And Melissa found the perfect gift for all her friends, leather wallets, beautiful and very useful, and easy to pack. She bought ten in different sizes and patterns, very pleased to have managed to find suitable gifts so soon in their trip.
When they left the shop there was crowd in front of it, and it was not pretty. They didn't call out, or threaten directly, they just didn't like seeing the leader of their cult consorting with foreigners. Katarina was hurt to see the results of the spell laid on her, the people who were naturally friendly and
sweet were now judgemental and hostile.
But they had a diplomat in their midst, used to smoothing ruffled feathers, and Lukas stepped to the front and asked politely to be allowed to pass. A rumour went through the ranks and the hostile feeling lessened palpably. One horned elderly woman stepped forward, and asked in a neutral tone: 'Are you Lykos Hermeides?'
In a clear and ringing voice, Lukas replied: 'Indeed I am, I am visiting my sister Katarina with my friends, a married couple from a land far from here called England, where it snows all winter.'
This caused a stir in the crowd, as Lukas had hoped it would: they were married.
'What happened to your horns,' the woman now asked, 'were you branded?' The crowd felt hostile again.
Lukas showed no sign of shame or fear, and said: 'I was taken from my home by my father's enemy, and escaped through a portal to England. I had to remove my horns and hide my hoofs for my own safety, for their most evil god wears horns and walks on hoofs. I returned to warn my sister that Zeus and Aphrodite are planning to wage war on her and all of you.'
Even to someone in the throes of a potent spell, the threat of war apparently made an impression. The crowd looked almost frightened now, and Lukas lighted up a little, even to normal sight. Was he using a little magic to convince the crowd? Melissa wanted to check, but the situation was still dangerous, she didn't dare become distracted.
'Please don't worry, my father will not let you down. We will help too.
All will be well.'
Melissa had never seen Lukas like this, he reminded her of her father as he called Hermes' attention to himself on their wedding, so self-assured, so benign. She switched to sight, she just needed to know, and saw the reason for the glow: pure red power was streaming towards her friend in waves, this crowd did indeed worship him now , and more people were joining it every second.
Lukas was not comfortable with this, he had never asked anyone to worship him, but Melissa didn't dare take his hand to support him. This crowd could still turn on them, they were after all, spellbound.
'What do you want us to do, Lykos?' the same woman as before asked, her voice different.
This was the moment that counted, if he could disperse this crowd all
would be well. Lukas stood silently for a few heartbeats, showing no sign of any negative emotion, and at least some of his usual joy in life.
'Thank you so much for your love and trust, you bestow a great honour on me. All out war has been averted already, but all is not yet well. Katarina, my friends, my father Hermes and I will strive to turn the adverse tide the coming days. Please try to be strong, keep us in your hearts and think of us with love and trust. Try to live life as usual, and if we succeed, there will be no need to fight.'
He did not appeal to them to return to their homes, apparently his people did that naturally, they were of course a lot less aggressive than a human crowd.
Some touched him as they passed him by, and he accepted their love with grace, he did not show any sign of discomfort. Lukas was goodness itself, answering questions, touching hands, he even let one or two sceptics feel in his curls to find living stumps, not dead burn-holes.
Melissa hoped there would be children to lift and hug next time. The lack of young ones in the crowd reflected their original purpose so obviously.
Still, she felt as if a burden was lifted from her, and of course the rest clearly thought the same.
They walked home at their leisure, it wouldn't do to run for cover, and once they were safely in the house and out of view, Melissa was just in time to catch Lukas in her arms, his face in her bosom and his hands locked around her. She sat down on the same chair where he had held his daughter, and stroked him gently.
He didn't cry or speak, but sought the comfort of their minds joining, and Melissa let him feel what he was to her, a most beloved man, but still a man, not a creature to be looked up to in hope and fear. His overwhelming love for her was the same as ever, but she did find him very confident, which pleased her. A feeling of heat rose in him suddenly, and he looked up from her bosom with fire in his eyes.
Melissa looked around her, seeing Katarina all over Paul, but she decided to check anyway. Brushing Paul's mind with her own she was received eagerly. Paul shared his relief at their escape from the mob with her, and his pride in their beloved friend.
He wanted to give Katarina what she so desperately wanted, and Melissa sent him a memory of her first weeks with Lukas. Sometimes one wanted to
give someone what they needed desperately.
An understanding from Paul, and an unspoken question: had Lukas had been right, had her love for him come only later in their relationship?
Astonishment from Melissa, they had discussed that? And confirmation, she had loved only Paul at first. Acknowledgement from Paul. She queried: will there be no regrets, no guilt? Then go for it!
Melissa winked her assent to Lukas, and he asked his daughter for a private room, to indulge in some loving assertion.
As soon as Melissa and Lukas were off, Katarina straddled Paul and nuzzled his throat.
'Won't your husband mind?' he asked.
Katarina replied: 'Galan has wanted me to have this for years, he's always been able to share his love, though he did so only rarely to spare me. He will find something else to do, I assure you, and no hard feelings afterwards. We have a deep understanding.'
'We're from a different society, Katarina, our morals closely resemble how things operate here under the influence of the spell. Sharing love is hard for me.'
Katarina was so easy to talk to, though she was seriously touching him by now, and kissing him energetically.
'Don't worry,' she said, 'I know what I want from you.'
They had fire in them, the Greek ladies, he still wasn't used to that. He'd just let her lead then, she had been waiting for this for years. They retreated to her bedroom, and though he still felt a little cheated, finding Katarina an eager huntress instead of the prim lady he expected, she soon made him forget his regrets in her passionate attentions.
In the spare-room, Lukas needed reassurance more than anything, but making love could be very reassuring too. They had undressed, and Melissa laid on top of him and had connect herself to him, with him feeling a bit feeble-minded and eager to follow instructions all of a sudden.
A flash of lust had flared up shortly, feeling her warm, moist depth enveloping him, but it had faded as quickly. And then a feeling of complacency had come over him, feeling her everywhere, her body covering his and her calm presence in his mind. He was very much aware of her, and it was good. She squeezed him a little, inside, and he trust a few times, very lazily, a supremely comforting experience.
The closeness drained some of the itch in his mind away, reducing the feeling that something was terribly wrong, when people were mobbing a small, harmless group, then let themselves be sent home in adoration by the same group.
He was squeezed again, and thrust a few more times in answer, that did feel very good. He was not worthy of veneration, he was just a man like any other. He had done it to save the lives of his friends, yes, and his own, for he was just a man.
A reply to his thoughts came in the shape of a whisper from Melissa:
'You are just a man, Lukas, but there is something to you that inspires worship, so do not blame them overmuch. You are a very good man, and it is very easy to love you. And worship is nothing but love given freely to someone you adore
.
So worship me for half an hour, make love to me, and in the coming days you will pay those villagers back manifold for the love they gave you tonight, when you wrestle minds with your father and his sister over their fate, negotiate a certain amount of freedom for them, release them from the stranglehold their god has over them.
For believe me, your father is just a man too, and no more worthy of worship than you are.'
What would he do without this woman? She had no respect for anyone that did not deserve it, so if she said he was not totally unworthy and would earn the worship he got, he had to believe her. He replied: 'I will believe you, and I will make love to you until I drop.'
'Better save a little energy for your crafting, love, that necklace may turn out to be an important factor in our negotiations.' And with that, she reached out and scratched his horns firmly, kissing him at the same time.
Of course his lust took over, and his head was soon cleared of all thought, lost in the urges of his body, and hers, still aware of each other, still connected in mind as well as body.
And when they had both found their release, lying on the bed with their limbs entangled, his thoughts were quiet, and he felt satisfied and at peace.
They kissed and hugged a bit more, until Lukas felt ready to face the world again, then they dressed and went back to the kitchen.
Having seen Melissa leave with Lukas had made it easier for Paul to share his love, he had known Lukas would need her to come back to being
human, and he had really enjoyed his tryst with Katarina.
They met up with the others in the kitchen, and soon split up in different pairs, Katarina and Melissa going upstairs to view her workshop and the fruits of her art, the men collecting their materials and heading into the smithy to make the last figurines and hopefully use the forge to pull the thread. Paul suspected magic could offer little improvement on the traditional method there.
But first Galan wanted to know what it had been like, sharing love with his lady, and Paul found he could answer with humour and respect. Galan beamed, he must be very sure this was healthy, and Paul vowed that if Melissa would want to share her love whilst they were here, he would be as happy with it as this faithful and skilled man was.
When he unrolled his materials and showed Galan the dolphins, the man was struck with silence for minutes, studying the little shapes with awe.
'You've captured their movement perfectly, they always seem to enjoy themselves so much just swimming.'
Wait a second: 'You know dolphins?' Paul nearly exclaimed.
'Sure, I know a lot of traders, I've been at sea often,' Galan said, 'they like swimming along ships, and sometimes it seems as if they jump to please their spectators. If you applaud, they'll go to ever greater lengths to get your attention. These are just like the real animal, you're a real master. How did you make these?'
'We'll show you, we've used magic to melt the gold away around the figurines, and it works just fine. But can we use your forge to pull the threads for the chain?' Handling the bar of gold with the same nonchalance as Paul, Lukas said: 'I think we'll get two more figurines out of this bar easily, do you want to do one each?'
'You can craft, Lykos?' Galan was totally astonished.
'Paul has taught me, I made two of those,' Lukas said, nudging at the figurines.
Paul replied: 'You start, Lykos, I'll think of how to attach them without ruining the movement.'
As Lukas demonstrated their new method of casting figurines, Paul decided he'd attach a pin to the back of the heads, and make a tiny hole in the tails, and once the pin was through the hole, connecting the head of one dolphin to the tail of the one in front of it, he'd attach a little ball onto the end of the pin to keep everything together and able to move a little.
He pulled a wire out of a lump of leftover gold, using the heat of Galen's forge and his less subtle tools. But when he visualized the connection, he realized a gold pin would be too weak to hold the torsion the connection would be under. The copper of Melissa's necklace was strong enough, maybe he could mix some brass or copper into the gold to strengthen it.
Chapter 10
Meanwhile, Melissa was admiring Katarina's workshop, it was a large space on the first floor of the building, and it needed to be large, for it contained not only a large loom, and a spinning wheel, two tools of the trade Melissa knew she would find, but also several vats, probably with dyes, and at least one half of the total space was strung with clotheslines where skeins of thread in all colours imaginable were drying. There was another, smaller, loom as well, and a large table with fabrics and half-finished products all over it.
In the back was a section with finished products, and they were simply beautiful. Of course Melissa wore woollen dresses and suits in winter, but this was a different quality, the colours were much more vivid, and the cloth was so thin, it was truly wearable in summer.
'How do you manage to spin and weave so delicately, Katarina?' Melissa asked, stunned by everything she saw.
Katarina smiled broadly, the resemblance to Lukas unmistakable for a few seconds, and she replied: 'Why, with magic of course. I use magic to keep the thread from breaking when I pull it more and more, and I do the same when weaving. Then when the product is finished, I remove the spell, for the threads in a fabric will support one another, making the total a lot stronger.'
That was so simple, and Melissa decided to tell Ilsa, she was in charge of a wool-factory these days, and the might be able to use magic secretly to improve the quality of her woollen fabric.
'Where I live, there is a hall more than ten times your workshop, and the looms operate with the power of steam, producing cloth all day without anyone weaving,' Melissa told Katarina, but the poor woman just couldn't believe that.
'But who pulls the filling through the warp threads, and makes sure the pressure is just right?' she asked.
'The machine does,' was all Melissa could think of, 'but the cloth is not as
soft and as beautiful as yours is, there is just a lot more of it. There are a lot more people in the city than here.'
'I'd like to see that, though I probably prefer to spend more time and make the fabric beautiful,' was Katarina's consideration.
Melissa could not but agree: 'It is much better the way you make it. We seem to have forgotten to take time to make things beautiful, though Paul hasn't. He makes everything beautiful. But his clients are rich, the rich can still afford beautiful things.
Has he shown you the dolphins?'
'He has not, did he make dolphins? Like those horses you are wearing, did he make those? They really seem to move, it's incredible that a man could make that, it looks like magic. I like the copper, though most women would prefer gold.'
'The dolphins are gold, they are meant for Aphrodite, a commission from Hermes. One cannot give a goddess copper after all.'
Katarina's expression became serious now, and she said: 'I've never met Aphrodite, but Lykos told me about her sometimes, and please Melissa, watch your man around her. She uses mortal men as toys, and she likes artistic men very much. The gods have no value at all for our lives.'
Her whole heart was in this, Melissa could see that. And she was certainly going to heed Katarina, and try to keep Paul away from the fickle gods.
Katarina went on: 'You stand out, and you are very beautiful in a very exotic way, that may serve you well and give you respect from her, or that may turn her against you if it makes her jealous. Watch yourselves, and let Lykos handle things. He has a way with everyone, well, you know him as well as I do. Trust him, he's a diplomat and very good at it.'
'I will heed your advice,' Melissa said, 'we all want to have this problem solved, but we also want to return to London safely. Do you mind if I warn Paul as well?'
Relieved that the younger woman believed her, Katarina said: 'Please do, he was very nice to me and I can see you truly love one another. And you both love Lykos so much. He seems so much happier with you, he even allowed
his Gift and his godhood in his life.'
That was a weird way of putting things, and Melissa decided not to ask what Katarina meant with it. Instead, she turned her attention back to the beautiful fabrics.
She wanted one of the dresses, it had been love at first sight for her, and it even fit her perfectly despite her size. It was not green, her favourite colour, but a very deep blue, bordering on purple, and it was a bit short but not out of proportion.
The problem was not that it was too revealing, it was made following the current fashion in this village, with an acceptable cleavage, longer sleeves and a closed back. It was just not following the London rules of fashion of that moment, but then, neither were suits and corsets with a long skirt. She really wanted that dress.
In the city, she would not be able to afford such workmanship, but here in a village in a totally different age, she could. She decided to just buy it, she could wear it here, or on the estate of the Nomes', and who knows, maybe she'd dare wear it in the city after all.
Besides the dress, Melissa bought a few large scarves made out of the flimsiest woollen fabric she'd ever seen or felt, gorgeously coloured, one even had the exact colour of her hair! They would not take up much space in her backpack, and they would be lovely and warm in winter, and very suitable to give away as presents.
Katarina had tunics and shirts as well, and especially Lukas would do well to check them out, Paul was used to winters in London, he'd have suitable clothes, the thought of Paul in a knitted woollen jumper made her warm inside, but Lukas preferred a more elegant style, and Katarina's wool would keep him warm in a very fashionable way.
Having paid for her treasures, she carefully stowed them away in her backpack, and went to the smithy with Katarina. The men had finished one dolphin each, completing the set needed to make the necklace.
And Paul had experimented with attachments, trading a tiny lump of gold for a slightly larger amount of copper from Galan's stores, melting it together with another tiny lump of gold, and pulling new thread from the resulting alloy. This was still gold to the layman's eye, but it was much stronger than gold, and Paul had welded the pins to the dolphins' heads with magic and fastened a little ball to the end of each pin, after he had attached the tail of the next dolphin to the pin of course.
Past Lives Page 16
