The goddess took her shoulders in a firm grip, and calmly spoke to her:
'You need to quiet down, panic will not help your love. You think he is near?
In a sea cave?'
Melissa nodded.
'Then we'll speak to Ophius, he knows this area best. I'll summon him.'
Her face focussed inward for a second, and she continued: 'My brother is already trying to find this woman, so she cannot harm him further. Then we need to find your husband.'
Ophius came in, and Aphrodite said: 'I summoned you because Paul has contacted Melissa and he is hidden somewhere in a cave nearby, his magic bound, by Dionysus' niece.'
Sitting down next to Melissa on the bed, Ophius put an arm around her.
He said: 'The rock that this palace is built on is riddled with caves, they even extend below the palace. How can we narrow them down?'
His calm quieted her, and she could think again. 'Paul said he could hear surf, and that he was teleported there. Does that leave traces?'
Lukas now came rushing in and said: 'I cannot find Rhoda anywhere, but did I just catch a glimpse of Paul's mind? He was bad, wasn't he?
'He managed to contact me, told me Dionysus' niece had taken him, bound his magic, teleported him to a cave near the sea. Lukas, he was in pain, and afraid she'd come back and torture him to death, she must be mad!'
'It was Rhoda, Lykos,' Ophius said. 'She is quite powerful and to be honest, I have long thought her ruthless, she has been picking on Vavara as long as she had been stationed here. But lately she has been worse, some guys complained of her being violent. Something must have snapped her sanity, I hope your father can contain her.'
At Lukas' worried look, Aphrodite set off, saying: 'I'll help, I know her sort. We'll be back soon.'
Ophius now looked at Lukas and told him: 'They will manage to detain her, she cannot know her cover has been blown. She probably thought to continue as normal here and torture him to death bit by bit.
But if she does not tell us where he is, he might yet die of exposure, there are thousands of those caves, we cannot reach them all, we cannot even find them all.'
Squeezing Melissa gently, Lukas asked her: 'Do you remember that we were going to practice magic here?' She nodded. 'Well, it is your turn now, Melissa. You are going to think of ways to find Paul with magic. Are you still linked to him?'
She still was, but the link was silent: 'He's unconscious. Can you reach him from here, heal him, or break the bond on his magic?'
'I can't feel him anymore, love, too much stone between us. I could follow you but only when he was aware.'
Suddenly the link flared up, and panic suffused Melissa: 'She's here, and she's going to kill me! With magic! I cannot put up a shield!'
'Anchor me Lukas, I'm going in,' she cried, and as soon as she felt him merge with her she followed the link to Paul and was just in time to throw a shield in front of him, layer after layer, until her power ran dry and habit made her grab for the nearest source, which wasn't even Lukas, but something inside her.
Not caring, she kept up the shields against a rage of magic power, lightning bolts, fireballs, raw power even. The cave was not going to hold up under this assault, it was going to collapse on both Rhoda and Paul, she could sense rocks falling on Paul already, small ones, but any moment now a large block would crush him or the whole ceiling would collapse.
Suddenly the cave became quiet, and Paul let go of his consciousness once more, preventing Melissa from seeing what was going on and sending her back to the now.
Melissa came to in their bed, with Hermes by her side, stroking her hair gently and offering her a glass of water.
She cried out in pain and despair, realizing she had lost her beloved, crushed under masses of stone. What had happened to their holiday? And Lukas, where was he? Why wasn't he with her, had something happened to him too?
'Don't do that, lovely,' Hermes said softly, 'don't worry, everything will be fine. Lykos will have him back to his good old self in no time, and you'll be back in London raising a brood of Victorian children before you know it.'
Did he suggest that Paul was still.... 'He's not buried under tons of rock?'
'No, of course not. We're not helpless you know. Rhoda teleported away from under our hands, and we traced the magic, hers was difficult to pinpoint, but when you used mine I knew exactly where to go.
I got your man, and my sister even got to the mad girl before that cave collapsed. Lykos is with him, Paul was hurt quite badly but Lykos manage to heal most of it.'
He gently pushed her head around, and she saw Paul right next to her, sleeping, bruised and scratched, but cleaned up and very much alive.
Relief and shock filled her instantaneously, and she burst out in tears, crying in heaving sobs, unable to control herself for once. Her beloved was still alive! But very soon happiness took over, the tears dried up, and she looked around the room, a blinding headache starting to make her feel like her head was bursting.
Lukas was on Paul's other side, smiling broadly at her, though obviously very tired, and next to Lukas sat Aphrodite, holding him almost possessively.
Melissa dismissed a tinge of fear, it was hard to worry with her head one big raging headache, and she merely asked: 'Can I hold him?'
Lukas nodded , still smiling tiredly and Melissa sat up, and promptly retched, straight into a basin Hermes held neatly before her. He handed her a cup of clear water and helped her clean up a little. She looked at him in surprise, how had he known?
'I've had reaction sickness, remember? I know how it feels, and with the amount of energy you used on those shields I knew you'd be nauseous. Let
me help you. He half-lifted her towards Paul, and laid her beside him, then left the side of the bed.
Now she lay beside him, Melissa was loath to disturb Paul's rest, he had been through a lot and probably needed rest. But her nearness had already infiltrated his sleep, and his eyes fluttered open, he saw her, and with a heartfelt cry he clung to her, whispering: 'I don't ever want to leave you again, please stay with me always.'
She covered him in little kisses, despite the agonizing headache, and promised: 'I will, I never wanted to leave you and I won't ever again.'
'You saved my life with those shields, they were perfect, layer upon layer.
I'm glad I married an engineer. You are in pain, aren't you?' a large, rough hand stroked her copper hair gently, but it couldn't take away the headache.
Even nodding hurt, and tears filled her eyes again, it hurt so much and she had been so afraid.
A strong arm lifted her a little, very slowly to prevent nausea, and an elegant hand held a powder before her. 'I've my own stash of painkillers now, I've learned my lesson,' and with that Hermes fed her the powder and some water from the same cup as before.
'Now lie down easily, and get some rest.' The strong arm laid her back beside Paul, who stroked her again and took her in his arms gently.
Lukas now shooed Aphrodite and Hermes out of the room, and laid down next to Melissa, who asked: 'Did I just see Aphrodite claim you, is she in love with you?'
'Naw,' was Lukas' answer, 'she just wants me to make love to her, it's just lust, she'll get over it.'
'And you?' Paul asked.
Positively shyly now, Lukas said: 'I just hope there will still be a place for me at your side, if you won't ever leave the other alone ever again.' Two heads instantly turned towards him, Melissa paying for her abrupt movement with a stab of pain and a wave of nausea.
'Don't be silly, beloved, what would we ever do without you?' Paul berated him.
'I couldn't think of anything myself, but I felt a little left out. I'm sorry.
Let me do something for that headache, love, why suffer if you've got me?'
And he kissed Melissa lovingly, lighting up just a tiny bit, the headache receding quickly and her body heating up.
'Too early for that, love, you both need rest. And if you don't mind I'd like
to
stay with you, trying to keep up with my father on his way to murder Dionysus was quite a trial. Not to mention the return trip. No, the old man can still beat me at any distance.'
'Well, don't let it bother you, he happens to be good at something that is in fact a competition,' said Melissa dryly, and leaving Lukas to think on the meaning of that, she felt Paul snuggling against her, and let herself fall into a deep sleep.
Paul managed to ask: 'Did you really kill Dionysus? Will you tell us tomorrow?'
'I will,' Lukas said, and when they both slept deeply he found himself still wide awake, so he went after his father and aunt to discuss the fate of the girl who had nearly killed his very best friend and lover.
Chapter 14
When the stiffness and the soreness of his body awoke Paul the next morning, Melissa and Lukas were still sleeping like babies. He was usually the last one to wake, Lukas gone off for his morning run and Melissa sometimes watching him sleep, sometimes off to work.
This time he got to see their relaxed faces, anxiety and fear of the previous night and day forgotten for a few hours.
He still had no idea how he had gotten himself into this weird love-triangle, but he had also gotten a glimpse of Aphrodite's possessive look at Lukas and had felt a stab of fear on beholding it. Their friend might be tempted to stay here, he was a god here and quite influential already, he could really create a place for himself with his father on his side and Aphrodite as his lover.
And part of Paul just hoped the goddess would be sufficiently diverted by Lukas to forget that she wanted himself to share her bed too.
After yesterday that would not be easy for him, his friends knew he had been beaten, but he supposed he would have to tell them about the sexual implications as well, they would find out anyway, and he didn't think he would ever be the same person again.
The memories of his total helplessness had him by the throat, he felt frightened even in his bed, with the two people he trusted most in the world within reach. He had shared love on this trip, but he would never do so again, love would be forever tainted for him. Tears threatened, and he swallowed them, what good would it do him to let them fall?
A gentle hand stroked his hair, and he turned to face it to see Lukas sitting next to the bed with tears in his eyes. He said huskily: 'I can feel your pain, beloved, won't you share it with me? I will not use my Gift on it unless you want me to, but sharing it will make the hurt less, and maybe it will make my guilt less, for I feel as if I have put these marks on you myself.'
And Paul did not feel the need anymore to keep his tears back, he took Lukas in his arms, weeping, and held him against his chest, still black and
blue and very stiff and tender. And they did not speak, they just opened their minds to one another and shared thoughts and feelings directly.
Paul comforted as much as he was comforted, for Lukas was racked with guilt that he had almost lost his most beloved friend to the world that had already nearly killed himself.
And when they had spent their grief for that moment, Lukas stroked Paul's bruised face, and kissed it, and Paul did not feel fear at his touch.
Instead of returning the touch, he surrendered to it, accepting being caressed, just feeling the hand on his skin. Guided by his empathy, Lukas continued to stroke his friend, feeling the significance of Paul allowing him to touch his violated body, the trust it implied.
'Tell me if you feel fear,' he said, though his empathy would let him know immediately. But Paul would need to set his boundaries all over again, by himself, to prevent the two of them from crossing them inadvertently.
He caressed the chest, already losing some muscle in just a week of inactivity, and he commented: 'You're getting flabby Paul, in just one week.'
Now Paul's hand touched Lukas' bare chest and probed his muscle, and retorted: 'You're right, we are.'
And he pressed his face against the mottled chest and inhaled deeply: 'But you smell just as nice. Melissa told me she liked my smell better when I had been working. Can we go home soon? I miss my forge.'
'I miss George,' Lukas said.
'I miss my bicycle,' a voice said from behind them.
They both turned towards Melissa, and Paul said: 'You like your bicycle a lot, don't you? I hope the roads won't turn to mush in winter.'
'How are you, beloved?' she asked in a soft voice, offering her hand instead of touching him.
'Physically, well enough, mentally, not so great. I frighten easily, and the thought of physical love makes me want to hide somewhere.'
Paul was brutally honest, and though Melissa wanted to cry over the damage that had been done to him, she did not. They would see it through together.
'Will you hold me?' she asked.
'You can even stroke me a little,' he replied, taking her in his arms with difficulty, he was really stiff, 'if it frightens me, I'll tell you straight away.'
He kissed her, not forgetting Lukas on his other side.
Melissa didn't dare touch him at first, it would kill her to see fear in his eyes that she caused him. But she really needed to touch him, she always wanted to touch him whenever she saw him, she could not keep her hands off him forever.
It was heartbreaking to see her like this, so afraid to hurt him, his goddess, his copper haired beauty. If she couldn't do it, he would. He took her hand and kissed it, then laid it on his chest. She felt the muscle as if she was judging a horse on a show and said: 'You have lost a lot of muscle! In just one week?'
And that was it, no trauma could stand such trust, such familiarity. He buried his face in her breasts, licked them, then gathered both his loves against him and said: 'I cannot be afraid of you, I love you too much. My balls hurt like hell, which one of you will assess the damage? And do not spare me, be honest.'
'As the owner of a fair set, I think I'm most qualified,' Lukas said, 'you'd better watch the top half for signs of stress.'
Since that was a fair deal, Melissa held Paul and kissed him, whilst Lukas ran his hand down his chest and stomach to his crotch. The stomach was very sensitive, and Paul cringed a little, saying: 'That's just physical pain.'
Stroking Paul's inner thighs softly, Lukas checked his testicles and found them black and blue. Shocked nearly into tears again at the savagery that had caused it, Lukas took a few moments to compose himself, then said: 'They're black and blue all right, may I touch them for a minute? Somehow my healing must have skipped them.'
With a soft voice Paul said: 'You may always touch any part of me, but I wonder if making the physical pain go away won't make the mental pain worse: this way they can heal together, I'll have an excuse not to share love for the rest of our stay.'
Lukas replied: 'If love is forced, it is not shared. You allude to Aphrodite, but you know she will feel your pain nearly as much as I do.
You know I want you to overcome the blow to your self-esteem and the violation of your body by yourself, Paul, and you know I can take away your trauma any second. You got hurt because of me, but I can take it away any time.
But seriously Paul, do you really want to suffer intense physical pain on top of that? I can feel your hurt, and you're still lying on a bed. Do you plan to sit still until you heal? Don't answer yet, just please promise me to tell me
when I may take it away from you. Don't suffer a minute longer than you can bear.
I'm going for a run, I've a lot to think of, knowing Dionysus betrayed me wasn't half as hard as hearing the idiot reason from his own mouth. And I've made a promise to someone yesterday, I'll have to keep it. Will you stay with Paul, Melissa?'
'I will, love, but you must promise me to share your grief as well. Go to your aunt, or come back to us once you've a handle on it. Please?'
Melissa held out her arms to him, and he jumped into them, face in her bosom. She squeezed him tightly and pleaded: 'Paul survived, Lukas, he's still with us, and he will recover. Please don't blame yourself. Please realize that this trip has had some good in it as well: you are back with
your father, your Gift is under control, Aphrodite is on your father's side more than ever, Katarina is much happier. Let your father and Aphrodite sort out Dionysus, do you think she appreciates being manipulated towards genocide?'
Lukas looked up at her first, then at Paul, who ruffled his curls and said:
'She's turning into her father, always saying sensible things. You look cute.
You always do. I love you. And you are right, I hurt even doing nothing. If I want to make the most of people feeling sorry for me, I have to be able to enjoy it. Will you heal my stomach and my balls? Now?'
Eyes overflowing again, Lukas nodded and crawled over Melissa to very carefully touch Paul's bruised testicles. He lighted up the tiniest bit, then did the same thing with Paul's stomach. Paul's face was a study in relief, he really had been suffering.
With a sweet smile Lukas looked up and said: 'I've left them a tiny bit blue, so you can feel rightfully sorry for yourself and enjoy being spoiled to make up for it. Back soon!'
And Lukas left the room, a bit brighter, but certainly not his usual self.
Paul tightened his hold on Melissa and observed: 'He was as close to angry at me as he could get, wasn't he?'
She shook her head and said: 'As close as he could get angry with you, maybe, but I saw Lukas really angry yesterday, Dionysus' treason really hurt him very deeply, and he was so afraid to lose you.' And she told him all that happened, from her flight in Hermes' arms to the message Zeus had given her.
This made Paul thoughtful, and he said: 'You know I've never given much
thought to the possibility of you getting pregnant. You have a job, like us, but of course it can happen any time. Would you mind having a baby? It can be dangerous, you know, lots of women die in childbirth.'
Men were different, Melissa thought, for she had certainly spent many nights thinking of the consequences of their lovemaking. She had hoped Lukas was infertile, for a child with hoofs and a tail would not have a life in England.
Past Lives Page 23
