“Well of course you’re Olivia!” Zara dragged a bewildered Olivia inside the cottage. “And I’m Zara. And you know Stasia…I’ve already completed the lesson, so you’re right on time!”
“Okay, great…” Olivia replied slowly, raising a skeptical eyebrow at her before taking a seat on the couch next to me. She was dressed for the occasion in black yoga pants, a Roxy sweat shirt and matching Pumas. Her mass of dark curls were piled precariously atop her head.
“Oh!” Zara stood back up, somewhat spastically, “You need cider!” She got busy in the kitchen preparing a mug for Olivia, who was having trouble keeping her jaw off the ground. She forced her gaze away from Zara and focused her chocolate eyes on me.
“She’s seriously our new maven?” she whispered suspiciously. “I don’t think her elevator goes all the way to the top floor.”
“She’s just...eclectic,” I whispered back. “You’re the special guest we’ve been waiting for?”
She nodded slowly and I could tell that she was only half-listening to me; her skeptical eyes following Zara around the kitchen.
“Apparently Mom called her up and told her I’d help,” she complained with indignation. “I think she’s trying to get me to do my civic duty. I think civic duties are overrated, but what do I know?”
Before I could inform her that
“Alright, girls!” she prompted. “Let’s get started.”
Chapter 28
“The first thing I’d like to-“ A frantic knock at the cottage door interrupted Zara. She swiveled her body parallel to the door and appeared to listen for something. Her face relaxed and her eyes brightened with anticipation. “You have some visitors, Stasia.”
A distressed Carmen and Phoebe spilled into the living room, wearing their concern on their sullen faces. Incredibly happy to see them, I threw my arms around them and held them both in an awkward three person hug.
“Hey you guys!” I shrieked, and fought back joyful tears that were welling up.
“Stasia!” Phoebe inspected my face with the intensity of a surgeon. “We were so worried about you!”
“Nice new crib…” Carmen gawked as she glimpsed the quaint cottage amidst our embrace.
“It’s so cute!” Phoebe chirped, tensing straight away when her gaze encountered Olivia behind me. “I thought I smelled pretense and arrogance…” she muttered; her distaste palpable.
“You guys, this is our new Maven, Zara!” I introduced my roommates to the cottage’s owner in an effort to divert the disdain building in Phoebe’s eyes.
She gave them both gentle hugs and gestured toward the couches. “It’s so nice to meet Stasia’s roommates!” I realized that I hadn’t specified they were my roommates, but thought that maybe Finn had mentioned their names to her. “Make yourselves at home! We were just about to begin with Stasia’s first training lesson.”
“Where’s Willow?” I asked while we sat back down opposite Olivia and Zara.
“Still with Peleus.” Carmen bit her lip and articulated the worry I found in her eyes. I didn’t miss the look of shock that crossed Zara’s face. “He’s doing better, but he’s still in a lot of pain.” My stomach dropped as I realized Peleus must be the old man’s name.
“But he’s going to be okay, right?” My voice came out in a rush of fear.
“Natasha says he’ll be okay. He broke several vertebrae and his arm,” Phoebe said. “He’s in good hands though…he’ll be healed in no time.”
“Can he talk?” My curiosity asked, “Who is he?”
“He was pretty out of it on the plane, but he might be talking more now. Natasha took him to her house so that she and Willow could take care of him.”
“What happened? And who’s Peleus?” Olivia directed her questions at Phoebe with a distrustful edge to her tone.
“It’s really none of your-“ Phoebe started to retaliate.
“Excuse me girls, but we really need to stay on schedule,” Zara interrupted sternly. Carmen and Phoebe clamped their mouths shut, and Olivia narrowed her now-flashing eyes. “Now, as I was saying Stasia, the first thing I’d like for you to do is to practice your abilities related to the past. They combine to create the ability of Antiquity.”
“There are different forms of Antiquity?” I frowned. All of this new information was leaving me increasingly rattled. Everything I thought I knew was apparently just the tip of the iceberg.
“Have you ever touched something like a building, or a specific item that belonged to someone and then experienced brief visions?” The mermaid statue off the coast of the Outer banks, the Spiti of Achilles and the incident when I had accidentally touched Aphrodite’s Rock erupted through my mind.
“That was Antiquity?” I gasped. “I didn’t even mean to do it. It just…happened.”
“So you have? Oh, that’s wonderful!” she celebrated. “As you’ll learn, Antiquity is most easily described as accessing memories; whether that’s by accessing the memories of your ancestors, other people, or a particular object. All are forms of Antiquity.” The second type stuck out in my mind. Was that what I’d been doing when I saw Nadia’s memories during class the first day I met her? And on the beach in Cyprus when I had seen those images from Carmen’s mind?
“Objects have memories?” Phoebe furrowed her brow; puzzled by the theory.
“Of course! Just like everything has essence,” Zara affirmed passionately. “The memories are just energies imprinted on the objects’ essence. Stasia has the ability to access them.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Olivia breathed, studying me with wonder. I pictured myself stuck in a cage at the zoo, as overzealous parents snapped countless photos of their children pointing at me in fear. I vowed to steer clear of all zoos from that point on.
“It sure is.” Zara chuckled and pulled something shiny out of her pocket. She handed it to me.
“I’d like for you to hold this in your hand and concentrate on feeling its essence. I want you to try to access any memories that have been imprinted on it.” It sounded easy enough, but I also knew my track record. My best efforts usually only showed themselves when I least expected it. Pile on the pressure and the failure rate increased exponentially. Not to mention, that I had no idea how it worked. Taking a shot in the dark, I held out my palm and inspected the piece of small pottery. Upon closer inspection I realized it was in the shape of a small dog, no bigger than two inches long.
I held my focus steady as I concentrated my energy and attempted to ‘feel’ anything from its essence. Instantly, a hot, panting breath warmed my face and I instinctively held the piece of pottery farther away. An image of a slobbering pink tongue flashed in my mind, and I realized that the hot breath was coming from the owner of a long brown snout. The tongue disappeared, replaced by an image of a brown nose that twitched back and forth. I peered up at Zara with an amused smile.
“I believe this poor specimen was the unlikely victim of a dog’s tongue,” I giggled.
“It doesn’t matter how many times I yell at her, Twiggy loves that thing,” Zara retorted proudly. I couldn’t tell if she was proud of me or her dog.
“Twiggy?” Carmen asked and Phoebe covered up a laugh.
“One of my boxers. She has more in common with a two year old than her canine siblings.”
She shook her head as I handed the small pottery puppy back to her. “Excellent work, Stasia. Let’s move on to something a little more challenging. Face Olivia.” I did as I was told, but Olivia wasn’t quite as obedient. She shot a weary look at Zara. Somehow understanding Olivia’s adverse reaction, Zara’s green eyes softened.
“I’d like for you to allow Stasia to access your memories.”
“Can I just pick a memory to show her?” she pleaded; crossing her arms in contempt. “I don’t really want her thumbing through all my memories like a freaking book.”
