30. ZARA
ZARA
I nearly dropped the dish I was about to pop into the microwave when a tentative knock sounded at the kitchen door the next evening. I hadn’t heard a portal, and I definitely hadn’t let anyone in through the gate, so I wasn’t at all sure whether I should open the door or call for backup.
“Zara? It’s me, Raquel. Jules said you wanted to talk to me.” That explained the lack of a portal then. I supposed I should be glad she hadn’t just popped into the kitchen and scared the shit out of me that way.
“Come in.” I stepped back so that she could get through the door and waved a hand in the general direction of the table.
“Let me just finish getting this on.” Eli had insisted on stocking up the freezer with home cooked meals after Seth had gone because he knew I wouldn’t bother cooking just for me.
“That looks good,” she said, giving the lasagne an appreciative look as she sat down. “What did you want to see me for?” She cast a wary glance up at the ceiling, as if she was expecting lights to start exploding again.
“You never came back. You said you had an idea to help Seth and you’d come back, but you didn’t.” I hadn’t intended to open with that, but now she was sitting in front of me I couldn’t stop myself from blurting out the accusation.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think everything would happen so quickly.
By the time I had a chance to come back, it was too late.
He’d already come to an agreement with Uncle Luci.
He did well, by the way,” she added. “He’s left himself with a way out, which was exactly what I was trying to achieve by telling him not to let them crown him as their king.
” She gave me a sympathetic look. “If you were hoping there would be something I could do to help you get him back quicker, I’m sorry, but there isn’t. ”
A little part of me had been hoping exactly that, and I swallowed down my disappointment.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about my siren abilities. Back before this all kicked off, you told Terrah that I needed to learn about them. Why was that?”
“That doesn’t sound like just idle curiosity. Has something happened?”
She burst out laughing when I asked her whether she thought the being of great power mentioned in the Prophecy could be me.
“Oh, Zara, you don’t really think the entire Prophecy was about you, do you?
” I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or embarrassed.
“There’s no doubt that’s Uncle Luci. The whole rising thing was about him gaining his freedom from the Underworld.
Your part was to be the princess born and named. And Seth’s Kaderi of course.”
“So then why was it so important for me to learn about my powers?”
“Honestly? It wasn’t.” She shrugged and I had to resist the urge to shake her.
“Not for the Prophecy anyway. I made that suggestion for your own benefit. When you pulled that battle cry stunt to save your friend, I suspected there was a lot more to you than anyone had thought. And I was right. Dream walking and the battle cry are both rare abilities on their own but having them together is pretty much unheard of.” She gave me a curious look.
“How are you finding dream walking with Morpheus? He’s such a grump sometimes. Does he drive you bonkers?”
A flare of annoyance mingled with protectiveness shot through me. “Nero is my friend. And I’m very fond of him.”
“Hmm. Not a grump with you then? And he obviously likes you if he’s invited you to call him Nero. You must have impressed him.”
He was frequently a bit tetchy with me, but I’d also seen the other side of him, the kind, caring side that most people weren’t privileged to see, and I wasn’t comfortable talking about that with her.
The timer on the microwave pinged and I gladly took advantage of the chance to turn the tables as I retrieved my dinner and set it on the counter to cool down a little before I dished it up.
“I hear you’ve been seeing quite a bit of Jules lately.” Let’s see if I could make her feel uncomfortable now. A slight blush stained her cheeks, so I pushed my advantage. “Are you just friends, or is there more to it?”
“Is that what she said?” She sounded kind of hopeful. “That we’re more than friends? I didn’t think we could be, not really, after everything I did. The way I screwed up her life.”
“You also helped her when she had her mortal death. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Actually, I did. If she hadn’t survived that, it might have been the end of the Prophecy. We might never have got another unica. Although I’d have been there for her anyway. That’s not the only reason I did it.”
“Well if you’re hoping for any kind of relationship with her, you should probably let her keep thinking you did it because you wanted to, not because you had to. It’s a big plus point in your favour at the moment.”
“Why would you tell me that?”
That was a good question, and I was more than a little surprised at the answer. “Because as much as I might resent you for what you’ve done, I’m not so blinded by my emotions that I can’t see you were a pawn in all this too.”
Despite her many centuries of experience, there was an air of innocence about Raquel, and it was easy to see how her father and uncles could have manipulated her into doing their bidding when it came to the Prophecy.
Quite apart from that, though, she was still a powerful entity in her own right. It might be worth trying to forgive the things she’d done in the past if it meant having her as an ally.
“Are you hungry?” She looked shocked at my question, but if we were going to get her onside, there was no time like the present to start. “There’s plenty of food for two and I wouldn’t mind some company. Eating alone is no fun.”
“What is it?”
“It’s lasagne. You saw me put it in the microwave.” She gave me a blank look.
“Minced beef and pork, onions, tomatoes, garlic, herbs, pasta, yummy cheesy crust… surely you’ve had it before?”
“No.” She looked a bit wistful. “We mainly have fruit and bread in our realm. Unless father roasts a goat of course.” She kept it up for a few more seconds before she dissolved into a fit of giggles. “Of course I’ve had it before, I’m just pulling your leg.”
“No wine for you if you keep that up,” I warned, unable to help laughing with her. I uncorked a bottle of the Shiraz I liked and poured us both a glass, ignoring the thought that both Seth and Eli would probably be horrified at me not letting it breathe before drinking it.
“So what’s it like in the Underworld?” I asked, once we were tucking into our food. “Have you ever been there?”
She shook her head. “No. When all the others were sent there, my father and uncles said I could stay. They said it was because I wasn’t out of control like the others were, but I know now it was because my magic was so strong.
It suited them to have me at their beck and call.
Uncle Luci was the only one who ever seemed to care about me rather than what I could do. I was heartbroken when he went away.”
“Gabriel told us they couldn’t bear to send you away because they were too fond of you,” I said, thinking it might make her feel better.
“Gabriel has a way of twisting the truth to suit himself. They all do. I don’t doubt they care about me in their own way, but the real truth is that they were far too fond of the power I could wield to lose me to the Underworld.
I wanted to go with Uncle Luci, and he’d have been happy to have me with him, but they wouldn’t allow it.
And I was a lot more gullible back then, so I believed them when they said they’d miss me too much if I left. ”
“So you haven’t seen your uncle since he went away? Not even when he came back to…” How the hell did you delicately refer to the fact he’d come back purely to get Seth’s mother knocked up?
“No. I begged to be allowed to at least visit him sometimes, but Father told me that if I did as I was told and made sure the Prophecy got fulfilled, I’d see him soon enough.
I watched him when he came to meet with Seth though.
After Gabriel had left, I was able to sneak in and listen to their conversation, but I shielded myself so they couldn’t sense me. And of course I couldn’t talk to him.”
“That’s how you know what deal they struck.” She nodded. “And will Lucien honour it?”
“Of course he will,” she looked offended. “Uncle Luci would never go back on his word.”
I started to top up her wine, but she stopped me.
“I should go. Father’s been acting very strangely lately.
He’s been watching me like a hawk since he found out I visited you before, so I’d rather he didn’t find out I was here.
I don’t want him getting it into his head that I’m trying to interfere with what’s going on in the Underworld, or he might decide to keep me locked up in his realm until it’s all over. ”
“He couldn’t really keep you there though, if you didn’t want to stay. Could he? I mean, you’re the Oracle. I thought you could go anywhere you wanted.” She’d managed to visit Phoebe in Avalon and not even the gods could get in there without Jed’s permission.
“I don’t know and I’d rather not put it to the test. It’s safer if I don’t do anything to make him suspicious. I’ll come back and see you again when I can. If that’s okay?”
“I’d like that.” To my surprise, it was the truth.
I’d started out fully intending to befriend her because she could be a useful ally, but after hearing about the way her own family had been using her for their own ends, the thought of doing just that myself turned my stomach now.
It seemed like Jules might be right about her after all.
I just hoped Eli and the rest of my fellow sixers would feel the same.