My Savior's Secret

Chapter 6

The early Spring air was fresh on my skin, and I removed my sweater. Warm chills scattered across my arms. The space was vast. Neatly-cut shrubs lined the massive pool at the center, a gazebo roped with vines and roses following, an entire garden behind a wall of junipers. The lawn spread far and merged into an open field with budding tree-tops lining the foggy horizon.

I wore my sweater again, tucked my necklace inside, and made my way across the lawn. It would’ve been faster if I’d gotten down from my bedroom balcony. I could see the forest right out my window.

On warmer days, when I had allowed myself the time, I’d go walking through the parks in Canada either at dawn or sundown. I’d find new ones in the city, spend hours on the dirt paths, amid the different trees. Birch. Oak. Maple. Locusts were my favorite.

This Etherian forest was surrounded by sycamores, but within were large banyans and magnificent weeping willows shrouding the sky above. Distant sounds of birds and the smell of wet soil from Spring rain brought it to life.

Thick roots and dips marked the gnarly terrain until a stream of water split the path. If I looked carefully across the stream through the thick of the forest, a shabby structure came to view. A cabin, perhaps. A little beyond the stream was a glade, and I found a clear spot under the sun and sprawled my back against the incline.

When my parents had been in Etheria, and I’d been in Canada, we would’ve looked at the same sky. At least that much we shared. They must’ve thought about me. They must’ve missed me. 

Whatever. I prodded my pockets and got out the letter and Darian’s lighter which I retrieved from the kitchen drawer. I held the letter to the sun and squinted at my mother’s writing.

Once I go, I know you’ll be alone again.

I flicked on the lighter and set the corner aflame. Slowly, the writing dissolved into crisps. Eating up the last of her words.

You deserve happiness.

I sat up and dropped the paper on a dry patch of grass. The flame grew, licking up the edges of the letter.

Be happy. Be safe.

The fire reflected in my unblinking eyes. Could one set fire to a forest this way? Embers escaped in the air. My mother had died in a fire. I moved my cold fingers towards the flame now burning the grass patch. My fingers warmed. How had she felt?

The fire skirted closer.

What creature had killed my father? What were they afraid of? Left in the dark, I could only have contempt. I shouldn’t think about it anymore.

A flick of the fire grazed my fingertip, about to engulf it.

A strong gale swept over me. My hood flew back, tossing my hair over my face. The fire expelled leaving behind a charred patch on the ground and ash on my fingertip. The wind died as quick as it started, returning the glade’s serenity.

A presence chilled my back, and I sensed them. Eyes. I didn’t move, listening to the soft susurration of trees—more like feathers—behind me. The source wasn’t small enough to be a bird. Another rustle, and I bolted up.

“Who is it?” The movement receded from the trees. I ran back into the forest following it. The hem of a black cape flicked past the twisted branches. “I see you! Hey—”

I scrambled over the uneven roots of the forest. My foot caught on one, and I crashed to the leaf-littered ground. I lifted on my knees and rubbed the dirt off my clothes.

Another rustle and a muffled voice.

“Nice landing.”

I whipped my head towards the sound.

I knew it was him, the mysterious visitor who’d given me my mother’s envelope. The guy was sitting high up in a tree, back against the trunk, one leg up on the branch, one leg hanging, his mantle dangling over as if it nor its owner gave a care in the world.

I brushed off my sleeves and glared up at him. “You made me fall.”

He swung his leg over so his back left the trunk. He gripped the branch with his gloved hands. “Who told you to follow me?”

“Who told you to spy on me?”

“I wasn’t spying.” He flicked a leaf off his shoulder, and I batted it before it landed on my hair. “You happened to pass by me, and I happened to catch you doing something stupid.” There went my mood.

I found a twig on the floor and hurled it at him. It managed to reach halfway and made a disappointing trajectory back. I couldn’t tell if he was smirking—he was wearing his mask again—but I knew he was. Fueled, I searched for a more promising object—a hefty rock—took my aim and lobbed it at him. It zoomed straight up to his face. Bingo.

His hand caught the rock with inhuman speed, and he thrust himself off the branch. I gasped, bracing to hear bones cracking on the ground, but he latched on the lowest branch in time with his boots against the trunk.

He was close enough for me to touch his cape if I jumped. He pulled down his mask, and his face was closer, contrasting his dark ruffled hair, dazzling in the sunlight escaping the forest canopy. Eyes like green jewels dared me, yet the slight tilt of his lips mocked me—lips where a mask had once been, and a cigarette had once hung off of.

He looked ethereal.

“If you wanted to play catch, you should’ve said so.” He tossed the rock up and down invitingly. “Try again if you want to hurt me.” I couldn’t take my eyes off him, let alone move to find another thing to throw. He dropped the rock, swung up and sat on the branch. “Boring. You’re wasting my time.”

I pushed my simmering grudge—and fascination—aside and asked seriously, “How’d you do that?”

“I told you. I have a knack for climbing stuff.” 

“I meant at the glade. Creating wind.”

“Do you possibly think I controlled the weather?” He hoisted himself up to a standing position. The full length of him wasn’t as intimidating from down here. Thankfully. “Nature took pity on you all by itself.”

I looked at the ash on my finger and wiped it off. Hard to argue with that. His unpredictability made me want to take chances. Even risks since I had little to fear for my life.

“What’s the Underground?”

His brow lifted. “How do you know about that?” I told him about Darian, and he snorted. “Stubborn fool. It’s a criminal zone in the city. That’s all a foreigner needs to know.” Criminal zone? Was I in the same house as a criminal?

The mantle guy shifted, shoes scraping on the bark. I had to get something out before he left.

“I forgot to say this last time,” I started, “but can you tell Elliot I’m grateful for the flowers? They were…” Perfect. Nah, I wasn’t getting that emotional with this guy.

He paused. “What’s so great about those flowers?”

“Chrysanthemums were my grandma’s favorite,” yet I still answered. I kicked some leaves on the ground, trying to get rid of the memory. “When she died, my mom came back to Canada and we planted a bunch in my backyard.”

My mother had stayed the longest then, waited until I’d gone to college to return to Etheria. I’d been alone since then, until she was no more. 

“It’s one of the only memories I have with my mom.”

I swallowed. What happened to not getting emotional? This mantle guy didn’t need to know anything. I didn’t need anyone to confide in.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and shrugged. “Tell him or not. Doesn’t matter.” He stared at me with that same, unmovable expression. “By the way, I’m curious about something.”

He grabbed the branch above and did a flawless chin-up to climb over. Who are you? But he wouldn’t answer, anyway.

“What’s with the mantle and mask?” I asked instead. “Isn’t it inconvenient?”

“Nope.” He didn’t provide much of an explanation when he disappeared to the other side of the banyan’s trunk.

I walked around to see him even higher and shrouded by the branches. Only his black cloak gave him away. “I have something else to ask.” I lost sight of the cape. I cupped my mouth to call and ask about Elliot when my mother’s words resurfaced.

Do not search for him or anyone.

My eyes dropped to the dry leaves. Anything that happened on this island was none of my business. I shouldn’t get involved with anyone. Only for a short while, until I get my mother’s death certificate and collect her belongings, would I be staying in Etheria.

I squinted at the tree. No sight of the black mantle. I turned and headed back.