A Thousand Years of Hope Ch 7-2

Dante hurried downstairs, taking the hidden staircase to the basement. He found Nora and Hera bent over a healing book. Nora was explaining the contents of the book to Hera, who nodded to show her understanding.

Dante stopped by the entrance, watching Hera. She wore jeans and a flowery blouse. Her black braids in a tight ponytail on top of her head. Her feet were in work boots, ready to walk the land. She looked like she was in her late twenties, twenty-five maybe. The frown lingering on her forehead was enough to let him know she was still worried about Tani. Her empathy levels were higher than his, Dante thought.

“The basic ingredients in these spells are herbs,” Nora explained. “Easily found in a kitchen garden. The rest is the magik found in your elemental gifts. Your affinity is water, so you would need to find the pages which discuss how to use your element.”

“I’m surprised you have information on water users,” Hera said, tracing her index finger on the open page.

“We are of fire, but some of our extended relatives belonged to the water, earth, and wind. It’s not uncommon to fill our library of books with information about other elements.”

“You say the same things babu does,” Hera said. “I’m always looking for a way to help him. I need to learn how to quiet my abilities when he is facing an overload.”

“This is a skill we teach our young children early,” Nora said, moving away from the large desk they were using.

Nora disappeared into the maze of tall bookshelves laden with books to the east of the room. She returned a moment later with a small book Dante recognized. He had needed to memorize its contents at the age of ten.

Nora noticed him leaning on a pillar and smiled.

“You’re here,” Nora said. “Is he alright?”

“He’s awake,” Dante said, drawing Hera’s full attention.

Her dark brown eyes were wide with surprise. She straightened up from where she was leaning over the desk.

“How?” she asked.

“I found a way to help him deal with the pain,” Dante said.

“Good,” Nora said and moved to Hera’s side by the desk. “This little book teaches how to control our elemental affinities. How to reduce their leakage; hold them in check, and release them at will. All children born in our house master these techniques by age ten.”

“Oh,” Hera said, taking the small book from Nora. “My house lets us learn at our own pace as needed.”

“We are of fire,” Nora said, squeezing Hera’s right arm. “It’s not easy to explain a burned down house or even burnt skin on a stranger. We must control our fire from when we are very young. Otherwise, we’re bound to have disastrous outcomes.”

“Makes sense,” Hera said, hugging the small book.

“Keep this copy,” Nora said. “For you and your daughter.”

“How did you—?” Hera started.

Nora reached out to touch the charm bracelet on Hera’s wrist. It had a charm with the name Deniz on it.

“Oh,” Hera said, a smile lighting up her face. “You’re observant.”

“I mothered Dante,” Nora said, nodding in his direction. “Observation remains a required skill. Otherwise, he might have burned down this vineyard by age three if left unchecked.”

Hera chuckled and looked at Dante.

“Babu?” Hera asked, looking behind Dante, her gaze was expectant.

“Tani asked for a few moments alone,” Dante said. “He also asked me to make you milk tea and not our Turkish blend. He said you would show me.”

Hera’s smile was instant and wide. She hugged the book in her hands tighter and relaxed. The tension in her shoulders eased.

Dante realized Tani had sent a message to Hera. A message to help her not worry anymore.

“I’d love some milk tea,” Hera said, with a happy nod.

“Great. Let’s go to the kitchen then,” Nora said. “Dante what would our guest want to eat? I’ll make it.”

“Hera will know,” Dante said, waiting for her to reach him before he led the way to the stairs.

When they got to the kitchen, Dante found the milk in the fridge. He found a small pot, while Nora and Hera bonded over tea blends.

“It is almost lunch. Allow me to cook for you, Tom, and Mr. Ryuzo. What does Mr. Ryuzo like to eat?” Nora asked.

“Babu?” Hera asked.

Dante narrowed his gaze on his mother, but she avoided looking at him as she nodded in answer to Hera.

“Oh, he has a terrible sweet tooth,” Hera said. “He loves sweet things. I make him coffee cookies often. Otherwise, for real food, he will eat stuffed baked potatoes every day if you let him.”

“How lucky,” Nora said, hurrying to the kitchen counter where the gas range was set up with a hood above it. She opened the oven doors and reached for oven mitts. She pulled out a tray with baked potatoes wrapped in foil. “I made a good guess for lunch today.”

Hera grinned, but Dante’s gaze turned suspicious as he looked at his mother. She knew more about Tani Ryuzo than she was letting on.

“Hera, you’d better help Dante make your tea,” Nora said. “Otherwise, you will wait years for it.”

Dante scowled at her, making Hera chuckle.

Hera walked around the island table to where he stood near the fridge and took the pot from him. She measured milk with the mug, poured it into the pot, then handed him the milk bottle to return to the fridge.

“How long have you lived with Tani?” Dante asked, refusing to call a man he wanted to kiss Babu.

Tani had to be the hottest grandpa he ever met.

“All my life,” Hera said, taking the pot of milk and the empty mug to the gas range. She detoured to the sink and added water to her mug. She added that to the milk and turned on the fire.

Dante found a bag of their best tea leaves and a sieve. He moved to Hera’s side.

Nora was busy checking the baked potatoes to make sure they were cooked.

“How long is all your life?” Dante asked Hera, arranging the packet of tea leaves next to her mug.

“It’s rude to ask a lady her age,” Nora said.

“I don’t mind telling but I won’t,” Hera said, winking at Dante. “We don’t know each other well enough, Dante. I can say Babu has been a part of my life since I could open my eyes. He helped feed me my first taste of mashed pumpkin and carrot.”

“You promptly helped me wear it on my face,” Tani said, making them all turn to the kitchen entrance.

Tani stood looking healthy again in a red long-sleeved tunic shirt with gold embroidery on the open collar and dark jeans. His red-brown hair damp from a recent shower. There was no trace of pain on his face.

Dante’s gaze dropped to Tani’s feet. The man was killing him, walking around the manor with no shoes. It felt…so intimate. Like Tani belonged here. He wished Tani would spend more time in the manor looking this comfortable.

“Dante?” Nora’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“Hm…,” Dante dragged his gaze away from Tani’s bare feet to find his mother glaring at him. “What?”

“Hera asked you to hand her the sieve you’re holding,” Tani said.

Dante turned to Hera who watched him with amusement, unlike Nora who shook her head. He smiled and handed over the sieve to Hera.

Tani sauntered to the island table and pulled out a chair. He sat and rested his elbows on the table. Dante wondered what Tani would do if he went over and sat next to him.

“How are you feeling?” Nora asked Tani.

“Much better,” Tani said, giving her a small smile. “The best outcome of our encounter is that the vineyard is cleansed.”

“Cleansed of what?” Nora asked, facing Tani, her eyes wide.

“Black weed,” Dante said.

When Nora kept staring at Tani, he sat back in his chair and returned her gaze.

“The Kara ot we found in the olive grove is a deadly weed found in the Ekho Realm. The olive grove was suffering from a serious infection. The weed grows underground, sucking up nutrients from the soil and all living beings close to its location.”

“How did the olive trees survive?” Nora asked, abandoning the baked potatoes, she moved to stand before Tani.

“The olive grove is old, seasoned. The roots are able to reach further away for nutrients. We can say the olive trees survived because of their age,” Tani said.

“What happens now?” Nora asked. “Will Kara ot return?”

“It will not return unless someone brings it. The vineyard is cleansed and the soil nutrients restored,” Tani said.

“You burned away the black weed and all its traces from our land,” Dante said.

“Yes,” Tani said, his gaze dropping to his wrists. “It’s the only way to remove the black weed. Our Ekho abilities burn the weed away. It is the duty of those like us in our realm to keep the black weed under control. Left unattended it burrows deeper, and finds a new place to root if we don’t get it all.”

“How did a weed from the Ekho Realm get into our vineyard?” Nora asked with a sigh.

Tani looked up then.

“Have you had a visit from one of us?” Tani asked, narrowing his gaze.

“No,” Dante said.

“Yes,” Nora said.

Tani’s right brow lifted in surprise.

Dante turned to his mother in surprise.

How did she know an Ekho who could visit Artri House? Artri House whispered all its secrets to him. So, how could she keep a visit from an Ekho from him?

Unless they did not meet in the manor, or near it.

Dante reached out to touch his mother’s shoulder but she moved away from him.

Nora returned to her baking sheet lined with baked potatoes. She tested the foil around one potato before she went to wash her hands at the sink.

Hera finished with the milk tea. She took the empty pot to the sink and added water for it to soak.

Hera then carried the two mugs of milk tea she had made around the island table. She placed one mug before Tani.

Tani thanked her with a wide smile. A smile that lit his face up, making Dante’s heart squeeze tight at the sight of it. He wished he could get a similar smile turned to him too.

It was frustrating to know that Tani reserved his smiles for Hera.

Hera slid into the chair next to Tani and sipped from her mug. Tani followed suit, sipping his milk tea, his gaze returning to Nora. He waited for an answer to his question.

Dante gave the pair at the island table one last glance before he turned his attention to his mother.

“Mom?” Dante asked, leaning on the island table, curious when Nora kept her back to him. “What’s going on? Is there something I should know?”

“There are things I cannot say. I called your father, and the grandmaster, as soon as Mr. Ryuzo entered this manor,” Nora said, her tone heavy, as though she carried a weight she could not easily let down. “The truths I know have to come from you grandmaster, Dante.”

“Yes, but answering Tani’s question should be easy,” Dante said. “He did help our vineyard.  Our olive grove is saved. Telling him who might have brought a deadly weed from the Ekho Realm is the least we can do.”

“I wish I could say the name,” Nora said, turning to look at Dante, her eyes red. “I cannot. I’m sworn to secrecy.”

“Secrecy?” Dante started to protest. “What are you talking about, Mom?”

“I—I—,” Nora broke off, and swallowed hard, her eyes filled with worry.

She started to step toward Dante but stopped. She looked at Tani with a deep frown.

“I understand,” Tani said, placing his mug on the table, his gaze on Nora, even as Dante turned to him. “Hera, do you have things you need to collect here?”

“Only a book and your clothes from the laundry,” Hera said.

“Forget the clothes,” Tani said. “Take your book.”

Hera complied without asking more questions. She got up, took her mug and Tani’s to the sink, and then retrieved the spell book Nora gave her from the counter. She returned to Tani’s side.

“Wait—” Dante said, realizing Tani’s intention.

“Your family has heavy secrets,” Tani said. “From your mother’s expression and the visible pain it is causing her when she tries to tell you, I imagine these secrets cannot be said in my presence. I am an outsider.”

“No,” Dante shook his head, hating the visible sting in Tani’s eyes.

This was not going how he had wanted. He had hoped for a quiet lunch with Tani and Hera, to get to know them better.

Nora swallowed hard and shook her head, her gaze apologetic when she looked at Tani.

It was absurd. What unmentionable secrets could his family have?

Tani had admitted to being an Ekho. It was the largest secret anyone could keep, so what right did they have to keep secrets from him?

“Mom, tell Tani he can stay,” Dante said, turning to Nora. “You—”

“Hera and I will return to Elderwood now. I thank you, Dante, for burning my pain today,” Tani cut in. “I owe you a gift in return. You may request anything of me, but keep it reasonable. As you know, I’m not at full power. I will grant your request. You can call Tom King when you want to find me.”

“But—”

Tani held out his right hand to Hera, holding Dante’s gaze, a small knowing smile playing on his lips.

Dante started to go around the island table, determined to stop Tani.

“It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Arturo,” Hera said, and took Tani’s hand.

Tani and Hera shimmered in a cloud of gold and then they were gone.

It was the first record of an Ekho leaving from within Artri House. The manor’s records did not have information on another who had managed. They all left through the front door. The records had the few who had stepped into Artri House teleporting from the front step.

Nora let out a relieved sigh and leaned back on the counter, breathing hard. She pointed to the potted plants along the wide kitchen window. Their leaves were vibrant green, the white flowers on the oregano peaking out next to the rosemary.

“Your Ryuzo is blessed with good fortune. He made the flowers on my herbs bloom before their time,” Nora said, amused. “He’s a charmer.”

“Mom!” Dante glared at her. “You made him leave before I could get a word in.”

“I’m sorry. He’s not an easy one to keep. You’re going to need to work harder than healing his pain, Dante,” Nora said, shaking her head. “Artri House has not stood this long because of good fortune. The more I think about it, the more it feels like misfortune.”

“Does this have to do with the warning in the family grimoire?” Dante asked.

“Yes. Your grandmother told me the truth about Artri House before she died. She worried another generation would pass by without a resolution for Ryuzo. The moment your grandmaster discovered I knew about the warning, and why it exists, he locked the secrets away with his fire,” Nora said with a sigh.

“How could he?” Dante asked. “You are of fire. It should not harm you.”

“He’s more powerful,” Nora said, shaking her head. “The only thing I ever agreed about with Viola was the callous nature of the men in this house. Your hearts are coated with ice, despite your firepower.”

Dante frowned at her.

“If I tried to tell the secrets of Artri House to outsiders I would burn to a crisp, Dante. Thinking about it now, your grandmaster has a very cruel streak. I’ve always been a believer in righting wrongs at the earliest possible time. However, I’m not an Arturo by blood. I cannot make decisions for your father and his great-grandfather, or for you, Dante. This is why we have to wait for your father, and Grandmaster Landi to get here.”

“What is this you can’t say before Tani? These secrets will ruin me,” Dante said, pulling out a chair at the island table, his gaze on the chair Tani had used. “Who knows when I will get to meet Tani Ryuzo again?”

“We’ll leave that to fate,” Nora said, with a shrug. She turned her attention to the baked potatoes on the baking sheet and sighed. “It’s too bad I did not get a chance to make him my stuffed baked potato. I think he would have loved them.”

Stuffed baked potatoes aside, he would have loved Tani to sit at this table longer.

Something about Tani shook his heart and filled him with…longing. The heart his mother called callous squeezed tight, as though robbed of something precious. He pressed his right hand to his chest mourning a loss.

Dante frowned.

****

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