Past Lives

by Kirsten Bij't Vuur

  The breaking of that powerful spell had left Lukas a bit fuzzy, and he had a hard time pretending everything was fine.

  But soon the focus came to rest upon the boy, for he shook his head and said: 'I feel a bit weird, I remember doing things I'd never do. What happened?'

  He scratched his trousers where they touched the hair on his legs, and quietly removed them, asking: 'Is Yura all right? Where is my wife?'

  However interesting it would have been to see how his wife would react to him, and how he would fit into his age-group, they could not linger, they needed to reach Katarina as quickly as possible.

  The donkey was loaded once more, and they started on the path towards Katarina's village.

  The forest on the other side of the village was different, the pine trees

  were making room for more leafy trees, shading the path and rendering the forest decidedly cooler than the pine forest they had been walking through the last one and a half days.

  'We're nearing the coast, there is a little more moisture in the air and in the soil,' Lukas explained, still we'd do better to rest for a few hours. But I feel rushed, if you feel up to it I'd like to walk as long as we can stand the heat.'

  Finding the heat tolerable for now, Melissa, who suffered the most from the pace at which they were travelling and the sweltering heat, observed: 'I can still walk, Lukas, and I agree to go on until I cannot bear the heat anymore, but we do need to spend at least an hour together, to talk about the things we discussed this morning, sharing love, remember?'

  Lukas nodded, and replied: 'It will not be long before we have to stop, but I'd like to put some distance between us and the place where I broke that spell. If nothing else happens the caster may ignore it, but we cannot count on that, I must see Katarina as soon as possible.'

  'We can give any spies something to watch by working on the necklace, pulling away any notice from the village. I find working metal very restful, even using magic.' That was an excellent idea, it would give Paul inner rest, create a trace for possible watchers to follow, and it would give Melissa the chance to cool down for a while.

  'Excellent idea, Paul, but can we go on until you are both tired first?'

  What was driving Lukas? He had been so relaxed earlier, Melissa decided not to think about it but just walk on until she could walk no longer.

  And she turned out to be made of much sterner stuff than they had thought, for she lasted at least two more hours, helped by the cooling properties of this forest, but also by an iron determination not to falter before a likely resting site was found right next to the path.

  This time it was not a sink-hole, there must have been a change in the bedrock too, for they came upon a little valley with a tiny stream running in the middle. The banks were lovely and green, there was a lush meadow right beside the path where they could tether the donkey, and it was all just too fortunate to move on.

  Melissa crashed in the grass, Lukas unloaded the donkey and tied it to a sapling on the edge of the little meadow. Paul untied and removed his boots once more, then unrolled his collection of tools and materials.

  Seeing that Melissa was fast asleep already, the guys decided to use

  magic one by one, the other filing yesterday's dolphins, to keep an eye on the road and on the rest of their surroundings. But first, Lukas kissed Paul wholeheartedly, to top off his supply of magic power.

  'How do I let go of the guilt, Lukas?' Paul asked, as soon as he had his breath back.

  Lukas replied: 'You can even allow the guilt, Paul, as long as you don't feel unworthy of Melissa's love. Imagine how you would feel if the situation was reversed, actually you don't need to, you can just remember the time you were still jealous. Did you ever find Melissa unworthy of your love because she shared love with me?'

  That caused Paul to protest: 'You cannot compare her situation to mine, she shared only with you, and we both loved you.'

  To his shock, Paul saw Lukas shake his head, and he said: 'Actually, I think she didn't really love me until much later, she shared love with me at first to save my life and to make me feel less lonely. She may have loved me, but not as an equal partner, the way you both love me now. She loved you so much more than me, that if the situation were still that way, I would retreat. I couldn't then because I was totally dependent on both of you, and I had not discovered jealousy yet.'

  'Lukas, I just cannot believe that,' Paul said softly, unable to believe his ears, 'you're not thinking of leaving us now, are you?'

  'I most certainly am not, I have her love now, and I have yours, and I want both so much, I can never let you out of my life willingly.

  But though I have found jealousy in myself, I find I am not jealous of your other lovers, and I'm no longer jealous of any other lovers Melissa might take here, for I know that in the end all three of us will always come back together.'

  'Well,' Paul said, 'now it is my turn to think about things, and I'll have plenty of time to do it, for there will be no temptations at Katarina's.'

  And Lukas smiled at him and they went to work.

  Melissa slept for two hours, in which four more dolphins saw the light of day, and yesterday's two imperfect ones were filed and buffed until they were.

  'Aren't you even slightly tired with the magic you worked today, Lukas?'

  Paul asked, as they were stowing away the materials.

  'I was incredibly tired,' was his surprising answer, 'but it was mental, not

  physical, so it didn't hinder my walking, to me walking is no exertion, it is a kind of natural state. My muscles don't tire anymore, so my mind took a long rest whilst my body walked on.'

  They woke up Melissa, and talked for another half hour about sharing love and about marriage vows, and Melissa really couldn't find any objections against Paul sharing love, as long as he enjoyed it and didn't feel forced. And she didn't like to stay all alone.

  With Lukas still feeling rushed, they quickly loaded the donkey and went on, and after two more hours of walking, in time for an early dinner, they reached the outskirts of the village in which Katarina used to live, called Ephyra.

  It was clear from the start that this village was different from the ones in the mountains, for it was not walled. From where they were standing Melissa could see the coast, and what she supposed was the harbour, for there was a concentration of mast sticking up from behind the houses nearest the sea.

  Those houses were built very close together, with just tiny alleys between them, whereas the houses closest to them were larger, with sizeable gardens filled with olive trees, patches of well-cared for vegetables, and beautifully coloured flowers, rambling over the white-washed walls and the red tiles.

  This was a very picturesque village, every single house looked neat and clean, very well-kept, and the gardens were immaculate, even the out of the way corners, not refuse anywhere, everything was perfect.

  The reason for that perfection soon became clear, they saw people hard at work everywhere, no-one even looked up at their entering the village, and there was not a single uncovered satyr or bare-kneed woman in sight.

  Humans were clearly more numerous here than deeper into the countryside, and the size of the village was clear from the number of houses but also from the number of shops.

  There was a tang of the sea in the air, and gulls were flying overhead, a logical consequence of being so close to the shore. Of course Lukas knew where his daughter used to live, and they followed him through alleys of neat, white washed houses with freshly starched curtains and perfectly painted shutters, across perfectly paved squares to a large, well-built house with a smithy attached.

  As they stood in front of the house, they heard a hammer ringing, and Lukas and Paul were just unstoppable, they virtually ran into the shop, where

  the sound of the hammer ceased, and Lukas was jumped by a horned shape.

  There was no sound, but Lukas caught his brother-in-law expertly and they hugged and kissed.

  'Lykos, we thought you w
ere dead,' Galan was crying, still holding on to his dear friend, 'Katarina was broken about it. She couldn't sense you anywhere, and she thought that meant you were dead in a ditch somewhere. I can't believe it's really you! What happened to your horns? Were you branded?'

  'I chose to have them removed, Galan, I was abducted and managed to flee to a world where our civilisation is just a memory, a footnote in history.

  There are only humans left, and I had to remove my horns to fit in.'

  'Let us find Katarina and then you can introduce us to your friends. I guess one of them must be a smith, like me,' he was looking at Paul, who was gazing around the shop with intense pleasure, breathing in the smell of overheated metal with relish, clearly aching to apply himself to the bellows or the furnace, though it was a rather primitive one.

  Galan opened a door in the back of the smithy, and led them through a short hall into a large kitchen. It was a primitive kitchen of course, no running water and certainly no boiler, but it was clearly a room meant for cooking, with a terracotta fireplace.

  There were no servants about, and Galan called out: 'Katarina, will you come out? There is someone here to meet you.'

  Steps were heard in the room adjacent to the kitchen and a woman came in through an opening in the wall, at a brisk pace. She was not as intensely beautiful as her mother, but her narrow face and longish nose reminded Melissa irresistibly of Lukas, making her much more attractive in her eyes.

  She was very slim and dressed in a long gown that covered her arms halfway.

  As the woman saw Lukas, she cried out and nearly fainted. Lukas caught her expertly, and took her in his arms with tears streaming from his eyes.

  She cried heart-rendingly, and clung to Lukas as if she was afraid he'd disappear again. Then she held him at arm's length and took a really good look at him, as if to check if it really was him, then clung to him once more, still crying.

  Lukas lifted her easily, and sat down on an easy chair with his daughter in his lap, stroking her hair and rubbing cheeks eagerly. After a few minutes she managed to speak: 'Abba, you live! I couldn't find you anywhere, I knew you

  had to be dead. I missed you so much, I needed you so much!' Lukas wrapped her in his arms once more, and they did not release one another for a very long time.

  She cried out: 'Oh Lykos, what happened? Your beautiful horns, who took them? You weren't branded, were you? You did nothing wrong, I know you can't have, you are too good and too honest. Please tell me what happened.'

  And Lukas did, he summarized everything that had happened to him to his daughter, and she hugged him again, and cried again, at what he had suffered. But she also felt his happiness at discovering love that lasted, and something he really liked to do, and finally, his Gift.

  Galan had shown Paul and Melissa to chairs of their own, and had fetched drinks and sat down with them. He seemed truly happy to have Lukas back, and the couple didn't seem to be the basis of a disruptive cult at all. This was all very strange and disturbing.

  'Katarina, please let me introduce my dearest friends to you. They saved my life, they love me unconditionally and they came with me to find you.

  This is Melissa, and this is Paul. Melissa, Paul, please meet Katarina, my daughter, and Galan, her husband.'

  Of course shaking hands was not a custom here, so both Katarina and Galan embraced their father's loyal friends, and then Lukas came straight to the point. 'Father said you were in great trouble, Katarina, what happened?'

  Katarina looked infinitely sad, and started to explain: 'You know I never wanted to share love, or wear normal clothes, but I never told you why.' And with this, she opened the top of her dress, revealing a beautiful pair of breasts, and a chest mottled like Lukas' from top to bottom.

  'The spots showed up when I was thirteen. I could never have hidden my true parentage if I had ever taken another lover. I knew Galan would never tell anyone, and I didn't want to endanger you by allowing father to know he's actually my grandfather. How did you know you were my true father, Lykos?

  Even mother only suspects.'

  'I don't know how I knew, Katarina, I also suspected, but when I set foot on this world again I was sure,' was Lukas' answer.

  She observed: 'I never felt your return, even though I clearly felt your sudden absence.' She blanked out for a moment and said, understanding dawning on her: 'I see, you have greatly changed, its not just a Gift you got.'

  'So, I never shared love and wore concealing clothing, but for the rest Galan and I just made a living quietly, enjoying our life despite not having any children. We moved to this village to help our careers, we needed a harbour nearby to sell our work. Mother never understood.

  Then about half a year ago, I think just before your disappearance, someone ordered a lovely copper decanter with extensive ornamentation, which was strange, since that is not really what Galan does, he is more into the heavier stuff, iron mostly.

  But he liked the challenge and made a fabulous piece, and the buyer asked to treat us both to a lovely vintage as a reward. We felt strange afterwards, and people started to follow our habits, and deny free love. I have long thought that that man put a spell on me, pulling people in to follow our habits and destroying order in the region.

  But I didn't dare let Hermes check me for tampering, for he'd find out about you, and even though I was convinced you were dead, I didn't want your reputation sullied even more. Besides, he was offensive, blaming and threatening me.

  The weird thing is, I don't feel any different myself. I still like to work, making fabrics from the basis, starting with raw wool from the local herds and ending up with colourful fabrics.

  'Katarina makes the thinnest wool fabric anyone has ever seen,' was Galan's proud comment, 'traders buy every stitch for a good price.'

  'I never wanted anyone to work all day and sleep all night! I'd share love too, if I dared. It's unhealthy not to, Galan does it, but it's getting dangerous, for if the cultists find out.....' Katarina really didn't seem affected by the sickness or curse herself.

  She was just a normal woman trying to make a living. She seemed important in the local community, helping out the poor, and giving people sound advice on how to start a business, buying local produce for her own business. Even if she were not Hermes' daughter, she would be the ideal figure to use to spread a disruptive spell like this one.

  Lukas now asked: 'Katarina, may I check your mind for tampering? I have reason to believe a god is involved, and I want to be sure. You are both in grave danger, my father has been threatened by his father and sister to stop the cult, or they would stop it with force. He had to go to the Oracle to find me, whoever did this also tried to rid himself of me permanently. Though I still wonder why he didn't just kill me and dump the body.'

  That upset Katarina all over again, and she clung to her father once more.

  Melissa thought his role as a father suited him very well, she didn't even fear his seriousness, she knew the rakish Lukas would be back once the crisis was over.

  She said: 'I know you want to do that straight away, Lukas, but afterwards I want to see your fabrics, Katarina, if you don't mind showing me.'

  Of course Katarina didn't mind, in fact she was fascinated by Lykos' two outlandish friends, especially Melissa with her voluptuous size, her pale skin and her copper coloured hair, but also with Paul, a strong, handsome man, very tall and very appealing. He already knew who she was, that she was Lykos' daughter instead of Hermes', when this was over maybe she could share love with him, or with both of them.

  She was still in a lot of danger, and it frightened her that a god had known her habit to hide her body from the world and used it to sow discontent amongst her people, but she had great faith in Lykos, he was one of the gods himself and he would set everything to rights.

  'Katarina, I am going to tell my father about you, and me,' Lykos said,

  'you should not have to live this way to protect me from my own father.

  Father and I have
grown a lot closer the last few months, so I think he will handle it well. And if not, Melissa can soothe him, he has a very weak spot for her.' He had not lost his cheekiness, thank the gods!

  Chapter 9

  Lukas really wanted to check the spell straight away, though Melissa would rather have waited until they had had some sleep. It would be a very powerful spell, to be able to infect people without physical contact, and have the infected people spread it even further.

  Still, she could understand his reasoning, as soon as Hermes knew what was going on he could call off the hounds and Katarina and Hermes' people would be safe.

  Quietly, Lukas explained how the spell on the herder boy had nearly pulled him in, and that this one would be much stronger since it probably was the original, the others being somehow infected from the one on Katarina. He told her he would need both his friends to anchor him to the now, and Katarina understood perfectly.

  This time, Melissa was going to be the anchor, since Paul had much more experience with magic and would be of more help to see what kind of spell was put on Katarina. They linked minds and went in.

  Once inside, Paul marvelled again at the talent that enabled Lukas to get such a detailed insight in a person's mind. Katarina had a very organized mind, in total opposition to her grandfather. Of course it was not vast, and she did not remember everything that had ever happened to her in her much shorter life, so there was less information to clutter her mind in the first place, but her memories had been sorted well, and were easily accessed.

  Feeling a bit guilty to rummage through someone's mind, Paul nonetheless noted that Katarina really believed what she told them had happened. There was no duplicity in her. They found no tampering in her memories, so they moved on to her feelings.

  And there it was, linking her love and her sense of right, a spell that acted as a kind of reversed leach. It fed on her love for her people and her indignity at their treatment at the hands of the gods, specifically Hermes, who was the direct ruler of this realm.

  Katarina's sense of right really objected to being seen as a pawn in a game