The Sibylline Oracle (The Sibylline Trilogy) Page 7

As she stood in front of the cottage, she noticed the heavy woods of evergreens juxtaposed with brightly colored deciduous trees. When Alex led her around the corner of the house, her jaw dropped.

  “Is that...oh my God—I’ve never seen such a beautiful Gingko!” she said, wishing that she could suppress her enthusiasm. “I’ve never seen one near this size. It must be ancient.” She glanced at Alex and saw that he was beaming and then lowered his gaze as if attempting to hide his pleasure in her response to the tree. It was a giant, with beautiful, even branches...like something out of a fairy tale. Its red, yellow, and green triangular leaves erupted from every portion of the branch. Valeria was certain it was the most beautiful tree she had seen in all of her life.

  Suddenly, she felt a bit sad; she would have loved to see this incredible tree in the spring and summer—even in the winter. Now, unexpectedly, on the verge of tears, she swallowed back the flood of emotion for the amazing cottage that was everything she could ever want but would never have...and the man. She shook her head in an attempt to free her mind from that thought. She would not think about Alex that way, not now.

  They walked through the woods in silence as she walked along side him on a trail that wound around giant Beech and Chestnut trees. The canopy of dense trees darkened the woods, but she noticed path lights along the trail and hoped she would have an opportunity to wander it at night.

  Within minutes, they were off from the trail and now in a large field of cut grass. Up above on the hill, Valeria got her first glimpse of the main house, which looked more like a ski resort with its river stone and redwood. There was a giant deck in front where a massive, arched entry held massive double arched doors.

  Alex led her up the stairs to the deck and then through the front door. She stepped onto the golden, travertine floors and noticed the large, woven area rugs; they were shades of red, blue, and gold with American Indian designs. She stared up at the thirty-foot cathedral ceilings and caught sight of the log staircase with black, wrought-iron accents. It wrapped around the edge of the living area and seemed to lead to bedrooms at the back of the house. Valeria glanced at the enormous river stone fireplace, with mission-style rocking chairs placed neatly in front. Two long, leather sofas extended from the fireplace, its cushions and blankets perfectly matched the area rugs and a leather ottoman served as the coffee table.

  Valeria walked to the full wall of windows that dominated the living area with their spectacular view. She peered into the adjoining dining room and noticed a long dark-wood table. She ran her hand along it, peeking into the kitchen that was on the other side of the pass-through window. Like the living area, the dining room also offered exemplary views of the woods. Valeria thought she could almost see a portion of Alex’s cottage from the window.

  A dark-haired boy of about twelve came in from the kitchen, smiling brightly. “Hi! I’m Caleb.” He walked toward Valeria with a mischievous smile and extended hand. She heard both Alex and a woman’s voice anxiously admonish the boy. “Caleb!”

  Caleb tucked his hands into his pockets before bounding off to one of the rocking chairs by the fireplace. “I wasn’t really going to do it. I just wanted to see what you guys would do.” Then the boy pushed off with his feet to give the chair a forceful rock.

  Before Valeria could respond, a tall, beautiful black woman with long, straight hair and bright blue, Kewpie doll eyes entered. “Good Morning! I’m Camille.”

  “Nice to meet you both, I’m─” Valeria started, and was immediately interrupted by the redhead with her overly bored, British accent.

  “We got the message. You’re Valeria.” The comment was a blow-off.

  The redhead was even more beautiful than Valeria had remembered, with intense, Kelly Green eyes and a creamy complexion. The woman sauntered directly to Alex and leaned her elbow on his shoulder, possessively. She seemed to be ensuring that Valeria was watching. Other than that, the redhead avoided Valeria.

  Camille rolled her eyes and continued pleasantly, “Valeria it’s very nice to finally meet you!”

  The redhead added, “Again.” Valeria noticed both Alex and Camille glaring at the redhead with unspoken words. The woman responded with an irritated expression as if they had actually spoken to her, and then moved to sit on the couch.

  “Oh, and that’s Daphne,” Camille added, pointing at the redhead.

  The redhead now had a name.

  Noting Daphne’s ‘again,’ Valeria decided that she was referring to the previous evening when she had fallen asleep in Alex’s bed. She would gather her courage and apologize for that when they had a moment alone. Though, Valeria also had the urge to defend herself, and to inform Daphne that Alex had invited her to sleep there. But she decided that would only cause more problems. She would take responsibility for her actions, even though Daphne seemed like the kind of woman who would hold a grudge. It was difficult to imagine a man as kind as Alex caring for a woman like that. With a sideways glance, Valeria found herself searching their hands and noticed neither wore a wedding ring.

  A boyishly handsome man with blond curls, a light, freckled complexion, and the frame of a football player, entered with an air of confidence that struck Valeria as the leader.

  “Valeria, I’m Lars,” he said. His eyes sparkled with life as he offered his hand. “And we are all very pleased to officially meet you.”

  Loud footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. She turned to see a tall, bearded man with dark-gray hair and an irritated expression. He came in and leaned against the fireplace mantel. Valeria thought with a grimace, so that’s the one who can’t get a date. Alex pointed to the man. “That’s Tavish.”

  Tavish grumbled a hello.

  Caleb laughed. “Tavish is upset because Camille told him he couldn’t wear his kilt.” No wonder Alex had to bring her all the way from New York! Poor Tavish’s disposition would run off most women.

  “It is my traditional dress!” Tavish snorted.

  “Yes, but it is inappropriate for this informal setting. We don’t want to scare poor Valeria too badly,” Camille insisted.

  Lifting himself up, Caleb said, “Yeah, but you have to admit, it is fun when a breeze comes up and…” Caleb indicated the kilt rising up on Tavish and mimicked him trying to pull it down. Tavish rolled his eyes in irritation, though a sarcastic laugh escaped the side of his mouth.

  Camille gave Caleb a look that silenced him and then she gestured to Valeria. “Please, Valeria, have a seat!” Camille pointed to the loveseat near Alex. Valeria went to sit down and noticed that Alex had made sure that he wouldn’t have to sit next to her.

  Lars began. “Valeria, I suppose we need to fill you in on why we are all here. I guess you have heard some of it. I understand you met Mani?” Alex locked his attention on Lars. “So, I’m just going to jump into it,” Lars continued, as he sat on the leather ottoman in front of Valeria. “Obviously, we have a purpose and you are principal to that purpose. But for you to understand what must be done, and why we are here, I believe it’s important for you to first understand the history of our situation.” Lars drew a deep breath. “I want to warn you that this is not going to be easy. It’s going to require that you open your mind to other realities.” Lars waited for Valeria’s nod. “Suffice it to say, we have a common enemy and if we all work together, we can eliminate the threat.”

  “I don’t understand. Is it some disease? Are you looking for money? I can probably help,” Valeria offered.

  “No.” Lars attempted to hide his mild amusement before continuing, “It’s a man.”

  Oh, my God! They really are trying to fix me up with someone, she thought. She glanced at Tavish and their eyes met. His expression appeared to be in battle as all side of his face shook and shimmied until, at last, the right sides of his mouth popped up, followed by the left side, in what appeared to be a smile...or a sneer. She quickly looked away, trying to hide her horror.

  Lars continued, “Valeria, we all owe you a great deal of gratitude for wha
t you did for us.” He looked to Alex. “Lexi, does she remember?”

  Great! Lars is starting with gratitude...this can’t be good. She decided she would make certain that they all knew she was happily engaged…and to a handsome diplomat! She didn’t need their pitiful attempts at setting her up.

  “She’s had a familiarization with Mani but we’ve had no significant discussion as of yet.”

  Valeria felt her irritation rising, realizing that Alex considered all of their previous discussions as insignificant but she tried to hide it. “Familiarization? Is that what you call it?” she asked, ensuring that her eyes were on Lars and Lars only. She tried to think of something in the vision that would indicate who Alex was setting her up with and felt absolutely ridiculous. She worked, somewhat unsuccessfully, on her poker face, which Weege told her she did not possess.

  Lars nodded. “Yes. Let’s talk about what you saw in the transference with Mani. Do you remember the situation? Does any of it seem familiar to you?”

  Valeria drew her eyebrows together and looked up, trying to recall the entire scene. “You know, some of the people seem somewhat familiar.”

  “You wouldn’t forget me!” Caleb said, his smile taking up most of his face.

  “I didn’t see you in the vision,” Valeria said, conversationally. Seeing Caleb frown, she added, “But I’m certain I wouldn’t forget you.”

  Caleb let out a joyous laugh of vindication. “Sweet! Told ya!” He pulled his arm down in a fist of victory.

  Daphne piped up, saying, “Caleb, you weren’t even there!” But Caleb ignored her.

  After thinking about the vision, Valeria said, “There was a little boy in Mani’s vision; the boy was maybe five, with blond curls. I guess he looks a bit like you, Lars,” she said and Lars nodded. “And you,” Valeria said, pointing to Daphne. “You were there. But you look about the same age.”

  Laughing coolly, Daphne refused to speak directly to Valeria. “I’m ageless. That’s why.” Daphne aimed the comment at Camille, who gave her a disapproving look.

  “I guess that’s all,” Valeria said.

  Lars nodded and then looked to Alex. “Lexi?”

  Valeria noticed a hint of disappointment cross Alex’s face. He stroked his fingers through his hair and then nodded. “In that case, let’s just…” Alex took a deep breath. “Let’s jump into a history lesson.” He narrowed his eyes. “Val, how familiar are you with Pre-Classical antiquity? That’s the period of Greek history prior to Homer,” Alex said, being careful not to meet her gaze for more than a moment.

  “Prior to Homer? I think I read the Odyssey in high school. But I don’t remember much about it,” Valeria admitted.

  “Well, all right. Let’s begin with Apollo and the gods,” Alex said, as if he were beginning a class.

  Valeria wrinkled her nose and looked at Lars, whom she was able to make eye contact with and still think straight. “Gods? Are we talking fiction?” She was trying to follow where this was going. Who was this guy they were going to spring on her—a history buff or just ancient? Valeria looked up to see Tavish’s smile-sneer again. This was going to be a long meeting! Alex shifted closer to Valeria.

  “Three thousand years ago, we all had more power. We were newer. We hadn’t been told that we couldn’t do things. We expected magic to be all around us and available.”

  “Alex, I’m not certain what this is about, but why do I get the feeling you aren’t speaking in generalities?”

  Alex and Lars looked at each other. Alex raised an eyebrow and then gave a slight chuckle. “Sorry, Val, I guess we didn’t expect a comment like that so quickly.” Alex winked.

  The wink from Alex energized her, and she smiled back.

  “So you were talking about magic?” She wondered if her face was flushed and if Daphne had noticed it. Of course, Daphne must be used to women fawning over Alex.

  “Yes, magic!” Alex turned away from her for a moment and took a deep breath. When he turned back, his game face had returned. “There were those who had tremendous power. Because of their strength, they were the rulers of the land. But strength and magic alone was not enough to make someone a god.” Alex paused for effect. “It had to be written in the stars. So, if you were a very clever ruler, you found someone who could ‘locate’ you in the stars.”

  Caleb added with a laugh, “Celestial dot-to-dot! Want to see my drawing?”

  “Not just yet, Caleb. Maybe you can show Val later.” Alex instinctively sat on the ottoman in front of her. “If you were written in the stars, you were a god!”

  “That’s interesting!” Valeria smiled. Alex found himself smiling back at her as he would any student. Then he realized he had looked too long and quickly glanced away.

  “So the god, Apollo, found a beautiful child, the princess of Troy. Her name was Cassandra and she had the gift of vision. In fact, her gift was even more powerful than that of Apollo’s oracle, Myrdd, and far more powerful than Apollo’s priest, Aegemon.”

  “Are you telling me what I read, or what you teach, or is this something else?” she asked.

  Lars and Alex looked at each other, uncertain about how to continue. Camille jumped in. “Valeria, I promise it will all make more sense when you see the bigger picture. It may help if, for now, you just accept the facts as Alex presents them.”

  Valeria nodded to Camille in appreciation. Lars gestured for Alex to continue. “Are you familiar with an oracle?”

  “Isn’t that a prophet? I remember in art class we studied the Sistine Chapel. Wasn’t there an oracle and a sibyl on the Sistine Chapel?”

  Alex nodded. “Yes, on both accounts. An oracle was typically a prophet, but could also be used to describe a prophetess. A sibyl was a prophetess who could also be called a sibylline oracle. Their visions were considered divine. In fact, there are actually five sibyls on the Sistine Chapel.

  “Those names, oracle and sibyl, were also assigned to their prophesies. The Last Oracle is also sometimes called a Sibylline Oracle and was the most powerful of all the oracles. She was also the author of the original Sibylline Oracle document, which disappeared not long after she created it.

  “There are documents referred to as The Sibylline Oracles, that are considered to be original utterances from the sibyls. Those documents were created much later by other sibyls and have since been edited by various religious sects over the centuries.”

  Alex stopped to give Valeria a chance to absorb the information. “Originally, there was only one oracle, Myrdd, who was a very wise wizard. Apollo gifted Myrdd with the power of vision.” Alex paused, momentarily distracted by Valeria’s gaze. “Apollo liked the effect that he'd created. So, he blew into the stars and spread fifty oracles around the world. Then he blew again and split those stars in half, creating perfect mates for his immortal oracles.”

  “But Apollo’s priest, Aegemon, was bitten by Envy’s bite. Apollo had granted this gift to so many others and not to him, even though he had served Apollo faithfully as his prophet and priest. So, to appease his loyal priest, Apollo gifted Aegemon with immortality.”

  “Aegemon?” Valeria interrupted.

  Lars nodded. “Our enemy.”

  “The robed man in the vision,” Alex added. Valeria frowned, wondering how Lars and Daphne had aged so differently. They certainly were not twenty-five years apart now, as they had been in the vision. But she had told Camille she would take it all in first. She was certain Alex would clarify her confusion.

  “For Aegemon, having the gift of immortality wasn’t good enough. Envy’s poison ran thick in his blood and he became enraged knowing that others possessed powers that were once his alone. Aegemon had used tarot cards to foretell the future. If Aegemon was wrong, he would blame the stars or say that the generals had changed their own fate.

  “One day, Aegemon had just delivered a message from the cards. At four years old, the Princess Cassandra, innocently reread the cards with a different fate. Aegemon denied the child’s accuracy, but as it came t
o pass, she was correct.”

  Alex rose and walked to the fireplace. “Aegemon realized that Cassandra had far more power of prophesy than he had.

  “A few years later, Aegemon overheard Cassandra ask Apollo when the others like her would be arriving. Aegemon had seen a vision and was aware of a handful of true oracles whom would cause him trouble. He issued an order to bring all of the existing oracles to Apollo’s court to give them an opportunity to serve.

  “Armies traveled across Europe and Africa to bring all potential oracles to Apollo…” Alex walked back to Valeria, returning to his position on the ottoman. He looked intensely into her eyes and said, “Including a few of us.” He paused to allow Valeria a chance to take in what he had just said.

  She bit her lip. “You mean, your ancestors, right? I know that’s how Europeans sometimes talk; they say we and they mean ten generations before. That’s what you mean, right?” Valeria looked around the room.

  She reflected for a moment. “The vision I saw…was that what was happening? Was that Cassandra and Apollo?”

  No one responded. Valeria started to laugh, but saw that no one else was joining her.

  “That can’t be true!”

  The silence was deafening as Valeria took in this new reality. “Alex, did I misunderstand you? If I’m hearing you right, you are…I mean…that would make you…what? Over 3,000 years old?”

  Alex seemed to be carefully evaluating her response. She narrowed her eyes and did her own evaluation—Lars, Alex, and Camille seemed to be frozen, awaiting her reaction. Daphne stared at the fire. Caleb sat smiling, excited from the tension. Valeria had no idea what Tavish’s expression meant; it appeared to be a cross between boredom and irritation.

  Instinctively, Alex pulled Valeria’s hands into his—giving her another flash of heat from the thrill of his touch. The move had been intended to calm her, but it had quite the opposite effect. Alex took a deep breath and softened his gaze as he met her eyes. “Yes, beautiful, we are.”

  Valeria knew she should be pondering the absurdity of what she had just heard. But despite her heart rate, she felt an almost tranquil haven, lost in Alex’s beautiful blue eyes that seemed to bar her from rational thoughts and actions. She turned away to take a moment to re-evaluate…well, after she forced herself to breathe again.