Love Lines

4: What's Your Particular?

"Cyrus," Tina said like she was tasting his name like one would cake. "I'm assuming we're talking about the Cyrus."

"The one and only." Andrzej's lip curled up. "He causes more problems than he creates solutions."

I just bit my tongue, not wanting to say anything. The last thing I wanted was to put either of them off since one was the doctor and the other was apparently my partner. The way the infirmary looked, I would be dealing with Andrzej often since the place was packed with one injured person accompanied by a healthy one. I really hoped this wouldn't be the 'attached at the hip' kind of deal.

"Be nice, Andrzej. I'm sure he thinks the same of you."

He just shrugged. "It's a mutual hatred we share. It's the only thing we have in common."

"That's no longer true." Tina put a wooden tongue depressor in the mix and walked over to me. "Now, Natalie, your arm may go numb for a few minutes while this sits on the cut. But I promise you it's not permanent."

I just nodded and turned to stare off at something else.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"She talks plenty," Andrzej commented. "Maybe you've stunned her into silence, Tina."

"Or maybe I just don't have anything to say," I snapped back.

"Oh I can see it now. You two are going to be fighting more often than working together. You need to find some sort of balance, common ground," she commented as she applied the mixture to my arm. I felt it immediately, the arm numbness. At first it was tingles and then there was nothing. I had to look at my arm in order to make sure it was there. "This'll work faster than I thought."

"I heal pretty quickly."

"In some ways more than others."

"Can I just go, please?"

"Why are you so antsy? I told you your dad will be fine."

"You don't know that," I snapped. "Hades could've done something to him. If he could get into my house, if you could get into my house, than I'm sure someone else could too."

"I'm sure your father is fine." Tina patted my shoulder gently. "Once this paste dries, we can wipe it up and you can go."

After I nodded, she walked away to attend some of the other patients. That of course left me with Andrzej who didn't seem to want to talk. He was too busy looking from one group of people to another, never settling on one longer than a minute. It made me wish Caroline would come back. At least then I wouldn't be sitting here in awkward silence.

I distracted myself by picking up the various tags my uncle had given me and looking them over. My choice was freshly stamped into the front piece of metal at the bottom and as the record went back, the numbers started to take on weird letters.

"It's Latin."

I looked up at Andrzej. "How do you know?"

"Because all the old families have them." He reached under his shirt and pulled out the pendant I'd felt earlier. "They're all different depending on the family."

He took his off and handed it to me.

"What do you mean by families?"

"All Assarions originate from one of the twelve original families. You come from the Valens line, on your mother's side of course. I don't know the Greek side of things but you seem to be the culmination of two very...potent families. It's not a huge surprise that you have a rare particular."

I nodded, acting like I knew what he was talking about when I actually had no clue. "And you?" I handed his pendant back. Where mine was various pieces, his was one with only his choice visible. "Where do you come from?"

"I'm a throwback." He sat up on the table next to me. "There hasn't been an Elite in my family for generations. The Romani people tend to stay out of other's affairs but someone thought it was time that changed."

I looked at him. "You didn't want to be Elite."

"That is an understatement, rakli."

"I don't want to be Assarion."

He turned his head and looked at me. "Why not?"

I shrugged. "It just doesn't feel right to me."

"That's because you were ushered into the Elite world by the hermai. It's more fun to be Assarion in my personal opinion. Hermai are stuffy and self centered..."

"They're also nice and accommodating. Everyone here is locked in the Schola until a man with a god complex decides you can leave."

"He doesn't have a 'god' complex. He is a god. He's basically the Roman god."

"Doesn't make him any better than anyone else."

"Look, I know you don't want to be here. I know this isn't what you imagined but we're not a bad lot. You'll like it here if you let yourself."

I turned my head and looked at him, both of us sitting there for a few minutes just studying the other.

"What about my...gift? How are you going to help me control it if you don't even have a gift like mine? Speaking of, what is your gift?"

"It's called a particular, not a gift. I'm an equalizer, nullifier. I can either level out your particular, like if it got out of control, or I can just make it not work at all."

"How did you see what I did a few minutes ago?"

He sighed. "I can experience your particular if I'm within a certain distance of you. Like with Caroline, when she was walking with us, I could see your love line like she could. Her particular is a little complex since love is complex. She can make it nonexistent or so intense that two people actually get it on in public. There's quite a few with that particular, actually. It's how Woodstock became...Woodstock."

"What about your...particular? Is it common?"

He nodded. "There's a few. Not many but enough that I had someone to help me."

"So again, how are you supposed to help me control mine if you don't have it?"

"My Puri daj had a version of your particular. If anyone here has any knowledge of your ability, it's me."

"Why can't Janus just lift his stupid command so Cecil can help me? It would be easier on everyone."

"Because the two of you together can be catastrophic for the rest of us. You both influence time whether you realize it or not and if you change too much or too little of it then the world can be thrown into chaos."

"But isn't that how Janus likes things? Chaotic?"

"Different god."

"They're one and the same. You know it. I did my research on your great patriarch. He's not as clean as you seem to think."

"And Logios is? He's caused more problems in this world than Janus and the rest of the gods combined. You're Assarion. It's time you deal with that."

"It's only been a few hours. There's an adjustment period."

"Well, make yours really short because we have...stuff to get to."

"Like what?"

"This is the part where I spill the beans, yes?" I nodded. "Well, I can't. What we do and what we don't do is...complicated. Its best you go see Janus first. There are a few things he wants to talk to you about first."

"Like what? If the Easter Bunny is real or not?"

"Unless your mother is the Easter Bunny than no."

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