She threw me a warning glance and hissed: “We are.” I detected sadness in her voice as well.
“What happened, why are you so sad?” I asked instinctively.
Screeching tires as she stomped on the breaks and jerked the car over to the side of the road. Intimidated by her intensity, I braced myself for pain. She rushed from the car, uprooted the closest tree, and hurled it away. It slammed into a fir 20 yards away. Then she tackled the next one. A tornado couldn’t have caused much worse damage. I wanted to hide behind the car until she would calm down, but when I saw that she was crying, I slowly approached her and put my arms around her. She sobbed and clung to me like a little girl, and we fell to the ground together because of my immobilized leg.
Minutes later Iveria was lying with her head in my lap, while I stroked her hair in a soothing motion. She started to laugh hysterically and said with a bit of self-irony: “Who would have thought? Iveria the merciless, crying in the arms of a puny human girl.” The next moment she jumped to her feet and urged: “We have to go.” She pulled me to my feet and I hobbled back to the car. When we were barreling down the highway again, she finally started talking. “My partner is under surgery right now. The doctor told me it doesn’t look good and I had better come immediately. We’ve been living together for forty years. When she was thirty, Daniel offered to turn her, but she refused. She kept saying she’d rather have twenty or thirty years with me in the light than an eternity in darkness. I understood her position then. To be quite honest I didn’t think that I would still be this attached to her when she would be seventy. She could die today, and I can’t imagine an existence without her anymore. And even if she survives today’s operation, she probably only has another year or two. For someone my age, two years are nothing.”
We went straight to the hospital. With its gates and toll bars, the cluster of buildings reminded me of an army barracks. When we reached the ward, the procedure was already over and the doctors said the patient had been lucky this time. In the hospital room a nice old lady welcomed us with a smile. She was trying to hide the fact that she was in pain. She looked like an affectionate grandma. Gray hair, a benevolent, round face with deep wrinkles under her eyes and around the mouth. You could still see that she must have been an exceptionally pretty woman. Iveria went over, called her ‘Beloved,’ and kissed her. Officially they were mother and daughter, because that fit the apparent age difference, but she didn’t kiss her the way a daughter would kiss her mother.
The old lady appeared weak. She studied me with curiosity, so I introduced myself: “Hello, my name is Melanie, I’m Michael’s …” I paused with a blink, before going on: “Well, whatever. It’s nice to meet you.”
Even though she was valiantly trying to hide it, she was quickly exhausted by our visit. Iveria regarded her with a look that said she was the most beautiful creature in the world. It was touching. I didn’t want to add to her partner’s exhaustion, so I gave Iveria my mobile number and hobbled down the long corridors to get back outside. There was a pub across from the hospital, and I decided to have a drink, if only to kill time until Iveria would come out. I should have known that I would draw attention, what with my fractured cheekbone and my leg in a cast. When I stepped into the pub, everyone present stared at me. The fatal part was that Andreas was one of the patrons. In the company of a woman, of course.
I wanted to turn on my heel and leave, but he had already risen to meet me. “Did you fall down the stairs this time?” he said by way of a greeting. He examined my injuries in much the same way Michael had done the day before. “Fractured cheekbone, broken leg, and a few bruises to put the cherry on the cake.”
I wasn’t in the mood for this conversation, so I turned around. He reached out and held me back, touching one of my broken ribs. I flinched and muttered a curse. He shook his head and added several broken ribs to his list. “Andreas, I can’t tell you what happened, it would only get you in trouble,” I told him before he could say anything more.
“Trust me, I can handle any trouble you could get me into. Tell me what happened, or just tell me the part you think you can safely tell me, but please don’t lie to me.”
I inhaled deeply. “Okay, but not here. A friend of mine is taking me home and she’ll be here any minute, so why don’t we discuss this on Monday, after classes?”
“No way! Call your friend and tell her I’m taking you home. We can talk in the car.”
Why were all men that I knew so persistent? I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Iveria’s number. She picked up after the second buzz. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that you don’t need to take me home. Andreas will do that. He’s a friend of mine. We study together at the university.”
“I’m sure Michael will be thrilled to hear that,” she said and hung up.
Andreas paid his tab and, without saying goodbye to his companion, led me out to his car. How could they all afford these fancy, expensive cars? We’d barely gotten in when he commanded: “Go ahead, tell me.” I hesitated, unsure how much I could tell him. He was getting impatient and irritated. “Fire away, come on!”
The relentless stress of the preceding days, combined with his dominant airs, put me over the edge. I struggled to put on a brave face, but in vain. Tears began rolling down my cheeks. “Four men tried to rape me,” I stammered whiningly.
“Where are they now?” he demanded without showing any emotion.
“Dead.”
“Good.” The cool, unperturbed reaction took me by surprise. He stopped the car in front of my house.
“How come you know where I live?” I asked, distraught. He suddenly looked as if he was mad with himself. “I ran into Astrid Wednesday night, so I asked her.”
The way he said ‘ran into,’ I couldn’t help but smile. “And slept with her?”
“Yes,” he replied sheepishly. He would never change.
I said thank you and goodbye, and got out of the car. He followed me and accompanied me into my apartment, a development I hadn’t anticipated. He proceeded to help me with all sorts of little things. I felt that I was starving, so I boiled some pasta and sauce from a packet. Andreas kept me company for dinner. He declared that my sauce was better than one he made from scratch. Apple-polisher!
Shortly afterwards, my phone rang. It was Astrid, who’d seen light in the windows of my apartment. She said she was in the neighborhood and wanted to bring me her class notes. I thought it was only fair to tell her that Andreas was with me.
“The blonde one or the black-haired one?” she wanted to know.
“He has blonde, curly hair,” I replied, and she decided she would come by. Great. Andreas and Astrid meeting in my apartment after their little fling. This might get weird.
From the other end of the room Andreas stared at me with a mix of surprise and thoughtfulness. “My hair is black”, he said, before opening the door for Astrid and greeting her with a warning: “Don’t get upset, Melanie fell down a flight of stairs.”
When she saw me, she took a step backwards and put a hand over her mouth, which had fallen open in shock. “Holy shit, when did that happen?” she blurted out, appalled.
“Yesterday afternoon.”
The two of them pushed my table-cum-desk into the center of the room and we sat down together, feeling awkward. Andreas seemed anything but thrilled by Astrid’s presence, and I would have preferred to be left alone. It didn’t take my friend very long to get to the important questions between girls: “I heard you had something going on with a handsome man at the last campus party. Alexandra told me. Was it the guy from the club?” I could see Andreas’ ears prick up. They were both curious for my answer, but all I gave them was a nod. Astrid grew impatient: “Spill it, are you guys together? What’s he like?”
“I think one could say that we are, and he’s nice.”
She gesticulated to get me to continue, but I ignored her prodding. Unfortunately, Astrid had both tenacity and a sense of purpose. “Come on, is he good in
bed?”
I choked and sputtered. “I have no idea. And it’s really none of your business. I’m not asking you whether Andreas is good in bed either,” I was shocked by her impertinent question.
“If you’re interested, you may find out how good I am in bed any time you want,” Andreas invited me with a salacious smile. Astrid was rightly annoyed and said she had to go. I wanted to follow her and apologize for his idiocy, but I wasn’t fast enough with my cast.
Alone with Andreas again I disapproved of his expression. He was a little too smug and glad about Astrid’s exit. He had probably rousted her on purpose. Meanwhile it had gotten dark outside. I wanted to be rid of him, so I thanked him for his help and said that it was already late and I still had some homework to do. He wasn’t deterred so easily. Unbidden, he leaned closer and tried to kiss me. I drew back quickly.
“Right, you do have a boyfriend you said,” he stated smugly, looking completely unimpressed.
I held the door open for him to leave. “Exactly, I do. Good night, Andreas.” He paused for another moment, as if expecting me to change my mind, but then he wished me a good night and left my apartment. Relieved, I plopped down on my bed and fell asleep soon after.
The next morning my first thought was Sarah, so I reached for my phone and tried to reach her, but again with no success. Then I called Iveria and inquired after her girlfriend. I found out that her lover’s name was Katja, and that she would have to spend another week or two in the hospital. At the end of our conversation, Iveria asked me to keep her little emotional outburst secret. She had a reputation to lose.
When I was done with my morning toilet, the door bell rang. I always get a sinking feeling when that happens and I’m not expecting anyone. I opened with caution. It was Andreas. “I thought you were so busy with work that you didn’t even have the time to do your homework,” I commented when I let him in.
He shrugged and pointed at my foot. “I am, but I wanted to bring you some breakfast.” Then he studied my swollen cheek. “Your face looks a lot better than yesterday. Which reminds me … when you broke your hand a month ago, how long did you have a cast? If I remember correctly, you injured yourself on a Friday. You ran into a hand-shaped doorway. Ten days later on Monday the cast was off and your face had completely healed.” I swallowed hard. A fellow student snooping around in my business was the last thing I needed right now. “I heal up pretty quickly,” I explained, hoping he’d drop the subject. He wagged his finger and pointed it at me. “See, that is where it gets interesting. I talked to a physician and he told me that wounds of this sort would take at least three weeks to heal. Isn’t that fascinating?” He mustn’t sense that I was hiding something from him. I shrugged my shoulders looking unconvinced. “He’s obviously wrong, and I’m glad that my injuries healed so well and so quickly.” He studied me closely as I spoke. He wasn’t done with the issue, but for now he decided he would let it go.
“There’s going to be another campus party next Tuesday. If you feel all restored and well by then, you could join me and the guys for another night out.”
I had admittedly enjoyed myself last Monday with Andreas and his friends, but after considering it for a moment, I concluded: “I missed an entire week of classes. I think I had better study.”
He wouldn’t be himself if he gave in that easily: “Is that really it or are you scared that your boyfriend might not like it?”
“I’ll think about it,” I replied, since I didn’t know the answer to his question myself.
He approached me with a satisfied smile. “That is all I ask of you. And in case your boyfriend thinks I’m interested in you, you may tell him that he’s right.” He gave me a knowing wink and took his leave. As soon as Andreas had left my apartment, Michael called. He was on his way back to Salzburg and inquired what my plans for Tuesday were. I had seminars until two in the afternoon. He offered to pick me up afterwards. After I’d hung up, I couldn’t wait for Tuesday to come. Once again I tried and failed to reach Sarah. Calling her number in vain was turning into an annoying routine.
On Monday, the injuries in my face were barely visible and my foot felt fine again. I decided to go to the hospital after my classes and get rid of the cast. I put on a little make-up and left the house. Outside I met Gerlinde, a woman who lived in the building next door. Tears were streaming down her face, so I hugged her and asked her what was wrong. She started sobbing, but merely shook her head and hastened into her building. I stared after her in bewilderment, but then turned around and walked on.
When I reached our usual study corner, Andreas studied my face. “Fascinating,” he breathed.
Since I had come home early, I had managed to get my homework done after all, contrary to him. The only thing Andreas cared about during our two-hour study-session before the seminar was his blatant and relentless attempt at flirting with me. A few minutes before we had to head into the lecture hall, my patience had run out. “Will you ever study with me the way we used to – focused and productive – or do you intend to put on a show like this every time we meet?” I hoped that my words were not a blow to his ego, but he remained calm and unfazed. “Yes, I sure do, until you’ve become my lover.”
For many months he hadn’t been interested in me, but as soon as I had a boyfriend, he couldn’t get enough of me – typical male behavior! “Maybe then you should study with someone else from now on,” I suggested in a voice devoid of humor.
His reply was confident and meant to be provocative: “No problem if that means you’re finally going out with me.”
That was the last straw. “Andreas, what has gotten into you? You were never interested in me like that. Do you really believe I want to be one of your hundreds of affairs, who never hear from you again once you got what you were after? I didn’t say anything when you made that pass at me in Astrid’s presence, because I think that she must have known what she was getting when she had sex with you. You simply weren’t made for anything serious, which is why I wouldn’t have slept with you before I had a boyfriend either. As much fun as your short-lived affairs and conquests may be, they are the reason why you will never have a chance with me.” That had hit home. For the first time the superior, smug mask slipped. His voice indicated resignation when he concluded: “Then we’ll meet again next Monday to do nothing but study, and I will forget that you are a woman.” I nodded and headed into the lecture hall. After the seminar was over, he wished me a nice week and we parted ways.
9 PERIS
When I left the building, Michael was waiting in front of the main entrance, leaning against a black Audi R8 Spyder. The sight of him put a besotted smile on my lips. Michael saw me hobbling towards him with my crutches. He met me halfway, picked me up, kissed me and carried me to the car. Astrid and two of my other fellow students were standing not too far off, watching us. I beamed and nestled against him. “I wasn’t expecting you before tomorrow.”
He studied me with a happy expression and kissed me again. “I owe you a long Q and A.”
“Can we go to the hospital first though? I want to get rid of my cast.”
“Of course, you’ll feel much better once you’re no longer hampered by that thing.”
In the ER I encountered a familiar face. The doctor on duty was the same who had X-rayed my arm. I had Michael to thank for the fact that he didn’t pester me with questions. We left the hospital without my cast, arm in arm. We drove back to the city center and walked to the fortress hand in hand, planning to have dinner there. “Do you yet know who’s responsible for my abduction?” I asked on the way.
“The photo of you that we found with the men was taken on my father’s property. Thus we know that the culprit must have attended the conference. We have a suspect, but no proof. We can rule out that it was Nikelaus.”
I was surprised. “Why?”
“Because everybody knows he despises me. He would be the first one in the crosshairs, should anything happen to me. He’s not stupid enough to take such obvious
action against me. The slightest shred of evidence and everyone would be convinced it was him.” We had reached the Hohensalzburg fortress. As soon as we’d found a table at the Stieglbräu tavern, I said tentatively: “I suppose you can make sure that nobody overhears our conversation?” He nodded and waited for my barrage, his face tense. I’d spent more than enough time waiting for answers, so I launched right into it: “What does Peri mean, and what did Nikelaus want from me? He said you surely wouldn’t mind if he … and that was when Jeremeia cut him off. Judging by your reaction, you knew what his intentions were.” He eyed me with a hesitant expression. A blind man would have seen that he did not want to answer this question.
He finally inhaled deeply. “My people call themselves Peris. We are part of the elfin world, which makes us immortal. We can die, but we never age, and we’re strong and healthy. We’re born like humans and then grow up with the same speed as you do until the age of twenty-five. Our appearance remains the same after that. In many myths fairies and elves die out because humans destroy the forests. That actually almost happened to several elfin peoples, especially the light elves. We used to derive our energy from nature, in addition to normal food. We drew nutrition from the energy of the forests. A healthy forest contains and radiates an energy that used to be the main source of our vitality and magic. We loved our forests and cared for them, nourished them in turn. But when they continued to shrink in size and nature started changing more and more quickly, we searched for an alternative source of energy. Although it wasn’t on a par with the old one, we survived. What did you find out about us on the internet?”
“That you are angels cast out from heaven. Sometimes you were even associated with demons. You were going to tell me how you managed to no longer have to depend on nature?!” Like a child intently listening to a story, I had rested my head on my hands, elbows on the table, waiting for him to go on.
Peris Night: Terakon (Secret Language) Page 10
