"Who has the most honest face?" said Stanza.
Hercules looked at Mavis, then Jonah, then Mavis again. "Faces can be as misleading as the deeds of the gods."
"Then what does your heart say?" said Mavis.
Hercules smirked. "It says to kill you all."
Why didn't I keep my mouth shut?
Hercules made a sudden, strong push—and this time, he knocked Arthur off balance. As Arthur stumbled, Hercules burst up from the floor, swinging his club at Arthur's head.
"No!" said Mavis. "Don't!"
But the club stopped short of striking Arthur. Hercules lowered it and stuffed it handle-first into his belt.
"Good thing I never trust my heart." Hercules smiled ruefully. "Or rather, the thing that has taken its place in my chest."
*****
Chapter 52
"We're here because we're tracing Jonah and Mavis' family history," said Stanza, "and looking for the secret way into Heaven."
Hercules drank another long swallow of something red from a wineskin. Jonah wasn't sure from the crimson trickles on his lips and cheeks if it was wine or blood.
"Then you've already got your answers," said Hercules. "I'm your family history in the flesh! And here's how you get to the heavens: climb Mount Olympus!" He grinned, his huge nose reddening. "No need to thank me!"
Stanza cleared her throat. "What was Borgia looking for?"
"Illumination, of course!" said Hercules. "He wanted to learn the tales of my glorious life!"
"Like the tale of your thirteenth labor?" said Stanza.
Hercules raised the wineskin to his lips...then stopped before taking a drink. "Actually, he did seem to be excited about the story of my thirteenth labor. How did you know?"
"It's the reason we came here," said Stanza. "To retrieve the story of that labor. Could you tell us about it?"
Hercules grinned and raised his eyebrows. "It was the labor of the Scythian Monsters. I traveled a great distance to retrieve a king's beloved beast and ended up single-handedly crushing the greatest army of assembled monstrosities ever to walk the face of the Earth!"
"What kind of monstrosities?" Arthur looked especially intrigued. "Dragons?"
"Better to ask which monstrosities I didn't face that day!" said Hercules. "Gryphons, sphinxes, minotaurs, centaurs, rockodiles...and yes, dragons. An army of them, laying siege to the fabled city of Gelonus! And I annihilated every last one of them!"
"Amazing," said Arthur. "All that glorious battle just to save the king's beast. What kind of beast was it? A treasured mare? A hound?"
"The beast was Gelonus itself!" said Hercules. "A living city...a cathedral...and a treasure house."
"Why haven't we ever heard of this Gelonus?" said Stanza. "What happened to it after the battle?"
"It contained such riches, I had to hide it. Otherwise, it would never be safe from attack." Hercules cracked his knuckles. "So I split a mighty lake in two with my bare hands, carried in Gelonus and placed it on the bottom, then covered over it with the water of the lake."
"This Gelonus," said Stanza. "Where is it exactly?"
Hercules gave her an odd smile. "Funny thing, Helen." He cocked his head. "That's what Nicolo Borgia wanted to know."
*****
Chapter 53
"Stanza?" said Mavis. "You look all blurry."
Leaving the past wasn't quite the same as getting there had been.
Instead of a sudden flare of red light, followed by darkness and sensations of wild movement, Mavis felt herself fading. As she sat on the floor of the temple, her whole body prickled with a feeling of pins and needles. The room and people around her looked hazy and wobbly.
Stanza had said the effects of the mold were temporary, though she hadn't said how long they would last. Apparently, they wore off at different speeds for different people...and Mavis was the first to go.
At least the fading had held off long enough for Mavis and the others to finish their business. After hours of discussion with Hercules, they'd figured out the modern-day location of Gelonus, where Hercules had performed his thirteenth labor. They'd also made arrangements to meet Hercules when they returned to the future, before heading for Gelonus. It was theoretically possible that Hercules would survive to the 21st century, since he was both a demigod and a vampire, doubly blessed with supernaturally long life. He planned to hibernate in a nearby tomb, sleeping through the destruction of Herculaneum and the centuries that followed. Stanza, Arthur, Mavis, and Jonah would find and wake him when they returned to their home era.
"See you on the other side, Mavis." Stanza waved.
"See you in a few thousand years!" said Hercules.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness rolled through Mavis, and she went limp. She fell back...and someone caught her. When she looked up, she saw Arthur's face gazing down at her. "Relax. I'm here with you, Mavis."
"What?" It was then that Mavis realized something had changed. She wasn't in the house in Herculaneum anymore. In fact, she didn't think she was on Earth at all.
Mavis felt like she was floating on the surface of the ocean...except she wasn't anywhere near an ocean. When she looked around, all she saw were sparks and rippling bands of multicolored light. The bands swayed and crossed and interwove in a constantly shifting dance, slipping and swirling around the only solid objects Mavis could see anywhere: herself and Arthur.
It was some kind of vast psychedelic realm—another dimension or universe beyond mortal reality. Something must have gone wrong on Mavis' return trip, stranding her astral self in this surreal, intangible plane.
But Mavis wasn't scared. As long as I'm in his arms, I'm all right.
"Where are we?" she said.
"Don't worry," said Arthur. "We're on our way home."
*****
Chapter 54
As time raced past at ever-increasing speeds, Stanza held on to Jonah's hand with both her own.
The two of them sat cross-legged on the floor of Hercules' temple, face to face, as the time-travel mold wore off. Instead of just fading away, as Mavis and Arthur had, they went nowhere...and history flashed forward around them.
No one else could see them, though many people moved around and through their astral forms. No one could hear them, either, though they shouted at fast-forward figures as they flickered past. It was down to just the two of them, holding on to each other in the eye of a Keystone Kops universe.
Day-night-day-night-day-night-day. When the whirl of movement became too much for Jonah, he fixed his gaze on Stanza, staring into her eyes.
And he saw something there that he'd missed before. She's afraid.
Jonah couldn't believe it. He'd seen Stanza face one nightmare after another without flinching. But there it was. Not big, not bright, but real.
Real fear.
And the fact that it was there at all, so out of place in the eyes of one so fearless, simply scared the shit out of Jonah. "What's wrong?" he said.
"Don't let go," said Stanza.
"What?" said Jonah. "Why?"
"Any minute now." Stanza took a deep breath and released it. "Get ready."
"For what?" said Jonah.
Suddenly, the house shook around them. The day turned dark, and people ran past, screaming. Their speeded-up voices sounded like chipmunks from an old cartoon.
Vases and statues toppled and smashed in the quake. Dust and chips of plaster sifted down from above...and then, the ceiling collapsed on top of an old man. No one stopped to help him.
Jonah felt Stanza's grip tighten. She closed her eyes and took more deep breaths. Now I know what's coming. I know what she's afraid of.
"It's Mount Vesuvius," he said. "It's erupting."
Stanza nodded. "We're about to be buried alive for seventeen-hundred years."
*****
Chapter 55
The multicolored ribbons of light in the otherverse seemed to glow more brightly when Arthur caressed Mavis' face.
"You're a beauty," he said. "I c
an't deny it."
Mavis' skin tingled where he touched her, from temple to cheek to chin. Though she was adrift in an otherworldly expanse, with only Arthur's word as proof that she would get home, she still found it easy to give herself over completely to the moment.
Maybe it was because of their surroundings that she and Arthur were finding the moment. The place was timeless and serene, flowing with light and color. It was warm and soothing, filled with a sweet smell like summertime air after a rainstorm. All around, there was a constant hum interlaced with a sound like the tinkling of bells. Wherever they were, it was magical. Mavis was in no hurry to leave.
Arthur smiled and stroked the hair on her forehead. "Such a lovely face," he said. "Such perfect, glittering eyes. Merlin himself, with all his magicks, could not have conjured such an angel."
Mavis couldn't remember when she'd ever been so happy. Finally, the man she loved was telling her the things she'd longed to hear.
This is what it's all been leading up to. Losing my church and being attacked by vampires was a blessing in disguise.
"You are precious to me, Mavis," said Arthur. "You are the real reason I left Lyonesse."
Thank you, God. Oh, thank you for this.
"From the moment we met, I felt a connection." Arthur brushed a lock of hair behind Mavis' ear. "As if I had always known you. Always been with you."
Maybe I can have a happy ending after all. A happy ending with the man I love.
"I feel the same way." Mavis ran a fingertip down Arthur's nose and stopped at his lips. "I think we were meant to be together."
Arthur kissed her fingertip. Mavis shivered with pure happiness.
But it didn't last.
Arthur kissed her finger once more, then frowned.
"What's wrong?" said Mavis.
"I love you." Arthur's voice was strained.
He said it. He finally said it!
"There's nothing wrong with that." Mavis smiled and leaned up to whisper in his ear. "I love you, too."
Arthur shook his head. "But it is wrong," he said. "I'm a vampire."
"You're a hero," said Mavis. "And a king. You're one of the good guys."
"One of the guys who drinks blood," said Arthur.
"I don't care about that." Mavis locked eyes with him. "It doesn't matter."
"Believe me, it does," said Arthur. "Our worlds don't mix. One way or another, I'll hurt you."
Mavis shook her head hard. "No." She combed her fingers through his wavy red hair. "You'd never hurt me."
Arthur sighed. "When Merlin made me a vampire, he told me the gift would be worth any price. For a while, I thought he was right.
"But not for always." Arthur stared into the distance. "I have paid the price many times. Those I've loved have come to harm because of me." A single tear ran down his face.
Mavis couldn't stop tears of her own from falling, too. I understand now.
Finally, the vision made sense. The one she'd had while drowning on the way out of Lyonesse.
Reaching up, she stroked Arthur's brow. "There's a way," she said softly. "A way for us to be together."
"No there isn't," said Arthur.
Mavis smiled. "When we get home," she said, "I want you to make me a vampire."
*****
Chapter 56
The mud was up to their chests now.
Jonah and Stanza still sat face to face in the same temple in Herculaneum. They moved forward through time at a high rate of speed, years passing in minutes.
But how long could anyone bear to be buried in volcanic mud? It would cover them completely in moments. Jonah and Stanza existed as immaterial astral forms, so the mud wouldn't hurt them physically...but physical damage wasn't the kind of damage that worried Jonah.
"Don't let go." Stanza said it more like a plea than an order. "You're not worried, are you?"
"I'm okay," said Jonah. "It can't hurt us."
Stanza didn't look like she believed him. She stared nervously at the steaming mud as it topped her shoulders and climbed her throat.
Jonah knew she couldn't feel it any more than he could. They were both ghosts, able only to feel each other as the world shot past around them.
But he understood her fear. He shared it. We're being buried alive.
The mud was almost up to their chins. "Close your eyes," said Jonah. "Don't open them till I say so." He felt strange being the one giving the orders for a change.
It wasn't an issue with Stanza. "We'll be all right," she said, looking frantically from side to side. "We'll be fine."
"Absolutely." Jonah said it with perfect certainty. If they'd been wearing their physical bodies, the superheated muck would have already killed them. The simple fact that they were still sitting there talking meant that they would survive.
As the mud rose, Stanza craned her neck to keep her face clear for a few extra seconds. "Time's flying," she said. "It won't feel like seventeen hundred years at all."
She's trying to convince herself more than me.
"Okay, listen," said Jonah. "Close your eyes right now, Stanza."
"Oh my God!" Stanza's voice crackled with panic. "Oh my God!"
"Close your eyes!" Jonah snapped out the order and squeezed her hands hard. "Do it now!"
Just before the mud closed over Stanza's face, she finally did as he told her. Then, the mud closed over Jonah's face, too.
And all he saw was darkness.
*****
Chapter 57
Arthur cupped Mavis' chin in his hand. "I will never do it." He shook his head sadly. "I will never turn you into a vampire."
Mavis frowned. "How can you say that?"
Interlaced streamers of red and gold light swirled around Arthur like a fiery halo as he gazed at her. "I will never subject you to such suffering."
"You don't think I've already suffered in my life?" said Mavis.
"This..." Arthur touched the place where his heart should have been. "...isn't life, Mavis. It's a mockery. A prison."
"You're wrong," said Mavis. "You act more alive than anyone I've ever met."
"I put on a brave face," said Arthur. "Make no mistake, my existence is a horror. The dark deeds I've inflicted on the world, just to survive." His expression hardened. "Abominations. The drinking of blood. Vile murder. Spreading my sickness. You cannot imagine."
Mavis shook her head. "You're King Arthur. The good you've done outweighs the bad."
"Mavis." Arthur locked eyes with her. "I've always sought to slake my thirst with the blood of the wicked...but the wicked are not always in good supply." His eyes narrowed. "Do you understand?"
"I understand the kind of man you are." Mavis stroked his furrowed brow, working to press away his scowl. "I know you've made up a thousandfold for whatever you've done wrong."
"There can be no penance for some crimes," said Arthur. "No forgiveness. No redemption."
"I don't believe that."
"You would!" Arthur's voice grew heated. "If you could but see what I've done, you would be first in line to condemn me, woman of God!"
I won't let him push me away. "I love you," said Mavis, "and nothing will ever change that."
"Love is the most fragile thing of all!" said Arthur. "It is spun glass in a world of hammers. It is a single breath in a gale. A dream, a flash, a whisper.
"This is the first lesson you learn as a vampire. It is a lesson you learn over and over again. Love cannot help but break!"
Mavis stared at him, sensing the untold layers of pain and regret behind his eyes. There was so much under the surface, Arthur would make an iceberg look like an ice cube.
Faced with such depths of suffering, Mavis knew only one thing for certain: she would love him no matter what.
And she knew one other thing, too. He needs me.
"Listen." She focused her gaze intently on him. "We will be together."
Arthur leaned away from her. "Let's talk about something else now."
Suddenly, Mavis swung up a han
d and lashed it across his face. It was like slapping a block of granite. Arthur didn't flinch a bit, though he did stare at her with shocked indignation.
Mavis felt almost as surprised as Arthur looked. She watched his reaction, then drew a deep breath. "Listen to me, Arthur." Her voice was tight with emotion. "You don't understand the situation here." She grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him close. "You seemed to think I was asking to be with you." She gave him a shake. "You were wrong.
"I was telling you," said Mavis, and then she lunged forward, pressing her lips against his.
Arthur didn't push her away.
And though the two of them were only disembodied astral forms, adrift in an ethereal slipstream with its own strange physical laws, that first kiss still felt as wonderful as Mavis had imagined. More wonderful.
And when their drift through the slipstream ended, and they flowed back into their bodies like wine into glasses, she still tasted the salt of his skin on her lips.
*****
Chapter 58
Time had stopped dead.
That was what it felt like in the temple in Herculaneum. Time might have been rocketing past just as fast as before in the outside world, propelling Jonah and Stanza into the future, but the mud under which they were buried seemed to be timeless.
"Jonah?" At least he could still hear Stanza and feel her hands holding onto his own. "Are you still okay?"
Now, if they could just see each other...or see anything at all. No light could penetrate the dozens of feet of solidified mud above them. As ghosts, they were immune to the pressure of geology and could open their eyes and look around all they wanted...but all they saw in every direction was pitch darkness.
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