The Cloud of Darkness (The Ingenairii Series Book 11)

by Jeffrey Quyle

  “But will you have something else to wear?” she asked, peering at Kecil’s dress in the dim hallway.

  “The dress lady at the market is altering a green dress for her right now,” Alec hastily assured the woman. They passed the door to the dining room, and Alec noted that all the sisters were gathered at the tables in the room. They perhaps had a great interest in eggs and sausage, he decided with an inward chuckle, but it reflected sadly on the poverty of the mission that its members might not be able to afford to include such servings of protein in their diets.

  Perhaps he could extend his and Kecil’s stay in the mission by a few extra days to allow him to improve the diets as well as the reputation and the structural integrity of the mission. He’d often found that setting up a healing clinic quickly drew positive attention and neighborhood support when he’d offered his services to the public in any city, any culture he’d been in.

  He looked over at Kecil and wondered what she would say to a few more extra days in the city, at the mission.

  “I’ll plan to give you time as a lacerta tonight,” he leaned over and told her as they entered the kitchen with their baskets of food.

  “On our wedding night?” she laughed. “That’ll be one to remember!”

  Alec looked up and saw that her response had been spoken loudly enough to be heard by their guide and the two cooks in the kitchen, who all looked at one another with knowing smiles.

  “We want to deliver these breakfast goods to say thank you for your kindness in opening your doors to us,” Alec said, as he fished among the contents of the two baskets to sort out and deliver the food to the women.

  They left the women to their meal preparations, then went upstairs to their room, where Alec finally transformed Kecil to her natural form, and watched the lacerta girl walk around their room with a grateful energy.

  “This feels so good!” she lisped as she stretched her limbs extravagantly. Her fluid muscles rippled beneath her dark skin, and her lithe body twisted smoothly as she enjoyed the return to her born condition. “Being a human feels solid and stable, but I miss this feeling, and I never even knew I had it before,” she commented.

  “It is about time to go back to get the dress; the alterations should be done by now,” Alec suggested several minutes later.

  “Do I have to become human again?” Kecil lisped mournfully.

  “It is recommended,” Alec sad drily. She obediently walked over to stand next to where he lay upon his bed, so that he could place a hand upon her and begin to exercise his energies, leading her body through its own alterations as he restored the human appearance with which she safely passed through Vincennes.

  “Shall we go, husband dear?” she asked cheerfully upon completion of the reconversion. They smiled at one another, then left their room and passed through the mission building, through a shower of titters from the elderly sisters, and finally outdoors. A hasty stride took them back to the marketplace, which had grown emptied with the disappearance of the morning shoppers, and the subsequent disappearance of several of the vendors who had sold out of goods, or at least sold enough to make their money for the day.

  The dressmaker was still present however, a thread in-between her teeth as she peered intently at a seam she was reinforcing as part of the green dress’s new structure.

  “There you are,” the words escaped her clenched teeth. She tied a knot in the work she held, then held the dress up, and shook it open.

  “Here, try this on,” she fluttered the fabric towards Kecil.

  Alec obligingly recreated a changing room, and Kecil slipped in with the dress, before emerging several seconds later with the green dress in place for inspection.

  “What’s your name?” Alec asked the dressmaker suddenly, while she slowly circled Kecil, inspecting her handiwork.

  “Caitlen,” the girl replied absent-mindedly.

  “Named after the empress?” Alec asked in a soft voice, after a pause.

  “As a matter of fact, yes,” the girl glanced over at Alec. “Not many people know that we actually had a woman sit on the throne.

  “And she had a long, prosperous reign,” the dressmaker added. “My father liked history, so that’s why they picked the name. It’s old-fashioned, but I like it.”

  “So do I,” Alec offered.

  “Well, everything seems to be right. You’ve got yourself a wedding dress,” Caitlen told Kecil.

  “Thank you,” Alec told the dressmaker. “You have been very helpful – more than you ever needed to.”

  “You have to remember – I like making pretty dresses!” Caitlen told Alec. “This isn’t a job; it’s fun. And when you give an impossible deadline, it just gets that much more enjoyable.”

  “I hope we’ll come back and see you again soon,” Kecil spoke, as her hands ran along the fabric.

  “Maybe after your honeymoon,” the dressmaker agreed.

  Alec held his hand out to his presumptive bride, who looked at him questioningly.

  “What’s a honeymoon?” she asked as she approached him.

  “She’s such a joker,” Alec told the dressmaker, and he pulled Kecil with him, away from the booth and back towards the mission.

  “A honeymoon,” he explained as they walked along, “is a trip of several days, taken by a couple right after their wedding, so that they can travel and spend time together, paying attention to one another.”

  They hurried along the streets of the city and arrived back at the mission, Kecil still wearing the green dress as Alec carried her purple one.

  “We’re glad you’re back. We were afraid you’d run away without a wedding,” one of the sisters told them anxiously. The front hall held a number of the members of the mission, who all stood impatiently waiting for the return of the couple. They were ushered into the parlor, and told to take their positions, as the rest of the house’s residents came in to witness the event.

  The ceremony was brief, and different that Alec expected. It included some elements of the traditional Avonellene marriage ceremony, some elements of Christian ceremonies, and some aspects that Alec suspected the head of the order was making up as she carried out the wedding.

  “I now pronounce that you are husband and wife in the eyes of our Great Lord,” she said after just a few minutes of the meandering marriage ceremony. “The bride and groom may kiss.”

  Alec and Kecil stood looking at one another.

  “You have to kiss me,” Alec said softly. “The bride has to start the first kiss.”

  “But I don’t want to kiss you,” Kecil protested. “You’re so human!”

  “Just close your eyes, lean forward, and don’t scream,” he told her, acutely aware of the room full of elderly matrons who were watching them closely.

  Kecil did as directed, and Alec leaned down, then pecked her lips with his, before he quickly pulled away. Kecil remained frozen in her position, face still upturned, eyes still closed, and lips still puckered.

  “That was nothing!” one of the women cackled. “Do you love the boy or not?”

  Kecil opened an eye and looked in the general direction of the voice, then stared up at Alec with the open eye. She breathed heavily through her nose in exasperation, then thrust her face upward before Alec could anticipate, and she placed her lips firmly on his, then held them there for what seemed an unusually long time. They seemed to grow soft and warm to Alec, just before Kecil dropped back down, away from the kiss.

  “Well, it was better, but still not much of a kiss,” the woman said dismissively.

  “Let’s go say thank you to our guests,” Alec directed.

  “What do we thank them for?” Kecil asked him.

  “For coming to our wedding,” he told her.

  “They’re here anyway; it’s their home,” she pointed out stubbornly.

  “It’s polite to say thank you,” Alec was growing tired of the battle. “Let them kiss you on the cheek,” he directed.

  He led Kecil to a spot by the door, and
he engaged his Healer powers. “Let me give each of you a gift in return for the hospitality you have shown us in allowing us to stay here with you for these few days,” Alec spoke aloud to the women.

  The residents of the mission smiled and began to file past, saying pleasantries to Kecil, and many of them did kiss her cheek. As they passed Alec, he shook their hands and smiled in response to their well-wishes, while releasing liberal doses of healing energy through their hands, treating great numbers of maladies. Many of the women took little notice of the deceptively unobtrusive changes their bodies experienced. But for some, who received relief from arthritis or other immediately evident conditions, the relief was so instantaneous and unexpected that they shouted with joy as they began to move away from Alec.

  “What are you doing?” the head of the household asked Alec as she cut into the line of sisters and addressed him directly.

  “I have a gift from God, a gift that allows me to heal and comfort many illnesses and pains; I’m sharing it with your flock,” he replied. “If you’d allow me to, I’d like to offer to help improve the health of the residents of your neighborhood while we are here as your guests.”

  “Why would you do that for the people of this neighborhood?” the woman asked. “Neither of you are from around here; you both have such heavy accents you must be foreigners from a great distance away.”

  “We are,” Alec agreed. “But your mission is supposed to minister to its neighbors and give them evidence of God’s goodness and compassion, isn’t it?” he asked.

  “That is true,” the prioress humbly agreed. “As we have grown aged and infirm, our ability to serve our neighbors had diminished.

  “We should welcome your support of our mission,” she said after a pause. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow about how we can help you.

  “Now, in the meantime, the two of you should go up to your room, and enjoy each other’s company as newlyweds,” she smiled gently.

  “As soon as the last of your sisters comes through our line, we’ll enjoy the chance to go upstairs,” Alec agreed. He took Mother Alene’s hand and let his energy flow through her body, strengthening and healing her.

  She gave a startled gasp, then smiled, and moved out of the way so that the last of the women could pass through and offer their congratulations. As soon as the line was done, Alec pulled Kecil with him, and they went up to their room, where Alec immediately threw himself down on the bed.

  “What are you doing?” Kecil asked, as she sat down on her own bed.

  “I just used a great deal of energy healing those women, and I feel tired,” Alec explained, as he lay with his eyes closed.

  “When are you going to ravage me?” Kecil asked.

  Alec opened his eyes and turned his head to stare at the girl who had asked the impertinent question.

  “I am not going to ravage you,” he replied. “That’s a crazy question.”

  “The women downstairs, they all whispered in my ear that I should just be patient and allow you to do it, and then it would be over with, and it might not be so bad, one of them added,” Kecil explained. “So it must be something that you are going to do.”

  “Kecil,” Alec closed his eyes again and let his head rest. “Have I given you any indication of mistreatment so far? Have I done anything to make you think I’m planning to abuse you?”

  “No, my lord, you’ve been very kind so far,” the girl conceded.

  “Well, I’m telling you now that I will not ravage you, so don’t fret about it,” he said firmly.

  There was a pause.

  “Am I not an attractive human female?” Kecil asked in a small voice. “Because I believe that as a lacerta, I was considered to be attractive. The prince should have been very disappointed at my rejection of our match.”

  “You are attractive,” Alec assured her. “Now let me rest; I’m tired. After I feel better, maybe we can go out to eat dinner someplace nice to celebrate our marriage,” he offered.

  Kecil ceased her questioning, and Alec fell into a light sleep, his last thoughts concerned about how quickly he grew tired from using his ingenairii energies.

  When he awoke two hours later, Kecil was sitting on the corner of his bed, studying him.

  “I can almost understand how humans see each other as attractive,” she commented seriously. “When I look at you long enough, and try to take in the whole picture – not the details of your lips and skin and hair and all – I can see there is some symmetry, and things seem to mix together in a way that isn’t bad.”

  “It’s quite an honor to hear such an admission,” Alec said with a grin.

  “I’m not saying that you’re necessarily more attractive than other humans,” Kecil clarified. “I was just speaking about the general principle.”

  “Ahh,” Alec replied as he sat up. “Well,” he tried to sound intrigued by her observations, “let’s go to dinner and you can observe a great many humans to help you better understand our good traits.”

  Kecil looked at him with pursed lips. “You’re mocking me, aren’t you?” she asked in a flat tone.

  “Would I do that to my lovely young bride?” he asked with a laugh, and darted his head forward to give her a surprise buss on the cheek.

  “You may have saved me, but you aren’t going to get away with being a bully!” she shrieked, and shoved against his chest, then began to wrestle with him ferociously, with such vigor that they fell off the bed and landed on the floor, Kecil atop Alec, both of them laughing at the friendly contest.

  “You’d be a good lacerta!” Kecil praised Alec, as she rose from kneeling upon his chest.

  “I was a good-looking lacerta, I believe,” Alec agreed, as he sat up.

  “You were what?” Kecil ceased moving, and stared at Alec in astonishment.

  “I went across the lacerta nation one time,” Alec told her, recollecting his pursuit of Andi, when she had been a war captive. “And so I disguised myself as a lacerta,” he explained simply.

  “Let me see!” Kecil begged him. She reached out and tugged on the front of his shirt. “I want to see!”

  “It’s not that big a deal,” Alec told her.

  “It is to me! I want to see another lacerta!” she answered. “I just can’t imagine what you would look like.”

  Alec looked at the eager expression on her face, then shook his head, and focused his attention inward, as he began the process of using his ingenaire energy to recast his body. He felt his skin alter, and his legs shorten, as well as the unpleasant moment of his internal organs jostling into new positions relative to one another.

  And then the transformation was done.

  “You are an attractive lacerta male,” Kecil said appraisingly, as she slowly circled him, examining him critically, then coming to a stop in front of him. Her hands reached up, and gently stroked his cheeks, then slipped across the lipless mouth and held him motionless as she slowly rose on her toes and placed her own human lips upon his mouth for a lingering moment.

  “I apologize for being so forward,” she said in a husky voice a moment later as she stepped back from him.

  Alec began the immediate transformation of his body back to his human form.

  “I am not offended,” he told her with a smile. “But I am slightly tired again after using my energy a bit. Let’s just go to dinner, shall we?” he suggested.

  Alec made a mental note to not appear before Kecil as a lacerta again.

  They left the third floor, and exchanged smiles with their hostesses as they exited the building.

  “A long time ago,” Alec remembered, “there were some very fine restaurants near the palace. It’s a bit of a walk from here, but let’s go and have a nice meal. I think you’ll enjoy the human food they have,” he promised. They walked down a wide boulevard as the sun began to set in the west, but Alec abruptly stopped at a corner, and stared at a building.

  “Is the food service near here?” Kecil asked.

  “No,” Alec said. “I was just rem
embering a battle I fought here,” he brushed the question aside, as he looked at the building that had once been the command center of the rebels who had fought against Caitlen. He had led a force of loyal forces that had stormed the command center and wrought havoc among the leaders of the rebel forces in the capital city.

  He had exerted his abilities to the fullest, using his Warrior powers and his Traveler powers to achieve success, but at the end of the exhausting foray, when he had been ready to pass out from the effort he’d exerted, he’d been criticized and belittled by the xenophobic leaders of Caitlen’s army.

  Alec shook his head. “The palace is further west, and the restaurants should be near there,” he finally spoke up. Perhaps the journey to the heart of the city, the city where he had lived and ruled with his wife the empress for so long, was not a good idea, he thought to himself as they resumed walking. There might be more memories ready to come back to life, even though the battles in the city had been fought three centuries earlier, and Caitlen’s reign had ended well more than two hundred years earlier.

  “That must be the palace,” Kecil said minutes later as they walked with the crowd in the mild early evening air. Alec nodded silently in agreement, recognizing that even though there were many obvious changes, he still recognized the building structure.

  There was no point in pretending it wasn’t a part of his past, he decided.

  “See that tower?” he pointed towards the left. “That’s where the empress used to appear to the crowds to announce the start of the spring loving, the big celebration that the whole city embraced.”

  “And that statute,” he walked her over to a statute of a man placing his hands on an elderly man. “That’s me, a long time ago, healing a citizen. I used to do it regularly, just like I’m going to do it from the mission for a few days,” he explained.

  “It does look like you,” Kecil marveled, as she studied the cast bronze, “as far as I can tell one human’s features from another’s.”

  “I fought against demons, and I fought against Hellmann, and I healed the people of the city – plus I was married to the empress,” Alec recollected his long-ago life fondly, “so they decided I was worth a statute.”