Chapter 44
Lucy didn’t have time to tell the others about her conversation with the snake. She returned to the library and rushed back to Kaliea’s house with Justin and Maya. Gavin was lounging on a chaise, already dressed, waiting for them. None of them had time for discussion. Two outfits were laid out on each of their beds. One was of the highest, most outrageous fashion, and the other was of a more modest design though still racier than what Lucy would have chosen to wear on her own. Gavin had chosen the more modest outfit although he had opted to keep his boots and Justin did the same. Lucy looked at Maya.
“I don’t want to offend our hostess, but I don’t think I can wear whatever that is pretending to be,” she told Maya pointing to the mess of red ribbons and sheer lace.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Maya. “She gave us options so either one must be acceptable. The only way you could offend her would be if you didn’t wear either. However, I am also inclined to see this as a test and a challenge. I’m going to at least try putting it on.”
Lucy shrugged and reached for the more conservative choice. There was one piece of light blue fabric that Lucy pulled over her head. It was cut low in the front and the back and didn’t quite meet at the sides. There was a dark blue ribbon that was wrapped around then crisscrossed to hold the concoction together. At least it wasn’t sheer. There weren’t any shoes, but Lucy didn’t mind that. She added the matching gold anklets and bracelets to complete the outfit. Normally, in this heat, Lucy would have worn her hair up, but she left it flowing down her back more to feel less undressed than anything else.
She turned to see if Maya needed help. If this was Kaliea’s idea of a challenge, Lucy decided Maya was going to win. It was red, indecent, seductive, and Maya looked fabulous. Her hair was done up with the extra red ribbons. She arched an eyebrow at Lucy.
“What do you think?”
“I think you look amazing and that I would never have the confidence to wear anything like it.”
Maya smiled, “Shall we? It isn’t proper to keep out hostess waiting.”
They walked into the other room and enjoyed watching Gavin’s jaw drop. He didn’t recover until after Maya took his arm and led him towards the door. Justin simply looked amused. He offered Lucy his arm and escorted her down the hallway to the dining area.
The dining area was another room with many windows and a veranda. There were three tables surrounded by cushions. Kaliea smiled at them as they entered and gave Maya an appreciative toast with her wine goblet. Their training left them in good physical shape, and Maya had the best body in the room. An over indulgence in pleasures rarely leads to toned muscles. All eyes were on her, and she smiled and managed to sit on a cushion without turning her improper dress scandalous. Lucy decided the best course of action was to kneel on her cushion. Kaliea nodded in her direction. Lucy could tell she was happy that they all chose to wear the clothing she had provided, but she was impressed by Maya’s choice, grace, confidence, and poise.
Dinner comprised of various light courses. It was very warm out, and Lucy was glad the table was not filled with large chunks of meat. Gavin, on the other hand, was wondering how he could possibly manage to get full off such a meal. There were fruit salads, lettuce salads, and lettuce salads with fruit. There were flat breads, fruit breads, nut breads, and fluffy rolls. Lucy counted eight different varieties of cheese and three different types of soup served in coconut shells. Bottle after bottle of wine was opened and passed around the table. It seemed Kaliea’s father took pleasure in making wine. He didn’t care to drink it, since beer was his drink of choice, but he enjoyed making it. So, he gave almost all of it to Kaliea, and she became known for her abundant and variable wine cellar.
Lucy tried hard to sip her wine. She didn’t want to get drunk, but by the time a light spinach pasta came out with a white wine sauce, she was feeling slightly tipsy. Then, it occurred to her that she didn’t have to watch what she drank so closely. She put her hand around her cup and concentrated. She let the wine retain the color and most of the flavor, she only removed the alcohol letting it evaporate into the air. This helped immensely, and she enjoyed the rest of the meal. By the end, even Gavin was full.
During dinner, Kaliea asked how their research was going. She wanted to know if they had found what they were looking for or if she could be of any more help. She even offered to have someone help them read through the scrolls if they wanted. With all the questions and offers of help, Lucy wasn’t sure if she was being helpful or nosy.
After the food there was music and dancing. It started as an organized event, but as the music, wine, and rhythm flowed through the blood, it turned into a free for all. People were pounding out the beat of the songs on the table. Others were dancing and spinning around the room. There was some impromptu singing. Lucy watched Kaliea undulate her hips in front of Gavin and rolled her eyes. Lucy was in favor of having a good time and was one of the people keeping the beat on the table, but she was also of the mind not to let down her guard surrounded by people she had met earlier that morning. Besides, the whole atmosphere was intentionally seductive, and Lucy found it disturbing. She decided blatant pleasure was not seductive to her.
“I think I’m going to go to bed,” she said to Justin who was still sitting next to her.
“I’ll walk you back,” he said, and they left the room.
“Should someone warn Gavin that Kaliea seems interested?”
“Gavin can look after himself. There is nothing offensive about turning someone down here. There were many other applicants should he refuse. Besides, one-night stands are the rule around here rather than the exception. No male family members are going to call him out at dawn, and none of her suitors will object because they know Gavin’s not here to stay.”
“What about Maya?”
“Maya can handle herself as well. No one here would dare to force her, and she’ll be careful enough not to end up pregnant on us even if she does choose to indulge in some enjoyment.”
It did not take them long to reach the rooms they were using. They could still hear the music from the dining area.
“Are you going back?” asked Lucy.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” replied Justin. “I’ve always had a preference for subtlety.”
Lucy nodded in agreement.
“I thought I would sit out on the balcony for a while. Would you care to join me?” asked Justin.
“I’d like nothing better.”
They sat outside enjoying the contrast of the cool breeze that occasionally stirred the hot air around them. They sat side by side, and Lucy told Justin about her visit with the snake.
“Should we tell Maya?” asked Lucy.
“No, I think we should let her continue to work her way through the scrolls. She prefers to be busy and likes research over riddles anyways. She’d start researching incidences of snake lore, mythology, and validity if you mentioned it. Besides, she might find something that proves useful once we get there.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to continue to research with her. You, on the other hand, are going to spend a great deal of time thinking. The snake said you had all the information you needed. Perhaps there is a simple answer that we’ve overlooked because we know too much. Look at it like a puzzle, and let me know what you come up with.”
Lucy nodded. She had no idea how she was going to puzzle this one out, but it was worth a try. Besides she couldn’t help much any other way at the moment. She yawned. It had been a long day, and she was looking forward to sleeping in a real bed. She said goodnight to Justin and lay down. Despite the heat, and the sounds of revelry, she fell asleep quickly.
The next day, Gavin was hung over. Lucy wasn’t sure when he came to bed; she must have had enough wine to sleep through the noises he made getting there and the subsequent snoring. Justin could have healed him but felt it was character building to let him suffer through a hangover. Besides, it would give him somethin
g to talk to his recent acquaintances about. They were visitors, and so far, no one had shown too much interest in them, but if they started drinking copious amounts of wine without showing any side effects, people might start to think they had magical powers and then might take an interest. They left Gavin to groan in bed until he felt human enough to face another warm, humid day.
Maya, Justin, and Lucy walked towards the library together. Maya looked fresh and ready for a day of more obscure research and ended up ahead of them.
“Do you want me in there at all?” asked Lucy.
“No, I think you should return to your garden and think. If the snake appears again, see you if can get any more information. If not, see if you can make some progress. Maya won’t be too concerned if you’re not there. She’ll be busy enough deciphering obscure languages.”
Lucy smiled and headed off for the garden.
“Make sure you don’t wander too far and get lost,” Justin warned as he entered the library.
Lucy proceeded to the fountain in the center of the garden and sat down once more to watch the fish swim. She didn’t dwell on the Eye of Elicion at all. She didn’t think that was the important part of her thought process. It was Kleth she was concerned about. Unplottable makes sense, but not movable. What else is moveable? Clouds were moveable. Could it be in the sky? No, that didn’t make sense. Unless, if there was a common thread of mist or fog, that could be the cloud and the city settling on land and then rising again. But that didn’t quite make sense either because from what she had read and heard, mist did not seem to be a common factor. Perhaps she should think of common factors then. The only thing she could think of is that they were all looking for Kleth. Were they though? What about the people who ended up there, but weren’t looking for it specifically?
Lucy sighed. She felt like she was thinking in circles. She continued to watch the fish swim as she thought up and ruled out possibility after possibility. Parallel dimensions? No, there was a class on those at school, and Justin had taken it. Given his interest in Kleth, he would know if it was a parallel dimension. Weird magical vortex? That could be a viable option. In fact, it probably was a weird magical vortex, but how did knowing that help figure out how to get there. At least it might explain how it could be in different places. Time rip? Again, that didn’t work. It didn’t explain how the city changed location. Also, people who were there and then came back years later seemed to be able to account for the time. If they came back and said they lived there seven years, seven years had also passed here.
Lucy was beginning to feel frustrated. Apparently she had all the information she needed. Why couldn’t she link it all together? She gave her mind a break and focused on the fish. Swimming around and around in their fountain. Over, under, around, and over again. What was is like to be a fish? Lucy began to imagine she was a fish and daydream about what it would be like. Lucy sighed again, snapping out of her daydream. She needed to be thinking about Kleth, not dreaming. And then, just like that, she had an idea. More of a thought really, a bare glimmer of an idea. At least it was a potential possibility that accounted for everything, rather than something that certainly didn’t.
“Justin?”
“Yes?”
“I have a thought.”
“I’ll be right there. I could use a break.”
Chapter 45
Lucy tried to use the time it would take Justin to walk over to form her thought into a logical explanation. He arrived looking tired and sat down next to her with a sigh.
“Long morning?” asked Lucy.
“Very. One extremely long scroll full of drunken ramblings had a possible glimmer of hope near the beginning.”
“So you read the whole thing and didn’t get anywhere?”
“Sadly, yes,” replied Justin. “Maya is still working her way through scroll after scroll. I don’t think she’s finding anything of value either, but I think she’s enjoying some of the older translations. So, what is your idea?”
“I think we are going about this the wrong way. I’m going to start with a comparison and work up to what might be an important point.”
“Ok,” said Justin settling back on his elbows, ready to listen.
“I was trying to think of anything else that can be reached from a number of different places. The best thing I can come up with is dreams.”
“Dreams?”
“Yes, the dream world can be reached from everywhere by everyone and any time. However, you can’t predict when and what you will dream. Also, you can’t find it while you are awake.”
“You’re saying we need to go to sleep to find Kleth?”
“No, that’s not it at all. The point is more…well…you don’t really find dreams. Dreams come to you if the conditions are right. We have to be asleep and at a certain level of sleep and have an open mind. Even then, you can’t usually control your dreams, and there is no guarantee you will remember them.”
“Continue,” Justin nodded as Lucy paused for breath.
“We can’t find Kleth. We can’t go to Kleth because it’s not a place you go to. Kleth has to come to us.”
“Ok,” this time Justin nodded slowly. “I think I see your point. How do we get Kleth to come to us?”
“First, let me reiterate that I said I had an idea not the answer.”
“Point reiterated. But, you have an idea?”
“We need to provide the right conditions, and I’m still trying to figure out exactly what those are, and then we need to call Kleth to us. For one thing, I think we need to be away from any city. I’m not sure if that’s a condition of if it simply makes things easier, but I think it’s a start. I don’t know if it is need based yet or not. Some people have found it when they weren’t looking for it. However, what were they looking for? Also, we’ll have to be very careful what we call to us. I get the feeling that this place is very fluid and if we think it is inhabited by carnivorous, green giants, it very well might be. We need to think happy puppies or something like that.”
“Happy puppies?” broke in Justin with a grin.
“I’m trying to give examples.”
“Yes, but happy puppies? How would they be able to answer any questions? We need to imagine up someone to answer questions.”
“Ok, happy talking puppies?” joked Lucy and Justin laughed. “I’m not saying I’m sure that’s how it all works. I only know that we keep being warned to be careful of what we look for because we might find it. This idea could explain that too so I’m trying to be careful. Answers often require payment. If we go into this believing we’ll have to give up something outrageous, we might unknowingly put ourselves in a position to do that. Also, we aren’t talking about accidentally calling Kleth to us. We are doing it with intent, purpose, and magic. That might give us the power to alter more than you think.”
“I understand your caution. I really do, and I think you’re right. I was more amused at the thought of telling Gavin he had to hold hands with us and meditate on happy talking puppies.”
Lucy laughed. Justin was right that was an amusing image.
“Gavin is exactly my point though and another potential reason why we need to be so careful,” said Lucy. “Gavin is always looking for a weapons challenge. What if he truly believes he’ll find his match at Kleth? Believing it could cause it to be true. Do you want to lay bets on Gavin winning against the hardest weapons challenge he can think up?”
“I’d rather not be put in that position. Happy puppies it is,” said Justin with a smile.
“Happy talking puppies,” corrected Lucy. “There could be issues with Maya as well. She likes difficult but solvable challenges. How difficult can it be before she can’t solve it? What if there is a potion she can’t make? What if there is a language she can’t translate? If our answer is untranslatable, I’m not sure it does us any good.”
“Again, good point.”
They sat silently for awhile looking at the fish.
“And me?” asked Justin.<
br />
“What about you?”
“You have ideas for both Gavin and Maya that make sense. You must fear something I could think up too. What is it?”
“I hadn’t thought about it,” said Lucy evasively. “I haven’t had that much time to puzzle this all out.”
“You’ve had enough,” Justin insisted. He was curious what she might say.
“You have many options.”
“I’m flattered. Give me one.”
“Ok. Basically put, Kleth seems like it has been a minor obsession. If you think you will find all your answers at Kleth, you very well might.”
“How is that a problem?”
“Your answers might not be the answers we need. Also, if you find a place that gives you everything you’ve ever wanted, you might be tempted to stay there,” Lucy looked down at the fish.
“You’re worried I might not want to leave?”
“I’d miss you.”
“I’d miss you, too. How about I promise that won’t happen and that that’s a silly thought. Give me something else.”
“How very placating of you to say,” replied Lucy, but it did serve the purpose of raising her ire and not worrying about that option which was Justin’s intent.
“The opposite is true too. You might be worried that you won’t find answers, and then we won’t, and that won’t help us at all. Or you might be convinced that the price for answers will be too high, and then it will be. If you believe we won’t find the Eye there, we might be looking right at it and never see it. There are lots of concerning possibilities. Not to mention, if anyone lets fear overtake them I don’t want to know what we could imagine. There are nightmares I definitely don’t want realized.”
“So, happy talking puppies that roll the Eye right into our laps while they cuddle up beside us and fall asleep.”
The Eye of Elicion: The Kinowenn Chronicles Vol 1 Page 35
