Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,38
leave their territories?” I asked, making sure I understood the other side of this coin.
“Yes. They draw a certain amount of strength from them.”
“One of them died once, didn’t he? What was his name?” I tugged the name from my memory. I’d done a summary of a news report last year on this thirteenth zodiac sign. “Ophiuchus.”
He nodded. “Ophiuchus was the thirteenth, but he did not die at the hands of the others. He ended his own life, though none of the Zodia know how he managed it.”
“Wait… does that mean all his people…”
Kes blew out a long, sad breath. “None of the Zodia knew their people were tied to them so intimately until he took his life and all his people died with him. It happened long before I was born into my human life. I’m glad I didn’t witness it.”
I was glad he hadn’t either, but couldn’t help but wonder what awful things he had seen during his many lifetimes. I tried not to imagine all the people I’d seen who gathered to ask questions and hear Aries answer them… dead. Their bodies overlapping on the ground as scavengers ravaged their flesh.
I scrubbed my hands down my face.
“So now you see what is at stake. Aries was always one of the strongest – of morality, of strength – but now that he’s pledged to you, he’s even more powerful. The others can sense it,” he explained.
“You’re saying they’ll tear me apart just to weaken him, and if they manage to kill him, his people and his Guardians will die.”
Kes nodded. “That’s why you can’t put yourself at risk. You can’t erase his mark. You can’t separate yourself from him or he’ll weaken and they will pounce. If they kill Aries, every person in this slice of earth will die with him.”
I pushed my hair back and held it behind my ears. “How can I possibly fight off one of the Zodia if they want to kill me? And what if they come for me all together? They banded together against Virgo’s lover, right?”
“Several did, yes, but there were others who resisted, those on Aries’ side. Those allies may now be enemies, though.”
“Why?” I asked. “You said he’d done something to them. What did he do?”
“Aries lured them into a temple he’d built. He told them it symbolized a new beginning, that they could each put what happened behind them and move forward as one. But when he got them there, he put them to sleep.”
“How did he do that?”
Kes shook his head. “That, I don’t know. But the others aren’t happy about their very, very long nap. Libra is ready to strike – literally.”
My heart stopped, then began to thunder. “She’ll come after me. They all will.”
“Not Virgo, and hopefully not Aquarius. He and Aries were friends.”
Oh, lovely. So I only had to worry about nine other monsters coming to shred me. The sound of the man’s head slapping across the stone filled my mind, only I envisioned it being my head rolling across the temple square; blonde, blood-soaked hair slapping across the ground until it thumped into a column.
“Aries will protect you, Larken.”
“If he can,” I added morosely.
Kes pressed his lips together. “He can. Look, I did the only thing I could to protect you. I hope you trust my judgment.”
“Well, if I’m alive this time next week, we’ll see.”
Kes’s muscles tensed and he sat up straighter. “I have to go.”
“Where?”
“To patrol the human village.”
“What about the towns and cities left behind in this big slice of earth? Did he wipe them all away?”
“They’re still there,” Kes said, “and they’re being settled. Aries only built these for those gathered close to him.”
“Wouldn’t they be safer away from him?” I asked, knowing that in this world, where the Zodia patrolled, nothing was safe.
Instead of replying to my question, he said, “Everything will be okay. Just stay close to Aries. Always.”
“That’s not really feasible, bro,” I argued as he stood.
I mean, there would be times we would need to be apart, which would be prime opportunities for other Zodia to appear and strike. I thought of Libra with her serpentine tail and undulating layers of opaque scales… thinking of the fangs that must be hidden behind her pale lips.
He opened the door and told me to get some sleep. How he expected me to rest when he’d dropped so much at my feet was beyond me. I nodded, telling him goodnight and admonishing him to be careful.