so pleased at their progress that she told her she could go home after they finished. But as she thought of her through River’s eyes—with the belief that she didn’t like her or want her to be with River—Legacy could see an ulterior motive. Letting her leave when finished meant she wouldn’t have to spend any more time with River than what was necessary. But she really didn’t know what to think.
As she got up to leave, River stood and stretched. “I’ll see you later,” he said, stepping over to her.
She nodded at him at left.
With more questions than she had answers.